Disclaimer: Arrow is owned by The CW, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. The characters of the Green Arrow and the Justice League is owned by DC Comics. I own nothing; I'm just playing in their universe.
Chapter 13: Trust but Verify
Tommy and Thea stepped out into the hallway, and Tommy leaned against the window looking out onto the space beyond. "All right, Speedy," he started. "What's eating you up?"
"What do you mean?" Thea asked dully, staring at the floor.
"I mean, ever since lunch you've been acting …weird, withdrawn. Mia told me she would talk to you, and obviously something she told you upset you. And I think I know what it was." He reached out and put a finger under her chin, pushing her head up to look at him. "About her previous job?"
Thea stared at him, and then sighed. "I already knew that grew up to be a psycho-bitch, but now I'm a psycho-bitch who killed people. A LOT of people." She pointed down the hall. "My killer costume is on display down there! And I don't know…" she sighed again and looked away. "I don't know how to feel about that. How to DEAL with that."
"Simple." Tommy said, getting her attention again. "You just need to remember that we are here to change the past. Not just to save people, but to save ourselves. So every time you think about yourself as a killer, remember that, when we get back, everything changes." He smiled at his sister. "You're future isn't written in stone, Thea. Especially not now. Now, you get to write your own destiny."
Thea thought about that in silence for several minutes as she stared out the window. Then she turned back to Tommy and gave him a small smile. "Thanks for reminding me about that, Tommy."
"No problem." he replied, then smirked. "Just remember how much you like me when you turn into the psycho-bitch killer."
Thea slapped him on the arm, hard. "Jerk." Her mind at ease, the two walked back into the room and took their seats.
"Everything alright?" Moira asked.
Thea nodded. "It will be."
"Well, let's keep going." Kara announced, handing the remote to Diggle. "The honor's yours, sir."
"Well, alright." He said, pressing play.
The memory opened on an armored truck as it drove down a darkened road. The two men in the front, one older and one younger, were fighting over what kind of music to listen to.
"Whatever you're listening to, it ain't music." The older driver said, turning off the rap and turning on Jazz. "There ought to be a law."
"Well, there's not." The younger man said, switching it back to rap. The driver turned to glare at the man, but his partner suddenly yelled out "Watch it!"
Out in the middle of the street was a man. He was wearing a black uniform, tactical vest, and a gas mask and was carrying an M-32 grenade launcher. The driver slammed on the brakes and started to back up, but was cut off by a van pulling up right behind them. Two men to out of the van and moved to cover the doors. As soon as they did, the first man fired the launcher. It sent a smoke grenade through the windshield and into the cab, where it starts spilling its noxious contents. The two men inside held out for a few moments, but the smoke finally overtook them and they scrambled to get out of the truck. As soon as they touched the ground the two gunmen shot them; then one of the gunmen reached down and grabbed the keys off the driver's belt. They quickly opened the rear and retrieved the money bags, making a clean getaway in under three minutes.
"Huh." Diggle said thoughtfully.
"What?" Quentin asked.
"I recognize that takedown." Dig said. "We used the same thing in Kandahar. Only we took down insurgents, not armored cars."
The scene changed to Queen Manor the next day. Oliver was helping himself to some fruit in the sitting room while Thea pestered him about her birthday present.
"Tahitian green or midnight black- what do you think?" she asked innocently.
"I think that you've been dropping hints all week, Thea; and mom still isn't buying you a car for your birthday." Oliver replied.
"I could not have said it better myself." Moira said as she came into the room.
"Oliver got a car when he turned 18." Thea complained.
"Yeah, but I could back it out of the driveway without hitting a tree." Oliver said glibly.
Tommy snorted and Thea glared at him.
"That's true." Tommy said, walking in with blueprints in hand. "But I do remember you taking the paint off the side of your dad's Maserati."
This time Laurel laughed. "I remember that. God, he was grounded for a month."
"Robert put up with a lot of Oliver's shenanigans," Moira said, "but touch one of his babies in the garage, and you were in serious trouble."
"Thea, the party planner's waiting." Moira said distractedly. She gave Tommy a kiss on the cheek. "Sorry to run off like this." She looked at Thea, who joined her.
"Don't we have a convertible to go buy?" she asked innocently.
Oliver smiled at his sister but looked at his mother. "Good luck." He told her as they left.
"How's she holding up?" Tommy asked when they were alone.
"Oh, she's okay." Oliver replied. "Thea thinks she's actually a little bit too okay." He admitted, a bit puzzled.
"What do you mean?" Tommy asked as he helped himself to some breakfast.
"Just behaving erratically. Shut-in one minute, running the company the next."
"Well, her husband is missing and presumed who-knows-what." Tommy pointed out. "If anyone had an excuse to be erratic, it's your mom."
"That's what I told Thea." Oliver said. He caught Detective Lance on the screen and grabbed the remote, turning up the volume.
'The department has got the same comment about this heist as it did the other two. No comment.' Lance said briskly. The anchor appeared on the screen. 'The SCPD may not be willing to go on the record, but traffic cameras got the entire heist in this exclusive. The $2.3 million heist is like a scene out of the movies.'
The two men watched the scene unfold. Tommy scoffed lightly. "That's why you keep all your money offshore." He said.
"That is sound financial advice, by the way." He said, looking around. Thea rolled her eyes.
The scene changed to the Lair. Oliver was busy doing pushups when Diggle came in.
"With all the guys working up top, you might want to think about a side entrance for your, uh, Arrowcave." He suggested.
"Just put one in." Oliver replied, rising from the floor. "South alleyway. Something I want to show you." Oliver walked over to his computers to bring up some files.
"Finally getting into online dating and you need help with your profile." Dig joked.
"I'm so setting up a profile for him." Thea said suddenly with a wicked gleam in her eyes.
"Not exactly. But there is somebody I'd like to meet."
Diggle looked at the screen that showed the video the news had run of the armored car heist. "Yeah, I read about it. This is the third truck to be hit this month. I saw it on the news this morning."
"I couldn't figure out why it seemed so familiar. Then I remembered this." Oliver continued, pulling up another video. This video was a FLIR thermal imaged of an armored truck being taken down by three Marines. "Kandahar, '09, when the Marines took out a Taliban transport vehicle."
"Yeah." Dig noted, studying the images. "Well, there's a reason why it looks so similar. These guys are running the same swarming technique. Where'd you find this?" he asked Oliver.
"I was researching someone." He replied, pulling up a personnel file. "Bodyguard who works for a private security firm. Blackhawk Squad Protection Group. His name is Ted Gaynor."
Diggle looked at the image, stunned. He was silent for a few moments before he spoke. "Oliver, Ted Gaynor was my commanding officer on my first tour in Afghanistan." He stated.
Oliver gave him a sympathetic look. "Dig, I'm sorry." He said. "Gaynor's on the list."
"Bullshit." Diggle said automatically.
