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 33: Keep Your Enemies Closer
Lunch was a quiet affair. Slade elected to return to his room, allowing the rest to breath a small sigh of relief. The Lance's congregated together, still processing what happened to Sara; Diggle and Felicity sat with Moira and Thea, chatting amiably. Roy and Mia were out of the room, which left Tommy standing next to his father. The silence was akward, and the tension was palpable. Finally though, Malcolm spoke.
"That was a good idea you had." At Tommy's confused look, he explained. "Secreting guns around the Clock Tower. Al Ow-al wouldn't think that someone he had trained would use a gun on him."
"It's all about surprise." Tommy said. "But, I guess you were right, too." He added after a moment. "I mean, Detective Lance emptied a clip at that one guy, and hit nothing."
"It's all due to superior reflexes." Malcolm noted. "The League trains you to anticipate where an attack will come from, so you can move out of its path. That works for swords, arrows, or bullets."
Tommy looked at his father askance. "What, so it's like 'if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball'?"
Malcolm chuckled. "Something like that."
A pause. "How do you even do that, anyway?" Tommy asked.
"What?"
"Catch an arrow." Tommy clarified.
"Again, it's training." Malcolm replied. "What they do is they put you in front of a wall, then they shoot an arrow into your shoulder."
Tommy blanched. "Seriously?"
Malcolm nodded. "Oh yes. Then they yank it out, patch you up, and do it again." He smiled thinly at his son. "You learn very quickly how to anticipate where the arrow will be. Then you simply reach up and grab it. That's one of many painful classes at assassin school."
"How do you graduate from that class?" Tommy asked, afraid of the answer.
"They shoot an arrow at your head." Malcolm replied seriously. Tommy nodded slowly. "Anyway, it was a good idea. Though instead of a shotgun, I'd probably choose a Tec-9 or a CZ-75. Small, but can expel a lot of rounds in a short burst. Less time to dodge."
Tommy nodded. "Has it escaped your notice that this is how our casual conversations are going now?"
Malcolm laughed. "No, it has not." He sighed. "I'm trying, Tommy."
Tommy awkwardly patted him on the arm. "Me too, pop. Me, too."
"Hi!"
Malcolm looked down in surprise to see a small, dark-haired child looking up at him with a smile. "Hello…" he said uncertainly.
"Mom said you weren't being a big jerk as much, so I could come and say hello!" Malcolm's head jerked up to see a smirking Mia standing across the room.
"Your mother is Mia?" he said, looking at the girl in wonder.
She nodded. "My name's Lian. And your my grandpa!"
Across the room, Mia and Roy watched in bemusement and worry. "If he tries something," Roy said in a low tone, "I'm putting an arrow in his ass. Literally. I will shove an arrow so far up his ass…"
"I know he's a very beautiful man, Roy." Mia said in a teasing tone. "I just never thought you thought of him like that. Not that there's anything wrong with that…"
"Should she be around him?" Thea asked worriedly coming up to the couple.
"He's a murder, not a pedophile." Mia replied airily.
"Ha." Thea shot back deadpanned.
"He's trying." Mia told her younger self. "You just need to give him a chance-"
"Sure." Thea said, cutting her off. "I'll give him a chance. After I've had twenty five years to deal with the fact he murdered my father. Or mind control drugs, whichever comes first." Mia just shot her an annoyed look.
"You lost old man?"
Slade turned to see an almost spitting image of Lillian Worth standing behind him, her arms crossed in annoyance and a scowl on her face. He was standing outside the museum, looking at the Earth far below them.
"Just admiring the view." He said pleasantly.
"Yeah, well why don't you go back and admire your seat." Rose Wilson suggested. "We'll be starting up again in a minute."
Slade nodded at her, then turned and walked down the hall. Rose moved into step right beside him. "I don't need an escort." He added.
"Don't want you getting lost." Rose said sarcastically. "You might accidently take a trip out an airlock, and what a tragedy that would be."
"Just like your mother." He muttered. Slade stopped and looked at the woman. Her stark white hair fell over the right side of her face, partially obscuring the white eye patch. "How did you lose the eye?" he asked.
"Running with scissors." She replied dryly. They came to a stop outside the viewing room. "Here you go. Now get inside before I shoot you again."
Slade smirked at her. "Definitely like your mother." The door opened and Slade walked in, followed by Rose.
Roy noted their appearance and tensed. "Lian," he said sharply, drawing her attention away from Malcolm. "Time to go with your Aunt Rose." Lian nodded, gave Malcolm a quick hug (to his surprise), then ran over to rose, who then led her out of the room as Slade watched with interest.
It was only after the door was closed behind the two women that Roy took his hand off the but of the pistol strapped to his thigh.
The memory set opened in the back alley of Verdant. Roy slipped out the back door of the club and walked down the alley, stopping at a familiar utility pole. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew the red flechette and jammed it into the wood before turning and walking back to the club.
The scene changed to Queen Consolidated. Felicity got off of the executive elevator and walked briskly towards Oliver's office, where Isabel was busy giving him a tongue lashing- and not the pleasurable kind.
"You were supposed to sign this report at last night's board meeting." She was telling him. "You know why you didn't?"
"Probably because I didn't attend last night's board meeting." Oliver replied from his seat behind his desk.
Moira shook her head. "Oh, Oliver…" she said in bemusement.
"Where were you?" she demanded.
"I have other interests outside of this company." Oliver said bluntly.
"Most involving sharp, pointy objects." Tommy noted.
"I don't." she shot back.
"There's a surprise." Thea said dryly
"Mr. Queen—" Felicity tried to interrupt, but Isabel pressed onward.
"I thought you were serious when you said we were partners." Isabel said.
"Isabel, I missed one meeting." Oliver replied incredulously.
"This week. Last week, it was two meetings." She replied hotly.
"Mr. Queen." Felicity tried again.
Oliver sighed and held up a finger, silently telling her to wait. Then he looked back to Isabel. "Companywide revenue is at double digits since you and I took over." He began.
"Oliver!" she shouted, fixing both of their attentions on her.
"You're not that well versed in 'discretion', are you dear?" Moira asked Felicity.
"Have you heard some of the lies I've told?" she replied.
"Yes?" he said finally.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your…" she gestured with her hands, "Grr! Um, I need to talk to you about your plans for this evening." She told him.
Thea snickered. "Well, we know what Isabel thinks right now."
At his look, she expounded as best she could with the company present. "With Mr. Harper?"
Oliver blinked, then rose from his seat and buttoned his jacket. "You'll have to excuse me." He told Isabel as he walked around his desk past her.
"We have work to do." She said angrily. "It's important."
"So are my evening plans." He told her. "I'm sorry." He walked past her and out the door, Felicity trailing right behind. "We are going to have to work on your excuses." He whispered to her.
"You're right." She agreed.
"At least I acknowledge it." Felicity noted.
The scene changed to the warehouse district. Several SUV's were pulling up and disgorging their occupants as Roy watched from a short distance away. He had his red hood up and was looking at the criminals as they milled about with a pair of high-powered binoculars.
"You should be more careful." The Arrow told him as he came up behind the younger man. "You're completely exposed."
"I knew you were there." Roy lied, startled.
"How have you not died?" Mia asked her husband sarcastically.
"What, you wanted me to tell you when the funny money guys were ready to make a sale? Here we go." He said.
"Not 'we'." Oliver told him. "Go home. I already have help."
Roy turned to argue, but the vigilante had already moved off.
Inside the warehouse, the buy was already taking place. "Here's the fake." One man said, gesturing to his associate. The man held up a briefcase and opened it, showing off the pair of counterfeit $50 plates. "Let's see the real." The leader said. They buyer's associate dropped a large duffle bag and opened it, revealing stacks of $100 bills. The seller nodded in satisfaction, and the other man lifted the bag to hand it over-
Only for it to be struck with a pyrotechnic arrow. The criminal dropped the bag as it burst into flames, consuming the money. Then he himself wine down with an arrow to the leg.
