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 19: The Huntress Returns
Sleep was hard to come by for everyone that night. For Quentin Lance, it was the implied threat Malcolm Merlyn had made over his daughter's life that kept him tossing and turning. That threat was also on Laurel's mind, but her thoughts were also crowded with thoughts about Oliver and Tommy- the man she had loved and had broken her heart more than once, and the playboy that she…what? What did she feel for him? Tommy had been her friend for years; and yes, they had several flings over the past five- but could she be in a relationship with him? Could she love him- or rather, could she allow herself to love him as much as she had once loved Oliver? And what about Oliver? What did she feel for him?
John Diggle's thoughts were also troubled, thinking about the man who had killed his brother. Seeing him killed had been a balm to his soul, but seeing him alive again, killing again- it made the acid in his stomach churn in anger. He tossed and turned for hours, thinking about how much he wanted to END him, before finally falling into a restless sleep. Slade Wilson had trouble sleeping for a similar reason- seeing Oliver Queen, the man who had caused his beloved Shado's death, alive and wearing her hood made his enhanced blood boil in rage. Even seeing them in happier times, if such times could be called happier, angered him. Seeing the weak, useless playboy, a boy who should have died ten times over, being coddled by him- oh, how he should have just slit his throat! Giving up sleep as useless, Slade rose from his bed and stared out the window at Earth, trying his best to center himself.
For Felicity Smoak, her restlessness was for an entirely different reason. Sure, she was amazed that she would become part of this crazy life, and sure, she was worried about how often she would get hurt- but in her room, sitting there on the desk, was a computer. A computer- from the FUTURE. Though, to be fair, she was in the future with the computer, the computer hadn't traveled back in time to her….whatever. Luckily for her, she had her mini-toolkit in her pocket when she was brought back, and she carefully opened the case on the futuristic device, eager to see how it worked- and even more eager to see if she could get past the firewalls that had been installed- especially on her computer.
Moira Queen slept fitfully, her silent fears of what would happen when they returned to the past haunting her dreams. Her own daughter wouldn't send them back to a certain death, would she? She wouldn't allow Malcolm to harm them- any of them. Right?
Malcolm's mind also raced. Even as he plotted ways he could salvage his mission, Thea's words kept coming back to him. 'Oh my god, you're hot for my mother.' Malcolm tried to immediately discount that- Moira had always been a dear friend –or so he had thought. And while he'd had to push her, use her; he had always tried to protect her as well. He always attributed that to a debt he felt to Robert, that in this once instance the family wouldn't pay for the sins of the father as well, but was it something more?
Thea managed to fall into a fitful sleep for a few hours before she finally gave up. She rose from her bed, clothed in the comfortable pajama's they had provided for her, and walked over to the dresser. She leaned against it, her palms flat on the surface as she looked into the mirror at her reflection. She saw the dark circles forming under her eyes, the worry lines at the corners of her eyes and on her eyebrows. She knew she needed sleep- it had taken a lot of energy to maintain her 'happy face', a face she had perfected over years of living in the public life, the face that not even her own mother could see through. She knew she should sleep because she would need to wear that mask tomorrow, wear it like Mia wore her mask. Or how a slightly older Thea had worn that hood that now hung in a display case down the hall. Thea stared at her reflection. "Who are you?" she asked it quietly. She got no response.
At 4:30 in the morning, Roy quietly climbed out of the bed, careful not to wake his wife, and donned his workout clothes. He exited his room, then headed to the lift and took it down to the bottom of the station, Level 12, stretching as it went. He exited the lift and finished stretching, then began his run. A standard routine on the station, he would run the length of the hall around the station, then hit the emergency stairs and head up one floor. He then repeated the process until he made his way back up to Level four, which held the guest rooms, the viewing room- and the gym. He slowed to a stop right outside the gym doors, taking a moment to catch his breath all the while refusing to admit that he was getting too old for this and denying to himself that he wasn't as fit as he used to be.
Roy entered the gym, but paused when he spotted Tommy sitting on the stairs. Looking down at the younger man, he frowned.
"What the hell are you trying to do?" he asked with a smile. Tommy looked up in surprise, then down at his hands.
"Last time I was in here throwing bombs, Mia said I needed to tape my hands so I wouldn't damage them." He explained, then lifted his hand which was partially wrapped with medical tape. "I think I'm doing it wrong."
"Yeah." Roy agreed. He walked over to a side cabinet and withdrew two rolled hand wraps. "Pull that shit off." He told Tommy. "I'll wrap one, and then you do the other."
Tommy started pulling off the tape, wincing as the fine hairs on his hand were ripped free. Roy dropped next to him, and as soon as Tommy's hand was free of the offending tape, he took the hand and began to wrap it. "Put the thumb in the end loop, pull it taut." He explained as he worked. "Start with the wrist, then the hand, then in between the fingers, then secure the end with the Velcro strip." He finished, looked it over, then handed Tommy the second wrap. "You're turn." Tommy started wrapping, and Roy observed that he did it correctly. "You know, I should apologize to you."
"For what?" Tommy asked.
Roy shifted uncomfortably. "I was extra-assholy yesterday to your old man. You know, the funny thing is we never even fought." Roy explained. "If we were talking of physical damage, I have more to hate for Slade Wilson than your dad. But-"
"He took Th-Mia from you?" Tommy guessed, correcting himself.
Roy chuckled, but shook his head. "I drove her away." Roy admitted. "Everyone was lying to her and keeping secrets from her, and I needed to be the one person who wasn't. And I couldn't be." He sighed. "But he did keep her from me. I guess I resented that the most."
Tommy nodded. "So, do we know each other?" he asked innocently. "I mean, since you're married to my baby sister and all."
Roy laughed. "Funnily enough, she was the one that asked you to give me a job before we had even started dating. I guess she saw something in me back then. Can't imagine what that could have been."
"So I was your boss?"
"Briefly." He sifted again. "You actually left the club after a few weeks. We never really interacted that much, either."
Tommy nodded. "I'm dead, aren't I?" he finally asked. He looked up, but stared straight ahead at the far wall, his eyes distant. "And my father killed me, didn't he?"
Roy sighed. "I'm not going to lie to you, Tommy. Mostly because you'll see it anyways in a few days. Yeah, you die." He admitted, and Tommy closed his eyes. "And while your dad didn't kill you himself, he was responsible."
"How?" Tommy asked quietly.
"You died in the quake." Roy said.
"Oliver didn't stop him?" Tommy seemed surprised.
"Not for lack of trying." Roy replied. "Your death wasn't meaningless, Tommy. You died saving Laurel. And your death inspired Oliver to become more than a vigilante; more than a killer."
Tommy nodded, finishing the wrap. He stood and walked over to the punching bag, throwing a half-hearted punch. He laughed shortly. "You want to hear something funny?" he asked. "All night I've been up, because every time I closed my eyes I'd see my dad laying on the floor, blood seeping through his shirt. I'd see him go pale from the poisoning, and I'd watch as Oliver set up the transfusion. And I'd be praying the entire time that he would be alright." He shook his head. "Even after knowing the kind of man he truly is, even after seeing him kill people, both in the mask and out, even after knowing what he's planning to do and how many people could die- I still want him to live. And for the life of me, I don't know why."
Roy rose and walked over to the distraught young man. "Sure you do." Roy said. "You want him to live because he's your dad. And deep down, despite everything- you still love him. Look," Roy turned Tommy to face him, "I think your dad is a real son of a bitch, and I still wouldn't mind putting an arrow into him. But Mia has always been adamant that there was some good left in there, some redeeming value that could be brought out. She brought you all here to change things, to save lives; but deep down, I think one of the things she wanted to do the most was to show Malcolm he didn't have to be the monster, that there was a better way- that he could be a powerful force for good, if he'd just let go of the anger."
"He's still killed-"
"I'VE killed." Roy interrupted. "Mia has killed. Oliver has killed. What we've done in the past can't be changed. Nor can it be ignored. All you can do is learn from the past, own up to your mistakes, and work your ass off to make a better future. Malcolm can't change the fact that he killed Robert Queen, or anybody else. But he can try to be better."
