word count: 11,850

IX.

"If you tell anyone—

If you go to the cops—

If you try anything—

I will kill them."

Felicity did not call the cops.

She wanted to.

She wanted to send the whole force of the Starling City SWAT team to wherever The Hoods were hiding.

But, she had to do this smartly.

If Felicity was anything, it was smart.

And loyal.

And stubborn.

And really, fucking, pissed.

Peter burst into Oliver's office, wincing as Diggle turned, ready to take him out if need be.

"Sorry, sorry!" He raised his hands in apology, and possibly in an effort to fend off attack. When Diggle simply sighed, Peter turned his attention to Oliver. "Mr. Queen, there's an Earl Belmont on the phone. He sounds pretty frantic. He said something about your sister, Thea."

Oliver frowned. He glanced at Diggle and then reached for the phone.

"Line two, sir," Peter added.

With a short nod, Oliver pressed the button for line two and raised the phone to his ear. "Earl?"

"They took them," he said without preamble.

"What? Who?" Oliver barked.

"These— These men in hoods. They pulled into the parking lot in a van. They took Miss Andi and Miss Thea with them. I tried to help them, I swear. They knocked me out. I don't know how much time I lost..."

"Did they say anything?"

"It's foggy, but… One of them said something to Miss Andi. That she was a bargaining chip. To get at Miss Felicity."

Oliver closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Thank you, Earl."

"Oh, and one of them had prosthetic fingers on his hand. I don't know if it helps but—"

"It does." Oliver hung up the phone and stood from his desk. "Peter, where's Felicity?"

"She was still in the Applied Sciences Division last I saw her." He backed out of the door, hugging his tablet to his chest. "Should I call down and see if she's there?"

"No. Thank you. I'll take care of it." Oliver crossed the floor of his office in three quick strides. Diggle was right behind him.

Applied Sciences was down eight floors, which meant the elevator was the faster play. Standing still, however, felt like a slow march to death. Oliver picked at his thumb, nerves frayed. As soon as the doors opened, he was out and moving toward the door leading into the lab.

One of the techs—an older woman, mid-50's, with greying brown hair, and a crooked smile— spotted him and made her way over. Before they could get a greeting out, Oliver demanded, "There was a woman here. Short, blonde—"

"Felicity, yes. Nice young lady. She spent most of the day visiting with everybody. Took a keen interest in knowing what everybody was working on in their spare time. Especially Kiera."

"Have you seen her?"

"She took a call in the hallway earlier." She turned her tablet down and pressed it against her stomach, a frown making lines furrow around her mouth. "It looked tense. She stepped back in to say there was an emergency, apologized for having to leave so soon."

Oliver let out a heavy breath. "How long ago?"

"A half hour, maybe forty minutes ago."

Grinding his teeth, Oliver pivoted and returned to the elevator.

John took one look at him and grimaced. "What do we do?"

Oliver dug his phone out of his pocket and shook his head. "We hope Felicity picks up and that she has an idea of where they are."

"And if she doesn't?"

"Then we run a search. Earl said one of the shooters had a prosthetic on his hand. That's a lead we can use."

"Can we use it from here?" Diggle wondered. "The computers aren't set up right at the foundry yet."

"We can try."

"Oliver…" John turned to him. "The odds on this aren't good."

"No, they aren't." He stared forward, at the blurred image of himself in the elevator doors. "Which means I might just have to rescind that no killing rule."

Inside an abandoned church in The Glades, The Hoods stood, unmasked.

In the middle of the aisle, pews draped in dusty sheets on either side of them, Thea and Andi were tied to a pair of chairs, back to back.

"These ropes are doing terrible things to my skin," Andi muttered.

Thea wanted to laugh, but her whole body felt numb. Not just with fear, but with anger. Her gaze jumped around the room, watching the men march closer to them, talking amongst themselves. Still, she mustered up a, "Spa day after this?"

"My treat," Andi agreed.

"I signed on for taking out her brother. But, this one's still a kid," one of The Hoods said. Tall, black, and missing part of his hand, he was the one that Thea had fought and lost against.

"Nobody said we had to kill her," another piped up. Older, with greying hair and a narrow face. "We can knock her out, drop her somewhere when everything's done."

"Buy her some Prada's while you're at it," a third muttered. "She's seen our faces, remember?"

"Merlyn's the only one coming. We haven't made contact with Queen yet." The man ahead of Thea was the leader, or she was assuming he was anyway. He seemed to make the final call on everything. Not to mention he seemed the most unhinged. "We take out Merlyn first. Then we make a move on Queen."

"Why not get them both done now?"

"Wasn't so easy this morning, was it?"

"We didn't know she'd be there!"

"Why can't we use Merlyn as a bargaining chip? If taking his sister hostage won't keep his mouth shut, his missing girlfriend will."

"Are you getting soft on us?"

"No, of course not. But, this one's not much older than my sister was when she was killed in the earthquake."

Thea twisted in her seat, glancing at Andi over her shoulder, and then back to the men circling her. "Is that why you're doing this?" she bit out. "My brother didn't do anything wrong. Neither did Felicity. She wasn't even in the country!"

"Too right. We were safely tucked away in London, where every trigger-happy sociopath kept their distance," Andi added.

Ignoring them, The Hoods continued to bicker amongst themselves.

"What we're doing here is justice, which makes us the heroes!"

"These two didn't kill anybody."

"Neither did my mother." Thea pulled at her bound hands restlessly and raised angry eyes at the closest of the gunmen. "Malcolm Merlyn destroyed The Glades."

"With mommy's help," the leader snapped back.

"Malcolm Merlyn was a controlling, abusive, self-centered arsehole who didn't care one whit about his children. So, if you think that harming Felicity will be some kind of revenge, you're sorely mistaken." Andi scoffed. "That man was utter garbage, and if you knew his children, you'd know that they are nothing like him."

"He killed my father and my mother thought he was going to kill my brother, too. That was the only reason she went along with his plan," Thea insisted. "She was afraid of him…" Her gaze fell as she muttered quietly, "She must've been so afraid."

"Just like my wife," the leader spat, reaching for a gun at his hip. "When our house collapsed on top of her."

Thea went still, watching him raise the gun, a cold shiver of dream running through her body.

But then, a buzz interrupted the tension, and everyone looked to the leader. Sighing, he reached down and plucked the phone from his pocket. "It's Merlyn. She's at the pick-up spot." He jerked his chin at the two men standing beside Andi. "Baker, Colton. Go get her." To Thea and Andi, he said, "Looks like your friend cares enough to trade herself for you two. Too bad you won't be around for the reunion…" He flicked the safety off and aimed the barrel for Thea's forehead.

(ONE HOUR AGO)

Felicity rapped her knuckles against a half-open office door. Glancing at the name plate, she asked, "Kiera González?"

Behind the sole desk in the room was a woman, her dark hair tied in a fish-tail braid that hung over one shoulder. "That's me..." She finished what she was typing and then looked. "Can I help you with something?"

"Oh! Yes. Um, I'm Felicity Smoak." She stepped further into the office. "I've been doing a bit of a meet n' greet on this floor. It's where all the toys are."

"Can't argue there. Are you new to AS, then?"

"No, no." She waved her hands. "I'm not directly affiliated with QC, exactly."

