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 22: Home Invasion

"Malcolm," Sara said slowly, still glaring at Slade, "If you do feel the need to kill someone, please start with that one-eyed bastard."

"Can't do it yourself?" Slade taunted.

"Much like Mia, I took a vow never to kill again." She said. "I'm starting to rethink that vow."

Settle down, Sara. Before I send in Stephanie. Mia warned from the control room.

"Dear god no, not Stephanie!" Roy said in mock horror.

Fuck you, Harper. Stephanie said in return.

"Only if Kara is there, too, Love." Roy said with a wicked grin.

Hell, I'll join in, too. Mia said, causing her younger self to turn crimson in embarrassment. Memoires are loaded. Start 'em up, Roy. Roy grabbed the remote, ignoring the cold looks both Malcolm and Moira were giving him, and pressed play.

The memory set opened in the Lair. Diggle was sparring with Oliver, only this time Dig was throwing the punches while Oliver caught them with the thick pads on his arms. "You feel better?" Oliver asked him.

"I'll feel better once we end Deadshot." Dig snarled, and then resumed punching.

The scene changed to Germany. Across the street from the US Embassy, Deadshot had taken position on the roof. He held his rifle steady as he searched for his target in the large party of people. Finally he found him- the new US Ambassador.

"Welcome to Germany, Mr. Ambassador." One of the embassy staff said, shaking the ambassador's hand.

"Good to see you." He replied. He continued to shake hands, greeting each of the staff in turn. "Henrik, you're looking great."

Back in the Lair, Diggle continued to throw bombs. "We have to end this guy before he makes any more widows out of wives." He grunted.

Back in Germany, Lawton lined up his shot and fired. The bullet passed through the window, through a bottle of champagne, brushed a ladies hair, and passed just over one man's shoulder before impacting the ambassador in the chest. He fell to the ground, dead.

Diggle whistled. "Damn, that was some shot." He admitted grudgingly.

"Lawton is reputed to be the single best shot on the planet with a sniper rifle." Malcolm noted.

Diggle gave him an appraising look. "You've hired him?"

Malcolm shook his head. "No." he said. "Why do that when I could just do the job myself? But his reputation is widely known in some circles."

"And THAT'S the man I now work for." Tommy said darkly.

"I won't hide who I am anymore, Tommy." He told his son. "There's no need to, at least here in this place."

Back in the Lair, Diggle had finally punched himself out. Oliver backed off and held up a calming hand. "We will." Oliver promised him. "Diggle, we'll stop him. I promised you I'd help take him down, and I keep my promises, but he's on another continent."

"In an obvious ploy to lighten the mood," Roy started.

"Roy…." Sara said with a warning in her tone.

"But does anyone else expect Dig to start chasing a chicken?" he finished. They all looked at Roy for a moment, but then Tommy started laughing, which set off Thea, Felicity, and Laurel. Even Slade and Quentin chuckled. His mission accomplished, he sat back and gave a smug grin to Sara, who just rolled her eyes at him.

"Not anymore." The two men turned to Felicity, who was working diligently on her computers. "I thought it would be helpful to track A.R.G.U.S' manhunt for Floyd Lawton aka Deadshot, so I decrypted their communication logs. Which means, I just hacked a federal agency." She paused. "Which kind of makes me a cyber-terrorist, which is bad because I really don't see myself fitting in well at Guantanamo Bay."

"Don't worry, Felicity, they don't send blondes there." Oliver quipped, looking at the screen.

"I dye it, actually." She said absently, the looked up at Oliver and pointed an accusing finger. "I keep your secret." She reminded him. He gave her a small smile.

"That's not something you all need to advertise." Felicity said, causing more laughter.

"Hey, what'd you find?" Dig interrupted.

"Deadshot is scheduled to meet with a potential new client here in Starling City." She told him. "Except the potential contract is bogus. Your friend Lyla is setting a trap for him. Lawton took the bait."

"Great, I'll talk to Lyla, see if I can suss out any details." Dig said with a satisfied smile.

"Good." Oliver straightened. "I've got to have lunch with Laurel."

Tommy's eyes narrowed slightly.

Dig and Felicity looked at him askance. "So when did you become, uh, lunch dates with Laurel?" Dig asked.

"Look, we're just… we're friends." Oliver stated simply.

"Friends are good." She noted.

"But?"

"Couldn't you be friends with someone less complicated than your ex-girlfriend, who's your ex-best friend's current girlfriend?" she asked.

"Good point." Thea said.

"I wear a hood and I put arrows into criminals," he noted, turning and heading towards the showers, "so when it comes to complexity I grade on a curve."

"Also a good point." Thea noted.

FIVE YEARS AGO

The scene clashed back to the Island. Oliver was walking towards the fuselage, staring at the picture of Laurel. He slipped it into his pocket as he entered the plane.

"Rescuing your father and stopping Fyers is not going to be some walk in the park." Slade was telling Shado. "They're not going to allow us to just stroll on into their camp."

"Which is why we'll need cover." She noted.

Slade gave her a look. "If both of us are infiltrating, who'll provide that?" he asked.

Shado nodded towards Oliver. "He will." She decided. Slade laughed and Oliver was just stunned.

"Me?" he said.

"The assault rifle is flushed. It's useless." Slade said.

"We have a bow, arrows." She replied.

"And no one capable of shooting them." He looked over to Oliver. "No offense, kid."

"Way to show support, Slade." Thea said dryly.

"I was going to say the same thing." Oliver said.

"I believe you owe me an apology." Slade said smugly. Thea just grumbled something about 'stupid brothers', but stayed silent.

"I think we should be spending our time trying to devise a plan, not lower our already slim chances of survival."

"He'll hit his mark by sundown." She told the mercenary. "If not, we'll do it your way." She grabbed the bow and some arrows and walked over to Oliver. Wordlessly she held out her hand. After a moment's hesitation, he took it.

PRESENT

The scene changed to A.R.G.U.S.'s headquarters. Diggle caught Lyla as she was walking down the hall. "Lyla!" he called out, running to catch up to her.

"What is it, Johnnie?" she asked crossly.

"Uh-oh…." Felicity said softly.

"Just came by to see how things were going on your Deadshot investigation." Dig said. "Anything new come up?"

"Funnily enough, it did." She glanced at him as they walked. "I was curious why you, a bodyguard, were so keen on taking down such a high profile assassin, so I did some reading up on Lawton." She stated.

He had the decency to look embarrassed. "Lyla, listen—"

"Did you really think I wouldn't find out that he killed your brother?" she asked hotly. "That you were using me-me! To what? Draw him into the open so you could take him down yourself?" she looked him dead in the eyes. "I will not let you use my agency to settle your blood feud."

She turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm. "Lyla I need to see this guy in a bag." He told her. "You of all people should get that."

"Get this-stay away from Lawton, Johnnie, or so help me, I will have you arrested." She told him seriously. "You doubt me?"

He shook his head. "Never have." He said, and then watched as she walked off.

"Huh." Roy said.

"What?" Diggle asked.

"Nothing." Roy replied. "I just realized that she's always been that scary."

Diggle chuckled at that. "You think that's bad, try being married to her."

"You did." Roy noted.

"I did."

"Twice." Roy added with a grin. Diggle looked at him in surprise.

The scene changed to CNRI. Laurel was hard at work on her computer when Oliver walked up. "Hi." He said, drawing her attention.