"I don't know what's more painful." Tommy said.
Oliver walked out from his cover, contemptuously sweeping the legs out from a guard before drawing another arrow and firing, pinning another guards hand to a stack off pallets. One of the seller's men ran out of the warehouse, only to be tackled by Roy who began pummeling him.
"Guess who's getting arrested again…" Thea said mockingly.
Back in the warehouse Oliver drew on the seller, who smirked back at him confidently.
'You got two right above you.' Diggle said over the radio. The Arrow pivoted around and fired up at the catwalks above him once, then twice. One man fell down and crashed into another stack of pallets. The other managed to grab onto the catwalk as he fell, and dangled there from one hand with an arrow in his shoulder.
'Another at your six.' Dig said. Oliver quickly drew a flechette out of his thigh holster and spun, flinging it at the guard and taking him down. He then turned back to the seller, who now looked at him fearfully.
Outside the warehouse, several patrol cars pulled up. Lance got out of his car and drew his weapon, though inwardly he sighed when he saw Roy Harper pummeling another man.
"Stay where you are, don't move!" Lance ordered.
Roy immediately stopped and moved back, putting his hands behind his head. "I want to make a citizen's arrest." He said as he was cuffed.
"Don't move." Lance ordered again.
Thea and Mia started laughing. Roy sighed. "You know, I always thought of two of you being a more pleasurable experience."
Up at his overwatch position, Diggle was putting away his gear. "That's it. I'm clear." He said over the radio. He turned to leave, only to see a man dressed in black with tactical gear standing at the end of the gantry. Dig spun the other way, only to see another man similarly dressed. Before he could do anything, a third man came up behind him and jammed a tazer into his neck. Dig let out a grunt of pain as the tazer brought him down, and soon he was unconscious.
"Task force X to Mockingbird." The man said over his radio as his compatriots secured Diggle. "We have the prize, we're coming home."
Diggle sighed in annoyance. "A.R.G.U.S." he said disgustedly. "They couldn't just call me?"
"Waller always did like making a statement." Roy noted darkly.
When Diggle awoke, he was seated in a chair, his hands zip-tied behind him. As he shook his head to clear it, the man who had tazed him moved around to cut the tie, momentarily blocking the light that was shining into Dig's face. He looked around, trying to get his bearings. He was in some kind of safe house, its windows boarded up and lined with steel plates. Suddenly a heavy steel door opened, and he looked over to see a young, attractive, if severe looking black woman wearing 6 inch red heels walking towards him. "Who are you people?" he demanded. "NSA? CIA?"
"My name is Amanda Waller." She said.
"Wait," Tommy said suddenly. "Isn't that the insane woman who hired Fyers? The one who wanted to shoot down airliners?"
"Yup." Mia said, popping the 'P'.
Dig sighed. "I thought you A.R.G.U.S. guys were supposed to be more subtle." He said dryly.
"For us, this was subtle." She informed him.
"Then I want to see Lyla Michaels."
"So do I." Waller said. "Agent Michaels has gone dark."
Dig sat up straighter at that.
Dig paused at that. "Lyla's missing? What happened?" he asked.
"She was running down a lead in Moscow." Waller explained. "She's missed two of her scheduled call-ins."
"Well, what are you doing about it?" Dig demanded.
"Speaking to you." Waller replied coolly. "Even if we knew where in Russia Lyla is, my superiors believe sending in an extraction team could cause an international incident. As far as they're concerned, she's already a framed picture on our lobby wall."
Diggle looked at her cautiously. "Why are you telling me all this?"
Waller walked over and leaned in close. "Because I know how you and Oliver Queen spend your nights." She informed him, stunning the bodyguard.
"What?" Diggle said, stunned.
"Oliver was only on the island for two years and a couple of months." Mia explained. "At the end of this year, he was picked up by Amanda Waller and taken to Hong Kong."
"That's right, Kara mentioned that." Thea said. "But why didn't he contact us?"
"He did." Tommy said suddenly, a feeling of dread washing over him. He looked to Mia. "He DID try to contact us, didn't he? I had people monitoring his online accounts, just in case. And his email was access from Hong Kong. And I flew out there-"
"And was kidnapped." Mia finished.
"WHAT?!" Malcolm roared, alarmed. "What happened?"
"I got grabbed, then the Hong Kong PD came and rescued me." Tommy said.
"Actually, it was Oliver." Mia continued, then sighed. "Amanda Waller is a true sociopath. She was trying to shoot down that airliner to kill one woman- Chien Na Wei; you've seen her referred to as China White. When Oliver helped to foil her plans, Amanda kept a close watch on the island. And when the opportunity presented itself, she took Oliver off the island and back to Hong Kong, then proceeded to make him work for her as an operative. The deal was that he'd be her hit man, and in return someday she'd let him go back home. If he didn't play ball- well, he was already a dead man."
"But he tried to contact-"
"And you saw what happened." Mia cut Tommy off. "What you didn't know was that was Oliver improvising. His orders were to kill you- Amanda didn't want anybody asking around about Oliver Queen." Tommy paled. "He tried to run, but they would just capture him again. Finally, they put him up with a training officer of sorts and his family- with the threat that, if Oliver tried to escape, Amanda would kill the officer's wife and son."
"And she works for a government agency?" Moira asked, aghast.
"No." Roy said. "She's the HEAD of A.R.G.U.S." At Moira's stricken look, Roy laughed humorlessly. "Makes you feel good, doesn't it?"
"Oliver worked in China, but the mission went south. A rogue General took control of it and, as a result, there was a biological attack on Hong Kong. The son died, and Oliver ended up torturing the general for hours. When he was done, he didn't feel that he deserved to come home, so he took off for Russia. He had made a contact on the island of all places that got him in to the Bratva."
"His tattoo." Lance realized.
Mia nodded. "After some time in the brotherhood, learning all he could, Oliver decided he knew enough to come home and start his mission. To do that, though, he needed a good cover story as to where he had been for five years. So he contacted Waller, and she put him back on the island, at his request. Then a few months later, she sent a boat out that way, and the rest- well, it's the history that you've been watching. Yao Fei, Shado, even Slade- they started training him, but it was Waller and A.R.G.U.S. that turned him into the fighting machine that he was. She knew he was the vigilante as soon as he showed up in Starling."
"And I know your passport is up to date." She continued, moving away slightly.
"It would help to start with what Lyla was doing in Moscow in the first place." Dig said after a second's contemplation. "What was this lead she was tracking down?"
"A line on the whereabouts of Floyd Lawton."
"Deadshot." Dig sighed and closed his eyes. "Lyla was in Russia for me." He said wearily.
"Agent Michaels is an asset I can't easily replace. I know you find her similarly irreplaceable." Waller told him. "Bring her home, Mr. Diggle." Waller ordered, turning and walking out of the room with her man, leaving Diggle to think.
"So now I'm working for her." Diggle shook his head. "Only for Lyla."
The scene changed to the SCPD. Roy sat in his customary chair, his hands handcuffed behind him as Lance walked up, his file in hand.
"Thanks. It's been a while since I arrested you. I'd forgotten how good it feels." Lance said sarcastically, looking down at the younger man.
Lance snorted in amusement.
"I was working for…him." Roy said softly.
"Him who?" Lance asked,
"Keyser Söze?" Laurel quipped.
"The guy who cost you your shield." Roy replied, paying Quentin back for his cheap shot with one of his own. "I'm on his team." He said, looking the cop in the eyes. "You are, too."
