Chapter 6

A Captured Heart

"Lost time is never found again."
-Benjamin Franklin

How could something so wrong, feel so incredibly right? Oliver's arm was wrapped around Katie whose head rested on his chest. Their bodies were glistening from the sheen of sweat, as they laid still wrapped around each other. Oliver's eyes were wide open as his fingers combed through her hair, unable to even describe the euphoria he'd found himself in this moment. He knew this was wrong, that he couldn't afford to once again be distracted when it would seem his city would need him more than ever if the League was hell bent on revenge. And yet he wouldn't dare shatter this moment. Instead he said the one thing he'd been dying to say since he heard about the engagement.

"You can't marry David." he whispered, his voice still seeming loud in the dim lit lair.

"Why not?" she asked and he looked down to her her.

"Because-" he wasn't sure what he should say. He knew what he wanted to say, what he'd been wanting to scream from the top of his lungs. "Because I don't want you to marry David."

"And who do you want me to marry, Oliver?" Katie asked propping her head up to meet the man's eyes. "You like Ethan now, maybe I should marry him?"

"Stop, that's-"

"You want me to be alone just like you." Katie said and Oliver turned away from her eyes because he knew it was true. He wanted to be the hero this city needed, and he knew that probably couldn't be possible having a separate life with her that always pulled him further and further away from the mask. Katie suddenly sat up, and began looking for her clothes.

"I'm sorry, I know that I'm being crazy." Oliver says sitting up as well, watching the woman as she pulls on her clothes. He'd ruined the moment and he hated himself for it. "And I'm being unfair and jealous, but I can't help the fact that I don't want you to marry him." Katie pulled on her shirt before walking over and squatting down in front of the man.

"I'm not marrying David, Oliver. I would not be here if I were marrying another man." she said, searching his eyes for a moment. "I'm not marrying him because you don't want me to, but I don't know what to do, because I'm in love with man who doesn't want to be with me." Oliver suddenly cupped her face.

"I want nothing more than to be with you every second of every day, but I-" Katie rolled her eyes before pulling away. Oliver grabbed his pants and pulled them on before stalking over to her. "Why can't you understand-"

"Oliver you can't be with me because you can't be Oliver Queen. Because if you're just Oliver Queen, this city will crumble." Katie said before turning back to the man. "One day I hope you realize that this city isn't your responsibility." she walks over placing herself in front of the man. "I will probably love you forever, but I will not suffer alone because you're too afraid of us." she left him right there with those words.

Katie arrived at her loft to find her door cracked open, something she knows she didn't do. She quietly pushed open the door to find her place a wreck. Thing were knocked over, papers strewn about, as if someone were looking for something. There were heavy footsteps and Katie stood up a bit straighter before the culprit finally came into view.

"David, what are you-"

"Where the hell have you been?!" the man asked angrily walking over to her. "You've been MIA for twenty four hours and you didn't think to at least call your fiance?"

"David, I need you to calm down and just listen-"

"Listen to what? Another lie?" the man turned away, taking deep breaths to calm himself. "I don't understand why you just can't talk to me. I mean we're going to spend the rest of our lives together-"

"David will you just stop!" Katie snapped holding up her hands wanting David to just stop talking. "I can't do this anymore, I can't-" there was a sound of distant ringing and both lifted their head searching the room.

"Shit, that's my phone." he spun around searching for the phone, before stalking back toward the bedroom. Katie closed her eyes taking a deep breath before walking toward the kitchen only to stop when she noticed the ringing seemed to get closer. She turned suddenly spotting the phone on the floor.

"David-" she said before picking up the phone, one of the messages catching her attention. She swiped the screen, suddenly reading an array of messages between David and someone listed as 'Unknown'

"Is it in here-" David stopped when he spotted Katie holding his phone, and she looked up meeting his eyes.

"She's wearing the ring, now everything is in motion for your plan." Katie spoke, repeating the last message she'd read.

"Whatever you're thinking-"

"I'm thinking that Oliver isn't the only one distracted." Katie said with a shake of her head before tossing the man's phone to the floor before stalking toward him. "Who the hell are you working for?" before she could get too close, David grabbed the gun from his holster and aimed it right at the woman who stopped.

"You're such a bitch, you know that." the man said with a shake of his head. "I was actually starting to like you, but just like all those years ago, you were too wrapped up in Oliver Queen to even see it. I was a nice guy, funny, I have a very dependable job, we could've been happy."

