Hello Everyone! I know I know it's been sooo long. But I have not abandoned you! There was writers block and Med school getting in the way, and of course you guys have been watching season 3 of Arrow (it's really good!). But I was like 'how am I supposed to compete with this?' I realized there was no point in comparing my story to theirs, they are two separate entities. The show is my muse, and this in my fanfic, I can do whatever I want with it.

Over the months I have been writing and editing these next few chapters. This one is a long one, more to come soon I promise!

April 2014

Starling City

There weren't many situations where Thea Queen found herself afraid. Most of the life-threatening experiences she had to face came in the past two years of her life. Most people would be petrified if they were in the limo with her right then, sitting across from a mass murderer slash assassin. While she would not deny she was a teensy bit fearful of what was to come, she was more curious than ever.

She folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. Malcolm smiled at her like he did when he wished her happy birthday as a child, blissfully oblivious to all the plots and schemes being hatched between him and her mother and God knows who else. He was trying to be pleasant and welcoming, but Thea was done with being nice.

"I'm glad you decided to join me, Thea—"

She held her hand up to stop him and hardened her posture. "Let me make myself clear, I might be your daughter but I don't know if we could ever be family". His mouth twitched almost too quick to notice. "I am only here because I'm done with being lied too and being pushed aside. I'm hurt, and I never want to feel this kind of pain again."

He understood the angle she was speaking at. Suddenly it felt as though the car temperature had dropped several degrees as he leaned forward with a cold calculating gaze, his smile did not reach his eyes.

"Very well, I understand why you would feel that way. But let me make myself clear. What I do, and what I will teach you won't be easy. It will show you for the person you truly are. I can see the potential and strength within you, your mother was strong too. But even then that may not be enough if you want to get through this. I will test you beyond your limits, and that means doing things that most people would deem…immoral."

She tried to remain as impassive as possible, she should have expected this.

"Once this limo leaves Starling you can never return to your old life. Are you ready for that?" He questioned.

"I don't want my old life. I want to learn. I'm ready" she told him with iron in her voice. There was nothing left for her in Starling; Roy had lied to her, her mother and Oliver too of course. They had driven wedges into her relationships with them, and she had accepted the lies, but no more. This might be the worst idea she'd ever had but it could also be the best. There was nowhere else for her to go. She had no club, no boyfriend, no home, and no family she could truly rely on, nothing to lose anymore. Except maybe her soul, if she had any inkling of what Malcolm intended to put her through, but she could not turn back now.

He seemed pleased to hear her statement, "I'll be the judge of that". Malcolm waved to the driver at the front. "Go".

"Where are we going? There can't be many places you can hide without your enemies finding you. You're a man of the world, recognizable."

"They won't be looking for a dead man. Unless you're going to tell them" his face was kind but she could hear the challenge in his words. "What do you know of my enemies?"

"You have the Arrow for instance, the police, both would happily wish to see you behind bars, or worse."

He looked like he was trying not to chuckle. "They won't be threats to us, Thea, I guarantee that".

Us, she thought. Allying herself with him meant his enemies were hers now too. She had a billion questions to ask him, but she would have plenty of time too. As the car rolled out of Starling she wondered what exactly she had gotten herself into but Thea did not look back.

September 14th 2014

Sewer network, Starling City, 19:26 PM PST

Vincent Steelgrave ran below the under croft of pipelines, the Arrow gaining on him. Emerging from a corner, the grip of a gun smacked the side of the mob boss' skull rendering him unconscious on the ground. Yielding the gun was none other than Captain Lance.

"You had that handled" said the former Detective taking out a bottle of pills from his jacket pocket, hands shaking to twist the cap open.

"You don't need to tag along Detective" said Oliver, restraining the mob boss with cables, "your health—"

"I make my own decisions Arrow, my health is not your concern" he snapped, dry-swallowing the pills. Due to his condition Lance was using a walking stick, but only when he was wearing his uniform. Even a physical reminder of his body's state did not stop Lance from joining the Arrow on List missions. He clearly missed fieldwork.

"Thank you for calling off the Anti-Vigilante Task force, it means more to me than you know".

Lance nodded, wheezing slightly. "I don't condone vigilantes but the city clearly needs you" he straightened his posture trying to give the façade he was perfectly fine. "I thought you cleared out the last of this scum months ago, and they're back?" He said, prodding the unconscious mob boss with his foot.

"I have a theory why" Oliver replied.

"Before I forget; thank you for stopping Vertigo before it got too big".

Oliver was not sure it was gone forever; something's never die that was what Werner had said. The drug itself was his enemy not it's manufacturer. "I don't think that's over just yet" said the Arrow, retreating to the manhole ladder he'd climbed down.

"Here's hoping there isn't another psycho out there to take up the mantle then. We haven't had any of those since the city came under siege by those masked freaks. Can't say I miss 'em".

"And I hope this is the last time we meet like this Captain, for your own sake".

Lance grimaced, but not because of the pain. The pair departed their respective ways.

