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.

Part 2 of the Charity Update!

Chapter 23: The Undertaking

Tommy followed Laurel outside the viewing room, then frowned in confusion as she kept walking down the hall. "Come on!" she called out to him. He sighed in frustration, but dutifully followed her up a level and into the observatory, where even in his dark mood he paused to look at the breathtaking view before him.

"Puts things into perspective, doesn't it?" she asked, finally turning to face him. "We need to talk."

"And so we are. Talking." He said. "About what?"

"How do you feel about me?" she asked bluntly.

"I think of you as a good friend." He replied dully.

Laurel sighed. "Okay, I'll start." She took a breath and began. "If someone had asked me a week ago about how I felt about you and Oliver, I would have said I think you were a prissy primadonna playboy who would never grow up and I hoped that Oliver would burn in hell for all eternity."

"Well don't hold back." Tommy said sarcastically.

"I'm not." Laurel replied. "But Tommy, that was a week ago. Then I got brought into the future by Ollie's little sister and shown things that are supposed to start happening in a few months. I got to see that Ollie had been in hell for five years, and that even though he was back he was still in hell. And even though he still acted like a playboy himself, he had changed. Watching that memory of me talking to Moira, looking back on my relationship with her son- I started really thinking about him. About how I would feel about him now, about if I could have a relationship with him again, if we could truly be together like I had always thought we would be before that damn boat."

Laurel put a hand on his chest. "But I also thought about you. How determined you were to be better. How you changed from a playboy into a responsible adult. How you took a hit when your father cut you off, but rolled with the punches and came out stronger for it, to the point you told him where to shove his money later on. I saw how you were with Taylor, and I wondered how you would be with our children- maybe, someday." She added quickly. "I saw a man I would love and hold and be with for the rest of my life."

Tommy wanted to hope, but he dared not. He shook his head. "I'm not looking to be some second place prize to Oliver- "

"I never thought you were second place to anyone." Laurel said. "Oliver and I- we have a history. A long, bloody history. And even if I think that being with him again has possibilities, I know in my heart that it could never happen." She sighed. "Our history- Ollie's and mine- is toxic. And if I were ever to get back together with him, even if things were great, there would always be that nagging voice in the back of my mind whenever he went out wondering- whose bed is he going to?" she shook her head. "I can't live with that. I WON'T live with that. Ollie will always be a friend, but nothing more." She looked into his eyes. "So now, I'll ask you again. How do you feel about me?"

Tommy stared at her for a long moment, all kinds of emotions playing out on his face. Fear, hope, anger, sadness- Love. Finally he grabbed her by the back of her head and pulled her in for a searing kiss. When he pulled back, both of them had tears in their eyes. "I want to be better." He told her. "I want to be that man I've been seeing-"

"You can be." She assured him.

"I want us to work… I want there to BE an us..."

"I do, too."

He grinned at her. "You'll have to be patient. Rome wasn't built in a day, you know."

She returned his grin. "Luckily, you aren't as well built as Rome." She said cheekily. Then she saw his face fall. "What?"

"I want abs." he said plaintively, causing her to giggle. "Be patient with me. I still get jealous."

"We'll get there, Tommy." She promised him. "We'll get there."

Viewing Room

"So…" Felicity looked around. "What do you think they're doing?"

"They're totally making out." Thea said definitively.

"Not an image I wanted." Quentin said crossly.

"Are you sure?" Sara asked, grinning. "Because I think we could pull up security footage for you…"

Quentin looked at his daughter crossly. "You're not old enough for me to not ground you, young lady."

Sara smiled warmly at her father. Then Roy opened his mouth.

"Well, that's something she hasn't been called in years. 'Young'." He smirked. Without looking, Sara reached down onto the table, grabbed a coaster, then flicked her wrist, sending it flying back into Roy's forehead. "Ow." He said, rubbing his forehead.

"You earned that one, man." Diggle said with a smirk.

A moment later the door opened and Tommy and Laurel walked back in. "Sorry about that." Laurel said. "We were clearing the air. And Tommy was lamenting the fact that he doesn't have abs."

"I could recommend a personal trainer to you, Tommy." Malcolm offered. Tommy looked back with narrowed eyes, but nodded reluctantly. He took his seat next to Thea and Moira, and Laurel decided to join him on the couch this time, much to her father's chagrin.

"Before we begin," Sara started, looking at Tommy and Laurel, "I just want to say that while you two have sorted things out, you two," she pointed towards the screen, "back then have not. And anything Laurel does with Oliver, Tommy, is because you pushed her towards him."

Tommy sighed, but Laurel groaned. "Oh god, I'm going to sleep with Ollie, aren't I?" she groused.

"Oh god, we're going to watch her sleep with Ollie, aren't we." Thea complained.

Could be worse. Mia said over the intercom. I edited out all the sexy fun time I had with Roy.

"And my were they fun times." He grinned at Thea. "You know, I think she actually saved those memories on our personal hard drive…" Thea blushed at that.

"She's a MINOR." Malcolm growled at Roy. He shrugged.

"I'm just saying that if she wants to watch some happier memories…"

Roy?

"Yes, dear?"

Shut the hell up.

Roy sighed. "Yes, dear."

Thea sat back and smirked. "When a problem comes along, you must whip it." She mimed a whip cracking. "Whip it good!"

Alright kids, lets settle down. Mia said. Time to get this party started.

The memory set opened in an office downtown. Harold Backman, underworld accountant, was setting banded stacks of $100 bills into a metal briefcase as he talked on his speakerphone.

"Call Cayman Fidelity." He said as two bodyguards stood watch. "Tell them their favorite accountant is flying in to make a special deposit for a special client." He grinned at the implication. He loved the power his position offered him, and loved taking advantage of every benefit.

Malcolm snorted. "A good accountant with an overinflated sense of self worth." He grumbled.

"Kind of like looking in a mirror, isn't it?" Roy cracked.

The smile fell off his face, however, when he heard the elevator ding.

"That elevator's supposed to be on a key." He said aloud. He looked up at his guards. "Go. Check it out." He ordered. One of the men grabbed the briefcase, and both drew their guns as they headed to the elevator. They looked on in confusion as the door to the elevator opened, then closed partially, then opened again.

Suddenly the Hood crashed down through the ceiling tiles. He kicked one guard back, and then battered the other down to the ground, grabbing the briefcase and turning just as the other guard got up and started firing. The Hood held the case in front of him like a shield, and its sturdy design coupled with the millions of dollars inside of it blocked the bullets. The guard kept firing as he stalked towards the vigilante, and when he was close enough the Hood struck. He smashed the case against the man's hand, sending the gun and hundreds of dollars flying into the air.

"Typical billionaire." Roy said with a shake of his head. "Just throwing money at the problem."

Everyone in the room groaned. "Oh, REALLY?" Thea said sarcastically.

Roy, there already WAS a Joker; no one liked him, either. Mia pointed out. And you're not pretty enough to be
Harley.

"Tough room." Roy muttered, sitting back into his seat.

He followed that up with several sharp, vicious jabs to the head, and ended with a spinning back kick that knocked the man out and sent sliding across the floor. He stopped just in front of the door Harold Backman was about to exit. He stared in panic at the fallen man, and his eyes widened even further as the Hood walked into the room.

The Hood grabbed him by his shirt and slammed him back against the wall. "Harold Backman, you have failed this city." He growled.

Backman cowered, clutching his laptop to his chest. "I'm only an accountant." He argued weakly. "I'm just the money."

"The money that leads to extortion, kidnapping, and drugs. It's the destruction of innocent lives!" he spat.

"You think you scare me more than the people I work for?" Backman asked seriously.

"No." The Hood said after a moment. "They can deal with you." He belted Backman in the temple with his bow, knocking him out. As the accountant fell, The Hood grabbed the laptop, and then calmly made his way out.

The scene changed to the lair. Oliver set the laptop down in front of Felicity, who looked at it curiously.

"Hmm. Let me guess. Some bad guy missing his fancy new laptop." She surmised.

"Harold Backman." Oliver said. "He's who Starling City's worst call when they want to launder money in the Caymans."

