Chapter Title: Chapter 13 Part 2: The Grave Soul Keeps its Own Secrets

Chapter Rating: T- for language and violence

Word Count: 5575

Chapter Summary: Team Arrow, Cass, and Jason continue to work together to capture the Dark Archer as their plan gets more complicated. Oliver's new found curiosity towards Cordelia has Felicity scrambling and having to prove just how good she is. Meanwhile, memories of a failed mission haunt Felicity but soon both her and Oliver may be getting some answers.

AN: Here is the second part and due to the flashback there is now a third part, well there will be. It kind of wrote itself and I hope you few that are still reading enjoy it. The last part will be the Gala and the conversation between Oliver and Nia. We will also bid farewell, for now, to our guest in Starling City! As I said before I will finish this chapter and then take some time off to try and get ahead of this story so that I can post on a more consistent schedule. Thanks for the patience.

He rushed down the foundry steps throwing his bow across the med table causing an irritated Dig to make his contempt known. A few steps behind him came Nia calm as ever, yet, limping down the steps letting out a low groan at coming off the last step a little too enthusiastically. She covered it with humorous long whistle as she admired the mess Oliver had made in the few seconds he had been there ahead of her.

"I don't want that reckless woman down here, ever" he turned sharp eyes at Dig "You need to check her she got hit pretty bad."

Dig made to move and she gave him a subtle but definitive shake of her head, stopping him in his tracks.

"She wasn't the problem, Oliver"

"STOP! Do not defend her. This is over, everything, DONE. She needs to leave my city now…"

"No." She said calmly crossing her arms and nodding to Dig whom had outstretched an arm at her wince and pain induced furrow, she signaled that everything was handled, which was enough for him to sit back down waiting to see things unfold. He figured he would insist to check her wounds after when they both calmed down a bit.

"Excuse me?" Oliver's raised voice had him standing again not knowing where this was going.

"It is not over and she will not leave and that is you have gotten your head out of your ass we will continue this discussion." she started to walk up the stairs being completely done with him and this day all together. She needed ice packs and possibly some stitches if the stickiness she felt on her left hip was any indication.

"Do not walk away from me Nia!" he shouted through gritted teeth as the pain in his side came to life from his rage filled movements

"Figure out whatever has you rattled and tamp it down, the plan continues, Queen. Get on board, quick." she turned her eyes to Dig as she made to leave the foundry, "Dig, have him call me then, please." she added with a wink to a simultaneously worried and amused Diggle.

2 Days Earlier

Cordelia had managed to make it to her hotel by 11:40pm after the overly awkward unwanted dinner with everyone. She had texted Oliver as soon as she had left the restaurant letting him know they would meet in 30 minutes. To her surprise he texted back almost immediately, a brief and worrisome message.

Oliver: 1am Foundry

It took her a minute to register what he had said. She wanted to ask questions, she didn't know what the hell was going on. Yet, she knew better so she settled with simply texting "Okay" and decided to relax a bit and figure out how to breach the subject once they met.

She had just exited the bathroom in her robe after setting everything up to start removing her layers of disguise in a calm manner, something she had not been allowed recently when going from one persona to another. She really needed to visit Lucius in Gotham soon. He had promised some new digital technology involving the use of nanobytes that would make this process so much easier. He had momentarily explained that there was some issues with the software but the technology was done. After this whole Arthur King fiasco she would have to make time to visit Lucius and get her hands on this thought made her chuckle, the question of what her life had become haunted her more in recent months than ever before. Speedy dress changes had never been a necessity, then again dealing with a multi persona billionaire hadn't been either.

A knock at her door brought her out of her thoughts. An uneasiness settled into her as she double checked in the mirror that her wig, now in a messy bun and her lack of lipstick didn't alter her look too much. She tightened her robe making sure her gun underneath was secure. She took one quick look through the peephole and cursed under her breath.

