Arrow War of Faith

by Dellore of VersatileCreativity

My name is -Error- with one goal, to save Star City. With -Error- Oliver Queen, out of jail and most of Team Arrow assembled, we fight to save Star City from those who would -Error- ...become someone else. Become something else. I am -Error- (Sequel to Arrow: Rise of the Vigilantes and Elseworlds: the Chosen).

5. Episode 5: Unity

Disclaimer: Based on characters and references created by DC Universe and the CW, which I do not own. Enjoy!

---

My name is William Queen

A man from the future

Who has come to the past with one goal,

To save Star City.

My family, my team, and I have faced insurmountable odds this past month,

Most recently a near death experience from the Order of St. Dismas' leader

And a psychopath who attempted to murder my family.

However, through the interrogation of the two Longbow Hunters I faced a week ago,

We have a lead on the other opposing faction, the Ninth Circle,

That could give us incriminating evidence against them and their leader, Dante.

I just hope that, despite the Longbow's separation from the group,

They are not leading us into a trap.

---

Episode 5: Unity

---

Felicity hears the cries all around her, in every tree and bush for miles. Nobody is in sight, not even little Mia, her child-like screams still resonating everywhere Felicity runs.

"Mia?!"

Still nothing but crying. Felicity picks up the pace, branches breaking and leaves crunching with every step.

"Mia, where are you? It's okay! Mommy's—"

Suddenly, as she makes another turn around the tree, the Deacon stands before her. He is unmasked, armored in the medieval get up described to her by William and the others. In one hand, he wields his sword. In the other is little Mia, swaddled in a cloth. She's still crying, her little tears streaking across her cheeks.

The Deacon smirks. "It is fitting that your failures end here, in Lian Yu."

Felicity places one foot forward firmly. "Give me back my child!"

"Your child will be under MY care now."

Felicity thinks about charging him, wrestling control of little Mia away from him. However, as she moves her back leg, something pierces her skin. The pain is sharp, forcing her to fall on the leafy ground. She then feels another one penetrate her front leg, right through her knee. She finds it very hard to kneel, but a hand grabs her by the neck and forces her up.

Above her, she sees the familiar face of Dante, conveying a stern, sinister stare. "Or maybe I should be her guardian, give her the life I wanted for William."

The Deacon walks to them, standing over her. Mia stops crying, her small breaths indicating that she's asleep.

As Dante brings a knife across from Felicity's neck, he continues, "You know that you will fail her in the future, FAIL to become the mother she wants you to be. The only fitting end for you…"

Both the Deacon and Dante say in unison, "Is to die!"

Quickly, as Felicity screams, Dante jabs the knife into her jugular.

---

Felicity jumps from bed, breathing heavily and frantically. She clasps her throat, feeling no cut or gash on it. Instead, she feels a bit of a cold sweat both there and on her forehead, which she wipes off quickly. She half expected Oliver to be next to her, to comfort her, but he is not there. She slowly remembers that he took off for Switzerland on a mission with John, Lyla, Curtis, and Slade, going off of a lead from Bear and Red, who they captured a while back, to find Dante.

But that does not bring her solace. Ever since the nurse broke the news that Felicity is bearing a child, a child whose future self she has already met no less, she's been on the edge. First, it was just worrisome thoughts that went away when sleeping next to Oliver. Now, with him gone, she's been having nightmares the past couple of nights. She's tried meditation music, but that only puts her to sleep right away.

Coming out of it, her breathing now starts to slow down. It is still heavy, but she is at least somewhat in control. She then stops breathing through her mouth, inhaling with her nose.

Stay calm. You're getting worked up over nothing. William and Mia came here to set things right. They're going to change the future for the better. There's nothing to—

As she inhales again, she starts to smell something, a hot beverage that is somewhat familiar to her.

Is that a…hot chocolate?

She slowly gets out of bed, wiping any residual sweat from her face. As she steps into the living room, she is startled by the ding of a microwave. She walks over to the kitchen, seeing Mia take out a cup of coffee with the "Jitters" label on it.

When Mia turns and sees Felicity, she is a bit shocked, but quickly brushes it away with a smile. "Oh! Hey. Morning Mom."

"Uh, morning." Felicity looks over at the palette next to Mia, seeing one of Jitters' signature coffee rolls and another cup labeled "cocoa." "Did you head somewhere?"

"Uh, yeah. I went over to Central City via William's breach portal and got myself breakfast. Just thought I get a couple things for him, and for you too."

Felicity points to the reheated coffee cup. "That one's mine?"

Mia nods. "Pumpkin Spice Latte. It's literally the only coffee you ever have."

Felicity raises an eyebrow. "I've never had Pumpkin Spice."

Mia shrugs her shoulders. "Well, I guess now is a good time to."

Felicity slowly walks over to the cup as Mia grabs the cocoa and doughnut bag in one hand. Even Mia's fake smile is like Oliver's when he's trying to look like he's in good spirits, trying to look optimistic when really something is bothering him.

Maybe it's hereditary.

As Mia opens a new breach to ARGUS, Felicity asks for the third time this week, "Are you…going to go back to work afterwards? Captain Drake is still in the hospital, but she might need some help keeping the city clean in her absence."

Mia hesitates to take a step. She is frozen, looking inside the breach as if something is in there, a monster or a distant memory. She is quick to shake it off. "You know, I think I'll just stay here and help out. Need to get everything ready for when dad comes back, right?"

Felicity shakes her head. "He's not coming back until late tonight. Besides, you've done more than enough. I can call Director Michaels and see if there's any assignments."

Mia, again, refuses with, "I think they'll do fine."

As Mia is about to step through, Felicity puts a hand on her shoulder, done with talking around this. "Mia, you've been like this for a week now. What's bothering you?"

Mia refutes, her tone getting higher, "Nothing."

Felicity then tries to assure her, "Listen, I know that you don't trust me right now, but—"

"I SAID IT'S—"

The flash of anger shocks Felicity, making her take a couple of steps back. She almost feared that Mia would turn hostile again as she did a week ago. However, Mia stops herself, quelling her anger. Still, she maintains a tough look, her eyes staring into Felicity's sternly, very reminiscent of her father.

Mia continues in a subtly harsh tone, "I said I'm fine."

Felicity does not try to talk to Mia further and allows her to leave through the breach. She takes a sip from the latte to calm herself down which, she admits to herself, tastes pretty good. However, the thought of Mia being in whatever pain she is in does not make it as good as she should perceive it to be. Still, she continues to drink it, feeling an unnatural craving for it.

---

In the main office of "Schatt and Soehill Bank," Mr. Teehil paces behind his desk. He waits for the appointees to arrive, to get their business over with so he can get on with his day. He has other business, yet he is supposed to stop all that he has planned to focus on this.

Why though? Why not one of my other employees or—

Just then, the door opens, his usual armed guards stepping inside first, as is protocol. Then in came the appointees, Mr. Andrews and Ms. Dan, both wearing black and the former carrying a large briefcase.

Teehil put on his professional, courteous smile as he approached them. "Mr. Andrews, Ms. Dan. Welcome and thank you for choosing the 'Schatt and Soehill Bank' of Switzerland. Before we can do business, I would like to see your reference letter."

They do not show one. Instead, they walk past him and place the briefcase on the desk. Mr. Andrews rotates it and opens it up. Upon gazing upon the contents, Teehil almost loses control of his bulging eyes. It was a painting, but not just any painting. A famous piece called "The Bleeding Ghost." While the true story behind the painting remained a mystery, The artwork was exquisite enough to earn a place in a museum gallery in Italy. It went missing almost a month after being presented and it never showed up again.

Ms. Dan told Teehil, "This is our reference letter, and we would like to store it someplace safe."

Mr. Andrews added, "We were told YOU are the best at handling such a task. Discretely, of course."

Quickly regaining his composure, Mr. Teehil assures them, "But, of course." He walks behind his desk, fetching the standard requisite forms. "You'll find our terms more than agreeable. Just sign here while I fetch our in-house appraiser. Excuse me."

Teehil quickly walks out of the office, his guards escorting him. He didn't need to go far, for he only needs to make a quick phone call.

It picks up quickly, his boss asking, "What is it?"

"They came, just as you said. You will NOT believe what they are offering."

---

"Curtis, we're inside."

From the Portable Base parked just a few blocks from the bank, Curtis jokingly confirms to John by his alias, "Copy that, Mr. Andrews." With a few clicks from his keyboard, the portable hacking device from Lyla Michael's necklace immediately hacks into their servers, the bar rapidly ascending from one percent. "We are live!"

Lyla, going under the name Ms. Dan, compliments, "Nice work Curtis. How's the download going?"

Within seconds, a bunch of files and documents appear in the background.

Curtis smiles. "Flawless! We're already getting some juicy info. Names, financial accounts, all across the globe."

John asks, "All of them linked to Dante and the Ninth Circle?"

"Yes indeed. Just need another minute and then—"

Suddenly, Curtis notices the download bar slow to a crawl, the documents coming in at a sluggish rate. Curtis frantically diagnoses the problem, finding some kind of signal that is disrupting the hack.

"Oh frack!"

John asks, "What is it?"

"There's something from inside the server that's slowing the download down. I can't solve it from here."

Lyla responds. "Copy. Team Two, you're up."

Break

It is a bit of a trek, but they get through the ventilation system, following the blueprints all the way to the server room. Below them are a couple of guards talking to each other, not moving or going on patrol. Given that this is the only way in besides the elevator, they figured that they were secure in here.

Green Arrow takes out a sleeping gas arrow, aiming it at the feet of the two guards and letting it loose. The two men cough before they could get a scream out, collapsing to the floor with groans that almost sound like yawns. When the gas dissipates, Green Arrow jumps down, with Slade right behind him.

"You learned some new tricks."

Green Arrow replies, "Thank Red Arrow for that." He represses the pride for his son, William, as he says this. He then communicates to Curtis, "We're inside. What're we looking for?"

"Fourth row to your left. The server is the fifth one on your right."

Green Arrow and Slade proceed carefully to where Curtis instructed. It's a good thing he did, because all of these servers look exactly the same, just pristine machines with blinking lights and ports in case data needed to be physically given or taken. When they get to the fifth server, Green Arrow takes out the flash drive Curtis gave him. The code on the drive, as Curtis explained, should allow the creation of an easy back door, but also potentially leave traces if not executed correctly.

"Drive is in."

"Alright. Just stay there until the download's done."

As they wait, Slade comments, "This was easy. Too easy. Thought those Longbow Hunters you caught said this place had the tightest security in the world."

Green Arrow agrees, "I know. Curtis has the detective vision satellite over us, though. He'll warn us."

Slade gives a disgruntled groan. "I hope so."

---

With the hard drive, Curtis was able to create a new digital pathway past the security protocols and firewall. The download speeds back up until it was at normal speed, moving from 40% to 100% in just 25 seconds.

Curtis gives a victorious smile, along with a small gesture and a "Boo-yah!" He is then quick to tell the others, "Download's complete! Get out of there."

"Oh, you won't have to worry about them, Mr. Holt."

A totally unfamiliar voice echoes into Curtis' ear, sending a shiver down his body.

"I'll be sure to treat your friends with care."

Suddenly, the door to the portable base flies open, a bunch of men in black hooded jackets barging in, carrying small, concealable weapons in their hands.

Unarmed and without a lot of options, Curtis puts his hands up, uttering, "Crap!"

---

It has been almost a minute since Lyla and John heard anything from the others. They look at each other, indecisive on whether they should leave now or stay. With no word, they have to assume that the download is still in progress. They can't say that aloud with the two guards at the door, but they've gotten pretty good, both as agents and spouses, to communicate this to each other through facial expression.

Suddenly, the office door opens, revealing Mr. Teehill. "Sorry to keep you waiting." He takes a few steps away from the door and stretches out his hand as one would to present something. "I'd like you to meet our appraiser, Mr. Alighieri."

As the man, Mr. Alighieri, steps through the door, both Lyla and John are stunned. Dante, the leader of the Ninth Circle, is standing right in front of them. He is as William described him: A neat looking man in his late thirties with a full yet trim beard, his hair combed over to the side and wearing a dark suit.

He maintains a professional attitude, walking up to them with his hand extended. "Good to finally meet you both."

Lyla and John shake it, but are very skeptical of his welcoming mood. The way he phrased his greeting with "finally" tipped them off. They looked at each other with firm looks and slight nods. They needed to get out of here and abort the mission.

Yet Dante is quick to walk towards the fake painting they brought, still within the briefcase. As he touches the frame, he grins. "Ah. 'The Bleeding Ghost.' A fine piece." He leans towards it, looking it up and down. "Though, it conveys a misconception, that the spirit can bear flesh. The flesh, the spirit, are two entirely different entities, yet they rely on each other to live on the Earth. The body dies, withers, decays until there is nothing but ash. Meanwhile, the spirit ascends or…descends. Still, it is a fine expression of how even a soul such as this…can feel pain." Dante grins again. "My apologies. That's just the Catholic in me."

After his little speech, Lyla is quick to grab the case and take it away from him. "I'm sorry, but this is a waste of time."

Dante shrugs his shoulders, "I only seek to authenticate the painting. There's no harm in it if you have nothing to hide."

John adds, "We didn't come all this way to be told that we can't be trusted when we have the one and only copy of this painting. No other has ever been replicated."

Dante retorts, "You'd never know."

Lyla adds, "Yes, we do!"

Just as John and Lyla step away from the desk, Dante yells, "Vakter!" Almost immediately, the guards aim their guns, causing the two of them to stop in their tracks. They can hear Dante walking towards them and then around, smirking.

"Do you want to know how I know that it was a fake, Mr. Diggle and Ms. Michaels?"

The very utterances of their names have John and Lyla stunned again.

"It's because the real one is hanging on a wall in my home, exactly like yours. You would've gotten away with it too…" Dante walks in between them, grabbing the case from John. "If it weren't for the fact that I was the one who left the breadcrumb trail."

---

It has been a minute and a half. Green Arrow hears nothing over the comms and nobody has checked in on the guards.

Oliver shakes his head. "This is too easy. Something's wrong."

"Damn right it is." Slade takes out the slide prematurely. "We're getting out of here, Now!"

Suddenly, from the corner of the server room, a woman appears, drawing her bow. "You two aren't going anywhere."

Suddenly, from above, a cloaked figure jumps down and takes out a small sword, pointing it at Green Arrow and Slade. Two more appear on top of the servers, aiming pistols at them as if the bow wasn't enough.

As the woman approaches, Slade begins to recognize the young, black-haired girl smirking at him.

"Beatrice." His bleak tone tells Oliver that this woman is more than some troublesome assassin.

Her smirk becomes wider. "Hello Slade."

---

Even when outed, Lyla and John stand tall, unafraid of Dante and his goons. Mr. Teehill, however, seems to be looking at them with curiosity, apparently not aware of what is happening.

Dante reveals, "Both the Director of ARGUS and her husband in the same room. Now that is something I have never been able to pull off."

Teehill's eyes bulge in the same way when the fake painting was presented. "The Director of ARGUS?"

Lyla then demands, "You knew the Longbow Hunters were in our custody. You made it easy to recon this place. Why?"

Dante puts the briefcase down. "I simply wish to talk."

John dares to take a step forward, prompting the guards to ready their guns. "You think we have anything to talk about with the likes of you?"

Dante raises a hand to the gunners, who lower the weapons slightly. "We do. Our common enemy…Deacon Blackfire." Dante starts to pace back and forth. "You want him stopped. I want him punished. Our goals are aligned."

Lyla contradicts the claim, "Partially. We want him brought to justice. YOU want him DEAD."

Dante scoffs. "His death IS justice. I have seen the lengths he has gone through to get many of our agents out of jail by letting himself be arrested. He is meticulous, calculating, RUTHLESS. No jail can hold him."

John argues, "He hasn't been in an ARGUS cell."

"EVEN SO…Blackfire is too much of a liability to live. He knows my tactics, how I approach situations."

"Because HE taught them to you."

Dante shrugs. "I will not deny that. Frankly, you should've seen this coming, given your…mishap last week."

John and Lyla are somewhat taken aback by Dante's knowledge of their hunt for Stanley Dover.

"Oh yes, I know. Because you fell for his trap, Captain Drake is being hospitalized, as is the Red Arrow. Luckily, you at least made the effort to SAVE him before Blackfire could end him." Dante sounds a bit infuriated in his statement about the Red Arrow being beaten by Blackfire. "Which is why you need me. I can teach you his tactics, how to combat them."

Lyla then asks, "If we refuse?"

Dante shrugs again. "Then I'm afraid you will die." The guards raise their guns again. "You are as much of a liability, in charge of ARGUS as you are and your agents as skilled as they are."

John makes an effort to stand between Lyla and them. However, she puts a hand on him, shaking her head. She moves past John, daring Dante, "Fine then. Do it! But know that if you do, you're going to have all of ARGUS coming for you. Friends who are loyal and stout of heart. You kill me, one of them will take my place and finish the mission!"

After a moment's pause, Dante smirks again. "You are brave…to a fault."

He gestures his hand to the open office door, inviting someone in. The next man who steps in is someone else unexpected, wearing a dark suit like Dante's. This time though, it is someone familiar, immediately recognized by his combed-back black hair peppered with white patches, along with his clean, round face. This man was present for the interrogation of the Longbow Hunters, corroborated information on this bank with them, and provided the duplicate painting. His presence now feels like a knife has stabbed their backs.

John exclaims, "Bell?!"

Deputy Director Bell looks on with a neutral stare. It is not clear how he feels at the moment, whether guilty for this betrayal or ecstatic.

Dante explains, "Bell has been in place for the very purpose of replacing you, something we failed to implement with your predecessor. Waller proved to be as stubborn and resilient as you, but now we have a backup plan."

Bell adds, "I didn't want to do this, but Dante knows the path to a better future more than any nation combined. If killing you is the only way to accomplish that future, then so be it."

Dante steps forward. "You've been given your options, Ms. Michaels. What's it going to be?"

Lyla is shaken. Her thoughts are spiraling. She has never been backed into a corner like this before. She always found herself uncompromising, principled. But now, with the prospect of a traitor taking her place, what else is there for her to do? For once, she asks herself, What would Waller do?

---

Hook, cross, hook! Grab then knee strike! Knee strike! Push off, then hook kick!

William pants heavily, sweat pouring over his face. He shakes of his hands, feeling the sensation of drilling on the bag for the past 15 minutes with few breaks in between. About a week ago, he could only get one arm to move, his entire body aching from the beat down from his fight with Deacon Blackfire. Today, his pain is almost gone, at least to where he can manage it without morphine. He is now able to put weight on his left leg after the Deacon kicked the back of it with a very dense steel pauldron. He can now move around his left arm, which is still slightly bruised and irritated. He can resume patrols and missions, but he should stick to slipping and rolling under enemy attacks.

Yet William's speedy recovery does not erase the memory of that night. He has run through every single scenario in which he could've won, correcting every mistake he made, trying to figure out what was going on inside the Deacon's head. He hoped it would keep him in bed, distracted. Though, every night, William had the same nightmare: The Deacon coming inside and killing him while he was defenseless. As his faculties came back, he was able to defend himself better each time. No matter what he did, though, they all ended the same, just a little closer to the exit.

He moves in towards the bag in his fighting stance, continuing his combo sequences.

Backfist, cross, elbow! Backfist, jab, elbow! More speed! Backfist, cross—

"You and I are much more alike than you think."

His body retracts, his elbow just scraping the bag. He takes a couple of sudden steps backward, barely able to catch himself. He is quick to shake the memory from his head.

Focus!

He resumes with, Backfist, elbow! Backfist, elbow! Backfist, elbow! Backfist—

"When I found your mother…she was lost, just as I was. I saw that same FIRE…

William's fists and elbows begin to hit harder.

"…SPIRIT…"

And harder…

"…to rid the world of the secularism that our societies have propagated."

His last elbow overextends, putting him in a crouched position. He breathes heavily again, but not from exhaustion. The memories of last week come back, this time more gruesome. He can feel the pain starting to flood back into his body, every agonizing moment surges through him.

Stop William! Mind over matter. Focus!

He steps back into punching range, letting out a barrage of punches.

Jab, cross! Jab, cross!

"There is NOTHING sacred in this world!"

Jab, cross! Jab, cross! Jab, cross!

"All of them have been turned into institutions of pandering and GREED!"

Cross! Cross! Cross! CROSS!

"Let your family go. Let Star City Die."

NO!

With a yell, William lets out a roundhouse so fast, incredibly powerful, nothing that he has ever done before. Yet, for some reason, the bag does not move. He doesn't care, filled with anger and adrenaline.

As he breathes heavily, he hears something. Water, leaking, not just in droplets, but in a small, fast stream, right in front of him. He looks down, seeing blood spill from the bag.

What the? Why is—

In a single blink, the bag turns into the Deacon, unarmed and standing tall, all the while his side is pierced by an arrow. A red Arrow.

The Deacon asks, "This is how you will stop me, isn't it? My blood…on your hands?"

William looks down at his hands, indeed covered in blood. He begins to panic, panting sporadically.

No! NO!

He looks up again, the Deacon gone, replaced by the bag bleeding sand. It is in a large pile on the floor. He looks at his hands again, clean of everything except maybe a couple of callouses developing on his knuckles.

William shakes his head. Calm down. You're fine. It was just your imagination. You are above such thoughts. God gave free will to be above such thoughts.

"You are just like her."

William quickly turns, alerted by the presence of someone else. He relaxes a bit as he sees Athena, standing there in her old assassin garb that Lyla allowed her to wear after releasing her from her cell. Lyla says it is to signify that she is still a prisoner, to distinguish her from the other ARGUS employees. William, however, suspects that it may be to trick the mole into thinking that Athena is still loyal to Dante or the Deacon, make him or her more comfortable around her.

Athena elaborates, "Your mother."

William then remembers that she came in here talking to him.

"You knew her?"