"Shouldn't we just turn this over to, I don't know, the IRS?" she asked even as she opened the laptop, booted it up, and connected it to her system.

"We will." Oliver promised. "Just as soon as you return the money to the rightful owners."

Felicity started going through the records, but frowned when the screen flashed red. "Well, it sounds like a very nice idea." She temporized. "Backman's files are all protected with an asymmetric encryption algorithm."

"Really?" Oliver had no idea what that meant, but took a guess anyway. "So it's gonna take a while to break in."

"Days, at least." She muttered, already hard at work.

"Better get started, then." Oliver noted.

Felicity huffed in annoyance at Oliver's casual attitude to her hacking.. "Nobody appreciates my brilliance." She groused.

"Lis, half the tech on this station works because of code you wrote." Sara told her. "Believe me, you are very much appreciated." Felicity beamed at the compliment.

He went to put up his gear, but Felicity spun around to face him. "At the risk of ending up with an arrow in my eye," she began, rising from her chair and walking to him, "can I ask… when are you planning on making peace with Diggle?"

"He's the one who left, Felicity." He said at once. "I did everything I could to stop him."

"Except apologize." She noted. "You promised you'd help him track down Floyd Lawton and then you-"

"Made a choice that I can live with." He said sharply. "If he can't, then I don't need him. I need to get back to the club." He said suddenly.

"Oliver—"

"Let me know when you break in." Oliver said, ignoring her as he walked away.

Felicity sighed. "I wish someone would send me off to the Caymans." She muttered as she headed back to her computer.

The scene changed to Queen Manor. Moira was talking angrily on the phone Walter's life Insurance company. "Yes, I know it's been 6 months. But—" she paused as they said something. She growled in frustration. "I am very well aware of the statistics. But I haven't given up hope and neither should you." She jabbed at the disconnect button, and let out a frustrated sigh.

"That didn't sound too good."

Moira looked over to the doorway and saw Thea standing there. "Oh, it's fine." She said tiredly.

"Who were you talking to?" Thea asked.

"Just the insurance company. They insist on paying out Walter's life insurance policy." She said sourly.

Moira felt a pang of sadness, followed by a burst of rage at Malcolm for putting her and her family though this again.

Thea approached her mother awkwardly. "I know we haven't talked about Walter in a while, but I-I miss him, too. It's like losing dad all over again." She said sadly. Moira gathered her in her arms and hugged her, silently enraged at Malcolm for tearing her family apart yet again.

FIVE YEARS AGO

The scene flashed back to a younger Moira Queen opening the door to her home to a younger Malcolm Merlyn.

Tommy smirked. "Nice hair, Dad."

"It was the style then." Malcolm said, a bit defensively.

"Yes. A whole can of mouse was the style." Thea said sarcastically, pissed at Malcolm for making her mother sad in the present, and kidnapping her step father in the future..

"You look radiant." Malcolm said with a smile

"Flatterer." Moira replied with a smile, mugging a little for her friend. Malcolm walked in and kissed her on the cheek. "I think you're the last to arrive." She told him, closing the door. "How's Tommy?"

Malcolm sighed and allowed himself to be led by her. "Tommy is Tommy." He said. "How's Oliver?"

"Still in bed. It's only noon." She quipped. They both laughed. They walked into the sitting room, already filled with various power players. Robert Queen was standing by the window, having a drink of scotch as the two walked in. "Well, look who I just found." Moira said.

"Get lost trying to find the house?" Robert joked, walking up to Malcolm and clapping him on the shoulder.

"You say that as if your driveway's not longer than most roads." Malcolm joked.

"Can I get anyone anything else?" she asked, and then looked down to the distinguished Asian man sitting on the couch. "Frank?"

"An arrow to the heart, perhaps?" Slade said with dark amusement.

"We're fine, dear, thank you." Robert said, dismissing his wife. He didn't want her involved in this.

He was saved hen the doorbell rang. "Oh, excuse me." She said, walking out to get the door once again. She walked to the door and opened it to find Walter Steele standing there.

"Hello, Mrs. Queen." Walter said with a pleasant smile. "I'm sorry to bother you at home."

"Man, the dude just doesn't age." Tommy said appreciably. He hoped he looked that good when he was Walter's age.

"Oh, no, no. Don't be silly, Walter. Come in, please." She said, inviting the man in. "You're here to see Robert." She guessed.

"Yes." He said. "There's just some papers he needs to sign for the stock offering."

"Well, he's in some private meeting right now, but you're welcome to wait for him in his study." She offered.

"Thank you." He replied.

"Unless you'd like to help me get my children out of the house." Moira continued lightly. She paused on the stairs and turned back to the man. "You don't have children, do you, Walter?" she asked.

"Not yet, I'm afraid." He replied.

"Well, save yourself the trouble and don't. They eventually all turn into teenagers." Moira joked as she headed up the stairs. Walter headed to Robert's study.

"Thanks, Mom." Thea said dryly, though she grinned at her mother.

In the sitting room, the meeting had already begun.

"Adam Hunt was reluctant at first, but was more cooperative upon being informed we knew about his embezzlement." Frank Chen was telling the small group. Malcolm sat there, annoyed with it all.

"Police communication system could use an upgrade." Robert noted.

"I think Mr. Hunt can be persuaded to make an anonymous donation." Frank said confidently.

"Well, that will certainly cure what ails this city." Malcolm said in disgust. He stood and began pacing.

Robert looked up at his friend. "What's that, Malcolm?"

"We're emptying the Atlantic with a tablespoon." He said. "For years we've been forcing the city's worst to do what is best, leverage them to help us save the city. But it's not working." He threw down his notebook onto the small table in front of the couch. Unlike Robert's Malcolm's book had the symbol emblazoned on the front cover. "Crime in the Glades is rising. The cancer is spreading."

"We just need to take some more time." Robert offered. Malcolm cut him off.

"Did Rebecca get more time?" he spat. "Did the man who raped Frank's daughter give her any quarter?" he looked at the small group. "Everyone in this room has lost something or someone to the Glades. And we have committed ourselves to fixing it. But what have we truly accomplished?" he asked rhetorically. "Nothing. Maybe it's because the Glades can't be fixed." He stated bluntly.

"You're saying we should abandon the project?" Frank asked cautiously.

"Yes." Malcolm said. "In favor of a new undertaking. Like Ben Tre in Vietnam. The village must be destroyed before it can be saved."

"Yeah, see when you start comparing your plan to something out of the Vietnam war?" Tommy looked at his father in disgust. "That's not a GOOD thing."

"Says the boy who never served a day in his life." Malcolm shot back.

"Excuse me, Mr. Merlyn, but I DID serve." Diggle said, and then nodded towards Tommy. "And he's right."

"And when exactly did you serve, Dad?" Tommy asked acidly.

"I served the League." He shot back, angry. "And they tought me that sometimes, true justice demands sacrifice."

"But not at the cost of the innocent." Sara said, finishing the creed.

Malcolm stared at her coldly. "There are no innocents in the Glades." he spat.

Roy slammed his hand down on the table. When he lifted it, a burnt, faded picture remained behind. It showed a young black couple with their young son who looked to be perhaps three.

"When I was helping with the cleanup," Roy started softly, all traces of kidding gone, "I found that picture- along with the bodies of the family. Along with this." He tossed a plastic security badge down on the table next to the picture- a badge that belonged to Merlyn Global Group. "He worked security at your company. His wife was a teacher, just out of college- I found the remains of her diploma. So tell me, Mr. Merlyn- how guilty were they?"

Malcolm stared down at the badge, and for the first time actually contemplated the innocent lives that would be lost. He silently cursed himself for the new doubts. 'Sacrifices have to be made.' He told himself once more, turning back to the screen. He did not look Roy in the eyes like he normally did to refute him- he didn't even look at him at all.

"Are you suggesting we somehow level the Glades?" Robert asked incredulously. Malcolm's answer chilled him to the bone.

"Down to the bedrock." He said, taking his seat once again. "Only then can we truly rebuild Starling City and make it safer for everyone."

