Chapter 22
Desperate Measures & Deadly Consequences
"Family is not an important thing. It's Everything."
-Michael J. Fox
Katie has had enough. She wanted to see her kids and she wanted to go home. Every day it seems that hope was slipping away. Cayden James and his team of evil doers were still in the wind with a bomb they could detonate whenever he wanted.
At the moment, Oliver was relying on Felicity and Alena to figure out how to prove the video of him killing Cayden's son is faked. He thought if they showed Cayden the proof, he'd end this vendetta against him and the city.
Since that night Oliver text her for help, Katie hadn't been able to stop thinking about it. Thinking about the weight of a gun in her hands as she pulled the trigger. It was the first time in a long time, she's felt the darkness inside of herself.
When she realized Oliver was in danger, she stopped thinking logically, and she just acted. She knows it's this place. Being here again is digging up a part of herself that she was trying to bury, and there was only one solution she could think of.
"Pizza's here!" Oliver announced as he walked over to the table where Katie sat with her tea. He looked over to her before looking around. "Ari here?"
"No, she headed out with her team not too long ago." Katie replied looking back down to his cup.
Oliver sighed as he turned back around. He really did want to have a meal with them. They've all been all over the place for a while, and rarely got the chance to sit and have a meal together.
"I guess it's just you and me this time." he said before going to grab plates.
It was another awkward meal shared between the two. There was little to no conversation as they ate. Oliver glanced down to his watch. Felicity, John and Alena would be here soon and before that happened he wanted something more from this moment.
"So, are you going to the hospital tonight?" Oliver asked and Katie looked over to him and shook her head.
"No, not tonight. It's been pretty quiet around there, so I'm not really needed." she replied dropping her eyes back to her pizza.
"Can I assume that when your contract is up with the city, you'll be applying to general?" Oliver asked and Katie looked over to him with a quirked brow. "You never gave me an answer about a permanent position at City Hall, and with everything that's happened, I assumed at some point you were going to reject the offer." he dropped his eyes to his pizza. "You probably wouldn't want to work with me anyway."
"Honestly, I haven't thought about it." she said and Oliver looked over to her. "Kind of more pressing things happening, and I haven't been able to think about my next career move," she shrugged. "If there even is one."
"What do you mean?"
"I guess I'm thinking about what would be best for the kids once all of this is over. They need stability and certainty. They need someone who is going to be there for them when they need them."
"And you think to be that person, you have to give up on your dreams for the future?"
"I think to be that person, they have to be my dreams for the future." she dropped her eyes once again. "That's why your life works so well, isn't it?"
"What?"
Katie scoffed before looking over to the man who stared back over to her in confusion. She rolled her eyes before standing to her feet.
"I'm done." she said about to walk off.
"I'm not." Oliver stood to his feet and walking over to her. "What did you mean?"
"It doesn't matter."
"To me, it does. I want to understand what you meant and why you feel that way."
"Alright Oliver." Katie turned to face him. "Being the Mayor and being the Green Arrow. Two jobs that monopolize your days most of the time. But you can do them, and not worry about your children because you know I'm there to take care of them. It's why when a bad guy shoots off to Russia, you have no problems shooting off after them. Your tether to this family is longer than mine. That's just how it is, so I adjust."
She saw the way his shoulder's dropped and she felt guilty for letting the thoughts she usually buried come flying out of her mouth.
"I'm sorry." she said and Oliver sighed. "I shouldn't have said that."
"You should say anything you feel when you feel it." Oliver shook his head. "And I know I have not gotten this balanced as well as I should." he shrugged. "And maybe you're right. Maybe I can let myself be pulled away because I know you're there to step in when I can't. I just feel with all the responsibilities that I'm juggling, I always fall short somewhere, and nine times out of ten, it's with the one thing I don't want to fail at."
"You're not failing." Katie shook her head before turning away before turning back to him. "You're trying to be everything to everyone which you still haven't accepted is impossible." she stood there for a moment and just looked at him. "I don't want to be mad at you anymore."
"What can I do to help you not be mad at me anymore?"
Katie closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she thought of the answer to that question, and only one thing came to mind. She opened her eyes back to him.
"Kiss me."
Absolutely no more words needed, Oliver stepped to close the distance between them, his hands moving to her waist. He was just about to satisfy every urge in his body and lean into her, but the moment was interrupted by the sound of the elevator doors opening.
Oliver lifted his eyes to see Felicity, Alena and John all step off the elevator.
"Duty calls." Katie sighed and Oliver turned back to her. "I really wasn't done with the pizza, so I'm going to go eat my feelings." she didn't wait for him to say anything before turning and heading back over to the table.
Oliver's shoulders once again dropped the moment she walked away. He didn't even turn away from her as he heard the footsteps nearing him.
"Hey," John said and Oliver turned to him. "Everything alright?" John glanced over to Katie before letting out a sigh. "Did we just interrupt something?" he turned back to Oliver.
"It's fine. I'll just be glad when I can finally focus on my marriage and my family." he once again glanced over to Katie. "I'm going to see how far Felicity and Alena have gotten and then we should suit up."
"You really think James is still there after finding out about Vince?"
"Probably not, but he may have left something behind and in that case we check it out." Oliver replied before walking off.
John turned, about to follow him, but he stopped and once again looked over to Katie who sat at the table, eating her pizza. He let out a sigh before doing what he probably shouldn't and walking over to her.
