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Chapter 8
The phone had been ringing off the hook all morning at QC. Members of the press wanted to be the first to get a quote from Oliver Queen about the traumatic attack by The Hoods the night before. Despite the mayor being slain, all the media seemed to care about was how the billionaire playboy and his date managed to survive a close encounter with the gunmen.
"You're quite the hero," Carrie had commented as she set down his coffee.
"It was just self-defense," Oliver had dismissed.
Carrie had shrugged and leaned forward. "Doesn't make it any less impressive."
"Have our PR department draft a short statement. I want it issued to the press in an hour." Oliver had hoped it would get the media off his back for at least a little while. It seemed to do the trick, because the barrage of phone calls immediately died down.
It was around noon that Diggle showed up at the office, newspapers in hand. He made sure to close the door behind him and placed the papers on Oliver's desk. Sorting through the headlines, Oliver couldn't help but cringe.
"Queen Trumps Gunmen"
"Red Tuesday: Mayor Massacred, Gunmen Royally Flushed by Queen"
"Billionaire Bests the Bloody Hoods"
Oliver rubbed his hands over his face and shook his head. "Honestly, you'd think I took them all on single-handedly."
"Didn't you?"
"The police took down the other two men."
"Who, according to the papers, could've done even more damage if you hadn't stopped the rest of the guys in the kitchen. You did good, Oliver."
"That's not the problem. The problem is it's The Arrow's job to take on guys like this. Not Oliver Queen."
"You and Felicity were in danger. What other choice did you have?" Diggle challenged.
"If I had killed them, then nobody would've known that I'd gotten involved."
"So why didn't you?" When Oliver didn't answer right away, Diggle surmised, "Felicity."
It wasn't like Oliver hadn't killed before, especially when it came to protecting his identity. When he'd first arrived in Starling after the island, he and Tommy had been abducted by masked men. They wanted to know if Robert Queen had survived and if he'd told Oliver anything. With Tommy passed out, Oliver had fought back and killed them to protect his secret. He couldn't take a chance that they'd live and reveal his new fighting skills. It wasn't like they were upstanding citizens of society anyway. It was also the perfect opportunity to introduce The Arrow to the authorities. Oliver had said their rescuer was a masked man in a green hood. They'd thought he was crazy-probably traumatized from his time on the island-until Oliver had donned the suit and hit the streets for the first time.
It would've been just as easy to kill those men last night. It definitely would've saved him the headache of dealing with the media today and risking exposure. But it wasn't only Oliver who'd been threatened. Felicity had been with him, and he doubted she would've seen killing those men as a necessary evil. Oliver remembered the night she'd revealed her plan to take down Brother Eye. As much as she hated them, Felicity had asked him not to kill them. Oliver had to admit that ever since she'd joined the team, he'd been denying that violent impulse more and more.
"She doesn't need to see that," was all Oliver said.
"No, she doesn't," Diggle agreed. "There is, however, something you need to see." He picked up the Starling City Post and flipped through a few pages, handing it to Oliver.
It was the gossip section. Sure enough, there was a picture of Felicity and him arriving at the charity event. Oliver scanned the write-up and frowned. "'Sources say this hot new couple have boarded the fast track of the L-Train and don't appear to be getting off anytime soon." Diggle snickered as Oliver finished reading. "Not only did they dance most of the night away in each other's arms, but sources close to the couple say they're already living together. It's no wonder Oliver Queen was so eager to take on The Hoods. Clearly, nobody messes with his leading lady and gets away with it.'"
"Very poetic." Diggle wasn't even trying to hide his amusement at this point.
"Who the hell are these mysterious 'sources'?" Oliver demanded, making air quotes. "And 'L-Train'? What garbage. Do they drug test at the Post?"
"Hey, at least it was bumped back to page four."
"This is ridiculous." It wasn't necessarily a surprise that they were in the gossip section. Oliver had sort of been expecting it when he'd agreed to take Felicity to the event. However, it wasn't like they'd been acting like a couple all night. Every time he'd introduced her to someone it had been as a friend. "Has Felicity seen this?"
"Here comes your chance to ask her," Diggle said as Felicity came barging into the office. "My guess is yes."
"I'm sorry, Oliver, I told her to wait," Carrie huffed, running after her.
