Notes:

This chapter seriously kicked my butt. I struggled so much with writing it and once I got back to it and wrote a part that had been very difficult, my laptop didn't save any of it for some reason and it was all just gone, which seriously brought me to tears because I just knew trying to write that part would never amount to the version it originally was and just suck. It was very demotivating.

Then my laptop had some serious issues and didn't work properly, then I ended up with the flu once it worked again just for the program I use for proofreading no longer working for some reason and having some serious issues. So it was really, really demotivating.

The issue with the program is still not solved so, I'm sorry if this chapter is not up to my usual standard when it comes to grammar and stuff, English is not my native language and the program helps a lot. But since I don't know how long it will take to fix the issue and I really wanted to post something I decided to still go ahead, I might repost it later on once the program works again.

I just reposted the chapter after finally getting around to running it through the program.

And thank you so, so, so much for all of your support, it means the world to me and I truly appreciate it.

They feed us lies, manipulate intimidate through fear and force, forcing us to sit and wait Blades out, cut the grass til we see the serpents

Sara

It was while she was in the kitchen, preparing yet another snack to temporarily satisfy the bottomless pit her stomach had turned into thanks to the tiny human growing within her, that she heard the unmistakable and very familiar sounds of her husband coming home. This changed her thoughts from contemplating whether or not to bring Felicity another snack too, not yet familiar enough with the other woman's eating habits to know the frequency in which she required food, to those of the man who just returned from his quest for information.

Ollie usually wasn't a snacker, he'd eat three to four full meals, depending on the lengths of his day, except in crisis situations, when he'd skip the meals and eat protein bars every couple of hours, if someone reminded him to eat that is. She cut some more fruit and walked to their protein bar drawer, taking a couple of them out and placing them next to the plate with fruit. Ollie hadn't eaten anything since leaving their home earlier today and, knowing him, his information gathering had probably involved a lot of physical labor. She opened the fridge, took out an energy drink and placing it next to the food. If the situation were different and it were just the two of them and time wasn't an issue, she'd heat some leftovers for him. She let her eyes stray over the food again, considering if she should add anything else to the makeshift meal while waiting for him to reach the kitchen. It was one of the first places he began to look for her after coming home; she wasn't sure what to make of it, but three times out of five it was where she was at, the other two were usually somewhere resting or the bathroom, not that he came looking for her there, he'd just wait in the kitchen for her in that case. So, yeah, it did make sense for him to check the kitchen first; she guessed.

It didn't take him long to reach her, and she naturally melted into his chest when his arms wrapped around her from behind, while she was chewing on a slice of apple, making sure her blood sugar wouldn't drop too low. His lips softly brushed the spot behind her ear before she heard him murmur a hello. She reached up with the hand not holding the food and draped her arm around his neck, drawing him nearer. This right here was home. Sara could feel some of the tension leave her body simply because of his presence and touch. It never failed.

"Find anything?" She reluctantly moved out of his embrace, in order to turn around so she could face him, grabbing a protein bar in the process, the kiss he bestowed upon her lips an expected occurrence, deepening it came naturally, and they both parted grudgingly. Sara handed the protein bar to him once his hands left her body. He gave her a grateful smile while taking it from her and opening the wrapper.

"No one knows shit, or no one dares to talk. The Bratva keeps their ears to the ground, and they'll let me know if they learn anything." His reply wasn't instilling hope into her. No matter what they were doing, they didn't seem to make any headway. Adrian was good, too good to be working alone. If he had trained with Talia and really only started around two years ago, it would've taken pretty much that entire time for him to reach the level he was at as a fighter, from what Ollie had told her about his skills and being able to take Ollie on and pretty much being his equal, even though Ollie had years and years on him in both training and experience. Those facts made that story very unrealistic.