"Gaynor's a few hundred thousand dollars short of making your list." Dig argued.
"Well, I never said it was just one-per centers, did I?"
"Oliver, this guy saved my life." Diggle pressed. "Received a commendation for it. I don't care what your book says. He's not a stick-up man."
"You haven't known him in a long time, Diggle."
"We both kept in contact with each other since we got stateside. Six months ago he even offered me a job at Blackhawk. Now, trust me, you don't know this man like I do." Diggle said.
"I know in Afghanistan his training specialty was M-32 multiple grenade launchers, the exact same weapon used in these heists and not exactly something that you find at your local sporting goods store." Oliver replied harshly.
"Two months ago, we found out this wasn't even your father's book; that it was written by whoever hired the other archer." Dig pointed out. "Doesn't that kind of beg the question what else you could be wrong about?"
"I could be wrong." Oliver said, and then his face hardened. "But the list isn't." He moved to grab his bow. "Now, I'm gonna have a pointed conversation with Mr. Gaynor tonight. We'll see what he has to say about it." He moved off to take in some target practice. "I understand if you want to take the week off."
"Well, thank you." Dig said, and then looked down at Gaynor's picture on the screen. "Sir." He added more to his old C.O. than to his new one.
In the sitting room, Diggle shook his head. "Gaynor wouldn't be dirty."
"Actually, he is."
Everyone turned and looked at Malcolm, who smiled slightly. "It's my list, remember? Mr. Gaynor has a knack for appropriating certain items that one couldn't' buy legally. And him and his friends have been very useful in several actions in The Glades."
"What actions in The Glades?!" Lance demanded.
"The kind that never made the news, because Mr. Gaynor is that good." Malcolm looked back at Dig. "Sorry, Mr. Diggle. But people do change." Dig glared at him for a moment, then turned his attention back to the screen.
FIVE YEARS AGO
The scene flashed back to the Island. Oliver studied the map he had taken off of the Merc then, making a decision, grabbed the soldiers' AK-47 and moved off into the forest. He walked for a long while before voices caught his attention. He quickly pulled down his balaclava and moved out of the forest into a small Merc outpost. Trying to act casually, he made his way over to the food tent, grabbing a tray.
Slade harrumphed. "Kid's got balls." He muttered.
"Different day, same slop." Another Merc remarked. He glanced at the masked Oliver. "You new?"
"Yeah." He replied gruffly.
"Don't worry. It took me a year to find my way around the island." The other Merc said as he took his tray and moved off.
"Oh, hey, hey. Hey." Oliver said suddenly. "I'm supposed to be transporting a prisoner. A Chinese guy who wears a green hood."
"Sounds like the guy they took to the east camp." The man replied. "I'm heading over that way. Come on. You can hitch a ride. Let's go."
Reluctantly he put the tray of food down and followed the man to a small off road vehicle. They were about to pull out when a voice stopped them.
"Hold up! Hold up!" Oliver glanced over, and then blanched as he saw Fyers lead a group of men towards them. "Units one, two." He said, indicating to the men and they peeled off. Fyers limped to the car and climbed into the back, barely glancing at the masked Oliver as he sat, stock still, in the passenger seat.
"I'm going to predict hat that won't end well." Felicity said.
PRESENT
The scene changed back to the Foundry. In the space that would be the club, Tommy was busy directing workmen around, trying to get the business up and running.
"That wall over there still has to be taped and textured." He told one workman. He stopped another. "I need you to grout the hallway floor as soon as they are done with the tile install." He said.
"All right." The mad replied, moving off. Tommy's phone rang and he looked at the screen. Seeing it was his father, he paused for a minute, considering declining the call. Reluctantly, though he answered.
"Should have ignored it." Tommy muttered.
"Yeah?" he said shortly.
"Hey, Tommy." Malcolm said pleasantly.
Tommy scowled. "Dad, I am really busy." He said bluntly.
"Tommy, I know things have been, well, strained between us since-" Malcolm started, but Tommy cut him off.
"Since you cut me off and told me that I was a loser?" he said acidly.
"I was just trying to jolt you into adulthood." Malcolm said calmly. "And look at you now. You've got your first job. My tough love worked."
Tommy looked at his father, disgusted. "And the truly remarkable part is you actually believe that."
Malcolm shrugged. "Would you have gotten a job if I didn't?" he asked. "As good as an influence as Miss Lance has been on you, would you have acted responsibly and gotten a job, or would you have continued to live off of my money? You may not like me right now, Tommy, but I've always had your best interests at heart."
"This coming from a guy who doesn't have a heart." Tommy shot back.
"Gentlemen…" Kara said in a warning tone, and both men turned back to the screen.
"What do you want, Dad?"
"Nothing more than to share a meal with my son." Malcolm stated. "Dinner, tomorrow night?"
"Laurel and I have plans." Tommy dodged, but Malcolm was having none of that.
"Bring her along. I think it's time I got to know her a little better." He paused. "Tommy I've said some pretty hurtful things, and I regret them. But you're still my son. And I still want what I've always wanted- for us to be close."
Tommy was silent for a moment before he finally responded. "Let me check with Laurel and I'll get back to you." He said, and then hung up.
The scene changed to the offices of Blackhawk Security later that night. The Hood made his way through the building, tranquilizing everyone he came upon. He finally reached the main office level and found Gaynor pulling a USB drive out of a laptop. Gaynor spun around, sensing someone behind him, but received a swift kick in the gut from the Hood. The impact drove him back into the desk, then down to the floor, where he groaned in pain.
"Ted Gaynor, we're gonna have a conversation." The Hood snarled. "You make a move, go for a gun, anything, things will end badly for you." The sound of a gun cocking caused The Hood to spin around, nocking an arrow and pointing it-
At Diggle.
"Huh." Felicity said. "Really should have seen that coming.
"Put the bow down." Diggle demanded, as Oliver stared back at him with narrowed eyes.
Oliver decided to see how Dig's play would pan out, so he spun and shot a monitor, which exploded in a bright flash of sparks and glass. While Gaynor and Diggle were blinded, The Hood grabbed the USB key that had fallen onto the desk and quickly moved out of the room, disappearing into the night.
Diggle, once his vision cleared, pursued the vigilante, but couldn't find him. "It's all clear." He called out to his old C.O. "You okay?" he asked.
"Uh, Yeah." Gaynor winced, rubbing his chest. "Well, I gotta talk to my boss, but after what I just saw, I'd say you're as good as hired."
"Hell of a job interview, Ted." Diggle said, amused despite the situation. "Usually the Vigilante only goes after rich schmucks. Any reason why he would change his M.O. for you?"
Gaynor shrugged his shoulders tiredly. "You've known me a long time, John." He said. "What do you think?"
Dig stared back at his friend for a moment, and then smiled. "That he made a mistake. Got the wrong guy." He said, patting his friend on the arm.
The scene shifted to later that night at the Lair, were a less pleasant conversation was being had.
