Disclaimer: Arrow is owned by The CW, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. The character of the Green Arrow and the Justice League is owned by DC Comics. I own nothing; I'm just playing in their universe.
Chapter 15: Betrayal
"What do you all say?" Moira asked. "A couple more before dinner?"
"Sounds reasonable." Diggle agreed.
"Good for me." Tommy said.
"And me!" Thea added.
"Me, too." Laurel said.
"Me, three." Felicity replied. The other's just nodded.
"Alright then," Moira pointed the remote at the screen, "Let's see what happens next, shall we?"
The scene opens with a man being released from Iron Heights. The man cockily walks out the debarkation area to his waiting girlfriend, whom he kisses passionately.
"Ah, shit." Quentin groaned. "Cyrus Vanch."
"CNRI helped put him away…" Laurel said, leaning forward. "They guy is a monster! How did he get released?"
Quentin glared at Malcom, who looked back at him in incredulity. "Don't look at me. The murders he committed were senseless, the drug trafficking appalling, and the human trafficking..." He snorted in disgust. "I'd just as soon put an arrow in him than look at him."
The scene quickly changes to the next day. Attorney George Wolfman is just about to leave when the man and his girlfriend casually walk into his house, startling him.
"Hi, George." Cyrus Vanch said casually.
"Bye, George." Lance said darkly.
"Vanch" Wolfman breathed in dread.
"Surprised to see me?" Vanch asked. "I imagine you would be, seeing as how you botched my trial, and from what Viv here tells me, protecting my interests."
"There were contingencies that couldn't be anticipated." The lawyer stuttered out.
"Yes, Vivian told me." Vanch continued. "The head of the Triad getting ventilated, Bertinelli getting collared, and, uh, this archer."
"Exactly." Wolfman said, seizing on the thread of shifting blame and holding on for dear life. "What am I supposed to do in the face of something like that?"
"Absolutely nothing, Georgie." Vanch replied, holding out his arms. "Tell you what. All is forgiven. Give us a hug." Wolfman hesitated. "Come on." He urged, pulling the man into a hug. "You know," he continued, "I could use a place to stay while I'm getting my sea legs back under me, George. And you got a nice place here. What do you say? George? George?" he let George's lifeless body drop to the floor, his switchblade slipping out of his chest. Vanch looked down at the dead lawyer, then at Vivian. "I hope George has been food shopping. I'm famished."
"Well, that would be his first murder I've agreed with." Malcolm said pleasantly.
"Going all Shakespeare on us, Mr. Merlyn?" Laurel asked flippantly.
Malcolm smiled. "Not quite. Not all lawyers are as… noble as you, Miss Lance. And Wolfman was a parasite."
"Well, can't argue with that." Quentin said reluctantly.
The scene changed to the Lair, where Diggle was coming up to speed on recent events.
"So this book contains a list of the names of the guys you've been hunting." He said, holding up Oliver's notebook. Then he held up the second one. "And this book, your mother's, has the same list of names."
"It's identical." Oliver confirmed.
"So where'd your mother get her copy, Oliver? For that matter, who gave it to you?" he asked.
"Felicity Smoak." Oliver told him. "She said that Walter found it in their bedroom."
"And now he's missing." Diggle said. Oliver frowned at the implication.
"She's my mother, Diggle." He argued. "She's not the kind of person who would—"
"Have her husband disappeared?" Dig finished. "Because that's really the question, isn't it, Oliver? I understand why you would believe your mother over your stepfather, but I tend to believe the innocent party is whoever's missing- and presumed dead."
"I would NEVER have my husband murdered!" Moira exclaimed, outraged.
Diggle shrugged. "Now that I know your… situation? I know that." He pointed to the screen. "HE doesn't. With the limited amount of data he has, you just became his prime suspect."
Moira exhaled loudly. "Yes, I suppose you're right." She admitted sourly.
FIVE YEARS AGO
The scene flashed back to the Island. After walking the path Yao Fei had set out for him on the map, Oliver came upon the wreckage of a downed cargo plane. He approached the wreck and cautiously entered it, looking around.
Slade looked at the plane wistfully. For all the bad things that happened, the few good memories he had from the Island were in that plane.
Suddenly a man dropped from the top of the wreck, landing behind Oliver. The man grabbed him from behind and placed a sword at his throat.
"Twitch, and I will open your throat." The man growled. He had a raspy voice, and an iron grip. "How many more with you?"
"What?!" a confused Oliver said.
"You have ten seconds to tell me something I believe before I cut out your voice box." He snarled.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Oliver exclaimed. "Yao Fei sent me here, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't so you could kill me."
The man paused. He spun Oliver around and stepped back, but still held the sword out at his nose. "What?" he asked.
"Yao Fei." Oliver repeated. "He gave me directions to your… plane." He finished, alternately looking at the point of the sword and the man's grizzled face beyond it.
"And hello to you too, Mr. Wilson." Tommy joked. "Is that how you greet all of your guests?"
"On that island? He's lucky I did not kill him outright. Perhaps I should have." Slade replied with a smirk, causing the smile to fall from Tommy's face.
PRESENT
The scene flashed back to the present at the SCPD where an upset Quentin Lance was following his Lieutenant, Frank Pike.
"Frank, you got to be kidding me." He was saying. "You can't throw me another assignment now." He argued.
"It's Lieutenant, and I'm pretty sure that's what gives me the authority." He pointed out.
"I'm drawing in on the Hood investigation." Lance argued. "I am going to get this bastard."
"Yeah, I bugged my daughter's phone and everything!" Laurel said sarcastically.
Quentin gave her a look. "A phone you stole from me…"
"And then you gave to me, hoping to lure Ollie out." Laurel finished, daring him to dispute that. He didn't.
"Have you considered the possibility no one wants you to?" Pike asked. At Lance's puzzled look, he pressed on. "He saved the Christmas hostages. He took down an arsonist and armored car thieves, and just last week, he busted the Vertigo drug ring when we couldn't. What was urban legend's becoming heroic."
"He busted that ring five minutes before we got there to bust that ring." Lance said crossly.
"Somebody's jealous…" Thea remarked in a sing-song voice.
"If this man's a hero, I don't know what my life in this city as a cop means." Lance snapped.
"Let me suggest you find meaning in following orders." Pike replied harshly.
"Frank, listen! I'm close." He pleaded. "If my lead comes to something more…"
Pike's tone softened. "Come to me with something real, Quentin, and we'll talk. In the meantime, I'm assigning you another case." Pike walked off and Lance sighed in temporary defeat.
The scene change to Queen Manor. Moira was in her office putting her shoes on when Oliver walked in.
"Hey." He said. "Heading out?"
Moira smiled at her son. "Oh, yeah, it's a meeting with the financial planners." She said. Moira noted Oliver's far-off look and frowned. "Are you all right?" she asked.