So how did Chase keep up the amount of training it would take for him to reach and stay on the level Ollie was at and also manage to do the type of research it required on top of the planning it took to constantly outsmart both Ollie and his team? How was it possible for everyone to be so damn afraid of someone who had only shown up several months, maybe a year ago? And if he had showed up around a year ago, that meant he only actually trained with Talia for maybe a year, one and a half tops if he had started his training only after Ra's had already been killed by Ollie, which Talia had implied. The more she thought about this, the more unrealistic Talia's story appeared to be. Unless he'd had previous training by someone else and only sought Talia out to fine tune what he had already learnt. But still… she remembered her first year in the League, and what the training had entailed, she'd be nowhere near the skill level of her husband after just one year with Ra's, what were the chances of Adrian succeeding in meeting the Green Arrow on the same level in that short amount of time being trained by Talia? Maybe if he'd had previous combat skills, but even then… something wasn't adding up at all.

Ollie's contact, especially the ones he had through the Bratva, weren't scared easily and wouldn't just suddenly decide they'd fear a new player in the game more than the Bratva. The Russian brotherhood was one of the most feared organizations in the world. And for good reason. No one fucked with the Russians and came out of it unscathed or alive. That was common knowledge in all areas of conflict. They were known to be ruthless and as unpredictable, harsh and unforgiving as the Russian winters. If he was who he claimed to be, there was no way he was working alone, that he was doing all of this alone. It wouldn't be possible. Not with him also being a D.A. and, according to Laurel and pretty much everyone, a damn good one at that, who was invested in the city and constantly working overtime at the office. Nor would he have managed to get a reputation of being more dangerous than the Bratva in such a relatively short amount of time.

Or the Green Arrow for that matter, sure, Ollie had lost some of the reputation he used to have once the criminals had realized his attacks were no longer lethal, and that had changed lately depending on the situation, but it made sense that it hadn't travelled far enough yet given it still being a rare occasion. But even so, Prometheus was more feared than the Green Arrow and the Bratva combined, and that was saying something. And sure, Ollie had managed to be highly feared and get a lot of research done when he had first come home, but he hadn't had a full-time job next to it. He'd missed appointments regularly and according to pretty much everyone, Tommy had run Verdant, Ollie had just occasionally showed up and shown his face mostly as an alibi. Which was in contrast to Star City's D.A. who wasn't missing appointments or court dates and regularly worked overtime.

And according to Laurel, he also had a wife he was committed to and spending time with. There weren't enough hours in a day for him to do all of this all by himself. It simply wasn't possible. It made no sense. There was just no way. Even if they were right and he was working with Ruvé, they were still missing something. And she was pretty sure it was the key pieces of the whole damn puzzle.

At least Ollie's efforts weren't entirely a waste of time. The new knowledge that his Bratva contacts, the people snitching to the brotherhood, were more afraid of Prometheus than the criminal organization was saying a lot. She wasn't sure the extent of it or any actual piece of information, but just knowing that meant chances were slim that he was who he claimed to be and had only been operating in Star for the amount of time they thought he had.

"Well, maybe they'll get lucky, now that they know what or who to look for. The Bratva is nothing if not efficient." She really, really hoped she was right. For Joanna's sake. She wondered for a moment if Ollie had come to the same conclusion as her concerning the meaning of the lack of information he had received or not, but wasn't willing to share her thoughts yet, she needed more time to mull them over and bring more form to them before adding to Ollie's brain which was already on overdrive, knowing him. She didn't need to add to it. Not without giving it some more thoughts and eliminating possible errors in her initial thought process. There was nothing solid that would prove what was essentially just a gut feeling. His focus needed to stay on finding Joanna and not on splitting it because of a suspicion that might not be warranted. She'd bring it up after they found her or if she felt it might actually be helpful. And there was a good chance Ollie had come to the same conclusion as her.

"Yeah, we'll see. Did Laurel or Felicity have more success?" His words, the reminder of the two women and everything she hadn't processed or dealt with yet, rushed over her like the icy water of the waterfall on Lian Yu, they'd used to clean up some every once in a while and she felt her muscles tense back up.

"No, at least Felicity hasn't as far as I know, not that we spent a lot of time talking, but she has the tendency to let you know right away when she finds something… Laurel hasn't come down yet, so I'm not sure." She walked around the counter and towards the coffee machine just to do something to try and shake some of the feelings that were bubbling up within her again. This so wasn't the time for this. The quiet stretched after her answer and she knew Oliver was aware of her feelings, probably contemplating what to do given the dire situation they were in and the lack of time or privacy to properly get into it.

