Disclaimer: Arrow is owned by The CW, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. The character of the Green Arrow and the Justice League is owned by DC Comics. I own nothing; I'm just playing in their universe.
Chapter 6: Damaged
Despite how tired everyone was, they all had a hard time falling asleep. Diggle couldn't stop thinking about his brother, and about the mission it seems he will sign up for. Malcolm thought about everything Mia had said, and about all the choices he had made in the past few years- choices that were rapidly becoming moot. Tommy couldn't stop thinking about the cold man his father truly was, and wondered just how ruthless he had been- and still was. Thea, likewise, was thinking about Malcolm- and about Robert, the man she still (and always would) consider to be her father.
Moira lay in bed, thinking of all the compromises she had been forced to make, all of the lies she had told. And she worried about Walter- because she knew exactly what Malcolm would do if he dug too deep. Quentin tossed and turned, thinking about how much he hated Queen- and trying to reconcile that with how much he was starting to respect what he was doing, if only he'd tone it down a bit. Laurel thought about the man she had loved, about the horrors he must have seen- and realized that they hadn't seen those horrors yet. She shivered in her bed, thinking about how that would feel to watch him suffer. Once, she had hoped he had suffered, for everything he had done and all the pain he put her family through. But no longer.
After tossing and turning for a bit, Felicity got up and walked over to a small desk in the room. Sitting down, she quickly figured out how to turn the computer installed there on. And after looking around for a bit, she was excited to realize that she could use this system- it appeared to be based off of several theories she was working on in her spare time! Slade Wilson had lain down to bed and had been asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. He had no worries, no revelations, and no anxieties. No, those would come later. And he should be well rested when they did come. But by 0100, everyone was in bed and at least trying to sleep.
Morning comes differently on a space station. There are no sunrises; instead, the shades over the windows in the VIP rooms opened promptly at 0700, letting the ambient light reflected off the planet below filter in to the rooms. Malcolm, giving up on trying to sleep, got up and made his way into the small bathroom attached to the room. Fifteen minutes later he was showered, shaved, and dressed- though instead of his usual three-piece suit, he was forced to wear a grey Air Force jumpsuit he had found in the dresser. He didn't particularly mind- he had to wear less fashionable things over the years. Malcolm left the room and started walking down towards the sitting room, deciding to get an early breakfast. He was halfway down the hall when the unmistakable sound of two swords clashing caught his well-trained ears. Spying an open door, he walked in and paused.
It was the gym Mia had mentioned. The center of the room was sunken, and held several large training mats, along with other various machines. Around the edges of the room, the walls were lined with various weapons- from swords to escrima sticks to throwing stars. The gym was mostly empty, with the exception of three women on the mats below, and Malcolm eyed them with interest. Mia was circling a well-toned blonde woman; each held a sword in their hands. Off to the side on the floor sat the third woman, whose striking white hair was only offset by the white eye patch she wore. He laughed quietly to himself as the patched woman reached out and snagged the blonde's ankle as she circled past, causing her to stumble. Mia took advantage and launched a flurry of attacks that the blonde barely managed to turn back.
"Always mind your surroundings." Mia said calmly, smirking at her friend.
"Mind my surroundings." Stephanie muttered "Come down and patrol Gotham for a night, then tell me about minding my surroundings!"
"I hear a lot of bitching, but I'm not seeing a lot of action." Rose said, smirking.
"Yeah, well I'll kick your ass in a minute. I'm busy kicking hers right now." Stephanie growled, attacking Mia who turned it aside with ease.
"You'll let me know when you start to kick my ass, right?" Mia teased.
Tommy walked out of his room, rubbing the sleep off his face. Though the site before him caused him to chuckle. Thea was standing in the hall, looking out the window- dressed in the same drab grey jumpsuit that he was. She turned when she heard Tommy, and scowled at her brother.
"Laugh it up, Merlyn."
"You look great." Tommy said with a smile. Thea rolled her eyes, but when her mother's door opened she laughed out loud.
Moira Queen stood in the door, dressed the same as her daughter and Tommy. She crossed her arms and glared at Thea.
"We will never speak of this to anyone." She ground out. "Am I understood?"
Thea was still snickering as Tommy offered Moira his arm. "Breakfast awaits, Madame." Moira smiled and took his arm; Thea moved to take the other. The three walked down the hall towards the sitting room, but they too were drawn by the sounds of swordplay. Curious, Tommy turned into the gym. His face closed off as he saw his father there.
"Good morning, Tommy. Moira, Thea." He said without turning around.
"Dad." Tommy said. Any remark was cut off as he saw what was happening on the mats below. "What the…"
"A sparing session." Malcolm explained as the two women below exchanged blows. Thea's eyes widened as she watched.
Stephanie lunged, and Mia easily side-stepped, letting the blonde fly past her. As she went past, Mia added insult to injury by swatting Stephanie on the rear end with the flat of her sword.
"Hey!"
"Focus, Steph. Use your senses to anticipate my movements." Mia lectured.
"Yeah, yeah." Stephanie replied, blocking Mia's lunge. She swung high, but anticipated the block and reversed the swing, going low. Mia managed to duck and roll out of the way. Mia lashed out with her foot, which Stephanie blocked with her arm. "You're getting slow, old woman!"
"Who are you calling old?" Mia asked, indignant. "You're like five minutes younger than me!"
"Still younger." Stephanie replied cheekily. The two exchanged a flurry of blows, ending with Stephanie on her back. She quickly rolled out of the way of Mia's descending foot and shot back to her feet. "Come on, Grandma! Show me something!"
Mia's eyes narrowed. Stephanie lunged forward, swinging high. Mia rolled forward underneath the blade's swing. She came up and ran forward, leaping towards the wall hitting the wall, she spring boarded back towards Stephanie's exposed back and sliced downward, cutting partway through her sports bra and leaving a small scratch on the skin. Mia landed in a crouch and reversed her sword, knocking Stephanie's feet out from under her with the blunt edge of the blade. Stephanie landed hard on her back, and Mia flipped the sword around, plunging it trough the other edge of Stephanie's workout pants and into the mats below. Out of reflex Stephanie sat up, only to be met with Mia's elbow to her chin which sent her right back down.
At the railing by the door, Thea's jaw dropped. "Holy shit, I'm a ninja!"
On the mats, Mia plopped down next to the groaning Stephanie while Rose clapped sarcastically. Mia grinned at her, then looked back at Stephanie, who was rubbing her jaw.
"And what did we learn here today?" she asked sweetly.
"Don't fuck with the elderly." Stephanie replied, causing Rose to burst out laughing. Gingerly the blond sat up, wary of another elbow. When none came, she looked down at her pants. "You know, I liked these pants."
Mia yanked the sword out and rose to her feet, offering Stephanie a hand. "It's called a needle and thread, you lazy bitch." She said with a smile.
Stephanie took her hand and let herself be put up. "No, it's called 'I'll let you buy me a new pair'." She brushed herself off, then walked towards the stairs up to the walkway. "You can go ahead and wait till your social security check clears, if it helps…"
Mia smirked then swung her swords upwards expertly. The blade cut through the rest of the rear strap of the sports bra, allowing it to fall off- right in front of a newly arrived Dick Grayson, as well as the four visitors. Both stopped in surprise. Stephanie yelped and covered herself with her arms as best she could.
"Why Steph," Dick said with a wolfish grin, "It's not even my birthday!"
"Well, this trip keeps getting better and better." Tommy remarked, earning an elbow in the gut from Thea.
Stephanie glared the two men. "You're both dicks." She ground out as she stormed past, heading towards the changing rooms.
"Actually, I'm pretty sure his name isn't Dick." Grayson called out. He smiled at the four visitors. "Hi. Richard Grayson, I'll be one of your 'handlers' during your visit." He said, shaking Tommy, Moira and Thea's hands. He stopped at Malcolm. "Malcolm Merlyn. It has been awhile."
Malcolm gave Richard his most charming smile. "We've met before?" he enquired.