"That's 24 square blocks." Robert noted.

"And if we did- and I'm not saying we should- if we did, wouldn't suspicion fall on us?" rank asked tentatively.

"Not if the destruction appears to be caused by a natural disaster." Malcolm said.

Robert stared at the man. "You've always had something of a God complex, Malcolm." He stated. "It's part of your charm. But even you can't create a natural disaster."

"Have you ever heard of Unidac Industries?" Robert looked confused, as did the other four members of the group. "It's a small company. They have an idea… an idea that will serve our purposes." He explained with a grin. "My sources tell me they're five years away from a prototype. And any undertaking of value is worthy of patience."

"And restraint." Robert stated.

"One man alone can't save this city, Robert, and we both know that." Malcolm said as Robert stared hard at him.

"Well, you ARE right about that, Mr. Merlyn." Felicity said. His satisfied smirk fell off his face at her next words. "It takes three."

"Four." Roy said.

"Five." Sara added.

"At least four. You were a part-timer. And didn't you die once?" Roy asked.

"Only for a little bit." Sara replied defensively. Before Roy could continue or her family could question, she rounded on Malcolm. "The point is it's a group effort- and one slightly more pro-active than your little- ahem- group therapy sessions would be."

Once again Malcolm remained silent. And once again he refused to look anyone in the eye.

PRESENT

The scene changed to Verdant. The club wasn't open, but Laurel was sitting at the bar drinking a cup of coffee.

"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine." Oliver said as he walked in from the back.

"This coffee's terrible, Oliver." Laurel said dully.

"That's what you get for ordering coffee in a bar." He replied with a grin. Then he looked at her in concern. "You look tired. Too much work?" he asked.

"Too much crying." She said. Then she dropped the bomb. "Tommy broke up with me."

Oliver stilled. He forced himself to remain calm. "What happened?" he asked.

"I was a jealous ass." Tommy muttered. Laurel patted him on the knee.

"I have no idea." She said. "Things were good. They were… great, and then suddenly he's packing up his things and telling me that it's over." She looked at him in desperation. "Did he say anything to you?" she asked.

"No." he lied after taking a moment to compose himself. "Tommy and I haven't talked very much since he quit." He admitted. "But he'll come around. It's probably just cold feet."

"Like it was with you." Laurel stated bluntly. Oliver winced, but Laurel pressed on. "Oliver, you don't sleep with your girlfriend's sister unless you're looking to blow the relationship up."

Or you're looking for a threesome. Everyone looked up at the ceiling where the speakers were hidden in shocked amusement. Crap, I turned the mic on. There was an audible click when she turned it off.

Roy smiled at the blushing people. "Now you know where I got it from."

Laurel noted the faraway look in Tommy's eyes, and frowned. "Tommy." She said sternly, drawing his attention back to her. "Don't even think about it." He blushed and Sara laughed.

"I can still shoot you, you know." Quentin threatened.

He nodded in acceptance. "If you still want to be with Tommy, do what we should have done. Talk to each other and be honest." He recommended.

Suddenly the door behind the bar burst open and Felicity came storming out. "Oliver, I need to show you what—" she paused, seeing Laurel sitting at the bar. "I just totally walked in on a thing, didn't I?" she said awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, uh, who are you?" Laurel asked.

"Nobody." Felicity said at once, and then winced. "I mean, I'm not nobody. I'm someone, obviously. And so are you. You're Laurel, right?" she asked, still rambling as Laurel and Oliver watched on in bemusement. "That Laurel. Gorgeous Laurel."

Felicity dropped her head into her hands as everyone else chuckled. "Sometimes I shouldn't say words…"

"This is Felicity." Oliver interrupted thankfully. "She's setting up my Internet."

"Router." She corrected automatically. "And I need to show Oliver something very important related to it."

"I'll let you go, then." Laurel said with a kind smile. She looked to Oliver. "Thank you for the coffee and the advice." She said. Oliver smiled and followed Felicity down to the basement.

"Tell me you got in." he said once they were downstairs.

"Better." She said. "I hacked Cayman Fidelity and put together a list all the deposits Backman made last year."

"Felicity, what good does that do us if we don't know whose money it was?" he asked in frustration.

She handed him a printout. "Look at the biggest deposit Backman made last year." She instructed. "Bottom page."

Oliver sighed. "$2 million on Decem—" he paused suddenly, getting the significance. "December 12." He finished. "That's the day Walter disappeared."

"What if one of Backman's clients was paid 2 million to kidnap Walter?" Felicity surmised.

"Then we find out which client it was… and we use them to find Walter." Oliver declared. "Ok, back-trace the account, follow the money, hopefully it will lead us to whoever kidnapped Walter." Oliver said as Felicity took a seat at her computer. She began frantically typing, doing just that.

"After all this time, do you think Walter might still really be alive?" she asked hopefully.

Oliver sighed. "I don't know." He finally admitted.

Moira glared at Malcolm. "He would be, if I ordered him to be kept alive." Malcolm said without looking at her.

"Well, that's comforting." Moira snarled.

The computer beeped. "Got it." She announced, pulling up the name. "Dominic Alonzo."

"That would be the man." Malcolm said with a smile. "Pity he doesn't actually know anything."

"What do you mean?" Quentin demanded.

"Alonzo believes Walter is dead." He smirked. "So this will literally be a dead end."

"Man, bad puns all over the place." Thea groused.

"Yeah." Oliver sighed.

"Name ring a bell?" Felicity asked looking back at him.

"Alonzo runs the biggest underground casino in Starling City when he's not busy kidnapping." He explained.

She glowered at the photo on the I.D. sheet. "He looks like the kind of lowlife someone would hire to kidnap Walter." She said crossly. "How many arrows do you think you'll have to put in him before he gives up Walter's location? Say a lot?" she asked.

"It's not that simple." Oliver said. "That casino has its own private army. We need to access Alonzo's computer, but without setting off any alarms."

"How much you wanna bet they set off all the alarms?" Thea asked.

"No bet." Dig replied.

"Looks like we're gonna need all the help we can get." Felicity said with all the subtly of a sledgehammer. "It's too bad there's not someone else we could call…"

"That's enough." He said softly, but sharply. "We can do this on our own." He declared.

"I don't know who's more stubborn- you or Oliver." Felicity said, looking at Diggle.

"I'd say we're about even." He guessed.

"The irresistible force meets the immovable object?"

Dig grinned. "Something like that."

"Well, then Looks like someone's going gambling tonight." Felicity said.

"Those guys would make me the minute that I walked in there." Oliver argued. "Oliver Queen would never be caught dead in a place like that." He said, trying to think of another way.

"I wasn't talking about you." Felicity said.

Moira looked at her, impressed by her moxy.

"You go, Lis!" Thea exclaimed.

"Absolutely not." Oliver said at once.

"I can count cards." She said. "It's all probability theory and mathematics. Have you met me? Bottom line-I know my way around a casino." She promised.

"Felicity, I'm not letting you walk—" he started, but she cut him off.

"The reason I joined you in the first place was to find Walter, and for the first time, we have a real chance of finding him." She said. He looked conflicted. He didn't want to put her in any danger, but he knew she was right. "You have to let me do this." She said firmly.

Oliver sighed. "All right." He finally agreed. "But we do it my way." She nodded in agreement. He gestured towards the exit. "Come on." He said, leading her out.

FIVE YEARS AGO

The scene flashed back to Queen Manor five years ago. Robert was taking a break from the meeting of Tempest to talk with Walter.

"I'm sorry I had to pull you away from whoever you were meeting." The Brit said apologetically.

"Oh, it's nothing." Robert said. "Everyone's left already. Besides, it's my fault for forgetting to sign the K-5s this morning." He said distractedly.

Walter looked at him in worry. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but is everything all right?"

Robert gave him a weak smile. "Just, uh, taking care of some odds and ends." He stammered out.

"Well, if ever you need a friendly ear." He offered.

"You're a good man, Walter." Robert said, shaking his hand. Walter walked out the door and Robert headed back into the sitting room for another glass of scotch. What he found was Malcolm still standing there, looking out the window with a drink in his hand.

