Chapter 6: the tunnel

The March toward QC was uneventful. There was plenty of carnage and destruction, but no soldiers attempting to stop them. That all changed once they arrived in the tunnel, less than a mere quarter mile from the entrance to QC. All that stood between Oliver and Slade was 13 super soldiers And a road strewn with abandoned cars. He stood before them, Roy to his right, Sara to his left, flanked by the league. He silently thanked whatever is good in the world that Thea and Felicity willingly stayed behind, that Dig and Lance would be meeting him at QC, and that Sara had brought the league. He was even thankful that Malcolm Merlin was alive and watching over Thea and Felicity. Most of all though, he was thankful that Felicity had just gone off comms, it would give him just a few minutes to focus without worrying that she would be hearing his end.

Taking a calming breath and clearing his mind, he looked at his team, old and new, and led the charge. They ran at the soldiers, no time to actually shoot the arrows, so instead they were stabbing them while in hand to hand combat. He heard the snap of a neck and went into tunnel vision, trying to focus on the next target and nothing else. As much as he used to be all about survival and looking out for himself, he was part of a team now and focusing on the target wasn't working. He shot off 3 cure arrows, each hitting their targets as the league moved in to end them.

He leapt across the hood of a car, punching one of the masked men in the face, attempting to give Roy a chance to get out of a head lock. It worked, and as both men stood they seamlessly began fighting back to back. Oliver knocked a soldier off balance, throwing him past Roy, who simultaneously pulled an arrow from Oliver's quiver and was able to stab him through the leg, releasing the cure and taking him out of the fight in one swift movement. For a split second a smile graced Oliver's lips, it was a proud moment to see Roy in action, to fight side by side with the boy he helped shape into a respectful young man. But that good feeling faded in an instant as he caught a bone chilling sight from the corner of his eye.

Sara had been fighting side by side with Nysa and she let her guard down- while jumping in front of Nysa to stop an incoming knife she was taken out from the other side. She flew across three lanes of the highway landing with a thump that Oliver could feel in his bones. There was nothing he or Nysa could do except to fight their ways toward her. It took another 5 minutes to reach her, and by the time they reached her no one else was left standing. Roy was on all fours, catching his breath, but he no serious injuries. Nysa had a gash on her arm and Oliver's knee was throbbing, but the concern was Sara. All the other league members were either gone, not being known as team players, or dead. Sara was still breathing, but unconscious. Both Nysa and Oliver shot each other a look of defeat as neither was in any shape to argue when it was Roy who picked her up and began carrying her bridal style the last 300 yards toward QC in silence.

As they got within view of QC Sara began to stir. It was just in time as detective Lance came running, fearing for the worst. They had reached QC and it was time for phase 2. Oliver turned his comms back on, "Digg, you almost at QC with those extra arrows? We made it to the entrance, me Roy, Sara, Nysa, and Lance. 13 soldiers down, I don't know how many are left, but there can't be more than 5 plus Isobel and Slade."

"Thank God man, the radio silence was starting to get to me, I had no idea what to think when we showed up to the clock tower and it was empty. We're on our way, 5 minutes out."

"What do you mean the clock tower's empty- we left Thea there with Merlin, and Felicity! Where the hell is she Digg?" Oliver sounded broken, more raw than he had ever shown to anyone besides Felicity.

Thea spoke up then, having been monitoring the feed for any news, "I'm here at the clock tower, I stayed like I promised. Malcolm came with me to get Sin, she's here too, she's safe Roy. When we got back the arrows were gone and there was a computer up here- we thought Felicity went with Mr Diggle when he got back- we saw him leaving. Malcolm, he said it didn't make sense, said he expected the ballsy blonde to be here when we got back to follow through on her threats if there was even one scratch on me. He took off once he reinforced the doors. I have Felicity's gun."

"Breathe Thea," it was Sara's voice that broke through the hysteria, "is Felicity's tablet still there?"

"Yeah, yeah it is, I remember because I thought it was weird- I've never seen her without that thing in her hand. Okay, I have it- crap, she has a password, of course she has a password!" Thea threw her hands up in in defeat, almost dropping the tablet.

The broken voice she heard next was not what she expected, "OQ10712Arrow, that's the password," he swallowed hard and the next bit was hardly a whisper, "the day she became my partner, began the switch from the hood to arrow."

"It worked! Now what Sara?"

"She always leaves the ap on when we are on coms, can you check the trackers- where does it say she is?"

"It shows that she's here- at the clock tower- oh no! I have her com link! She made me take it before she would let me get Sin."

The roar that erupted made them all jump, including Nysa and Lance even without being privy to the conversation, "Where the hell is Felicity!?"