Lance stared back, considering…
"Anybody else having serious deja vu?" Thea said as she stormed into the precinct. She came to a stop next to Lance, her arms crossed and an angry look on her face as she considered her boyfriend.
Lance made a decision. "That's all right, we're letting him go." He said, moving behind Roy to uncuff him- to both Roy's and Thea's surprise. "Our mistake. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." He explained, covering for Roy.
"Ok, uh, let's just get out of here before anyone changes their mind." Thea said, leading Roy out of the precinct, the wind totally taken out of her sails. As they left, Roy shared one last look with the cop before heading out.
"I never did thank you for the save." Roy told Quentin.
"You're welcome." Lance said dryly.
The scene changed to the lair, where Felicity and Oliver were watching coverage of demonstrations over the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator.
'The potentially catastrophic risk of turning on this machine far outweigh any scientific gain that might come from it.' A protester was saying. 'The people need to understand just how dangerous technology like this is. And the very real possibility of a cataclysmic event.'
Oliver looked up as Diggle walked briskly into the lair. "Where'd you go? Is everything ok?" he asked.
"Yeah." Dig said, gathering some equipment. "Just need a few personal days."
"What's going on?" Oliver asked.
"Have to help a friend."
"Who?"
Dig stopped what he was doing and sighed. "Lyla Michaels." He said finally.
"It's his spy girlfriend that works for A.R.G.U.S." Felicity informed Oliver.
"She went to Russia looking for Deadshot, for me." Dig explained. "Now she's missing."
Oliver nodded. "Felicity, I think it's time we visited our Queen Consolidated subsidiary in Moscow." He said.
"Yeah." Felicity agreed.
"Oliver, what are you doing?" Dig asked,
"Just need to help a friend."
"I can't ask you to do that."
"You didn't." Oliver said simply, and that was that.
"It's good to have friends, huh?" Felicity asked, elbowing Dig lightly in the ribs.
5 Years Ago
Once again Oliver found himself staring up impossibly at the face of his girlfriend's sister.
"Sara…" he whispered as she looked back at him. Suddenly a door opened, and Sara moved back, allowing Ivo to walk past her.
"My name's Ivo." He said by way of greeting. "What's your name?"
Oliver looked past Ivo at Sara, who subtly shook her head. "Tommy." He said after a moment's hesitation.
"He's nowhere near good-looking enough to be called Tommy." Tommy said.
"Neither are you." Laurel shot back.
"So. How did you come to be on this island, Tommy?" Ivo asked. "I assume it wasn't by choice."
"My, uh boat was shipwrecked here." Oliver said haltingly, still looking at Sara. "And I was the only survivor."
"Well, I'm sorry to hear that." Ivo said, picking a notebook up from his desk. "Did you explore the island much?"
"Some of it." Oliver admitted. "Why?"
"You didn't happen to run across a Japanese Imperial Navy submarine, did you?" Ivo asked, looking at Oliver.
"Not exactly the question I'd be expecting…." Felicity said.
At his nonplussed expression, Ivo decided to elaborate. "During World War II, every country was trying to develop the ultimate weapon." He began. "The United States had the Manhattan Project, of course; the Nazis had das Uranverein. And the Japanese, well, they had Mirakuru."
"Stem cell and genetic therapies, decades ahead of their time." Sara explained.
"Every war advances the cause of science." Ivo continued. "And the Japanese, they had developed a serum that caused increased strength. Rapid cell regeneration. They called it Mirakuru."
"Miracle." Sara translated.
"Thought they could create an army of super soldiers." Ivo noted wryly. "They were transporting their only supply via submarine when that sub came under heavy fire by the allied forces. And it ran aground in this chain of islands." Ivo stood and walked over to Oliver. "Thanks to you… we now know it's this island."
Oliver glared up at the scientist. "You killed my friends." He hissed.
"Which means it's up to you," Ivo countered benignly, "To help us find that sub."
Thea looked over at Sara. "You were a little brainwashed, weren't you?" she guessed.
"I was convinced he was right." Sara corrected sadly.
"Yeah, the brainwashing didn't come till later." Mia added, causing Sara to roll her eyes.
Present Day
Oliver, Felicity and Diggle arrived at Starling International the next morning. Diggle pulled the Bentley into the hangar as the Queen Consolidated Private jet sat on the tarmac, its pilots already doing their preflight check. Diggle grabbed their bags and the three were walking towards the jet when a black limo pulled up next to the Bentley.
"Are you forgetting something?" Dig asked. The three turned to look at the limo, and Oliver had to suppress a groan when Isabel Rochev climbed out.
"Where do you think you're going?" Isabel demanded of Oliver.
"Tahiti." Felicity replied before thinking.
"That's funny." Isabel said, walking over to the trio. "The flight manifest says you're going to Moscow."
"Well, we're going to stop by there, you know, after Tahiti." Felicity tried.
Thea, Laurel and Tommy snickered as Moira shook her head in amusement.
Isabel ignored the help and looked at Oliver. "What kind of partner decides to interact with our overseas holdings behind the other one's back?" she demanded.
"A smart one?" Thea tried.
"It was an oversight." Oliver said, trying to soothe her ego.
"Oh." She smiled smugly. "Well, lucky for our partnership, I'm a fast packer." She said, and then headed up the stairs to the plane.
Diggle glared at the woman's back. "Oliver, her tagging along does not help matters any." He warned.
"I will take care of her." Oliver said. "John. We're going to bring Lyla back." He promised. "Wherever she is."
In Russia, Lyla sat huddled against a concrete wall, her wrist chained to it. She was cold, hungry, and bruised from interrogation.
Diggle seethed in his seat. This was his fault…
Several hours later, Oliver had his passport stamped at Sheremetyevo International Airport. He took it back and turned to Isabel.
"I've arranged a meeting with the chief operating officer of our Moscow subsidiary tomorrow at 10:00 a.m." she told him. "Try your hardest not to miss this one." She added snidely.
"You know, I'm not this person that you seem to think I am." Oliver argued.
"That depends." Isabel said.
"On what?"
Isabel looked past him at Felicity, who was getting her passport stamped. "On if I think you use the corporate jet for a weekend of fun with your assistant."
Oliver let out a surprised chuckle. "Excuse me?" he said, nonplussed.
"A blonde I.T. girl all of a sudden gets promoted to be assistant to the C.E.O.?" she said. "There are only two ways that happens. One is nepotism, and she doesn't look like your cousin."
"Maybe that's how you got your jobs, Isabel." Moira said. "Some people get their jobs through pure talent."
"Thank you?" Felicity said uncertainly.
Oliver was honestly offended now. "That is absolutely not happening." He said.
"What were her qualifications?" Isabel pressed. "Aside from an abundance of short skirts." She added sarcastically.
"Her skirts aren't that… short." He tried to argue, but she had already turned and walked away.
"What was that about?" Felicity asked as she and Diggle joined him.
"Nothing." He said. "Everything with Knyazev is set." He told Diggle.
"You have friends in the Russian mafia?" Felicity asked. "Color me at not at all surprised."
"You're going straight to the hotel in a cab." He told her.
Felicity balked. "No, you're leaving me with her?!"
"Yes, I can already tell you that I'd rather deal with the Russian mob than her." Felicity said.
"Dig and I need to get a drink." He said, and the two men walked off, leaving Felicity standing there alone.
"Well…I wouldn't mind a drink." She muttered, and then headed off to get a cab.
Felicity opened her mouth to say something- but there was a sudden burst of air, a streak of red, and suddenly a cocktail was sitting on the table in front of her. She blinked in surprise as Roy, Sara and Mia traded knowing looks and snickers.
The scene changed to Verdant. Inside, Thea was going over paperwork while the employees got set up for the night. She looked up in surprise to see Jean Loring walking in.
