Notes:

First of all thank you for all of you guys comments, I really appreciate it and I loved reading your thoughts on who might have joined Oliver in his cell.

I also like to point out, again, that Sara might not be the most objective or fair person at the moment, she's under a lot, a lot a lot of emotional stress and constantly a hair's breadth away from panicking, so don't be to harsh on her.

You swear that you can't take no more ruined by the sewage, you produce by not connecting lines Excuses are like bruises that you get if you regret the fight

Oliver

McKenna Hall.

They had stayed in contact at first after her move, but that had fizzled out with time, especially after his self-imposed exile to Lian Yu after Tommy's death, and turned into an occasional text on birthdays and Christmas. Which was kind of sad. He had seriously missed her and her friendship. She had reached out when she had heard about his mom's death, had tried to be there for him, but he hadn't been in the right mind space to let her or anyone in, really. And after… he wasn't good at staying in contact with people, there was too much going on in his life at all times and he just always forgets to write the text he had thought about writing. He had wanted to stay in contact with her, but he understood why she had just stopped texting him as well at some point. He didn't blame her, she'd tried, he'd been the one who hadn't held up his side of their friendship.

But what was she doing here? Why was she here? There was no reason for Adrian to kidnap McKenna. Her role in his life was pretty much nonexistent at this point. Yes, he cared about her, of course he did. They had been close before the island and he had seriously thought they could make it work after and maybe they would've had it not been for Helena. But that had been years ago. How did he even know about… okay, that wasn't too difficult to find out, he assumed, but why go through the trouble of finding and taking her? There were plenty of people he cared about right here. Why was she yet again being dragged into something that had nothing to do with her because of him? Why was she forced to suffer at the hands of yet another one of his adversaries with zero connection this time. She had ended up in the crossfire with Helena because of her job but as far as he knew McKenna hadn't returned to Star City or its police force so this time around it was solely because she had at one point been connected to him. And that knowledge gutted him. This was his fault. He was responsible for everything that had been done to her. Who else from his past would be dragged into this? It looked like no one was off limits.

And if Adrian had gone this far to find McKenna in his past and go through the trouble of locating her in the present, how serious was he about William and how close to finding him was he if he was serious? Fear gripped his heart at the thought and a cold shiver ran down his spine. No. His son was innocent. He had nothing to do with any of this and the last thing… he'd sent William away so he wouldn't end up in the crosshairs again, so he wouldn't become collateral damage. So he wouldn't be in danger because of him. But what if this was exactly what put him in danger now? He didn't know where he was. No one he knew did, that was the point. But by not knowing… he didn't know how to get to him to protect him. Maybe John had been right after all. Maybe keeping him safe by keeping him close would've been the better solution after all. If Adrian was really looking for him and if he'd be able to find him, there was nothing he could do to stop him from taking his son. Nothing he could do to protect him. But at the same time, could he risk looking for him so he could protect him if he were in danger? What if Adrian had no clue where William was and wasn't even close to finding him? What if his searching for his son would leave the madman straight to him?

Neither option was promising. And he felt trapped. Both choices could put his son in danger. Oliver wasn't sure when the last time was that he had felt this helpless. He forced himself to put the thought to the side for now. There was nothing he could do about it at all given the situation he was in and he needed to take care of this first.

"McKenna?" His voice not only sounded hoarse but also in disbelieve, he still hadn't managed to wrap his head around her presence here, in this cell with him. Or the danger he might be in given the weapon in her hand and the desperate look on her face. Fuck. He needed to deflect, needed to convince her that their only way out was by working together.

"Mac… McKenna. Hey, look at me. Listen to me. I need you to…to bring the knife over here. I want you to get me out of these things. And when he comes back, we will ambush him." He had to cough a couple of times. His throat was not only dry but seriously sore and talking hurt, a lot. But he needed to convince her, needed to get through to her. She was a former police detective. She must understand that chances that Adrian would keep his word and let her go afterwards were slim to none. McKenna had to be aware of that.

"No, we can't beat him. I didn't know what I was buying into when Star City's new star D.A. showed up at my place asking me for a favor since I had been on the Vigilante Taskforce before leaving the force and our home altogether and I agreed to help him catch the Star City vigilante once and for all, but I…" His heart broke for her. He knew how important being a detective had been to her. How utterly devastated she had been when she had learnt that she might never be ablet to get back to the force after she'd injured her femur bone. She must have felt so happy at the thought of still being able to help the SCPD. God, how cruel could someone be? Getting her hopes up only to shatter them and her with them just to get to him? She didn't deserve this. None of it. How could Adrian do this to her? McKenna was such a caring, compassionate, and kindhearted person. Why had he dragged her into this? And under such cruel pretenses?