Katie looked up when she heard the footsteps, to see John coming her way. When the man walked over, he didn't say anything which Katie thought was odd.
"You walked over here to just look at me?" she asked with a furrowed brow as she sat her pizza down.
"No, I just wanted to see how you were doing?" John replied. "A lot is happening and I know you've made it clear you're not happy with a few of us right now, but when I see you devouring an entire pizza I feel obligated to check in."
"I didn't eat this whole thing by myself." she replied with a pointed finger. "And even if I did, that's my prerogative." she picked up her slice of pizza and took a bite. "And I'm fine." she turned away from him.
"Katie-"
"I know." Katie interrupted him and looked back up to meet his eyes. "Seriously, I know why you did it, just like I know why the other's did it. I still don't appreciate being lied to, by him or any of you." she sighed. "But at the moment there are bigger problems, and I'm choosing to direct my focus on the crazy person with a bomb in this city." she nudged her head. "So go, figure out where he is and find a way to stop him."
Soon, Oliver and John were headed back out to Cayden's hideout. She knew more than likely Cayden wouldn't be there, but Oliver just had to be sure.
Katie was now pacing back and forth in front of the display case that held the Guardian's suit as she tried to overhear what was going on.
Alena and Felicity sat at their computers. Felicity was monitoring John and Oliver, while Alena was still working on decrypting the video. Alena glanced over to Katie for a moment.
"Is she ok?" she whispered over to Felicity who lifted her eyes over to Katie.
"Probably not," Felicity sighed.
"You think it would be weird if I went over to check in?" Alena asked and Felicity turned to her with a quirked brow. "What? It's just we haven't really been introduced and I'm kind of an admirer of hers." Alena glanced over to Katie once again.
"How about for now, you just play it cool." Felicity said and Alena just nods before dropping her eyes back to her screen.
Felicity once again glanced over to Katie, wanting to go over herself to check on her, but she's going to respect her wishes and give her space. So Felicity dropped her eyes to see what was happening with the guys. They'd found nothing and no one so far.
"I guess Cayden James and friends knew we were coming." John said as they did a sweep of the control room.
Suddenly the monitors came on, and there appeared Cayden's face.
"Oh, yes. Once I learned of Mr. Sobel's treachery, I had to assume this location was compromised." Cayden said. "Speaking of which, I didn't appreciate your alliance with him. Made me think we no longer have an understanding."
"You need to know something." Oliver said hoping to explain the truth about the video.
"Many things, I'm sure." Cayden interrupted. "But I doubt very much that you're the man to teach them to me."
"We almost have proof that I didn't kill your son."
"A desperate gambit."
"Cayden, give me more time."
"Time, I'm afraid, is a commodity you and your city have run out of. Mr. Sobel's betrayal convinced me that there's little good in delaying matters further. Accordingly, I will be detonating the thermobaric bomb over Star City at midnight. My son will find justice in the ashes of your beloved city."
Felicity and Alena looked down to the monitor before turning to each other. Felicity lifted her eyes to Katie who was looking down to her watch before turning off.
"Wait!" Felicity jumped to her feet and ran over to stop Katie from walking. "I know what you're thinking, but what if you don't. Let us figure this out."
"I have let you figure this out, and it's still not figured out, Felicity. I will not let that psycho detonate that bomb. So I am no longer holding out hope on Oliver and John's determination and you and your friend's brain power to solve this. I can end this, so I will end this." Katie turned to leave.
"Except you can't." Felicity said and Katie stopped and turned to her. "As much as I love you and believe in your determination, up until this point you've never been able to have a solid handle on your abilities. You've stopped trucks, or you've stopped time, but this is a massive explosive device, how do you plan on stopping that?" Felicity walked over to stand in front of her. "We are a team, we can figure out a way to stop Cayden James, together."
"You know I believed that once. But then the people I loved and cared about decided I wasn't part of the team. We will wait for Oliver, see if he has a plan of action, and if he does not, I become the plan of action."
When Oliver and John finally returned, they walked from the elevator to find only Alena.
"Cayden is going to detonate the bomb in 4 hours." Oliver said. "Where are we with the video?"
"Well, we're running our photographic analysis algorithm to reveal the original footage." Alena said glancing over to them.
"How long will that take?" John asked.
"As long as it takes." Alena replied turning back to the computer.
"Where's Felicity?" Oliver glanced around the bunker.
"She's with your wife." Alena said turning to the man once again. "I think she's trying to talk her out of going after Cayden James by herself." Oliver didn't hesitate to head off to find them before Alena looked over to John. "I feel like there is something happening that I don't know about with Mrs. Queen."
"Just focus on the video Alena." John replied glancing up to see Oliver head off to the back of the bunker. "
"The algorithm Felicity and Curtis wrote works wonders on a still image, but this is 24 fps video we're talking about here."
"Cayden just told us that we are running out of time." John replied looking back over to the woman.
"There's something you should consider." Alena sighed as she turned back to the screen. "You're putting all of your chips down on a bet that he'll spare the city if he thinks you're not responsible for his son's death."
"That's because it's the only play we have, Alena."
"I'm just saying you might be trying to reason with a man who's beyond reason."
Oliver spotted Felicity first who turned the moment she heard his steps.
"Oh thank God," she said turning back to where Katie stood checking the magazine of a gun before slipping it into a holster. "She heard Cayden's threat and now she has decided to go after him."
