Sharper Points

By Michael Weyer

Oliver paced the Lair, his face hard. "It's not Waller," he intoned. "Not this time, too brutal for her."

"Whoever took them was a pro," Sara said, studying the photos they'd taken from Felicity's apartment. "Barely showed up on her cameras and we know she has good stuff for herself."

"Slade?" Roy suggested as he got into the red outfit and jacket he'd been working on.

"Or this hacker," Oliver stated. "Either way, we need to find her fast."

"It's gonna be hard," Diggle noted from the desk. "I'm okay with computers but nowhere near Felicity's level. And we can search the city for a day and not find her."

"Maybe…" Oliver mused. "But someone else can."

There was a booming like thunder and the air felt charged. A blur of motion echoed as loose papers flew about the room. Standing before them was a figure in a mostly red outfit with yellow streaks across the hips and wings at his temples. A red mask covered his head almost completely and a yellow lightning bolt was in an oval at his chest. "Hey," he said, his voice sounding strange. "Nice to see you all."

"Holy shit," Diggle gasped. "Allen, is that you?"

"Yes, it is, John. Thank you for outing my secret identity right off the bat." Barry nodded to Sara.

"What's with the voice?" Oliver asked.

"Huh? Oh, sorry." Swallowing, Barry Allen spoke in his normal tone. "Trick I use sometimes to throw people off, vibrate my vocal cords to hide my voice. Cool, huh?"

Oliver looked over the costume. "Nice outfit."

"Well, beats a hood and greasepaint, right?" Barry looked around. "So, what's the problem? You said it had to with Felicity?"

"She's been kidnapped," Oliver said. "We think it's tied in with this hacker attacking the city."

"And without Felicity, you guys are down on the tech fighting." Barry smiled. "Luckily, I know a few folks who can help." He pulled out a small communicator to place it on the desk. "Guys, you there?"

"We're here," came an excited young man's voice. "So are you really with the Arrow right now? So cool. Which means you know who he is! I mean, you have to, right and…"

"Easy, Cisco," came a female voice. "What do you need, Flash?"

"First thank you but they all know who I really am. Second, we need to start tracking down a hacker. We think he's got Felicity."

"The hot blonde you talk about?" Sara raised an eyebrow as Barry blushed. "Yeah, her. We need some tech help."

"Okay…checking…" The male voice answered. "Yowza, this guy has got some good firewalls. It'll take a while to narrow it down."

"Right. Well, I can start checking the city on foot, might be able to stumble onto where they are."

"It's a big city," Oliver warned.

Barry smiled at him. "Trust me. I can handle it." In a blur, he was gone, a wind blowing papers about.

"That was…wow," Diggle had to say.

Sara looked to Oliver. "You're going after him?"

"Slipped a beacon on him before he went," Oliver confirmed as he moved to where his weapons were. "You two stay here and keep in touch." He grabbed his bow. "I'm getting her back."

Felicity just blinked slowly as she stared at the man before her. "I'm sorry for going cliché here but…what?"

The man she knew as Connor smirked more. "Finn Mikaleson. As I said, you've met my brothers?"

"I…wait…Aren't you…"

"Dead?" He smiled. "My mother was a witch and I spent a thousand years as a vampire. Death isn't as taxing for us as it is for normal people."

"Vampires? Witches?" Donna shook her head. "Oh, great, kidnapped by a lunatic."

Finn looked to Felicity with a smile. "Oh, she doesn't know? How quaint."

"Just let her go," Felicity said. "She has nothing to do with this."

"You really don't quite grasp the concept of leverage, do you, dear?" Rebekah stated. "You do as we say or your dear mother becomes our personal blood bank."

Felicity set her jaw. "What do you want?"

Finn nodded toward the computer banks before him. "I'm doing my best with these as I do have Connor's memories in me. However, as good as he was, the lad just lacked the right touch to make it work as well as it should." He looked to Felicity. "But you do."

"Wait…you want me to fix the program?" Felicity shook her head. "No, way, there is no way I'll…"

In a flash, Rebekah had an arm wrapped around Donna's throat and was gripping it tightly, causing her to gasp. "Don't!" Felicity yelled. "Don't you do it, I swear to God, I'll rip your eyes out if you hurt her!"

