Disclaimer: Arrow is owned by The CW, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. The characters of the Green Arrow and the Justice League is owned by DC Comics. I own nothing; I'm just playing in their universe.
Chapter 43: Suicide Squad
The memory set opened in the Lair, where Oliver had set up a small fold out bed, which he now shared with Sara. Oliver gasped as he awoke suddenly. He sat up, shaking off the lingering effects of the nightmare, then looked back to his partner. "Sara." He said quietly, trying to rouse her. "Sara?" he tried again, shaking her gently . When he pulled his hand back, he saw blood. Hesitantly he reached over and rolled Sara onto her back-
But it wasn't Sara. It was Shado.
"Murderer." Shado hissed at him-
And Oliver sat up in the bed, now truly awake.
"Slade never realized- he didn't need to torture Ollie," Sara said sadly, "Nobody tortured Ollie better than himself."
Slowly he pulled himself up, pausing to look back at the sleeping Sara, then rose from the bed and grabbed is phone. He quickly pulled up a contact and dialed. "Mne nuzhno vstretit'sya svami." He said quietly when the man on the other end picked up.
A short time later, Oliver made his way to the Auto Repair shop that served as a front for the Bratva.
"Aleksi. Kak Ty, moy drug?" (How are you, my friend?) Oliver said with a smile as he shook Alexi's hand.
"What can I do for you?" the Russian asked. "There's no gulags here in Starling City."
"Anatoly talks too much." Oliver said with a chuckle. Absently he noted the several other Bratva soldiers that came out. "Eto verno. I need you to find a man for me. His name is Slade Wilson. He's rich, Australian, and he's missing an eye. I need to know where he sleeps." He said.
"First, I need your assistance with my business." Alexi countered. "There is a man who owes me a substantial amount of money."
"I am not here to trade." Oliver countered.
"You know how our brotherhood works." Alexi said. "I do a favor for you and you do one for me."
Lance shook his head. "Not a good idea to piss off the Bratva."
"Put it on my tab, Alexi." Oliver said tiredly. "I don't have time for these games."
"Make time." Alexi said as his men moved behind Oliver. "My services are of no use to you unless yours are of use to me."
Oliver smiled wanly, and then turned as if to leave. Suddenly he lashed out; punching the first man in the face, then ducked a swing from the second. As he came out he grabbed the second man's gun from his belt even as he grabbed the first goons gun from his hand, then pistol whipped the second man. He came up pointing one gun at the first goon, then turned to face Alexi and pointed the second gun right at his head. "I know exactly how this brotherhood works, and right now, it works for me." Oliver growled. "U nas yest' ponimaniye? (Do we understand each other?)"
"The man's making himself more enemies." Lance said.
"Ollie tended to have target fixation at times." Sara said. "He focuses solely on the enemy in front of him, and ignore the enemies he creates around himself."
The scene changed back to the lair a short time later. Oliver walked back in to find Sara seated in Felicity's chair, waiting for him.
"I woke up and you were gone." She began.
"Yeah. I wasn't tired." Oliver lied.
"You should be." Sara said. "When's the last time you actually slept?"
"Right before I found out that Slade Wilson is still alive." Oliver admitted.
"Do you want to talk?" Sara asked, rising from the chair and moving over to him. "I mean I know neither one of us are very good about sharing our feelings,"
Laurel snorted in amusement. "That's an understatement."
"but… I mean, I get it. Slade, and," she sat down next to him at her station. "And it's a lot, and, you know, it's ok if you're scared. I am, too." She admitted.
"I'm not scared." Oliver argued. "Slade came back to Starling City with an agenda. First, he tries to mass produce the Mirakuru. Then he shows up at my mother's house. So he wants a fight, fine. I'll give him a fight. And this time, when I kill him, I will make damn sure that he stays dead." He growled. "I just need to find him." He said plaintively.
The scene changed to outside Felicity's' house, where Diggle had been on stake-out all night.
He chuckled when she came out, dressed in her pajamas, slippers, and coat carrying a mug and walked right up to his car. She opened the door and climbed in, handing the mug to Dig. "Ooh, coffee?" he asked.
"Hot cocoa."
"Hmm." He took a grateful sip. "What, no marshmallows?"
"I'm out." She said, closing the door. "What are you doing here, Dig?" she asked.
"Keeping an eye on things." He replied.
"Ok." She said. "And by things, you mean my neck. The one you think Slade Wilson's going to break in my sleep."
Felicity chuckled nervously. "Well, there's a cheerful thought."
"Yeah, something like that." Dig said. "Look, I have extra security details on Oliver's mother. Roy's keeping an eye on Thea; Sara's staying close to Laurel."
"As I recall, it wasn't just your eyes on me." Mia told Roy wryly. He wagged his eyebrows in reply.
"Is sex all you think about?" Thea asked, exasperated.
"No, but she went without it for so long she's making up for lost time." Sara explained in amusement.
"So I get you sitting outside of my house like that lacrosse player my freshman year of college." She stated. Dig chuckled. "What?" she said mock-defensively. "You know, I had a life before you and Oliver, yeah?"
"Right." Dig said with a tired smile. "I just want to make sure you're ok, Felicity." He said earnestly.
"And I love you for it." She said. "But if Slade wants to kill me, he can. There's nothing you can do to stop him."
"Headshot with a Desert Eagle would probably do the trick." Dig noted.
"So go home." She told him firmly. "Ok?"
Felicity climbed out of the car. "Hey." Dig called out. He handed the now empty mug back to her. "Nice jammies." He said. She smiled, then turned and walked back into her house. Diggle made sure she was inside, then moved to start his car when his phone beeped. Picking it up, he saw he had a text from an unknown caller.
—Ostrander Hotel Room 1141 Now—
Frowning, he started the car and headed for the hotel. A short time later he found himself walking cautiously down the hall, his gun in his hand as he approached the room. He stopped at the door and banged on it with the butt of his gun. As he readied himself for combat, the door opened-
To reveal Lyla Michaels. Quite a bit of her, actually, as she stood there in a purple satin nightie.
"Hel-loooo nurse!" Tommy exclaimed with a grin.
"That's my wife you're oogling." Dig said dangerously.
"I thought she was your ex-wife?" he said.
"Tommy, I have a gun." Dig noted.
"Not on you." he replied cheekily, then winced as Laurel slapped him on the back of the head.
She noted the gun with a smirk. "What took you so long?" she asked, and Diggle grinned as he both stood down and stood up.
"What is all this?" he asked, walking into the room. "A little early for champagne, don't you think?" he said, noting the champagne and caviar set out for two.
"Not for me." Lyla said, taking off the top and leaving her clad in even less nightie. "I just got back from a mission in Pyongyang."
"Well, damn. That was you?" Diggle teased.
"I'm sorry. That's classified information." She said with a grin, wrapping her arms around him. "But I missed my ex-husband, new boyfriend. And A.R.G.U.S. has a standing reservation at this hotel for very important assets." She said before kissing him slowly. "Can you stay?" she asked.
"Um, well, Oliver and I kind of have a…situation." He started, not trying very hard to say no.
"Everything all right?" she asked, kissing his neck.
