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.
Addition Disclaimer: Warning- strong language at the end of this chapter. You have been warned.
Chapter 10: Year's End
"Well," Moira said as the screen faded to black. "Shall we press on with one more, and then break for lunch?"
"That sounds like a great idea." Everyone turned to see Mia stroll into the room. "since Malcolm's decided to be extra-dicky all of the sudden, I figured I'd sit in on this one." She pulled a chair over next to him and sat down, taking the remote from Moira as she did so. As she sat, Mia leaned over and whispered "Ibqa qaweian." in his ear. Malcolm looked at her confused, but she merely hit play on the remote and settled back in her chair.
The scene opened in a seedy, rundown apartment. Adam Hunt was on the phone, pacing in the bedroom.
"My, how the mighty have fallen." Quentin noted with mild satisfaction.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." He was saying, taking a sip of the cheap scotch he had bought. "Look, all I'm doing is looking to get something going again. Yeah, I know. I know, but this time—" A loud creak caught his attention, and he turned, looking down the hallway into the living room where a hooded figure stood. "I have to call you back." He said into the phone, hanging up. He tossed it on his bed. "What?" he asked the silent figure. "Did you come back for another pound of flesh? You're gonna be disappointed, pal. Thanks to you, I'm—"
He never finished as first one, and then three arrows pierced his heart. He fell back onto the bed, dead, as the hooded man turned and left.
Everyone stared, dumbfounded by what they had just witnessed- all except Malcolm and Mia. Malcolm looked over at his once and future daughter and knew why she was in the room. 'My greatest secret revealed, then.' He thought to himself.
"See, this is what I was worried about." Quentin was saying. "Oliver may be doing good, but now he's inspiring more nut jobs to come out and play archer."
"This man was not playing archer." Slade said. "That man was a trained professional."
"I'd have to agree." Diggle concurred. "The grouping was too neat. I may not be into archery, but as a sniper I know that kind of shooting takes a lot of training."
The scene changed to the lair, where Oliver and Diggle were training with combat knives. They moved in a steady rhythm, each blocking the other's shots.
"Nice. Picking up the pace." Oliver complimented.
"I could say the same thing about you." Dig replied. "You crossed 3 names off your father's list this week alone."
"Yeah, well, some of these guys are just giving it up now. All I gotta do is pay 'em a visit."
"It seems the vigilante's reputation is beginning to precede him." Dig noted. Oliver changed it up and caught Dig across the forearm, leaving a scratch. "Ah!" Dig said, more in surprise than in pain.
"Whoo." Oliver let out a breath. "Another round?" he offered.
"No." Dig declined. Oliver moved out of the training area and sat at the desk.
"Gonna take my nephew over to the mall so he can let Santa know what he wants for Christmas." Dig said, making small talk.
"Oh. Christmas." Oliver said in surprise. "I didn't even realize."
"That was because you've been logging in so many hood hours ever since that thing with Helena." Dig said slyly.
Oliver shot him a look "I meant… there were no holidays on the island." He explained. "Every day was 'How do I stay alive'? To do that, you had to forget things, like Christmas. My dad," he smiled, remembering, "threw a party every year, and he would put a Christmas tree in every room. The whole mansion smelled like…" he trailed off, sighing. "It smelled like Christmas."
Moira and Thea both smiled sadly at that. Mia looked wistful. "God, I haven't thought of that in years." She said, more to herself than anyone else in the room.
"Maybe you can give the list a rest and just enjoy the holidays with the family." Diggle suggested. "Besides, I hear St. Nick has a list of his own. I wager you're in the 'nice' column." He got up and patted Oliver on the shoulder. "Go home, Oliver." He said, walking out. Oliver sat back in the chair, thinking back.
The scene changed to the Island. Oliver was still in the cave, sealed off by Yao Fei. As he dozed in the dark corner, the rocks around the entrance shifted. Soon, sunlight was hitting Oliver's face, and he opened his eyes to see Yao Fei enter, carrying a dead rabbit and a jug of water. He put the items down, and looked at Oliver in surprise.
"You not dead." He said. "Good."
"Where the hell you been? I ran out of food and water days ago." Oliver groused. Yao Fei turned and walked out of the cave. "Hey-hey, where are you going? He called, crawling weakly after him. He saw the jug and lunged for it. He was trying to unscrew the lid when the Asian man came back in- dragging a dirtied and disheveled Fyres, who had an arrow sticking out of his leg.
"You..." Oliver said in surprise, then mustering every ounce of strength he had, drew back and slugged the man hard on the jaw. The hit sent them both sprawling to the ground.
Slade laughed at that. 'The kid did have spirit back then…' he thought.
Yao Fei moved to separate the two. "Stop! Stop!" He commanded of Oliver, who glared at him in return.
"He's the one who tied me up and had me tortured." He growled. "All 'cause he was looking for you. He would've killed me if you didn't show up!"
Yao Fei held out a knife to Oliver. "Then you kill him." He offered. Oliver coughed, unsure if he could even take a life. "Or he can take you home." He continued.
Oliver looked at him in surprise. "What?"
"He has a plane." Yao Fei revealed. "A way for you off this island."
Slade sighed. 'So that's how he got captured.' He thought. 'Yao Fei, you honorable fool.'
The scene shifted back to the present as Oliver walked in to Queen Manor.
"Hey." He told Thea, who was walking out of the dining room. He kissed her on the cheek. "You look very pretty. What's the occasion?"
"Mom and Walter are having a dinner party with some big muckety-mucks." She let out a bored groan. "Best night of my life."
"Thea, why aren't there any decorations up in the house?" Oliver asked suddenly. Thea was taken aback.
"What do you mean?"
"No wreaths, no trees." He noted. Thea gave a nervous laugh.
"Everyone has just been really busy lately. I'm sure they haven't got around to it yet." She dodged.
"Does mom at least have some of those boxes of candy canes? Remember we used to race to see who'd finish first?" he asked grinning at the memory.
Thea smiled as well. "Yeah. I always won."
"No. You cheated." He argued with a smile.
Thea smiled at the memory, as did Mia. Tommy noticed and raised an eyebrow.
"You know, that's kind of creepy." He said, earning a slap on the arm from Laurel.
"Behave." She said simply.
Mia snickered. "I forgot how whipped you were." She said.
"Hope I grew out of that." Tommy said. The smile fell off Mia's face, and instead of continuing the banter, she turned her attention back to the screen.
Thea sighed. "Well, she went sugar-free last year, so I doubt you'll be seeing any of those around." She said, moving off. Oliver looked after her, sighed, and then moved into the dining room. Walter and Moira were at the heads of the table, surrounded by several prominent people; chief among them Police Commissioner Nudocerdo and Malcolm Merlyn.
"The thing that people forget is that Robin Hood was a criminal." Commissioner Nudocerdo was saying as Oliver took his seat.
"And stealing from the rich to give to the poor is really the job of the Democrats." One of the business men joked snidely, to the chuckles of all.
"All joking aside, Commissioner, crime is down for the first time in 5 years." Malcolm noted.
"That's because of the changes my department has implemented." Nudocerdo argued.
"Well, that's a load of horse shit." Quentin said.
"Or perhaps," Walter chimed in, "it's because the vigilante's activities have had a chilling effect on the city's criminals."
