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 18: Dead to Rights
The room was silent for almost a full minute. Finally, Lance turned and looked at Tommy. "Well Merlyn, guess you don't need to worry about hiring anyone to kill your old man." He jerked a thumb at Moira. "She'll do it."
Malcolm, for his part, sat back in his chair and actually smiled. "I have to admit, Moira, I didn't think you had it in you." He said. "Though I think your timing is a bit suspect. All these years and now you decide to have me killed? If you truly disagreed with the Undertaking, I'd expect you would have tried this years ago."
"And if I had, Frank would have told you about it anyway I suspect." She spat, still truly upset by her friend's betrayal. "And you know damn well why I would do that then. You just had to go after my family."
"Yeah, but mom…Jesus..." Thea stammered, stunned once again by what her mother would do.
"No 'buts', Thea." Moira said. "One day, you'll have children of your own, and when you do you will realize that there is nothing you wouldn't do to keep them safe. Nothing."
In the control room, Roy snorted. "Well, that's a fact." Roy observed.
"You're damn right." Mia agreed.
Roy sat back. "I never knew your mother had those kind of stones." He told her. "You know, this is kind of fun."
"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself." Mia said dryly. Then she noted the look on her husband's face. "Roy…"
Back in the sitting room, Tommy still looked shocked. "You know, I don't know whether to be happy or upset, Mrs. Queen." He noted.
"I wouldn't count your inheritance just yet, Tommy." Malcolm said with a smirk.
"Maybe we'll all get lucky and you and the Triad will kill each other." Lance remarked.
Kara was about to intervene, but suddenly her hearing picked up something causing her to groan. "Oh, Rao…."
"Roy…"
"No."
"Roy!"
"I just wanna go in…"
"Roy, for god's sake, how am I the adult in this relationship when you're two years older than me!"
"What's…" Felicity started, looking at Kara in confusion.
"Looks like we're getting an appearance from Ralph and Alice." The Kryptonian smiled. "The part of Ralph being played by Mia, of course…"
The door opened and a smiling Roy bounded in, followed by an irritated Mia.
"You let Kara stay in here; I don't see why I can't." Roy was arguing.
"I trust Kara to act like an adult and not an asshole!" Mia exclaimed.
"Gee, thanks." Kara said dryly. Mia waved her off. "Roy Harper-"
"Thanks for introducing me dear." He held out his hand to Moira, who took it hesitantly. Roy gave her a firm handshake. "Hi, Roy Harper. We didn't get to know each other that well the last time around, but from what I've just seen, I'm a big fan."
"See, that's the 'asshole' I was mentioning." Mia growled as the others broke out in laughter.
Roy grinned back at his wife. "They don't seem to mind." He said smugly. "Look, I like this group dynamic going on, and I want to sit in for a while…"
"This will probably be the last one for the night." Mia said quickly.
Roy shrugged. "I'll come in tomorrow then, too. Keep Kara company." He plopped down next to the blonde. "You don't mind, do you?" he asked innocently.
"Just as long as you don't try any of those old cheap moves on me." She said with a wry smile.
"Oh, no. I got all new cheap moves." Roy grinned, looking at Mia.
She crossed her arms. "You never ever want to have sex again, do you?" she asked darkly.
Suddenly something clicked for Thea. "Wait," she interrupted, pointing at Roy. "You're Roy Harper? THAT Roy Harper?" she pointed at the screen. Roy nodded, and Thea blinked. She looked back at her older self. "And you two…"
"Are married, yes. There's something for you to look forward to." Mia said, annoyed.
"The guy who stole my purse and played me to get off, that's who I married?" Thea asked incredulously.
Roy shrugged. "What can I say? I settled." Both Thea and Mia stared at him, their mouths open in stunned indignation. "Oh, lighten up, Mia! I'm just gonna sit here and watch, and help keep an eye on our two VIP's."
Mia frowned at him. "You will behave yourself." She ordered.
"Yes, dear." Roy said with a smirk.
"No unnecessary violence."
"I know…"
"I'm serious!" Mia said sternly. "Slade still needs at least one eye to watch all of this." Slade raised an eyebrow at that, but said nothing.
"What about daddy dearest…"
"NO." Mia said sternly. "Behave, or I'll have Sara in here so fast it'll make your head spin. Which it will probably end up doing if I have to call Sara in here to deal with you."
"I'll be a good boy." Roy promised, then grinned wickedly. "And if I'm not, you can give me a spanking."
Mia actually blushed at that, as did Thea. Mia took a calming breath. "I'm going to go set up the next memory set." She announced, then grabbed the remote from her younger self and tossed it to Roy. She glared at him, then spun on her heel and stalked out of the room, leaving the group to stare at Roy in puzzlement.
"So," Moira started. "You married my daughter…."
"Yes, ma'am." Roy said. "It took a while, but I finally pegged her down."
"She's so going to kick your ass later." Kara remarked with a grin.
"That's half the fun." Roy remarked, wagging his eyebrows. Thea blushed harder.
"My daughter marries you." Malcolm said coldly with undisguised hatred. Thea instantly went from beat read to white with rage, but before she could say anything, Roy spoke.
"What's the matter, DAD." He said sarcastically. "Wondering how many times we consummated the marriage?" Malcolm snarled, and Roy grinned maliciously. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to have this kind of father/son-in-law talk with you, Mal. May I call you Mal? So, Mal," he went on, heedless of the other mans' anger. "Despite what my WIFE just said, I'm just itching for an excuse to put an arrow or two… or three…or four in you. So please, say something you have absolutely no right in saying. I'm begging you."
"What, you and I never got to fight when you started playing dress up?" Malcolm sneered. "Obviously, since you're still alive."
"No, I spent most of my time fighting Mia, thanks to you." Roy shot back. "And Oliver put an arrow into what little brain you had before I could get my shot at you." He added acidly, causing assorted gasps in surprise around the room.
Roy, remember what I said about behaving yourself? Mai said over the intercom. I may bypass Sara and go straight to Rose. The screen flashed to show that a new set was ready, so Roy winked at Malcolm, then sat back and without further discourse hit play.
The memory set opened on a helicopter landing on a pad at the Starling City Heliport.
Less than five minutes away, a phalanx of police cruisers sped towards the heliport, while McKenna Hall talked angrily into her phone in one of the speeding cars.
"What do you mean the chopper's about to touch down? The flight log doesn't have them due for another 20 minutes!" she said furiously. She listened to the reply and growled. "Then lock down the heliport!"
At the pad, a well dressed man climbed out of the chopper. He took his phone out and quickly dialed his contact. "I've just landed in Starling City." He said in heavily accented English. "We agreed- half on arrival, the other half when the job is done." He looked down at his phone, and his banking app showed a wire transfer in progress. As it finished, he lifted the phone back up to his ear. "Gracias." He said with a smile. "Don't worry. "The man's as good as—"
His conversation was cut short as the phone was knocked out of his hand by an arrow. He looked over in disbelief at the Hood, who stood just a few feet away.
"Guillermo Barrera. You have failed this city." The Hood growled.
"You've built quite a reputation." Barrera said.
"And you should have stayed overseas." The vigilante said.
"I thought about it," Barrera replied, "but then I remembered- I've got a reputation, too."
Two throwing knives slipped into his hands from his sleeves. The Hood shot another arrow which Barrera blocked with the knives, which he then threw at the Hood, who dodged. The Hood moved in and the two engaged in furious hand to hand, with the vigilante blocking the knives with his bow. They ducked under the tail of the helicopter and continued to fight, until The Hood jammed a flechette into Barrera's heart. The hit man looked at the arrow, then up at the vigilante in surprise, before crumpling to the deck, dead.
"If that was the best assassin the Triad could come up with against me, then your plan was doomed from the start." Malcolm told Moira.