"Yeah, yeah, we're handling it." Dig assured her.
"So you can stay." She said.
"Mmm." Diggle kissed her hard, then picked her up and carried her to the bed.
"Good for you, Diggle." Laurel said.
"Hope you have better luck than I did." Quentin said wryly.
RC-SOUTH KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN, SIX YEARS AGO
The small unit let a column of refugees through a narrow pass deep in Afghanistan.
"Hey." Lyla called out to her squad leader.
"Is there a problem, Michaels?" Ted Gaynor asked as he and Diggle ran point.
Dig looked at his old C-O sourly. "Damn traitor."
"We need to rest." Lyla said, separating form the refugees and coming up to the pair of soldiers. "These women are tired."
"We're all tired." Dig said with a wan smile.
"It's a long hike back to camp. Keep going." Ted ordered. "Shall I go explain to the ladies why they want to get back before dark?" he added.
"They're not allowed to talk to you." Lyla pointed out.
"Why, 'cause I'm an American?" Ted asked.
"Because you're a man." She shot back. "Five minutes." She asked.
Ted nodded reluctantly, and Diggle held up his fist, signaling to stop. Lyla headed back to the women as Ted sighed.
"Girls in the military. Can't keep up, don't join up, right?" he groused. Diggle kept his eyes on Lyla, seeing that she was keeping up just fine.
"What a charmer." Laurel said sarcastically.
"I'd put any female League initiate up against him any day." Sara said. "And I'd guarantee they'd win."
Lyla headed to the back of the group and paused at one woman who had sat down heavily. "Do you need water?" she asked in Pashto.
"It's my feet." The woman replied, lifting her feet and showing the sole to be blistered and cut.
Lyla reached into her pocket and withdrew her extra pair of socks. "Here." She said, handing her the socks.
The woman took them with a grateful look on her face. Lyla rose to check on the others, but the woman reached out and grabbed her arm. "There's something you need to know." She began, looking fearfully at the group.
Moments later, Lyla approached a shifty looking man who was trying to keep his face hidden. She had her sidearm out and aimed, and Diggle noticed.
"Whoa, whoa, hey, what's going on here?" he demanded as Lyla forced the man to his knees. "What's going on?" Ted asked,
Lyla ripped the shawl away from the man's face. "You recognize that face?" Lyla asked. "You should. He's on the U.S. military's high value target list." Diggle pulled out his pocket index book of high-value targets, and flipped through the pages before he finally found the right one.
"Gholem Qadir." Lyla said, reading the bio from memory as she secured the prisoner. "Opium drug lord and arms dealer."
"Wanted alive." Ted noted.
Diggle grinned at his C.O. as the resumed the march, forcing their prisoner ahead of them "What were you saying about women in the military?" he joked.
PRESENT
"I remember that march." Diggle said, shaking his head. "Not my proudest moment."
"Capturing a drug lord?" Malcolm asked.
"No. Having to protect him." Dig replied sourly.
"Why didn't we do fun stuff like this when we were married?" Lyla asked later as the two left the room.
"And take time out from our busy schedule of driving each other crazy?" Dig replied, kissing her. As they broke apart, both froze as a new person walked down the hall towards them.
"Amanda." Lyla said in surprise as Amanda Waller, flanked by two bodyguards, walked towards them.
"Oh goody, my favorite person." Mia said sarcastically.
"Don't look so worried, Agent Michaels." Amanda said coolly. "We've all availed ourselves of the Ostrander suite at some point in our careers. Something's come up, I'll need you to come with me." She said bluntly.
"Duty calls." Lyla said sadly.
"Yeah, guess so." Dig replied, bending down to give her one last kiss.
"Actually," Amanda said, drawing their attention again, "I meant both of you." She revealed, to the pairs' concern.
"What the hell's she want with me?" Diggle asked.
"I'm guessing nothing good." Felicity said,
Less than twenty minutes later, Diggle and Lyla found themselves at the A.R.G.U.S. headquarter building, right on the edge of downtown Starling City. Waller led them into a sub control room and began the briefing by pulling up an image on the center screen.
"What are we looking at here?" Diggle asked.
"Hydroxy-cyclosarin. It's a nerve agent." Lyla explained.
"The apocalypse in the form of a chemical weapon. And it's about to hit the open market." Waller revealed. "A.R.G.U.S. agents uncovered a manufacturing plant in Kahndaq. All samples were accounted for, except for one." She clicked her remote, and more pictures appeared- pictures of dead men, women and children. "Two weeks later, this footage was captured in a remote village in southern Qurac. One milliliter has a kill radius of ten miles. It only took half that amount to produce these results." Waller said.
"Jesus." Lance said, staring in horror at the pictures.
"Our sources have traced the sample through Europe to an estate in Markovia."
"So send in the army." Dig said quietly.
"We send in the army, we risk an international spectacle our government can't afford." Waller countered. "This has to be off-book."
"If you need me to draw up the smash and grab, done." Lyla said. "But John isn't a field agent. He's not qualified." She argued.
"Judging from how he and Oliver Queen spend their free time, I'd say his credits transfer." Waller said with a sly smile.
Diggle sighed. "She wants me to send in Oliver?"
Mia winced. "Not…exactly…"
"Hey, look, I don't want this thing out in the open any more than you do, but I'm not sending my boss in on another one of your business trips." He said harshly.
"I have no intention of involving the Arrow." Waller said. "I need you."
"What for?" he demanded. Another click of the remote brought up a familiar picture.
"Gholem Qadir." Waller stated.
"We caught him." Diggle said in disbelief.
"D.O.D. turned Qadir loose a few years ago." Lyla revealed.
Dig gave her a look. "Who thought that was a good idea?"
"It's a complicated world, Johnny." She shot back.
Malcolm snorted in disgust. "Meaning the Pentagon wanted someone in the region they could do business with. After all, what are crimes against humanity when you can make a few bucks?"
Diggle looked at Malcolm with an incredulous expression. "You know, I'd totally agree with you, if you hadn't been about to get richer rebuilding the Glades after you leveled it."
"That was never about money." Malcolm shot back harshly. "It was about making the city safer. Indeed, I was actually going to LOOSE money on the Undertaking. "
"You were still willing to kill hundreds of people." Diggle shot back.
"But I would NEVER use a weapon like that. I wanted to cull a small proportion of the population in a relatively controlled way. But if you unleash that," Malcolm pointed to the screen, "you kill millions indiscriminately. And barbarically." He shook his head. "You should have killed him when you had the chance, Mr. Diggle."
"And THAT'S the one thing I'll agree with you about." Dig replied.
"Are you two done having your pissing contest?" Mia asked. "Because I'd like to continue now."
"Yeah, we're done." Diggle said, and Mia continued the memory set.
"The nerve agent's not the only WMD Qadir's tried getting his scummy fingers on." Waller continued. "Last month, he tried to buy Malcolm Merlyn's prototype earthquake machine."
Malcolm's eye's narrowed. Perhaps he should contact the League with a job when he got back.