Of all the people she could have expected, he, didn't even make the list. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before allowing an easy smile to settle on her lips while opening the door halfway, lazily leaning against it one arm over her head. She was met by the trademark Ollie the playboy smile she was beginning to hate, she could see the tension that the rest of his body housed. He was anything but comfortable.

"Mr. Queen, this is quite a surprise" she said in that polite demeanor that was all Cordelia.

"Cordy, please it's Oliver, Mr. Queen was my father" he smirked and she could see the annoyance with himself in his eyes.

Completely ignoring his request she continued, "I must say this is unexpected, did I forget something or did something happen?"

"Nothing like that. You know Cordy, I was never known for my tact, charm, sure, but not tact. So I'll just come out and say it. Why is an attractive, successful person like yourself so invested in helping Starling City and more importantly, Tommy?"

"I'm not quite sure what you mean?"

"I mean, it's rather convenient that you are here out of nowhere and at the right moment helping Tommy with all the right connections. You know, Laurel had mentioned…"

"Ahh. I understand now, I can see how it seems convenient to the recently resurrected" she was done holding the polite brit facade, "but I have been friends with Thomas for quite some time despite others disapproval. Please, be sure that what seems 'convenient' to you is just the simple fact that you are looking at this under the pretense of what you have heard about me and on the Thomas you once knew. You can't look at this superficially- although I assume you do that quite often. I foolishly would be inclined to say you do pretty much everything superficially, but I know better"

"Have me all figured out, don't you? You see what I still can't figure out is what exactly your 'friendship' with Tommy means. What your interest is."

"You were gone 5 years , people moved on with their lives, people changed, the question is are you willing to let others see how much you have changed? More importantly what is your interest in our friendship? Are you worried that I might come between Thomas and Laurel? Or, are you hoping I do?

A chuckle laced with contempt and a bit of anger escaped his lips " Tommy had mentioned you were honest, never thought you were also crass"

It was her turn to laugh her growing impatience with him evident " Only when merited. For example," she could feel the sarcasm begin to take over her voice "when an acquaintance I barely know shows up at my hotel room, uninvited, as I never told him where I was staying, at" she looks up at the watch on her wrist that has remained above her head the entire time on the door frame "12:13am, to accuse me of malicious motives for befriending someone and then proceeds to further insult me in that particular manner that only those born with a silver spoon and a well cushioned trust fund are capable of-"

"Hey, I never said it bothered me, Cordy come on" he smirked, she knew he was proud that he had riled her up.

"Mr Queen.."

"Oliver, Cordy please" he said in an almost childish way as he took a step forward and leaned against the door frame, completely invading her space, an act of intimidation she knew well.

She finally straightened her stance placing one hand to wrap on the door and the other on the wall in front of her right at his shoulders height, her chin held high, she knew a little about intimidating poses as well. " Mr. Queen" she repeated, more force behind his name this time, " perhaps this is a conversation better suited for another time and place. Your concern and suspicions are noted. A man of your means should be able to get the answers he needs. I am sure your family's money leaves you well equipped to look into my past, figure out what my exact 'sinister' plan is, without having to bother or stalk me. I would gladly help, maybe provide you some references, perhaps an updated CV. Just, not tonight"

"Witty, hmm, he mentioned that as well. You are right Cordy, this is not the time, I apologize for the intrusion. I might have had too much to drink tonight, I am sure, I will regret this in the morning. Have a good night Cordy" he said a contrite smile now on his lips as he pushed with his shoulder off the door frame.

"I don't think you will regret it. I think you got out of this exactly what you wanted, so I am glad to have been of service. Have a good night, Mr. Queen."

He dipped his head and she could see that his embarrassment was a bit more sincere now. She knew that she should have let him get away with that half assed apology, he was counting on it after all, it was the polite thing to do. She just couldn't let it go, she was pissed on more than one level.