"And she thinks that showing him all of this will help him change?" Tommy asked incredulously.
Roy shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Maybe she thinks that a son's love could help as well."
Tommy snorted. "We don't have that kind of relationship."
"Maybe not now, but who knows what the future may bring?" he asked with a smirk. "Now, enough of this touchy-feely crap. Let's see you throw a punch." Tommy turned back to the bag and did so, throwing the worst punch Roy had ever seen. "Man, that sucked."
"Thanks." Tommy said dryly.
"I'm just saying- if you want to try and play the overprotective brother with me when you get back…"
"I'm rich, remember? I'd talk, and just hire someone to do the threatening."
"Nice."
So it was three hours later that a very tired group of people trudged their way back into the viewing room. Roy and Tommy were already in the room talking when the others came in.
"Oh great, you two are getting along." Thea said dryly, her mask firmly in place.
"Oh, I'm not so bad." Roy said with a smile. "Once you get to know me."
"Once I got to know you, I wanted to beat you up more." Sara said as she came in. Roy frowned.
"No Kara?" he asked with faux disappointment.
"She had to wash her hair." Sara joked. She sat down next to Laurel, who chose to sit with her father today. Thea had chosen to sit with her mother on the same couch as Tommy and Roy. Felicity and Diggle doubled up again, and Slade and Malcolm both chose single chairs.
Slade noticed that Kara wasn't there, and looked at Sara. "No babysitter today?"
"Oh, she'll be in here faster than a speeding bullet if she needs to be." Sara assured the mercenary. "But you're playing nice, aren't you?"
Slade smirked. "It is much more fun watching you all snipe at one another." He assured the former assassin, sitting back in his chair.
Sara looked around. "Well, we'll probably load up on caffeine today." She said, noting the tired faces. She smiled at her sister. "Man, I haven't seen you look this bad since finals back in high school." She lied.
"I think we all had a restless night." Laurel said diplomatically.
Sara nodded, then picked up the remote. "Well, maybe we'll have a short day today, allow you all to get some sleep. So let's get started, shall we?" she hit play.
The memory set opened on a strip club…
"I can tell I'm going to like this one already." Roy quipped.
Thea scoffed. "I can't believe I marry you." She said, disgusted.
Some days, neither can I. Mia said over the speakers, announcing her presence for the first time.
Gus Sabatoni sat down in front of the stage, a wad of ones in his hand. He was enjoying the show when a hand on his should drew his attention. He turned in his seat to find one of the scantily clad women behind him, barely dressed in a skimpy purple outfit with a cross on the front. The spotlight behind her obscured her face, but he saw her...assets just fine.
"Hey, mister. You feel like a dance?" she asked.
"Absolutely."
Thea shook her head in disgust. "I don't get why guys like to go to strip clubs. It's just one long tease."
"Didn't stop you from learning how to pole dance." Roy said with a smile. Thea sputtered in outrage and looked over at Sara, who was trying not to laugh.
"It was his birthday present a few years ago." She said mirthfully. "You were quite good."
"Very flexible." Roy noted, doing his best to hold in his laughter, especially after seeing Moira's glare. "And now Mrs. Queen wants to have ME killed."
Who doesn't want to have you killed? Mia asked over the intercom.
Thea turned to glare at Roy, but her head quickly spun back to Sara. "Wait, you watched?!"
"Not that particular performance." She smirked. "Who do you think taught you?"
"And why do you know-"
"Because guys aren't the only ones who enjoy a strip tease. Nyssa in particular enjoyed it." She laughed as her father rubbed her temples, and Laurel flushed a very bright pink.
"Moving on!" Thea exclaimed, also a bright pink.
Minutes later the two were in a private room. Gus made himself comfortable as the woman locked the door.
"Tonight your first night?" he asked.
"First, and last." The woman spun around and planted a high heeled boot into Gus's chest, pressing him back into his chair. "Gus." She hissed.
Gus grunted at the impact, and then looked up in fear as he finally saw her face. "Helena!"
"Hey, it's Oliver's psycho ex-girlfriend!" Dig exclaimed.
"Saved by the nutcase." Thea muttered.
"I'm looking for my father." Helena Bertinelli snarled. "I figure if anybody knows where he is, it'd be his attorney."
"I don't." He denied. Helena scoffed, but removed her boot. Gus let out a sigh of relief- until the woman spun back around with her crossbow pistol in her hand. "Ohh! Helena, I swear I'd tell you where the FBI's keeping Frank, but after your father and I made his plea deal to testify, the Feds, they stopped telling me anything. Please!" he pleaded. "You have to believe me!"
Helena smiled. "I do." She said. Minutes later, Helena strode out the back exit of the club and jumped onto her Harley.
In the club, one of the bouncers came and knocked on the door to the VIP room. "Hey Gus, song's over, man." He frowned. "You still in there?" hearing nothing, he opened the door- and saw Gus's body slumped back in his chair, two bolts in his chest. As he stared in shock, Helena started her bike and drove off.
"Great." Lance muttered. "He gave her a more silent way of killing people."
"Better than pumping rounds into a club full of innocent people." Dig observed. Lance grudgingly agreed.
The scene changed to the newly completed Verdant, where Oliver was giving McKenna a guided tour.
"Oh, my gosh! It looks amazing!" she said as they headed down the stairs from the second level.
"Damn, that looks good." Tommy observed.
"Definitely." Thea agreed. Laurel also nodded in agreement.
"Yeah." Oliver pointed to the deejay booth. "Steve Aoki's going to deejay. Right there."
What? How did you get Steve Aoki?" she asked in disbelief.
"I dated his sister." Olive said with a smile.
"You, know, I think I did, too." Tommy said.
"You think?" Felicity said in disbelief.
"Those days are especially hazy." he explained.
"Possibly due to filling my pool with beer." Malcolm put in crossly.
"Oh." McKenna said, giving him a look.
"A million years ago, a million years ago." He assured her, wrapping his arm around her.
"Ok." She said with a smile.
Oliver chuckled. "So, will you be my date tomorrow night?"
"Is a club opening a proper date?" she asked with an impish grin.
"I certainly hope so." she chuckled. "Is that a 'yes'?" he asked.
"No." she gave him a firm kiss on the lips. "That's a 'yes'."
The scene changed to Big Belly Burger. Laurel was seated at a table looking over the menu when Quentin walked in.
"Laurel." He said, quickly moving to the table and taking off his coat. "I'm glad you called. Too much. It's too long for us to go without talking." He sat down.
"Dad, I have to tell you—" Laurel started to say, but her father cut her off.
"No, no, listen, before you say anything, I got to apologize. I should never have used you to catch the archer, and I'm sorry." He said sincerely. "Laurel, I'm just- I'm sorry."
Laurel smiled at her dad.
"Thank you." Laurel said uncomfortably. "I owe you an apology, too."
Quentin looked at her in confusion. "For what?" he asked.
"Hello, Quentin."
And then she groaned. Sara laughed.
Lance turned his head and saw his ex-wife standing there. He quickly stood, staring at her in shock.
"How are you?" she asked. "You look well."
"What are you doing here? Why…why are you here?" he stammered out.
"I'm here because I believe Sara's still alive." She said without preamble.
"She's not wrong." Laurel noted dryly.
"What?!"
"Dad." Laurel had risen and put a calming hand on his arm. "Sit…"
"What is going on?" he demanded, even as he allowed Laurel to guide him back into his seat.
"What's going on is an ambush." Lance said without heat in his voice.
"Just hear mom out." She pleaded. "Sit."
"What's going on?" he demanded once more.
"Start from the beginning." Laurel told her mother.
Dinah sat as well and pulled out a map. "Oliver was found on an island called Lian Yu in the North China Sea." She said, pointing out the island, and then gesturing to the many islands that surrounded it. "There are hundreds; thousands of deserted islands in this chain. What if Sara had survived, too? And nobody would know if she'd washed up in any one of those."
"So you don't actually have any proof that she's alive?" Quentin stated.
"I have proof." She pulled out a photograph and showed it to Quentin. It showed a tall, brunet girl with a ball cap pulled down low, hiding her face. "A tourist took this."
