Chapter 6: Emergency Contact

Oliver sat in a strategy meeting with his cabinet while Alex Davis, his chief of staff, was instructing the director of public works to present his briefing. Oliver felt his phone ring in his pocket. Fumbling it out and holding it below the table, Oliver glanced at the screen. His heart skipped a beat when he read "Starling City General Hospital" on the screen.

Oliver couldn't think of a call he had ever received from a hospital that brought him good news. His thoughts immediately went to his wife. Had she been in some sort of accident? Had she thrown a clot around the chip that had enabled her to walk?

Oliver caught his deputy mayor Quentin Lance's eye and gave a quick jerk of his head indicating that Oliver had to step out. Lance gave a sharp nod of understanding.

As soon as Oliver reached the hallway, he answered the phone and held it to his ear. Breathlessly he asked, "Hello?"

"Is this Oliver Queen?" a professional female voice asked.

"Yes, this is he."

"This is Amanda at Starling General. We have you listed as the emergency contact for Thea Queen." Oliver felt his heart stop. Oh god, Thea –

The voice continued, "We have been trying to contact Thea for follow-up and have been unable reach her. Would you be able to ask her to call us back?" Oliver blinked at the unexpected message – it wasn't as dire as he had at first imagined. But … why couldn't they reach Thea? And what was urgent enough that they called her emergency contact to reach her? Maybe they knew something serious, like the results of her latest tests.

Oliver said quickly, "Sure – is everything okay?"

The woman, who was clearly unable to share any further information repeated unhelpfully, "We just need some assistance in reaching her. If you can let her know to call us back."

"Okay, I can do that," Oliver said. "When does she need to call back by?"

"If she could call back by the end of the day. I'm here until 4:30."

Oliver quickly typed the name and number into his phone and politely thanked Amanda for her call, even as his mind raced. Oliver immediately called Thea. He waited anxiously as the call rang. Thea's cheerful voice filled his ear, telling him he had reached Thea Queen and to leave a message.

He hung up and called once more on the chance that Thea had narrowly missed it or just reentered the room where she had left her phone. When the voicemail engaged a second time, Oliver left a voicemail: "Speedy, it's Ollie. I just got a call from Starling General saying they can't reach you. Can you please call them back? And let me know you got this message too."

Oliver stared at his phone, contemplating his next move. If the information Starling General had was really important, he needed to keep trying. After all, Amanda requested a call back yet today. Maybe it had something to do with a treatment, or that she needed to be seen urgently.

Oliver called Queen's Jubilee and was greeted by the pleasant voice of one of Thea's employees, identifying herself as McKenzie. Oliver thought he remembered her. She was a tall, slim young woman with dark brunette, almost black, hair. Sweet, but a little timid around Oliver. Oliver purposefully tried to keep his tone light as he said, "Hi, McKenzie. This is Thea's brother Oliver. May I speak to my sister?"

Oliver could sense the uncertainty through the phone in the pause that followed. Finally, McKenzie said, "Ms. Queen is not available at this time, but I can take a message."

Oliver nearly growled in frustration stirred up by the concern pooling in his stomach. "I'm not sure that you heard me, McKenzie," Oliver said in a low, serious voice. "I said that I need to speak with my sister. NOW."

The pause was longer this time, but McKenzie said, voice shaking a bit, "I'm so sorry sir, but she is not available. I can have her call you back?"

"McKenzie," Oliver gritted out. "Where is my sister?"

"I'm sorry, sir, I cannot provide employee information."

Oliver was about to demand the information, when a new voice came on the line. "Hi, Queen, this is Sin."

Oliver didn't know Sin well – he knew that Sara had trusted and protected her, that Roy had turned to Sin for help, and that Thea partnered with Sin at her business and in vigilantism. Oliver knew Sin was nothing if not loyal to her friends. "Sin," Oliver said, voice cold but polite. "As I just told McKenzie, I need to reach my sister. Can you either put her on the phone, or tell me where I can find her?"

He could hear Sin make a little hissing noise, like she really wanted to help, but just couldn't. Sin said, "I would love to Queen, but we have a pretty firm policy here where we don't give out employee information."

"SIN!" Oliver yelped angrily.

"It sounds like you're frustrated," Sin said with false sympathy. "But I'm afraid I can't do business with you until you're able to behave civilly. Call back when you're ready to discuss the matter politely." Oliver heard the phone click as the call ended. Oliver was so angry he thought he would squeeze the phone into pieces in his hand.

The conference room door opened and shut. Oliver turned to a concerned looking Lance. "What's goin' on Oliver? Everything okay?"

"No," Oliver gritted out. "I got a call from the hospital that they need to talk to Thea but can't reach her. She's not answering her phone and she isn't at work, and her employees aren't giving up where she is."

"Is it something serious?" Lance asked, brow scrunched unhappily.

"Maybe," Oliver said. "Look, can you let the office know I'm going to be out? I'm going to Thea's office to see if I can get a clearer answer from her staff in person."