She briefly glanced up at him. "Did you get my voicemail?" she asked.

"No."

"Things got a little crazy around here- back to back meetings." She told him. "I am so sorry, rain check?" she asked.

"Sure." He said. He paused. "I could definitely catch up on some club paperwork." He threw out. "We're way behind since Tommy left."

"I'm still shocked that he went to go work for Malcolm." Laurel said; rising to go meets some clients. Oliver chose to follow her. "You know, you were really understanding to let him take this opportunity." She told him. "Tommy said you were cool with it."

"Nice cover, Tommy." Thea said wryly. Tommy just shrugged his shoulders, but he had a bad feeling about this memory set.

"Why wouldn't I be? He's my friend." He smiled. "Like you."

They were stopped at the entrance, were a family of three were standing.

"I'm sorry, are we early?" the man said.

"No, not at all." Laurel realized Oliver was still standing next to her. "Uh, Oliver, this is Eric Moore and his wife, Nancy." She introduced. "I'm prepping them for a deposition for tomorrow."

Oliver nodded politely, and then smiled slyly as he pointed to the young child standing behind his parents. "And this must be your bodyguard." He joked.

"This is our son, Taylor." Nancy said.

Oliver smiled at them all. "Well, you are in very capable hands." He told them. "It was nice to meet you." He nodded at Laurel, then left.

"Eric, Nancy, I want to make sure that you guys are up for this." Laurel began. "Edward Rasmus isn't known for playing with kid gloves, so this could get rough."

"Rasmus." Malcolm said in surprise. He looked at Laurel with a serious expression. "If you ever take him on, Miss Lance, you need to be extra careful. He's been known to hire 'problem solvers' in the past, many of whom make me look like a Boy Scout."

Laurel blinked at the warning. "I'll take that into consideration." She said carefully.

He smiled at her wary expression. "You mean a lot to my son. I don't want to see him with a broken heart."

"That's quite possibly the most disturbing thing I've ever seen." Roy nodded in amazement. "And I've seen Arkham after the Joker took it over." Malcolm just glared at the other man.

"We invested our entire life savings with Rasmus and he stole it." Eric said. "Our retirement. Taylor's college fund. He stole our future, Ms. Lance." He said. "We want it back."

"Well, then let's go get it." Laurel said, leading them to her desk.

Late that night, there was a knock on the door of Eric Moor's apartment. He approached the door cautiously. "Hello?" he called out.

"Mr. Moore?" Eric could see the blurry figure of a man through the frosted glass. "I have some documents for you from Ms. Lance related to tomorrow's deposition." He said. Eric opened the door and let the man in. He was a tall black man, well dressed in a tailored suit, carrying a leather briefcase.

He looked around in approval. "What a nice home you have here." He complimented. He held the case in one hand and opened, then reached inside. "You can really… feel the love." The man picked up his silenced pistol and fired twice through the lid, killing Eric Moore instantly.

Malcolm glared at Roy. "Point in fact." He said.

"I didn't say you were wrong." Roy said defensively. "Just that it was disturbing seeing you as the doting father."

"Believe it or not, I do care about my child- children." He corrected.

Roy scoffed. "Ask Mia about her time with the League and how that came about, then tell me you care with a straight face." Roy said bitterly.

Mr. Blank closed the lid on the case, and then dropped it to the floor. He stepped over Eric's cooling body and started neatly tipping things over, then swiped several items off of a side table. "Sorry about the mess." He said to no one. "This works better if it looks like a break-in." He walked cautiously through the house, looking for the rest of the family. He saw Nancy coming out of her son's room and shot her. She fell to the ground, dead, as Taylor stared in horror. The kid looked up to see Mr. Blank staring at him, so he did the only thing he could do- he closed his door and locked it. Mr. Blank smirked. He tried the knob and saw that it was locked, but one well-placed kick broke the door open. He calmly walked into the room- but Taylor had climbed out of his window. He walked over quickly and threw back the drapes, looking around- but Taylor was gone.

"That poor child." Moira said sadly.

"But smart." Diggle noted.

Mr. Blank's phone rang, and he answered it.

"Is it done?" Edward Rasmus asked over the phone.

"The parents, yes." Blank said. "I'm afraid there's been a variable. The child got away."

Rasmus tensed. "Got away? Did he see you?" he asked.

"No, Mr. Rasmus." Blank said pleasantly. "What he saw was the face of the man who will reunite him with his parents." He then hung up and calmly made his way out of the apartment.

The next mooring, Oliver was just getting out of the shower in his room at Queen Manor when he caught the morning news.

'Starling City is expected to be host of this year's Festival of Lights exhibition. In other news, the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Moore were found early this morning. The couple were being represented by attorney Laurel Lance of CNRI in a lawsuit against financier Edward Rasmus." He stared at the screen in shock. "Miraculously, their seven-year-old son Taylor survived the horrific attack."

The scene changed to SCPD. Laurel was in the squad room, waiting on her father as Tommy consoled her.

"This isn't your fault, Laurel, you shouldn't feel guilty." He told her.

"I don't feel guilty." She said. "I'm angry. This wasn't some random break-in. Edward Rasmus is involved, I know it."

Lance walked up to them after talking to the people in Robbery/Homicide. "Ok, listen, our guys are looking into this." He told his daughter. "But you need to stay out of it, ok? Because if Rasmus is behind this, he's clearly not messing around."

The social worker walked over with Taylor in tow. "Uh… If you'd like to say good-bye to Taylor, I will be taking him over to child services." She told them.

"Doesn't he have any other family?" Laurel asked.

"Grandparents are in Melbourne." She said. "We're tracking them down, but until then, he's going to be a temporary ward of the state."

Lance groaned. He already knew where this was headed.

Her response was almost instantaneous. "He can stay with me." She declared, to Tommy's surprise and Quentin's dread. "As his attorney, I am assigning myself temporary guardianship."

"You'd still need a judge's order." The social worker said uncertainly.

"I'll have it to you in an hour." She replied at once.

The worker shrugged. "Well, have it your way." She said, handing Taylor off to Laurel and walking off.

Quentin sighed. "Ok, look, I'm going to park a patrol car outside your place." He told his daughter.

"Fine." She agreed at once.

"At least you agreed with protection this time." Quentin grumbled to his elder daughter.

"And you," he turned to Tommy. "You look after them, all right?"

Tommy smiled at the Detective. It was a warm smile, with no trace of condescension in it.

"I spend most nights at your daughter's anyways." Tommy said without thinking. Lance gave him a look. "There was probably a better time to tell you that." He amended.

Quentin shook his head. "Probably not." He said as he walked off.

Lance rolled his eyes at Tommy, who was actually blushing. "Definitely not." he said.

Laurel knelt down in front of Taylor. "Hey, you're gonna come stay in my house, ok?" she told him.

Tommy had looked up and saw Oliver entering the station. Leaving Laurel to talk to the boy, he walked over to his ex-best friend. "What are you doing here?" he demanded quietly.

"I heard what happened; I just wanted to make sure Laurel was ok." Oliver stated.

"You could have just called." Tommy noted.

"I met Laurel's clients and their son yesterday and I felt badly."

A beat. "You met them?" Tommy asked; anger in his eyes.

"Yeah, when I was picking up Laurel for lunch…" he trailed off at the look on Tommy's face. "Which she didn't tell you about." He surmised.

