CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR: NOCTURNAL

Street lights, turn on one by one
My hope is, descending like the sun
Try to tell myself there's freedom in the loneliness (Oh baby)
Always restless, story of my life
Disconnected, body clock's not right
Try to tell myself that I'mma get some sleep tonight

Found myself where I started, this isn't where I want to be
The time that I find hardest, always comes eventually

My shadow doesn't show in the dark
The night time is inclined to my heart
The emptiness I felt from the start
Will follow me 'till I fall apart

Nocturnal, nocturnal, nocturnal, nocturnal

My demons are blocking out the light
And my mind is about to lose the fight
Why can't I find peace, when a caracal could sleep tonight? (Yeah)
Your absence isn't something that I choose (choose, choose choose)
The truth is you were never mine to lose (lose, lose, lose)
Said that I feel lifeless, tryna get away from you (Oh baby, oh)

Oliver clenched his jaw as he poked the needle through his skin once more. He was almost done stitching up the bullet wound but neither practice or experiencing pain before helped making it less than awful. He himself was the reason behind a lot of his smaller scars. Sloppy handiwork. It didn't need to look pretty, it needed to stop bleeding. Priorities.

When he was done, he got back to his makeshift desk and grabbed his father's notebook, taking a pen and striking another name off the list. James Holder's bloody and broken body floating in a pool while he was being shot at from a hundred yards away wasn't exactly how he'd wanted to end the night, but there was no going back.

He needed more intel on the shooter, but the bullet he'd pulled out of himself had no significant trademarks that he could run through the ARGUS database that Amanda had, reluctantly, given him access to.

A sudden dizziness hit him, hard, his first thought going to his wound. It was bleeding through his bandaging and his t-shirt. Poison. Out of balance, and with his sight turning blurry and black spots popping up before his eyes, he managed to grab a water bottle and scramble to his trunk. Unlocking it took two tries, and then he frantically searched for Yao Fei's magic herbs. He downed them quickly, chewing to release the potent they held and swallowing them with the water. His hands steadied as he let his back hit the cool concrete of the foundry floor and passed out.

Hours later, he woke up to his phone buzzing. Twenty two missed calls and a dozen text messages all saying the same thing: Where are you? Thea is in trouble. Come home!

The fact that he wasn't dead was at least one less problem he had to deal with, his little sister was another story.

As soon as he set foot in the house, Felicity was right there, pulling him into his father's old study. "Where the hell have you been all night?" She demanded.

"I uhh…" He started, looking down at his feet. "I couldn't sleep, went for a walk."

Felicity quirked an eyebrow at him in disbelief, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly.

"Oliver, you've been radio silent for ten hours."

He bit his tongue as she stepped into his personal space. "I needed some time to think."

It was obvious she didn't believe him, but the soft sigh she let out told him she would let him off the hook. For now. She pushed her fingers through her hair and shook her head.

"Anyway, the cops found Thea and her friends breaking into a store, trying on some dresses. The breathalyzer lit up like a Christmas tree."

"Thea okay?" He asked.

Felicity nodded. "She's fine except for what I imagine to be a massive hangover."

"I don't know what's gotten into her. Ever since you've been back she's been acting out, getting into trouble. Could you maybe talk to her? See what's going on inside her head."

Oliver shook his head. "I'm sorry, I tried. She won't listen to me. She thinks I'm judging her based on the people she hangs out with, but I'm just trying to protect her from making the same mistakes I made."

Felicity nodded. "I just don't want her to get hurt. She's been through so much already."

Oliver stepped closer and put his hands on her upper arms. "Thank you, Felicity. For looking out for her. She needs a good role-model like you in her life."

Blushing a little, Felicity smiled up at him, hand on his chest. "Are you ever gonna tell me?"

He sighed, looking away from her, staring off over her head. She knew he was hiding something from her, and even though he'd promised she'd be the one to open up to, he still had to have some secrets. To protect her. Oliver had told her many things already. His time on the island with Yao Fei, Slade and Shado, Fyers and Ivo and his men. He'd told her about Hong Kong and Akio and how the safety of Maseo's family had been the reason he'd kidnapped her. He'd explained how it had been a choice between that and her death and how easily that choice had been made. She cried for a long time after that.