He started to walk away when she called after him one more time "Oh and Mr. Queen…" determined to set him straight and set them, Oliver and Cordelia, back on path. He turned eyebrows slightly raised at her voice, when their eyes met she continued,

"My friends call me Cordy, to you, it's Cordelia, please" his eyes widened the slightest bit as he nodded and a genuine breathy laugh escaping as she closed the door to her room. Heart beating fast and already feeling the heat of a call too close for comfort.

She pushed off the door and walked into her bedroom to find Cass with a look she knew too well, before she could say anything she shut her down immediately, tired of everyone's shit by now, "Not. One. Word. Cass"

As she changed and snuck out of the hotel she mumbled to herself "so much for calmly changing this time"

She rode her bike pushing it faster and faster as she hit the empty streets of the Glades. A million thoughts racing through her head. The most prevalent being, what had she given away at the dinner? What and when had Laurel talked to Oliver about?" Why was he so suspicious all of a sudden?

As her bike skidded to a stop in the alley she shook those thoughts punching in the code and walking down the steps. Her foot hadn't hit the last step when she heard Oliver's voice strong and something lurking underneath it

" I need you to look into someone, Cordelia Todd."

"Excuse me? Your date tonight? Isn't that a bit drastic, I mean if you like the girl just tell her" Damn her and the need to use humor to cover up nerves. Seeing the way his eyes narrowed she made the choice in that moment to not give in this time. They had more pressing issues at the moment and if that argument bought her some time she would definitely use it.

" I am not sure I can trust her. She's too close to Tommy, Laurel has apprehensions about her and to be honest there is something that just doesn't sit well with me."

"Oliver, we don't have time to go Hardy Boys on this woman simply for a gut feeling. We have actual enemies to worry about." At his hard glare she took a deep breath and decided to try a different tactic.

"Okay, fine I will ask a favor from a very reliable friend of mine. Don't look at me like that. We have more pressing issues and I trust this person. You have to compromise with me, on this one"

"Fine. If you trust this person then I do. Keep me updated"

"Yes, sir!" she saluted.

"Funny. Now, about Cass and Todd.." she audibly groaned at that as she made her way to the chair and flopped down.

The conversation had been long and tedious. If she thought Oliver had reservations before,now, he was down right questioning everything they had planned so far. Too many liabilities at the Gala. He wasn't on board with her not being there to cover them. Even after she reassured him that even when she wasn't there, she was there. Yet, nothing bothered him more than Cass and Todd's presence in Starling. He didn't trust them and he couldn't control them. His two least favorite things. She reassured him as much as she could eventually simply stating that he was going to have to get on board or bail out now because they didn't have time to question and vet everyone with a fine tooth comb. He resigned for now but she knew better, this was not over.

Nothing would prove this better then when two days later Cass went off script during what was supposed to be recon and ended up getting Felicity hurt. That had been the final straw for he went off on Cass and Nia defended her stating that it wasn't a big deal and that even he had been the cause of a few bruises, she for probably one of the first times, saw him go so red with anger that he went speechless. The only reason she had gone after him when he had walked out without uttering a single word was because regardless of the current mission, her mission was still the same, Robert and his family, and Oliver was essential and slowly becoming her main mission.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Diggle sat waiting for Oliver to come off the Salmon Ladder. He had been going at it for the past hour and Dig was almost out of patience.

"Are you going to talk about your feelings like a big boy or are you going to continue to punish your body and hit things?"

Oliver jumped off the top rung on the ladder placing a hard stare on Dig as he ignored him and headed to the restroom. Oliver knew Dig would be waiting outside and he would have questions. The problem was, Oliver had no answers. He felt like his world was coming down on him and there were enemies everywhere and very few allies. He couldn't afford to trust more people and be wrong. He was beginning to question the influence Nia was having on him, on the mission and he realized that his issue was that he knew so little. He had been okay with that when he thought no one knew anything about her, that she was a mystery to all. Yet, meeting Cass and Todd he knew better now and that bothered him, a lot.