"Tell you what?" Laurel asked, coming over with Taylor.

"Nothing." Oliver said at once.

"It's settled." She said. "Taylor's coming home with us tonight."

"Well, if you need anything—" Oliver started, but Tommy cut him off.

"We're fine." He said sharply.

"Ok." Oliver agreed.

"Oh, Tommy," Laurel said with a sigh. "If I'm with you, you have NOTHING to worry about between Oliver and I."

"You do have a lot of history." Tommy said defensively.

"Yeah. History of him breaking my heart by cheating on me time and time again." Laurel pointed out, causing Tommy to wilt under her gaze. "Do you really think I'd put someone else through that?"

"We should really get going." Tommy said. Laurel took Taylor's hand, and the three walked off. Oliver watched them leave sadly, the pleading look in his eyes ignored by Tommy. Denied his friend, he turned and walked out.

Thea reached over and smacked Tommy across the back of the head. "Dumbass." She said shortly.

FIVE YEARS AGO

The scene changed to the island, where Shado was teaching Oliver how to shoot the bow.

"Set your sight." She instructed. "Hit the tree."

Oliver fired, and the arrow whizzed off into the forest, lost. He sighed in frustration. "Probably hit a tree." He said sarcastically.

Shado handed him another arrow. "Set your sight. Hit the tree." She repeated. Oliver nocked the arrow and drew back the string. Shado placed her palm on his chest. "Steady your anchor point." She instructed. He turned to look at her, and they stared at each other for several seconds. Finally he turned away, and aimed the arrow at the tree.

"I hope you're getting closer," Oliver let the string go slack as the two turned to see Slade standing there. "At teaching him how to be a better marksman." He finished with a glare. "It's not as though our lives depend on it or anything."

Slade stalked off, and the two both took a breath. "Try again." She instructed.

"Ok." He agreed, pulling back the string…

"Wow, jealousy is running rampant today." Thea said sarcastically.

Slade glared at her. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm still in high school, so I'm pretty sure I do." Thea replied archly. Slade looked ready to argue, but a glare from Sara kept him quiet.

The scene changed to the Lair. Oliver walked in and saw Felicity and Dig both hard at work. "What's this?" he asked.

"Lyla's mission profile on the trap they've set for Deadshot." She told him.

"Lawton is set to meet his new employer and get his assignment tomorrow at 8 pm." Dig reported. "Only, his new employer will be an A.R.G.U.S. agent. Lyla will then swoop in with her team and arrest him."

"Do you want Lawton arrested?" Oliver asked him

Dig considered the question for several seconds. "No." he finally admitted.

"Then tomorrow night, we cross Floyd Lawton's name off your list." Oliver told his friend.

"I get the distinct feeling that something will go wrong." Felicity said.

"Why?" Dig asked.

"Because it usually does." She replied.

He turned to Felicity. "There is something else we need to look into. Two of Laurel's clients were murdered last night. Their seven-year-old son barely escaped."

"That's terrible." Dig said.

"Edward Rasmus, the financial adviser Laurel was taking to court, may not have pulled the trigger, but he probably called in the hit." Oliver continued. He looked at Felicity. "I want you to get into his corporate accounts, phone records, anything that may link him to the killer, ok?" she nodded in agreement, and he went over and grabbed his Hood jacket.

"Where are you going?" Dig asked.

"Laurel's."

Tommy took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. Thea's eyes shifted to him, but she did nothing.

"Another friendly meal?" he joked. Oliver just ignored her and made his way to his bike.

The scene changed to the SCPD. Lance was walking through the squad room, talking on his radio to the cops watching over Laurel's apartment. "My daughter is secure at her place?" he asked.

"So far, all quiet." A voice replied. Lance spied a familiar face and walked over towards him.

"All right, let me know if there is any movement. I'm heading over there right now." He hung up and tossed the radio onto his desk, then looked at Roy Harper. "What did you steal this time?" he asked without preamble.

Roy smiled in joy. "Oh, I remember this…"

"You got a minute?" Roy asked.

"No."

"It's about the Hood."

Lance stopped and looked hard at the boy. "When my men found you on that subway car after you were kidnapped, you told them you didn't know anything about the vigilante." He stated. "So there's something you forgot to tell them?"

"No." Roy said calmly. "I just want to see him brought to justice like everyone else."

"That's pretty weak." Lance said.

"I learned to lie better as I got older." Roy replied. "And no, before you ask, you didn't fall for it."

Lance gave him a stern look. "Don't worry, kid. We'll get him." He assured him. "Just keep making sure I don't have a reason to get you." Lance turned and walked out. In his hurry to get to his car, he forgot his radio- which Roy quickly snatched.

Thea snorted in amusement. "You stole a cop's radio in a police station." She shook her head and stared at Roy in amazement. "How are you not in jail?"

I've been asking myself the same question for fifteen years. Mia said over the speakers.

The scene changed to Laurel's apartment. Taylor was seated on the couch, he head down and his hands pressed between his knees.

"Taylor? Sweetheart?" Laurel walked over to Taylor and laid a soft hand on his shoulder. "Are you hungry?" she asked. "You know, I make the world's best macaroni and cheese. It's the only thing I know how to make." She joked, trying to make him smile.

"It's STILL the only thing you know how to make." Sara said, grinning crookedly at her sister.

Laurel gave a harrumph. "Well, it's still good, isn't it?"

"It was never good. We just didn't have the heart to tell you." Sara said with a twinkle in her eye.

"I miss my mom and dad." Taylor said softly. Laurel looked over to Tommy, who looked at the boy sadly, knowing exactly what he was going through. He walked around the couch and knelt in front of him.

"When I was your age, my mom tucked me into bed at night before going out." Tommy began. "Then the next thing I knew, there was a police officer at my door. He said that she was gone and that I would never see her again. But you know what?" he asked rhetorically. "He was wrong."

"You saw her?" Taylor asked hopefully as Laurel watched on in interest.

"Mh-mmm." Tommy said. "Every time I close my eyes, I can see her. "Every time I go to bed, I see her in my dreams."

Laurel smiled softly at Tommy, who had a small smile of his own on his face.

Malcolm looked at Tommy sadly, and for the first time in many years he allowed himself to feel the regrets he had at not being there for his son, especially when he needed a father.

"Really?" he asked. Laurel smiled softly at the sight.

"Yeah. Now try it, close your eyes." Tommy told him.

Taylor closes his eyes and bowed his head. He was silent for several seconds, and then he looked back up at the older man. "I see them." He said.

Tommy smiled warmly at the boy. "Whenever you are sad, or scared, just remember that they will always be there." He told Taylor as a tear ran down the boy's cheek.

Laurel smiled at her boyfriend. "You constantly surprise me, Merlyn." She said. He looked up at her and smiled.

"You really do." Laurel told him softly.

There was a knock at the door. "I'll get it." Laurel said. She and Tommy both rose to answer the door.

"Ms. Lance?" Mr. Blank said from behind the door. "Lieutenant Kessel, SCPD." He held his silenced gun up to the peephole. "Your dad asked me to check in."

"Son of a bitch!" Quentin exclaimed.

Laurel approached the door cautiously. "Lieutenant, can you hold your badge up to the door, please?" she asked. She risked a glance through the peephole, and saw a gold badge being held up. She read the badge number and paled. "Ok, great." She said shakily, backing away from the door. "Just one sec."

