Chapter 18
Unraveling Deception
"Things come apart so easily when they have been held together with lies."
— Dorothy Allison
Oliver, Felicity and John stood in front of the monitor which showed Dinah talking with Vincent Sobel, also know as Vigilante. There was no audio, so they didn't know what the pair was saying to each other.
John defended her. He couldn't believe Dinah was the one that was testifying. Not when she'd stood by him during his injury. She cared about the team way too much to do that.
Oliver wasn't convinced. Ever since he learned that there was a possible member of the team who'd betrayed him, he'd gone on the defensive. After what happened with Evelyn, he promised he'd never be too blinded to see the people that were around him.
All he could think about was how whoever this person was, they were actively helping to put him in prison. They were actively helping to take him away from his wife and children. He needed to find out who, and right now Dinah was his number one suspect.
At the sound of footsteps, they turned to see Thea. Oliver hurried over because she didn't well.
"Thea?" Oliver reached his sister. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm ok. I'm fine, I'm fine." She assured him.
"What happened?"
"Evil Laurel." Thea replied. "She took Quentin. I tried to stop her, Ollie, but I—I'm not strong enough anymore."
Oliver brought an arm around her and placed a kiss to her head.
"It's fine, it's ok. I'm just glad you're ok." Oliver said.
"Why are you ok?" Felicity asked and they turned to her. She figure that came out wrong. "I mean I'm glad you're ok, but Evil Laurel usually doesn't leave loose ends."
"She needed a messenger." Thea said before lifting a cell phone.
Oliver took the phone and after a moment it started ringing.
"That's not weird at all." Felicity said before Oliver answered.
It was Cayden James. The man was bargaining Quentin's life for a device called nanoaluminum amplifier, currently stored in ARGUS. His demands were that they steal it from ARGUS in exchange for Quentin's return. Oliver didn't trust the man to keep his word.
"At nightfall tomorrow, I will text an address to this phone." Cayden continued. "You'll be there with the amplifier, or Quentin Lance shuffles off this mortal coil. Oh, and please don't breathe a word of this to your friends at A. R. G. U. S."
The call ended and Oliver pulled the phone away and turned to his friends. There was no good way around this. He hoped maybe Felicity and Curtis could create some duplicate to fool the man, but she shot down the idea knowing Cayden would see through it.
In the end, John reminded them that this was Quentin's life, and they had to do whatever they needed to do to get him back.
Oliver nods. "Call in Rene and Curtis."
"No Dinah?" John asked.
"Until we know where her loyalties lie, no, she's out." Oliver replied.
"We should call Laurel." Thea said and they all turned to her. "Good Laurel. She should know what's going on with her dad."
"Fine," Oliver replied turning away. "They were watching Robyn this weekend."
"Right, because you're supposed to be on an airplane right now, on the trip Katie has spent the last couple of months planning." Felicity said and Oliver looked over to her. "Which doesn't seem like it's going to be happening with this A.R.G.U.S heist and hostage negotiation happening tomorrow."
"You know Felicity, I already feel like crap, you don't have to make me feel worse." Oliver huffed before turning to John. "I'm going to run home to talk to Twinkie and then I'll be back so we can come up with a plan."
Oliver didn't wait for anyone to say anything before he turns off toward the elevator.
John glanced over to Felicity who just shrugged.
"You know how sad it is to watch him slowly blow up his life." Felicity shook her head. "I know none of this is easy for him, and he's doing the best he can, but if he's not honest with her, he's going to lose her."
"Whatever happens, it's up to Oliver and Katie to deal with, not you. You can't get involved." John replied and the woman sighed.
"We're already involved. We're helping him keep this secret knowing it's a terrible idea." Felicity turns, sliding a hand over her face. "I'm going to run home to change, and I'll be back too." she looked over to Thea. "Did you need a ride?"
"Yeah." She says before following after the woman.
Oliver felt like he was heading toward his execution. The moment he pulled his car into the driveway, he felt nervous. He had absolutely no idea how he would explain not being able to leave on their trip this weekend.
The only good explanation was the truth, and he wasn't sure he could do that either. Not without revealing his secret and not only totally ruining their anniversary, but causing a very big rift in their marriage and he couldn't do that. Especially not today.
When he finally worked up the courage to walk inside, he took a few steps before stopping. There were two suit cases and a duffel bag in the hall in front of the door.
He heard the sound of the television, and turned to see Katie sitting on the couch. He took a deep breath before walking over and taking a seat beside her. She didn't turn or even acknowledge his presence in the room which verified she was angry.
"Twinkie-"
"I delayed the plane as long as I could before the pilot finally said we had to reschedule flight." Katie said as she flipped through the channels to find something to watch. "I told him we didn't need to reschedule, and to just cancel our trip."
"Twinkie, I'm so sorry, I-"
"I don't want an excuse." she interrupted him. "I don't care about excuses right now. The truth is that tonight you were presented with multiple choices." she turned to him. "And in the end, you didn't choose me."
She flicked off the television before standing to her feet and heading into the kitchen.
Oliver stood to go after her. He needed to fix this some kind of way. He walked into the kitchen to find her standing at the sink, her back to him.
"I lost track of time." he gave the blanket excuse he'd used multiple times in the past.
She let out a snort.
"Twinkie, I promise-"
"Please don't." Katie turned to him. "Please don't promise me anything right now. Near the door are two suit cases that were supposed to be for a fucking trip to Paris I'd been planning for months!" she shook her head. "The bag was packed when I realized you weren't going to make it. Inside of that bag is everything you will need when you leave tonight."
"Twinkie-"
"I don't care where you go, I don't care what you do, but I don't want you in this house tonight."
She moved to go up the stairs, but stopped when he moved to block her.
"Two years Oliver. Today of all days, you had to just break my heart." she tried to move around him, but he wouldn't let her.
"I'm sorry." he pleaded with her, hating the pain in her eyes and hating that he's the one that put it there. "I—I'm so sorry."
"I know you're sorry. You're always sorry. It's at the point now that those words mean absolutely nothing to me anymore. Get the bag and get out of this house."
This time she stepped forward and shoved him out of the way, before she headed up the stairs.
