Chapter 12- Division

An: I do not own Arrow.

A sliver of moonlight made its way through the thin part in the curtains of Oliver's bedroom. He had just taken a trip into the city to remove another name from his list. He left the man with an arrow through his chest floating face down in his swimming pool. He was making progress with his list but another list had been more prominent on his mind. He sat on his bed and pulled open his side draw where the innocent piece of paper sat. He looked at the names he had copied from Tommy's list.

Malcolm Merlyn, Quentin Lance, Laurel Lance, Doug Miller

Moira Merlyn, Caleb Wilson, Carl Ballard, Charles Budd

Max fuller, Frank Chen, Scott Morgan, Adam Donner

Those were the names on the list that Tommy presented to him. He refused to believe it. His mother was not involved in this. It was even more preposterous to think Quentin Lance was involved. He spent a good part of his teenage years and early twenties at odds with Lance because of his repeated law breaking. It was hard to think that Lance would involve himself with criminals. Laurel was also on the list and while he hadn't been in her life the last five years, the Laurel he remembered wanted to save the world not help criminal enterprises corrupt it.

If the list were to be believed it would mean that Tempest had the police department via Lance, the DA's office via the DA himself and the fire department via Captain Budd under their control. That was downright ridiculous. Things could not be so corrupt in his city.

Oliver doubted the list even more when he discovered the person that gave Tommy the list was Helena Bertinelli. He argued that Helena may be dating Tommy but she was the daughter of a criminal and as such could not be trusted. That did not go over very well with his brother and it prompted Tommy to boldly retort that they were the children of criminals as well and that made them no different to Helena. Oliver decided to walk away before he said something he would regret.

Tommy had always hated his father and seeing his name at the top of the list was the poof that Tommy needed to support his assertion that his father was pure evil. It was easy for his brother to believe such a thing and Oliver couldn't help but wonder if Helena was a part of Tempest and she was purposely manipulating Tommy. It wouldn't have taken her long to pick up on the tense relationship between father and son but what did she have to gain by driving Tommy even further away from his father? That was the question that kept nagging Oliver. Why give Tommy this list? What could Tempest gain by doing that? The only possible reason Oliver could come up with was that they knew Tommy was an ARGUS agent and they were trying to throw them off the trail but why not just kill him instead?

When Lyla called him a few hours later to discuss the list he realised that Tommy had taken it upon himself to give the list to ARGUS, which infuriated Oliver even more. Tommy was willing to believe the list without any evidence but Lyla was not. The names on the list were some of the most powerful people in the city. ARGUS could apprehend them and hold them for questioning but that could cause a collapse of the entire city's government. It would then leave the city open for other entities to take over.

The Triad, Bratva, and Italian Mafia were all in positions to take over. That couldn't be allowed. Lyla believed they needed to tread very carefully and ensure that order was kept in the city. She was leaning towards the option of dismantling Tempest slowly and off the record away from the public eye. MQI alone paid millions in taxes and provided employment to 20% of the city. If the company were to fall after the public arrest of both Malcolm and Moira Merlyn, the news would destabilise the company and leave it open to buy out from competitors.

Oliver preferred the slow approach because it gave him time to prove his mother's innocence. He was fairly sure her name only appeared because she was married to Malcolm. It was imperative that he got access to his mother's laptop. He was sure that the laptop would show that she was not involved in any criminal enterprise. His only problem now was retrieving the laptop, getting it to Felicity, copying the files and returning it without his mother knowing he had taken it.

S-2

Walter Steele faced a difficult problem. There was something very wrong at MQI and he was positive it was Malcolm Merlyn's doing. It all started with that one innocent report with that one small error. From there he started unravelling a much larger conspiracy. No matter how much they tried to hide it from him he was able to follow the stray threads and unravel the roll. He had now gathered enough evidence that would force a formal police investigation if he turned it in and here was where his difficult problem arose.

An investigation would destroy MQI's reputation, thereby negatively affecting Moira, Thea and Oliver. It could ruin their lives but not doing anything meant that he was allowing the criminal activity to continue. He had been looking to see if there was a way to shield Moira from the fall out. If there was some financial instrument he could use to ensure that Moira and her family would be well taken care of even if the company was lost. There had to be some way to secure their future.

He knew he was running out of time to act. The week before Oliver and Tommy returned his trusted secretary was randomly replaced. His new assistant watched him like a hawk and he caught her a few times in front of his computer. He also felt like someone was watching him. The chief of security who he had confided in was dead. The only other person that knew what he was up to was Felicity Smoak and he hoped that he had secured her safety by putting her with Oliver. He was sure Malcolm would just overlook her. She was also his only hope to secure the information. He felt it was prudent to give her a copy of the information and he needed to pass it to her without anyone knowing.

He had decided to do it today in front of Malcolm Merlyn. The man would never think he would have the audacity to do such a thing. His secretary was compiling the monthly reports that needed Oliver's review. His plan was to switch the USB stick his secretary prepared with one that also contained his data. The tricky part would be the timing.

Malcolm was returning today from a meeting with Luthor Corp in Metropolis. His plane landed half an hour ago and he expected Malcolm to walk through the elevator doors at any moment. With every ping of the elevator, he glanced up to see who was exiting the elevator. Finally Malcolm stepped out of the elevator. He stood from his desk and walked over to his assistant asking for the data she compiled. She handed the stick to him and he exited into the main corridor where as predicted Malcolm stopped him.

"Walter I need the last quarter's financial report. Mr. Luthor has made an interesting proposition but I need to review our financial position before I commit this company," Malcolm told him.

"It is on your desk. I just finished reviewing the financials for the monthly reports and I have the data for Oliver," Walter said openly displaying the stick.

Malcolm glanced into Oliver's empty office and he walked into Ms. Smoak's. "Where is Mr. Queen?" he demanded.

Felicity jumped in her seat. Malcolm had clearly startled her. "Mr. Merlyn!"

"I asked you a question," Malcolm said irritated.

"Yes, right," she said adjusting her glasses, "Mr. Queen had a meeting with the contractor for Verdant..."

"And why are you here?" Malcolm asked interrupting her explanation.

"Verdant isn't an official MQI project so Oliver, I mean, Mr. Queen wanted me to stay and review the monthly reports when we received them from Mr. Steele," Felicity explained nervously glancing at Walter to make sure she was ok.

Malcolm took the stick from Walter and Walter's heart rate ticked up a notch.

"Here are the reports. Transfer it to your tablet and review it on the way. Verdant is a working example of all the green technology that MQI has invested heavily in. If it is a success then MQI is a success. I read your file Ms. Smoak, you are technically competent, go and ensure that the contractor and his people are as well!" Malcolm held out the stick to her and Walter tried not to exhale too loudly.