"Motherly love," Finn smirked. "Much better than our mother was…"

"Don't start, brother," Rebekah intoned. She smiled to Felicity and moved to release her bonds. "Now, then, please don't try anything or your mother will be dead before she hits the floor." Felicity just glared as Rebekah made a mocking bow toward the computers. Felicity moved in front of them, glaring at Finn who just smirked back. "Sure you wouldn't want to…reacquaint yourself?"

Felicity just glared. "Is he…in there?"

"Sadly, no, passed beyond this mortal coil which was how I was able to take over."

Felicity nodded. "Fine…That way, I won't have any guilt when I kill you if you hurt my mom."

He just chuckled as he watched her sit before the computer, taking a deep breath before going to work.

Laurel tapped the keys of her computer as she studied the data flowing over the screen. She wasn't anywhere near the hacker Felicity was but she had a few skills learned from her time in the D.A.'s office and it was serving her well. She studied the records before her as she made notes on a pad. There was definitely something in this Wintergreen company, something rotten. She couldn't connect it to Blood just yet but somehow, Laurel knew he was involved.

A knock at the door got her attention and she rose, taking care to peer through the peephole. She frowned at the person on the other side before opening the door a crack to peek out. "The hell are you doing here?"

Isabel Rochev made one of those smiles she evidentially thought was warm but truly lacking in feeling. "Miss Lance," she stated. "May I come in?"

"Why?" Laurel snapped, instantly suspicious. It wasn't just the woman's connection to Queen Industries that put her off guard. There was just something about Isabel herself that made the hairs on Laurel's neck rise up and tell her this woman was dangerous.

"It's about Oliver Queen. About the secrets he keeps. Him and your sister."

Laurel glared. "I'm trying to move past that. Past them. I don't need to know their secrets. Now not at least. I'm moving on with my life."

"That's a shame," Isabel said in a voice that showed utter shamelessness. "Because there are things you need to know and things we need you to do."

"We?" Laurel frowned. She was ready to close the door, knowing this wasn't going to go anywhere but Isabel stopped it with a surprisingly strong hand. She pushed it open, her eyes locking on Laurel's and dilating. "Invite me in."

"Come in," Laurel said without even realizing it. She blinked as Isabel stepped forward, that smirk growing larger. "Now, Laurel, dear…let's have a nice chat about what your sister and your ex are really up to in this city…"

Felicity felt Rebekah's head looking over her shoulder and sighed. "This goes a hell of a lot better when someone isn't on me. And by that, I mean looking over my shoulder, not the physical on me which I somehow suspect is something you're into."

"Just curious," Rebekah stated. "The last time Klaus put me in a coffin, they had just gotten telephones, this is quite remarkable."

"Yes, it is," Felicity intoned. "In this realm, I'm the big queen, not you so if you want this working right, than back off."

Rebekah smirked as she did. "Do remember who's in charge here, dear Felicity. Unless you want your mother's blood on your hands…and my mouth…you'll do as we say with no tricks." She backed up as Finn was checking another monitor and throwing his own grin at things.

"Felicity?" She looked over her shoulder to see her mother licking her lips. "What in the hell is this? How is Connor alive, what is he talking about, witches, vampires, what is…"

"Mom," Felicity said. "Not now. This is a very delicate situation…"

"Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot, Felicity," Donna snapped. "I know something bigger is going on here and you want to protect me but if I'm being threatened, I want to know why."

"It's…a lot, Mom."

"I can handle it."

"Mom…"

"Felicity…"

She whirled in her chair, moving in to whisper sharply. "Mom, they are going to kill us. No matter what happens, no matter what we do, they are going to kill us. All I can do is buy us some time until a very good friend of mine gets here and helps us but until then, we need to stay calm and try to keep our heads. Please."

Donna blinked, taken aback by her daughter's strong and confident tone. She watched the younger woman turn back to her computer and blinked in a combination of fear…and pride.

Felicity let out a long breath (she knew she really didn't need to breathe but it felt good) and went back to her typing. She had an edge in how the two Originals weren't computer savvy as she was and thus no idea she could have finished the task in minutes rather than dragging it out as long as she could. But she was still on a time clock as she was sure they wouldn't be patient for long. Her eyes caught a line of data and frowned, realizing she hadn't typed it in. It repeated itself in another line and then another. Taking a quick glance behind her, Felicity tapped a couple of keys, her enhanced eyes quickly working through the binary code in those lines and relaying the message embedded within.