Oliver slammed his bow down on the workbench. "I could've shot you." He growled. "I could've killed you. What the hell were you thinking?!"
"I'm not gonna let you William Tell an innocent man!" Diggle exclaimed heatedly.
"Gaynor isn't innocent, Diggle." Oliver objected coldly.
"You seem to think that mainly because of what's in your damn book, which you apparently trust more than you trust me!"
"I trust my father." Oliver said through gritted teeth. "And he explained to me that every name on that list has a reason to be there."
Diggle stared at Oliver. "I thought you took that book off your father's dead body." He noted. "How can he have been so chatty?"
Oliver sighed. "A few years ago, I found a message he left me explaining the list." He explained.
"Oliver, how is that possible? You were on a deserted island." Diggle demanded.
"I didn't say that I found it on the island!" Oliver shot back.
Moira was startled. "Wait, pause it!" she yelled at Diggle, who did just that. She spun and looked at Kara. "Do you know what he was talking about?"
"Only generally." Kara admitted. "There came a point when he was rescued off the Island by a woman named Amanda Waller. She is the head of the Advanced Research Group United Support, or A.R.G.U.S. Apparently what we are seeing unfolding on the island right now is a part of a plan of hers, and she was upset that Oliver managed to foil it. His penance for that was being trained to be Waller's hitman."
"He became a killer." Thea said, thinking of her own possible future. Kara nodded.
"Not by choice. And he did try to escape several times, but Waller was good, especially back then. In the end, she promised him that, if he did a tour of duty under her, she would arrange to have him sent back home."
"So his rescue was staged?" Tommy asked.
Kara shook her head. "Not entirely. Oliver was put back on the Island and spent about a month there. Waller pulled some strings in the Chinese government and ended up directing a shipping trawler closer to the island than they normally went. Then Oliver took care of the rest." She looked at Moira. "I don't know anything about messages your husband left, though. That is news even to me."
Moira nodded glumly, then motioned to Diggle, who un-paused the file.
Diggle stared at him puzzled. "Diggle, for the past 4 months I have lied to, hurt, and hid things from all the people that I care about. Do you really think that I would do all of this if I wasn't sure?" he asked.
Diggle stared at the man for several moments, conflicted. "Oliver, listen." He started finally. "Gaynor got me into Blackhawk, and I'm gonna prove he's innocent." He moved off, checking his gun before re-holstering it.
"And if he isn't?" Oliver asked.
"If he's not, I'll be the one to take him down myself." Diggle said plainly, staring at Oliver. "You owe me that. You owe me at least that." With that he stalked out of the lair.
FIVE YEARS AGO
The scene flashed back to the Island. A masked Oliver was riding shotgun in the off road vehicle as it moved through the forest towards the main camp, while Fyers sat in the back.
"Were you stationed by the perimeter?" Fyers asked Oliver.
"Yes."
"And your report?"
"Uh, everything's good, sir." Oliver replied nervously. "No trouble."
Slade shook his head. "It was a good idea, but it was ruined the moment Fyers stepped into the vehicle."
Fyers considered Oliver. "How long have you been stationed here?" he asked.
"Just arrived, sir." Oliver replied, staring straight ahead, not daring to look back.
"Yes, you do seem rather green." Fyers noted. "Although I don't recall the submarine bringing in a phalanx of new troops lately."
Oliver stared ahead, furiously thinking of how to answer that. "Submarine?" he finally said. "I thought everybody came into the island on the plane."
Fyers stared at the back of his head. "Indeed they do." He said finally, sitting back in the seat while Oliver breathed a sigh of relief.
PRESENT
The scene flashed back to the present. Moira and Thea were riding in the back of a limo after a long, hard day of shopping.
"I think you've tried on every dress in the city." Moira noted with a smile.
"It's so gonna be worth it." Thea replied. "My friends are gonna freak."
"Yes, well, if your father were still alive, he'd freak, too." Moira said wistfully. "Though in an entirely different way."
"Like when he saw what I was wearing to my first boy-girl dance." Thea remembered with a smile.
Moira chuckled. "That poor boy you went with. Oh, Robert scared him to death."
Thea sighed. "You know, dad used to say his saddest day would be when I turned 18. Now he's gone and I'm the one that's sad."
Malcolm's eyes flickered to Thea, who stared at the screen morosely.
Moira laid a hand on Thea's knee, but then her phone started ringing. Moira sighed in annoyance as she fished her phone out of her purse. Thea saw that the caller id was showing Malcolm Merlyn's picture.
"Sorry. I need to take this." Moira said, answering the phone as Thea stared at her. "Hello. Yes, I understand, but I'm with my daughter." Thea looked away, unpleasant thoughts running through her head. "All right. I'll be there." Moira said, hanging up.
Thea stared at her mother. "I thought you said we were gonna spend the whole day together." She said accusingly.
Moira sighed. "I know. But, uh, compliance needs to file the 8k connected to my assuming Walter's position in the company and they can't wait." She lied, to Thea's thinly veiled disgust. "I'm sorry."
Thea raised an eyebrow at her mother. "Really? Compliance was the best you could come up with?" Moira just shot her a look.
The scene changed to CNRI, where Tommy was visiting Laurel at work.
"Is everything okay?" Laurel said as they walked through the office. "You look worried."
"Not worried," Tommy denied. "Just….my father called." He said finally.
"Oh." Laurel said, putting a file away and giving him her undivided attention. "And how did that go?"
"He invited us to dinner for tonight." Tommy said finally.
"Oh." Laurel said, realizing the cause of his mood.
"Yeah. Apparently he wants to mend some fences, but thanks to him, I can't afford a fence, so I can only assume he's got some other agenda." Tommy said mirthlessly.
"Well, there's only one way to find out." Laurel said, and then added, "Maybe he really is trying to extend an olive branch."
Tommy smiled at her. "You really do look for the best in people, don't you? "He said.
Laurel chuckled and gave him a kiss on the lips. "Lucky for you." She said with a smile.
The scene changed to Malcolm's office at Merlyn Global.
"I'm sorry to have to pull you away from your family like that." Malcolm said to Moira, who stood in front of the window, looking out at the city.
Moira scoffed. "I'm sure."
"What do you want, Malcolm?" she asked shortly.
"We have a problem with your friend Carl Ballard." He handed her a file. "He's trying to gentrify the Glades."
Moira flipped through the file. "Carl knows that's not part of the plan." She muttered, reading.
"Which is why you're gonna shut him down." Malcolm ordered. "You're his friend. He'll listen to you."
Moira considered Malcolm for a moment. "If you want me to help you with Carl, I want something in return." She said finally. "Proof Walter's still alive."
"My word isn't enough?" he asked.
"What's that saying—'trust but verify'?" she retorted, turning to look at him.
Malcolm smiled and put a hand on her arm. "Words to live by." He said, before moving off.