"I, uh I just…I can…together, we can get through this. You just have to trust me." He needed to make her understand that this was not a hopeless situation, that they still had a chance. If they worked together.

"But that's the problem, Oliver. I don't. I can't. Because you are the Green Arrow, the Hood. I should've known. It is so obvious now. When he told me, it was like a revelation and everything that had happened four years ago made perfect sense. You played me. You lied and deceived me. You used me." God, she might just as well have slapped or shot him; the impact of her words had him reeling. She was right, but he had never meant… he'd never thought about…

"McKenna… that is not true, I did not…" Lie to her? Maybe not directly, but he did mislead her. He knew she was on the Vigilante Taskforce. He had used her to get information about Vertigo, or cases she'd worked on. But he hadn't meant… his intentions had been to help the SCPD, to help her… the thought that she might feel like he had used her for information had never crossed his mind, because he hadn't. He had truly cared about her, still did, and he'd never expected her to find out he was the vigilante she was hunting. She was never supposed to know.

"Don't. You did, you lied, and you ruined my life, Oliver!" her words hurt, more than he'd thought they would because he could see the truth in them now. Could see how much his actions had hurt her, and that had never been his intention. McKenna had been his friend for a long time, someone he cherished and cared for deeply. Reconnecting with her after coming home had felt so good and she had helped him on so many levels, more than she'll probably know or realize. He had never meant for her to get hurt. He had never meant to be the person who would hurt her as severely as he had. What had he done?

"I'm sorry, McKenna, I'm so sorry, and I promise, I explain everything to you once we are out of here. We can talk about it when we're free, okay? I understand you are angry right now and you have every right to be, but I need you to put those feelings aside for the moment. So would you please bring me the knife? Would you bring me the knife and I can save us?" He tried to appease her enough to get to her rational, methodical part that helped her excel as a cop. Not that he didn't mean every word that he said, he did, and he truly wanted to explain his side to her, to mend their broken friendship. She was too important to him to leave things the way they were now after they got out of here, if they'd get out of here. Which he was certain they could, if they worked together. He just needed to get her to see that as well.

"No. I lost everything because of you and now there's this psychopath that has been holding me capture for god knows how long, telling me I'm dead. That's all he kept telling me… I'm dead because I was a part of your life." Her words and the truth in them stung. He knew how much she had loved being a cop, helping people and putting the filth trying to destroy their city behind bars. It had been one among many things that had drawn him to her. Made him pursue a relationship with her after he'd come home. While they had been involved, sort of, before the Gambit, it had never been anything serious and neither had ever had any intention for it to be. They'd had unattached fun from time to time, and spend the rest of the time hanging out as friends., It had been uncomplicated. Which had been a nice contrast to the rest of his life.

He had been so proud of the person she had become in his absence of the career path she had chosen, and it had been a joy to watch her excel at it. And he also understood how mind games like the ones Adrian had obviously been playing with her, given her words, worked. There was only so long you could fight it before the words became a part of you and you began to believe them. Even if you resisted at the beginning and the words, in combination with the obvious physical torture she had been subjected to, would only sink in deeper and made her believe them faster. Until they were so ingrained that they became a part of you. And who knew how long she'd been in his hands?

Would it ever stop? Would there ever be a point when people he cared about stopped turning on him? When they were no longer being used against him? Or was this another part of his punishment for his sins?

"I had to give up my career. If it hadn't been for you and your murderous ex, I would still be a detective. I wouldn't have health issues. This is all your fault. And it is about time you paid for it." He watched her get up from the floor and taking several shaky steps towards him, knife raised, the anger, betrayal and hatred on her face hurt more than the wounds Adrian had inflicted. And she was right. What had happened to her was his fault. What was happening to her right now was his fault as well. He deserved her anger, but he wasn't ready to die, not yet. Not now, not when he finally had so much to live for. And not at the hands of someone he considered a dear friend. Even if she no longer saw him as her friend, she was still his and he couldn't let her do this. Because McKenna was a good person, she'd never forgive herself if she did this. Not once she was safe again and had time to heal and reflect on her actions. No, he couldn't let her go down that path. He couldn't fail her. Like he had failed Helena, which had led them down this path they were now on.

