Author's Notes: Hope you enjoy this chapter. Slowly but surely we are getting a lot more into the interaction between Felicity, Oliver and John…..our original Team Arrow. The next few chapters are going to pick up as we reach midway of this story.
Sorry guys, no twist in this chapter just pure unadulterated sparks between our beloved OTP.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. And, all the mistakes are mine.
I appreciate a review here, if you think it's worth your time.
Follow me on Twitter and tweet me – lollipopsays
Follow me on Tumblr – everything lollipop
Read my other stories on Archive Of Our Own (AO3) - lollipopdiaries
THE NEW BRATVA CAPTAIN
Chapter 5: Robert Queen
Oliver walked in on Felicity standing on the doorway of what was to be her new office appraising the room skeptically.
"Don't you like it?" Oliver asked her.
'Felicity turned to Oliver, "do I like it? Oliver, there are no words. No words to describe what I am feeling right now."
Oliver spotted John Diggle at the corner of the room looking out the window probably assessing the possible threats from the other buildings but he decided to ignore John in the meantime just as John ignored him and turned his attention back to Felicity.
"Nice of you to inform me that we had a change of venue for our meeting, very considerate of you to let me drive all the way to your new house and have the guards tell me that you left for Queen Consolidated almost an hour ago."
Felicity turned around to face Oliver finally, "I didn't know your phone number. John told me he would take care of it and I think you being here tells me you got the message. You're here. I'm here," Felicity shrugged, "this however," gesturing around her new executive office, "I still don't understand."
Oliver walked over to an armchair near the window to sit down and make himself comfortable, his attention again on John Diggle as he answered Felicity, "I already explained why last night. It's not as if you won't be doing anything QC related at all. Your new job, as I gathered from my mother is as Head of Special Projects of QC directly under my office in my capacity as CEO of QC. Believe me when I say, you will be kept busy as I will be assigning special projects that are commensurate to your skills."
Felicity walked over to the couch in front of the arm chair Oliver was sitting down on and sat down, "my skills?"
"Your skills, yes, top graduate of MIT class 2009 with computer skills that are probably the best in QC. Yes, your skills will be utilized and maximized by QC. In fact, your first official task is to do an audit of the current running systems of QC. We need to know, I need to know if our firewalls and systems can hold up against elements that dare to infiltrate them. We have to protect not only our QC applied science information but also be more diligent in QC transactions related to our other business (meaning the Bratva) related information that may be exposed if our systems are hacked."
Felicity raised a brow looking at John for a moment then back at Oliver, "so pushing aside my new assignment. The bottom line is I report to you officially for QC related matters."
Oliver gave her a small smug smile, "looks like it. " Oliver stood up, "now you of course have your own staff with you. Human Resources have already assigned you an assistant," Oliver pointed to a rather young bespectacled man, "Jerry. You will get additional staff but that would depend on a plan you are to submit to me for my approval justifying additional personnel."
Felicity stood up too and walked toward her desk inspecting her computer and laptop hardware still to be opened and set-up, "I don't need I will need additional personnel at the moment with just one thing to do. I don't even know what Jerry is supposed to be doing for me."
Oliver buttoned his coat preparing to leave, "fetching you coffee for one. I have to dash to my office for awhile which is right across your room by the way," pointing to an even larger room, "get some CEO stuff out of the way but I we will be having lunch together to talk about….the other business," Oliver finally turned to John, "you of course are welcome to join us. And by the way officially you are part of the Queens hired security team and your one and only assignment is Felicity. We have to keep up appearances."
Felicity looked at John once again before she looked at Oliver frowning as she walked toward him, "and how do we explain why the Queens need to hire me my own private security?"
Oliver took two steps until he was but a foot away from her and said quietly so only she and John could hear, "It's simple really. As my girlfriend, you will need your own private protection." Oliver smirked as he said that, "I really have to get some work done before our lunch," Oliver leaned down to give her a short peck on the cheek before her walked to his office, "don't miss me too much, I'm just right across," he said his last statement louder. No doubt this was heard by the executive assistants and secretaries scattered in between the executive offices.
Felicity turned to John flustered, "what just happened?"
John crossed his arms, "Oliver just imbedded himself in your life. One upped you or is it two-upped since your offices are right across one another too. Well, I'll give it to him. When he's all in, he really is all in. He did say you have his 100% support with…the other business right? Just didn't think he would make this kind of play."
Felicity humped at sat back down defeated on her new executive chair, "he's just kidding. He probably has a sick sense of humor. He's Oliver Queen after all, why would he…did he really just say I was his girlfriend?"
"You're blushing," John pointed out.
"I'm not…I'm not!" Felicity denied hotly lifting her eyes which unconsciously landed on Oliver's form across the glass walled offices and as if he was aware that he was still the topic of conversation, Oliver winked at Felicity making her groan out loud, "why is this happening to me!"