"We would've never been happy. I didn't love you and you were hired to be here, I want to know by who and why."

"You see when I'm holding the gun, Rob, you don't get to make demands." David said, and in a move he didn't expect, Katie reached forward, grabbing his wrist and pushing his hands up trying to knock the gun from his hands. David used the weight of his body to push the woman against the wall . The gun fell from his hands, but he grabbed her shoulders and slammed her repeatedly against the wall. Katie kicked up a leg, stomping on the man's foot before pushing him back. She was about to hit him, but she didn't expect him to pull out another gun, and swinging and slamming it to the side of her head, knocking her out instantly.

David stood there for a moment looking down to the woman as blood began seeping from the cut on her head. He looked around the loft and realized that he had to get them out of here. No one could find them like this. David holstered his spare gun, before picking up his side arm and holstering it as well. His eyes looked to Katie for just a moment before he bent over and hoisted her into his arms.

"Such a bitch." he muttered before maneuvering his hand to open the door and head down the hall in hopes no one saw him carrying the unconscious woman.

One week later, there was a very uncomfortable silence in the boardroom of QC as Ray Palmer and Felicity sat on one side of the table, and Bruce and Lucius on the other side. Ray smiled over to the pair before turning to Felicity.

"And when did you say you called her?" Ray asked.

"Two days ago after you set the meeting up with Mr. Fox." Felicity whispered turning back to the men sitting across from them.

"Did you speak to her directly?" Bruce asked.

"I left a message, I figured she and David were probably planning their wedding or something." Felicity said with a roll of her eyes. "She always checks her messages." Bruce looks at the woman for a while, and suddenly something hits her. "Unless there's a reason she can't."

"Like what?" Ray asks and Felicity turns to him with a smile.

"Uh, she probably dropped her phone or something and can't get any calls." Felicity replied before turning back to Bruce.

"Alright, I think we should probably reschedule this meeting." Bruce said before turning to Lucius.

"Are you sure, we could just go on without her." Ray suggested and both men looked over to him and he simply shook his head. "Right, it's her company, she should be here. I will have my assistant give you a call to hopefully set something up soon."

"I'll show you out." Felicity said standing to her feet.

"It was nice meeting you Mr. Palmer." Lucius said unsure what was happening, but he reached over and shook the man's hand. "I hope we can get that meeting scheduled before I have to head back to Gotham."

"I'm sure we will." Palmer replied before glancing over to Felicity.

"We will, we definitely will." Felicity said with a smile.

"See, there you go." Ray said before turning to Bruce. "It was good seeing you again Bruce, we should have drinks sometime."

"We shouldn't, but ok." Bruce said with a laugh as he shook the man's hand.

"Alright, let's get you guys to the elevator." Felicity said walking around to lead the men out of the boardroom. "How could I have been so stupid?" she whispered looking over to Bruce as they walked to the elevator. "Of course a silent Twinkie is probably an in serious trouble Twinkie."

"Whose Twinkie now?" Lucius asked and both Bruce and Felicity looked over to him. "Never mind, I probably don't even want to know. Look this merger only happens with her signed approval, if that doesn't happen then it doesn't happen." the doors of the elevator's slid open and Lucius stepped inside. "Wayne Enterprise's annual board meeting is in two days, so that's when I have to be leaving." Lucius replied and Felicity nodded as the doors closed.

"Alright, I'm going to go grab my things." Felicity replied looking to Bruce.

"The elevator will be waiting." Bruce said before the woman rushed off. He turned back to press the button for the elevator.

"Bruce, you're still here." came Ray who spotted the man. "Has something changed?"

"Uh, no I'm just on my way to check on the good doctor." Bruce replied glancing down to his watch, not even looking at the man.

"Oh well, alright." Ray turned about to leave, but stopped and turned back to the man. "Have I done something to offend you in some way." Bruce turned to the man with a quirked brow. "It just seems as if you don't like me very much."

"Alright let's go!" Felicity said still pulling on her jacket. She turned to Ray with a small smile. "I'm going with Bruce-"

"Check in with Katie. Yeah-" Ray turned to Bruce suddenly noticing the way the pair stood closely, and the way he looked at her. "Bruce shared that with me. Well let me know that everything is alright."

"I will." Felicity spoke just as the doors slid open and Bruce stepped aside to let her on before joining her. Ray watched the pair, before Bruce turned meeting his eyes once again as the doors slid closed.