"It's fine, Carrie."
Carrie shot Felicity a dirty look, to which Felicity felt compelled to glare annoyingly back. Once the door was closed, the blonde pointed to the paper in his hands. "Oh, so you've seen it."
"Yes. Felicity-"
"Do you know how much work I got done today? Barely anything, because all I've heard about is how 'terrifying' our near-death experience was and how 'romantic' it was that you came to my rescue."
"Felicity-"
She started pacing. "I couldn't even eat in the cafeteria. You know why? Because everyone was staring at me. The entire company now thinks the only reason you've hired me is because we're sleeping together. I mean, I practically skipped high school and went to MIT for crying out loud. MIT! But does that mean anything now? Nooo, I'm just some blonde floozy sleeping with the boss."
"It's not-" Oliver tried to cut in once more to no success. He shot a look to Diggle, who shook his head. Apparently, they just needed to let her finish.
"And it's not like I can even successfully refute it because, hello, I am living with you," Felicity rambled, gesturing wildly. "So here's what I'm going to do. I am going to spend the rest of the day at my other job in the Foundry, shutting out the world and actually trying to get something done. But not before I stop at the store and get a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream to induce a much-needed sugar coma after the horrible day that I've had." Finally, she stopped pacing and placed her hands on her hips, trying to catch her breath.
"Are you finished?"
"Yes. I think so."
"I haven't gotten much done today either. Maybe we should all go to the Foundry." He could use a workout to blow off some of his own steam.
"Oliver, are you crazy? Did you not hear what I just said?"
Oliver frowned in confusion. "What?"
"If we both leave now, it'll make people even more suspicious. It'll look like we snuck off together for an afternoon delight! No way. I'm going," Felicity declared. "You stay."
Diggle cleared his throat in an attempt to hide his laugh. Before Oliver could dig himself any deeper, he intervened. "Felicity, I'll take you to the Foundry."
"After the store. I was serious about that pint of mint chocolate chip."
"Yes, of course."
With a succinct nod, barely sparing a glance at Oliver, Felicity was already walking out the door.
"What the heck just happened?" Oliver muttered to himself.
"Might be best to let her cool down." Diggle patted him on the back. "Women."
There was nothing a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream couldn't cure. Felicity was convinced as she ate another satisfying spoonful. It was an odd day when she got more done in the basement of an abandoned steel factory rather than the office. For once she welcomed the solitude.
The last twenty-four hours had been crazy. Felicity wasn't sure what was more upsetting, being held at gunpoint after watching the mayor being assassinated or the entire world thinking that she was sleeping with Oliver Queen. She knew the answer was the latter, and it shamed her. Not that seeing the mayor killed wasn't horrible. Felicity had tossed and turned all night thinking about it. She'd never seen anyone die before. It was bound to happen eventually. Starling City was dark, and teaming up with The Arrow meant that they were constantly in the thick of it. The charity event was meant to be a fun night out, but apparently crime never took a night off.
Whenever Felicity was upset, she would bury herself in work. The distraction helped to clear her head and calm her nerves. Computers were so easy to figure out. Whatever you programmed them to do, they would follow through without complaint. The media was a whole different kind of machine. It's not like Oliver hadn't warned her about the press. He said there might be some gossip if they went together. However, if The Hoods hadn't attacked, there probably wouldn't have been so much attention placed on her and Oliver.
Felicity was not prepared for the level of scrutiny. The only QC employees she usually interacted with were in the IT department. It was weird to walk into QC this morning and suddenly have everyone staring at her. Ray's executive assistant, Claire, was the first to approach her. She was a nice girl and just as chatty as Felicity, so they got along. Within seconds she'd shoved the Starling City Post into Felicity's hands, already opened to the gossip column. Each sentence caused Felicity's eyes to grow wider. Then Claire was bombarding her with questions about The Hoods and Oliver, to which Felicity expertly dodged.
Looking back on it, the cafeteria was probably the worst place for Felicity to have lunch. That's where Marcy had approached her. She was a middle-aged woman who worked in Accounting. Felicity had met with Marcy only once with Ray and another IT specialist to go over the costs of upgrading QC's system. Felicity knew that Marcy and Carrie worked closely, since she prepared budgets for Carrie to give to Oliver. Lord knows what Carrie had told Marcy, because she had the same frosty demeanor when they met. It's why Felicity undoubtedly knew that the only reason Marcy was voluntarily speaking with her was to dig up dirt to report back to Carrie.