Alliance Tech, Starling City, 19:58 PM PST

He rubbed his eyes and blinked at the computer screen; at this rate he was going to need glasses. Jonathan Dester was not a young man and technology did not agree with him. He was a scientist, not a businessman, yet here he was pretending to be one. Where was the fun in science anymore? Where had all the simple yet brilliant discoveries gone? The discovery of germs, the cell membrane, or the structure of the atomic nucleus?

He would be lying if he said that everything Alliance Tech had done in the past had been legal. What he had seen would've made his wife divorce him, if she knew half of it. Jonathan used to believe he could be a religious and realistic man. But after what he'd seen Alliance Tech invest their stock in, he was not sure he could morally cope with his job anymore. Yet somehow, nearly a decade later he was still here, trying to forget. At least his new position did not make him feel dirty or completely insane.

Valerie texted him to come home for dinner, and he was glad to leave the office, half because he was famished and half because she would swat him on the head if he was late and let the food go cold. He gathered his briefcase and turned the lights off.

He took the stairs instead of the elevator, he had a belly he needed to rid of as his eldest- Diane-liked to tease, and with his age light exercise was meant to be beneficial for the heart. As he stepped onto the landing he heard the scuff of feet.

Jonathan stopped short, feeling the hairs on his neck prickle, he glanced left and right searching for the source of the sound. He liked to think that his twenty years with Alliance made him braver, but that wasn't true. Was he imagining things now? He always stayed later than anyone else, could it have been the security guard?

Jonathan decided to ignore it and continued down the next flight—

When a dark hooded figure suspended on a cord appeared as if out of thin air before him, yielding a bow and arrow. His thoughts scattered…

He did not have time to scream before an arrow impaled his skull.

September 15th 2014

East Upper Walk, Business District, Starling City, 08:09 AM PST

Angelica Donatello sipped on her coffee, savouring the rich aroma of roasted coffee beans. She needed this if she was going to deal with potential business partners this morning. She smoothed wrinkles on her suit and checked her phone. Jonathan had not returned his calls and she was getting annoyed, they were meant to go over notes before today's meetings and yet again he was being incompetent.

What would be his excuse this time? Lost email? Could not log-on to the intranet? Why was he still here anyway? It was clear he did not have the intellect, courage, or stomach to handle what their company did. After they closed that project, each of them had been promoted to managerial positions. She had gotten CEO, and she gave him an out to leave but he did not take it. Now they were all stuck together, 'looking out' for one another, when cutting loose ends would be far more productive than babysitting the weak members, yet no one agreed with her.

She tried calling him again, but it went directly to voice mail. Do I have to call his idiot wife?

"Come on, Jonathan" she complained. Angelica turned into the alley shortcut for the Alliance Tech and sipped her coffee—

Suddenly she felt as though she had been punched by a sledge hammer, it was difficult to breathe, and blood poured out of her mouth. Then it was scorching pain, she stared at her chest…there was an arrow through it.

Queen Consolidated, Starling City, 11:01 AM PST

It was official; Ray Palmer was the new CEO of Queen Consolidated. To say Oliver was not thrilled would be the understatement of the century. Felicity, Diggle and he got into the elevator heading for the top floor. They were invited to a modest reception hosted by the investors-who absolutely loved the tech genius-welcoming Ray Palmer to the company. Oliver felt as though his presence was completely unnecessary- firstly he would only be a bad reminder of how the company could fail and secondly Count Vertigo was still at large. But Felicity had insisted it would be a show of good faith and public relations to attend.

He gave the IT tech a sidelong glance, the scar on her forehead was covered with make-up, but he knew it was there. Vertigo distribution had gone dark since the Lex-corp plant exploded, and since that night they'd gone back to crossing off List names. Despite that he still felt as though they were being unproductive.

"How's the new job Felicity?" Diggle asked. The IT girl had recently taken a part-time job at Tech Village to make ends meet and moved out her house into an apartment because she could not afford rent.

She pursed her lips in the way she did when she didn't like something, "depressing and mindless, but it pays the bills and healthcare. Though I would be lying if I said I wasn't the slightest bit disappointed the investors did not back you."

Oliver had that guilty look on again and she stopped talking.

"I didn't have time for Queen Consolidated last year. Trying to get it back again wouldn't have made a difference. Dr. Palmer is better for it, I see that now" he admitted outright in that elevator.

The doors opened and the reception was already in full-swing. As their entourage mingled with the investors, Ray Palmer stepped out of the second elevator after them. Ray approached the general group as Felicity greeted him.

"I parked on the roof, wanted to take helicopter for a spin this morning. I thought; why the hell not? Don't have to worry about parking tickets. I own the building now right?"

Felicity smiled lopsidedly, she never liked arrogance on a man especially when it could be mistaken for confidence. He had invented several multi-million dollar gadgets but that didn't mean he had to rub it in everyone else's face.

"Yes you do Mr. Palmer".

"Hold on. I thought you weren't working here anymore?"

It was a bit peculiar for her to be there in her old office, but it was more for supporting Oliver, she told him that.

"Where are you working now?"