"That's my girl!" Quentin said. "Now get the hell out of there."

"How?" Tommy asked. "There's only one door, and the fire escape is too exposed."

Malcolm nodded at that, proud that his son had realized that.

Tommy noted her panic. "What?" he asked.

"His badge number begins with a zero, Lieutenant's badge numbers begin with a one—"

Suddenly a hail of bullets burst through the door. Laurel and Tommy split up- she headed for her bedroom closet, Tommy ran over to Taylor and grabbed him, pulling them both down to the floor just as Mr. Blank burst in. He urged Taylor to be silent as Blank looked around cautiously. He walked slowly through the apartment, stopping when he thought he heard a noise. He turned and looked into the living room, then raised his pistol and opened fire, shooting up the couch and table in front of it. Tommy and Taylor remained silent, watching the man's feet as they slowly moved towards them. Tommy put a hand gently over Taylor's mouth.

"It was the badge that gave me away, right?" Blank guessed.

"You know, my father's a cop." Laurel's voice called out. Blank spun and fired in the general direction, only hitting the wall. Then Laurel swung out of her room, the pump action shotgun she had had hidden in her closet out and pointed at Mr. Blank. She fired, just missing the assassin who managed to duck out of the way. "And that's not all he taught me." She said, pumping the shotgun. She pulled the trigger- and got nothing. Empty.

Lance dropped his head into his hand, shaking it forlornly. "You only put one round in that thing?"

"And why didn't you grab your hand gun while you were at it?" Sara wondered.

"Oops." Laurel said sheepishly.

Mr. Blank swung back around; aiming his gun at Laurel's stunned face.

Then suddenly a window exploded as The Hood dove through it. He landed in a crouch and quickly fired an arrow, disarming the assassin. A shocked Laurel backed off as Mr. Blank ran back into the apartment, ducking around a corner just as The Hood fired another arrow, which narrowly missed. Mr. Blank drew another pistol and leaned around the edge of the doorway, firing at the vigilante who ducked behind Laurel's desk. Blank kept firing at the desk as he ran past and jumped out of the window, escaping into the night. Oliver stood, looking around just as Tommy looked over the back of the couch. The two stared at each other in silence for several moments before The Hood turned and ran off.

Laurel looked over at Tommy and noted the look on his face. Her eyes narrowed in concern.

A short while later, Lance stood in his daughter's trashed apartment, staring at the broken window. "I'm feeling like it might be time for you to move." He deadpanned.

"Absolutley." Quentin said, agreeing with himself.

"Dad, whoever Rasmus hired is going to keep coming until he finishes the job, otherwise Rasmus will just hire someone else who will." Laurel stated bluntly.

"Ok, listen, I want the three of you in protective custody immediately, and don't even think about it." He pointed to Laurel, who for once wasn't arguing. "He killed two of my men."

"The Hood just saved our lives." She pointed out. "We can trust him. He won't let anything happen to me." Tommy looked away at that. He hated it, but she was right.

"Even if I was comfortable with the idea of him watching over you 24/7, which I'm not, something tells me he's got better things to do." Lance pointed out.

"What about Oliver?" Tommy said suddenly, grudgingly.

Detective Lance looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Sorry, you got another friend named Oliver?" he asked sarcastically.

"The Queens have more security than the President." Tommy pointed out. "They've got cameras everywhere, bodyguards in every wing, and no one goes in or out without being accounted for. We both only want what is best for Laurel." He told the man. "And right now that is to stay close to Oliver. Trust me."

"Clever play." Lance agreed. Tommy grunted in reply.

The next morning Laurel, Tommy and Taylor arrived at Queen Manor, where they were greeted by Oliver, Moira and Diggle, along with another security guard.

"This is Mr. Robbins." Dig introduced the guard. "Where you go, he goes. You'll be very well protected, Ms. Lance."

"Thank you." She said.

"I hand-selected these men myself." Dig continued. "The house and the grounds are completely secure."

"Please make yourself at home." Moira said. She leaned down to look at the boy. "You must be Taylor." She said kindly. "How about I show you where I hide the good cookies? Ok?" Taylor nodded and took her hand, and allowed himself to be led off.

Thea smiled at her mom, who watched the scene wistfully. She missed having young children in the house.

"Mr. Queen, whenever you're ready, I can take you to your next appointment, sir." Dig told Oliver, who looked confused. "The Lawton meeting?" he reminded him.

"Yes." Oliver said in realization. "I just need to swing by the club and pick up my good suit." He said as Tommy looked on, angered and confused. "So, I'll meet you there."

"Of course, sir." Dig said, heading out the door.

"You're leaving?" Tommy asked.

"There's something else I need to take care of." Oliver said. "It's important."

"More important than what's going on here?"

"No offense to Oliver, but I think we need Mr. Robbins and his men more than him." Laurel said. Oliver nodded in agreement, and Laurel moved off to find Taylor.

Oliver moved to leave, but Tommy stopped him. "You are the reason why we're here, and trust me, that wasn't easy to admit." Tommy hissed.

"You'll be fine." Oliver told him. "I promise." He walked out the door, leaving an angry Tommy silently fuming behind him.

The scene changed to Big Belly Burger later that night. Roy and Thea were eating dinner, with Roy shoveling food into his mouth without stopping.

Thea gave a disgusted snort. "What, do you have a black hole for a stomach?"

Roy raised an eyebrow. "You're one to talk, string-bean."

"You know, chewing might help." Thea said dryly.

"Hmm." He swallowed, and then grabbed some fries. "Not dainty enough for you?"

"I could eat you under the table, Roy Harper." Thea said with a smirk. "Don't forget that."

Actually, Roy's eaten me under the table many times. Mia said, once more causing Thea to turn scarlet in embarrassment and making Roy laugh. Actually, come to think of it, so has-

"That's enough of that." Sara said sternly, though she too was smiling. "You're going to give yourself a stroke."

Oh, you're no fun.

They continued to eat in silence, when suddenly the silence was broken by a squawk on the radio he stole.

'All units, code 10-80. Starling City port,'

"What is that?" Thea asked.

'Suspected vigilante activity, requesting all available units' the radio message continued.

"Do you have a police radio in your pocket?" she asked.

Roy gave her a peck on the lips. "No, I'm just happy to see you." He said as he quickly climbed out of the boot. "Got to run." He called out as he left, leaving a bemused and confused Thea behind.

In an effort to gain back some dignity, Thea glared at Roy. "I bet you totally made me pay."

"It's fast food, not fine dining. We paid when we got the food." She blushed, and Roy blinked as he remembered something. "But actually, yeah. I did make you pay."

Roy rode a motorcycle down to the port, looking for the police response and hoping to see The Hood. He got off of his bike and looked around, then pulled the radio from his pocket and turned it on.

'Nice evening, huh?'

Suddenly a police cruiser pulled up, followed closely by Detective Lance's car, and Roy knew he had been played.

Roy gave a slow clap to Detective Lance, who smirked in return. "Hence why I learned to be a better liar." Roy said.

Lance climbed out of his car and walked around the patrol officers to Roy. "I think you've got something that belongs to me." He said with a small grin.

Roy rolled his eyes, but handed the radio over. "You set this up, just to get your radio back?" he asked.