There were murmurs of agreement around the table. Malcolm glanced at Moira, before turning his attention on Oliver. "What are your thoughts, Oliver?" he asked with a smile.
Oliver considered for a moment. "I think," he began, "the vigilante needs a better code name than 'The Hood' or 'The Hood Guy'." He joked to everyone's laughter.
"I agree." Malcolm said, considering for a moment himself. "How about 'Green Arrow'?"
"Lame." Oliver replied.
Mia snickered.
Before the conversation could progress, Walter's phone rang. "Forgive me." He said, rising. "It's the office. Excuse me." He left the room to Malcolm's cold gaze.
Moira felt her heart chill at Malcolm's look.
Walter walked out into the foyer as he answered the call. "I'm in the middle of a dinner party, Ms. Smoak," he said quietly, "So I hope this is of some importance."
At Queen Consolidated, Felicity was still researching the notebook. "I guess that depends on how you define important." She said absently. "See, most people would consider finding a list of names written in subsonic ultraviolet invisible ink important."
"But then I already know that, now, don't I?"
"Did you know 7 of the names on the list are guys the vigilante's had in his crosshairs?" Felicity noted, then mumble, "That is, if bows had crosshairs. Which they don't."
The doorbell rang, and Raisa moved to answer as Walter continued with the call. "Well, it is a rather long list, Felicity, so I would expect there to be some overlap." He said. Behind him, a police officer was let in to the house, and Raisa showed him the way to the dining room.
"Like Doug Miller." Felicity continued over the phone. "Head of Applied Sciences at Queen Consolidated."
"What of him?" Walter asked.
"Mr. Miller may end up getting an arrow in his stocking, because he's on the list." She paused to let that sink in. "So, important or not?"
Felicity smiled to herself, proud of the job she was doing. Her smile slipped slightly when she saw Malcolm Merlyn eyeing her once again.
In the dining room, the patrol man walked over to Nudocerdo and leaned down to whisper in his ear. Nudocerdo listened, and then sighed. He wiped his mouth with his napkin as he rose. "I'm sorry." He began. "Something's come up."
"Is everything okay?" Oliver asked. Nudocerdo looked around the table.
"The vigilante has struck again." He announced. "He just put an arrow in Adam Hunt." He walked out with the patrol man to hushed whispers. Malcolm let a very small, satisfied smile out before carefully schooling his emotions once more.
"That copy-cat," Tommy said slowly, realization dawning, "that was your enforcer, wasn't it?" Malcolm nodded. "But why kill Adam Hunt?"
"He was a loose end." Malcolm said simply. Tommy looked to argue, but Mia shook her head. Not now.
Oliver reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone. "Oops." He said, feigning a call. "I really do need to take this call. It's my contractor." He explained to his mother.
Moira nodded, disappointed. "Of course."
"Excuse me." He said as he left the room.
The scene changed to Adam Hunt's apartment. Nudocerdo walked in and found Lance in the bedroom, looking at the body. Lance noted the Commissioner and began briefing him.
"Well, the daughter came over, used her key, found dad." Lance said. "Hat trick to the chest."
"The hood guy." Nudocerdo said, but Lance shook his head.
"That's what I thought at first." He began. "But these black arrows aren't consistent with his M.O. And neither is the fact that the Hood took hunt for $40 million a few months ago. It doesn't make sense to kill him now." He sighed. "Something doesn't add up. We're dealing with a copycat." He stated bluntly. Outside the apartment, The Hood listened on in silence.
The scene changed to the lair later that morning. Oliver was leaning over a workbench, deep in thought, while Diggle sat at the desk.
"Who would kill Adam Hunt with an arrow?" Dig asked, then noted, "I mean, other than you?"
Oliver shot him a look, but quickly frowned. "A setup, maybe."
"You mean someone looking to cover up killing Hunt by making it look like the work of The Hood?" Dig reasoned. Oliver shook his head, confused by the evening's turn of events.
"Whoever he was, he's good." He stated. "The grouping on hunt's chest was tight. It's a compound bow, most likely. The guy is a…" he paused, trying to put his thought into words. "The guy's a legitimate archer."
Diggle leaned forward. "So someone who would be particular about his choice of arrows." He began. Oliver jumped on to his line of thought.
"We get an arrow, we get a bead on where he purchased them."
"So what are you gonna do?" Dig asked.
"If he breaks into the evidence locker, I'll be pissed." Quentin stated.
He considered his options for a few moments. "What anyone does when they need help." Oliver decided, looking over at the man. "Call a cop."
The scene changed to the SCPC. Lance was at his desk, looking over the info from the Hunt murder when a patrol man walked up.
"Quentin Lance?"
"Yeah." Lance said, rising. The other cop handed him a clipboard.
"Sign here, please." Lance did so and handed the board back. "Thanks." The cop said, handing over a manila envelope.
"Thanks." Lance said, sitting back down. He opened the envelope to find a cell phone. He pulled it out, looking at it curiously- then in rang.
"Wow. The Matrix called, they want their scene back." Felicity said. Thea snickered.
He slid his thumb over the screen, answering the call. "Lance."
"I didn't kill Adam Hunt." The Hood's distorted voice said.
"You!" Lance snarled, shifting in his seat.
"You call me The Hood. It's not a great nickname." Oliver said from the lair. "You told Commissioner Nudocerdo that you might be dealing with a copycat, another archer, which makes me your best bet to take him down. But I need your help. I need one of the arrows from his murder."
"Yeah, we're pretty good at pulling down leads off evidence." Lance growled. "Thanks."
"Not like I am." The Hood replied. "I can do things the police can't, go places they won't."
"Actually bring criminals to justice." Malcolm added. Mia put a hand on his knee; a signal to be quiet.
"Like I said, I don't even know who—"
"If this archer doesn't stop with Adam Hunt, we both have a problem." Oliver snarled. "Think about it. Then call me. Number's programmed in." Lance hung the phone up, then sat back and considered.
The scene changed to Queen Consolidated. Doug Miller walked into Walter's office; Walter rose and shook his hand.
"Doug. Thanks for coming."
"Of course." Doug replied.
"How is the construction coming along on the Applied Sciences Center?"
"Over budget and behind schedule." Doug laughed lightly. "Exactly as expected." Walter gestured at the chair behind him, and both men sat down. "Is that what you wanted to see me about?"
"No. Adam Hunt." Walter began. "He was murdered last night by the vigilante."
"I read about that." Doug replied somberly.
"I've been concerned by the idea that the vigilante might target an employee or officer of this company." He looked at the younger man. "Security red-flagged you."
"Me?" Dough asked, bewildered. "Why would this guy go after me?"
"Well, that's a point I was hoping you could shed some light on." Walter said.
Doug shook his head. "You got me. From what I've read, this vigilante only goes after white-collar criminals."
"Well, let's just hope he doesn't decide to branch out." Walter said. Looking at the man. Wondering why his name was on that list.
Moira shook her head. 'That was foolish.' She thought to herself. 'He's painting a target on his back and doesn't even realize.'
The scene changed to Big Belly Burger, fully decked out for Christmas. Oliver and Thea were sitting in his customary booth, having lunch.
"I think there should be a national holiday for the guy that invented French fries." Thea declared. "Or at least a statue or something."