"Tech Village" she replied, a little self-conscious.

Ray didn't notice at all, "of all the places huh? So how is Tech Village?"

She wasn't exactly used to making direct, personal conversation with someone she barely knew. Most of the men she was surrounded by didn't ask many questions and didn't like it when she did either. "Um it's not ideal, in terms of pay check" she admitted.

His countenance softened to one of understanding. "I get it; I had my stint in tech retail before. FYI, I read your resume, and it was stunning." He empathized with flick of his hand. Felicity instinctively went to fix her glasses to hide her blush. "If you want to come back and work here for me, I would be more than honoured" he smiled at her warmly. A waiter passed by with a tray of champagne flutes and he handed one to her, and they clicked their glasses.

"Oh, thank you" she said, regarding the praise and the champagne, taken aback by his quick offer. She was accustomed to Oliver's intensity but Ray was a different flavour of it, overwhelming, but in a way that made her feel like she was meant to have known him for years.

"Just give my assistant a call when you want to start. Excuse me" he bowed his head to her as he was enveloped by businessmen, laughing musically and throwing witty comments to everyone in the room instantly becoming the centre of attention. He gets around fast, Felicity thought, even though she did not appreciate the fact that he was the CEO now, since that took the company out of the Queen family. But she was still quite impressed by him.

About half an hour into the festivities everyone's attention was drawn to the breaking news on the television screen. Jonathan Dester, a board member and Biomechanical Engineer at Alliance Tech, was murdered last night in the Alliance tower stair well by an arrow.

"Police have isolated the crime scene. Captain Quentin Lance has determined that the arrow used to kill Jonathan Dester did not belong to the Arrow. It looks like Starling's Hero has competition. Everyone in the city waits and asks 'What will the Arrow do?' and 'are our streets safe from archers now?'"

The whole room burst into chatter. Felicity immediately looked around for Oliver. Lance would've called him by now. Lately, it was rare to see the Arrow accompanying grim news on the headlines, he'd become a public figure almost as famous as Oliver Queen himself. It was weird thinking about Oliver's personas separately. Then, standing beside her was Ray Palmer, and he looked utterly crestfallen.

"Are you alright Mr. Palmer? Can I get you anything?"

"Ray please" he replied, breaking out of his reverie. "I just…I knew the man who was murdered last night, the one on the news everyone's talking about…"

Felicity gasped, "I am so sorry. Were you close? Oh, you don't have to answer that; it was a little too personal." Ray usually had a know-it-all grin on his lips. She had never seen the tech genius look remotely upset about anything until now.

Ray smirked at her ramble, but there was sadness in it. "No, no, I don't mind. We were once close, but then we stopped corresponding and then…this happened" he gestured to the TV screen. "It's difficult to process, you know?" She nodded; she could sympathize, she knew what it was like to lose contact with those who were once close to you.

"I once worked with Alliance to develop some cloud technology back in the day" Ray went on in reminiscence. "They were branching out into multiple fields, such as biomedicine and space engineering. I even tried to make a video game with them. It was an RPG". Her eyebrows quirked up at the mention of RPG acronym for 'role playing game'. She did not think someone like Ray Palmer would have the time to play video games. Ray laughed, "I was going through a phase" he explained with a boyish smile.

"Really?" She asked very intrigued. "What was the game called?"

"Alien Space Avengers" he mistook her surprised expression for one of critic, "yeahhh I know the name is kinda lame—"

Felicity stopped him right there with a hand, "WAIT. Alien Space Avengers?" She said with growing excitement. "With Starlight Savage and Asgard Bloodfrost?"

They said the last name together and then fell into laughter.

"No way! You played A.S.A?" He exclaimed, happily surprised.

She couldn't believe how awesome this was. "It was an unhealthy obsession! I can't believe you were one of the game developers. I was a really disappointed there was no sequel. I know the reviews weren't great, but I loved the game."

Ray smiled lopsidedly, "well that makes two of us."

Felicity opened her mouth to launch into what could only be described as a full-blown geek out, when a hand wrapped around her arm and Oliver and Diggle were beside her. Oliver greeted Ray briefly and then tugged lightly on her arm.

"We have to go, I have a meeting with Lance" he whispered into her ear, "the CEO of Alliance Tech is missing too, it's likely she's dead".

Ray frowned. "Leaving so soon? We haven't even finished schmoozing the investors and enjoying the free liquor and overpriced mini cocktail sandwiches."

"Overpriced… but totally worth it" Felicity pointed out.

Ray nodded in ecstatic agreement, "They are amazingly delicious right?"

Oliver tilted his head urgently towards the lobby, giving her the 'we-have-to-go-now-Arrow-stuff-is-happening' stare.

"Felicity…" he trailed off when Ray got in between them all of sudden, causing a scowl to come over the Queen's face that he would normally reserve for criminals on the List.

"Before you take her away Oliver" Ray shot her a charming smile but it was somewhat different from the ones he gave the investors. "We definitely need to finish geeking over Alien Space Avengers. I hope you take my job offer into consideration. Unless tech retail is your true calling, you should come back here and work for me".