"Well I do love that radio." Lance noted, and then nodded at the patrol officers, who cuffed Roy. "Come on." He directed.

The scene changed to the lair. Felicity sat behind her computer, pulling up information while talking to Oliver as he leaned against a table behind her. "I'm uploading a satellite overview of the Plaza to your phone—"

"Thanks, but I know the place—"

"Dig was pretty specific about where you should perch," Felicity interrupted, "you know, what position gives you the best shot at Lawton." She paused. "I think. He used a lot of military jargon. So you're sniping a sniper. Kind of ironic, don't you think?" she shook her head. "Me neither."

"You do tend to babble." Diggle said with a grin.

"Only when I'm nervous. Which is to say all of the time." She replied.

Her computer beeped. "What's that?" Oliver asked, looking at one of her screens as something popped up.

"I had a remote access trojan scouring the Internet for Edward Rasmus." She said, turning her attention to the new info. "His name just popped up on a flight manifest… 8:15 to Shanghai."

"He's running." Oliver stated.

Felicity looked up at Oliver. "That's good, right? If he's leaving town, he won't be after Laurel and the child anymore." She then realized his dilemma. "But if you did want to stop him, looks like it's now or never. Deadshot or Rasmus- your choice."

"You're looking like a prophet." Diggle said with a sigh.

"He could still-"

"We all know who he's going after." Tommy said, a bit harshly. Felicity swallowed nervously, then turned her attention back to the screen.

The scene changed to the Plaza Diggle walked in, pulling a baseball cap low on his head. He was opposite from the main entrance, and leaned against a wall, partially in the shadows right behind Lyla.

"Trap one, this is Harbinger." She said, sitting at a table, seemingly working on her tablet. Her eyes scanned the area, looking for her target. "Wait for Lawton to enter and make contact. Then we'll take him down." Directly across from her, an older fellow looked up and nodded.

Diggle looked around, spotting half a dozen other agents. In the distance he heard the clock tower chime, and he looked down at his watch in frustration. "Damn it, Oliver…" he whispered.

Meanwhile, across town Rasmus was riding in his limo towards the airport, talking to an associate on his phone. "Just until this CNRI mess dies down." He was saying. "And if it doesn't, two best things about China- wontons and no extradition treaty." He chuckled. Suddenly the car stopped. Rasmus looked up in annoyance "Hey, hey, I thought I was paying you extra not to stop at the reds." He said crossly. Suddenly two arrows flew through the windshield, pinning both of Rasmus's shoulders to his seat by his very expensive jacket. Outside The Hood stood directly in front of the car, lowering his bow.

"Sorry, Dig." Tommy told the bodyguard.

Diggle sighed. "Yeah…"

At the Plaza, Dig was still looking around for Oliver when he saw a man walking in, wearing a peacoat and a fedora pulled down low.

"Trap one, possible target acquisition." Lyla announced, reaching under the table for the gun that hung there. "Get ready."

Diggle watched; sweat rolling off of his head from the tension. The man approached Lyla's table, but as he took off the hat, everyone saw it was just a college kid. The boy walked right past, going over to a group of friends.

"Stand down." Lyla said, and all across the floor half a dozen agents suddenly stopped and looked around. "Maybe Lawton didn't take the bait after all." Lyla mused.

"No, I believe he did." Malcolm said suddenly. "But maybe he suspected a trap; maybe it was just a security procedure. But I bet if that kid was interrogated, he would reveal that a man in an eyepatch paid him a sum of money to walk in those doors dressed like that-"

"To see how the people inside reacted." Diggle finished. "And every agent just gave themselves away."

"Lawton's smarter than most people give him credit for. Myself included." Malcolm admitted.

Dig looked around as well, frustrated both by the lack of Oliver and the lack of Deadshot. He happened to glance up, looking at the upper walkways, when he caught sight of a red flash coming through the window.

Across the way, Lawton took aim through the scope of his rife, the red targeting eye searching the floor. Picking his first target- the older man seated near Lyla, he began firing.

The man went down, and then another. "We're blown! Take cover!" Lyla called out, standing up and looking for the shooter. Lawton continued to kill the agents around her, but before she could be targeted Diggle ran up behind her and tackled her to the floor. She hit hard on her head, stunning herself.

Dig drew his pistol and started firing in the general direction of the shooting, forcing Lawton to back off. He looked down at his ex-wife in concern. "Lyla?" he checked to see that she was okay, and satisfied she was just stunned, Diggle took off. He crossed the plaza outside and ran into the opposite building, then ran into fire stairs. He rapidly climbed the stairs, hoping to head the assassin off. He was rounding another flight of stairs when Lawton came right at him. Deadshot managed to disarm him, but Diggle fought back hand to hand, landing several furious punches and knocking him back against the wall. Dig then grasped his throat with both hands, trying to choke the life out of him, but Deadshot managed to knock him loose, and then back a few steps, just long enough to reach his gun. He also managed to scoop up Dig's gun, and held both of them on the bodyguard, discouraging him from fighting anymore.

"On your knees." He ordered. "On your knees." He repeated forcefully. "Hands behind your head." Dig did so reluctantly, breathing hard. "I saw you coming a mile away. Thanks for tipping me off." Lawton smirked.

Diggle closed his eyes and sighed. His impatience and need for vengeance had just cost several agents their lives.

"I'll kill you for what you did to Andy." Dig growled.

"I'd be pulling these triggers right now, except there's nobody paying me." Lawton stated. He dropped Diggle's gun, then pulled down his collar, exposing his tattoo of Andy Diggle's name on his chest. "There's space for you right here, right next to your brother. You'd do best to remember that." He warned, and then slammed his gun across Dig's temple. Diggle went down in a heap, and Lawton casually continued his way down the staircase to freedom.

Later that night, Felicity was cleaning the cut on Dig's temple when Oliver came back to the lair.

"What happened?" Oliver asked.

"You didn't show, things didn't go well." Dig said quietly, holding still so Felicity could work.

"Rasmus was skipping town… and I had to reprioritize." Oliver stated.

"Thanks to your new priorities four agents are dead, Oliver." Dig spat. "You could have stopped this guy, ended this maniac once and for all."

"Uh, I think some of that blame goes onto you, Mr. Diggle." Thea said crossly. He nodded reluctantly. "But," Thea added after a moment, "Oliver gets some, too."

"Lawton got away?" Oliver stated more than asked.

Dig finally had enough, and stood to face Oliver. "You seriously think a man who goes by the name 'Deadshot' was going down without a fight?" he asked hotly. "I needed you there, man." He said.

"Taylor Moore was relying on me, Diggle." Oliver argued.

"But this was never about that kid, Oliver." Diggle said. "He is safe under armed security at your house. This is about Laurel."

Oliver looked at him hard. "Diggle, I made a choice." He said plainly.

"I know." Dig scoffed. "You chose Laurel. Always her." Oliver couldn't look him in the eyes. "Everybody else be damned." Dig brushed past him and walked out.

"That about sums it up." Tommy muttered to himself. Thea glared at him, but did nothing once more.

Oliver stood in silence, and then looked to his newest team member. "Something to say, Felicity?" he asked.

Felicity picked up the bloody bandages and metal equipment tray. "Nothing you want to hear." She said, walking away to clean up. Oliver sighed.

FIVE YEARS AGO

The scene flashed back to the island, where Shado was still trying to get him to shoot straight.