Lance nodded understandingly and said, "Go find our girl."

As Oliver walked outside to catch a cab, he texted Laurel, Felicity, and Digg and asked if they knew where Thea was. Digg had already responded "No," by the time Oliver had clambered into a taxi. As the car turned towards the Glades, Felicity replied, "No – everything okay?" Oliver didn't respond, watching for Laurel's response. When there was none, he texted back, "Just ask her to call me if you talk to her."

The cab dropped him off in front of the familiar clock tower building on the Glades' East Side. Oliver didn't bother glancing up at the decrepit, crowning building of this decaying neighborhood. He made straight for Queen Jubilee's door.

Pushing through, he found his sister's three employees, but no Thea in sight. Setting his gaze on Sin, who was clearly Thea's number two, he strode up, demanding, "Where is my sister?"

Sin stood stalwartly before Oliver's ire without flinching or relinquishing any ground. She seemed to be studying him, like she was deciding how best to deal with him. Oliver took a step closer and hissed, "Sin." She watched him, eyes narrowing at what felt like a challenge. "Would I come all this way if I didn't need to see her?"

Sin deflated. "She's upstairs," Sin directed unhappily.

Oliver turned and exited the shop and rushed to the second entrance. He quickly input Thea's favorite pin code -her childhood cat's birthdate - in the security pad and was relieved to hear the click of the lock disengaging. Oliver yanked the door open and moments later, his feet pounded up the four flights to Thea's apartment.

Reaching her front door, Oliver tried the handle on the off chance it was unlocked, and, finding it secure, began knocking sharply on the door. He waited impatiently, shifting his weight from one leg to the other, eagerly listening for any sound indicating someone was alive within the apartment walls. Oliver knocked a second time and this time, without waiting, dialed Thea's cell. The call rang through and Oliver immediately redialed.

Unbidden, Oliver remembered Alex telling him that while Oliver and Felicity had been on their honeymoon, Thea hadn't answered calls or knocks on the door, and, once the building superintendent unlocked the apartment, had found Thea, in bed, unconscious with a high fever. Oliver remembered coming home to the Loft and finding Thea bleeding out following her stabbing by Ra's. And being unable to find Thea only to discover she had been abducted by Slade Wilson nearly twenty-four hours earlier. And this time, Thea hadn't responded to calls or texts since Sunday. Panic rising in his throat, Oliver pounded on the door with all the force he could muster.

Oliver selected Felicity's number in his phone and began to pace while he waited for his wife to pick up. As soon as her voice came over the phone, Oliver demanded, "You have a key to Thea's apartment, right?"

Felicity, confused and voice instantly suspicious asked, "I do. What's going on with Thea?"

Oliver scarcely breathed as he explained, "Starling General called me and can't reach Thea and she's not at work, and Sin told me she's in her apartment but she's not answering her phone or the door and I need to get in!" Oliver froze as the door creaked open, revealing a bleary appearing Thea. Oliver was so startled to see his sister appearing mostly fine in front of him that he couldn't form words or thoughts. Oliver could hear Felicity's voice speaking on the phone, but he wasn't hearing words. Numbly Oliver said into the phone, "Never mind, she's here," and hung up.

"Ollie?" Thea asked, squinting at him in confusion. "What are you doing here?" Oliver felt like his brain had short-circuited now that the first danger – Thea being missing or dead – was averted. Thea seemed to realize she wasn't getting an answer and held the door open wider, "Come on in."

Once inside, Thea walked heavily towards a couch covered in blankets and a pillow from Thea's bed. Thea sat back on the couch and blinked her eyes owlishly.

Standing in front of his very-much-alive sister, Oliver finally ground out, "Thea, you have to answer your damn phone!"

Thea's brow crinkled and she started feeling around the couch. Oliver rolled his eyes and redialed her number. A faint ring could be heard down the hall, singing from Thea's bedroom. Thea looked a little sheepish and stood up with a show of effort to vanish into her room. She returned, phone in hand, tapping the screen. "Ohhh …" Thea said, noting the number of missed calls and messages.

"Starling General was trying to reach you," Oliver explained, certain that anxiety leached into his tone, even as Thea settled back on the couch. "They called me when you didn't answer. They need you to call back before 4:30." He glanced at his watch, realizing happily that it wasn't yet 4 pm.

Thea calmly accepted the number Oliver provided and waited as the phone rang. "Hi, this is Thea Queen, date of birth 01/21/1995. Yes, I was returning a call from Amanda. Yes, I can hold." Thea's eyes followed Oliver as he began pacing. "Yes, hi. I was returning a call. Sorry I didn't hear my phone before." She was silent, listening to the voice on the other end. "Oh, that's fine," Thea said, sounding a little surprised, but not upset. She sounded as though she was answering a series of questions, pausing after each answer. "Yes – my name is Thea Queen and my date of birth is January 21st, 1995. Today is Tuesday, September 20th, 2016. The president is June Dale. Okay – nine, apple, sword, clock, pepper. No. No." Thea laughed drily, "Nope, still can't do that. Yes, but a lot better than even this morning. Nope, no concerns. Yeah, I have a follow-up with my primary doctor on Thursday. I understand. Yes, I can make sure. Okay, Thank you. Yes, you too."