"Could be anybody." Quentin said defensively.
"Doesn't it look just like Sarah?" Dinah said with a pleading tone in her voice. "Our daughter's a survivor, Quentin."
Quentin was silent for a few moments as he looked at the picture. "Ah, you have some nerve." He said finally. "Three years, no phone calls, no emails, nothing. You just show up with an old photo—"
"Dad, please." Laurel started, but Quentin cut her off.
"No." he turned to Laurel. "Please, you listen to me, ok? Sara died on that boat." He looked between the two women, near in tears. "Why… why are you making me re-live this?" he stood and moved to leave. "I'm not doing this."
Laurel sighed. "Dad, no…" she tried, but he was already out the door.
"Was that you?" Quentin asked his younger (older?) daughter.
Sara shook her head. "Mom wasn't telling you the entire truth." She began, pausing the playback. "She never wanted to accept that I was dead, so she started researching the area, looking into if I had washed up anywhere. When those whispers reached Nanada Parbat, I knew I had to act. So I bought a Rockets hat online, found a tourist with the same general build and hair color I had back then, and paid her to take the picture and post it online- and if anybody asked, to just tell the truth about the picture while omitting my involvement. Then I paid off an embassy guy to back up the story, and let mom take it from there."
Tommy looked at her in confusion. "But why-"
"It is normally required for a member of the League of Assassins to forsake their blood relations and swear full allegiance to the Ra's and the League." Malcolm explained. "Only if Ra's releases a person are they allowed to contact their family. That's why I didn't contact you for two years." He added to his son, who nodded, but looked away quickly.
"Anyway," Sara continued, "I wanted to take care of it so Ra's didn't feel like he had to."
"A wise precaution." Malcolm told her, and she nodded in agreement.
"But you did eventually tell her, right?" Laurel asked.
Sara laughed. "I kind of had to, considering Nyssa kidnapped her and Dad one time." Before she could ask, Sara held up her hand. "Which you will see later. For now, let's press on."
The scene shifted to the Glades, where Thea and her friend Morgan were walking and talking about Verdant's opening.
"So I told Chris and Shane they could be our plus ones tonight to Oliver's club- if they're lucky." Morgan was saying. "We both have plus ones, right?"
Shane! Mia called from the intercom, the laughter evident in her voice. Come back, Shane! You only took like twelve seconds! Thea actually growled at the ceiling as Mia cackled from the safety of the control room as Laurel and Felicity snickered. and Malcolm, Tommy, and Moira glared.
Thea looked up, and was startled to see Roy Harper exiting a grocery store holding a cup of coffee. "Uh, I-I don't know." She stammered. "Hang on just a second."
"Even back then, you couldn't resist my raw, anamalistic sexuality." Roy smirked.
"What animal is that, a horny Chihuahua?" Thea shot back.
"He does like to hump legs and pee on fire hydrants." Sara noted.
She walked up to him and smirked. "I didn't know purse snatchers took coffee breaks."
Roy was startled, and when he was who it was he rolled his eyes. "You know, for a stuck up, rich bitch, you seem to spend a lot of time here in the Glades."
"And such a charmer." Tommy added dryly.
"My job's around here." She said dryly.
"You? Have a job?"
"Yeah. You know, you should try it some time." She advised. "Instead of hanging out on a street corner, waiting to boost somebody's handbag."
"Sounds good. Know anyone who's hiring high school dropouts with a couple of priors, no references and a history of violence?" he asked sarcastically.
Thea chuckled. "Actually, I might." She said. "You know that new club opening in the Glades? Verdant? My brother owns it. I think he might be hiring valet attendants."
"You want to give him a job where he is handed keys to other people's cars? Moira asked archly.
Roy scoffed. "Do you think it's a good idea?" he asked. "Me, taking the keys to stranger's cars?"
"See, I would have been offended, but I had the same thought." Roy said with a grin.
"I think it's time you put up or shut up." She said.
Roy considered her for a moment, and then sighed. "Talk to your brother." He said finally. Thea smiled, and then nodded to her friend. Morgan joined her and the two walked off, leaving a conflicted Roy Harper behind.
"All these years, and I still don't know what you saw in me." Roy said softly, speaking more to himself than either Thea or Mia. Both heard him, though, and Thea's eyes softened slightly.
The scene changed to the Lair. Diggle was looking at news clippings about Lawton when Oliver walked in.
"Yo." He called out, and Dig closed the window on the computer before turning in the chair to face him.
"Hey. Where you been?"
"Oh, I thought I'd give myself a rare morning in." Oliver said with a smile. Diggle raised an eyebrow. "Don't look at me like that. The club is opening, finally. McKenna and I are going on date number six tonight, which is…it's significant. And, uh, I don't know." He shrugged. "It seemed like a good day to give the bad guys a rest."
"Well, it's the bad girls that I'm worried about." Dig said, turning back to the computer and opening another window, this showing a surveillance video from a VIP room at the local strip club.
Oliver sighed, recognizing the woman at once. "Helena."
"Yes, or as I like to call her, your psycho ex-girlfriend." Dig joked.
"Hey! I called it!" Dig said happily.
Felicity nudged him in the ribs. "Good for you!" she said.
Dig then got serious. "This was taken at Alley Cats, the strip joint. The police report lists the stiff's name as Gus Sabatoni."
"That's Bertinelli's lawyer." Oliver noted in confusion. "Why would she come back to Starling City just for him? It's not like he did a good job. Her father's serving consecutive life sentences without parole."
"Come on, Oliver, we both knew this was just a matter of time." Dig said. "You tried to help her, you couldn't. Now the only question is, how long before she drops the dime on you, me, this whole operation."
Oliver considered this. "Look, I want you to get in touch with our contacts in the Bratva. Talk to anyone on the street, figure out where Helena is, why she's back."
"Ok." Dig said. "But Oliver-"
"Dig, if she's here, she's here for a reason." Oliver stated. "If that's not Frank Bertinelli, we need to know what she has planned."
Dig nodded. "Ok." He said, and Oliver walked off.
The scene changed to the Queen Manor. Oliver walked in to the sounds of laughter. Confused, he headed deeper into the house.
"Speedy?"
"Oh, we're in here." Thea called out. Oliver walked into the sitting room, and stopped could when he saw Thea sitting on the couch talking to Helena. "Look who's back." Thea said, oblivious. Helena turned and smiled at him. "She was just telling me about your guys' first date-"
"At Russo's." Helena finished. "Hello, Oliver."
Moira looked alarmed, and Malcolm tensed in his seat, his hackles raised.
"Oh, Ollie, I kind of have this pseudo friend that's looking for a job." Thea added. "I was wondering if the club's still hiring?"
"Yes. Of course." Oliver said with a forced smile. "Talk to Tommy. As a matter of fact, you can go upstairs and call Tommy, right now." He advised, trying to get her out of the room.
"Great. You rock." She said with a smile as she headed out of the room.
Thea shook her head. "Wow, I'm oblivious." She said to herself.
After she was gone, Oliver dropped the smile. "Where've you been?" he asked, walking into the room.
Helena rose to face him. "Um... Barcelona. Monaco, Budapest." She said. "I just needed to forget who I was. And how much I missed you."
"Do you mean like you missed Gus Sabatoni?" he countered, and this time her smile left her face. "I thought you were done with your father's organization, Helena." He continued. "Because he's serving consecutive life sentences in Iron Heights prison. You got your revenge."
"He just cut a deal with the Justice Department to testify against the East Coast families." Helena replied with quiet fury. "In 48 hours, Witness Protection will give him a new name, a new life, and he'll be off the grid forever- untraceable!"
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Oliver began.
"My father doesn't deserve a second chance- a second life." Helena spat. "And I can't. I can't take on a phalanx of U.S. Marshals. Not without help."
Oliver realized at once why she was there. "No." he said at once. "It's murder. It's not justice."
Before she could reply, Moira walked into the room. "Oh, there you are." She said to Oliver. "I have a question about your opening tonight." Suddenly she notices he wasn't alone. "Hello."
Helena plastered a smile on her face again. "Hi." He replied.