"Try again." She instructed. He did so, and missed.

"You're thinking too much." She decided.

Oliver smirked at her. "Nobody ever accused me of that before." He said.

"Ain't that the truth." Thea muttered.

She grinned back, taking the bow. She had two arrows stuck in the ground, and she spun around quickly taking one of the arrow, nocking it, and firing in, separating a branch from a tree. She grabbed the other arrow and knelt down, firing again, splitting the falling branch. It had taken her less than five second.

"Damn." Tommy said, impressed.

"She was a hell of a shot." Slade said.

"Show-off." Oliver said good-naturedly.

"I see my target in the distance, I feel the variation in the wind, I hear the bowstring tighten… and I let go." She explained softly. "Give in to your senses." She said as they stood closer. "Don't think."

Oliver leaned down and kissed her. She reciprocated, and they spent a few moments enjoying each other's presence. Suddenly though, Oliver pulled back, instantly ashamed of himself. Shado was ashamed and embarrassed as well.

Tommy shook his head. "Unbelievable." He muttered.

"You're right, this is definitively not the time or place—" she started.

"No, it's," Oliver sighed. "No, it's just there's, uh… someone." He explained. "And it's a mile past complicated, but I can't."

"Does she know how much you love her?" Shado asked.

"I suspect right now she doesn't." he said sadly. "But as soon as I'm home, she will."

PRESENT

The scene flashed to Queen Manor, where Laurel was in the sitting room, looking through old photo albums. Moira walked in and glanced down at the picture with a smile.

"You looked so beautiful that night." She observed. She took a seat next to the lawyer. "I remember Oliver telling me once that he wished your father would let him come over to your house more often." She said to Laurel's surprise. "That being there made him feel less like Robert Queen's son and more like himself. I liked who my son was when he was around you." She admitted.

"Thank you." Laurel said with a smile.

"I truly do mean that, Laurel." Moira said.

Laurel smiled wistfully. "When we were together, things were good." She sighed. "But never good enough, apparently."

"You were never the problem, dear." Moira said earnestly. "His father wasn't exactly a very good role model when it came to committed relationships; and I was far too lax as a mother."

"Hey." Oliver said as he came into the room. "The police just called. Edward Rasmus was arrested."

"Really?" Laurel asked. "What happened?"

"Apparently he confessed to everything." Oliver said. "He's going to go to prison for a long time and won't be able to hurt anyone ever again."

"Why would he confess?" she wondered.

Oliver let out a satisfied sigh. "The vigilante was involved." He said.

"Good for him." Tommy said as he walked into the room. Oliver and Laurel both looked away from each other, feeling awkward.

"So, I guess it's over." Laurel said.

"Yes." Tommy said quickly. "Great, I'll go wake up Taylor—"

"No, Tommy, please." Moira interrupted. "He's sleeping; he's been through a lot. Now you all are welcome to stay. We certainly have enough room." She pointed out lightly.

Tommy was torn. He had no problem with Moira- in fact, she had been like a mother to him after his own had been killed; but he didn't want to stay near Oliver one second longer than he absolutely had to. But it wasn't really his call… he schooled his features and looked to Laurel. "It's your call." He told her.

Laurel considered for a few seconds, and then smiled at the Queen matriarch. "Thank you, Mrs. Queen." She said. Tommy's face stayed impassive, but there was a defeated look in his eyes. "I guess we'll stay, then." She announced.

Laurel looked over at Tommy worriedly. He sat there, face impassive, but in his eyes she spied the same look of defeat.

"Good." Moira said, oblivious to the tension between the three.

The scene change to the SCPD. Rasmus sat in an interrogation room, listening to the thunder crash outside. Suddenly an officer opened the door.

"Your lawyer's here." He announced. He stepped aside, and Mr. Blank walked in. As the officer closed the door, Blank set his briefcase on the table and opened the lid before sitting down.

Malcolm smiled cruelly. "Well, I dare say we won't have to worry about Mr. Rasmus anymore."

"Cleaning house?" Lance guessed.

"That'd be my guess." Malcolm replied.

"It's you." Rasmus said.

"I'd like to discuss loose ends." Mr. Blank began.

"You didn't get my message?" he said quietly. He leaned in. "Forget about the Moore boy. I've already confessed, that freakshow in a hood told me he'd kill me if I didn't." he groused.

"We need to make this meeting appear legitimate." Blank said, oblivious. He pulled some papers out and slid them across. He then pulled out a pen and held it out for Rasmus. "Lawyer stuff. Sign here, please."

"Am I clear? You leave the boy alone." Rasmus hissed. He reached for the pen, but as he grasped it, Blank grabbed his wrist with his other hand.

"I wish I could, but he's seen my face." Mr. Blank said, applying pressure on Rasmus's wrist. "Just like you." He let go, and started putting things back into his case. "If you put pressure in just the right areas above the forearm, like I did to you, an embolism will form in the medial antebrachial vein." He began explaining. "When the air pocket reaches your heart in, give or take, fifteen seconds, you'll die. It's relatively painless." He said, closing his case. He stood. "Oh… nothing personal." He noted pleasantly, then walked to the door as Rasmus sat back, unsure if the man was telling the truth or not. "We're done here!" Blank called out. He was let out of the room and the door was closed behind him. Mere seconds, later, Rasmus fell over dead.

Felicity blinked. "There's seriously a death grip?!" she explained.

"Oh, there are several." Slade said with a grin. "Some are painful, some are not. That was actually a mercy." He said, indicating the dead man on the screen.

"That's good to know.' Tommy said dryly.

Roy was grinning at Malcolm. "And I bet you're thinking of doing that to me when you get back."

Malcolm returned the smile. "The thought did cross my mind."

"See, that's the problem with fathers' who know martial arts." Roy said to Thea. "They go all Kung Fu master on their daughter's boyfriends. Now, guys like Lance there," he indicated Quentin, "He probably just flashed his badge and brought out the shotgun."

"Damn right." Lance said.

"For all the good it did." Laurel retorted.

Sara laughed suddenly. "Remember the one time he brought out the smoke grenade launcher?" Sara said., thinking back to happier times.

"Yes, I do. "Laurel replied irritably, though she was grinning herself now. "It was the reason Oliver didn't like going over to my house."

Mr. Blank was walking out just as Thea was walking in. She stopped a patrolman. "Excuse me," she said, gaining his attention. "Hi, I'm looking for my boyfriend; he's kind of a regular around here." She explained. "Piercing blue eyes, and may or may not have stolen a police radio."

The officer smiled at her, then nodded towards Lance's desk. "Yeah, that's him. Behind you." He pointed out.

Thea thank the man, and then walked over to Roy, who looked up at her with a subdued expression. "Well, that's a nice look." She said dryly. "What were you thinking?"

"Well, if it isn't the wonder twins!" Lance said in amusement, walking up to the two.

Thea turned to him. "He's very sorry for stealing the radio," she began as Roy rolled his eyes, "and he won't ever bug you or steal anything from you guys ever again."

Tommy was snickering, his dark mood supplanted by the ridiculousness of Thea and Roy.

"Ah, the first time you bailed me out." Roy said fondly.

"First of many?" Thea teased.

"Mia used to say I had a man-crush on Detective Lance." Roy told her in a stage whisper, causing the man in question to sputter indignantly. Sara laughed outright.

