Technical Assistance

Chapter 45: Synchronization of Mobile Devices

"I wish I could say this was a new experience for me," Felicity answers with a sigh. It's starting to be a little tedious, and a feeling of déjà vu washes over her. The feeling of having someone break into her house should not be familiar, and it serves as a reminder of the insanity her life has become. "Why did you come to me?"

The Canary tenses slightly. "I don't like people looking into me," she answers, a darkness creeping into her tone that puts Felicity on edge more than Oliver's you-have-failed-this-city voice. "I want to know why a computer technician at Queen Consolidated is interested in finding me."

Felicity blinks twice. "Oh, wow," she breathes. "You took time out of your busy schedule of beating up misogynist criminals to look into me. I don't think I've felt this mixture of flattered and wigged out since my last intruder made an unexpected appearance." She shakes her head. "And I'm not looking into you."

It's clear the Canary doesn't buy it, and Felicity rushes on to say, "Well I am looking into you, technically speaking. But I'm also not—it's not my choice. Believe me, I'd be perfectly glad to let you run around Starling City, kicking would-be rapist ass and saving Roy from the result of his own horrible-but-well-intentioned judgments." She shakes her head wildly. "I'm not looking into you for my purposes," she clarifies finally. "I'm doing it on behalf of..." How does she classify Oliver without giving it away? Friend? Not "lover"—that's a weird word, ew. Definitely not "Oliver," and "the Arrow" sounds a little ominous at this point. "Someone else," she finishes lamely.

The response is a laugh—an actual, honest-to-God laugh from the Canary. The sound startles Felicity, but she relaxes. "You're cute," the Canary comments quietly with a smile, and the IT girl takes a moment to determine that no, she isn't hallucinating. The kick-ass, female vigilante with the huge staff-thing just called Felicity cute. That's definitely going on the list of weird things that have happened to her—somewhere between dating the Arrow and being attacked by her boyfriend's ex. "I want the name of your employer."

"Not my employer," Felicity is surprised to hear herself reply immediately. "He's my partner. And while I can't give you his name, I can give you a name." She bites her lip for a brief moment. "The Arrow."

Instead of surprise, like most have shown at the revelation, the Canary actually seems to buy it. "Of course," she mutters, and Felicity has no idea how to interpret that reaction. Louder, she asks, "The Arrow is your intruder?"

Felicity nods once, pointing to the far end of the couch. "He usually sits there," she finds herself replying. "And Roy is sort of an unofficial informant, so when he ran into you a few nights ago, he called me." She crosses her arms. "The Arrow is a little skeptical about you. After all, you showed up a few weeks after we put away another vigilante who liked to kill people on a live webcam feed. That didn't exactly inspire confidence in the startup-vigilantes who came after the Arrow did." She shrugs. "He wanted to make sure you weren't trouble, but..." She's surprised by the words that are lingering in her mouth, but she says them anyway: "I think we should work together."

The Canary seems just as surprised as Felicity by the offer, she adjusts her glasses before continuing on, "Hear me out. I don't know about you, but the Arrow goes after some pretty nasty guys. Sometimes it turns dangerous, and it would be nice if he had some backup in the field who could make a public appearance. I'm not saying we would work together all the time, but on certain missions that would interest both of you." She bites her lip. "Like this one, for instance—we're trying to stop the new flood of Vertigo into the Glades, and I'd bet the increased drug usage is making your job a little harder, too." Musing it over again, Felicity decides she very much likes the idea. "It will throw the police off—especially if they don't know when to expect us."