Athena nods. "The first time I was sent by the League to the Ninth Circle was to provide support for her. She fought with tenacity, aggression, and an unwavering spirit, just as you have demonstrated."

William looks back at the bag. "This isn't something I would be proud of."

"She thought the same thing the next time I met her."

William raises an eyebrow, now curious. "How so?"

"She started holding back, panicking when her punch made someone bleed or knocked someone onto a wall when she didn't mean to. I never understood it at the time, but now…I believe she was starting to regret what she had become. I can see that same regret riddled on your face."

William looks at the bag again, at the leaking sand that slowly stops. He still can't help but imagine it to be blood.

"I'm slipping, Athena. I'm slipping and I don't know why. I'm supposed to be above killing, above taking a life, above…above instinct, weakness."

Athena bows her head as she walks towards William. "I used to believe that mercy and compassion were weakness, that they were instinct. Yet, you and your lord have shown me otherwise." She places a hand on his shoulder. "I cannot say that I completely understand your pain, but whatever it is, you must not lose yourself. If you cannot temper your body with your will, the next time you face the Deacon, you will fall."

William nods. "I know. And next time, I might not get up." He then starts to walk away. "I need some counsel on this, someplace private."

"You'll want to hear what I have first."

William stops, realizing that Athena came to see him for a reason.

"You found something out."

Athena nods her head. "I may have confirmed your suspicions."

William's eyes widen.

The mole.

---

Mia taps her foot, waiting for William to come back. She had been told, on arrival to ARGUS HQ, that he was working out at the gym and asked that he would not be disturbed.

As relieved as she is to hear that her brother is back on his feet, the cocoa she got for him is going to get cold sometime. She doesn't want to go back to the apartment and possibly have another discussion with her mom. She was barely able to keep her emotions in check before leaving and doesn't want to go through that again.

She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes for a second.

Just calm down. You're fine. You're alive. You're currently in one of the most secure places on the planet. Not even-

"Mia?"

Mia looks to her right and sees William, standing tall on both feet instead of subtly limping, and wearing the ARGUS shirt and sweatpants.

Mia gets up and gives the best smile she can muster, hiding her current anxiety. "Hey! I see you're looking well."

William shrugs. "Well, I can at least get back out in the field." He notices the cup in her hand. "What's that?"

She presents it and the coffee roll as she stands up. "Breakfast, from Jitters. Mom always says this is your favorite."

William raises an eyebrow, but takes the cup and doughnut anyways. He opens the top and takes a quick sniff. He smiles, taking a sip almost immediately.

"Nostalgic, having a Jitter's cocoa from the early 2000's. Cocoa after 2032 just stopped tasting the same and I don't know why."

William doesn't take another sip. Instead, she glances at Mia, looking her up and down.

"Are you feeling okay?"

Mia's hand starts to stutter a bit at the question.

"W-why do you ask?"

"Well, you haven't been back out in the field for a while. With the head trauma, I understand. But you look healthy to me."

Mia's mind starts to tunnel back to that night, when she charged at a seemingly vulnerable Stanley Dover after her father, Oliver Queen, knocked him upside the head with a beer bottle. Yet, somehow, she failed to block a jerk movement which knocked her upside the head. She found herself almost paralyzed, unable to defend herself. Stanley nearly killed her, but then Athena moved in to save her.

It was the most…

Mia just smiles again. "Well, you know, I've become a bit nervous after that whole situation with Stanley Dover. It happens."

There is a bit of a pause, the silent air making Mia's pulse almost audible to everyone in the room. It is quickening and she does not know how to stop it except make subtle, long breaths. They don't seem to work, making her all the more anxious.

William finally says, "It does, even to the best of us."

Mia breathes easy as William takes another sip of his cocoa.

He then extends the cup to her. "Want some?"

Mia nods. "Sure."

Mia grabs the cup and takes a sip. It has a rich flavor, creamy and milky smooth. It's a bit different to the cocoa she and her mom would have during a tv binge on the weekends, oldies like Star Trek or Blade Runner. Her mom was a geek like that. So far, Jitters was the better brand.

She nods her head as she extends the drink back. "This is good. I think I should have bought tw—"

Suddenly, instead of taking the cup from her hand, William throws out a Jeet Kune Do style punch aimed at Mia's temple. she screams and takes a few steps back, cocoa jumping out of the open lid cover, nearly touching her skin, and onto the floor. She breathes frantically, more than she ever has in her entire life. She can feel her heart beat fast, as if it were fueled by a lightning strike.

William opens his hand slowly and lowers it to his side. "You're not nervous."

Mia shakes her head in disbelief. "You just tried to punch me in the face! How exactly is that not—"

"I telegraphed that punch! Placed my foot forward, clenched the fist, threw the bag on the chair. Even you would have the foresight to see it coming."

Mia's eyes then catch a glimpse of the doughnut bag on the chair, the coffee roll not even bitten into. William is right. She ignored the signs. Usually, she's on top of her game. But that night keeps pestering her and she doesn't have a clear understanding of why that is.

William continues, "The fact that you didn't even defend yourself tells me that your body refuses to notice the signs because you believed yourself to be safe. That's NOT you. That's your anxiety talking. Your FEAR."

Mia does not refute the claim. Instead, she's processing that word. "Fear." Normally, it is an emotion that she keeps locked tight, something she learned while being in the ring in 2040. Maybe that's what the whole situation with Stanley awakened.

William extends a hand again, causing Mia to jolt a bit. This time, though, he places it on her shoulder.

"Mia, you made a mistake and it almost costed you your life. You were close to dying. I understand that. But you can't let that fear consume you. I can help you to better confront it, if you'll let me."

Mia is, at first, tempted to take the offer. But then, the fact that William proved it by seemingly trying to punch her, scare her into revealing herself, it left a bad taste in her mouth. She couldn't swallow that fact, that her own brother would do something like that, then turn around and be all sympathetic.

She brushes the hand aside. "I don't need lectures from a brother who used violence to get me to open up!"

She starts to walk away, fishing the breach beacon out from her pocket. Before she gets far, though, another figure appears out of the corner of the doorway, Director Lyla Michaels. She appears to be a bit distraught, looking at both of them with an anxious stare.

"Director Michaels?"

William walks up next to Mia, asking, "When did you get back?"

"Half an hour ago. Listen—"

William keeps pestering, "How'd the mission go?"

Lyla answers, "That's the thing. Something—"

"Hello William!"

Another figure, a man, comes in right behind Director Michaels, who takes a sharp inhale, her face squirming. It takes Mia a while, but she recognizes the face, the man, one of the first people she saw coming into this timeline. She freezes, her heartbeat spiking again.

"And little Mia. So good to see you two again."

William looks on, shocked, but not as much as Mia. It's more of a surprised shock. He utters, "Dante?"

Mia says nothing. She finds it hard to release the words forming in her brain: questions, frustrations. Instead, she is now reminded of something worse. She is reminded of the torture she suffered under Jarrett Parker, that exposed Felicity and Young William to them, the first time her spirit was broken.

She is now more anxious than any other time before.

---

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Oliver knew that Felicity would react like this. Actually, Oliver reacted similarly to Lyla after the mission. Though, he understands that she had no other choice in the matter.

As Felicity walks to the kitchen, Oliver tries to explain, "I know, okay. I don't like it either."

Felicity turns to him, yelling, "And yet you chose to work with him?"

"I didn't! It was Lyla who made the decision. SHE was in charge of the mission."

"And yet you went with it?"

Oliver places a hand on the tabletop, letting out a frustrating sigh. "Dante had us right where he wanted us. We were surrounded by his goons. Lyla had no choice but to take up Dante's offer, not to mention the Deputy Director was on his side."

Felicity also leans on the tabletop, rubbing her forehead. "Do William and Mia know about this?"

Oliver nods. "Mia's mad as all hell and William…well, he just disagrees with the method."

"What method?"

"Dante says that he wants the Deacon dead."

Felicity's rubbing hand pauses at the middle of her forehead. She looks up with widened eyes. "Dead?"

Oliver nods. "Yes."

Felicity strangely asks, "As in…DEAD dead?"

Her voice seems to have trembled for a second. Oliver can't tell if that was worry or something else, but he chooses to dismiss it for now.

"Well, if that's how you want to say it. Dante doesn't want loose ends."

Felicity nods. "And William would rather take the Deacon in alive?"

"Yeah."

Felicity looks down at the table, as if contemplating. About what, Oliver can't tell. The message seemed straightforward enough.

Oliver continues, "Well…William is coming up with a way to circumnavigate the whole deal and bring the Deacon to the SCPD. We think that when Dinah fully recovers, Dante's influence won't—"

"What if it's the only option?"

Felicity's question catches Oliver unaware. "Do you mean the SCPD?"

Felicity shakes her head. "Killing the Deacon."

Oliver is a bit stunned, not knowing whether to be afraid for or be disappointed in Felicity.

"Felicity, that's not—"

Felicity presses Oliver, "You said yourself that Dante had you right where he wanted you, just like the Deacon. These guys are SCHEMERS. You can't keep people like them in jail for very long."

Oliver argues, "Even the more ignorant criminal can get out of jail, Felicity."

"With luck!"

"Even if the Deacon were to die, that would leave Dante on the table to take control of both organizations."

"Then let's do to them what they did to us! Lead them where we want them to and get rid of the threats."

"Not everyone's going to agree with this Felicity."

"Lyla and John will! I do!"

"Why?"

Felicity hesitates this time. She opens her mouth, but does not utter a word.

Oliver guesses, "This is about Stanley, isn't it? About the security system failing?" Oliver walks a bit closer to her. "That happened once and that was under MY watch, not yours. You don't need to feel responsible."

Felicity refutes, "I don't. I just…"

Just then, Oliver's phone rings. He holds up a finger. "One second." He picks up the call. "Oliver here."

"It's John. Dante says he has a lead for us. We need you here."

"On my way."

Oliver hangs up and tells Felicity, "I have to go." Oliver takes out the breach beacon and activates a portal. As he walks through, he tells Felicity, "This conversation isn't over."

"Noted!"

Her final word sounds a bit more frustrated than during their conversation. Oliver can tell something is going on with Felicity. Whatever it is, though, they can work through it after all of this is over.

---

William paces back and forth in his room at ARGUS, thinking, contemplating.

Just keep calm William. You knew ARGUS would potentially be backed into a corner, but that doesn't mean you can't get them out of it. If Dante want's the Deacon's head, then I need to find some way to get the Deacon out of harm's way and then get the Deputy Director and Dante out of the way. But how?

"I always reckoned you were younger than you were letting on."

From the doorway, Slade stands in regular attire, his arms crossed. William didn't even hear him coming. Still, William does his best to show no emotion. "And I thought the secretary at the entrance didn't let strangers in."

"She would've if she was told I was under the orders of Director Michaels and that she was in a sour mood today."

William shrugs his shoulders. "Well, that's not far from the truth."

Slade moves away from the doorway, walking slowly towards the bed. "I've been told you're the one who voiced displeasure in killing the Deacon, despite Dante being pretty much in charge."

"Nobody here wants to kill the Deacon. We're not executioners."

"ARGUS has executed plenty of people."

"Under Amanda Waller. Director Michaels—"

Slade shakes his head. "You're not getting the picture here."

"I do! Dante may have his hold over ARGUS, but not me."

"You're a part of ARGUS."

"Part time."

"But that doesn't mean that you're actions won't affect them!"

William takes a firm step forward. "I'm well aware of the risks of making a move prematurely, Slade. I don't want to see any of my friends hurt. That's why I'm in here, THINKING, which I would very much like to do on my own."

Slade walks around the bed, his single eye observing William. "What you should be thinking about are the benefits."

"Of what? Doing exactly as Dante says?"

"Just for this one mission. Everyone would be better off with the Deacon dead, with the Order of St. Dismas gone."

"That's NOT how I do things."

"It means one less front to worry about."

"It means giving Dante a chance to absorb and consolidate power WE would give him."

"In the short term! In the meantime, we would regroup, get a chance to find a weakness and strike back."

William shrugs his arms up. "Or, just a suggestion, we find a way to stop BOTH the Deacon and Dante and prevent FURTHER bloodshed."

Slade steps closer somewhat aggressively. "Beatrice would kill you first before you got to Dante!"

William inspects Slade's face. His one eye begins to twitch, his lower lip shuddering. His voice is not that of impatience, but of fear, a concern shaped by experience.

William surmises, "You know this woman."

Slade iterates, "She's the enforcer of the Ninth Circle, trained since BIRTH to kill and follows Dante's orders and that of the council's to a tee. ONE slip up and she'll be breaking your hand, if she's feeling merciful. If she's not…"

Slade draws a line across his throat with his finger, almost with the precision of a blade strike.

Still, William insists, "I've fought someone like her before. She's loyal to a fault, but she has her weaknesses."

Slade pauses for a moment, breathing a heavy sigh, before continuing, "Listen kid. You've got principles. I can respect that. But men like Dante know how to use your principles against you." He gets up close, face to face now. "You may say they've never fought someone like you, but let me assure you, they have. You want to take them down, do something they won't expect."

"How'd you get in here?"

Lyla is now in the room, standing by the doorway and looking at Slade with a glare.

William simply answers, "He let himself in. What do you need?"

Lyla answers, to William's dismay, "Dante wants to see us."

---

"Our war with the Deacon has been a messy one."

As Dante speaks, he presents the others with an assortment of documents. Maps, field reports, and stocks of supplies all kept in neat order. From what William can see, they are all over the globe, but mostly concentrated on Star City.

Dante continues, "Those loyal to Blackfire are few, but their actions are significant. Mostly, they're our most skilled assassins trained by Blackfire himself. There are a few CEO's and politicians, but they are in hiding. Through his inane propaganda, he's recruiting more of the latter by the day."

Lyla deduces, "And since he's intimately familiar with how the Ninth Circle operates, he knows how to make the most decisive blows."

Dante nods. "Supply routes are cut off, financial support, and not to mention the assassination of our most astute members."

Beatrice, who stands between Dante and Deputy Director Bell, adds, "We had to hide the council members and move them around constantly, but we worry the Deacon will soon root them out."

William concludes, "And we're your last hope to find him." He smirks. "Desperate times, right?"

John and Lyla shoot a glare his way, but he is unphased by it. Dante, however, only chuckles. "Not quite, 'Connor.'"

Deputy Director Bell places one more folder on the table and opens it. Among the documents is a photo of a man with a black trench coat and combed back black hair.

Bell explains, "We've managed to get a mole inside the Order of Saint Dismas, acting as a CEO of a financial firm to fund them, not knowing that we've been tracking their investments. As soon as The Deacon is apprehended, we can freeze their assets and force the traitors out of hiding."

Looking through the documents, William finds letters with an insignia he does not fully recognize, but the imagery is familiar. It is the portrayal of Satan from the Divine Comedy, three headed and stuck within a frozen lake. The letters have a name below: Virgil.

How does that sound thematically appropriate?

Bell continues, "He wants to set up a meeting this afternoon with Dante to hand off what information he believes can turn the tide of this war, especially of what Blackfire plans to do with the Ninth Circle Council. He'll be at a high-rise club in Star City and we need one of you to accompany Dante and keep him safe. The rest of you will be on standby in case of emergencies."

Oliver scolds Bell with, "Practicing for when you take Lyla's place?"

Bell rebukes Oliver with, "Know YOUR'S, Mr. Queen. If this operation goes smoothly, Director Michaels keeps her position."

John and Lyla look at Oliver worryingly, knowing one more false word may mean trouble they would rather avoid.

Oliver, instead of pressing Bell, affirms, "Fine. I'll go with Dante and we'll—"

Dante interrupts, "Connor will be accompanying me on this mission while Slade and Mia provide oversight on the rooftops nearby. The rest of you will be on perimeter duty."

Oliver detests, "Connor is still recovering. The rest of us are in good condition."

"You are the most well-known man in Star City and Ms. Michaels and Mr. Diggle are ARGUS Agents. Your faces may cause alarm. But Connor here is unknown, a stranger."

"What about Beatrice? She's unknown to a Star City crowd."

"Unfortunately, Blackfire knows her, as well as many others in the Order. Besides, she's not the best at social subtlety." Dante turns his head to William. "I trust him and ONLY him."

William looks at Lyla, John, and Oliver, trying to find a reason neither of them would be fit. It is true that Oliver would stick out of a crowd, especially being a known vigilante. John and Lyla are relatively unknown themselves, just some friends scattered around the city. However, he can understand why Dante would not entirely trust them. Oliver had been with William's mother and the other two are his friends, but Dante knows that if they somehow mess up, it would cost them everything.

Or maybe…maybe that's the point. Dang it! Slade was right. Dante knows I won't take the chance to kill him and he'll have me as some sort of bargaining chip. Unless…

William confirms, "I'll be fine."

Oliver looks at William with concern, but does not say anything more. Dante smiles and gives William a pat on the shoulder. "That's the spirit."

William shrugs it off. "I'll be fine IF Athena comes with me."

Dante frowns. "That's out of the question."

William refutes, "She is duty bound to protect me."

"By who's authority? ARGUS?" He points to Lyla and John. "I can easily revoke that."

William insists, "She has given herself ENTIRELY to me. She won't do anything I disapprove of."

"Especially when it comes to my life?" Dante looks William in the eyes. "If she were to attempt to shoot me, would you stop her?"

William can tell that Dante's hypothetical is a test. Dante may already know the answer, but he stands there patient for William's reply. William himself knows that if Athena were to "accidentally" kill Dante during the mission, no one would miss him. The others, even his father, may be tempted to employ the tactic. Even William is contemplating it, given the pressure.

Don't! You won't do it. This may be what Dante wants. If he dies, the Ninth Circle retaliates. Keep cool.

With a subtle breath, the temptation flies away. William finally answers, "I would take the arrow before it strikes you, if need be."

Instead of some assuring or smarmy smile, Dante becomes a bit unnerved. William can tell by the twiddling of his fingers, the slightest twitch of his lower lip. He seemed to have genuinely been worried for William's safety.

However, he is quick to dismiss this with a chuckle. "Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that."

---

Felicity's focus is on her laptop, improving on her security system. She's been figuring out all week how Stanley could have hacked into it and shut it down so easily. Maybe the Silencer was there to make sure it went as smoothly as possible without him knowing it. The blackout was throughout the entire building, as the landlord stated. There's no way that Stanley could have turned off the power from the door without backup being present.

Maybe…maybe I could make it so that it is reliant on one of the city's generators too, not just the building's. That way, even if we do have a blackout, our apartment won't suffer and we have ourselves a sure line of defense. That's it! I'm sure they won't mind if I tap the city power grid and create a new entryway. It is what's best for our family. Especially…

Felicity lightly presses her hand to her womb. She remembers seeing Mia almost die at Stanley's hands, how she tried her best to break free of the paralyzing gas and help her daughter. Mia almost died on her parents' watch, and now she's afraid to even go out on a mission.

But now, Felicity finds an opportunity to take out at least one of the bad guys that presents a threat to her daughter, to William, to the whole family. However, the whole family is conflicted about the act.

Killing the Deacon is wrong. Killing Dante is wrong. But these are people who will take William and Mia away to become trained killers. I mean, it's not like we haven't killed people before. We killed Count Vertigo and that hasn't come to bite us in the…No. That was an exception to a rule Oliver made for himself that year. What about Ra's…no, Talia hated Oliver for that just like Adrian Chase did for killing his father. Come on, this has to be an exception to the rule! Maybe when they arrive, they'll give some…

"Now entering Roy Harper and Thea Queen."

The door unlocks and enter Roy, who looks as he always has, and Thea, with a bit of longer hair and a slightly bigger stomach.

Felicity smiles as they approach. "Hey!" She walks up to Thea and hugs her. "Thanks for coming guys."

"Of course! What are in-law's for?"

Felicity steps back, looking at Thea's stomach again with a bigger smile. "I see little Robert is coming along nicely."

Thea responds with her hands on her stomach, "Yeah, it reminds me that the morning sicknesses are worth it."

Roy adds, "And the cravings."

Thea slaps Roy on the arm sarcastically, which makes both Roy and Felicity laugh a bit.

Thea then asks, "Though, I'm curious. Why did you ask us over here? Oliver doesn't seem to be here, neither does anyone else."

Felicity nods. "You're right. They aren't. This is something I wanted to talk about with you guys alone."

Thea and Roy look at each other with a neutral glare, but their eyes must be telling about a thousand words, as a couple who have been together as long as they have would develop. Felicity and Oliver have that kind of understanding, but not completely.

Still, Thea nods. "Of course."

Thea sits on the right side of the couch while Felicity takes the chair just next to it. Roy, however, asks, "Is it okay if I grab a drink?"

Felicity nods. "Sure." Just then, a thought sparks in her mind before Roy takes a step. She tells him quickly, "But, uh, we're out of beer, so…yeah."

Roy shrugs his shoulders. "Water's fine." As he walks, he tells the ladies, "You can go on ahead. I'll be listening."

Felicity turns to Thea. "Right. So, we got ourselves into a bit of a situation."

"With Dante's takeover. We know."

Felicity becomes genuinely stunned. "Oliver told you?"

Thea nods. "We didn't handle the news well, especially Roy."

Roy shouts, "Because the situation is crap!"

Felicity agrees, "Well, exactly. We're in a tight spot and we have no idea how to get out of it. I wanted your opinion on whether—"

Roy shouts again, "Hey Felicity! I found some beer. It was in the cupboard behind the plates and cups. There's wine in here too."

Felicity's eyes bulge. Oh frak! Nobody looks behind there. How'd he notice?

Thea looks at her curiously, which causes her to say, "Oh…yeah! I forgot that's where we store any bottles that we couldn't putin the fridge." With a nervous chuckle, she continues, "You don't have to drink it if you don't want to."

"That's okay. I don't mind non-chilled drinks."

Felicity shakes her head. "So, uh, anyways, I wanted your opinion on Dante forcing us to kill Blackfire, because we're a bit divided on the issue."

Thea doesn't say anything. Rather, she gives a longer, intrigued stare.