"Yes sir," Felicity said grabbing the stick, her tablet and purse. She stepped into the heels she had discarded below her desk and quickly left the office.

"Did you have to scare her like that?" Walter asked Malcolm.

Malcolm stepped into his personal space and looked him in the eye. "MQI is my company and I will do whatever it takes to keep it secure."

Walter nodded. The message was clearly intended for him. "As Chairman, I wouldn't expect anything less of you," Walter was brave enough to reply.

Malcolm looked him over one more time and then continued on his way to his office. Walter exhaled heavily. He had successfully completed his mission. He only hoped he had enough time to save Moira.

S-3

Felicity hurriedly tossed her tablet, purse and the USB stick on the passenger seat and started her red mini. The meeting had started 30 minutes ago and it was quite possible that by the time she got there, it could be over. She started her car and pulled out of the spot as if the building were on fire. She exited the underground car park and waited for either a car to let her out or the traffic light up the road to turn red. Sometimes she got lucky and a car would let her out but today she had to wait for the light to change.

She made the turn at the bottom of the street that would take her into the Glades. The road changed from a two lane roadway to single lane. Approaching on the opposite side she saw an old silver Cadillac driving really slowly. The speed alone told her it was probably an older person driving or perhaps a learner but the odds were in a favour of an older person. Suddenly a red Camaro pulled out from behind the Cadillac and came speeding towards her to overtake the Cadillac. She slammed on the brakes or the Camaro would not make it. Everything in her car came sliding forward. As the Camaro swung back in she caught sight of two young boys drinking beer and cheering to loud music. Her mother always told her to slam her hand on the horn but she never found the time to do that as her hands were always needed on the wheel. Those boys deserved a good honk from her.

The Cadillac had also stopped to let the crazy car through. She had clear sight of the occupants and she could confirm that her assumption was correct. In the driver's seat she saw an elderly gentleman with grey hair and thick glasses while the passenger seat had a lady around the same age. They looked stunned so Felicity drove forward and wound down her window.

"Are you ok?" she asked when she pulled up next to them.

"I should be asking you that question," the elderly gentleman responded.

The car behind her honked loudly.

"I'm sorry I have to go. If you need anything call 911." She pulled away and in her rear view mirror she could see the Cadillac start to pull off.

By the time she arrived Tommy and Oliver were shaking hands with the contractors. She got out of the car, her heels sinking in the muddy ground. She made a mental note to use boots for site visits. She saw Oliver look up at her with concern as she made her way towards the men sinking each time in the mud.

"Is something wrong?" Oliver asked his hand reaching for the crook of her arm to steady her when she was close enough to him.

"Mr. Merlyn thought I should be here to ensure the tech aspects of the projects are running smoothly," she informed him.

"Did he say that or did he say babysit us?" Tommy asked with narrowed eyes.

"No he said that, he went out of his way to stress that actually," Felicity assured Tommy.

"Well he meant the latter," Tommy said brushing aside what Felicity said, "Which means you now get a free company lunch at Big Belly Burger and don't say no. I know your order!" Tommy exclaimed.

"Can I take a rain check I have to go over those reports Walter sent? They are due today and I rather not piss off Mr. Merlyn," Felicity said.

Tommy made a face while Oliver seemed more considerate.

"Alright," Oliver agreed with her. He knew he would also have to look at the reports after her and the sooner she started the sooner it would come to him and he could head home after.

"Fine, if you can't come to Big Belly Burger then I'll bring Big Belly Burger to you!" Tommy declared. He slung his arm around her shoulders and started walking her back towards her car, "Don't worry my young Padawan. Just return to the office and the force will be fine," Tommy said.

"You do a terrible Star Wars impression," Felicity told him.

"Well you'll have to help me with that then," he said with a charming smile.

Felicity rolled her eyes and got into the car. When Felicity returned to the underground parking of the MQI basement she retrieved her purse and tablet cursing the mad driver that almost caused damage to her special tablet. She hoped she wouldn't see Mr. Merlyn upstairs. He made her very nervous. There was something about his demeanour that sent her instincts into fight or flight mode. Her gut told her he was dangerous, not just that he could terminate her job at any time dangerous, but in other violent ways dangerous.

She didn't know why it thought that, he was just like any other CEO or man in a suit. He probably couldn't even change a light bulb but her instincts refused to listen to the logic of her brain. It was getting worse the more she looked into the time period he disappeared from Tommy's life. The Board basically ran the company in his absence. She couldn't find any piece of evidence that showed where he was. There were no credit card transactions, no money transactions or direct charges to his personal account. The only withdrawals were for Tommy and those were made by the custodian Malcolm left in charge. It was like he was living in the bush somewhere and he didn't need money.

She couldn't find any evidence of a secret account but that didn't mean he didn't have one in Corto Maltese or somewhere like that under a false name. Malcolm Merlyn's whereabouts was a mystery and mysteries bothered her. She knew that the day he left Tommy he took a private jet to Beijing. He instructed the jet to return to Starling and he wasn't seen in person until ten years later when he returned to Starling. In those ten years there had not been one reported sighting of him. The key might be in finding out what he did once he was in Beijing.

S-4

Oliver had his mother's schedule memorised for the week and tonight presented him with the best opportunity to swipe his mother's laptop and give Felicity her third test. His mother and Malcolm were going to the Policeman's Charity Ball held in the auditorium of one of the towers in Novus District. The formal family dinner for that day was cancelled and he and Thea were allowed to do whatever they wanted. He came home at the usual time from MQI and informed Diggle that he would be staying in for the night. Diggle arched an eyebrow, suspicious but Oliver assured him he really had no plans for the night as McKenna was on a case and he promised her he would have a nice quiet night indoors. Diggle reluctantly left but the night guard Tom was assigned to watch his door. Tom was a very competent guard as Oliver had slipped him several times already.

When Oliver heard them leaving their rooms to head downstairs to go to the gala, Oliver turned on the TV, climbed out his window, pulling it in once he was on the small ledge outside. He climbed down the outside and went to the garage. Any moment the garage door would open and the town car that would be taking his mother and Malcolm to the ball would leave to collect them at the front entrance. As soon as the garage door opened Oliver ducked inside and hid behind one of the other cars. When the garage door closed again he made his way inside to his mother's study. Her door was unlocked and the laptop sat innocently on her home office desk. He swiped the laptop and returned to the garage.

He took the same town car that Diggle usually drove him in. He had left his laptop bag in there earlier and he put his mother's laptop in with his own. It was a tight fit but it he got it to work. He then drove to MQI. He parked in the basement and headed up to the executive floor where he knew Felicity was still working.