"There is no Christmas party, is there?" Oliver asked gently. At her lack of response, he pushed on. "Thea, dad threw one of these every year. Do people think I just wasn't gonna notice?"
Before she could answer, a young man walked up to the table. "Hi, Thea." He said, eyes only on the girl.
"Hi! Shane." She smiled. Then remembering who she was with, gestured at her brother. "This is my brother Oliver."
"Nice to meet you, Thea's brother." Shane said disingenuously. "I bet the food on that island is better than this stuff they're serving here, huh?"
"You'd lose that bet." Oliver said with a fake smile.
Malcolm sneered at the boy; Tommy was subtly rubbing his knuckles. Thea noticed both and rolled her eyes. Suddenly something Mia had said to her when she had arrived flashed in her mind. "Oh, crap!" she exclaimed.
Mia smiled wickedly but said nothing.
Obligatory introductions done, he turned back to Thea, ignoring Oliver completely. "We're heading down to the bay to hang out if you want to come."
Thea smiled at him, smitten. "Thanks, but I'm spending the afternoon with my brother." She said regretfully, though she cast a warm look at Oliver to let him know she didn't regret it too much.
"Another time." He said. "See ya."
She watched him walk off with a smile. Oliver looked at his sister. "How do you know that Shane guy?" he asked lightly.
"We rob banks and smoke crack together." Thea joked.
"That's funny, yeah." Oliver smirked. "I have a feeling I'm not gonna be a fan."
"I have a feeling none of us are gonna be fans." Tommy noted darkly.
She looked at her brother, annoyed. "You don't even know him." She scoffed. "Let's change the subject."
"Fine." Oliver said, leaning in. "You were gonna tell me why we're not having the annual Christmas party."
Thea looked at him for a few moments, and then sighed. "When you and dad disappeared," she began, "by the time Christmas rolled around, none of us felt much like celebrating, so we kind of skipped Christmas that year." She paused. "Every year." She sighed shakily. "And it's really fine, so…"
"No. No, it's really not." Oliver said. He sat back and started thinking.
The scene changed to Queen Manor. Oliver was standing in front of Thea, Moira and Walter. "We're celebrating Christmas." He declared. "I went 5 years without it, and then Thea tells me that you guys didn't have it either and I'm the reason. So maybe now I can be the reason we have Christmas again." He smiled at them "I thought I would throw the Queen Christmas party."
Moira and Walter looked skeptical; Thea looked annoyed. "You?" Thea asked.
"I know that I haven't been the son or the stepson or the brother that all of you deserve." Oliver stated, looking at each one in turn. "Especially lately. But this feels like the right moment to start making up for lost time." He said with a note of excitement in his voice. "What do you say?" he asked, looking at his mother.
Moira looked back at him, happiness shining in her eyes. "I say yes."
"Yes!" he exclaimed. "Okay. I will take care of everything. You don't have to do anything. Just show up, look fantastic, and bring some Christmas cheer, okay?"
"Okay." His mother said. Oliver looked expectantly at Thea, who finally rolled her eyes.
"Fine." She groused.
"Well, I bet this will be fun." Thea noted dryly.
"Oh, we'll have a little bit of fun." Mia said absently with a smile. Thea narrowed her eyes at her elder self.
Walter smiled at him. "You're a good man, Oliver." He said. Oliver looked back, but his mind thought back to another time someone had said that to him.
The scene flashed back to the Island. Yao Fei was leading the way through the jungle, while Oliver walked slightly behind, leading Fyers with him.
"You're a good man." Fyers was saying to Oliver. "I can see it. Well, beneath the privileged upbringing and the wealthy veneer. I saw it when my man tortured you and you wouldn't give up your friend." He glanced at Oliver. "Not even a friend, really. Someone you just met."
"Shut up." Oliver whispered.
"What do you know him?" Fyers continued pleasantly. "Nothing, I suspect. Do you even know what this island really is?" he asked. "It's a prison. I mean this literally. Until 8 years ago, the Chinese military operated this island as a penitentiary for criminals deemed so dangerous, they couldn't be safely incarcerated on the mainland. When the military shut the program down, my unit came in and disposed of all the inmates. With the exception of two. Your friend was one of them."
That brought Oliver up short, and he stopped Fyers in turn. "Who was the other?" he asked, curious despite himself.
"You met him." Fyers replied. "He presided over your interrogation."
Oliver looked at the man, pain at the memory etched on his face. "He tortured me."
"You had information I needed." Fyers defended. "What would you do in my position? What would you do to capture the man who slaughtered dozens of people?" Oliver glanced over at Yao Fei, who was looking back at them. Shaking it off, Oliver shoved Fyers onward.
Slade harrumphed. He knew bullshit when he heard it. He wondered if Oliver did back then.
The scene changed to present day Starling City where Malcolm and Moira were meeting on an empty street in the Glades.
"Douglas Miller came to see me today, quite concerned." Malcolm was telling the woman. "He said your husband interrogated him, and his questions suggested a knowledge he shouldn't have of the list."
"Let me talk to him." Moira tried, but Malcolm cut her off.
"I think we're past the point of conversation, Moira." He said harshly. "A month ago you came to me and you told me to stay away from your family, and I did. But your family isn't staying away from me. Which means something must be done about it. Don't you agree?" he asked coldly.
"Yes, I do." Moira replied, managing to hide the tremor in her voice. "And I'll handle it."
"I guess what I'm wondering is, whether it's time for our associate to handle it." Malcolm said, the threat clear.
Moira glared at Malcolm, who stoically stared at the screen. Thea looked to be about to say something, but a shake of Mia's head kept her silent for the time being.
The scene changed to across town several hours later. A man was walking down a dark alley towards his car, talking on his phone.
"Hell, yeah, I returned the money." He said into the phone. "$70 million isn't worth getting an arrow through the chest. And you can tell him, if he's got a problem with that, he can-" suddenly an arrow pierced his heart from behind, poking through the front of his chest. He had just enough time to look down in shock before he fell over, dead.
Sometime later, Quentin Lance was showing Nudocerdo the crime scene.
"Commissioner, this is Nelson Ravich." He explained as they walked up to the body. "The Hood hit him earlier this week. Ravich wired back the money he embezzled less than 5 minutes later."
Nudocerdo, then gestured for Lance to come with him. They walked back down the alley a bit before the Commissioner turned to the Detective. "All right. We tell the press The Hood did this." He said. At Lance's look, he pressed on. "Hunt's murder is a page 10 story, at best. But Ravich makes this a serial murder case. We can't let the public get wind of the idea that there are two of these nut jobs running around!"
"You want me to ignore a serial killer." Lance asked to clarify.
Nudocerdo glared at the detective. "Just catch one of these psychos." He ordered. "I don't care which one. That is a direct order from your commanding officer." He turned and walked away.
"Some policies." Felicity said dryly. "Makes me feel safer already."
"Well, you can forget it, then." Lance called after him.
Nudocerdo turned around and gave him a look. "Fine. It's forgotten." He said pleasantly, and then his voice hardened. "And you're off this case, Sergeant, effective immediately." Nudocerdo turned and headed back to his car, leaving Lance to stare after the man in disgust.
Quentin grimaced, disgusted at his Commissioners' seeming disregard for a serial killer.
