Chapter 9: Patrol Pandemonium

John Diggle was used to rolling with chaos. He could follow orders when they were given, even in the face of drama on the home front. Civilian life only cemented the skills he first learned in the military. He knew about staying in your own lane, having your partner's back, and developing trust in the right people and only the right people.

So it was a surprise that being a neutral party in the Queen siblings' feud made him feel more out of control than anticipated. Perhaps it was that in the military, soldiers typically didn't serve alongside family members – some soldiers met their spouses, but that was complicated. Look at him and Lyla, after all. Maybe there was something to be said for serving in separate posts. Some people are just too close to interact with objectively in a combat scenario.

Honestly, Digg had expected Thea to be the problem. She was young, having only teetered over drinking age on her last birthday, and tended to let her emotions get the better of her in the field, whether that emotion was excitement or anger. The bloodlust had certainly exacerbated the strength of those emotions. But no, Thea seemed to be keeping her head just fine on patrol over the past week.

It was Oliver that Digg found himself frustrated with. Despite Laurel's measured response to Digg's questioning on the Queen feud, Digg was able to gather that Laurel, and even Felicity, were on Thea's side. It served as a pretty good indicator of where Digg's loyalty would fall if he were asked to take sides.

As it stood, Oliver acted like a man being hounded by his demons, fluctuating quickly and seemingly without reason between brooding and loud, sharp anger. And because Thea was showing a recent, clear preference for being paired with Laurel, Digg had been paired with Oliver during patrol. Oliver and Thea could not end their feud soon enough.

Tonight's patrol had started no differently than any over the past two weeks. Digg and Oliver arrived at the Foundry to brief with Felicity before heading into the city so that Thea and Oliver didn't have to interact. Comms remained separate, which meant that he, Laurel, and Felicity had a full picture of their team while Oliver and Thea missed out on what the other said. It was working fine, but John was discomfited by having team members out of the loop. The risk was truly small, but sometimes in a crisis a small liability became a wider disadvantage.

Diggle, suited up as Spartan, watched from the darkness of a van's shadow as a figure in front of him clambered into an armored vehicle. It should have been a typical HIVE target and Felicity had done her best to confirm that aboard the vehicle was some interesting tactical gear that Darhk would likely come out of hiding for. Nothing seemed amiss with this transfer, though, and Digg glanced over to the patch of darkness which should be shrouding Oliver. Digg couldn't see any hint of his partner in the darkness and remained still as the armored vehicle started, then pulled off into the night. Diggle sighed softly as the vehicle disappeared without incident down the road.

"We've got nothing," John declared, feeling the pressure of another night without a trace of Darhk or HIVE.

"Dammit," Oliver groused over comms and John could start to see the outline of Oliver's figure emerge from the shadows. "Tell me you've got better news, Black Canary?"

"We've got something," Laurel announced, sounding uncertain, voice tense.

"I've got eyes," Thea's voice piped in. "It doesn't look like HIVE, but these guys are acting fishy. Do you have anything, Overwatch?" Thea asked Felicity.

"I'm trying to find a CCTV feed near you," Felicity stated, voice focused on the task at hand. "Speedy, Black Canary, tell me what you're seeing?"

Laurel obliged, reporting out in a low voice to conceal her location from her targets, "There are at least seven guys. All dressed in dark colors but not wearing any kind of gear. Civilian clothing. A few of them are checking out the boxes and three of them are talking."

"Arguing," Thea clarified. "One of them is telling them that their shipment was screwed up."

Oliver jogged over to Diggle, listening to the conversation. Oliver cocked his head in unspoken question and Diggle iterated Thea's missing part of the conversation for Oliver, "They're arguing about a shipping error."

"I found a camera a block down from you," Felicity reported back. "Give me something I can work with, Speedy. Can you see identifiable tattoos? Markings on their jackets?"

Thea responded, "Um … there's one who has a patch. Give me a sec, I can get closer."

"Speedy, I think that's close enough," Laurel warned, anxiety leaking into her voice.

"What's close enough?" Oliver asked Diggle. Diggle shot Oliver an unamused look and didn't respond.

Thea stated, "I'm seeing a jacket patch: a wolf's head surrounded by flames. I think it has a word under it. Give me a second, I can get it."

"Wolf patch, on it," Felicity said. "Is the word 'Libertas'?"

"Um. Yes, that's it," Speedy confirmed.