"Knock, knock," he said as he opened her office door and entered.

She looked up at him and glared. He knew he deserved it. He had been a real terrible boss to her, springing a last minute project on her she had to finish by the end of the day for him to submit to Malcolm by midnight. He told her he had to go home for dinner but would be back to finish the project with her. It was awful of him but he needed to find a way to guarantee she would be here when he returned with the laptop.

Oliver cleared his throat, "Felicity, I need your assistance with my laptop."

She glanced up at him, "The IT department is downstairs but I don't think anyone is there at this hour," she said frostily.

"It's just a little laptop issue, I may have locked myself out of it," he explained walking into her office and placing the laptop down on her desk.

She continued to ignore him preferring instead to continue her work on the laptop. Oliver marvelled at the way her fingers flew across the keys without her ever looking down to see what she was doing. He wondered if her fingers could keep up with the speed at which her brain moved. Her mouth certainly had a hard time doing that.

"Felicity, I'm sorry I sprung this on you last minute. You can come in late tomorrow," he offered trying to make amends.

"How about the day off instead?" she asked not taking her eyes off the screen.

"Done," Oliver agreed hoping to get her in a cooperative mood.

"Ok where's the laptop?" Felicity asked turning to look at him.

Oliver slid it across the desk towards her. She moved hers aside and looked at the computer.

"That doesn't look like the laptop you were assigned," she pointed out immediately.

"It's not. It's my personal one," Oliver replied leaning against her desk next to her. He knew she would notice the difference immediately.

She turned it on, "I thought you said this was your laptop?" she asked turning to him confused.

"It is," Oliver insisted.

Felicity tapped an icon on the screen with a brightly polished finger, "MQMerlyn?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Oh I must have picked up her laptop by accident. No wonder I couldn't get in," Oliver declared.

Felicity started to turn the laptop off but he stopped her. Her much smaller hand fit easily in his and he spent a second marvelling at how small she was in stature compared to him before he forced his mind back on topic and released her hand.

"While it's here, any chance you can give me the password?" he asked using the smile that usually got women to throw their panties at him.

She frowned, she had a way of seeing through his bullshit. "This is your mother's laptop. It could be a City Hall issued one. I could be breaking into government property," she pointed out.

"Look, my sister's 18th birthday is coming up and my mother has her ideas for the party on here. It's the first birthday I'm celebrating with her in five years and I want to make it special but I need a little guidance because there's a huge difference between celebrating 12 and 18," he explained.

Felicity placed her hand gently on top of his, "It's already special because you came back into her life," she said.

"Try telling that to an 18 year old," Oliver quipped. "Can you please do it?"

Felicity pursed her lips, "I can get around the password but that usually requires resetting it and your mother would know. If I try to crack it that might take a little while but there is another option that might work quicker."

"What?" Oliver asked hopefully.

Felicity looked up at him uncertainly and chewed on her bottom lip, "Mr. Tockman keeps track of everyone's password in a master list. If your mother uses the same password for this computer as she does for her login access here it might work."

"How does Mr. Tockman have everyone's password?" Oliver asked.

"He has a background programme running on all the computers to monitor key strokes. He doesn't know that I know. I accidentally found his files hidden away on the server one day," she explained.

"Is this allowed?" Oliver asked.

"It is an invasion of privacy but Mr. Merlyn knows about it. I've seen his name come up in the access log. He tends to look at the file right before they fire someone,"

She turned to her laptop and started opening files on the server. Oliver covered her hands immediately with his.

"They are going to know you accessed the file," he said concerned.

Felicity rolled her eyes, "Mr. Tockman won't know a thing. I'm very good at covering my tracks."

She pushed his hands away and continued with her work. He saw her open about ten files before she came to the spread sheet she wanted. She pulled up the find bar and typeed in Moira Queen-Merlyn. She was immediately taken to a cell with his mother's name.

"Oliver1984Thea1994," she mumbled. She turned to the laptop and typed it in. "And you're in. So did you really pick this up by accident or did you always intend to get me to open it for you?" she asked.

He smiled at Felicity, "I can assure you my intentions are pure."

Felicity guffawed with laughter, "That sounded like the worse pick up line ever."

Oliver actually laughed before looking sincerely at her, "Thank you Felicity. I convinced Malcolm to extend the deadline so you can go home now. We can work on it tomorrow morning,"

Felicity turned to her laptop and shut it down, "You can work on it tomorrow. I have the day off remember?"

Oliver winced, he really needed to think through some of the things he agreed to. "Actually, why don't you take Friday instead? I just remembered we have the Verdant site visit tomorrow and Malcolm wants you there."

Felicity sighed, "That's true."

"I'll walk you out," Oliver volunteered picking up his mother's laptop.

S-5

As soon as Oliver got to the car he set up the data copy between his computer and his mother's with the ARGUS device that Lyla had given him. By the time he returned home, the copy of the data was finished. He knew he had another hour before his mother would return from the charity event. He used another ARGUS program to erase all evidence of his login and then shut her computer down. He placed both laptops in his bag and then entered the house. He ran into Constantine and Tommy leaving which was something he hadn't expected. Tommy was probably here looking for dirt on his father but with his shadow with him he was probably having a hard time finding any.

"Where is Mr. Diggle?" Constantine asked suspiciously.

"He doesn't do night duty when I'm in the house. That's Tom," Oliver replied bored.

"But you won't home," Constantine countered pointing to the computer bag under Oliver's arm.

Oliver chose to ignore him rather than give him any information to use against him. He turned his attention instead to his brother, "How come you're here?"

"Needed to get something I forgot to get from my room. I'm going out with Helena later," he responded in a clipped tone and walked past Oliver.

"You know," Oliver started turning around to face Tommy's retreating back, "When are you going to bring her home? I would love to meet her,"

"Not happening," Tommy called over his shoulder as he continued on his way.

Oliver turned back to continue on to his mother's study but Tom appeared. Constantine must have called him.

"How did you get out of your room?" Tom asked the disapproval clear in his tone.

"I went for a sandwich," Oliver said. He knew he couldn't get to his mother's study so he went up to his room instead.

Tom followed behind him and entered his room looking around carefully. He left when he was either satisfied it was safe, or he couldn't figure out how Oliver got out. Oliver wasn't sure which one it was. Oliver glanced at the clock on the bedside table, he expected his mother would back in half an hour. He switched off the TV in his room and turned on the shower. He went out the window again, pushing it back in place in case Tom decided to poke his head in. He climbed down and went around to the kitchen window and tapped on it. He knew Raisa would be there working on tomorrows meal. She seemed to be seasoning some type of meat. She jumped when she heard the tap. He signalled to the lock on the window and she rushed to the sink to wash her hands and then opened the latch for him. He jumped in with the laptop in one hand.