Oliver walked over to Katie who only glanced over to him before grabbing another glock and checking to make sure it was loaded before placing it into her other thigh holster.
"Do you have a plan?" Katie asked as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail.
"Felicity, could give us a minute?" Oliver asked looking back to the woman who nods.
Felicity glances over to Katie once more before walking away.
"Felicity and Alena are working on the video, once we have the proof, we can show Cayden and-"
"And what?" Katie turned to the man. "He sees that you didn't kill his son and then he just packs up and leave?" she scoffed. "You're delusional if you think that's what's going to happen." she turned and picked up her bullet proof vest and slipped it on. "I can't do this anymore Oliver."
"Do what, exactly?"
"Nothing." she said turning to him. "You know I thought it was possible. You, me, the kids, could some how carve out a little piece of normal for ourselves, but that's just not possible, is it?" she pulled on her jacket. "Because my husband spends his nights trying to stop the bad guys of this city, all while the FBI is trying to put him behind bars for the rest of his life." she glanced over to Oliver. "And I thought, maybe I could hold out, you know, try to have positive thoughts and figure maybe, just maybe, things will just work themselves out. What a load of shit, huh?" she shook her head. "I'm tired. I'm just tired of all of it." she looked over to Oliver who walked over to stand in front of her. "So maybe it's time for me to accept that this is it. This our life."
She turned to walk away, but Oliver caught her arm and pulled her back to him.
"You're not going after Cayden." Oliver adamantly said. He slid a hand along her face and leaned into her. "I will fix this. You just have to give me more time."
"That man just threatened to drop a bomb in four hours on this city that holds everything I love. You've run out of time Oliver." she pressed a kiss to his lips.
"Oliver?"
Oliver glanced up to see John standing there looking over to him with a look of concern. When Oliver turned back to where Katie was just standing, she wasn't there. He spun around, letting his eyes move over every corner, but she was just gone.
"Oliver, what's going on? Where's Katie?" John asked.
"She's gone." Oliver muttered turning back to the man before he hurried off back to Felicity and Alena. "I need Katie's location!"
Felicity glanced over to him, "She's gone?"
"Felicity, now!"
Felicity turned back to her computer and furiously typed, but stopped the moment she saw the location.
"It's showing that she hasn't left the bunker." Felicity turned to Oliver who didn't know what to do. "Oliver?"
"Just keep working on the video." Oliver turned and walked away.
Oliver hated that he once again found himself in this position where he didn't know where his wife was. Only this time, she was angry and going after the bastard threatening the city. And that wouldn't have bothered him much if he was with her to watch her back. He needed to find her, and at this point, he only knew of one person that probably could.
Oliver pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number, and listened to it ring before he heard the voice.
"I know you don't like me very much," Oliver said. "But I need your help, Zatanna. It's Katie, she's gone and I have no way to find her."
"What makes you think I don't like you?"
Oliver slid a hand over his face.
"I happen you think very highly of you, Oliver. I mean you're a bit narrow minded at times. Sort of a control freak who likes to be in charge, but you're a pretty good father and an ok husband, and all around not really a bad guy."
"Will you help me find my wife? There's this guy, and he's been threatening the city with this bomb, and I think she's trying to find it."
"Threaten the city...so it's a big bomb?"
"Very big bomb and I don't want her to do something stupid."
There was no response, and Oliver thought she hung up. He turned at the cracking sound behind him and lifted his arm to shield him from the bright light of the portal.
"How long ago did she leave?"
Oliver dropped his arm to see Zatanna who walked over to him. He slipped his phone back into his pocket.
"Not too long ago, can you find her?" he asked.
Zatanna turned away and closed her eyes. Oliver watched her for a moment, unsure of what she was doing.
"I got her." Zatanna said opening her eyes and turning back to Oliver. "I know where she is."
"Where?"
Zatanna looked over to the man and just lightly chuckled.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't come here to help you find her. I came here to make sure she doesn't do something idiotic that get herself killed." Oliver looked at the women in confusion. "She can push the limits of her powers, and since she hasn't learned what those limits are, she's more than likely to do something she can't take back."
Zatanna turned and muttered a spell and the portal opened. She turned back to Oliver who took a step toward her.
"I don't care what you have to do, just get her back here to me."
"See, control freak." the woman just shook her head as she turned and stepped through the portal.
Once it was closed and the woman was gone, Oliver stood there unsure what to do next. He let out a deep breath.
If this was happening, if James did intend to set off that bomb, then there was no place safer than the bunker right now. He needed to get his kids here.
Ari was told to stay behind while Curtis and Rene went to find Dinah. Of course she complained, and let them know how as a member of this team, she didn't like being treated like a child. She also assumes that since Vince's death, Dinah has been on a warpath to find the people responsible, starting with evil Laurel and the guys, were just trying to protect her from seeing something they didn't want her to see.
Ari stood in front of the screen that showed the camera on Curtis' suit, so she saw the moment they rounded the corner, in time to see Dinah knock some guy unconscious.
"I guess that's one way to not get information." Rene said and Dinah turned to them.
"What are you two doing here?"
"Looking for you." Curtis replies. "SCPD says you weren't in today."
"We were wondering if you were gonna do something stupid." he looked down to the guy lying on the ground. "Guess we were wrong."
"I am looking for her to get justice for Vincent."