"Oh shut the hell up, you bastard." Thea growled, her mask of happiness slipping. Laurel placed a calming hand on her arm, and she sat back into her seat, studiously not looking at Malcolm.
The Hood grabbed the dead man's phone as he walked off, heedless of the cops who pulled up, surrounding the pad. And by the time McKenna had gotten out and found the remains of an arrow near Barrera's body, he was gone.
The scene changed to the Foundry, where Felicity was being thrown down onto a mat.
"Ahh! Ow!" she groaned, rolling over and sitting up. She held out her arm and Diggle took the proffered hand, pulling her back up.
"Now the trick is to keep your weight evenly distributed." He advised.
"I thought the trick was to avoid getting into fights." Felicity replied.
"That's worked so well for me so far." Felicity noted wistfully.
"Yeah, well not with our gang." Roy said, looking fondly at the blonde.
Diggle chuckled. He walked over to a table and grabbed one towel, which he threw to her. "Yeah, well, Starling City's not the kind of place where you can talk your way out of trouble." He said darkly, grabbing a towel for himself and a water bottle. He walked back over to the hacker. "Besides, if you're going to be working with us, I'll sleep a lot easier knowing that you can handle yourself." He said, handing her the bottle. "At least a little bit." She gratefully took a long pull of water. Both looked up to see Oliver walk in, spinning his bow. "How'd it go?" Dig asked.
"Badly... for him." Oliver replied, setting his bow on another table.
"Who's him?" Felicity asked.
"An assassin for hire with an affinity for knives. His name was Guillermo Barrera." He said.
"Was?" Felicity asked sadly as she noted him crossing the man's name off of the list.
"So we can't ask him about his intended target?" Diggle noted.
Oliver took a breath. "No." he said, turning to face the two. He pulled Barrera's phone from his pocket and handed it to Felicity. "Which is why I need you to hack his phone." He told her. "Barrera's world class. He kills high profile targets. And whatever job he was hired for isn't finished. We need to figure out who he was here to kill, and fast. They are probably still in danger. Ok?"
Felicity took the phone. "Yeah." She agreed.
"Ooh, a challenge!" Felicity exclaimed, causing Dig to chuckle.
"I have to meet McKenna." Oliver said, moving off to get changed.
"Good thing she didn't meet you at the heliport." Dig joked. "May not be a good idea to fall for the cop that's hunting you down." He advised.
"Well, it's slim pickings for us vigilantes."Oliver noted sarcastically.
FIVE YEARS AGO
The scene flashed back to the island. Oliver was in the fuselage trying to do a pull-up- and failing, only making it halfway before he dropped to the ground.
Slade looked at him from across the downed plane, unimpressed. "Four." He tallied disgustedly.
"I'd say that was pathetic, but I wasn't any better." Tommy said with forced levity, trying as Felicity had to break the tension in the room. Thea smirked.
"Well, I'm more of a runner." Oliver complained.
"'We Dwarves are natural sprinters, very dangerous over short distances'." Tommy said.
"OOH! 'The Two Towers'!" Felicity exclaimed happily.
That finally broke Thea's foul mood, and she looked at her half-brother in amusement. "You just totally outed yourself as a nerd."
"Hey, nerds are cool!" Tommy said, mock defensively. Laurel shook her head in amusement, amazed at Tommy.
"Nerds built this station." Roy pointed out. "And Batman? Total geek."
I'm so telling him you said that. Mia said with a laugh as Roy blanched.
Slade just gave him a look, then walked over to the bar, jumped up, and started doing pull-ups with his legs extended out straight in front of him. Oliver sighed. "Why the sudden desire to work out?" he asked.
"What else is there to do?" Slade countered, still doing pull-ups.
"Well, we can try to think of another way off the island." Oliver offered.
"There is no other way." Slade said, still doing pull-ups. "If there was, I would have found it."
"We can't just sit here and wait for Fyers to come and kill us." Oliver complained hotly.
Slade finally dropped down from the bar. "I did have one idea." He said. "If you go into the forest and gather as much bamboo as you can find…"
"Yeah?" Oliver asked hopefully.
"We could build ourselves a boat, like they did on 'Gilligan's Island'." Slade finished sarcastically.
Lance snorted in amusement.
Oliver shook his head in disgust. Then out the corner of his eye, he noticed something- a radio. Interested, he moved over to examine it. "That's broken." Slade advised. "It got busted during the crash."
"Did you try to get it to work?" Oliver asked.
"I'm better at pulling things apart." The soldier replied.
Oliver moved to the back of the radio and began examining the wires. "My father was a pilot and he used to do his own maintenance." He said.
"So you're hoping aircraft maintenance is genetic?" Slade said incredulously.
"No," Oliver replied, annoyed. "I used to help him and I liked it. Then I got pretty good at it. So maybe I can make the radio work."
"You should be training for the inevitable fight that's looming." Slade argued, going back to the pull-up bar and resuming his workout.
"I think I have a better chance of making the radio work." He replied, getting to work.
"He actually does." Moira noted. "He was actually very good at fixing smaller things when he was younger." She remembered with a smile.
PRESENT
The scene flashed back to the hallway just outside Laurel's apartment. McKenna was leaning against the wall putting on her shoe when Oliver walked up.
"Hey." He said with a smile. "Sorry I'm late."
"No, I am." McKenna replied. "I just got caught up at the office."
"Me, too." Oliver quipped, looking her over. "Wow. You look nice." He kissed her.
"Ooh." She said as they broke apart. "We should go inside."
"We should." He agreed, kissing her again.
"Yes, you should." Thea agreed. "I have no interest in seeing my brother make out with anyone."
"We don't seem to be going inside." McKenna quipped as they kissed again. Finally they broke apart and headed to Laurel's apartment. Oliver knocked, and Tommy opened the door.
"Welcome." Tommy said happily.
"Happy Birthday, buddy." Oliver replied, giving his best friend a hug.
"Thank you." He replied, taking the gift bag Oliver handed him. "Oh, this feels like a Chateauneuf de Pape."
"It tastes like one, too." Oliver replied, closing the door as Tommy led McKenna into the apartment.
"You are a true friend. Thank you."
"Tommy, you remember McKenna Hall." He introduced.
Tommy smiled. "From back in the day." He noted.
"And back again." She joked. They chuckled as they moved into the dining room, where Laurel was lighting the candles at the table.
"Ollie." She said happily."Hi."
"Hi." He replied. The two ex-lovers hugged each other awkwardly. "Laurel, this is McKenna Hall."
"We know each other from the court house." She said, moving back to Tommy's side.
"How are you, counselor?" McKenna joked, easing the tension.
"I'm well, Detective." She replied glibly.
"I'm going to go crack this open." Tommy said, hefting the wind bottle.
"Come in." Laurel invited. McKenna moved deeper into the apartment, taking it in.
"Such a nice apartment." She complimented. "So much space." She noticed a picture and picked it up to examine it. The picture showed a young, brown-haired girl with a younger-looking Quentin as they happily observed a black canary in a cage. "Oh, this is adorable. How old are you here?" she asked.
Laurel looked at the picture with a tinge of sadness. "That's actually my sister Sara." She said.
Laurel smiled fondly at the picture.
Roy shook his head. "Man, I can't believe that's Sara."
"Why?" Laurel asked, curious.
"First time I met her, she saved my life." Roy said. "I've just always known her as a bad ass. It's weird to see her as a kid."
McKenna was slightly embarrassed. "Oh, I am so sorry." She apologized.
"No, no, it's ok." Laurel assured the woman, and then looked back at the picture. "I don't know why my father bought her that canary. That thing chirped night and day." She laughed lightly. "Drove us all nuts."