"Jackass." Laurel muttered.
The scene changed to the SCPD. Lance sat at his desk, dejected. Then he glanced down at the phone. He stared at it for several moments before coming to a decision. He picked it up and dialed the saved number, walking out into the hallway.
At Queen Manor, Oliver noted the ringing phone and answered, the voice distorter working automatically. "Don't bother trying to trace this back to me. You'll never make it through the encryption."
"There's a heating vent on the corner of O'Neil and Adams. You'll find what you're after there." Lance told the vigilante.
"It'd be a mistake to set a trap for me, Detective." Oliver warned.
"I'm trading away just about everything I believe in here 'cause it's the only way I've got to get this bastard." He snarled into the phone. "You got till Christmas. And then, copycat or not I'm coming after you."
Quentin sighed, but he wasn't surprised. With Nudocerdo blocking the investigation, The Hood would be the best avenue to take to catch the other archer.
The scene changed to the Lair, where Oliver was studying the arrow Lance had left him. Dig came into the lair and walked over to him.
"So your friend Lance gave you a Christmas present after all." Dig said as Oliver stared at the arrowhead under his magnifier.
"-Hmm." He said absently, holding up the arrow for him to see. "Teflon-coated titanium blade serrated to split the bone. Shaft is some type of specialized polymer, which is stronger than a typical carbon fiber. This…this is a custom job." He finished in admiration.
"So Lance gave in after the other archer dropped another body."
"Nelson Ravich." Oliver confirmed.
"Which is another name you crossed off your dad's list." Dig noted. "So is this guy trying to frame you or call you out?"
Oliver looked back at the man. "Either way, I need to find him."
Moira glanced nervously at Malcolm. The last thing she wanted was for her son to go up against whatever madman he had hired to do his dirty work, no matter how good Oliver seemed to be.
The scene changed to Queen Consolidated. Felicity was down in the IT Department looking over a digitized version of the List she had copied onto her laptop when Oliver walked in, holding a long closed tube. He made his way quietly to her desk, and then stood in silence as he worked on her tablet, oblivious to his presence.
"Hey." He said finally, causing her to jump in her seat.
"Don't you knock?" she asked, recovering her composure.
Oliver smiled at the woman. "Felicity, this is the I.T. Department. It's not the ladies room." He noted.
"Right." She laughed nervously, shutting down her tablet. "What can I do for you?"
"My buddy Steve is really into archery." Oliver began. "Apparently it's all the rage now."
"I don't know why. It's looks utterly ridiculous to me." Felicity mumbled. Oliver smiled thinly.
Tommy, Laurel and Thea all laughed at that, while Felicity blushed. Mia couldn't help but smile.
"Mm-hmm." He said non-committal. "Anyway, it's Steve's birthday next weekend, and I wanted to buy him some arrows." He opened the tube and withdrew the arrow. "The thing is, he gets these special custom-made arrows, and I have no idea where he gets them." He held up the arrow; Felicity looked at it; fear, trepidation, curiosity and excitement playing over her face. "I was hoping you could find out where this came from." As he held out the arrow for her to take she had a feeling, deep down, that one she took the arrow, there was no going back.
"He's testing you, too." Malcolm suddenly realized. "He wants to see how far you will go."
"I'll go all the way." She replied, then sighed awkwardly. "I mean, go all the way as in solve a mystery, not as in…" she made a circle with her fingers on one hand, then stuck her other index finger through it rapidly a few times.
"Putting a hot dog into a donut?" Tommy joked, causing Felicity to blush again.
Mia smiled. "Sara was right." She said. "You are cute." That caused Felicity and Thea to blush.
Oliver seemed to know it, too. "Careful." He cautioned as she reached out for it. Felicity smiled in excitement.
"Yeah." She agreed, delicately taking it. She looked it over; down near the end of the arrow she found a stamp, almost invisible. "The shaft's composite is patented." She noted, turning to her computer. She searched briefly before looking up at him triumphantly. "And that patent is registered to a company called Sagittarius." She said, handing him back the arrow. "That's Latin for the archer." She added needlessly.
"Really? Could you find out where and when this was purchased?" Oliver asked casually, slipping the arrow back into the tube.
"According to Sagittarius company records, that particular arrow was part of a bundle shipment." She wrote something down on a piece of paper. "Sent to this address." She tore the piece of paper from the pad and handed it to Oliver.
Malcolm's yes narrowed. 'I'll need to improve my security at my other sites.' He thought blithely.
He took it with a smile. "Felicity," he said, smiling at her warmly. "You're remarkable." He said sincerely.
Felicity returned the smile. "Thank you for remarking on it."
Oliver rose. "And Merry Christmas." He added, walking out the door.
"I'm Jewish."
Oliver paused and turned back. "Happy Hanukkah." He amended, and then left. Felicity closed her eyes, slightly embarrassed, and even more curious.
"And Happy Kwanza, because why not?" Tommy added with a teasing smile.
The scene changed to Laurel's apartment. Quentin was glowering at the TV as Nudocerdo gave a press conference.
'-the significant resources of the Starling City police department. It is clear that this vigilante's cycle of violence has escalated.' The commissioner was saying. 'I'm asking our citizens to keep a close eye out and to report anything suspicious. A tip line has been set up, and a reward will be offered to anyone who aids the authorities in the capture of this madman.'
"It isn't him, is it?" Laurel said, walking up behind her dad. "The man in the hood didn't kill those people."
"You're the one who said he was a monster." Quentin remarked crossly, though his heart wasn't into the argument.
Laurel winced. "Yeah, after I was nearly killed. I wasn't exactly thinking straight."
"He was protecting me." She argued softly. "It's different." The resumed watching the TV for a few moments before there was a knock on door. "It's probably Joanna." Laurel said, heading to the door. "She said she was going to come by with some files."
Laurel opened the door to see a slightly anxious Tommy standing there. They looked at one another for a moment, the Tommy spotted Quentin. He walked in and extended his hand, slightly nervous.
Thea smirked. "This should be good…"
"Merry Christmas, sir." He said politely. "How are you?"
"Proficient with firearms." Quentin replied. Laurel gave him a look.
"Dad." Laurel warned.
"Dad."
The two Queen girls snickered in unison. Tommy gave them both a look.
"Creepy." He reiterated.
"Yeah." Quentin turned and headed into the kitchen. Laurel turned back to Tommy.
"I told you I wanted to spend the holidays with my dad." She began.
"Right. Because of Sara. Because it makes the holidays a tough time." Tommy replied. He looked into her eyes. "But when you are with someone, as I want to be with you, then there aren't tough times. There's just times." He sighed. "Something is holding you back." He stated. Laurel said nothing. "The Queens are having a last-minute Christmas party, and I would like for you to be my plus one." He said simply, then reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small white box with a red bow. "I, um, was looking through some old photographs and I found this." He said, handing the box to her. "Merry Christmas." He kissed her on the cheek, then turned and left. Laurel stared after him, and then looked down at the box.
Quentin walked back into the room. "Bad enough you're friends with this guy, and now he's your…what?" he asked, agitated.
"I don't know what he is. But he's not wrong." Laurel admitted. "Something is holding me back."
"Right. Keep listening to that something." Quentin advised, walking back into the living room as Laurel opened the box.