Kiera frowned, her brow furrowed.

"Wow, that sounds sketchy, like I'm here for corporate espionage purposes or something. Um, here. I have a pass." Felicity pulled the it off over her head and handed it over. "I'm a friend of Oliver's. Or, Mr. Queen, I guess. I have my own tech business. Smoak Screen—"

"Technologies? Hey, I know you!" Kiera's face brightened. "I've seen some of your work. I mean, not legally." She paused. "Or illegally... Scratch what I just said."

Felicity grinned. "I'm surprised you've even heard of me."

"Yeah, well, I like to keep an eye out for competition... or inspiration, in your case."

"I'm flattered." She shrugged. "Anyway, I've just been poking around, seeing what everyone's working on. You don't have to show me, of course. But, I'm curious by nature."

"You said you were a friend of Mr. Queen's? He gave you this?" Kiera handed the pass back to her. "This is the highest security I've seen on, well, anyone. I mean, I haven't read Mr. Queen's security pass. I'm not even sure he has one. I feel like he just glares at people and they let him go wherever he wants."

She snorted. "You know, you're the third person to mention his 'glare.' I feel like I'm missing out on something here. I mean, he doesn't smirk as much as he used to, and his grin only makes very special appearances, but I can count on one hand how many times I've seen him glare."

"It's an experience. Anyway, yeah, if you're really serious about seeing what I'm working on, I wouldn't mind you taking a look. Of course, if anything like it suddenly shows up with your name attached to it, expect a full-throttle cyber attack."

Felicity nodded. "Of course."

Kiera pushed back from her desk and circled around it, revealing a black and silver wheelchair. At Felicity's surprised expression, she said, "Nothing I'm working on has to do with my legs, if you're wondering."

"Oh, no, I wasn't..."

"It's fine. People just kind of assume that everything I do will lead to some kind of miracle fix-it or something." She snorted and rolled over to a table, the glass top working as a tablet screen. "I was born this way, and honestly, I'm not looking to change it."

Felicity followed after her, watching her hands move around quickly, bringing up a file folder. With a tap of Kiera's finger, various files spread out across the glass. Wheeling to the right, she stretched an arm out and tapped a file called—

"Hedgehog?" Felicity's brow furrowed. "Can I ask...?"

"It's a joke. Sonic the Hedgehog." Schematics spread out then, the mechanics of her work broken down in various pieces. "Basically, it's like a sonic boom. Instant percussion wave that knocks out whoever it hits within a 30-meter radius. I've been able to work it out so that it's directive. Meaning whatever height it's at, it's a straight line out from there. If you're under or over that line, you're safe. But, if it hits you..."

"You wake up later with one hell of a headache." Felicity nodded. "Wow."

"Yeah." Kiera shrugged and sat back in her wheel chair. "It's not perfect. I mean, originally, it was supposed to be used at war. It would mean a lot less bloodshed, that's for sure. But, we ran into some issues with trying to use it in the field. For one thing, letting everyone on your side know that you're about to set it off. War is pretty chaotic, so if our side doesn't know, they could be sitting ducks, too."

"Yeah, then anyone outside of the 30-meter radius can come in and pick off whoever's down."

"Exactly." She frowned. "Plus, the attachment method. We've tried tossing it up in the air, but that throws the direction off. Since it's a straight line, it needs to be angled right, otherwise the only thing we're knocking out is birds and worms."

Felicity hummed. "Still. Pretty genius."

Kiera nodded. "Thanks. It's a work in progress, but it'll get there."

"Do you have a prototype?" Felicity wondered.

"Yeah. This one's kind of my baby. We've had a few different versions, but the best one so far is Mark-6." She wheeled over to her desk and plucked up a palm-sized disc from a line of five others.

Felicity held it in her palm. "Lot of punch for such a little thing."

Keira grinned. "That's my specialty."

"There she is!" Baker sat forward in his seat, pointing toward where a blonde woman was standing next to a street lamp.

"You sure it's her?" Colton frowned. His gaze was darting around, in search of some kind of trick. He was waiting to see a swarm of undercover police suddenly turn and pull their guns, shining a spotlight on the unmarked white van they were driving.

"I'm sure." Baker nodded. "I tapped into the security cameras outside of QC from this morning. That's her jacket."

"You're a fashion expert now?" Colton snorted, but slowed the van down. She was slotted between the street lamp and a tall mailbox, her back to them as she looked at her phone. "She seem nervous to you?"

"We've got her friends held hostage. Of course she looks nervous. Are we doing this or what?"

Colton grimaced, but nodded shortly. He pulled the van into the next line and slowed it down. "When we're close, you grab her. Got it?"

"I know what I'm doing," Baker muttered, crouched by the door. He pulled his mask down over his face and then nodded at him. "Let's do this."

The brakes squealed with the abrupt stop. Baker threw the door open and leaned out the door, ready and eager to grab Felicity Merlyn off the street.

Instead, he paused, his head cocked to the side.

The blonde turned to face him, and offered a smirk.

"It's a trap!" Baker yelled.

The tell-tale snap of a safety flicking off a gun seemed to echo through the van.

"Keep yours hands where I can see them," a deep voice growled.

Up front, Colton slowly drew his fingers back from where they were just grazing the grip of his gun, leaving it useless in the cup-holder between the seats. He turned his eyes to the side, where a grizzled looking man sneered at him. "Out of the van, now."

Baker looked from Colton to the woman in front of him, who was, quite obviously, not Felicity Merlyn. The only gun he could see was on Colton, so he lunged forward in an effort to make a run for it. The woman in front of him seemed to expect it. She reared a fist back and slammed it into his nose, sending him tumbling into the hollow van, cursing a storm and reaching for his broken, bleeding nose.

"You got him, Laurel?" the guy dragging Colton from the van asked.

"Got him." She glared down at Baker. "You just attempted to kidnap the Assistant District Attorney. And that mask looks an awful lot like what The Hoods were wearing when they attacked the fundraiser last night and killed the mayor. I'd try not to rack up any more changes. You've got enough on your plate."

Swiping the blood away from his chin, Baker slumped back against the wall of the van and shook his head.

Pressed up against the front of the van, Colton was spitting up a storm. "If you don't let us go, those girls are dead. Do you hear me? Dead!"

Laurel extended her arm, an expandable baton opening as she did, and pointed at Baker. "Out of the van. Now."

Shuffling his way out, Baker sneered at her, teeth stained red, but let her push him around to the front of the van.

"Laurel, you wanna tell me what the hell is going on? Who else do these guys have?"

Sighing, she watched her dad put a pair of cuffs on Colton before she said, "There are two others Hoods out there; they have Thea and Felicity's friend, Andi."

"Felicity Smoak?" Quentin shook his head. "Is that why you're wearing a blonde wig, telling me to get down here and arrest some attempted kidnappers?"

"She has a plan."

"Oh yeah?" His brows hiked. "You wanna share with the class?"

"I would. But, she didn't exactly share it with me."

Quentin let out a long-suffering sigh. "What did she share with you?"

(30 MINUTES AGO)

Felicity hammered her fist down against the door, over and over again. Absently, she wondered if maybe she should have called ahead. It wasn't like Laurel didn't have a job. Clearly, she did. As the assistant district attorney, as evidenced by last night. Maybe it was just a desperate hope that after last night's attack, Laurel would choose to take the night off. Seeing as Felicity hadn't, she should have expected Laurel wouldn't either.