"You think this is Ra's Al Ghul?" Felicity asked and Bruce turned with shake of his head.

"This isn't Ra's."

"You seem certain about that."

"I am. I actually went to see him." Bruce said just as the elevator doors slid open. He moved to hold the doors open for Felicity who stood there staring with wide eyes at the man. "We should probably go Ms. Smoak." the woman didn't even move a muscle and Bruce sighed. "I'm still alive, without even a scratch." Felicity let out a huff, before stalking off of the elevator.

Bruce and Felicity hadn't been alone together for quite some time. A fact that was clearly evident in this moment as they road in silence. Bruce glanced over to Felicity whose brow was still wrinkled in a bit of a pout.

"You're angry at me, and I don't even know why." Bruce spoke breaking the silence, and Felicity scoffed turning to the man.

"You don't?" Felicity asked turning in her seat to face the man. "You decide to wander off to Nanda Parbat, alone to visit a man who calls himself the demon and you don't see why I'm upset."

"Maybe it was stupid-"

"There aren't any maybes, it's a fact." Felicity replied turning back to look out her window and Bruce turned back to her, a small smile finding his lips at the woman's concern. "Why did you go?"

"I was tired of this cloud hanging over our heads as we waited for him to make a move. So I went there-" Bruce turned back to the road ahead. "Which probably wasn't smart since the last time I saw him, I sent him flying off a train to his death." Felicity turned back to the man with a quirked brow. "Surprisingly he had no hurt feelings over the incident." he turned back to her with a shrug. "I asked him about Katie, and what he was planning, and he told me nothing."

"What do you mean nothing?"

"I mean he has no plans to come to Starling to take her back to Nanda Parbat." Bruce replied turning away from the woman. "He says he's waiting for her to come to him."

"Yeah, like that's ever going to happen." Felicity muttered.

"I'm not sure. He seemed so sure that it would happen, as if he knew something I didn't." Bruce replied just as they pulled up to Katie's building that was currently surrounded by the police. "This doesn't look good."

"Understatement much." Felicity says with wide eyes. The moment Bruce stops the car, the blonde jumps out quickly and almost runs for the door only to be blocked by an officer.

"I'm sorry, ma'am there is an active crime scene inside the building, and no one is allowed in or out right now." the officer said.

"My friend lives here!" Felicity snapped angrily, only for Bruce to bring an arm around her and pull her back. "Bruce, what's happening?" she turned to the man, the fear in her eyes almost breaking him in two. "She has to be alright."

"Of course she is." Bruce said trying to comfort the woman. His eyes scanned the officers, and Felicity did the same, before spotting someone she knew could help.

"Detective Lance!" she called pulling from Bruce's grasp as she ran over to the man. "I'm sorry, Captain, what's happening?" Lance stared at the woman for a moment, and Felicity just knew it was about Katie. "Tell me she's alright?"

"Come with me." Lance said bringing an arm around the woman and ushering her away from the crowd. He looked over to Bruce who walked over as well. "Mr. Wayne?"

"Captain, what's going on?"

"I don't know yet." Quentin replied looking back to Felicity. "Detective Parker has gone MIA for the past couple of days. He doesn't have any active cases, so when no one heard from him in a while, we got worried. We checked his place, everything looked fine, but then we came here and the place was a wreck. There were obvious signs of a struggle, blood splatter, but no source."

"Whose blood is it?" Felicity asks, and Lance shrugs.

"It's being taken to be tested. Has Katie said anything to you two about her and David or any trouble they may be in?"

"No, they seemed fine. He asked her to marry him and I figured they were as happy as ever." Felicity said before turning to Bruce. "I have to call Oliver."

"Please do. His name is going to come up." Lance said.

"Why?" Felicity asked turning back to the man who let out a sigh. "Is he a suspect?"

"Right now I don't even know what's happen Ms. Smoak. I'm just trying to cover all my bases. Call Queen, have him meet me at the station." Lance said before being waved over by a cop. "Call me if you hear anything from her." Felicity nodded before watching the man rush off.

"You still think Ra's is doing nothing?" Felicity asked Bruce before stalking away from the man.

Oliver stood in the basement of the club, his chest rising and falling quickly as tries to stretch off his workout from the salmon ladder. He walked over to grab his shirt, when he heard rushed footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Oliver-" John says, the seriousness clearly written all over his face. "Why aren't you answering your phone?"