"There was something that I wanted to talk to you about." He said hesitantly. He paused, then resolutely pulled the small notebook out of his back pocket and held it up for Moira to see. "I want to talk to you about Walter." He began. "Right around Christmas, when he disappeared, he gave me this." He handed her the book.
She looked it over, keeping her emotions carefully masked. "This is your father's notebook." She lied, flipping through the book. "He kept a list of all the people in Starling City who owed him favors. I had no idea there was so many of them."
"I've just been researching some of those names online, and, um, they're not good people." He said timidly. Moira looked up at him sharply.
"Oliver, I have no idea what your father was involved in or with whom." She stated.
"And I didn't, until it was too late." Moira said in resignation.
"And you and your sister both now know that he wasn't exactly honest with me."
"Then we need to find out—"
"No." Moira said firmly. "If what you say is true and this list is filled with bad people, and Walter was looking into it, and now he—" she threw the book into the fire. Oliver schooled his face before his frustration at the act could be seen. "The only way to keep this family safe is for everyone in it to stop asking questions, including you, Oliver." She placed her hand on his chest. "Promise me." She pleaded. Oliver looked at her, and then at the fire as the book burned.
"I understand you're just trying to protect us," Thea began, "But we could protect ourselves better if we just knew the truth."
Moira looked at her daughter with an arched eyebrow. "I believe that is the reason your older self brought us all here."
Thea shrugged. "I guess. But who knows? That girl is whacked." She said, causing Kara to laugh.
The scene changed to CNRI, where Thea was walking in with Laurel.
"So this is really happening." She groused. "498 hours of community service to go."
"499. This orientation doesn't count." Laurel quipped with a smile.
Thea stuck her tongue out at Laurel, who grinned in reply.
Thea groaned. "Tell me how this is not cruel and unusual punishment."
Laurel smiled. "Anastasia," she called out, catching another woman's attention. "I'd like you to meet our new intern, Thea Queen."
"Interns get school credit. I'm more like a court-ordered slave." She argued.
"Oh. I can relate." Anastasia replied, shaking the girl's hand.
"Anastasia is on a one year pro-bono sabbatical from her law firm." Laurel explained.
"And apparently from my six figure salary." The woman quipped.
"The experience of helping others is its own reward." Laurel replied as Thea rolled her eyes.
"You know, the scary thing is I think you actually believe that." Thea remarked dryly.
"I have yet to see any evidence of that." Anastasia said. "And speaking a lack of evidence, Cyrus Vanch was released from Iron Heights." She turned from a shocked Laurel to a confused Thea. "We represent a victim's advocacy group who's trying to keep Vanch locked up." She explained as Laurel strode over to her desk.
"I'm calling Kate Spencer." She said, picking up her phone.
"I already did." Anastasia said. "She said there's nothing the D.A.'s office can do without further evidence." Laurel slammed down her phone.
"Well, then I'm going to her office." She said, moving to leave.
"And then she also said not to show up at her office." Laurel skidded to a halt.
"Vanch is connected to human trafficking, drug running, racketeering, and at least 52 different homicides." Laurel ranted.
"Ok, so what's the play?" Anastasia asked. "Because unless you have access to some private police force, Vanch will stay free to roam the streets."
"Gee, I wonder what she could be thinking…"
Laurel glared at the younger girl. "You know, I'm starting to think I liked you more when you were all mopey."
"Nah, screw mopey." Thea said. "I'm just going to embrace the horror. Let the sarcasm reign!"
"How about you reign it in a bit?" Tommy suggested, nudging her.
Thea sighed dramatically. "Oh, alright."
An idea formed in Laurel's head, but before she could act on it her phone rang. She pulled her phone out and looked at it. "I have to get this." She said, moving off to answer it. "Hello?"
"How does a night with me and a dozen famous chef's sound?" Tommy asked as he walked down a street downtown.
Tommy quickly looked at Thea. "Don't say it!" he cautioned, causing her to pout (and everyone else to laugh, including Laurel).
"Like an episode of 'The Bachelor'." Laurel replied.
"I'm auditioning potential chefs for the club tomorrow night." Tommy explained. "I've arranged a tasting, and I could use an extra set of taste buds."
"I'm trying to figure out how to get a vicious criminal back in jail. I can't." Laurel said sadly.
"It's perfect. It sounds like hungry work." Tommy argued.
"Tomorrow night?" Laurel considered. "Maybe, if we could do it early. Look, I got to go." She said. "There's someone I have to call."
"I'll see you later." Tommy said with a smile. "Bye."
The scene changed to the lair.
"You don't find that a little convenient," Diggle was saying, "her just so happening to have burned the book?"
"She did it out of concern for my safety, Diggle." Oliver said, defending his mother.
"Or her own." Diggle replied. "Oliver, you said it yourself. Whoever compiled that list is involved in something very dangerous. And if your mother is lying to you…"
"And she didn't know any of the names on the list." He argued weakly.
"She said she didn't." Diggle clarified. "You don't have to take her word for it." He sighed in frustration. "Oliver, if this were anybody else, you'd be hooded up right now on your way to having an arrow-side chat with them."
"This isn't anybody else. This is my mother." He exclaimed. "And I know her."
Moira shook her head sadly. "No Oliver, you really don't."
Before the argument could proceed, a phone rang. Diggle looked at it in confusion.
"What's that?" he asked as Oliver picked the phone up from the table.
"That is the phone that I gave to Lance so that he could contact the Hood." He said,
"Is he asking to turn yourself in?" Dig quipped.
"Think that would work?" Quentin asked dryly.
"Yup." Felicity said. "Also, on that phone, there's an app to find Jimmy Hoffa." Quentin chuckled at that.
"He gave it to Laurel." Oliver explained, answering the call. "Hello?"
"I need your help." Laurel said without preamble.
"That's why you have the phone."
"Cyrus Vanch was just released from prison on a technicality." She said. "Living large in his lawyer's house."
Oliver ran a search in his computer. An article about George Wolfman going missing popped up. "Who is now missing."
"There's no evidence of foul play." Laurel said. "But I know he's just Vanch's first victim, and he won't be his last."
Oliver sighed. "What about the police?"
"They can't move on him without evidence of new criminal activity."
"Laurel, obtaining evidence isn't what I do." Oliver stated.
"Vanch is dangerous." She pleaded.
Oliver considered the situation. "Hold on to the phone, I'll call." He hung up, and then turned to Diggle.
"Laurel needs my help." He said, moving to leave.
"Oliver, are you running to help her or away from the truth about your mother?"
Oliver stared hard at the other man. "I have work to do." He said, and then left.
"Jeez," Felicity said, looking over at Dig. "Dog with a bone much?"
"In my defense, it's a pretty big bone." He replied.
"Are you calling me fat, Mr. Diggle?" Moira asked archly, then smiled at his uncomfortable look.