Felicity heard Diggle choke on a mini sandwich behind her the second the words left Ray Palmer's mouth. Not to mention she could feel Oliver's agitation radiating off of him. But Felicity Smoak was panicking, her palms were sweaty and she knew if she didn't answer him now they were going to start wondering if she was mentally deficient.

"I will definitely consider it" she managed to say without stumbling on herself. In truth she wanted to come back and work for QC more than anything, and she would happily start right then and there. But there was an archer assassin in Starling and they needed to get to the bottom of the issue. It could be the League or someone even worst. She knew Oliver did not trust Dr. Palmer but did that mean she shouldn't either? Palmer won the company from the Queen legacy fair and square.

As they left Queen Consolidated Oliver whispered confusedly into her ear, "Alien Space Avengers?"

2009

Hong Kong

Oliver eased one leg over the sill and then another. If he could get his footing and scale the walls he could escape from there without alerting the guards on lower levels. If he left quietly he might make it far enough to get a hold of some technology. After the fourth attempt he'd gotten a rough layout of Downtown Hong Kong.

He glanced behind him at his prison of a room, at any moment expecting Maseo to shove him out of the window or for a gun to be pointed at his head. Neither came. Looking down at the street below he had to somehow aim his fall onto the roof of a small road side shop. Owners of market stalls probably hated him given how much damage he'd done to their businesses in the past several months. The consequences of a miscalculated swing were all too apparent. On Lian Yu he could grope on the grooves in tree trunks for a hold. Here he had to make do with smooth horizontal walls and nowhere to place his hands or feet.

He torqued his body around and kept his eyes open, then launched.

Oliver caught the window again, dangling from it like pendulum for a brief terrifying moment.

He had told Amanda he'd rather die than work for her, but now he was afraid. A stoic chant of Starling City reminded him of home and he gathered his courage. Oliver used his hands to ease towards his right, and pushed off.

The wall flashed before him, the wind whooshing against his back. He crashed with a shattering thump.

He had made it. It was a turn of luck. He was going to get out of Hong Kong.

He rolled off the roof and onto the street, market goers and the shop owner alike shocked and furious by his unprecedented entrance from above. There was a throbbing pain in his shoulder that would have to wait until he was safe to be checked.

He ran, not chancing a look behind him. Oliver arrived at a crowded hawker's stall and approached a tourist couple eating at one of the plastic tables laid out. Being amongst large groups decreased the probability of him getting shot at. Yet he wasn't totally convinced that ARGUS would refrain from harming civilians just to re-capture him. Amanda would do anything to keep her assets in line.

"Excuse me, my phone was stolen and I really need to call my hotel. May I please use yours it would really help" he said breathlessly, forcing a smile that actually hurt his face muscles because of how alien it felt to literally smile.

"Of course son, here you go" said the woman of the pair.

"It's unfortunate you lost it here" said the man with a British accent, "in a market place as busy as this, once it's gone it's gone".

Oliver ignored them and started to text a message, when a hand closed around his wrist and viciously wretched the phone out of his grip.

Swallowing a cry of pain, he glanced up and came face to face with Maseo who wore a menacing scowl that would've turned most men's blood cold.

His back was to the couple so they could not see his expression of anger and anguish, or the ARGUS agent trying to break his wrist.

"What's going on?" Asked the oblivious tourists. "Do you know this man?"

"Tell them who I am" Maseo instructed with a cold glare and released his hold on Oliver. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the black SUV parked and waiting for him, the ARGUS Commander most likely in it.

"Yes I do" he lied through gritted teeth and picked the phone off the ground, he returned it to its owner. "He's a friend of mine. Thank you for your help though".

Cheerfully they waved goodbye and wished him luck as he grudgingly walked back to the car with Maseo right behind him. "You try that again and I will beat you senseless" Maseo threatened. He'd heard it all before though. Amanda was waiting for him inside the SUV.

"Another escape attempt? Or were you bored of my agents and simply wanted to chat with some tourists for a change?" She taunted. "Is this how you show your gratitude towards me for saving you off the coast of Lian Yu? You would be fish food now if it wasn't for me".

He shook his head slowly, all he could think about was how close he had gotten and how his hope had been destroyed yet again. The whole world was working against him, reaching inside of him to wrench his spirit out and stomp on it.

"I don't care what you did. Go to hell".

"I need a man of your capacity Mr. Queen and you will work for me, and that's just how it is going to be. You would do well to stop wasting our time, Maseo has already proven that you cannot escape us" said Amanda.

"You should have let me die instead of saving me" Oliver retorted, he should've said that months ago.

Amanda held his gaze shrewdly, "I see. Clearly, this arrangement is not working for either of us. Perhaps you need some motivation". She gave a microscopic nod to the ARGUS agent and then a syringe was shoved into his neck. Oliver blacked out.

District Attorney's Office, Starling City, 14:27 PM PST

"The deed to the stadium is under your name" Laurel handed the manuscript to Ted beside her.