If all her secrets surrounded him and his family why was he the one in the dark? Why did he feel like in order to continue he needed more answers and less mystery? If he was to move forward working with Nia they would need to have a conversation a very lengthy conversation. With a deep sigh he pushed off the bathroom sink and reached for the door. Maybe Dig could offer some insight now that he knew what he needed.

As Felicity made it to her lair she could feel the blood dripping down her pant leg. Looking down she could see the blood stain on her boot. Obviously the cut was deeper than she thought and probably the bike ride over had not helped. Removing her jacket as she walked in she heard Cass gasp, she looked down to find the angry red stain on her shirt, jacket and pants. She Felt Cass move and instinctively raised her hand to stop her. Just because she had defended Cass did not mean she was not angry at her and the fact that her over eagerness had gotten them all in trouble. She would not admit that to Oliver but her glare made it very evident to Cass whom simply sat back down a flash of worry and regret crossing her face better she could school her face back to impassive.

Felicity continued removing her clothes low hisses and groans leaving her throat without her permission. She grabbed the med supplies she would need and began to clean herself up. She could feel Cass' hard stare yet, ignored her and the sharp sting of the needle, God she hated needles she could feel the bile rise up but her pride was bigger than her fear.

Six stitches later, wrapped ribs and some strong pain meds she was sitting in her apartment all pretense left aside. Blonde curls a mess on top of her head, her favorite pajamas in place and slumped carefully on her right side to alleviate her left hip and ribs she drank her tea and purposely ignored Cass. The meds rousing her memories, this pain seemed all too familiar, and dismissing her inhibitions.

FLASHBACK

She could feel a tingle in her left foot toes running all the way to her shoulder, apparently hope was not lost, although the pool of blood she was currently laying in begged to differ. She was bleeding from her left hip and ribs and she was almost sure her foot was broken. The only silver lining in this entire fucked up situation was that she knew the bullets had gone through all the way and the freezing temperatures in Tula were numbing the pain but was also slowly killing her.

All she could hear was the low roar of engines, and the breaking of ice. She knew they were searching for her in the Upa River. Had she still been in the river she would be dead but she was flattered that they believed her to be so otherworldly that she would be able to survive over 10 min in the river. A breath intended to be a chuckle left her throat and she knew she had to move, somehow.

She was about 200km from Moscow and survival, and that's all she allowed herself to think of, that was all she could manage at the moment, well, that and breathing. She gave herself to the count of 10 and then she had to move before the 5 to 8 men a few meters away gave up on the river and came looking.

She had taken out about 9 men, she couldn't be really sure because when the second bullet hit her, she emptied her clips giving her time to get away and losing count in the process. As she counted to 10 she began to think back on how quickly things had gone bad.

1,2,3…

Tula was supposed to bring answers she was searching for, after 3 other cities had led her here. Contrary to her current situation this was just a recon trip. She had taken sick days from QC and would probably not make it back in time, or at all. After finding that the QC subsidiaries in Russia had experienced some questionable monetary shifting, all stemming from a log in using Robert Queen's name and then finding a money trail that lead here more than 3 years after the disappearance of the Queen men, she knew something was up and she had to get to the bottom of it. and Moscow had been a bust. Sochi had been much more eventful and at that moment she believed had gone off without a hitch. Her last visit was Tula and just her luck this was where she met her current road block. These were trained enforcers and assassins and she was lucky all she had was two bullet holes, a possibly broken foot, probably a concussion and definitely a bruised ego.

4, 5,6…

In Sochi she had found that the money trail ended at the headquarters for the Solntsevskaya Bratva. A little over $2 million total pulled from all 4 companies, all authorized withdrawals with all the right signatures. Yet, no one at Moscow or St. Petersberg had any idea or even noticed. The CFO at Sochi had, and made it his job to cover it all up for fear of being fired for overlooking the withdrawal. He was her way in and once she had exposed all the right nerves he sang like a canary and gave up everything he had, mainly that the last withdrawal had come out of Tula, precisely the National Bank in Tula, withdrawn in person. Apparently, he had also gave her up after the fact, that asshole. She guessed he wasn't as innocent as he pleaded, damn him and the plea he made on behalf of his family. Although, knowing what she knew now she figures he gave her up because he feared the Bratva more than he feared her, fair enough.

