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The steep rocks slowly begin to give way to full pine trees, dark earth, and then a smattering of small houses. Diggle watches it change as the road levels and then in a wink of light, he sees the expanse of Lake Blanchett appear on his left. It's a perfect blue, one that reminds him of the first time he had seen the Indian Ocean from a plane and thought it was so deep, so inexplicable it could be nothing less than the other side of his world. Diggle's lost to it for a moment and then he sees the dark green sign with white lettering. "Welcome to Our Home. Shawinigan: Established 1894."
There's been more than a few times, moreso lately, where he's thought of leaving it all. Of taking Lyla and finding a quiet place to live. Like here. His mind drifts to thoughts of lake houses, of seeing Lyla in the snow, and how perfectly the lake is glittering in the morning sun.
It lingers until he sees the man in the trench coat standing on a turn-off not far ahead. The man has his back to him and stands perfectly still, his gaze on the water. Diggle looks around for a car, a hiking back-pack, something that could explain his presence but there's nothing. Diggle glances around but the houses he's passed are at least a mile away and there's nothing but lake and forest where he is now. He can't help it. He has to know if the guy is okay, this place is too remote to just be somewhere. He pulls over and pops out. "Hey, you alright? What are you doing?"
The man turns and when he sees Diggle, the corners of his mouth tick up and his eyes soften. It's almost as if he's happy to see Diggle. "I'm standing here quietly."
"Right, look, you uh, okay? I didn't see a -"
"You can forget the feeling of purity. It can be so … crowded."
"So you're -" Diggle contemplates him for a moment, he has seen hippies before, just never ones in suits. "Right."
"Do you feel … the breath of it?" The man's grin becomes a shy smile. "It is breath."
Diggle scratches his head, oh man. "You know - I'm supposed to meet some friends and I should…"
"Yes, you should," the man turns back. "It is good here. Not best though. That's… over there."
Diggle follows his gaze, but the lake is so massive it's hard to know where exactly the man means. He knows the guy is crazy. I mean, the breath, purity. It's just, the guy doesn't seem crazy.
Diggle looks around again and to his surprise, when he takes a breath in, the air is sweet with smell of pine, crisp in late fall, and something behind it all that he could actually consider pure. "You get home safe Buddy…"
The man looks back at him, the smile still there. "I'm not Buddy."
"No, I know…" Diggle shakes his head and gets back in the car. Ok, maybe the guy is crazy. He turns back onto the road but as he drives, his eyes flick to the rearview mirror wondering if the man will appear on the road.
"Wait, so you're saying Oliver Queen is the Arrow?" Dean says as they walk up Main Street, quiet save for only a few people who move in and out of the buildings on each side.
"No. Yes. I did but then when I went over the evidence here, I…"
"But you think Oliver Queen is the Arrow?"
"Maybe-" Sam sighs, frustrated. It makes sense and it doesn't. It works on some levels but not all. His evidence just does not add up: he thought the Arrow wasn't killing anymore, he thought the Arrow was only in Starling.
"Makes sense."
"Really?" Sam says.
"Billionaire gets shipwrecked on an island. There's no Wilson to keep him company so he becomes a full-on island-dwelling badass…. and since he's crazy now, why not take that out on a few bad guys?"
"You think that's what this is, then?" Sam says.
"Arrow slingin' evil Hydo Executives? Sure, you said he went after rich guys. Not many rich guys left in Starling thanks to years of crazy guy terrorism… not to mention the wackadoos in Central City… maybe he had to diversify. These corporate guys, they love that, right? Diversifying."
"That…" Sam pauses. "That doesn't sound right."
Dean shrugs.
They're quiet for a moment when Dean says suddenly, "think it has a hedge maze?"
Sam looks up from his notebook and realizes that they're at the beginning of the private drive leading up to the Shawinigan Estate, which sits on top of a large hill so that he can make it's structure out over the trees. It's an old house, obvious because of it's large box-like structure, black windows and cast-iron railings. The ornate features and the stark coloring make it look almost oppressive and Sam feels himself grimace at how cold it appears.
"You know what, I take it back," Dean says. "This place has bad guy ghost written all over it."
"Of course we will sell," Alec says, looking at his sister across the expanse of the red silk couch in the ornate living room that seems to have a English hunting theme because of the five or six paintings of hounds, foxes and men with rifles. Not to mention the two large white porcelain hounds by the fireplace that Felicity keeps giving a wary glance too, something he watches with amusement and to stave off the boredom that is watching siblings bicker.
"We will not sell," Alabaster says. She's an imposing woman, tall and thick, with immaculate features and grooming. Not attractive per se but strong. That's what she looks like: strong.
"Queen Consolidated is willing to partner-" Oliver attempts to interject.
Alec looks at Oliver, "we do not want a partnership. We want out."
"You want out," Alabaster says.
"I want not to be stuck up in this godforsaken hell hole the minute the snow falls…" Alec clinks the ice cubes in his glass. His features are athletic but Oliver thinks he would go down very quickly in a fight and has yet to be able to take anything he says seriously.