"Crap." Laurel said.
"Oliver, who's your friend?" Moira asked her son.
"Oh! Mom, this is Helena. Helena, this is my mother." He introduced.
"Hi." Moira said pleasantly.
"Nice to meet you." Helena said, shaking her hand.
"Helena was just leaving." Oliver said, placing a hand on the small of her back.
"Yes. I have a family engagement." She added.
"Excuse us for a minute." Oliver said, leading Helena to the door.
"Of course." Moira said, watching them leave.
"I guess I will just have to be more persuasive." Helena whispered, stopping at the doorway. "Fortunately you have a family, too." She planted a kiss on his cheek, and then made her way out of the house as Oliver watched in stony silence.
"Well, that's a message received." Tommy said sourly.
The scene changed to Verdant. It was shortly before opening, and Oliver and Diggle were standing at the bar as the employees set up for the night.
"She was in my house." He raged quietly as Diggle texted on his phone. "She made a not so veiled threat. I want extra security around my mother and sister."
"Way ahead of you, man." Dig said, waving his phone to show him he'd been working on just that.
"Thank you." Oliver said sincerely.
"It's my job." Dig replied.
"For not saying, 'I told you so'." Oliver clarified.
Dig gave him a look. "Night's young." He noted, walking off.
Oliver sighed and leaned back against the bar. He saw Tommy walking up behind the bar with a crate of wine. "Where you been?" he asked. "The club opens in four hours."
"I've been dealing with the vendors." Tommy lied, not looking at Oliver.
"No, you haven't." Olive said. "Tommy… we need to talk." He began. "I'm sorry, all right. But I kept this a secret to protect the people that are closest to me."
Tommy finally looked up. "Do you think that's what I care about?" he asked. "What, that my feelings are hurt?" he leaned forward. "You're a murderer." He whispered. "A killer. You were my best friend in life, but now it's like I don't even know you."
Oliver stared sadly at his friend. "You're right. I've changed." He admitted. "Listen, buddy, now I can explain to you. I can explain to you how and why—"
"What'd be the point?" Tommy interrupted. "I wouldn't believe a word of it, anyway." He added, and then walked off, leaving a dejected Oliver behind at the bar.
Tommy sighed. "Yeah, I'm taking that well."
"You just need time to process." Thea said encouragingly. She wanted both of her brothers to get along.
"Or you just need to punch him and be done with it." Slade advised.
"That's actually not bad advise." Malcolm noted.
"Yeah, if I want to get my ass kicked." Tommy said sourly.
"Naw," Dig said. "Friends sometimes just need to fight. And Oliver seems like the type that'd let you punch yourself out so you could finally talk."
FIVE YEARS AGO
The scene flashed back to the Island. Oliver and Slade were still observing the missile launcher.
"One of those missiles has an effective range of up to 2,400 kilometers." Slade was telling Oliver. "We're not going anywhere until we figure out what Fyers is planning."
"Wild guess? He's planning on blowing something up." Oliver replied sarcastically.
"Well, one of those could do the job. But this?" he indicated the launcher and the camp of mercenaries, "This is about starting a war."
"With who?" Oliver asked.
"What does it matter? We have to stop Fyers before he kills thousands of innocent people." Slade replied.
"There are tons of soldiers down there." Oliver pointed out. "Even if we get through all of them, we can't just steal a whole missile launcher."
Slade observed the camp with his glasses- and spied soldiers carrying crates marked 'Explosives'. And idea formed in his head. "Well, who said anything about stealing it?" he asked.
"So what's the plan? Ambush?"
Slade shook his head. "It's impossible. We can't take out all six without one radioing for back up."
"It'd be good if we could get all the soldiers in one place." Oliver noted.
Slade paused, and then stared at Oliver in consideration. "You're right." He said.
"Can you say 'Bait'?" Tommy said sarcastically.
PRESENT
The scene changed to the SCPD, where Quentin Lance was in a pitched battle- with a stapler. Laurel walked in just as he was banging it against his desk.
"What'd the stapler ever do to you?" she asked with a smile.
Lance looked up and sighed. "What is it, Laurel? I'm busy. The Hood's girlfriend is back."
"Psycho ex-girlfriend." Both Diggle and Felicity said simultaneously.
This time Laurel sighed, then took a seat next to her father. "Dad, I'm sorry about this morning." She started. "But if I told you the real reason to come see me, you wouldn't have shown up."
"You're damn right I wouldn't." he spat. "So you really believe this garbage your mother's selling about Sara being alive on Fantasy Island?"
Sara snorted. "Hardly a fantasy." She muttered.
Laurel sighed again. "I mean, no. But what would it hurt to take a look at everything that mom found?" she asked, setting a folder down on his desk. "Even if it's just to set her straight."
Quentin looked up at his daughter, pain etched on his face. "Laurel, you know how long it's taken for me to get to a place where Sara isn't the first thing I think about every morning?"
Sara placed a hand on her father's knee, squeezing it gently in reassurance.
"Dad." Laurel said simply, giving him a hard stare.
Quentin exhaled. "Tell your mom I'm not making any promises." He said finally, taking the folder. Laurel smiled, then got up and left.
The scene changed to the newly opened Verdant. The music was pulsing and the patrons were dancing and drinking with abandon. On the second level, Oliver, McKenna, Moira and Thea stood, all with drinks of their own in hand.
"To Verdant." Moira toasted, and the four raised their glasses. "I know I haven't always been supportive of this venture," Moira said after a sip of champagne, "but I have to admit this nightclub is quite an accomplishment. I'm proud of you." She smiled at Oliver. "Your father would be, too."
"Yeah, congratulations, Ollie. The club doesn't totally suck." Thea added with a smile.
Laurel and Tommy laughed at that. "High praise, indeed." Tommy said.
"No, I'm apparently not doing the 'High' praise anymore." Thea joked.
"Thanks, Speedy." He said. "Thank you very much, all of you, for coming."
Down below, Tommy was leaning against the bar, nursing a scotch when Laurel ran up to him.
"Oh! There you are." She said, breathless. "This place is amazing. I'm so proud of you and Ollie." she complimented.
Tommy smiled tightly. "Thanks." He said, taking another sip of his drink.
Laurel glanced over at Tommy, who was watching with increasing embarrassment. 'Jealousy.' She realized.
Laurel looked at him in concern. "Is everything ok?" she asked.
"I'm great." Tommy assured her with a fake smile.
"Well, breakfast was a disaster." At his confused look, she clarified. "Breakfast? With my parents?"
"Right. That was this morning. Uh… sorry." He apologized.
Now Laurel was really worried. "Are you sure everything's ok? Because you seem completely off."
Tommy smiled and took her hands. "I'm fine. I promise." He told her.
"Tommy! Tommy." Thea ran up to the pair. "Did you call Roy yet?"
"I left him a message." He told her. "He starts tomorrow. Which reminds me, I have to go check in with the office." He smiled at Laurel and squeezed her hands before letting go. "Excuse me."
Tommy headed towards the stairs when another voice stopped him.
"Hey, Tommy." He turned and Saw Helena standing there with a smile on her face. "Remember me?" she asked.
"Well, that can't be good." Lance noted darkly.
In the club, Oliver was walking down the stairs and spotted McKenna dancing. She smiled at him, and he smiled back.
"Sorry to bother you, Mr. Queen." Oliver looked over and saw one of the servers.
"Your timing is perfect. I can't dance." He told the boy.
"So that hasn't changed." Tommy joked, doing his best to bury his jealousy.
The server handed him a folded note. "They said it was urgent."
He frowned and looked at the note. 'Meet me downstairs. –Dig'
McKenna walked over and he folded the note back up. "You ok?" she asked.
"Yeah." He said. "We ran out of Cristal." He added, lying.
"Oh."
"I'll be right back." He kissed her on the cheek.
"Ok." She said as he moved off.
Oliver made his way to the basement. He bounded down the stairs and called out for his partner, but stopped cold at what he saw- Helena holding Tommy down against a table, his arm bent backwards at a painful angle and his wrist grasped tightly in her hand. "Let him go." Oliver demanded. "He has nothing to do with this."