"What do you-" Oliver walked over to his phone he just noticed had way too many missed calls. "I didn't even hear it ring." he looked back to John. "What's going on?"

"Katie and David are missing." John says, and Oliver's moves closer to him. "David didn't show up for work, and when a cop goes missing, people start looking. Lance had a team check out Katie's place and it looks like a tornado went through the place."

"Who would take Katie and David?"

"Felicity seems to think it might be Ra's Al Ghul." John says and Oliver slams a fist into the table before turning and stalking off. "Bruce doesn't think so!" Oliver stops and turns back to the man. "He says this doesn't seem like something the league would do."

"Who does he thinks did this?" Oliver asks."

"Don't know, but we'll know soon." John replies. "Katie's building doesn't have security cameras in place, but before she moved in Katie had Felicity install a few, as a precaution."

"Well where's Felicity?"

"I'm here!" came the woman's voice who didn't even stop until she reached her computer and began typing away. Oliver turns to Bruce who began walking over, but the archer grabs his arm and pulls him to the side.

"What the hell is going on?" Oliver whispered.

"Do you think if I knew, I'd be standing here talking to you?" Bruce asked with a shake of his head.

"If this isn't Ra's, who else could it be?"

"Well Malcolm Merlyn is alive and well, maybe-"

"Malcolm isn't bold enough to do this." Oliver replies with a shake of his head. "He knows that if I even suspected that he was behind this-" Oliver pinches the bridge of his nose hoping that letting Malcolm go wasn't a mistake. "Malcolm didn't do this."

"You saying that because you believe it, or because if you're wrong then it's your fault all of this is happening?" Bruce asked and Oliver turned his glare away from the man to Felicity.

"Guys!" Felicity called. "You won't believe this." the guys rushed over to the woman, their eyes landing on an image none of them expected.

"Is that-"

"David carrying an unconscious Katie through the emergency exit, why yes it is." Felicity said tilting her head for any clues. "Maybe she was attacked and he was taking her to get to safety?"

"No." Oliver says leaning in closer to the screen. "There would've been a call to the police, he would've called back up, but nothing." the video showed David stop and look over his shoulders. "He looks nervous not worried." Oliver stares at the image for a long moment before a low growl escapes his lips and he turns and storms away only to be stopped by a vibrating phone. He turns as Felicity picks it up. "Is it her?"

"No, it's Lance." Felicity said turning back to the man. "And he's calling the Arrow."

That night Oliver spotted the Captain on the roof of their usual meeting spot and walked over.

"Captain." the arrow greets through his voice modulator. Lance looked at him for a moment, tilting his head slightly before letting out a low groan.

"You don't know where she is, do you?" Quentin asked.

"Captain-"

"You know I was waiting for this meeting all day, waiting for you to tell me that she's fine, that she got hurt in one of your crazy missions, but you don't even know where she is." Quentin huffed and he looked over to the man who wore the hood, and he could see the confusion. "I know she's like one of you, like Sara. She wears a mask and goes out and tries to save the city, which I don't understand when she does a good job of that without it."

"I agree, but she isn't the type of person who listens to reason." The Arrow replies and Quentin shakes his head at the comment.

"Yeah, which makes the fact that no one seems to know where she is that much worse." Quentin said.

"What did you find at her loft?"

"Evidence of a struggle, and blood." Quentin sighed. "It was her blood." he watched the man in the hood turn away for a moment. "You're going to find her." the Arrow turned back to Quentin and nodded.

"I am going to find her."

"Well keep a low profile on this. I'm putting out a missing person's report across Starling and the surrounding cities and made her and Parker's retrieval priority. There are going to be cops all over looking for them."

"How much do you know about Detective Parker, Captain?" Quentin seemed confused by the question.

"Transferred from Central city a couple of months ago, top marks back home and he's a great cop here. Why? You think he's connected to this?" The Arrow stood there for a moment before turning and walking off.

"I would look in to Detective Parker a little more if I were you, Captain!" and with that the man left, leaving Quentin very confused, but also very curious.

The next morning the Central City Police Station was bustling as Barry Allen strolled inside as he usually did. He was use to the place being sort of a mad house, but today seemed different. He spotted Detective Thawne talking to someone, before rushing off. Barry quickly, but not too quickly as he seemed to have to tell himself lately, went over to the man.