Oliver stood there, frozen in place. He knew he fucked up, he knew she was going to be mad, but he didn't expect her to kick him out of the house. He deserved her anger. That much he knew. He also knew that this was just one incident. Once she found out about him being the Green Arrow again, he knows it's going to be worse consequences.
Oliver sighed before turning and heading into the hall, looking down to the bags. She was right. He could've chosen her. They could be on a plane to Paris and he would probably be a hell of lot happier right now if he did. But he had to choose to deal with finding out who'd betray him.
He grit his teeth, angry more at himself right now than anyone else.
He picked up the bag and glanced over his shoulder toward the steps. Just a few hours ago, they stood in front of their friends and he vowed his total and complete dedication to her. Now she didn't even want to be under the same roof as him.
When he returned to the bunker, Oliver stepped from the elevator to see John talking to Ethan. Both men turned to see him walking over.
John noticed the bag Oliver was carrying, and gave the man a look but Oliver just shook his head.
"Where's Laurel?" Oliver asked dropping the bag to the floor.
"Not here." Ethan folded his arms over his chest. "We're not throwing the stress of finding out her father has been kidnapped by her evil doppelganger until we have to." he sighed. "I told her I had a call from the hospital." he nudged his head to John. "John said this Cayden James guy wants you to steal some doohickey in exchange for Quentin."
"It's located in ARGUS, and there's no way anyone from ARGUS would just give it to us." Oliver said before turning to John. "Curtis and Rene?"
"Felicity is filling them in." John replied.
Oliver nods before glancing down to the bag. John turned to Ethan.
"Could you give us a minute?"
"Yeah." Ethan nods before turning to join the others.
Once he was gone, John turned to Oliver whose eyes were still drawn to that bag on the floor.
"How bad did she take it?" John asked and Oliver looked over to him.
"She didn't." Oliver shook his head. "She didn't have to. She tried delaying the plane until the pilot asked to reschedule so she just cancelled the trip." he nudged his head to the bag. "The bag was packed when I got there. She told me—she told me to leave."
"Oliver, I'm sorry."
Oliver just shook his head before picking up the bag. He knew he couldn't stop to focus on the emotions he was burying. He couldn't think about his wife kicking him out of their house. Not now. Not when their focus needed to be on saving Quentin.
"I'm going to get changed, and then we can figure something out." Oliver said before walking off.
John sighed before going to join the others. Felicity glanced over to him, before looking around for Oliver.
"He's on his way, he's just getting changed." John said before walking over to look down to the monitor that showed the schematics of ARGUS. "So you guys figure out a plan?"
"We think so." Curtis walked over to the monitor about to explain, but stopped when they heard the sound of footsteps.
None of them quite expected to see Ari walk from around the corner of the bunker.
"I know what you're going to say."
Ari directed the words to John. She knew he'd be the one with the lecture and stern words when she got here. She reached into her backpack and pulled out her tablet, before typing a few keys.
"I got another hit on evil Laurel."
She turned to one of the monitors and they directed their attention to the video of Laurel and two of her henchmen dragging an unconscious Quentin into the back of a van. Ari turned to John.
"And instead of going after her myself, I decided to bring this information to you." she said.
"Well thank you, but you should go."
John walked over to and brought a hand to her shoulder trying to usher back toward the elevator.
"Whoa, why are you-" Ari glanced over to John. "Why are you kicking me out?"
"Because you're not supposed to be here."
Ari turned at the voice she didn't expect. She glanced over to Oliver with wide eyes and nervously chuckled.
"That's funny, I was going to say the same thing to you." she chuckled again, but he didn't look amused. "But seriously, what are you doing here? I thought you and Katie were supposed to be on your way to her surprise trip."
Oliver crossed his arms over his chest as he looked over to the girl who was waiting for him to say something. She looked around and noticed most of the team was there except for Dinah.
"Did you guys already know about Quentin?" she asked looking from John to Felicity. Then she directed her attention back to Oliver. "And they told you? Why would-"
It hit her as she was looking at the man. She suddenly remembered all the late nights in the office and all the missed dinners. She looked over to John.
"I was wondering how you were able to be the Green Arrow again with your injuries, but you can't, can you?" she turned to Oliver with a pointed finger. "You—oh my god, you're the Green Arrow again, aren't you?"
Oliver dropped his eyes from hers, unable to let the words come out of his mouth. He wasn't ready to admit to his daughter that he'd broken the promise he made.
Ari scoffed, before turning to the rest of the team who she figured all knew and said nothing.
"I'm assuming since everyone is here, you already know about Quentin" she asked.
"Yeah." Curtis answered glancing over to Oliver before turning to Ari. "This is a ploy from Cayden James. He wants us to steal a nanoaluminum amplifier from ARGUS in exchange for Quentin. He's threatening to kill him if we don't."
"Oh, so everyone's here to plan a heist on ARGUS? That's just great." she turned to Oliver. "I'm sure Felicity or Curtis has explained how dangerous a nanoaluminum amplifier could be in the hands a crazy person, right?"
"We have no other choice, if we want to get Quentin back alive."
"Right, negotiating with terrorists, always work." she sighed as she looked at him for a moment before walking over to stand in front of him. "I want to help."
"Ari-
"No, scratch that, I want back on the team." she looked up to Oliver's eyes. "Apparently, the mask isn't so dangerous anymore."
Oliver stared down to her with a shake of his head.
"We don't have time for this. We will talk later." he walked around her to the rest of the team. "Did you guys come up with a way for us to get in?"
"Yeah," Curtis said, glancing over to Ari before turning to Oliver as he walked over to the schematics.
Katie once again found herself sitting in the puppy closet. She found it oddly calming to just sit and watch the little puppies playing or sleeping. Harry sat beside her, her head in Katie's lap as she napped.
At the sound of the doorbell, little barks came from the puppies as Katie stood to her feet.
"Larry, Curly, Moe, calm down." She pointed to the three puppies.
She'd secretly given the puppies names despite Oliver's objections
"Why don't you sleep like your sister?"
She glanced over to the puppy that was curled next to her mother so she only found it appropriate to name her little Harry.