He at the very least owed her that.

"McKenna please… I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, if I'd know you'd get hurt… if I had the chance to change… please… I can't… Sara… I can't leave her. I promised her she wouldn't have to go through this alone. Please don't make me break the promise I made to Sara. Please!" It was a hail Mary attempt to get her to change her mind. McKenna had always had a soft spot for Sara. Maybe bringing her up would make her reconsider her actions. But it was also the truth and finally giving voice to the thoughts that had plagued him from the moment he had been taken had an effect on him he hadn't expected. And he was taken over by the emotions he had tried so hard to keep at bay and repress. Incapable of holding them back. His eyes were still trained on the woman wielding the knife and walking towards him, his vision turning blurry as his voice nearly broke at the end, the lump in his throat just intensifying the burning pain that talking had made worse already. He hoped his attempt would work because he wasn't sure his voice would cooperate much longer. The pain in his throat was searing now, and it was so dry the scratching in it was constant.

His life was in her hands right now.

Sara

She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this helpless. She wasn't sure if she had ever felt this helpless.

Ollie was missing. Ollie had been missing for days by now. And no one knew where he could be, where else to look, how to find him. And all she's been doing was sit around, trying to come up with ways to find her husband, places for them to look. Ways to locate him. All she's been doing was sit around doing nothing and going insane. She was very close to contacting Nyssa and ask for her help. Which just showed how fucking desperate she was. Knowing the issues that would come along with that choice. But still, she was running out of options. And the longer Ollie was gone, the slimmer the chances of them finding him or doing so alive.

All she wanted to do was hit the pavement, beat the information out of whoever had it. Scream her fucking lungs out. All she wanted to do was be on the streets, looking for her best friend, her husband, for her baby's father. All she wanted was to just do something to stop feeling this useless. Every single time she was with Ollie, and something had happened to him, she was right there to help him, rescue him, do something. All she could do now was sit around giving advice, put trust and faith in people who had done little to earn it lately, and the Bratva and pray to a god she wasn't sure even existed.

She felt like crying or screaming. God, she wished she could just scream, scream as loud as she could. Until everyone's ears bled, and the building came down on top of them. Maybe then people would understand exactly just how she felt, the anguish she was in. She put her hand on her stomach, on her baby girl, reminding herself why she couldn't do this. It wasn't worth it. The promise of feeling better if even only for a moment, wasn't worth potentially risking her daughter's health or life.

There was already the possibility that she had already lost Ollie. She couldn't lose Mila, too. And even less for reasons as selfish as those would be.

God,… she could feel the panic rise again at that thought. Ollie might be…

She was scared to death. Scared she was going to have to do this alone. Scared that Ollie wouldn't be here when Mila decided to come into this world. Terrified, Ollie wouldn't be there for any of it. Not for Mila's birth, or her first couple of days, her first steps, first words, potty training, preschool, first day of school, first date, prom, graduation… she was scared to death that she was going to have to do it all alone. That her baby would never get to know the amazing man her daddy was, that all she'd get were stories and photos, just like with her uncle Tommy and fraternal grandparents. The icy hand around her heart was making it difficult to breathe. Keeping her panic at bay was so very challenging. But she knew she had to. For Mila. Stress wasn't good for Ollie's little Hummingbird. Mila needed her to stay strong, stay positive.

Ollie was going to be okay. No, scratch that, it didn't matter if he was going to be okay or not. They'd get through whatever… they'd be okay eventually. Ollie was going to be alive.

That was all that mattered. Everything else she could handle. Just not… Ollie being… He was alive. Ollie had to be alive. She didn't know what she would do if he wasn't. It was almost too cruel to think about. After everything they've been through, everything they'd faced and had to endure, they've finally found each other again and to then lose him for good… she didn't think she could take it. She forcefully turned her thoughts away from that train. It didn't help; it wasn't productive. All it led to was paralyzing fear, and that was the last thing she needed right now. It led to her mind shutting down and no longer working, and she needed her mind to work. It was the only thing she could offer at the moment, so she needed to stay sharp, focused.