"Ms. Loring." She said with a smile, rising and giving the lawyer a hug. "Didn't take you for the club-hopping type."
"Well, I'm here on business." She said soberly.
"Is everything ok with my mom?" Thea asked immediately.
"We need to discuss something about this case." Jean said. "Your boyfriend Roy was arrested last night."
"I know, but it was actually a misunderstanding." Thea said. "He got released."
"Well, a few reporters got hold of the story and they now know you're dating a known felon." Jean told her. "Thea, your mother is on trial for her life. Her whole defense pivots on being seen as a loving mother who did what she had to do to protect her children, what kind of parent she was. We need the people to know that she raised you to make good decisions. So if you care about your mom, you're going to have to end this relationship immediately." She told a stunned Thea.
"The HELL you would." Moira said forcefully, surprising Thea. "I would NEVER ask you to do something like that!"
"Nor did you agree with Jean." Mia assured her.
"If Roy makes you happy, then you should be with him." Moira told her daughter.
"And for the record," Roy added, "for all of the crap that Mrs. Queen got, she was always surprisingly cool with me."
The scene changed back to Moscow, where Oliver and Diggle were walking into a similar type of club. Oliver looked around for a moment before a loud, booming voice grabbed his attention.
"Oliver Queen?" he turned to see Anatoly Knyazev rising to greet him. "Ha! My favorite American!" the two men embraced, and Anatoly gave Oliver the traditional kisses to each cheek. "Dabro pazhalavat." He said.
"It has been too long." Oliver agreed. "John Diggle, this is Anatoly Knyazev." He said, introducing his new friend to an old one.
"Thank you for meeting us." Diggle said.
Anatoly looked him over. "If Oliver vouches for you, you're my second favorite American." He said with a smile, warmly shaking Dig's hand.
A few minutes later, they were above the club in Anatoly's private office. The Russian brought out a bottle of vodka and three shot glasses, then began to pour. "First, a toast." He said.
"None for me, thanks." Dig said.
Oliver leaned forward, then slid the third glass purposefully towards Dig before grabbing his own. The message was clear. Dig sighed and took the glass.
"Never turn down vodka from a Russian." Roy told the former soldier. "Especially one in the Bratva."
Anatoly raised his glass. "Prochnost." He said.
"To strength." Oliver repeated in English. The three men drank.
"Now." Anatoly said, setting his glass down and reaching for a leather box. "Business." He opened the box and withdrew a picture, then slid it to the edge of the table. "This is woman you look for, yes?" he asked as Diggle picked up the picture. It was a booking shot of Lyla, and she was already beaten by the looks of it. "Picture is from two days ago, from gulag- prison."
"Lyla was arrested?" Dig said in surprise.
"Not quite." Anatoly replied. "From what I hear, she was trying to break in."
"Why?" Dig asked.
"I do not know." Anatoly admitted. "But clearly she had issues breaking back out. Gulag, worst in Russia. It's called Koshmar."
"The nightmare." Oliver translated.
"It's full of violent psychopaths and killers. And that's just the guards." The Russian explained.
"Anatoly, we need a way into the gulag to extract her." Oliver said.
Anatoly shook his head. "You get in; you get shot before you get out." He said, and then indicated the picture. "Or end up like your friend. Mmm, it's impossible."
"The only thing that's impossible is us leaving this country without this woman." Diggle said seriously.
Anatoly sat back in his chair and laughed. "I like this guy." He told Oliver. "We have no word for "optimist" in Russian." He sat back and considered for a few moments. "The only way in to Koshmar is as prisoner." He said finally. "Now, I have guard there, owes me favor. It could work. I'll give you one shot in twenty."
"Set it up." Oliver said at once. "I'll go."
"No." Dig said. "It has to be me."
"No." Oliver said at once.
"Oliver, what if something happens to you in there?" Dig argued. "What happens to me, Felicity, or Isabel, for that matter?"
"Well, we don't really care about Isabel." Felicity said crossly.
"I thought mom was the one with a vendetta." Thea said in amusement.
"Yeah. Then she made a crack about my skirts." She pouted. "They aren't THAT short."
"You have to be on the outside making the moves." Dig said. "I'll go inside. I've got this."
Oliver stared at Dig, then looked to Anatoly and nodded. The Russian poured them all another round.
The next day, Oliver, Felicity and Diggle were in Oliver's suite at the Hotel Metropol, where Felicity was eyeing a large duffle bag filled to the top with large packets of heroine.
"Now that is a lot of drugs." Felicity noted, slightly stunned.
"Courtesy of Knyazev." Diggle said. "About enough weight to land me in the Koshmar."
Felicity nodded uncomfortably. She walked over to a chair and picked up a large black coat. "You need to be wearing this when they process you." She told Dig, helping him into the coat. "Guards will take it, but that's the point." She picked up her tablet and unlocked it, showing Diggle a picture of a Russian officer. "This Is Knyazev's man inside the prison." She said. "A guard. "
"He'll know where in the gulag Lyla is being held." Oliver told him.
Felicity pulled up a map and showed it to Diggle. "When all hell breaks loose, you need to meet us at the rendezvous point with Lyla, or—"
"Or I am a permanent Russian."
"Just thinking out loud," Felicity said, stating to pace. "But, are we sure this is the best plan we can come up with?" she asked. "I know Lyla's your friend, but—"
"Felicity, Lyla isn't my friend." Dig said, zipping up the bag. "She was my wife."
Felicity blinked. "Explain that sentence."
"Lyla and I met in the army back in Afghanistan." Dig said. "But we didn't stay married long once we got stateside. Couldn't figure out a way to stay married without a war to fight." He said, his voice tinged with regret. "So she joined A.R.G.U.S., and I circled back for my third tour. I can't leave here without her, Felicity." He told her. "I just can't."
Oliver's phone buzzed. He looked at it, and then slipped it back into his pocket. "Two minute warning." He said softly.
Felicity put a scarf around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. "Good luck, John." She said. The two watched worriedly as Dig grabbed the bag and exited the room.
A short time later, Dig was sitting on a small fruit crate near a factory, the bag on the ground next to him. Within moments, several police cars skidded to a stop before him. He stood and calmly raised his hands, not resisting as he was arrested.
Down at the end the alley, Anatoly watched on. As Diggle was pushed into the police van, he dialed his phone. "They have him." He told Oliver.
Oliver hung up and turned to Felicity, who was watching him anxiously. "Clock's running." He told her.
The scene changed to Koshmar. A guard unlocked the chain link door that led to the processing area as Diggle was led through. He walked slowly, looking around him, always looking for weak spots in the security. The guard behind him would have none of that.
"Zhivey, zhivey." He said, jabbing him in the back with his baton. "Hurry up."
"Really not a fan of this plan." Felicity said nervously, sipping on her cocktail.
"If it works, then it's worth it." He paused, then looked over at Mia. "It DOES work, right?"
"Spoilers." Mia said with a grin.
"Now you're worried about that?" Tommy said.
Inside the processing area, Diggle was un-cuffed and his coat was ripped off of him. He calmly took the scarf off and tossed it onto the coat as it was passed through the checkpoint to the area where prisoner possessions were kept. The guard then shoved a bundle into his hands and forced him out into the next are, just as Anatoly's man walked in. The man behind the counter took the bundle of the coat and scarf and placed it into a mesh basket, marked with a number. In theory, when Diggle was released he would be able to retrieve his coat. But as prisoners seldom left the gulag alive, this was more a holding area for things that would later be sold on the black market.
After changing into his new uniform, Diggle was pushed into his new home- a rather roomy cell, filled with bunk beds. A man lay on one of the nearer beds, and looked Dig over as the door slammed shut.
"What, uh, crime fits your punishment?" he asked.