Lance gave her a look. "Both of you." He tossed the keys to the cuffs to Roy. "Come with me."

Lance led the two down into the morgue.

"You're literally taking us to where you hide the bodies." Thea noted wryly.

Thea looked around apprehensively. "What are we doing here?" she asked.

"Well, your boyfriend is so interested in the Hood; I thought he might like to meet someone else who already made his acquaintance." Lance said, then he pulled open one of the drawers revealing the frozen corpse within. Thea gasped and turned away, a hand over her mouth.

"Oh, God…" she muttered.

Moira sighed in irritation. "Really, Quentin?" she asked. "Mr. Harper I can understand. But Thea never went looking for him!"

"Guess I'm trying to make sure she doesn't go looking at all." He said defensively.

Roy had a hard time looking at the body. He looked at Lance instead. "Who was he?" he asked.

"Well, that's the thing." Lance said. "When you're alive, you get a name. When you wind up down here, you get a number." Roy forced himself to look down at the body. "Meet 26." Lance continued. He pulled an arrow out of an evidence bag and placed it back in the hole it had created, causing Thea to blanch and gasp again. Roy closed his eyes briefly, but forced himself to look despite his discomfort. "See, your pal the Hood, he's already sent 26 men here since he started his little one-man war."

"Maybe this guy deserved it." Roy said defensively.

"Maybe he did." Lance conceded. "But that's not how justice works. You see, the vigilante, he doesn't have to answer to anyone but himself, and that's a very dangerous power to give to any one man."

"He saved my life." Roy stated.

Lance pulled the arrow back out. "And how do you know tomorrow he won't just as easily take it?" Lance asked rhetorically. He nodded at the door. "Get out of here."

"Let's go." Thea said, grabbing his arm and dragging him to the door, away from the corpses and death.

"That was gruesome." Moira said, shuddering. Quentin thought about remarking on how she had just sentenced another man to die for her crimes, but chose to remain silent instead.

The scene changed to Queen Manor. Taylor was asleep as the storm raged on outside. Laurel watched him as he slept for a while, then looked up and saw Oliver standing at the door. Quietly she made her way out of the room, and he shut the door behind them.

"He's safe now, Laurel." Oliver said.

"With a hard road ahead of him." Laurel noted.

He smiled tiredly at her. "Well, he's lucky to have you in his life." He told her. "I know the feeling."

Laurel considered him for a moment. "When you first got home, I didn't think that you changed much." She admitted. "But you have, and… it's nice to see."

Oliver smiled. "Thank you." He replied, giving her a hug.

From down the hall around a corner, Tommy watched the exchange with a sinking feeling in his gut.

Tommy's good mood evaporated as quickly as it had come.

The doorbell suddenly rang. Down in the foyer, Mr. Robbins was headed towards the door. 'I have a delivery van coming in for Ms. Lance,' a man over the radio said, 'his I.D. checks out."

"Thanks for the heads up." Robbins said dryly. He opened the door a bit, and then seeing it was just a teen delivery man, opened the door wider. He stepped back to allow the boy to come in.

"For Ms. Lance." He said nervously. Robbins looked down at the envelope he was carrying, and saw that the kids' hands were shaking. Knowing something was wrong, he reached for his gun-

But was felled by two bullets that Mr. Blank shot through the back of the kid, killing them both.

The women screamed in surprise. Quentin shouted "Jesus!", and Malcolm leaned forward, instantly worried for his son.

Mr. Blank calmly walked in. "What a beautiful home." He said. He stepped over the two bodies, looking around. "Hmm… such pain here." He noted. "A sense of loss and regret, you can feel it, down to the wood paneling." He looked down at his watch, counting down. Seconds later, the charge he placed on the fuse box blew, sending the house into darkness.

Upstairs, the sudden blackout startled Oliver and Laurel, who stepped away from each other in confusion. Tommy also made himself known, coming around the corner and looking to Oliver.

"Tommy." He gestured at his former friend, who came over. "Can you two stay here with Taylor?" he ushered them towards Taylor's room.

"Where are you going?" Laurel asked.

"It's an old house, fuses blow all the time." Oliver lied smoothly. "It's probably nothing, just please… come on."

"Ok." She said. Laurel and Tommy walked into the room, and Oliver shut the door behind them. He then kicked off the doorknob to lock them in before stalking down the hall.

Mr. Blank walked cautiously up the stairs. He paused as a shadow moved, and he moved quickly up, firing several times. One of the security guard's collapsed, still alive but wounded.

In Taylor's room, Tommy and Laurel both heard the whispers of the silenced shots and the body falling. Laurel held a fearful Taylor close. "He's here." She whispered.

"Where's the child?" Mr. Blank asked the fall guard, pressing the silencer on his gun into the wound on the man's chest. "This house is quite large and I don't particularly care to check every room." The man said nothing. "Very well." Mr. Blank stood. "Have it your way." He fired once more, killing him.

"Dammit." Diggle seethed. A good man, dead for no reason. Well, that wasn't entirely true- dead for protecting his principal.

Oliver moved quickly but quietly through the house, searching for the intruder. He paused at an intersection to listen when suddenly lightning flared. He saw a shadow cast out of the corner of his eye, and ducked just before Mr. Blank fired. The rounds hit the wood, and Mr. Blank quickly made to follow.

In Taylor's room Laurel made to go for the door, but was grabbed by Tommy.

"Laurel… Laurel, l don't—" he started to say as she struggled against him.

"No, Ollie is still out there." She argued, even though she knew Tommy was right.

Mr. Blank moved across the top hall, heading towards a pair of closed doors. He opened one-

And Olive leapt out at him. He managed to disarm him, but Blank was a highly skilled opponent. They traded punches, with Oliver getting the upper hand. Oliver jumped up, kicked off a pillar, and punched Blank hard in the jaw, sending the man tumbling down a set of stairs. Oliver jumped down, landing in a crouch, and immediately went on the offensive. The two traded blows back up the stairs, moving to the landing above the front door. Oliver threw a punch, but Blank caught his wrist.

"What happened to you on that island?" he asked, starting to apply the same pressure hold he had used to kill Rasmus.

Oliver stopped him. "You're about to find out." He growled. He then sent the both of them tumbling over the railing, and they crashed through the small table on the ground floor. Both groaned in pain, and Oliver staggered to his feet, but was grabbed from behind by Blank in a choke. Oliver struggled mightily against the hold, and Blank threw him hard down onto the floor. He landed near the fireplace, and grabbed the poker from the rack next to it. Blank grabbed Robbins gun and went to shoot Oliver, the he swung around, knocking the gun from his hand, then swung in reverse, cutting the man's Achilles' tendon. He finished the fight by stabbing the poker through the man's heart. Blank let out a gasp, then collapsed to the floor, dead. Oliver fell back to the floor himself, winded but alive.

Malcolm sat back, relieved and impressed. Oliver was quite good. 'But I'm better.' He thought to himself.

A short while later the M.E. was zipping Blank's body up in a bag. Lance looked at it with clinical detachment and no small sense of happiness.

"Death by poker." He quipped, looking at Oliver. "That's a new one."

"He was going to shoot me." Oliver said. "And then, uh, Mister Robbins, he grabbed the poker and saved my life." He lied, giving the dead guard a worthy honor.