"Hey Eddie, what's going on?" Eddie looked up to the man and shook his head.

"SCPD just put a APB for two missing persons." Eddie said before moving around the man, who simply followed. "A Detective David Parker-"

"Wait, David?" Barry asked and Eddie looked over to the man. "He used to work here, a bit of a meat head, but he was a good cop."

"Yeah, which is why everyone's hands are on deck." Eddie replied walking over to the fax machine. "But it's who's also missing that's got everyone in a frenzy."

"Why, who is it?" Barry asked and Eddie simply turned the sheet of paper he was holding and Barry's eyes went wide before taking the paper out of his hand. "Doctor Katherine Robins?" he looked back to Eddie. "She's missing?"

"Her and Parker were dating, and when no one heard from either of them, they found her place a mess." Eddie said with a shake of his head. "This is crazy. Everyone knows the Robins' family. They're like the golden family." he looked back to Barry. "And she's the last one, so the Captain is making it priority that we use all of our efforts to find them."

"Does he think they could be in Central City?" Barry asks.

"No idea, but it's been more than twenty four hours, so there's no telling where they are at this point." Eddie replied when he saw the filing assistant return. "Look I'm checking out some of Parker's old cases, seeing if there are any leads-"

"Right, go." Barry said before the man rushed off. He looked back down to the paper in his hand, the missing poster that held the face of a woman he knows may be more involved in this disappearance than anyone probably knows. Barry slides the paper in his bag before rushing out of there.

Back in Starling, a team of heroes hadn't slept for hours. Only one of them went home, and that was the man who had a child, but he told them he wouldn't be gone long. Oliver couldn't sit and wait any longer, and decided to check out Katie's loft in hopes that there was a clue that the SCPD may have missed.

"I still don't think that this is a good idea." Felicity whispered through the comlink in Oliver's ear as the man walked up to Katie's door. "You skulking around Katie's place does not make you look any less like a suspect."

"I don't care." Oliver replied. "Now where's the spare?"

"Above the door." Felicity replied.

Oliver reached above the door frame and felt the key instantly, letting out an annoyed sigh as he opened the door.

"Has no one told her not to keep her spare key in the most cliché place ever?" Oliver asked as he walked inside. He stopped instantly, letting his eyes scan the room. It was true, there was an obvious struggle as he noticed things knocked over, but there was something else. Oliver walked further inside looking around. "There wasn't just a fight here. David was looking for something."

"What exactly?" Felicity asked.

Oliver didn't answer right away because he didn't have an answer. He began walking around, hoping to find something that could lead to where Katie was. His feet stopped outside of a door that held a familiar looking key pad beside it.

"Felicity there is a room-"

"Is it open?" Felicity asked interrupting the man.

"No, but it looks like someone tried to open it." Oliver said noticing the scratches near the handle. "Do you have the-"

"I do, but if that door isn't open, then you're not going in." Felicity replied.

"Felicity-"

"I'm sorry Oliver, but you know the deal about this woman and her rooms. You don't get in unless she lets you in. Whatever is in there, she keeps it locked for a reason."

Oliver growled in annoyance before turning and stalking off from the door. His search didn't reveal any new details, but he did find himself momentarily frozen by the door as his eyes went to the blood that stained the floor.

"Anything?" Felicity asked after a while of silence.

"No." Oliver replied with a shake of his head. "I'm heading back."

When Oliver arrived back to the club, he found Felicity where he left her, sitting behind her computer as Roy just hovered about.

"I still don't get it." Roy said unexpectedly breaking their silence. They'd been mulling about as Felicity did her thing on the computers. "Why would David kidnap Katie? I would assume when you ask a woman to marry you, you're sort of on cloud nine. Especially when she's loaded."

"She wasn't going to marry him." Oliver said and the man turned to him. "She was going to break it off."

"How do you know that?" Felicity asked stopping her typing and turning to the man. Oliver turned to the woman, but didn't say the words, before Felicity seemed to just know. "Wait a minute, you two didn't-" Oliver turned away and Felicity's eyes went wide, as a smile came to her lips. "My plan worked! Wait until I tell John that operation reunite Twiver was a success."

"Felicity, just stop." Oliver said turning back to the woman. "Katie and I aren't getting back together." Felicity swiveled her chair around and stood to her feet and walked over to the man. "Not that it's any of your business, but it just happened and-"

"Sometimes I just want to shake you." Felicity growled in annoyance. "It didn't just happen. You love her, she loves you, that doesn't just happen. Why does that have to be complicated?"