"Drugs." Dig said. "And you?"
The man sat up. "I gave speech. About government corruption." He replied.
Dig chuckled. "Right."
"It is rare to see one of your people in Koshmar." He remarked.
"What, American?" Dig asked.
"Chernokozhiy." The man replied. Dig looked at him, confused. "Ehh," he brushed his hand against his face, indicating his skin. Dig got it then. "Chernokozhiy not popular here." He advised.
"Shocker." Dig remarked, glancing at the clock.
The scene changed to a factory near the edge of Moscow. Anatoly, Oliver and Felicity stood by Anatoly's car, waiting for some of the Russian's contacts to show up.
"You think Dig's ok?" Felicity asked Oliver worriedly.
"I think he's doing the same as he was when you asked me five minutes ago." Oliver replied.
"They're coming." Anatoly said. The three looked down at the end of the alley to see a Mercedes and a large tactical vehicle approaching. "They sell us Russian police truck for cheap." He told them.
"It's good to have friends in low places." Laurel noted.
The vehicles rolled to a stop and several men climbed out. A few had AK-47,s which they held close to their chests. The leader and Anatoly both approached one another.
"Vot mashina, kotoraya vam nuzhna." The man said, holding up the keys to the truck.
"Sto pyatisot tysyach rubley." Anatoly replied, holding up an envelope filled with hard currency. He handed the envelope to the other man, but the seller yanked the keys away.
"Na koleni." He called out, and the men with the AK's raised them to point at the three buyers.
Oliver took this in, and then calmly walked forward, past Anatoly, to stand in front of the seller. "Yesli vy sdelayete eto , chtoby moy narod , ya sdelayu vashi deti siroty."He said softly. The man swallowed hard, and when Oliver held out his hand, the man dropped the keys into it without a fuss. Oliver tossed the keys to Anatoly, his eyes never leaving the seller, until the other man turned and headed for the Mercedes. Oliver walked back to their car.
"What'd you say?" Felicity asked him over the roof of the car.
"Please." Oliver replied with a wink, and the two got in.
Thea looked over to Mia. "What did he actually day?" she asked.
"Pretty please." Mia replied with a smirk.
5 Years Ago
In the Amazo's brig, a much rougher looking Anatoly sat in the cell next to Oliver's. "You know, in Russia, there is gulag." He noted. "Almost as bad as this."
"Is there anyone he DIDN'T meet on the island?" Tommy asked.
"Technically, they aren't ON the island." Sara said.
Oliver glanced at him, but looked at the other see to see Sara standing on the other side of the bars, her face full of sadness and misery.
"Sara—"
"Don't say my name." she whispered. "If they find out we know each other, they'll kill us both." She passed a bundled up blanket through the bars to him, which he took.
"I thought you drowned." Oliver said softly.
"When I came up, the boat was gone." She said. "And I thought you were, too. And I was floating out there for days when this ship…" she sighed. "They found me. And they saved me."
"Is that why you're helping them?" he asked.
"I don't have a choice." She said.
"I need to warn my friends." Oliver said determinedly.
"You said they were dead." She replied in confusion.
"They're not that easy to kill." He stated.
On the island, in the wreckage of the plane, Shado sat next to a severely injured Slade. She applied a salve to his wounds a she gasped in pain.
"Try not to move." She said as she spread the salve over the half of his face that was burnt.
"It smells like puke!" he argued weakly.
"It'll heal your wounds." She told him.
"You have to go." Slade said. "Get out of here. Get to higher ground."
"I'm not leaving you." She told him.
"I will not be the reason something happens to you." Slade argued.
"Then we're in agreement." Shado said. "Because I make my own choices."
"You are a strong woman." Slade gasped.
"When I care about someone, there's nothing I won't do for them." Shado told him.
"Another thing we have in common." Slade gasped. He started shivering uncontrollably.
Shado looked at him in concern. "The burns, they're lowering your body temperature. Here." Quickly she climbed under the blanket and spooned up next to him, sharing her body heat.
Present
"How bad were the burns?" Laurel asked.
Slade looked at her for several moments before answering. "About forty percent of my body. It would end up being fatal, if not for the Mirakuru."
"And that…Mirakuru stuff healed all of that?" she said in wonder.
"It truly was a miracle cure." Sara said. "But like all miracles, it came with a price."
The scene shifted to Verdant. The club had closed, and Thea was helping to clean up the mess.
"Where you been all night?" Roy asked her as she walked down the stairs from the second level.
"Working." She replied evasively, Jean's words echoing in her mind.
"Oh. Well, you deserve a break." Roy said.
"Um, actually, I've been thinking." Thea said, setting her tray down on the bar. "Maybe we should take some space. I mean, we work together and live together." She sighed, still not looking at him. "It's kind of getting hard to breathe."
"Since when?" he asked. Then he realized. "Oh, wait, does this have to with that lawyer lady dropping by?" he asked bluntly.
"No, this has to do with the fact that you've been arrested twice in the last month." Thea shot back.
"Come on. I've been trying to stay out of trouble." Roy argued lightly. "My body hasn't had a scratch on it in weeks. Well, I mean, excluding the ones that you put there." He added with a grin.
"Let's file this under THINGS I DON'T NEED TO KNOW." Tommy said harshly.
"And the other night?" she asked, finally turning to face him.
"Was a misunderstanding." Roy continued.
"Roy," Thea sighed. "This just isn't working, ok? Not for me." She said.
Roy stared at her in disbelief. "Thea, you can't mean that." He said.
"I do." She said sadly. "I'm sorry."
Roy looked at her forlornly, and then stalked away, running out of the club as Thea's heart silently broke.
"And this was the EASY break up." Roy noted sadly.
The scene changed to Koshmar. Diggle was following his new friend in the cafeteria, getting his slop like any other prisoner. He followed the Russian to a table and sat down.
The Russian glanced at another table, whose occupants were glaring at Diggle. "Those men," he indicated to Diggle. "They are Vory. They are in charge. It's best to stay away." He advised.
"Got it." Dig replied. He leaned in close. "Listen, I'm looking for a guard named Sergei Pavelski."
The Russian looked around, then spotted the man. "Far corner, over there." He said, pointing the way with his gaze. The guard and Dig made eye contact; the guard nodded in recognition.
"American." The three Vory stalked up to the table. "You are suka now."
Dig looked up at the punks and sighed. "Are we seriously going to do this?" he asked. One of the men circled around and hit Diggle on the back hard with one of the steel serving trays. "Guess so." Dig said, leaping to his feet, He was sent to the ground when the man swung the tray into his face, then grunted as the man started kicking him. Dig quickly grabbed his leg, tripping him, then locked in a leg bar. He yanked hard, dislocating the leg. Two guards rushed over and broke the short fight up, lifting Diggle and dragging him away. "Fighting strictly prohibited." The guard told him as they forced him out of the cafeteria.
"He was defending himself!" Felicity exclaimed.
"Yeah, but he's an American; they were Russian." Quentin said. "So of course they'd ride him."
The scene changed to the Hotel Metropol. Oliver walked into the hotel's bar got the bartender's attention. "Vodki, pozhaluysta." He ordered. He glanced around the bar, and smiled tightly when he saw Isabel Rochev sitting in a comfortable looking chair.
"You missed the tour." She told him as he sat down in the opposite chair. "What happened to you?"
"I saw a Russian vehicle that I simply had to have." He said with a grin.
Tommy snickered.
"Is that why you came to Russia?" she asked as the waiter came over with a tray holding two shots of vodka. "Car shopping?"
He looked up at the waiter. "Oh, I just ordered one." He said, and then didn't quite hide his surprise when Isabel took the second shot and downed it.
"One's for me." She said, placing the empty glass on the tray. "Drugoy."