Felicity's eyes start to dart. "What?"

Thea finally asks, "Are you okay? You just seem a bit…nervous."

Felicity quickly dismisses, "What? Nervous? Me? No. I'm just…conflicted with the scenario present, as I'm sure you and Roy are."

"Actually, we've pretty much agreed that killing these guys won't do anyone any good."

Felicity's hands grip the arm rests. "You…you do?"

Thea must have noticed, because she then suggests, "Maybe we should get some chocolate to have while—"

"NO!"

Felicity's yell makes Thea inch a bit back in her seat. It takes Felicity a while to realize her overreaction, probably her mood swings finally kicking in or maybe the nervousness she is denying.

She clears her throat and says, "We, uh, ate all the chocolate we had. I didn't do a lot of grocery shopping this week and…"

Roy's voice refutes, now closer, "Actually, according to your trash, it looks like you scarfed it all down recently."

Felicity looks up at Roy's smug face with a glare. His attention, however, is on Thea, giving her a slight nod.

"Oh my god."

Felicity sees Thea with her jaw wide open, the new revelation now hitting her like a speeding truck. Felicity, however, closes her eyes tightly, disappointed that she got caught like this.

Thea's agape jaw now smiles, gasping joyfully. "Oh my god!"

Felicity pleads, "Okay, Thea, please slow down!"

"Slow down? How did we not get this news sooner? How long?"

Felicity is hesitant to say, worried about any overreactions from either of them. Yet she lets slip, "About a week." Before Roy and Thea react, Felicity quickly iterates, "Which is why I called you guys here! I need to look out for my family and the more I think about it, the more I feel that getting at least one psycho out of the picture will do everyone good."

"Felicity…" Thea gets up and leans towards her. "You're overreacting."

Felicity shoots up. "Am I? A psycho managed to break in here a week ago and nearly killed Mia, shaking up her confidence! Now, I have to worry about two leaders of shadowy organizations who will kidnap my child and Oliver's without hesitation! Don't you worry that will happen to you? To little Robert?"

Thea places her hands on Felicity's arms. "Of course I do. So does Roy. But we've fought guys like them for years, and so have you. If there's anything those years have taught us, it's that for every guy we take down, another just like him is gonna take his place. People like Dante, like Blackfire, like Diaz…they're never going to stop coming. We CAN be prepared for them when they do."

Roy walks next to them and asks, "And think of Mia. Think of what she'll look up to you as. Do you want a killer to be one of those things?"

Felicity remembers how Mia yelled at her for what her future self would do, lying to protect her secret vigilante identity. It may not be what she will become yet, but the guilt comes back regardless.

Felicity responds, "No."

Thea nods, "Exactly. That's not what we want Robert to see us as either. Don't regress back to old habits. We'll find another way. We ALWAYS do."

Felicity asks, "And what if we can't?"

Roy shrugs his shoulders. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

Thea then grabs Felicity by the hand. "For now, we need to take you shopping."

Felicity shakes her head in confusion. "Shopping? For what?"

"Chocolate is not a good thing for the baby. We need to get you some good stuff in there."

Felicity does not protest. If anything, Thea has a point. Felicity has been looking up good food groups for pregnant women, which she has found overwhelming. Yet, the most she has done was get any temptations out of the way. Well, almost all of them.

Still, even with Thea's assurances and Roy's, she can't help but think of that dream, trapped with Dante and the Deacon. Trapped in Lian Yu.

---

The high rise club William, Athena, and Dante were heading to was a part of a luxury hotel, a public hotspot. Naturally, the first couple of floors are like that of an ordinary restaurant while the third one, where Virgil awaits, is reserved only for private meetings.

As the three of them approach the front desk, a waitress is already there, asking, "Hi there. Do you have a reservation?"

Dante tells her, "Yes, we do." He takes out what looks like an ancient coin, an old florin, but William can tell that it is a forgery. A pretty good forgery, but still. "I think you know whose name it's under."

The waitress does not take the coin. She just nods and puts a couple fingers to her ear. "I need someone to take my shift. The VIP is here and he's brought friends."

William catches something in her accent. She speaks fluent English, but he catches a hint of something eastern. It is subtle, but seems to be a bit harsh and raspy.

Was that…Russian?

The waitress invites them, "Follow me, please."

As they are led to the private room, William assesses the place. Waiters are dashing around the two floors, taking and serving orders, while the customers talk or enjoy the view of the city outside. The decorum is not unusual for a fancy restaurant: floors made out of the finest carved wood, chandeliers hanging above the first floor, a pianist rising above all other noise and providing ambiance to the chaotic chatter. As far as William can tell, the way they entered is the only way out and while the waiters do not pose an immediate threat, the fact that one of them recognized an item from the Ninth Circle means that they must be trained to fight at the very least.

We'll need to prepare to fight our way out, if need be.

Finally, they enter the third floor, which is nothing more than two luxurious chairs and a table in between them. There is another door, but it is hard to tell whether or not it is an exit or if it just leads to another room.

The waitress walks to this door, telling them, "Virgil will arrive shortly. Make yourself comfortable."

Since there is only one chair next to them, she is no doubt talking to Dante. He does not seat himself right away, however. He keeps one hand on the chair.

When the waitress leaves, Dante tells William and Athena, "Now remember: Virgil is here to see me, so let me do the talking. Only speak when you are addressed and be direct. You two are bodyguards, nothing more."

William sarcastically remarks, "I've read the script. I know my lines."

Dante chuckles. "Funny." His attention turns to Athena, who stares at him with a mistrusting grimace. "Does she?"

William gestures to Athena, lowering his hand. She gives a nod and eases her temper. "She won't do anything drastic unless I say so."

A few seconds go by. Dante still does not seat himself. Most likely, he is waiting for Virgil to arrive first before doing so, either out of politeness or caution.

William takes this time of silence to open a separate channel to Curtis and ask, "Is the bug in the room?"

"Sure is. I have eyes on you, Athena, and our unwanted boss."

"Good. Remember, if things go south, you are to stick the bug onto anything that can stay hidden and uncrushed. The tracker will activate once it's attached."

"Don't worry. Just act natural. Out."

After a few more seconds, William thinks of this as the best time to ask Dante, "Why didn't you kill him?"

Dante looks back at William with a raised brow. "Who?"

"My father. You have clear motives to do so and Beatrice had a clear shot. What stayed your hand?"

Dante scoffs. "I am not like the Deacon. I do not act out of anger or instinct. I am above such things. I know what kind of man your father is, even if he did take my one chance of happiness from me."

William rolls his eyes.

He's acting like that little talk he gave me about my mom actually liking my dad never happened, or the talk about wanting to produce an heir with her just to ensure some kind of legacy. Still, I shouldn't lay that on him. This is my one chance to divulge anything about the Ninth Circle.

William presses on, "If you're nothing like the Deacon, what is it that you and the Ninth Circle seek then?"

Dante grins, as if he was looking forward to this for a long time. "Well, what God sought when he created the world: a society that is orderly, just…good."

William's brow furrows. "And yet you use unjust means to achieve your goals?"

Dante just shrugs. "Our methods are…questionable, but they are necessary to bring about justice."

"You fund terrorists, criminal organizations."

"And how many of those organizations, exactly, were directly a part of the Ninth Circle, hm? How many of them have been taken down by countries such as the United States as soon as they posed a threat to national security? How many of those criminals did you take down, such as Lynns? This is what we do William. When we fund these groups, we do so with the hope that they will see reason and be absorbed into our group. If they don't, they'll get reckless and expose themselves, letting you and others take them down. We've done this for hundreds of years."

William takes a large step forward, "You were using Lynns to buy out property you sent him to burn to the ground, for YOUR benefit. Not to mention, you were going to buy weapons from Jason Stent."

Dante lets go of the chair, standing in a confident posture. "You dissuaded Stent from his arms dealing, which we took advantage of so we could keep it out of the hands of teenagers who would use it wildly. We were buying that property so that we could stretch our influence further, to keep Star City within OUR grasp to keep ORDER, PEACE, and LAW."

"Under God's law, or yours?"

William and Dante turn to Athena after her surprise question. Dante angrily refutes, "Who gave you the right—"

William quickly steps in with, "She can speak!"

William nods to her, allowing her to continue, "I have seen first hand how effective you're 'methods' are. You were the one who paid Merlyn and me to kill politicians and CEO's who did not conform to your ways. Most of them weren't even evil."

Dante points at Athena and argues, "We paid you to kill the stubborn, secularist idealists who did not see the good that we were bringing. We gave them a choice."

William asks, "By running a shadow government that suppresses the fundamental, inalienable rights of all people?"

Dante scoffs, "Inalienable? What is inalienable? What is free will? If you looked at the governments we have total control over, we allow people to be what they want. Teachers, farmers, doctors, priests, and whatever else, so long as it is good for the community."

William tilts his head. "You think yourself a utopian?"

Dante grins again. "Is it so wrong to strive for such a world, William? Free of flaws, free of evil and corruption, where God's law is made manifest on Earth?"

"By funding the bad people and having someone else trample over them?"

Dante asks in reply, "And your way is any better? Just look at the murderers, thieves, and extortionists in Star City, in the WORLD. They are unafraid to do everything they do because your vigilantism is more scrutinized by the law enforcement YOU claim to be helping. You put them away, they just find a way to corrupt the system. Just look at your father's antics at Slabside."

"And what about yours? Level 2? Jarrett Parker?"

"That was a mercy, and was just the beginning. Our society would have successfully rehabilitated every single offender, murderer, looter—"

"I saw the result of your experiments standing side by side with Emiko! You BRAINWASHED them, and for what? The tiniest of mistakes? Just one foot out of line? Even utopias were based on the hate of beings they perceived to be evil, the demonization of them, to make themselves feel better."

Dante gets up in William's face. His tone gets a bit lower, becoming almost a growl. "As you do with me? With Blackfire? You may say that you have pity, but I can see it in your eyes. You want vengeance for what happened to your mother…" Dante takes an unnerved breath before continuing, "As I do. I told Blackfire that letting Talia train Prometheus without proper rehabilitation was a mistake and he didn't listen. I had tolerated many things from him, but your mother's death…" He shook his head. "That was the last straw for me, as it should be for you."

"You think I'm going to seek vengeance for something you've made known to me a long time ago?"

Dante smirks. "You have the will to maintain control. I admire that. However, you must accept that, one of these days, your urges will align with your goals, that urge to kill him. When it does, you will finally see that what I say is true."

Suddenly, the doors swing open. Quickly, Dante assumes his original position behind the chair. William and Athena stand by his side, ready to defend him if necessary. Two men in suits step out, small firearms holstered by their sides. However, William notices something that raises alarm bells in his head: on the men's necks are star tattoos with the words "Bratva" in the center.

William leans in, warning, "Dante—"

Dante whispers, "I see it. Virgil has no ties with the Russian mob, as far as I'm—"

"Hello Dante!"

A thick Russian accent leaves the doorway and into the room. Following it is a tall, old man with a white, trim beard and a combed back, slick hairline. William fails to recognize him, but assumes that he is a member of Bratva. However, by how strained Dante's face is and Athena's stance shifting cautiously, William can tell that these two know this man well.

The man smiles at Dante sinisterly. "Long time, no see."

---

From the opposite rooftop, Slade looks down and sees Red Arrow, aka Connor, enter the hotel along with Dante and Athena. From his binoculars, he can see no immediate threats as the three of them make their way towards the elevators.

Slade calls up Curtis, telling him, "They've entered the hotel. No signs of danger so far."

"Copy. The Wayne satellite is live and the bug Connor brought is active. I'll let you know when Virgil arrives."

Slade retracts the binoculars for a minute and looks at Blackstar, currently in her uniform. She's tugging on her bow string, looking out into the street instead of keeping her eye on Connor's movements. From what he's heard of her, she is never this unfocused. She's even been refusing to come on missions since an intrusion by a man named Stanley Dover in Oliver's residence, where she is staying. John had to force her to do this, telling Slade to do whatever to keep her at ease.

Slade gives Blackstar a quick pat on the shoulder, shocking her back into reality. "You okay?"

Blackstar quickly nods. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay."

The nervousness in her voice tells Slade otherwise.

"Is there anything on your mind?"

Mia shakes her head. "No."

Slade jokingly nods. "Mhm. You know I can tell whether or not you're lying."

Mia surprisingly nods. "I know."

The tone of Blackstar's voice, though that of someone very young, is familiar to him somehow, even similar to Connors. He can't put his finger on it yet, but he feels that he should know the both of them somehow.

Slade, trying to empathize with her, tells her, "I heard what you did for the Queens, back at their place. They're alive because of what you did."

Mia looks up at Slade with this contemptible glare, as if he didn't know what he was talking about. "How much were you told of that night?"

Slade honestly tells her, "As far as Diggle told me, Dover had a chance to get rid of you because of a 100 to 1 accidental strike to the head. Is that what's bothering you then?"

Blackstar hesitates to answer. She closes her eyes, lets out an unsettling breath. "I keep playing that moment when Stanley Dover managed to hit my head, pin me to the ground. When he raised that knife…it was the CLOSEST I've ever been to death in my entire life."

Slade nods. "I get it. You think that if you hadn't gone charging in, like I was told you did, you would've actually succeeded. You were so focused on pinning him down, thinking that the chances of a psychopath like him retaliating in time were nil. Admittedly—"

"That's not the point!" Blackstar whacks Slade's arm away, her outburst so unexpected that he doesn't make any sudden moves. "It was that…I had a moment where the disorientation wore off, where I could have gotten Dover off, but I didn't. When he raised that knife, I just…I froze! I never froze when I was fighting before. I…I don't know what it was."

"Fear." Blackstar looks at Slade, the angry look on her face slowly fading at his answer. "That's what you experienced."

Blackstar looks down at the street again, seemingly unable to look at Slade. "I shouldn't. I'm not supposed to feel fear, not in a fight. If I do, my body won't do what I tell it to do. That's what Ny—what my mentor taught me."

Slade nods, pretending not to acknowledge that Blackstar was trained by Nyssa Al Ghul. "Your mentor is right. But she was most likely conditioned to never fear anything, even if her life was at stake. But fear is normal, Blackstar. It happens to the best of us."

Blackstar slowly looks back to Slade, asking, "Even…Oliver Queen?"

Slade is somewhat confused by the question. It feels out of place to be asking about Oliver rather than him. Does she see something in Queen? A role model perhaps?

Still, Slade can't help but smile, thinking about his first impression of Oliver and how he had grown. Yet, the one thing he constantly feared was the death of those closest to him, a fear he shares. "Especially him."

She asks, "How do I manage it?"

Slade is about to tell her, but then Curtis interrupts with a transmission, "Hey, uh, sorry to interrupt your bonding moment, but we've got movement."

Slade refocuses on the hotel with his scope. Connor has made it into the hotel club along with Dante and Athena, waiting in the private area for their contact.

"It looks like things are good so far, Curtis."

"Check the stairs."

Blackstar flicks something on her mask, leaning in on the opposite side of the building. "Three men, all armed. One of them is walking in this uptight posture. The boss maybe?"

Slade asks Curtis, "Is it Virgil?"

Curtis tells him, "Confirming…Oh no. Negative. Negative! This is someone else entirely. He looks…Russian."

Russian?

"Any distinguishing features?"

"Hold on. Their moving too fast. It looks like they have some kind of tattoo with a word or an abbreviation in the middle of the shape. It looks like…a star."

Slade's eyes start to nearly bulge out of their sockets at the mention of a star tattoo.

"Bratva."

---

William keeps his eyes on the Russian enforcers and their boss. Dante seems hesitant to address the Russian head, who is smirking at him. Eventually, he clears his throat. "Alexi. I thought you to be dead after Diaz's assault on the Bratva HQ."

Alexi straightens out the black tux he wears. "Yes, well, there was much to be rebuilt, especially in the absence of our previous leader."

Dante nods, putting on a smile that is supposed to feel welcoming. "Well, I am glad you have survived." He moves away from the chair and towards Alexi. "I'm sure that now with the Bratva clearly in your control, we will—"

The enforcers are quick to reach for their pistols, causing Dante to halt. Alexi does nothing but look on, his smirk turning to a contemptible frown.

"You think I will welcome you back with open arms after what you let happen? Diaz was on YOUR leash. Why was he set loose on us?"

Dante is frozen, unwilling to move. Yet, his stare remains neutral and his breathing normal. Not everyone may see it, but William has seen this level of concealment from Bruce. Dante wants to create the illusion that he is in control of his emotions, of the conversation. However, his failure to immediately follow up either means he's in fear or at a loss for words. From Alexi's stare, he either sees through the façade or doesn't care.

Dante then appeals to Alexi, "I know. I am sorry. We lost control of Diaz. We should have guessed that he would kill your cohorts to capture one of them."

"They were my brothers!" Alexi takes a furious step forward, the stomp almost reverberating across the room. He points to Dante. "YOU let them die. You always wanted them dead."

"Blackfire wanted them dead! When we sent you in, when you told us how valuable of an asset they could be in Russia, I did not object. I didn't even object to you bringing Mr. Knyazev into the fold."

William subtly looks back and forth between Dante and Alexi with surprise.

The Ninth Circle had a mole inside the Bratva and involved Anatoly? This…kind of explains a few things, but still.

Alexi is not pleased. "Yet, Blackfire got his wish. Do you know how much destruction Diaz wrought? How many of my brothers he and the Longbow Hunters had slain? I had to rebuild from nothing. We are STILL nothing." In Russian, he told his enforcers, "Risovat'!"

As they draw their guns, William rushes to Dante's side and puts himself right in the line of fire, acting as a human shield. Without his Red Arrow suit, he is defenseless. He does not need to fight, though, only stall.

William begins pleading, "Now, hold on! Let's just take it easy. Okay?"

Alexi looks William up and down. "Your loyalty is admirable, but foolish, young man."

William shakes his head. "Not loyalty. I've seen what the Deacon is capable of, what drives him. As long as he lives, the Bratva and everyone else is in danger."

Alexi points to Dante. "And your solution is to work with HIM?"

"I never said this was the best path."

Dante puts a hand on William's shoulder, walking past him and letting the enforcers aim at their target. He stands next to William, fearless. "What my bodyguard is trying to say is that there are more important things at stake."

Alexi scoffs. "Maybe for you." He reaches into his pocket and takes out a fake florin similar to Dante's. "But everything I need is right here. Many of your secrets, exchanges, contacts, all at my fingertips, especially on the Order of St. Dismas. And it was ALL thanks to him."

As he says this, another Bratva enforcer comes in, bringing in who William barely recognizes to be Virgil, their contact. His face is heavily bruised, small cuts dotting his cheeks. Dante looks on, horrified, as do William and Athena.

Alexi explains, "We found him snooping around near our headquarters a few days ago, trying to take intel from us."

Dante clears his throat. "Well, there is a perfect explanation as to why he was in Russia."

"To find Blackfire? Me? Bratva?" Burov lowers his head, his eyes looking at Dante to make a menacing stare. "You see, when Diaz invaded our compound, I stopped looking at you as a man of your word, or even a man at all." He walks up to Dante until his eyesight was inescapable. "I see you for what you are: the Devil. And I am done letting my soul be tugged by your strings."

---

From the headquarters of ARGUS, Curtis maneuvers the tracking bug towards this Alexi guy, keeping to the edges of the room as to not be detected. John, who is observing everything next to him, taps his fingers in an impatient yet rhythmic dance, seeing the subtle tension between Alexi and Dante.

On the line, Slade insists, "We need to move in."

Curtis disproves, "If we don't get this tracker on first, this whole mission's a dud and Dante will rip on us, and we can't have that."

John tells Slade, "Get to the stairwell roof entrance. Wait for my signal." Afterwards, he shouts to the intelligence team behind him, "Does ANYONE have an ID on the Bratva head?"

Deputy Director Bell, who has been silent during the whole mission, tells John, "His name is Alexi Burov. He was a mole The Ninth Circle inserted into the ranks of the Bratva. He was silent after Ricardo Diaz killed most of them."

John asks him, "Do you know him personally?"

"I've heard of him. Why he is choosing to reveal himself now, I don't know."

"Guys!"

Curtis points to the screen, which shows that he is just behind Alexi. The enforcers draw their guns at Dante. William quickly steps in to protect the man whom he and the others share no love for, talking Alexi down.

John commands Curtis to, "Hurry up!"

Curtis tells John, "I'm nearly there. Just need to find a place to…"

After getting somewhat close to Alexi's neck, he slowly lands it on the shirt collar to ensure the pincers would not be felt. He then commands it to move behind the collar tie, where it won't be obvious to anyone. He then presses a button, which flattens the bug into a tracker that beeps green. From the satellite, the tracker is shown to be online.

Curtis flashes a victor's smile. "Got it! Tracker's in place."

John nods, asking Slade on the comm, "Are you and Blackstar in position?"

"We're at the stairwell. Waiting for your go."

John, with the professionalism and authority befitting of a soldier, tells Slade, "Go."

---

Despite the guns pointed at them, Dante stands his ground as if ready to face death, or maybe he has faced it many times before. "Alexi, I have given you nothing but my trust and admiration. All I ever asked for was loyalty. If you continue on this path of BETRAYAL and BLASPHEMY, you'll be forcing my hand.'"

Alexi stares at Dante with a twisted smirk. "Brave words, devil, seeing as how you're at the end of my guns."

Suddenly, the muffled sounds of gunshots erupt from outside the doorway. With both of the guards and Alexi distracted, William does not hesitate to charge in and grab one of the guards by the inside of his gun hand, pushing it away, and then elbow him in the throat. Alexi catches on quickly and immediately runs in the direction of the windows. Before Dante can react, the second enforcer quickly re-aims. Athena, however, takes out a shuriken hidden underneath her dress and throws it at the enforcer's gun, quickly disarming him.