The scene changed to SCPD. Lance was at his desk, grudgingly working on his new case when Kelton walked up.
"Hey, Detective?"
"I'm busy, Kelton." Lance said without looking up.
"I'm pretty sure you're going to want to hear this." Lance looked up at the man. "The bug I put in that phone from the Vigilante just lit up. Your daughter's playing Maid Marion to Robin Hood again."
"If Oliver is Robin Hood, and Laurel is Maid Marion," Felicity said thoughtfully, "What does that make Diggle and I?"
"Well, I guess I'm Little John, and you'd be Will Scarlet."
"Will Scarlet?!"
Dig shrugged. "Not sure any of the Merry Men were computer hackers." Felicity snorted in amusement.
"That makes Detective Lance… well, he can't be the Sherif of Nottingham," Thea said, thinking hard. "Lance is an honest cop."
"So, what- he's one of the Merry Men?" Tommy asked with a grin.
"I'm NOT merry!" Lance argued.
"You can say that again." Laurel said crossly, still upset about the bug in the phone. "How about Friar Tuck? It's perfect, considering how much you drink."
Lance glared at his daughter. "That's a low blow."
"So is using me for bait!"
"And now we should go back to our regularly scheduled programing." Tommy interrupted, nodding at Moira.
Lance shot to his feet.
"Where you going?" Kelton asked.
"Lieutenant Pike's office." The Detective replied. "If she's meeting with the Hood, there's going to be a task force there when she does."
The scene changed to the Wolfman house. Vanch and Vivian were inside strategizing, while outside the Hood was taking out the guards, trying to get close enough to listen in.
"See, we got to look at all this as an opportunity." Vanch was saying. "The Triad and the Bertinelli organizations are leaderless. The giant sucking sound you're hearing is the current power vacuum in Starling City, the one that I plan on filling."
"How are you going to convince the Triad and Bertinelli's crew that they should sign up with you?" Vivian asked.
Vanch paused a moment, thinking he heard something. He looked out around the grounds, but saw nothing.
"Well that's an excellent question." He said finally. "I need to do something. Something spectacular, to get their attention and earn their respect." The sounds of gunfire brought him up short. Vanch stood and began walking along the deck- and then he spotted it. A single arrow with a recording device attached was stuck in one of the pillars. He yanked it out and turned back to Viv. "You know what I learned in prison? If you want to be respected, you find the biggest guy and you put him down permanent." He held up the arrow. "I think I just found the biggest guy."
The scene changed to Laurel's apartment. Laurel and Tommy were preparing to leave for Tommy's tasting.
"This is going to be fun." Laurel told him with a smile. "I even wore my fat pants."
"Like you even need fat pants." Tommy said, earning a winning smile from Laurel. Thea rolled her eyes but kept her mouth shut.
Tommy chuckled. "I don't want to know what those are, do I?"
"Nope." Suddenly she felt a vibration in her pocket that brought her up short. "Ohh." She pulled out the phone. "This is work." She told him. "It'll just be a second, okay?" she moved deeper into the apartment before answering. "Hello?"
"It's me. I have something. Can you meet?" The Hood asked.
"Yeah, where?"
"Rooftop, Winick building. 30 minutes."
At the SCPD, Lance smiled grimly as he listened to the bugged conversation. "Good work, Kelton." He told the tech. Lance then turned to his taskforce. "Okay, everybody. Rubber bullets. This is my daughter here. She cannot come to any harm. But outside of that, you do whatever needs doing to bring that archer down."
Laurel glared at her father, who steadfastly refused to look at her.
The cops nodded and moved off to get ready. Hilton came up to Lance. "You sure about this?" he asked.
"Look, she knows I'd do anything to catch this bastard." Lance justified. "And this is the best- it's the only option I've got."
"Look, I want to get this guy just as badly as you do." Hilton assured him. "I just don't want to see anything come between you two."
"I warned her." Lance replied. "I said stay away from this lunatic. She didn't. You don't think that turns a knife in my back?"
"I hope she sees it that way." Hilton said.
"Interesting how your partner is being a more reasonable father than you are." Laurel said acidly.
"Hey, you want to play with fire? You're going to get burned."
"Except that he saved everyone from the insane fireman so that no one else got burned." Thea pointed out, causing the cop to grimace.
"Look, I agree that he's doing good. Especially now that he's not putting every body into the ground. But it's like Mr. Diggle," he gestured at the bodyguard. "I knows all of this," he pointed to the screen, "but HE doesn't."
Back at Laurel's apartment, she hung up the phone, and then turned to Tommy with a sad face.
Tommy frowned. "Mmm, put those puppy dog eyes away."
"Something's come up at work." Laurel started.
"That can't wait until tomorrow?" he asked.
"It'll only be an hour." She replied. "I can meet you at the club." She assured him, putting her arms around his neck.
"One hour." He confirmed.
"An hour and a half. Tops." Laurel hedged, and then gave him a kiss.
The scene changed to Moira in the back of the Bentley. She was being driven to a business meeting by Diggle.
"Ricky has been driving me for six years now." Moira remarked. "I can't remember the last time he missed a day. Thank you for offering to fill in, Mr. Diggle." She said.
Moira shot the man an amused look. Dig just shrugged in return.
"It's my pleasure, Mrs. Queen." Diggle replied. "Believe me."
"Are you sure my son won't miss you?"
"He said he was staying in for the evening."
"And you believed him?" she asked.
Diggle smiled. "It's been my experience when your son wants some alone time, there's not much I can do to stop him."
"Hmm. Much to my chagrin." Moira replied wryly. She indicated to a building ahead of them. "You can stop just up ahead." Diggle did do, and then got out of the car to open her door. "No need to escort me inside. I'm fine on my own, Mr. Diggle."
"Of course, Mrs. Queen." He watched her walk into the restaurant.
Several minutes later he followed, and spotted Moira sitting with a group of ladies around a table, sipping wine and nibbling on food at what was obliviously a birthday celebration. Moira spotted him and looked at him in confusion.
"Mr. Diggle." She said/ He flashed her an apologetic smile.
"Mrs. Queen. I was just, uh, looking for the restroom." He looked at the rest of the ladies, memorizing their faces just in case. "Excuse me, ladies. Happy Birthday." He finished, and then headed off towards the men's room.
Moira shook her head in amusement. "Very sloppy, Mr. Diggle."
"Guess my spy skills are a bit rusty." He replied with a smile. "I'll have to work on that."
The scene changed to the roof of the Winick building. Laurel came out of the stairwell and looked around. Moments later The Hood came into view.
"Hello, Laurel." He said through his voice changer.
"Thank you for helping." She replied.
"I couldn't do much. Vanch's position is too heavily fortified. But I did get this." He held out a small flash drive, which she took, hesitantly. "Evidence he's trying to take over the positions vacated by Frank Bertinelli and…" he paused, listening. Something felt off. "And the Triad."