Just as she was about to give up on an obviously lost cause, the door swung open.

Laurel frowned. "No offense, but you're the last person I expected to see at my door."

"I need your help," Felicity blurted, before pushing past Laurel into her apartment.

"Please, come in," she muttered.

"I'm feeling a hint of déjà vu right now, but we can come back to that." She turned on her heel to face her. "You remember last night? Stupid question, of course you remember last night. Who forgets they were attacked by masked gunmen? I mean, obviously, some people do. That's like, a form of amnesia, isn't it? Due to high stress or something. I can relate." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Sorry, I'm rambling, I'm just really nervous. I swear, I got a better grip on this no-filter thing ages ago, but when I get stressed, it gets all… Bleh."

Laurel stared at her, brow knit. "Start from the beginning. What does this have to do with the gunmen?"

"Right. See." Felicity pointed at her. "That's why I'm here. Because who better to understand my situation than someone who personally went through it?"

"Sorry, is this supposed to be like a… therapy thing? Because, while I support you in searching out some kind of support group or—"

"What? No. Not that I'm knocking therapy. I mean, go therapy, for anybody who wants or needs it. But, no, this isn't about that."

"Then…?"

"The gunmen, The Hoods, they contacted me."

Laurel's eyes widened. "What? When? Why?"

"They have Andi and Thea. They're holding them hostage. And they want to set up an exchange, me for them."

Blown away, Laurel shook her head slowly. "We have to call my dad! Immediately!"

"No." Felicity leapt forward and threw her hands up to block Laurel from bee-lining toward a phone.

"Are you crazy? We can't put lives at risk, Felicity. My dad will know what to do and who to call."

"I'm going to the exchange!" she exclaimed.

Laurel paused and reared her head back. "Do you have any idea what kind of risk that is?"

"I know that there are four gunmen and they'll only send one or two to pick me up from the location they gave me. Obviously, they're not going to bring Thea or Andi with them. And frankly, they're nuts, so the chances of Andi or Thea living through this are pretty slim. I mean, they said it was a trade, but let's be real. They shot up Queen Consolidated today in an effort to get at Oliver. I don't see them drawing the line at Thea."

"They attacked Queen Consolidated?"

"Another issue for another time." Felicity shook her head. "Look, I came to you because I need your help."

Laurel crossed her arms over her chest and raised a dubious eyebrow. "It sounds like you've already made up your mind, what do you need me for?"

"They gave me a time-limit to get to the pick-up point. I have to text them when I arrive. It isn't far from here."

"Okay…?"

"Once I text, they'll send their people over, and they'll find who they think is me, standing exactly where they want me. Only it's not going to be me, it'll be you."

Laurel frowned.

"You can call your dad. He can be your back-up. Once they show, he can collar them or arrest them or whatever you want to call it. You'll be a main player in bringing down these vigilantes, which I'm guessing will be a pretty big win for your career."

"And where will you be?"

"Tracking the others down." Inside her purse was a tablet she'd borrowed from the Applied Science's department. After hanging up with The Hoods, she'd texted Tommy to get Laurel's address, caught a cab to her apartment, and then called Earl, hoping he might have some more information. As it turned out, Earl had been with Thea and Andi when they were taken. Groggy from a head wound, it'd taken him a little while to tell her everything that happened, but something stuck out. He told her one of the attackers had lost three of his fingers in an accident and was wearing a prosthetic. Since finding that out, Felicity had been running a program to search for anybody matching that type of injury that lived in The Glades or was affected by The Undertaking. Once she knew one of the attacker's identities, she could narrow down the suspect pool a little more.

"How?" Laurel demanded.

"Listen, the less you know, the better." While Felicity needed her help, she also had to consider that Laurel was an ADA. She was limited by her ties to the law. Felicity wasn't. Which was why she was using illegal software to search for one of the perps.

"Felicity, if we catch these guys, we can ask them where Thea and Andi are, and then we can send the SWAT team in."

"We don't have time for that." Felicity shook her head. "And frankly, I don't trust SWAT or SCPD to prioritize them. I like your dad. I met him today and he seems like a really good person. But, the Queens are persona non grata around here right now. And with The Hoods being so high-profile, I feel like police will be looking for a good photo op, regardless of any collateral damage."

"These men are armed and dangerous. What, exactly, do you think you're going to do that will insure you, Thea, and Andi walk away from this?"

"Just… Trust me. Okay? I know what I'm doing." She shook her head. "I know you don't know me very well, and I know you think I hate you—"

Laurel scoffed. "You do hate me. You always have."

"No. I resent that a lot of your decisions negatively impact my brother."

Laurel didn't look completely convinced, but she nodded. "Okay, not a terrible reason..."

"Look, Laurel, I came to you because I thought you, of all people, would understand how important it is to stop these people. They're reckless and dangerous and they're putting lives at risk. After last night and this morning, I want to stop them, and I think you do, too."

"I do. The legal way."

"Which is why you and your dad will run this little sting operation however you like, and I will handle my half of things strictly off the record."

"I don't like this. There are too many holes. Too many ways it can go wrong…" Laurel stared at her searchingly before letting out a heavy sigh. "What's the plan?"

"First things first, we need to change. You need to wear my dress, since they saw me wearing it earlier. And I need to borrow some clothes. Preferably black stealth-wear."

"I'm not sure I have anything specifically stealthy, but I'll see what I can find."

"Great!" Felicity grinned. "Also, what are the chances you own a blonde wig…?"

Laurel smirked. "Better than you'd think."

It occurred to Felicity that tracking the identity of The Hoods wasn't her only option. There was also the fact that Andi's' phone had tracking software on it. Software Felicity could personally keep an eye on, seeing as she'd put it there. More often than not, they used it to find which bizarre place Andi had lost her phone recently. One time, she'd found it in the freezer, in between a bag of peas and a box of Eggo waffles. That wasn't why Felicity had put it on the phone, though. No, six years ago, Andi had been partying at a friend of a friend of a friend's loft, where her drink had been roofied. Someone had seen it happen and had helped, thankfully, but the close call was enough for both of them to be a little warier of the world at large. Hence, tracking software. On top of that, however, they had agreed to always let each other know where they were, who they were with, and when either of those things changed. They came up with a safe word too, just in case. The peanut emoji meant something was wrong; a reminder of when Felicity had a pot brownie with peanuts in it and had to be rushed to the hospital due to an allergic reaction. The peach emoji, however, meant everything was peachy-keen.

Somehow, despite the awful reasons for putting the tracking software on Andi's phone, Felicity hadn't expected to be using it for this purpose. Finding Andi's phone, tucked inside the linen closet in Felicity's spare bathroom for the third time, sure. But, not this. She was glad, don't get her wrong. Glad that she now had a way to find her friends and to put these assholes in their place. It just felt so unreal to be doing this. But, here she was, sleuthing her way into a creepy, abandoned-looking church in the middle of The Glades.