"Thank you for stopping that, by the way." She added, almost sounding sincere. "Fortunately, he doesn't know about your involvement in that. He remembers you as the man who tried to save his life. The nerve agent's under lock and key at his estate in Markovia. He's scheduled to host a fundraiser there shortly."
"The two of us haven't exactly kept in touch." Diggle noted.
"We've got that covered, but our window is rapidly closing." Waller said.
"Ok." He said with a resigned nod. "So I infiltrate the fundraiser, come out with the package. Sounds simple enough."
Waller smirked at him. "Nothing in this business is simple. You know that, Mr. Diggle. Follow me."
"I got a bad feeling about this…." Felicity muttered.
Diggle and Lyla followed Waller out of the briefing room, through a maze of corridors, and down into her private cell block.
"I don't need you to get the nerve agent out." Waller was telling Diggle. "I need you to get your team in."
"My team?" he asked.
"They're designated 'Task Force X'." Waller said, stopping in the middle of the hall. Three cell doors were open, all flanked by guards.
"Give me a break." Diggle tensed as he heard a familiar voice. He started in shock as the three prisoners were led to their cells. He recognized all three of them- Mark Scheffer, the mad bomber that had called himself 'Shrapnel', Ben Turner, otherwise known as Bronze Tiger and the man who had actually stolen the prototype earthquake device, and…
"This ain't no task force." Floyd Lawton, AKA Deadshot said. "Let's call it like it is." he grinned at Diggle. "Welcome to the Suicide Squad."
Diggle stared at the screen in shock. "Mother-fu—"
"It's not only prisoners who grow course and hardened from corporal punishment, but those as well who perpetrate the act or who are present to witness it." Shrapnel quoted as his restraints were removed and he was pushed back into his cell.
"Oh, please stop giving him books." Turner said, annoyed with the man.
"So this is your unit, huh, Waller?" Dig said in disgust. "What, OJ and Charles Manson weren't available?"
"This is a dangerous operation." Waller pointed out. "And these men have useful skills. Should the mission be compromised—"
"You'll just write them off. The Suicide Squad." He glared at Lawton as his restraints were removed and he was pushed back into his cell. Lawton blew Diggle a sarcastic kiss. "Yeah," Dig scoffed, "like he would ever make the sacrifice." He glared at Waller, then took Lyla by the arm and led her farther down the hall. "Lyla, I can't believe you're on board with this." He said. "Those men are murderers!"
"And what's the number of bodies between Oliver Queen and Sara Lance?" Lyla countered.
"What they do, what I do, is completely different." Dig argued.
"Not really, John." She said. "Don't you see that?"
"Oliver killed to protect his city." Diggle argued.
"I killed when I was ordered to kill." Sara countered. "And when I was ordered to kill, it was usually because we had a contract to fulfill. Just like Floyd Lawton." She pointed out.
"What I see is you letting the man who killed my brother roam completely free." Diggle spat.
Lyla shook her head. "It's not freedom. It's work." She said.
"It's wrong." Dig countered.
"Do you cuties need some counseling?" a female voice asked from another cell. "I'm a trained therapist." Waller slammed her fist into the door shutting the woman up.
"Crazy bitch." Mia muttered. "And for once, I'm not talking about Waller."
The scene changed to Verdant. Laurel was seated at the bar, filling out a job application while spending time with her sister. She didn't, happily, have a drink in front of her.
"You wouldn't make me fill out an application, would you?" Laurel asked Thea with a smile.
Thea smirked back at her. "Maybe…."
"Do you have previous experience in retail?" she said, reading the question off the application. She looked up as Sara. "Does shopping count?" Sara chuckled, but when she looked up she saw Oliver stalking into the club, heading towards their basement. Laurel noticed as well. "Sara?" she said, getting her attention back. "I've seen that look before. On my face in the mirror when Ollie goes into distant mode. Hang in there. He'll open up to you when he's ready." She advised.
"Or he'll cheat on you." Laurel joked.
"Yeah." Sara said tiredly. "You'd think so."
The scene shifted to downstairs, where Felicity was hard at work one her rebuilt computers searching for Slade. "I started by tracing the donation Mr. Wilson made to Moira's campaign." She told Oliver. "All of the money was routed through a series of offshore accounts. None of which link back to a local address, so I looked into credit card transactions and car rental agreements."
"What?" he asked in confusion.
"He's got to get around somehow, just not by rental car." Felicity clarified.
"Slade's former ASIS." He told her. "He knows how to be a ghost."
An alert beeped and Felicity pulled it up. "Robbery in progress, Fifth and Giffen." She leaned back in the chair to look at him. "We're still in the crime fighting business, right?" she asked. Oliver turned to look at his suit.
A short time later Oliver was wrapping up the two punks, when he slowly became aware of someone watching him from a rooftop, He turned to stare up, but saw nothing. Cautiously he made his way to the roof and looked around, freezing when he saw an eerily familiar sight- Slade Wilson's old, deteriorated mask, the one he had set on the shores of Lian Yu as a monument to his fallen friend, was hung up on a steam pipe. A brand new arrow pierced the left eye hole, mocking him.
"Slade's going to wear him out mentally to wear him out physically." Malcolm said. "It's a good plan." He admitted reluctantly.
The scene changed to Markova, where Diggle's team had taken up their positions at the fund raiser.
"Harbinger has eyes on the target." Lyla said as she spied Qadir walking into the room. "Light the torches." She ordered.
From his position on the roof of an opposite building, Lawton looked through his scope. "Deadshot is a go." He said.
On the street, Scheffer sat in an older model sedan. "Shrapnel's a go."
In the main room, Turner looked around the room, visually marking his targets. "Tiger's a go."
From her command post back at A.R.G.U.S., Waller watched everything through hacked security cams. "This is Mockingbird." She said over the comms. "Harbinger, you have a green light."
"'Mockingbird'?" Tommy said incredulously.
"More like 'Raptor'." Diggle notes sourly. "I can't believe I have freaking Deadshot watching my back.."
"Freelancer, you're a go." Lyla said, signaling Diggle. He stood on a balcony overlooking the main floor. "Deadshot?" she asked.
"Got Freelancer in my sights." Lawton confirmed.
"What's stopping you from shooting me right now?" Diggle asked angrily.
"Honor." He replied mockingly.
"Crazy thing is, Lawton has a weird sense of honor." Mia noted.
"The man killed my brother," Diggle said angrily.
"He was a professional doing a job." Mia countered. "I'm not condoning your brother's death," she added quickly, "I'm just trying to keep things in perspective. Lawton was a man driven to do terrible things due to his own inner demons. But he wasn't an evil man. Just a broken one."
SIX YEARS AGO
Qadir walked between Ted and Diggle now as the convoy continued on. "Can I trouble you for a cigarette, my friend?" he asked Diggle.
"I don't smoke, and I'm not your friend." Dig replied, keeping a wary eye on his surroundings.
"You know who I am? What it is I do?" Qadir asked.
"You're dealing drugs, weapons and children." Dig shot back. "Play both sides of the conflict. Make money while your country burns."
"I do not have to be the only one. Let me go, I make you rich." He offered.