While Tommy looked slightly affronted, most everyone else chuckled.
She stared at the gift in wonder and sadness as her dad continued. "I try to stay out of your personal life, Laurel, I really do, but these guys- Merlyn, Queen- I mean, they're selfish. They think they can treat people any way they damn please-"
"It's you, me, and Sara." She said suddenly, cutting him off.
"What?" he asked. Laurel removed the small, round picture frame from the box and showed it to her father. In the frame was a picture of her, Quentin, and Sara, taken shortly before Sara and Oliver left on 'The Queen's Gambit'. Quentin looked at the picture, a range of emotions playing over his face.
Laurel smiled wistfully at the picture and took Tommy's hand. He smiled at her.
"You know, I think I remember where that box of photos is." He said. "I'll look through it when we get back.
"Save it for Christmas." Laurel told him warmly.
The scene changed to the warehouse district. The Hood walked silently down an alley, approaching the address Felicity had given him. Reaching the door, he opened it and cautiously made his way in. He walked slowly, taking in the workbenches around him. At the end of the room he saw a single black arrow, sticking up out of the floor. He stared at it, considering…
Felicity shuffled in her seat uneasily. "I don't need to be Admiral Akbar to know this is a trap." She muttered.
Suddenly the door slammed shut. Oliver spun around, reaching for an arrow- but there was no one there. A sudden noise from behind him, like a shorting out circuit combined with water filling a tub, caught his attention, and he turned back around. On the table behind the arrow was a large device. There was a large central tube; hanging above were six smaller tubes, three on either side- three were filled with a green liquid, three were filled with a red liquid. All six were rapidly draining into the central tube, the mixing liquids rising rapidly to the top where a small flame was being triggered on and off via an electric current.
"Binary liquid bomb." Felicity said in horror.
Gritting his teeth at his stupidity, Oliver spun back around and fired an explosive arrow at the door. He charged the door and reached it just as the charge went off- and just as the large bomb behind him exploded, sending a gout of flame at him as he rolled out the now-open doorway and into the alley. He looked back into the flaming room in frustration.
"That was too close." Diggle noted.
"How did you know that was a bomb?" Quentin asked Felicity.
"I…uh, saw it in a movie once." She said.
Tommy snapped his fingers. "Die Hard with a Vengeance." He said, and the computer genius nodded.
"You seem to have a broad field of interests." Malcolm noted pleasantly.
Felicity shrugged. "I diversify." Tommy snickered at that.
The scene changed to later that night. Oliver, cleaned up and in civilian clothes, walked into Queen Manor as the party was in full swing. Oliver walked stiffly up to Diggle. "I see the halls are decked." He noted.
"You okay?" Dig asked, noting his stiff walk.
"I'll manage." He assured Dig. "Is everyone having a good time?"
"You sure you want to do this, man? Maybe now is not the best time for you to be Martha Stewart's elf."
"My family needs this party, Diggle." Oliver said sternly. "Which means that I need it." Dig noted the front door opening, and glanced at Oliver. He turned around to see Thea's friend Shane.
"Hey, dude." He said casually. "Thea invited me. I hope that's cool." Oliver glanced at the flowers in his hand. "These are for your mom." He explained.
"Kiss-ass." Tommy growled. Thea rolled her eyes.
"Give it a rest, Bro." she warned. Her eyes flickered over to Mia, who sat with a serene look on her face. That alone put her on edge.
Oliver stared at the kid for a few moments then turned to Diggle. "Smooth." He whispered, moving off into the house.
Dig gave Shane a sardonic grin. "Good luck, kid." He said, turning to follow liver into the sitting room.
Oliver walked in and found his family standing off to the side, talking to guests as families and couples had their photographs taken.
"Thank you for coming." Moira said to one guest as her son came up. "Oliver." She said happily.
"You guys look great." Oliver complimented. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas." The three Queen's responded; Thea a little less enthusiastic than the others.
"How about a little more holiday cheer?" Tommy teased Thea.
The younger Queen shot him a look. "Everybody gets on my case when I get into the cheer, remember?"
"Let's get a holiday photo." Oliver suggested, gesturing at the photographer.
"I already sent out our Christmas cards, Oliver." Moira said.
"Mom, let's get a picture just for the 4 of us." Oliver said, giving her a puppy dog look. Moira sighed pleasantly.
"Of course." She agreed. Thea rolled her eyes, and did her best not to look too unhappy as the photographer took their picture. After that was done, Shane walked up.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Queen?" he said, handing her the flowers. "These are for you."
"Well, thank you." She said pleasantly. "I'll-I'll go put this in water." Thea smiled at Shane and led him away.
"Why do I have a feeling of impending doom?" Thea asked, looking at Mia.
Mia smiled sweetly. "Would I do that to you?"
"Yes." Thea sighed. "Just- please tell me no one's going to walk in on me and Shane having sex."
"I assure you, no one will walk in on you two having sex." Mia replied, fibbing just a little.
"Well, thank goodness for that." Moira said.
As Moira went to find a vase, Walter stopped her.
"Is everything all right?" he asked.
"You and I should talk alone." She replied quietly. As she left, Oliver moved closer to Walter.
"Everything okay between the two of you?" he asked.
Walter gave him a tight smile. "Yeah. I'm sure it'll work itself out." He assured the younger man, moving off to talk with the guests. Oliver looked around and saw Thea leading Shane off deeper into the house. Then he saw Tommy and Laurel walk in. Pushing down his worry for his sister, he walked up to them.
"So glad that both of you could make it." He said.
"Merry Christmas, man." Tommy replied, giving Oliver a hug, which he returned.
"Merry Christmas." Oliver agreed, and then turned to Laurel.
"Merry Christmas." She told him as the two embraced briefly.
"Hi." He replied, moving back. The three friends shared an awkward silence.
"So how long do you guys think it'll be till this isn't so weird?" Tommy asked. "You know, the three of us."
"It's not weird at all." Oliver said with a straight face. After a moment he laughed, the other two joining him, the tension broken momentarily.
The scene shifted to the upstairs hallway. Moira walked over to a small table and shakily put down the flowers and flute of champagne she had been carrying. Walter came up behind her then, setting down his own drink.
"You lied to me." Moira said bluntly, not looking back.
"An odd accusation coming from you." Walter noted wryly. She turned to look at him then.
"When you came home, you said you were through investigating Robert's death." She stated.
"Robert was my oldest friend." Walter said, walking past her. He stopped and turned around. "Do you take me for a man who wouldn't avenge his best friend's murder?" Moira stared up at him for several moments. Walter sighed and sat on the arm of a love seat next to the wall. "I thought I could forget about it, go back to the way things were." He admitted. "But you told me too many lies, Moira. You embezzled money from the company. Salvaged 'The Queen's Gambit'. Why, Moira? What was it all for?" he asked, pleading.
Moira stared in silence for a few moments, and then sighed in defeat. "For leverage." She confessed.
"Against whom?" Walter asked. At her silence, he repeated the question. "Against whom?"
"People who you made very angry."
"Well, then let me help you fight them."
"I can't fight them. I AM them!" She declared. Moira sighed. "I have tried so hard to convince myself that I'm not. And loving you… you were my salvation."