Outside of the office, Thea had watched the entire meeting. Though the office was sound-proofed so she couldn't hear what they were saying, the closeness- the intimacy of the meeting fed her fears about Moira and Malcolm.
"And I'm going to assume that that won't end well." Tommy said.
The scene change to Big Belly Burger, where Diggle was sharing a meal with Gaynor.
"Two days later," Gaynor was saying, "I am still digging regurgitated tacos out of the car vents and he asks me why I won't turn on the A/C." the two men laughed.
"All right, you win." Diggle said. "Bodyguarding Queen was never that bad."
"6 years serving my country, the only thing I'm qualified for is babysitting spoiled brats." Gaynor groused.
"Well, Ted, they're not all like that." Diggle tried.
"I haven't met one yet that would survive a single day in country." Gaynor stated. "Sometimes it makes me wonder what I was doing over there."
Carly walked up to the table and dropped off Gaynor's desert. "Specialty of the house." She said with a smile.
"Thank you, Carly." Gaynor replied pleasantly.
"Uh-uh! Where is my cake?" Diggle complained.
Carly stared back at him with her hands on her hips. "Tired of listening to you complain about the dry cleaners shrinking your suits." She replied with a smile.
"Oh, yeah." He said deadpan as she walked off. Gaynor looked over at Carly, then back at Diggle and chuckled quietly to himself.
"Mm. She likes you." He noted.
"She's my sister-in-law, Ted." Diggle replied.
"Not anymore." Gaynor pointed out, leaning in. "Your brother's gone, John. But you are here."
Before Dig could reply, another Blackhawk man walked up to the table. "Car's waiting outside. Got a client to drop off at the Chaykin Art Gallery opening." He told Gaynor, then looked over at Diggle with a thinly-veiled look of disdain.
"John, you remember Paul Knox?" Gaynor introduced. "He was a couple of ranks under us back in the 'Stan."
"Good to be working with you." Knox said after a few moments, holding out his hand. After a moment, Diggle took the hand, giving him a firm handshake. Knox looked back at Gaynor. "I'll be outside."
"I didn't know Knox worked at Blackhawk." Diggle said after he had left. Gaynor nodded as he finished his coffee.
"They recruited him when his tour ended last month." He told him.
"Mm-hmm."
Gaynor looked at Diggle. "People change, John." He said finally, pushing his piece of cake to Dig. "And everyone deserves a chance to prove it." Ted got up and walked out, leaving Diggle alone with his thoughts- and cake.
"I wonder if he's testing you." Malcolm said. "Seeing if you are…amenable to his way of thinking."
"Well I'm not." Diggle snarled, still smarting over his friends' turn.
The scene changed to Queen Manor. Oliver was in his room, trying and failing to crack the encryption on the USB drive he had taken when Thea walked in, closing the door behind her.
"Knocking is not just a suggestion."
"I need to talk to you." Thea said, ignoring his outburst.
"Thea, I'm not telling you if mom's getting you a car."
"It's not about that." She said hurriedly. "Remember last week when I asked you if you thought mom was acting weird?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I found out why." Thea took a breath. "She's hooking up with Tommy's dad."
Tommy couldn't help it. He burst out laughing. Thea glared at her half-brother. "You're finding this funny?!"
"No. What I'm finding funny is that you were right, only off by about 18 years." He chuckled, as Thea's mask of indignation faded into one of resignation.
"Point." She said simply, crossing her arms.
Oliver let out a incredulous laugh. "That's insane."
"I just saw them together." She emphasized. "It's happening all over again." She added, mostly to herself.
"What are you talking about?" Oliver asked, confused.
Thea paused, and then sat down on the edge of his sofa. "A couple of months before you and dad left on The Gambit, mom and dad were arguing a lot." She began explaining.
"About what?" he asked.
Thea shook her head. "I don't know. But she was having a lot of these lunch meetings with Mr. Merlyn. And now Walter's gone, too, and mom and Mr. Merlyn are back at it." She sighed, emotionally exhausted. "It's gross."
"Mom never would have cheated on dad." Oliver assured her. "She's not cheating on Walter."
Thea just stared at him. "You don't want to believe it because you have this perfect image of mom in your head." She said softly. "That's not who she is, Ollie. She's a liar and a cheater. And you really don't know her at all." With that, she rose and walked out of the room, leaving Oliver alone with his thoughts.
Moira glanced over at her daughter, hurt that Thea thought that of her. The sad thing was, though, that she was right.
Later that night at Queen Manor, Oliver brought the topic up with his mother.
"She thinks Malcolm and I are having an affair?" Moira said incredulously.
"Narc." Thea groused.
Oliver nodded. "And that it started back when dad was still alive."
"Why would she think that?"
"She says you and dad were fighting." At Moira's look, he pressed. "Mom…"
"It's not your concern, sweetheart." She dodged.
"Thea made it my concern." Oliver replied sternly, and then softened his tone. "What was going on?"
"Robert was unfaithful to me repeatedly." She said after a long silence. "It made our marriage difficult, to say the least." At his stricken look, she continued reluctantly. "I'm sorry, Oliver, but your father wasn't always the man you thought he was. I know you thought he walked on water, but, you see, that's how I wanted you to remember him- as a good man who loved you. That's how I want Thea to remember him. So promise me you'll keep it a secret." She pleaded. Oliver looked at her and nodded.
"Of course." He said. She turned to leave, but then he said, "Mom."
"Yes?"
"Why would Thea think that you and Mr. Merlyn are still sneaking around?" he asked.
Moira scoffed, trying to hide her nervousness at the question. "Well, I can't imagine." She tried.
"Have you seen him lately?" he asked, gently prodding.
Moira let out a frustrated sigh. "Oliver He's been the CEO of Merlyn Global Group for years. I've been running Queen Consolidated mere weeks. Yes, I occasionally go and ask for advice." She looked at him sternly. "Is my interrogation over?"
Oliver gave her a sheepish smile and nodded, and Moira patted him on the arm as she walked out.
FIVE YEARS AGO
The scene flashed back to the Island. Fyers was showing the still masked Oliver around the camp. They stopped at a line of metal cages.
"See, this is where we, uh, detain prisoners prone to running off before I've finished with them." Suddenly lashed out, belting Oliver in the side of the head. Oliver crashed to the ground, dazed. Fyers knelt down next to him and removed his mask. "Prisoners like you, Mr. Queen." He said as Oliver looked up at him in defeat.
Moira and Thea gasped, and Tommy shifted in his seat. Laurel looked sadly at the screen, dreading what was to come.
PRESENT
The scene changed to the present at a Chinese restaurant where Tommy, Laurel and Malcolm were having dinner while Malcolm shared stories of Tommy's childhood.
"At Christmas one year, Tommy wanted a puppy." He said with a soft smile. "He wanted to name it Arthur, as in King Arthur, because he's a Merlyn."
Laurel chuckled. "Well, you used to be so incredibly adorable."