"I thought you'd left." Robert said, annoyed.

"I'm still waiting for your answer." Malcolm said simply.

"How can you even think of doing this?" Robert demanded.

"That place took your soul, Robert.

"Doing this won't give it back." Robert countered. "It won't bring back Rebecca, either."

"He was right, Dad." Tommy said softly.

Malcolm looked at him sadly for a moment, and then turned back to the window. "It still feels like yesterday, that day." He said, his eyes focused on nothing but the memory. "When she called my cell phone for the first time, I remember being annoyed. She knew I was busy, so I just let it ring. When she called back a minute later, I shut my phone off." He admitted. Robert closed his eyes in grief. "A little after midnight, two SCPD officers showed up in my office. All I remember them saying was… she'd been shot. Murdered in the Glades." He spat. "After the cops left, I sat in my office the rest of the night listening to Rebecca's messages." He turned and walked towards his friend. "She kept calling my name," he continued. "Asking for help until she was just struggling to breathe, gasping for air. I listened to my wife die over and over and over again."

"Jesus, Merlyn…" Lance looked at Malcolm sadly.

"I don't want your pity." He snapped.

"You don't have it you son of a bitch. You took my youngest daughter away from me." Quentin spat back. "But no man should have to endure that…"

"And I'll make sure that no man will ever have to again." Malcolm said with an air of finality.

"You don't know what it will cost you." Sara warned.

Malcolm scoffed at her. "What, my soul?" he asked disdainfully. "I lost that years ago."

Sara shook her head sadly. "No. Not your soul." Her eyes flickered over to Tommy, and at once he understood.

'The cost would be me.' Tommy realized

"I can't imagine, Malcolm." Robert said sadly.

"Try." He replied. "Imagine it was Moira lying on that pavement, bleeding, calling your name. And then tell me you wouldn't be prepared to do what I am." He demanded. Robert looked back at him, knowing what his answer was- to both questions.

PRESENT

The scene changed to Diggle's apartment. There was a knock on his door and he went to answer it, pausing to check though the peephole. Seeing it was Felicity, he opened the door.

"What do you want?" he asked bluntly.

"Is that any way to treat a girl who just walked up… six flights of stairs?" she teased.

Diggle smiled, abashed. "No, it's not." He admitted. He gestured for her to enter. "Where are my manners? Come on in."

Felicity entered. "Thank you." She said as he closed the door.

"Welcome." He replied, heading to his kitchen and grabbing a couple of beers.

Felicity looked around, noting the paintings on the wall. "Did you do these?" she asked, trying to make small talk.

"You know, Felicity, Oliver and I don't need a relationship counselor." He said wryly, holding out a bottle for her.

"That hasn't been my experience." She noted, taking the proffered beer and sitting down on the couch. "We have a lead on Walter. I need you to come back and help us find him." She said.

"Oliver put you up to this?" he demanded.

"No. He doesn't even know I'm here." She admitted. "Look. I know Oliver didn't help you find your brother's killer and that hurts. It sucks." She said. "But… you gotta know if it was your life on the line, on not just your very understandable vendetta, he would be there for you. No hesitation."

"And I don't want a partnership with those kind of qualifications, Felicity." Dig said.

"I know Oliver's religiously against admitting he's wrong." Felicity said bluntly. "Truth is, he needs you."

"Yeah." Dig sighed, and then stood. "And when Oliver is ready to say that, he knows where I live." He replied.

Felicity sighed herself. She had tried. She put the bottle down and rose. "Sorry for bothering you." She said sadly.

"It's no bother. I hope you find him." He replied honestly. Felicity turned and walked out the door, closing it in disappointment.

"Gaa! God save me from stubborn men!" Felicity cried out in frustration.

Diggle looked at her. "Do you even drink beer?" he asked. She just stared back at him incredulously.

The scene changed to Merlyn Global. Laurel walked in to Tommy's office just as two assistant were handing him papers to sign. Despite being dressed impeccably, he looked haggard, and he frowned upon seeing her. The two assistant's gathered their things and left.

"Wow, you really look like your father." Laurel said, starting things off. "I never thought so before, but just now I saw him in you."

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"We need to talk." Laurel said.

"I said everything I have to say." He said coldly.

"Well, I haven't." she countered. "Tommy, I love you, and I think that you still love me, so whatever problems that you think that we have, I know that if we face them together—"

"You don't understand." Tommy interrupted.

"Then help me understand." She pleaded. "If our relationship is gonna end, at least let it end with honesty."

"Ok, Laurel." Tommy picked up his briefcase and moved to stand in front of her. "Honestly you belong with Oliver."

She was stunned. "Excuse me?"

Sara looked over at an embarrassed Tommy. "Told you." She said simply.

"He's still in love with you." Tommy said, stunning her further. "I have a meeting." He said, leaving her alone in the office with her thoughts.

The scene changed to the Glades, near Alonzo's casino. Oliver and Felicity were walking down an alley, preparing for the mission.

"You ready?" he asked.

"I think so." She replied. She was wearing a killer low-cut red dress, and had traded her glasses for her contacts. Her face and hair were done up all courtesy of Oliver's black Visa. "Just to be clear, the plan is for me to get caught counting cards in an underground casino filled with hardened criminals." She noted with a little fear in her voice.

"So you can get a friendly warning from Alonzo and plant a bug on his office computer." Oliver continued.

"Right. Which will hopefully lead us to Walter." Felicity fidgeted nervously. "That is assuming I get the friendly warning and not a bullet."

"Two things. First- you look hot," Tommy said, earning an elbow from Laurel, "And second, that has to be the stupidest plan I've ever heard."

"I could attack Alonzo with humus." Felicity said.

Tommy blinked. "I stand corrected."

"And now I'm hating myself for being so damn stubborn." Dig groused.

"Ollie does have that effect on people." Sara noted.

"Hey," he stopped her, turning her to face him. "You don't have to do this." He told her.

"Yes, I do." She replied.

He was amazed by her inner strength. "Ok." He said after a moment. "If anything happens, I'm right outside." He told her.

Oliver took up position on a fire escape directly across from the club. He had a small listening device pointed at the club's door, and was watching through his binoculars as a limo pulled up. A man got up and approached the two heavily armed security guards.

"Password." One asked him.

"Snapdragon." The man replied. The guards nodded in respect and allowed him to enter.

"Password's 'snapdragon'." He told Felicity over her earpiece.

She walked up to the door a moment later, staring at the guards with a confidence she didn't feel.

"Password." He asked.

"Snapdragon." She replied. They nodded and allowed her entry.

She walked in, handing her coat to an attendant, and then made her way onto the casino floor.

"By the way, Tommy's right- you do look hot." Sara told Felicity with a wink. The tech genius blushed.

Oliver's voice sounded in her earpiece as she looked around. 'What do you see?' he asked.

"6 armed guards, 2 pit bosses, and a floor man." She said quietly. "No slot machines. I mean, how do you call yourself a casino without any Lucky 7s?" she started to ramble.

'Stay focused, please.' Oliver said calmly. 'I'll be with you the entire time.' He reminded her to settle her nerves.

"Thanks." She sighed. "It feels really good having you inside me."

Thea burst out in uproarious laughter, with Laurel, Tommy, and soon the rest of the room right behind her. Diggle rubbed Felicity's back as she once again buried her head in her hands.

She blanched, realizing what she had just said. "And by 'you,' I mean your voice." She said frantically. "And by 'me,' I mean my ear." She grimaced. "I'm gonna stop talking right now."

'That would be my preference.' Oliver said dryly.

Felicity took a seat at a blackjack table, and then pulled out $10,000 in a banded stack of $100's,- courtesy of Oliver. "One stack of High Society, please." She said, passing the bills over to the dealer. The dealer looked at her in surprise, then took the money and flipped through it. He looked back to the pit boss, who gave the ok.

The scene changed to Merlyn Global. Malcolm was in a good mood, and had a grin on his face when Moira walked in. He prepared two drinks as she walked over to his desk. "Thank you for stopping by." He said jovially.