"Aren't you just the prettiest girl in the whole wide world? I am so lucky." Sara rolled her eyes at her husband, she knew what he was doing, knew he was intentionally being corny to lighten the mood and try and ease some of her tension which had returned the moment he had stepped away from her and reminded her of the other two people currently being in their home, she turned towards him exasperated which turned into disbelief when she saw the look on his face. He might have phrased it intentionally corny, but the look in his eyes let her know he meant every single word of it.

She hated when he got all sweet and mushy and lovey, making her compliments like this one. Mostly because she hated the way it made her feel. Like she was turning into a fucking puddle on the floor or were mere words away from putting her hand on her forehead in an exaggerated fashion before fainting. He was the only person on the planet who managed to make her knees go weak and her stomach flutter and like one of those girls in classic movies, simply by saying some words. And she hated and loved him for it.

He was the only person who managed to make her feel weak.

"You're so stupid and annoying." Didn't mean she had to let him know that, or what she was saying wasn't true, because he was both of those things frequently. Especially when he got all lovey-dovey on her, it was very annoying, and also very sweet. This was exactly what she meant. At least she could blame her emotional overreaction to those silly words on hormones and could pretend they wouldn't have this effect on her otherwise. Plus the flutters in her stomach, definitely Mila for sure, never mind that her daughter's movements had changed from light flutters to very clear kicks or punches weeks ago.

"Geez, you make a woman a compliment, and that's what you get for it." She shook her head in amusement at the look on his face. He wasn't even pretending to be offended. Alright, she had to give it to him. She was feeling a lot less tense than she had mere minutes ago. He might be a silly, annoying, stupid idiot at times, but he did know how to get her to relax and ease some of the anxiety and worry that had plagued her for the last several hours while he had been gone. It took her a moment to realize that either she had walked towards him during their exchange or he towards her, or they'd both moved towards each other, not that it mattered either way. But he was a lot closer to her now than he had been originally.

"You know me, not a huge fan of mushy shit." She returned his grin with one of her own, while grabbing his shirt and pulling him towards her, so she could give him another very passionate kiss. She really hoped they would find Joanna soon… she felt a little guilty because part of it was because she couldn't indulge into what she really wanted to, which was the man in her arms until her sister's best friend was found and rescued and she really, really wanted to.

"Not… being… mushy... just… stating… facts." The words uttered in between the kisses they shared only vaguely registered in her mind. She was too occupied with her own thoughts and needs. She had missed him a lot. Sara wondered if she could blame this on pregnancy hormones too… might as well. Speaking of pregnancy…

"Wait, your kid's complaining and I gotta go pee… again..." she reluctantly parted her lips from his and gently pushed him away, to create some distance between them and give their minds the chance to focus on anything besides each other. His hand moved to her stomach at her words, rubbing it lightly while he grinned happily at her at their daughter's actions. She'd love to stay like this longer, but Mila was seriously pushing against her bladder and she really didn't feel like peeing herself right now.

"Alright. I'm going to check on Laurel, see how things are going before heading to the dining room, and check in with Felicity." Ollie pulled her back into his arms for one more kiss before letting her step away and rush off to the bathroom.

Oliver

"We have to find Joanna. We cannot make a move on Chase until we know she's safe. Until we have her here. This guy has us in check." It was important they understood that. The plan was to not engage Chase, not until they at the very least knew where Joanna was. Chase wasn't going to tell them, no matter what, all it would do was possibly piss him off or potentially give him the feeling Joanna had run the course of her usefulness and that was the last thing he wanted to happen. As long as Chase wasn't aware they knew Joanna was missing, or that he might be connected to it, the better. It gave them just the slightest advantage for the first time ever, well it was miniscule really and in the end it was still true; Chase had them in check and they needed to do whatever it took to keep it that way. They couldn't risk a move that would lead him to believe Joanna was disposable.