"Not yet." Dicks says. "Though I am looking forward to my younger self kicking your ass half a dozen times." Dick's smile widened as the smile fell off Malcolm's face.
"Dick, be nice." Mia warned as she put up her equipment.
Dick smiled at her and held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, at least I'm trying to be nice." he said, taking the escrima sticks she offered him. "Has Dinah been up yet?"
She gave him a look, then looked down at Rose. "Rose, kick his ass."
"You got it." Her friend replied. Dick smirked and headed down to the mats.
"Hey, what did Stephanie say to you that got you so riled up?" he asked.
"She called me old."
"She called YOU old?" Dick shook his head. "Now I feel old."
"You ARE old." Mia pointed out as she finished putting up her gear. She turned to the four visitors. "Sorry about him." She said, looking at Malcolm. "You aren't exactly the most popular person to the League."
"So I've noticed." Malcolm replied dryly. "You had good form." He offered.
Mia smiled. "I should. You taught me." Ignoring the gasps of the other three, she grabbed a toweled and threw it over her shoulder. "So, how about some breakfast?" she asked, walking out of the gym. The four of them followed.
"What do you mean, he trained you?" Tommy demanded as they walked down the hall.
"Your father isn't the man you thought he was, Tommy." Mia said. "He's quite the accomplished fighter. And there came a point in my life when I was tired of being weak, so I asked him to train me. I had other teachers, of course- Shiva, Cain, Ra's himself- but it was always his lessons that stuck with me the most."
"This isn't the first League you joined." Malcolm confirmed. Mia glanced back at him.
"No, it isn't. And you all will learn about the other League in a couple of days." They entered the viewing room; a continental breakfast was laid out. Mai went over and grabbed a plate for herself. "Actually, and Tommy, you'll love this- a lot of what I use now as the Green Arrow, I learned from Diana and the Amazons." She looked over at her brother. "There is an island in the Bermuda Triangle called Themyscira, populated solely by warrior women who live in an ancient Greek culture."
Tommy blinked. "All women?"
Thea sighed. "Of course, THAT'S the thing that gets his attention." She looked at her older self. "So Malcolm and these Amazons trained you to be a hero?"
Mia smiled sadly at her younger self. "Not exactly." was all she said. At that moment, the rest of the group started filing in, and Mia backed off to let the others get their food. Mia put her plate down and picked up another, then stopped when she saw Felicity frown. "Everything is nut-free, I assure you." She told the computer genius.
"Oh!" she said, surprised by the attention. "No, it's not that. It's just…. We're on a space station."
"Yes, we are." Mia said with a smile.
"I guess I was expecting… you know, astronaut food."
"It's the future, Felicity," Mia said bemusedly. "Even NASA doesn't use astronaut food anymore, not since artificial gravity was invented." At her downcast look, she added. "Tell you what. I'll see if I can find some freeze-dried ice cream for you." Felicity chuckled and moved off to fix her plate. Soon everyone had their breakfast and had sat down to eat, and Mia was busy making another plate when Stephanie stalked in. She marched up to Mia, then stopped and stood there with her arms crossed.
"I hate you." She said, scowling at the woman.
Mia smiled and held out a plate of food. "Here, eat this. We all know how grumpy you get if you don't get your breakfast."
Stephanie stuck out her tongue, but grabbed the plate anyways. "Everyone, this is Stephanie Brown." Mia introduced to the room at large. "She'll be in the monitoring room with me, and if you need anything and I'm not around, she'll be here to assist you." Stephanie nodded in hello to them all. "Now, we'll head out and queue up the next file. Feel free to start when you're ready."
"Mia," Moira said, stopping the woman before she left, "I was wondering-"
"Where your clothes are?" Mia guessed. Moira nodded. "Well, they're being cleaned. And since you'll be here for a bit, I took the liberty of providing the jumpsuits as a comfortable alternative. So don't worry, you'll get your stuff back before you leave." Mia started to leave, then stopped and turned around. "Also, I really wanted to see if you would leave her room wearing that." She said with a grin. Moira let out an exasperated sigh as Thea laughed outright.
Mia and Stephanie were halfway down the hall when Tommy came out of the viewing room. "Hey, Mia! Wait!" she stopped and turned, allowing him to catch up to them. "Uh, can I ask you a question?"
"You can ask. I reserve the right not to answer, though." Mia said with a smile. "What is it?"
"It's about what that Dick guy said. About Dinah?" he asked. The smile left her face. "He meant Laurel, right?"
Mia nodded. "You want to know why she'd be angry?" she asked. Tommy nodded. "Tommy, Dinah and I haven't gotten along for years. And she wasn't too thrilled with this whole plan I've concocted. And she really hates your dad." She added. "That's all I'm willing to say right now, okay?"
"Okay." He said. "I was just curious."
Mia's face softened. "You've already learned a lot of things, Tommy. And you will learn a lot more. Most of which you won't like. Just be patient."
Tommy nodded, then turned and walked back to the viewing room. Mia sighed and entered the monitor room, where Stephanie was waiting for her.
"Your brother is cute." She said. "If I wasn't in a relationship, I'd totally do him." Mia gave her a look as she brought up the next file.
Back in the sitting room, new seating arrangements were made after breakfast was done. Thea, Tommy and Laurel all sat on one of the couches, while Malcolm, Moira and Quentin sat on another. Diggle and Felicity sat on the third, and Slade kept his single chair. Slade picked up the remote with interest. "Let us see how the kid got out of this mess." He said, pressing play.
The memory set opened with a recap of Oliver's arrest. The scene then flashed back to the Island. A rabbit stood in the distance in the forest- and was suddenly cut down by an arrow. Several yards away stood Yao Fei, bow in hand, with Oliver standing next to him. He indicated to the rabbit.
"Dinner." he said.
Oliver looked at him, and then groaned. "Ah, come- hey, I got an idea, why don't you let me shoot that thing and you can go pick up the bloody, dead, disgusting animal." He whined.
"Yeah, this won't end well." Tommy remarked.
Yao Fei looked him over, and then indicated to his bow. "What?" Oliver asked, confused.
"Try." He said simply, handing the bow over. Oliver took it, unsure. "Breathe." Yao Fei advised. Everything, , aim, fire." He instructed. He handed him an arrow. "Here." He said, then pointed at a far off tree. "Aim that tree."
Oliver nocked the arrow and took aim. "Breathe." Yao Fei advised again, and Oliver took a slow, steadying breath. He released it, then shot the arrow-
That went wide to the right.
"Fail!" Tommy crowed. Thea shook her head.
"Like you'd do any better." She muttered.
"Nǐ huì sǐ de hěn cǎn" Yao Fei muttered.
"What does that mean?" Oliver asked, annoyed.
"You will die badly." He translated dryly. He pointed in the direction the arrow went. "Get."
Oliver sighed in annoyance, but walked off in search of the wayward arrow. He moved deeper into the forest, and he finally spotted it, sticking out of a fallen tree. He moved to get it, when suddenly a hand covered his mouth.
The ladies screamed in shock as the men sat up, leaning towards the screen. All except Slade, who knew very well who those men were.
Arms grabbed him and dragged him further into the trees. Soon his hands were bound in front of him, and he was led by three men in black tactical gear and ski masks to a pit covered by a makeshift bamboo grate. They opened the grate and shoved him into the hole. Oliver crashed down, barely able to break his fall, and turned over to see the men close the grate and secure it, locking him in.
"Wait, wait! You can't leave me here!" he cried out, grasping at the grate. One of the men smashed his fingers with the butt of his assault rifle. Oliver screamed in pain, letting go and falling back down. "Don't do this to me, please! Oh-oh! No! Please! I didn't do anything!"
The scene flashed back to present as Oliver was led out of a squad car in cuffs and into the SCPD headquarters through a sea of reporters.
'The police think they know who I am.' Oliver's' voice sounded, playing over his booking. 'They think I'm the vigilante. The man in the hood terrorizing the city's also think they have me trapped. That I have no way out. They're only half right.'
"This is a mistake."
The scene had changed to an interrogation room, where Lance sat across a table from Oliver. Lance didn't even look up from his forms at Oliver's declaration.
