Arrow: Visceral Barrage Part 1

Foresight

The ringing phone finally caught the attention of it's owner. The man gripped the stack of papers in his hand as he reached out to answer his phone. Oliver stepped past the man's desk, avoiding a passing clerk who was completely consumed by the paperwork they were looking through. The District Attorney's office was unusually busy today. Oliver finally reached Laurel's office and knocked as he stopped at the already open door. Laurel looked up from her computer and smiled.

"Hey." She hastily began, quickly returning to her work.

"Hey." Oliver said, slowly entering her office.

"Seems like you guys are kinda busy today." He added, looking over his shoulder at the busy office behind him.

"Yeah, some new evidence popped up in the Falcone case and the Gotham DA's office has asked us for assistance. Apparently some of Falcone's men were doing business in Starling a few months ago." Laurel explained, double checking the paperwork on her desk. Oliver listened closely.

"After the bust the SCPD got lucky and managed to connect them back to Falcone...somehow. But I can't seem to find anything in the reports as to how they magically got this information." Laurel stopped mid sentence and looked up to her friend, quickly realizing she already knew how it had happened. Oliver tried to hide his prideful grin.

"But a certain blonde I know of is very good at connecting the dots." Laurel stated, smiling. She didn't know why she hadn't thought of Felicity's involvement earlier, mentally cursing to herself for not coming to that conclusion sooner. Oliver slightly puffed his cheeks, acting as innocent as possible. Laurel raised an eyebrow while she glared at him.

"I will ask Felicity if she can forward you some info to assist your case." Oliver happily replied, a strong sense of pride for his IT partner still present in him. Laurel nodded in appreciation before turning back to her work. Oliver quietly shut her office door behind him as he approached her desk.

"So I spoke to your father the other night." Oliver began, hands in his pockets. Laurel once again stopped and unwillingly pulled herself away from her work.

"Really, and was the topic business or personal? She asked, dreading the inevitable path of the conversation.

"Both I guess." Oliver answered, trying his best to ease into the topic. Laurel forced a smile as she waited for her friend to continue.

"He's worried about you...because of your nightly endeavors." Oliver explained, looking directly at Laurel.

"And so am I." He added, catching her off guard.

"I feel like we've had this conversation before." Laurel attempted, hoping he would sense her stubbornness on the matter and drop it.

"That's because we have. But this...is different." Oliver conveyed, his voice rough but also concerned.

"What you're doing is dangerous. And I thought that if you just got it out of your system that you would stop after a few months and see that it doesn't change anything." Laurel looked away, doing her best to hold back her anger.

"I thought you'd realize that going out at night doesn't stop the pain or the fear or the anger." He continued trying his best to get through to his friend.

"I know it doesn't stop the pain! Or the fear. Or the anger." Laurel snapped, slamming her hands on her desk.

"But it's not about that anymore. I can do something more for this city, something Sara would be proud of." She explained, fighting back the tears in her eyes.

"Do you think Sara would want this for you? She would want you to live your life, not risk it every night in her name." Oliver countered, knowing that Sara was still a sensitive subject for Laurel.