Before Diggle could tell him to go to hell, Ted beat him to it. "You trying to bribe my men, Qadir?" he asked, getting in his face. "If we wanted to make a buck, this is the last place we'd be, moron."
"Yeah, we could be knocking over armored cars in Starling City." Lance said dryly.
Suddenly a shot rang out. "Get down!" Diggle yelled. On instinct, he took Qadir and threw him to the ground, covering him with his own body as insurgents opened fire. One of his men took a hit, and Diggle joined Lyla, Ted and the others in shooting back.
PRESENT
Ready to play his part, Diggle turned to walk down the stairs- and walked right into Qadir. Instinctively he grabbed the other man to steady him. "Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was—" he allowed himself to look surprised. "Gholem Qadir." He said in amazement.
"I do know what is less likely- that John Diggle would be clumsy, or I would find him here, of all places." Qadir said in surprise. "You like art, my friend?"
"I know a good investment when I see one." Dig said.
"Out of the military, then?" he asked.
"And in a more lucrative line of work." Dig replied.
"What kind of work is that?"
Diggle gave him a smile. "The kind you don't get to ask about." He placed a warm hand on Qadir's arm. "It's good seeing you, Gholem."
"Everything all right here, Mr. Diggle?" Dig turned to see his 'bodyguard' Ben Turner.
"Yes, he's with me." Diggle assured him.
"So the soldier now has his own security." Qadir said, impressed.
"In my line of work, when I do a good job, I tend to make enemies." Diggle said in confidence.
Malcolm chuckled, and Diggle glanced at him. "What's so funny, Merlyn?" he asked.
"Seeing you as the opportunistic, morally bankrupt businessman." Malcolm said. "The only way this ruse will work is because he hasn't seen or heard of you for years. Otherwise, he'd surely see he's being played."
"There was a compliment in there somewhere, Dig." Mia said with a smirk.
"A good man turns bad. Bad man turns good." Qadir said. Diggle looked at him thoughtfully. "You changed my life, you know." He continued.
"Trust me, that was never my intention." Diggle said honestly.
"The intelligence I provided your government, it saved many lives." He said. "Now as a free man, I give back when I can."
"Of course." Dig said, trying not the deck the man. He was saved when a moment later Deadshot opened fire, taking down Turner.
"Thank god for Lawton." Dig muttered, then shook his head. "Never thought I'd be saying that."
"Get down!" Dig yelled, tossing Qadir to the ground and covering him like he had done all those years ago as people ran screaming all around the room. After a moment the firing stopped, and Diggle scanned the roofs across the street. "It's all clear." He said.
"Deja vu, my friend." Qadir said, looking thankfully at Digg as his own security man ran up to them.
"Mr. Qadir!"
"I am fine." He assured the man, glancing at Diggle. "I do not believe I was the target."
Diggle looked at Turner, then down at Qadir's line of sight to see a small, 5.72 millimeter hole in his jacket. He turned to glare out the window; across the street, Lawton smirked.
"Nice shot." Dig said dryly.
"I swear, between you and Oliver you'll put me into an early grave." Felicity said faintly.
"Let's hope not." Thea said crossly.
"Like I said, when I do my job right, I tend to make enemies." Dig repeated.
"We should go." The guard said, leading Qadir out of the room.
On the ground floor, Lyla looked around. "Good job, Deadshot." She said. "You're a go for exfil."
"Already in motion." Lawton said, exiting the building at street level his gear was packed and he was replacing his eye patch when he saw his ride peel out without him. "Except, uh, I'm not the only one." He said in annoyance. "Shrapnel just bolted."
"I bet that doesn't end well." Malcolm noted.
"What do you mean?" Moira asked.
Malcolm looked at the woman. "Do you honestly believe Amanda Waller is letting a bunch of killers run around without some way to guarantee their obedience?" he asked rhetorically.
"Find him." Waller ordered.
An agent pulled up his tracker, the posted it to a map of the area. "Picking him up, headed east."
"Shrapnel. Stand down and return to the rally point." Waller ordered over the comms.
"I won't be conscripted into your moral army." Shrapnel replied, driving as fast as he could to get away.
"Stand down! Final warning." Waller warned.
"Especially not while in a country without an extradition treaty." Shrapnel said, dodging through traffic.
"Very well." Waller said, pulling up Shrapnel's id and typing in BATB-25. In the car, Shrapnel suddenly felt an immense burst of pain in the back of his head. He grabbed his head and screamed in agony…
"What the hell's going on?" Diggle demanded, walking out onto the terrace just as he heard a loud crash.
"Shrapnel just fouled out of the game." Waller said in a satisfied tone. A short distance away, he could see black smoke rising from where the car had crashed.
"What the heck was that?" Thea asked.
"Waller's safeguard." Mia said simply.
The scene shifted to the A.R.G.U.S. safe house later that night. Lawton, Turner and Lyla were already there, resting up and checking their equipment when Diggle stormed in.
"What the hell was that?" he demanded.
Lawton grinned as he cleaned his rifle. "We're going to want popcorn for this." Turner smirked and nodded in reply.
"You said it yourself, John." Lyla said calmly. "They're murderers. Criminals. They need an incentive to follow orders."
"So you rigged their heads with explosives?" he exclaimed.
Laurel looked at Mia in horror. "She put BOMBS in their heads?!"
"I should warn you, if CNRI tries to sue A.R.G.U.S., Amanda will probably launch a drone strike on your office." Mia said wryly.
"You have to admit, it's a hell of an incentive." Malcolm said.
"I can't believe Lyla would go along with that!" Diggle argued.
"Something you should know about Lyla, Dig." Mia started. "She's a good person. But she's also a soldier, and she's had a few years of indoctrination under Amanda Waller's command."
"So that excuses her going along with this?"
"Just… keep in mind that she doesn't see the world in black and white." Mia said. "All she sees are different shades of grey."
"There's no danger as long as they play by the rules. Scheffer didn't." Lyla replied.
"It's like I don't even know you anymore, Lyla." He said.
Lyla was silent for a moment, burying her feelings. "Where are we at with Qadir?" she asked finally, getting back to the mission.
Diggle took a breath. "Save a man's life once, get a silver star. Save it twice? Rent a tux." He yanked his phone out of his pocket and threw it down in front of Lyla. "I'll await further instructions, sir." He said harshly as she stormed back out of the room.
She picked up the phone as he slammed the door behind him. And read the text. –Please come to my Humanitarian Benefit. Details and instructions attached.— she set the phone down and sighed.
The scene changed to the auto repair shop. Oliver walked up to Alexi, noting the frowns on his men's faces.
"Vashi lyudi nezhnyye. (Your men are delicate)". He said.
"So is my patience." Alexi said crossly. He held up an envelope, "This is Starling City bank account number for your Mr. Wilson." Oliver reached out for it, but Alexi pulled it away. "To be clear- take this envelope and we are through." He warned. "I do not care who your friends are. U nas yest' ponimaniye? (Do we understand each other?)" he asked.
Oliver angrily took the envelope and walked off. He was almost to his bike when he felt another presence, and he spun around to see Sara walking up to him.
"Relax, it's just me." She said frowning when he turned back to his bike. "What's going on, Ollie?" she asked. "Hey! Talk to me."