"For now." Yes, John was right, for now, but no matter what they did, even if they'd manage to turn the tables, Prometheus needed to be in the belief it was still the case until they had Joanna. And then, only then, could they make any other move that might piss him off. He wasn't naïve enough to believe Talia hadn't informed her former student about his visit, or the fact that she had revealed his identity to him. Not after the conversation they've had and the wrath she'd felt towards him because of his actions almost two years ago. Talia had made it very clear that she wanted him to suffer and was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen.

"This guy always seems ten steps ahead. Speedy, I need you and Laurel to head to Opal City. That's where his mother lives. If she's there, take her back with you. She probably won't be, but we need to make sure." Oliver knew it was a long shot, but they might find something else at her house. Anything would be more than what they had now. And if his mother happened to still be there, she might be able to give them some insight or information that they could use.

"Sure thing, bro. And what are you going to do?" He looked at Thea knowing full well the only reason he was even considering Laurel in the field, given who they were looking for and the connection between her and Adrian, was the fact he didn't want Speedy out there alone, not with the chance of her running into Chase. He wasn't going to risk it. Wasn't willing to risk Thea. Even though having Laurel look for Joanna might be a choice he'd end up regretting, knowing full well just how easily Laurel let her emotions control her. But having the women together was better than having one or both of them go off on their own. At least in theory. And Thea knew how to handle Laurel, sort off, better than Dig anyway. He also knew there was no way Laurel would just stay back, and he knew from experience that Felicity wouldn't make Laurel stay back but encourage her to put herself in danger, and he wasn't having that. And making Laurel stay with Sara wasn't a smart choice right now either. The chances of the tension between them escalating given the current situation was far too great and not what they needed in order to get past everything that has happened and move forward. So keeping Thea and Laurel together and out of the city seemed to be the best choice of all the ones available. Even though his gut was telling him, this one was going to come back and bite him in the ass.

His mind took a quick detour at that thought, just to weight all of his options once more, to the two sisters arguing with each other or Laurel going off alone and ending up in trouble; with Speedy to Opal City, it was.

"According to city records, Chase's house has a subbasement." He could feel Sara's eyes burn into his back.

"Chase does everything sideways, man. I doubt he has Joanna someplace obvious." Yes, it was a long shot, and given Dig's words, she wasn't the only one besides himself doubting that it was going to be fruitful and that he was keeping Joanna at his home, but they had to try. Maybe he was doing just that because they weren't expecting it and it was too obvious after everything else he had done up until now. But he also knew that none of this was the reason why she was burning a hole in his back.

No, the main reason was because he was pretty much stepping into the lion's den while they were still at a severe disadvantage. So far, the only thing that had changed to before was that they had a name. But that was it. They still didn't know his game, or connection to Ruvé or anything, really. And there was an enormous chance that he was playing into his hand and Talia revealing Prometheus identity to him was part of the bigger plan, but he was running out of options and ways to try to locate Joanna's whereabouts. Even if she wasn't going to be at Chase's house, they might find something useful there, potentially, hopefully.

The Green Arrow understood Sara's displeasure at his plan, but he didn't know what else he could do. He tried the Bratva; it had been a bust, sure they kept their ears to the ground and let him know if they heard anything, but by the time that might happen, it could be too late for Joanna. He hit the streets, but no one knew shit, or everyone was too afraid of Prometheus, more afraid than they were of the Green Arrow, and that alone was very troubling and very revealing. Felicity had been trying to find anything for hours on end and Sara herself had tried to find something connecting Damien and with that Ruvé to Adrian or Star City.

He still wasn't sure how she had gotten her hands on those documents from the League but she somehow had and they had already been useful months ago when they reached the conclusion the only way to deal with Damien would be to make sure he'd never be able to hurt anyone ever again, and they had agreed that it meant he was going to join Ra's, his old friend and rival, in the afterlife. But there were numerous more documents and books and diaries it seemed in relation to Damien that Sara had gathered over the last few months that she was currently going through.