Katie turned, heading out, climbing over the gate they had blocking the door so the puppies couldn't get out. She headed down the hall, and pulled open the door, a slight smile coming to her face.
"Thanks for coming, Speedy." Katie said as Thea walked in, already dressed in her pajamas.
"Yeah, well a text from you in the middle of the night to come over so we can drink and eat junk food made me worry." Thea pulled off her coat and hung it up before turning to Katie. "Do you want to tell me what's going on?"
"You talked to your brother?" Katie asked as she walked around Thea toward the kitchen. "You didn't ask why I'm at home and not on a plane."
Thea groaned under her breath as she went to follow her.
"Uh yeah, he said something about some big project he had to work on." Thea walked over to sit at the counter. "I uh—threatened to kick his ass of course for being a total dick for ditching you on your anniversary."
Katie reached up to grab the box of cookies and sat them in front of Thea before she walked over to the grab a bottle of wine and two glasses.
"Where is Ollie?"
"I have no idea."
Katie sat the bottle and glasses down on the countered before heading over to the freezer to grab some ice cream.
"He strolled in here about an hour ago, and then he strolled on out when I told him to leave."
"You what?" Thea waited for Katie to explain, as the woman pulled her ice cream from the freezer and sat it on the counter. "You kicked him out of the house?"
Katie didn't answer as she walked over to grab some spoons. She slid one over to Thea before popping open the container and digging in for a big spoonful.
"Are you ok?" Thea asked as she watched Katie stuff her mouth with the large spoon for ice cream.
"What do you think?" she said through a mouth full of ice cream.
She dug her spoon in again.
"I was mad." she looked up to Thea. "Maybe I was too mad." she turned away with a shake of her head. "Why would I do that? There's a good reason. Oliver Queen wouldn't abandon me on our anniversary without a good reason and I didn't even let him tell me what it was."
She turned to Thea and just stuffed another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.
"This is the worse anniversary ever." she whined before grabbing the ice cream and bottle of wine and leaving the kitchen.
"Oh boy." Thea sighed before grabbing the cookies and following after her sister.
The plan was risky. Stealing from ARGUS was a bad idea. That was the main reason Oliver made Ari stay behind at the bunker with Ethan.
Ari sat glumly behind the computer while the plan was in progress. At the moment, John had talked his way into Lyla's office where he plugged in the flash that allowed Felicity to locate the amplifier.
"Seriously nothing but fruit." Ethan groaned as he walked over and dropped to the seat beside Ari. "A whole hero lair and no one has a sweet tooth." he looked over to the monitor before looking over to Ari. "You still think this is a bad idea, don't you?"
"This is a dumb as shit idea and with as much brain power that's supposed to be on this team, it's surprising I'm the only one objecting." Ari muttered.
"You do know the coms are on, right?" Curtis asked. "And I'm offended."
"Ari, we need to keep the line clear." came Oliver's voice.
He was still doing that calm voice thing that made Ari roll her eyes. She sat and watched as everyone seemed to have a part in the plan. They didn't need her. She just sat back in her seat, and looked up to the ceiling as she waited.
Soon the pair heard that Oliver had the amplifier and that the team was on their way back to the bunker. Ari scoffed before standing to her feet.
"Look I get you think this is a bad idea, but if it helps get Quentin back, then we got to do it." Ethan said.
Ari stopped walking and turned to the man with a furrowed brow.
"Sometimes it would just be good not to solve a crime by committing another crime." she replied. "If we do this, what stops him from kidnapping Will next week and forcing Oliver to steal the Declaration of Independence." she shook her head. "When you give into the demands of someone this removed from reality, they push their limits. Like I said, this plan is dumb as shit." and with that, Ari turned and walked away.
When the team arrived at the bunker, they all filed inside. Oliver walked over to Ethan before glancing around.
"Did she leave?" Oliver asked.
"No, she's somewhere around here being all moody and teenage." Ethan replied and Oliver turned back to him. "She's also kind of makes an annoyingly good point. I want to get Quentin back, but this one deal could create bigger problems."
Oliver didn't say anything for a moment before turning off to find Ari. He heard the sound of punches and when he turned a corner, he finally spotted her sparring with the dummy. He walked over and stopped, but she just continued without a word.
"Do you want to talk now?" he asked.
"No, I wanted to talk before your stupid plan." she replied throwing another strong kick that knocked the dummy over. She walked over to pick it back up, but Oliver moved to block her. "Move."
"No, we're going to talk. I just want to explain what-"
"You don't have to explain anything! I think I got the important parts. John is no longer the Green Arrow, you are, and you decided to hide it from us."
She tried to move around him to the dummy, but he once again blocked her. She scoffed before turning around, and glancing over to see John and Rene. "
"And you had help keeping your secret!"
"Ari, this situation is not as simple as that." John said and Ari glared over to him.
"Yes it is! And don't talk to me like a little kid, for once just tell the truth." she turned to Oliver who walked over to stand in front of her.
"You're right, I am the Green Arrow again. After John's injuries, he couldn't do it, so I stepped in." he dropped his head and let out a deep breath before looking back up to the girl. "And I didn't tell all of you because—because I made a promise."
"A promise that you broke." she pointed a finger at him. "Katie doesn't know, does she?" the girl looked over to Oliver who didn't say anything. "Of course she doesn't know."
Ari turns her back to him and slides her hands over her face unsure why she feels she might cry. She just sucks it up as she keeps her back to him.
"Ari, I know you're upset with me. You have absolutely every right to be. I'm very sorry." Oliver said and the girl didn't even turn to him and it broke his heart that he'd hurt another member of his family tonight. "Ari, please, just-"
"I don't want to be on the team." she turned back to him. "Whatever I thought this was-" she glanced over to John and Rene. "It definitely isn't and I don't want to be apart of it." she turned to Oliver. "I'm going to stay, do what I can to get Quentin back and then I'm done."
She didn't say anything else before stalking away from him, and brushing past John and Rene.
Once she was gone, Oliver let out an angry growl before picking up the sparring dummy and throwing it across the room.
"Oliver-"
"Just, don't John!" Oliver snapped angrily turning to the man. "My life is slowly crumbling and there's nothing I can do to stop it."