"I still am." Tommy said lightly.
"My wife would have liked you, Laurel." Malcolm said suddenly, surprising Tommy.
"I wish I would have known her. She passed away before Tommy and I became friends." she replied delicately.
"She was killed, Laurel." Malcolm said bluntly. "There's no need to be polite about it."
Tommy put an arm around an abashed Laurel. "You're just a ray of sunshine today, aren't you, Dad?" Tommy said with a fixed smile on his face.
"Please forgive me." Malcolm apologized. "Talking about my wife has a tendency to make me a little bit maudlin."
Tommy scoffed. "A bit?"
The scene changed to Queen Consolidated. Felicity was in the middle of eating Chinese takeout at her desk when Oliver walked in. Surprised and a bit embarrassed, she set the box down on her desk and smiled.
"Yay! I'm back!" Felicity said excitedly, causing Diggle to chuckle.
"And here I was beginning to think my days of being Oliver Queen's personal computer geek were coming to an end." She said.
"Is that your way of saying you miss me?" Oliver asked with a smile.
"No. But if it works for you, go with it."
"Heh." Oliver chuckled. "So a friend of mine is running a scavenger hunt, and there's a case of Lafite Rothschild 1982 waiting at the end."
"Ohhh…I love red wine." She said longingly.
"But in order to find it, I first need to get through this." Oliver continued, handing her the Blackhawk USB key.
"Hmm." She studied the device for a moment. "Security fob." She plugged it into her computer and scanned the device. "It's pin protected." She noted. "Challenge response goes back to a company called Blackhawk Squad Protection Group."
"Yeah, my friend had his bodyguard set it up for him." Oliver said, coming up behind her to stare at the screen. "Personally, however, I think it's cheating, but whatever."
"This is a military-grade cryptographic security protocol." Felicity said, looking through the code. "Your friend really went to all this trouble?"
"The idle rich are hard to entertain." He joked. "Listen… you get through it and one of those bottles of wine is yours." Oliver said with a smile. Felicity smiled back, and expression of excitement on her face as Oliver left the room. Once he was gone, she hunkered down and got to work.
"So, basically all we need to do is bribe you with red wine." Thea teased.
Felicity nodded. "Only the good stuff, though." She said. "Because I know you can afford it."
The scene shifted back to dinner with the Merlyn's.
"This been lovely, Mr. Merlyn." Laurel said as Malcolm paid the bill. "Thank you."
"Thank you for joining me." Malcolm replied warmly. "It's been wonderful getting to know you better. And if Tommy doesn't mind me mixing a little business with pleasure, I could use your signature on these." He continued, pulling out a folded set of papers and setting them down in front of Tommy. He pulled out his pen as Tommy cautiously picked up the papers and began to read.
Tommy glared over the papers at his father. "You want to shut down mom's free clinic?"
"Not going to say anything." Tommy said to Laurel, who was about to caution him. "Not going to call him out for being a gigantic prick…" he shivered violently as a sudden blast of artic cold hit him full on. He glanced over at Kara, who still had her lips pursed. She winked at him.
"Chill out." She said. Tommy took the hint.
"It's not hers anymore, Tommy." He replied.
"That clinic meant everything to mom." Tommy said, fury boiling in his chest.
"You were 8 years old. I don't think you were in a position to know what was important to your mother." Malcolm responded coldly, holding out his pen. "I just need your signature—"
"Stop." Tommy said, barely managing to keep his voice down to a whisper. "This dinner was never about getting to know Laurel. It was about this." He slowly rose, folding the papers as he did so. Tommy walked over to his father and placed the unsigned documents in front of him on the table. "You haven't changed and you never will." He spat. "It's about time that I learned that and stopped letting you disappoint me." He looked at Laurel. "We're leaving." He said, then turned and walked away.
"This clinic was his mother's." Laurel said in disbelief as she rose.
"Yes." Malcolm agreed. "And his mother taught him a lesson I've been trying to; that the world is a harsh and unforgiving place."
"And when did she teach him that?" Laurel demanded.
Malcolm rose as well. "When she was lying dead in the street with a bullet in her head." He gave her a cold smile. "Good night." He walked away, leaving a shaken Laurel behind, still standing at the table.
"You really are a bastard." Laurel spat at Malcolm.
"I thought that was young Miss Queen." Slade said snidely. Thea gasped, and Moira laid a comforting hand on her arm.
"Mr. Wilson." Kara said sharply. "Keep a civil tongue in your mouth, or I'll remove it." Slade smirked and nodded.
The scene changed to Blackhawk, where Gaynor was giving Diggle the full tour.
"Management keeps things running smooth, which is nice." Gaynor said as they walked through the motor pool. "Better than going to war with the army you got, right?"
"Indeed. Indeed." Diggle replied with a chuckle. He looked over at his friend as they walked. "So, Ted, are you the reason Knox is working for Blackhawk?" he asked.
Gaynor sighed. "Look, I know you don't like the guy." He stated. "I wasn't his biggest fan, either. But jobs are hard to come by for everybody these days. And guys like us, when all anyone thinks you're qualified for is shooting at people- if I hadn't gotten Knox this job, chances are he'd be out knocking over liquor stores or robbing banks." He finished, bringing Diggle up short as Gaynor walked on.
The scene changed to the Lair. Oliver was coming down the stairs when his phone rang. Checking the ID and seeing it was Felicity, he picked up.
"What did you get?" he asked.
"I think your friend's bodyguard gave him the wrong security fob." Felicity responded, still sitting at her desk at Q.C.
"Why is that?"
"Well, once I got past Blackhawk's authentication system, there wasn't anything about a scavenger hunt." She replied. "Just a directory and… well, I think you stumbled onto, or got me to stumble onto something pretty illegal."
"Define illegal." Oliver asked.
"Oh, you know. Robbing an armored car with grenade launchers and tear gas."
That brought Oliver up short . "Wait, what?"
"Someone at Blackhawk was using their system to store detailed routes and schedules for each of the city's armored trucks companies, including the 3 that have already been hit. Mr. Queen," she began hesitantly, "I think we should provide this information to the police. With it, they should be able to predict the next heist."
"Hold on." Oliver said, thinking fast. "Felicity, I don't want to get you in trouble with my friend, so do me a favor. Forward that directory on to me and I'll get it to the police personally. Thank you." She shut off the phone and bit back a curse as he headed for his gear.
At Queen Consolidated, Felicity stared at her now dead phone. "So, no wine, then?" she asked rhetorically.
"I'll make sure you get a bottle, Felicity." Thea said. The tech genius smiled in return.
The scene changed to later that night. On a deserted street an armored car drove, coming to a stop almost immediately as a man in black tactical gear, a gasmask, and a grenade launcher walked towards the truck. Behind it an Inter Globe Cable van stopped, blocking their exit and two men got out, covering the doors. The first man was about to fire when an arrow ripped his gasmask off his face.