Of course the people around them grew suspiciously quiet in an attempt to hear what Felicity was saying. Felicity had done her best to stress that she and Oliver were "just friends" and that he would've helped anyone if they'd been in the same situation. But then Marcy had to cut in, rather loudly, and ask why they were living together if nothing was going on. Felicity vowed to herself that if she ever found out who leaked that she was staying with Oliver-her money was on someone who either worked or lived in their building-she would hack into every device that person owned and make porcupine farting videos play on a continuous loop.
The cherry on top had been Marcy's parting comment about Felicity's ability to "please the boss on all fronts." The implication that Felicity wasn't qualified for her job had her seeing red. That's when she'd marched all the way to Oliver's office. Carrie was practically shooting fire from her eyes at her arrival, which basically confirmed Felicity's decision to get the hell out of there.
Now that she had a chance to calm down, Felicity felt kind of bad for taking her frustration out on Oliver. It wasn't his fault that they were in this mess. He'd been so nice to her last night, and she really did owe him yet again for saving her. That's why Felicity was hard at work going over Malcolm's financial statements. There had been a few flags related to suspicious transactions. The first three had been a bust, and she was now working on the fourth.
Uncovering the trail, she gasped at what she'd found. "Oh, wow." This was the first lead that had proved solid. Oliver would want to know about this. Felicity sent him a text, and he replied that he'd be right over.
Picking up the ice cream, Felicity shoved a celebratory spoonful into her mouth. She typed away at the keyboard, double checking a few more details. She'd just finished her crosscheck and the rest of the ice cream by the time Oliver and Diggle arrived.
"What did you find?" Oliver eagerly asked.
"Several years ago, Merlyn purchased a large piece of land on the outskirts of Starling from a real estate company."
"What's so unusual about that?" Diggle commented. "You think he built himself a hideout there?"
"Not exactly." Felicity pulled up the sales record. "This transaction wasn't listed in the city records, but I found it in the real estate company's business archives. The address also doesn't appear to be on any legitimate maps. It seems Merlyn went through a lot of trouble hiding its location."
Oliver frowned. "So what is it?"
"I managed to get a satellite image of the property. It appears to be a private landing strip," Felicity informed them, pulling up another image. "Since this is most likely used for a plane, I checked the radar within the area over the last few months. Sure enough, something took off from that spot the same night your mother was killed."
"He fled," Oliver practically growled, his hands balling into fists. "Do you know where he went?"
"Not specifically. But I do know that it returned a couple of months later before flying out once more."
Diggle rubbed his eyes. "So we're back to square one."
"Oh ye of little faith," Felicity scoffed. "Now that I know what to look for, I had the computer go back into Merlyn's records and flag anyone with flight experience. Turns out an old buddy of his from college is a licensed pilot. They've consistently kept in contact, but their communications increased in the days leading up to the Undertaking. Dollars to donuts, you get this guy to spill his guts and we find out where he took Merlyn."
It was the best news Oliver had heard all day. "Do you have an address?" Felicity ripped a piece of paper off of her notepad and handed it to Oliver. "Felicity, you are remarkable."
Felicity beamed. "Thank you for remarking on it." She watched as Oliver grabbed his suit and gear. At least she had done something right today.
Oliver didn't return to the Foundry until after nightfall. The pilot hadn't been home, so he had to wait. It didn't take long for Oliver's patience to wear thin. He'd wasted enough time and needed answers. When the guy did come home and was less than cooperative, Oliver provided some incentive via the man's living room window. He'd landed on the front lawn and whimpered in a mixture of pain and fear. The impact must've also knocked some sense into him, because the pilot was quick to tell Oliver everything he knew. With the threat of an arrow to the eye if he told Merlyn about their conversation, Oliver left with the information he needed.
Diggle and Felicity looked up from their seats as he entered the Foundry. "Did you get what you needed?" Diggle inquired.
"The guy's still alive, right?" Felicity added.
Oliver gave her a look. "He's a little worse for wear but, yes, he's alive. Merlyn's in Corto Maltese."