"Of course." Moira replied, setting her coat on a chair. "Uh, you said you had news." She prompted.

"I do." He said with a wide smile. "It's ready." He said. Moira froze in shock, but kept her face neutral. "The Markov device passed its final beta test this morning. Applied Sciences is loading it on a truck bound for Starling City as we speak." Malcolm capped the bottle of scotch and handed one of the tumblers over to Moira, who feigned happiness.

"Well… congratulations are in order, then." She said

"To both of us." Malcolm said. They were both silent for a moment, contemplating the future. "Moira, you may be surprised to know that I sometimes waiver in my convictions. But your friendship, your endless support always gives me the strength to carry on." He said honestly. Moira's heart was pounding in her chest, but outwardly she remained calm. "After all, you and I will always have a connection." He smiled.

"More of a connection than I realized." Malcolm noted.

"If I'd have known that it was my 'friendship' that enabled your madness, I would have told you where to shove that device years ago." Moira told him sourly.

Moira nodded. "I'm just sorry that Robert's not here to celebrate with us." She said.

"I'm sorry I had to take him from you." He told her. He meant it.

Moira looked at him in disbelief. "You actually mean that, don't you?" she asked. "You actually think you can kill my husband, and we'd still be friends because- why? I care about you? Did you not think even once that the only reason I tolerated your existence was because I feared for my daughter's safety?!"

"OUR daughter-"

"HER daughter!" Thea spat. "I will NEVER be your daughter!""

"Settle down." Sara said calmly, looking at the three. "You can argue later. Let's continue with this now, shall we?"

"If anyone's to blame for his death, it's me." Moira said. She too meant it.

Malcolm raised his glass in salute. "To Robert." He toasted.

Moira raised her glass as well. "To Rebecca." She said, silently thanking god the woman was dead, so she wouldn't see the monster her husband had become.

FIVE YEARS AGO

The scene flashed back to five years ago. Moira and Robert had just returned from an event, and Moira had noticed how distracted Robert had been.

"Are you feeling all right?" she asked him. "I know tonight was just another Ted Kord fund-raiser, but you were surprisingly quiet."

Robert stood in front of the fireplace in their room. "Moira, there's something I need to talk to you about." He said finally.

Moira sighed. "Robert, if this is what I think it is, I don't want to know her name." she started. "I don't—"

"No, it's about Malcolm." He said unsteadily. Robert spun around, ripping off his bowtie. "He wants to level the Glades." He said bluntly.

Moira crossed her arms, annoyed at this game. "And how does Malcolm propose to evacuate an entire section of the city?" she asked dryly.

"He doesn't."

Moira's arms dropped in shock. "Robert," she said, shocked. She moved towards him. "That doesn't sound like you."

"Because I'm not the man you think I am." He said softly, disgusted with himself. He moved away from her, opting to sit on the edge of their bed. "About a month before the opening of steel factory, the one in the Glades, I was approached by a local councilman." He began. "He wanted money. Told me that's the way everything was done in the Glades." He shook his head. "I told him I'd never paid a bribe in my life. We got into an argument." He paused. "I didn't want to hurt him." He said, an almost pleading tone in his voice as she began to realize… "I swear, Moira. But he fell."

"Oh dad…" Thea said sadly. Moira took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Her stomach dropped. "Oh, dear God." She whispered, turning away from her husband. "Oh, dear God."

"The work I'm doing with Malcolm, with the list, it's my penance, Moira." He continued to explain.

"What, so you'll atone for one murder by committing hundreds, thousands?" she asked, horrified. She moved to her husband and knelt before him. "Oh Robert. You listen to me." She said. "Whatever wrongs you've committed, whatever mistakes you've made, preventing this horror is your chance to make it right. Please, please, Robert, promise me you won't let this happen." She begged.

Moira closed her eyes in shame. She had begged Robert not to let the Undertaking happen, and now here she was- fully complicit. She would be the key to making the devices work, and her husband would have died for nothing.

"When we get back," Moira started, steel in her voice, "I am going to the police and telling them everything. This madness will end, Malcolm, I swear it on Robert's grave!"

"You will do what you feel you have to." Malcolm said, staring at her. "As will I." he added coldly.

"It truly amuses me that you think we're going to allow you to hurt anyone in this room, Mal." Roy said calmly.

"It truly amuses me that you think you can stop me." Malcolm replied.

"I don't need to- that 's what my wife is for." He said. "Or the other three former international assassins we have on board right now. Or Kara- you know, the chick who stopped Mr. Roid Rage over there with her pinky?" he smirked at the assassin. "Mind your tongue, Mal. Or it may get cut out."

PRESENT

The scene flashed forward to the Casino, where Felicity was on a hot streak. She pushed her considerable pile of chips forward, betting it all. The dealer looked at her, then back at the pit boss, before he dealt. The first card was an ace, and the second card…

A queen.

"Blackjack!" he called out. Felicity laughed in joy she looked happily at the doubled pile of chips, and didn't notice the pit boss until he was standing right beside her.

"So," Diggle started, trying to ease the tension a bit. He turned to Felicity. "You count cards often?"

"I used to all of the time. That's how I got through high school and into college." She said. "Got banned by every casino on the strip, too." She added proudly.

"Miss… can you come with me?" he asked in a tone that said he wasn't asking, but telling.

Felicity feigned ignorance. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

He leaned in close to her. "Get up." He growled.

"Oh, since you asked so nicely." Felicity said, but got up and followed the man. Another man joined the escort as they led her to the manager's office.

"Oh, there's the bathroom. I should have known the manager's office would be down the hall and to the right of the bathroom." She rambled, giving Oliver directions while acting nervous.

Well, maybe not acting…

The pit boss led her into the office. "Mr. Alonzo." He announced. The man looked up and gestured the pit boss. He pushed her gently farther into the room and closed the door.

"Alons-y Alonzo!" Felicity suddenly exclaimed, giggling to herself. At everyone else's confused looks, she sighed. "Nobody gets me."

Alonzo gestured at the chair in front of his desk. "Have a seat." He offered. Felicity smiled and took the offered seat. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Megan." She said.

"Do you know where the term "86" comes from, Megan?" he asked her.

"As it happens, I do." She said nervously. "It's from prohibition. There was a- an illegal casino, not like this one, located at 86 Bedford street in New York, and God, you know, I'm just gonna stop talking." She rambled out.

"Now it means to ban someone, someone who's cheating." Alonzo said. "You're 86'd. Leave your chips and go."

Felicity swallowed. "Thank you." She said. "Thank you." She stood to leave, but the pit boss stopped her. He waved a scanning device over her, and it beeped.

"Oh, yeah, Megan, one more thing." Alonzo said, coming around his desk. "You see, the thing about card counters is, uh sometimes they work with a partner." He reached up to her ear and took out the earpiece. He then dropped it to the floor and smashed it with his shoe.

Out in the alley, Oliver winced at the feedback but immediately went into action.

"Told you this was a bad plan." Tommy said worriedly.

Felicity stared at the broken device on the floor, and then looked up at Alonzo; the anger she felt at Walter's kidnapping overpowering her fear. "You're gonna be really upset when you meet my partner." She warned.

"You go girl!" Thea exclaimed, smiling warmly at Felicity.

Out in the casino business was booming. That became literal two seconds later when the crowd heard shots fired outside and a moment later the door burst open revealing The Hood, who promptly slammed the second guard through the other door. One guard rushed him, but Oliver sidestepped him, shoving him in the right direction to slam through a blackjack table. Another guard rushed him, but he blocked the hit and sent him crashing through a glass table by the door. Oliver looked up, spotting the armed security moving into position. One gunman came right at him, and The Hood grabbed a handful of broken glass and threw it into the man's eyes, then sent him to the floor as he jumped over a table for cover. Across the room another gunner had turned over a blackjack table and was spraying bullets as the patrons frantically rushed the exits. The Hood paused for a moment, then stood up and fired an arrow, hitting the man in the chest. He ducked and fired again, killing another gunman, then spun and ducked again as the last gunman sprayed bullets wildly, shattering the mirror behind the bar along with several bottles of expensive liquor. He stood and fired, killing him, then turned and stalked towards the manager's office. The pit boss who had escorted Felicity rushed the Hood with a pool cue. He swung for the fences, and the cue broke against the vigilante's chest. The Hood just stood there, not reacting at all, and then grabbed the broken cue from the man's hand and jabbed it into his shin. The man collapsed and The Hood walked on.