Alexi manages to run through the windows, the shattered pieces flying with him down to the ledge below. Before Dante could pursue, the disarmed enforcer decides to run right at him, dropping down for a chute to his leg. Dante adapts, spreading his legs back behind him and grabbing the enforcer by the throat. He stands himself up when he is able and pulls hard on the enforcer's throat.

William notices, worrying that Dante would break the enforcer's neck. Dante gives him a stubborn look. "I'm not going to kill him. Get Alexi!"

Without much time to assess Dante's honesty, William looks at Athena and tells her, "Get Dante and Virgil out of here safely." As he jumps outside, he tells her, "And make sure Dante doesn't kill anyone!"

When William touches the ground, he looks left and right, seeing no Alexi. The patrons look at him with unnerving stares, wondering why someone just jumped out through the window. However, a few of them were looking out over the balcony afterwards, specifically over towards the dancefloor filled with couples slow dancing to a sonnet. Alexi was the odd one out, shoving everyone while trying his best to blend in.

His target in sight, William quickly makes his way towards the stairs. As he begins descending them, though, the hostess who brought them to the private area stops him dead in his tracks.

With an obviously fake smile, she asks, "Hello sir. Did your meeting go well?"

William can detect the subtle hints of Russian, her accent wearing off slightly. Already, he can tell her presence here is no coincidence. Alexi told her to be here.

Can't get down via stairs. Swing via chandelier.

When William tries to go back up, the hostess grabs him by the wrist, forcing him to turn around. She didn't try to hide her accent this time. "That was rhetorical. I already know!"

As the hostess draws a knife from her back, William is quick to grab her wrist and redirect it into the side railing. He then moves his grabbed wrist upward, immobilizing her other arm, and quickly kicks her ankle. As she falls onto the stairs, he keeps holding on to her to ensure it would not hurt, but it does not do a lot. She groans in pain, but she is breathing, at least.

Or I can do that.

As William heads back down the stairs, someone screams from behind him. When he turns around, a waiter is jumping and grabbing him, forcing them to tumble down the stairs and onto the ground below. William finds himself on the bottom of the waiter's mount, who is reaching for the knife William disarmed from the hostess just seconds ago. Acting quickly, William pushes one of the waiter's legs back, leaving one side exposed and allowing himself to shrimp away. Before the waiter could mount him again, William kicks him square in the face. Rearing back, William kicks him with his shin this time, guaranteeing a knockout.

Before he can even take a breath, William spots Alexi walking towards the main entrance. Before he can move to intercept, at least three more waiters and waitresses walk towards William, knifes by their sides. However, they are approaching one of the chandeliers William took note of on the way in.

Perfect opportunity.

He quickly grabs the hostess' knife and throws it at the small rim of the chain with perfect accuracy. The chandelier comes tumbling down, shocking the waiters and waitresses, as well as a few of the customers. With no one in his way, William makes a bolt for the main entrance. Alexi is already halfway there when he spots William, prompting him to make a break for it. He beats William to it, but does not shut the door. William does, hopefully delaying the waiters from following. Alexi is already down the hall, rushing through it at a brisk pace. William sprints for him, at first lagging behind him. For his age, Alexi is quite vigorous and energetic, showing little fatigue.

However, going into the next hallway, Alexi is hit by a sudden, swinging door. It does not knock him out, but it at least stops him in his tracks. William, seeing this, grabs Alexi and slams him to the wall. The person who comes out of the room is an elderly woman, her face shocked and possibly a bit guilty for opening her door on a stranger in a rush.

However, William yells at her, "Stay inside!" It was enough to get her to close the door, though William did not enjoy having to yell at an innocent, old woman. Yet, his mind is on the mission, on Alexi, who's struggling and swearing in Russian is making it hard to keep him held down.

To try and appeal to Alexi, William yells, "Will you calm down? I'm a friend of Anatoly Knyazev!"

The mention of Anatoly's name stops Alexi for a moment, but not his aggressive tone. "What?"

William repeats, this time calmly, "I'm a friend of Anatoly Knyazev. I helped him take down Diaz after what he did to your brothers. I got him out of the life of being a mobster, from the Ninth Circle. If you give me the coin, I'll let you go."

Alexi scoffs. "You think that will stop the Ninth Circle from killing me, boy?"

"Did Virgil ever discover your hideout?"

"No, but Dante is persistent. If someone double crosses him, he makes sure no loose ends are left."

William shakes his head. "He won't if you keep your head down and cooperate with me. I have friends in high places, people who have taken down men like Dante and the Deacon before."

Alexi scoffs again. "You think you have? What exactly did Dante tell you about the Ninth Circle?"

William wanted to give the full rendition, but stopped himself. Alexi is being rhetorical. He was a Ninth Circle mole. He would already know the ins and outs of their operations, at least to a good extent.

Alexi smiled. "He told you that his mission is that of divinity, to reestablish a holy rule once lost, that he manages and rehabilitates corrupt men. Yes? If that were so, why did he leave a cruel man like Ishmael Gregor to be Pakhan? Why did they not remove Anatoly when he showed signs of corruption? Why are there still terrorists, criminals, and corrupt politicians about, claiming more innocent lives?"

Admittedly, the inconsistencies pointed out by Alexi start to collide with Dante's statements, at odds within William's head. William knows that Dante's works are not God given and certainly misguided, but his methods make no sense. Dante seems to be something of a utopian man, but leaving criminals such as the Bratva to be themselves feels like a far cry from his goal. Something was wrong with Dante's logic.

Little does William realize, as he contemplates, that his hold on Alexi is loosening, an opportunity Alexi himself does not waste. He breaks William's grips, turns around and grabs William by the head, pulling him down for a knee strike. William's head is in a daze, unable to react to the ball kick Alexi delivers, sending him to the opposite wall. Before he could reach it, William collapses to the ground, barely able to catch himself from falling completely on his back. When he lands, he places one hand on his head, which is swimming in pain.

By this time, the fake waiters William hadn't taken down are ready with knives to kill him. However, Anatoly waves them off, ordering a retreat with, "spasat'sya begstvom." They nod and head down the hallway to the elevators. Alexi remains behind for a moment, telling William, "If you choose to stay on this path, you will see Dante for the devil he is."

With that, Alexi leaves. William wants to follow, but his head is still pounding. He can only manage to get himself to the wall and use it to prop himself back up. While his head is in tremendous pain, the words Alexi had given him still linger. The conflict with Dante's and Alexi's speeches somehow making the pain worse, as if they are the root of it.

Technically, with how Alexi sewed doubt within William to let his guard down, they are.

---

Farther ahead, Dante hears the sounds of fighting, just halfway from the the private room. Wherever this hallway leads to is closer to the action than Dante anticipated. He has not visited this club before. In fact, he hasn't had to do so in a very long time. Usually, he would send someone like Virgil to handle such menial tasks. He only met with his contacts if it were absolutely necessary.

Though, his concern is more on tonight's events. Despite some half-truths, he truly did not anticipate Alexi's survival nor betrayal of the Ninth Cirlce. It is just as unexpected as Athena throwing away her assassin heritage to do as William bids. It is paying off, as she is carrying a very limp Virgil. Still, from William's tone back there, he truly believed that she is more than just a tool, how he and Malcolm viewed her as. How an assassin like her could be redeemed in the Lord's eyes is baffling, as is why she even jumped at the opportunity in the first place. Though, he will admit, a lot of what he knew about God was through the sermons of Joseph Blackfire, when the Deacon adopted him as a young child and taught him what an ugly place the world truly was, and his conflict with the Ninth Circle council about the direction the organization should take. Dante had long strayed from the Deacon's teachings, immersed himself more in the Ninth Circle's. Though, he now wonders if he still has much to learn, even as the council leader.

A bit farther down, the three of them find a wide archway leading into a single room. With the firing of bullets and the retraction and release of bowstrings becoming more prevalent, Dante gets on his com. "Mr. Curtis, tell me there is a safe way out of here."

Curtis Holt answers rather bluntly, "The only way out is the service elevator inside. Just trust me on that."

Luckily, as they turned the corner, Slade has already made short work of the enforcers. Most lie unconscious or in pain on the ground. The ones that are still standing Slade quickly takes down, dodging weapons fire, throwing uppercuts or making minimal cuts with his sword.

Dante also sees Mia, the future Queen dressed as Blackstar, providing cover from behind a couch. Dante raises an eyebrow at her tactic. He knows little about her, but from what he has seen of her, adding to what Noah describes of her, she is one who almost jump into the fray, inviting those who dared to take her on in close-quarters due to her expertise as a fighting ring champion. For Blackstar to change her tune is unusual. Still, all the Bratva henchmen go down anyways, so it matters little.

After a judo throw followed with a tranquilizer arrow to the shoulder, Slade looks up. He only notes Athena, then looks around for anyone else.

"Where's Connor?"

Dante answers, "He's gone after Virgil's torturer, but it won't matter. Alexi may have escaped anyways. We must leave before—"

Before he can finish, the freight elevator Curtis Holt mentioned comes up, bringing more Bratva enforcers. Instead of guns, they all carry switch knives and batons. Dante smirks.

Too easy.

While a few Bratva charge at Slade, others go for Dante. He turns to Athena, commanding her, "Wait with Virgil."

From his sleeves, a couple of small knives slide out into Dante's hands.

First man is simple, telegraphing.

The first man who lunges at him with a blade he quickly sidesteps and delivers a quick jab into his forearm.

Second is very much a recruit, coming at me wildly. The third is just a little bit behind. Create distance.

The second man, a baton wielder, Dante kicks away, while he throws his second knife at the third man's arm, forcing him to drop his blade. Dante finishes the first man, still in his grasp, with a knee to the stomach and a downward elbow to the back of the neck, allowing him to collapse face first into the floor. The second enforcer, having learned nothing, charges again. Dante simply steps out of the way, letting the enforcer trip over his friend and onto the couch.

The third enforcer tries to get up, grabbing the knife in his shoulder. Dante walks to him casually, knowing that trying to take a knife out of the body is both foolish and painful to perform. The enforcer squirms at trying to even attempt to get it a quarter of the way out. Dante helps him by jamming the blade back in and giving him a quick kick to the head, preventing him from bleeding himself out.

Slade finishes the Bratva on his side quickly enough to see what Dante has done. Usually, Dante would have had this wrapped up in seconds, bodies lying dead on the floor. Though, tonight, for William's sake, he decides to be a bit merciful tonight. At the very least, the wounds he has left are treatable.

Slade states, quite surprised, "I thought you would've killed them."

Dante answers, "I would have."

"Get off me!"

Behind Dante, Blackstar, now out of her couch hideaway, is wrestling with the second enforcer. They're moving about, the enforcer trying to get a grip on anything from clothing to hair while Blackstar does her best to fend him off. She doesn't even try to go on the offensive. She seems to be waiting for somebody to get the enforcer off. Athena gently drops Virgil to get her bow out, Slade ready to charge in and save Mia.

However, Dante yells, "Wait!" before they can even take action. "This is her fight."

Slade emphasizes, "She's in danger!"

"And she is more than capable of getting herself out of it."

"Nobody move!"

Somehow, the enforcer has Blackstar in a rear-naked chokehold, the baton still in his hand. Blackstar never even made an attempt at disarming it.

Dante simply shrugs. "Spoke too soon."

The enforcer starts screaming, "You're letting me leave! Otherwise, she's DEAD."

Dante looks into the enforcer's eyes. They are that of a fresh recruit, his stare not cold or determined, but frightened and desperate. Though, his posture and stance tell another story. The man is clearly experienced, remembering to place a hand behind the head while the other grips tight around her neck, almost a submission hold. He seems to be an experienced fighter, but not of the assassin or the streets. A ring fighter perhaps.

Athena knocks her arrow and demands, "Let her go!"

The enforcer tightens his grip, but only enough to make it hard for her to breathe, not necessarily to kill. Beforehand, Blackstar had every opportunity to break free, but for whatever reason, she remained perfectly still. The enforcer repeats, "Let me leave!"

Dante immediately knows that this is a bluff, but he does not let that leave his lips. He waits for any move from Blackstar, who is gasping for any breath she can get, her inhalations becoming shorter and shorter by the second. Blackstar seems completely incapacitated, but not by the chokehold.

Slade then demands, "Let the girl go!"

Tired of the shenanigans, Dante decides to talk the man down. "On second thought, go ahead and kill her."

The enforcer looks puzzled. "What?"

Athena looks more angry than confused. "Dante!"

Dante maintains a neutral stare. "We won't let you go, so you may as well finish her. That will just make your torture MORE satisfying."

The grip on Blackstar weakens, but only by a little. The enforcer's nose crinkles and his clenched mouth twinges. "It…It will be a quick death."

Dante tells him. "Oh yes. I certainly imagine it will."

Slade shouts, "Dante!"

Dante commands him, "Do NOTHING."

No matter how weak the hold gets, Blackstar still does nothing to break completely free. The enforcer tries to act tough once more, "I have no reservations. This will be EASY to do."

Dante approaches, causing the enforcer to tighten his grip again. He puts on a more menacing stare, one that his opponents always falter to, as if death came in and wounded their souls.

"SHOW me."

The enforcer doesn't move. He remains perfectly still, but his jaw twinges, his hands shake. He wants to look away from Dante's stare, but doesn't in fear of the possibility of an attack coming. All of these features exaggerate overtime, his grip on the girl weakening to where she can at least breathe somewhat normally. Eventually, he just lets go of her, allowing her to gasp for breath. He throws the baton down and puts his hands up.

"Please don't kill me! I'm not even a killer. I just got recruited."

Slade rushes to Blackstar's side, helping her up, as the enforcer surrenders. Athena, letting out a sigh of relief, lifts Virgil back up to his feet.

On his knees, the enforcer pleads, "Just let me go. I won't go back to the Bratva."

Dante walks up to the enforcer, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You will, to deliver a message."

The enforcer nods rapidly, not knowing what is coming. "Fine, fine. If it's just something in handw—"

With a quick sleight of hand, Dante jabs his small knife into the enforcer's throat. The man gurgles and chokes on his blood as he collapses to the floor. He writhes for a while in pain, like a fish plucked away from its natural habitat. Eventually, he becomes limp, his eyes staring at his killer. Dante turns to Blackstar, who is shocked at the events that have enfolded, as are Slade and Athena. They didn't expect him to do such a thing, and he tried his best to spare the others. This one, however, had to serve as an example. Not to Alexi, however.

He looks at Blackstar with the same gaze he gave to the enforcer. "If you had actually fought him, then I wouldn't have had to do THIS."

---

Shuffling through all of the reports, Lyla sees different wordings, but the same message: Mission failed. It's a talent she acquired being at ARGUS, from when she trained as Amanda Waller's Secretary all the way up to being an agent. She can differentiate the official phrases inside, know what words and key information to find so she isn't just reading fluff, and what information stood out as unusual from the rest.

Either result, success or failure, is exhausting, but the former assures her that things are going smoothly. This mission to get Virgil but finding out that a former Bratva mole turned traitor has vital information brings her nothing but depression, especially when this was supposed to solidify a rocky alliance with Dante. At least, she calls it a rocky alliance to assure herself that she still has some control.

At least John is there with her, trying to soothe her when she lets out a defeated sigh and rubs her tired eyes. "Don't beat yourself up over this, Lyla. Curtis got the tracker on Burov, so we'll be able to track him. This mission is far from over."

Lyla sits up on her chair, leaning her weary head back. "Dante's not going to see it that way."

John kneels next to her, guaranteeing, "Dante's one of those people who just hates when things don't go his way. You've dealt with that type before."

"You mean like Waller?"

John nods. "Of the other people we've faced, yes."

"Waller wasn't a terrorist going around infiltrating every facet of society. She was just stubborn."

"Well, Oliver and William are stubborn. So am I, at times."

Lyla can't help but grin. "Well, I've done plenty of things to make you angry."

"You have. But I'm still here, and so is everyone else." He places a hand on her shoulder. "We believe in you, in your ability to make the right call."

John offers his shoulder for Lyla to lean on, which she happily takes. She lets her eyes rest as John cuddles her, for she knows in the next thirty minutes, when Dante and the others get back, she will have little room for reprieve.

---

"THIS…was a disaster." Dante speaks almost sarcastically. "Not only is Virgil severely injured, but our oldest mole in the Bratva, our dearest friend Alexi, has turned against us. Not to mention, he has information that could compromise our organization, maybe even destroy it. Well, this is quite the dilemma, now isn't it?"

While everyone else show signs of exhaustion in the briefing room, William is perplexed. Dante's treating the events as if they are just mere pebbles in shoes. It doesn't make sense.

John, meanwhile, steps up and assures Dante, "Look, we couldn't have anticipated Alexi." The subtle snarl on John's face says that he was going to blame Dante for not telling them about the Bratva agent in the first place. However, he holds his peace. Even William can admit that it wasn't Dante's fault. At least, as far as he knew.

Dante shrugs. "I'm sure you didn't."

John continues, "We're doing everything in our power to find Alexi now, but it may take—"

"And by everything, you mean track the GPS signal of that bug you were probably thinking of placing on either me or Virgil."

Whatever tired faces everyone had are now expressions of grief. William and John couldn't bring themselves to hide their shock. It was like a bolt of lighting hitting them, as it did Barry Allen.

Dante smirks. "Oh yes. I knew. Assume I know everything that happens within these walls and without." Dante straightens his jacket as he eyes everyone. "The only reason I let it happen is because I calculated for everything going wrong, a lesson the Deacon taught me when my plan to eliminate him once and for all failed. To my benefit, the risk paid off." His eyes then lie on Mia, who has been in the corner of the briefing room, silent, for the entire conversation. "SHE was the one who failed."

Oliver is the only one to furiously exclaim, "You were the one who killed the Bratva enforcer as a message!"

Dante stares down Oliver. "As a message to all of YOU. I was MORE than willing to let those other ones live if that meant they would've seen our full strength. Her being grabbed by one of them is a sign of weakness, one I will not tolerate. Not again!"

"Mia isn't to blame for—"

"He's right!"

Mia's sudden shout gets everyone's attention. She is still sulking, her tone more depressed.

Oliver shakes his head. "Mia!"

Mia interrupts, "I messed up, okay? I…I'm not fit for duty anymore. I just can't."

Mia quickly leaves the room, shying her head away from everyone. William and Oliver want to go after her, but Dante stops them with, "Leave her."

They both look back at him with incredulous stares. "She's my daughter!"

"And my sister!"

"And you will both do well to give her space."

Oliver tries to leave, but Dante grabs him and whispers in his ear, something like, "Leave now and I declare you enemies of the state," or something to that extent. William is unable to make an accurate lip reading. Whatever it was, it forces Oliver to stay where he is.

Dante then asks Curtis, "So, where are we with the tracker, Mr. Holt?"

Curtis hesitates for a moment, probably still processing the exchange. "Uh, Burov and his men are heading to the airport, like you predicted. From the gate's they were taking, they're on their way to Moscow."

Dante smiles sinisterly. "Perfect! That's most likely the Bratva's staging operation."

Lyla tells Dante, "Even if we know where he's heading, he'll be more prepared for us, possibly even move location."

Dante nods. "Maybe, which is why we need to know where in Moscow he will be before he returns. We must reach someone who knew Alexi personally."

Oliver asks with a subdued anger, "You know someone like that?"

"No." Dante looks at Oliver and smiles. "But you do."

---

Thea opens the door to the apartment, allowing Roy and Felicity in with bags in hand. The items are what Roy and Thea insist are essential for Felicity during her pregnancy: fruits, veggies, whole grain bread and crackers, and anything else with little fat and sugar as possible and more iron and iodine. There are also the folic acid tablets which Felicity made sure to get almost immediately getting the news of her pregnancy.

Even with just one bag, Felicity grunts from the tremendous pressure her arms endure. "Now I get Roy's pain, spending so much just to provide for two."

Thea nods. "And he's very chivalrous about it."

Roy puts his bags down on the table and proceeds to grab Felicity's. "It's patience and loyalty to the woman I love."

"Well, that's chivalry."

"It's being a good boyfriend and provider. To call it chivalry is a bridge too far."

Roy sets down the last bag and the three of them start to unload. Felicity and Thea take the veggies and fruit, placing them in the fridge. As they do, Thea asks, "By the way, when are you going to tell Oliver?"

Felicity answers, "Well, that depends on his mood. If things are going AOK, I'll tell him tonight."

"And if not?"

Felicity shrugs, "Well, if not, I'll wait tomorrow."

Thea points out, "He's going to be wondering about the groceries."

Felicity nods as she heads back to the table to collect the bread. "Yeah, well…I don't want him to become unfocused on the missions ahead by telling him too soon."

Roy retorts as he starts carrying poultry and meat to the fridge, "Thea told me when we were being chased by assassins."

Thea admits, "I was woozy back then. I was going to wait until after we were done."

Roy shakes his head. "I still had my head on straight."

Thea puts her hands on her hips and pouts. "Well then, explain how the assassin in the bunker almost KILLED you."

Thea's words cause Felicity to freeze at the table. Memories start to resurface, moments that were pushed away from the distraction of constant dialogue, but are now blocking out the sarcastic banter between Roy and Thea. She remembers the night she got the news of having Mia in her womb. She remembers placing her hand on her stomach, approximately where her vulnerable fetus was. She remembers Older Mia watching from afar, the shocked expression on her face. Mia turned away and pretended not to know anything then, but Felicity wasn't fooled. With the rift between them, she didn't dare ask her daughter what she saw or overheard, choosing instead to try and mend things. But every time she did, Mia just wanted to put distance between the both of them again.

Roy is about to say, "Okay, maybe I wasn't as—"

"Mia knows."

Felicity never meant to slip that out. Her subconscious, for some reason, chose to go against her better instinct, to try and grab Roy and Thea's attention. It most certainly did.

Thea's confused voice asks, "What?"

Felicity, instead of denying anything, decides to continue, "Mia know! Okay? She either overhead me or just read my movements. She knows."

Thea shakes her head in disbelief. "Felicity, why are you telling us this now?"