"I'll be asking you a few questions, standard stuff for the report." He said. "Have you been arrested before? That's ok, I know the answer to that one, plenty of times." he put in sarcastically.
"Like I said, this is a mistake." Oliver repeated.
"Far as I can tell, the only mistake I made was not shooting you down at the docks when I had a chance." Lance snarled in reply.
Moira glared at Quentin, who was suddenly wishing he'd sat with Diggle and Felicity.
"I am not who you think I am." He tried. Lance scoffed.
"Oh, you're exactly who I think you are." He stated. "You're a dangerous menace who doesn't care about who he hurts, except now you're doing it with bows and arrows instead of trust funds and yachts."
Oliver sat back in his chair. "Detective, you hate me. I get it. But that doesn't make me a vigilante." He reasoned.
"No." Lance agreed, and then pressed on. "The security camera footage of you at the UNIDAC auction with a green hood does that pretty well."
"And as I said again, I ran into the stairwell once I heard the shooting." Oliver stated, leaning forward. "I saw a duffel bag that I thought maybe belonged to the shooter. I grabbed it, looked inside and saw a hood." He finished.
Malcolm's eyes narrowed. "That is a pretty weak story." He noted aloud.
"All he needs to do is establish reasonable doubt." Laurel pointed out.
"And what- you took it home with you? 'Cause we can't find it." Lance retorted. "And what about harassing Adam Hunt? That just happened to take place right across the street from your little homecoming bash."
"Those were coincidences." Oliver argued.
"No. When they pile up like that, it becomes evidence." Lance replied. He began to work on the forms again when a patrol man opened the door.
"His parents are here." The cop announced.
"Tell them to wait." Lance ordered.
"I want to see my son." Moira demanded, storming into the room with Walter right behind her.
"I'm in the middle of an interrogation here!" Lance yelled, getting up from his chair.
"Detective Lance," Moira started, fury etched on her face, "I know you hate my family, but I had no idea that you'd go so far to arrest my son without any grounds whatsoever!"
"I have solid grounds, and I have evidence." Lance argued coldly.
"Which you can present to Mr. Queen's attorney when he gets here." Walter countered. "Until then, this interrogation is over, Detective."
Lance looked at Moira and Walter, then down at Oliver, still seated at the table. "Sure." He said finally, walking out of the room "You have fifteen minutes." He closed the door, leaving the family alone in the room.
"Detective Lance appears to be on some personal vendetta." Walter noted.
"He is." Oliver agrees, looking at the man. "He blames me for the death of his daughter. He also thinks that I dress up in a green hood and shoot people with arrows." He finished dryly.
"The important thing is not to say anything until your attorney gets here." Walter advised.
"Fine." He agreed. "I want Laurel."
Quentin groaned as Laurel looked incredulously at the screen. Thea snickered at her look.
"Why so surprised?" she asked the girl. "He knows you're a good lawyer, and it'll rile your dad up."
Both Moira and Walter scoffed. "Brilliant." Walter muttered.
"Oliver I don't think your ex-girlfriend can be counted on to be objective here." Moira argued. Oliver looked at her, unflinching.
"She knows me better than anyone. She knows that I could never be this guy." He reasoned. He looked to his stepfather. "Walter, you say Lance has a vendetta?"
"Yes." He replied.
"I think Laurel can get him off of it." Oliver continued. "He raised her to do the right thing. That includes representing an innocent man. So Mom," He looked to Moira. "Please." He asked plainly. Moira sighed.
The scene changed to CNRI. Moira entered and looked around, finally finding her target. "Laurel." She said, walking up to the attorney that was busily reading a file. Laurel looked up in surprise.
"Mrs. Queen!" she exclaimed, confusion on her face. "What are you-"
"It's Oliver. Something's happened." She began. Laurel looked at her sympathetically.
"I know." She glanced at a TV that was re-airing Oliver's walk up the precinct stairs. "It's been all over the news."
Moira sighed. "These charges are ludicrous." She stated.
"I know." Laurel agreed, walking them back to her desk. "Can I ask you, who's representing him?"
Moira looked at her awkwardly. "Well, that's why I'm here." She looked at the younger woman. "He wants you to represent him."
"Me?" Laurel asked in confusion.
"Yes." Moira replied, slightly embarrassed. "I told him it was a bad idea, but to be frank, I am desperate. He says if you don't represent him, then he doesn't want any attorney."
"OF course he would say that." Moira muttered.
"Mrs. Queen," she began slowly, "my father is the arresting officer."
"Yes." Moira agreed.
"And I don't think it's a good idea for me to represent someone who I've been involved with." she finished with a sympathetic look. "Listen, I am sorry for what your family is going through-"
"No apologies." Moira interrupted with a smile. "Your idealism, I think, is why my son, for all his mistakes, is so smitten with you." She sighed. "Regardless, it was a bad idea on his part, and I am sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable."
"Because that won't make me feel guilty." Laurel muttered. Moira sat back with a small, satisfied smirk.
The scene shifted to the courthouse, where Oliver was being led into the courtroom by an officer.
"Docket 81941, People vs. Oliver Queen." The bailiff intoned. Oliver walked past his family, and Tommy, to sit at the defendants table. "Murder, aggravated assault, assault with intent, menacing and trespassing."
"Trespassing just seems so… minor, doesn't it?" Tommy noted. Thea nodded in reply.
Judge Moss looked at Oliver, then looked around "Where's your attorney, Mr. Queen?" she asked.
"I'm representing myself, Judge." He stood and replied calmly.
"I'm not sure that's the wisest course, Mr. Queen." The Judge argued.
"I think it is." He countered. "I'm innocent."
"Then we'll consider that your plea." Moss said.
"Thank you." Oliver said sitting back down.
"Now, as to bail-"
"Your Honor," said District Attorney Kate Spencer as she stood to address the Judge."Mr. Queen's family owns a pair of private jets, and, well, on the subject of their wealth, I would point out that there is virtually no bail amount that can guarantee his presence at trial." She argued.
"So then I guess it's a good thing that the people's case is so circumstantial." Heads turned and Oliver allowed himself a satisfied smile as Laurel made her way into the court. She walked past Oliver's stunned family, and her even more stunned father, to stand next to the defendant's table. "Dinah Laurel Lance, Your Honor." She announced. "I'd like to file my appearance on behalf of the defendant."
"Of course you'd end up doing it anyway." Quentin said grumpily.
"Was there ever any doubt?" Tommy asked.
Oliver gratefully slipped over to the second chair so Laurel could take her rightful place at the table. "Mr. Queen's wealth should not deprive him of the right to be released on bail while under the presumption of innocence." She argued.
"He is a flight risk." Spencer countered.
"Then minimize the risk." Laurel reasoned. "The defendant is willing to submit to home confinement and electronic monitoring through the wearing of a UKG45 administrated ankle device."
The smile fell completely off Oliver's face. "No, he wouldn't." he argued.
"Sold." The Judge said, ignoring him.
"Your Honor-"Spencer tried to argue, but the judge cut her off, too. "Bail is set at $15 million. $5 million bond." She announced. "Defendant to see probation for the fitting of a GPS device." She banged the gavel to close out the hearing.
Malcolm leaned forward. "So, how are you going to get out of this one, Oliver?" he wondered.
"I beg your pardon?" Moira asked archly.
"I don't think he was expecting the GPS anklet." Malcolm explained. "It will be interesting to see his solution."
Oliver leaned back in his chair and looked at his ex-girlfriend. "I knew you couldn't resist saving my ass." He said with a smile.
"You're going to make me regret this, aren't you?" she asked wryly.
"No." he denied. "It's going to be like old times."
"Fortunately for you with the legal case, there's no way that you're this vigilante." She noted, closing her briefcase.
"I agree."
She looked him dead in the eye. "Because he's actually trying to make a both know that's not really your style." She stated, rising to leave. She didn't see the hurt look in his eyes that he masked almost immediately.
"Bitch much?" Thea muttered under her breath. Laurel winced at the truth of her statement.