Oliver looked her over, and then placed the still full shot back on the tray.
The scene changed to Koshmar. Diggle was dragged into a large freezer, and then cuffed to an overhead pipe. Across from him was another man, though his head was down so he couldn't make out a face.
"This cold room." The guard told him needlessly. "Six hours for you."
"Six hours? You can't keep me in here that long." Dig protested.
"Now seven hours." The guard said mockingly. He and the other guard turned and walked out.
"Well, that was pretty stupid." The other man said. Dig recognized the voice and looked up at him as his face came into view. "Then again," Floyd Lawton said, "you never really were one of the brightest guys."
"Deadshot." Diggle breathed.
"Lyla wasn't looking for information about Deadshot in the gulag; she was trying to break him out!"
"Your spine frozen through yet?" Lawton asked, shivering.
"Trust me. My problem here isn't with the cold." Dig seethed.
"What, you still haven't forgiven me for shooting your brother?" Lawton asked mockingly. "Man, you really hold a grudge." Diggle screamed in impotent rage, straining forward against the cuffs, but he couldn't move more than a few inches. "I know why you're here." Lawton continued. "That girl. From A. R.G.U.S."
"Lyla didn't find a lead on you." Diggle said in realization. "She found you."
Back at the hotel, Oliver and Isabel were having a surprisingly pleasant conversation. "Does everyone really think that Felicity and I are…" Oliver asked, trailing off.
"No." she replied. "Just everyone who works at Queen Consolidated." They both laughed.
"She's just a friend." Oliver told her.
"You don't seem like the kind of man who has female friends." Isabel noted.
"Can I ask you a personal question?" Oliver asked suddenly.
"With some vodka in me, I just might answer." She replied.
"Why does saving my family's company mean so much to you?" he asked.
"Despite what Sheryl Sandberg might say," Isabel laughed, then sighed. "It still isn't that easy to make it as a woman in business. I've given up a lot." She admitted. "Which means if I don't succeed at everything, then what was the point?"
"Hmm." Oliver hummed noncommittally.
"May I ask you a personal question?" she asked with a smile.
"Others have tried and failed." He replied.
"Why do you try so hard to make me think that you're a lazy idiot?" she asked bluntly. "I know you're not. Underneath that swagger, I see you pretty clearly."
"Really?" he asked softly. "And what do you see?"
"You're intelligent." She observed. "Driven. And lonely."
Moira blanched. "Oh, no…"
"I got a bad feeling about this…" Thea said.
"How do you see that?" He asked.
"Because it's what I see when I look in the mirror." She replied.
"Oh dear god, she's seducing my son now?!" Moira screeched.
"Wave off, buddy. Wave off!" Tommy said.
In the gulag, Anatoly's guard finally came into the freezer. He walked quickly over to Diggle and undid the chains. "We don't have much time." He told the man, and then let him lean on his shoulder. "There you go. Let's go, let's go."
Diggle glared at Lawton.
"Nice seeing you, John." Lawton said as the other two made their way out.
Back at the hotel, a waiter came up to the pair. "Mogu li ya vam chto-nibud' yeshche?" he asked.
"YA ne dumayu, chto ya dolzhen pit' bol'she." Oliver replied.
Isabel looked at him in surprise. "You speak Russian." She stated.
"Tol'ko s moimi druz'yami." He replied.
"I was raised in Moscow until I was nine." She revealed. "And then adopted by a family that took me to America. Took me years to get rid of my accent." She lamented. "It isn't easy making friends in grade school when you sound like Natasha."
Oliver chuckled. "Pokhozhe, u vas delo s odinochestvom dolgoye vremya."
Isabel stared back at him, lust in her eyes. "Oplatit' chek." She ordered.
A few minutes later, Oliver and Isabel where in his room, kissing frantically. Isabel shoved him back against the door.
"I…don't have a lot of time." He told her as she kissed his neck.
She pulled him away from the door and shoved him onto the bed. "I'll be quick."
Moira and Thea both had their heads in their hands; Tommy was shaking his head sadly. Felicity watched with a strange twinge in her gut, and even Malcolm looked disappointed.
"I think I just threw up in my mouth a little." Mia said.
"I thought you knew that was coming." Thea said quietly.
"I knew it was coming, just not so soon-" Mia groaned. "And now I'm sounding like Felicity."
Back at the gulag, the guard was leading Diggle down the corridor towards Lyla. "Five minutes. Must hurry." He said in broken English.
"Remind me to get you a pack of cigarettes when this is all over." Dig said.
"I don't smoke." The guard replied. Suddenly he stopped and let out a small gurgle, before toppling face first to the floor. In his back was a long, thick icicle, having been thrown there by a newly-freed Floyd Lawton.
"You weren't going to leave without me, were you?" he asked sarcastically.
"I should kill you right now!" Diggle snarled; his eyes wide in anger.
"You won't." Lawton said confidently.
"Why?" Dig demanded.
"Because. I'm the only one who knows where your little girlfriend is." Lawton replied. "You're not stupid. You wouldn't put yourself in here without an exit strategy. I take you to the girl," he offered, "You take me out."
Back at the hotel, Oliver was putting his jacket on. "Isabel, I have to go." He said, turning to face the woman who was still in his bed, clad only in her bra and panties. "Sorry."
"Do I strike you as someone who needs to cuddle?" she asked calmly. He smiled, then turned and walked to his door. He opened it just as Felicity raised her hand to knock.
"Hi." She said.
"Hi." Oliver replied.
"It's time. Ready?" she asked,
"Yeah, I—" Oliver stopped short as Isabel, fully dressed and carrying her purse, slipped past him and out into the hall. She stopped right in front of Felicity.
"I think she can take the night off." She said wickedly, glancing back over her shoulder at Oliver. "Don't you?" with that, she swaggered off down the hall.
Laurel reached over and patted Felicity gently on the leg. "He tends to do that. A lot." She told the other woman.
Felicity shook her head. "I can ruin her more than Oliver ever could."
"GOD Felicity, there's one more visual I DIDN'T need!" Thea exclaimed, even as Roy was shaking in silent laughter.
"Ohh." Felicity said, flustered and more than a little heartbroken.
"Felicity…" Oliver started.
She cut him off. "It-what happens in Russia stays in Russia." She said with a forced smile. She turned and walked off. "Even when it makes no sense whatsoever." She said quietly to herself, leaving a frustrated Oliver in the doorway.
"Tank her credit." Moira told Felicity.
"Done." She replied.
Back in the Gulag, Lawton and Diggle rounded a corner- only to come face to face with a pair of very surprised guards. The two men made quick work of the guards, with Diggle scooping up the lone gun before Lawton could.
"Guessin', uh, you want to hold on to that." Lawton noted. Diggle just glared at the man. "This way." He said, leading him down the corridor.
Outside the gulag in a newly-purchased police truck, Oliver and Felicity sat and waited for Dig. Both were dressed like Russian prison officials, with Felicity wearing the traditional fur hat.
"What were you thinking?" she asked, finally sick of the silence.
"What?" Oliver asked in reply.
"Over 64 million women over the age of consent in Russia and you sleep with her." She noted sourly.
"So we're not doing the 'What happens in Russia stays in Russia'?"
"We're still in Russia." She pointed out.
"Point: Felicity." Laurel said.
Anatoly climbed back into the truck. "There is nothing money cannot buy in this country." He noted happily.
"Diggle should be heading out with Lyla in two minutes." Oliver said, glad to have dodged that conversation.
"Well, breaking out of prison is harder than it looks." Anatoly said to Oliver. "You of all people should know that."
FIVE YEARS AGO
Oliver lay on his cot in the cell, futilely trying to rest. The sound of jangling keys drew his attention, and he looked over to see Sara unlocking his cell and opening the door.