She still couldn't believe his team. Still couldn't believe they left him alone… they let this happen. They were supposed to have his back. Keep him safe, bring him home. The last time she remembered Ollie being taken by someone had been on Lian Yu. Slade… Slade had gotten lucky. Ollie had been nowhere near the level he was now, he had been good, but not even close to the level Slade had been on even before the Mirakuru. But back then she'd been there, and she'd helped negotiate and come up with a plan to get him back. She'd been able to do something and not just sit around and wait for everyone else to get things done and Oliver home. Last time she'd been working with Anatoly together, now she just had to trust him. And she did. She just had serious issues when it came to trusting other people with Ollie's life because they couldn't possibly understand just how precious he was to her. How he had immeasurable meaning to her and just how much he impacted her life.

Ollie might not be at the peak of his physical or mental health right now, but he was close enough. This shouldn't have happened. Prometheus shouldn't have been able to take Ollie. Except for the fact that he was known to plan everything to a t. Joanna's kidnapping had been a trap. Her husband had known that, so his team had been made aware of that too, she was sure of it. So how, how had Ollie ended up being taken, and without a trace? That was practically impossible. How was it that Felicity could find no trace of him, or anyone besides their team leaving the building, not on any camera, not even on traffic cams? If there was an underground way, a tunnel system or something like that, the team or Bratva surely would've found it. So how was he able to do this? There was also no way in hell Chase could've gotten Ollie out of there all by himself. Ollie was six-one and around two hundred pounds, in solid muscle. There was no way Prometheus could've just carried him out of there by himself if he were unconscious. And if Ollie hadn't been unconscious, Chase wouldn't have been able to take him at all. There was no way he'd just gone with them without a fight. He'd risked seriously getting injured over getting taken. She knew that for a fact. He had been alone in there. Adrian had had no leverage to get him to comply. So the only explanation was that Ollie must have been unconscious but then Adrian must have had help to get him out of there, which means there should be something on at least one of the cameras surrounding the building, but there was nothing. No trace of anything. Not even of a car or truck or motorcycle or bicycle or any form of transportation that would be needed to move a man Ollie's size from one place to another. This was very troubling.

This was why she was so against even more untrained people on the team. Dig should've known better, he should've known what Ollie had meant, should've understood why Doris was there. Dig was a fucking Army Vet who had worked with Ollie for five years. He should know how Ollie worked and thought by now. Dig needed to understand his place, his fucking job on the team. He was supposed to make sure Ollie would be alright, that he'd come back home. He was supposed to have his back. Take care of the escape.

He was his fucking bodyguard!

She looked at her older sister and her young sister-in-law. She loved them dearly, but they should've never been in the field to begin with. They should've never been there. Laurel had been too emotional, given the fact that it had been her best friend they'd been looking for. She'd been too personally involved. She should've never been in the field. And Thea, Thea would've put her focus on Laurel because of that. Maybe… maybe if Ollie had gone in in the belief he was alone, he would have made different choices. He might still be with them right now, had he not relied on his team, but only on himself. Had he not had to save them all.

Sara moved her eyes away from the two women. They strayed passed Felicity but didn't pause on her husband's ex-fiancée. She didn't have the energy to focus on her right now, and landed on Roy. The only person she hadn't lost her faith in yet. Her only chance in this room of getting Ollie back.

The man who had an unbreakable belief in Ollie, the Green Arrow and his cause. Even to this day. If anyone in this room would be able to bring Ollie back home to her, it would be Roy.

Or maybe Lyla; she was using every resource A.R.G.U.S had at their disposal to try to find him.

Or the Bratva.

She looked around the Bunker, one hand still protectively on Mila. She hated being here. She hated that Mila was here. She had never meant to come here. Not while being pregnant. This was an atmosphere she never wanted Mila to be in. And yet, here she was… waiting for what felt like a fucking miracle.

Had Ollie's team always been this incompetent and useless?

Ollie had a fucking tracer in his boots, and the Green Arrow's cell with him. How could they not locate him? Or at least the area he was in. She looked at Felicity, watched her work. The woman hadn't taken a break in ages. Sara respected that. Felicity had been trying to locate Ollie, or the signal of his cell or tracer for days, with no result. Wasn't she supposed to be the best hacker on the fucking planet? At least one would think so listening to the team or any of the teams, actually. What a fucking joke. She'd lost him. Her job was to keep an eye on the team, everyone on the team. To watch over them from afar, away from the immediate danger, which gave her the advantage of not losing track of them in the midst of the chaos that a battle field usually turned into.

Overwatch.