The other two men started firing at the Hood as he ran, jumping down and firing again, hitting the first man in the shoulder. Their path clear the armored truck took off, and Oliver used the moving vehicle as a shield against the second man's fire and shot the third with the arrow, disarming him. As the truck passed he turned his attention to the second, but the first had picked up his grenade launcher. The Hood jumped and rolled towards a line of garbage cans, tearing a lid off of one and spinning around just at the first man fired. The smoke grenade slammed into the lid, blasting the Hood back into the mounds of trash. The two unwounded men helped the first man back into the van and they took off as The Hood rose, staring at the van in frustration.
"Nice moves from Captain America." Dig said. "So close, too."
The scene changed to Queen Manor later that night. Thea's 18th birthday party was in full swing as Oliver walked into the house, with blaring music and seemingly hundreds of glow-stick adorned teens.
"Ahh! Oh, God, check it out! Check it out!" Thea exclaimed happily, running up to Oliver. She held up a car key. "Convertible."
Thea squealed in excitement as Moira looked at her in amusement.
"You realize, of course," Laurel said, "that now that the surprised has been officially ruined, you probably WONT'T be getting a car." Thea stuck her tongue out at the lawyer, who chuckled.
"You must be so surprised." He deadpanned with a smile.
"Oh, isn't everything absolutely perfect? Except for dad's not here." Her face fell at that thought.
"No, because his best friend blew up his boat." Thea said snarkily. Malcolm glanced at her, then looked back to the screen.
Oliver stepped in close so that Thea could hear him clearly. "If dad were here, he'd say you look beautiful." He said, kissing her on the cheek.
Thea smiled at him, and then spotted more friends entering the house. "Oh! Excuse me a sec." she said, running off to greet her new guests.
Oliver looked around and spotted Diggle standing in the corner. He made his way over to the bodyguard.
"I heard the Hood foiled an armored car heist this evening."' Dig said in greeting.
"Gaynor wasn't running the rocket launcher." Oliver stated.
"I know. I was with him the whole time it was going down." Dig replied.
Oliver sighed. "It looks like you were right." He admitted.
"Listen, if someone at Blackhawk is involved, I'd put my money on Knox." Dig supplied, accepting the unspoken apology. "He started right before the heists began, and he has military training."
"Okay." Oliver said. "I injured one. He was bleeding pretty badly when they made off in their van."
"Okay, so if any of Knox's blood is in one of the motor pool vans, we'll know for sure." Dig said, turning to leave.
"I'm going with you." Oliver said, but Diggle stopped him.
"No, no, no, listen." He said. "You have this party. And I told you I would handle this." He reminded him. "If there's any problem, you're just a phone call away." He assured Oliver, he turned to leave, but Oliver stopped him, slipping a tracking bug under the lapel of his jacket.
"Hey. Head on a swivel." Oliver said.
Dig smirked. "That's the way I was born, man."
"I hope he doesn't think I don't know about that tracker." Dig said. "Because that was as obvious as you could be while still trying to be sneaky."
"He probably did that on purpose." Slade said. "He respects you too much to try and truly slip one on you without you knowing."
Thea was moving through the party talking to all of the kids when her friends Blake and Morgan made their way over.
"Happy Birthday!" Blake said, giving Thea a hug. "I'll miss you!"
"We have a special birthday gift for you." Morgan said, handing over a small baggie with several green and black pills inside. "It's called Vertigo. It's supposed to make you feel all floaty."
Thea groaned and threw her head back. "Couldn't resist putting that in, could you?" she called up at the ceiling.
Wait for it. Mia's disembodied voice called back, causing Thea to groan more.
"Well, it looks like Laurel was right." Moira said archly. "You won't be getting that car."
Thea took the bag nervously. "Uh, if my mom caught me with this, I wouldn't make it to 19." She told them, slipping into the bust of her dress. "I'm gonna go put it upstairs, and then I'll be right back down." She assured them, and then moved towards the stairs.
On the second floor balcony overlooking the party Moira stood, watching the festivities. Malcolm Merlyn bounded up the stairs and sidled up next to her.
"Moira, I have a little something for you." He told her, pulling out his phone and turning it on. A picture of a disheveled Walter appeared on the screen.
"Walter." Moira said softly, staring at the picture of her husband. Malcolm turned off the phone and put it back in his jacket. "I did as you asked." He said softly, putting a hand on her lower back. "Now it's your turn to do as I asked."
"I'll take care of it." She assured him.
"Thank you, Moira." Malcolm said, removing his hand and walking off. Moira sighed and turned- to see Thea standing there.
"At my party." Thea seethed emotionally. "Right here in front of me?"
"No, Thea, you don't understand." Moira tried to explain.
"Walter hasn't been gone two months and you're already cheating on him." Thea spat, cutting her off. "Just like you did on dad."
"Thea, I never cheated." She denied, reaching out for her daughter.
Thea pulled away sharply. "Like I would believe anything you say." She glared at her mother. "I wish it had been you that was on that boat." She spat, stalking off and leaving a heartbroken Moira behind.
Moira flinched at her daughters comment. It hurt that her lies had caused this, caused Thea to feel that way, and it made her hate Malcolm even more than she hated herself.
Thea made her way downstairs, trying to put on a happy face for her guests, but failing. Emotional, she reached into the top of her dress and pulled out the baggie of Vertigo and her car key. Making a rash decision, Thea made her way out of the house.
"Oh, Thea…." Moira moaned. Thea closed her eyes, ashamed at her behavior.
Told Ya.
The scene changed to Blackhawk, where Diggle was working his way through the darkened motor pool. He shined his light on the line of vans, looking for one similar to the one on the video from the news. Soon he found it, and he opened the rear doors. Shining his light in the van, he saw the unmistakable sight of a blood stain on the carpeted floor. Gritting his teeth in anger, he closed the doors and inspected the van more closely than before. He looked over the Blackhawk Security sticker on the side, and noted a peeling edge. Picking at it, he peeled the sticker away, revealing the logo for Inter Globe Cable. He reached for his phone to call Oliver- but froze as he heard a gun cock behind him.
"I had a feeling you'd show up."
Diggle turned, shielding his eyes from the glare of the other man's flashlight. "Yeah? Why is that, Knox?" he asked.
"Right after Gaynor got you hired, someone hacked our system." Knox said. "First person to ever make it through our firewall. You want to tell me how you did it?"
Diggle chuckled mirthlessly. "I'm not really sure." He admitted.
"He didn't think you'd be very cooperative." Knox spat.
"Who?" Diggle asked, and suddenly the lights in the motor pool came on. Diggle looked past Knox and starred in disbelief as Ted Gaynor, in full tactical gear, walked out from behind a van.
Diggle looked over at Thea. "See?" he said sadly, "You're not the only person who was disappointed by someone they cared about."
"Hey, John." He said tiredly.
"Ted, you're part of this?" he asked in disbelief as Knox risked him and removed his gun.