He told her about his return to Lian Yu and the opium fields and his time in Coast City and Russia. He left Sara, the Bratva and ARGUS out of the story, and it may not have been as explicitly told as the pain he'd felt when he had been tortured and beaten down, but she knew the important parts. He knew he was going to need a solid alibi sooner rather than later. It would only be a matter of time before Felicity would put one and one together. Sighing softly, he looked back at her.

"Once I figure it out for myself, okay?" He whispered.

Felicity looked at him for a long moment and he could see her wracking her brain behind her eyes, considering his words.

"Okay." She whispered after a while. She stepped away from him, jerking her head in the direction of the door.

"I have to go to work. I'll see you later, okay?" Felicity said quietly, looking away.

"Felicity?" Oliver said before she could walk away.

She turned around, finally meeting his gaze again. "Can you meet me tonight? There's something I wanna show you."

A small smile appeared on her lips. "Sure."

Oliver mirrored her smile. "Great."

And then she was gone. Oliver took a moment to collect himself before walking into the living room. Moira and Walter were just finishing up their conversation with the officers who brought Thea home.

"Thank you, officers." Walter said. "My wife and I appreciate it. I'll see you out."

Moira turned around to look at her teenage daughter who sat on the couch looking bored and picking at her nails. Oliver remembered being the one sitting on that couch after getting home after long drunken nights that ended with law enforcement being involved.

"Last time it was public intoxication. This time breaking and entering. My, how we are moving up in the criminal world." She said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Thea stood up, meeting her mother with the defiant attitude she'd taken a liking to "You know, when you pay off the store owner, you should check out the merchandise."

She mimicked Moira's stance, arms crossing over her chest. "They got some pretty killer outfits."

"Thea, go get ready for school."

Her face contorted in disgust. "Uh, you know, I was actually thinking of taking a sick day."

Moira sighed. "Fine, then get some sleep."

Thea smirked in victory and sauntered out of the room.

"You look like crap." She said to Oliver as she passed by him.

"You're letting her play hooky?" Oliver demanded when Thea was out of earshot, walking over to where his mother was still standing.

Moira sighed and shook her head. "When your sister gets like this, it's best to give her her space."

"She's testing you." He said, his voice getting louder.

"Yes." Moira said curtly. "And who'd she learn that from?"

Oliver's jaw tightened. She was right. He hadn't exactly been the brother Thea should look up to. She needed a good role model and he'd been lacking the skill. He was gonna change that, give her an example to live up to, show her that there is more to life than booze and drugs, and he knew exactly how he was going to do it.

"So what do you think? Great spot for a restaurant or what?"

"Wow, this place is huge. Lots of potential." She said, looking around the giant empty factory hall.

Oliver pointed to a second landing in the distance. "Private office."

Felicity chuckled. "Nice."

He narrowed his eyes, turning back around to look at her. "But what? I feel like there's a but coming…" Oliver said, eyebrows knitting together in concern.

"Are you sure you want to do this? It's not like you really have any experience in running a well, running anything."

Oliver nodded. He knew that would be coming. Even though the restaurant would only be a front for what he would be really spending his time with, he was actually starting to get excited about the prospect of possibly making the Glades a better place the legal way. Provide jobs and positive buzz, gentrifying the neighborhood by making it a successful business. One that provided him an alibi.

"I was thinking I'd take you to dinner tonight to get you excited, and maybe check out the competition?" Oliver said softly, stepping into her personal space, snaking a hand around her waist and putting it on the small of her back. Felicity's tongue darted out to wet her lips. He was making her nervous. He hadn't been this forward with her since he'd returned but there was no denying he loved her.

"I heard Max Fuller just opened a new restaurant downtown. It's called Serenade." He whispered.

Felicity looked up at him through hooded eyes. They were so close.

"It's a date." She breathed.

"I love Max, he's a great friend and he and Charlotte are just the cutest couple…" Felicity said, putting her fork back down on the table and making a face. "But his food is terrible."