"Now is not the time." Oliver growled.
"Then when is the time?" she demanded, moving in front of him to stop him. "The Bratva, Ollie? You're losing your grip, Ok? Slade's getting in your head." She warned him.
"I need this to stop." Oliver spat. "And for it to stop, I need to find him."
"Yeah, and until then, how long do you think you can keep this up for?" she asked. "You're not eating, you're barely sleeping. And when you do, you have nightmares." She pointed out, before realizing. "They're about her, aren't they? Hey, look at me." He reached up and moved his head back to her when he started to turn away. "You did what you had to do, ok? Ivo was going to shoot Shado, or me, or both of us. It was an impossible choice." She told him.
"I made it, anyway." Oliver said.
"But if you had chosen differently, then it would be me haunting you at night." Sara pointed out.
"It still could be, Sara. That's why we have to stop." He said sadly.
Sara looked at him cautiously. "What are you saying?"
"He's going to use you to hurt me." Oliver stated. "Or he's going to hurt you." He kissed her on the forehead. "Stay away from me." He ordered, walking to his bike and leaving a frustrated Sara behind.
Thea shook her head. "He really is an idiot, isn't he?" she asked rhetorically. "Doesn't he remember that Slade has a grudge against you, too?" she asked Sara.
"Target fixation." She repeated. "He only sees what's in front of him. And he thinks by isolating himself, he'll protect everyone else."
"Which will fail spectacularly in the very near future." Mia noted sourly.
The scene changed to the safe house, where Lawton was prepping Diggle for the mission by taking a blood sample.
"Seeing as how you haven't brought it up, I'm guessing you haven't got very far with that H.I.V.E. lead I gave you." Lawton remarked.
"Just make this quick." Dig said shortly.
Lawton chuckled as he slipped the tube into the mount and watched the blood flow. "You're usually so chatty, John. These problems with your girl, they got you down, huh?"
"And what about your girl?" Dig shot back. "The one you have a shrine to in that cell of yours?"
Lawton angrily yanked the full tube free. "Zoe." He said.
"Does your daughter know what you do for a living?" Diggle asked.
"She is why I do what I do." Lawton said.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"How many enemies can a little girl have?' Dig asked sarcastically.
"I wouldn't know." He replied, handing Dig a tablet. "Everything I make beyond expenses goes in a blind trust." Dig opened an app and placed his finger on the box that came up. It scanned his fingerprint, and across the room a 3-d printer started up.
"A girl needs her father." Dig said.
"Nah, not this father." Lawton replied. "Best thing I can do for her life- not be in it." He rose and moved towards the printer, leaving Diggle to contemplate this side of the man who killed his brother.
Diggle looked at Mia. "Is that true?"
Mia nodded. "Yeah. See? Honor."
"Is it ready?" Lyla asked a moment later as she and Turner entered the room.
"We're almost there." Lawton said. The printer finished, and Lawton reached in, withdrawing the copy of Diggle fingerprint. "You know, we went through all that trouble to get Johnny here invited to this little shindig. Seems like an awful waste not to use that invitation." He remarked.
"You're using it." Lyla said. "Once you have hands on the nerve agent, pocket it, walk right on out." She told him.
Lawton chuckled. "Copy that."
The scene changed to Qadir's house later that night, as Dig and Lyla stood in the receiving line awaiting their turn to greet their host. "Thank you very much. Your generosity is much appreciated." He was saying to the guests in front of them.
"Wow. Who knew drugs and human trafficking paid so well?" Laurel asked sarcastically.
Diggle looked back at Lyla, giving her an appraising look. "That's not exactly army camo." Dig noted wryly. "But have you given any thought to what would happen if Qadir recognizes you anyway?"
"Mr. Diggle." Dig smile as Qadir came up and shook his hand. He looked at Lyla with a more lustful smile. "Who is this vision?"
Lyla gave Dig a satisfied look, then lightly shook Qadir's hand. "His new bodyguard." She said.
"Mmm." He turned back to Dig. "You will have to refer me to your security company." He joked. "I'm glad you could come tonight. It's the least I could do after you saved my life. Again. I will see you inside, my friend."
He started to move on to the next guests. "Gholem." Dig said, calling back his attention. "It would seem I didn't have time to get credentials for my associate." He noted.
Qadir smiled. "Come. This way." He said. The three walked past Floyd Lawton, dressed in a tux as a security guard waved his magnetic wand over him. The wand beeped, and the guard looked at Lawton.
"Gosh, I'm so sorry." Lawton chuckled, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing a set of car keys. "I forgot those were in there." The guard rolled his eyes and let him through. Lawton moved on to the fingerprint scanner. The false fingerprint he wore over his finger easily identified him as John Diggle.
"Good thing they don't have photo id's." Felicity said, causing Diggle to laugh.
"Enjoy the benefit, Mr. Diggle." Lawton smirked and walked into the house. Diggle walked upstairs and withdrew a black velvet pouch, placing it behind a statue in an alcove. "Deadshot and his gear are in position." He told Lyla quietly.
"It's like Mission: Impossible again." Tommy noted with a smile.
"Tiger's got the overwatch. Harbinger to all, fire in the hole." She said into the comms.
SIX YEARS AGO
Diggle, Lyla, Ted and the rest of the troops were still pinned down, but were rapidly whittling down the insurgents.
"Shooter at my ten!" Dig yelled.
"I got you covered!" Ted shouted, firing on Dig's ten and killing the insurgent.
Diggle watched the engagement sadly, both knowing what he was about to do, and knowing the kind of man his brother in the field would become.
"Bounding!" he yelled, moving up the hill as his men covered him. Suddenly free of any guards, Qadir took a chance and ran for an open of the valley. Above him, an insurgent sniper took aim…
Dig shot him first, hitting the sniper in the throat. Qadir dropped to the ground, staring up at Diggle and realizing the man had just saved his life.
"All clear!" Ted shouted as the firing finally ceased. Diggle moved towards the sniper, tossing the rifle away as he bent down and removed the scarf. He sighed in disgust as he saw the young face. "It's just a kid." He said, suddenly very weary of the fighting.
Diggle sighed heavily, and Felicity put a comforting hand on his arm.
"Despite what you did, and who you saved," Tommy said to Diggle, "Thank you for your service." Dig nodded in acknowledgment.
PRESENT
Lyla and Diggle where schmoozing with Qadir in the main room of the house. Lyla glanced up in time to see Lawton retrieve his gear. "And don't you look lovely tonight?" Lawton told a female guest with a smile as he moved off into the house, and onto his objective.
Diggle and Lyla turned to walk off, but Qadir stopped them. "Oh, I think you owe your bodyguard a dance." He said with a smile. "I insist." The two smiled, and then moved onto the dance floor.
"Deadshot en route to package." Lawton said as he moved down to the sublevel.
"The fate of the world resting in the hands of Floyd Lawton." Diggle said as the two moved stiffly on the dance floor.
"It helps to focus on the mission." Lyla suggested lamely.
"Is that what you tell yourself?" he asked.
"I tell myself to see the world how it is, not how I want to see it." She replied. "We both operate in the grey. The only difference is, is I'm willing to admit it."