The boxer stared at his name on the line at the bottom of the page with a look of mild surprise. "And how did you convince Flint and Skinner to do that?" He asked, watching the armoured truck carrying his former conniving managers away to their new home; Iron Heights Penitentiary.

"I didn't".

"Ah" he rubbed his chin a gleam of mischief in his eye, "your Arrow friend did the convincing for you".

She quirked a brow at his insight. Today she would finalize Ted 'Wildcat' Grant case, all of his charges had been dropped and his malignant managers tried as guilty and jailed. She definitely could not take all of the credit for his release but she also did not like the questioning tone Grant had. It was a good thing her father had disbanded the Anti-Vigilante Task Force.

"He helped your case a great deal Mr. Grant, you have him to thank".

It looked like he wanted to tell her something but instead said, "I'm just not used to owing anyone anything Ms. Lance, especially not a guy in a hood and mask. I would be in jail right now if it wasn't for you and him". He didn't seem too pleased to own an entire stadium. She didn't want to pry the reasons why. She deduced that Ted was not the most sociable of individuals. He was direct and a little rough around the edges, definitely someone who preferred to talk with their fists. No one could doubt the passion he had for boxing though.

"You don't owe him anything or me" promised Laurel shaking his hand. "Well we're done here, Mr. Grant. By the way, what are you planning to do with the stadium?"

Ted shrugged his broad shoulders, "I might rent it out. I've got the Wildcat Gym to manage; she's where my heart is right now".

She smiled, genuinely hoping it all worked out for the retired boxer, "Good Luck to you then".

"Thank you" he said. "If there's ever anything you need; a favour, advice on how to throw a punch, you know where to find me".

Laurel sniggered, "I don't usually get into fist-fights in my line of work. But I've had my fill of self-defense classes. I can take care of myself, Mr. Grant".

"I'm not saying you can't Ms. Lance" Ted said, his mood dropping to sombre, she wondered where this was coming from. "I see you're running the big leagues with the Arrow but I got to say this" he said cautiously. "Flint and Skinner were the tip of the iceberg. Sure they were directly supplying street thugs with weapons, and the Arrow stopped that, but they were only the middle-men. These criminals; when you start beating 'em down, they disappear for a little while, but they only return smarter, they learn to adapt".

Laurel frowned. This certainly put her ill-at-ease, she had planned on leaving work early but she might need to pay Oliver a visit if Ted had any important information to confer.

"If you have knowledge of any further criminal activity your ex-managers were involved in, you have to tell me".

He gave a weighty sigh, "Honestly, I got nothing. But I used to be that scared kid on the street watching guys get gunned down left and right. I just can't shake the feeling there's someone else out there we haven't seen yet, someone worse".

Laurel understood Ted then, he was wary. He knew how dangerous a city could become and also how quick it could fall if the wrong people owned it. How a heavyweight champion could know any of that she didn't think to ask. Maybe this was what the general public opinion was like after the Undertaking and the Siege.

Nevertheless she shared his sentiment. She had seen the news of the unknown archer on the streets murdering businessmen and Vertigo's reappearance. Busy with her own work she had not reached Oliver to see how he was handling it. Ted had rueful smile on his lips when he shook her hand.

"Me personally, I've had my fill of the criminal justice system."

Laurel couldn't agree more with him, especially when she saw the stack of files on her desk the moment she walked back to the DA's building. Another late night then, she thought resignedly and sat in her chair.

But by the third file she read, she was alert and charging with quick strides to the DA's office. Her new boss was sharp-witted and had the uncanny ability to read people. She would not make the same mistakes Laurel's previous bosses had made (like using her as bait for the Huntress or become allies with Sebastian Blood).

"Rachel, what is this?" Laurel demanded dropping the case file on Ms. Kinsley's mahogany desk.

Rachel glanced upwards in total expectancy of this. "Those are files on Werner's Zytles men who were busted for making Vertigo".

She refrained from rolling her eyes out of respect. "I know what it is, I just don't understand why the DA's getting involved."

Rachel Kinsley sighed exasperatedly. Laurel ignored it, she knew how stubborn she could be, but she wanted answers and she would get them. "The wife of one of the mercenaries wants her husband's sentence shortened, and he's willing to talk. The SCPD wants to ensure the drug is completely out of the city, and that means they need information. Since the Arrow is currently occupied with finding whoever is killing businessmen, it's up to us to find the evidence. It still escapes me why the city decides to put it's faith in a crazy man carrying a bow and arrow. It seems to me all the problems we've encountered over the past few years started with him".

She pursed her lips, not liking the direction this was going in, or the effect the comment had had on her personally. "So then, drug cooks and mercenaries? Just wonderful. You want me to mediate a deal for all of them huh?"

"Yes, but the SCPD will only agree to the deal with the most reasonable terms." Laurel folded her arms, her anger simmering. There was an old adage which said that lawyers had one foot in hell, she was reminded of it then.

"Is there a problem Ms. Lance?" Rachel asked disdainfully hearing the sarcasm in Laurels speech. "I would think after months of putting away Starling's criminal elite this would be a cake walk for you. Is this an offence to your own moral code?"