"Because it is." Oliver said before turning and looking over to the Guardian suit that hung in the case across from him. "I can't just sit here and wait. There has to be-" there was a sudden ping from Felicity's computer and the woman rushed back to her seat. "What is it?"

"I've been tracking David's phone, and there is an incoming call." Felicity said typing trying the pinpoint the call, when suddenly a map appeared on the screen. "It's coming from Central City. It must be a burner because I have no information on the caller."

"He used to live in Central City, maybe someone found out he'd gone missing and hoped he'd answer his phone." Roy suggested.

"Yeah, but David has been in contact with this same person for months now." Felicity said pulling up David's phone records. "Ok, so what I am about to do is highly illegal-"

"Don't worry, no one here's turning you in." Roy said walking over to stand behind the woman as well to see what she was doing.

"Not a lot of people know this but phone companies actually have records of incoming and outgoing text messages in the event that they need to be subpoenaed for legal reasons."

"Let me guess you can get in?" Oliver asks watching the woman's rapidly moving fingers.

"For a little while anyway, too long and they'll be notified and then there's a major crisis with the personal security in America." the woman muttered. "I just want to see-" suddenly a screen appeared that showed David's text messaging history, and they all read quickly. "You have to be kidding me? The plan is set, she's falling for me hard, our plan is working perfectly."

"He targeted her." Oliver said with a shake of his head. "All these messages between him and whoever is on the other end of that burner?"

"Yeah." Felicity replied and without another word the man turns, grabbing his jacket. "Where are you going?"

"Central City!" Oliver called not even pausing for his reply.

"Well do you need back up?!" Roy called.

"Not this time!" Oliver replied before he was gone.

Roy turned to Felicity, both sharing a look of concern. They knew there were a hand full of people who Oliver would break his vow of not killing for, and they were sure Katie was at the top of of the list.

"I don't think he should go to Central City without back up." Felicity said spinning her chair around and grabbing her phone.

"Who are you calling?" Roy asked.

"Barry." the woman replied simply dialing the number.

Barry stood off to the side of Star Labs as Cisco and Caitlin who both weren't trying very hard to pretend as if they weren't trying to listen.

"What do you think is going on?" Cisco asked.

"Haven't you seen the news?" Caitlin asked before walking around her computer and pulling up the news that seemed to sweeping the city. Cisco read the article, his eyes widening at the sight of Katie.

"This thing says it's believed she's been missing for days." Cisco replied before turning back to Caitlin. "What makes them think she's even still alive."

"Because no one kidnaps one of the riches women in Starling City to kill her." Came the familiar voice of Dr. Wells who startled them both as he rolled his wheel chair behind them. "People usually kidnap the wealthy for a quick payday."

"Unless it's personal." Caitlin suggested. "There's still a chance this has nothing to do with money and more to do with her."

"Caitlin's right." Barry said and they all turned to see him joining them. "That was Felicity, she says they have reason to believe that David Parker is the one whose behind Katie's disappearance."

"Why would the detective kidnap her?" Dr. Wells asks, the skepticism in his voice evident. "From what I've seen on the news, Dr. Robins has acquired a lot of enemies over the years."

"None caught on camera carrying her out of her building." Barry replied. "Oliver is coming here to search for her."

"He doesn't think the police can do they're job?" Harrison asked.

"That's not—" Barry shook his head.

"He's in love with her." Caitlin stated and Barry looked over to the woman and nodded. "Didn't I read that they had broken up or something."

"Yeah, but I guess that means absolutely nothing when it comes to her safety." Barry replied. "Look, I'm going to go meet him, maybe check out some places David hung out while he was here. They checked into his phone records, and think David may have been working with someone to target Katie."

"Do they know who?" Harrison asked and Barry simply shook his head.

"Whoever it is made a couple of calls to David's phone, all coming from Central City."

"Which makes David bringing Katie here that much likely. Especially if he isn't the brains behind this operation." Caitlin replied with a shake of her head. "The thing is Central City is huge, there's absolutely no telling where he could be keeping her."

Katie could barely keep her eyes open as she laid on the cold concreted floor of her prison. Her prison was a basement of some sort that held a bed, and a toilet. Katie refused to lie in the bed, sure that it probably held an array of disease from the looks of it. She heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and she didn't even move a muscle.