The code name Ollie had given her was very fitting for the position she held on the team and also very clear cut and to the point. It pretty much embodied her purpose on the team and the job she was expected to do. She obviously hadn't been watching the area at the time Ollie had been taken, or she would've seen something she must have. What had she been doing then? What had she been occupied with while Ollie had been facing Prometheus? What had seemed more important to her than keeping track of the one person who was in immediate danger and alone with the enemy they'd been outsmarted by for months? Felicity should've been focused on Ollie, not the other three who had been out of immediate danger, but the person still in danger. It wasn't such a complicated concept. And it wasn't too difficult to call nine-one-one and give them the location while keeping your eyes on the signal of Ollie's tracker, or the cameras in the area. If she'd done that, she might have seen that he was moving while he wasn't communicating, that would've given them an indication as to something being wrong, she would've been able to point the others in the direction they were taking him.

She hoped Gideon would be more successful, but if the cameras had been cleared after…she doubted there was much Roy's A.I. could find. Or Lyla with the help of A.R.G.U.S.'s resources. But Anatoly was almost her best bet. She was pretty sure if anyone would bring any results, it would be the Pakhan and his brothers. At least after the amount of time that had already passed. Yes, the Bratva could go places, use resources, and get information neither of the other options on finding her husband had. Plus, she knew, neither Anatoly nor the Bratva would shy away from using and doing whatever they had to, to get results and answers. She respected them for their policy; 'you fuck with one of us, you fuck with all of us'. And everyone knows just how crazy and ruthless the Russians were. People respected the Italians, but they were fucking terrified of the Russians, and for good reason too, they didn't play by the rules, they didn't give a shit, they were willing to do whatever they had to, to get what they wanted.

And Anatoly would shy away from nothing to bring Ollie home to her. She knew that for a fact, as he had proven by coming here to overlook the operation himself. Yes, the Bratva was her best shot; she was sure of it.

Technology was useful, as Gideon had proven by cleaning up the video feed they had had of Joanna and finding the location for them, but it still didn't replace the good old hitting the pavement and making people talk routine, with whatever means necessary. A machine could only provide you with so much. Humans always talked eventually, and you got information that would lead to yet another human and more information. There was no exception to that, or rarely any. Everyone had their breaking point. Self-preservation was human nature. A computer didn't give a shit. Nothing was as convincing and helpful as physical pain. She had learnt that the hard way. She'd betrayed Ollie out of fear of becoming one of Anthony's subjects if he found out she knew him and tried to help him escape. Or worse, tried to escape with him. It was an act she still hadn't forgiven herself for, even knowing that Ollie had, that he'd never held it against her. But she still to this day couldn't get the shocked, incomprehensible, and betrayed look on his face out of her mind. He'd looked so hurt and incredulous at her actions, like he just couldn't comprehend just the possibility of her having played and betrayed him and it had gutted her. No, she would never forgive herself for that act of cowardice, weakness and treachery.

Sara was ripped from her thoughts by the ringing of her phone. She checked the ID and sighed in relief as hope suddenly coursed through her. Anatoly. She answered him straight away.

"Have you found him?" She listened carefully to his words, rushing to Felicity's desk and taking a pen, scribbling down the information the Pakhan was providing her with.

"Are you sure?" He confirmed, letting her know exactly how they had gotten the address and information, his recounting did solidify her belief that he was indeed right with his assumption, and they might have actually found the location Ollie was being held hostage at. She rushed to Roy and handed him the piece of paper with all the necessary information on it, while still talking to Anatoly, asking him to hold back and coming up with a plan. She trusted Anatoly, but she didn't know any of his brothers. She wanted, no, needed Roy to be there, to be the one to get Ollie. And Anatoly agreed to working with him and waiting for Roy to meet them.

She owed him, big time.

Notes:

I hope you guys like the chapter and the changes I made and that my choice in who will be used instead of Evelyn makes sense. Arrow had so many great characters in the first one or two seasons that were just written out for no reason and I'd much rather bring those back than using some of the new ones I could never connect with.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the chapter.

Again, don't be too harsh on Sara, she's a nervous wreck and mostly she blames herself for not having been there with him.

Chapter title is once again from the song "Just a man" by Tom MacDonald, yes, there's a theme to the chapters in which Oliver is held captive...

Any feedback would be appreciated, it's the only thing that lets me know whether or not anyone is still reading this story, if people like or don't like a chapter and it would just be really nice to know how many people are actually still invested in this story...