To Be a Bird of Prey

Origins

II. The Coveted

Chapter Two

Felicity had weighed her options – through the frantic pounding of her heart and the fear that was scrambling her thought process. She could push the idea that she wasn't involved with the Arrow, that the Triad had gotten it wrong; that would probably be for nothing, though. She doubted she could persuade China White of it under the best of circumstances. And if she did – well, that would only speed up the process on the bullet with her name on it being fired.

She could tell the truth, that the Arrow was gone. Packed his bags and left.

But it didn't take a genius to figure out it would follow the same pattern as the first option. They wouldn't believe her, they'd think she was protecting him. And if they did believe her, then she was useless anyway. And then comes the bullet to the head.

The thing was, she was pretty sure a bullet to the head was in the books anyway. They only counted on Oliver receiving one, too.

The way she saw it, Diggle was her only hope now. The clock was ticking, though. According to China White, she had two days.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

One week earlier

"You're kidding me, right?"

Sara sighed at Helena's tone, even as she stuffed more clothes into her bag. "I have to go back, Helena," she said, a little impatiently. It was going to take longer than she would have liked to get from this seedy motel they were in to Starling anyway, and she didn't have any time to lose.

Felicity had sent out a message, through the various anonymous channels she had set up herself for communication. They'd never used them before, so when the message came, Sara had known it was urgent even before reading its contents. We need you, it said, followed by a succinct account of things that had happened. It was all Sara needed to hear to start packing.

Helena, however, was having trouble accepting it. "Why?" she let out.

Sara threw her batons on the bed, whirling on her companion. "Felicity sent me an S.O.S.," she said. "Things are bad. And my sister was nearly killed."

"But she clearly wasn't, and your little troopers can clean up their messes," Helena fired back. "You said you couldn't go back to Starling – you said you wouldn't!"

Sara took a moment to draw a deep breath before saying, "I have to."

Helena looked away, then quietly hissed, "And what about me?" She stepped up to her, anger flashing in her eyes. "We've crossed half the continent together, but now you're just going to ditch me because Felicity sent out an S.O.S.?" She shook her head. "I should have known."

Sara frowned. "I want you to come with me, Helena," she said. It hadn't crossed her mind that she would think she wasn't wanted for the ride.

But if she thought that would ease Helena's mind, she was wrong. In fact, it only made her angrier.

"You're serious?" she raised her voice. "You want me to go back to Starling? I should just – what? Walk right into the lion's den and trust your little friends won't open fire?"

Sara hung her head. She did understand Helena's reticence; her friends were, at the end of the day, Helena's enemies.

And they had crossed half the continent together. From Edge City to New York, to Vancouver to Tijuana to where they were now. And in those few months, they had swept the streets clean of the vermin that crawled them, while targeting local branches of the Italian mob – which was Helena's idea and requirement, of course. It had been great. But her family came first.

"Helena," she began, lowering her voice, "I have to go back. They need me there – my family needs me." She licked her lips. "I – I left the League of Assassins for my family. So, if – if you won't come with me..." Then I can leave you, too.

She didn't say the words but she knew Helena had heard them all the same. It was clear in the thinning of her mouth and the narrowing of her eyes; Sara knew there was nothing in the world that would make Helena trust another person entirely, so she was fairly certain she hadn't been all that surprised. More like angered. And in truth, Sara couldn't trust her either – not entirely. It would actually be foolish to have complete faith in the Huntress and her motives; her agenda. That didn't mean Sara didn't enjoy her company, though. And it didn't mean she wanted to leave her behind, if she could help it. They were, after all, partners.

"I'm not going to leave you to the wolves, if that's what you think they are," she told her, taking a step closer. "And Starling City is full of injustice," she added, "especially now. There's plenty for a Huntress to do." She paused for a beat, then said, "But I will go, with or without you. And you can't tell me you wouldn't have done the same. If there's one thing we have in common, it's complete loyalty to those we love."

She knew Helena would appreciate the honesty, if nothing else.

It took a while to get an answer, but Sara waited her out. Eventually, Helena closed her eyes, and sighed. "Starling City it is, then," she agreed. "Home sweet home."

Starling City, California

Present day

Felicity tried to get her brain to shut up. Yet for all her efforts, it kept ringing with the same tune.

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.

Tick-tock, goes the clock.

She didn't know how much time had gone by. The handcuffs remained on her wrist the entire time, and her abductors definitely weren't gracious hosts, because they didn't supply her with either food or water; she supposed it was something the mafia did in these situations, for further incentive to have their demands met.