"That's not the only difference between us." He said crossly.
"That's true. I don't judge other people for it." She shot back.
Diggle sighed. "Lyla, I'm the same man I've always been."
"And I'm who I've always been." She countered. "You're rigid, John. You're blind to any viewpoint that isn't yours." She pointed out.
Dig sighed again. "Woman's got a point." He admitted.
"These past few months have been amazing. But we've done more playing than talking."
"Because when we talk, we tend to get divorced." Diggle noted.
The scene changed to Verdant. Laurel was once again seated at the bar, spending time with her sister as Sara mixed her a drink.
"Don't worry." Sara said, placing the drink in front of Laurel. "It's virgin."
Laurel took a cautious sip and grimaced. "Ugh. Which is why it tastes terrible." She said.
"True." Sara laughed, which turned into a frustrated sigh as she saw Oliver walk in. Sara excused herself to go into the back, so Laurel rose and walked over to Oliver.
"So. It looks like things with you and Sara are going well." Laurel noted dryly.
Oliver chuckled. "I'm not sure you're the best person to talk to with all this." He started.
"And why is that? Is it because of the whole cheating, shipwreck, drowning, not drowning, you're back, she's back thing?" she asked sarcastically." They both chuckled at that. "Sorry. It's brutal AA honesty talking." She said.
"I think I preferred it when we were all lying to each other." Oliver noted.
"Personally, I think you should just kick him in the nuts." Thea said, looking at both Lance sisters. "Either of you. Maybe both at the same time."
"Ouch, Speedy." Tommy complained, wincing in sympathy at the imagined pain.
"No, you just thought you did." Laurel replied. "I know you better than almost anyone, Ollie. I know that you think that you don't deserve to be happy, but you're wrong. You may think that keeping her at arm's length, you're protecting her, but you're not. You're only protecting yourself." She advised.
"It's more complicated than that." Oliver said coldly.
"It always is." She shot back, and then headed towards the door. Oliver scowled and moved to the basement.
"I got the address for that account number you gave me." Felicity said as Oliver came down the stairs. She handed him a piece of paper with the address on it, then grabbed he phone. "I'll call Roy and Sara."
"No. I'm not giving Slade any more targets." Oliver said, grabbing his bow.
"I might have to take your advice, Thea." Laurel said darkly. Tommy shifted slightly away from her at that.
"You can't go out there by yourself, its suicide." Felicity argued.
Oliver turned to face her. "This started with the two of us. That's how it ends." He said.
The scene changed to the benefit. Lawton stopped at the entrance of the basement and strapped on his gear. "Deadshot's on target." He said as he activated his eyepiece. He grinned as it picked up a heat signature through a hidden door down the hall. "Bingo." He walked to the wall and started feeling I for some kind of release mechanism. Finally, he tried pushing it, and much to his surprise, it opened.
The scene shifted back to Starling City as Oliver walked cautiously into Slade's office. It was dark; the only thing in was a projector that was pointed right at the doorway. Oliver approached the desk slowly, reaching for an arrow, but then stopping. He moved around the edge of the desk, and instead of Slade found another man seated in the chair- a man with an arrow in his left eye. Using his bow, he spun the chair to face him, revealing the dad man to be Alexi.
"So much for the Bratva." Lance grumbled.
Malcolm shook his head. "No, they'll just send someone else to head the Starling City branch. But I dare say that Oliver's relationship with them has taken a distinct downturn."
As he turned to leave, he froze.
Slade had gone back to China, and had found Yao Fei's personal effects. That was the only explanation how old home movies of Shado were being projected onto the wall, the moving images taunting Oliver and hurting him more than any arrow could.
"Sick bastard." Moira growled.
"Amen, mom." Thea agreed.
The scene changed to the Lair. Sara was working out furiously on the Wing Chun dummy when Oliver returned.
"I don't know what to do." He said brokenly. "He's too far ahead. I mean, he spent years planning this, and he knows everything about me. I can't, I… I don't know how to stop him." He admitted.
Thea felt her heart breaking for her brother at his admission. Even Tommy couldn't find something glib to say to lighten the mood.
"Well, you start by letting people help you." Sara advised.
"But he's going to come after you." He objected weakly. "You're alive… because Shado isn't."
"And when he does, do you think it'll make a difference whether or not we're together?" she asked. She reached up and gently took his face in her hands. "Let him come. I'm not the girl he knew on the island. I'm not that easy to kill." She looked into his eyes. "Together?"
"Together." He agreed, and she pulled him in for a hug.
Mia sighed. If only he had told them as well, her mother might still have been alive. And she would never had become the person she was.
The scene changed to Markovia. Lawton headed down the long concrete hallway. "I'm in." he said over the comms. "I'll have the nerve agent in my pocket in 30 seconds." He rounded the corner into the lab, and then froze in horror what he saw. It wasn't a small canister of the stuff, if was a huge vat. "Harbinger… we've got what I would describe as a little bit of a situation here."
"Explain." Lyla demanded.
"Well, I got eyes on the nerve agent, and I'm not going to be able to move it, much less pocket it." He said crossly.
"Stand by, Deadshot. I need to talk to Waller." She said, looking at Diggle. The two made their way off of the dance floor. They moved to a somewhat secluded corner as Lyla called in.
"Wait, let me guess- send in the drones." Tommy said still unnerved at how…broken… Oliver had seemed a few moments before.
"Go for Mockingbird." Waller said.
"We have a situation." Lyla reported. "The package is much bigger than our pre-op briefing indicated."
"Stand by." Waller said calmly. She looked to one of the techs. "Deadshot's on target; I need to see what he does. Activate the camera in his eye piece." She ordered.
"Multi spectrum from Lawton's rig coming in…now. It's a match." She reported, looking at the image on the screen.
"Well, that's slightly less creepy than a bomb in his head." Laurel said.
Mia chuckled. "Oh, he has that, too."
Does she know how many of his civil liberties she's violating?" Laurel asked, outraged.
"Laurel, do you think she cares about anyone's civil liberties, let alone his?" Sara countered.
"Tiger, move for extraction." Waller ordered calmly. "Deadshot, remain in position. Harbinger and Freelancer, evac and head to the rally point."
"Deadshot still isn't topside with the package." Diggle protested.
"I only needed eyes on." Waller replied. "Fall back to the rally point."
"Wait," Lyla said. "You knew that the nerve agent was too large to be extracted?"
"Fall back to the rally point. Nine is inbound and hot." Waller said. "Mockingbird out."
Diggle looked to Lyla. "What the hell are nines?" he asked.
"MQ-9s. Predators." Lyla said. "Waller's called in a drone strike." She looked around the room. "Everyone here is dead inside of ten minutes. She looked back to Diggle. "The nines carry the Hellfire missile. Just one of them can level this whole building."
"I thought the point of this was to NOT cause an international incident." Moira said pointedly. "I think calling in a drone strike on a private residence will cause more than a little incident."
"Everyone's inside the house. So no witnesses to the drone." Diggle said in disgust.
"And your boss doesn't care who's here when it does." He spat. "Lyla, we have to get these people out of here."