"Master Oliver!" she said surprised.

"Don't mind me Raisa. Return to what you were doing. I was only here for a sandwich," he said to her in Russian.

He exited the kitchen and headed straight to his mom's study. Once inside he returned the laptop where he found it and made sure everything was in order. He exited the office and took two steps forward when a very familiar voice called out to him.

"Snooping around?"

He turned around to see his sister stepping out from the shadow of the Ming vase that stood on a pedestal a little lower down the corridor from his mother's study. There was a story behind that vase but he couldn't quite remember what it was.

"I was looking for mom," Oliver lied.

"She's not here. You know that," Thea accused, "There was no family dinner tonight."

"Right I thought she would be back by now," Oliver said with a shrug. He felt a bit guilty lying to his sister but it was for her protection.

They heard the front door open and Malcolm and his mother entered.

"See," he said to Thea who looked like she didn't believe him one bit. "She is here."

"Let's go talk to her then," Thea said with a wicked smile.

She started walking down the corridor and Oliver wondered when his sister became so cunning. He followed behind her to the main foyer where there was a maid helping his mother out of her coat.

When his mother noticed them her face lit up. "Oliver, Thea, I'm so happy to see the two of you spending time together."

Before Oliver could respond Thea spoke up, "Actually Ollie was looking for you. He has something important to talk to you about."

Oliver had to hold back the glare he wanted to give to his sister. He never said he had anything important to discuss with her.

"Really," his mother turned to him reaching out to squeeze his hand, "You can tell me whatever you need to tell me."

How on Earth Tommy could think his mother was involved in anything nefarious was beyond him. She was looking at him so much love and concern. He also realised he needed to come up with something to ask her.

"Perhaps we could discuss this in private," Oliver suggested. It would give him more time to find a suitable topic to raise with her.

"If it's important you can share it with me as well," Malcolm pushed into the conversation.

"Yes Ollie we are one big happy family," Thea said with a sickly sweet smile.

Oliver was on the spot and all could think of was one thing. "I'm concerned about Tommy," he blurted out. He regretted saying that as soon as the words left his mouth.

"What about Tommy?" Malcolm asked immediately. It was the first time Oliver had ever seen Malcolm truly concerned for his son.

"I heard some disturbing things lately about this girlfriend," Oliver stated. He noticed Moira and Malcolm shared a quick look and Oliver got the impression that they both knew everything there was to know about Helena Bertinelli.

"Really," Thea said leaning closer to hear the gossip.

"What sort of things," Moira asked while frowning at her daughter's behaviour.

"I heard she was in the mob," Oliver stated bluntly. He may as well tell the truth. From their perspective it would make sense for him to be concerned about Helena's mob connections and it would be considered something important to discuss with them.

"Oh," his mother said, "That's an old rumour." She brushed his concern aside easily.

"That's all you have to say?" Oliver asked surprised.

"Trust us," Moira implored him, "Malcolm did a full check on Helena and she's fine. That little thing with the mob is all in her past."

"A full check?" Oliver asked confused.

"You think I would let just anyone enter your lives after what the two of you have been through?" Malcolm asked.

"You approve of her then?" Oliver questioned.

"To be honest, she reminds me a bit of myself," Malcolm revealed.

That set off warning bells in Oliver's head and he decided he needed an exit strategy fast. "Ok, I'm just going to go get a sandwich from the kitchen for a quick snack and head back upstairs."

He was relieved when Malcolm asked Thea to walk with him as they went upstairs so his sister wouldn't follow after him like she used to do when she was younger. He wished Raisa good night and went out the window and climbed his way back upstairs. He went to the shower, stripped, stepped into the hot water and washed the sweat off his body. He jumped out quickly. It had been running long enough. He could have a proper bath in the morning. He had just enough time to wrap a towel around himself before there was a knock on the door.

Oliver went to the door and found Tom staring at him angrily. "Mr. Merlyn just told me that I'm supposed to follow you through the house."

Oliver shrugged, "Then stop staring into space when I walk right passed you."

Oliver closed the door and walked towards his laptop. He was anxious to see his mother's files. He booted his computer and looked for the recently created file that held the copied data. He opened it and started searching through the data. He didn't find anything that wasn't related to City Hall and certainly nothing illegal. His mother was clean like he expected.

S-6

Oliver was halfway through Felicity's notes for the site visit that afternoon when Tommy walked into his office. Tension immediately filled the air. His brother didn't sit in the chair in front of his desk the way he usually did. Instead he remained standing looking down at Oliver.

"So what did the laptop reveal?" Tommy asked gruffly.

"It was clean," Oliver happily told him.

"Then she's just smart. Why put evidence of your criminal wrongdoing on your work computer especially when it's a City Hall issued computer. We have nothing on QC 's computer systems," Tommy pointed out.

"Tommy my mother is innocent," Oliver insisted stubbornly.

"So you're accusing Helena of making this up?" Tommy angrily retorted.

"No, I'm saying my mother is innocent," Oliver repeated standing up.

Tommy pointed his finger at Oliver, "You're letting your feelings for your mother cloud your judgement."

"I'm letting my feelings get in the way?" Oliver asked in disbelief. "You are the one that's hated your father forever."

"Well I'm sorry I didn't have a nice dad like you. You never appreciated your father anyway," Tommy accused him.

"That's enough you two," Felicity said walking in and glaring at both of them.

"You could hear us?" Tommy asked in disbelief. They weren't shouting at each other so their conversation should have stayed within the glass walls of the office.

"No I couldn't, but I didn't need to. The walls are made of glass your body language was enough to deduce you're fighting about something," she explained. "And it's about to get out of hand."

"Felicity now isn't a good time," Oliver said.

"I think it's a great time to collect on that Big Belly Burger you owe me," Felicity said looking at Tommy.

Tommy sighed, "She's right. We should probably table this discussion. We are getting nowhere with it. You have your way and I have my way."

"Great, I'm starving," Felicity happily explained.

Oliver knew for the sake of their bond, they needed to let this conversation go. Neither of them was willing to budge from their viewpoint. The longer they continued to argue the higher the chances were they would say something they would both regret. Oliver sighed and grabbed his jacket. He signalled to Mr. Diggle to go ahead of them and get the car ready.

"Where's your shadow?" he asked Tommy.

Tommy gave him a wicked smile, "Said since I was in this building for the next hour or so I was safe. He would come back to get me in time for the site visit."