Oliver laughed out loud, a sound she hadn't heard in a long while and it made her crave for more. Felicity toyed with her food some more before reaching for her glass of wine and taking a big gulp.

"His servings are way too small, this flimsy little thing is never going to still my hunger. And for such tiny servings you'd expect them to be mind-blowingly amazing, but they're so mediocre it hurts."

Oliver stared at her curiously, clearly amused at her display of distaste. He hadn't eaten much either. She tried to imagine what he must be thinking at the strange culinary hype of putting as little on a plate as possible. How living off whatever he could find on that island would put petty things like that into perspective.

"Sorry Max, but culinary justice must be served. That's going to be one hell of a yelp review." She muttered under her breath.

Oliver suddenly sat up straight, reaching for her hand. "Felicity Merlyn. Please be my gastronomical advisor so I can make sure I serve my customers actual food."

"I will. I want your business to succeed so I won't let you feed the people crap." She chuckled, squeezing his hand.

"Now, can we get the hell out of here, I'm starving."

He smiled softly and nodded. "As you wish."

They paid their bill and collected their coats and within ten minutes they were on the road. Felicity had suggested a burger joint pretty close to her apartment where according to her, they sold the best burgers in town. Diggle chuckled in agreement.

"Why don't you guys take a seat, and I will grab a couple of burgers and shakes." Diggle said, waving at one of the waitresses.

"The girl's pretty cute. Girlfriend?" Felicity asked curiously, wiggling her eyebrows.

Diggle shook his head. "That's my sister in law."

Oliver narrowed his eyes. "She's not wearing a wedding ring, brother out of the picture?"

"Yeah, you could say that." Diggle said after a long pause and a deep breath before he walked off towards the counter to get their order.

"So? Have you thought of names yet?" Felicity asked as they sat down in a corner booth.

Oliver shrugged. "I thought of Castaway, but I doubt that vibe would sell well."

Chuckling, Felicity shook her head. "You'd be the first to sell undercooked fish and leaves to the idle rich of Starling City."

That got a smile out of him. "Thank you for being so supportive, Felicity. My mom had doubts and I know you did to, but at least you're willing to help me succeed."

Felicity's face lit up. She reached for his hands that were clasped in front of him on the table.

"You're welcome. I'm not gonna throw you into the deep and wait until you drown." She winced at her own words. "Yikes, bad analogy. Sorry."

Oliver let out a breathy laugh. "It's okay. Thank you for helping me."

They stayed like that for a moment, lingering in the feeling of partnership, until Oliver's phone started ringing and he had to let go to pick up.

«приветствие»* He spoke into the phone, listening for a moment before putting the microphone to his chest and looking back at her.

"Possible contractor. I'll be back in a minute." He said, sliding out of the booth and putting the phone back to his ear. Felicity watched his back retreat, clasping and unclasping her hands nervously. Her gaze moved around the diner, settling on Diggle who accepted a tray of food from his sister in law and made his way over to the booth she was sitting in.

He sat down in the spot Oliver had just vacated. "You better tip big, they never get food ready this fast." He said jokingly.

Felicity smiled weakly and accepted the burger he handed her.

"I finally realize where I recognize you from." She said, making Diggle stop what he was doing to look at her. He was frowning in confusion.

She shrugged. "I came here, about five years ago. I think you just came back from your tour, but you were there too. I didn't realize it until I just saw you interact with Carly."

"You know her name?" Diggle asked, even more confused.

Felicity let out a breathy laugh. "Yeah, I come her like every week."

Diggle chuckled and smiled at her. "You know, I think I remember that day. That was my last tour. I got back home early, didn't have time to tell Carly so she couldn't come to the airport. She got so mad at me for that."

He was quiet for a moment, lips pressed into a thin line. "You looked so sad. What happened back then?"

Felicity sighed, tears prickling behind her eyes. She jerked her head in Oliver's direction. "His funeral was that day."