"Why do you say, "justice," like it's cold-blooded murder?" Curtis asked looking back to his friend.
"I know you're hurting, D." Rene said. "but Felicity called. We've got till midnight before James lets his bomb do its thing. As much as we feel for you, that seems like the priority."
"He's right. Now is not the time to go off the deep end."
"I can't let this go." Dinah moved to walk around them. "I'm sorry." Rene moved to stop her.
"D."
"I love you both, but stay the hell out of my way." And with that, the woman turned and walked away.
Rene and Curtis, just watched, knowing there was nothing they could do to stop her. Soon they heard the fourth member of their team.
"Get the hell back here, now." Ari ordered.
Curtis and Rene just shared a look before letting out a sigh.
"I told you we should've went dark." Rene replied before walking off.
"And I told you she knows how to turn the cameras on when we do!" Curtis said following behind him.
When they returned to the hideout, they found Ari in front of the computer.
"There a reason you ordered us back here, pipsqueak?" Rene stalked down the steps.
"We need to talk about Dinah." Ari said walking over to stand in front of the two men. "We can't let her kill Black Siren. I get she's upset about Vince, but c'mon killing his murderer, isn't that what Cayden James thinks he's doing by going after Oliver?"
"We agree, but we barely found her this time, she knows how to go off the grid." Rene said.
"What do you mean barely found, you asked me to find her and I did." Ari replied folding her arms over her chest. "Right now I have a search going for her, and I just want to be sure when we do, we know what we're going to do."
"What does that mean?" Curtis asked. "I agree with stopping her."
"Yeah, we stop her, but we have to make sure she doesn't try again." Ari replied looking between the two men. "We need to give her an ultimatum. Something that will motivate her to end this vendetta."
"And what is that?" Rene asked.
"We tell her she's off the team if she does this." Ari replied. The two men didn't say anything for a few moments before turning and sharing a look. "This isn't a hard choice, we don't have murderers on this team, right?" Rene and Curtis turned back to her and she looked back to them in confusion. "You two would, huh?"
"Ari, it's not as simple as that. Dinah is family and you just don't turn your back on family." Curtis said.
"You do when they start killing people!" Ari replied with a shake of her head. "Then you not only turn your back, but you also try to stop them. I'm not interested in putting Dinah in a naughty corner for five minutes and then letting her go to try again. To help her is to show her that path she's heading isn't going to lead to where she thinks. Vince is dead and there is no amount of bodies she can lay out that's going to bring him back. Are you two with me on this?"
"You know what, let's just focus on the bomb that's supposed to be going off in a couple of hours." Curtis said.
"Yeah, well speaking of, I've been called back to the bunker." Ari said walking around to grab her jacket and back pack. "I wasn't told much, other than to get my butt back there, or I'm grounded." she sighed before turning back to the two men. "I love her too, you know. But I love her enough to stop her before she turns in to the people we're trying to stop. And I will, with or without you. If she wants to do this, I will stop her."
And with that, she headed up the steps to leave.
Oliver grit his teeth as he and John rode the elevator down to the bunker. Felicity and Alena finally cleaned up the video, revealing the true killer of Cayden's son. With the video, and with Barry's help they found Cayden and showed him the proof. Oliver's hope of Cayden giving up his vendetta and the bomb were tarnished when the man said he was keeping the time line for detonation unless Oliver brought him, Black Siren, Anatoly, and Diaz. He didn't know what else to do but deliver.
"Any word from Katie or Zatanna?" John asked and Oliver glanced over to him.
"No," Oliver replied turning back to the doors.
"Oliver, if she can do this, then we won't have to be pulled into Cayden's game." John replied.
"If she does this, she could also die." Oliver sighed as the doors opened, to find Felicity and Alena waiting.
The women weren't too thrilled about accepting Cayden's offer, but at this point Oliver had no other choice.
Felicity and Alena began their search, just as Oliver heard the tiny squeal of his daughter. He turned and a smile came to his face as he dropped down to one knee, his arms wide open as she ran to him.
"Dah dah!" she called wrapping her tiny arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.
"Oh sweetie, I've missed you, so, so much." Oliver placed a kiss to her cheek, lifting her up in his arms as he looked over to Thea and William as they walked over.
"Laurel went to the hospital to be with Ethan, but I'm sure he's going to bring her here." Thea said.
"What's going on, why did we have to leave the safe house?" William asked.
"We'll talk about it later, buddy." Oliver said turning to Robyn.
"You promised you wouldn't lie to me anymore." Will said.
Oliver turned to him and sighed before he looked back to Robyn. He placed a kiss to her cheek before leaning forward to hand her over to Thea.
"Go with auntie Thea, sweetie."
"No!" Robyn tightened her grasp around Oliver's neck, as she laid her head on his shoulder.
Oliver slid a comforting hand across her back before turning to William.
"Cayden James is threatening to detonate a large bomb in Star City, and this is the safest place for you and your sister." Oliver replied looking over to the boy. "That is the truth." Oliver turned to see if there was a status update. "Alena?"
"Yeah, we're running facial recognition, and Cayden gave us back satellite control, but- our usual tricks aren't working." the woman said.
"Oliver, we need the rest of the team." John suggested and Oliver looks over to him and nods.
"Agreed." Oliver said and John headed off to make the call.
"Well your favorite one just got here."