"Maybe we shouldn't go to Big Belly Burger then," Felicity offered.

"Oh no we are definitely going. Besides we have Mr. Diggle. This is a fantastic opportunity to get to know him better!" Tommy said mischievously.

Oliver gave Tommy a warning look. Lyla would not appreciate him butting into her romantic life like this.

They followed silently behind Felicity to the elevator. The sound of heels echoed on the floor behind them as they waited for one of the elevators. Oliver turned his head to see who was coming towards them and was greeted with the sight of Isabel Rochev. The woman stopped next to him and looked Felicity up and down.

"Is this your play thing for this afternoon?" she asked acrimoniously.

"Ms. Smoak is my advisor," Oliver replied in a neutral tone.

"What does she advise you on? How to get it up or how to keep it up longer since women tend not to like minute men?"

Tommy guffawed with laughter and Felicity looked away embarrassed. Anger surged within him. He didn't mind the jabs at him but he didn't like it when Isabel used Felicity to land a punch.

"Ms. Smoak is a highly educated professional woman that works on several of our highly technical projects. I will not tolerate you insulting the reputation of one of my best employees.

The elevator opened and Felicity was about to hurry inside when Oliver held her back.

"Ms. Rochev," Oliver said offering her first entry.

Isabel walked in and Oliver reached inside and pressed the ground floor button. "Enjoy the trip," Oliver said as the doors closed.

"I hate her," Felicity pouted.

"I thought she was kind of funny," Tommy admitted.

"Really, she seems to hate Oliver," Felicity commented surprised that Tommy would be ok with someone insulting his best friend like that.

Tommy nodded, "Probably because she wanted Robert to leave his family for her."

"What! How the hell did you come up with that?" Oliver asked.

"Oh, before the Gambit I overheard my father in his study talking with your mom about your dad's affair. They were plotting TOGETHER to keep him in line," Tommy casually dropped on Oliver.

"And you never told me this?" Oliver asked with an underline tone of anger.

"Seriously? You knew their marriage wasn't wholesome. I thought it was best to just keep my mouth shut and pretend I never heard anything."

Oliver glared at Tommy.

The elevator opened and he felt Felicity's gentle touch on his arm. "Let's go," she implored.

Oliver glanced at the opened elevator and followed her in. She placed herself between him and Tommy.

On the eleventh floor the elevator door opened and a guy Oliver knew as from the accounts department stepped into the elevator. He looked directly at Felicity ignoring the two of them.

"We still on for Friday?" he asked.

"Yeap," Felicity said with a smile.

"Friday?" both Oliver and Tommy questioned.

She looked at both with a scowl, "I have a personal life, which will remain personal!"

"I gave you the day off on Friday," Oliver noted dumbfounded. Had she somehow manipulated him into that?

"I know. I have the whole day to get ready," she looked at the guy that stepped into the elevator, "Ted, I'll meet you there at 7:00pm."

He nodded his head. The elevator opened on the accounts floor and he got off. As soon as the door closed Tommy swung him arm across her shoulder, "You can do so much better than him."

"What wrong with him? He's nice," Felicity declared.

"Nice isn't good enough. You should be dating a brilliant CEO or someone like that?" Tommy informed her.

"Like Ray Palmer," Felicity asked.

"Like Ray Palmer whoever he is. Who is Ray Palmer?" Tommy asked. He may have been working at MQI for the last few weeks but he still had no idea who the top businessmen in the city were.

"CEO of Palmer Technologies, he's known for his design of smart watches," Felicity elaborated.

"Yes exactly like him, maybe I could set the two of you up," Tommy offered.

"He has a girlfriend and the rumour is he'll be proposing soon, so that's a no," Felicity told him.

The elevator doors opened in the basement and Diggle was waiting with the car.

"No Constantine?" Diggle asked curiously.

"No he had some other matters to take care of but he was sure that you could handle the both of us," Tommy lied before turning to Felicity, "Don't worry Smoaky I'll find you a suitable boyfriend," Tommy promised.

Felicity stopped in her tracks and looked at Oliver, "Would you miss him terribly if he just suddenly vanished?"

Oliver smirked, "No."

"Hey!" Tommy protested as they got into the car.

S-7

John Diggle hated babysitting rich kids but there was something about Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn that was different. He could only imagine what a shock being stuck on a deserted island must have been for them. To go from having everything at the snap of your fingers to actually having to use those fingers to survive must have been difficult but they managed to do it and survive. Neither was emaciated when they returned so they must have found a steady food source on that island. He knew they would have formed a bond with each other that only they could understand and he expected them to suffer from some sort of post traumatic stress disorder but despite all that something still seemed off about them.

Both Oliver and Tommy carried themselves with a measure of situational awareness akin to someone who has had special ops training in the military. That part of their behaviour troubled Diggle. There was nothing in their history before the island that suggested they had been sent to some sort of boot camp or enlisted in the military. He understood that the island probably heightened their awareness of things around them but this seemed a lot more than that. Tom had told him how Oliver kept disappearing from his room. He had heard that Tommy had evaded his security detail more than once. There was a lot more to the two men than they let on.

Even now as he drove he saw both Tommy and Oliver looking out the window on each side of the car critically surveying the area they were driving through. Ms. Smoak was seated in the middle completely oblivious to both men. He wasn't quite sure how Ms. Smoak ended up being assigned to Mr. Queen but the whole thing was kind of fishy. The office thought it was because she was sleeping with him but she wasn't. She was always professional preferring to do the work she was being paid to do instead of flirting with Oliver like he had seen some of the other staff do. Even now, in the car she was focused on her tablet, probably doing work or pulling up the latest traffic advice to get them to their destination faster.

"John, you're going to meet traffic soon. If you turn left up ahead and cut through some of the Glades we'll get to Big Belly Burger quicker," she suggested.

So it was the latter. Even though the shortcut was through the Glades he still took it. During the day it was relatively safe and he didn't have Constantine with them to lodge any complaints. He drove these streets himself and was confident they would be safe.

They arrived at Big Belly Burger and Tommy and Oliver, as usual, opened the door on their own and stepped out confidently. They never waited on their bodyguard. Ms. Smoak however, respected him and always looked to him for his ok. Diggle nodded his head at her and she exited the car on Oliver's side.

"You're wearing boots," he heard Oliver comment.

"No shit Oliver. Didn't you notice she was four inches shorter today?" Tommy asked sarcastically.

"Ok whatever is going on between you two needs to stop. It's only a matter of time before other people start picking up on it," Felicity advised.