In the end, John had helped her set up her computer set and Jerry had indeed fetched both her and John coffee, the best kind of coffee with just the right amount of froth on top. Apparently the executive office had its own coffee machine with a barista that by the time Oliver had knocked on her door she was engrossed in her world of building up the firewalls in her computers.
"Oliver son, is that you?" Moira called out as she heard the front door of the Queen Mansion open and close.
Oliver was about to walk up the stairs to his room, it had been a long day after all as he had continued to 'educate' Felicity after lunch in her QC office. She had insisted they use her room as she had installed anti-listening devices and John Diggle had done a sweep of bugs in her office. If he had to say something good about John Diggle, the man was thorough, very thorough about his job. He also seemed very protective of his new ward Felicity. Oliver still had to decipher John Diggle and what made him tick, one thing Oliver didn't like was unknown and uncalculated factors. He had learned the hard way when he and his Dad had that accident that he should have been more diligent. He was young and irresponsible at that time, something he was very far removed from right now.
"Mom,' Oliver stepped into his mother's home office.
"How was she, how did it go?" Moira asked her son impatiently. "I wanted to check in on her but I had a full day of meetings outside."
Oliver slumped down a chair, "she's settled in at QC. Took her new function and task to heart as head of special projects and more importantly turned out to be quite the astute student as I walked her through some of the Bratva business. Andy Diggle will be joining us tomorrow. We decided that we will all meet up here tomorrow, more privacy to discuss. I'll be out of QC the whole day."
Moira nodded, pleased at what she was hearing, "do you need me here?"
Oliver shook his head, "I don't think so. Andy is going to do most of the walk through, I will just be providing back up information. Maybe when we start to meet the families one by one, we will need you then."
Moira gave her son a smile, "you are really putting a lot of effort. I'm proud of you son. I'm just intrigued about the complete turnabout. Why the sudden change of heart?"
Oliver frowned not prepared to analyze his actions, "you said we should be a united Bratva. I'm just doing my part."
Moira gave her son a speculative look then kissed his cheek, "your father would be proud of the man that you have become."
That same night John and Andy Diggle had joined Felicity for dinner at the Bratva estate. John had informed her that morning that he was officially accepting the position of head of security of Bratva for Starling. The dinner had been an official welcome of sorts aside from the three of them updating each other about how each of their day went.
Andy looked at his brother before he asked Felicity his question, "so Oliver Queen?"
"What about him?" Felicity paused midway as she was about to fork a piece of steak inside her mouth. One thing about the Bratva, the lifestyle was good. Steak for dinner was almost a regular thing in this household. The chef that Andy had hired was excellent and could rival any upscale restaurant.
"Boyfriend? I'm pretty sure you were less than friends the day before yesterday," Andy teased.
Felicity glared at John knowing he was the source of this gossip tidbit, "it was a joke."
"It wasn't," John shared.
"Yes it was. He just said it to explain John's sudden constant presence in my life, that's all."
Andy looked at his brother and the brothers had some kind of silent discussion before Andy continued, "even if it's just for show. It's a good idea. Oliver's reputation as a skirt chaser is all in the past, he hasn't been seen out partying in at least a year. Oliver's reputation as a CEO, a young one at that is solid. My brother says that you have been recently promoted as VP for Special Projects at QC? That gives you the validation not to be seen as a light weight but as Oliver's equal, maybe even partner in furthering QC's future."
"Wooow….let me stop you right there. There is no Oliver and me, as in boyfriend and girlfriend. There is just Oliver and me, not together. A one and one, not a one plus a one." Felicity frowned, "it all made better sense in my head."
"I think it makes perfect sense," a new voice made a comment sending three pairs of eyes toward the entry of the dining room.
"Finally decided to make an appearance I see," John said standing up to shake the hand of the new arrival.
Andy too stood up to acknowledge the new individual. Felicity for her part was confused at the sudden appearance of the man. She didn't hear a car, nor any rush of security outside the house so her logical conclusion was that the man had quietly and successfully evaded the defenses of the Bratva or that he had been inside the house the whole time.
Felicity finally had her Einstein moment as all pieces of the clues feel into place, the Diggles were both familiar and comfortable with the new man therefore they had known the man for quite some time.
Getting confidence from the fact that this was her home and that she was in fact the Captain, Felicity stood up slowly and made her way to the three men.
Noticing her approach first, John turned to Felicity to gesture with his hands, "Felicity, meet our mystery guest." Then he turned to the guest, "this is Felicity Smoak, the new Bratva Captain appointed by Anatoly."
The man took a step forward to fully face Felicity giving her a smile to transform his intimidating face into a friendly one, "Ms. Smoak, I am very pleased to finally make your acquaintance. John, Andy and Anatoly have been singing your praises."