"We're looking at the Frederick Commons biker gang," Felicity noted. "Be careful, Speedy, Black Canary. They're not known for their even tempers, and it looks like they have been getting into the Vertigo game recently. If you interrupt their business, you've got to be ready to finish it."

Oliver met Diggle's eye and Digg nodded in silent answer. Both turned and began to jog. Diggle stated, "We're on our way. Where do you need us?"

"Grab your bikes guys – you're going about twenty blocks east, towards Warners Street," Felicity directed.

"Um, guys, these boxes look like they contain Vertigo," Laurel reported. "What's our play? Do we try to cut this one off at the head or do we tag and follow?"

"There's a lot here," Thea noted. "I say that we stumbled on the distribution center. We take this down, we screw up their operation for long enough to save a handful of kids."

Diggle and Oliver reached their motorcycles and started off towards their teammates and the gangsters from Frederick Commons. Diggle relayed to Oliver, "Speedy wants to take it down."

Oliver stated firmly, "Not until we get there." He added a quick order, "Black Canary, tell her."

Diggle felt like he could almost feel Laurel's eye roll through the comms, but her voice was professional as she relayed, "Speedy, Green Arrow and Spartan are on their way, ETA in five. Hold position until they arrive."

"Copy," Thea responded.

"Shit," Felicity remarked suddenly. "Shit, shit. Black Canary, Speedy, get out of there. Another two cars pulled up, with at least six more men and these guys mean business. They are in full tactical gear. Pull back!"

Diggle saw Oliver ahead of him hit the throttle and Diggle dug in too, matching Oliver's speed.

"We copy, Overwatch," Laurel stated quietly.

"Guys, I don't have a clear path. I'm going to wait it out." Speedy noted, voice low.

"FULL tactical gear, Speedy," Felicity added urgently. "If they've got night-vision, that shadow you're in might as well be a spotlight."

Gunfire crackled over comms. The sound was the extra kick Digg needed to urge him forward and he and Oliver raced towards the source of the chaos.

"Speedy!" Laurel yelped in horror. Thea made no answer as Oliver steered his bike into an alley and leapt off once it had made a stop. Digg pulled his motorcycle next to Oliver's and likewise turned to face the sound of gunfire.

"Speedy?" Felicity called over comms. "Report out!" More gunfire cut through the night-sky followed by some horrific screams. "Shit," Felicity said, listening to the sounds in her earpiece. "Can someone report out?"

Oliver stated in a dark, low voice. "Spartan and I are here. Going to cover the east-side entrance. Does someone have a bead on Speedy?"

"I don't know," Laurel's voice shook. "Those men, they just came in and wiped everyone out. I don't have eyes on Speedy."

"Speedy, respond," Oliver ordered in a firm voice. Oliver had clearly forgotten in his panic that Thea wasn't connected to his comms.

Diggle just continued forward, clearing the space beside Oliver and said softly, "Speedy, report!"

There was no reply. Nothing but silence.

Diggle looked over Oliver's shoulder to peer around a corner, providing his first view of the tight room filled with boxes whence originated the gunfire and screams. Six figures clad in black tactical gear were using prybars to open crates and dump their contents onto the ground. Around them were pools of blood and bodies, some of them still flailing and screaming. There was no obvious sign of Thea.

Diggle grabbed Oliver's shoulder getting Oliver's attention. As Oliver swung around to look at Digg, Diggle held firm eye contact while shaking his head 'no'. This was absolutely not the time to charge in.

"Guys, you're leaving me hanging! Can someone respond?" Felicity demanded. They were too close to the perps to respond to Felicity's pleas and Digg shot Oliver a look. As quickly as they had descended upon the room, the six figures quickly turned and began filing out of the room outside, returning to their cars.

"They're gone now!" Felicity noted breathlessly. "Can someone please report out?"

"Green Arrow and I are clear," Digg noted.

"I'm here," Laurel's voice responded tersely. "I'm walking towards Speedy's last known location."

"Speedy?" Felicity urged. "Come on, give us something." The pause was long enough that Digg found his mind unhelpfully imagining finding Thea's body shredded by the heavy automatic gunfire from the perps.

"My god," Thea breathed out into the tense silence. "I swear, I thought that was it," she admitted, shaken. "I'm clear. I think I'll need the full check over – at least one bullet winged me. But I'm pretty sure I'm good."

Some deep-down part of Diggle, the part that he tended to purposefully ignore while he was in the field, flooded with relief. That's when Diggle noticed a very panicked Oliver striding into the room filled with bloodied crates and broken glass. Oliver's gaze darted over the room, clearly trying to decide where to search first.