Laurel noticed his discomfort at the situation. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"We're not alone." Moments later the stairwell door opened and Lance, Hilton, and the rest of the task force poured out onto the room, their guns drawn. The Hood instinctively grabbed Laurel, putting her between himself and the cops.
"SCPD! Get down!" Lance shouted. "Hands where we can see 'em!"
"Dad!" Laurel shouted in surprise, and not a little bit of fear.
Laurel once again glared at her father.
"Do it now! You so much as leave a bruise on her, and I swear I will drag you down to hell myself." Lance snarled.
"Laurel, I'm sorry." Oliver whispered, and then pushed her right at Lance. He quickly dived off the room of the building, falling the two stories to the small park area below. Lance shoved Laurel into Hilton's arms and ran after the vigilante, pausing briefly at the ledge.
"Quentin, don't!" Hilton shouted, but Lance ignored him and jumped, landing hard onto the grass below. He staggered to his feet and saw The Hood running away, making his way into one of the office buildings, and quickly resumed pursuit.
"Really, dad?" Laurel said in disbelief.
Lance looked surprised himself. "Damn, I can't believe I did that!"
He followed him down a stairwell of a parking garage. He saw the door to the 5th floor of the garage close and he stopped beside it. Cautiously, he opened the door and made his way out into the darkened garage. He proceeded slowly, his gun pointing straight ahead- only for The Hood to drop down behind him and clock him on the back of his head, knocking him out.
"That was pretty stupid." Laurel noted. "You're lucky he isn't the mindless killer you say he is, otherwise you'd be dead."
Quentin rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah…"
The scene changed to the SCPD later that night. Lance was sitting on his desk, gingerly rubbing the back of his head while Laurel yelled at him.
"I don't know what's worse- the fact that you lied to me or nearly got me killed!"
"You were completely safe." He argued.
"I was on a rooftop with an army of men pointing their guns in my face!" she shouted.
"Well, you shouldn't have been on that roof in the first place."
"No!" she yelled. "You wanted me on that roof. Wasn't that the whole point of your little trap?"
"I'm trying to catch a killer." Quentin snarled.
"You manipulated me." She shot back.
"Manipulated?" he said in disbelief. "You practically ran to this guy. I told you; I said stay away from him and you did not!"
"That was before you gave me the phone!" Laurel exclaimed.
"What?!"
"That's before you realized that you could use me as bait. Your own daughter."
"Yeah, but you wouldn't listen to me!" Quentin shouted, his patience at an end.
"You are so blinded by your hate for him that you don't realize the damage that it's doing in your own life." She pressed on. "To your family. So what happens when you catch him?" she continued. "What happens then, Dad? You're going to find another criminal; somebody else to blame for mom leaving? For Sara dying, for your drinking?"
Tommy, Thea and Moira all shifted uncomfortably in their seats while the Lance's refused to look at each other.
Felicity leaned over towards Dig. "This is awkward." She whispered. He nodded in agreement.
"Well," Malcolm said, an ironic smile playing on his lips, "It's nice to know that there is a family more dysfunctional than my own."
Tommy glared at him. "You're an international assassin." He reminded his father.
"So is Sara Lance." Malcolm pointed out, bringing his son up short.
Quentin was trembling with rage. "That's enough, Laurel."
"Yeah, you're damn right, it is." She shot back, turning to leave.
"Laurel!" he said quickly. As she turned back to him, he held out his hand. "The phone." Laurel stared at him in disbelief "Give me the phone." He ordered. Laurel stalked up to him, withdrew the phone from her pocket, and then slammed it down on the desk, hard.
The scene changed to the lair, where Oliver threw his bow down into the crate and slammed the lid.
"Laurel could have been hurt, or worse." He was ranting.
"And I suppose that was Lance's fault." Diggle said calmly as he leaned against a table.
Oliver turned to glare at him. "What's your point, Dig?"
"Just that you don't really see straight when it comes to Laurel. Or your mother." He added.
"Still chewin' on that bone." Felicity joked.
Oliver stalked up to the man. "This is not the time to bring this up again." He hissed.
Dig held up his hands in surrender. "Ok, ok." He said. "But there's something I should tell you and its better I tell you now than later." He continued. "I'll be driving your mother around for a few days."
"You're spying on her?!" Oliver growled angrily.
"Just doing my due diligence, Oliver. See if she meets with anyone we might be interested in."
"She's not a suspect." He stated emphatically. "She's my mother."
"Which is exactly why someone needs to take a close, objective look at her." Dig reasoned. "Oliver, something's going on in this city. You know it."
"That doesn't mean she's involved." Oliver replied.
"Then there's no harm in me driving her around for a few days, is there?" Dig said, taking his jacket and walking out.
The scene changed to the plaza outside the SCPD. Laurel was pacing, still furious at her father as a just arrived Tommy looked on helplessly.
"I still can't believe it. He used me as bait!"
"Who?" Tommy asked.
"My father. He was trying to catch the Vigilante. He eavesdropped on my phone conversation with him and then lied in wait with his jack boots." She explained.
"This was tonight?" he asked.
"Yes."
"While you were working." He stared at her.
"This was work." Laurel said, suddenly on the defensive.
"So you met up with the Hood guy? Knowingly?" Tommy asked incredulously.
"He's contacted me before." Laurel said. "He helped me with the Declan case and Joanna's arson investigation."
"The Declan case was months ago." Tommy said, surprised.
"I know, Tommy, I've been wanting to tell you." She said.
"Laurel, he's a murderer!" Tommy exclaimed.
"God! You sound like my father." She groused.
"Well, I hate to break it to you, but he's right."
"Are you seriously taking his side? He's been lying to me for weeks!" she exclaimed.
Tommy stared at her, hard. "Yeah, it feels like crap, doesn't it?" he asked bitingly, then turned and walked off, ignoring her when she called his name.
Laurel winced, knowing how much that hurt Tommy. Thea, though, turned and glared at her half-brother.
"What the hell, Tommy!" she exclaimed, startling him.
"What?" he asked, confused.
"What's with all the hate? That's my brother you're lambasting there!"
It clicked for Tommy. "Oh." He said. "Thea, like Mr. Diggle and Detective Lance have already said, that Tommy doesn't know what I know. If I knew it was Oliver… well, I'd still probably freak out, at least at first. But then I'd get over it. All that Tommy knows is that the Hood guy is putting people in the ground and the girl he loves has been meeting with him, so he's worried and overprotective." He said the last part looking at Laurel, who looked surprised at the admission.
"And that Laurel probably thinks that Tommy should trust her more than he apparently does." She replied, none to subtly.
Thea looked back and for the between the two, then sighed. "And here I am, oblivious to the eye…"
The scene changed to Vanch's new house. Vanch was standing in the kitchen, eating his breakfast and watching a news report about the failed effort to catch the Hood.