"I DON'T know. I just…" Felicity takes off her glasses, rubbing her eyes. "Ever since then, she has been reluctant to go on missions, stays home, and constantly does chores, even if she doesn't even need to do them. I can't help but think that I'M responsible for what she's going through, for knowing that I have her in my womb. Oliver has seen her acting this way too, and if he hears that I'm pregnant…"

Felicity finally summons the will to stop talking. She instead places her hands on the table, believing that she may collapse if she didn't. She can feel tears staring to form in her eyes, but doesn't stop them from falling down her cheeks.

Thea walks up to her. "Felicity." She cups a hand on Felicity's shoulder. "What Mia is going through is NOT on you. She almost got killed by Stanley Dover. You think that's something she can just recover from?"

Felicity shakes her head. "You don't know—"

"YES, I do. When Ra's stabbed me through the heart, before I died, I was AFRAID of death. I was afraid that my life was being taken away from me, especially when there were a lot of loose ends I never tied up. Mia is playing safe because that was her first time being so close to death."

Felicity shakes her head again, tears welling up even more. "I don't know how to make her better."

Thea puts her hands on Felicity's arms. "Do what Oliver did even when I was being crappy to him. BE there for her."

Thea brings Felicity in close for a comforting hug. The last piece of advice made Felicity realize why the rift still existed. Now, when Mia gets home, Felicity knows just how to fix it.

---

In an instant, Oliver is in the empty alleyway of the Alikuri. The passersby outside it mistake the blurs of Barry to be gusts of wind, a sudden storm not forecasted. Oliver isn't exactly fluent in Dheveli, but the people's gasps and sudden jumps tell him that Barry wasn't exactly subtle.

He relays this to Barry with, "You may want to slow it down."

He responds into Oliver's ear, "Yeah, sorry. Having Super Speed kinda cancels out Super Stealth, if you…yeah, I know. Bad joke."

Oliver waits until the people outside the alleyway start to disperse before walking out. With his hood on, he manages to blend in with the larger crowds almost effortlessly.

Barry calls back, "Back at Star Labs. We'll be working on a case, but if you need to be picked up—"

"William's given me a breach beacon to place near the target location once I'm done. Do what you need to do."

"Okay. But, before you go, I need to ask. This whole alliance you have with Dante right now, do you really trust him?"

Oliver looks left and right, making sure no one is eavesdropping. He answers as quietly as he can, "No, but we don't have much choice."

"Oliver, these are the same people who kidnapped children under the guise of a boarding school. Dante's probably going to insist on doing that again, along with whatever other morally reprehensible thing he can think of."

"From what William told me and the others, he thinks he's on a mission of righteousness or something like that."

"Does William believe that?"

"Of course he doesn't."

"You don't sound too convinced."

"I am CONVINCED that my son can differentiate what he's been taught from what Dante believes. William hasn't said anything, but I'm sure that he knows that what Dante is telling him is a hoax."

"Just because it is a hoax to a lot of people doesn't mean the bad guy believes it is. The villain is the hero of his own story, Oliver."

Oliver nods. "I know. Oliver out."

Oliver continues through the streets, taking in some of the country's dusk air. The Maldives are as the pamphlets describe it: A fairly large city complex within the archipelago, but cleaner than compared to Star City. Coming out of the city is a beautiful, natural setting with palm trees swaying in the dimly lit streets. Even from here, Oliver catches a glimpse of the ocean extending out towards the horizon, which he must follow anyways.

Eventually, he finds "Metcha," or the "Dream" as it is pronounced in the Russian dialect. This was what Anatoly always described his retirement plan to be: a dream, something that most men can only obtain within their own fantasies.

Well Anatoly, it looks like the dream came true.

As Oliver enters the bar, it is only half of what Oliver imagined. The classical Russian music is filling the air and bottles of vodka, cocktails, and American beers occupy nearly every table. The TV above broadcasts a Baseball game from the Central City Rocket's stadium. However, the wooden furnishings are made of finely carved walnut, the corner covered with more lavish, cushioned seating. The atmosphere here is pretty calm, all the patrons just talking, whether it is about their day, life, or otherwise. Oliver expected something more lively or excitable, the tables and chairs to be of a cruder make.

"Honey! New customer."

"Be right there, Hon!"

The first voice, a Maldivian woman, does not ring any bells for Oliver. The second voice definitely does, even when trying to cover it with that fake American accent. Oliver grins.

Found you, old friend.

He slowly walks up to the counter, the view covered by the fake palm tree on the side. As he gets around it, he can see Anatoly. The beard and black, slick hair are all the same. However, the two-figure suit is swapped out for a bright red t-shirt and blue shorts. It is a bit jarring for Oliver, since the only other attire he ever saw Anatoly in was the button-shirt and sleeveless undershirt at Lian Yu, when they were both prisoners.

At this, Oliver can't help but grin again. A fresh new start, I'm guessing.

After wiping a glass clean, Anatoly turns around and asks in his accent, "How can I help—"

Anatoly's words halt, his mouth agape as if seeing a ghost. Oliver imagined this would be his reaction. This is supposed to be a secret hideaway after all.

Still, Oliver greets him warmly, "Living the dream, Jason Brown?"

After a moment of silence, Anatoly's surprise turns into a smile. In a moment of breaking character, he calls Oliver by the nickname given to him during his initiation into the Bratva, "Kapiushon."

---

Now in a private office, Anatoly takes out a couple of beers from a fridge in the corner. Oliver sits himself down and looks around the room. This is where more of the Russian aesthetic is, with the country's flag on the wall across from him, as well as a couple of photos of Anatoly in his old suit. In one of them, he posing with his gang. In another, he is with a couple of charity representatives that the gang used as fronts for their operation.

As Anatoly sets the drinks down, he remarks, "I will admit, I never thought I'd ever see you again, Oliver. I made myself as discreet as possible, with your wife's help."

Oliver grins. "Well, you've always talked about this: finally stepping down as Pakhan, finding someplace tropical, and opening up a bar where you served vodka, beer, and cocktails all day and night."

Anatoly laughs as he searches the drawers for something. "I guess I made it easy to narrow down."

Oliver nods. "Though, I don't think a girlfriend helping you was part of the description."

Anatoly finally takes out a bottle opener from the bottom drawer and works on popping open the first bottle. "Yes, well, she was the first employee I hired, and am glad for to this day. Nice and passionate, but also tough and not afraid to speak her mind. MY type of woman."

"So, did you admit who you were to her?"

Anatoly shakes his head as he cracks the next beer open. "She figured it out. She has a nose for sniffing out truth. I assured her that my past is far behind me and is never going to catch up to me." Oliver is about to grab one of the bottles, but Anatoly pulls both of them away. He sternly stares at Oliver. "Unless you are here bringing the past to me."

Oliver's grin dissolves. He was afraid that Anatoly would be suspicious of his visit. Now he worries that Anatoly will become disappointed or downright angry when he hears the truth.

Oliver leads with, "I just need some information on the Bratva."

Anatoly shakes his head. "All of the original members are dead. The ones you are dealing with may be new ones."

"Not their leader. It's Alexi Burov."

Anatoly's eyes widen upon hearing the name. "Alexi's alive?" Oliver nods. Anatoly drops down on his seat, doesn't even move, as if the revelation has somehow dragged him down and won't let him sit back up. "I didn't think…"

Oliver continues, "He's restarted the Bratva, using it as a front against the Ninth Circle."

Anatoly looks at Oliver again, his shock more pronounced. "You know of them?"

"I know that Alexi was once their mole, inserted into the Bratva. I know he introduced you to them."

Anatoly turns one of the photos around, which has him posing with a doctor and most likely a supervisor of some sort. His face turns somber. "Alexi said the Ninth Circle had this dream of Utopia, a vision of 'Paradise on Earth…' the same jargon any politician or autocrat would use to justify obtaining power." He holds the photo up. "But then the contributions they made, the people they seemingly brought out of poverty in Russia made me believe that their intentions were good, their influence and wealth limitless. I eventually bought into their dream, their paradise. They told us that we were given a chance to be more, to turn the Bratva into 'an organization that truly benefited Russia,' to turn it into 'the great country it was destined to be.'" Anatoly inhales sharply, tightening his grip on the photo. "But it was all lies. We were nothing more than enforcers, letting in brutes, schemers, and malicious dissenters. Men like Kovar."

The thought sent shivers down Oliver's spine. He remembered Kovar, the Bratva's Pakhan before Anatoly. He tried to overthrow the Russian government by detonating a chemical bomb in a casino. He would've gotten away with it if Oliver and Anatoly hadn't stopped him that night. Part of Oliver wonders if Kovar was one of the Ninth Circle's moles before Alexi Burov.

Anatoly continues. "We were the Ninth Circle's enforcers in Russia, eliminating anyone who did not bow to them. Our power spread, but it cost us more of the Bratva's soul, soul I had hoped would be more tamed and timid. The Ninth Circle didn't care what we did at that point. They didn't even care when we came into the United States under your request. So long as we followed orders, they let us live in luxury, FESTER in it." Anatoly looks at Oliver one last time, this time with eyes of concern. "You work for Ninth Circle now, don't you?"

Oliver sighs again. "Not by choice."

"Of course not. They make you believe you have a choice."

"They CORNERED us, Anatoly."

"As they did with us! Maybe not in the way you were, but they led us into a corner. We thought we could get out somehow, but Dante ALWAYS found a way to keep us there. He will do the same to you, Oliver."

Oliver, not wanting to waste anymore time, gets down to the chase. "Alexi Burov has intelligence that could blow the Ninth Circle's existence wide open, or worse, give Deacon Blackfire an opening to exploit!"

"Exactly proving my point! If Dante won't send that Beatrice woman, then he'll send YOU. Maybe it's better to let Alexi expose the Ninth Circle, get Dante off all our backs."

Oliver shoots up from his chair. "Anatoly!" He gives Anatoly his death glare, his usual intimidation tactic to let people know that he was serious. "I am NOT Dante's puppet. I don't like working for the people responsible for recruiting my father, Malcom Merlyn, and the KILLER of my son's mother. Somehow, someway, I WILL find a way to take them down, but not now, not when the lives of my friends are at stake. Right now, I need to know where in Moscow Alexi Burov could be, and you're my only lead."

Anatoly looks at the photo once more, touches it. He gives an unnerved sigh. Oliver taps his fingers on the table, hoping that Anatoly will come to an answer soon. There's no telling what Alexi is going to do with the information in his hands at this point and nobody back at ARGUS is willing to wait and see.

Finally, Anatoly relents. "I'll give you Alexi."

Oliver does not show it, but he is relieved.

Anatoly explains, "If Alexi is back in Moscow, then he is recruiting to replenish the numbers lost from Diaz's assault a month ago."

Oliver nods, figuring that would be the case. "Where would he go?"

"The one place not disclosed to the Ninth Circle: Koshmar."

Oliver raises an eyebrow. "The Nightmare Gulag?"

Anatoly nods. "The very same. We took it over after our influence spread, hosted quite a couple things, one of them cage fighting. It's how we started getting fresh recruits. It is something you would never find on the surface of the prison, but underground. Alexi held these fights. He would most definitely be there."

With a grin, Oliver takes one of the beer bottles and takes a quick swing. "Thanks for the beer."

As Oliver starts to leave, Anatoly calls out, "Don't fall for Dante's traps, Oliver. Despite his outward generosity, he is a conniving snake."

Oliver turns back, telling him, "Well, it's a good thing you taught me about traps, now isn't it?"

Oliver walked out too quickly to notice, but he swears that he saw a glimmer of a smile forming on Anatoly's face.

---

Mia sits on the bench in the gym, doing nothing for once in her life. She just wants to be alone, with her thoughts. Usually, that meant grabbing a glass of whisky or bourbon from her office in the fighting ring. Unfortunately, she has nothing to drink her sorrows away. It makes the thoughts in her head more prevalent, more troublesome.

What the hell is wrong with me? I could've taken that guy. I had the opportunity to take him down and I wasted it! Why did I stay on the defensive? Why did I try to shrug away? I knew what to do. If an opponent comes at you as ferociously as he did, you take advantage of his opening and get him in a grab or hold, like Nyssa taught me. So, why didn't I? The guy wasn't even going to kill me. Though I didn't know it at the time, but I should've. It was nothing like last time. Not with—

"Thought you could find somewhere no one would find you?"

Mia does not bother looking, but she recognizes the voice of Dante right next to her. She doesn't want to look into his eyes. Every time she does, all she can remember is the torture Jared Parker put her through, the footage Noah York recorded of Ben's torture before coming here in the time machine Mia followed him on.

Still, Mia addresses him coldly, "What do you want?"

Dante comes into view, but Mia still refuses to look him in the eyes. "I came to talk."

"Well, I have nothing to say to you."

"Then say nothing. Only listen to what I want to tell you and have the decency to sit up and look at me while I do."

Though Mia is reluctant, she does as commanded. Still, she only brings her head up to see Dante's scruffy chin.

"Noah, future Noah, had much to say about you when you two arrived. He called you a pest, a nuisance, a cage fighting rat that he could never shake off, even when traveling through time. But I always saw more than that. When you popped your head out of the machine, you managed to take down three of our men before we could apply anesthetic."

It is hard to tell, but the tone of Dante's voice seems sincere. Mia was expecting a lecture about how the mission went sideways because of her, but that's not what she's getting. Something is off.

"You had endured much of Dr. Parker's experiments, not cracking easily."

For some reason, out of nowhere, her brain and heart flare up. She looks at him with a scowl, yelling, "EXPERIMENTS? Parker showed me videos of somebody I loved being tortured by Noah, over and over, without stopping! I spent WEEKS trying to get the images out of my head."

"And yet, it took you all of two weeks to even tell us the location of your mother and half-brother! Laymen would have broken within a day, LESS even. But not YOU." Dante leans down, making looking into his eyes unavoidable. "Do you know what Parker assessed of you in his reports?" he points to Mia. "That YOU are a FIGHTER."

He leans up, exclaiming, "It's why you didn't loose your mind in Slabside. It's why you went on to fight by your father's side, why you were not hesitant to take a risk with the generator at the SCPD's precinct. Even when Noah had you as a hostage, you struggled to break free, to find an opportunity because you knew he wasn't going to risk his own bargaining chip." He points at his own lobe, exactly where Mia was hit by Stanley Dover when she tried to dive for him. "And yet, when you were hit HERE, when Stanley had you defenseless, you BROKE. Do you want to know why?"

Mia quickly says without thinking, "Because I'm now afraid to die."

Dante shakes his head. "No. If you had feared death, you would have stayed out of Ms. Lance's way when she tried to kill that man."

Mia doesn't show anything, but she is surprised that Dante knows about Laurel and Mia's hunt for a possible Earth 2 doppelganger that turned out to be a fluke. In fact, how does he know about Mia and Captain Drake stopping Hackett from electrocuting all of the SCPD? Maybe the Ninth Circle's web stretched farther than she realized.

Dante continues, "You are afraid, but that fear stems from hatred. And you hate to LOOSE. That's what happened to you. You lost, and now you're afraid of loosing again. I'm sure that when you got beaten down, you got back up and refused to get back down again. You have a tenacity that you consistently demonstrate out in the field. Out THERE, you're back in the ring. You compete, find ways to prove yourself again and again, all for GLORY."

Mia shoots back with, "I don't want glory! I want my friends and family to be safe. I'm a HERO."

Dante scoffs. "No, you're not. The greatest of heroes demonstrate selflessness, sacrifice everything to benefit the community at large. Sure, you have saved lives, but not out of some altruistic instinct." He looks down at her. "You want your confidence back? Stop pretending to be a hero. Embrace what you truly are…Blackstar."

Suddenly, the gym door opens to reveal Diggle and Lyla stepping inside. John is quick to ask with a frown, "What are you doing here?"

Dante shrugs. "We were simply having a talk. Do you have anything for us?"

Lyla tells them, "We have a lead."

John continues, "Burov may be holding a recruitment drive underneath Koshmar. The tracker indicates that he just touched down to Moscow, but we can still get there before he can prepare for us. We infiltrate the prison and get the coin."

Dante nods. "Taking care of Burov will also be of vital importance. Still, we'll need a distraction."

Lyla nods in agreement. "We already have one. Two of our agents will be posing as guards, bringing in our third agent, a competitor in the ring."

Mia raises her head slightly, perking at the prospect.

John continues, "We'll need the competing agent someone who can draw the attention of the crowds and any guards for our two other agents to find the coin. We've narrowed it down to—"

"I'll do it!" Mia's volunteering shout was instinctual. She hasn't thought it through, but she is more than willing to participate anyways. "I've fought in caged rings before. I can do it again."

John, along with Lyla, are very cautious of Mia's newfound optimism. "I don't think that's such a good idea. Remember what happened earlier tonight."

"It's fine. I'm over it now."

"Just half-an-hour ago, you were saying that—"

Dante interrupts, "If the girl wants to be the distraction, let her be the distraction." Before Lyla can say anything, Dante overrides her words with, "I sanction it! Send William and Slade as the guards, if that is not too much trouble."

John and Lyla, obviously, are annoyed. Mia, however, is excited, more than she ever has been this past week. Dante looks back at her with a subtle grin and a nod. While part of Mia still blames him for her torture and would not trust him with her life, she can't help but feel that some of what he says about her is the truth. But was it the whole truth?

---

Koshmar, for the most part, is the frigid wasteland the briefings made them out to be. Just beyond the outskirts of Moscow, it is only known in myths but never disclosed to the public. It was where the worst of the worst went, sentenced for life and never seen again. Ironically, the large majority of the worst is the guards. The prisoners are mainly political rivals and reporters the Russian government or mafia wanted to silence. Not to mention, a whole lot of standard conduct is ignored, even replacing solitary time with six or more hours in something called a "freezing room". It's no wonder people called it the "Nightmare Gulag."

Luckily, John, Lyla, and Oliver had firsthand experience with the prison, escaping from it one time. If it was easy for them to break in, it will most certainly be for William, Mia, and Slade. The guard disguises covering William and Slade's faces barely catch a glimpse from the real ones and Mia's prisoner attire gets her none. As far as anyone is concerned, it's a standard prisoner escort.

With no one around them, William whispers to Mia, "Jumping on this was a huge mistake, you know that?"

Mia grimaces frustratingly. "Saying that a third time isn't going to change things."

"Still isn't going to stop me from pointing that out."

Slade tells William, unaware of his true identity and Mia's, "Too late to turn back now. If she can't make that distraction—"

"I CAN do it. Just remember your part, old man."

The aggressive tone from Mia worries William a bit, but Slade dismisses it with, "Save it for the ring."

Finally, they reach the entrance Anatoly mentioned to Oliver, a double door built into the floor, guarded by a couple of soldiers. As they near the doors, one of the soldiers stops them, telling them in Russian, "*Halt! This is a restricted area.*"

William takes out the false papers and Mia's criminal record, telling them, "*This one is to go down into the ring. Highly recommended for the Bratva.*"

He hands the papers to one of the guards, who looks through it carefully. William hoped that the guard would just skim through it or that the Bratva symbol behind it would be enough. However, this guard takes his time, even eyeing Mia from time to time. It's hard to tell whether the soldier suspects something or takes his job seriously, unlike most corrupt soldiers.

The soldier shakes his head and laughs. "*Burov would want someone as scrawny and light as her? I find that hard to believe.*" He notices the confused look Mia gives, which causes him to elaborate in English, "I said you are not fighting material, American pup!"

Both guards start laughing, turning Mia's confusion to anger. William places a hand on her shoulder, whispering to her, "Let me handle this."

He goes up to the guard and whispers into the soldier's ear. What he tells the soldier makes his eyes almost bulge out of their sockets, the gun at his side trembling. Mia, Slade, and the other guard look on with either concern or confusion. For William, it is best if they did not know what William is describing, for the story itself is gruesome, even for him to stomach. However, this is what Lyla told him to say in case the situation calls for it.

William steps away and asks, "*We're good?*"

His head jittering, the guard confirms, "*Y-yes, yes. Take her in.*"

The now scared guard opens the first door immediately. The second guard does as well, but is a bit more hesitant, looking at his friend with concern. Without delay, William and Slade, playing their parts, shove Mia along and force her down the stairs.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Mia asks William, "What did you tell that guy?"

William jokes, "Please."

---

As soon as they entered the dark stairwell, Curtis switched the new bug to night vision. So far, the connection to the device is green, no static or warnings of an unstable connection. John looks on, nodding with approval. "All smooth so far."

Dante follows with, "Let's just hope this will not be a repeat of last time."

"You put my daughter on a mission?"

The doors to the command center swing open as Oliver arrives. Lyla enters in after him, trying to keep up. "Oliver, if you would just let me explain—"

Oliver does not let her. He stomps towards Dante, a snarl on his face. John is about to step in and intervene, but Dante raises a hand in front of him.

As Oliver gets close, Dante puts on a smile. "Oliver! Welcome back. We've already put the intel you've found to use."

Oliver gets up in Dante's face. "This was NOT what I would've approved!"

Dante's composure remains intact. "Officially, she's an ARGUS trainee. Your word is IRRELEVENT."

"You can't just make her—"

"She CHOSE to go on this mission."

Oliver takes a step back, shaking his head. "No. No, she wouldn't do that. She was ASHAMED."

Dante shrugs. "She was. But then I fixed her."

Oliver's fist clenches behind his leg. "What did you do?"

"I gave her words of encouragement, a little pep talk. It turns out that it can work wonders."

Oliver points at Dante accusingly. "Whatever POISON you put into her head, it's going to make her reckless."

"I have every confidence in the girl. It's William that I am most concerned about."

Oliver turns to Lyla with his death glare. "William's on this mission too?"

She tries to explain, "I didn't want any of this, but Dante—"

Dante interrupts, "She and Mr. Diggle have been following MY orders. I will admit to that."

Oliver's glare pierces Dante. "To keep me out of the loop?"

"To ensure that YOU wouldn't go after them. I cannot afford another failure."