"Maybe there's a house alarm we can trigger." She suggested. Diggle stood staring at Qadir, formulating a plan. "John, we have to move now." She urged.
"I have a better idea." Dig said. He grabbed a glass of champagne and a fork, and then tapped the glass loudly. "Excuse me. Excuse me." He called out. "Can I have your attention, please?" all eyes turned to Diggle. "In honor of our host. Gholem Qadir excels at everything he puts his mind to, be it business, philanthropy or terrorism." The audience gasped; Qadir gaped. "Yeah, I guess you could say Gholem is somewhat of a renaissance man. He dabbles in a little bit of everything. Arms trading- did I mention the sex trafficking? Or the deadly nerve agent that he's holding just 30 feet beneath this very dance floor." That set off the mass panic he had been hoping for, and the crowed surged towards the exits to get away from the perceived threat.
Dig smirked, and Felicity laughed outright. "Way to go, Dig!" she raised her fist. "Fist-bump!" Diggle laughed, but complied.
"These are lies! This man is a mercenary!" Qadir yelled, but no one was listening. One of his men rushed Diggle, but he took him down with one hard punch. He watched as Dig talked to his bodyguard, and then suddenly he remembered seeing her before- she was the one who had captured him.
"Uh-oh." Felicity said, suddenly worried. "I think he remembers who she is."
"Lawton! He's not answering." Dig was saying to Lyla. "I have to go help him. I can't believe I just said that." He muttered, moving off towards the basement. Lyla moved to head for the van, but Qadir came up behind her and grabbed her arm, spinning her around, he placed a knife at her neck.
"You! You were in Afghanistan five years ago." He spat. "You and that Judas have been deceiving me from the start!" Suddenly he gasped as three 6 inch steel claws were embedded at the base of his neck.
"Good timing." Lyla said as Bronze Tiger pulled the claws free, allowing the terrorist to drop to the floor, dead.
"Got tired of waiting for my invitation." Turner quipped.
Diggle shook his head in amazement. "Wanting to help Lawton and thank Tiger."
"What a day, eh?" Roy said with a smirk.
The drone was hot an incoming fast as Diggle ran down into the lab. He found it empty except for Lawton and the huge tub of nerve agent.
"Tsk, tsk. Disobeying orders, John." Lawton quipped. "Behind you." Diggle spun, but Lawton quickly dispatched the two guards with his wrist gun. "That's two you owe me, junior." He joked.
"We have to go." Dig said.
"Waller told me to stay here." Lawton replied.
"There's an incoming drone strike."
Lawton scoffed. "How contemporary. Get your team clear." He said.
Dig moved forward, raising his gun. Lawton raised his wrist gun in reply. "You are on my team." Dig reminded him. "And it's time for you to go."
"Yeah, that's right." Lawton said. "It is time. And this is my way to go. Suicide Squad, remember? I'm expendable, John. Even got the damn bomb in my head to prove it. This way, at least I get to go out doing something honorable." He reasoned.
"You don't get to die that easy, Lawton." Dig snarled.
"Really? Why don't you give me even just one good reason why not, huh?" Lawton asked.
"Zoe." He said simply.
Lawton stared at him, silently warring with himself. Finally he caved and lowered his gun; Diggle did the same.
"What about the nerve gas?" Lawton asked.
"Believe me- Waller's already got that covered." He replied, leading his man out of the lab. They ran like hell, making their way out of the house and into the van where Turner and Lyla were waiting.
"Yeah, but now there will be hundreds of people seeing a predator drone blow up the house." Thea said.
"And we're back to an international incident." Felicity added.
"Go, go, go, go, go, go, go!" Dig howled as she slammed the door behind him. The van took off, speeding like hell to get free from the blast zone.
Lyla frowned as she checked her display. "The drone shifted course. It's following us." She told them.
Lawton started laughing; Diggle glowered at him. "Do you find that funny?"
"The Wall." Lawton said. "What a woman. How do you think she knew where to send the drone, huh? And I mean, the precise coordinates."
"The implants." Diggle realized.
"Bomb and GPS." Lawton reminded him. "Pretty clever, right? The drone ain't targeting Gholem's house. It's targeting me."
"Well, THAT'S a problem." Tommy said worriedly.
As Turner drove, Lyla glanced out his side view mirror and saw the Drone bank and follow them. Making a decision, she reached down and picked up Turner's claws, then climbed into the back of the van. Lawton stared at her with a wide, terrified eye.
"Whoa, hang on, do I get a say in this?" he asked, panicked.
"Turn around." Lyla ordered.
"What are you doing?" Dig asked.
"Look, I think I'd rather get blown up!" Lawton opined.
"Hold still. This is going to hurt." She warned the man. Finding the surgical scar form the implant, Lyla carefully cut back into it with the claw. Seconds later, the drone fired its missile. Diggle threw open the door and tossed the nickel-sized device out onto the street, and had just managed to close the door when the missile struck. The shockwave almost sent the van out of control, but Turner managed to hold the road as the Drone flew off. Lawton, Lyla and Diggle all shared looks as Turner drove them off into the night.
Dig grinned. "That Lyla. What a woman." He said.
"Yeah." Tommy agreed, a little green. "Just don't piss her off."
The scene shifted to A.R.G.U.S. headquarters the next day, where Waller was giving a dressing down to Diggle and Lyla.
"The Markovian government is threatening retaliation following an unprovoked drone attack over a no-fly zone." She reported, slamming the report onto her desk. "Just the attention we wanted to avoid. Well done." She said sarcastically.
"Bitch, YOU sent the drone!" Thea exclaimed.
Diggle shook his head with a grin. "I'm not the one who sent that drone." He reminded her.
"It was cloaked." She shot back. "An explosion atop a chemical weapons cache is easy to explain. Instead, there were witnesses and we had to send in a SEAL team to clean out the estate."
"Well, boo-freaking-hoo." Laurel said sarcastically.
"I guess she forgot the part where I'm not her agent." Dig observed.
"I guess you'll think twice before dragging me in to do your dirty work, Waller." Diggle shot back, not really caring about inconveniencing her.
"Somehow I don't think it will be an issue. Good day, Mr. Diggle." She said coolly, dismissing the man. He shared a glance with Lyla, and then exited the room.
"Kind of uncanny." Waller stared at Lyla. "How Diggle knew exactly where Lawton's implant was." Lyla remained silent, and Waller looked back down into her file. "Still, it exposed an obvious design flaw. We'll be putting in the implants in their spinal vertebrae now. Have Lawton and the others prepped for surgery." She ordered. Lyla let out a small sigh of relief as she left the room.
Laurel snorted in disgust. "Unbelievable. That woman…!" she trailed off.
"Yeah, that's about how we ALL felt about her." Roy said. "When she was killed, Oliver led us in a rousing number of 'Ding-Dong, The Witch is Dead.'
Mia shot a look at her husband. "Seriously?" she asked. She had never heard that story before.
"Seriously. It was very moving." Roy confirmed with a smirk. "He had a tear in his eye and everything." he paused. "Of course, that could have been the vodka."
