Guest: It was supposed to be trap, thank you for pointing that out to me.

Bratva Hideout

Mid-morning

"Pakhan Gregor," Anatoly called out as he approached Gregor.

"Anatoly," Gregor greeted, waving his hands and dismissing two of his man.

"Has there been any word on Oliver?" Anatoly asked worried for his friend, who had been missing for a week now.

"I'm afraid not. Anatoly, I know he was your friend, but if we have no news yet…I'm afraid that he is likely dead," Gregor said, clasping Anatoly on the shoulder in a show of comfort. "I am sorry brother."

Gregor then walked off, leaving Anatoly standing there alone. He closed his eyes as he felt a crushing wave of grief hit him. Disheartened, Anatoly left the hideout. As he walked out into the streets, Anatoly felt something hit him in the neck. Grabbing it, he pulled it out and saw it was a tranq dart. Anatoly's vision then blurred before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and it all went black.

Konstantine Kovar's house

Late morning

Oliver was not having a good week. After being captured by Kovar, he'd been stuffed in what he'd deemed was Kovar's dungeon before being tortured all weak. But he hadn't broken; he would never break to Kovar. When he thought about breaking, he thought of his family and it gave him strength. He would endure, for them.

Today, he was taken with a bag over his head and his hands bound into a room. Forced to sit in a chair, the bag was removed from his head and his binds were cut. Blinking as his eyes adjusted to the light, he found he was in a dining room that was only slightly less impressive than the Queen Mansion's, sitting at one end of a long table. And at the other end, cutting into some meat with a knife, was Kovar.

"Mr. Queen, hello," Kovar greeted, picking up a glass and taking a drink as Oliver glared at him hatefully. "I thought you might enjoy a break in my men's questioning."

Seeing a steak knife in reaching distance, Oliver reached for it but found two pistols aimed at his head.

"I trust you to show the proper manners," Kovar said smugly.

Oliver glowered at him as Kovar gestured for his men to step back.

"Go on, eat," Kovar said as though they were two friends having a business dinner.

"I'm fine," Oliver almost growled.

"Suit yourself," Kovar shrugged before taking a bite of his food. "I must confess, you've become something of a fascination to me. Oliver Queen, Starling City's favorite son. Presumed dead after a maritime accident three years ago."

"What do you want from me?" Oliver sneered.

"Answers. You tried to blow up my casino. Now, my sources tell me you've become Bratva. You seem quite fixated on me. And yet, I do not believe our paths have ever crossed," Kovar said, seeming genuinely puzzled. "What have I done that could possibly inspire such hatred?"

"Eight months ago, I received a threat against my family. I've tracked that threat all the way to you," Oliver said angrily.

"Now why would I want to harm your family?" Kovar asked.

"A better question is why a Russian leader has ties to the Chinese Triad," Oliver said bluntly and Kovar was silent for a moment.

"The world is a complex place Mr. Queen," Kovar finally said. "For example…"

Kovar got to his feet, walked over to Oliver's side of the table, and threw down a file. Wearily, Oliver opened it up to see Pyotr Friedkin's picture staring up at him.

"You recognize this man?" Kovar asked.

"Never seen him before," Oliver lied even as he remembered snapping Pytor's neck.

"Except in jail, when you snapped his neck because the Bratva told you to," Kovar said bluntly. "Because they told you it would help to get to me. "A convenient lie so they could steal his business. You kill this man and give the IP address of a black site on the dark web to the Bratva, which they now control, just as they control you."

"No one controls me," Oliver sneered and Kovar chuckled.

"If that is what you choose to believe. You think of me as a monster but the rest of Russia sees me as an honest business man. The truth, Mr. Queen, is merely a matter of perspective," Kovar said, placing his hand near Oliver's utensils.

Seeing an opportunity, Oliver grabbed the steak knife and quickly stabbed Kovar's hand. Kovar cried out in pain as his men pulled their guns on Oliver, but Oliver yanked the knife out and grabbed Kovar's shoulder, jumping to his feet and getting behind Kovar, putting the knife at Kovar's neck. Everyone stopped; realizing the position Oliver had put them in.

"Like I said, no one controls me," Oliver said darkly.

Unspecified location

Same time

Anatoly groaned as he came to, blinking, his vision blurry at first. He was tied to a chair, his hands and legs bound, he realized. And sitting a chair not far from him was a dark haired man.