"Mr. Robbins was a real hero." Tommy said. He was leaning against a pillar next to the staircase. "If it weren't for him, we'd all be dead."

Lance knew bullshit when he smelled it, but in this case he wasn't going to worry about it. "I've got enough details for my report." He said. "I'll clear my boys out of here. Let's go." He said to his cops. As they left, Oliver walked past Tommy, but turned and saw Laurel walk up the stairs with Taylor.

Tommy noted this. "You still love her. Don't you?" he asked.

Oliver sighed. "It doesn't matter how I feel. Because of what I do I could never be with her. You see, you don't have anything to be afraid of." He told him. "She is never ever going to know my secret."

'Except now I do.' Laurel thought. 'And he still loves me. But how do I feel about him? How do I really feel…' Laurel sat back in her seat and started thinking hard about how she felt, or rather how she WOULD feel, about Oliver in the coming months- as well as how she was beginning to feel about Tommy.

"It doesn't matter if she knows." Tommy said sadly. "I know. And I don't know how to be with Laurel knowing the entire time that if she ever found out who you really are she would choose you." Dejected, Tommy walked off, leaving a devastated Oliver behind.

For his part, Tommy sat back, his face closed off but the pain in his eyes was easy for all to see.

The next morning at Laurel's apartment, Taylor's grandparents were picking him up. "Thank you for everything you tried to do for Eric and Nancy." The grandmother told Laurel. "And for keeping Taylor safe."

Laurel nodded, sniffling. She knelt in front of Taylor. "Come here." She said, fighting back tears. She gave him a big hug. "You keep being a good boy, ok?" she said tearfully. He nodded, and then she rose and let his grandparents take him away. She was barely holding it together by this point. "Tommy, I really need to talk to you…" she trailed off as she saw Tommy walking out of their room, his bag in one hand and his coat in the other. "What's that for?" she asked, stunned.

"It's my stuff." He said simply.

"What's going on?" she asked fearfully.

"I'm not sure that I'm ready for the kind of commitment that you're looking for." He lied. His own heart was breaking, but he was better at hiding it. Something, he supposed, her got from his father. "I don't want to hurt you in the long run, so—"

Laurel looked over at Tommy, a hurt expression on her face. Tommy stared straight ahead, the only sign of emotion on his face was the tears that were unshed in his eyes.

"Wait." She said. "We both almost lost our lives, and I'm emotional, too, but you can't be serious."

"This is me serious, Laurel." Tommy said calmly.

"But… but it doesn't make any sense, I mean, why… why now? Why even at all?" she stammered.

"I thought that I wanted this." Tommy explained. "You. And the other night made me realize I don't."

"You're lying." She denied.

"I am not a liar." He denied, eerily calm.

"If you've changed, and I know that you've changed, then you wouldn't- you would never do this." She protested.

"Then I guess I haven't changed as much as we all thought, then." He said, and then walked past her out the door, leaving her to break down alone. In the hall, Tommy finally let his emotions out, even as he walked briskly away from the only woman he had ever truly loved.

Quentin glared at Tommy, and was about to take his head off when Sara laid a hand on his arm. She simply shook her head, and he huffed in disappointment, but remained silent.

Later that night, Thea met Roy in the Glades.

"I know." He said. "You think I'm an idiot."

"I always thought you were an idiot." She said, only half joking. "Now I think you're brain dead."

Still not convinced you're not. Roy smirked, but remained silent- the tension in the room was too thick for jokes, even from him.

"Yeah, you're probably right." He admitted.

"Look, I don't understand this, Roy." She said. "Why is finding the Hood so important to you?"

Roy sighed. "I can't stop replaying that night in my head." He explained. "The night I got kidnapped by that psycho, I just I thought I was going to die."

"But you didn't." she reminded him.

"Yeah, because of him." Roy said

"You don't owe him anything." She told him.

"You're wrong, I owe him everything." He said. "And I can't go back to the way things were, Thea; I can't just go back to being nothing. You're the one that keeps telling me that I can be better than who I am, and this… this is my chance to be." He sighed, shaking his head. "I can't explain it, but it feels like my life is connected to his."

Then maybe you should have married him and saved me the grief.

Sara sputtered, desperately trying to hold her laughter in as Roy looked indignant. Thea snickered at the look on his face, but kept her peace.

Thea sighed. She thought hard for a few moments before making a decision. "So let's find him." Roy looked at her in surprise. "I can tell this means the world to you. And you mean the world to me." She admitted. "So let's find him. You and me. Vigilante, here we come." She declared. He chuckled and pulled her in tight; enjoy the warmth of her embrace in the cold night's air.

Malcolm shook his head in disappointment, but Moira looked at her daughter with pride. Roy winked at her, then looked at a spot on the wall and smiled. In the control room, Mia smiled back.

The scene changed to the lair. Oliver walked in to find Diggle sitting there, alone in the dark.

"Was hoping you'd be here." Oliver said. "I want us to get back on the same page."

Dig shook his head. "Oliver, we're not even in the same book, you and me, not anymore."

"I just did what I thought I had to." He said. It sounded lame even to him.

"Just like I'm doing what I have to." Dig said. He exhaled. "We're done." He said, then rose and walked past his former friend.

"Don't do this." Oliver pleaded a pained look on his face.

Dig stopped and faced him. "The only thing you have to stop me from going out that door is an arrow." He said seriously. He walked out, walking past a just arrive Felicity.

"Hey." She said, and was puzzled when she got no response. "Where's he going?" she asked Oliver. He had no answer.

Felicity patted Dig on the arm. "I'm sure you'll be back." She told him.

FIVE YEARS AGO

The scene flashed back to the Island. A dejected Oliver and Shado walked into the fuselage. Slade sat, sharpening his sword. He looked up, but didn't look at the two.

"So how did our Robin Hood do?" he asked. Their silence told him everything he needed to know. "As expected?" he goaded. "So back to the drawing board we go."

"Dick." Thea said to Slade. He paid her no attention; his mind was back on the island, remembering what had happened next.

Suddenly there was a noise, and the three tensed. Their anxiety turned to surprise as Yao Fei walked stiffly into the plane.

"Yao Fei!" Oliver exclaimed loudly.

"Ba!" Shado ran up to her father and hugged him, but backed away when he didn't return the gesture.

Slade stood slowly. "How did you escape?" he demanded.

"I didn't." suddenly a dozen men armed with AK-47's rushed into the plane to their collective shock.

"You son of a bitch!" Slade growled. He made to lunge at Yao Fei, but a soldier smashed the butt if his rifle against Slade's head, sending him to the ground.

"Hey!" Oliver protested, kneeling beside the fallen man.

Yao Fei looked down at them both. "Your time on this island is at an end." He declared in resignation.

The memory set ended, and everyone turned to Slade. He shrugged. "Why ruin the drama?" he said. "I'm sure you'll find out what happened soon."

"But before that," Laurel said, rising from her seat. She walked over to Tommy and stood in front of him. "You. Me. Outside." She said bluntly, brooking no argument. Tommy sighed, but rose from his seat and the two walked out into the hall.

TBC

A/N: So, I made my fund raising goal for St. Baldrick's- though I still want to raise more. But because I said I would, I will post a chapter a day for the next three days. Remember, the link to the charity page is on my profile page. And if you don't feel comfortable donating on line, check out the site and see if your local barber shop is participating!