Turning to her computer, Felicity googled the name and scanned the results. "Corto Maltese is a small island off the coast of South America," she informed them. "According to news reports, the government isn't all that stable. There's been some armed rebel uprisings recently. Officials think the Russian mob is behind it, since they have a strong presence in the country. Apparently, they don't approve of the new president's policies cutting into their business."
"Good."
Felicity frowned in confusion. "Huh? How is that good?"
Diggle was already on the same page. "You thinking about reaching out to some of your Bratva connections?"
"Yes. They protect their interests at all costs, which means nothing of importance escapes their attention. Someone like Merlyn showing up wouldn't go unnoticed."
"They might be able to give us an exact location."
"Which Felicity could then look up, so we know what we're dealing with. We can case the area before we even leave."
"Um, hello. I'm right here," Felicity interrupted, waving her hands to get their attention. "I need to know what you two are talking about before I can do anything. What's the Bratva?"
"It's the Russian mob."
"You know people in the Russian mob?"
"Actually, I'm in the Russian mob."
Felicity's eyes widened. "Explain that sentence."
"It's a long story," Oliver replied.
"Oh, I've got time." Felicity folded her arms and sat back in her chair.
Oliver was reluctant to get into the details but could tell that she wasn't going to let the issue slide. "I once saved the leader of the Solntsevskaya Bratva, so he made me a captain."
"So he knows you're The Arrow?"
"Yes."
"You told him just like that?" she retorted, shocked. Oliver had freaked when she'd found out his identity, and she was far less scary than some Russian mobster.
"I knew him before I was The Arrow."
"So you saved him pre-island? I guess not all of those tabloid stories were true then," she joked.
"Not exactly."
The amused smile slipped from Felicity's face, her expression turning serious. She was clearly missing something, and Oliver's cryptic answers weren't helping. "That doesn't make any sense, Oliver. If it wasn't before the island or after you became The Arrow then..." Suddenly, it clicked. "Oh my God, he was on the island with you. But you said you were alone those five years."
"I lied," he said simply.
"No one else was rescued with you. How did he get off but you-"
"It doesn't matter," Oliver dismissed. He couldn't get into what happened on the island with her. Even Diggle, who he trusted more than anyone and had been his partner for over a year now, didn't know everything. "The point is my Bratva connections will give us an advantage."
Sensing Oliver's obstinance, Felicity let it go. His time on the island was a touchy subject, and it really wasn't any of her business anyway. Felicity could understand why he wouldn't want to open up about such a personal ordeal, as they'd only known each other for a few weeks. If he wanted to share, of course she would listen. Until then, it was Oliver's secret to keep.
Getting back to the task at hand, Felicity inquired, "What do you need from me?"
"See if you can set up a facial recognition program for Merlyn focused on Corto Maltese. If possible, I want to know every move he makes."
"Got it."
"Diggle, we need to pay Alexi Leonov a visit." Anticipating Felicity's curiosity, Oliver said, "He's part of the Starling City chapter of the Bratva."
Diggle stood up. "You want to go now?"
"I'll just be a minute." He motioned to Felicity with his eyes. Understanding that Oliver needed to talk to Felicity alone, Diggle went to get the car ready.
Felicity was typing away at the computer when Oliver approached her. So focused on the task at hand, it took her a second to notice him. "Is there something else you need me to do?"
"No. I wanted to see how you're doing. You seemed pretty upset earlier." He eyed the empty pint of ice cream on the desk.
She shrugged sheepishly. "I stress eat."
Oliver offered a small smile in understanding. "Felicity, I-"
"No. Let me start." Felicity stood up to face him. "I'm sorry that I freaked out on you earlier. It really wasn't your fault about the gossip. In fact, you totally warned me." She let out a weary breath. "I've worked really hard to be as good as I am, and it just frustrated me that that was all called into question because of mere romantic speculation. The way everyone was looking at me today...it just sucked."
"Felicity, I am sorry." His words were genuine. Oliver hated seeing Felicity so dejected. "The media gets things wrong half the time anyway and when something big like last night happens, they add even more hype to sell papers. Eventually the rumors will die down when they see that nothing is going on."
"I know."
"As for you only getting the job because of me, that's ridiculous. All the people you've worked with at QC know you're more than qualified." Oliver placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and met her gaze. "Trust me, your brilliance won't be overlooked for long."