"I didn't become a lawyer to help free drug-dealers". This was exactly what was going on; she would represent each of the scientists and guards associated with Vertigo. She would help negotiate their release with the SCPD in exchange for insider information regarding the resurrected Count Vertigo and the drug's production. She understood the necessity of it and despite her reservations; if law school had taught her anything it was that it never mattered whether the client was guilty or not.

"Like I said Ms. Lance, it was the SCPD's idea, and you know who the SCPD is now. You call him 'dad'".

Laurel Lance took the case-or rather cases- without further questions and a pinch of salt. Spending all those months prosecuting criminals on the List had made her lose sight of the grey area within Law. She may want to help the city, but dealing with grey areas was part of her job and she could not forget that.

Like last night she had to take her work home for the afternoon. Laurel thought about what Ted said, that things could only get worse from here, maybe he was just a pessimist. Or he could be right—

Her phone rang, it was an unknown number.

"Hello?"

"It's me."

The Foundry, Starling City, 17:31 PM PST

The Team spent the next few hours gathering intel, visiting the scene of the crime and obtaining evidence from the SCPD, such as the arrows used to murder the victims.

"Any development on our mystery archer?" Asked Oliver, coming back from scouring the crime scene for any clues the SCPD might have overlooked. Not because they weren't able to do a forensic sweep but because they didn't know archery like he did, and that was the weapon their enemy was using.

Felicity had the answers, she approached him with the unidentified arrow, holding it reverently, but her countenance suggested bad news.

"Unlike Merlyn's arrows, this one is untraceable, there's no patent and no customary logo, which suggests he probably made them himself or he has a very private supplier. So private that even I find them".

"And get this, the arrow head"- she projected a magnified image of aforementioned part onto the screen- "is recomposed diamond! Compressed and sharpened, that's how it could slice through Jonathan's skull like cake".

"How the hell can he afford diamonds?" Roy appeared from behind training equipment. Oliver still hadn't gotten around to speaking to him about Thea. He had always been worried about her, and the appearance of an assassin archer in Starling reminded him of Malcolm Merlyn only added to that. He had not heard from her in months other than a few messages telling him she was on the French Rivera.

"He must work for some very powerful people. I guess you really can make a living out of professional killing" said Felicity.

"The arrow also indicates that he uses a compound bow, hunters commonly use those" said Oliver.

Abruptly Felicity stepped in-between Oliver and Roy stopping all further words. She put a finger to her lips and shushed everyone.

"Did you guys hear a small bleep?" She asked, her eyes searching, straining to listen.

"Felicity we're surrounded by computers", Roy pointed out.

"No, those sound different, sssshh listen", no one could doubt her intuition when it came to computers.

The lair was hushed, indeed there was the whirring of computers, their held breaths… but then Oliver picked it up too, a pulsing bleep as faint as butterfly wings. He yanked the arrow from her hand.

"It's the arrow", he held it to his ears, listening along the shaft. When the bleeping was a little louder, he held it horizontally and smashed it on his knee. The fletching came lose and he emptied the arrow's contents onto a table, a small silver circle fell out.

"What is that?" Asked Roy. Felicity yelped as Oliver smashed his fist on the silver object, crushing it.

"Why did you do that?" Roy asked.

"It was a tracking device" he growled, another close call.

Felicity picked the silver tracking chip with a pair of tweezers. "This is definitely technology we haven't seen before, very subtle, yet powerful. Your target could swallow it and they wouldn't even know it was in their stomach-unless of course they, okay ew, I don't want to go there" she scrunched her face.

"Is it activated remotely?" Oliver asked.

Felicity examined it and nodded.

"Can you still get a trace on it?"

She rolled her eyes and walked to her computer tech, "Seriously? After all this time you still need to ask me?" He smiled wryly at her. He was glad it wasn't awkward between them after the dinner crisis (or maybe because both of them were tiptoeing around the topic). He intended to bring whoever tried to kill him and inadvertently her, to justice. When Ray asked her to work for him he had tried to remain as cool about it possible, he shouldn't have a problem with that. Being unable to hold onto his family's legacy was just a fact he had to live with.

Roy frowned and asked the room, "Why would someone put a tracking device inside their arrows? They're meant to be loose, not returned to their owner".

Oliver crossed his arms. "Because he knew I would take it, he knows Starling has the Arrow and our connection with the police. If he can locate us and find out who I am, I won't be able to get in the way of his assassinations, and he might even be able to eliminate me".

Felicity pursed her lips, "That's pretty clever". When criminals pulled sly moves like this, it worried her that they might need to move the lair again if it was compromised . The foundry might be dank, emitting steam from dark corners, and chock-full of pointy objects, but it was home.

"Captain?" Oliver answered Lance's phone call, with the Arrow voice. He could hear commotion in the background wherever Lance was.