The minute she checked into the hotel she knew she was being followed. Man, was she glad she had opted for a disguise for this trip, she had definitely learned over the years. Apparently, a French tourist wasn't as inconspicuous as she thought. When she noted the tail she decided the best way to handle it was to keep being a tourist and the first chance she got head back to Moscow and get on the first plane to Starling. Last thing she wanted was to blow her cover or end up getting dead, oops. It seemed to be working until she made a move for the bank under the pretense of withdrawing money. It seems she might of stayed in there a few minutes too long. Damn her and her inability to just let this go, for now. The minute she excited she felt the men get bolder in their pursuit of her and as she turned the corner she was in a full on sprint.

She wasn't sure whom they were or what they wanted but she knew bad guys when she saw them. She made her way into a small coffee shop and out the back door finding a one story building she could climb. She reached the roof in record time, enough to see the men exit the shop and look everywhere cursing at losing her. As they took one last futile look around, one of the men grabbed his cell and placed a call. Her Russian was rusty at best but even she knew what "Pakhan" meant. She was in a world of trouble and nobody knew where she was or what she was doing, she really needed to get a sidekick.

7, 8…

She stealthily moved through the ancient rooftops, trying to come up with a plan to get the hell out of dodge. She spotted the train station and knew that was her only exit and a perfect opportunity to find a new disguise, well steal from someone's bags, and get lost in a crowd. She waited for a train to deboard and took advantage of the crowd to jump down. She 'found' some clothes and purchased a boarding ticket straight to Munich. She made a quick stop to the bathroom, she couldn't believe the Bratva Pakhan himself held an interest in her. Man had she really done it this time.

She had no idea how Robert was connected to the Bratva worst how she had missed that connection in all her research. As she pinned her hair up and removed her makeup she took a deep breath and made her way out. The minute she opened the door the silence was almost deafening in the station. She knew she was screwed.

"Little girl little girl, what a mess you have made"

It took all her control not to react to the voice or even look up. She kept her eye down and wondered how long before they started shooting. She could already see three options for cover from whatever hail of bullets awaited her. A food cart was her best option as it would only require her taking out two guys, it was closest to an exit, although she had to assume they had all the outside covered, and it gave her access to some knives on top of the cart.

The instant she heard a gun click she let two shots free from her 9mm and sprinted behind the cart as bullets rained down on her. She picked up the 3 knives and weighed them in her hand as she made a plan to get out of this damn death trap. She heard the train coming and knew this was her chance, she emptied a clip teh instant she felt the rumble signaling the train would be there in seconds, and made a run for it.

The train didn't even stop but she managed to grab on as she felt a 2 bullets pierce her body. The force of her jump and speed of the train slammed her against the cart and flopped her like a rag doll as she felt her foot twist and bend in an unnatural way and a sharp pain radiate up her leg. She cursed but didn't let go as the train speed away and the men became blurry in the distance.

She started to take a breath as the train began to slow and the emergency brakes squeaked. She cursed under her breath as she waited for it to stop right next to the river and she jumped off making sure to not put weight on her foot. The river was an option, a stupid one she thought as she began to cross it. Halfway there she realized she almost had no potions and she was in no condition to make any kind of escape. She could hear the men shouting in the distance their voices carried by the below freezing wind.

Without thought she used the butt of her gun to bash the ice once she found a thin enough patch it cracked and started to give. She walked to the bank and picked up a rock, gave her self distance and then tossed it at the cracked ice causing a satisfying shattering of the ice. She figured this would keep them busy for some time.