They all turned to see Ari walking inside. She turned to William and brought her arms around him in a tight hug, to which he tried to pull out of.
"Take the love, Wilbur, I missed you." she replied.
She finally pulled away and spotted Robyn in Oliver's arms.
"And I missed you stinker!"
Ari walked over and placed a hand on Robyn's back and the little girl smiled over to Ari before being pulled into her arms. Ari pressed a kiss to Robyn's cheek, making the little girl squeal.
"Ree!" Robyn said making Ari laugh.
She looked over to Oliver before turning to Felicity and Alena.
"So, where do you need me?"
"Stay with Felicity and Alena, help track down Cayden's partners."
Oliver moved around her to leave.
"Where are you going?" Ari asked.
"To find them and lock them down."
"So we're actually doing this?" Ari asked walking over to the man. "We're Cayden's goons now?"
"Right now, I have no other choice, it's this, or a bomb is going off." Oliver replied glancing between Ari and William. "I will be back soon."
"Let me come with you." William said taking a step forward.
Oliver shook his head. "I need you to stay here with Ari and Robyn."
"And I want to be with you." William said.
Oliver saw the worry in his son's eyes and walked over to him.
"No, it's too dangerous out there, bottom line. I'll be back as soon as I can." Oliver said before turning to Ari. "Keep an eye on them."
"You know I can actually help out there." she said and Oliver sighed.
"I know, but you would help me more, if you were here watching your brother and sister." Oliver said placing a hand on William's arm before turning and leaving.
Ari watched the man leave before turning to William and letting out a sigh. She looked over to Felicity and Alena. The teenager soon realized who she didn't see.
"Where's Katie?" Ari asked and Felicity and Alena turned to her, but neither said anything and that made her worry.
"Where is she?" William asked stepping forward to look between the two women.
Katie found herself standing in the middle of Bruce's shipping yard hideout looking up to the massive device she was sure was the bomb. There were various lights coming from it, so she knew it was active. She'd spent the last few minutes just staring up at the damn thing.
There was a sudden bright light and Katie turned, and rolled her eyes when Zatanna appeared from portal.
"He called you, didn't he?" Katie asked and Zatanna just shrugged.
"He was worried about you." Zatanna walked over to stand beside Katie, to look up to the bomb. "How did you even find this thing?"
"I focused." Katie said and Zatanna turned to her. "The energy emitted from this thing. I directed my focus on that, and it lead me to some abandoned theater."
"Is the bad guy going to be suspicions his big bomb is missing?"
"I left an illusion for him." Katie replied still looking at the device. "He won't realize this thing is gone for a while."
"Don't you think you should tell your husband you found this?"
"I will once it no longer has the ability to go boom." Katie replied taking a step toward the bomb.
She held out a hand and closed her eyes.
"What are you going to do?"
"Absorb the energy." Katie replied. "I've done it before."
"On something this powerful?" Zatanna watched the woman closely.
"No, but size doesn't matter."
"In this case, it does." Zatanna walked over and pushed the woman back from the bomb. "You taking in that much energy all at once, could kill you." Katie moved walk around, but Zatanna once again blocked her. "Will you just listen to me?"
"Why should I?!"
"Because I'm trying to stop you from dying just like your mother." Zatanna replied and Katie looked at her with a furrowed brow.
"My mother? What are you talking about? My mother died using dark magic to stop Damien Darhk?"
"It wasn't the magic that killed her, it was amount she was attempting to use. She'd been out of practice for a long time and she was trying to rush it. She wanted it all at once, but that's not how it works. To take on something as massive as the dark magic your mother was using, something as massive as this bomb, you have to be strong enough to handle it. Your mother wasn't then, and you aren't now."
"Zatanna, I'm a wife and mother who will do absolutely anything I have to, to protect my family. Right now, to do that, I'm strongest person you will ever meet. So you can either help me, or you should open that portal back up and leave. Your choice."
When they finally rounded up all of Cayden's partners, Oliver asked Felicity call Cayden.
"I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me." Cayden spoke from the phone.
Ari walked from the back room after getting Robyn to finally fall asleep. She walked over to stand behind Felicity and Alena as they listened to the call.
"We have all 3." Oliver said. "Where do you want them?"
"Meet me at the abandoned theater on Jefferson Avenue." Cayden replied before ending the call.
"I'm suiting up." Ari said before stalking off.
"Oliver said-"
"Oliver says a lot of things." Ari stopped and turned back to Felicity. "But he couldn't find the time to tell me that Katie is off somewhere looking for a bomb and no one knows where she is. I'm suiting up."
And so, Ari turned to do just that.
"I guess the whole family is stubborn, huh?" Alena asked and Felicity shook her head.
"You have no idea." Felicity replied before pressing the button to speak to Oliver. "Firelight is heading out into the field."
"No, she stays there." Oliver replied.
"Yeah, well short of me tying her up, I don't think that's happening." Felicity sighed.
There was a brief moment of silence, before Oliver spoke again.
"Still nothing from Twinkie?"
"Not yet." Felicity replied. "Zatanna will find her and stop her from going too far."
"I hope you're right."
Zatanna stood off to the side, watching as Katie circled the bomb. She wasn't sure what the woman was looking for, but she knew whatever it was would end badly.
"What's your plan?!" Zatanna asked and Katie just ignored her. "What if I'm right? What if you doing this kills you? What do I tell your husband? Your kids? Wasn't the reason you didn't want to put the Guardian suit on in Central City because you didn't want to be here. In a position that would take you away from your kids."