Once her call ended, Thea looked up at Oliver and said unperturbed, "So that wasn't 'rush across town' levels of urgent."

Oliver was instantly frustrated and demanded, "Then what was that?"

Thea's calm demeanor abruptly turned nervous. She looked prepared to answer, when the apartment door swung open. "Thea, I've got your nuggets – oh!" Laurel said as she noticed Oliver. "Hi, Ollie!" Both Laurel and Thea were giving off the sheepishness of children who had been caught digging in their parents' closet.

"What the hell is going on here?" Oliver cried out in frustration.

Laurel shot Thea a look that clearly said they couldn't keep something from Oliver any longer. "Just tell him," Laurel urged, her voice encouraging. Whatever they were hiding, it seemed Laurel wasn't as committed to the lie as Thea was. A memory prodded at Oliver's mind that last night he had a strange, short call from Laurel. Had she meant to say more the night before?

Thea winced and turned to look at her brother. "I had a run-in with a guy I was tracking and a piece of metal pipe." Whatever Oliver was prepared for Thea to admit, this wasn't it.

"What?" he cried out. "When? As Arae?" Thea's grimace answered the question. In Oliver's vexation, he asked sarcastically, "How is that possible when the guys you are going after are 'harmless'?"

"He's a little bigger and stronger than my typical perps," Thea admitted. "This one is a serial rapist who has escalated into a serial killer. And I wasn't aware from our intel that he had an accomplice. Thus, the pipe."

"Are you kidding me?" Oliver asked, upset.

"Look," Thea said defensively, "You've gotten hurt plenty as the Green Arrow! Sometimes things just go sideways! And I'm fine – Laurel was there!"

Oliver turned to look pointedly at Laurel. "Oh, you were, were you? What happened to 'being retired'?"

Laurel shrugged, "I had a bad feeling. And I'm glad I did – Thea had a close call." Oliver looked warily at Laurel. "I took her to the hospital. She had a skull fracture and minor brain bleed, and they kept her overnight for observation. She was released this morning when her scans came back showing the bleed was decreasing. She's supposed to be resting."

The anger dissipated as quickly as it had come and left exhaustion in its place. Oliver paced towards the window, rubbing his hands over his face. He peered through the window thinking about the fears that had crept up his throat on his ride into the Glades – how the fear had flared into dread when Thea had failed to respond to his knocking.

Oliver turned and took several swift steps and pulled Thea into a firm hug. Thea was alive and whole and here. And for the moment the only thing he could be was grateful.

Thea stiffened in surprise, but slowly relaxed. She returned the hug half-heartedly with one arm, patting his back. As Oliver pulled away, Thea asked uncertainly, "What was that for?"

Oliver, his voice lightened by some temporary vulnerability, said, "I'm glad you're okay."

Not convinced, Thea asked, "Aren't you mad?"

Oliver grimaced, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Yeah, I'm angry – but I'm more thankful you're okay." Thea still looked reticent to believe him. Oliver sighed and said, "I got that call from the hospital that they were unable to reach you, and you weren't answering your phone or your door …" Thea tilted her head like she was trying to understand. "Has it occurred to you that I have come to your home twice to find you dying, and another two times when I couldn't reach you, you had been abducted?" Thea winced, grasping Oliver's concern. "God, Thea, I thought when I got your apartment door open, I was going to find a body."

Thea breathed out, "That's fair." She hesitated, then asked nervously, "You're not going to yell at me for not being careful or not calling you last night?"

Oliver shot his sister a wry look. "Would it make a difference if I did?"

Thea shrugged. "I dunno," she admitted. "I am sorry I told Laurel not to call you. I just thought you'd be mad. And I wasn't feeling all that great – I wasn't ready for yelling."

Oliver hated to admit that the reaction Thea expected was definitely in character. Oliver sighed, wishing that it wasn't such an accurate estimation. "I'm always going to be upset when you're hurt, Speedy – but I want you to call me. I want you to trust me. And if I have acted in ways where you didn't think you could, then we can both work on fixing that." Thea's hazel eyes seemed to search his own like she was trying to read his sincerity. Finally, Thea nodded. Oliver asked, "Are you going to keep going after this serial killer?"

Thea said, her tone showing she expected an argument, "Ollie, this guy is killing women -"

Oliver held up a hand, asking Thea to stop. "I'm just asking if you're going to go after him, because – if you are, this sounds like a job for Team Arrow."

"Really?" Thea asked in shock.

Oliver nodded his head. "You're clearly not going to stop. And we have more resources. How would you feel about a team-up?"

"Oh," Thea said with a grin. "Sin is going to lose her mind."