After burgers and shakes and taking Felicity home, Oliver found himself at the address the Bratva had provided him with. 1700 Broadway, Papp Motel, room 52. He stood in front of the door for a couple seconds, listening to the tapping of the keys on a laptop on the other side. Until they stopped. Deadshot knew he was here. With a swift kick he burst through the door, firing an arrow right at the man. He ducked, sending back a wave of bullet. Oliver stood with his back to wall waiting for his ammo to run out before sending in another two arrows. One flew into a dirty mattress and the other hit the wall after Deadshot jumped out of the window.

Cursing under his breath, he sprinted over to the broken glass, trying to find the fugitive serial killer. There was no sign of him.

Oliver looked around the room his eyes fell on the laptop. With the police sirens getting closer, he made a snap decision that he already regretted. He'd never be able to access its hard drive by himself. No he needed someone who was excellent with computers to do that. And fortunately, or unfortunately, because he never wanted to involve her in this part of his life, he knew exactly the person for the job.

"Fe-li-ci-ty Merlyn. Wow! Swanky office."

Felicity looked up from her paperwork at the sound of the amused, almost arrogant voice she'd recognize anywhere. Oliver Queen in a teasing mood. God, she'd missed that weird but funny side of him. Ever since he'd come home, he'd been so serious and broody. Not that she could blame him.

"I'm sorry, Miss Merlyn, I told him you were busy, but he wouldn't listen." Jerry started apologizing, coming up behind Oliver with a tablet in hand, pushing his glasses up his nose in his hurry.

Oliver sauntered around her office, running his hand over the back of the expensive leather chair, staring up at the high ceiling and looking out the window in amazement "And an incredible view."

Felicity chuckled and rolled her eyes at Oliver, who shrugged. "It's okay, Jerry. Oliver is just a jerk sometimes."

With a sigh of relief, the frantic look in Jerry's eyes faded as he turned around and walked back to his desk.

"Cute secretary." Oliver said, smirking from ear to ear.

Felicity glared at him. "Are you just here to make my executive assistant feel self-conscious or do you have a reason for this surprise visit that isn't going to make me smack the back of your head."

Oliver let out a breathy laugh. "I do, actually. Although a smack to the head does sound kind of kinky."

"Oliver! Stop it!" She exclaimed, blush already burning on her cheeks.

"Alright!" He said, holding his hands up in defeat.

That was when she saw the mangled laptop he was holding, a hand flying to her heart.

"Oh my god! What did you do to this poor baby?!" She exclaimed, reaching out to touch the gaping holes in the casing.

Oliver pressed his lips together in a firm line. "I spilled a latté on it?"

Felicity scoffed, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest. "Is that a question or are you actually that stupid that you're trying to convince me these are not bullet holes?"

He shrugged. "It's not really important where I got it or what happened to it. What's important is the information on the hard drive and you're the only one I trust with restoring it."

Felicity raised an eyebrow at him in confusion. The expression on Oliver's face had turned from light and open and teasing to serious and stiff in less than a minute. The seriousness of the situation slowly dawned on her as he held the mangled computer out to her. Felicity swallowed, alarm bells ringing loudly in the back of her head, her trust in Oliver actively trying to silence them. She nodded slowly.

"Okay." She murmured, biting her lip and holding out her hands for the laptop.

It took her exactly ten minutes to bypass the computers firewalls and hack into the hard drive. At a steady rate, the transferred files popped up in the folder she'd created on her own computer. There wasn't much.

"Looks like blueprints." Felicity muttered, eyebrows knit together in concentration as she double tapped another file, the dark blue of the file taking up most of her display.

Oliver tore his gaze off the screen to look at her. "Do you know what of?"

She nodded slowly. "The exchange building." She said, tucking her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Never heard of it." Oliver said, frowning and narrowing his eyes a little.

Felicity's tongue darted out to wet her lips, taking a breath and looking at Oliver for a second, wondering what the hell was going on both here and in his head. "It's where the Unidac industry's auction is scheduled to take place."

He was quiet for a while, like he was trying to study the blueprints, remembering every tiniest detail they held. Felicity watched him as he concentrated, worry for him growing by the second.