"You're right, that's why I didn't want to put on that suit them, but that moment isn't like this one."
"Well it's you in a dangerous situation you may not make out of. For whatever reason you wanted to run from it in Central City and now you're running toward it. I just don't understand why."
"You wouldn't." Katie said turning to the woman. "Because in Central City, putting on that suit, choosing to put myself in the middle of a fight I wasn't needed in, is different from this moment." Katie turned back to the bomb. "Because there is absolutely no one that can get here quick enough to disarm this bomb that could wipe out this entire city." she turned back to Zatanna. "It's me. It's got to be me. Whether you think I can do this or not, I'm doing it."
Katie turned to the bomb and took a step forward.
"Katie!"
"Open a portal and go somewhere else. Do not tell anyone where I am or what I'm doing."
The words flew from Katie's mouth and locked on to Zatanna's brain in an instant. The magi turned and muttered a spell, and her feet moved against their will through the portal.
She turned just in time to see Katie place her hand on a bomb, and watched as a bright white light exploded in the room before she was gone, and stumbling back into the bunker.
"Zatanna?"
Zatanna spun around to see Thea hurry over to her. The woman looked around before sliding a hand over her face.
"What's going on? Where's Katie?" Thea asked and Zatanna turned to the woman. "What?"
"I can't tell you."
"Why not?"
"Because she told me not to tell anyone." Zatanna ground her teeth and Thea saw the anger.
"She used her powers and told you not to tell anyone where she is." Thea said and Zatanna nods. "Did she find the bomb?"
"I can't tell you that either, but what I can tell you is that I'm scared to death for her right now." Zatanna turned and muttered a spell to open a portal back up to Katie, but it wasn't working. "Fuck!"
Oliver had no expectations for tonight. There were so many unknown factors. So many unexpected twist and turns.
One being his son appearing in the abandoned theater with a bomb and a lot of gun fire because he was scared of losing him.
They all stood around, as Cayden threatened them with detonating the bomb until the person who was responsible for his son's death finally came forward. His partners were wearing bomb collars as he waited for someone to admit the truth.
After a few moments of Cayden's threats, Black Siren stepped forward and admitted she was responsible. She walked over to Cayden, and his detonator, unknown to him, interfered with her collar, powering it down. The woman could feel it, and so she ripped the collar off and let out a sonic scream that tossed everyone in the room.
It became a scramble as they all went running. Dinah went after Black Siren, and Ari followed as Rene and Curtis went after Anatoly and John went for Diaz.
Left in the theater was Cayden, Oliver and William.
Cayden stood with the detonator in his hand, while Oliver stood with his arms wrapped around William.
William's eyes were on the man with the detonator before looking over to the bomb, and he squinted a bit, because he could've sworn the bomb disappeared and then reappeared but no one seemed to notice but him.
"The person responsible for his death is in the vicinity, and I intend to drag them to hell with me." Cayden dropped his eyes to the detonator in his hand. "I owe it to my son."
"Come here." Oliver turned to William.
"Dad-" Will wanted to tell his father what he saw.
"You don't have to be afraid, all right?" Oliver said placing a hand on the boy's cheek. "I'm right here with you. And I love you very much."
"But dad-"
"William, I had an obligation to protect my son." Cayden spoke looking over to Oliver and his son. "It's a father's job—protect your child. But I failed. I failed him utterly." he looked down to the detonator again. "All this time the man responsible for his death was me."
Oliver knew what the man was about to do, and he couldn't let him do it. He reached for an arrow and shot the man's arm, making him drop the detonator. He stood to his feet, pulling another arrow and pointing it at him.
"Don't you move."
"Dad!"
William once again called and Oliver turned to him. William pointed to the bomb and Oliver followed the boy's eyes not expecting the bomb to just be gone.
"Where—Felicity the bomb gone?"
"Shit!" Felicity cursed. "Shit, shit, shit!"
"Felicity, what the hell is going on? The bomb was just here, and I doubt someone could've snuck it out of here without us noticing."
"Unless it was never there, Oliver."
"What do you mean never—it was-" It suddenly hit him. "She found the bomb before we even got here." Oliver turned away. "This was just an illusion to keep Cayden in the dark. Did she drop it because we stopped him?"
"No, Oliver, I just got an alert from Bruce's shipyard hideout. It's Katie, and I'm—I'm calling Ethan. You need to get there, fast."
Oliver stood there with her words, the pit in his stomach twisting in a knot. He turned to William who met his father's gaze.
"She did it, didn't she?" William asked with a smile. "Katie found the bomb and he didn't even realize it."
Oliver walked over to the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah, she did. I have to go to her now." Oliver said turning to see John and Ari. "I need you to make sure he gets back to the bunker, ok?"
"Katie?" Ari asked and Oliver nods. "Is she ok?"
He didn't want to lie. He promised them he wouldn't lie to them again.
"I don't know." Oliver replied watching as John walked over to grab Cayden. "I'm going to find out."
Oliver's heart was racing in his chest the entire drive on his bike to the shipping yard. The moment he arrived, he hopped off the bike and ran as fast as he could until he reached the entrance. Once opened, he ran down the steps.
"C'mon Kit, don't fucking do this to me!"