Her Arabic was a lot better than his and she had fewer issues with the different variations of the written language depending on which country it was used in and reading Old Arabic and understanding it than he did. Sara, different from him, was also fluent in Tibetan, which apparently was a language members of the League used to write in too. While he was fluent when it came to speaking Arabic, reading it was an entirely different thing. His teachers in all the languages he learnt during his time away had put the focus on verbal communication, not the written word, except for Shado, who had insisted on teaching him both. Anatoly had also taught him the basics of the Russian alphabet while he'd been in Russia, but reading and writing had never been the focus. It had been different for Sara. The League had put as much stock on the written word as they had on the spoken one while teaching their members the languages of the League and the ones they felt were valuable for their missions. The League's approach was a different one than the Bratva's. It was closer to ARGUS, actually. Show up, infiltrate if necessary, and get the job done.

But then again, it didn't surprise him that Sara still had contacts in former members of the League that would be loyal towards her and help her. He knew how much she had struggled in the League and how much opposition she had faced, but there had also been those members who had a lot of respect for her and her skills, as he had learnt from Maseo during his time in Nanda Parbat, once word had gotten around that he had been involved with Taer-al-Safer and part of the reason why she had first left and then rejoined the League, it had automatically brought him respect and loyalty from some of the members, and distrust from others. It seemed the feelings the members had towards Sara had been very polarizing. They had either loved her or hated her.

"I'm not going to let you go off alone." He hadn't heard John use that timbre in a while, determined and supportive. The words weren't nearly as surprising as the tone of his voice and the sentiment behind it. He was reminded of years past, back when the trust between them had not yet been broken time and again.

"I can handle it." Still things between them were strange and he'd rather not risk Dig wanting to talk about what had occurred between Felicity and him earlier. He wasn't in the mood to share, and it wasn't the time to address it. And he really didn't even want to think about it right now. That rabbit hole was too deep to get lost in while Joanna was still missing. So he tried to get out of taking the other man with him.

"Never said you couldn't." He wasn't sure whether he was grateful for Dig's insistence or not, but then he caught Sara's eyes and saw the small glimmer of relief that John's words had caused. They might have their differences right now, but Sara knew John had his back when it counted and the knowledge that taking his former bodyguard with him was helping Sara feel better about him leaving to possibly face Chase was all he needed to know to agree with him. If this would ease his wife's mind a little, it was worth risking that specific conversation with John.

"Alright, let's go." He nodded at Dig before addressing his sister and sister-in-law, he was still getting used to the second one, it was rather strange to think of Laurel as that given their complicated past but not the fact that they were officially family now, even if she wasn't aware of that little detail yet. They needed to make sure that Laurel would learn about his and Sara's marriage through them and not anyone else. It was important, especially given their history. But that was for another day.

He turned around so he'd be facing Sara, studying the look on her face. To anyone else it was probably revealing shit, she'd put her mask on and if he didn't know her as well as he did he'd be incapable of figuring out what she was feeling, but he did know her better than he knew himself and therefore saw the worry and fear hidden in her eyes. Yes, Sara was as terrified of losing him as he was of losing her or Mila or both. But he also saw the understanding and support that went along with her fear. Maybe if Joanna hadn't been the one missing he'd sat this one out, at least tonight, but she was and he couldn't and Sara understood that, agreed with that, but he understood where she was coming from too. He had only just gotten back from his trip, a trip that could've easily ended up in his death, had Talia decided she wanted him dead. So yes, Sara's feelings were more than understandable, and he wished he could address them, could cater to them and stay home with her, but they needed to find Joanna, and they both knew and understood that Joanna's survival trumped their needs.

All of those thoughts and feelings led to him honestly not giving a shit about what everyone might think right now. He bent down and kissed Sara goodbye, reassuring her in Chinese, while stroking her stomach to tell his daughter goodbye too. God, he hated this.

Notes:

Part of me feels like this chapter was just kind of filler and I'm sorry but at the same time I wasn't able to skip it and just jump ahead a little... let me know what you think.

I was really, really confused when it comes to Adrian, his training and when he started it and how long he was trained by Talia, if he sought her out after Ra's died like she implied while talking to Oliver, Adrian would've only had like a year of training before Prometheus showed up in Star City makes his skills very unrealistic in comparison to Oliver, or am I wrong here? I just realized that one while writing this chapter... it's very confusing but then again when we look at Thea and Laurel's progress... I guess Adrian's makes sense too... lol.

Chapter title is from the song "God we need you now" by Struggle Jennings and Caitlynne Curtis.