Felicity walked through the bunker looking for Oliver. She felt light hearted for the first time in what felt like a year. She found the thing that Oliver needed. A piece of tech that would allow her to reveal Adrian Chase's identity to the world.
"Oliver." She called out as she rounded the corner that lead to Oliver's room with a hop in her step.
He sat on his cot staring at the wall across from him. He looked as though he was in another world. She knew he tended to get lost in his own mind.
"Hey." She said with a gentleness in her voice that she reserved for him.
"Hey." He replied, looking up at her. He flinched when their eye met much like the night he come home a few weeks ago.
It killed her not knowing why. What did he see reflected in her eyes that hurt him enough that he would recoil?
"I've got some good news." She said bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"Good, I could use some." He retorted with a small smile. It was the smile he gave people when he was trying to fool them.
"That smile doesn't fool me. It may fool other people but not me." She chided.
"Sorry." He apologized.
"I found a way that we can expose Adrian as Prometheus." She rewarded.
"What? How?" He exclaimed, giving her a genuine smile this time.
She smiled at his excitement and her pride before answering, "I found- well Helix and I- found a piece of tech that would unscramble the tech in his suit that hides his face. So, we can use this tech on the video we have of him taking his mask off the night before he took you. Bam! No more secret identity."
"I'm going to ignore the fact that Helix is involved and say, thank you, Felicity." He said as he stood.
"Well, don't thank me yet. We still have to get the tech. It's at KORD Industries. The team is getting ready now." She explained.
"I guess I should get ready to then." He said standing. He groaned as he did.
"No. You're not one hundred percent yet. It's only been two weeks since you got back." She reasoned.
"Felicity, I'm fine. I need to get back out there." He explained.
"Show me." She demanded.
"What?"
"Show me your wounds. If I think they've healed enough that you won't just reinjure yourself then I'll sign off on it." She bargained.
"Felicity, I'm fine." He pled.
"Then show me." She asserted.
Oliver sighed but started taking his shirt off. He groaned as he raised his arms to put his shirt over his head.
He turned so that she could see him completely and his muscles tensed.
"No. Oliver, just taking your shirt off hurt. You really think aiming a bow and arrow won't do the same?"
"I don't need the bow, Felicity."
"I know that. But I can't let you go out there like this."
"It's not your place to let me do anything!" He roared suddenly.
"Like hell it's not!" She roared back, "Just two days ago I found you planning on-" Felicity couldn't say it. It hurt to much.
"That's not what this is about." Oliver reasoned with a sigh.
"No? I don't see the difference here. I need you to be safe. If you go out there like this, you won't be."
"I'm never safe out there." He pushed.
"Maybe not but you are at a hundred percent and I trust that you can fight your way out of any bad situation you find yourself in."
"Felicity, my shoulder may not be completely healed but I don't have the stiches anymore." He pushed further.
Without warning, Felicity reached out and laid her hand on the gauze covering the mess Adrian had made of Oliver's bratva tattoo. Oliver instantly recoiled, hissing at the pain it caused.
"All I did was touch it. The people you'd be fighting would do a lot worse." She rationalized. If he wasn't capable of being rational then she'd do it for him.
Oliver sighed. He looked so defeated. It cut Felicity deep seeing him like this. The thought of leaving him like this, alone, cut her deeper.
"We're ready." Curtis stated from behind them.
"I'll be there in a second." Felicity replied. Curtis nodded and walked out to wait with the rest of the team.
"Why are you dressed like that?" Oliver asked.
"I have a backup plan." She avoided. She hoped he wouldn't notice her clothes. She knew he'd be furious with what she was planning on doing and that she was planning on doing it with Helix. But none of that changed the fact that she had to do it.
"What kind of backup plan?" He pressed.
"The kind that doesn't involve you. Please, just trust me on this and rest. The team will be back from their mission before you know it. I'll be back with even more good news soon." She comforted as she made for the exit.
"Felicity. Whatever you and Helix are doing, please don't." He pled.
"I have to do this, Oliver. Trust me." She pled as she looked at him.
"I do. It's them I don't trust." Oliver explained.
"I trust them, isn't that enough." Felicity reasoned before she left.
Oliver knew he should feel guilty. Guilty for not staying in the bunker like Felicity had asked. Even more guilty for following her on her 'helix mission' when she'd asked him to trust her. He did trust her, but Helix was no where on his list of trustees. Curtis had told him some of the things she'd done for them when she had been looking for him. To say it was very illegal was a sin. Terrorist, that's what'd they call her if she was caught.
He watched from a safe distance. Felicity and her friend had hired mercenaries to help them in whatever mission this was. This isn't his Felicity. That thought sent his heart to the floor. They were in an A.R.G.U.S warehouse in the Glades. He still wasn't sure what they were doing here. From what he could tell this was just a storage location.
Felicity and company disappeared from his line of sight, so he moved to follow. He stopped, much as they had, abruptly.
He saw the lasers. They were huge and the were protecting one shipping container. What the hell is in there? What could be that important? Before he could form another thought the lasers vanished.
Oliver turned his attention from where the lasers had been to Felicity and her friend. They approached the container removing the keys for opening it as they went.
Once it was open, Oliver was astonished to see a man sitting inside tied to a chair. He couldn't tell who it was due to the black bag over his head. Is this a hostage or a prisoner? His actions would be dramatically different to each answer, so he decided to wait for that answer before acting.