9, 10…

It had kept them busy but it was time to move. With more effort than she was willing to admit she got up and began an even trot. Making sure to stay as hidden as possible. She spotted a farmhouse in the distance and made that her next goal, if her luck turned around there would be a car she could "borrow". She ignored the desperate plea from her body to stop and stayed alert as the farmhouse got closer and closer.

The minute she spotted the small european car on the opposite side of the house an extra busrt of adrenaline kicked in and she picked up her pace and allowed herself to be a bit more careless. The minute her right hand landed on the door of the car she spotted 3 men in the distance and she ducked down as she picked teh door lock. The minute she sat in that driver's seat she was sure she would be okay.

She obviously never stepped foot in Russia again after that. Hell when she took up her Russian identity she struggled with the idea for almost 6 months before she caved. The Bratva was a true evil to fear and they almost had her and she was damned if she ever let them get that close again. She would eventually figure out the money trail and put to rest her time in RUssia but it would take another year and a half.

END OF FLASHBACK

As the memories faded her fingers ghosted over the bullet wound that now lay only millimeters from her new stitches. She rotated her sore left foot as it cracked multiple times, fuck it still hurt sometimes when it was cold outside. A stark reminder that her life and Oliver's had been tangled long before either even knew the other.

The Gala approached faster than any of them were ready for and tensions were running high. Felicity was trying to heal while pretending that everything was fine. Cass had made herself scarce and had not returned to the foundry since that day. It had only taken Oliver a couple of hours to send Dig to contact her. She was sure Oliver had asked him to set up a meeting but Dig proving once again why he was her favorite had also taken the opportunity to have a long conversation with her about Oliver's "sensibilities" as she called them much to his amusement.

She made light of the conversation but she knew just how important and serious it really was. She knew Oliver wouldn't allow her to keep him in the dark for too long and she was prepared to reveal as much as she could at this moment. Yet, she knew that in doing so it would distract them all from their current goal. With a promise that the sooner they dealt with this the sooner Cass would be gone from his city he gave in but not before he made her basically promise that the minute this was over they would have a long honest conversation, no more lies or omissions. She had scoffed at his comment only responding to his glare with a shrug and smirk as she responded "Hi Mr. Pot am ". He had nearly smiled at that and she considered that a win.

Before she left to run some recon with Cass she snapped her fingers as if remembering something and pulled a folder from inside her jacket. She handed it to him, at his questioning look, she pulled out a picture of Cordelia Todd "Everything checks out. You date has no record, no family, some friends in high places and a great credit score." at his look she shrugged "What can I say my guy is thorough. Look whatever you expected to find it just isn't there. He digged deep, 3rd grade teacher deep and nothing. She's clean. Besides dealing with some disgustingly rich people with no moral compass, due to her job as an event planner, she has no skeletons. Not unless you count that one time in prep school when she got suspended for cheating on an exam. Like I said my guy super thorough."

As if she had said nothing he pushed through, "Any of those dealing with 1% lead to any shady business deals? Any offshore bank accounts? Anything?"

"Nothing Oliver. She actually has turned down jobs when the more obviously corrupt 1% have tried to hire her. As for money, given that her businesses make millions she actually donates a large part of that and let me just say her employees are some of the best paid in the nation. Nobody makes under $60K in that company and am talking from the janitorial staff up. She has some parking tickets if that helps. Although she did pay them."

At his grunt of consent she internally relaxed "So, can we let this go now? Can I move on from creepily stalking your date?"

He gave a firm head nod but took the folder with him. Man was she glad she had taken the time to develop a credible story for Cordelia back when she first created her. The story was so well cemented that any digging he did would only lead to the information she had so meticulously embedded.

As she stepped outside into the cold night her left foot tingled with a recognizable ache, she rotated it as she usually did. Her mind wandered to her pending conversation with Oliver and a smile tugged at her lips. If they would have an honest conversation maybe it was time she got some answers about the Bratva Kapitan. Yet, first there was the Gala and Arthur King, easy peasy she mused as a shiver ran up her spine, she blamed the chill in the night but knew better.