Five minutes ago, her tablet had dinged to let her know that it had a hit on the man with the amputated fingers. Jeff Deveau. African-American, late-thirties, ex-Marine. He'd lost three of his fingers and part of his hand in the earthquake. He and his wife Alyssa were trying to make it across the 52nd Street bridge when it collapsed. Alyssa hadn't made it. Felicity regretted that. She regretted every life that was lost or changed by The Undertaking, by her father's hand. But, that didn't make this any better. It didn't excuse the things they'd done. Did it? Did the adage 'an eye for an eye' fit here? Since her father couldn't be that eye, was she destined to stand in its place? Or maybe Tommy? Would Thea and Oliver lay their necks on the chopping block and pay for their mother's sins? Would that be enough for The Hoods, or would they find someone else to pay for their pain?

She wasn't sure.

What she was sure of was that Thea and Andi were innocent in this, and she wasn't going to let them be another name on the list of those lost because her father was a sociopathic terrorist.

According to Deveau's phone records, he made a lot of calls to the exact church the tracking device put Andi's phone at. Standing Strong was a support group for those who'd lost loves ones in the quake, which was where Felicity was guessing he found the other three people who dressed up in masks and took on whoever made their hit list.

Drawing the hood up and over her head, she tucked her hair inside and took a deep breath. Her nerves were shot and her stomach was doing somersaults, but this wasn't the time to start retching. She needed to stay focused. Andi and Thea were counting on her to come through. Laurel had already texted her to say she was in position, so Felicity texted The Hoods that she was there and waiting, even as she'd scurried down an alleyway, slipping up behind the church. An unmarked white van left a few minutes later, taking two of the four Hoods with it. That should've been a comfort. Now she only had to deal with half the number of attackers she would have faced otherwise. Unfortunately, one of them was an ex-Marine, and while she didn't know the other one, she was going to lay odds that he was still a serious threat.

Felicity didn't have combat training, obviously. Yes, she did kick boxing, but that mostly to keep in shape and to get out some of her aggression. After Malcolm pulled his absentee-dad routine, she'd bottled up how she felt. For too long, she took that blame unto herself. And then Andi invited her to a yoga class. A really terrible, sweaty, not-at-all soothing yoga class. And on the way out, she'd seen a kick-boxing class going on in the same gym. Deciding that might be more her speed, she'd joined up, and she didn't regret it. But, as much as kick-boxing kept her somewhere in the area of 'toned,' it wasn't going to make her any kind of match for a Marine. Which was why she had to come at this problem the way only she and those of her ilk could.

With their brains.

Oliver cursed to himself as the phone continued to ring through, over and over again. While Felicity wasn't answering, his computer was running a search for anyone fitting the description that Earl had given. It was a slow process, however, hindered some by the fact that both Oliver and Diggle were uncomfortable using QC computers for Hood work. With Isabel already out for blood, Oliver didn't want to give her more ammo. More often than not, he felt like he was under a microscope, and given the gravity of the situation, this was not the right time to be limiting himself. But, he was, using everything at his disposal to hide his tracks while he ran his search.

Eventually, the computer dinged, offering up a short list of people with prosthetic fingers living in Starling. Oliver sighed. "Between the ARMY and The Undertaking, there are a few too many names here..."

"How do we narrow it down?" Diggle wondered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Ethnicity and age, neither of which we know."

"We can guess."

"Three lives hang in the balance, Diggle, I want to do a little more than guess."

"We have to do something."

A knock at the glass door drew their attention then, and Oliver turned, frowning at Peter. "This isn't a good time right now. Whatever you need—"

"Laurel Lance is on the phone. She said she has information on Miss Smoak."

Oliver cut a look toward Diggle and then reached for his phone. "Laurel?"

"She's going after The Hoods," she answered. "It's a long story, but they have Thea and Andi. We were able to get two of them out of the way, but there are two left."

"How do you know this?"

"We don't have time for this. Look, I want to help her, and my dad is standing here, ready to go, but she's not answering her phone—"

Oliver paused. "Her phone."

"Yes. That's why I'm calling... Pretend for a second that I'm not the ADA, is there a way for you to track her phone and get us the location? I know it's not exactly ethical, but I have a feeling she wouldn't mind, and you have resources at your disposal that I—"

"Laurel, I have to call you back."

"Are you serious? Oliver—"

"I'm sorry. I can't explain right now." Oliver hung the phone up and then turned to Diggle. "Felicity's phone. We can track it."

"You think she has her location on?"

"Years ago, she had tracking software put on her and Andi's phone. There was a roofie-incident." He grimaced. "She told Tommy about it, so he'd always be able to find her." With a deep sigh, he dug his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed. It rang twice before Tommy picked up. "I need your help."

"What is going on? Felicity texted me looking for Laurel's address and won't tell me why. I'm feeling a little left out here."

"I'll explain later," Oliver dismissed. "You remember that tracking software Felicity put on her phone...?"

"Yeah, of course. But—"

"How do you access it?"

"There's an app on my phone; it tells me where she is. I'm only allowed to access it under special circumstances, for privacy reasons. Why?"

"I need you to tell me where she is right now."

"Oliver," Tommy gritted out. "Are you telling me that my sister is in danger again? Because I was just getting over the near-heart attack I had when I found out she'd been shot at for the second time in less than twenty-four hours, while she was supposed to be safely tucked away inside Queen Consolidated."

Oliver closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "I will explain all of this later. Right now, I need you to—"

"I've got it. She's at a church in The Glades. I'll text you the address now." He paused. "When you see her..."

"I'll have her call you, I promise."

"Oliver?" he added, before he could hang up. "Whatever this is, whatever's happened... You need to protect her."

"I'm doing everything I can."

"I know."

Oliver frowned to himself. "This morning..."

"This thing with The Hoods. I shouldn't've blamed you for that. I've been stressed out with everything that's happened. But, I know how much you care about her. I know you'd never put her in danger on purpose. I'm just... I don't know, maybe it's paranoia. But, every time she's out of sight, I'm scared that something could happen to her. So, whatever you need to do to bring her home... Whatever lengths you have to go to... I support you."

Oliver felt his heart squeeze in his chest. Silently, he nodded.

"Bring her back," Tommy said.

With that, the call ended, and Oliver lowered his phone, feeling it buzz as Tommy sent him the address to the church.

"Well?" Diggle asked.

"We've got a location." Oliver stood from his desk. "Let's go."

Ten minutes after Colton and Baker left, Aglin was still taunting Thea Queen with the uncertainty of her mortality.

"This game's getting old," Deveau muttered, as Aglin flicked the safety off and used the barrel of his gun to push some of Thea's hair off her face.

"You telling me to take the shot, soldier?"

Deveau scoffed. "I'm saying that playing with her like this is cold."

"You suddenly grow a heart since we picked the little Princess up?" Aglin asked, turning to frown at him.

"I signed up for this, same as you. But, I signed up for action, not torture."

"You don't think the Queens deserve to stew a little bit? They should feel what we did, stuck out here, trapped like animals."

"An enemy is an enemy. You put 'em down. You don't play with them." Deveau shook his head. "You're like a cat with a mouse."

Aglin's lip curled, but before he could respond—

BANG!

The noise startled both him and Deveau as well as their two captives. Aglin turned his attention to the hallway leading into the main room and frowned. Assuming it was Colton and Baker, he called out, "You guys forget something?"

Nobody answered.