"Stay quiet." She told him as he rose. "Follow me." Oliver followed her out of the cell.
Anatoly looked over at the pair. "You'll remember the rest of us, yes?" he asked.
Oliver looked at the Russian. "I promise. I'll come back." He told the man.
"Come on." Sara urged.
Olive followed her deeper into the ship. "Are we making a swim for it?" he asked.
"No. They'd shoot us the second we hit the water." She told him. Sara led him into the radio room, and quickly she sat down behind the set and started flipping switches. "You said your friends, they have one of the radios from the ship, right?"
"Yeah." Oliver said, watching as she worked. "You look like you know what you're doing there."
"In the past year, I've learned a lot of things I never expected to." Sara said.
"Like surviving at any cost." Sara said sadly.
"You and me both." Oliver said wryly.
Sara finished calibrating the radio. She picked up the microphone and held it out to Oliver, who looked at it warily. "They won't respond unless they hear your voice." She told him.
Hesitantly Oliver took the mic. Sara moved aside and Oliver painfully dropped into the seat. "Shado. Ni néng tingdào wo ma?" Nothing. He pressed the switch on the mic again. "Slade. Can you hear me?"
On the plane, Shado grabbed the radio to respond. She spoke a word in Mandarin, and then followed that up with "Thank God you're alive."
"Yeah, I'm on the freighter—" he began, but then suddenly Sara ripped the mic from his hand, yanking the cord out of the set as she did so. Oliver looked up at her in confusion. "Sara, what are you doing?" he demanded.
"There's only two of them." The pirate captain said, swaggering into the room with Ivo right behind him. "They haven't moved from the location of the mortar attack."
Laurel gasped in surprise, then glared at her sister. "What the hell, Sara?!"
"The sad thing is, that's' the least morally ambiguous thing I've done." Sara replied.
"What the hell is going on here?" Oliver demanded as Sara looked on sadly.
"You just confirmed that your friends are alive." Ivo said. "Which means they're still a threat. You know, until we kill them." He added coldly.
"You son of a bitch!" Oliver leapt up from the chair, only to be sent staggering back from a quick left jab from the pirate. He gasped in pain as Sara watched impassively.
PRESENT
At the Gulag, Lawton led Diggle to a gate that was chained shut. "If I say she's in there, what's keeping you from shooting me?" Lawton asked.
Diggle stared hard at the man. "Honor." He said, tucking the gun into his belt and pulling out the set of keys he had lifted. "You should try it some time." Quickly he undid the chain and ran into the room with Lawton right behind him. He ran down a hall, round a corner, and then he saw her, on the floor, leaning up against the wall she was shackled to.
"Lyla!" he exclaimed, running over to her. He dropped down and started to undo the chains.
Lyla looked at her ex-husband, half delirious from pain and thirst. "Johnny?"
"Ready to go home?" he asked.
"You came for me."
"I always have." He said, taking her face into his hands. "Always will."
"Deadshot's here." Lyla said as Dig pulled her to her feet. "In the prison."
"I know." He said. He helped her to stand, turning so they both could see Lawton standing there, a billy club in his hand.
"What's your extraction plan?" he asked to Lyla's surprise.
"Depends." He said. "What time is it?"
In the processing room, one of the guards was trying on Digs jacket. "Vy dumayete, eto vyglyadit khorosho na mne ?" he joked to his comrades.
Another guard saw the red star pin on the lapel of the jacket was blinking. Suddenly, it started blinking faster…
Moments later, a massive explosion ripped a hole in the gulag. Down in Lyla's cell, all three felt the blast, and then heard the sirens as they started to go off.
"Ouch." Tommy said, wincing. "I'd feel bad if they weren't all racist assholes."
"Let's go, go, go, move, move, move!" Dig thundered. The three ran through the halls, making their way through the chaos without being seen. They climbed into the processing area, over the rubble, looking at the devastation. Dig finally spotted the hole. "This way." He directed. Lawton paused, looking around for his wire basket. He found it and quickly grabbed the electronic eye that it held before running after the other two.
In the truck, Felicity finished up on her computer. "Got it." She said. "I shut down the phones. The guards can't call for help."
"Your friend and that woman are not here by now, they will not be here at all." Anatoly noted darkly.
Diggle, Lyla and Lawton made their way out of the wrecked processing center and into the central courtyard. Dig knocked down a guard with one punch as Lawton activated his eye piece. "Much better." He said. Suddenly they were surrounded by guards, screaming at them in Russian. Diggle slowly raised his hands-
But one of the guards was Oliver, who quickly took out the small group standing in front of the other three. Diggle and Lyla, who had grabbed a gun, began shooting back at the other guards.
"Oliver, get down!" Dig called out. Oliver dropped, allowing Dig to shoot a guard that had snuck up on him.
"Follow me!" he called to the three. They took of at a run, jumping into the police truck and slamming the door shut. The vehicle took off just as more guards arrived and opened fire, but the armor of the truck as easily think enough to shrug off small arms fire.
Anatoly dove for several miles before breathing a sigh of relief. "We're clear." He announced.
"Stop the truck." Diggle ordered. Anatoly brought the truck to a halt at the entrance of a deserted tunnel. He turned to Lawton. "Get out." He told the man. "Get out!" he yelled again, and Lawton opened the door and climbed out of he truck. Diggle climbed out after him, never taking his gun off of the assassin. "Move Lawton." He ordered. They walked sever feet into the tunnel, and then Lawton stopped and turned to face Diggle. He stared back at the former soldier impassively. Diggle never took his eyes off of Lawton, held the gun right up at his head- but he hands were shaking. Finally, he lowered the gun, unable to kill the man in cold blood, not after he had help rescue Lyla.
"That's the thing about honor, John." Lawton said. "You can't turn it on and off." He chuckled and turned to walk off, but paused. He looked back at Diggle. "I'm just curious. How is it you think your brother ended up dead?" he asked.
"You shot a client that Andy was protecting, and you missed." Dig said at once.
"I don't miss. Your brother was the contract." He revealed.
"Who would want to kill Andy?" Diggle asked.
Lawton shook his head. "I don't know the names, just an alias. H.I.V.E." he revealed. "Food for thought, John." He said, turning and walking away. "Food for thought."
Diggle sat back, stunned. "Why would anyone want Andy dead?" he asked.
"That's a question you may want to put to Amanda Waller." Roy revealed. "Andy was one of her assets."
"Andy worked for A.R.G.U.S.?" Dig said, shocked.
"Off the books." Roy said. "Your brother had information on H.I.V.E. that he was following up on for Waller. That's what got him killed."
The next day, the QC corporate jet taxied back to its dedicated hanger. The door opened and a very relieved Felicity stepped down the stairs, followed by an equally relieved, though for another reason, Diggle and Lyla. Isabel then made her way down, followed by Oliver.
"I wonder what Isabel thought about picking up another passenger all of the sudden." Laurel mused.
"Are we going to discuss what happened last night?" Oliver asked Isabel.
"Why would we?" she asked.
"No reason." Oliver said.
"I'll see you in the office tomorrow." She said with a smile as she climbed into her limo.
"Bitch." Moira, Felicity, Thea and Mia all said.
"Thank you." Diggle said to Oliver as the limo drove off. "You had my back." The two men shook hands.
"And now you know what it feels like." Oliver said, walking over to the Bentley.
The scene changed to Iron Heights. Thea walked into the visitors area- to see Moira talking with Roy.
"Wh-what are you- what are you doing here?" she stammered in surprise.
"Good question." Roy replied. "I've gotten a lot of calls from prison, but never from my girlfriend's mother."
Roy smiled at Moira and winked at Thea. "See?" he said. "Coolest parent ever."
"It occurred to me that I've never been given the opportunity to meet the man in your life." Moira said lightly.