"A toast." Tommy said as he came back into the room, loaded down with wine glasses. He passed them out, and then held up his own. "To the first birthday that I have enjoyed in a long time." He looked at Oliver. "I got my best friend back." He turned to Laurel. "And I have finally figured out why poets have been in business for the last few thousand years."
Laurel smiled fondly at Tommy, who grinned in return.
"Happy Birthday, baby." Laurel said, giving him a kiss.
"Thank you." He replied with a smile
"Cheers." Oliver said. They all replied the same and clinked glasses. As they were sipping their wine, there was a knock on the door.
"I think that's the food." Laurel said, handing Tommy her glass and going to the door.
After she left the room, Oliver sighed in relief. "Oh, thank God, she didn't cook."
"Amen." Tommy agreed.
Laurel's smile turned into a glare, and Tommy shifted closer to Thea as she tittered.
Laurel opened the door to find not the food delivery, but Malcolm Merlyn. "Mr. Merlyn." She said in surprise after a moment.
"Just in time to ruin dinner." Tommy said darkly, stilling on the couch. Thea likewise went rigid.
"Laurel." He greeted with a smile. "Can I come in?" Laurel moved aside, allowing the elder Merlyn in. Malcolm walked towards the small group with a smile that no one else returned. "Oliver." He greeted.
"Mr. Merlyn." Oliver replied politely.
Malcolm turned to Tommy. "I've been trying to get in touch with you."
"What are you doing here, Dad?" he asked without preamble.
Malcolm produced a small box. "Happy Birthday, Tommy."
Tommy just stared at him for a moment, and then turned to Laurel. "Just give us a second."
"Of course." Laurel replied. Tommy motioned for his father to follow him out into the hall. Malcolm tossed the present to Oliver and obligingly followed.
"We're about to eat." Tommy said as soon as they were in the hall.
"I can't stay."
"Well, that works out because you weren't invited."
Malcolm smiled tightly, then withdrew and invitation from his jacket. "I'm being honored by the Starling City Municipal Group. They're bestowing me with their annual Humanitarian Award."
Roy snorted. "Oh, the irony." He said, glaring at the elder Merlyn.
"What, they ran out of actual humans to give it to?" Tommy asked sarcastically.
Malcolm winced internally at the hatred in his son's voice.
"I would like you to be there, if you could." He asked hopefully.
"I am 100% certain that I'll be busy." Tommy tried to walk back into the apartment, but Malcolm grasped his arm tightly, stopping him cold. Tommy looked down at his father's hand, than back up.
"You might not believe this, but all I ever wanted for you was happiness." Malcolm told his son.
"Then maybe you should have stuck around after Mom was killed, instead of running off to become 'The Jackal'." Tommy told his father with a glare.
"If it will allay this tension between us, I'll turn the switch back on." He tried.
"Bribery." Roy shook his head. "Well, it works on public officials…."
"Save your money, Dad." Tommy replied. "I don't need it anymore."
"I'd still like you to come to the event." He pressed the invitation into Tommy's hand. "It would mean a lot to me." He started to walk off, but his son's voice stopped him cold.
"You know what, Dad?" Malcolm smirked and turned around, and Tommy walked up to him. "Sometimes the people that you want there the most- Aren't" he pressed the invitation to his father's jacket over his heart. "You taught me that. Multiple times." Tommy turned and walked back into the apartment. Malcolm stood there for a moment, watching as the invitation fluttered to the floor, then turned and walked off.
"Even to a guy like me, that was cold." Slade noted.
"Well, it's hard to feel bad for a man who's planning on murdering hundreds of people." Tommy said acidly.
"You say that as if they were actually people." Malcolm sneered.
Tommy looked at his father in disgust. "Unbelievable."
The scene changed to the Bludhaven Apartments. A tall, lanky man lumbered up to the door of his apartment and walked in. He got a glass down, threw a carton of cigarettes down on his table, then pulled out a bottle of bourbon and poured himself a drink.
"Hello, Lawton." A voice said from down the hall. "I see your edge has dulled."
"Lawton!" Dig exclaimed. "I thought he was dead!"
"Oh, I knew you were there." Deadshot said. "I just didn't care if you killed me. "What do you want?"
"My organization has been contracted to eliminate a certain high profile individual." China White said, coming into the light. "A very well-guarded target."
"Well, forget it." Lawton said. "Look, I'm retired."
"To drink and smoke your life away?"
Lawton shrugged. "We all got to die some time."
"I need someone to die at the right time." China White said. "And no one does it better than you."
Lawton moved himself into the light, highlighting his milky, dead left eye. "My vision ain't exactly what it used to be."
"Damn, his eyepiece!" Diggle exclaimed quietly. "It must have stopped the arrow from going too far into his head!"
"Don't be too surprised, Mr. Diggle." Slade said, leaning forward. "Oliver has the worst luck when he tries to kill someone by sticking an arrow in their eye."
"You don't shut the hell up, Slade, and I'll stick an arrow in the other one." Roy said. Slade looked at Roy, but chose to say nothing.
"No." China white lifted a small case and opened it, showing its contents to Lawton. "It's going to be better."
Floyd lifted the small, red device and looked it over with his one good eye. He smiled at the Triad leader. "So who needs two bullets in the chest?"
Malcolm raised an eyebrow. 'This could be interesting'. He thought.
The scene changed to Merlyn Global. Moira was hurriedly walking towards the conference room for a meeting with Tempest.
"Moira." Frank Chen called out, joining her. "Is it happening?"
"Yes." Moira confirmed. "The Humanitarian Award ceremony."
"Isn't that a little public?" Frank asked, concerned.
"No one will expect it." Moira said, then schooled her features and opened the doors to the conference room. She and Frank took their seats, joining the other two members at the table. Malcolm stood at the windows, looking out over his city.
"I have very welcome news to share with all of you." Malcolm said as he came to the head of the table. "Thanks to Queen Consolidated's Applied Sciences Division and their recent acquisition of Unidac Industries, the Undertaking which we set for ourselves is only months from fruition." He smiled. "There's hope on the horizon for everyone in starling. We won't fail this city."
"And I think I speak for everyone here when I say we're all with you, Malcolm." Moira said pleasantly.
"Good to know." Malcolm said dryly.
Quentin watched the scene with interest, taking a mental picture and promising himself he'd look up who these other people were when he got back.
The scene changed to the Lair. Felicity was hard at work on Barrera's phone, with Dig and Oliver hovering anxiously.
"Jeez, this is one paranoid assassin." Felicity complained. "Barrera's got cobalt-level encryption on his phone. It's not going to be easy to break. But code breaker is my middle name." she paused for a moment. "Actually, it's Megan—"
"Felicity," Oliver interrupted. "Can you get anything off of it?"
"Just the last number he dialed." She said, pulling up the info.
"Which was?"
"A restaurant in China town. A Jade Dragon." She harrumphed. "I guess even hired killers enjoy the city's best chow mien."
Felicity had a dreamy look on her face. "It is good…."
"I'll put it on my bucket list." Tommy joked.
"Yeah, Jade Dragon is a front for the Chinese mafia." Dig told her.
"Call the restaurant; make a reservation for two for tonight." Oliver ordered. He looked intently at Felicity. "You need to decrypt that phone." He hurried off, leaving Felicity and Dig to work.
"I'm kind of in the mood for Chinese now." Felicity noted.
"Hmm." Dig agreed.
The scene changed to the Jade Dragon. Oliver and Tommy were seated at a table, joking quietly when the waiter came by and dropped off their meal- a whole fried fish on one large plate. The waiter smiled and left, leaving Tommy and Oliver to stare at the plate.
"And almost immediately cross it off." Laurel said.
"That's one big fried fish." Dig noted, slightly disturbed.
"That is…that is one big fried fish." Tommy said, and the two laughed quietly.