"The snow is beautiful," Arabella says in sing-song. It's the third thing she's said and as with before, each time, it stops the argument as both Alabaster and Alec turn to look at her.
She's an interesting person to look at, he thinks. Her face is soft, wide brown eyes, pale skin, pretty. Yet the more he watches her, the more she takes on the neat and doll-like features in old portraits. She turns away and he looks past to her to the lake view she keeps her eyes on. The glass must be old, it's warp makes the lake uneven and blurs the blue. It's something he remembers from being a kid in the manor, before his mother had all the windows upgraded because of the drafts. Cold, he thinks, like this house.
"Oliver.."
Oliver turns to Alec, "Alec."
"We'd need legal to be involved.." Alec repeats. "I don't believe in gentlemen's agreements."
"It is not yours to agree upon-" Alabaster interrupts. "And it wouldn't be a gentleman's agreement…"
"It is mine, 37%." Alec speaks over Alabaster.
"I have the controlling 44%"
"Arabella will side-"
"Arabella can make-"
"She wants to sell-"
Alec and Alabaster continue to argue over each other to where their actual words become more and more indistinct. Felicity looks over at Oliver, who looks at her. This is not getting them anywhere. Except he's supposed to be the guy who wants to buy the company which means he has to play polite… at least for a few more minutes. They need to work on their covers. "What about the soft impact?" He finally says, desperate. "You said this Wick-"
"Don't even get me started," Alec says.
"It's in the charter," Alabaster says.
"Like the charter can't be changed-" Alec interrupts.
"We have always promised we would not hurt the land-" Alabaster speaks over Alec.
"We're not hurting the land-"
"We're using up a natural resource-"
"It's water!"
Again Alabaster and Alec tear into each other while the room sits patiently by.
"Is it wrong for me to hate Alec?" Felicity breathes, leaning in, her eyes pinging back and forth to Alec and Alabaster as each volleys another line. "Because I do."
Oliver smiles at her. Before he can respond, the maid appears. "Mrs. Harris, Mr. Shawinigan, Ms. Shawinigan, a Mr. Samuel and Mr. Dean Winchester are here."
Felicity pinches his thigh, unnecessarily he thinks, as Sam and Dean enter. He doesn't really understand her fascination with the two apart from some passing interest in their looks. Which should be irrelevant as her focus should be on what they came here to do. Still they're a welcome sight from this nonsense. He leans back, waiting to see what this can possibly be about.
"Who are you?" Alec says.
"Sam!" Arabella says and goes over to him.
"Bell!"
Felicity lightly kicks his leg. He gives her a look.
"Thank you for coming!"
"Arabella, who are they?"
"This is Sam Winchester. We were in school together. You know, for my year."
"Wonderful. Why are they here?" Alec says dryly, going to the bar to pour himself another heaping amount of what smells like bourbon. Oliver glances down at his watch, estimating the guys had about three drinks since 9:00am.
Arabella turns and looks at Sam, her wide eyes sparkling ."To help."
Felicity shifts, nudging him, and Oliver wants to roll his eyes. Yes, he gets it.
Alec lets out a groan of obvious frustration. Alabaster just shakes her head, goes to where Alec is putting ice cubes in his drink and holds out her own glass. Alec drops what he is doing and pours her bourbon. Interesting, Oliver thinks. Despite their argument, they're in sync when it comes to Arabella and bourbon.
"Arabella, perhaps you can take them - elsewhere?" Alec says into his glass.
Arabella just turns and walks out. Sam gives Dean a look and follows her. Dean lingers, turning to where they sit. His eyebrows pop-up when he sees Felicity, "hey" he says. He gives a nod to the rest of the room and then walks out. Oliver rolls his eyes.
"Ok, so that was several hours of our life we'll never get back-" Felicity says as they exit the house. "Lunch?"
"Yeah," Oliver says.
"So the Winchesters are school friends with Arabella?"
"Apparently," Oliver grumbles and then turns back to look at the house. "Alec is the only one who wants to sell, right?"
"Most likely to fund a laser with which he can threaten James Bond-"
"What?"
"You know, evil guy," Felicity sighs, "I would have taken you for a James Bond fan."
Oliver blinks, he vaguely remembers something about Sean Connery…
"Nevermind. I'm just saying, if that man had a mustache, he would be twirling that mustache," Felicity says and then holds up her phone. "Also there was no wifi signal in that house, so obviously, something's wrong."
"Alabaster doesn't want to sell."
"No."
"But you said she might have sold because her husband, Harris-"
"Had a major gambling problem, right…"
"And that Wick wanted to turn the place into a lumber mill?"
"Yes," Felicity moves her phone around. "I have been getting nothing but one bar since we left the hotel. Do you know what this means?"
"No."
"It means we are cut-off. What happens if we're in an emergency? Wait, are there bears around? I don't know how to survive a bear attack. What if I can't Google how to survive a bear attack?" Felicity stills at his lack of response. "Sorry. You were saying something…."