"I don't know if she told you, but your daughter kind of dumped me." Roy said bluntly.
"And what you should know is that she did it for me." Moira told Roy, and then looked back to her daughter. "Jean told me she came to see you. I told her she shouldn't have."
Roy turned to Thea. "Why didn't you just tell me the truth?" he asked, still hurt.
"Us being together… it can hurt her case." She said, though it sounded lame to her when she said it out loud.
"Yeah." Mia said with a smirk. "The drinking, the partying, the driving under the influence of vertigo was all fine. But dating a bad boy would give Mom the chair." She said sarcastically.
"Thea- Your social life is not going to be the determining factor in my trial." Moira said, taking her daughters hands in her own. "Sweetheart, what you've had to endure this last year is more than most people go through in two lifetimes. But you've not only survived, you've flourished. I think a lot of that has to do with Roy." She said, nodding at the young man. "So, as your mother, I forbid you not to see him." She said in a mock-stern voice.
The two women laughed. "Thank you." She said, hugging her mother.
The scene changed to Diggle's apartment. Dig was lying in bed under the covers, while Layla was walking back towards the bed, clad only in his shirt and panties.
"I have to admit, this is not how I anticipated my trip to Russia ending." She said with a smile.
"You just feel lucky we made it out of there alive." Dig said as she crawled back into the bed.
"Thank you." She said. "Not just for coming for me. For doing what you had to once you did."
"You mean working with Deadshot." Diggle said. She nodded. "You know, me and Carly broke up because I couldn't love her and hate him at the same time." He noted.
"I'm honored to be the exception." She said.
"Lyla, you're always the exception." He replied, drawing her in for a kiss.
"Aww!" Tommy, Thea, Laurel and Felicity all said.
"What are you? Twelve?" Dig asked them, amused.
"I have a debrief with A.R.G.U.S. at 0800." Lyla said regretfully, moving to rise.
Diggle pulled her back down to the bed. "No, no, let Waller stew. Stay for breakfast." He asked.
"Throw in your blueberry pancakes and you may be able to convince me." She said, rising to get dressed. She threw a smile over her shoulder as she walked towards the bathroom. Diggle settled back on the bed, a smile on his face. It faded as he reached over and grabbed his smart phone. He typed 'H.I.V.E. into the Bing search engine and pressed enter, waiting as the result were collated.
Felicity sighed in disgust. "Really? Bing? That's your go-to?" she asked the soldier, annoyed.
"I'm searching on my phone!" he said defensively as the others snickered. "Give me a break!"
"I'll look into it when we get back." She shook her head. "Bing. At least you didn't use something like Gigablast."
The scene shifted to Queen Consolidated. Felicity was seated at her desk, working on her tablet.
Oliver walked out of his office, looking over a contract. He moved over to Felicity's desk and laid them down in front of her. "Can you deliver this to Isabel's office, please?" Oliver asked.
Felicity's eyes flashed. "Well, fuck you too."
Tommy nodded. "That is seriously a dick move."
He turned to go back into his office when her voice stopped him.
"Why her?" she asked softly. He turned back to her and she continued. "I mean, besides the obvious leggy model reason."
"It just kind of happened. It didn't mean anything." He said lamely.
"Wow. I've certainly heard THAT excuse before." Laurel said crossly.
She looked back down at her tablet. "Hey." He said softy. She took a moment to compose herself before looking up at him. "Because of the life that I lead I just think that it's better to not..." he paused a moment. "Be with someone that I could really care about." He said finally.
"Well, THAT'S a load of bullshit." Thea said.
She nodded, then picked up the contract, shuffling it lightly against the desk. She rose and walked past him, allowing Oliver a moment to compose himself.
"Well, I think…" he turned back to Felicity. "I think you deserve better than her." She said sadly, then turned and walked away.
FIVE YEARS AGO
"We have their location." The pirate said. "This one's no longer of use to us." He drew his Luger and aimed it at Oliver's head. "Let's see how good you are at removing a bullet from your head."
"Wait!" Sara said suddenly. "He could still be useful." She said, looking at Ivo.
Ivo considered her for a moment. "She's right." He said after a moment. "Once we get rid of his friends, we'll need him to lead us to the graves."
The pirate scowled at Sara. "Sometimes I wonder who gives the orders here." He said snidely. "You or your little bouzin." He stalked out of the room.
Sara let out a disgusted sound. "I'm sure glad Ivo kills that bastard." She said.
Ivo smirked as he walked towards Oliver. He leaned down over the table. "You're going back to the island. Oliver." He said.
Oliver looked over at Sara, who looked on impassively. He wasn't sure if he imagined it or not, but he thought he saw a flicker of regret in her eyes.
"So this was a normal thing for you, then." Slade said, staring at Sara. "Let everyone around you get killed, as long as you stay alive." He sneered at her. "You had no honor. Not then, not now."
"Hey, that's enough!" Quentin said hotly.
"Dad-"
"I'm not going to sit here and let him belittle you!" he glared at Slade "That's my daughter your talking about there, and I won't here this crap from you anymore!"
"He's not wrong." Quentin turned and stared at Sara aghast, and she pressed on. "I had no honor back then, and that was the truth. I was selfish, self-centered, and spoiled. And I'm not blaming you, I'm just telling you how it is. I was the baby of the family, and therefore could do no wrong. But I DID do wrong- a lot of it. And most of it before I got on the boat with my sister's boyfriend." Sara sighed. "I'm not proud of the person I was- not before the boat, and certainly not after it. I made a lot of mistakes, and hurt a lot of people." She looked back to Slade. "But I never, NEVER hurt Shado."
"You just confirmed her location to your rocket-happy little friends!" Slade snarled.
"I just got us a WAY OFF THE BOAT." Sara replied hotly. "The ONLY way off that wouldn't get us immediately killed. And Oliver said that the two of you were tough, so I gave you both enough credit to know that something was wrong as soon as Oliver's transmission cut off and to react accordingly. And I figured that if we could find the Mirakuru, I could talk Ivo into letting at least Oliver, maybe the both of us, go. He could take his miracle cure back to the 'Amazo', and we could stay on the island and hope for rescue." She sighed. "Sadly, that didn't happen."
"Let's keep going, and you can all see what did happen." Roy suggested.
TBC
A/N: Changing up how I do the flashback now.
A/N 2: The actress who plays Jean Loring (in the comics, the psychotic ex-wife of Ray Palmer, for those who didn't know!) is the same actress that played Janet Frasier on Stargate SG-1. Seeing her here playing a completely different character (personality wise) is always a bit of a shock to the system.
A/N 3: a little insight to my manic obsessive compulsive mindset- I spent half an hour trying to find out what hotel Oliver and Co. were staying at. On screen it says it is A Boscolo Luxury Hotel- but there are none in Moscow. After research I think the hotel they showed was Boscolo Rome.
Wow, Oliver really looked like his Island days self when he was in the truck. It was the rolled up ski mask on his head.
Uh… what exactly did Isabel think when suddenly they had an extra passenger on the flight home?
Yesli vy sdelayete eto , chtoby moy narod , ya sdelayu vashi deti siroty- If you do this to my people, I will make your children orphans.
A/N 4: So…. Andy Diggle. As I write this chapter, it is 1/11/15. The only mention we've had of H.I.V.E. was back in Season 2. Now, allegedly they will be looking in to this sometime this season (Season 3), but there are no guarantees. Therefore, I've concocted my own story which gives no details whatsoever.
UPDATE- as I write this, it is 5/31/15, and things with H.I.V.E. have become more clear. I also ended up tweaking my explanation of Waller to incorporated things we have learned in Season 3.
A/N 5 Fun note- Gigablast was the search engine featured in the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street- which featured Katie Cassidy.