Which they wouldn't be. Because the Arrow wasn't coming.

He's not coming.

Sometimes, her captors left her alone in the room. Sometimes, a quiet fellow checked up on her. Sometimes, China White herself did. They'd trade words she didn't understand, and when what sounded like gibberish filled her ears, she thought that maybe she should have roped Oliver into teaching her Chinese.

Oliver. He was gone. Probably already swinging from trees or killing wildlife or making bug soup or whatever it was he did on Lian Yu. Maybe he stood on the beach and broodingly stared at the mask and arrow he'd planted there – was it a twisted sort of shrine or a reminder that friendship didn't last? Probably the latter. He certainly seemed to follow that philosophy in all things. Nothing really lasted for him. Definitely not his presence.

He's not coming.

Her mouth was dry. And her tongue felt like it had gone bad or something similarly disgusting. Not as disgusting as the bucket they'd left her for her 'basic necessities' – now that was disgusting.

And her body hurt all over – what with not moving it and all that. Her shackled wrist was basically a horror story at this point. Her spine felt like it was probably in the process of calcifying. And muscle atrophy was happening, too, she was pretty sure. Also, her head pounded. Could be from the lack of sleep – she was quite tired, actually, but she couldn't let herself sleep. She knew better than to fall asleep with the vultures circling. Diggle may not have been able to teach her how to throw a punch, or get out of handcuffs, or intimidate enemies into submission, but she wouldn't fail him on this; she'd stay vigilant.

She wondered about Diggle. He had to have seen the calling card, whatever it had been – probably her phone. That was what she would use. Also, her phone was equipped with a tracker, which would have led the cavalry at the bad guys' door a long time ago. So, definitely her phone.

And Digg was smart, especially when it came to this stuff, so he'd do some recon, and then he'd make plans like soldiers did, and he'd probably strap a lot of riffles to his back – or maybe just one, and he'd fill his belt and socks with sidearms, and he wouldn't be very theatrical about his entrance, unlike a certain someone, and then it would be Digg to the rescue. It couldn't take him that long. He was good at this stuff. So, it couldn't take him long. Right? It felt like a long time already, though. But that was probably because she was the one held captive. It was bound to feel longer to her. Right? He'd be here soon, though. He would.

Right?

She tried to stop the prickling in her eyes, but much like with her brain, there was nothing she could do stop her tears from falling.

No one's coming.

He was close to just throwing caution to the wind, and going in there by himself. He could take them all on.

Even as he considered the idea, Diggle dismissed it. If there was one thing Felicity wouldn't forgive him for, it would be getting killed while trying to save her.

It was the only thing that kept him from gearing up instead of sitting in Verdant's basement and looking at the door every five seconds. He had found Felicity's cellphone, with the message intended for Oliver, along with a set of coordinates that led to one of the many abandoned buildings in the Glades. Diggle had scouted the place, eventually concluding that it wasn't where they were keeping Felicity; it was just a trap for Oliver to walk into. Not that Diggle would have expected anything else.

Members of the Triad came and went, and Diggle followed a select few, which led him to Felicity's true location. The warehouse she was held in was very heavily fortified, too; the Triad had obviously anticipated the eventuality of this location being discovered. They were waiting for the Arrow either way.

Except the Arrow was cooped up on an island in the middle of nowhere, and Diggle would have cursed his name for leaving, but there would be time for that later. Hauling him back was not an option – not with the timeframe the Triad had set. For John to go in alone was also not an option – well, it was a last resort.

What he counted on was back-up in the form of one Sara Lance. He knew Felicity had told her to come back, and he was sure she would. With her help, he could get to Felicity. But he had to wait for her. It killed him to wait.

His other option was Roy – but that was really his last resort. The kid would make a mess. Bringing Lance and the PD could also be a possibility, but with their tactics, it was quite likely none of them would come out of it alive, not to mention that it would raise too many questions – so, they were the option he considered even after Roy.

Sara was his best option.

But time was running out, and if she didn't come soon –

The beep he'd been praying to hear finally echoed through the basement. He whirled to face the clattering of footsteps down the stairs, and froze. "What the hell is she doing here?"

Her mind was getting hazy, and it took all the effort in the world to not close her eyes, but there they were again, the white-haired leader and her muscle, talking in words she didn't understand, and chancing glances at her. She didn't need to know Chinese to guess what they were saying, though.

He's not coming.

She could have told them that.

No one's coming.

So, essentially, she was screwed.