Oliver's words had the desired effect, because Felicity visibly relaxed. "Thank you, Oliver," she said softly. It meant a lot to her that he had such a high regard for her skills. It was nice to be appreciated.
"Why don't you go back to the loft? It's late, and you've been here all day. We can continue this tomorrow."
"I thought you and Dig were meeting with that mafia guy?"
"We can drop you off first."
"All right," Felicity agreed before turning off the monitors. It had been an exhausting day, and she could use some personal time to wind down. She muttered under her breath, "Have to face the world sometime."
Oliver saw a couple of articles like the ones he'd read earlier open on the monitor closest to him. He watched as Felicity clicked them closed with a little more force than necessary.
Felicity scoffed, muttering, "They've practically got us picking out China patterns. Who knew one dance could cause so much trouble?"
Unbidden, his mind wandered to their dance the night before. Their closeness. The feeling of her small hand in his and the curve of her waist. The way her eyes had glistened at the mention of her father, making Oliver want to hunt him down like Cooper and pay for ever hurting her. The intensity of such a simple moment was unnatural-at least for him. As much as he cared about those closest to him, Oliver did everything he could to keep them at a distance. With the life he led, it was easier that way. He didn't know what it was about Felicity that had briefly gotten through that wall. Whatever it was, Oliver knew he couldn't let it happen again.
"Yeah, who knew."
Oliver's stomach was grumbling before he even realized that he was awake. He looked at the clock and saw that it was nine o'clock. For a second, he panicked thinking that he'd slept through his alarm and would be late for work. Then he remembered it was Saturday and breathed a sigh of relief. Taking another breath in, he knew exactly why he'd woken up. Bacon. The greasy, crisp smell was faint but there. Oliver's stomach grumbled once more. Felicity must already be up.
He hadn't planned on sleeping in, but it had been a late night. Something about the weekend made the crazies come out in droves. There were quite a few disturbances in The Glades, and it had taken a while to round up the perpetrators. When Oliver had finally hauled his ass into bed, sleep continued to evade him. He'd been plagued by nightmares. Each time he had to watch his mother's body crumple lifelessly to the floor. Malcolm Merlyn stood over her, grinning, holding a long sword that dripped with her blood.
Oliver was growing restless. The leader of the Starling City Bratva promised to look into the Merlyn matter and get back to him when he had information. A few days had passed with no word. Even Felicity was having trouble getting any hits with facial recognition in Corto Maltese. There weren't many cameras to tap into. The Bratva and other corrupt entities didn't exactly like the possibility of their illegal activities being on display. If there was one thing Oliver hated, it was being left in the dark. Oliver would give Leonov one more day before he paid him another visit, and this one wouldn't be as polite.
Since going back to sleep was out of the question, Oliver dragged himself out of bed. He threw on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt before leaving his room. Felicity was, indeed, awake and bustling around the kitchen. Even more surprising was the sight of Tommy sitting at the counter.
"Nice of you to join us, Sleeping Beauty," Tommy joked, sipping his coffee.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but what the hell are you doing here so early?"
"I thought we could go to the batting cages today. Take a break from being responsible adults and hit something. We haven't done that in ages."
"If there's one thing Oliver needs, it's to hit more things in life," Felicity agreed. When Oliver gave her a wry look, she teasingly smiled back.
Tommy continued, "I tried texting you, but your phone must be off. So I texted Felicity instead, and she invited me over for breakfast." He sent her an appreciative nod.
"Which you are just in time for." Felicity placed a giant plate filled with chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon in front of Tommy, along with a glass of orange juice. "Oliver, what do you want?"
"You didn't have to do this."
"I wanted to," she replied with a kind smile. "Can't let this amazing kitchen go to waste."
Felicity didn't exactly like cooking. In fact, she'd been a terrible cook when she first started out. It was almost impossible for her to make something as simple as an omelet without burning it. The more she moved around with Brother Eye, however, the more she craved that feeling of "home." Endless nights of takeout were a constant reminder of her depressing situation, and it had started to wear on her. Learning to cook actually grounded Felicity and gave her a sense of normalcy. Staying with Oliver now, and eating far too much takeout yet again this week, had her feeling the urge to start cooking once more. She also didn't want to spend another morning eating cold cereal.