Neither man answered and Oliver started striding forward to the fast food joint, again without waiting on Diggle to check it out first. It was a good thing John knew how safe this particular Big Belly Burger was. John followed behind both Oliver and Tommy straight to a booth in the corner. Oliver guided Felicity into the booth first and he sat after her taking the exact spot Diggle wanted. Tommy tried to get him to slide in first but Diggle flatly refused. He thought about taking the booth next to them but then he wouldn't have eyes on his clients so he decided to slide in next to Tommy.

Carly arrived next to their table dressed in her usual waitress outfit. "If it isn't my favourite set of customers," she declared, "I'll get you all some fries on the house to start with."

"Thanks Carly," John said, "I believe we are all getting our usual orders."

Everyone nodded.

"Ok, that would be one Big Belly Buster with extra cheese for John, One Big Belly Buster each for Mr. Queen and Mr. Merlyn and One Big Belly Burger and a chocolate shake for you," Carly said pointing at Felicity, "And anything to go for dinner?"

"No today," Felicity replied.

As soon as Carly left the table Felicity turned to them, "I need to come here with you guys more often. I never get free fries."

"We don't usually get free fries either," Tommy said before turning to look at John. "I think maybe you have something to do with that?"

It was posed as a question but the way Tommy said it gave John the impression that Tommy already knew the answer.

"Carly is my sister-in-law," Diggle clarified.

"Really! You could be hooking me up with free burgers?" Felicity asked excitedly.

Diggle laughed, "Felicity I think you need to cut back on how much burgers you eat."

She glanced down at her stomach, "Are you trying to imply that I'm getting fat?"

Tommy snickered, "Maybe it's Diggle's turn to vanish?"

Felicity narrowed her eyes at him, "Don't worry your name is still at the top of the list!"

Diggle scanned outside the restaurant and saw a familiar car pull up. Out stepped his brother and his nephew. AJ was still dressed in his school uniform and had probably come to spend a few hours here before he went home with Carly. He watched them enter and saw Carly pointing out his presence to AJ.

"Uncle John!" AJ said very loudly attracting everyone's attention.

John sighed, he knew what was next, his nephew broke out in a sprint and launched himself at him. John managed to catch him and place him on his lap.

"I'm working buddy. You're going to get me in trouble with your dad," John said to him.

AJ's face beamed at him, "I have an in with him. If I tell him it's ok, it's ok."

Andy came to stand besides the table. "AJ, your uncle is working. Go in the back and play in your mom's office," he instructed his son.

"But dad," AJ whined.

His father gave him a stern look and AJ bowed his head, grumbled to himself about it not being fair and then headed to the door that stated for staff only.

"So this is the famous Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn that Malcolm is paying me handsomely to protect," Andy said.

"Yes," John verified.

"Who are you?" Tommy asked with a sceptical raise of an eyebrow.

"Andy Diggle, John's brother and also owner of the security company that provides you with bodyguard services."

Both Oliver and Tommy nodded their head in acknowledgement.

Andy looked at Tommy, "Isn't Constantine supposed to be with you?"

Tommy shrugged innocently. "I got Diggle here."

Andy's eyebrows furrowed, "I'll tell Constantine to meet you here. At least this place is safer than anywhere else. I have to head out." He looked at his brother, "I'll see you on Sunday for lunch?"

"Don't ever miss it," Diggle responded.

After Andy left Felicity asked Diggle a question, "If your brother owns the company you work for, how come your sister-in-law works as a waitress here?"

"Actually Big Belly Burger is run as a franchise and Carly owns this one. She likes to be hands on and get to know her customers," Diggle explained.

"What did he mean by here is safer than anywhere else?" Oliver asked.

"Andy's outfit this building with the latest security features." He noticed Oliver and Tommy share a look.

"Security features?" Tommy questioned slightly alarmed. Why that would make Tommy and Oliver concerned made no sense to Diggle. It was counterintuitive. More security is usually better unless you were doing something that you didn't want to attract attention to.

"Yeah you didn't notice the cameras," Felicity answered for him.

Diggle looked at her impressed, "Most people, hell even trained observers don't spot them."

Felicity put her tablet on the desk. On it they could see themselves through the eyes of one of the cameras.

"You hacked the feed?" Tommy questioned impressed.

"Hack is such an ugly word," Felicity said.

Diggle frowned, "You shouldn't be hacking into other people's security systems."

"Speaking of security system, all the tech I ordered for you guys will be arriving at Verdant later this week. Can you ask the contractor to arrange for it to be taken into the basement?" she asked them.

"We'll handle that," Oliver said.

Again John got the feeling that something else was going on with his clients.

S-8

It was midnight and Oliver was toting boxes of computer equipment into Verdant's basement. He was beginning to realise telling Felicity she could put whatever she wanted down there was a mistake. He was in peak physical condition but this going up and down the stairs with heavy boxes was tiring!

He glanced at a stack of eight boxes he still had to do. He wasn't sure if he would be able to complete it before Lyla arrived for their meeting. The main door opened and Tommy appeared. Oliver lifted his box up and silently headed back into their secret base of operation. He put the box on the ground in the very back where Felicity said the server racks should go. He turned around to find Tommy coming down the stairs with a box as well. They continued moving the remaining boxes in silence until Lyla arrived.

Once their handler was there she began the meeting. "Ok boys. I received the list from Tommy..."

"So when do we take them down?" Tommy asked excitedly.

"We don't," came Lyla's calm reply.

"What!" Tommy exclaimed, "The whole point of this mission was to take down Tempest."

"The point of this mission is to neutralise Tempest and we are not going to be able to do that with a public takedown. If your list is correct, we have to move carefully Tommy. Your entire company is at risk," Lyla said.

"I don't care about the company," Tommy retorted.

"Well then care about Thea," Oliver intervened. "She is our sister and I don't think she is prepared for anything like this. It will turn her entire life upside down."

"Our entire lives were turned upside down when the Gambit sank and we survived," Tommy responded.

"I can't believe you would wish our experiences upon anyone else let alone Thea!" Oliver stated disgusted.

Tommy opened his mouth to respond but Lyla beat him to it, "Stop it both of you. I am your handler and until Amanda Waller says anything else, you have to follow my instructions. Is that clear?"

"Yes," Tommy stated folding his hands over his chest.

"Yes," Oliver answered.

"Starting next week The Hood and the Throwing Star Killer are going to work together to start taking apart the Tempest operation. I want to start with the Triad and the Bratva. They are in perfect positions to take up the power void that would be left behind and I don't want that."

"What about the Italian Mafia?" Tommy asked.

"Haven't you been reading the papers Tommy? Someone already appears to be taking that operation apart," Lyla informed him.