Don't worry. Help on way. O.

Why does almost no one in my life ever contact me in a straightforward way?

The Flash had caught three purse snatchers, stopped an attempted jewel store robbery, prevented a car of kids from being hit by a guy busy texting and realized just how complex Starling City's streets were compared to Central's. Yet he still had no idea how he was going to track down and find Felicity in this town.

He was dusting off his hands after such a fight when he cocked his head. "I'm impressed," he called out. "I figured I'd lose you four blocks ago."

Oliver landed from a nearby ladder. "I'll chalk it up to you being slowed down taking that car out."

"Slowed down is a different concept for me than you," Barry said with a smile. "Listen, I can check this place out fast but we both know that speed alone isn't what it takes."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "You're learning fast."

"Dr. Wells…he's the main guy helping me…he's been letting me know that I can't just zip around places fast, I have to process what the speed means and how to handle it all. It's hard but so far I've been doing okay with it."

"Sounds like a good guy. I could have used that more than some of the teachers I got."

"I need it. The world's getting weirder, Arrow. Seriously. It's not just here or Central City. I've been keeping an ear to the ground. There's a guy in Maine who can talk to fish. And a lady who can mimic animals."

"According to the tabloids."

"I broke the sound barrier last week. I think that proves there's more to the world than it seems. Come on, you haven't seen that?"

Reviewing how he had just fought a werewolf alongside a vampire, Oliver had to concede the point. "That's for the future. Right now, Felicity takes precedence."

The Flash nodded as he tapped his earpiece. "Okay, Cisco, you read?" A buzzing sound cut through and he frowned. "Cisco?"

Oliver tapped his own earpiece. "Sara, you there? Diggle?"

The two shared a frown as static went through before a voice echoed. "Sorry, had to cut in now."

The two men shared a confused look as they heard the voice. It was electronically scrambled so it was hard to tell whether it was male or female but had a light tone. "Who the hell is this?" Oliver growled.

"Not bad but trust me, pal, I know a guy who does that voice a hell of a lot better," the voice continued. "We all want the same thing, to find Felicity and get her safe and sound home."

"How do you know about her?" Barry demanded.

"I've got my ways. As for why, well, she's…a friend. Sort of. More like a respected colleague but trust me, I want to help her as much as you do. Your friends are good but I'm a hell of a lot better when it comes to tracking a computer signal and I'm centering on where she is."

"Why should we trust you?" Oliver asked.

"Because I can help you and you damn well need it. So put the male egos aside and accept a little help if you want her okay."

"Who are you?"

"You have your secrets. I have mine. But if you need a handle…Call me Oracle."

The Flash and the Arrow looked at each other and shared a slow nod. "All right, 'Oracle'," Oliver said. "Tell us what you've got."

The restaurant was expensive which Moira was used to. It wasn't too crowded which she much preferred. Between the trial and the campaign, she was more than a little used to the press following her and people gawking. Thankfully, the death threats had passed but she still had the occasional person ready to spit in her face. She tried to put that aside as she concentrated on this meeting.

Her guest was waiting at the table already, looking quite dashing in his suit, a smile on that handsome face with dark hair. He rose up to offer a hand. "Ms. Queen," he said in a warm voice that matched his bright smile. "A pleasure."

"The same," Moira said as she shook his hand before sitting. "I'm grateful for this meeting although a bit surprised. I didn't know you had interests in Starling."

"I don't usually," the man confirmed as he sat before her. "But recently something has occurred to change that. And that's brought to my attention the issues with your company that I believe I can help with."

"Really?" Moira said, raising an eyebrow. "Your reputation…"

He chuckled. "Yes, I know it well. I assure you, it's only half true. I believe in helping those who need it, Moira. With my support, you can not only get your company back but be a fine mayor for this city."

Moira pursed her lips. "A good promise but I'll need more to back it up."

"Which I hope to provide during this meal."

"You're that confident?"

"I always am."

Moira accepted the glass of wine offered by a waiter. "Well, then, let's talk, Mr. Way-"

"Please," he cut her off with that smile. "Call me Bruce."

Freelance writing is good for my bank account but cuts into my free writing time. Hoping to get this back on track with a bit faster update as you can see things are heating up a bit. All reviews welcomed to push an update faster, thanks.