'A sting operation to catch the notorious Starling City vigilante wreaked havoc last night. Despite the police's failed attempt to apprehend the Vigilante, police have continued to insist that their warnings remain. This archer is to be considered armed and dangerous. Should you find yourself in harm's way, always, always, call 9-1-1.'
Vanch turned off the TV. "Interesting." He said, thinking out loud. "Using deception and intimidation to make a name for himself. This guy stole my move."
Vivian walked in. "I have news." She said. "From my friend in the police department. I think I've figured out a way to get the Hood out and into the open."
"Huh. Astonish me." He said.
"Remember that attorney? Laurel Lance?" she asked. Vanch smiled.
Quentin, Tommy and Laurel all groaned.
The scene changed to Queen Manor. Oliver was in the sitting room going through papers when Tommy walked in.
"Now what's wrong with this picture?" Tommy asked, taking a seat next to his friend. "You look like you're working."
Oliver chuckled. "I'm going over résumés for the Chef's position at the nightclub." He held out one to Tommy. "This guy looks pretty good. He won 'Top Chef' Season Six."
"At this point, it is basically a culinary prerequisite to be on that show." Tommy said.
"Oh." Oliver frowned.
"Can I talk to you about something?" Tommy asked seriously.
"Tommy," he said, looking at his friend. "Every time you want to talk to me about something and that something is Laurel, you look like you're about to tell me you have a terminal disease."
"It's true." Thea agreed.
"She's been working with the Hood guy." Tommy stated.
Oliver pretended to look shocked. "What?" he said. "You're letting her work with that crazy person? She could get hurt, Tommy."
Tommy crossed his arms in annoyance. "I'm going to belt him, the first chance I get."
"Yeah, good luck with that." Diggle said.
"I'm not 'letting' her do anything, okay?" Tommy shot back, defending himself. "I only just found out about it because she accidentally slipped up on one of her many lies."
"She's lying to you?" Oliver leaned forward. "That doesn't sound like Laurel."
"Lying, keeping secrets about who she's spending time with- does that remind you of anybody we know?"
"Me, in every relationship that I've been in." Oliver replied lightly.
"Me, too. Except this one." Tommy said. He rose and began pacing. "There's some sort of infatuation thing going on here." He ranted while Oliver sat there uncomfortably. He schooled his face quickly as Tommy turned back around. "I… we both know that she has a pretty strong track record of being attracted to guys who are dangerous, who break the rules. Show me a more dangerous rule breaker than the Hood."
Laurel sighed. She was annoyed because she knew he was right.
"I just think you need to have an honest chat with her." Oliver said, trying to help. "Find out the real reason she's keeping secrets."
"I just can't believe that Laurel, of all people, would lie to my face." He sighed as Oliver squirmed slightly. "I guess that's the way that it is with the people that you're closest to."
"I know." Oliver agreed. "But talk to her anyway, and fix this." He stared at Tommy. "Before it becomes something that's unfixable."
"Well, THAT won't blow up in his face or anything…" Thea said.
"Oh, I don't know." Tommy said. "Maybe I never find out."
"You do." Kara said.
Tommy looked at the woman. "Didn't go well?" he guessed.
"From what I've heard, it wasn't pleasant." She said. "But that was a long time ago, and I wasn't even on the planet yet."
Tommy nodded and walked out, and Oliver sat back in the chair, remembering…
The scene flashed back to the fuselage on the island. Oliver was showing the sword-wielding man the map Yao Fei had given him.
"Shengcún." He read.
"It's Chinese." Oliver said. "It means sur—"
"Survive."
Oliver swallowed hard. "What do you think he meant, besides not getting killed?"
"There's an airfield about 10 klicks from here. It's key off this island." Slade said. "Yao Fei and I had been observing it for months, familiarizing ourselves with their operations. We were supposed to get off this island together. But then Yao Fei was compromised, and we were separated." Slade reached into a munitions crate and withdrew another sword. He tossed it to Oliver, who caught it clumsily.
"What's this for?" he asked.
"I think Yao Fei sent you because he knows I cannot take the airstrip alone."
"Sounds like Yao Fei."
"He is a softer judge of character than I am." Slade continued. "If you're going to have my back, I need to know you can cover it." Slade lunged with his sword, and Oliver barely managed to block it. Surprised, Slade knocked his sword away and held his to Oliver's throat. "What are you doing?" Slade asked. "Fight back." Oliver snarled and took a wild swing at Slade, who easily deflected it and then sent the younger man sprawling. "Keep your blade up." He advised. "Always stay behind your sword." Oliver lunged, and Slade easily sidestepped him, sending Oliver into a stack of crates. "You have no skill." Slade snarled, disgusted. "No strength. No training. To say you fight like a girl would be a compliment."
"I told you- I'm not a soldier." Oliver growled. "I was shipwrecked here. I killed the guy that was wearing this uniform by accident." He said, gesturing to his clothes.
"Where was Yao Fei?" Slade asked.
"He told me to run. And I did." Oliver admitted. Disgusted, Slade bashed him on the side of the head with the hilt of his sword, knocking him out.
"HEY!" Thea exclaimed. Slade smirked at the girl.
"Believe me, I will be doing worse things to him than giving him a headache." He promised.
The scene flashed back to the present at Laurel's apartment. She was calling Tommy, trying to apologize, but only got his voice mail.
'Hey, it's Tommy, hit me on the beep.'
"Hey, it's me again. Please call me back." She sighed. "I think we should talk." Just as she hung up the phone, the doorbell buzzed. Thinking it was Tommy, she moved to open the door. "I was just leaving you a message." She said, but then screamed in alarm as two men burst in to her apartment. Or tired to, at any rate as she quickly managed to knock one down, then slam the other's leg in her door. She ran towards her bedroom, throwing over furniture to slow her pursuers, trying to reach her gun, but didn't get there before the first man was on her again. Laurel grabbed an umbrella and used it to beat him down. The second man had recovered and came at her; she clocked him in first in the face, then in the gut, then sent him face-first into her curio cabinet's glass doors. She spun around- only to come face to face with Vanch.
Slade watched the scene, impressed. "You have more skill than Oliver did." He noted.
"I'm also the daughter of a cop, who made me take self-defense courses." She replied.
"I love a girl who can take care of herself." He quipped. Then he brought his taser to the side of her neck, and she dropped like a stone, unconscious. "But can't block a taser."
The scene changed again. Diggle pulled the Bentley up to the curb next to an office building, and was about to get out to open the door when Moira stopped him.
"Well, the next episode of 'I Spy' is up." Moira noted lightly.
"Guess that makes me Bill Cosby." Dig said.
"Oh, no need to get out of the car, Mr. Diggle." She told him. "It's just my accountant. The only threat is boredom."
"Well, it's no problem at all, Mrs. Queen." Diggle replied modestly. "It's my job."