"Hello to you too, except I still don't know who you are…although you look familiar…" Felicity told him.
The man gave her a smile, "Robert Queen at your service, Ms. Smoak."
Felicity's initial reaction was shock, her hand immediately flew to her chest, "you can't be he. He can't be you because he's dead. He drowned, you drowned," pointing a finger at Robert to emphasize her point.
"Ms. Smoak, I can assure you I am 100% alive. There were moments, a lot of them, when I too thought I was dead. Because I really did almost drown in that sailing accident except I was apparently rescued at sea by people who had no idea who I was. I was at deaths door, in a deep sleep for months. When I woke up, I had a few months were I didn't know who I was or what had happened to me."
Robert guided her and the others to the parlor where they continued the conversation, "I will tell you the whole fascinating story Ms. Smoak. We have the time. However, while I have revealed myself to you, my coming back from the dead is information know only to a few. In fact, only five people are aware that I am alive and back in Starling, you included."
"Five people?" with everything Robert Queen had told her that was the only one she could grasp at the moment.
"Five," lifting a hand to show five fingers to emphasize his point folding his fingers as he rattled off the names. "John, Andy, Anatoly, you and I, five."
"Oh." Felicity said and took a seat at the couch.
The Diggles made eye contact once again, "now that the cat is out of the bag, I think it's time we left you two together. I'm sure Felicity has a lot of questions for you."
Felicity finally registered what John had said, "oh you don't have to leave."
"Yes I do. I'm driving my brother back to his house then I'll do a perimeter check of the estate before I come back in. You two," gesturing to Robert and Felicity, "need to get acquainted. There is much to do for the Bratva."
Both Robert and Felicity looked at the retreating figures of John and Andy Diggle before they looked back at one another, both observing the other.
"Do you want the whole story right now?" Robert suddenly said.
"We don't have much anything to do anyway. And since you dropped the bomb that you are very much alive and kicking, I don't think I would get any sleep tonight until I hear the story anyway."
"So the boat was definitely sabotaged?" Felicity asked him.
"Yes, that much we have confirmed. The remains of the Queens Gambit are currently in a secured warehouse. "
"Wow, I mean wow. But shouldn't you be reunited with your family? I'm pretty sure Oliver and his sister, umm…"
"Thea," Robert provided.
"Yes Thea, sorry I only met her once, briefly. But she seemed like a nice young girl."
Robert nodded.
"I'm sure Oliver and Thea and your wife Mrs. Queen would be ecstatic to know that you're alive. Except that Mrs. Queen really isn't a Queen anymore, she a Mrs. Steele, married to Walter Steele who as I recall is a good friend of yours."
"My best friend actually, Walter is a good man." Robert shared.
Felicity nodded quietly, "so you'll just continue to let them think you're dead?"
Robert leaned forward in his seat, "that's what they know, a few more months, a year wouldn't really hurt. It must be that way," Robert said seriously looking her straight in the eye, "until I'm sure…..we're sure beyond any reasonable doubt of what really happened, things will remain the same. We have still to completely rule out who was responsible, the Triad, the Italians or even it being within the Bratva ranks."
Continuing, "When I finally recovered from my amnesia, able to fully comprehend who I was and what had happened I had laid low for a couple of months, trying to logically analyze the why's and how's of what had happened. One thing I am sure of, Anatoly Knyazev, the Sointsevskaya Bratva pakhan is not responsible for the sabotage. I know that beyond a reasonable doubt. Everything else," Robert's arms flew up in frustration, "we do not have a definite answer yet. John's initial task before he accepted the role of head of security of the Bratva here in Starling City was to coordinate the quiet investigation."
"Suffice to say, confirmation and information has been slow. Whoever is on top of this covered their tracks very, very well." Robert finished.
"Maybe I can help," Felicity told him getting Robert to raise an inquiring eyebrow at her.
"I can help by trying to find a virtual trail. The web, the internet. Have you tried to use this avenue for information or confirmation? If there is one thing I am very, very good at, its virtual tracing," Felicity told Robert giving him a smile.
Robert leaned back on the chair he was seated on, "yes, I have heard about your unusual abilities which if I have it right, my son is taking full advantage of in QC."
Felicity dipped her head as she felt a light blush, "yeah well, both your ex-wife and Oliver thought it best to promote me to the Executive floor and give me a new job title. They said as the new Bratva Captain, it was a better fit all around for them and for me."
Robert gave her a speculative look, "so, what do you think of Oliver?"
Felicity frowned at the question. Before her was a father asking about his son, a son he hadn't been around with for a number of years although she was sure he had been briefed about what Oliver had been doing the past few years.
"He's been actually very pleasant lately," was Felicity's simple statement.