"I'm sure the bed is more comfortable Rob." David said as he tossed a wrapped sandwich to the floor beside her. She didn't say a word, or even reach for the sandwich. "It wasn't supposed to be like this, but you just couldn't-" the man shook his head. "You couldn't just let me make you happy."

"How many women have you kept down here, David?" Katie asked and the man sighed. Katie suddenly jumped to her feet and rushed toward him, only to be stopped a few feet away by the leg cuffs attached to her ankles. They'd been in these positions before, him on one side of a drawn white line and her on the other, keeping both out of reaching distance. "Let me go before this gets bad."

"Look at where you are!" David said with a shake of his head. "This is already bad. We were going to be happy. Married, maybe have a couple of kids, but you just had to fuck up the plan."

"And what plan was that?" Katie asked. "Who are you working for?"

"Someone who believed in my mission to find true love." David replied and Katie looked at him like he was crazy. "Now that it's all gone to hell, you're going to have to end up just like the others." David sighed with a shake of his head before turning and walking back up the stairs, leaving Katie with only his cryptic words.

A lot of things happen in Central City everyday, but none of it has ever stopped the CCPD from seeking out justice. Eddie sat at his desk flipping through case file after case file until he happened upon a case that stuck out.

"Hey Joe!" Eddie called and Detective Joe West glanced over to the man who was waving him over. "Do you remember this case?" Joe looked over the file and nodded.

"The Smiley Murders." Joe said and Eddie turned to him with a quirked brow. "That's what the papers were calling it. Female victims, all abducted, raped, and then found at a park or on a bus stop sitting on a bench, dead with a smile carved in their face." Joe glanced over the case file. "This was one of Parker's, right? You think there's a connection between his and Dr. Robins connection."

"Yeah, look at these pictures of the victims." Eddie says spreading some of the pictures on the desk in front of them. "What do you see?" Joe stared at the pictures for a few moments of the women and saw what they saw all those months ago . "Caucasian women, dark hair, good looking-" he turned back to Eddie. "You see something else?" Eddie pulled the missing poster with Katie's face and placed it beside the photos and Joe looked as well now seeing something new.

"She matches the victim profile of our smiley killer." Eddie replied.

"Yeah, but that could be a coincidence." Joe says with a shake of his head. "There hasn't been a murder in months."

"Ten months to be exact." Eddie states, before placing another sheet of paper on the desk. Joe picked up the for to see that it was David's transfer request. "So tell me, is it that much of a coincidence that a string of unsolved murders suddenly stop when the detective heading the case leaves the city, and in the city he moves in there's another woman who disappears that matches the M.O of our murderer?"

"Are you saying you think Parker is the Smiley Face Murderer?" Joe asks and Eddie nods. "That's a very strong accusation you're making against one of your own with a bunch of circumstantial evidence."

"I know, but I can feel this is right." Eddie said before picking up the picture of Katie. "She was the one and they were practice." he looks down to the photos on the table.

"All these women were found to be kept alive for a week before they were killed. If you're right and this is the smiley face killer, then we only have one day to find her." Joe said and Eddie turned to him. "And since this case has been cold for months, we have absolutely no starting point." Eddie sighed before standing to his feet.

"The I say we open this case back up. Have everyone going through it with a fine tooth comb. The answers have to be here somewhere."

"You feel that strongly that you want to put all efforts into a theory that may not pan out?" Joe asked, but he knew he didn't have to. "You do understand that this could be a waste of time."

"It also could be the key to saving a woman's life." Eddie replied. Joe saw the certainty in the man's eyes before nodding.

"Alright, let's go fill in the captain." Joe says giving Eddie a pat on the arm before the pair is off.

When Barry walked up to CC Jitters, he didn't even have to walk inside. He found Oliver standing outside the door, glancing down to his watch looking obviously impatient.

"Oliver-" Barry called and Oliver lifted his head and rushed over to the man.

"What do you got?" Oliver asked and Barry looked at the man for a moment, not knowing he was supposed to have something.

"I uh- the police haven't had any recent leads, they're combing David's case files for any clues." Barry said and Oliver looked at him waiting for him to continue.

"And what have you found out?" Oliver asked and Barry just shook his head.

"Oliver, I've only just recently found out that she'd been missing for a couple of hours-"

"And in those hours she could be dead already!" Oliver huffed before stalking off down the street and Barry went to follow.