Oliver looks past Dante, at the screen showing William, Slade, and Mia nearing the end of the stairs and approaching a bright light.

Dante ensures him, "They are in good hands."

Oliver looks at Dante again. "If you have concern for William, then why send him on this mission?"

Dante looks at the screen, seeing the three of them stepping out into the arena. "To see just why Alexi got away in the first place."

---

The three of them are greeted by a sight very familiar to Mia: a large arena enclosed by a ring that can be grabbed with a simple jump. Inside it, two men were already going head to head, one of them very muscular and ferocious, the other of a more standard build, staying on the defensive and attempting to grab his opponent. Other prisoners outside of the ring were shouting names, cheering on for one fighter or another. As far as Mia can tell, the muscular man is winning. The standard guy has the right idea, trying to work around his opponent rather than brute force him. However, he seems to be having trouble getting any locks in to force the muscular man to the ground.

Up above, Mia and the others see Burov, observing the match from a balcony occupied by him alone. The only way up is a stairway far to the right, behind the crowd on the ground level. Slade asks on the comm, "HQ, you have eyes on?"

The new bug William gave Curtis control buzzes past him and Mia, flying up high into the shadowy ceiling. "We do. It doesn't seem like Burov is expecting any resistance tonight."

Mia whispers, "Maybe Virgil was jumped before he could find any evidence of this place."

As William takes his eyes off of the bug, he spots something far to Burov's right. There's a door next to a window, the room inside showing no visible light. He deduces, "That must be Burov's office."

Slade nods. "No guards up there, not even a Bratva enforcer. He'll notice if one of us tries to go up there."

William gets on the comm, telling Curtis, "Get to Burov's office and see if you can find anything. Keep to the shadows."

"Got it. We'll keep you guys updated."

Suddenly, the crowd erupts in loud cheers. Mia looks back at the cage and, as expected, the muscular man won. The standard man is on the ground, his mouth and cheeks bruised as if cinderblocks on his face. The muscular guy lets out a victorious yell, his knuckles red.

Mia feels the self-doubt returning, the memory of Stanley rushing back into her mind. However, she buries it back down.

No! I can do this.

"*Let me through!*"

Rushing past them is a man in a white coat, the doctor most likely. He takes the wounded standard man and drags him by the arms towards a set of cots in the corner. Next to the cots are a table with some essential medical supplies and a breathing machine.

For a moment, Mia imagines herself on one of those cots, bleeding to death, treated by a doctor who probably only has basic knowledge of how to treat people. Once again, though, she swallows her fear down.

That's not going to be me. I just need to be careful.

She tells William and Slade, "Put me in."

They walk slowly towards the cage, Burov asking aloud, "*Who's next?*"

William whispers into Mia's ear, "You don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do." She bravely announces, "Hey!"

The crowds fell silent upon looking at Mia. Some are stunned, others bewildered, and the rest don't seem to know what to think. Burov, however, flashes an amused smile. "An American pup comes to try and join the ranks of Bratva? Adorable."

Mia feels the flash of anger again. To be compared to a pup feels as if she is being called a child, scolded for showing weakness. Though, she buries this as well. She can't jump the gun just yet.

Burov then says, "Well, it's your grave. Bring her in!"

William and Slade open the cage and, hesitantly, throw her in. She quickly gets up, readying herself in her fighting stance. The muscular man does nothing yet, eyeing her up. He smirks and scoffs at her. He stretches his neck and knuckles, loud cracks echoing around the cage. He lets out a low, rumbling growl designed to intimidate her. As much as Mia's brain is screaming that she has, indeed, made a grave for herself, she takes a breath and maintains her stance.

From the balcony above, Burov yells some Russian word, "Nachinat'!" which causes the crowd to cheer. The fight has begun.

The muscular man comes charging, winding up a punch as he gets closer to Mia. Out of reflex, Mia dodges it and readies herself for the next attack. The man then follows with a spinning hook and a cross afterwards, both of which Mia backsteps from, but just barely. He then goes in for a front kick slow enough for Mia to side step from.

This guy's strong, but his attacks come in slow. Easy. I've fought guys like him before. Just gotta—

Suddenly, the man goes for a roundhouse to Mia's stomach. An easy opportunity for a grab, she thinks. However, Stanley's face flashes in her mind. Instead of listening to her own sound advice, her arms do nothing and one of her legs goes for a check. The kick's strength is enough to trip her up and send her falling onto the floor face first.

She slowly gets up, blood visible on the ring's floor. She touches her broken nose, which is bleeding just a bit. She realigns her nose and looks at her opponent, who chuckles amusingly and taunts her to try something.

Stop being scared! You got this. You are not scared of anything. You got it? NOTHING.

Mia comes charging with a series of fast punches and kicks, trying to find an opening she can exploit. The muscular man blocks most of them and the ones that do make it through barely does anything except make him wince a bit. It wasn't until the hook to the face did the guy finally grunt in pain. When she tries to follow with another hook, the man grabs her arm and wraps it around his own and goes for a cross. Mia slips from it, but it is still close enough to her ear to feel like a gust of wind in a storm.

However, she couldn't stop him from grabbing her hair and pulling it down, a pain she has not felt in quite some time, a constant reminder of why she should've gone for a haircut. Usually, she clenches her teeth and prevents herself from screaming, trying to show no weakness. This time, she can't, her bellows drowning out the crowd. She is pulled down to her knees, her gaze forced to meet the eyes of her opponent. His eyes are like that of Stanley's, bloodthirsty and angry, ready to end things. She can almost swear that the knife Stanley tried to kill her with is in his eyes. Instead of ending her right away, however, he delivers a backfist that is probably using only 25% of his power, otherwise it would've killed her. He then goes for a cross which uses a lesser amount of energy. Then another, and another, and another, all of them painful but to a lesser degree. She is ready for the man to end things, but the more hits he gets in, the more his actions, his stare, deviate from that of Stanley's.

Suddenly, the daggers in his eyes disappear. His whole appearance changes. This guy is not Stanley. Not even close. This was one of the men Mia fought in the ring back in 2040 nearly every night since arriving in Star City. This is what they always did, even a few of the woman fighters: prolong the fight and get in as many hits as they can, show off to everyone that they are the superior fighter. But not Mia. She showed superiority by being able to finish the fight, take advantage of their hotheadedness and land a quick knockout or one of her submission holds. The man grabbing her is no more a threat than anyone else she has fought.

The man finally lets go of Mia, allowing her head to rest. She spits out some blood, but that doesn't matter to her at this point. When she looks up, the man is winding up for a powerful backfist.

Mia grins. Perfect.

Mia quickly rolls under the fist and positions herself behind the muscular man. She positions both feet in front of his knees and grabs him by the ankles, bringing him down in one quick motion. She gets up, her hands still holding on to his feet until she finds a good opportunity to dash for one of his arms. She grabs it and wraps her body around it, pulling hard to go for an armbar submission. However, as she feared, the man is able to get up and push on her, even lifting her up to slam her down. Adapting, Mia grabs the bars on top of the ring. Like in a jungle gym, her hands dance around the ceiling until she is in a position for her legs to wrap around the man's neck, one of her favorite submissions. She pulls her legs in hard, giving no room for the man to breathe, who chokesevery time he tries to inhale. He tries to grab her, but she grabs different parts of the metal ceiling behind her to pull back the man's body, telling him that he's not in control.

Eventually, the man's hands manage to grab her torso. At this point, however, his struggle for breath is making him lightheaded, his feet barely able to keep him up. Noticing this, Mia lets go and lets her body lunge forward, throwing herself and the man onto the ground. Even when a bit shaken, she keeps her legs tight. Eventually, the man lets out one last stifled exhale before his arms go limp, his spastic struggle finally ceasing.

Conscious of this, Mia lets go and moves herself back. Slowly, she gets up, the biggest smile she ever had in a while touching the corners of her face. She looks out at the crowd of inmates, who are stunned by the defeat of the bigger, muscular brute. Even William and Slade are taken aback.

Burov, however, laughs. "So, the pup is, in fact, a hound in disguise."

In disguise. Yes. That's what it felt like to her. Despite the man Dante is, he was right. She tried playing the hero, but that's just not what she is. She's something else, something better, something more confident and powerful.

Mia, to her core, is a fighter.

She looks up to Burov and proudly asks, "Is that all you got?"

---

The distraction from Mia seems to be working. Burov is fixated on the ring. Still, Curtis keeps the bug in the shadows at all times until he reaches the door to the office. With the bug's flat head, Curtis is able to make it crawl through the doorway crack. Upon entering, he switches the night vision back on, finding an office that is pretty minimal for a Russian mob boss. There's a Russian flag in the corner, the only altercation being the Bratva Star covering the center blue stripe. A desk was next to it, the only few things on it being a computer, some files, and an empty bottle of whisky.

Curtis zooms in, making sure there isn't anything more to indicate that this is, in fact, Burov's office. "Huh. You'd think being a Mafia boss, he'd have at least two or three bottles."

John deduces, "When your whole organization is on its back foot, you're going to be strapped for cash."

Oliver points to the desk. "Check there."

Curtis hovers above the desk, seeing nothing else but the few items mentioned. He switches on the bug's translator function, seeing the title of the top report saying, "Ninth Circle Meeting," which catches his attention.

"Hold on a sec."

As he zooms in on the report, Oliver tries to argue, "Mia doesn't have time for—"

Dante raises a hand. "Let him! It may contain clues."

Curtis skims over a bit of it, but from what he can tell, it was logged before his ambush on William, Athena, and Dante. It seems like he has been actively scanning for Ninth Circle activity ever since Diaz's attack on their headquarters a month ago. He had nearly stretched their resources and worked his men nearly to the bone to ensure he could find a lead, but he seems to have known where to look, for these locations are specific. This report says that they have cornered Virgil after a couple of weeks trying to confirm his identity, ensuring that no trace was left behind. And the steps to capturing Virgil were very specific: do not get caught by cameras, scout the perimeter and kill anybody lying in wait.

Dante comments, "Burov was one of our best. I always deduced that he could bring us down if he put his mind to it. Now, he has the power to, at least, tear down a significant portion of our organization."

Oliver asks, "What about the coin?"

Curtis, as if on cue, finds a brief mention of the coin. "Hold on. Here's something. It says, 'Once obtained, assume they will do everything in their power to get it back. Keep…" His brows furrow at this next line. "Keep close to the heart they have broken?"

John asks, "What does that mean?"

Dante sighs, sounding disappointed in the question. "Do you people not know poetry? He's referring to—"

Oliver interrupts, "His chest pocket. He has the coin on him."

Dante nods his head. "Yes. I guess your education is not as lacking as I had assumed."

John tells Curtis. "Get Will and Slade on the line."

---

Slade and William watch as the medic brings the unconscious, still breathing man to one of the cots. He is put onto his side and given a breathing mask connected to an oxygen tank. They look back to Mia, who is facing her next opponent. This one is not as tall or imposing, quite the opposite. However, the speed of his punches and his constant slips and rolls are something to behold. Mia doesn't seem intimidated, though. In fact, she seems to be more confident based on her willingness to risk a counterstrike when seeing a tiny opening, even using her agility more with wall running and clinging to the metal bar ceiling.

Slade comments, "Seems like she's back to her cocky self."

William nods, though he is concerned by the word "Cocky." That may be what Mia is truly exhibiting. She is not holding back, becoming more aggressive with each strike she makes. She's leaving her opponent on the defensive with no room to counterattack. The man shows signs of fatigue, his slips and rolls now just barely able to dodge incoming attacks. One or two strikes to the head might be all that it takes to knock him out if he doesn't take back the offensive.

William repeats in a whisper, "Cocky."

Slade continues, "It reminds me too well of someone who was just like her, someone I trained."

William says nothing, but already knows that Slade is talking about Oliver. From his extensive research, William unearthed many things about his father, especially his trip to China with Grandpa Robert and Sarah Lance, their boat crashing near Lian Yu, and Slade being one of the first to train Oliver how to fight. It helped William make sense as to why Adrian Chase brought him and his mother there in the first place. Chase's twisted way of bringing poetic justice, William thought back then.

Slade goes on, "Before he became a man of great renown, he was a whelp and a whiner. He never knew what it meant to survive. Eventually, he grew confident, deadly. When he lost somebody…dear to the both of us, we both became angry, rageful." Slade points to his eyepatch. "And he took a piece of me with him."

William does not need to deduce this obvious hint. "You think Blackstar is going through the same stages as Oliver Queen?"

"I KNOW that she is. Back at the hotel, she was acting like the whelp."

"She was scared."

"Well, look at her NOW."

Eventually, Mia corners the man to a wall, lowering his head behind his arms which struggle to block her attacks. Two strong hooks to the face are all it takes to end the fight. His left eye and right cheek are bruised, as are his arms. His fingers are barely moving. Instead of checking if the man is all right, she lets out a victory howl. The other inmates, for once, join in this howl. They chant a name, "gonchaya," or "hound."

Slade continues, "Dante's gotten inside her head, did exactly what I said he would try to do to you."

William refutes, "Whatever Oliver's principles were then, they are not what they are now. He does not resort to killing, neither does she."

"Then you don't know him."

"I know of his time on Lian Yu, what he did to survive."

"But you don't know what it MEANS to survive, not in a place like that, not with enemies that constantly hunt you or fool you. Oliver did whatever it took to survive because he had to. Judging by her behavior, so has she."

William wanted to tell Slade that his life is quite the contrary. He had to survive being kidnapped by Adrian Chase, to see his mother die, to be tortured by the guilt of it being his fault, for running away from a boarding school he got sent off to so that he could find someone to train him to be a hero. However, he holds his tongue back. He knows that Slade is right in some respects. His father's trauma, his sister's, even Slade's are not his own. Who is he to judge Slade? He doesn't even know who William really is.

Suddenly, their earpieces hum. John's voice tells them, "Guys, the coin isn't in the office. It's with Burov. You need to get the coin away from him."

William raises an eyebrow. "How?"

"Dante doesn't care. He wants Burov taken care of and the coin retrieved."

Slade asks, "With a bunch of inmates that could tear us to shreads in the same room?"

Dante chimes in with, "You have guns, don't you? If they refuse to listen, MOW them down. Just get it done."

William looks up to Burov, laughing with glee at Mia's performance. He then looks at his rifle, fully loaded. Finally, he looks to the stairs. They are only dimly lit, but the shadows should be enough to cover his approach, even with his white furred vestment.

He announces, "I can get to Burov." He looks to Slade. "Make sure he and the others keep their eyes on the ring."

Slade nods, opening the door for the medic to bring the barely breathing fighter out. Mia is yelling, "Is that all you've got?" Another opponent dares to approach, entering the ring. As it starts, William casually strolls to the stairway. Once the fight begins, Slade gives a thumbs up, signaling that Burov is distracted. William picks up the pace climbing the stairs, but does his best to remain silent.

From here, there's no telling how Burov will react, nor Dante for that matter.

---

Alexi looks on at the girl with a fascination he never had for any other fighter. The regular fighters were brawlers and bruisers, those that are tough and can take a few punches or are fast and leave no room for their opponent to breathe. The few women he recruited were known for their charm and skills in infiltration and seduction. They know some basic sombo, but nothing beyond the capacity of this woman in the ring.

This woman is a unique specimen. She is not relying on brute force, but her nimbleness and agility. Moreover, she ends her opponents quick, whereas everyone else here is likely to savor their victory, get some cheers from the other inmates, show off. Very few ever demonstrate such efficiency and cold-heartedness. The only one he ever knew was Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow of Star City, Anatoly's friend. Not to mention, Blackfire and Dante.

Alexi rubs his chin. Perhaps I have found the one who could counter the Ninth Circle's goons.

Suddenly, he feels something poke his side.

"Don't turn around. Keep watching."

The familiar voice of Dante's bodyguard from the high-rise club does not surprise him. Instead, he breathes a very unsatisfied sigh, disappointed in himself for not seeing it sooner. He dared to shift his eyes to his side, seeing the man dressed as one of the guards.

"I should have known that this was too good to be true. Even when I thought I had the upper hand, even when I was careful, the devil still finds a way to slither into my sanctuary."

He looks back at the ring, seeing the woman slinking and weaving around the newest opponent's body before throwing him down with her momentum.

"I take it that she's with you? With Dante?"

The bodyguard does not answer, instead demanding, "I know you have the coin. Give it to me and I'll tell Dante to take it easy on you."

Alexi scoffs, seeing that this man is still naïve to Dante's true nature. "My fate is already sealed, boy."

The man pushes the gun onto Alexi's side, though it does not feel threatening. "I gave you a choice! You could have surrendered peacefully, let ME take care of Dante. You decided to put yourself in this situation."

"Showing myself to Dante in the first place sealed my fate! I knew going against the Ninth Circle would be a risk, but Virgil's presence was a threat and opportunity we could not ignore. We had to make our stand against those who let a monster like Ricardo Diaz into their ranks, led the Bratva to RUIN."

The woman has her opponent in a rear naked choke, tightening her grip on his neck. This man was going to lose air in a few seconds, if he could read the scrunches on the man's face right.

Alexi dares to turn his head to the young man, who does nothing in response. He knew that there was no real danger, not after the chase in the high-rise hotel ended with an attempted negotiation. It is Dante that he had to worry about.

"Are you a man of faith?"

The young man hesitates for a while, but he eventually answers, "Yes."

Alexi then explains, "My father was of the Orthodox faith. He clung to the Lord like no other that I have met. For so long, I have thought Dante and the Deacon to be men of faith with their talks of a unified world, their global utopia. But my father, he always recited this bit of biblical scripture, when Christ said that he came into the world not to unite, but to divide, to turn family against family." He looks at the young man again. "Do you know what that means?"

The gun in the man's hand lowers, though Alexi makes no move to grab it from him. He wanted to see what the man would say. He said, "It means that your beliefs will never be shared by everyone. Some will oppose you…even when what you believe is right." the man raises the gun back up to the hip. "But that does not mean you should oppose the one who accuses you. Rather, the best course is to pay your debt, convince them to forgive and forget, lest you find yourself in jail."

Alexi grins at the man's knowledge, even if it is in vain. "Dante is not one to 'forgive and forget,' neither is Blackfire. If they want, they will set the world on fire or tear down the very freedoms of man to achieve their madness." He now looks the young man in the eyes. "Tell me…do you still believe you can fight against zealous men like them?"

---

William had a plan. He was going to convince Alexi to give him the coin, try to make him see reason under a false threat of a gun at his side. But now, after a whole argument about biblical scripture, William knows that is not happening. Alexi is a stubborn man, but it is a stubbornness borne of conviction, in the belief that he is doing the right thing. What makes it all the more conflicting for William is that there is truth in what he says: the actions of Deacon Blackfire and Dante have been consistent of men who would kill, threaten, and coerce to make everyone conform to their own way of thinking.

There may also be truth when Alexi says that Dante is not willing to take him in alive. William knows that Dante is watching. He can see the bug fluttering its little mechanical wings overhead. Whatever he decides to do, no doubt Dante has some kind of plan that opposes his.

At that moment, as if to prove his own point, Dante calls up William and tells him, "Enough stalling! Grab the coin from him. Do it by FORCE if you must."

William looks at his rifle and then back to Alexi. Empty threats will not work, that he is certain of. Even if Alexi is calling out the bluff, he may also be willing to die if that meant he had, at least, fought for what he believed in.

William asks over the comm, "Are you demanding I use LETHAL force?"

Dante answers quite cryptically, "This is the fate of those who trust in themselves." Yet more biblical scripture, from Psalm 49:13 no less. Dante's message is quite clear.

However, even if Alexi's decisions did bring him to this point, Dante has no right to decide his fate. There is no justification in killing an unarmed prisoner.

William lowers his gun, telling Alexi, "Alexi Burov, I place you under arrest and in ARGUS custody."

"CONNOR, what are you doing?"

William takes out a set of handcuffs, redirecting his line to Slade, "Get Mia, be prepared for a fight. Keep engagements to non—"

As he was about to put the first cuff on, Alexi thrusts both hands forward towards the rifle. He does it so fast, William did not have the time to react. He manages to grab the stock in one hand, but he is barely able to hold on to it. He tries to grab the ammo magazine with his other hand, but one of Alexi's own reaches out and slaps it away.

With Alexi's hand stretched out, William is prepared for whatever Alexi may try to pull next: a disarm, a chance to move forward and do a takedown, or to just try and throw the weapon to the ground. That is what those who believe they have an opportunity will try to do. Instead, however, Alexi flies in the face of all those possibilities. His free hand goes for the trigger, his thumb inserting backwards into the ring.

Seeing this, William moves his hands forward towards Alexi, exclaiming, "NO!"

However, as fast as his hands were, it was too late. Alexi shot himself in the chest, with at least three bullet wounds protruding it. The only thing William can do is brush past Alexi, catching him by the back of his neck just a few centimeters before his head would meet the floor. Blood begins to soak his undershirt as he gasps for air.

William rips up the shirt and looks at the bullet wounds. There is not enough light, but William can discern the holes right where the heart would be. With the organ possibly ripped to shreds, trying to stop the bleeding is pointless.

William frantically asks, "Wh-why? Why did you do that? WHY DID YOU DO THAT?"

Alexi already closes his eyes, ready to meet death. "This was…" Alexi gasps for breath. "This was my fate. The fate I have brought…upon myself." His hand reaches out and grips William's shoulder weakly. "Promise…promise that you will set the Ninth Circle and Blackfire's order…ABLAZE."

There is an off note squeal when he said ablaze. With his last breath, his hand, as well as his other limbs, fall limp in William's arms.

William is shocked. He can't bring himself to stand up. His mind is stuck, unable to move the obstacle in the way, a question: why? Why did Burov kill himself? Why wasn't William fast enough to stop it, alert enough to even anticipate this kind of move? Was surrendering to Dante really worse than killing himself? Was Burov really that afraid, or did he just give up?