"I told you." She snarled. "Oliver, I warned you!"
Laurel gasped and Malcolm growled audibly at seeing his son in danger. Tommy and Thea both tensed as the scene unfolded.
"Helena!" he shouted, then moderated his tone. "This isn't you."
"My father is a mobster and a murderer. It is not like you haven't killed men like that before!" she stated.
"And I tried to teach you to obtain your objective without killing!" he shot back.
"By applying leverage. By exploiting someone's weakness." She twisted Tommy's arm, causing him to gasp in pain. "There is a whole club full of leverage above our heads right now. Please." She pleaded. "Oliver, don't make me do something that both of us will regret."
"Ok! Ok. You win! I'll help you." Oliver shouted. "Let him go." She stared coldly at him. "Let Him Go!" he shouted. Helena twisted the wrist enough to break it, and then let him go. Tommy screamed in pain as Oliver looked on helplessly.
"When we get back- I will kill her." Malcolm said coldly. No one in the room doubted him.
"Take it down a notch Daddy Dearest." Roy said. "She actually turned out alright in the end."
"I'm more worried about her right then." Malcolm replied coldly. "Oliver is blinded by his attraction to her. He should have taken care of her well before now."
"The kid always had a soft spot for women." Slade noted with some amusement. "Nice to see one of them teaching him there are consequences when you make a promise- or break one."
"And you're all about promises, aren't you?" Sara stated more than asked. Slade just smirked at her.
Later that night, Oliver and Dig were alone in the club's basement. Dig was hunched over the computers while Oliver paced. He paused in his pacing and pointed to Dig. "Don't say it."
"Ok." Dig replied, looking back at his friend. "Then let's talk about Helena." He started. "Oliver, if you didn't still have feelings for this girl, you would have thought of a different solution than letting her extort you into killing someone."
"So what do you want me to do?" Oliver demanded. "You want me to kill her?"
"I think you would have a long time ago if she looked like me instead of the T-Mobile girl." Dig replied to Oliver's amazement.
"Harsh, but accurate." Laurel said.
"She's a stone cold killer, Oliver."
"She's not evil." Oliver denied. "She's been lost since her father killed her fiancé in cold blood. And are you going to sit there and tell me that you don't know what it's like to want revenge?" he continued. "What would you do? Hmm? If Floyd Lawton was standing right there?"
"Nothing that will involve blackmailing you into hunting him down." He said honestly.
"You're right." Oliver admitted. "Ok? I can't kill her. "And I can't take her to the police and risk her exposing all of this. But at least, if I'm involved, I can contain her, all right? I can minimize the collateral damage."
"Sorry, am I interrupting something?" Helena asked, walking in.
"We were just talking about you." Dig said.
"And here I thought you didn't care much for me." She replied glibly.
"Still don't." Dig replied bluntly.
"You go, Dig." Thea said with a smirk.
"I haven't been able to locate the safe house where the FBI is keeping your father." Oliver began.
"I can help with that." They turned to see Felicity walk into the foundry. A look of panic came across Oliver's face. "I've been dying to hack into the FBI security system."
Felicity groaned. "Oh, I've got a bad feeling about this…"
"Get out." He told her harshly. "Get out. This is a private thing, Felicity. Please."
"Oh. Ok." She said uncertainly. "See ya, I guess…" she said, turning around and walking back out.
Helena considered the girl, and then looked at Oliver. "How many girlfriends do you have, exactly?" she asked.
"Like I said- we don't know where the safe house is." Oliver continued. "What we do know is that the Marshall Service is taking your father to a hearing at the Justice Department tonight. There's a problem, Helena." He added. "There are two vans. And one of them's a decoy."
"Well, that is mighty convenient." Slade said.
"A trap?" Dig asked.
Slade shrugged. "The police know that Helena is back in town, and that she is hunting for her father. And Detective Lance there seems to be an intelligent cop." Slade added with a nod to the detective. "I would lay even money that it was a trap." He frowned. "Oliver would know that as well, if he were thinking clearly. I think this girl has him rattled." He concluded.
"Well, it's a good thing there's two of us, then." She said with a smile.
"It's not too late to call this off." Oliver pleaded.
She smirked at him. "I think you know me better than that. I don't take prisoners."
FIVE YEARS AGO
The scene flashed back to the Island. Oliver, his ski masked pulled down to hide his face, was escorting a supposedly bound Slade Wilson towards the encampment with the missile launcher.
"Called it." Tommy noted with a frown. "Sort of..."
Slade chuckled. "Oh yeah, I had forgotten this…"
"Hey!" he called out, gaining the mercenary's attention. "I found an intruder while I was circling the perimeter."
"It's Wilson." One of the merc's said. "You killed a few of my friends, you son of a bitch."
"And I'm going to kill a few more." Slade replied. He pulled his hands from behind his back, which both contained a Colt 1911. He opened fire with both guns simultaneously and managed to drop all six guards with single shots each. Slade looked back at a kneeling Oliver and grinned. Oliver watched in disbelief, then got up and followed him.
"Jesus, you're good!" Tommy said once more, impressed.
PRESENT
The scene changed to CNRI. Tommy walked in, his arm bandaged and smiled at Thea who was on the phone.
"I'll talk to one of our lawyers and have them call you right back." Thea finished, and then hung up. She looked at Tommy's arm in concern. "Cut yourself shaving?"
He smiled weakly at her, then at Laurel who walked over to him. "Hi." She said.
"Hey." Tommy replied weakly. "You got a minute?"
"Sure." She replied.
As they headed to a quieter corner, Thea asked "How was Roy's first day?"
"Kid never showed." He replied. Her face fell at that.
Thea looked over at Roy, who shrugged. "I was very stubborn back then."
BACK THEN?!
"Um I just, uh, I came by to apologize for last night." Tommy began.
"Instead of an apology, why don't you try the truth?" she stated. "You can start with your wrist."
"I got into a fight with a blender at the club." He lied with a chuckle. "It was stupid."
"I thought I asked for the truth." She said seriously. "I know something's up. Why won't you tell me what's going on?"
"Because I can't." Tommy replied.
"Why not?"
He sighed. "I can't tell you that, either. I wish that I could. Laurel, I'm sorry."
"So am I." she said sadly, her emotions finally boiling over. "I really need you right now, Tommy. My mother shows up saying my dead sister is still alive, and my father is furious with me that I'm even listening to her." She said, near tears. "And I don't know who to believe. I feel like I'm falling apart."
"I'm still here for you." Tommy tried, putting his hands on her arms.
Laurel pulled back. "No, you're not. You're a million miles away, and the worst part is, I don't even know why." She held back a sob. "I'm sorry." She said, walking quickly away. Tommy just stood there and closed his eyes in frustration.
"Sorry." Tommy said to Laurel. She smiled softly.
"I know." She said.
The scene changed to Roy's house. Thea stood on the front step and knocked on the door. After a moment, Roy answered, and when he saw who it was he rolled his eyes.
"Wow. Stalker much?"
"You didn't show up for the job I got you." She accused.
Roy shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I had second thoughts about parking your brother's Bentley."
"What, being a valet is beneath you?"
"No, but accepting charity from some rich girl is."
This time Thea rolled her eyes. "Why are you so obsessed with the fact that I have money?" she asked. "You know, money isn't everything."
Roy scoffed. "Spoken like someone who's got it. "Now, uh, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my life of crime." He smirked, looked her over once, and then closed the door.
"Stubborn, eh?" Thea said, smirking at Roy.
"You're one to talk, little miss I'll walk through the Glades alone." He nodded at the screen. "Oh, look what happens!"
Thea rolled her eyes and sighed, then turned and walked away. She was less than a block away, walking under an overpass when she saw a teen wearing a grey hoodie step out from behind one of the support columns. Thea stopped dead, startled.
"Yo, can you help me out? Think I'm lost." The gangbanger said. Another stepped out form their hiding places, surrounding Thea. "Where's downtown at?"
Tommy's fists clenched in impotent rage, and Malcolm let out another audible growl.
"I-I-I don't know." She stammered out, suddenly very afraid.