"Yes. Well, then, take the night off. I'm quite all right." She assured him, then opened her own door and left the car. Diggle watched as she walked into the building and head to the elevator. He saw her get in and the doors close, then watched as the number next to the door increased until it stopped at 6.
Diggle got out of the car and followed her to the sixth floor. He arrived just after she entered the office marked Faquet-Lemaitre Consulting. Looking around, he noticed a utility closet next to the office and went into it. Turning on the light, he quietly made his way to the adjoining wall, then withdrew some equipment from his pocket. He put his Bluetooth earpiece in and turned it on, then activated the second device and held it on the wall.
'It's taken care of.' He heard Moira say. 'I've taken care of it.'
Inside the office, Moira was standing before Malcolm Merlyn, who was seated behind a desk. "Carl Ballard will not be a problem anymore." She assured him.
"Given your propensity for squeamishness, I'm assuming that Mr. Ballard remains in good health." Malcolm said.
"I made it clear to him persuasively that his plans endangered the Undertaking. I didn't have to make the usual threats." She replied.
"Excellent." Malcolm said with a smile. He rose and held out a piece of paper. "Now, one more matter to attend to. I need you to have to contents of this address removed and disposed of thoroughly." Moira took it, and blanched slightly to see what address was on it. "The warehouse where you're storing the remains of 'The Queen's Gambit'."
Moira glared at him. "I already told you, I knew Robert's yacht was sabotaged."
"And I don't think it serves for anyone to find evidence of that. Do you?"
"Bastard." Moira growled. Malcolm just smiled.
Back in the utility closet, Diggle was listening breathlessly when he heard the door open.
"What the hell are you doing?" a man's voice asked.
Diggle turned off the device,, then put it and his ear piece in his pocket. "Nothin'." He said, turning around. "Just hangin'. I work for Mrs. Queen."
"And I work security for the man she's meeting with." Said the man. He was older, with a balding head and graying beard. But is eyes were hard and cold.
"I guess that means we're on the same team." Dig said easily.
"I don't think so." The other man said coldly. "And I'm going to need to see what you put in your pocket just then."
"What are you, man, the police?"
"Show it to me. Do it now." He demanded.
"Right." Dig said. He calmly reached into his pocket and withdrew a butane lighter. Flicking it on to show the man what it was.
"Just thought I could come in here and ruin my lungs a little bit." He said. His other hand withdrew a silver cigarette case, which he flicked open. He offered him a cigarette. "I know, it's a filthy habit." He admitted, snapping the lid shut with a smile.
"Well played, Mr. Diggle." Malcolm admitted.
"I aim to please." He replied coldly.
The scene changed to Laurel's apartment. Tommy walked up to the door and started to knock. "Laurel, it's me." He trailed off as the door opened on its own. Cautiously he walked in. "Can we talk?" he looked around at the devastated apartment. "Laurel? Laurel?" he called out, walking slowly around. He stopped when he saw an arrow stuck in the wall. It had some kind of recording device on it, and its light was blinking red. He yanked it out of the wall, then found the play button and pressed it.
'Make sure this message finds its way to the Vigilante. Do it fast, because at sunrise, I'm going to leave pieces of this girl all over Starling City unless he pays me a little visit. You know, gives us a chance to get to know each other better.'
"Cocky little bastard…" Quentin snarled.
Detective Lance collapsed into his chair at the SCPD, where Tommy had taken the arrow personally.
"What do we do?" Tommy asked, distraught. "Can your CSIs, I don't know, can they track this or trace it or something?"
"How did he know about Laurel?" Lance mumbled to himself, equally distraught.
"What?"
"How does this guy know Laurel is connected to the Hood?" Lance repeated.
"I have no idea. I only found out about it myself last night." Tommy said. "She-she said you knew."
"Well, just me and…" Lance's head shot up, and he glanced around the squad room, and then suddenly he knew.
There was a leak.
Quentin sighed. "I can't believe someone in the department is actually working with that little shit." He said.
"Mr. Lance," Tommy continued. "This maniac has got Laurel! You got to call in posse or something, I don't know, SWAT teams."
Laurel looked at Tommy incredulously. "A posse? Seriously?"
Tommy shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, obviously I'm panicking!"
Lance continued to stare at his 'fellow' officers. "I can't." he said. With a sinking gut, he realized there was only one person he could call. He dug through his desk drawer for a moment before he withdrew a familiar black smartphone.
"Detective Lance-" Tommy tried.
Lance got up. "I got to go make a call." he said, walking out of the squad room.
"Eating a little crow, are we?" Thea said, delighted.
"Eating a LOT of crow." He corrected.
The scene changed to the lair. Diggle was waiting in the dark as Oliver finally arrived.
"Thanks for coming." Dig said. "It didn't seem like a good idea to talk about this at your house."
"Yeah, it would have been a little awkward for you to explain to my mother that you're spying on her." Oliver said harshly.
"No, man." Dig shook his head, holding out the device he had used in the utility closet. "Awkward part's coming up."
Oliver took the device and noticed it was one of his recording devices he usually put on his arrows. "You bugged my mother?"
"I do have to give you points for ingenuity, Mr. Diggle." Moira said.
"Thanks." He replied.
"Just listen."
Oliver sighed and turned the device on. 'It's taken care of.' Though distorted, he immediately recognized the unmistakable voice of Moira Queen. 'I've taken care of it. Carl Ballard will not be a problem anymore.'
'Given your propensity for squeamishness, I'm assuming that Mr. Ballard remains in good health.' A second voice, one he did NOT recognize, said.
'I made it clear to him persuasively that his plans endangered the Undertaking. I didn't have to make the usual threats.'
'Excellent. Now, one more matter to attend to. I need you to have to contents of this address removed and disposed of thoroughly. The warehouse where you're storing the remains of 'The Queen's Gambit'.'
'I already told you, I knew Robert's yacht was sabotaged.'
Shocked, Oliver shut the device off.
"I'm sorry, man." Dig said apologetically.
"The yacht was sabotaged." Oliver gasped. "Somebody tried to kill my father."
"And your mother was involved somehow."
Oliver spun and glared at the man. "You do not know that she was involved, Diggle!"
Dig stared back impassively. "What I do know Oliver, and so do you, is that she kept this a secret. Why would she do that if she didn't have something to hide?" a faint buzzing sound could be heard. Diggle frowned. "Is that…"
"Yeah!" Oliver took out the phone and picked up the call. "You have three seconds before I have this line permanently disconnected." He growled.
"It's Laurel. She's been kidnapped." Lance said without preamble. "Listen, whoever this is, he's going to kill my daughter. Please believe me."
The scene flashed back to the island. Oliver awoke, his arms tied behind him, seated on a chair. He moved around, trying to wiggle out of the bonds.