"Guess I agreed with you." Tommy said, grinning at Diggle.
"You know, I'd make a crack about the weird stuff rich people eat…"
"But rich people aren't exactly their clientele?" Thea finished. Roy winked at her.
"I was told this was the most authentic Szechwan in town." Oliver told his friend. He shook his head. "Whatever. I wanted to make sure that your birthday celebration got its due celebration. It was a little bit, um, tense last night."
"Well, trust my dad to run all the smiles out of the room." Tommy sighed, his mood darkening.
"He did come by, and it seemed like he was trying to act a little bit dad-like." Oliver tried.
"Dad-like, that sums up my father perfectly." Tommy replied.
"I know the two of you have never been close, but it couldn't have been easy for him after your mom was killed."
Malcolm chuckled softly, amazed that Oliver would even try to help repair the relationship between Tommy and himself.
"Yeah, I guess he forgot that there were two of us in that club." Tommy pointed out.
"I'm not defending him, Tommy." Oliver said. "It's… with everything I've been through, people that I've lost... I know how hard it can be."
Tommy nodded pensively. "You probably don't remember this." He started. "Ahh… we were eight. But after her funeral, he left for like two years. And when he did come back, he was... he was so frickin' cold. We barely spoke. And that's why I spent so much time at your house." Oliver nodded in understanding. "From the outside, it always looked like I had a father. He paid my bills, he lived in the house, and he bailed me out. But your dad took me to my first hockey game." Tommy smiled. "Your dad taught me how to fly fish. Your dad took us to our first R-rated movie."
Malcolm's smile fell of his face as he closed himself off once more. 'All I ever wanted was for him to be happy.' He thought. 'But how could I make him happy if I didn't even know how to be happy anymore?'
Thea snuggled in close to Tommy, offering him comfort. Laurel squeezed his knee gently in support as well. He smiled at them both, and placed his hand on top of Laurel's.
"But he wasn't perfect." Oliver said. "My dad made mistakes. And…" he took a breath. "We haven't talked about this. But I have a lot of anger towards him. But still, I would give anything to have him back, because… at the end of the day, your dad is… your dad."
Tommy glanced over at his father, and despite his closed-off expression, Tommy thought he saw just a hint of pain in his eyes. 'Why couldn't he just be a normal human being?" he silently asked himself, turning back to the screen
Tommy sniffed, trying to keep his emotions in check. "I meant what I said last night." He told him. "I'm really glad that you're back."
Oliver smiled, and Tommy picked up his chopsticks to dig into the fish. Oliver was about to, but then he saw a large, burly Asian man with a tattoo on his neck walk past. "I got to hit the restroom." He told his friend.
The big man moved through kitchen to a back room where a smaller Asian man was counting the Triad's money. The big man pulled stacks of cash out of an envelope and handed it to the accountant, who was about to put it into an electronic cash counter when the light suddenly went out. They looked around, and the big man reached for a gun when suddenly Oliver leapt on top of him, slamming the man's head to the ground. Having taken the threat out of the equation, Oliver grasped a squeeze bottle of hot sauce and sprayed it into the accountant's eyes, effectively blinding him. The small man leapt up and tried to run out of the room, but Oliver was on top of him. He slammed him into the wall and held him there.
"Hēishèhuì bǎ chūjí de rén." Oliver growled in Mandarin. "Wǒ xiǎng zhīdào shì shuí."
"And he speaks Chinese now." Thea said in amazement.
"Mandarin." Both Malcolm and Roy corrected, then glared at each other
"Wǒ bù wéi hēishèhuì gōngzuò!" The accountant protested.
"Nǐ bù huì zuò diǎnxīn huí dào zhèlǐ." Oliver quipped, then tightened his grip on the man.
"Wǒ... Wǒ bù zhīdào tā shì shuí."
"Dànshì, nǐ zhīdào de dōngxī." Oliver surmised. "Gàosù wǒ."
"Míngtiān yīzǎo. Bùguǎn tā shì shénme tā yīnggāi fāshēng zài míngtiān." The man finally said. Satisfied, Oliver let go and quickly slipped out of the room, just as the big man got back up.
"Yo, we needed subtitles!" Thea yelled at the ceiling. Then she looked at Roy. "What about you, Mr. Mandarin? What did they say?"
"Well, first Oliver said 'Hēishèhuì bǎ chūjí de rén'…" he stopped and smiled at her annoyed look. "Wow, you really never changed, you know? Anyways, Oliver interrogated the Chinese dude, who said he didn't know who the target was, but that the hit was going down the next day."
"Shì shuí?" The Big man asked
"Bù zhīdào. Kuàijì shuō. Tā shuōhuà de qiāngdiào hěn wánměi. Kěndìng shì zhōngguó." The accountant said.
"And apparently Oliver speaks with a perfect Chinese accent, so Mr. Blinded doesn't know it was a white guy." Roy added.
The big man ran out of the room and headed back into the dining room, looking for the guilty party. All the while Oliver sat at his table, and as the big man walked past, he gestured to the waiter.
"Check, please."
"Got to hand it to the kid." Slade said. "He has certainly got style."
FIVE YEARS AGO
The scene flashed back to the Island. Oliver was diligently working on the radio when Slade came back into the plane, carrying a large boar on a pole over his back.
"I hope you like barbecue." He said. Oliver said nothing, no noticing Slade at all as he spliced wires together. "Well, don't fall over yourself thanking me for spending six hours up a tree so you can eat."
"What?" Oliver asked distractedly, finally looking over at the other man. "Great." He said, turning back to the radio. "I'll eat later."
"You've been on that for days. Give it a rest." Slade argued.
"It's because I can do this." Oliver shot back.
Slade scoffed. "Sure, kid. When pigs fly." Suddenly the lights on the radio lit up, and talking could begin to be heard. "You're kidding me." Slade tossed off the boar and ran over to Oliver. "Can you clean this up?" he asked excitedly.
"I don't know. I don't know how I got this far!" Oliver said happily.
'Continue approach. Big jet 365.' The radio squawked.
Slade picked up the mica and ht the button. "Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is wedgetail 325. Pilot and passenger down."
'Big jet 365, cleared to land. Runway 2-7 right, wind,' the radio continued. Slade frowned in confusion, so he hit the button again.
"I repeat-pilot and passenger down on the island of Lian Yu. Request immediate rescue."
'Cleared to land, runway 2-7 right. Big jet 365.' The radio continued, heedless of his calls.
Slade slammed the mic down in anger. "Damn! They can't hear us, and we can't call out." He sighed. "We're still trapped." Oliver stared at the radio, dejected and deep in thought.
"I'm impressed he actually got it fixed that much." Felicity said. "That radio looked a mess."
"It was." Slade agreed. "The kid showed glimmers of promise, I'll admit." He said reluctantly. Roy glanced at the man, but chose to say nothing.
PRESENT
The scene flashed back to the SCPD, where Quentin was getting a call on a familiar phone. "Lance." He said as he picked up the call.
"The Triad have hired a contract killer." Oliver said, his voice distorted over the phone.
"Yeah? You mean the one you put in the morgue? Congratulations, you're the talk of the station again." Lance said, annoyed.
"They hired one, they're going to hire another, Detective." Oliver argued reasonably.
Lance sighed. "Who's your target?"
"I'm trying to find out but I'm hitting dead ends. I need you to put your people on it." He replied.
"My people don't work for you." Lance snapped. "And come to think of it, neither do I."
"It's not about you and me, Detective." Oliver said reasonably. "It's about saving a life."
"He's got a point, Dad." Laurel said.
Lance sighed. "Call me back when you got a name." he said, ending the call. "Hall." He said suddenly, catching the attention of the passing detective.
"Yes, sir?" she said uncertainly.