Oliver followed Ethan's voice to the other side of the hide out, his eyes going from the bomb to the doctor on his knees beside Katie who was lying unconscious on the floor, her shirt torn open with patches from the portable defibrillator.
Ethan looked back to him.
"I found her like this." Ethan turned back to the woman. "I have no idea how long she'd been down, but when I got here, she was v-fib." he pressed the button on the device once again, sending a shock through the woman. "C'mon Kit, just come back."
Oliver stood there frozen watching the doctor try to save his wife's life. This moment was too reminiscent of finding her in that room in Central City. He was once again stuck in that moment, not sure if she was going to live or die.
"That's it!" Ethan suddenly said, before turning to Oliver with a smile. "I got a rhythm."
"So-she-she's-"
"Alive, and in for a brutal lecture from me when she wakes up." Ethan said.
Oliver finally walked over to the other side of the woman and let out deep breath. He lowered down to the ground beside her and placed his head against hers.
The next time Katie opened her eyes, she immediately closed them when assaulted with the bright lights of the room.
"Evil lights," she muttered.
She heard the something click.
"Better?"
She opened her eyes and noticed the room a bit dimmer, before looking over to see Oliver sitting beside her. She glanced around and realized she was in a hospital room and let out a sigh.
She turned back to Oliver.
"Did you get him?"
"Yeah, we got him. Black Siren, Anatoly and Diaz got away though." he replied still watching her. "How do you feel?"
She turned away to look up to the ceiling to determine an answer to that question, and one word came to mind.
"Like something is missing." she suddenly said before lifting her hand and focusing, but she didn't see the light. "What happened?" she looked over to Oliver. "I remember touching the bomb, but then everything just sort of went blank."
"You disarmed the bomb by draining it of it's energy. At least that's what Zatanna said." Oliver nudged his head to her hand. "And a bomb that large, she thinks it also may have drained your powers nearly killing you. Ethan found you in Bruce's bunker, alone, unconscious and not breathing." Oliver shook his head. "What were you thinking?"
"You know what I was thinking." Katie replied turning away and once again looking out to her hand. "It's what you think every time you put on that damn suit." she once again looked over to him. "You have the ability to stop bad things from happening to protect the people of this city and the people you love. That, I've always known. I may hate it, but it doesn't stop it from being true."
"You can never do anything like that again." Oliver said and Katie saw the look in his eyes. "You can't—you can't just-"
"Do the self sacrificing thing, because that's your thing?"
"I'm not joking right now. You can't do that to me again. You can't make me watch as you're caught between life and death."
"Oliver I watch you teeter between life and death every time you put on that suit. But I have to trust you or I'd drive myself crazy. Well crazier than I already am." she sighed. "I will never stop worrying about you, and me wanting you to give that suit up was mostly so I wouldn't have to feel what you just felt every time you walk out the door."
"It's not a good feeling." he said slipping her hand in his and placed a kiss to her fingers.
"It's not, and I will admit, I don't think I would've handled finding you unconscious and not breathing as well as you did."
"I froze." Oliver replied looking down to her hand and letting his finger move across her wedding ring. "I just stopped breathing, and I froze until he told me you were back." he lifted his eyes to hers. "The whole time I was thinking, I can not be in a world without you in it. Because a world without you, doesn't get to have me."
"You can't say that," she whispers and he just nods. She gave his hand a squeeze before turning at the sound of the door opening. "Dr. Mills, I heard you saved my life."
Ethan didn't say anything as he walked over to check her monitors, before leaning down and listening to her heart with his stethoscope.
"Ah, the old Mills silent treatment." Katie said looking over to the man who still didn't say a word. "Ok, what I did wasn't smart, but-"
"Stop talking, Katie." Ethan said looking over to the woman, who brows rose when he used her name, which he rarely did. "What you did tonight was stupid as shit."
"Ethan-" Oliver said but Ethan lifted a hand over to the man before turning back to Katie.
"He will probably let this slide to get back on your good side, but I won't. I will live and thrive on your bad side just to tell you how incredibly stupid and deranged it was for you to do whatever the hell you did tonight. It was not brave and it was not selfless. It was arrogance. You have an entire team of people falling all over themselves to get back on your good side, any of whom could've been there tonight with a plan that wouldn't have risked your life. I don't know what your powers are about, but what I know is that they don't make you impenetrable to death. So I need you to promise me that you will never do anything like that again."
"Ethan-"
"Promise me!"
"Want to know the truth? It wasn't arrogance. If it arrogance, I would've invited the whole world to see me stop that bomb. I was there for love, and yes it was stupid and reckless" she looked over to Oliver. "And I really did think I could do it, but I was warned. By Zatanna, who told me if I pushed too far I could end up exactly where I ended up." she turned back to Ethan. "Ethan, I promise to do my best to not go looking for danger like I did tonight." she turned to Oliver. "I promise to not run away and to face everything that comes our way together."
"That's all good in well, but that's not what I asked you to promise." Ethan said and Katie turned to him.
"I know." she reached over and placed a hand on his, "But what I did tonight was to protect my family. And I would do it all again if I had to."
The next morning, Katie was released from the hospital. She sat in the passenger seat of the car, her eyes closed during the drive. When the car finally came to a stop, she opened her eyes expecting to see the bunker, but instead she looked over to see their house.
She turned to Oliver who smiled before stepping out of the car. Katie reached over to open her door, but Oliver was already opening it for her, reaching out to take her hand to help her stand.