"No, not part of." Gaynor replied. "My men. My mission."
"Mission? This isn't Afghanistan."
"Oh, don't I know that." Ted responded, tightening the straps on his vest. "Over there we were trusted with millions of dollars in weapons and personnel. We were conquerors." He added quietly, and then turned back to Diggle. "Now we're nannies with tasers." He said sourly.
"So that gives you the right to steal, to kill innocent civilians?" Diggle demanded.
Gaynor gave him a wan smile. "I'm not gonna convince you I'm right. I am gonna convince you to join the team."
Diggle scoffed. "Yeah, now I know you're crazy."
"Earlier tonight was supposed to be our last score, but because of the Hood guy, we struck out." Gaynor explained. "Now we're down a man." He smirked at Diggle. "Good thing you're qualified to take his place."
Diggle shook his head. "Ted, I think your convincing is gonna have to be a lot more convincing."
Gaynor stared at the man for a moment, then nodded. "Copy that." He said, and then activated his shoulder radio. "Cavanaugh." He called. A door at the far end of the motor pool opened and Cavanaugh came in, dragging a bound and gagged Carly with him.
Diggle snarled. "Ted, you son of a bitch…"
"Relax, big guy." Lance said. "We know what he's doing. When we get back, as soon as they pull their first job, I'll get an 'anonymous tip' and bust them all." He promised.
"Why wait?" Thea asked. "Just arrest them when you get back."
"Because the police can't arrest anyone for thinking about doing something." Malcolm said. "If they could, there would be a lot less crime."
"There would be a lot less freedom." Quentin shot back, then looked at Thea. "Unfortunately, he's right about the first part. We got to wait for them to hit a truck first. But we'll still be able to save lives, and spare Carly from this." He said, looking at Diggle with his last statement. The bodyguard nodded in gratitude.
"Carly." He breathed. "You son of a bitch." He moved to hit Gaynor, but stopped when Knox put his gun to his head.
Gaynor looked over at Knox. "Kill her." he ordered calmly, and Knox stalked off towards Carly.
"No! Don't! Don't! Wait! Don't!" Diggle pleaded.
"Knox." Gaynor said, calling off his dog. Knox stood down, but kept his gun at the ready. Gaynor looked at Diggle. "You both can die tonight, John." He said.
At Queen Manor, Oliver was listening in on the entire conversation thanks to his bug. 'Or once we do this, we're on a plane and she can go home to your nephew. It's your call.' Snarling to himself, Oliver stalked off through the party to get his gear.
"Hope Oliver puts and arrow through his eye." Dig snarled.
Slade chuckled. "Would not be the first time." He said.
Later that night, Gaynor, Cavanaugh and Knox sat in the van with the still bound Carly, watching as Diggle walked out into the street. He wore a gas mask and carried the grenade launcher, and as the armored car approached he hesitantly shouldered the weapon. The truck sped towards him, honking, and at the last second-
Diggle stepped aside, letting the truck pass.
In the van, Gaynor sighed. The three men got out of the van, dragging Carly with them.
"Well, you shouldn't have done that, Dig." Knox said. "Now you gotta watch us kill your pretty little girlfriend."
"No!" Carly screamed tearfully. "Please don't!"
"You're forgetting one thing, guys." Diggle said calmly.
"Oh, yeah? What's that?" Gaynor asked.
"I'm the one with the grenade launcher!" he exclaimed, bringing the weapon up and firing it at the ground right in front of Knox and Cavanaugh. The smoke round hit and exploded, sending up a cloud of sparks and smoke and sending the two men sprawling to the ground. "Carly, get out of there!" he yelled, and Carly took off running. Gaynor pulled his pistol and fired, narrowly missing the woman as she rounded a corner. Gaynor took off behind her, and Diggle followed closely behind, pausing to pick up Cavanaugh's gun. He took off after them, ripping off his gas mask.
"Should have popped him in his head." Dig groused.
"Too risky to your friend." Malcolm noted.
Dig grunted. "Suppose I should have had a bow and arrow." He said sarcastically.
"It works for me." Malcolm said glibly. "And Oliver." He added, twisting the metaphorical dagger.
Knox, meanwhile, had managed to stagger to his feet. He checked Cavanaugh, and then picked up his M4. He shouldered the weapon, sighting it on the running Diggle's back. Just before he pulled the trigger, though, and arrow knocked the gun out of his hand. Knox spun to see The Hood coming towards him. He pulled out his K-Bar and ASP and attacked the vigilante, who parried every blow with his bow. The Hood managed to get behind him, catching his neck in a choke hold. With a twist Knox's neck was broken, and The Hood dropped his body and took off after Diggle.
Down a side street, Carly had a strong lead on Gaynor, and managed to duck into a side ally. Gaynor rounded a corner and grimaced in frustration at loosing the girl. He started making his way down the main street to look when a voice behind him yelled "Freeze!" Gaynor sighed in annoyance.
"Drop it, Ted, or I swear…" Diggle threatened.
"Don't… posture." Gaynor replied, turning to face the man. "You're not gonna do it." He continued, walking towards Diggle. "You can't. I can see it in your eyes." He raised his gun to shoot- but was stopped dead by an arrow in his heart. Gaynor fell to the ground, dead as The Hood walked up to Diggle.
Diggle sighed, relieved. He honestly didn't know if he would have been able to do it, and he was glad Oliver had been there to take the choice from him.
"You're late." He said tiredly, starring down at the body of the man he had called a brother once.
"You knew I was coming?" Oliver replied.
Diggle calmly pulled the bug from behind his lapel. "Next time you plant a bug on someone, be more subtle about it." He said, handing it back to Oliver. "I wish you trusted me, though."
"I trust you, Diggle." Oliver said quietly, then looked down at body of Ted Gaynor. "But them, never."
Diggle heard sirens approaching. "You should get out of here." He told his friend. Oliver ran as the police cruisers approached.
"John!"
Diggle looked up to see Carly, who had come out another alley on the other side of a fence. Diggle walked up to her, putting his fingers through the wire mesh. "Carly. You okay?" he asked. She nodded and held onto his fingers as the cops got out of their cruisers, guns drawn.
"Turn around and put your hands where I can see them." One of them called out, and Diggle calmly stepped back from the fence and raised his hands in the air.
Felicity leaned in towards Diggle. "You should totally ask her out when we get back." She said quietly.
Diggle chuckled. "I have a feeling that eventually, I do." He replied.
The scene changed to a suburban road, where a very high Thea was driving her brand new Mercedes poorly. She weaved in and out of her lane, and was fiddling with her radio when she came upon a sharp curve. She took it lazily, not caring which lane she was in, when suddenly another car appeared in front of her, their horn blaring. "Shit!" she exclaimed, cutting hard to the left- straight off the road and into a tree.