"You and me. We're going to catch that Vigilante." Lance said.
"You know what the definition of insanity is, Detective?" Roy asked Lance with a grin. "Doing the same shit over and over and expecting different results."
"Keep mouthing off to me, and I'll throw your ass in jail as soon as I get back." Lance said crossly. Roy chuckled.
Wait a day, and he'll probably give you just cause. Mia suggested.
The scene changed to the docks. China White was giving her men a briefing on the assassination. "There are five exit routes from the main floor that need to be cut off." She began, circling around her men. "Once the fire alarm goes off, we'll have less than 30 seconds to disable Merlyn's private security and force him outside with the others. Once he's outside the rest will be up to Mr. Lawton." She looked over to the sharpshooter, dressed in his traditional gear with the new artificial eye over his dead one.
"Roger that." Lawton smirked.
Malcolm nodded in approval. "A good plan; it might even work." He allowed.
"You're admiring the people who have been paid to kill you." Tommy said incredulously.
"I have no problem admiring a professional doing their job." Malcolm reasoned. "Especially since I apparent survive." Tommy just shook his head in exasperation.
The next twenty-four hours passed in a montage of images. Oliver brooding alone in his room. Felicity trying desperately to crack the phone's encryption, but failing as Diggle looked on. Tommy sitting on the edge of his bed, starting at a picture of him as a child with his parents in happier times. Moira preparing for the Humanitarian of the Year event; outwardly she looked calm, but her shaking hands belied her tension.
Tommy glanced over at Moira now- her hands weren't shaking, but they were clenched tightly in her lap.
As evening started to fall, Tommy was finishing putting on his tuxedo when Laurel walked into their room.
"You look handsome!" she said.
"I try not to. It just keeps happening." Tommy replied glibly.
"What's the occasion?" she asked.
"I decided to go to my dad's thing."
Laurel was surprised. "Really? Are you sure?"
"Oh, mostly." Tommy replied, putting on his jacket.
"Did you want me to go with you?" Laurel asked. Tommy shook his head.
"No, no, no, I know you have work to do. I promise I will be fine." He gave her a quick kiss. Laurel watched him as he walked out. She was distracted by her phone ringing. Picking it up, she saw the incoming call was her mother. She looked at the phone worriedly, then quickly ignored the call and slammed her phone down on the table.
Laurel sighed. 'What could she want?' she wondered.
The scene changed to the Humanitarian Benefit, which was being held at Merlyn Global. Moira was mingling with the crowd when a familiar voice stopped her cold.
"You look beautiful."
Composing herself, Moira turned to see Malcolm standing there, resplendent in his tuxedo. "Thank you." She said politely.
"If you're free, maybe after the ceremony, we could have dinner and talk like we used to." He offered with a friendly smile.
Thea stared at Malcolm with narrowed eyes. 'No way….'
Moira smiled in return. "I'd like that." She lied. There was a bit of feedback through the speakers, and Malcolm chuckled.
"That's my cue." He said, then walked towards the stage.
"I've been trying to avoid him all evening." Frank Chen said, coming up to Moira.
"If we didn't show, it'd look suspicious." Moira said reasonably. She picked up two flutes of champagne and passed one to Frank.
"How can you talk to him that way?" he asked. "As if nothing's about to happen?"
"I've been living this life for five years. Five more minutes won't matter." She clinked their glasses and took a sip.
Malcolm shook his head. He would have to remember never to underestimate Moira Queen.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen." The speaker began, and the crowd quieted. "Now tonight's honoree needs very little introduction. It's neither his wealth nor his name that we celebrate here tonight. But it is his efforts in making Starling City a better and safer place to live. So please help me welcome Starling City's humanitarian of the year, Mr. Malcolm Merlyn." Applause broke out as a smiling Malcolm took the stage. He gratefully accepted the award and waved to the applauding crowd.
"Well, I can't wait to hear this speech." Roy said sarcastically, drawing a glare from the elder Merlyn.
Through the crowd, China White strode confidently in her brunette wig, pausing to take a flute of champagne from a waiter- one of her assassins. She looked back to see another waiter—another of her assassins- moving about as well, while the real waiters' bodies cooled in a storage room in the back.
Malcolm nodded in approval once more. "Very good." He said softly.
The scene changed to the Foundry. Oliver and McKenna were having a picnic in the unfinished club.
"And so that's a stage, right." He pointed off to one of the corners. "Most nights we'll have a band. Somebody cool. Is Fallout Boy still cool?" he asked.
Laurel and Thea both shook their heads, causing Tommy to laugh.
"They broke up." McKenna said. "And never." Both chuckled.
"So somebody else will pick the bands." Oliver said.
McKenna looked at him in concern. "Something bothering you?" she asked. "Don't say no, 'cause you're a terrible liar."
"Really? I thought I was getting better at it." He quipped.
"Mm-mmm." McKenna looked at him seriously. "What's wrong?'
Oliver sighed. "There's a lot of stuff going on in my life." He began. "Work. Friends." He pointed at her, and she smiled. "And I'm having a difficult time figuring out how to fit it all in."
"I've been struggling with some of those thoughts, as well." She confided.
"Do you have any good ideas?" he asked.
"I think we just have to be really honest about what's going on in our lives. Think you can do that?" she asked.
"No." Tommy said at once.
Meanwhile, Felicity and Diggle were still hard at work downstairs. Felicity groaned in aggravation. "Come on… Come on…" the computer beeped. "I'm in! Yes!" she exclaimed.
Felicity frowned. She thought she could do that faster. 'Guess I just have to practice.' She thought.
Dig came over and set down a mug of coffee for her. "Yes! Yes, way to go, Felicity Smoak."
She groaned. "You don't happen to speak Spanish, do you?"
"Arabic." He said.
"Oh, le sigh."
Roy snorted. "Le sigh." He chuckled, shaking his head.
She ran a translation program, and both blanched at what they saw.
"Oh, my God." Dig said.
Upstairs, McKenna and liver were having a tender moment.
"You know I'm there for you." She was telling him as Diggle walked in, buttoning his suite jacket.
"Excuse me, Mr. Queen. The I.T. department has that item that you requested." He said.
Olive smiled tightly at McKenna. "One sec." he said, then climbed to his feet.
"Ok." She said.
Oliver walked over to Diggle. "You find the target?" he asked.
"Oliver, the target is Tommy's father." Dig said.
"At the awards ceremony?" he said, then a thought occurred to him. "Tommy's there." He spun around and headed quickly back to his date. "Um, McKenna, Mr. Diggle is going to take you home. I have some unexpected business."
She kissed him, "It's ok." Oliver smiled and hurried off.
At the SCPD, Quentin's special phone rang. "Lance." He said.
"The target is Malcolm Merlyn." Oliver's disguised voice told him. "Establish a perimeter but keep your distance. I don't want the police caught in the crossfire."
"So of course you'll ignore that…" Laurel said in annoyance.
"Yeah, well I don't tend to take orders from vigilantes." Lance said defensively.
At the benefit, Malcolm began his speech. "The true humanitarian in the Merlyn family was my wife Rebecca." He said. "Many of you here knew her. She tirelessly devoted herself to helping those less fortunate in the Glades. I like to think that if the men who murdered her knew her; knew the work that she did, knew the person that she was He would have helped her to her car, made sure she was safe, instead of stealing her purse and shooting her." He paused in his speech when he saw Tommy out in the audience. He gave him a small smile, then continued. "The truth is, I haven't done enough for this city. My city. I failed it. But I promise you- I am not finished yet."
"Yeah, you still got to drop a couple tons of rubble on innocent women and children." Roy said with disgust.
"You may not believe it, but I do a lot of positive things for my city, Mr. Harper." Malcolm replied icily.