The scene changed to Queen Manor later that day, where Oliver was getting fitted with his ankle bracelet as Moira, Walter, and Tommy looked on.
"Mom." He said calmingly to his mother, "It's not that bad."
The cop finished. "Okay. This device has a direct line into the on the property, you're golden." He instructed. "Any questions?"
"Yes." Oliver said immediately. "I'm having a sizeable get together here tomorrow evening, and there is a better than likely chance it spills into the outdoor pool." Tommy and Moira looked at him in disbelief.
The cop didn't bat an eye."Pool deck's fine." He said. "Step on the grass, they're sending a SWAT team to forcibly subdue you." He finished wryly.
"Thank you, officer." Oliver said. The cop showed himself out.
"A 'sizeable get together'?" Moira asked in disbelief.
"I'm confined to this house for the foreseeable future.I might as well make the most of it." He announced. He looked over at Tommy. "And this party is going to be themed." He decided. "I'm thinking prison, uh, burning man meets 'Shawshank Redemption'. The invite says, 'come before Oliver Queen gets off'."
Laurel slapped her forehead in disbelief; even Tommy looked stunned. Malcolm surprised everyone with a laugh.
"I fail to see what's so funny." Moira said crossly.
"It's brilliant." Malcolm replied with a grin. "He throws a party at his house, where hundreds of people will see him there. During the chaos of the party he slips out, gets spotted as the Hood somewhere across town, then makes his way back to the party, where no one will have noticed him missing because of all of the noise and all of the guest wandering around the mansion."
"Except now he has a new piece of jewelry." Quentin noted. "So how does he get around that?"
Malcolm shook his head. "I honestly have no idea. I suppose we'll have to wait and see."
"Maybe a party's not in the best of taste, you know, considering the circumstances." Tommy said, trying to be the voice of reason as he sat down next to his friend.
"Tommy, the circumstances are why we're having the party in the first place." Oliver said. He looked at the three of them. "I want people to know that I'm not worried about any of this."
"Well, that makes one of us." Moira said archly.
The scene changed to Laurel's apartment, where Quentin was having a 'conversation' with his daughter.
"Before you start yelling-"
"Why would I yell?" he asked harshly. "You're only defending the man that killed your sister."
Quentin shifted uneasily in his seat.
"Oliver did not kill Sara!" Laurel exclaimed, exasperated.
"If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't have been on that boat." Quentin shot back.
"Have you considered the possibility that that's the reason you're trying to make him out to be this-this menace?" Laurel reasoned hotly.
"No." Quentin denied. "It is the videotape, it's the suspicious timing, that is the reason!"
"This is Oliver Queen we're talking about." Laurel exploded. "He wrecks fancy cars and he dates doesn't kill people."
"No, he just uses them, like he used Sara and like he used you, and he's only asked you to be his lawyer to get at me." Quentin stated angrily.
"No, he asked me to be his lawyer to get through to you." Laurel explained.
"No, I'm pretty sure your dad is right." Tommy noted.
"Shut up, Tommy." Laurel and Thea both said.
"You hate the Hood and you hate Oliver, and you want more than anything for them to be the same Oliver isn't the reason why Sara the reason mom left." She added.
Now Laurel shifted uneasily in her seat.
"I don't have to listen to this." Quentin said, storming past her.
"And by the way," she added, "You're not the only one who misses them."
Quentin sighed, and then left as Laurel looked on sadly.
The scene changed back to Queen Manor. Oliver was in his room, working on his laptop and looking through the notebook when there was a knock on the door.
"Yup?" Oliver called. Diggle opened the door and walked into the room. "Thank you for coming." Oliver said, and then added quietly "Shut the door."
Diggle did so and walked over to Oliver. "I guess it was just a matter of time before the police caught up with you."
"Except they didn't."
"Oliver, they got you on video." Diggle protested.
"I knew the security camera was there, just like I knew the police would review the footage and arrest me." Oliver explained. "All part of the plan."
Malcolm smiled triumphantly.
"So you wanted to get arrested?" Digg asked, confused.
"Well, I returned to Starling City and a few days later, the vigilante appears." Oliver reasoned. "Sooner or later, somebody was going to make the connection."
"So what part of serving yourself up to the cops will help you avoid going to prison for the rest of your life?" Digg demanded.
"There's more to it."
"Well, there better be, for your sake, because your family is freaking out downstairs." He said, and then added "Oliver, your mother and your sister just got you back, and now you're going to put them through a trial, maybe even worse? Don't you care?" he pleaded.
"Of course I care." Oliver stated, looking at the man. "The mission comes first." He leant forward and turned the laptop around to show a news article, complete with photo, to Digg.
It suddenly clicked for Malcolm. "Oh." He said simply, looking at Diggle.
"Who is he?" the bodyguard asked.
"Leo Mueller." Oliver started explaining. "German arms dealer. Suspected in the theft of a hundred M249 Squad Automatic Weapons."
"Ok." Digg said.
"Last night he arrived in Starling City to sell the guns." Oliver finished.
"Oliver, don't you imagine there's enough trouble you're in this week than to go after this guy?" Digg argued.
"I imagine what would happen if a street gang got their hands on military-grade hardware. I imagine our city's streets turned into a war zone." Oliver stated bluntly.
"But you're under house arrest, Oliver, which means you can't just go after this guy." Digg pointed out.
"Look, for now, I would just like you to shadow Mueller." Oliver said. "I would like you to track his movements. "I want to know where the buy is happening."
Digg sighed. "Ok." He agreed. "And how am I supposed to track him?"
Oliver smiled and leaned back in his chair. "Well, you know us billionaire vigilantes" he said. "We do love our toys."
Diggle caught Malcom's look, and it suddenly clicked for him as well. "Why do I get the feeling this ends with me in the Hood?" he asked the room.
"Would it even fit?" Felicity wondered out loud. "You're much bigger than him. I mean, you have a bigger head. Cranium! Bigger cranium!" Felicity blushed, and Thea was biting her lip to stop herself from laughing.
"Well, they do say size matters." Tommy said, grinning.
"So THAT'S why you could never keep a girlfriend." Laurel said. The smile fled from his face as Thea burst out laughing.
The scene changed to the Foundry. Digg flipped on the lights, illuminating Oliver's lair. He took his first clear look at the space and stared in wonder. He walked over to one of the work tables, stopping by a row of arrows that Oliver had made. Hesitantly, he touched his finger to the tip of the arrow. "Ow!" he shook his finger, then started looking around. Finally he found what he had been looking for, a small black case. He hefted it up onto a nearby table, then opened the lid. "Oooh." He said in admiration at the three magnetic GPS transponders. He pulled one out and turned it on, testing it. It beeped happily at him. "Oh, well, that's sweet." He said.
"Where does he get such wonderful toys?" Malcolm wondered.
"eBay?" Quentin asked sarcastically.
The scene changed to Queen Consolidated. Josiah Hudson, the head of security, entered Walter's office.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" he asked Walter, who was standing behind his desk looking out the window. Walter turned and looked at the man.
"No, I didn't." he said, giving the other man a meaningful look. "In fact, this meeting isn't taking place." Hudson nodded, and Walter indicated the seat in front of his desk. He took his own seat. "How long have you been head of security at Queen Consolidated, Josiah?" he asked.
"Going on seven years now, sir." Josiah replied.
Walter nodded to himself. "Sounds about right." He noted, leaning forward. "But what I'm about to tell you will test the bounds of your discretion." At the other man's nod, he continued. "You're aware of the 'Queen's Gambit', Robert Queen's ill-fated yacht?" he nodded again. "Well, I found it."
Josiah blinked. "Sir, the boat went down in the North China Sea five years ago."
"Which is why my discovery of its remains in a warehouse downtown was unexpected, to say the least." He handed the man a slip of paper with an address on it. "I want you to transfer those remains to a secure location. Can I count on you?"
Josiah nodded and chuckled. "What's going on, sir?" he asked, half concerned, half amused. Walter gave him a look that killed his amusement.
"That's very much what I'm trying to determine." Walter said, ending the meeting.