"So, Oliver, what are you having?"
"I'd go with everything," Tommy suggested as he shoved a large bite of pancake into his mouth. He groaned in satisfaction. "She makes a mean buttermilk. Seriously, how do you capture that golden brown taste so perfectly?"
Spatula in hand, Felicity shrugged modestly. "It's a gift. Or I could just have superior research skills and know how to find the best recipe. Either way, you guys win."
Laughing, Oliver replied, "Okay. Everything it is." The food really did smell fantastic, and he enjoyed watching Felicity fix him a plate. It was a different, more casual side he hadn't really seen of her. Her glasses were on and her hair was up in a messy bun. She wore black yoga pants and a light gray sweatshirt that fell off of one shoulder. The finishing touch was her pink, fuzzy slippers that shuffled against the floor as she moved back and forth from the stove to the counter.
"Here you are, Mr. Queen." She slid a full plate and cup of coffee in front of him. "By the way, tips are totally appreciated."
"Thank you." Oliver, impressed, couldn't remember the last time anyone had cooked for him. "Aren't you going to eat?"
"Just give me one sec." Felicity padded over to the freezer and grabbed the gallon of vanilla ice cream. Tommy and Oliver watched in fascination as she placed a large scoopful between her two pancakes.
"What on earth are you doing?" Tommy demanded, perplexed.
"Making a pancake ice cream sandwich. I used to do it all the time when I was a kid." Felicity poured syrup on top before returning to the refrigerator and grabbing a can of whipped cream. She sprayed it all over the top pancake and hummed happily. "Now I'm finished."
Tommy shook his head in disbelief. "Wow, that's hardcore."
"What?" she innocently replied. "It's calcium."
"How come we didn't get one of those?" Oliver retorted, unable to hide his amusement at her childish antics.
"Didn't think you'd be up for it, Mr. Fitness."
Oliver pushed his plate toward her in a challenge. "Hit me."
Quirking her eyebrow, Felicity obliged and made him a pancake ice cream sandwich, too. Tommy, claiming he was watching his figure, declined. She then took her seat between the two and looked to Oliver. "So, what do you think?"
"Not bad," Oliver had to admit.
"You should try it with waffles and chocolate syrup. That's even better." She said offhandedly, "Remind me to add chocolate syrup to the grocery list. We are seriously low on the necessities."
"Since when is chocolate syrup a necessity?"
"Since always."
"I'd have to go with butter," Tommy declared. "Anything that truly tastes good has to have butter."
"No. Salt," Oliver definitively stated. "When you're eating a wild animal on a remote island, salt would make it go down a hell of a lot easier."
They finished their breakfast and continued the light banter, trying to one-up each other. Joking around with Felicity and Tommy was a welcomed contrast to the restless night Oliver had experienced. It gave him back a piece of normalcy. When they were finished, Oliver and Tommy insisted that Felicity not lift a finger. She'd done enough, and they could handle the cleanup.
While Oliver and Tommy discussed the batting cages, Felicity fiddled around on her tablet. She was casually browsing through her email when she got an alert. Someone had tried to illegally access one of her personal accounts. Immediately, Felicity knew it had to be Cooper. She cursed quietly under her breath, because she couldn't instantly track him. She'd need the equipment in the Foundry for that. By the time she got there, any trace of him would most likely be gone. Felicity was so absorbed in trying to figure out what to do that she completely missed Oliver calling her name.
"Felicity!"
She jumped in her seat. "What?"
"You okay?" Oliver watched her in that perceptive way of his while Tommy stared curiously.
"Uh, yeah. Sorry. Sort of zoned out there for a minute. What?"
"I'm going with Tommy. If you need to go anywhere, call Diggle." There was a mild warning in his voice. The other day she'd ventured to the store alone, and Oliver had had a fit. He said the whole point of having security was to keep her safe at all times. Felicity wasn't used to having someone trail her everywhere she went and found it annoying.
"Don't worry. I'll be staying in today."
Oliver wanted her to take precautions, and she understood. The reminder was right in front of Felicity, taunting her. Cooper hadn't been able to breach her safeguards, but it was proof he was definitely out there lurking and plotting. It wasn't a matter of if he'd make his move but when.