"During the day you work at MQI to keep the company stable and at night you target Tempest," she reinforced her commands.

"Why can't we start with Malcolm?" Tommy whined.

"Tommy you tried to hurt Malcolm once and that didn't turn out too great. I think we need more information first. Research suggests Max Fuller's only role is financial. ARGUS is going to formally put some pressure on him to take Tempest's eyes away from what you're doing with the organised crime entities."

"I still think we should prioritise my father," Tommy insisted.

"Tommy," Oliver said in a serious tone, "If your father really is the Chairman then we need to be really careful. He has programmes running on our systems at work to monitor what work you do during the day."

"See he is evil incarnate!" Tommy exclaimed.

"How do you know that?" Lyla asked.

"Felicity," Oliver answered and Tommy nodded his head in understanding.

"Speaking of Felicity," Lyla said taking the opportunity to address the IT situation, "Are you sure she can be trusted?"

"Yes," Oliver responded immediately.

"Absolutely," Tommy agreed.

"You're taking a hell of a risk there," Lyla said.

"You were the one that said we needed to develop our own asset," Oliver reminded her. "She passed all of my tests."

"There's something else Lyla," Tommy started, "We discovered that the Big Belly Burger we met at has security cameras. They could have caught our meeting on it."

"Really," Lyla said surprised. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Andy would do something like that to protect Carly."

"We need to do something about that," Tommy insisted. "If anyone can put us together it won't be good for the mission."

Lyla had a wicked gleam in her eye.

"I don't like that look," Tommy said glancing at Oliver, "That look is never good. Only bad things come from that look."

"Why don't you have your IT asset find and delete the footage," Lyla said with a smile.

Oliver frowned.

"Consider it my test of her skills," Lyla offered. "If she passes, you can read her in."

"I was reconsidering on reading her in," Oliver responded. "This life isn't for her."

Lyla arched an eyebrow, "It's too late for that now Oliver. Get her to erase the video of us, preferably soon."

Tommy clapped Oliver on the back, "Don't worry we can protect her."

Oliver nodded his head.

Tommy turned to Lyla with a smile Oliver knew would get them in trouble. "So I got to spend some quality time with Johnny."

Lyla pointed a finger at him, "You finish that thought and I will castrate you."

S-9

Since Oliver and Lyla refused to go after his father first, Tommy was going to conduct his own investigation. Moira had mentioned something about the old mansion he used to live in and he decided to visit it but he wasn't going alone. He was taking Helena with him. She supported him. She believed in him. She would be his partner on his personal mission to prove his father was a bad man.

Tommy picked up Helena and they drove out to his old home. The drive was shorter than he remembered it. The guards at the gate reluctantly let him in. He drove to the front entrance and parked the car.

Helena placed her hand over his, ""It's just a house Tommy, I'm right here with you."

Tommy smiled, "I know, I spent more time at the Queens than here. Let's head inside," he got out of his car and a guard appeared.

"Mr. Merlyn," he acknowledged, "Your father wishes to speak to you," he said handing him a phone.

Tommy rolled his eyes, "Yes father?" The guard left them alone.

"I didn't know you wished to visit our old house," his father said.

"Is it a problem?" Tommy asked making his way around the car to the passenger side.

"Of course not," Malcolm responded.

"Good, I'll continue what I was doing," He hung up the phone.

"Ready for your tour my dear?" Tommy held out his hand for Helena.

"Yes I hope there are embarrassing photos around," she teased taking his hand.

"My father is not the sentimental type," Tommy told her with a smile. At least there was one benefit to having Malcolm for a father, no embarrassing photos or embarrassing anything. Moira probably had more pictures of him than his father had, if he had any at all.

"I'm sure there has to be at least one. Everyone has that one picture that makes you wonder what the hell you were thinking," she commented walking with him up to the front door.

"And what picture is that for you?" he asked curiously.

"High school prom," she answered honestly.

"And where do I find that picture?" Tommy asked very interested.

"I burnt it," she responded smugly.

"I'm sure there's a copy out there somewhere. I'll find it," Tommy said confidently.

"Good luck," she wished him

Tommy opened the door and stepped into the house. Everything looked exactly like it did when he left five years ago. He wasn't quite sure what he was expecting maybe a crate of guns or a blueprint for his evil plans. He decided to start the tour with the living room and he guided Helena towards the room. Most of the room was as he remembered but Malcolm had added a large family portrait above the fire place and several smaller framed pictures on the mantel place.

"I thought you said there were no pictures of you?" Helena said moving over to the mantel place.

"There weren't. Those were not there when I lived here. I've never seen some of these pictures. I remember the occasions," he said glancing at the pictures.

"She was beautiful," Helena said looking up at the portrait of Malcolm, Rebecca and his baby self.

Tommy agreed. "Do you know what's funny?"

"What?"

"When I search my memories for her the memories that stand out are always the ones with him. I remember the day she died. He was reading me a bedtime story when the police called," Tommy revealed.

"At least your father did that. Mine never did that even when my mother was alive," Helena said sadly.

"That's one of the last good memories of my father. After that he packed his bags and left for years. He'd been gone for so long that at one point I wasn't sure if I would recognise him when he came back, if he ever came back. As a child I thought maybe I was the reason he went away. I wasn't good enough for him to stay but I know that's not true. It was all him,"

"Shall we try another room?" Helena suggested.

"How about my bedroom?" Tommy asked wiggling his eyebrows.

"Sounds very interesting, lead the way," Helena agreed.

He led them back to the foyer and up the stairs, down the corridor to his bedroom. He opened the door and was surprised to find it looked exactly as it did when he was a kid. With everything intact, a thought occurred to Tommy. While his father was away, his caretaker used to receive instructions by mail from his father. The caretaker always stored the letters in a filing cabinet in his room. Perhaps that was still there and he could get some data from it.

"Typical boy's room," Helena said to him.

"It wasn't like this when I was a teenager. Malcolm restored it to how it was when my mother was alive," he told her.

"Hmm, perhaps we shouldn't defile this room then," she said.

"Strangely, I actually agree. Let's go down to the kitchen. See if he actually has any food in there."

He took Helena down to the kitchen and left her there preparing a sandwich for him while he went to his old caretaker's room. The filing cabinet was still there but it was locked. The key had to be somewhere in the room. He rifled through a few draws before he found it. He opened the cabinet and scanned through the contents finding a folder labelled Mr. Merlyn. Tommy found the letters along with the envelopes they arrived in. Perhaps Felicity could pull some more information from these letters. He pocketed them and returned to the living room where he also took a framed picture of his mother from the mantel place.