Moira sighed nervously. Walter was putting himself in too much danger by asking questions.
The scene shifted to SCPD. Laurel and Oliver made their way into the integration room, where Detective Lance and Kate Spencer were waiting for them.
"Thank you both for coming." Spencer said as the two sat down across the table.
"No, thank you." Oliver replied glibly. "It's nice to get out of the house."
"I'll cut right to it." Spencer glanced at Quentin, and then leaned forward. "Detective Lance arrested your client without consulting my office first. So congratulations. I am willing to consider a plea in this case."
"Absolutely not." Oliver replied at once, garnering a look from Laurel.
" spent five years in seclusion on a deserted island, cut off from civilization." Spencer went on. "It is quite possible he's suffering from some form of post traumatic stress." She sat back. "Given that, we would support a plea of insanity." She offered. Oliver scoffed, even as she continued. "Conditional on a period of indeterminate incarceration at a psychiatric facility."
"No, thank you." Oliver said again. "I'm not crazy."
"Finally something we agree on." Lance muttered. "He's not a nut, he's a killing machine." He glared at the younger man.
"Actually, I'm neither." Oliver replied.
"There is nothing you can say to me that I would believe." Lance declared, giving Oliver an idea.
"I'll take a polygraph." He offered.
Laurel leaned back. "Uh, polygraphs are inadmissible." She told him over her shoulder.
"In front of the jury." Oliver agreed. He nodded at Quentin. "I'll take a polygraph in front of him. He's the one I need to convince."
"I'm going to need a minute." Laurel declared. The other two left the room, with Quentin shooting his daughter a look that she chose to ignore. When the door closed, she whirled around to Oliver. "You're looking at life in prison." She announced. "What Spencer just offered you is a gift."
"I'm not crazy. I am innocent." He reiterated. "I kind of want to take the polygraph." He added cheerfully, and then said "And if I take it and I fail, then I will consider making a deal."
Laurel looked at him and saw the sincerity in his face. "Fine." She said. "I'll set up the poly. And I will tell Spencer that we're not pleading out; but Oliver, you have a .People who actually care about you." She reminded him. "So don't, for one second, think you're the only person with something to lose here." She paused for a moment, then let out a long breath. "I'll be right back."
"I don't get it." Thea said, confused. "Won't a polygraph clearly show he's lying?"
"There is a reason polygraphs are not admissible in courts of law." Slade said. "The machine measures the body's response to stress. A properly trained man can eliminate those effects on himself during questioning, effectively fooling the machine." He looked back at the screen. "And I have no doubt that Oliver has gotten quite good, since I last saw him." Slade's face darkened as the scene changed.
The scene flashed back to the island. Oliver, his hands still tied, was being led into a military-style camp by two masked soldiers. He was guided into a large tent and pushed up against the support pole. He winced as his bad shoulder shit.
Before him, seated behind a table, was a man in the same black uniform as everyone else, sans the mask. He was middle-aged and blonde, and when he spoke it was with a British accent.
"Please, sit." The man said, indicating a chair. "You're making me feel rude." Oliver dropped heavily into the chair. "I do apologize for my men's treatment of you." He continued, opening a soda and pouring it into a glass with ice. Oliver eyed the drink longingly. "They're trained to view any stranger as hostile.I'm Edward Fyers, by the way." He introduced himself. "And you are?"
"I'm Oliver Queen." Oliver said after a moment. "I was shipwrecked here.I don't know for how long. My family has money." He said suddenly, desperately. "They have lots of money you would be you'd be really well compensated for my rescue." He assured him.
"Well, I look forward to that." Fyers replied casually. "But for the moment, let's just talk."
"About what?" Oliver asked tiredly.
"Well, for instance this gentleman." Fyers reached behind him and pulled a photo off a crate. He showed it to Oliver. "Do you know him?"
The picture showed a younger and much cleaner Yao Fei, dressed in full PLA uniform. Oliver recognized him almost instantly, and for a second thought about saying so; but something about Fyers, his men and this whole camp was setting off alarm bells in the back of his mind.
"No." he said after a pause.
Tommy blinked. "What the hell is he doing?"
"I doubt that even he knows." Slade said.
"No?"
"No." he repeated firmly. "Who's he?"
Fyers smiled tightly. "You're a poor liar." He declared. He sat back in his chair and crossed him arms. "I've been polite.I'll offer you one more chance before my manners leave me."
"Hey, hey…I don't know this guy." Oliver again argued. "I thought I was on this island all by myself."
"Do you know what this island is named?" Fyers asked. Oliver shook his head, and he continued. "We're on Lian Yu- Mandarin for 'Purgatory'," he leaned forward, his gaze boring into Oliver's eyes, "and I can make it feel like hell."
Fyers got up and walked around the table so that he was standing by Oliver. "I don't know why you're protecting him." He said, looking down at the boy. "You're young, you don't know why, either." He considered, then in a harsher voice, "Think on that when you're begging for death." He walked out of the tent. As he went through the flap, he called out "He's yours now."
Oliver turned to see a large man, dressed in black body armor and a balaclava that was half gold, and half dark blue. He carried an uzi in his hand, wore a bandoleer across his chest with M433 grenades, a knife in his boot, and a sword slung across his back. Oliver wasn't paying attention to the weapons, however, he was looking at the man's eyes, the only human part he could see- eyes blacker than the body armor he wore.
Thea shivered at the sight of the man. Tommy put an arm around her, though it was more for his comfort than hers.
The scene flashed back to Queen Manor. Workmen were busy setting up for the party. Thea was sitting out on the pool deck starring absently at the Hōzen Oliver had given her, lost in thought.
"Hey, Speedy," Oliver called, poking his head out the door. "One of the workers left a keg too far from the you ask them to move it please?" he smiled and lifted his leg a bit, shaking the ankle monitor. "I got the ankle thingie. I don't want to set off a SWAT invasion." He joked. Thea gave him a devastated look. "Hey!" he said, coming out and sitting in the chair next to her. "All this stuff? It's going to be fine, I promise." He said sincerely.
"Yeah, well, when you and dad left on the yacht, you promised me I'd see you in a few days." Thea pointed out sadly. "Which didn't happen."
"This is different than that." He countered. "I didn't do any of this stuff, you know that." He paused, seeing her hesitancy. "Right?"
"You're out all the time." She said sadly. "You have those scars, and since you've been back, you've been acting really weird."
"None of this makes me some Robin Hood wannabe."
"And you get me this." She lifted up the Hōzen. "I mean, it's an arrowhead."
"Oh, man." He sighed. "Thea, I bought that in the gift shop of the Beijing airport." He lied. Oliver smiled. "Now I'm sort of happy I didn't buy you the shot glass with the panda on it, 'cause then you'd be worried I was panda man." He joked, finally drawing a smile out of Thea.
"You know, I knew you couldn't be this person." She chuckled. "I-I just… I can't lose you again."
"Deal." He agreed.
Thea smiled sadly, though a small part of her was angry with how easily Oliver lied to her.
The scene changed to downtown Starling City. Moira walked into an office where Malcolm Merlyn sat, signing papers at his desk.
"Moira." He said pleasantly, putting down his pen. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."
" you please make this quick?" she asked, "I'm in the midst of somewhat of a family emergency."
"Yes, of 's all over the local news." He chuckled."Possibly even national."
"Well, I know what you're thinking." Moira began.
"Do you?" he replied, the smile still on his face but an edge to his voice.
"My son is not the man targeting the list." She assured him. "The charges are preposterous."
"Not according to the district attorney, assistant district attorney, investigating detective in the police department that filed charges against him." He said harshly.
"That detective has a vendetta against my family." Moira argued.
"Why? Is there something untoward about your family?" Malcolm asked. Moira's eyes flickered to the second man in the room, Malcolm's bodyguard. Then she returned her gaze to Malcolm. "If so, something really needs to be done about that." He finished.
"You know dad, I have to know." Tommy said with an edge in his voice. "Were you born an asshole, or di you grow into it?" He glared at his father, who stared back coldly. He didn't say a word.