"JESUS Ollie!" Tommy exclaimed.

"Don't knock it." Laurel said.

"I'm not. But you can see why I'm a bit jealous now." He replied.

"No-sold a pool cue. That's new." Slade said in grudging admiration.

He kicked open the door to Alonzo's office to find the man holding Felicity next to him with a gun to her head. The Hood fired the arrow, which hit the bull's-eye- on the dartboard behind the man.

Alonzo smirked. "I heard you never miss." He said scornfully.

"I don't." The Hood replied. A second later, the explosive head on the arrow detonated. The shock sent Felicity sprawling and Alonzo into his desk hard. The Hood grabbed the man and slammed him up against the wall.

"Uhh!" he groaned in protest.

"Where's Walter Steele?" the vigilante demanded.

"What? What are you talking about, huh?"

Oliver tighten d his grip. "Six months ago you had him kidnapped!"

"It was just a job." Alonzo protested. "I was given a name. I didn't ask any questions."

Oliver gripped him by the jaw and squeezed. "Last chance." He snarled. "Where is he?"

"Below ground."

Felicity gasped in shock. Oliver's grip tightened. "You're lying!" he shouted.

"I'm not." Alonzo said. "I delivered him and they killed him. I heard the gunshot. He's dead."

In a rage, Oliver decked the man hard, knocking him out. He turned back to Felicity, lowering his hood. She was crying.

So was he.

The scene changed to Queen Manor. Moira and Thea were sitting together on the couch in the sitting room, bundled up in a blanket. Thea had her tablet and was showing her mother how to shop for clothes online.

"Oh, let's see that blouse in that violet shade." Moira asked, and Thea did so. She chuckled. "You're a miracle worker, Thea." She said warmly.

"Personal shopper extraordinaire." Thea said weakly, knowing what was about to happen. Even though she knew that Walter wasn't dead, it still hurt to think that he could have been. 'Still could be.' She corrected herself, glancing furtively at Malcolm.

"Oh, when it comes to shopping, it's not work, really." Thea joked. She looked up as she heard Oliver come in. "Hey." She said. "I'm teaching mom the joys of online clothes shopping." The smile fell from her face as she saw the look on his. "Ollie? Are you ok?" she asked.

"I need to talk to you both." He said quietly.

"What is it?" Moira asked.

"It's about Walter." He sat down stiffly as the two women sat up.

"Did the police contact you?" she asked.

Oliver shook his head. "One of Mr. Diggle's army buddies works for the FBI now." He started, spinning a lie to tell the truth. "And they got news tonight."

Thea shook her head. "No." she whispered, horrified.

Oliver was barely holding back tears of his own. "I'm very sorry." He said sadly.

"No, no, no, no, no. There must be some mistake." Moira said. "Who did Mr. Diggle talk to? Did they find a body?" she demanded.

Oliver looked at her in pain. "Mom… Walter's gone."

"No. This isn't right." She declared, getting up off the couch and heading out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Oliver asked,

"Out."

"It's 10:00 at night."

"I need some air."

"Mom, you're in shock." Oliver tried.

Moira spun around and faced her son. "Don't tell me what or how I feel, Oliver!" she snapped then hurried out of the room.

Oliver stared at where his mother had been, shocked by her reaction. He wasn't the only one.

"Why is she acting like that?" The asked tearfully.

Oliver held out his arms. "Come here." He said, drawing her into a hug as she broke down.

FIVE YEARS AGO

The scene flashed back to 5 years ago. Robert and Frank Chen were walking into the sitting room, talking about Malcolm's plan.

"I suspect I know what this is about." Frank said.

"You and I got in bed with Malcolm to cure what ails this city." Robert stated. "But I think you agree, killing thousands of people is not the answer."

"Indeed." Frank said. He looked at Robert. "If we were to wage a war with Malcolm Merlyn, we will lose." He said seriously. "My family has already suffered enough."

"And I have no desire to endanger mine." Robert said. He handed Frank a laptop. "Fortunately, there's another option. 6 months ago Malcolm started buying up buildings in the Glades through an offshore company called Sagittarius." He explained.

"And he made it sound as if this undertaking of his was a recent inspiration." Frank noted with dread. "If you're right, he has been thinking about this for months."

"If he can't rebuild it, he'll abandon the project." Robert said simply.

Frank looked at him in consideration. "How much of the Glades does he already have?" he asked.

"About a third." Robert said. "Now, if we can quietly buy up the rest before he can, he won't be able to gain the control he needs."

"We will need capital." Frank noted.

"Do you still have your contacts in China?" Robert asked.

"I already have a flight planned for Shanghai tomorrow." Frank said. "Come with me."

Robert shook his head. "We shouldn't travel together. Malcolm might get worried. He already knows I have my doubts." He grinned. "Besides, I'm getting the urge to take out the 'Queen's Gambit' for another voyage."

"Dad!" Oliver ran into the room, heedless of his father's company. "Do you have any cash? The jerk pizza guy can't break a $100."

"Because every pizza guy should be able to break a hundred." Roy said, shaking his head and trying to lighten the mood. "Ah, the lifestyles of the rich and shameless."

Robert gave his son a wry look, but pulled out his wallet and handed him a twenty. "Oliver, you remember Mr. Chen?" he prodded.

"Hey." Oliver said casually.

"Hi." Frank said in bemusement.

"Waiting." Ollie grabbed the bill. "Thank you." He said. He paused to grab a bottle of wine, and then headed out of the room.

Up in Oliver's room, Laurel lay on his bed studying for her SAT's when Ollie walked back in.

Laurel smiled fondly. "Ah, the good old days. When I studied and Ollie…didn't."

"So... everyday?" Thea asked teasingly.

"Just about." Laurel said in bemusement.

"Pizza." He announced.

Laurel rolled over and smiled. "My hero. I'm starved." She said. She climbed out of the bed and went over to his desk to get the bottle opener for the wine.

"Yeah." Ollie said, enjoying the view.

Tommy smirked. He was enjoying the view himself. Quentin noticed and growled.

"That's my daughter's rear end you're ogling." he said crossly.

"Nothing I haven't seen before in a whole lot less… and I just said that out loud, didn't I?" Tommy finished, blanching slightly at the murderous look on the Detective's face.

"I'm a lesbian." Sara suddenly announced, and Quentin's head suddenly snapped back to her, along with everyone else's. "Actually, I'm Bi. And now you have something else to be upset about other than Laurel and Tommy." She looked to her sister. "You're welcome."

"Anyone else getting a real bi-polar feel from this memory set?" Felicity suddenly asked.

"How about from this room." Slade said dryly.

"Which is funny because he's the actual crazy person." Roy finished, jabbing his thumb in Slade's direction. "We're just trying to lighten it up between the darker moments, Lis. Trying to keep the fighting down to a minimum." He winked at the hacker.

"Hey, Ollie." She looked over at him. "Where do you keep the bottle opener in this thing?"

Laurel winced, remembering hearing Sara say the same thing to Oliver right before the boat went down.

"Bottom drawer." He said. What a view.

"Did you talk to Ray today?" she asked suddenly.

Ollie looked at her in confusion. "About the ski trip?" he guessed.

"No." she said, standing with the bottle opener in hand. "He asked Jean to move in with him last night."

An icy ball of fear formed in Ollie's stomach. "Oh." He forced a smile. "Guess they've been together forever."

"We've been together longer." Laurel pointed out.

"With all the subtlety of a sledgehammer." Sara noted.

"Guess we have." Ollie said in a strained voice.

"I only bring this up because your mom busted me yesterday." Laurel said, sitting on the bed. "And obviously we can't hang out at my house."