"If only someone warned you this would happen." Rene muttered before walking off.
Ari walked over to where Felicity and Curtis stood with the amplifier. They both glanced over to the girl who didn't say anything as she looked it over.
"Do you want to talk?" Felicity asked, breaking the silence.
"If it doesn't pertain to the amplifier, then no." Ari replied her eyes still on the device. "We can't give this to Cayden."
"If we don't he will kill Quentin." Curtis replied.
"And if we do, he will kill many more." Ari said looking over to the man. She glanced over to see John, Rene and Oliver as they walked over.
"What do you mean?" John asked.
"The thermobaric bomb he stole." Curtis sighed and they all turned to him. "With this he could multiply the blast radius, twenty fold."
"That's the entire city." John turned his eyes to the device. "And then some."
"Look. I want to save Lance as much as anyone, but he wouldn't want this." Rene said. "I mean, he wouldn't want us to just hand over something so dangerous to some psycho."
"Well, that's exactly what we're going to do." Oliver said and they all looked over to him.
He turned his eyes to Ari who just shook her head about to walk away again.
"Curtis is gonna sabotage it."
The girl stopped and turned back to him.
"Curtis is gonna do what, now?" Curtis looked over to the man in confusion.
"The amplifier doesn't have to work." Oliver turned to Curtis.
"You just need Cayden James to think that it works long enough for us to get Quentin back." Ari said and Oliver looks over to her and nods.
Curtis turned away, trying to think of what he could do.
"I could back-channel a path into the circuitry." he thought out loud.
"If you hide it behind the existing board, it might buy us enough time to get Lance, and get the hell out of there." Felicity said and Curtis nods.
They all turned at the sound of footsteps, surprised when Dinah walked inside.
"Hey, did you guys just come back from the field?" Dinah asked, looking between the team, surprised to see Ari and Ethan. She turned back to Oliver. "Why didn't I get a call?"
A sudden beeping sound echoed around them and they all turned to Ethan who pulled out his phone.
"Shit, now I really am being called to the hospital." he said before glancing over to Oliver. "Call me if there's news." the man didn't wait around before running off.
"We should talk in private." Oliver said to Dinah who was still confused about what was going on.
"That's a bit dramatic, don't you think?" Dinah looked from him to the rest of the team. "Just say it?"
Oliver turned to the woman, and folded his arms over his chest.
"Ok. I know that you've been meeting with the vigilante in secret."
Dinah looked at the man with a furrowed brow,
"You followed me?"
"I did."
"Whatever business I have with Vince is none of yours." Dinah replied.
Oliver glanced back, his eyes going to Ari before turning back to Dinah.
"It is when it threatens to put me in prison and keeps me away from my family." Oliver replied.
Ari stood, just trying to keep up with what was going on. But she got nervous after what Oliver just said.
"What does that mean?" she whispered over John, and the man turned to her, but didn't say anything.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Dinah asked still totally confused.
"I'm talking about being arrested off the statement of someone who knows my identity, somebody on this team." Oliver said.
John walked over to stand beside him.
"And you think it was me?" Dinah asked.
After all this time and the everything she's done for this team, she couldn't believe he would think she would do that.
"What, because I didn't tell you about Vince?"
"I think you have given me no reason to trust you." Oliver said and Dinah scoffed.
She turned to John hoping he would step in to help defend her.
"And you? What about you? You don't trust me either, John?"
"Dinah, I'm sorry." John said.
"This is ridiculous." the comment came from Ari who scoffed. Oliver once again looked back over to her. "You found out someone on the team is testifying against you, and you didn't think to tell us that either."
"Ari-" Oliver turned to her.
"Dinah didn't do." Ari said walking over to her. "I don't know who did it, but she's standing there without a clue in the world of what you're talking about."
"Thank you, Ari." Dinah said before looking over to John. "I'm the sorry one. Yeah, I'm I'm the sorry one for having your back all those times." she shook her head. "Screw you guys."
"I'm not finished."
"I am!"
Curtis moved to stand between them, hoping to deescalate the situation.
"Hey. Guys, can we- can we all just please calm down for a second?" he looked from Dinah to Oliver. "Look. I know everyone's stressed because Cayden's threatening to blow up the city and Lance is kidnapped, but let's just—all just take a breath." he sighed. "Now, I'm not saying that it's me, but it can literally be any one of us."
"Dinah, you were the only one with something to hide." John said and they turned to him. "Everyone else checked out."
"What does that mean?" Curtis looked over to the man with a furrowed brow.
"Yeah. What does that mean, John?" Dinah asked.
"It means we had you under surveillance." Oliver finally came out and said it.
"What? All of us?" Curtis asked.
"Yeah." Felicity said.
"I'm sorry." Ari took a step forward. She looked between Oliver, Felicity and John. "Who did you have under surveillance."
"Don't worry Ari, by all of us, they mean all-" she pointed to herself, Curtis and Rene. "Of us, right?"
"So just the newbies." Curtis looked between Oliver, John and Felicity. "We're out there risking our lives just like the rest of you are!"
"Stop." Rene interrupted and they all turned to him. "Dinah isn't the witness, Oliver."
"You don't know that." Oliver said to him.
"Yes, I do, because it's me." Rene admitted. "I'm the one who's testifying against you." Rene glanced over to Ari. "Agent Watson came to me. She said she had proof that I was Wild Dog and that she was gonna use it against me to make sure that I never saw Zoe again." Rene looked back over to Oliver. "She said she had a solid case against you and that she was gonna arrest you either way." he shrugged. "You were going down. I just couldn't make the trip with you."
"You should have told us, Rene." John said. "We could have figured something out."
"There was nothing to figure out, Hoss." Rene said looking over to the man. "Right? There is no other way."
"Yeah." Felicity said with a shake of her head. "Now we'll never know."
"Rene," Oliver looked over to the man. "Get out."
Rene didn't move. He glanced over to Ari who was still just looking over to him in confusion.
"Get out." Oliver repeated more firmly.
Rene glanced back over to the rest of the team before turning and leaving.