"We got another assassination" he informed them. Oliver put the phone on speaker so the others could listen and Felicity could compile the victim's profile. "Mercer Park Square, victim is female, late-forties, Sophia Martinez, murdered by an arrow through the chest. Judging from the trajectory, the assassin took a sniper position from one of the buildings across the lake, shot her right through the skull. But whomever they were left no trace. The public isn't aware of this one yet; you've already got enough pressure what with them pitting you against whoever this guy is."

Oliver appreciated the Captain's thoughtfulness to get the news to them before anyone else. It was better having him working with them instead of against them. They both wanted what was best for the city and could hold one another in respect. As for the public attention the case was receiving, it only made him more determined to find the suspect.

"Thank you for informing us."

He was going to hang up when Lance said, resolutely, "Get this guy alright? Do whatever you need to do. The only archer's I'll accept in this town are the ones on your side."

"Likewise, Captain."

"Let me guess, this one also worked for Alliance Tech" Roy said when he ended the call.

"Yup" confirmed Felicity empathizing the 'p' at the end. "Sophia Martinez was a nanotechnologist there in the early 2000s. If I can figure out how their occupations at Alliance connect to one another, I'll be able to compile a Hit List. Once I get a trace on the device we might be able to see where he's heading too next".

"Do you have anything on Vertigo?" He hated bringing it up, given how terrible that mission had ended because of his impulsiveness, but he needed to check in on it.

"After the chemical plant caught fire; any trace of the drug in Starling disappeared. Werner Zyrtle is just a name, he's not in FBI, NSA, CIA, or Interpol… the list goes on. He definitely has hacker on this side. What I did find is that the drug is popping up in Markovia" said Felicity.

"He's gone international" Roy muttered. They all knew that that was worse than having it isolated in Starling. How were they supposed to stop it now? Markovia was just one country, but it could easily spread its fingers across Eastern Europe and God knows where else. It was out of their reach.

He was still nursing the burns from the fire and those were definitely real. But what didn't seem real was the blurred blonde woman beside Werner whose Vertigo dart had nearly killed him. Again, his own enemy was his mind. He couldn't remember her no matter how hard he tried. Had he imagined her?

Felicity's phone rang, "It's Digg. Hey, what's up?"

"The archer skewering businessmen? Any leads?" Asked Diggle.

"No, though the Foundry was almost discovered again."

"What? How did that happen?"

"The archer put tracking devices in his arrows" Felicity said satirically. "We definitely don't need another 'welcome home' party like the one Slade threw us".

"Three kills in less than 24 hours? This guy works fast. Is he League?"

"Not League, but he's definitely a mercenary. Can Lyla get us access to ARGUS databases? We need a list of known mercenaries with an M.O. of recomposed diamond arrows" Oliver asked.

"Amanda Waller will be there" said Diggle.

"Didn't she try to kill all of us?" Roy asked.

"But she also owes us a favour for saving the city" Felicity pointed out. She hadn't forgotten what Amanda had done to Oliver. She liked the idea of the ARGUS commander being wrong in her methods.

Oliver shook his head, if only that was the case.

"We won't get any help from her. Amanda Waller doesn't do favours."

2009

Hong Kong

He woke with a start. There was burning sensation through his left shoulder and he saw that it was in a sling. Getting a hold of his bearings, he realized they had moved him again. They always did it like that; injected him with something so he could not see the roads and formulate escape routes when they drove him to his location. They'd already made that mistake. The last place he was in, was the longest he'd been confined anywhere in the past five months.

But that wasn't the only unforeseen element to his awakening. There was a boy standing at the foot of his new bed.

"Who are you?" He asked, perturbed. He had not really seen a child in over two and half years. He almost forgot they existed, how innocent they were.

The little boy answered in Chinese. Oliver sighed tiredly, "When I ask you a question in English, isn't pretty obvious I have no idea what you're saying to me?" He sat up as the boy apparently began to call for someone from outside in Chinese again.

"I was speaking in Japanese actually" replied the child, confusing Oliver.

"You speak English?"

"When I answer in English, isn't it pretty obvious that I can?" The boy retorted with rearrangement of his words in a manner that reminded Oliver of the smartass replies Thea would make when they were younger. Such a long time ago, in a life I will probably never get back too at this rate.

The bedroom door opened and in stepped a woman, who for once was not Amanda Waller.

The woman scolded the boy in Japanese and he hastily ran out of the room because he had disobeyed her by greeting Oliver. She was obviously the boy's mother; he could recognize the sheepish look anywhere. He wore it often when his mother had to get him out of trouble at school.

"Where am I?" He asked, wishing he wasn't weaponless.

"Our home, mine and my husband's and my son's" she said, studying him like painting. Oliver stood and his head spun a little. Had the effects of the injection not worn off yet?

"That would be the painkillers for the shoulder you dislocated".

Honestly he did not have time for this, he brushed past her and out into the hallway.

"How are you feeling?"

Appearing from another room was…Maseo.

Was he dreaming? Was the ARGUS agent actually treating him like a human being? Asking him how he felt? Taken aback even further, Maseo handed him a drink. Wary, he did not take it, this was some sort of trick; where were the uniformed guards? The sparse living quarters? The gun commonly holstered on Maseo's hip?