Walter rose and took his wife's hands in his own. "Moira." He began. "Moira. Whatever you've done, and whoever these people are, the time for lies is over. You need to tell me exactly what's going on."
Moira sagged in defeat. "Let's just get through the party. And I promise I will tell you everything." She promised him. The two embraced, kissing.
Malcolm stared at Moira, who refused to look his way.
The scene shifted back to the sitting room with Oliver, Laurel and Tommy.
"Tommy, do you mind if I talk to Oliver for a minute?" she asked. Tommy gave a pained smile.
"Yeah, I'll go grab us a couple drinks." He said, moving off. "And drink them both."
Oliver and Laurel chuckled, and Oliver gestured towards the corner. The two moved there to talk.
"I know it's probably not easy for you to see Tommy and I together." Laurel said.
"Ah, the invitation said "plus one", not minus Laurel." Oliver assured her.
Laurel chuckled. "I've been wanting to move forward with him, but something's been holding me back. I keep making these excuses; that it's my dad, it's my work, when really it's you." She acknowledged. "But for five years, I was emotionally off, because you had died. And the truth is, the last person that I expected to make me feel again has."
Oliver stared at her for a moment, then leaned in and kissed her on the cheek- a kiss between friends. "I'm happy." He lied. "For both of you."
Laurel smiled. "Thank you." She said sincerely. She left Oliver and headed over to Tommy, taking her drink from his hand. Oliver watched them, burying his pain and jealousy. Trying to get back into the spirit of things, he looked around. Not noticing any of his family, he moved off in search of them.
Oliver made his way to the second floor. Hearing music playing from Thea's room, he walked over and knocked sharply on the door. "Thea, its Ollie. I've got something to tell you…" he trailed off as he opened the door, just in time to see Thea scramble to pull her dress back up over her bra and Shane slip his shirt back on.
"THEA DEARDEN QUEEN!" Moira shouted, furious.
Thea glared at her older counterpart, who was cracking up in her chair. "You said no one would walk in on us having sex!"
"You weren't having sex." Mia said after catching her breath. "You were ABOUT to have sex. There is a difference."
"Oliver!" Thea gasped in surprise, alarm, and more than a little indignation. Oliver gave her a look, then looked over at Shane. If looks could kill, Shane would have been dead instantly. Oliver pointed at the teen.
"Hit the road." He ordered.
"What are you doing?" Thea demanded as Shane grabbed his jacket and slipped out past Oliver.
"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing, because there's a party going on downstairs that I threw for you." He said angrily, stalking into her room.
"I told you, I didn't want a party." Thea spat back. "But you didn't care. Because you came down with the holiday blues." She scoffed. "I've been trying to get you to open up for months. All this party is doing is bringing back memories I've been trying to forget."
"Thea!" he yelled, then forced himself to calm down. "Why would you want to forget?"
Thea glared at him. "No matter how fancy the party is you throw, things will never be the way they used to be in our family. Ever again."
He glared at his sister, who didn't back down an inch. Suddenly a voice from the door got his attention.
"Oliver?" Diggle said. Thea turned and walked into her bathroom.
"I'd say Oliver actually saved you from a lackluster lay, but I sneaked out of the bathroom window, grabbed Shane as he was heading out, and screwed him in the garage. Two-hump chump, totally wasn't worth it."
Thea buried her head in her hands as Moira, Tommy, and Malcolm glared at her. "If I kill myself right now, will you disappear?" she mumbled.
"Hey Dad, don't suppose you could use your enforcer for this, could you?" Tommy asked, only mildly sarcastically.
"I'm sorely tempted." He replied. Mia tried to stifle her laughs, but it was a losing battle.
"Oh, come on…"
"Thea, I know guys like that." Tommy said hotly. "Hell, I AM guys like that. You could do so much better than that jackass."
Thea glared at her bother, but Mia's laugh finally became too much and she whirled on her elder self. "Would you please stop! You aren't helping!"
"Hell, it's your ass getting grounded, not mine." Mia replied.
"It's the same ass!" Thea shot back.
"And a fine ass it is. Still, it's on you. I won't have to live with it."
"We'll discuss how grounded you are in a bit," Moira said sternly. "Mia, if you would?" Mia nodded and started the memory stream again.
"What is it now?" he growled. Diggle motioned for Olive to follow him. A moment later the two were in Oliver's room.
"The other archer's moved to the next level." Dig said, picking up a remote control. "This just hit the news. He's taken hostages." He turned on the TV to show a newscast in progress.
'Happy holidays, Starling City.' Read a fearful woman, her makeup ruined from her tears. Behind her were several other hostages, all bound to chairs. She was reading off a sheet of paper, looking into a camera obviously held by her captor. 'For the past three months, this city has been laid siege by a vigilante. But the police have been unable to bring him to justice because they lack the will to do what justice demands.' She sobbed. 'I will kill one hostage every hour in the name of this vigilante until he surrenders himself to my authority.'
Diggle turned off the TV. "Police are on the scene, Oliver. I think you should let them handle this."
"Those people are there because of me." Oliver argued. "I have to end this."
"Oliver, this guy… this guy, he's very dangerous." Dig warned. Oliver shot him an angry look.
"Diggle, there wasn't anything on the island that wasn't twice as dangerous as this pretender, and I survived there for five years." He snarled.
"How very arrogant." Malcolm said; quiet enough that only Mia heard him. She nodded.
The scene flashed back to the island. Yao Fei, Fyers and Oliver were still walking through the woods when suddenly Yao Fei stopped. He turned to Fyers and pulled out a radio.
"Call your people." He demanded. "Tell them to bring the plane."
Fyers looked at him contemptuously. "There's no need, Yao Fei. My people will be here shortly." Yao Fei looked at him in alarm; Fyers gave him a satisfied smile. "Do you not think it convenient you captured me so easily?" he goaded.
Ahead, the masked man suddenly appeared, along with several other men in black.
"So that's how they got him." Slade said, shaking his head. "Honorable fool…"
"Go!" Yao Fei yelled to Oliver as he pulled up his hood.
"What?" he asked confused for a moment before he spotted the Mercs.
"Run!" Yao Fei rushed in, attacking Wintergreen, who fought back just as viciously. Oliver took off into the woods, the Mercs firing after him. Oliver weaved between trees, and lost them long enough to look back- just in time to see Wintergreen knock Yao Fei out. Two Mercs grabbed the fallen man and dragged him away. Wintergreen looked back, searching. Not seeing Oliver he turned and walked away with the Mercs, leaving Oliver alone in the forest once more.
The scene flashed back to the present. News and police choppers orbited the abandoned factory where the hostages were being kept.
'Starling City holds its breath as the hostage crisis unfolds.' A newscaster was saying. 'Police have attempted to enter the abandoned structure in the Glades, but found rigged explosives preventing them from doing so. At the moment, there's been no sign of the vigilante as his one hour deadline nears.'
On the ground, Commissioner Nudocerdo was looking at a monitor at the command center while the Bomb Squad directed a robot towards the entrances to look over the explosives.
"I count three thresholds, each wired by Mercury switches to Semtex charges." The bomb tech said over the radio as Quentin Lance walked up.
"Can you diffuse one for HRC to use as a breach point?" Nudocerdo asked.