"I'll check it out," Jeff offered, leaning against a pew, his arms crossed.

"No." Aglin shook his head. "We don't split up."

"You wanna hold my hand?" Jeff rolled his eyes and walked toward the opening of the hallway. "It's an old church. They probably didn't shut the door right. It bangs if it's not locked."

"Yeah, or what if that Merlyn bitch is pulling a fast one on us? She's some kind of tech genius, isn't she?"

"You think she rigged the damn door? She's a nerd, Aglin. She's got early-onset carpel tunnel, not a background in martial arts." With a scoff, he walked further down the hall, his footsteps echoing around the cavernous walls.

Aglin watched him go, mouth set in a strained line, his gut twisting and turning. "Well? Was it the door or what?"

He could see Jeff's broad-shouldered figure at the end of the hall, where he paused and cursed.

"What?" Aglin was getting antsy, his hand squeezing the grip of his gun.

"Nothing. Think I stepped on a damn nail..." He continued forward then, until he was just short of the door. The bang noise echoed down the hall again. Jeff looked down, bent, and plucked something up from the ground. "It's a tablet with a noise app. It's a tra—"

He started shaking abruptly, his head thrown back and his body twitching. A crackling blue energy popped along the floor around him, eerie in the shadowed hallway. With a grunt, he fell sideways and slumped to the floor, unconscious.

Aglin raised his gun. "I told you, bitch! If you play games with me, they die!"

He cast his gaze from the hallway to above, where a balcony overlooked the church hall. There was no sound but his own breathing and the occasional twitch of Jeff's body, slapping against the puddle of water he laid in on the pavement floor.

"You think I'm kidding? I'll put a bullet between their eyes and then yours, too!" Aglin yelled.

Suddenly, a crackling noise echoed from an old PA system rigged along the moldings of the church. Rock music poured out the speakers, loud enough that Aglin reached a hand up to press to his ear, gritting his teeth against it. A cochlear injury in the war meant that anything over a certain pitch felt like his eardrum was rupturing. The pain was enough to nearly bring him to his knees. Revenge and rage kept him going. He started shooting at the speakers he could see, one after the other, until they were nothing but dangling wires and chunks of battered wood.

Replacing an empty clip with a new one, he marched forward pressed the barrel of his gun against the posh foreigner's forehead. The press was enough that she cried out and reared back, her neck straining. "You have five seconds to show your face or I'll blow her brains out all over these pews. Do you hear me?" he screamed.

A creak sounded from his left, and Aglin whirled to meet it, pulling the trigger, loosing two bullets into nothing. Frowning, he crept forward, gaze sharp and body on alert. Near the end of the aisle, he heard the noise again, and turned. There, he caught sight of a phone laying on the floor, the screen lit up. Cursing, he whirled around, spittle flying from his lips.

Felicity Merlyn was standing just short of the two tied up girls, dressed in black, a hood pulled up over her hair. Her face was flushed, mouth tilted in defiance, and her eyes spat fire.

Aglin let out a scoff of a laugh and cocked his gun. "Looks like you're out of tricks... And time."

If Felicity was honest, she was hoping they would both go to investigate the tablet and she would be able to slip ahead, grab Thea and Andi, and sneak right out the back, unseen. Wishful thinking, obviously. But, even with just Deveau investigating the tablet, that removed one more obstacle. There was exposed wiring all over the place and a puddle right where he was standing. The nail worked as a conductor, just in case. And then, well, one and one makes two. While she wasn't exactly hoping she'd killed him, she was hoping it would keep him down a while.

Deveau's phone records offered another piece of information. He got a lot of calls from Doug Baker (mid-40's, white, ex-military), Colton James (mid-30's, white, ex-military), and Aglin Hamilton. The majority of the calls were from Aglin, suggesting he was probably the group leader and so, would've tasked the others with the pick-up. Still, she wasn't sure until she saw him. He was white, early 40's, an ex-soldier with a cochlear injury and a chip on his shoulder the size of the house he'd once owned that had, sadly, killed his wife during The Undertaking. She felt sorry for him, she did. But, she had to curb that in order to do this right. The music was, oddly enough, just something she found while looking around the PA system's office. Someone must've left the tape behind whenever the church took a turn for the worst. It was old and dusty, but it worked. With Aglin distracted, she pulled her next move. She left her phone with another app on the floor, circled around the pews, and made her way toward the girls.

And she'd almost made it too, if it wasn't for the crazy guy with the gun.

Felicity's heart hammered in her chest and a cold sweat broke out across her skin, but she refused to let him see her fear. She glared back at him, her mouth set in a line.

He laughed at her. Like this was amusing. Like any of this was funny. "Looks like you're out of tricks..." he said. "And time."

Just as his finger squeezed the trigger, an arrow sliced through the sky and penetrated his shoulder, sending him lurching forward in surprise. A burning sensation bursting across her right arm knocked Felicity off balance, but she caught her footing and closed her mouth around a shout of pain.

"Felicity!" Andi cried, worried.

Aglin pulled himself up from the floor and scrambled for his gun.

"The next one goes through your neck," a deep, growling voice called down from the balcony above.

Felicity looked up, surprised to see a hooded man standing there, staring down ominously.

"You think he means me or him?" Felicity wondered, glancing at the girls.

"Him," Thea said, directing her wide eyes toward Aglin, who had lifted up on his knees and was raising his gun again.

Felicity let out a very uncool and panicked "eep" right before she folded her fingers down and slammed her first into his cheek. Which was exactly nothing like hitting a punching bag, especially without the boxing gloves she usually wore. Wringing out her hand, she cursed, and took a step back as Aglin took the punch but didn't go down.

With a grin, he lifted the gun again, only to have an arrow pierce through his forearm. He cried out, dropping the gun in the process.

"Grab it!" Thea shouted.

Felicity ducked down and grabbed up the gun, holding the handle with two fingers.

"Don't just stand there all willy-nilly!" Andi said. "Aim it at him, tell him not to move or you'll put another hole in him to match the one in the arm."

Felicity rolled her eyes. "I'm not a gun person."

"This not the time for anti-gun rhetoric, he is getting away."

Aglin wasn't getting away though, he was simply turning to grab up a different gun from one of the pews. A machine gun, to be exact, which to Felicity's thinking narrowed down to 'a lot more bullets.'

Instead of aiming for the girls, Aglin raised it toward the platform above, shooting wildly as he yelled, "You're trying to save them? There was no justice for people like the Queens and Merlyns 'till you showed us how to get it."

The Hood—the real Hood? It was confusing when they had similar names, Felicity decided. Good Hood, or at least good enough to come here in an effort to help, ducked down out of sight. But, Aglin kept shooting, mottling the wood banister of the balcony.

"You showed us!"

Felicity dug a disc out of her pocket, flipped the switch on the back, and lunged forward. She hooked it onto the strap along Aglin's back and then turned, grabbing at Thea and Andi's bound arms until they toppled, landing hard on their sides.

"Are you bloody crazy?" Andi shouted.

Ignoring her, Felicity climbed over and covered their bodies, counting down in her head. ...5...4...3...2..1

The boom was somehow loud and completely silent. It rendered everything else soundless. There was just an hollow bubble that seemed to fill Felicity's ears, drowning out everything else. For a moment, she thought time itself had stopped or paused or at least slowed down. There were waves, rippling across the air, one after the other, until finally sound crashed back in, seeming loud and strange, leaving a buzzing noise behind in her ears.