"Please do one more positive thing and drop dead." Roy spat, pausing the video.
"I create jobs," Malcolm began listing, "I fund charities. I support hospitals and the police department. What exactly do you do? Besides give the police I fund a job to do?"
Roy scoffed. "I was in the Glades when your goddamned earthquake machine went off. I lost friends."
This time Malcolm scoffed. "More gangbangers."
"I was a gangbanger." Roy pointed out. "Now look at me. I'm a goddamned superhero. I fight bad guys, I save the world. Hell, I shot an arrow into Darkseid's eye once. I MADE something of myself. Something that those kids that died because of you never got the opportunity to do." Malcolm just waived his hand dismissively, and Roy shook his head. "Look at you sitting there, you smug son of a bitch. So sure about your plan, so sure that you'll be hailed the hero." He sneered. "You think you know what's to come? You have no idea. And when you see the true price for your so called 'plan', well, we'll see how smug you are then." Roy lifted the remote and hit play.
Out in the crowd, Moira was listening to the speech when she spotted Tommy out of the corner of her eye. She looked at the young man, and her careful mask slipped as she realized that she was going to have his father murdered in front of his son.
"Poor time for a crisis of conscience, Moira." Malcolm noted.
"No child should have to witness their parent being murdered." Moira replied stiffly.
"I know a guy on the team who'd agree with you." Roy noted, causing Kara to chuckle darkly.
"I promise you that this city will be better for all of us." Malcolm continued. "And on that day, I will look at this beautiful award and feel that I have earned it. I thank you." The crowd began to applaud, and Malcolm made his way down to the crowd to begin shaking hands. He had just begun when the fire alarm suddenly went off. The speaker got back on the microphone and advised the crowed to head out in an orderly fashion. Malcolm looked around for his son- and saw his security being killed all around him. His blood froze when he realized…
"Tommy!" he gasped, then frantically began looking around for his son.
Tommy blinked, honestly surprised by the emotion in his father's voice- the…fear?
Meanwhile, outside on the roof of the opposite skyscraper, Deadshot waited patiently for his target. Looking around, he began to realize that the plan wasn't working.
"Merlyn's not taking the bait." He said over the radio. "Change of plans."
In the lobby of Merlyn Global, China White frowned. "I don't like improvisation."
"Drive him upstairs to his penthouse office." Lawton ordered. "I need to switch vantage points."
In the lobby, Malcolm finally found his son. "Tommy! Tommy!" he grasped his arm, getting his attention. "Come with me." He ordered. He led Tommy to the escalators. "There's an exit on the second floor. I wasn't leaving until I knew you were safe." He told Tommy as they ran up the stairs. They made it to the second floor hallway- but at the end of the hall were two men with SMP's who opened fire. Malcolm threw himself and Tommy to the wall behind a protruding column just as bullets walked their way down the wall towards them.
A moment later The Hood crashed through a window, rolling to his feet and killing one of the assassins. He ducked behind an opposite column as the other gunman continued to fire.
"Go somewhere safe." He ordered the Merlyn's. "I'll hold them off. Go now!"
"Now THAT is irony." Diggle said.
The Hood leaned out and fired another arrow, forcing the gunman to back off. Malcolm took an instant to appreciate the irony of the vigilante saving his life, then grabbed his son and made for the stairs.
"Come on!" Malcolm urged.
"Where are we going?" Tommy asked.
"Up." Malcolm replied.
"Who are those guys?"
"I don't know."
"They're trying to kill you!"
"Yeah, it seems that way." Malcolm stopped at the executive elevator and pulled out his access card. He quickly swiped it and the light turned green.
"And we're going up, without any of your bodyguards? Dad!" Tommy exclaimed. "We need to get out of here."
Malcolm turned and put a hand on Tommy's shoulder as the elevator door opened. "Tommy, take a deep breath and trust me. Upstairs in my office is a panic room." He led his son into the elevator. "We get there, we seal it off."
"Good defensive strategy." Diggle allowed.
China White was calmly heading up the stairs to the second floor. "Merlyn's headed to the penthouse." She radioed to Lawton, who was getting into position. She stopped at the top of the stairs as she watched the vigilante finish off three of her men in quick succession. Furious, she pulled off her wig and let it drop, then pulled out two knives.
"Why do you want Malcolm Merlyn dead?" The Hood demanded.
"I'll settle for you." She snarled. The two ran at each other. China White swung first, and The Hood blocked with his bow. The two traded furious shots, with The Hood landing a hard shot to her gut with his bow. She returned the favor by sweeping out his legs and sending him to the floor.
Meanwhile, Malcolm and Tommy were almost to his penthouse when they were stopped on the stairs by two gunmen. Both men held their guns on Malcolm, but as soon as one shifted his gun to Tommy Malcolm acted, forcing the gun up and away, then following that up with a hard shot to the throat, collapsing his trachea and causing the man to collapse as he suffocated. He quickly disarmed the other man, then bent his arm out, forcing the man's head down. He took the gun and pointed it at his head.
"Wait!" Tommy shouted, but Malcolm shot the assassin in the head, then let the body drop.
Tommy gasped, disturbed by the act of brutality.
"Go!" Malcolm urged, forcing his son down the hall.
Tommy was in shock. "You killed him!"
"Surely as he would have killed you." Malcolm replied coolly. He punched in the code to the doors and they opened for him. "Move, move, move!" he dragged his son into the penthouse and slammed the doors shut. "Electromagnetic locks." He told Tommy.
"What if they cut the power?" his son asked.
"This floor is on an entire separate grid." Malcolm replied.
"The glass?" he asked, still worried.
"Lexan." He said confidently. "Bulletproof. It's over." He assured Tommy.
Tommy looked at his father like it was the first time. "How did you know how to do that?"
"What?" Malcolm asked, confused.
"Fight. Kill." Tommy clarified. Malcolm considered his son for several moments, then made a decision. He walked over to the wall and slid a painting to the side, revealing a thumb print scanner. "Dad?" Tommy asked. Malcolm placed his thumb on the scanner, and a moment later the wall slide aside. Malcolm looked into his secret workshop, with his League uniform hanging neatly from a mannequin, and prepared to tell his son everything-
Roy paused the scene. "Out of curiosity, how would you explain all of that," he gestured at the room, "To Tommy?"
Malcolm considered the question. "I suppose I would trust my son with the truth." Malcolm said finally.
Tommy looked at his father, stunned. "Do you actually think," he said after a moments contemplation, "that I'd actually go along with you? Go along with your Undertaking?" he asked. "Do you really think I'd let you murder all of those people?"
Malcolm looked coolly- at Laurel. Then he shifted his gaze to Tommy. "I believe I could persuade you." The implied threat was crystal clear.
"Detective!" Kara said sharply, the power of her voice stopping Lance from jumping at the man. Lance glared at the man, but stayed silent, and Kara turned to Roy. "If you would, please?" she asked. Roy hit play.
And suddenly the glass behind him exploded.
The shock sent him face first into the wall. He bounded off of it, and the impact caused the wall to slide shut again, hiding the truth from Tommy once more.
His attention back on the screen, Malcolm shook his head. 'I'll need to upgrade the defenses on the penthouse.' He thought to himself.
Down on the second floor, The Hood and China White were still fighting. China got him down on the ground in an arm bar, which the Hood easily slipped out of. He punched her, and she kicked him back. The Hood used his foot to pop his bow up into his hands, and a moment later he was pointing an arrow at China White's Heart.
"Freeze! SCPD." The Hood recognized the voice as McKenna Hall, who was approaching the two cautiously with her gun drawn. "Put the bow down." She ordered.
In the penthouse, Tommy and Malcolm were both coughing and groaning. Malcolm was the first to push himself up.