Silence filled the room when he left. No one quite sure what to say. Dinah was the next to walk out. She didn't say anything to anyone. After her was Curtis, who brushed past everyone without a word.
Once they were gone, Oliver turned to Ari who still just silently stood, her back to him.
"I should get you home." Oliver said.
Ari turned to him. She glanced between him, John and Felicity.
"So that's it?" Ari asked. "The original three, and you screwed this up to proportionate levels." she shook her head. "Surveillance?! You told me this was a family! And you go out and spy on them, and then got it wrong?" she scoffed before turning to Oliver. "I don't need you to take me anywhere, I have my car." she turned to leave.
"Ari, Ari please." Oliver took a step forward and the girl stopped and turned back him.
"Are you about to ask me to keep your secret from Katie?"
"No," Oliver shook his head before walking over to her. "I would never, ever ask you to do that. I just—I'm sorry."
"You know I'm realizing you say that a lot." Ari said looking back to the man before walking away.
When she arrived home, Ari had made up in her mind that she was going to do it. She was going to tell Katie everything she's learned tonight.
She walked into the house, and heard the television. When she walked into the living room, she saw Katie asleep on the couch.
"Don't wake her." Thea whispered and Ari looked over to see the woman walking from the kitchen. "She just fell asleep."
"What happened?" Ari asked and Thea nudged her head for the girl to come into the kitchen.
"A lot." Thea replied before she went about cleaning the rest of the kitchen. "She didn't give me a lot of details, but something happened with Ollie, and their trip got cancelled. She's sad and upset and finally fell asleep after a very long night." Thea sighed before turning back to Ari suddenly realizing what she'd said. "And I should not have told you all of that. Katie's fine."
"She's not." Ari said turning away. "Life just keeps knocking her down and she jumps back up." she shook her head. "For us."
"Are you ok?" Thea asked and Ari turned to her and nods.
"I'm going to head up to bed." Ari turned and headed up the stairs.
The next morning, Oliver pulled into the driveway of the house. He stepped out of his car, and walked up to the door, but stopped and took a deep breath. He didn't know what was waiting on the other side of this door, but when he decided to keep this secret, he also made the decision to take every consequence that came with it.
He wasn't sure if he should just walk in, and so he reached up and rang the doorbell. After a moment, the door opened and he smiled at the sight of his sister who stood with a puppy in her hand.
"Hi." Oliver said.
"Hey," Thea greeted. "You're ringing the doorbell?"
"Didn't want to risk the chance of getting shot by my wife." Oliver said glancing inside before turning back to his sister who was wearing pajamas. "You stayed the night?"
"Yeah, she called me over." Thea took a step to the side to let him in. "She's taking a shower."
"Is Ari here?" Oliver asked looking around again.
"No, she left out early. Said she was meeting Jamie." Thea replied. "Why, what's up?"
"She came to the bunker last night." Oliver said turning to Thea. "She knows."
"Wait, she knows you're-" Thea watched as Oliver just nods. "She didn't say anything."
"She didn't?"
"No, she came in last night, we talked and then she went up to bed." Thea said before turning away. "Damn." she turned back to Oliver. "I kind of let it slip that Katie was having a bad night. I wonder if that's what stopped her."
"Bad night?"
"Yeah, there was sugar, alcohol, action movies and crying." Thea said before walking the puppy back to the closet with the other puppies. "She called it the worst anniversary ever." Thea looked over to her brother who turned away, and she could see the guilt on his face. "Any luck on getting Quentin back."
"Yeah, we should be able to get him back tonight if everything goes according plan." Oliver replied.
"You're really going to give in to Cayden's demands?"
"We're going to give the illusion that we are. Long enough to get Quentin out of there, at least." Oliver said before glancing up to the ceiling. "I want to talk to her, but I don't know what to say."
"You know what to say Ollie." Thea said and Oliver turned to her and let out a sigh before heading up the steps.
As he walked down the hall, Oliver was once again trying to think of what he was going to say to her. And yet when he pushed open the door and she looked up to him from her seat on the bed, only one thing came to mind.
"I'm sorry."
"You said that already." she replied before dropping her eyes from his.
Oliver realized he needed to tell her more of the truth.
"Last night at the party, Quentin told me he'd learned from Jean, the prosecution's smoking gun. They have a witness that will testify that I'm the Green Arrow." Oliver said and Katie turned back to him. "He told me it was someone from the team."
Katie closed her eyes and dropped her face to her hands, and Oliver sighed. This was what he didn't want. He didn't want to give her something else to to worry about.
"Last night I pulled Felicity and John to try to help me figure it out who it was." Oliver walked over and dropped to a knee in front of her. He placed a hand on her lap. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you and I'm sorry, I abandoned you on our anniversary and ruined our trip." she still didn't say anything and Oliver sighed. "Twinkie-"
"It's Rene." she said pulling her hands from her face and looking down to him. "It's Rene. Something has been off with him but I didn't ask him about it." she shook her head and stood to her feet and walked over to the window. "I just don't understand why—what does Watson has over him, for him to do this."
"Zoe." Oliver said and Katie looked over to him. "I had Felicity surveil the team, and we thought it was Dinah. She's been meeting with Vincent and we thought if she was hiding this, then-" he shook his head. "We confronted her and that's when Rene admitted that Watson told him that she had proof he was Wild Dog and if he didn't give me up, he'd never see his daughter again."
Katie didn't say anything, before turning to once again look out the window.
"It's fine, I will take care of this."
Oliver moved to stand in front of her. He placed a hand on her arm, but she didn't turn from the window.
"I've already told Rene to leave and-" she turned to him. "I know you two were close."
Katie just shook her head before turning back to the window.
"I never told you how I met Rene." Katie folded her arms over her chest as she looked up to the sky. "He would bring his wife into GMH when she'd get too high to stay awake." she let out a sigh. "He'd became a regular. So on some days, while he would wait, I would bring him coffee and then I'd turn the television on to watch whatever to distract him from the fact that his wife was lying in bed coming down from her high. Sometimes he'd have a crying Zoe with him and he'd just be overwhelmed, so I'd help him calm her down." she turned to Oliver. "Watson threatened to keep him away from his daughter."