"It's just Harris, Wick, Alec - all seem to care more about making money than the land…"
"Granted I haven't done a full profile of them, because something is not being helpful-"
"Felicity-"
"But yes, they're the uber corporate profits-over-everything guys…" Felicity finally drops her phone to her side. "Oh, you think the bad guy would target Alec next, don't you?"
Oliver shrugs, "that's what I would do…"
"If you were a bad guy, which you're not," Felicity smiles at him. "But probably worth some nighttime fun…"
Oliver looks back at her.
"Don't. Do you know what this place is? It's like… it's like I'm Clark Kent. Without wifi."
"So we're actually stalking Oliver Queen?" Dean says. "We're actually stalking Oliver Queen."
"Felicity-" Sam begins.
"Hot for teacher-" Dean corrects.
"Felicity was in the cafe. He came and got her. An hour later, I see two individuals, one with a very distinctive ponytail move around the back. In the dark. Something's up."
Dean nods, "or they were invited back to the house…"
He squints up the long, dark road, trying to catch a glimpse of either one. Far beyond, high up the hill, the Shawinigan Estate, windows lit-up, looms. "It's actually uglier in the dark," Dean says.
Sam nods, "makes you feel kind of sorry for Bell…"
Dean thinks back to Bell. She is everything Sam says - distracted, smart, but mostly distracted. If he hears "natural beauty" again, he's leaving them to whatever bad guy there is. He is not a hand-holding, tree-hugging kind of guy. Which makes him wonder where Cas is.
There's a light crunch of gravel and when they both turn, they see what can only be described as a mountain before them.
"What are you doing here?" The man says.
"You security?" Dean tries to make out more of the guy but nope, just mountain.
"Do you belong here?"
"Yeah, friend of the family…"
"Whose casing the place, in the dark?" The mountain says, suspicion clear.
"Just you know, headed up…" Dean rolls back on his feet as he realizes they're all standing in the dark. "What kind of security doesn't carry a flashlight?"
Dean's willing to admit, the mountain had the gun on him first, but that doesn't mean he doesn't get his out. So now it's a stand-off.
"Digg, it's fine-"
Both sides look over to find the blonde, hot for - Felicity, standing in the trees. She comes out, holding a tablet and a radio.
"You know these guys?" Mountain says.
"No, but…" Felicity looks at Sam and Dean. "They're not what we're looking for."
"Excuse me?" Dean says.
"You're a paranormal group, right?"
Oh sh- he looks at Sam.
"No," Sam says, his voice taking on that faux-official thing he adopts when they play cops.
"Oh, so you actually prefer the term 'demon hunters'?"
Oh shit. "We don't pref-"
His voice is cut-off at the sound of a high pitched scream and then a loud crash. Each one of their flashlights flicks on as they move through the woods, up to the lawn before the house and then around to where a pool of floodlight is. As they reach it, they see the body of a man face down the ground, his leg bent at an impossible angle.
"What the-" Dean says.
There is a light sound of movement in the trees and then a man, in a hood, standing in darkness in the trees just past the lawn. Dean focuses but there's a noise above and his gazes goes up to see Alabaster on a second story balcony, her voice a mask of horror. Dean goes back to the man who is just standing there.
"Turn him over," the man says.
The mountain goes over and dutifully flips the man over to reveal three bent and broken arrows from the center of his chest.
"Ok, that's about enough-" Dean says, moving his gun.
"It wasn't me," the man in the woods says impatiently.
"It's you," Sam says, not accusingly but rather, Dean rolls his eyes - in awe. "It's-"
"Say his name and I will erase you both from existence," Felicity whispers.
Dean gives her a look and to his surprise, her fingers are on the tablet. "See any other guys with-"
"It's not him…" Felicity says, her tone firm.
"I'm calling the police!" Alabaster shrieks and they all look up.
"Go," Felicity says to the man in the hood. Oliver Queen. Wow, Dean thinks. It's one thing to talk about it - but to know the guy is actually billionaire by day, this by night. It's just… weird.
The man hesitates, his eyes on him and Sam.
"Go," Sam says.
"Sam-" Dean says, thinking it just can't be possible.
"It's not him."
The man gives Sam a nod, passes a glance to Felicity and the mountain and then disappears into the trees without a sound.
"Okay, what the hell?" Dean gives up.
"Look at him," Sam says. "He fell."
"Yeah…"
"Yeah and those arrows are point blank," Sam says. "It wasn't him.."
"Oh come on…"
"He's right," the mountain says and then looks back at the body. "Who is this guy?"
"Alec Shawinigan," Felicity says. "And we need to get our story straight, now."
Dean lets out an impatient breath and the mountain looks at him. "Hey man," he says defensively, eying the mountain's gun. "I agree with legs here. But we're all going back to the hotel after we get out of this and there will be questions. Starting with, who the hell are you and why do you look like Mr. T's angrier, taller cousin?"