"Maybe you can give us some directions." The second one said, closing in on her. He pulled a knife and her eyes widened. "Or better yet, some money—"
He made to grab her and Thea yelled. Suddenly a red blur came out of nowhere and knocked the first gangbanger to the ground. The second swung at him clumsily with the knife, opening a gash on his side. Roy ignored it, flipped off the concrete column, and then took the kid down. He pummeled him for several seconds until he was unconscious, and then staggered back to his feet, clutching his side.
Thea gasped in surprise. "Wow." Was all she said. Roy grinned at her, and then glanced to Tommy, who nodded in thanks. His gaze then shifted to Malcolm, who eyed him with a degree more of respect than before.
Roy groaned, but looked at Thea. "You ok?" he asked, gasping in pain.
"You're bleeding!" Thea exclaimed.
"Yeah, that's what happens when you get stabbed." Roy gasped as Thea looked on helplessly.
The scene changed to later that night. Oliver and Helena, both sitting astride their motorcycles, watched as the two FBI vans pulled out of the facility.
"Just your father." Oliver ordered. "Anyone else gets hurt and I'll put an arrow in you."
"That's sweet." Helena smirked. "Now I know how you charmed your cop girlfriend."
Oliver gritted his teeth, and then put on his helmet. They followed the two vans side by side until the vans took off in different directions. Helena and Oliver split up, each tailing one of the vans. Oliver followed his van into a tunnel and rapidly closed. When he was close enough, he pulled a flachette with an explosive tip off of his wrist gauntlet and threw it. The flachette hit the rear door and blew them open. The van skidded to a stop, as did Oliver, and when the smoke cleared he could see his van was empty. His eyes widening, he spun his bike around and quickly headed back out of the tunnel and towards Helena.
The Huntress had followed her van for several miles, waiting for it to enter another tunnel. Seeing her chance, she sped forward; pulling along side of the van, then withdrew her crossbow pistol and firing an explosive bolt into the engine, disabling it. The van skidded to a stop, and Helena dismounted her bike and pointed the crossbow at the van's rear doors. "Give me Frank Bertinelli!" she shouted.
To her surprise, the van's doors burst open to reveal two SWAT officers in tactical gear and SMP's pointed right at her head. Behind her, two squad cars pulled up with lights flashing. Several more cops climbed out of the cars, among them Detective's Lance and Hall.
"Your father's not in the van." Lance told her. "But he sends his regards. Where's the Hood?" he demanded. She was too stunned to say anything.
"Helena Bertinelli, you have the right to remain silent." Hall started, putting her in cuffs. "Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney."
Oliver arrived in time to see Helena cuffed. "Damn it." He growled. The two looked at one another until Hall put her in the back of the squad car, and then Oliver spun his bike around and sped off.
The scene changed to the SCPD interrogation room. Helena sat at the table, her hands cuffed to a bar as Lance and Hall walked in.
"Well, this should be interesting." Lance noted.
"You think she'll give Oliver up?" Felicity asked.
Lance shrugged. "I honestly don't know. The woman's a few fries short of a Happy Meal."
"Paul Copani, Nick Salvati, Gus Sabatoni." Lance began, reading names off of a file. He tossed the file down onto the table, and then sat across from her. "You are quite the hunter, Ms. Bertinelli. Well," He smirked, "I guess I should make that 'Huntress'." He looked back at the file. "You've been systemically taking down everyone in your father's criminal organization. When Gus Sabatoni turned up dead, we knew it was just a matter of time before you tried to murder your old man." He chuckled, and then looked up at her. "Do you want to tell us why?"
"Not particularly." She replied.
"You should reconsider." Hall said. "We got you, but the vigilante got away before E.S.U. could move on him. You know who he is." She said with a knowing smile. "Who he really is. Don't you?"
Lance laughed. "Ms. Bertinelli, you're going away for all day, we can't change that. But things can be better. Or they could be worse. You tell me his name, I will do everything I can to make it better." He offered.
Helena considered the two for a moment, and then leaned forward. "Oliver Queen." She said.
Lance blinked. "That was fast." He said.
The two officers had surprised looks on their faces, and then Helena smiled back at Hall. "You're dating him now, right?" she continued, throwing the two cops for a loop. "I saw you at the opening of his club last night. Did he mention that we used to be lovers?"
"Oh, that is clever." Sara said, shaking her head. "Helena always did have a knack at playing mind games."
"You worked with her?" Lance asked.
"She was a member of the Justice League for several years, after she cleaned up her act, of course." Sara replied. "The Justice League has a real knack for giving people who have rather violent pasts a second chance." That was directed at Slade. He merely chuckled, then turned back to the screen.
"We want to know about the Hood, not Oliver Queen." Hall said sharply.
Helena's smile widened. "Let me let you in on a little secret- it's not going to work out between you two." She said. "You see, Oliver has a particular talent. He uses people. He used me, he used the detective here's daughter- excuse me, daughters." She continued, looking at Lance, who looked startled at that. "I would get out of it before you get yourself hurt."
Lance slapped the table hard. "Last chance." Lance growled. "His name."
"The Hood." She said after a moment. Seconds later, the lights flickered and died. Alarms bells started ringing and the red warning lights came on. Hall and Lance looked at each other, while Helena sat back, a small smile on her face.
Lance groaned. "He wouldn't."
"Didn't he break into the station and hack your computers while cops walked all around him?" Felicity pointed out. "He isn't entirely rational, you know."
"What's going on?" Lance wondered.
"I don't know." Hall replied. Both jumped up and headed out of the interrogation room. Out in the station, smoke was filling the place and cops and civilians alike were running for the exits.
Seconds after the two detectives left, The Hood came in, wearing a gas mask. He uncuffed her and led her to the door. Waiting for a moment, he threw open the door and led Helena out, guiding her to the exit.
"Freeze!" Lance shouted. Oliver threw a tranquilizer dart side handed, which hit Lance in the neck. The cop slumped down against the wall, out cold as The Hood led the Huntress out of the station to freedom.
Tommy tried to hide his laugh with a cough. "Put a pin in it, Merlyn." Lance growled. Moira picked up her glass of water and silently handed it to Tommy, who took it with a smile. "Et tu, Moira?"
"I think I've earned that one, considering all of the smart-aleck things you have said to me." She said archly.
The scene changed to Starling General's ER, where Roy was being tended to by a doctor with Thea standing next to him.
"Sounds like quite the daring rescue." The doctor noted as he cleaned the cut. "You're very lucky to have a friend like Roy, Thea."
"Oh, don't I know it." She replied dryly.
"We're not friends." Roy said through gritted teeth.
The doctor just smiled. "Well, let me get you stitched up, and then you two can decide what you are or aren't." He walked over to his tray and began prepping a shot to numb the area for stitches.
Roy shifted uneasily in his seat. Sara noticed and stared openly at him. "STILL?" she asked incredulously. "Really?"
"I don't like needles." He said defensively.
"You are such a jerk." Thea said shaking her head. She paused when she saw Roy's panicked expression. "Roy." She looked at him in confusion. What's a matter?"
Roy's eyes hadn't left the needle in the doctor's hand. "Nothing." He gasped. "I just don't see why I need a shot."
Thea chuckled in amazement. "Oh, don't tell me a tough gang banger like yourself is afraid of a tiny little needle."
"It doesn't look so tiny." He noted.
"Well, just think about something else." Thea advised. "Besides the needle."
"Like what?" he asked.
"Picture me in my underwear?" Thea suggested with a smirk.
Why not? He's seen us in less. Thea was still smiling, but was now bet red.
"Ok, now this could sting a little." The doctor warned. Roy looked at the approaching needle in panic, so Thea grasped his chin, turned his face to hers, and kissed him.
"Well, that's one way to do it." Felicity said, grinning at the younger girl.
"Oh, Thea…" Moira sighed, but she had a small smile on her face.
Malcolm just glared at Roy, who blew him a kiss.
"Done." The doctor said. Thea pulled away, and for the first time gave him a genuine smile. "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" she asked. Roy just stared back, speechless.
The scene changed to a deserted parking lot where Oliver and Helena had ended up after their escape.