"It's water" he was told. "I have sake if you like, please sit down and eat with me".

What the fuck is this? The last time he was conscious this exact same man had threatened to beat the crap out of him, and now they were playing house?

The expression on Oliver's face clearly told him everything he was feeling, which ranged from confusion to shock to utter disbelief. Oliver spotted the door down the hall; a few quick strides, it was all he needed and he would be free.

Maseo sensed his intentions and blocked his path. Ah there we are, that's the Maseo I know.

"Please, you cannot leave" said the agent.

"Watch me" and he was not stopped again, at least not against his will.

He did not make it ten paces when Maseo called to him.

"She's threatening my family".

Oliver had a hand on the handle, but he could not turn it.

"If I do not stop you from escaping, she will kill them. That's my motivation to keep you here to work for her" said Maseo "I understand that this is not ideal for either of us Oliver, but I know you're a good man, and you will make the right decision and stay".

Oliver spun around, letting go of the handle. Maseo's wife leaned on the door frame of his room watching them, staring at the stranger her son's survival depended on. She clearly hated this as much as he did.

2014

September 15th

The Foundry, Starling City 18:11 PM PST

Oliver preferred to avoid deep conversations. He had deflected his mother's and sister's persistent inquiries to his late night whereabouts and experience on the island until they almost never asked him about the latter. If there was ever a psychiatrist out there he could discuss being the Arrow with at 60 bucks an hour-he would bet his life he would be evaluated as a pathological liar and maybe a little bit paranoid.

He was also a tactician, and as he stared at Felicity's back his brain was coming up with multiple directions a 'talk' with her might go.

Roy rolled his eyes "dude stop staring at her like a creep and go talk to her." Oliver looked at Roy unamused. The red archer was right though.

"Felicity did you get a trace on the tracker yet?" It wasn't what he meant to say but Roy was still in the vicinity and ideally he did not want to have him listening in on their conversation.

"He keeps bouncing it, but I was able to hack into his device and erase any data on it…" she trailed off as something caught her eye.

"Felicity what is it?"

"There's someone at the door" she announced, fingers flying at the keyboard. A wide smile brightened her face that gave Roy and Oliver puzzled looks. They couldn't get a word in before she was at the door and swinging it ajar.

"Hi, Felicity" said Sara. She was enveloped in a tight, enthusiastic hug from the IT tech after they all endured Felicity's squeals of excitement.

"Roy" Sara regarded his protégé respectfully and walked in. She might have tried to kill him once, but it was obviously the wrong decision to make. "New outfit huh?" She said pointing to his red leathers in their glass case.

"Oliver now has the second best outfit on this team" Felicity remarked cheerfully, getting a small smile out of Oliver.

"This is a nice surprise" said Oliver. "I thought I saw the last of you days ago."

"I was just on my way to see Laurel; I wanted to stop by to see how everyone was doing." Felicity enthusiastically gave Sara a short tour of the Foundry and its updates. "That's Oliver's bed" she told Sara.

"Felicity bought it for me, because I can't afford anything".

"And sleeping on the floor is really bad for your back" Felicity went on. Sara smiled bemusedly, the IT tech hadn't changed one bit.

"We're working on something" Oliver ushered her to the screens; it felt like old times already. "A mercenary who uses arrows; he's killing key members of Alliance Tech. ARGUS wasn't able to come up with any name. Think you can help us? He uses recomposed diamond in his broadheads."

Sara leaned down and scanned the screen; "I'm sorry I don't know anyone like that" she shrugged. "Do you have a list of potential targets?"

"I have an algorithm working to narrow down the list" answered Felicity. "These are all the key members of Alliance Tech's board, we just need to isolate the ones he's targeting. Do you know any of these people?" Sara looked at the list and shrugged again.

"How is everything? I didn't ask last time. How's Nanda Parbet?" Oliver wanted to know. Some would think it was silly to create simple small talk with a friend who was an international assassin, but this was the norm for them.

"It's hot, as for everything else; it's nothing I can't handle." He had expected her to be as vague as ever.

"Of course, but for the record, I hope this is permanent, you've been missed."

She sighed and put a firm hand on his shoulder, she did look a little tired, "We'll see. But I have to go. Good luck with the case." Sara gave Felicity a quick hug, said she would try to visit again, and left. It was all over in a blur.

"Seems like she's always in a hurry nowadays huh?" Felicity said returning to her computers. "The algorithm's finished working. Our three victims were each involved in a financial inquisition of CADMUS; a research facility in Washington DC. Less than a week later, CADMUS closed down".

"Do you know why?" He asked.

She frowned in frustration, "I don't know" her frown deepened, "the file is non-existent. It must have been hard copy, probably incinerated when it was shut down."

"Who's next on the list?" Roy asked.

"Kyle Lim, he booked a flight out of Starling for Miami, departs at 8:45 tonight, probably guessed someone was after him and decided to run."

Oliver cocked his head over to their compounds bows. "He's not going to make it. We have to get to him first."

They might have not been able to identify the archer but they were going to meet him in battle.