She was getting too tired to hold her head up. She heard one last command from China White, though. She didn't need to speak Chinese to figure this one out, either. Kill her.

The instructions may have been a little more complex than that, because they were followed by nothing but silence for a while, long after China White had gone out of sight.

But the clock was still running.

So, in the end, the sharp sound of a gun being cocked was inevitable. Felicity closed her eyes.

The shot, however, didn't come.

Instead, there was suddenly noise – a lot of noise – and scuffle and struggle.

She felt tears wet her cheeks as she forced herself to look, to see what was happening. It was all blurry and her head throbbed from the loudness, and it was dark, but she still saw the stark flash of bleach-blonde hair.

Sara.

Sara had come for her.

"East entrance is secure," Sara heard Diggle's voice through her earpiece, from where she and Helena were ducking in the shadows by the northern one.

Diggle had done a good job with the recon, noting that of the three possible points of entry; one was boarded, which left two to be covered – by both the Triad and the rescue party. One was their way in, the other one their way out. Diggle had made sure the coast was clear on the latter – which had come as something of a surprise, actually. The number of people inside was smaller than during his recon, which meant that they were really cutting it close to the deadline.

"All right," Sara said. "It's our turn."

From where she was crouched at her right, Helena raised her crossbow, taking her aim. "I hope you appreciate all I do for you," she commented before she released her arrow; the lone guard at the entrance fell to the ground a second later.

"This is not for me," Sara corrected, straightening to her full height. "It's for Felicity."

"Well, I'm mostly just doing it as a favor to you," Helena informed dryly, another arrow loaded and at the ready as they made their way inside. The warehouse was predictably bare of any ornaments, and the electricity had obviously been cut a long time ago, too; the only source of light now where the windows. There was also a noticeable lack of human presence, which did not sit well with Helena.

"And I was also rather hoping to have some fun," she said. "So far, this is disappointing."

"Of course you'd be disappointed by being denied the chance to up your body count," came Diggle's irritated response through the comms.

Helena merely smirked. "What's a huntress without her prey?"

Sara didn't bother paying attention to the rest of their sarcastic back-and-forth.

They did that, apparently.

Her concern, however, was Felicity. And it seemed like they were finally getting to her.

Sara raised her hand, halting both Helena's movements and her and Diggle's exchange. "There," she said, pointing to the half-open door down one of the corridors, and the three long shadows it cast on the floor; human shadows.

"Let's go." Helena followed her lead, keeping her crossbow at the ready as they kept to the wall, using the darkness to their advantage.

Finally, they were at the entrance, treated to the partial view of an extended arm, holding a gun.

Sara charged, kicking at the door to give Helena her clear shot. The gun was out of the man's hand the next moment and he was howling in pain, an arrow in his wrist.

The other two men in the room pulled their own weapons, opening fire. Sara ducked to the left while Helena went right.

While she would take pleasure in engaging them hand-to-hand, subduing them with her blows alone, they couldn't waste time. So, Sara reached for her trusted device, straightening to her full height while the men dropped their guns and went to their knees, their skin cut by the raining glass.

And when it stopped, she went to them. They didn't have time to waste, but it only took her a second to break their necks. Under other circumstances, she might consider sparing them, but these two...well, she had a personal gripe with them, for once.

Both their necks broke with loud cracks.

Leaving them to drop to the ground, Sara turned to Helena, where she had the third man in a chokehold. "You know, I've killed some of your friends before," she heard Helena say. "I'd think you and your little organization remember me. But just in case you need reminding..."

The man fell to the floor next, his neck broken, too.

Helena enjoyed getting her brand of justice wherever she could get it, Sara had learned, and she had a particular affinity for dispensing it to members of mafia empires – for obvious reasons.

Her attention, however, was on the slumped-over figure behind the Huntress. She dashed past her, crouching down. "Felicity?" she called out, taking her face in her hands. "Can you hear me?"

Felicity's response was slow, her face drained of color and with heavy circles under her eyes, but when her eyelids fluttered open, she began to smile, ever-so-feebly. Sara smoothed over her hair. "You're safe now," she told her. "We're getting you out of here."

Felicity merely slumped forward, resting her cheek on Sara's shoulder.

She felt Helena's presence at her side next, following her movements to where she broke the handcuffs around Felicity's wrist.

"Let's move out," Helena said next, and with a nod, Sara rose to her feet, bringing Felicity with her. She slung her over her shoulder, carrying her while Helena covered them during their exit. Diggle was waiting for them with the getaway car.

After that, they'd be en route to the club basement Felicity liked to call home. Or used to, anyway.