S-10

Malcolm eyed his daughter as they circled each other with swords. She was a capable fighter but his deep seated fear was that she wasn't good enough. His enemies had started to make a move against them and Thea could be a target. He was contemplating seeking Lady Shiva's assistance with hand to hand combat training. Lady Shiva was one of the best fighters in the League of Assassins where he was trained and he believed her style of combat would suit Thea well.

Malcolm dropped his guard on his left side hoping Thea would see the opening and attack but she continued to remain in a defensive position. He knew his daughter only attacked when he got her angry or offered some kind of incentive. She preferred to stay on defence. When fighting an enemy one should pounce when an opening is observed. Thea lacked that instinct. She had been raised with everything handed to her so she had no drive to get anything. Malcolm changed that when he took his rightful place as her father.

He had made painful mistakes with Tommy and he vowed not to repeat them with Thea. The first thing he did was remove all of her privileges. If she wanted something she needed to show she deserved it. Of course Moira still spoilt her and offered her all sorts of things to earn favour with their daughter.

Thea's friends only encouraged a lazy attitude; with no goals and nothing to strive for he could easily see her friends turning to recreational drugs for entertainment. He hoped that he provided Thea with enough guidance that she didn't join them in their folly.

Raising teenagers was hard and Thea was just as rebellious as he expected.

Malcolm had enough of the circling and he slashed his sword forward knowing exactly how Thea would block it and what parts of her body would be open to an attack. He pulled a knife from his belt and brushed it passed her neck leaving a very fine line of red blood.

"You would be dead now," he declared.

Thea rolled her eyes, "Seriously when will I ever be fighting some super ninja like you."

Malcolm brought the blunt side of his sword to her throat, "There are dangerous men in this city. The one in green has already killed three men and the one in black killed that girl the night of your brother's party. Do you remember that girl Thea?" he asked.

She remained stubbornly silent and he stepped behind her pressing the sword tighter against her neck to choke her out. She brought her elbow up and tried to hit him in the ribs but he readjusted his hold on her and blocked her elbow.

"I said do you remember," he repeated himself.

"Yes," she rasped out.

"Do you remember the blood? Do you remember the fear on her face as she bled out? Do you remember her tears?" he kept pushing.

"Yes," she barely got out.

"Do you want to be like her?" he asked.

"No," her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Then you have to fight for your survival," he said releasing her. "Don't let your friends blind you."

She rubbed her hand across her throat as she took deep breaths. "Speaking of the friends you hate so much, Mary is having a sleepover next weekend. I'm going. It's the same night as the MQI charity gala and you'll only leave me home alone."

"Really?" Malcolm asked.

"Yes," Thea said holding her ground.

"Then you'll have to spa with me every day, Saturdays is no longer enough," he insisted.

Her whole countenance dropped, "Fine. Are we finished today?"

"No I'm adding an extra hour of training on a Saturday. Practice your katas. I have some things to attend to," he told her.

He walked over to where Constantine stood waiting for him.

"Three more bodies drained of blood have appeared and Ms. Rochev is demanding the property in the Glades by Monday or Stellmoor will withdraw. The meeting with the Irish is set for this week and China White says the FBI was sniffing around the docks again," Constantine updated him.

"I assume you have a strategy to deal with the FBI?" Malcolm asked.

"They need a scapegoat to close up the Summer's cast neatly," Constantine mused.

"You have someone in mind?" Malcolm asked.

"I would like to use Ms. Rochev but we can't afford her talking. I think Ted Grant from The Glades would work nicely."

"Do it. I'll talk to Rochev again and get Captain Lance on the line," Malcolm said glancing back at Thea to see her watching them intently.

"Hey, if I have to train more can I spar against someone else besides you like Constantine?" Thea suggested.

"Mr. Drakon is your brother's personal bodyguard. He does not have time to spar with you," Malcolm said with a frown.

"Well he's here," Thea pointed out.

"Because your brother is here. He's upstairs with Oliver," Constantine revealed.

"Sure visit the sibling you see at work all the time and not the sibling your never see," Thea responded bitterly.

"He did ask for you first but you are currently occupied," Constantine informed her.

She glared at her father, "Yeah I'm busy for another hour."

"I will tell Tommy you're available in an hour and a half." Malcolm swept out of the room to visit Tommy and Oliver. Both boys had been very distant this week. Plus there seemed to be some tension between them.

Tommy's return to him was a miracle and he tried to reach out to him. He was hoping things between them would improve but Tommy didn't seem to want that at all. Regardless, he needed to keep trying. He had lost his son once before and he didn't want to lose him again.

He founded John Diggle seated outside the door. "Mr. Diggle," he acknowledged him.

"Mr. Merlyn," the bodyguard responded.

Malcolm didn't have too much interaction with the man. He knew he was an honourable man and he could trust him with Oliver's life. He knocked on Oliver's door.

"Come in," he heard Oliver's voice say.

Malcolm opened the door and found Oliver and Tommy standing tensely apart.

"There's a nice restaurant on the edge of town that I would like to take you two and Thea to today," Malcolm stated.

"We're busy," Tommy answered.

"We would like that," Oliver said giving Tommy an imploring look.

It worked because Tommy relented, "Fine, we can make lunch."

"You can invite Ms. Bertinelli. Thea and I have been looking forward to meeting her," Malcolm offered.

"She's busy," Tommy answered curtly.

"Perhaps some other time then," Malcolm suggested.

"Is there anything else you want?" Tommy asked, "Because Oliver and I were kind of busy here."

Malcolm plastered on a tight smile, "No, I have a meeting to attend to and I'll meet all of you at the restaurant. Mr. Drakon knows the location."

S-11

The siblings arrived at restaurant before Malcolm and were led to a private table in a separate room away from other diners. It was a table for four. Oliver sat next to Tommy and Thea sat across from him.

"This is going to be such a drag!" Thea declared.

"I agree. Who wants to have lunch with the devil," Tommy added.

"He's not that bad," Thea said defending Malcolm.

"How can you defend that jackass!" Tommy asked in disbelief.

Thea narrowed her eyes angrily at Tommy, "He may be many things but he's been the only one that's there for me."

"Well I had the opposite experience. He was never there so forgive me if I find it hard to believe he's a decent person," Tommy snapped.

"Ok, guys let's just relax and see how lunch goes," Oliver mediated between the two.

Both Thea and Tommy turned away from the other and pulled out their phones. Oliver sighed, at least that was better than them at each other's throats.

"OMG!" Thea declared.

Both brothers looked at her, "Walter Steele was found dead this morning with a green arrow sticking out of his chest!"

An: Thanks for reading.