"That doesn't justify betraying me. Him doing this takes me away from you and the kids." Oliver slid his arm around her. "The risk of having him on the team is too great."
"What did John say?" she asked turning to him and Oliver cleared his throat.
"He agreed." Oliver replied and Katie once again turned away.
"I should talk to him."
"You don't have to do that."
"I know." Katie replied turning back to him. "But I've known Rene too long to make any assumptions about this situation. I have to believe that he was a desperate man in a desperate situation and he ended up making a desperate decision."
"I imagined you'd be more upset." Oliver said and Katie looked at him for a moment.
"I am upset. More than you know. " she shook her head. "I kind of thought for one weekend we could escape the reality that is my husband being on trial and possibly going away for life." she pulled out of his grasp. "I thought for one weekend my husband would be present and wouldn't go off to handle a problem that affects our family with his friends and not me." she turned away. "I'm upset that my friend was put in an impossible situation with a federal agent threatening to take his daughter, and I'm upset he fell for it!"
"Twinkie, I'm-"
"Oliver, if you apologize again, I'm going to hit you."
She scoffs before turning and pulling open the door. Before leaving, she stopped and glanced back to him.
"You should've just told me. It was going to be a shit day anyway, but you should've just told me." Katie pointed to the table next to his side of the bed. "That's your anniversary gift and the reason I was late." Oliver glanced over to see the beautifully wrapped box before turning back to Katie. "I'm going to go see Rene." she turned to leave.
"Twinkie, how do we fix this?" Oliver asked and Katie once again stopped but didn't turn to him.
"I don't know how to fix it, Oliver. So I guess it's just going to have to be broken for a while."
With that she walked from the room, leaving Oliver, who only felt more guilty.
He glanced over to the gift, before walking over and picking it up. He sat down on the bed, before unwrapping it to find a brown envelope. It made him slightly nervous, and he found it eerily similar to the envelope that held those divorce papers. He let out a deep breath before opening the envelope and pulling out its contents.
They were naming proposals for The Second Chance project. Oliver paged through the packet, before finding a page that had a blue tab. He stopped and read the page and a smile pulled at his face.
Oliver quickly stood to his feet and headed out of the bedroom to find Katie. He walked down the steps, looking around for her, only he didn't see her.
"She just left." Thea said glancing over to him from her spot on the couch.
Oliver sighed before walking over to sit on the couch beside her.
"Everything alright?"
Oliver handed her the papers, and Thea took them in confusion as she looked down to them.
"What is-" she skimmed the tabbed page. "The Robert and Moira Queen Family Resource Center." Thea looked over to her brother.
"She dedicated a wing to them in the Second Chance Project." Oliver said and watched the smile come to Thea's face.
"This is what she was doing at City Hall yesterday, wasn't it?" Thea asked and Oliver nods. Thea dropped her eyes to the names of her parents. "Mom and dad, their names once again tied to something good in this City."
Thea once again looked over to her brother who slid a hand over his face.
"Felicity called me, wanted to keep me up on what was going with Quentin. She told me about Rene."
"I told Twinkie," Oliver said looking over to Thea. "About someone on the team testifying against me. She knew immediately that it was Rene."
"How did she take it?"
"She's upset, but she's not letting me in. Not that I deserve it."
"Ollie, you're in an impossible situation."
"You know I'm trying to keep the bow on this life, where I have a happy wife, and happy kids but everyday I'm failing." Oliver looked over to his sister. "Me telling her about to Green Arrow will be the last straw."
"You don't know that."
"Yes I do." Oliver once again turned away, his eyes going to a picture of all of them from some fundraiser. He swallowed the lump of emotion in his throat and stood to his feet. "I should head back to the bunker."
When Katie found Rene, the man was sitting with a burger in front of him, Curtis and Dinah sitting with him. They were talking when Curtis reached forward and grabbed Rene's burger and took a bite.
Rene was about to say something to the man, when he lifted his eyes and spotted Katie. Curtis and Dinah noticed and followed his gaze as Katie walked over.
"Long time no see." Katie said looking between the three faces as she placed a hand on Curtis' shoulder. She turned to Rene. "I didn't know you were busy, we can talk some other time."
"No, it's fine." Rene stood to his feet before glaring down to Curtis. "I've lost my appetite anyway."
"It really is a good burger," Curtis said taking another bite making Dinah laugh.
"Yeah, whatever." Rene walked over to Katie. "I'll see you guys."
Katie waved to the pair as well as she and Rene walked away.
"Do you think she knows?" Curtis asked Dinah. "About Rene?"
"I don't know." Dinah replied watching Katie and Rene as they walked further away. "Have to admit, I kind of wish she was still on the team. She's not like them." Dinah turned back to Curtis. "I kind of believe she wouldn't go along with them spying on us."
"She wouldn't." Curtis sighed as he looked over to the woman. "And she wouldn't have let them either."
Katie and Rene walked in silence for a while. Rene was positive he should speak first, he just didn't know what to say.
"Hey Doc-"
"Wait, we're not that far." Katie glanced over to him with a slight smile.
When they appeared at a pond, Rene watched as Katie walked over to a bench. She turned to him and gestured for him to come over and sit, to which he did.
"My parents used to bring me to this pond when I was a kid." Katie said looking out to the water. "Every celebration, every bad day, ended up with us sitting at this pond." she glanced over to Rene. "This is a special place to me."
"Well thanks for bringing me." Rene said as he turned to look out to the water. "But you didn't have to. I'm probably the last person you should even be talking to."
"Laura was my very first patient on my very first day at GMH." Katie said and Rene turned to her. "I was nervous as hell, except when I was treating patients."
"I could tell." Rene chuckled. "You were calm and collected enough to tell me to sit my ass down and shut up so you can help my wife." Rene turned away, the sadness hitting him at the memory. "I don't think I would've made it without your help. I just—I just wanted her to get better, but she was just-"
"She was sick." Katie said and Rene turned to her. "Too sick to see what she was doing to herself. Too sick to see what she was doing to you and Zoe."
Rene turned to her.
"I'm sorry, Doc. I didn't know what else to do. With Watson, I just-" Katie reached over and took Rene's hand. "I'm sorry."