The scene shifted to the cell block, where Dig was escorting Lawton back to his cell.
"Waller said in a few years, you might even get a pardon." Dig noted.
Lawton scoffed. "Don't worry, John. We both know I'm not going to be around that long." He stepped back into his cell, and they stared at each other through the glass as the door was closed. Diggle turned to leave, and saw Lyla standing at the end of the corridor. "You still employed?" he asked, walking up to her.
"People with my security clearance aren't that easy to get rid of." She quipped.
"Right."
"What about us, Johnny?" she asked hopefully.
"Last night, the man who killed my brother showed more character than the woman charged with protecting the world." He stated. "Good and bad is not so clear to me. One thing I do know for sure, black and white… is that I can't ever lose you again." He said.
"Awww!" Thea, Laurel and Felicity all said. Diggle shook his head, but chuckled in amusement.
"Finally." She sighed in relief. "Something we agree on." The two kissed.
SIX YEARS AGO
Diggle watched as Qadir was loaded onto a truck and driven away.
"Well, there goes another terrorist-turned-ally." Ted said tiredly. "By the way, I put you in for a commendation for saving Qadir's ass." He patted him on the shoulder, then turned and headed for the mess tent. "You owe me a beer." Ted called out. Diggle stared out into the darkness, but all he could see was the kids face.
"Congratulations." He turned to see Lyla walking up to him.
"Yeah, well, kill a kid, get a medal, right?" he said sourly.
"When someone's shooting a Kalashnikov at you, he's not a kid." Lyla told him.
"I see things differently." Dig noted.
"It's a complicated world, Johnny." She chuckled. "Is it ok if I call you Johnny?"
Dig smiled at her. "I don't think I caught your first name, Michaels."
"Lyla." She said.
"It's really good to meet you, Lyla." Dig said, shaking her hand.
PRESENT
Oliver sat at the darkened bar of Verdant, watching the news. 'In international news, a United Nations inspections team was called to a chemical weapons manufacturing facility hidden beneath the Markovian estate of humanitarian Gholem Qadir. Closer to home, mayoral candidate Moira Queen stumped for an initiative to revive inner city after school swim programs.' He looked up in confusion and Saw Moira standing at a lectern with Thea and a couple of campaign aids behind her. 'Oh, I remember how much my children enjoyed swimming when they were young. I couldn't get them out of the pool. We need—' disgusted, Oliver turned off the TV and slammed the remote to the bar.
Thea shot her mother an annoyed look. "Seriously?"
"I thought you liked swimming." Moira said innocently, but with a twinkle in her eye.
"I HATED swimming." Thea said. "And I'm pretty sure the only reason Ollie liked the pool was for all the girls he got in it."
"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Tommy confirmed. "Also great for wet t-shirt contests." Laurel gave him a disgusted look.
"Don't think I've forgotten about you filling my pool with beer, either." Malcolm warned his son.
"Fine, you can shoot me later." Tommy shot back.
"I may take you up on that. I have a bow too, remember?" Malcolm said wryly.
"I'm pretty sure he's joking." Thea told her brother, who gulped.
"I thought you hated swimming." Sara said, coming up to sit next to him at the bar.
"I detest swimming." Oliver said. "So does Thea. My mother sometimes-ahem- enjoys a causal relationship with the truth." He said ironically.
"Something he apparently inherited from me." Moira said wryly.
They looked at one another, and Oliver took her hand. "Anyway. Thank you for being there for me." He told her.
"You mean for not letting you push me away?" she clarified with a grin.
"I'm going to stop doing that." He promised.
"No you're not!" Thea and Laurel both said together.
Roy looked at the two women askance. "It's so weird seeing you two agree on something." He observed.
"Yeah?" Sara asked, giving him a kiss. "Good. You'll be wasting your time, anyways." They looked up when they heard the door open and saw Laurel walk in. Sara smiled, then rose and headed for the stockroom to grab her coat while Oliver walked over to Laurel.
"It looks like you took my advice." She noted happily.
"Thank you." Oliver told her sincerely. "Helping me with Sara, I know that that can't be easy." He said.
"Helping two people I care about? There's nothing easier." She assured him. "I came by to take Sara to dinner. Would you care to join?" she asked.
"I'd love to, but I need to go see an old friend." Oliver replied.
"Dr. Chilton?" Felicity quipped.
Malcolm chuckled. "I got that reference."
Felicity looked at him warily. "Of course you did."
"Ok." She smiled at him as she and Sara left the bar.
The scene changed to late that night. A.R.G.U.S. headquarters was dark, with only minimal personnel this time at night. Waller, burning the midnight oil, walked cautiously through the hall with her gun drawn, noting that most of those agents were on the ground, unconscious. She lowered the gun when she saw the tranq darts. Entering her office, she smirked at the green hooded figure. "Hello, Oliver." She said, holstering her gun.
Oliver turned and lowered his hood. He wasn't wearing his mask; he didn't need to here. "Hello, Amanda."
"Still mad at me?" she asked, almost in a teasing voice.
"Lucky for you, you've been pushed down that list." Oliver noted darkly.
"No, please." Mia begged uselessly. "Push her back up the list."
"Really? Who do you want to kill more than me?" she asked, curious.
"Slade Wilson is alive."
Waller actually looked shaken. "You killed him. It's not possible." She said, her voice quivering slightly.
"Everything is possible where Slade is concerned." Oliver replied. "And I need your help to find him."
Waller thought for a moment, trying to think of anything… "I might have something." She said finally.
"What?"
"There's a new player we've been tracking- mercenary." Waller said, moving to her computer and pulling up the file. "He's left a trail of bodies from Macau to Istanbul to Lisbon. A trail that leads right here to Starling." She pulled up the only known picture they had- a man in head to toe body armor, topped by an armored helmet with an eerily familiar blue and gold design. "We've been calling him Deathstroke."
"Familiar mask." Tommy noted.
"He gave himself an upgrade." Mia explained. "Not that he needed it. Still, it made him even more formidable. And terrifying."
"He made Isabel a mask similar to his." Roy continued with a smirk. "Much less terrifying, though."
"So what does A.R.G.U.S. do?" Dig asked. "Send in a drone to blow him up?"
"Not yet." Sara said dryly.
"We'll not spoil it quite yet." Mia said, queuing up the next memory set. "Instead, let's talk about a different bitch- Adam Donner." She said as she pressed play.
TBC
You know, I was SO on the fence about calling out that it's Harley Quinn in the cell. In the end, I decided to do what the show did and make it a tease.
A/N- you know, I had forgotten that Oliver pulled the same shit with Sara in this episode that he pulls with Felicity in Season 3. He really does have a modus operandi, doesn't he?
You know, the one thing this show does that I don't like is that it marginalizes characters for several episodes before bringing them back to prominence. I guess it's a pitfall to having a cast this big, but I really noticed it in this episode where Moira and Thea only appeared for a minute, and Thea didn't even get to speak. On the other hand, Oliver's reaction to that was priceless.
You know, I really do say 'You Know' a lot.
Finally, how is Amanda Waller not in jail? Or called before a Senate oversight committee? The shit she pulls- that woman should be in Leavenworth.