Aglin slumped to the ground, unconscious, while all the windows in a 30-meter radius had crumbled, leaving shattered glass across the floor, spread far and wide.

Felicity sat up slowly. She glanced at Aglin, her heart still beating wildly, hoping he wouldn't move. When he didn't, she breathed out a sigh of relief, and then turned her attention to Thea and Andi. "Are you okay?"

"Are we okay?" Andi stared up at her, wide-eyed. "Are you?"

"I'm fine."

Felicity reached down to untie the ropes around their wrists. As soon as Thea was unbound, she rolled off her chair and onto her knees, planting her hands on the floor while she tried to catch her breath. Meanwhile, Andi pushed onto her knees and sat back on her heels, rubbing at her sore wrists. "Did that just happen, or am I having an utterly terrible acid trip?"

"Have you taken acid lately?"

"Define 'lately.'"

Felicity rolled her eyes and pulled her best friend into a tight hug, squeezing her arms around her and rubbing her back. "You're fine."

"Of course I am." Still, Andi hugged her back, rocking them side to side for a moment. "I hardly needed saving. Clearly, I had everything under control."

Snorting, Felicity leaned back to see her face, raising a hand to brush some of Andi's mussed hair off her cheek, damp with tears she would never admit to crying. "Yeah. Clearly."

Andi reached up, pinched Felicity's chin, and gave it a little shake. "But, I appreciate the effort anyway."

"You're welcome." With a grin, Felicity stood and made her way to Thea, who was sitting on the floor now, leaned back against a pew. Crouching, Felicity dropped a hand on Thea's shoulder. "How about you?"

Thea smiled wobblily and nodded. "Yeah, totally fine. I mean, I need a drink, a bubble bath, and... maybe a visit to Iron Heights. But otherwise, totally fine."

Felicity brushed an affectionate hand over Thea's hair. "I think we can arrange that. Well, maybe without the drink. Unless hot chocolate counts...? In which case, yes, definitely."

Thea's smile widened briefly, but then her eyes moved past Felicity, toward the opening at the hallway.

Catching it, Felicity whirled abruptly, expecting Deveau to be awake and ready to fight. Instead, she found a different Hood. A good Hood... A better Hood... Whatever.

With one last concerned look back at her friends, she cautiously walked toward him, her brow furrowed. "I guess you're expecting a thank you."

He ducked his head down, keeping his face in shadows. "What you did was risky," he replied, his voice somehow, impossibly deeper than it had been before.

"Seriously? That's what you have to say to me?" She scoffed. "You killed my father, you know?"

He jerked and raised his head a little. She still couldn't see much more than a stubbled chin.

"I know he wasn't winning any prizes for Father of the Year—"

"You can say that again," Andi called out.

"—but, he was still mine." Felicity swallowed tightly and shifted her feet.

The Hood's hand flexed on his bow, and she wondered if this made him uncomfortable. If he wanted to defend his actions. If he ever felt bad about those he put down. Did Malcolm Merlyn haunt him the way he haunted her? It was different for her, of course. Her father's ghost was chained to her through rejection and absence. The Hood didn't have that same burden to bear. To him, what he did was probably right. But, then again, the same could be said for The Hoods. They, however, had taken innocent people hostage. She wasn't sure what that meant, what kind of differences that highlighted. It did, however, remind her of something.

"You also saved my brother."

The Hood tipped his head to the side.

"If it wasn't for you, Tommy might've died shish-kabobbed on a piece of rebar." She licked her lips. "Not to mention, my dad was a few screws loose, meaning he wouldn't have just stopped there. But... He's dead. I mean, I'm literally orphaned right now because of you... Wait, can you even be orphaned if you're not a kid?" She shook her head. "Not the point."

"What is the point?" he asked, shifting his weight from one foot the other.

"I don't know. I don't know if you're any better than these guys." She shook her head. "I do know that they hurt a lot of people. Killed people. And that they were going to kill my friends. Maybe even me. In fact, I think that's exactly what they were going to do before you got here."

"Is that a thank you then?"

Her mouth kicked up faintly at the corner. "I thought heroes didn't need praise."

"I'm no hero."

She frowned. "So, what do you call yourself then?"

He had no answer to that, and instead took a step back, into the shadows of the hallway. "The police will be here soon. Quentin Lance can help you with all of this."

Felicity raised an eyebrow. "You don't want credit?"

"You did most of the hard work."

"Still..."

"The police don't like me around here."

"But, Lance does?"

"Not exactly." If she wasn't mistake, he sounded amused. "But, he's someone you can trust."

Felicity stared at him. "Are you?"

The Hood paused, and took a step forward. He reached a leather-covered hand forward, and though her heart jumped, she didn't pull away. His fingers gently touched her arm. "You were grazed. You should get it looked at."

She glanced down at her arm, and watched his gloved hand slowly return to his side, where it folded up into a fist. "It could be worse," she said. "If you hadn't shot him, I might not be walking around at all."

He flinched, and turned away. "You risked your life today... Don't do it again."

Felicity's eyes narrowed. "If it comes down to me or my friends, I'll do whatever I have to do."

"You had no back up, no plan—"

"I had parts of a plan, which mostly worked out. I didn't exactly have a lot of time or resources to get this kind of thing done. Some of us aren't vigilantes who do this every other day."

"Some of us should stay that way."

"You know, I don't like mysteries..." She frowned at him. "The longer you stand around here patronizing me, the more I want to figure out who's under the hood."

He stepped back, deeper into the hallway. "A threat?"

"A warning."

"Not to patronize you?"

She put a hand on her hip. "It's a good start."

He chuckled lowly. "I'll keep that in mind, Miss Smoak."

"Do that."

He nodded shortly and disappeared down the hall.

Felicity turned around and made her way back to Thea and Andi, who were sitting on a pair of pews, tired and irritated. "So, about that drink..."

The door of the church burst open then. "SCPD! Put your hands where I can see them!"

Felicity grimaced. Raising her hands, she sighed. "No offense, but I'm getting really tired of meeting you guys like this..."

Felicity was getting restless. After getting her arm looked at by a familiar paramedic ("You again?" "Hey, are tabs a thing outside of bars? I might need to open one..."), Felicity had been placed at Officer Lance's desk to give her statement on what, exactly, happened in the church.

"So, you took these two guys out yourself... That's what you're going with?" Lance asked, again, for the third time. He'd abandoned his hat and was scrubbing his fingers over his head with something akin to exasperation.

Felicity squinted at him, somewhat offended. "Are you suggesting a woman can't fight as well as a man?"

"No." He scoffed, sitting back in his chair and shaking his head. "No, I'm saying anybody, man, woman, or otherwise would have a hard time taking down two ex-soldiers. One, I might add, was a damn Marine."

"I'm sure our country's proud." She rolled her eyes. "Look, I already explained this. A lot of it was just distraction. It's not like I took them on in hand-to-hand combat. I got one hit in and trust me, my hand is desperate for a nice bag of cold peas."

"Uh-huh. What was it you said you do? Kickboxing a few nights a week, right?"