"I've been hearing a lot of apologies lately." Katie says giving the man a pat on the shoulder before turning to looking over to the water. "What I have learned is that apologies are rarely for the people they're being said to." she nudged his shoulder. "I can't absolve you from your guilt and neither can Oliver. You prove that you are not the things you have done, by your actions."
"Right," Rene sighed looking out to the water. "This thing with Quentin, that's what I can focus on, and prove I'm still with the team."
He turned to Katie who looked over to him with a quirked brow.
"What thing with Quentin?" Katie asked in confusion.
That night, the team was surprised to get a call from John that Oliver was asking for the entire team to head in for the exchange for Lance.
After getting dressed in their gear, they were about to head out when the elevator doors slid open and out walked Ari who looked between the team. Oliver glanced back to John.
"You said call the whole team, so I called the whole team." John said as they turned back to Ari.
Oliver walked over to her, and she looked up to meet his eyes.
"Ari, I will respect any decision you make. Right now Quentin could use all of us tonight." He turned and glanced over to the Firelight suit before turning back to her. "And that includes Firelight. What do you say?"
Ari glanced over to the suit as well for a brief moment before looked back to Oliver and then to the rest of the team.
"I want to make one thing clear, I'm only here for Quentin." she turned back to Oliver. "I'm going to get changed." the girl headed off without another word.
The exchange itself didn't go as they expected. Somehow Cayden knew that the amplifier had been sabotaged. The moment the man revealed what he knew, Cayden ordered Quentin and Oliver to be killed.
Everything that followed was pretty much a gun fight mixed with arrows. Dinah and Ari soon jumped in to back up Oliver in his fight against Cayden's thugs, but Curtis and Rene were no where to be found.
The pair had diverted from their position to locate Quentin. They weren't surprised when Felicity once again asked where they were.
"We're on our way." Rene said as he and Curtis crept down a hall.
They peeked from a corner where they spotted Evil Laurel with Quentin surrounded by a couple of Cayden's armed thugs.
"On your way, why aren't you in position?" John asked through the comlink.
"Haven't got time for that, now Hoss." Rene replied. "We've got eyes on Lance."
They took a step, and that's with Evil Laurel noticed them and let out a sonic cry, before the thugs began shooting.
"James is gone, and his men are down, where the hell is everybody!" Oliver snapped angrily.
"I got Lance and Laurel. They're exiting the north side of the building." Felicity said.
"I'm on my way." Oliver replied before turning off.
"Oliver wait!" Felicity suddenly ordered and Oliver stopped.
"Felicity, what is it?" Oliver stopped and waited for her to respond.
"What the hell is happening?" Rene suddenly asked.
Rene and Curtis stood watching as Cayden's men stood frozen, their guns held up before they all just collapse to the ground.
"Uh oh." Curtis nervously turned to Rene who turned to meet his gaze. "If this is what I think it is, we should-" he nudged his head. "We should probably go."
Earth-X Laurel dragged Quentin around the side of the building before stopping and turning to him with the blade of her knife. He wasn't sure what she was going to do, but he definitely didn't expect her to cut the zip ties and and tell him to run.
They turned at the sound of footsteps, to see someone dressed in all black, their face hidden under a ski mask.
"Let him go!" came the modulated voice from the masked person.
Earth-X Laurel released the man who began walking before she lifted her head and let out a sonic scream so strong it knocked some large industrial tubing to fall.
Quentin hurried forward to keep out of impact, before the masked figure grabbed his arm and pulled him forward. They both turned to see Earth-X Laurel nowhere to be seen.
Quentin sighed before turning to the masked person who finally reached down and pulled the ski mask from her face revealing herself to be Katie.
"I forgot how hot these things are." she fanned herself with her hand before turning to the man. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, thanks for coming to get me." he said. "I thought you were done with the masks."
"Yeah, well some people are so important to me, that I'd slip one on for." she placed a hand on his shoulder before turning to see Curtis, Rene and Dinah running from the building. They stopped at the sight of Katie next to Quentin. "I heard you lost a Deputy Mayor."
Back at the bunker, Felicity and John waited for the team to get back. When the elevator opened, they looked over to see Katie standing front and center as the Rene, Curtis and Dinah followed her off.
"Is everyone ok?" Felicity asked looking from the team to Katie who tossed down the ski mask.
"Well I broke a nail, does that count?" Katie asked turning to the woman. She waved a hand back toward the team. "Oh, and they're all fine. I checked them out before coming here." she looked between John and Felicity. "Quentin is home, safe and sleeping this shitty day away. Sucks he spent so long being kidnapped."
"We had the situation under control." John said and Katie turned to him. "Look, we appreciate your help, but the team had it handled."
Katie looked at him for a moment before walking over to stand in front of him and then she moved to stand beside him.
"John do you see those three standing there?" Katie asked and John sighed before turning to her. "If anyone of them gets taken, you tell me. If something happens to Quentin, or anyone else close to me gets kidnapped, you come to me."
"So how does this work?" Felicity asked and Katie turned to her. "You say you want out and we supported the decision, so now, are you saying you want back in?"
"No, I'm saying that when people I consider family find themselves in danger, tell me because I'm not sure if you guys know this, but I sort of getting use to finding people close to me. I could've possibly saved Quentin a day of being Cayden's prisoner, and you all planning some dumbass heist from ARGUS." she scoffed before turning to Rene, Dinah and Curtis. "I told you I had your back, that hasn't changed." she turned back to Felicity and John before walking over. "I know that Oliver knows what's going on, did you tell him that Quentin is alright?"
"Yeah," John replied. "We told him."
"Good. He should know why he spending the night in the doghouse when he gets home." she walked past them and tossed a tired wave behind her back. "I'm going home to soak in a very long, hot bath."
Once Katie stepped into the elevator, they all turned when Oliver and Ari stepped out of hiding. Ari glanced over to the team, before turning to Oliver.
"I should get changed and head home." Ari said before turning off to get her clothes.
"Ari," Oliver took a step and the girl stopped and turned back to him. "You did really good out there."
"I know." she replied before turning and walking off.