Thea closed her eyes and dropped her head, not wanting to see the looks on everyone's faces. Nevertheless she heard her mother's tortured moan, Tommy's groan of frustration and sadness, and though he didn't say anything, she could feel Malcolm's stare on her.
"Yeah, no car for you." Tommy said tiredly. He then put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in to his side to take the sting out of his comment. "Dammit Speedy, I'm the stupid one…"
"You're not stupid." Thea argued. "And my nickname is now officially ironic."
The scene changed to Starling City General as a distraught Moira and Oliver made their way to Thea's room. They found her lying in the bed in a hospital gown; a large bruise on her forehead that surrounded a long cut that had been treated and closed, held together by butterfly bandages.
"Oh, Thea." Moira said sadly, coming up to her bed. "Are you okay?"
Thea sighed. "Yeah. Yea, I'm fine. I'm just headachy, really." She assured them, and then asked the question she was dreading. "The car-is-is it—"
"Thea, the car isn't important right now." Oliver told his sister.
"Do you remember what happened, sweetheart?" Moira asked,
Thea scoffed. "You go away." She told her mother, disgusted.
"Thea, please." Moira pleaded.
"I said I'm fine." Thea snarled, turning away from her mother who looked on helplessly.
"I'm sorry."
Moira looked over at Thea, startled. She had barely heard her say it, but Thea was looking at her with tears in her eyes. Moira smiled back at the girl in reassurance.
"I am, too." She replied simply.
The scene changed to Laurel's apartment. Tommy was aimlessly flipping through channels as a phone rang. Soon enough the ringing stopped and Laurel walked into the room, leaning against the doorframe.
"Your father's even beginning to call me now." She said wryly.
"Number two on the list when we get back- change my number." Laurel said dryly, earning a chuckle from Tommy.
"Don't waste your minutes." He advised her, still staring at the TV. Laurel sighed and sat down next to him.
"Your father is a jerk, but he's still your father." She noted sympathetically. "I think in his own way, I think he sees himself as protecting you somehow."
"Yeah. He is really good at using my dead mother for an excuse for being a jerk." He replied, flipping the channels more violently.
Malcolm flinched at that.
"You never talk about your mother." Laurel said.
"I was only 8 and I don't remember much about what happened." He said, still not looking at her. "But after… my father completely shut me out." Laurel took his hand. "And then he went away. He was gone for maybe a year or two."
In the Dark Archer's lair Malcolm stood, starring lovingly at a picture. The picture was of him, Rebecca, and a 7 year old Tommy. He smiled at the memory, and then placed the picture down on his work table. When he looked up, his face had hardened.
"I was 8 and he left me." Tommy was saying. "That is who my father is. He only cares about himself."
"You don't know how wrong you are." Malcolm said quietly, thinking about that picture and what it represented- the family he had lost.
The scene changed to the lair. Diggle walked in as Oliver was working on his computer.
"Cops give you a hard time?" Oliver asked.
"Nah. I explained to them to me and Gaynor were old war buddies. He tried to rope me in," Diggle sighed. "When I refused, he kidnapped Carly, everything else happened under duress." He turned to look at the younger man. "I screwed up, Oliver. Obviously Gaynor wasn't who I thought he was. I was wrong." He admitted.
"Yeah, but you were right, too." Oliver said, rising. He held up the notebook. "When you told me that I trusted the list more than I trusted you Diggle, the truth is, after what happened to me on the island… it's difficult for me to trust…anything. But you do." He smiled at the man. "And that reminded me why I chose you as my partner. It's because you see the best in people." Oliver held out the notebook to Diggle, who took it. It was already open to the page with Ted Gaynor's name on it. Oliver handed Dig a pen, and he crossed the name off himself.
"I learned something, too." Diggle said, handing the book back to Oliver. "Until you tell me, I'll never want to know what other names are in this book." He told him, and then walked off.
The scene changed to later that day at Starling General, where Oliver was leaving with a recently discharged Thea.
"She promised me she's not cheating on Walter." Oliver was saying.
Thea scoffed. "Like I would trust anything that woman says."
"Miss Queen!" the two Queens turned to see a pair of patrol men at the end of the hall. "Thea Queen?" the first officer asked.
"Is there a problem?" Oliver demanded.
"We received a call from your doctor." He replied, and then looked at Thea. "In the event of a vehicular accident, they're required to report to result of the driver's tox screen." Thea sighed worriedly. "Miss Queen tested positive for a narcotic called Vertigo."
Oliver stared at his sister. "The drug they're using in the Glades?" he asked incredulously.
The second cop moved to handcuff Thea as the first began to read her her rights. "Thea Queen, you're under arrest for driving under the influence of narcotics…"
"Well, look on the bright side." Laurel said. Thea gave her a look.
"And what bright side is that? Cause it's looking kind of shady to me." She said.
Laurel shrugged. "Well, you're not really a Queen teenager- or a Merlyn teenager, for that matter- until you've been arrested for driving under the influence at least once."
Tommy snorted in amusement, then shook his head and tried to wipe the smile off of his face. "That was wrong, Laurel. Just… wrong." He snickered.
"I've been taken in by the cops before." Thea noted dryly.
"Maybe." Laurel conceded. "But this time you're going to face a judge."
"She's right." Quentin said. "Driving under the influence isn't petty theft. On the real bright side, maybe this will straighten you out."
"Agreed." Moira said.
FIVE YEARS AGO
The scene flashed back to the Island. Oliver was now in one of the metal cages, handcuffed to its bars. He was dozing when the sound of Fyers cane tapping of the bars startled him awake. Fyers stood there with another masked man.
"Do you know why my men wear balaclavas, Mr. Queen?" he asked pleasantly. "Because it masks everything but the eyes. In a man's eyes, one can always find the truth." He explained. "You risked everything to save your friend." He continued, almost in admiration. "Someone I warned you about, yet you trusted him. But that trust was misplaced." He added, nodding slightly at his companion. Oliver stared in shock as the man pulled off the balaclava and revealed himself to be Yao Fei.
"God, but did that man love to hear himself talk." Slade noted in disgust.
"I don't get it." Felicity said in confusion. "Why would he work with a man who captured and beat him?"
"Because Fyers has what is most precious to him." Slade replied.
"Well," Kara said with a smile, she rose and held out the remote to Thea. "Since you just got arrested, you get the honors." She said impishly.
Thea snatched the remote from her. "Thanks." She replied sarcastically as she waited for the next memory file to load.
TBC
A/N: Flash Fact: The two girls at the party, Blake and Morgan? Those are the official names of the characters listed on IMDB.
I love Ben Browder. I loved him on Farscape (though I came late to the show), and I loved him on Stargate SG-1 canceled too soon). But his performance here... I don;t know. I couldn't decide if he was playing a war-weary soldier, or if he was just phoning it in.
ASP- collapsible baton
Timeless: I am getting your reviews. If you sign in, I'd be able to respond;) And thank everyone for their reviews. I try to respond, but my time has been limited at best.