"Why? Because your father threatened to taze me the last time that I closed the door to your bedroom?" he said.

"I still vote for the shotgun myself." Tommy noted with a smile.

"So wouldn't it be nice to have a little place of our own?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah. Maybe." He said doubtfully. "This is a little fast, Laurel."

She sighed, but smiled at him. "I know that you like to think of yourself as a bad boy, Oliver Queen, but I feel like we're ready to take the next step." She held her breath, waiting for his answer.

"Yeah." He said finally. "Let's do it." Happily she leaned in to kiss him, and then proceeded to open the wine. All the while, Ollie sat there thinking 'How the hell do I get out of this?'

Laurel shook her head sadly. "How delusional I was." She said.

"First step to fixing a problem is admitting you have one." Thea said.

No, that's next year. Mia said over the speakers. Laurel looked up in confusion, but shook her head and let it go.

PRESENT

Back in the present, Moira stormed into Malcolm's office just as he was finishing up with a pair of Chinese businessmen.

"You lied to me." She said emotionally, paying no heed to the men. "We had a deal."

Malcolm froze; a smile on his face so as not to alarm the two business men. After a moment, he addressed them. "Gong dag. Gong-pa-ma-tsom." He told them. They rose and left and Moira stalked directly up to the desk. "What are you talking about?" he asked calmly.

"You promised if I cooperated with the Undertaking, Walter wouldn't be harmed!" she exclaimed.

Malcolm's face was dead serious now. "He hasn't been. I'm a man of my word, Moira."

"We both know better than that." She spat, causing him to tense. "And I know I know you've had him killed."

Malcolm jabbed a button on his speaker phone. The call connected immediately. "Turn on the camera." He ordered. He opened a laptop on his desk and turned it to face her. After a moment, a live video stream appeared, showing Walter in his cell.

Moira let out a relieved sob. "Oh, Walter…"

"Like you said, Moira, we have an agreement." Malcolm said. Unnoticed by them, and arrow had been shot, embedding itself in the wall right next to the window. A recording device was attached, and its light was blinking red to show it was recording. And across the way, on an opposite rooftop, The Hood stood listening to it live. 'Walter would stay in my custody until the Undertaking was complete.' Malcolm was saying. 'We're both in this together.' Oliver looked over at the building, a look of shock and betrayal ion his face.

Malcolm sat back and actually smiled. "Your sons' far cleverer than I gave him credit for, Moira." He said. "Just like his mother."

"More like his father, I think." Moira said. "After all, he was smart enough to send Oliver after you, in a way."

Later that night, Oliver sat, alone in the dark in the foundry. He had been there for hours before Felicity walked in and turned on the lights. She noticed him immediately.

"I've been sitting in the dark all day, too." She said morosely. "All these months I kept thinking if I could find a clue, I could get a lead on him." She sighed. "Guess it wouldn't have mattered. I can't imagine what your family's going through."

"Walter's alive." Oliver interrupted.

Felicity paused in confusion. "What? But Alonzo said—""

"I need you to pull up Malcolm Merlyn's phone records." He ground out. "He made a call from his office to wherever Walter is being kept at 10:30 p.m."

Felicity was astonished. "Malcolm Merlyn? Tommy's father?" she asked, disbelievingly. "Why would he kidnap Walter?"

"Felicity." Oliver pleaded with a look. She sat down and pulled up the records in under a minute.

"L.U.D. showed he made a call to a tenement complex located in Bludhaven." She said.

Oliver got up and walked over to her. "Can you pull up a satellite view?" he asked.

"Ok." She hacked into an A.R.G.U.S. thermo imaging satellite. A moment later the screen showed the thermal cam of the apartment, along with all of the guards arrayed around it.

"That's a lot of security for low-income housing." Felicity noted. "There's two guards stationed at all access points."

"There's just one on the roof." He noted.

"Exactly. There's no other buildings in that area." She told him. "If you want to get onto the roof, you're going to have to jump off of something."

"I've got something." He growled, and then left to make a call.

A few hours later, a lone cargo plane flew over the city of Bludhaven. As it flew over the apartment complex, it dropped its lone piece of cargo.

"Seriously?" Tommy said in amazement.

The Hood parachuted out of the plane and landed gently on the roof. He quickly cut away his chute. He slid down the access stairs feet first, knocking the room guard over the railing and to the ground several stories below before opening the door and walking in.

"Where the hell did he learn how to do that?" Tommy wondered.

In the security room, a guard was posted watching the monitors. Suddenly he saw the Hood fighting with several men. "There's a problem in quadrant 4." He announced over the radio.

The Hood stalked down the narrow hall, his mood darker than the night. Guards soon appeared one after the other- they looked like street thugs to Oliver's trained eyes, but they still knew how to fight.

Unfortunately they didn't fight as well as The Hood.

One by one he dropped them, most by beating them senseless with his bow. A few he shot at a distance, but none stopped him. The last guard grabbed him in a choke, but Oliver expertly spun out of it, punched him twice in the chest, and then rammed his head into a light fixture. He rammed his head into the wall two more times as the man fell, insuring he was out of the fight. He looked back at the 20 odd men he had just disabled briefly, and then made his way onward.

"I think you need to hire better men." Quentin told Malcolm sarcastically.

"I think you're right." He replied. He wondered who had trained Oliver to fight.

Soon he found himself outside a heavy iron door. It was bolted shut, but not locked, and Oliver slid the bolt back. He opened the door and looked inside. Walter lay there, huddled on his side on a thin mattress on the floor.

"Oh, Walter…" Moira said sadly.

For a moment Oliver feared he was dead, but then saw the body move slightly and he realized Walter was just asleep. He activated his voice changer and called out to the man. "Mr. Steele." He said softly. When he didn't stir, he added a bit more forcefully, "Walter."

Walter jumped slightly as he came back to awareness. He rolled over and saw the vigilante standing in the open doorway. "What?" he asked in a raspy voice. "What's happening?"

"You're going home." Oliver said softly, his face hidden in the shadow of his hood.

Oliver had Felicity call the appropriate authorities, and the police arrived shortly thereafter. The Hood stayed nearby but out of sight as a young patrol officer escorted Walter's gurney out to a waiting ambulance. The officer looked up, and for a moment Oliver could have sworn the man was looking right at him. But the gaze shifted around, and soon the officer climbed into the ambulance to get Walter's statement on the way to the hospital.

Walter didn't stay in Bludhaven long. As soon as the doctors cleared him, he was airlifted back to Starling General Hospital, where a tearful Moira found him the next morning.

"I thought I'd never see you again." She said, crying as she ran into his room and hugged him. Thea and Oliver followed her in.

"I'm all right." He assured his wife.

"Welcome home, Walter." Oliver said kindly.

Walter looked at him, and suddenly things became a bit clearer. But now wasn't the time for such things. "Thank you, son." He said warmly. Oliver smiled.

"He knew, you know." Roy told Moira and Thea. "He's a lot cleverer than he looked."

"Better than looking clever than you are." Thea replied with a smirk.

Walter looked up and saw the last remaining female crying next to him. "Thea." He said happily. She sobbed and collapsed into his arms, crying happy tears for once.

A knock at the door, drew their attention, then they all looked up to see Felicity standing in the door with a pot of flowers. "This is totally a family thing, isn't it?" she said awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Moira asked politely.

"This is Felicity." Oliver introduced. "She's my friend."

"Mine, too." Walter said with a smile. "It's good to see you."

"You, too." She replied warmly. She set the flowers down. "I'll let you guys get back to your hugging." She said. Moira and Tea laughed and recommenced hugging Walter at once. Felicity smiled at Oliver, then walked out.

"Thank you, Felicity." Moira told the woman. "I know it hasn't happened, and maybe it never will, but it means so much to see what lengths you were willing to go to, to bring him home."

Felicity shrugged. "Walter really is a nice man, and a great boss. It's the least I could do."

"Oliver." Moira held out her hand, beckoning him over. "We're all together again. Everything's gonna be all right." She said. Oliver looked at her, barely masking the betrayal in his eyes.