The scene changed to the SCPD, where Oliver was hooked up to the polygraph. Laurel was seated beside him, while Quentin and the polygraph tech sat across the table.
"Is your name Oliver Queen?" Quentin asked.
"You don't know who I am, Detective?" Oliver joked.
"The questions are to calibrate the polygraph. Is your name Oliver Queen?" Quentin demanded.
"Yes."
"Were you born in Starling City May 16th, 1985?"
"Yes."
"Is your hair blue?"
"No."
"But it would look good if it was." Felicity joked, trying to ease the tension. No one laughed. "No?" she asked, shaking her head. "Okay."
"Have you ever been to Iron Heights prison?" Quentin asked, looking at Oliver.
"No." Oliver replied calmly. Laurel looked over at him, surprise registering on her face for a moment before she schooled her expression.
"Something wrong, Counselor?" Slade asked.
"Oliver and I both went to Iron Heights as part of a field trip once." She said, troubled.
Slade smiled. "As I said, a properly trained man can fool the machine."
Quentin pulled out the sketch of the Hood. "Are you the man in this picture?"
Oliver flashed back to his interrogation on the island by Fyers and Bill Wintergreen. "Where can I find the man in this picture?" Fyers demanded of Oliver, who was tied with his arms above his head to the support post in the middle of the tent. The masked man loomed menacingly behind him.
Back in the present, Olive answered "No."
Quentin looked at the tech, who nodded, showing Oliver was telling the truth. Lance licked his teeth, then tried a different approach. "You steal 40 million dollars off Adam Hunt?" Quentin demanded.
"No, I didn't." Oliver answered.
"Were you marooned on an island called Lian Yu for 5 years?" Quentin asked.
"Yes."
"How is that even relevant?" Laurel demanded, cutting in. Quentin glared at her.
"I don't need to show relevance, but since you asked, whatever happened to your client on that island turned him into a cold blooded killer."
Oliver thought back to his torture on the island, of Wintergreen's sword cutting into his flesh as he screamed in pain.
Moira gasped in shock as she witnessed his torture, her hands covering her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes.
"Sweet Jesus…" Quentin said softly, watching the boy he had grown to hate withstand something he would never wish on anybody.
Thea and Laurel were also both crying, while Tommy watched, sickened at what his best friend had to go through. Diggle watched with a pained expression- he had known soldiers who had been tortured, and sympathized with the man. Felicity turned away, tears in her eyes, unable to watch.
Slade, oddly, felt a touch of remorse for the kid. He had felt Wintergreen's blade himself, and knew what Oliver was going through better than anybody in the room. And the Oliver in these memories hadn't yet betrayed HER, so he didn't feel bad at wishing the kid had never been through that.
Malcolm watched impassively. He had been trained to withstand torture in the League; he knew what the masked man was doing must be excruciatingly painful for the boy. And yet, he didn't seem to be talking at all. Malcolm found himself feeling proud of Oliver for having such strength within him.
"The physician that examined you reported that is covered in scar tissue." Quentin stated coldly. Laurel glanced at Oliver in shock, the looked back to her father.
"The machine won't work unless you ask a question." She said.
"Did that happen to you there?" Quentin asked bluntly.
His mind still on the torture, nevertheless Oliver managed to answer calmly "Yes."
"When you came back, you told everyone that you were alone on that island." Quentin noted. "Are you claiming that your scars were self-inflicted?"
"No." Oliver admitted. "I wasn't alone. I didn't want to talk about what happened to me on the island." He said.
"Why not?" Quentin asked.
Oliver looked at the man steadily."Because the people that were there tortured me." He admitted, to both Laurel and Quentin's shock.
"Have you killed anyone?" Quentin asked.
Oliver paused for a long moment, before looking back up at Lance."Yes." He admitted. Quentin's eyes flickered towards Laurel, satisfaction clearly evident in his eyes. He looked back at Oliver. "When I asked your daughter Sara to come on my father's yacht with me." The young man finished brokenly, the very tenuous grip on his control slipping briefly. "I killed your daughter." He admitted again. He tore the sensors off his body, ignoring the look of rage and pain on Quentin's face and the look of sadness on Laurel's as he stormed out of the room.
Slade paused the memory to allow the rest of the room a few moments to recover.
"Are you satisfied now, Quentin." Moira said angrily. "Are you happy that my son suffered for his sins?"
Quentin looked the woman in her eyes. "No, I'm not." He said truthfully. "And I'm sorry, for what its worth."
After a few minutes, Slade started the memory up again.
After the door closed, the Tech looked at Quentin. "I'd have to study the data, but just eyeballing it, he's telling the truth." He stated. Quentin hummed noncommittally.
"Can I assume that you'll be recommending Ms. Spencer to drop all charges against my client?" Laurel asked, rising from her seat. Quentin shook his head.
"No." he said. "I know a guilty man when I see one. He is guilty, whether you can see it or not." Laurel glared at her father, and then stormed out of the room, leaving Quentin there with his thoughts.
The scene cut to Queen Manor later that night, and Oliver's party was in full swing. Oliver himself came out, dressed in a faux prison jumpsuit, and hopped on top of the small stage that had been erected. He mimed to the DJ to cut off the music, which she did promptly.
"Hi, everybody!" he yelled. The crowd yelled back in Lance looked up from the crowd in thinly veiled disgust. "I'm very touched that you came to celebrate with me before I am sent up the river! Closest neighbors are six miles away, so don't worry about the noise." He paused. "Actually, on second thought, let's wake those losers up!" The crowd roared and the DJ turned the music back on. Oliver jumped down and walked through the crowd, careful to stay on the pool deck lest Lance have a reason to arrest him (again). He walked over to Diggle.
"If you think this is what prison's like, you are in for a rude awakening." He joked as the two headed back inside.
Tommy let out a small chuckle, and even Thea smiled slightly.
Secured in Oliver's room, he showed Digg his phone, which was tied into the GPS tracker. "Mueller's car has been parked in the warehouse district of the Glades for 45 minutes." Oliver stated.
"Yeah, that's a good place for an arms deal." Digg noted. "Ok, since this is going down tonight, what do we do, drop a dime on Mueller with the cops?" he asked.
"No, the man in the Hood." Oliver announced. "He's going to stop them."
"Oliver, you can't leave the house." Diggle argued.
"It doesn't have to be me in the hood." He replied, giving Diggle a significant look. Diggle chuckled, more out of annoyance than amusement.
"That's why you threw this ridiculous party? So you have a hundred witnesses placing you here at the house while I'm supposed to be across town dressed as a vigilante?"
"I thought that it was going to be good enough just for you to be seen in the hood." Oliver explained. "I didn't count on Mueller showing up and I didn't count on the possibility that the Glades could be flooded with machine guns." At Diggle's glare, he softened his tone. "Look. I promise, it was never my intention to put you in harm's way." He said apologetically.
"Oliver, I didn't think joining your crusade was ever going to be risk-free." Diggle said after a moment. "I just don't like being played. Now you might have gotten used to lying to everyone else in your life, but I'm the one guy you don't lie to." He told him sternly. Oliver nodded in acceptance.
"You're right.I'm sorry." He said sincerely. They stared at one another, and then Diggle walked past him. "So am I going to jail?" Oliver asked, a little desperation creeping into his voice. Digg turned to him.
"No, man." He said. "I got to stop an arms deal."
"Guess we'll see if my big head will fit in the hood." Dig joked, causing Felicity to blush.
The scene changed to Queen Consolidated, where Walter was working late. His phone rand and he picked it up.
"Hello?"
" ," the voice on the other end of the call said, "I'm sorry to bother you, is Mike Vogel down in security.I'm afraid I have some sad news for company's head of security, Josiah Hudson, was in a car accident 's dead, sir." Walter stared at the phone in shock.
Moira turned and looked at Malcolm, who merely raised an eyebrow in return.
Back at Queen Manor, Oliver was getting a drink at one of the bars set up in the foyer. He turned around to see Laurel walk in the door
"Hello." He said pleasantly. "Do we have a legal meeting or something? Because I have friends over."