"Did you really try to stop him?" The Deacon's voice rings in William's ears. The Deacon's footsteps trail behind him. "You knew as well as Alexi that he would die, whether you spared him or not. This was ALL your fault. His blood is on YOUR hands."

"Kid!" Slade's voice pierces through the Deacon's. "I said what happened up there? The inmates are in an uproar."

Uproar? Oh crud!

William now realizes that the inmates Burov brought in here, the potential recruits for the Bratva, have heard the gunshots from below. They're coming up here to see what has happened to their leader. Worse, they may be running to the guards outside for help.

Shaking his head, William asks, "Uh, what's happening with you?"

As he asks this, gunshots are fired from below. "I'm firing warning shots, but it's not doing much."

Dante then gets on the line. "Connor, don't waste anymore time. Get the coin NOW."

As much as he hates rummaging through a corpse that isn't in a morgue, William complies. He checks the coat pockets. Nothing. He checks the pants pockets. Nothing. He pats down the corpse for anything. No coin anywhere. No signs of secret pockets or any surgical cuts on his chest in case he was desperate enough to do so.

William is perplexed. "It's not here."

Dante yells, "What?"

"The coin's not here! Burov doesn't have it."

Curtis explains, "But the doc said that he kept it close to his heart."

"Then it means something else. Let me think."

"Kid!"

Slade's voice did not come from his comm. He is just at the top of the stairwell, trying to fend off criminals who are marching towards them in droves. When one of them sees Burov's lifeless body on the floor, he shouts, "*Assassination! Burov has been killed.*" William looks down at the ground floor, seeing Mia wait in in the cage. She is close to the door, waiting until it's clear to get out.

He shouts to Slade, "Into the office, now!"

William quickly opens the door, pointing his gun directly at the crowd of criminals as Slade retreats. It does not seem to deter them, though, because they are coming at breakneck speed. Luckily, Slade is faster, making it through the door so that William can slam it behind them and lock it.

William is barely able to hold the door. He can feel people constantly barging at it like a tidal wave and it's only a matter of time before the criminals start crashing through.

Slade, meanwhile, is shoving everything off of a large desk. He gets on its side and begins to push it in William's direction. From the sound of wood scratching wood, the desk is pretty heavy, so getting it to William's position is going to take a while.

However, the constant barrages on the door have stopped. William does not let his guard down, however, for they may be trying a new tactic. He lowers himself for a moment and looks through the keyhole. From the looks of it, the inmates are letting one of the bigger brutes through, his physique showing that he is indeed strong enough to bring the door down.

William yells to Slade, "They've got a brute!"

Slade, just a quarter of the way there, shouts back, "Just sit tight and be prepared to move!"

William stands back up and braces as Slade makes one final push just next to him and the door. As Slade makes it, William feels the brute make a strong, ferocious charge at the door. It pushes William away, making it feel like a bull was trying to make its way through. By some miracle, the door remains intact.

Seeing Slade trying to push the desk, William rushes to his side and helps get it into position quickly in the hopes that it will be a shield against the brute's attacks.

Another charge is heard upon the door. The desk, fortunately, is holding, but the door's hinges are starting to loosen.

Slade points out, "That won't hold for long."

"I know! Just give me some time to think."

As William paces back and forth through the room, Slade gets on the comm, "We need extraction now!"

Lyla is on the line, saying, "Don't worry. Help is on the way. Hold tight."

"We don't have that kind of time!"

William shouts, "Just be quiet and let me think!"

He shuts off his comm, not wanting any other voices to disrupt him. This is great. Why? Why would Alexi do this? He shoots himself, tells me to "set the Ninth Circle ablaze," only for a bunch of inmates to come after me. What about the coin? Did he want me to not find it?

"Of course he didn't."The Deacon's voice appears once more, sounding as if he is right next to William. "He wanted this to be the last insult against Dante before he died. He would rather see you die than unearth his secrets. Or, perhaps, this is to find out whether you have the stomach to take more lives than you already have?"

Slade, shutting off comms himself, tells William, "There's no time for this!"

William shouts back, "I NEED to think. I need…I need to process."

Slade throws his arms up in the air. "Process what? Alexi's dead and there's a bunch of prisoners out there who could be barging in at any moment."

"Alexi KILLED himself instead of letting me arrest him. If he had just cooperated—"

"He WASN'T because he knew what was awaiting him if he did."

"And that was worth taking the suicidal route? How would you even know?"

"Because I've seen it myself before!"

William was about to say something, but his mouth refuses to form the words. Instead, what comes out is, "What?"

"How do you think I know Beatrice? ASIS sent me out on a mission to eliminate what they told me were defectors. They turned out to have been a village wanting to break away from the Ninth Circle's influence and Dante hired us out to kill them. I refused, but Beatrice…she knew I didn't have the stones. She killed EVERY last one of them. Men, women, children. And the defectors…" Slade says nothing more. He just looks at the door, which still holds, despite the brute's attempts. However, William can tell that he is trying to work through the memory of what Beatrice did. Even William does not want to imagine it. Slade's reaction is enough to know that there are no loose ends with the Ninth Circle.

Slade hesitantly resumes, "After that, the village officially didn't exist anymore. Wiped off of every databank the Ninth Circle had." He looks William in the eyes. "If you think you can be who you are while being under the Ninth Circle's nose, you can't. You either do what they say or die as an enemy. There's absolutely NO room to follow your heart."

That last phrase turns some cogs in William's brain. Follow your heart? The document said the coin would be kept close to the heart that the Ninth Circle broke, at least according to Curtis. If it's not Burov's literal heart, then what…

He looks at the only relevant object in the room, a Russian flag with the Bratva's star.

Slade asks, "Kid?"

William ignores him, walking quickly towards the flag. He feels the fabric, way too thin to store some kind of secret pocket. He finds no signs of any secret compartment in the wooden pole, either.

Slade reiterates, "Kid, we need to worry about the would-be enforcers still barging down the door!"

Still, William ignores him. This has to be it. There's no other clue.

He then notices the pedestal that the flag itself is being held by. The interior would be hollow. That means…

William pulls the flag off and tosses it aside. He lifts up the pedestal and carefully tilts it. Listening carefully, he can hear the faint scratch of a small coin moving around. William grins and turns the pedestal upside down, holding his hand out under the hole and tilting it again. Eventually, a fake florin drops into his hand.

Slade looks on, genuinely surprised. "Well, I'll be damned."

William remembers the conversation he and Burov had before his death. "His heart belonged to his country. And the Bratva."

Their attention is drawn back to the door, more banging noises ushering from the other side. Slade takes the flagpole and wields it like a staff or spear.

"They're still going to break this down at any minute."

However, William noticed something odd. The strong charging has been replaced by infrequent banging and the door is intact. The desk is still where it was placed, unphased.

He points out, "They should be in this room by now." He then notes the infrequency and repeated noises. They are something like desperation now, unlike the clanging and sheer force just a little while ago. "They're not trying to break in. They're knocking."

---

From the bug hanging above the door, everyone looks on at the travesty unfolding before them. At least a dozen prisoners are there, one of them trying to brute force the door down.

John shakes his head. "This is bad. Will and Slade aren't going to last long in there."

Oliver is the only one pacing. "I knew it. I KNEW it was a bad idea sending them there alone!"

Dante calmly explains, "If the boy had just followed my orders, none of this wouldn't be happening."

Oliver retorts, "Your ORDERS were to have a man KILLED. What did you think William was going to do at that moment?"

"Alexi knew that no matter what happened, death was coming for him eventually. If William had known—"

"If he had known, he wouldn't have gone on this mission in the first place!" Oliver slams his hand on one of the desks, looking ready to fight Dante. Instead, he makes his way to the exit. "John, keep eyes on that crowd. I'm going down there."

Dante commands, "Stop!"

Oliver turns around. "My children—"

"Are in SAFE hands."

While everyone else eyes Dante suspiciously, Curtis calls, "Uh, guys?" in a nervous tone. Everyone, including Oliver, turn their attention to the screen. The bug faces entrance to the arena, a woman appearing in the dimly bright, singular light. It takes a while to register that the woman, in question, is Beatrice, bow and arrow in hand. It is hard to tell, but it looks like she already has a few small spots of blood on her uniform.

Lyla scolds Dante. "You sent Beatrice in after them?"

Dante chuckles. "After them? She was tailing them the whole time."

Beatrice immediately takes an arrow and shoots the inmate nearest the bottom stair. When the others start noticing, they start to rush her, trying to give her no room to shoot arrows. However, instead of reaching for an arrow, she takes out a knife and throws it at the criminal up front. With a gap in the formation, Beatrice rolls in between the criminals and gets her knife back from the man she killed. She then dashes at the criminals and dispatches them as fast as she can while their backs are turned, demonstrating speed and ruthlessness that Oliver has known only a few to have.

Mia, noticing this, sprints at Beatrice and yells to her, "What are you doing? We're not supposed to—"

When Mia tries to reach for Beatrice's bow, Beatrice retracts it and employs a reverse spinning elbow to Mia's temple. The movement came out so fast that Mia did not seem to even comprehend it. She just went down on the floor, groaning in agony and clutching the side of her head.

Beatrice just walks away, telling Mia to, "Stay down" in a calm yet firm tone. Watching that, Oliver almost had the urge to blame Dante, even throw the alliance entirely and assault him for the way Beatrice just casually assaulted Mia. However, he fights it with all of his might, knowing that nothing would really come of it.

Beatrice continues on to dispatch the other criminals with deadly efficiency. She switches from arrows to knives fluidly and ferociously, each strike bloodier than the last, the assassin showing no remorse whatsoever. Even the brute who was trying to break the door down, turning away to charge at her, is felled with a simple vault onto his head and a stab through his skull. His body falls in seconds, Beatrice leaping off of his shoulders. Eventually, the criminals who were trying to bust the door down are now yelling for help, to be let in so that they can find safety from the woman who is slaying them as if they are nothing but paper.

Everyone watching looks on in terror, seeing not a human being, but some kind of speed demon. Dante, however, smiles at her performance. "A sufficient job as always."

Oliver's eyes form a scowl as he slowly realizes what Dante just did. "You knew." He grabs Dante's arm and turns him around. "You knew something like this would happen. You knew William would try to spare Burov!"

"I gave him a choice, Oliver." He points at the screen. "THIS is the consequence." He stares Oliver down. "Now, he will realize, as you ALL will, the consequences of failing to follow orders."

---

William places an ear to the wall, hearing the screams and cries. All of them are overlaps of the same things in Russian, "*Help!*" "*Let us in, please!*" "*She's killing us all!*" Looking outside, William panics as he sees none other than Beatrice just finished killing off the brute who was attempting to break the door down. Her eyes are now set on the other inmates, a few of them daring to challenge her. One by one, they are meeting the same fate as the brute.

Realizing that they're in danger, William gets on one side of the desk and begins to push it away.

Slade, who is still standing there, asks, "What are you doing?"

William, focused on the desk, tells Slade, "Beatrice is killing them. Help me push this thing."

"You CAN'T help them kid."

"We can if you help me!"

The desk is halfway to the other wall, but Slade still does not rush to William's side. "She's killed a majority of them already. You CAN'T save them all."

"We CAN save whoever's left. We have the coin. All we need to do is trade it for their safety."

William can hear Slade groaning at the idea. "For the love of…You know, I was beginning to think you were smarter than this. You have the best leverage against Dante—"

"There will be more!"

"No, there won't! THINK. You'd rather save a couple of prisoners than save more people down the line?"

In the last stretch, the screams begin to diminish. Only a couple of voices can be heard, pleading desperately. Out of desperation himself, William tosses the desk hard enough to get it on it's top. He doesn't hear anything more from Slade. If anything, that should have given him his answer. Believing it to be enough, William flings the door open quickly. It stops just at the edge of the flipped over desk.

William sees at least one person alive, an 18-year-old, but looks to be a bit of a brawler, a street fighter type. The brawler smiles a large, relieved smile as the door as his last refuge opens.

However, the smile slowly fades with the sound of a sharp object piercing flesh. The young brawler's head and legs suddenly give way, like some kind of weight has dropped on them. William, despite being shocked, still has a mind to catch the brawler as he collapses. William can see past the door now, seeing Beatrice with bow in hand, blood splatters all over her battle dress, hands, and face. The floor is littered with dead bodies, blood edging beyond them and a bit of it streaming off of the balcony.

The young brawler has a knife buried in the back of his head, almost looks as if it could have went straight through if enough strength was applied. William lays the man on his side, removing the knife, and slowly stands up. His shock turns into unbridled anger as he storms off towards Beatrice, who does not seem to react. He stops when he is close enough for the knife to be able to make a quick cut. The temptation to do so is becoming stronger by the second.

William asks with as much restraint as he can muster, "Why did you do this?"

Beatrice answers, almost with the voice of a cold professional, "These were my orders."

His grip on the knife is tightening. "Orders?"

"You created a complication, I had to correct it."

"LIKE THIS?" William points to the corpses around them.

"If you had just cut the head off of the snake—"

"Bringing Burov in would've achieved the same result! He could have had relevant information."

"Which he chose to take to his grave!"

"Is this what you did to all of the facility? The guards with families and the young men who just wanted a life off of the streets?"

"THESE men, ALL of them, are just as corrupt as this man!" She points to Burov's corpse. "You should be grateful. The Bratva now have no hope of recovery, we eliminated crime."

"Not like this!" William points the bloodied blade up. "Not with death. Not with blood on our hands."

Beatrice, for some reason, grabs his wrist. He tries to strike it away with his free hand, but she grabs that one too.

"Stop!" From below the stairs, Mia calls out, rubbing her head as she sluggishly makes her way up the steps. "What—what are you two doing?"

They can hear Slade from the doorway, him saying, "Easy. Let's all just calm down."

Beatrice, however, does not relent. "I do NOT tolerate insubordination, especially from the likes of you." She tightens her grip on him. "I follow my orders to the end, without question, without error." In a strange turn, she brings William's knife hand close to her neck. "If you want to stop someone like me, you MUST kill me." She brings her face close to his, their eyes locked. "I can see it in your eyes. You want to, don't you?"

William can read something in her eyes as well. Her stare wasn't twitchy like a psychopath, but cold, calculating. It was something like Bruce, like Oliver, like himself, yet somehow much emptier, as if her humanity was ripped right out of her or a machine is standing in front of him. Worse, some kind of demon. This is the type of person you would never think could be real, that, at the very least, a spark of hope could lay even in the vilest of souls. He cannot find it in her.

"She's right." The Deacon's voice rises once more, this time echoing all around him. "You can see what she is. Remember when you spared someone like her? Prometheus? You want to prevent another Prometheus from ever being graced with the breath of life. Don't you?"

William's tongue slips out a silent, "I do." However, despite the temptation, he lets the knife go, the blade falling perfectly onto the ground. "But killing even you accomplishes nothing."

William breaks Beatrice's wrist locks and walks away. He looks back at Burov, his lifeless body, questioning whether killing himself was just a way to get William into the office and to find the coin. He wonders if there was another way of doing so that didn't involve death, whether it was even possible at all. Still, William now has leverage, as Slade mentioned.

When down the middle of the stair, William looks up at Slade, who looks back at him with a sort of relieved look. Yet, he also seems to be a bit concerned, whether for William's defiance or safety. Either way, Slade's nod is what gives William assurance, letting him know that the coin's secret will stay a secret.

As concerned as William is for Mia, he just brushes past her as he comes down the stairs. There is so much to process, so much to comprehend from this one night. One thing is very much clear though: The Ninth Circle's vision of Utopia is nothing more than a façade.

---

Dante persists, asking, "There's nothing more Alexi told you? He didn't whisper a clue to you?"

William reiterates, "As I said, he was being cryptic. Whatever the metaphor meant, it wasn't what you thought."

Beatrice can catch the defiant tone in William queen's speech. She can tell that he was not ecstatic to be giving the full report to Dante, wanting to get it over with. That kind of behaviour was something she would correct immediately if one of her subordinates were talking to her. She had no time for such nonsense. Dante, however, is different. He is like Deacon Blackfire, reserved and patient, only intimidating his adversaries or allies if need be. It is something she never fully understood, but knew why she isn't leader of the Ninth Circle. At least, not yet.

At last, Dante nods. "Unfortunate. Still, it seems that wherever he hid Virgil's coin, it has not been disclosed to any of the other Bratva members, so there is no risk of our operations being torn down, at least not significantly. And, as a bonus, the Bratva have been taken down entirely, now leaving a hole in which WE can fill." William Queen makes a small scowl at the mention. "A fantastic job on everyone's part." He turns to Mia, the spawn of Oliver Queen and his wife, with a smile. "Especially you."

Mia grins, but only slightly. Her attention, Beatrice can tell, is on her brother, who does nothing but stare at Dante incredulously. Yet, William Queen has not spoken another word since their arrival back. That was good, because Beatrice had the urge to smack him for his continuing defiance back in Russia. However, Dante told her that doing so with him was off limits. She did not know why.

Dante turns his attention to the others. "You all may go, get some rest. Ms. Michaels, Connor, and I have some private matters to discuss."

Agent Diggle, Mia, and Slade went out. However, Oliver Queen gives his son a quick pat on the shoulder and tells him, "We'll talk tomorrow."

William nods quite sluggishly. He doesn't seem to be physically exhausted, but something is making him slump, almost to the point of collapse. Still, Oliver walks away as if not noticing at all.

Then all eyes, including hers, were on William. Dante looks at him up and down before saying, "You look exhausted."

William sarcastically remarks, "Happens when you put us through a one-night mission across the globe."

Dante scoffs. "That's not an excuse. You round up at least a dozen criminals in one night." He starts to walk around William. "No, I think you are exhausted by what you have seen, what you have heard. I can see it in your eyes."

William Queen starts to clench his fist, which alerts Beatrice. She reaches into her knife pouch, in case something were to happen.

Still, Dante continues, "Do you know why I sent you on that mission tonight? To show you the truth, to see how you would react."

William Queen, even tired, tries to stand his ground. "What exactly is that?"

"What Alexi showed you. Men like him, when unaccounted for, abandon logic and reason. They abandon faith. They abandon the holy mission we stand for, choosing the side of chaos, of destruction, as Blackfire chose. I sent you there to show you just what happens to men like Alexi, the consequences that follow, that he KNEW would follow."

William Queen dares to question, "I thought you were creating an orderly society."

Dante answers, "We are, but the criminal element is the most stubborn of society to accept the Ninth Circle's redemption. We have to keep control over them, ensure that their antics do not spread to the rest of community."

"By allowing them to intimidate others? Let them terrorize only those who don't support you?"

Dante shrugs, "If the people choose to be defiant, then yes."

William Queen closes his eyes, but maintains his frown. Beatrice cannot tell whether he is resting his eyes or can't bring himself to look at Dante. How can he? He tried to defy Dante himself, and Beatrice showed him the consequences.

"You mean like Beatrice did with the Bratva members?"

Dante nods with a grin. "Precisely. Now—"

"Like you did with Mia, killing the unarmed enforcer who surrendered himself?"

Dante is caught a bit off guard by William Queen's further questioning. "Um, yes. But she's not—"

"And how about abducting me and over three dozen other students in Cambridge to train and become assassins for your order? What did WE ever do to you? What did our parents? What did my mother?"

The questioning became much louder, more aggressive. It seems that William Queen has become impatient, unconvinced. Beatrice is about to step in, even Director Michaels seemed ready to do the same.

However, Dante stops them with a raised hand. "Your conviction is admirable, immersed in the word of God as long as you were, in those old interpretations. You have seen what I have seen countless times, but still it is not enough." Dante then commands, "Go home William. Take some time to rest, think on what you have seen."

Director Michaels commands, "William. Do as he says."

William Queen stands there for a little while longer, staring at Dante. There is no scowl, just a tired look. It is hard to say whether he is about to collapse or just that his senses are slow. Eventually, William Queen looks at Director Michaels and tells her, "Athena will take orders from you while I'm gone."

He then slowly walks away, struggling to keep his balance. However, when he reaches the doorway, he stops. "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin…" He turns to Dante and Beatrice, but his gaze is fixed more on the former. "But now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains."

With that, he walks out. There is a brief whooshing sound, probably that of his breach portal technology, indicating that he has gone home to his little apartment ARGUS set up for him, wherever it is.

Dante then utters, "Very much immersed in God's holy word." He then turns his attention to Director Michaels. "Call Emiko. Tell her she will take William's place on the team for a few days."

Director Michaels explains, "We left her out of the loop for the entire mission. She won't exactly trust me now that we're…coordinating with you."

"That is why you will also tell her she's graduated to her own place and unlimited access around Star City and ARGUS. Consider it your apology for leaving her in that stuffy bunker for the entire day."

"And what of Athena?"

"Do what you wish, so long as she stays out of Ninth Circle business. If she interferes, there will be consequences."

The director nods uneasily. "I'll tell both of them immediately."

As Director Michaels heads out herself, Dante calls to her, "And Director…" She hesitates before turning to him. "I will enjoy 'coordinating' with you in the foreseeable future."

The sarcasm in his voice is more obvious than the times Beatrice ever heard him use it. However, that may have been the point. Director Michaels snarls in annoyance, one of her hands clenching the other hard. It is obvious that she wants nothing more than to charge at Dante and remove him from power. Beatrice would kill her in seconds if she tried.

However, Michaels restrains herself and leaves. Dante smiles, which he usually does when he is satisfied with how events unfolded. Usually, for Beatrice, that is enough for her, a victory well earned. However, something still feels off to her.

Dante, as if seeing though her, comments, "It seems we still have some things to discuss."

Beatrice nods, remaining composed. "We do."

Dante walks to her casually. "I was surprised at your little attempt to sway William. That is not a ploy you would go for."

"I wanted to see for myself what kind of man William is, where he truly stands."

"And?"

She does not answer right away. She is still trying to determine what type of man William Queen is exactly, but she may have, at least, an impression. Yet, it is not a good one. "He has a fire in him, a desire to see those who have wronged others face justice. But he has something staying his hand, a conviction I have never seen in others. Something in him refuses to let him break."