"Well, that's going to take a while and then he's going to know which way we're coming in." Lance stated.
The Commissioner shot him a glare. "You got a better idea, Sergeant, now would be a lovely time." Lance scoffed, and then looked back at the monitor. His couldn't exactly voice his better idea- and didn't need to, because a moment later a line was shot to the roof of the factory and The Hood rode it down like a zip line above all of the cops heads.
"I'll call that a better plan." Quentin said, still somewhat unbelieving that he was rooting for a vigilante.
He landed on the roof, and then jumped down through a skylight, landing on the floor next to the hostages in a crouch. He looked around, looking for signs of the copycat. Seeing now, he walked up to the hostages and pulled a flechette from his gauntlet quiver, then used it to cut them free.
"Where is he?" he asked the woman who had been reading the statement.
"I don't know." She replied, fearful.
"It's going to be okay." He told them all. As the last one was cut free, he moved to a hallway. "Follow me." He said after checking to see that it was clear. He led them down the hall to a stairway. "Get up on the roof." He told them. The hostages ran up the stairs, but the lady stopped, and turned back to The Hood.
"What about—"
"I'll handle him." He cut her off. "Move!" he urged.
On the ground, Lance noticed activity on one of the monitor. "Hostages." He called out to his fellow officer. Into his radio, he said, "We've got five hostages on the roof. Repeat, five hostages on the roof."
Back in the factory, Oliver walked back down the hall. He reached the end when he suddenly stopped. Turning around, he saw the other archer at the far end of the hall.
Moira's hands clenched in fear. Mia noted it and said, "Remember, these memories are about his journey to being a hero. We all wouldn't be here if he was killed now."
"Thank you for coming." The Dark Archer said. His voice was modulated like Oliver's so he couldn't recognize who was under the hood. "After the warehouse, I knew I'd have to do something dramatic to get your attention."
"What do you want with me?" The Hood called out.
"What any archer wants- to see who's better!" The Dark Archer moved to draw, but Oliver beat him to it. The Hood fired first, and the Dark Archer dodged and immediately returned fire. Oliver ducked, the black arrow shattering a window behind him. The Hood moved around the corner, firing one last shot as he went. The Dark Archer fired two more arrows in quick succession, sprinting down the hall. He entered the main room where the hostages had been, arrow nocked and ready to fire. All around him were wooden, skeletal remains of offices that had begun to rot away. He moved cautiously around the corner, searching for his target. He glanced down at the broken glass on the floor, and saw a reflection of The Hood in the rafters, getting ready to shoot. He swiftly turned and fired up, disarming The Hood.
"Damn, this guys' good." Tommy said, worried about his friend.
Oliver moved, dodging his next shot, but when he jumped to swing from a hanging light, the Dark Archer's next shot caught him in the upper thigh. He shouted in pain, landing awkwardly on a table, and then rolling off of it just as another arrow flew by his head. He grabbed his fallen bow and returned fire, causing the Dark Archer to move behind cover. The Hood nocked another arrow, and began searching for his target, looking through the wrecked offices.
Suddenly the Dark Archer came out behind him, nailing him with an arrow that into his back. The Hood groaned loudly even as another arrow pierced his back, forcing him forward.
Despite Mia assurance, Thea screamed in fear, thinking she was watching her brother being killed.
He slammed against the rotting wall of one of the offices, and before he could even move The Dark Archer was on him. A solid kick to the spine sent The Hood crashing through the wooden wall. He followed The Hood, landing another solid kick that sent Oliver crashing through another wall into the next office. He crashed to the ground, stunned. He raised his hand to ward off another kick, but he Dark Archer grabbed his hand, twisting it and breaking his wrist. He began kicking him in the side with his heavy, steel-toed boots.
"First Hunt, then Ravich," The Dark Archer snarled, punctuating each name with a kick. "And now you!" He sent several more heavy kicks into The Hood side and chest. "I know about the list, and the man who authored it wants you dead!"
Moira glared at Malcolm, but his focus was solely on the battle.
Oliver lay stunned, battered and bleeding. "They call you The Hood." The Dark Archer snarled, reaching down. "Let's see what you look like without it." He grabbed The Hood's quiver and yanked him up. As he did, though, Oliver grabbed a flechette from his wrist gauntlet and jammed it into the other archer's leg. He grunted in pain, dropping to one knee, and Oliver took the opportunity to slug him, hard. The impact sent him crashing into the wall head first, knocking him out.
Malcolm shook his head. "Careless." He muttered.
"No, prideful." Mia corrected. "And pride goeth before the fall."
Oliver grunted, heaving in as much oxygen as he could. He pulled himself painfully to his feet and staggered away, wanting to put as much distance between himself and the Dark Archer as he could. He rounded a corner, then screaming in agony, used the edge of doorway to break off the shafts of the arrows in his back. He staggered to a window and flung it open, then rolled himself out of it. He fell two stories, crashing back-first onto a dumpster before the momentum rolled him to the ground, hard. He lay there for several moments, stunned, before he was finally able to pull out his radio,
"Dig." He coughed. "Help-help." He said weakly, before finally, mercifully, passing out.
The scene changed to Starling General. Oliver slowly regained consciousness, and then bolted awake, noting his surroundings. He tried to sit up, but gasped in pain.
"Hey, relax. Relax." Dig was saying, pushing him gently back down into the bed. "Just relax. You're safe. You're in the hospital."
Oliver exhaled sharply. "What happened?" he rasped.
"I back traced your signal. I cleaned you up and got you out of there." Dig explained. "You've got a pneumothorax, three broken ribs and a concussion, but the doctor said you're going to be fine." He looked behind himself. "Some people are here to see you." He said, moving off.
"What?" he tried, but exhaled loudly, falling back into the bed as Moira, Thea and Walter came up to the side of the bed.
"Are you all right?" Moira asked worriedly.
"Oh, God, you look terrible." Thea said sadly.
"Well, thank God you were wearing your helmet." Walter said, relieved.
Oliver looked at them, confusion on his face. "I told them how you were on a bike and a semi pulled right in front of you." Diggle said helpfully.
"What were you even doing out?" Moira asked.
"You bailed on your party." Thea added.
Oliver sighed. "It seemed like the right move. I mean, like you said, it wasn't the best timing."
Thea gave a sigh of her own, felling the sting of her own words against her. "Okay, but when I was saying that, that was me being a bitch." She admitted.
Moira put an arm around her daughter. "Oh, the truth is, I don't think any of us were at our best."
"The real truth is, you wanted to have a party to bring us closer together." Walter said, moving to his wife. "Well here we are." Thea rolled her eyes, but had a smile on her face. Everyone chuckled, though that caused Oliver to gasp in pain.
"We're going to let you get some rest, hmm?" Moira said, leaning down and kissing him on the head. Walter laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, then joined his wife as they exited the room.
"So," Thea said, moving closer. "We never got to the exchanging presents part."
Oliver chuckled painfully. "I don't think I deserve a present."
Thea sighed. "Look, I know that I've been hard on you, about being different from the way you were." She started. "But the truth is, Ollie, I'm not the same person I was five years ago, either."
"So maybe we can just accept each other." Oliver suggested. "Not for who we were, but for the- for the people we are now."
"Yeah." Thea agreed. Then she held up to candy canes.