"Knyazev," Dragon greeted him calmly.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Anatoly demanded.

"Calm down, I'm not looking for trouble. I just wanted to talk and I figured that I couldn't walk up to you and do that. I'm Richard Dragon, Agent of SHIELD," Dragon said and Anatoly stared at him incredulously.

"SHIELD. What does SHIELD want with me?" Anatoly asked wearily.

"Well it's not actually you we want. I'm here to talk about Konstantine Kovar. Specifically, what happened to your friend, Oliver Queen," Dragon explained.

Kovar's mansion

Same time

"Twitch and I will open your throat," Oliver said in a growl that would have made Slade proud. "Tell your men to put their guns down."

"Do as he says," Kovar said after a moment of considering the situation. "For now."

Reluctantly, Kovar's men lowered their guns to the table. Oliver immediately shoved Kovar forward, picking up one of the guns as they made their way towards the door. He aimed the gun at Kovar's men while he still had the knife at Kover's neck.

"Tell me, who else is involved? Which lowlife did you convince to turn on the Bratva?" Oliver demanded and Kovar chuckled.

"I see, so you know about that. You would not believe me if I told you," Kovar chuckled.

"Then tell me something else. Does this end with you or are there more people involved?" Oliver demanded. "I know about this shadow organization, are you part of it?"

"Shadow organization? Oh Mr. Queen, are you really so desperate for answers you will believe a ghost story?" Kovar chuckled. "Tell me, what is more likely? That there is some shadow organization that is manipulating events throughout history? Or that the Chinese Triad takes joy in psychological warfare, even against their own allies?"

The pair rounded a corner for Oliver to find himself surrounded by Kovar's men from all side, all with guns pointed at him.

"Or that you are too weak to know the difference?" Kovar finished smugly.

Unspecified location

Same time

"Oliver? What does Oliver have to with this?" Anatoly asked confused.

"Everything. SHIELD has been watching Kovar for the last few months. We believe that Kovar has a man on the inside in the Bratva," Dragon explained and Anatoly's face hardened.

"No brother would ever betray their brothers," Anatoly said coldly.

"You sure about that? Gregor, he asked Oliver to blow up Kovar's casino and Oliver goes missing during the assignment. It's a very strange that Kovar had one Bratva killed while Oliver was captured, isn't it?" Dragon asked and Anatoly narrowed his eyes.

"What are you getting at?" Anatoly demanded.

"It's no secret within the Bratva that Oliver only joined to get close to Kovar. What if this was part of a trap so Kovar could capture Oliver?" Dragon inquired.

"That's impossible. That would mean…" Anatoly trailed off, his blood running cold as he realized what Dragon was implying.

"We think there's a traitor in the Bratva. What if the traitor… is Gregor?" Dragon asked.

Kovar's house

Same time

Oliver's weapons were taken for him and he was restrained. However, he quickly broke free, throwing the guards to the ground. As the other guards took aim, Kovar held up a hand, signally them to stop.

"Enough. I will deal with Mr. Queen myself," Kovar said angrily.

The guards stepped aside as Oliver and Kovar rushed each other. They began exchanging blows but Oliver was much more exhausted than Kovar, after a weak of being held captive and tortured. Kovar grabbed him and tossed him to the floor, Oliver rolling as he hit the floor. But, despite every instinct in him begging for him to stay down, Oliver managed to pull himself to his feet. They two of them then continued trading blows and Oliver wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. Oliver ducked a paunch from Kovar before he landed a punch to Kovar's face. Furious, Kovar sent a powerful punch to Oliver's chest and sent him down to the floor before Kovar grabbed Oliver by the shirt as someone walked in.

"Kovar, what is the meaning of this?"

Shocked, Oliver lifted his head up to see Gregor had walked in, followed by two Bratva guards.

"Mr. Queen and I were having a discussion about the truth," Kovar said vaguely and Gregor shrugged.

"Should I come back later?" Gregor asked dryly.

"No, I think we're finished here," Kovar said before looking back at Oliver. "I told you Mr. Queen, you would not believe me if I told you. You needed to see it with your own eyes."

Oliver did not respond, simply stared at Gregor as the realization hit him. He had expected it to be some low level Brava member but Kovar's contact, his spy…was Gregor.

Here is the point where I really start to have fun with the flashbacks, so buckle up. It's going to be a wild ride.