At the end of the night, Oliver found himself changed back into his regular clothes and standing in front of the Green Arrow suit. For his stunt tonight, Oliver kicked Rene off the team. Dinah and Curtis both expressed their distrust of the team, and decided to quit.
At the sound of footsteps, he glanced back to see John walking over.
"I called Ethan, and gave him the good news. Felicity just left, Said something about Bruce and Gotham." John said. "I think he's gotten something to pin down on Joker. I'm going to give him a call later, to let him know to give the word if he needs our help."
Oliver just nods before turning back to the Green Arrow suit in the display case.
"You know that is the same look you had when you were looking at that arch yesterday." John said and Oliver sighed. "Let me guess, you're thinking about the future."
"How could you tell?" Oliver asked, glancing over to his friend.
"I have the same look when I'm watching JJ sleep."
"I'm thinking about our next anniversary." he sighed. "If there is a next anniversary."
"Don't think like that." John nudged the man's arm. "There's going to be a next anniversary and another one after that. You and Katie are going to make it through this."
"You know yesterday, I made Jamie promise me that he would try his very best to not hurt Ari, and if he did, he should do everything he can to make it right, and if in the end she wants to walk away, I told him to let her."
"Oliver, she loves you too much to walk away." John said and Oliver turned to him. "But the truth has always remained the same, man. You have to tell her. With everything happening, with as many people who know, you risk her finding out from someone who isn't you and if that happens-" Oliver turned away back to the suit. "Marriage is built on a foundation and it's only as strong as that foundation. Don't let this secret weaken what has been one of the strongest marriages I have had the chance to witness."
Katie felt like a ghost as she moved through the house. She couldn't sleep. She actually didn't want to sleep after the night she had.
She walked down the hall and noticed the glow from Ari's room and so she walked over and gently knocked. She heard Ari's invitation to come in, and so Katie stepped inside to see the girl curled up in bed and watching a movie on her laptop.
"You can't sleep either?" Katie asked and Ari just shook her head. Katie walked over to see what the girl was watching and it looked like some kind of romantic comedy. "Meh, I think I saw this one. Everyone involved was just dumb."
"Hey, spoiler much." Ari chuckled looking over to the woman who just laughed.
"Sorry, I'll let you watch it." Katie leaned over and pressed a kiss to the girl's head. "Have a good night." Katie turned and headed for the door.
"Hey Katie?" Ari said and the woman stopped and glanced back to her. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For Just—just being you." Ari said and Katie smiled over to the girl.
"You're really laying it on thick for that memory core, aren't you?" Katie smiled over to the girl. "Goodnight, Ari."
Katie just laughed before stepping back into the hall. As she continued walking, she glanced over to Will and Robyn's doors. Will was still at this sleepover with Damian, and Robyn had one more day with her uncle Ethan and Aunt Laurel. Katie would be happy once all her kids were back home.
She sighed as she continued down the stairs, deciding she was going to spend the rest of her night with the puppies.
When she came downstairs, she smelled something cooking and so she headed into the kitchen where she found Oliver.
Oliver turned to the woman, a smile coming to his face.
"I'm making you french toast." he said and Katie looked over to him with a furrowed brow. "And yes, I know it's ridiculously late, but I have to do something to get back into your good graces and so I'm starting with french toast and-" he turned around a grabbed a Tiffany's jewelry box before walking around to Katie. "And this. I was supposed to give this to you yesterday, but I ruined our anniversary, so I'm hoping you will accept it today."
"That box doesn't seem big enough to hold a lifetime supply of cookies." Katie said looking down to the box before she lifted her eyes back to Oliver who laughed. "I left you a note."
"I read it, and I know I'm sleeping in the doghouse tonight. I should've told you about Quentin." Oliver said before holding the box out to her again. "Which is where the french toast and this box come in. It doesn't top your anniversary gift-"
"Of course it doesn't." Katie replied taking the box and looking at it for a moment before she opened it. Inside the box were charms for her bracelet. They were the letters, A, R, W."
"It's the kid's initials." Oliver said and Katie lifted her eyes back to him. "I thought you'd like to have a piece of them with you where ever you go." she once again dropped her eyes to the charms and smiled.
"Thank you." she replied before closing the box. "I'll add then to my bracelet." she glanced over to the plate of french toast. "And I'm not hungry."
"You haven't eaten." Oliver said and she turned back to him. "When you're upset you either binge on sweets or you don't eat anything at all." he nudged his head to the refrigerator. "And there are still cookies up there." he reached over and grabbed the plate and brought them over to the table. "I just—I just want to sit here with you and eat french toast and think about how lucky I am to have you as my wife." he sighed. "And when we're done, I'll head over to the doghouse."
Katie didn't say anything for a moment, her eyes going from the man to the french toast that smelled absolutely wonderful.
"Fine, I'll eat your stupid apology french toast, but only because I am suddenly hungry." she walked over to take a seat at the table.
"Oh, I forgot the juice."
Oliver hurried over to the refrigerator to grab the orange juice and brought it over to the table. He took the seat across from her, and smiled as he watched her grabbing pieces of toast from the plate.
When Katie glanced up, she noticed him staring and sighed.
"Oliver, we're not ok." Katie said.
Oliver didn't say anything for a moment, but he nods.
"I know."
He really did. He knew for certain their marriage had veered so far from alright for some time now, and he blamed himself.
John was right, they needed to get back on track, and that was going to have to start with him telling her the truth.
"I know, but I'm hoping one day soon, we will be."
Author's Note:
Gah! You're getting so close Oliver just tell her already!
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As always, it is a pleasure! Thanks for all the support and sticking this out with me!
Sneak Peek
"Will!"
Will stopped and glanced back, because that was Katie's voice. He turned to Donnie and shoved him forward.
"I need you to go!" Will said taking a step back. "I got to find my mom." he pushed the boy forward again. "You got to keep going Donnie."
Before they knew it, there was another tremor that created sparks from above and pieces of the ceiling to fall, a large highway sign with it, trapping Will.
Will sat crouched on the ground unsure where to go.
"William!"
He heard Katie again and he stood to his feet trying to figure out where she was.
"Mom!" he called hoping she could hear him. "Mom, help!"