"Hey, Green Arrow!" Diggle called out quickly. "She reported out. She's fine. Got winged by a bullet, but it's just a scratch."

Oliver stopped in his tracks and swung back to look at Diggle in disbelief. As if he was afraid to accept Diggle's assurance, Oliver asked tersely, "Black Canary – is that true? Do you have eyes on Speedy?"

"Yes," Laurel's voice chirped, the relief evident in her voice. "Speedy's here. She's fine."

Laurel's voice rang twice in their ears – first from across the room, then through their comms. Diggle and Oliver turned to where Laurel's voice came from and saw Laurel and Thea standing in a darkened corner of the room. They watched as Laurel grasped Thea's arm, likely inspecting where the bullet had glanced. Diggle looked back at Oliver. Even in the darkness of the poorly lit room and with a mask and grease paint around his eyes, Diggle could see Oliver's control as it slipped away. Oliver spun on his heel and marched out of the room. John jogged to follow and watched Oliver mount his bike and peel off into the night. Diggle looked up at the sky, seeking patience with this exasperating man, and climbed onto his own motorcycle to return to the Foundry.

As the Foundry's elevator doors opened, John could hear the sounds of a squabble between Oliver and Felicity. At least they had had the sense to make sure their comms were closed as they argued, John noted.

Oliver's voice raged, "Felicity, she could have died out there! And I had no way of knowing what was happening to be able to help!"

"You had as much information as the rest of us!" Felicity defended, her voice dark and clearly upset by Oliver's accusation. "Thea wasn't responding to any of us, she was pinned down - responding would have blown what little cover she had, and you being on her comms would not have changed that!"

"And what about the next time, hmm?" Oliver said haughtily. "If Laurel wasn't able to give us the information we needed or if you didn't have access to the cameras?" Oliver allowed a pause, seemingly taking Felicity's silence as assent. Oliver declared passionately, "She shouldn't be in the field if we all can't be in communication!"

John sighed, not relishing finding himself in the middle of this argument and began to move towards the Foundry's Hub where Felicity and Oliver argued.

Felicity sounded exasperated as she demanded, "Well, what would you have us do, Oliver? She wants to be in the field and she doesn't want to talk to you!"

Oliver leaned against the railing that encircled the Hub. He whirled around to face Felicity and accused with vitriol in his voice, "She wouldn't have had the opportunity to be off comms if it wasn't for you coming up with this asinine plan!"

John was now close enough that he could see the tears spring into Felicity's eyes, but even still, it was clear that Felicity wasn't ready to back down. Felicity said in a low voice, shaking with emotion and hurt, "The plan isn't the problem, Oliver – the problem is you. Thea wouldn't need space from you if you hadn't hurt her."

Oliver opened his mouth to say something else to his fiancé that John was certain he would regret, when John made it to the Hub to intercept him. "Come on, Oliver," Diggle ordered, grabbing Oliver's arm and giving it a light tug towards the stairs. Oliver initially resisted, standing firm, clearly intent to continue his fight with Felicity. Diggle said, more sharply, "Now." Diggle was none too gentle with his second tug, gripping Oliver's arm firmly and dragging Oliver to the stairs with him.

John didn't stop dragging Oliver with him until they reached the row of lockers separating this corner from the rest of the Foundry. Once they reached the relative privacy of the lockers, Diggle gave Oliver a small shove, spinning Oliver around to face him. Diggle could see at a glance that Oliver's eyes were still ablaze with anger and adrenaline. It looked like tough love was on the menu, then.

"Look, man," Diggle said, voice gentle and confiding as he attempted to balance out Oliver's rage. "I may not know what is going on between you and Thea, but I can certainly see what is going on with you. This anger you've been carrying around, you've gotta find a way to let this go before someone gets hurt."

Oliver's eyes went wide and he demanded incredulously, "Let this go? Let this go?" Oliver shook his head, his eyes wild and pained. "You have no idea what you're asking of me."

"No, I don't," Diggle agreed evenly. "But I do know that if you keep holding on to this," Digg waved a finger towards Oliver, indicating the agitation practically rolling off of him, "it's going to end one of two ways: you're going to say something you can't take back or you're going to get into a fight half-cocked and get you or someone else killed." Diggle had known enough good men and women who got thrown off of their game at a pivotal moment and lost everything due to anger like that streaming off of Oliver.