And as usual, Robert was astute in picking up the things left unsaid, "meaning he wasn't before."
Felicity shrugged, "he was just probably surprised and confused as most everyone was, why I was appointed by Anatoly as the new Captain."
"Ah, my good friend Anatoly….sometimes the way he thinks is a mystery. There was a time before that I myself had a difficult time reading Anatoly, but one thing I am sure of is that I trust Anatoly 100% now. You should too. Everything he does is calculated, with reason. He and his way of thinking just takes some time to understand. But everything will be clear soon child."
Felicity nodded at Robert Queen in response still reeling from the fact that she was sharing a house with Robert Queen, the billionaire who built Queen Consolidated from the ground and former Bratva Captain, father to Oliver and Thea Queen and husband to Moira Queen. While she understood the reasoning for keeping the information of his being alive a secret, everything just got more confusing.
How did she fit exactly into the Bratva. Why was she appointed Captain by Anatoly. When before the rationale was straightforward, with Robert Queen alive everything she knew and believed in just flew out the window. While she was tasked to be the face of the Bratva in Starling to forward the interests of the brotherhood, so much was simultaneously happening on the sidelines with the Triad, the Italians, alliances within Starling City, and now with the discover that Robert Queen was alive.
Robert rose from his chair and said, "It's late, we will continue our discussion another time. Even dead people need to get some sleep."
"You've been distracted the whole day, what gives?" Oliver finally asked her when they had a moment alone together after Andy and John Diggle had excused themselves to take separate calls leaving Oliver and Felicity inside Oliver's office inside the Queen Mansion.
"Nothing, nothing's wrong," Felicity answered him quickly lifting a file of documents that was the topic of their discussion.
Oliver carefully took the file from her hands and laid it back on top of the table before he held her hand in his tugging her forward, "come, why don't we take a walk in the gardens. It might help to get some air."
"No I'm fine," Felicity resisted, shaking her head.
Oliver insisted, pulling her to her feet, "come on, I'm not taking no for an answer. Besides, we need to stretch our legs for a few minutes. We've been in here more than half the day."
They had been walking through the garden paths of the Queen Mansion for ten minutes in silence with Oliver occasionally giving her a sideways glance until Felicity broke the silence.
"What?"
"What why?" Oliver asked her back.
"You've been looking at me non-stop for ten minutes. I know I'm supposed to be your girlfriend and all but really, there is clearly no one around," gesturing to the surrounding gardens, "so there is completely no need to pretend to be the caring boyfriend."
Oliver stopped walking, grabbing her elbow too make her face him, "first of all, there is always someone lurking," pointing towards the hidden cameras, "and this is not about our relationship although if you want to really go there, I could always play the…what was that again? Oh right, caring boyfriend." Oliver told her teasing her.
Felicity huffed and pulled away from the hand that trapped her elbow.
"Hey, hey." Oliver caught up with her as she walked briskly forward, "I'm just concerned. You seem really distracted today."
Felicity finally stopped walking and dipped her head. She couldn't tell Oliver that the reason she had been distracted was because of his father Robert Queen, who was suppose to be dead but turns out was very much alive. So she just went with the next best thing she could think of.
"I'm just overwhelmed that's all. With the Bratva education and my new official designation at QC, sometimes I can't believe this is my life now," Felicity shared her head still dipped.
Oliver placed his hands on her shoulders then let one of his hands lift her chin so she could look at him, "it's okay to feel a little lost. It's normal, I had those days when I first took over QC. It will get better. I made you a promise that night at your house. I will be by your side through all these. That's what friends are for. Felicity?" Oliver searched her eyes for a reaction.
After a few seconds, Felicity exhaled heavily nodding at Oliver while her hand claim his hand from her chin, "friend."
Oliver nodded. This time he placed a hand behind her back to nudge her forward to continue their walk through the gardens. Felicity thought she heard Oliver muttering something after but when she looked at him, he was just looking ahead.
In truth, Oliver did mutter an almost silent, "right now," in response to Felicity's agreement that they were friends. There was just something about this girl that when he finally realized his resistance to her was just him channeling all his unfounded frustrations about the Bratva and Anatoly at her, she actually turned out to be someone quite interesting and someone who captured his attention.
The girl was obviously smart, as in genius kind of smart. The kind of smart that was way above him and he was secure enough to know that she was a whiz with the computer and not to be threatened by it. But more than that, she was also someone that was worth someone's time and attention, his time and attention to be exact. The girl was growing on him. Of course, he wasn't ready for anyone including Felicity to know where his thoughts where. So he just directed Felicity back inside the Mansion to continue the discussion with the Diggles.
Done. Hope you like that chapter. Sorry for missing to post this chapter yesterday. Life caught up with me. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Halfway there...