Laurel looked around in bemusement. "Do you think maybe you can tear yourself away from this inappropriately themed rave for a couple minutes?" she asked wryly.
Oliver led her up to his bedroom "Wow." She remarked upon seeing it. "I can't remember the last time that I've been in this room."
"I can." Oliver replied instantly. "Halloween, were getting ready for Tommy's party."
"Ah, Yes." She remembered, walking into the room. "I wore those horrible fishnets."
In the control room, Mia, Stephanie and Sara all laughed.
"I thought you looked good." Oliver remarked, closing the door. They both smiled at the memory.
"Listen," Laurel began, turning to face him. "I just wanted to come by and apologize for my father's behavior the polygraph."
"You don't have to apologize for him." Oliver said. "He has a right to feel any way that he wants."
"It wasn't just Sara, Ollie."
"What do you mean?" he asked. Laurel took a moment to gather her thoughts.
"After Sara died, my father threw himself into his work.I think that's part of the reason I'm an attorney. He ran to the law and I followed. But my mother couldn't." she explained. "So she left him." She sighed. "Left us." She stepped closer to him. "Look, I'm not trying to tell you this to make you feel bad, or worse. I just-I really want you to understand him."
"Why don't you hate me?" Oliver asked plaintively. "You should."
"I did." Laurel agreed. "For so long, I did, after today, I realized that I was so focused on what happened to my family that I didn't even stop and wonder what could have happened to you." She exhaled loudly. "I didn't know about the torture, or your happened to you on that island was far more than you deserved. And I was wrong that I didn't ask you before, but I'm asking you now. I need to know .I need to see." she pleaded.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yes." At her answer, he slowly undid the buttons on his shirt, but he couldn't bring himself to open it. Laurel did that, reaching up hesitantly and gently parting the shirt halves to reveal the scared tissue underneath. She gasped softly. "How did you survive this?" she asked softly.
"There were times when I wanted to die." Oliver said truthfully. "In the end there was something I wanted more."
Slowly they came together, until finally they were kissing. It was at once both sweet and desperate, a fulfillment of a longing both had long ago resigned to the past.
Laurel was the one to finally break the kiss. "No." she gasped, backing away, shocked by her own actions. She practically ran past Oliver. Grabbing her purse from the ground as she opened the door.
"Laurel, you don't have to go." Oliver said, pain and sadness creeping into his voice, but she was already gone.
The scene flashed back to Lian Yu. Oliver as hanging by his wrests limply, blood oozing from several deep cut inflected by Wintergreen.
"Amazing." Fyers said. Oliver forced himself to open his eyes, glaring weakly at the man. "You have resolve I didn't credit you for." He complimented, then considered. "Or perhaps he truly doesn't know should put him out of his misery." He told his masked assistant. Wintergreen moved forward-
Then suddenly Yao Fei was there. He took down one guard and Fyers, fired one arrow that severed the rope holding Oliver up, sending him crashing to the ground. Then he shot an arrow at Wintergreen- who caught is mere centimeters from his face. He snapped the arrowhead off with his thumb and drew his sword, and the two went back and forth furiously for several minutes. Yao Fei was able to use his bow to block the sword, and finally managed to get one good hit in on the masked man's face. The Asian then pulled up Oliver and dragged him out of the tent.
The tension left Moira's body as she saw her son rescued.
The scene shifted to the present. Down at the docks, Mueller was showing off his merchandise to a couple of gang bangers.
"It's an M249 machine gun." He described, taking the weapon in question from his assistant and showing it off. "Gas-powered, air-cooled, fires up to 800 rounds per minute." He tossed it to the gang leader, who whistled in appreciation. Suddenly, the lights went out. Mueller looked around in alarm. He grabbed the gun out of the teen's hands. "We need to move, now!" he shouted, just as The Hood came out of the shadows. He took out the three gangbangers with fists and feet, finally catching the third in a chokehold and holding him until the boy passed out. Mueller and his men sped off in a Mercedes, leaving the tuck and his merchandise behind. With three gang members on the ground, Diggle looked around, satisfied.
"Nice work, Mr. Diggle." Tommy complimented.
"It's all in the wrist." Dig joked.
The scene changed to Queen Consolidated. Walter was sitting behind his desk, steeling himself for the conversation that was soon to come. He looked up as Moira walked into the office.
"I'm not accustomed to being summoned to the office in the middle of the night." She began, putting her purse down on a chair, "Well, what was it that was so important that I had to race down here?"
"I found the 'Queen's Gambit', Moira." Walter said without preamble. A look of panic and fear flitted across her face. "I know you secretly had the boat salvaged." He went on. "I wanted to move it to a more secure location before confronting you about it. In fact, I sent Josiah Hudson to the warehouse for precisely that purpose." He took a breath. "But he died mysteriously in a car accident." He looked at his wife. "I hope you now have a better understanding of why it is I've been so distant of late." He continued as she took a seat. "It's very disconcerting to discover that the person with whom you share your home, your bed and your heart has been lying to you so convincingly, and I would be a fool not to consider all the things that you have told me were lies."
"Walter, you're my husband, I-" she tried, but he cut her off.
"Yes, I am." He said coldly.
"Walter, please." Moira stood. She looked pleadingly at her husband, "You've got to stop looking into this, it's not safe. You'll be-you'll be upsetting people, people with influence. You are very far out of your depth." She warned.
Back at Queen Manor, Oliver was still holed up in his room when his phone rang. He answered it.
"Man in the hood, one, gangbangers, zero." Diggle said.
There was a knock at the door. "Hang on." He said to the phone, then put it to his chest. "Yeah?"
"Mr. Queen," outside the door, Malcolm Merlyn's bodyguard, dressed as a bartender, was quietly attaching a silencer to his pistol. "If you're entertaining guests upstairs, should I have some drinks sent up?" he called through the door.
Tommy sat up in alarm as Thea and Laurel gasped. Moira glared at Malcolm, who watched impassively.
"No." Oliver responded, getting up to rejoin the party. "It's just me up here and I'm on my way back down." Into his phone, he said quietly. "Good job. Now get back here." He went to open the door as he hung up his phone, and he was briefly startled by the bartender that was standing there. He was even more startled when the man brought his gun up. Acting on instinct, he grabbed the gunman's hand, forcing the gun away from his face, and punched him solidly on the jaw. He dragged the man into the room, quickly disarming him, but soon the man fought back. The two flew over the love seat and crashed through a coffee table, smashing it to bits. He tossed the killer across the room, inadvertently right to his gun. The man got up and was about to shoot Oliver when suddenly he was shot from behind by a charging Lance. The two men looked at one another in shock.
Tommy was about to leap off the couch at his father when another face leaned in, looking at the screen.
"Wow, that was a dick move." Stephanie Brown said. "I never really tangled with you, but I can see why everyone up here hates your guts." She looked over at Tommy. "Mia felt some people in hear might react badly to that, so she sent me in here to keep the peace. So you should relax, Tommy boy." She gave him a significant look, and Tommy reluctantly fell back into the couch. She looked over to Slade. "Continue, please."
Later downstairs, Oliver and Thea were sitting on one of the couches in the sitting room, Oliver with an ice pack in hand. Tommy sat across from them in a chair. Lance was busy talking on his phone.
"Yeah." Lance grunted into the phone. "Yep." He hung up and looked over at Oliver.
"How did you know I was in trouble?" Oliver asked curiously.
"Because when the guy was fighting you, he broke the ankle monitor." Lance responded truthfully.
Just then, Moira and Walter walked in briskly. "Are you all right?!" she asked her son, panicked.
"I'm fine."
"Oliver…"
"Mom. I promise." He assured her. That fear aside, she whirled around and pointed an accusing finger at Lance. "This is on you." She practically snarled. "By accusing my son publicly, you've made him a target."
"Do you have any idea who attacked Oliver?" Walter demanded.
"We haven't identified him." Lance admitted. "Though it must be someone with a grudge against the Hood, obviously." Lance moved towards Oliver and removed the ankle monitor.