"Try not to sound like you think I just stand at the back of the room and gossip about boys instead of working out." She frowned at him. "I spend most of my time at a computer. Hence, boxing. Good for stress relief, not exactly stylized enough that I can wipe out a Marine. That was a little high school science. Water plus electricity means ouch."

"I got that part." Lance pursed his lips at her. "And the gun shots up on the balcony. What was that?"

"There were a lot of gunshots. He didn't like my choice in music."

He stared at her a long beat, before finally tossing down his pen. "You know what I can't get, Miss Smoak?"

"You can call me Felicity."

He ignored that. "The Hood killed your dad. I'm not gonna pretend and say Malcolm Merlyn was an upstanding citizen, but blood is blood. So, what I don't get, is why you'd be keeping quiet about the fact that he was there."

"What makes you think I am?"

"The loud-mouthed idiot I got in a cell back there, raging about how The Hood is a turncoat..." He stared at her searchingly. "Which brings me to another question... Why in the hell would The Hood want to save you or Thea damn Queen?"

"Maybe he has standards. Like, the children shouldn't pay for the sins of the father and all that." Felicity shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know him and I don't know what his motivations are. I do know that the jerk in the cell back there kidnapped two of my closest friends. I know that you helped Laurel put away two more. I know that The Hoods are officially off the streets tonight. And I know that Thea and Andi have been put through enough for one day, and more than deserve to go home." She stood then, staring down at him. "Any more questions?"

He tipped his head back to see her. The faint tilt to his mouth said he was more amused than annoyed. "Just one. You three got a ride home?"

As if in answer, the doors to the precinct flew open, and a worried Oliver Queen swept inside.

Lance sighed. "Should've expected that..."

Felicity watched for a moment as Thea raced across the room and threw herself into her brother's arms. Oliver gathered her up, a hand folding behind her head. Even from a distance, she could see the sigh of relief that went through him, his eyes closed. Not for the first time, she regretted not calling him. Not telling him what had happened. What if Thea had died and she'd known what was happening? Not only would Oliver never forgive her, but she wouldn't forgive herself. Today was a risk from beginning to end.

"When'd you decide to do it?" Lance asked, drawing Felicity's gaze back to him.

"I'm sorry...?"

"You said these copycat Hoods called you, told you to meet them and trade your life for the girls. When'd you decide you were going to take them down instead?"

Her brow knit. "The second I heard his voice on the phone instead of Andi's."

"You didn't for one second think you should call the SCPD? Let us handle it?"

She stared at him. "You were the only one that came to the church. You didn't call in for back up, didn't tell anyone you knew what was happening—"

"And I'm gonna get chewed out for that later," he muttered.

"But, you knew it was the right thing. You knew what the risks were."

He frowned, tipping his head thoughtfully. "You think I don't trust my unit?"

"I think you expected to see The Hood there today. For whatever reason, you trust him to some degree, to help people and do what he can... But, you also know that the rest of your unit doesn't think that. Which means you showed up at the church expecting bodies and still gave him some room to get away."

"You're making a lotta assumptions here, Smoak."

"You know, when my dad sent me off to boarding school, he did everything he could not to be around me. He didn't show up for meetings, he avoided my calls, and he even managed to skip my graduation. But Andi... She was there for all of it. Every day, good and bad. The Hoods wanted to punish me for everything my dad did wrong. Like somehow that would be revenge against him. But, the truth is, my dad couldn't care less about me. Dead or alive." Felicity shook her head. "Andi is my family. Tommy is my family. If they didn't stop with Andi or me, they would've come for my brother, too. So, yes, I made the split-second decision to destroy whatever plan or safety or mission they had, and I'd do it all over again."

Lance hummed, and then nodded, short and quick. "It was brave, Felicity. Stupid, short-sighted, reckless, and dangerous... But, pretty damn brave."

She let out a scoff of a laugh and smiled faintly. "Thanks, I think."

He sat forward in his seat then, grabbed up his pain and pulled some paperwork toward him. "We're done here. You're free to go. If I have any follow up questions, I'll call first."

"Okay. Thank you." She took a step away and then paused. "Oh, uh, tell Laurel I'll drop her things off for her tomorrow."

He half-smiled and nodded. "Will do."

Felicity crossed the police station then. Oliver and Thea were talking in the hallway, away from prying eyes and ears, his hand resting on her shoulder as she nodded along to something he was saying.

"Sibling love at its finest, hey?" Andi joined her, hooking their arms together. "I'm glad you're okay, you know. He said you'd agreed to exchange yourself for us and I about had a fit right then and there."

"I would have," Felicity said, turning to look at her. "If it came down to that. If I couldn't find a way out... I'd trade myself for you in a heartbeat."

Andi let out a sigh and shook her head. "Don't be silly."

"I'm not—"

"You think for one second I'd let you trade your life for mine? Absolutely not!" She squeezed Felicity's arm. "Wherever you go, I go. And that includes whatever higher platform of mental superiority death has in store for us."

Felicity snorted. "That's a positive way of looking at becoming word food."

Andi grinned. "To which I would be quite delicious, I'm sure."

With a laugh, Felicity turned her arm down and tangled her hand in Andi's. "I don't know what I'd do without my fabulous, irreplaceable, fashion-forward best friend."

"Well then, let's never find out."

"Deal."

"Hey, are you two ready to go?" Thea called out, looking between them. "I need to wash this entire day off."

"Ooh, this is the perfect time for a facial." Pulling Felicity along, she only let go of her when they were just short of Oliver. Then she marched ahead and hooked her arm around Thea's waist. "And I think I promised you a spa day, didn't I?"

"I think you did," Thea agreed, letting herself be towed toward the door.

Felicity shifted her feet and looked toward Oliver, a nervous cluster of butterflies building up in her stomach.

Oliver looked at her and then beyond, to the police station. He reached out, his hand wrapped around her forearm, and pulled her across the hallway.

Her heart hammered in her chest, waiting for him to stay listing all the ways she'd messed this up.

There was something about his face, a grimace or a frown mixed with the knot at his eyebrows that screamed confusion and uncertainty. She wondered if he was trying to figure out if yelling in a police station was the right move or if he should wait for later. She probably deserved it. Yes, she did end up helping in the end, but the risk overall was huge. Phenomenal. Way too much for anybody to overlook. And sure, while it was happening, it had made sense to do things the way she had, now that the fear and adrenaline was wearing off, she was going over all the mistakes she made. The things she didn't account for. All the ways it could have gone terrible, inescapably wrong...

And then Oliver sighed.

Much like with Thea, his body sagged a little, shoulders falling a notch. He reached for her, hands cupping her face, thumbs dragging along the hills of her cheeks, and then—

He was there. Forehead pressed to hers, eyes closed, just breathing. A whoosh of warm air against her lips.

Felicity abruptly realized that her hands were gripping the lapels of his jacket, drawing him closer, until they were nearly chest to chest. She was up on the tips of her toes, biting her lip, focused on the gentle back and forth of his thumbs. It hit her, suddenly, just what had happened. While she'd known, logically, everything she had planned and done, there was another part of her that felt like that was someone else. Like she had seen herself doing it from a distance. But, it was really her setting it all up. Sending Laurel out to meet two potentially murderous kidnappers. Breaking into a church. Electrocuting one man and using an un-regulated science project with enough power behind it that it probably could have done permanent, if not lethal, damage to another perpetrator. Not to mention stealing said prototype from a woman that trusted and admired her enough to show it to her in the first place. And oh god, she took that property off site, after Oliver trusted her to have such open access to his business. What the hell was she thinking? And that wasn't even touching on—

"You could have died today."