"Tommy, you ok?" he asked. Tommy nodded. Malcolm got to his feet and turned towards the window-
And was hit a moment later with three bullets to the chest. Malcolm staggered back a step, then collapsed to the ground.
"Dad!" Tommy shouted. He scrambled over to his father, looking at his unmoving face. "Dad?!"
Tommy was shocked at the sight of his father being shot, and torn- despite all the things he now knew, and despite the threats he had just made- it was still his father. And he could change, couldn't he? Wasn't that why they were here?
Down on the second floor, McKenna kept her gun trained on the vigilante. "Turn around slowly." She ordered.
Oliver glanced to the side, then spun around, losing his arrow into a fire extinguisher. The escaping cloud gave him cover to make his escape. China White also took advantage of the smoke screen, and by the time the smoke cleared, both were gone. "Damn it." She cursed.
In the penthouse, Tommy was dragging his father away from the windows, trying to get some cover. Satisfied, the knelt down and quickly undid his father's shirt. "Dad." He cried. "I'm sorry."
Malcolm's hand shot out and grasped Tommy's; he groaned. "I'm ok." He assured him. "I'm ok."
Tommy looked down- his father was wearing a Kevlar vest. But one bullet seemed to have found a weak spot and penetrated the vest. "You're bleeding. You're bleeding." He repeated.
"I'll be fine, Tom…" Malcolm suddenly pitched back, unconscious.
It then hit Malcolm. "Curare." He said in realization.
"No, no, no, Dad! Dad!" Tommy cried panicking. The sounds of crunching glass got his attention, and he looked up to see The Hood standing there. In a blind panic, Tommy grasped the gun from his father's waistband and pulled it out, pointing it directly at the vigilante. "No! Stay back." He demanded.
"I'm not here to hurt you or your father." The Hood said through his voice changer.
"I said stay back." Tommy repeated when the Hood moved forward. The Vigilante knelt down and picked up a bullet. Curiously he sniffed it, then drew back with a start. "Curare." He whispered tom himself.
"Don't come any closer." Tommy repeated when The Hood stood back up.
"Your father's been poisoned." He started to explain quickly. "An assassin named Floyd Lawton laces his bullets with curare. I've dealt with this before. We need to dilute the poison in his bloodstream."
"I said stay the hell back!" Tommy screamed, his gun never wavering.
"In three minutes he's paralyzed. In four minutes, he suffocates. If you don't let me help you now, he's dead before anybody gets here!" The Hood said, exasperated.
"Please, take your time…" Roy said under his breath, earning a swat from Kara.
"Help. How?" Tommy asked.
"Fresh blood buys him time to get to the hospital."
"A blood transfusion?" Tommy said incredulously. "That's insane!"
"It's the only way." He replied. "He needs your blood. You're out of time. You need to make a decision right now!"
"Why should I trust you?!" Tommy screamed.
Making a decision, The Hood did something he swore he would never do. He turned off his voice changer, the slowly turned to face Tommy, drawing back his hood as he did so.
"Because you always have." Oliver told his best friend.
"Holy shit." Tommy said.
"Didn't expect that." Diggle agreed.
Tommy stared up in complete shock. "Oliver." He gasped.
As Tommy sat back in stunned disbelief, Oliver grabbed some supplies from a nearby cabinet, including a well stocked first aid kit. Moving quickly, he used a flechette to cut several lengths of tubing, then attached needles to the end of them.
"Ok." Oliver said as Tommy rolled up his sleeve. "Ready?"
"Do it." Tommy said flatly. He winced in pain as the needle slid into his arm. Oliver clamped one end and wrapped Tommy's arm in gauze to keep the line in.
"Hold his arm." Oliver ordered. Tommy did so, and Oliver slid the other end into Malcolm's arm. As the blood started to flow, all they could do was wait.
"Come on, come on, come on." Oliver muttered.
Tommy's eyes moved from his father to his friend. "You're the Vigilante." He said needlessly. "Why?"
Oliver sighed. "Later." He told his friend. "He's still going to need medical attention to fully clean out his system, you understand?"
"Ok." Tommy looked his friend in the eye. "Thank you." He said sincerely. Oliver nodded, then noted Malcolm stirring. He quickly rose, pulled the hood back up, and left.
"Tommy." Malcolm rasped, looking around.
"I'm right here, Dad." He told his father, holding his hand.
Several minutes later, Tommy was walking with his father as he was wheeled to an ambulance as McKenna and Lance questioned him.
"What did the Hood say to you?" Hall asked.
"He didn't say anything." Tommy said distractedly.
"You let a homicidal maniac talk you into a homemade blood transfusion instead of calling the paramedics?" she asked incredulously.
"My father's life was at stake." Tommy snapped.
Malcolm stared proudly at his son. Their current differences aside, ti was nice to know that ultimately, Tommy did care for him.
"So first the Hood rescues you and Queen from those kidnappers," Lance added, "now he saves your old man. But he's taking down every other one per center out there." Lance looked at Tommy. "Is this guy a friend of yours, Merlyn?"
Tommy turned and faced the detective. "I don't know who the hell he is." He replied honestly.
Tommy groaned. "I have the distinct feeling that I'm not going to take this well." He said.
"Why not?" Thea asked.
"Jealousy." Slade said insightfully. "It doesn't help matters that Miss Lance is attracted to the Vigilante." He added with a smirk.
The paramedics loaded Malcolm into the ambulance as Moira watched worriedly. From the rooftop across form Merlyn Global, Oliver watched as well.
FIVE YEARS AGO
The scene flashed back to the island. Oliver was sitting, dejected as Slade fiddled with the half-working radio.
"If they can't hear us, then what's the point?" he asked angrily.
Slade held up his hand, indicating he should be quiet. "Wait! You still might have done us some good." He told the boy as he scanned the frequencies. Finally he found what he was looking for.
'Final deployment is five by five.'
"That's Fyers!" Oliver exclaimed, jumping to his feet and running over.
"I'm tuned into the soldier's frequency." Slade told Oliver as they continued to listen.
'Scylla is in route. ETA 0600 hours. At the southwest bay. I'll call you when Scylla is in my possession. Fyers out.'
"Who was Fyers talking to?" Oliver wondered.
"I don't know." Slade admitted. "Sounds like someone off this island, maybe his benefactor. More importantly, who or what is Scylla?"
"The Scylla and Charibdis." Oliver explained. "It's 'The Odyssey', from one of the four nightmare chapters. Scylla was a monster."
Slade slid his swords into their scabbards on his back. "I want to meet this monster." He said. He walked to the door and stopped, looking back at Oliver. "Am I going alone?" he asked.
Oliver considered for a moment, then grabbed his knife and followed.
PRESENT
The scene changed to the Lair. Oliver walked down the stairs, not looking forward to the news he was about to deliver.
"So how's it feel to save a one percenter?" Felicity asked as he came into view.
"Looks like Malcolm Merlyn's going to be ok." Diggle informed him. "They took him to Starling General. Good thing he was wearing a bulletproof vest."
Oliver looked at his friend. "He's not in the hospital because he was shot." He said. "He was poisoned by curare."
Diggle was floored by the news that his brother's killer was still out there, still killing. He walked off, then stopped and took a breath. "Lawton's alive." He said, getting it out into the open.
"I'm sorry, John." Oliver told him sincerely. Dig turned and walked off.
"This Lawton kick his dog or something?" Felicity asked quietly.
"No. He killed his brother." Oliver explained, watching his friend as he walked away.
FIVE YEARS AGO
The scene changed to the island. Slade and Oliver stealthily approached Fyers camp. They took position behind some fallen trees, and Slade looked at the camp through his binoculars. What he saw caused him to take a sharp breath.
"What?" Oliver asked, noting the other man's tension. "What is it?"