"Sorry." Slade said, taking a pull from his canteen. He wiped his mouth and put the cap on, then moved to stand before Oliver. "It's nothing personal." He continued. "The airfield was a very heavily fortified position. I've been there. And I cannot take it on my own." He withdrew one of the swords from his back and held it at Oliver's throat.
Slade sat back in his chair, a smirk on his face. He wondered how things would have turned out if he had just killed Oliver right then and there. Obviously he wouldn't have made his play for the airfield; he never would have rescued Yao Fei, or met his daughter Shado; Fryers' mission would have probably been a success, and Waller would have had a stranglehold on China. No, most likely he would have been killed eventually, and ended up as just another star on the wall at the R.G. Casey house. An honorable end.
But as much pain as he had been through, as much loss and regret that he has suffered, he couldn't bring himself to hate the decision to let the kid live. It had been the best decision to make at the time, and he would do it again.
"So-so what?! Huh? You're just going to kill me?" Oliver exclaimed, gasping in pain as the sword drew a thin line of blood.
"Like I said, it's nothing personal." Slade repeated as Oliver continued to struggle against the ropes. "But if you're alive, they will find you. And if they find you, they will torture you until you give up my location, and I cannot allow for that to happen."
"Hey, don't…" Oliver shot to his feet. "No, please don't do this, all right?! I'm not going to say anything to that—" he pleaded. Slade pushed him back into the chair.
"Don't make it more difficult upon yourself. I can do this in a way that you will not feel it at all."
Desperately, Oliver twisted his hand hard, and with a n audible crack, dislocated his thumb. Sliding his hands free of the now loose rope, he dragged himself to his feet-
And punched the other man.
Moira, Laurel, Thea and Felicity all looked a bit sickened, Tommy looked shocked, but Malcolm looked impressed.
"I must say, Moira," he started, "You're son's resolve- even before he learned any appreciable skills- is remarkable."
"It truly is." Slade agreed, looking at the woman. "I won't say many nice things about your son, but he had guts back then. Guts and determination."
Slade barely moved, but was finally impressed by the boy. He chuckled in appreciation. He pulled Oliver upright, then extended his hand.
"Slade Wilson." He said, properly introducing himself.
"Oliver Queen." Oliver replied, taking the man's hand and shaking it the best he could with a dislocated thumb.
"Well, Oliver Queen, there might be a fighter inside of you after all." Slade said.
"So, all a guy's got to do is punch you to earn your respect, Wilson?" Kara said lightly.
"It worked for you." He replied evenly. Kara smirked.
"And I didn't even punch you." she reminded him.
The scene changed. Once more Detective Lance was standing on the roof of the Winick building, waiting for the Hood- though this time he was alone.
"Detective." Lance spun around to see The Hood standing behind him. "If this is another trick, you will not like the consequences." The Hood warned.
Lance sighed. "I'm not particularly happy right now." He stated. "I hate you. I hate everything you stand for. But this lunatic has my little girl." He held up the recording arrow. "He left this behind as some kind of ransom note."
Oliver didn't even need to listen to it. "His name is Cyrus Vanch." He told the cop.
"Jeez…" Lance said. "He'll kill her if he doesn't get to you."
"He'll kill her anyway." The Hood said bluntly. "So why come to me?"
Lance sighed. "It's a pretty tight circle that knows about you and my daughter working together. If Vanch knows, it's because someone at the precinct talked. There isn't anybody else I could trust." He admitted.
"Vanch is holed up in a mansion. It's a heavily fortified position. I was there. I can't take it by myself." The Hood said.
"I need your help." Lance pleaded.
"Then I need yours." The Hood replied.
"If this leads to seeing Detective Lance in a hood and greasepaint over his eyes, I'm all for it." Thea announced.
"Seconded." Felicity agreed.
"How can you joke about this?" Tommy wondered. "Laurel could be killed…"
"But she isn't, right Kara?" Thea looked at the Kryptonian, who nodded. "So it's all good." Laurel rolled her eyes, but her breath hitched as the next scene started.
The scene changed to Vanch's mansion. He and Viv were in the dining room with a bound Laurel seated at the head of the table.
"Time's running out." Vanch said casually. "And still no visit from your friend. I might have overestimated his fondness for you." He said, yanking her head back by the hair and placing his knife at her throat.
"Assault with intent." A tearful Laurel said defiantly. "And kidnapping. You're going to rot in prison for life this time."
Vanch chuckled. "That's assuming your hooded BFF saves you. And his chances of survival are not so great. He's going up against trained men with their fingers on the trigger of guns that fire up to 600 rounds per minute. Now, I'm no Einstein, but that is a lot of bullets."
Outside, Oliver was bobbing and weaving through the shadows, taking out man after man, most before they even got one shot off.
"Yeah, this is a really well thought-out plan." Dig said.
"And even if he were to take them out, I have two sharpshooters on the roof."
Oliver spotted the sharpshooters, and then shot off an explosive arrow. The explosion momentarily blinded the two sharpshooters, and that was all he needed to take them out.
"Fail." Thea said glibly.
"More like FAIL… this city." Felicity said, causing both girls to giggle.
"And even if he were to get by them, what's he going to do against the veritable army of sons of bitches I've got waiting for him?"
More men fell- by his arrows, by his flechettes, by his fists. No one could stop him.
"Anyone else thinking Rambo?" Laurel asked suddenly. "Because I'm getting a Rambo vibe off this."
"No, not Rambo. Rambo 2." Diggle corrected.
"Now, as I said, I'm no Einstein. But I can count to 24." Vanch continued, unaffected by the sounds of battle coming from outside. "And in case you're wondering- I was, so I studied up on my news footage—24 is the exact number of arrows he carries in his quiver and flechettes around his forearm."
Felicity blinked. "That's… actually kind of clever." She admitted.
The Hood walked into the house, but froze at the sound of a shotgun pumping. He instinctively reached for his quiver for an arrow- but it was empty. The gunman forced him deeper into the house so that he stood in the dining room with Vanch, Vivian, and Laurel.
Vanch chuckled. "Lose the bow, Merida." Oliver placed the bow on the ground. Vanch nodded at the gunman. "Ventilate him."
The man raised his gun- but was shot in the back by Quentin Lance. Vivian moved to escape, but The Hood, took her down with little effort.
"And it would have worked, too; if it hadn't been for you meddling… old folk." Thea giggled.
"Hey!" Lance said indignantly.
"My daughter! My little girl!" Lance screamed, his gun aimed right at Vanch's head as he stormed towards the criminal. Just as he was about to fire, The Hood tossed Vanch's dropped knife, knocking the gun off target. It discharged as it fell, but the bullet went harmlessly into a wall. Vanch stared in shock.
"I'm the Vigilante." The Hood told Lance. "You're the cop."
Collecting himself, Quentin rose and stalked towards Vanch. "That doesn't mean I have to read the bastard his rights, though." He snarled, pistol whipping the man on the side of the head. As Quentin secured him, The Hood grabbed his bow and ran out of the house.