"Thanks for the save." Helena said.
"I couldn't risk you telling the police about me." Oliver said bluntly.
"Is that the only reason?" she asked. Helena closed the distance between them. "Why can't you just admit that you still have feelings for me, too?" Oliver stared at her impassively, then reached into his jacket and withdrew an envelope. He zipped his jacket back up and handed the envelope to her. "What is it?" she asked.
"A plane ticket to Rome; and a passport so you can start a new life somewhere else." He told her. "The police know you're tracking your father, Helena. You'll never find him. So get out of my city." Reluctantly, Helena took the envelope, and Oliver walked back to his bike.
"She wont listen." Malcolm said.
"What makes you say that?" Dig asked.
"Because I wouldn't listen."
FIVE YEARS LATER
The scene flashed back to the island. Slade was breaking open crates of explosives; he grabbed a handful of the long, thin bricks of C4 and gave them to Oliver. "Place these around the launcher." He ordered. "Do it quickly. Their backup will be arriving any second." The two started hastily setting the C4 sticks all around the launcher, and had only just started when the radio crackled to life.
'We're 60 seconds out from the launcher.' A voice said. Slade's eyes widened in surprise.
"Set your final charges and we'll blow it." He yelled.
"Does he even know how to set charges?" Tommy wondered.
Slade opened his mouth to reply, then shut it again. He honestly didn't know, he realized.
Oliver paused, and idea coming to him. He moved to the back of the launcher and found an access door. "I think I have a better idea." He told Slade as he opened the door and slid out the motherboard.
"What are you doing?" Slade asked in exasperation.
Oliver looked at the board, and found what he was looking for- a processor chip. He yanked it off the board and showed it to Slade. "I'm taking the circuit board. Computers won't work without them, and neither will this." He explained.
"That's… actually a very good plan!" Felicity said approvingly.
Slade looked at him in excitement. "Leverage." He realized. Slade clapped the younger man on the shoulder, and the two took off for the trees.
PRESENT
The scene shifted back to Starling City. Oliver stood outside McKenna's door and knocked, and a moment later the cop opened the door in a robe, toweling off her still-wet hair.
Oliver shook his head. "I'm sorry. I should have called." He apologized.
"No, it's…it's ok." She assured him. "Come on in."
"Are you sure?" he asked, even as he allowed himself to be pulled gently through the door.
"Yeah, yeah."
"Thank you." He said.
"I'm surprised, but I'm happy." McKenna said.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." She looked at him in concern. "Everything ok?"
Oliver let out a long sigh. "I had a really rough night." He began. "I just wasn't anticipating, with my work and the club, I feel like I'm letting everybody down. My family, and Tommy... and you." He looked at her sadly. "I feel like I'm letting you down."
McKenna chuckled. "You're being too hard on yourself." She told him. "We both have demanding jobs."
"What else does she think he does all day?" Thea wondered.
"Billionaire playboy philanthropist?" Laurel guessed.
"That's no excuse for hurting the people closest to you." Oliver countered.
"No, but when you believe in what you do, you find a way to make it work." She said.
"How?" Oliver asked.
McKenna grinned. "Well The first thing you do is you find yourself someone you never have to apologize to." Oliver grinned back at her, then leaned in and kissed her gently. He pulled back, and then both seemed to make the same decision at once and the two crashed back into one another, kissing passionately. Oliver lifted her up and walked them back to her bed, laying her down gently before joining her. As the two began to make love, Oliver's phone buzzed, unnoticed in his jacket on the floor.
Back at Queen Consolidated, Felicity started talking as soon as Oliver's voicemail message ended.
Thea let out a relieved sigh. "Oh, thank god. I seriously don't need to see my brother have sex." Roy chuckled at her.
"Hey, it's me. I was multitasking, and intercepted a police report. A local sporting goods store just got robbed of one high powered cross bow." She said. She took a breath and continued. "Now… could be a crazy coincidence or your psycho ex-girlfriend- Dig's words, not mine- is still in town. I'll let you know if I learn anything more. In the meantime, just watch your back." She swung her chair around to hang up the phone- and froze in terror as she saw Helena Bertinelli standing there, said high-powered crossbow in hand.
"Hi. I don't think we had a chance to be properly introduced this morning." She said with a cruel smile.
Felicity closed her eyes and groaned. "First, a bomb collar. And now this? Realy?"
Later that night, a panicked Oliver ran into the I.T. Department. "Felicity?" he called out.
"Oliver." He looked around, and spied her feet poking out from behind her desk. "Oliver, I'm here." He ran behind the desk, then pulled out a knife and cut away the bindings on her hands and ankles.
"You ok?" he asked, helping her to sit up. She looked unhurt, though her mascara had run due to the tears. The sound of running feet made him jump up and ready the knife to be thrown. A moment later, Dig appeared at the door.
Dig smiled at her, bumping her shoulder with his. "We got your back." He told her. She smiled faintly in return.
"Hey, hey." He warned Oliver, and the vigilante lowered the knife. "You ok?" he asked Felicity, who nodded. Dig turned back to Oliver. "I got your call. What happened?"
"Helena." Oliver said.
"She wanted the address to the safe house where her father's being kept." Felicity said as she rose to her feet. "She made me hack the FBI database. Sorry, Oliver." She apologized.
He smiled comfortingly at her. "Hey. It's not your fault." He assured her. He turned away and headed towards the door, his anger palpable.
"Oliver, what are you going to do?" Dig asked.
"What I should have done in the first place." He snarled.
Thea raised an eyebrow. She wasn't surprised that he was angry at what happened to Felicity- heck, she'd spent two days with her and she liked her a lot herself. But his anger seemed a lot deeper than a friend getting hurt. She pondered that while she sat back and watched the screen.
The scene changed to an isolated house deep in the country. An FBI agent was walking the perimeter when he stopped cold. A few feet in front of him lay one of his fellow agents dead, a bolt sticking form his chest. A moment later, two bolts struck him from behind, killing him instantly. Helena paused to look at the two dead federal agents, and then continued her trek to the house.
She burst in a moment later, killing the three agents sitting at a table playing cards. A shot was fired at her from behind, and she spun, shooting a bolt into yet another agent's chest. She headed to the stairs, killing the two agents as they came down firing. She marched up the stairs, and barely ducked behind the railing for cover as another agent appeared on the ground floor. The agent fired several shots, but Helena's shot was better, felling the agent. She made her way to the second floor, and took aimed at another agent who had come out of a room. Her bolt was intercepted by The Hood's bow, however, and the vigilante pushed the Agent back into the room, then spun around, firing a shot that disarmed Helena. She dropped down to the floor and picked up a shotgun that a fed had dropped, and fired at The Hood's head. As he ducked into the room, Helena spun around and blew the doorknob off another door, then kicked it open. Cautiously she entered the room, looking around.
"Not to make light of all of the federal agents being killed," Tommy started, "But if I ever need to be guarded, I sure as hell wouldn't want them to protect me."
"Never underestimate the power of surprise." Malcolm said. "If anything she's being incredibly foolish. I can think of three different ways to do this of the top of my head where she could kill the agents without being detected, and five where she didn't kill anyone but her target." He shook his head. "Instead she's wasting time and energy going on a killing spree."
"You do realize it's kind of scary when you say things like that, right?" Thea asked dryly.
"The more you know..." Felicity said to herself in a sing-song voice.
Her father wasn't there, however. Hearing the multiple shots fired, Frank had climbed out the window and dropped down to the ground. He was making a run for it when Helena dropped down from the second floor. She took aim at his retreating back.
"Helena!" the Hood shouted, and Helena spun, aiming the shotgun at Oliver as he held an arrow on her.
Coming up the drive to the house, McKenna Hall heard a disturbing report over her radio. 'Code three, shots fired at the Bertinelli safe house.'
Hall parked her car and got out. "This is Hall. I'm onsite." She said.
'Wait for back-up, Detective.' Lance's voice said over the radio. "That's an order."
Hall stood frozen for few moments in indecision. But seeing the agent lying dead on the front door step made up her mind for her, and she pulled her gun and charged in.