Oliver stood up and paced a few steps away from Diggle, arms going over his head, hands gripping each other as they rested on his crown. He then dropped them to his sides and spun around, asking seriously, "John, what would you do if you found out that someone had hurt Lyla? Or Sarah?" John felt a quick stab in the deepest part of him, the part that did its best to avoid even considering any harm befalling his wife or daughter. Just the thought of either of his girls being harmed was enough to make him nauseous and the implication that some harm had befallen Thea had the hairs standing up on the back of his neck. Diggle knew he didn't need to answer Oliver aloud. He would burn the world down to protect his family.

Oliver demanded, "Can you honestly tell me that you could just set it aside and pretend that nothing happened?" Oh, how John wanted to take the bait and ask what Oliver was talking about. But he was Switzerland. He had promised Thea. He could let this go.

"Felicity and Laurel, they don't get it," Oliver continued, wheedling Digg to understand. "But you do! We protect," Oliver stated. "And if we fail to protect, we avenge. And if we can't avenge … then …" Oliver's self-assuredness melted away. "I don't know what to do."

John could feel the vulnerability in Oliver's voice. John watched as Oliver sat down on the bench next to him. Oliver looked defeated. Diggle finally voiced gently, firmly, "If it's too late to protect and there's no way to avenge, then we get to just be there."

Oliver let out a huff of self-effacing annoyance. "Well, I already screwed that part up."

John felt the corners of his mouth turn up and said, amused, "Somehow, I don't doubt that."

Oliver looked up from the ground to meet Diggle's eyes with mock indignation. "It's not funny, John."

"I'm sure it's not," John said evenly. "Felicity and Laurel are really pissed with you."

Oliver just shook his head and snorted, seeming lighter from the friendly ribbing even while it belied deeper truth. Silence settled over the two men. Finally, in a more measured tone of voice than Oliver was capable of summoning earlier, he said, "Look, Diggle, you have got to be on my side on this. Thea shouldn't be out there if she doesn't have proper support."

This was one tree that Oliver didn't want to bark up with John. John, who still had ill-feelings towards how Oliver had handled his time in the League of Assassins, Lyla's kidnapping, then traipsing into his fairytale ending with Felicity, leaving John, Thea, and Laurel behind in Star City to pick up the pieces. "When you were in Ivytown, Laurel and I were her support," John said, an edge to his voice.

Oliver sighed in frustration, "I get that, Diggle, but this is different."

"How?" John asked testily.

"Because!" Oliver said loudly in frustration. His voice became immediately more vulnerable and he admitted, his voice catching, "Because if she had died tonight and I wasn't even on comms … John, I couldn't live with myself." Oliver began to shake his head as if shaking away the images of his sister dying close by but out of his reach. "I really … I couldn't have lived with that."

Diggle was ready to interject when Oliver said, "Honestly, Digg, everyone just expects me to be okay with being in the dark, but what they don't get is that if something, anything, happens to Thea, I think the guilt would kill me. I've seen it, in Tommy on that other world. I know what I was ready to do when Slade Wilson took her, or when Ra's left her for dead. I'm not so obtuse as to think that I could handle losing her any better than Tommy did."

John could understand Oliver's concerns but was unimpressed: it seemed clear to John that Oliver held the ability to influence the outcome. "Then fix things with Thea and you won't have to be on separate comms," Diggle said unsympathetically.

"I would," Oliver cringed, "but I really screwed things up. Thea has made it clear, and Felicity and Laurel are backing her choice, that she's taking a break from seeing me. I'm supposed to be giving her space."

John peered at Oliver mildly and directed, "Then take your exile like a man and, when she's had enough space, apologize. Just like this," John added waving his hand towards Oliver indicating his current state of remorse. "Let her know you know you messed up and that you will do better."

"You make it sound easy," Oliver noted unimpressed.

"It's not," Diggle agreed readily. "It will probably feel like hell. Really apologizing when we've screwed up does. But if you want to be in Thea's life, that's the price you pay." Digg added with conviction, "And you've got to count on Felicity, Laurel, and I to have Thea's back until then. Like it or not, you're no longer the only one who cares about her. Thea has always been your family, so she was my priority because of you. But now she's my family too. She's held my daughter, she's had dinner at my house. She's covered my six." Diggle slapped a hand onto Oliver's shoulder, assuring, "We're not going to let anything happen to her." And John meant it - once you were family, John Diggle would protect you with his life.