"Laurel, are you ok?" he asked his daughter.
"Yeah. I'm ok." She assured him.
The scene changed to the SCPD. Quentin was finishing up things up as Laurel sat perched on the side of his desk, wrapped in a blanket and holding a cup of strong coffee. Quentin came back into the squad room and walked over to her.
"All right, you're good to go." He told her. "I'll, uh, I'll take you home now."
Laurel stared at him for a moment, then shook her head. "I can take a cab." She said.
"Laurel, you had a trauma. I'll drive you home." Quentin insisted.
"No."
He looked at her, confused. "What?"
Laurel stood. "I'm going to need you to keep your distance for a while."
"Laurel…"
"Dad, I love you. I'll always love you." She assured him. "But what I can't do right now is trust you."
"I was just doing my job." He justified. "I thought you'd understand at least that."
"That part I do understand." She said. "But lying to me, using me?" she sighed. "It's going to take longer." She said, walking out.
Laurel looked over at her dad and gave him a reassuring smile.
Laurel walked out into the motor pool. Down the line of cars The Hood stepped out.
"Are you all right?" he asked her.
"What would you think if I said I didn't know?" she asked.
"That you were being honest."
She sighed. "My father has the phone now. And I don't think he'll be giving it back any time soon."
"Maybe that's good." The Hood replied. "I didn't see how it would put you in danger."
"I'm a big girl. I knew the risks." She assured him.
"Now I know them." He said. "And I'm not willing to take them with you."
She looked at him, confused. "What does that mean?"
"It means good-bye."
"Good man." Lance said to himself.
She wanted to say something, anything to make him change his mind, but suddenly she heard Tommy calling for her. She turned around to see him running towards him, and behind her The Hood slipped away.
"Oh, my God, Laurel." Tommy cried, pulling her into his arms. "Laurel, tell me you are okay, please."
"No, no, I'm fine, I'm fine." She promised him. "I'm so sorry." She said tearfully, but Tommy just held her closer.
"No, no, it doesn't matter, just as long as you're okay." He told her. High above them both, Oliver watched with a stoic look.
The scene flashed back to the island. Oliver and Slade sat in front of a fire in the fuselage.
"You know, this does not change anything between you and I." Slade said. "It takes two men to take the air field. And if you compromise my getting off this island, I will kill you. You've had your second chance."
"You need me just as much as I need you." Oliver said coldly. "So what's our next step?"
Slade chuckled. "Turning you into something that won't get us both killed." He said. He waved his hand towards the crates lined along the side of the downed plane. "Choose a weapon."
"We're starting now?" Oliver asked. Slade gave him a look, so he stood and walked over to the crate. He opened it and looked inside- and saw a frighteningly familiar mask. Pulling it out, he held up the blue and bold mask, glaring at Slade.
"That's mine." He stated.
"You are the lunatic who tortured me?!" Oliver snarled.
"No, that was another guy."
"Bull!" Oliver exclaimed.
"You gotta admit that sounds lame." Thea told the older man, who shrugged and nodded in agreement.
"This mask, it's my operational equivalent to a balaclava." he explained. "My partner and I wore them to keep our identities classified during our missions."
"You're lying. Fyers told me this nutcase is a prisoner on the island."
"And Fyers is such a trustworthy individual?" Slade said calmly. "He lied to you. My partner and I came here to free Yao Fei and get him off this island. We're A.S.I.S.- Australian intelligence." He stepped back. "Now. You are going to find yourself a weapon. Have you considered a sword?" he smiled. "I like swords."
"I can't see Ollie that much of a sword guy." Tommy said.
"Obviously, he was not." Slade replied with a wistful smile. "The bow was ultimately his weapon. It just took a more…delicate hand to teach him than I or Yao Fei."Tommy looked curious at that, but held his tongue. He was learning that, with time, all his questions would be answered.
Back in the present, Oliver sat at his desk in the Lair, listening to the recording over and over. 'I made it clear to him persuasively that his plans endangered the undertaking.' His mother's voice was saying. 'I didn't have to make the usual threats.'
"I've listened to this 15 times." He told his partner as Diggle walked into the lair. "It's definitely her voice, Diggle. I just… I can't believe it's her."
"We all have blind spots when it comes to family." Dig said.
"Yeah. Laurels' almost got her killed tonight. Vanch never would have known about her connection to me if Lance hadn't had lied to her."
"I guess the lesson here is blind trust can be dangerous." Dig noted. Oliver turned the device back on. 'I made it clear to him persuasively that his plans endangered the undertaking. I didn't have to make the usual threats.' "What's the undertaking?" Dig wondered.
"I don't know." Oliver said. "But with all this talk about threats, it can't be good." He sighed. "You warned me that if she was lying it would be to cover up her involvement in something dangerous. I need to know what The Undertaking is."
"What are you going to do?" Dig asked as Oliver rose.
Oliver looked at the man. "I need to have another chat with my mom."
The scene changed to Queen Consolidated. Moira was in Walter's office, meeting with a pair of executives.
"I'll need the Unidac merger finalized by the end of the week." She told the men. "We're on something of a clock here."
Suddenly The Hood crashed through the window. He landed in a roll, coming up to take out one of the guards. He attacked the second bodyguard as the executives fled, knocking him out with a vicious uppercut. The Hood spun and fired an arrow at the desk lamp, destroying the bulb and sending the office into darkness. He nocked another arrow and held it pointed at Moira's heart.
"Moira Queen, you have failed this city." He said, his voice disguised, as Moira stood, terrified, behind her desk.
Moira stared in shock at the screen. Having watched him confront so many people, she never thought he would do it to her. Ultimately, though, she wasn't surprised that her involvement in Malcolm's schemes had put her in his cross-hairs. Wordlessly, she handed the remote to Quentin, who looked at her. She nodded in silent agreement.
"Well then, let's keep going." Lance said. "I can't wait to see what happens next."
TBC
AN: As A.S.I.S. is the Australian equivalent of the CIA, I figured they would have a monument for their fallen officers similar to what we have for ours, hence the stars. I do not know if this is true or not, but I thought it made sense.
A/N 2: so I had a guest write a review asking me to keep things exactly as they are on the show. Well, for this story, that's no problem as they are viewing the show. But the sequel is a whole other story- a brand new story, and will only loosely follow events in the series.
A/N 3: So, I wrote this chapter well before the whole 'Bill Cosby raped 25+ women' scandal broke, so I apologize if that particular joke made anyone uncomfortable.
Timeless: There are some episodes where they speak another language, and all the closed captioning reads is "Speaks Mandarin" or "Speaks Russian". Sadly, I have no translations for that.
Guest: Don't assume you know the whole story before you, you know- know the whole story. Mia's backstory will be revealed in later chapters.