"What are you doing?" Oliver asked as he did it.
"I got a call from my lieutenant. An arms dealer was attacked across town tonight." He paused, and then said reluctantly "By the vigilante. Multiple witnesses put him there." He turned to Moira. "In light of that, all charges against your son are being dropped."
"I'm truly sorry for what's happened to your family, Quentin." She said softly, and then her voice hardened. "But would you kindly get the hell out of my house." It was a order, not a question.
"Mr. Lance," Oliver called out. "Thank you." He said sincerely. Lance nodded in reply, and then left.
The scene changed to the next day. Moira entered Malcolm's office as he was preparing to leave.
"Moira." He said pleasantly. "Did we have an appointment?"
"No, but I decided to screw propriety after you tried to have my son killed." Moira shot back.
Malcolm smiled slightly at the fire in her voice. "I'm sure you understand, I was justified in suspecting your son of being the vigilante targeting our associates." He explained calmly. "I had to take steps."
"And now that you know your steps were taken in error; that Oliver is not your enemy." She asked. Malcolm chuckled.
"I offer my sincerest apologies."
Slade laughed. "I like your style, Mr. Merlyn."
Moira glared at him. "I know you found out I had the yacht salvaged, just as I know you had Josiah Hudson killed." She said pointedly.
"Well, accidents tend to befall people who are too curious." He replied, equally pointed.
"I've been the good soldier." She shot back. "I've done everything you asked. But if any member of my family so much as gets a paper cut, I will burn your entire world to ashes." She threatened, turning and walking out of the room. Malcolm smiled as she left.
"I am so ashamed to be your son right now, I can't even being to describe it." Tommy snarled. "And when we get back, I will see you in jail, if it's the last thing I do."
Malcolm smiled cruelly. "I would truly enjoy seeing you try, Tommy. But the sad fact is, I just don't think you have the spine for it."
Tommy moved to rise from the couch, but was held down by Stephanie. The blonde glared at Malcolm. "You know, my dad was an asshole with delusions of grandeur and a thirst for power. He wanted to rule Gotham's underworld. And I was a teen-aged slacker who hung with the wrong crowd and got knocked up before I turned seventeen. And you know what?" she smirked at Malcolm. "I got his ass thrown in jail so many times I lost count. That's why I used to call myself The Spoiler- because I spoiled so many of my dad's plans."
"Is there a point to this story?" Malcolm asked.
"Yeah. Your son is twice the person I was when I started. So don't count him short, or else you might be sharing a cell with Bubba sooner than you think." She sat back, releasing her grip on Tommy's shoulder. He glared at his father, but soon turned his attention back to the screen.
The scene changed back to the Manor. As Oliver was picking through the wreckage in his room, he found the small leather pouch that contained his healing herbs. He sat back down on his bed and stared at the bag, remembering.
Flashback to the island, where Yao Fei helps a struggling Oliver into the cave. He laid him down on the cot.
"I tell you, island dangerous, but you not tell them where to find me." He said in admiration, "You stronger than I thought." He held out the leather pouch containing the herbs. "Take it." He said, and Oliver did so. "I lead them off, you stay." He moved to the cave' entrance. "Remember, breathe." He called back. "You breathe, you survive here longer."
Oliver struggled to get to his feet. "No! I'm coming with you!" he called out, just as Yao Fei triggered a large rock to fall in front of the entrance, hiding it.
Back in the present, there was a knock on Oliver's door. It opened to reveal Laurel.
"Rough party." He joked.
"My father told me what happened." Laurel said. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." He assured her.
Laurel held up a white envelope. "These are your polygraph results." She said, stepping closer. "My father asked you if you'd ever been to Iron Heights." She continued. "It's the prison where the vigilante saved me last week. It's also where you and I went on our eighth grade field trip." She added. Oliver kept his face blank. "When you said that you had never been there, I thought maybe you were just nervous, or that you'd forgotten. But then I looked at your results, and there is a slight flutter in your answer to that question. And if you lied on one, you could have lied on others." She finished.
"What happened to me being too selfish to be a masked crusader?" he asked coldly.
"Oliver! I saw your scars!" she exclaimed. Oliver looked away, and then moved to stand right in front of her. Though he didn't look at her; instead he kept his eyes on the ground.
"Make up your mind, Laurel." Thea muttered.
"Do you want to know why I don't talk about what happened to me there?" he asked. He finally looked right at her. "Because if people knew; if you knew… you'd see me differently. And not as some vigilante guy. As damaged." He sighed. "I don't sleep. I barely eat. I can barely sign my name, let alone aim a bow and arrow." He said emotionally, only partially lying.
Laurel took a breath. "After last night clearly we're still attracted to one another." She said. "Oliver. Nothing can ever happen between us." She stated.
"I know." He replied. She handed him the results, then turned and left.
The scene changed to the lair. Oliver was moving his munitions crate to the top of one of the work tables.
"So you lied to her." Digg said, then added, "Or maybe you just gave her a version of the truth."
"I told her what she needed to hear, Diggle." Oliver argued. "She was too close."
"Sad thing is, I think you actually believe that." Digg countered. "I think things didn't go down exactly how you planned."
Diggle's voice continued as we see Thea, seated at her desk in her room, looking over an article about Oliver. She looked over, then picked up the Hōzen, studying it.
"I wonder how long it takes me to figure it out?" Thea wondered to herself.
"It might be a while." Diggle said. "He seems to be actually trying to hide his secret with you and your family."
"You didn't count on so many people having questions, doubting you. You didn't think about what happens when you when you lie to the ones you love the most."
Walter was in the Foyer, pulling a wheeled suitcase that he handed over to his driver. "Thank you, Chris." He said as Moira, clad in her pajamas, ran down the stairs. "Walter?" she called, stopping halfway down the stairs. "What is this?"
"Business trip." Walter announced. "I decided it's long overdue for me to inspect our holdings in Melbourne."
Moira read between the lines. "And how long will you be?" she asked, trying to reign in her emotions and failing.
"I don't know." He said sadly, then walked out to his car.
Moira closed her eyes, a pained expression on her face,
Diggle's voice continued. "When you were stuck on that island plotting your grand plan to save the city, I don't think you stopped to consider the effect it would have on the people in your life."
The scene cut to a bar, where a very drunk Lance sat slumped over the bar, chewing on a straw. Laurel came in, spotted her dad, and walked over to him. "Let's go." She announced, helping him to his feet. Lance grunted drunkenly. "You're ok. No, no, no." Laurel said as Lance reached for his drink, downing the last of it before he allowed her to guide him out of the bar.
Laurel sighed as Quentin squirmed in his seat. He hated his weaknesses broadcast to everyone else.
Back at the Lair, Diggle finished. "Or how it might hurt them."
"You're wrong." Oliver denied. "I think about it all the time. And just to be clear, not being able to tell my family the truth…it doesn't hurt anyone worse than it hurts me." He finished, opening the case and pulling out the hood.
"Where are you going?" Diggle asked worriedly.
"Mueller still has to sell those guns and I have to stop him." He said coldly.
"Oliver-" Digg called out.
"He had his chance."
Thea winced at the tone in his voice.
The scene changed to another warehouse down by the docks. Mueller was pitching his deal to another gang.
"28 crates, four guns in each crate, $250,000 cash. Take it or leave it. That's the deal." He said. Then suddenly, The Hood- the REAL Hood was on them. He managed to take out the guards and the gang in under a minute, disabling them all with arrows and stiff blows. He finished and drew the bow back once more, his eyes locked on to Mueller's.
"Leo Mueller, you have failed this city." The Hood intoned, and then let loose an arrow, right into Mueller's heart.
TBC 12/15
A/N: Does anyone else think it was utterly ri-goddammned-diculous that Thea never figured out Oliver was The Arrow? I was certain that she'd figure it out before the end of Season 2, but she didn't. And I hated that.
I had a devil of a time uploading and editing this chapter, so if there are any errors, it's because I just sped through it the FORUTH time.
Also- Arrow vs Flash this week. I cannot wait!