"I don't think I've been more happier to see this place." she said looking over to the house before turning to Oliver.
"Come on."
Oliver lead her down the walkway, and reached forward to open the door, but before he could it was already opening to reveal Ari.
"You're here!" she smiled as she turned to Katie with a pointed finger. "I have mixed feelings about what you did, because on one hand it was freaking awesome, but on the other hand it was super dangerous, and totally goes against everything you've told me to do."
"Ari, can we please come into our home before you start?" Oliver asked and the girl laughed before moving out of the way to let them inside.
Soon Will came out of the kitchen, his hand holding Robyn's. The moment the little girl saw her mother, she went running to her.
"Mama!" Robyn called as she ran into Katie's awaiting arms.
"Oh, my baby, I missed you."
She kissed Robyn's cheek. Katie looked over to Will and walked over, bringing an arm around him as well and placing a kiss to his head.
"I missed you too, Mr. Will." she brought a hand to his cheek. "We should probably have a talk about your adventure last night."
"Only if we get to talk about yours." Will replied and Katie let out a laugh.
"Sure, my story won't end with the possibility of me being grounded, so I'm cool with that."
"Wait, what?" Will looked over to Katie before turning to Oliver who just held up his hands.
"I have to get dressed." Oliver said and Katie turned to him. "I'm going to talk to Cayden."
"You mind if I come with you?" Katie asked and Oliver looked surprised. "I've never met him and figured after everything, I should meet him just once."
Katie walked beside Oliver in the police station. He glanced over to her and noticed her eyes up a head.
"You sure you want to do this?" he asked and she turned to him.
"Yeah, I am." she replied and he just nods as they reached the door.
Oliver pushed it open and walked inside to scan the room before Katie came in. He turned to see Cayden sitting, his wrists handcuffed to the table in front of him.
"I must say this visit is somewhat predictable." Cayden said looking over to Oliver.
Oliver didn't say anything before turning to the door as Katie walked inside, closing the door behind her.
"But this is not." Cayden kept his eyes on Katie as she walked into the room. "Mrs. Queen it is an utter pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."
"I think I would've been fine to never see your face." Katie replied looking down to the man. "But after everything you've put this city through, what you've put my family through, I just had to see you. I had to look you in the eyes, and allow you to look into mine. You know what you and people like you always get wrong?" she nudged her head back to Oliver. "You think when you pick a fight with him, you're just picking a fight with him. But none of you ever realize that a fight with him means a fight with me, and I am no one you want to be in a fight with." she dropped her eyes to the cuffs. "If you letting yourself be caught is some kind of ploy, I would totally rethink that plan." She turns to Oliver and places a hand on his arm. "I'll meet you outside."
Oliver nods before watching as she leaves the room.
"You married way out of your league, Mr. Mayor." Cayden said before turning back to Oliver. "You prevented me from doing the unspeakable last night. I'm sure Owen would have been ashamed of me, but then he always was." Cayden said and Oliver turned to him. The man slipped a piece of paper over. "These are my best guesses as to where you might find my former allies along with the account number to a bank in Corto Maltese where I placed all the money I embezzled from the city."
"Thank you." Oliver looked down to the paper.
"I would ask one thing in return." Cayden said and Oliver lifted his eyes to the man. "Permission to visit my son's grave."
"I can arrange that." Oliver nods before folding the paper and slipping into his pocket before walking to the door to leave.
"Be a better father than I was, Oliver." Cayden called after the man.
Oliver left the room with the man's words. He glanced down the hall to see Katie and she turned to him and a smile pulled at his lips as he walked over to her. He didn't say anything for a moment. He knew now with Cayden finally caught, the bomb no longer a threat, they could now focus on their marriage.
"What do we do now?" Oliver asked.
Katie held his gaze for a moment before dropping her eyes to his tie. She reached forward to straighten it a bit before lifting her eyes to Oliver.
"Kiss me." she replied and Oliver smiled as he brought his hands around her.
"Oh, Ollie I was-" Oliver lifted his eyes to his sister with a look of annoyance. "Interrupting, aren't I?"
"Yeah, you are." Oliver replied. "Could you-" he nudged his head and she nods.
"Oh, sure, I'll just-" she turns and hurries in the opposite direction.
"Two times we've been interrupted. Maybe it's not meant to-"
Her words were stolen by his lips against hers in a kiss that was definitely meant to happen. He soon managed to nudge her back, where he had her pressed against the wall, his lips never parting from her.
"Ollie!" Thea loudly whispered. "Public place, keep it PG!" They just ignored her as they continued kissing. "Guys, PG!"
Author's Note
Was a kiss all it took to bring our favorite couple back together...or is that just put a tiny bandage on a still bleeding wound. I guess we will find out.
ReviewRepliesAdela: Thank you!
As we venture closer and closer to the end of this story, I once again have to express my appreciation to everyone reading along.
Thank You!
Sneak Peek
"I kind of feel like you're having a pretty crappy day and what I have to tell you is just going to make it worse." Katie dropped her back to the couch and looked over to Oliver. "I was on my way to the meeting, when I got a call from Craig. There's a problem with Ari's adoption."
"What kind of problem?"
"CFS is putting a hold on the application. Craig thinks someone from the District Attorney's office has something to do with it."
"Because of the case?" Oliver asked and Katie nods.