"Look, Oliver, I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish here, but I don't want to get in the middle of some Shakespearian family drama thing."

He pulled his gaze away from the monitor, raising an eyebrow at her. "What?"

"Walter marrying your mom?" She explained.

He shook his head a little, still confused.

Felicity sighed. "Claudius, Gertrude, Hamlet?"

"Felicity, I didn't study Shakespeare at any of the schools I dropped out of." He said.

She rolled her eyes at his frat-boy comment and sighed. "Walter is trying to buy Unidac Industries. And you've got a company laptop associated with one of the guys he's competing against."

Oliver nodded. "Floyd Lawton."

Felicity shook her head in confusion. "What? No."

She pointed at a name in the bottom right corner of her screen. "Warren Patel."

"Who's Floyd Lawton?" Felicity asked.

Oliver was quiet for a moment until he sighed and shook his head. "He is an employee of Mr. Patel, evidently."

He was on his feet, striding out of her office before she could say another word. His back was rigid, fists clenched at his sides as he stormed out.

"Whatever you do, do not go to the auction tonight." He called over his shoulder.

"Oliver!" Felicity called out, jumping out of her chair and hurrying after him on her heels.

"Oliver, wait!" She put a hand on his shoulder and he jerked around so fast she stumbled backwards. She didn't exactly how to call the expression on his face but it would be reasonable to compare it to an angry thunder cloud. Felicity swallowed hard as she looked into his darkened eyes.

"Oliver." She said again, this time more hesitantly as he loomed over her. "I trust you, but please tell me. Whatever you're doing, is it dangerous?"

He was quiet for a long time before he shook his head. "Only if I fail."

The Unidac auction that night was a complete disaster. Warren Patel was arrested, but not before he could call off his hitman. The shots rang through the foyer of the exchange building, sending people screaming and glass shattering. Luckily, the Queen family made it out without a scratch. Other's weren't so lucky. Five dead, three in the hospital.

Oliver didn't add the man with an arrow in his eye to the body count. As he stared down at the lifeless form, he heard a soft groan coming from less than fifty yards behind him. Like a ghost, he edged closer, careful not to make a sound. He knocked an arrow as he put his back to a pillar in the abandoned office space, the only noise the broken glass crunching under his boots. He heard a thud and rounded the pillar, aiming at the slumped form in front of him in one swift movement. Diggle. He'd been hit. Lowering his bow, he made a snap decision. He couldn't let the man die here.

Oliver was suddenly very glad that he'd taken a car to the auction instead of his bike. John Diggle was heavy, even for him. The man consisted of muscle mass and heavy bones and barely fit on the backseat of the Bentley. Even with his legs pulled up.

Oliver somehow managed to get him into his lair –for lack of a better word— without accident. As he lay convulsing on the steel table, Oliver mixed his herbs from the island, pulverizing the leave so it would be easier to swallow.

He poured the mixture into a cup and walked over to Diggle, tilting the man's head up and putting the cup to his lips. He choke-coughed a couple times but the gooey mixture went down his throat.

After stitching up the bullet wound, All Oliver could do was sit back and wait. He didn't change out of his gear, there was no use trying to hide his identity anymore, not when Diggle was gonna wake up in the middle of his lair. Again, he really just called it that because he didn't really have an alternative.

He'd been keeping an eye on Diggle for a while now, trying to find out if he was trustworthy enough to help him when needed. He had proven himself to have a good heart. Loyal too. Oliver had asked him to keep Felicity safe whenever she was with him, that she would be his priority, and he had made true on his promise tonight at the auction. John Diggle was a man of few words but he was wise, and he'd been around the past four years to watch the city deteriorate. He would make the right call for the greater good.

A few hours later Diggle started stirring. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, reaching for his side as he sat up, eyes adjusting to the dimness of the factory basement. Oliver pushed himself off of the table he'd been leaning against, taking up a strong stance before him.

Diggle's eyes widened the moment his gaze was focused enough to see who was standing in front of him.

"You're him." He said.

"I am." Oliver said. "And I'm going to need your help.""

*hello?