Lance shook his head. "That's a mistake. She should have waited for back-up."
Around back, the standoff continued. "You won't shoot me." Helena said confidently. "You're not a murderer. Remember?"
"But you are." Oliver replied. "And if I let you go, that blood will be on my hands." He looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry." He said, and then fired.
Malcolm hummed in surprise. He hadn't expected Oliver to do it.
In one move, Helena dropped the shotgun and caught the arrow, mere inches from her chest. She exhaled in excitement. "I practiced that move." She said, amazed that she had actually pulled it off. She absently twirled the arrow in her hand as she walked up to a stunned Oliver. "I had a feeling I might need it someday." She looked at him, near tears herself. "You would have killed me." She said in realization.
"Uh-oh." Thea said. "ain't no wrath like a psycho-bitch scorned."
Suddenly her leg lanced out, sweeping his bow from his hands. She followed that with a punch to the kidneys and a kick to the back of his knee, sending him to the ground. She wrapped her arm around his neck in a choke, but Oliver recovered, flipping her over himself. They both got back up at the same time and began trading punches and kicks- most which Oliver blocked, and Helena absorbed in her rage. Helena spun around him and reached back grabbing his neck again and leaning forward, trying to snap his neck, but Oliver used his superior upper body strength to pitch forward and threw her off of him again. He quickly spun around, grabbing his bow and drawing an arrow just as Helena got to her knees.
"Enough!" he demanded.
Felicity threw a punch in the air. "Yeah! Get her!" she said aloud, then blushed when she realized she had actually said that out loud.
Roy laughed. "Damn, we've missed you, Blondie." He said fondly.
"Freeze!" McKenna advanced on the two, her gun drawn. The Hood had frozen at her command. "Put it down." She ordered. "Turn around. Slowly."
Oliver slowly put the bow down, and as soon as he had Helena lunged forward, grabbing the fallen shotgun.
"No!" he shouted, reaching for his bow- but it was too late. Helena fired, and the cop went down hard. Oliver moved towards his fallen girlfriend as his ex got up and ran off into the night. He knelt besides her and saw that her vest had taken the majority of the pellets from the blast, though her lower half was bloody. "McKenna?" he said helplessly.
Lance winced. Slade shook his head. "That looks like a bad wound." He noted.
"Yeah." Dig agreed.
The scene shifted to the next day at Starling General. Oliver knocked on McKenna's door and opened it slowly, making sure she was awake. "Hey." He said.
"Hey." She replied with a tired smile.
"How you feeling?"
"Uh, numb." She shifted in the bed, and gasped in pain.
"Hey, don't… don't move." Oliver advised, gently pushing her back into the bed. He took a seat next to her.
"Ok." She agreed weakly.
"I met your doctor." Oliver started. "He's a nice guy. He says you're lucky to be alive."
"Yeah." She sighed. "He also said I have a shattered femur, and it's going to take at least a year to rehab." She held back a sob. "I loved being a cop."
Quentin shook his head. "Damn. That's a bad break."
Oliver leaned forward and took her hand. "Oh, come on. McKenna. You're still a cop." He assured her. "You have one more surgery, go home—"
"I'm not going home."
Oliver blinked. "What?" he asked.
"I'm moving to Coast City to live with my sister." McKenna told him. "They have the best physical therapy facility in the country there."
Oliver put aside his own feelings and plastered a smile on his face. "I'll visit." He told her. "Hey, I'm a billionaire, right? I'll move to Coast City."
McKenna chuckled. "That's very sweet, but your club just opened." She said sadly. "And your work is here."
"Don't worry about me." He told her. "It's my responsibility to worry about you."
"Just stop, ok?" she sobbed quietly, tears in her eyes. "Listen, you know how I feel about you. Please don't make this harder than it already is." She pleaded.
"Ok." He said finally. "Ok. It's, uh, it's whatever you need." She smiled sadly, her heart breaking as their whirlwind relationship finally ended.
Thea sighed, disappointed for her brother. While she wasn't McKenna's biggest fan, she did make Ollie happy.
The scene changed to the SCPD, where Lance was boxing up McKenna's desk. He sighed as he picked up her name plate, and then set it in the box.
"Are you cleaning out your desk?" Lance looked up to see Dinah standing their uncertainly.
"No." he said. "A friend's."
They were silent for a moment. "Um… you asked to see me." She started.
Lance led her over to his desk. "Why don't you take a seat?" He began, gesturing to the seat next to the desk as he sat down.
"Ok." She replied.
Lance pulled out the folder Laurel had given him and started pulling things out- including the picture of the girl who could be his daughter. "I'm ready to listen now." He told her.
Dinah sighed in relief. "Thank you." She said gratefully.
The scene changed to Verdant. Oliver sat alone in the empty club, dejected. "Hey." He looked up and saw Tommy approaching him. "I, uh, heard about McKenna. You ok?" he asked.
Oliver looked up at him, the pain and loss he was feeling etched into his face. "Not really."
Tommy came to stand at the table. He took a few moments to compose himself. "Look, I know that I have been a jerk lately." He began. "I just couldn't understand how you could keep such a huge secret from me. But I… I never considered the toll it must take on you." He finally admitted.
"Lying to the people that are closest to me...it's the hardest part." Oliver said softly.
"I get that." Tommy assured him.
Oliver exhaled deeply. "I was wrong to think that I could have it both ways; that I could do what I do and still have a normal life." He stated. "With anyone."
"Except if you're alone, you're never going to be happy." Tommy pointed out.
"Maybe not." Oliver admitted. "But me being happy isn't what's important right now."
Tommy sighed. "Well, at least I come around." He said.
Thea patted him on the knee. "I knew you would." She said
"But will he?" Laurel wondered of Oliver.
"Eventually." Roy said. "Though it took him a few years to pull his head out of his ass."
FIVE YEARS AGO
The scene flashed back to the Island. It was night, and Fyers and his men were swarming around the launcher, looking for clues as to where Slade and Oliver were.
And they weren't far. The two men observed the action from their observation post on the ridgeline.
"Your plan, your call." Slade told Oliver, handing him the radio.
Oliver nodded, and then activated the radio. "Fyers."
Down next to the launcher, a furious Fyers grabbed at his own radio. "Mr. Queen." He hissed. "I thought I might be hearing from you."
"We have the circuit board." Oliver said bluntly.
"You're making a grave mistake." Fyers warned. "My men are scouring the island for you as we speak. And when they find you, they will kill you. Very slowly, I'm afraid."
"If your men kill us, then you'll never find the circuit board. And after that, we both know that all you'll be left with is a really ugly piece of modern art." He looked at Slade and nodded in satisfaction at his insult; Slade was amused by his bravado.
Sara shook her head in amusement. "This is why he went all dark and broody." She said. "Because he couldn't insult people worth a damn."
"What do you propose?" Fyers said after a moment.
"A trade." Oliver said simply.
"I see. And what do you want in exchange?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"I want a way off the island."
The memory ended. Sara tossed the remote to Roy. "Might as well keep going." She said, and Roy nodded in agreement.
"Moving on." He said, and then pressed play.
TBC
A/N: Wow. When I started this story, I really didn't know what to expect from you, the readers. Specifically, I didn't know how popular a story like this would be. But as of this posting, I have 392 reviews, over 200 favorites and followers, and readers in countries and islands and territories that I'm ashamed to say I don't know exactly where they are. (Also, I seem to have a few readers near active war zones, so please stay as safe as you can!) I try to respond to as many reviews as I can, but to those I misses, or those i can't respond to personally, I just want to say THANK YOU for your continued support. This is my first fan fic in a LONG time (just as the readers of Finding Avalon), and it's your reviews that truly do keep me writing, even when I put in a 6 day work week.
A few responses to reviewers who didn't sign in:
Guest: I try to update every Sunday, though sometimes I update Saturday night.
Lina: Young Roy isn't there because I have plans for him in the sequel. I seriously considered adding him, but I have a very specific scene in mind for him, and that scene is when he first meets Thea.
Lastly, I'm going to guesstimate that this story will run around 52 chapters. As a matter of fact, I will make sure it does, as that would be too perfect.