FIVE YEARS AGO

The scene flashed back to five years ago. At Starling City harbor, Robert was preparing to take 'The Queen's Gambit' out as Moira looked on worriedly.

"Robert, I don't like the idea of this." She said.

"It's gonna be ok." Robert assured her.

"Yeah, well, how long will you be gone?" she asked.

"A few weeks. Maybe more, depending on weather—"

"Why can't you just fly to China?" she asked plaintively.

He smiled at her. "I think it's better the less you know."

"I just hate that stupid boat." She admitted.

"With good reason." She said darkly.

"Look at me." Robert said, and she did so. "I love you. Everything's gonna be fine." He assured her.

She nodded. "I know." She said, hugging him.

"Hey." They looked up to see Oliver as he dropped his bag on the dock next to them "Got room for one more?" he asked pleasantly.

"No." Moira said at once.

"Mom, let me keep dad company."

"Oliver, you're in school." She said.

"Not really." He said. His parents looked at each other and sighed. "I forgot to tell you that." He added lamely.

"I could use an extra hand on the ship." Robert said.

"Robert—"

"Moira, let the kid take the boat out with the old man." He said with a grin.

Moira smiled fondly at the image of her late husband. She pulled Thea in closer as she sniffled, trying to hold back tears.

She sighed. "All right. All right." She said finally. She looked to Ollie. "But you promise me that you'll behave yourself." She said sternly.

"Oh yeah. I promise." He lied. She knew it.

"Oops." Sara said lamely. Laurel and Moira both shot her a look, though Laurel's softened somewhat.

"I love you so much." She said hugging him.

"I love you, too." The two hugged. The sound of a car door slamming made Ollie look up, and he saw Laurel standing at the end of the entrance ramp to the dock. He pulled away with a smile.

"I totally spaced." He said. "I gotta call Tommy and let him know I'm out of town for a few weeks. I'll see you on board in 5." He told his dad. He walked off towards Laurel while pulling out his phone. He dialed a familiar number as he smiled at his girlfriend. "Sara?" he said when his girlfriend's sister picked up. "You here? Yeah, you might want to circle around the block a few times, because your sister just showed up." He hung up the phone just as Laurel reached him. "Hi." He said with a smile. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a kiss. "What are you doing here?" he asked

"You're leaving for 3 weeks." She said.

"With my sister." Laurel added crossly, though there was no malice in her voice. She was passed her anger now.

"I wanted to come say bye to you in person."

They kissed. "I'm glad you did." Ollie lied as he pulled away.

"And I wanted to bring you something." She said with a smile. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a wallet-sized version of her senior picture. He took it with a happy "Oh." She smiled at his reaction. "In case you get lonely at sea." She said.

Ollie kissed the picture. "Thank you." He said.

"So in a way, it was a threesome." Felicity remarked suddenly, then blanched. "And I totally said that out loud, didn't I?"

"A lot of that going around." Tommy said, grinning at how red Laurel had gotten. Sara just laughed.

"Hey, is everything ok?" she asked suddenly. "I mean, I didn't totally freak you out when I brought up the whole apartment thing earlier, did I?"

"No." he lied with a smile.

"YES." Tommy, Thea, Sara and Roy all said.

"Rub it in, why don't you." Laurel said grumpily, crossing her arms in annoyance.

"Good." She said.

"No." he grinned. The two kissed for a bit before Ollie pulled away. "Mm. But I do have to get back to the boat." He said.

"Yeah." She sighed. She watched as Ollie walked back to the boat, and then turned and headed for her car. She didn't notice the other car that was parked in the lot above- a car containing Frank Chen.

'Is it done?' Malcolm asked him over the phone.

"Yes. The bomb is in place." Frank replied dutifully. "And there's a storm front moving in along the 'Gambit's' projected course."

'Good.' He said. 'When the 'Queen's Gambit' goes down, no one will suspect it's anything other than an act of God.'

"You bastard." Moira seethed, glaring at Malcolm. "And now I feel less upset at getting Frank killed." Thea winced at that, though she secretly agreed with her mother. They all needed to pay.

In the harbor, Moira watched as the boat sailed off into history, unknowing of the fate Malcolm had decided for it.

PRESENT

Back in the present, Oliver left Walter's room to get some air and put some distance between himself and his mother. Outside, though, he found someone else he had reason to hate.

"Oliver." Malcolm Merlyn said, walking briskly towards the younger man. Oliver gritted his teeth, and then plastered a tired smile on his face as he turned to face the man. "What a miracle. How's Walter? The police are saying that he was rescued by the Vigilante." Malcolm said.

"Yes, he was." Oliver replied softly.

"Has he said anything about his ordeal? Was he able to identify any of his captors?" Malcolm asked casually, fishing for information.

"Does he know I'm involved? Does he know I'm a giant tool…" Thea went on. She stared at her 'father' in disgust. "I'm so looking forward to watching you get your ass kicked."

"Because that worked out so well for him the last time." Malcolm pointed out.

"No." Oliver said.

"Hmm. That's too bad." Malcolm noted.

"They'll get what's coming to them." Oliver remarked. Malcolm looked at him curiously. "I'm just glad that my family is back together." He continued.

"We all are." Malcolm replied. The two looked at each other in silence for a moment before another voice thankfully broke the tension.

"Ollie." Laurel called from the end of the hall. Oliver glanced at her, then back to Malcolm. "Excuse me." He said, walking away from the elder Merlyn and over to his ex-girlfriend.

"Is Walter ok?" she asked. "I saw it on the news."

"Yeah." Oliver said. "Are you ok?" he asked concernedly.

"Of course." He looked at her in disbelief. "I promise you now is not the time."

"It's you and Tommy." He guessed.

"You and me, actually." She remarked. He stared at her curiously. "I talked to Tommy yesterday, and the reason he broke up with me is because he thinks that you and I still belong together."

"What did you say?" he asked.

"Nothing." Laurel said. "He walked out on me."

"I just want you to be happy. It's what I've always wanted." Oliver said.

"Then will you please go talk to Tommy for me?" she begged.

"And say what?"

"Say that you and I are over." She said. "That you're not still in love with me."

"I can't do that."

"Why not?" she demanded.

"Because it wouldn't be true." He said, stunning the woman. "And I have enough lies in my life already." Oliver walked past her, heading out of the hospital as Laurel stood frozen in the hall.

"Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." Felicity quoted.

"Sir Walter Scott." Malcolm noted. "Very apt. For the both of us, it would appear."

The scene changed to Diggle's apartment. There was a knock on his door and he approached cautiously out of habit. He looked through the peephole and let out a resigned sigh. Opening the door, he saw Oliver standing there.

"I guess you do know where I live." Dig said.

"I've always known where you live." Oliver replied. He paused for a beat. "May I?" he asked. Dig silently motioned for him to come in. He entered, pausing briefly in front of Dig. "I'm sorry." He said softly. Dig accepted the apology with a nod of the head and closed the door. "You were right. And I was wrong." Oliver admitted.

"About Deadshot?" Dig asked pointedly.

"About everything." Oliver responded. "About my mother and about her involvement in the Undertaking. She lied to me." He hissed. "To Thea. She's working with Malcolm Merlyn." He announced, surprising Diggle. "They're planning something. Something terrible. I don't know what yet. But I just know one thing." He looked Diggle in the eyes. "I need your help to stop them." He asked.

Meanwhile, out on the highway a lone truck sped on. In the trailer was a crate marked with the Unidac Industries logo painted on the side. And its destination was Starling City.

The memory set stopped. "Only two more to go for this series." Roy said.

"Then let's keep going." Tommy said. It was an odd thing, to know your death was approaching. And he couldn't help the morbid curiosity he felt in wanting to know how it ended for him.

Roy nodded. "Then as Felicity would say, Alons'y!"

To Be Continued

A/N: Can anyone guess who the young Bludhaven patrol officer was?

A/N 2: Something I just noticed- in a flashback, Laurel talks about Ray and Jean moving in together. I think that's meant to be a subtle nod to Ray Palmer and Jean Loring, long before Jean was Moira's defense attorney and Ray took over QC.