"I take it that concerns you?"

"It does. He feels like more of a threat than the other members of this Knightwatch group. I believe that measures should be taken in case—"

"They won't be necessary."

"You saw how he behaved with you."

Dante nods. "Indeed, I have. But such convictions have been broken before. William will be no different. He will see how necessary our mission of holy order is."

"And if he doesn't?"

"He will."

"And IF he doesn't?"

"HE WILL. If he will not be swayed by what he has seen today, he will see more examples: from history, from biblical scripture."

Beatrice couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You would put men like him down before they had a chance to rebel!"

"William is an exception."

"And you are—"

"I am WHAT?" Dante stares her down. "What am I EXACTLY?"

Despite his chances at intimidation, Beatrice stands her ground. "Emotionally compromised."

Dante takes a step back. "Ridiculous."

"You think that you can change him because of HER. Of Samantha Clayton. You want to spite Oliver Queen despite the fact that harlot chose—"

Suddenly, Dante becomes a blur. As he does, Beatrice feels something smack her in the face. It was a familiar feeling, a slap to the cheek. He would do so plenty of times when she was young, still in training, still learning to follow orders. This slap, however, feels different. Dante has never hit her so hard before. She has to force herself to look up to stare at Dante. When she did, he gives her the angriest look she has ever seen, as if all the walls he puts up during conversation suddenly crumbled.

Dante commands her in an almost restrained whisper, "Don't…you EVER call her that again. Ever!"

He stomps out of the room. Where exactly he is heading, Beatrice does not know. However, she did what she had to. She did the impossible. She probed Dante and what she found worried her. Dante is in a state of weakness she had never seen him in before. He would never let anyone or anything, not even her, be a string in which the Ninth Circle would be compromised. Yet, William Queen, a child promised but never delivered, is what he clings to most.

For Beatrice, there is only one choice, one she hoped all her life she would never make.

---

For Felicity, Oliver and Mia's return home was, at least, semi-nice. Mia did not hesitate to tell Felicity about her experience in the fighting ring, taking down at least four of the Bratva recruits with nothing but her skills and agility. She did not go into any gruesome details, but she continued the conversation throughout dinner, which was more of a late dinner given that it is nearly 11:00 at night.

Mia finally concludes with, "You know, after going through all of that, I feel…I don't know, like I'm ILLUMINATED. It's like finding out that monster I feared under the bed was nothing more than the toys I totally forgot were under there. I know that's a horrible comparison, but—"

Felicity laughs, assuring Mia, "I'm just glad that you got your mojo back and that this whole thing with Dante hasn't blown up in anybody's faces."

Mia and Oliver freeze as they were about to take one last bite from the pork roast he and Felicity cooked. Their smiles dissipate, remembering the carnage that Beatrice left in her wake and the surrendering enforcer Dante killed.

Felicity just looks at them, back and forth, with bewilderment. "Is everything okay?"

Mia is about to open her mouth, but Oliver stops her. "Mia, why don't you get ready for bed? I'll tell your mother everything."

It looked like Mia wanted to object, but she holds her tongue. She stands up and heads to her room, her stride a bit slow and her feet flat-footed, as if she is walking with dumbbells strapped to her shoulders. Whatever pride and optimism Felicity felt for her daughter is now turning into dread.

As soon as Mia is out of eyeshot, and hopefully earshot, Felicity moves over to Oliver and caresses his arm. "What happened out there?"

As comforting as Felicity is trying to be, Oliver does not return the affection. "Dante and Beatrice…they killed so many people tonight. Criminals who were surrendering or were unarmed, not deserving to die."

Felicity's eyes widen in fear. "Seriously?"

Oliver nods. "They did it to set examples against William. Against Mia. I only know a few people who I've faced who were that demented, that…"

"Psychotic?"

Oliver shrugs his shoulders. "Maybe…Adrian Chase killed people, broke me, to set some twisted example. But Dante and Beatrice, they were expecting William and Mia to learn something from it, and…I think Mia may have."

Felicity's jaw begins trembling. "N-no. Why would you—"

"How Mia was fighting in the ring, it was nearly identical to how I was fighting since Lian Yu, when I relapsed after Damien Darhk. I don't want that for her, neither for William. If this is how she's going to be, then…"

Oliver's gaze starts leaving Felicity's. She can see the despair in them as his head drops, either from fatigue or from grief. This was not how she wanted to break the news to Oliver. Things were going well. But she remembers what Roy and Thea said earlier today, about being there for Mia. The same applies for her husband.

Felicity cups Oliver's face in her hands. "Hey, look at me." Luckily, Oliver does, taking one of her hands into his own. "Whatever way Dante wormed into Mia, you are STILL her father and I am STILL her mother. Of all the people she's going to look up to, she'll always be looking up to us. We need to let our children know that we will always be there to guide them, to FIGHT for them if we have to. It's what we should do…especially now that we're expecting."

Oliver nods at first, rubbing his bearded face along Felicity's hand, probably a bit too tired to comprehend what exactly she meant. However, he stops, his bagged eyes popping. "Wait! Did you say…expecting?"

Felicity nods, proudly announcing to him at last, "I'm pregnant."

Oliver lowers Felicity's hands with his own, his eyes looking away from her. The silence starts making Felicity a little nervous, not knowing what to do at this point.

"Um, okay. I know this was probably the worst timing, but it sounded so profound in my head and—"

Suddenly, Oliver wraps his hands around Felicity, bringing her in close, but not too tight. Felicity almost yelped, but she did not try to edge him away. She can hear him breathe a large sigh of relief.

"Felicity…you've given me the BEST news I have heard all day."

With that comment, Felicity smiles. She hugs him back, now feeling that this sudden hug is probably the best one she has ever gotten throughout their entire time together. She can feel the large weight of this secret lift off her shoulders.

---

However, little did they know that Mia is still in earshot, listening to what her father and mother have been saying. As glad as she is that her father has gotten the news, she is conflicted over what he said about her. She remembers how brutal she was in the Bratva's ring compared to her time in 2040. It all felt the same to her, ending the fight quickly and such. Sure, she may have broken a nose and maybe an arm or two, but those were fixable. She never killed anyone.

So, what exactly did her father find wrong with her style of fighting?

---

William quickly closes the breach portal as the automatic lights of his bedroom turn on. Nearly tired out of his mind, William doesn't bother changing out of anything. He rushes through his usual preparations to get to sleep, but at the same time, he uses the last of his senses to keep an eye out for any cameras the Ninth Circle may have placed in his apartment. It is highly unlikely that Lyla would give them this information, but William was taught to not leave anything to chance. So far, he has found none in the bathroom and, when stepping out, none around any obvious crevices in his room.

Satisfied, he plops himself on his bed and closes his eyes. He does not drift to sleep yet, muttering prayers under his breath. They are prayers of thanks for getting him through his mission unscathed, for keeping his family and friends safe, that the next mission goes just as smoothly, the usual prayers before he lets himself rests.

As he was going to say Amen, he feels the coin in his pocket. Even though he hasn't found any secret cameras, he remains as discreet as possible with his movement. Still, he is reminded of the cost of finding it, of seeing Burov kill himself before his very eyes, as well as the death of every Bratva recruit by Beatrice's hand. He tries to assure himself that it was not his fault, despite the voices of doubt, in the form of the Deacon, telling him otherwise.

Still, he worries that they will haunt his nightmares tonight, though he has lived through a nightmare today already. This whole day feels like everything they worked for suddenly unweaving. The freedom Knightwatch had to protect Star City will slowly be replaced by the Ninth Circle's overview. Their actions will no doubt be limited to what Dante desires, not helping those in need but just eliminating those who stand in the way. They will become the enforcers that the Bratva once were in Russia. This, William does not doubt.

Under his breath, William prays, "And God…thank you for keeping my resolve and will strong, despite all of the death and carnage I have witnessed, even when the enemy has taken over our operations. Please help my mind to not be deterred by Dante's distortions of your word to not let my understanding of your will be warped." He then remembers the last thing Burov said, to set the Ninth Circle and the Order of St. Dismas ablaze. "And help me to stop him, to stop the Ninth Circle and the Deacon's Order of St. Dismas. Help me to not turn my mission into spite and hatred, but to stop the spread of corruption and misguided ideals. Guide me to find the way to do this. Please…"

---

This week was probably the most taxing for William when it came to revelations. It rivaled that of finding out that his father was Oliver Queen and that his mother kept this from him. It rivaled finding out that his father was the Green Arrow. First it was finding a GPS in the hozen his step-mother gave him, then finding Roy and Knightwatch, and a possible conspiracy to possibly destroy all of Star City. But now, reunited with his father at last, William was beset by yet another bombshell. Blackstar, aka Mia, was, in fact, his sibling.

Still in disbelief, William uttered, "You're…you're my sister?"

Looking at her, he could finally see it. She looked a lot like Felicity, maybe except for the nose and blue eyes. Those she inherited from their dad. Still, he couldn't conceive how Oliver and Felicity found the time to have a child, let alone find a peaceful place to raise one.

"Oliver?"

Roy was walking towards them, his focus on Oliver and Mia. Oliver smiled, placing a friendly hand on his shoulder.

"Good to see you Roy."

Roy didn't smile back. Rather, he looked at Mia, observing her. William noticed a little nervousness from her, probably not used to people probing her as Roy was. "That's your kid? Yours and Felicity's?"

Oliver looked back too for a moment, probably realizing that there was much to explain. "Mia. It's short for—"

"Moira." William could already tell. He knew that he had a grandmother he had never met who had the same name.

Oliver grinned. "Exactly."

Roy kept pestering, "But when? How come I didn't know?"

"It had to be that way." John walked in on the conversation. "It was for their own protection."

William and Roy, even Mia stared at John in amazement. William asked for them, "You knew?"

John answered, "Yeah, I did. I'm the one who arranged their new, secret home to keep them hidden from potential threats, which a certain someone was supposed to STAY IN."

His eyes were on Mia, who shot a glare at him back. "Hey! Just so you know, I had a good reason for leaving."

Not wanting to get off track, William interrupted with, "Okay! Okay. As much as we would like to share a lot of stories—"

Mia insisted, "I don't."

"Okay, some of us do, and that starts with YOU." William turned to his father. "Where have you been? Why haven't you or Felicity tried to contact me until now?"

Oliver looked down for a second and let out a subtle sigh. He seemed to have hoped that they wouldn't be having this conversation, yet knew they had to at some point. "We tried to William. After stopping Diaz, Felicity called the boarding school she sent you too. They said they didn't know where you were, but never told us that you ran off until she went there in person."

The others looked at William with stunned looks except for John. William himself didn't say anything, but he felt guilt perturbing his mind, reminded of his decision to leave a place he never wanted to be sent to.

"A friend of yours said you went to Gotham, but she couldn't find you there either. We hoped that some family may have adopted you, but that was just an excuse to help us move on."

William hesitantly said, "Something like that happened."

"We turned our focus to Mia, to raising her. Knightwatch was formed and the city seemed to have been getting better."

Roy guessed, "Until the Glades upgraded to utopia."

Oliver nodded. "ARGUS became corrupt without Lyla, so John broke away. I decided to go back, despite the Anti-Vigilante Act, and help in any way I could. Felicity helped part time via computer, but her primary concern was Mia."

Mia seemed to sneak in a snide scoff in there, but William didn't focus on it. "So, you guys never knew—"

"We did. I saw your appearance on TV, so did Felicity, restarting Queen Industries. Also, we noticed a vigilante appearance on the same night you made that announcement, in the SAME city no less."

It never surprised William that Oliver and Felicity figured it out. If anything, he expected it. They've kept the secret of Oliver being a vigilante for so long, even when he was outed at least three times. Though, it was hard to tell from Oliver's voice how he felt about William being a vigilante.

"Is that supposed to be pride or disappointment?"

Oliver just answered, "Take a guess."

William almost did, but wanted answers more than anything. "But if you knew, then why didn't you reach out to me?"

"Because we thought it best to let you be, that you were happy where you were and didn't want to place you in ANY MORE danger than you already got yourself in."

William knew from Oliver's raised voice that they were disappointed in his vigilante antics.

"We had enemies, people who want to see Knightwatch and vigilantes fall. One of them finally caught up to us. To Felicity."

Mia glanced at Oliver with a worried look. "Wait. Does that mean Mom's—"

He placed an assuring hand on her arm. "No. She's alive Mia."

Mia breathed a sigh of relief, so did William.

Oliver continued, "Felicity left me clues, coordinates to find before they caught her. I wanted to track her, but every time I popped my head out, they were waiting. Enforcers or ninjas just waiting to pounce. So, I accepted that I needed help, outside help, people that the enemy never knew we had eyes on."

William's eyes widened, figuring out the mystery at last. "It was you. YOU were the one sending the GPS coordinates to the hozen."

Oliver nodded. "That hozen was meant to find you, but you were somehow off the radar, literally."

William cleared his throat. "That is a LONG story."

"Still, as soon as I knew you and Roy were back, I waited for the right time to bring me the clues Felicity left behind."

"Wait a minute." Mia interrupted, looking a bit confused. "If these two were the outside help, why did mom give me the blueprints and bunker location?"

William interrupted, asking, "You had the Bunker's coordinates?"

"Yeah. How do you think we found this place?"

Oliver immediately answered, "The blueprints were meant for me, Mia. We were to retrieve them from you as soon as we found each other."

William immediately deduced, "And the bunker coordinates were for her safety in case someone went looking for her."

Oliver nodded. "Things didn't go as planned, so I improvised along the way. The bunker was the only location I was sure no one else knew about besides—"

Again, Mia interrupted. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop! You mean to tell me that you weren't going to include me in this? AT ALL?"

"Mia, you're—" Oliver's tone is a bit deeper this time, more aggressive and emotional. "If anyone were to find out that you are my daughter, that paints a HUGE target on your back."

"I don't NEED protection. I had Nyssa train me my entire life."

"I know that, but—"

"Enough!" Zoe, who had been silent for almost the entire conversation, put herself in between the two of them. "We're here now, okay? At this point, we're all involved."

William, grateful for Zoe calming things down, reached into the bag tied around his belt. "Besides, the only concrete thing besides the blueprints was this."

He took out the solved rubix cube. Oliver tilted his head when seeing it, so did Ben Jr. Mia, however, was the only one to show surprise, her eyebrows raised. "Where did you get that?"

"Fel—" William stopped for a moment, reminding himself of who he is speaking to. "Your mom's office. I already solved it."

Mia took it from him without asking, already rotating the rows of blocks. "Not all of it."

William asked, "What are you doing?"

Mia didn't answer. Her focus was on the colorful block. Eventually she stopped and showed William her work, a new pattern William had never seen before.

"A cube within a cube WITHIN a cube?"

"My mom showed it to me when I was a little girl."

"Training you to be an expert programmer?"

"Actually, that's something Nyssa beat out of me, metaphorically speaking."

She pulled on the new patterned block, revealing a hollow inside William didn't think could be made. Inside it was an object he could barely make out, even in this lighting. "It's a cassette tape." He took it out, seeing the words, "Play Me" on the white front.

Mia asked, "Casette tape? Like those old things that used to play videos?"

"Something like that. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of them available today and I don't know where we could find the nearest one."

"I might." Ben Jr, who had been silent during much of the conversation, finally spoke up. "The market in the city square. A lot of the stalls have very old items in stock. That cassette thing could be there."

William nodded. "That's a start."

Zoe immediately volunteered, "I'll go with. I'm largely unknown outside of the Glades, so I have a pretty good advantage."

Mia then proclaimed, "I'm coming too."

Oliver almost deposed the idea quickly. "Mia, don't—"

"I can take care of myself! Besides, you said yourself that people will be on you if you so much as poke your head out."

William agreed, "Mia's right. If people have to go and recon, it has to be those who can blend in."

Ben jr. then said, "That includes me."

John looked at him, asking with worry, "Are you sure Ben?"

"Positive." He then commented towards Mia, "Besides, somebody's gotta watch your back."

Mia gave a small "Hmm" back to him, almost playfully. Knowing who she is now, this almost set alarm bells in William's head. However, he didn't want to jump the gun just yet. Instead, he turned to his father. "You wanted outside help dad. This is what you get, whether you want it or not. Outside help…outside help…"

---

William opens his eyes, the words "outside help" ringing in his ears like an alarm clock. The echoes fade, but the words do not leave his brain, as if they are of significance somehow. He never set a real alarm this time, but his phone tells him it's exactly 12:28 P.M, a few hours later than he usually wakes.

Though, the dream was unusual in that it was a memory. No nightmare or dream is usually that specific. It would alter the memory, maybe, but never recall anything pitch perfectly. It was as if the memory itself surfaced to tell him something, to give him an answer.

Was that…my prayer being answered? Outside help? From where? The Ninth Circle has eyes on…wait.

He takes quick glances around the room again, making sure that there are no cameras. This time, he is fully aware, making sure to tag every single inch of wall, all the corners, and even the shadows to see any faint bleeping lights. He tries to hide it by looking around frantically, as if making sure he isn't still dreaming.

Finding nothing, he gets up slowly and opens the door. The afternoon sun greets him, shining through the windows across from him. The first thing to do would be turning on the laptop, but he skips right to making himself breakfast, a simple scrambled eggs with bacon, light toast, and coffee. Throughout the process, he keeps his eye out for cameras. None in the fridge lying among the ingredients, neither attached on the toaster, behind the coffee machine, among the bowls, plates, and mugs in the cabinets, and not blending in with the stove or microwave. It sounds like being overly cautious, but Bruce has told him to never leave anything to chance, to look for any discrepancies. It is easier out here than in the bedroom because the sun touched everything, better highlighting any cameras or any items misplaced.

After setting everything down on the table, he turns on the laptop and enters the ARGUS database. The account he uses is one that is protected by Bruce's custom encryption, unlike the other accounts, so even if the Ninth Circle were to find it, they won't be able to trace it or know that it is him.

Dante and the Ninth Circle have eyes on Knightwatch and Lyla, perhaps even SCPD. However, there are certain others that they wouldn't think twice of, those outside of ARGUS.

As he is halfway through his food, he manages to find whom he is looking for and their current locations. However, one of the profiles has the location as "Unknown."

They probably haven't bothered to check. Though, I think I know where—

His phone rings, cutting off his train of thought. He looks at the caller ID, which reads, "LD 022." It is the indication of Lyla using a burner phone, since Lyla's real cell would display her full name.

He picks it up and immediately asks, "I take it this is something confidential, otherwise you wouldn't use a burner."

Lyla gets to the point, "Your father tried calling you this morning. Where were you?"

William answers, "Sleeping in" as casually as possible. Though, he does feel a bit foolish for forgetting his father's promise from last night. "Is there something urgent?"

Lyla clears her throat. "I don't have long, so I'll just say this. Emiko is going to be taking your place while you're 'reflecting.' I just got off with her and she just…agreed with it."

Though she is not visible, William tilts his head as if they were face-to-face. "Agreed as in…"

"Flat out agreed! No arguing about Dante, over interrogating him to find out any clues about her mother. It's as if she doesn't want to find the answer anymore."

William tightens his lips together in thought, his mind going through a few possibilities as to why his Aunt Emiko would be behaving like this. Since she came, her only ambition was to find out who ordered the hit on her mother. One of the most recent leads from about a month ago suggested somebody from the Ninth Circle gave the authority and covered his or her tracks. However, with Dante now closer than ever…

William suggests, "Or Emiko found a shortcut to her answer. She doesn't believe Dante would hire an assassination against her mother, so if she shows unwavering loyalty to Dante, she may be granted access to the Longbow Hunters."

"And access to the Longbow Hunters means she can interrogate them for another lead. With them being traitors to Dante, he won't care what Emiko does to them."

"Then the best thing to do is get ahead. Give Emiko what she wants before Dante can offer it."

"We already asked them about Emiko's mother. They don't seem to know a thing and they're not tied to Dante anymore."

"Meaning Dante wasn't the only one to come up with the plan."

"Blackfire, you mean?"

William nods. "They wouldn't offer up anything about Blackfire. But the instant we asked about Dante, they spilled everything. Have Emiko phrase it as if Dante alone was responsible. That may work."

"Maybe. She won't listen to me, but maybe your father."

"Do it. Before you go, though-"

Before William got the chance to tell her, Lyla interrupts, "There's one more thing. I overheard Dante and Beatrice last night when I left the office."

William raises an eyebrow, intrigued by Lyla being able to do that without getting caught. "How?"

"They don't know it, but I have a secret security system of my own to keep my office under surveillance. But when I left, they had a disagreement."

"About the mission?"

"About YOU. Dante wants to try and keep converting you, but Beatrice—"

"She wants me dead."

There is a pause between them. "William, if you come back and don't meet their expectations, there is a good chance the Ninth Circle will call for your head, even against Dante's wishes. I know that you're going to do everything you can to stop them, but I can't do much to help you, not with him being around me almost every second."

William nods. "I know." He wanted to tell her his plan, that he may have potential recruits to his cause. Though, given Lyla's situation, she may be pressured into giving it away, and even she has her limits. Instead, he says, "Just know that I'll always be there to help you, ALL of you, no matter what."

As vague as his statement sounds, he can hear Lyla chuckle over the phone. "You are much like your father. You know that?"

He grins. "I know." William waits one quick second to make sure there isn't some last minute news Lyla forgot to divulge. The quick silence tells him no, so he proceeds with, "And I need you to know one more thing, something I was going to tell you before the whole Dante fiasco began."

"What is it?"

William grins, holding back the urge to brag. "That plan to have Athena do reconnaissance? It worked."

Again, there is a pause. Lyla's tone sounds like she is holding in amazement as she asks, "You don't mean?"

"I do. We know who the Order of St. Dismas' mole is."

---

Author's notes: Thanks for reading. Be sure to favorite this story if you like it so far and leave a review as well. Also, be sure to follow this story and my account so you don't miss the latest chapter. Have a nice day!