"You were right." Slade breathed. "Scylla is a monster. A Russian-made S300 anti-aircraft missile launcher." He handed the binoculars to Oliver, who looked at the device. "It can simultaneously track up to a hundred targets while engaging with at least a dozen. I mean, from here, they could shoot down a commercial airliner, or start a war."
PRESENT
The scene flashed to the present at Starling General. Oliver was entering to visit with Malcolm and Tommy when he spied McKenna.
"Hey, you're here." He noted.
"Yeah." She replied.
Oliver took her arm gently. "Walk with me." He asked. She agreed and they walked off to a more secluded corner. "I heard you were there, are you ok?"
"I'm fine." She assured him.
"Fine." Oliver said. "Listen, McKenna, I'm- I'm really sorry that I had to run out on you like that." He began, but she cut him off.
"Don't worry. Five more minutes, and I would have had to run out on you." She sighed. "Our lives are complicated." She looked at him. "But I'm willing to figure us out. If you are."
Oliver smiled. "Willing and able."
Up in Malcolm Merlyn' room, Tommy sat slumped in a chair at his father's bedside. The elder Merlyn stirred, groaning as he tried to sit up.
"Hey." Tommy saw his father start to look around in confusion. "Hey, Dad. Dad, Dad. Take it easy." He moved over to the side of the bed and put a hand gently on the man's shoulder, pushing him back down into the bed. "You were shot. The bullet was laced with poison." He explained.
Malcolm looked up in confusion. "I should be dead." He noted.
Roy stared coldly at Malcolm. "I agree." He said.
"I gave you a blood transfusion." Tommy said to his surprise. "Actually it was the Vigilante's idea. He saved you."
Malcolm considered that in shock. "He did?"
"I was worried I was going to lose you." Tommy began, but his father smiled at him.
"I'm not going anywhere." He promised his son.
"You said that after mom died." Tommy accused gently. "But you left."
"I wasn't a very good father to you after your mother passed away." Malcolm admitted. "I was so lost."
"You never told me where you went." Tommy said.
Malcolm considered his son. "I found myself in a place called Nanda Parbat." He began. "I met a man there. He helped me make sense of things. He helped me to find a purpose for my life; to make this city a better place for everyone. Especially for you."
"Ra's al'Ghul." Tommy whispered.
Malcolm looked at his son and nodded. "Yes. He trained me."
"Like he trained Mia." Thea said, looking at Roy. The hero nodded.
Tommy looked at him in confusion. "How are you going to do that?"
"Malcolm?" they looked up to see Moira standing in the doorway.
Malcolm smiled at her, then looked back to Tommy. It could wait, he decided. "Tommy. Could I talk to Moira for a minute?" he asked. Tommy nodded and walked out of the room, stopping to let Moira give him a kiss on the cheek.
After he left, Moira approached the bed. "Thank God you're all right." She lied, fearful of what the man in the bed would do.
Malcolm didn't disappoint. "We have a traitor in our midst." He seethed. "I want you to find out who. He just made his last mistake." Moira nodded, all the while thinking 'What am I going to do now?'
Malcolm smiled fondly at the woman in question. "You never cease to amaze me, Moira." He told her honestly.
"I'm glad you approve." She replied dryly.
Thea had a sinking revelation and groaned. "Oh my god, you're STILL hot for my mother." She realized.
Malcolm blinked. "I respect your mother, Thea…"
"No, you like her. As in 'Like' like. As in you wanna... and now I'm gonna be sick." Thea put her head between her legs, taking deep breaths while Tommy rubbed her back. Moira shot Malcolm a disgusted look, then turned away.
Out in the hall, Oliver slowly approached. Tommy didn't look at him, but he could sense as his friend approached. "My dad's going to be ok, thanks to you." He said. "It's thanks to you." Tommy sighed. "No one's asked you what happened to you out on that island. You said 'a lot.' That doesn't quite cover it."
"Tommy-"
"I saw you kill those guys who kidnapped us when you first got back, didn't I?" Tommy asked.
Oliver stared at his friend for several moments. "I… I know you have a lot of questions."
"Yeah." Tommy agreed. "Yeah, but for now, just the one." Tommy finally looked at Oliver, tears in his eyes. "Were you ever going to tell me?"
Oliver stared sadly at his friend, his own eyes watering. "No." he said finally. Tommy walked off without another word.
The scene changed to Laurel's apartment. The lawyer was talking on her phone, leaving Tommy a voicemail.
"Tommy, I just saw it all on the news." She was saying as she pulled on her coat. "I'll be there as soon as I can. Bye." She hung up the phone and opened the door-
To see her mother walking up to the door.
"Wow, as if this night couldn't get worse." Laurel noted.
"Hello, Laurel." Dinah said.
"Mom?" Laurel said, stunned. "What are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to you." Dinah said.
"About what?"
"I know I've made mistakes." She started.
Laurel scoffed. "Yeah. Yes, you have." She sighed. "Look, I have to go. Why don't you send me an email or a postcard some time?"
"I have something important I need to discuss with you." Dinah pleaded.
"What could be so important after all this time?"
"It's about Sara."
"What about her?" Laurel asked cautiously.
Dinah smiled hopefully. "I think she may be alive."
"Huh." Laurel said. "I wonder how mom knew… Sara didn't mention…"
"You'll find out soon." Roy promised. "But I think Mia was right- as she usually is. How about we call it a night?"
"Good idea." Tommy muttered, rising to his feet and nearly running out of the room. Thea was right behind him, tossing a glare at Malcolm on the way out. Soon the others filed out of the room, until it was only Roy and Malcolm.
"I don't know what my daughter thinks is going to come of all of this," Malcolm said as he rose, "But if she thinks I'm going to change my plans because everyone here now knows, then she doesn't know me as well as she thought."
Roy rose and gave him a cruel smirk. "She knows you well enough, old man. And she knows that nothing you hear will change your mind. But what you will see?" he shrugged and walked past him to the door. He stopped just before exiting. "What you see, well maybe that will." He finished, walking out the door and leaving Malcolm alone once more.
TBC
A/N: Side note- as much as I love Alex Kingston (Yay, Doctor River Song!), is anything in this show more painful than her 'American' accent?
A/N 2: So, i got good news... and I got bad news. For anybody who was checking my profile to see my progress, you already know that I've finished transcribing season 2! The hard part (well, the most time-consuming part) is now over. That is the good news. The bad news is now I have to finish the chapters, then I have to properly outline the sequel, then I want to get some chapters in the can for that... so I still will only be posting once a week.
A/N 3: Thanks as always to everyone that has reviewed! I try to respond to everyone I can, time permitting. If you want a response, though, you have to log in!
Translations: As always, my thanks to Google Translate, and my apologies to anyone who speaks Mandarin.
Hēishèhuì bǎ chūjí de rén. Wǒ xiǎng zhīdào shì shuí.- The Triad put a hit out on somebody. I want to know who.
Wǒ bù wéi hēishèhuì gōngzuò!- I don't work for the Triad!
Nǐ bù huì zuò diǎnxīn huí dào zhèlǐ.- You're not making Dim Sum back here.
Wǒ... Wǒ bù zhīdào tā shì shuí.- I…I don't know who it is.
Dànshì, nǐ zhīdào de dōngxī. Gàosù wǒ.- But you know something. Tell me.
Míngtiān yīzǎo. Bùguǎn tā shì shénme tā yīnggāi fāshēng zài míngtiān.- Tomorrow. Whatever it is it's supposed to happen tomorrow.
Shì shuí?- Who was it?
Bù zhīdào. Kuàijì shuō. Tā shuōhuà de qiāngdiào hěn wánměi. Kěndìng shì zhōngguó- Don't Know. The Accountant said. He spoke with a perfect accent. Definitely Chinese.