"Ohh!" Oliver smiled. "No cheating."
"You're on."Thea smiled, handing one of the canes to Oliver.
"Come here." He said, Thea leaned in and gave her brother a gentle hug.
Mia paused the scene. "I will just say this once." She began, her voice cold as steel. "You are about to see a couple very disturbing scenes, and learn something that will probably shock most of you. You will not react. You will not jump up, you will not scream bloody murder. You will wait for the end of the memory stream, and then we can discuss this like rational people. Am I understood?" she asked. She waited until everyone nodded, then looked to Tommy and Thea. "I'm sorry." She told them, then pressed play.
The scene changed to an undisclosed location, though it had a very familiar setup. The Dark Archer limped in. He made his way to a workbench that held a row of arrows and leaned heavily against it. He reached up, ripping off the mask and hood to reveal the face of Malcolm Merlyn.
The whole room was shocked- except for Slade, who had recognized a fellow warrior, even in his civilian garb. He nodded in appreciation at Malcolm, who smirked slightly in response.
The blood drained from Tommy's face as he finally saw his father for what he truly was. It wasn't enough that he was playing puppet master, enacting a scheme that would bring down The Glades so that he could rebuild it in his image; he was also his own enforcer- a cold-blooded murderer who killed anyone who would dare get in his way. The knowledge both sickened and enraged him.
Moira, too was pale. A man who had been one of Robert's oldest friends, a man whom she had shared a bed with once-
A man whom her husband had now angered.
Moira had known for years that Malcolm was capable of having anything done to secure his grand plan, but she had never imagined that he was the one carrying out the murders. The thought frightened her even more, especially knowing his displeasure with Walter.
Thea felt sick. It wasn't enough that her brother was a vigilante whom killed more often than captured, it wasn't enough that her own mother was helping a man carry out a plan that would kill hundreds, it wasn't enough that said man was actually her biological father! Now, her real dad also happened to be a cold-blooded killer with a penchant for arrows and kicking people to death? She was sure, seeing Malcolm unmask, that there was nothing else that could make this memory set worse.
She was wrong.
The scene changed to Q.C. Walter had returned to the office to finish off some work and was leaving again, talking on his phone to Felicity.
"Thank you, Felicity." Walter said. "It was good of you to call, but Oliver's going to be fine. He's already on the mend." He pushed the call button for the elevator, and moments later the door opened. There was a man already inside and Walter smiled at him pleasantly. "I'm stepping into an elevator, so I'll probably lose you. I'll call you straight back. Bye." He hung up the phone and pushed the button for the lobby, when suddenly the other man pulled out a syringe and stuck it in Walter's neck. He quickly fell unconscious as the doors closed.
Thea screamed and Moira let out a sob as she watched her own husband be drugged and abducted.
The scene changed to a deserted section of road. Moira stood across from Malcolm, who had cleaned up and looked perfectly normal.
"It's done." He told Moira flatly.
"And he won't be harmed?" she demanded.
"Nor will he ever discover your involvement. You have my word." Malcolm assured the distraught woman.
Thea stared at the two in disbelief.
"Forgive me if I don't find that comforting." She replied scathingly.
"You were warned, Moira." He replied coldly. "I told you to get Walter under control, and you couldn't. Steps had to be taken."
"That's what you said to justify Robert's murder." Moira shot back. "And you wonder why I don't trust you."
"Quite a bid of judgment coming from the woman who had her son kidnapped and tortured." Malcolm replied mockingly.
"To prove to you that Oliver didn't know anything." She spat. "And what does it matter now? What's done is done."
"No, Moira. It's just beginning." He smiled coldly "In six months, the organization's vision of what this city should be will be complete."
"And you won't feel a thing then, will you?" she realized, a feeling of dread settling in her stomach. "Thousands of innocent people will be dead, and you'll feel nothing."
"That's not true." He denied. "I'll feel a sense of accomplishment." He looked at her, threat clear in his eyes. "And you'll have Walter back." He smirked as he climbed into his limo. The limo moved off, leaving a shaken, tearful Moira behind.
Moira glared at Malcolm. "Bastard."
Thea threw herself into Tommy's arms, burying her face in his shoulder and desperately trying to hold back her tears. Tommy did his best to comfort the distraught girl.
The scene changed to the hospital. Oliver slowly, painfully climbed out of his bed and shuffled slowly over to the window, leaning heavily on a cane.
"You know, Dig, when I confront somebody on the list, I tell them that they failed the city." He said, staring out the window. "But tonight, it was me who failed."
"Oliver, five hostages are home tonight with their families enjoying the holidays." Dig pointed out. "Because of you. This guy, the other archer- he'll get his. And you'll give it to him."
"We might have a bigger problem." Oliver said. "The other archer told me that somebody compiled the list. I always assumed it was my father. But what if it wasn't?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" Dig said.
"I think there's someone else out there. Someone who's more of a danger than the archer." Oliver seethed. "And I am going to take him down." He vowed.
The memory faded to black.
Suddenly Thea lunged out of her seat towards Malcolm. "You son of a bitch!" she screamed as she was intercepted by Mia, who held her back. Tommy jumped to his feet and came over to her, taking the younger girl from Mia's arms. "What, you already killed one dad, so you have to kill another? Are you trying to make a set, you sick fuck!"
Malcolm rose slowly from his seat. "Thea—"
"NO!" she shouted. "You don't get to try and justify yourself! You're a sick fuck, and if you even think of coming near my family, I'll fucking kill you!"
"Thea! THEA!" Tommy shouted, shaking the girl slightly to get her attention. "Stop it, right now! Look at me," he said as she looked towards Malcolm again. "You're better than him. Remember what you said? You're better than him. Attacking him won't change anything."
"He tried to kill Oliver! He took Walter! He already killed my dad…"
"I know, Speedy." He said gently. "But attacking him won't change anything."
"He's right, Thea." Mia said. "I brought you all here to change things. But you can't go about changing things by attacking each other! I need you calm!"
"Are you calm?" Tommy asked Thea, who shook herself out of his grip.
"I'm calm." She snarled, glaring at Malcolm, who looked ready to try and explain himself once again.
"Good." Tommy said-and then spun around and decked his father.
Mia blinked. "Well," she said slowly, "I didn't see THAT coming."
TBC
Coming next week:
"You can guess exactly what I am." Mia said evenly. She reached out and gently took the bow from Thea, sighting it and drawing back the string as her younger self had done. "This bow is much heavier than the one we used in archery camp. Not only in the pull, but by all of the lives it took. I was an assassin for many years, Thea. And I was VERY good at my job." She gently let off the pressure on the string. "I made so many mistakes," she continued softly, looking at the bow in her hands. "Wasted so many years. Took so many lives… for nothing." She moved past the shocked girl and placed the bow back on the rack, then shut the glass door. As she did, she saw her reflection in the glass, her face right where the hood was.
"Is that why you're doing this?" Thea asked quietly. "Trying to undo all of the lives you took?"
Mia shook her head. "Not all. Just two."
Translation:
ibqa qaweian- Stay Strong.
My very, VERY special thanks to reader akramkk5, who provided me with the Arabic translation!
I would have used Arabic, but it is a bitch finding a language converter that give you the phonetic spelling in English of an Arabic word.