Maybe this is a hostage. He knew that A.R.G.U.S wasn't above forcing people to act for them. He'd been on the receiving end of that many times. But he believed Lyla was above such actions.
His answer arrived when he heard Felicity say, "You guys get Cayden to the van. I'll put the laser back up to by us some more time".
Cayden James. Felicity had just helped Helix break an insane cyberterrorist from A.R.G.U.S custody. He'd heard John talk about how much this case was bothering Lyla. He'd helped Lyla when she was so blinded by her frustrations in catching Cayden she couldn't see what was right in front of her anymore.
Oliver couldn't believe that this is what Felicity was doing. How did she get here? How could she think any of this was okay? He was grateful that Felicity had separated herself from them. Maybe he could stop them, recapture Cayden, and get out of there before Felicity could realize it was him.
He moved to follow Cayden and when the began loading him into the van, he revealed himself.
The familiar sound of the bullet ricocheting off the van door met his ears. A warning shot, nothing more. He may not trust these people, but they don't deserve to die. Cayden James, he's a different story.
"Stop or the next one goes in his head." Oliver warned before aiming the gun at Cayden's head.
"Then it'll have to go through me." Felicity retorted, running to stand between Cayden and Oliver.
Oliver felt his heart jump into his throat. He's aiming a gun at her. Oliver Queen is pointing a gun at Felicity Smoak. He'd never hated himself more than right now.
"GO!" Felicity yelled out to her friends. They loaded Cayden into the van.
"Get out of the way!" Oliver yelled. He needed her be anywhere but here.
"You know I can't do that." Felicity replied. Oliver watched as Helix and Cayden drove away. In a last-ditch effort to stop him from getting away, he started to run after them.
"I was really hoping you wouldn't!" Felicity yelled.
Oliver stopped dead in his tracks when the laser that was behind him was suddenly in front of him. Oliver turned to find another way out but there was none. She trapped him. He felt his inside starting to close in on him. He'd never been claustrophobic before, but he'd spent to much time in small cells to be okay being trapped.
"Oliver, don't move. That is a 30-kilowatt spectral beam laser. It will cut you to the bone." Felicity cautioned, concern lacing her every word.
Oliver thought "she doesn't have the right to be concerned, she did this".
"I'll have Curtis let you out." She reassured.
Oliver thought "she doesn't get to reassure, she did this".
"I'm sorry. I am. I'm really hoping that you're gonna understand after we get Chase." Felicity said.
Oliver fought the urge to laugh. He wasn't convinced he'd be there to see it.
"Don't count on it." He replied.
Oliver walked back into the bunker feeling lower than he ever had, and that's saying something. He now knew without a shadow of a doubt that Adrian was right. He was convinced of it before but he still had hope that everyone could help him see otherwise. After tonight, that hope was gone. He could feel the weight he had been carrying for years now lifting off his shoulders and it terrified him. He'd always suspected that he would feel relief when that day finally came but he was wrong.
He walked over to the cabinet they keep the alcohol in and pushed aside the bottle of Russian vodka he normally drinks and grabbed the bottle of whiskey behind it. He didn't want something that reminded him of Russia and Anatoly right now. He needed something that felt like comfort; whiskey was the closest he could get. He was only partly aware of Curtis's babbling as he walked over and sat the bottle and glass down on the conference table. He turned to face them and gave Diggle a nod that told him he was fine but wanted to be alone. He was grateful when Dig nodded back and left. He was grateful for a lot where Digg was concerned.
"What do you want to do about Felicity?" Dinah asked in a gentle tone.
"There is nothing to do. She put herself in front of a bullet in order to take down Chase. Until that happens, I don't know what to say to her."
"In the meantime, we drink to her speedy success," Curtis said taking a slight step forward.
Dinah reached out and placed her hand on his chest stopping him, "In the meantime, I think we go home."
"Why there are more glasses in the bunker. Oh, you want to drink by your-. Yeah, that makes sense." Curtis babbled.
"Thank you, both very much for tonight," Oliver stated and with that, they were gone, and he was alone. As it should be.
Three glasses of whiskey, later Oliver realized he was still in his field clothes. He stood up and shook off the dizziness, a side effect of the whiskey no doubt, and started back for his 'bedroom'. It wasn't a bedroom really; just a corner of the bunker that held a cot and his clothes. He grabbed a change of clothes and started for the bathroom. On his way he thought he heard the sound of the elevator doors opening but chalked it up to the whiskey and kept walking.
He changed his clothes and let out a sigh. He felt hollow as he remembered standing there looking at Felicity through the lasers that separated them. He stood there, trapped, and watched her walk away from him again and that's the moment his hope left. That was the exact moment that he realized that Adrian was right. He ruined Felicity's life the moment he walked into her office with a bullet-riddled laptop and asked for her help. All the terrible things that she'd been subjected to could be traced back to the moment he reached out to her. If he had just been strong enough to stay away from that mysterious blonde who babbled her way into his heart that night he broke into to QC, she would be happy and safe right now. She would have always been happy and safe. He was a fool to think he could protect her from all the turmoil of the world he brought her into. He never stopped to wonder who was going to protect her from him.
He stood up and was heading back to the now half empty bottle of whiskey when he made the mistake of looking up at his reflection. He stood there, frozen with Adrian's words screaming in his mind, "Do you really think John Diggle and Felicity Smoak's lives are better having known you?".
He looked into his own eyes and snapped.