Felicity's heart froze in her chest. She moved her hands from the lapels of his jacket around to his sides, fingers stretched beyond to his back. "I own you an apology, Oliver. A huge one. What happened today... After I got that phone call..."

"We can talk about it later." He slid a hand away from her cheek, threading his fingers through her hair and cupping his palm around the nape of her neck. "I just need a second."

"A second to...?"

"To convince myself you're still here."

She swallowed tightly, the tips of her fingers pressing down hard as she pushed her chest forward, flattening her body against his. "We're okay. All of us. I promise."

He let out a shaky breath, his thumb stroking her neck, and then drew back an inch to press a kiss to her forehead. He stayed there for a few seconds, the faint scrape of his stubble tickling her skin, before he pulled back enough to meet her eyes properly. And she knew this look—this open-book with wrinkled pages and smudged ink, read and re-read in the late hours of the night look. This was 'I love you.' The same look he'd been giving her since they were kids. And she didn't mean that in a romantic way. Or at least, she'd never thought it was romantic before. It was just... how he looked at her. With raw, naked emotion clear in his eyes, steady atop the foundation they'd built together all their lives. A love she could always depend on. Friendship and trust and support. Lifelines when either of their worlds were topsy-turvy. Only now there was something else, something ever deeper, swimming around the edges.

"I think I'm ready to go home," he said. "How about you?"

With a groan, she nodded. "I want my best pajamas, a bottle of wine, some mint chip ice cream, and anything to distract my mind. Movie, TV, old footage of Tommy when he was a tow-headed kid, running face first into furniture. Whatever I can find!"

Oliver's mouth turned up in a grin. "I'm sure we can find something." He stepped to the side, his arm wrapping around her and pulling her into his side. "Roy's already picking up food. I think he's trying to thank you for what you did."

"According to Officer Lance, I pulled a risky, dangerous, stupid stunt, but I was brave doing it, so it maybe, kind of balances out a little... I'm not sure."

"It was risky. And in future, I think I'd like to know if you or Thea or anyone close to us is in danger..." He squeezed her side. "I want you to be able to trust me with these things."

"I do trust you." She looked up at him, her brows raised. "'Later' didn't last long... Do you want to talk about this here?"

Oliver licked his lips and shook his head. "No. Not with an audience."

"Okay." She bit her lip. "You'll be okay until later?"

"I'm more worried than angry."

"But, still angry."

He frowned, but admitted, "That I couldn't help more... That I almost lost both of you."

"That I didn't tell you what I was doing."

He tipped his head. "That, too."

Felicity nodded. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Valid reasons to be upset," she said. "If I could do it over, there's some things I would change, but when it was happening... A lot of it was just instinct. They were in trouble and I had to do something. So, I did."

He stared down at her searchingly, a knot forming at his brow. "Felicity... I need to tell you something."

Before she could say anything, the front door of the precinct swung open and Tommy was there. Her eyes widened in surprise, and then started to burn. Seeing her, he let out a sigh of relief, and then crossed the distance between them, his arms out.

Felicity felt a coil of emotion unfurl in her throat as she met him half way, sinking into his hug.

"You're okay." Tommy nodded, holding onto her a little tighter. That was all he said, "You're okay, you're okay."

Felicity sighed and whispered thickly, "I'm sorry." Sorry she risked her life. Sorry she scared him. Sorry that their dad was the root of all of this. She was just so, so sorry.

Oliver watched them, anchored to each other, and was reminded of when they were all kids. Wherever Tommy, there was Felicity, right at his heels. Tommy used to complain sometimes, that she was a shadow he could never get rid of, but he never meant it. He said it, sure, but he was always gloomy when she wasn't around, and heartbroken when she was sent away to London. Oliver didn't think Tommy ever really forgave Malcolm for that. Father or not, he'd shipped away what was left of Tommy's family, and nothing could fill that void. Even from a distance though, they stayed close. Which was why Oliver understood Tommy's reticence when it came to him and Felicity. After everything that happened, with everything he was entangled in, it made sense to keep his distance. The last thing Felicity needed was to get close to The Hood. And yet...

Tommy looked up, his eyes bloodshot and his arms still wound tight around his sister. He stared at Oliver for a beat, and then he mouthed, "Thank you."

Oliver felt his shoulders lighten just a little. He nodded back.

"Hey," Thea's voice called out. "I don't want to rush your reunion, but can you pick this up in the car? I want to go home. I'm allergic to church, kidnapping, and police stations, so it's kind of been a rough day..."

Felicity laughed and stepped back from Tommy, scrubbing at her face. "Me, too." She rubbed Tommy's shoulder and then pushed past him, walking toward Thea. Over her shoulder, she asked, "Coming?"

Oliver stared at her, a little in awe. Today, she'd taken on The Hoods and won. It was dangerous, and he wasn't sure he'd ever really get over the fear he'd felt in knowing that not only was his sister but his... Felicity was also in danger, possibly already dead, but she'd come through. She'd masterminded a crazy plan and in the end, it worked.

As she ducked out the door, he glanced at Tommy, who was already shaking his head.

"I know that look..."

Oliver feigned confusion. "What look?"

"That's your 'I have a plan' face. Equal parts 'terrible' and 'epic.'"

He snorted. "I don't have a face for that."

"Uh..." Tommy knocked the back of his hand against Oliver's chest, his brows hiked. "As someone who was dragged into his fair share of mostly terrible, sometimes epic plans, I'm gonna have to argue that."

Smothering a grin, Oliver shook his head and started for the door. "Which category do you think this one will fall in?"

Tommy followed after him. "I want to say 'terrible,' just to save myself a headache."

"Really?" They stepped outside to find the girls waiting by an idling town car. Felicity smiled up at him and Oliver felt it right down to his toes. "I'm leaning more toward 'epic.'"

note: first, any science in this chapter was me taking liberties. it's fiction, just go with it, lol.

second, i really went back and forth on how i wanted to approach this. i know a lot of people wanted her to tell oliver. but, felicity doesn't know that oliver is the hood. and while her and oliver are close (and getting closer), she's spent much of her life independent of help. she says later in this chapter that andi was there when her dad wasn't. i like to think of felicity as someone who would solve her own problems. in this moment, she attacks this issue head on and focuses solely on how she can try to save her friends. later, she admits there were things she would change. but, in the moment, she just acts. it wasn't perfect. it was very in-the-moment, but it's also a bit of a set up to see where her values sit and how she views these kind of things. so oliver is equal parts worried about her running into this, head first, and also in awe of her.

third, i have a polyvore with all the outfits the ladies wear in each chapter, and a face-claim page on my tumblr (sarcasticfina), just add /history to the url and it'll show you what everyone looks like.

next chapter will touch more on how oliver and felicity feel about the risks she took and each other, the future of QC, and we should be moving into episode 2.

thank you for reading! please try to leave a review!
- Lee | Fina