"Oliver we know next to nothing about this. We don't even know if they're even in Central City." Barry said trying to keep in pace with the man.

"She's here, I know she's here. I can feel it." Oliver said, his eyes scanning the streets as they walked as if he would just suddenly spot her.

"That's fine and all, but we're going to need more than your gut to get an exact location." Barry replied before rushing to stand in front of the man to stop him. "Oliver I know you want to find her and I want to find her too, but with this we have no leads. The only thing we can do is let the police do their job on this one." Oliver shook his head before walking around the man. Barry groaned before turning and following after the man.

"Did you know David when he worked here?" Oliver asked glancing over to Barry.

"Yeah, but barely. We didn't run in the same circles or anything." Barry replied with a shake of his head. "I was a CSI, so we crossed paths every now and then, but we weren't friends." Oliver shook his head, just as Barry's phone suddenly rang. He snagged it from his pocket, glancing down to the screen as he did. "It's Joe." Barry quickly answered. "Hey Joe, what's up."

"Barry, we need you to come back down to the station. There are a couple of your old reports that we need to go over again, just to see if you see anything new."

"What was the case?"

"The Smiley Face Murders." Joe replied. "There's something about this case we think may be connected to Parker and Robins' disappearance."

Barry grimaced at the mention of the case he wished he didn't remember. He glanced over to Oliver who watched waiting for him to speak as well.

"It was David's case, you think the perp could be the one behind this?"

"We're not completely sure, but we feel strongly about this. We're combing over the case and the evidence we have."

"Right, I should be there soon." Barry said before ending the call, and turned to the awaiting expression of Oliver Queen. "You're not gonna like this."

"I haven't liked anything up to this point." Oliver replied folding his arms over his chest. "Tell me."

Author's notes:

This is just hitting way too close to home. David was under everyone's nose, and the fact that they didn't see it sooner, is going to be a very heavy theme in the next chapter. Plus, who is this accomplice and why would he plot to bring David the possible serial killer and Katie together.

Review Replies

Adela: Don't worry, there will be no Twinkie/Stoner Dave wedding. It turns out Detective Parker isn't who everyone thinks he is, and now they're starting to see it. And you know, I agree, Katie and Oliver do belong together, we just have to hope they will figure it out too.

Elliebelle4444: Oh I'm so sorry for the wait. I know that was a terrible ending, but it's finally here! I'm so glad you're liking the story. Yeah, that kiss was kind of unexpected, but I'm at the point where I don't know what to expect with these two. They're fighting feelings that are fighting back and taking over at times.

rockyroyal,dr : Wow, thanks so much for the birthday wish. You know I'm totally convinced that Malcolm is like a cat, pulling lives out of his you know what. He just won't die, and every time he comes back, he just causes trouble. I'm glad Katie was able to stick it to him, no pun intended. I love how you said Katie's encouter with Malcolm was calmish. In my opinion it was the most twisted thing I've ever written. It was torture, and she was just unaffected. I think it was Nura that made an appearance. You know I have no idea what Katie's answer would've been if that phone didn't ring. She's been all over the place lately that it's kind of crazy to even try to get into her head sometimes. I like to think she would've said no too, but she's so intent on finally getting back to some kind of normalcy, that there may have been a chance she would've said yes. That freak out after he asked was just a glimpse of what was probably going on in her head. Oh, and Oliver going to the police station to confront David I think shows the depths Oliver is willing to go. I mean in his head, this is the guy that Katie's going to marry. David is the last person Oliver wants to see, and like Lance said "people don't usually get to the last thing they want to do if it isn't necessary."

Guest: Lol, alright, so what did you think?

Thanks everyone for the love. I'm feeling it, like really feeling it. To all the newcomers who've added these stories to your fav/follow alerts, I want to thank you berry much! And to those who dropped some reviews for me, I want to thank you bunches. I love reading them, and hearing your thoughts. Please keep them coming.

And now for your sneak peek

There was a ringing in his ears, as Oliver sat up to see the house engulfed in flames. He tried to stand to his feet, only to stumbled back to the ground.

"Twinkie-" he muttered as he watched the house that she was inside turning to ash in front of his eyes. He once again tried to stand to his feet, this time he was successful and the only thing he could think of doing was getting to Katie. He moved to the house, but Barry once again appeared in front of him.

"It's over Oliver." Barry whispered. "She's gone."