Oh, my god, I can't stop myself from jumping on the balls of my feet as Oliver, Diggle, and I walked inside the club. My eyes scanned the area until I spotted my favorite Russian, who noticed me as well.
"Anatoly!" I beamed as I removed myself from Ollie to hug the man.
"Ashley Merlyn! My favorite American," Anatoly greeted. He pulled away from the hug and kissed my cheeks, and I could see Tommy getting very uncomfortable. He smiled when he saw Oliver and repeated the same action. "Oliver Queen, ha! My second favorite American."
"It has been too long," Ollie grinned, agreeing with Anatoly's Russian statement. He looked at Diggle and Tommy. "John Diggle, Tommy Merlyn, this is Anatoly Knyazec."
"Thank you for meeting us," Diggle greeted.
"Yeah, and it's nice to see someone so close to my sister," Tommy said as he grabbed my arm and gently pulled me back. I mentally rolled my eyes at his protectiveness. I appreciate it, but it's a bit annoying right now. I trust Anatoly to not hurt me...that bad. Even Oliver chuckled as he held my hand.
"If Oliver and Ashley vouch for you, you're my third and fourth favorite American," Anatoly chuckled. He noticed my hand entwined with Oliver's and his grin grew wider. "My two favorite Amerians together at last! This calls for celebration."
》》》》
Anatoly escorted us to his office. He grabbed five shot glasses before pouring whiskey in them and handed them to us.
"First, a toast," he began. "To new relationship." He smirked at Oliver. "Finally grew enough balls to ask her out?"
Oliver chuckled as he handed Diggle a glass. "Something like that."
Diggle shook his head and I handed Tommy a glass. "None for me, thanks," he declined. Tommy nodded his head in agreement.
I turned and gave Tommy a pointed look. He rolled his eyes before grabbing the glass. We all held our glasses up as Anatoly gave his second toast.
"To strength," I said before we all took the shot.
"Now. Business," Anatoly stated. He slid a picture of Lyla over. "This is woman you look for, yes?" I got a closer look and saw half of Lyla's face was bruised. "Picture is from two days ago, from Gulag. Prison."
"Lyla was arrested?" Diggle gasped.
"Not quite. From what I hear, she was trying to break in."
"Why?"
"I do not know. But clearly, she had issues breaking back out. Gulag. Worst in Russia. It's called Koshmar."
"The nightmare," Oliver clarified for Diggle.
"It's full of violent psychopaths and killers. And that's just the guards."
I sat up straighter and said, "Anatoly, we need a way into the Gulag to extract her."
"You get in, you get shot before you get out. Or end up like your friend. Mmm, it's impossible."
"The only thing that's impossible is us leaving this country without this woman," Diggle declared. Anatoly was clearly amused and chuckled.
"I like this guy."
"Could you get us in or not?" Tommy snapped. I stomped on his foot to shut him up, which got him to wince. "Ow!"
"We have no word for optimist in Russian. The only way in to Koshmar is as prisoner. Now, I have guard there, owes me favor. It could work. I'll give you one shot in twenty."
"Set it up. Ollie and I will go," I said.
Diggle shook his head. "No. It has to me."
"No," Oliver argued.
"Oliver, what if something happens to you or Ashley in there? What happens to me, Tommy, Felicity, or Isabel, for that matter? You two have to be on the outside making the moves."
"You can't go in there alone, Dig," I said.
"Then, I'll go," Tommy offered.
"You're most definitely not going."
"Why not? Diggle's right, you and Oliver need to make the moves outside. I can help Diggle anyway I can -"
"I said no." I leaned closer to whisper to him, "Tommy, I already almost lost you once. I'm not letting you risk your life to go in there."
"And you think the same thing doesn't apply to you? Our parents are gone, Ash. You're the only person I have left that matters to me. You've seen me train."
"I still say no."
"Then imagine this. If you were stuck inside that prison with no way out." Tommy glanced behind me. "I won't hesitate to find a way to get you out of there and I know Oliver would do the same." I looked toward Oliver, who nodded in agreement. Tommy grabbed my hand. "I can do this. And I'll feel a lot better knowing you're out there."
I glanced at Tommy before looking at Oliver and Diggle, all three of them were waiting for my answer. I let out a breath before nodding to Anatoly and giving Tommy the ok.
》》》》
Felicity stared at the huge bag of drugs Anatoly gave us.
"Now that is a lot of drugs," Felicity said.
"Courtesy of Knyazev," Tommy stated. He looked at Oliver and smirked. "We could have used these back in the day."
"It's enough weight to land me and Tommy in the Koshmar," Diggle continued.
Felicity walked over to the table and grabbed two coats. She handed them to Tommy and Diggle. "You need to be wearing this when they process you. Guards will take it, but that's the point."
"Oh, so, it's not just to add more style to my look," Tommy joked.
Felicity laughed as she pulled up her tablet and showed the picture of the guard. "This...is Knyazev's man inside the prison. A guard."
"He'll know where in the Gulag Lyla is being held," Oliver informed them.
"When all hell breaks loose, you two need to meet us at the rendezvous point with Lyla or..."
"Or we are a permanent Russian," Tommy concluded. "If we stay there long enough, you think we can speak Russian like you guys."
I rolled my eyes. "Tommy -"
He held his hands up. "Ok, I'll stop."
Felicity looked at all of us before voicing her concern. "Just thinking out loud...But, are we sure this is the best plan we can come up with? I know Lyla's your friend, but..."
Diggle zipped up the bag and said, "Felicity, Lyla isn't my friend. She was my wife."
My eyes widened at the news. "Oh, wow," Tommy and I gasped.
"Lyla and I met in the army back in Afghanistan. But we didn't stay married long once we got stateside." Diggle took in a breath. "Couldn't figure out a way to stay married without a war to fight. So she joined ARGUS and...I circled back for my third tour. I can't leave here without her, Felicity. I just can't."
Oliver's phone rang. He picked it up and glanced at the message before shaking Diggle's hand. "Two minute warning," he said.
I went over and hugged Tommy. "Stay safe." I looked over to Diggle, just as Felicity finished tying his tie. I removed one hand from Tommy and held my fist up to him. "I hope you find her, Dig."
Dig gave a small smile before bumping his fist with mine. "I will."
He motioned for Tommy to follow him. Tommy squeezed me one last time before he and Diggle left.
》》》》
First part of the plan was a success, Diggle and Tommy have been arrested by the police. My hands were a bit shaky just thinking about them in there. Maybe I should have argued with Tommy more and had him sit out.
"They'll be fine," Oliver tried to reassure me.
"I know, but it's Tommy in prison," I muttered.
"He's going to be ok."
"And if he's not? Oliver, he couldn't even use the bathroom for the first three days in our prison because he thought they would stare at it and try to make him their bitch."
"Yeah, that wasn't pleasant for me either," Oliver remanence. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me to his side before kissing the top of my head. "But he's different now. Tommy's going to be ok in there."
Anatoly got out of his car. "They're coming," he informed us about his other contact. "They sell us Russian police truck for cheap."
Anatoly walked toward his partner. They talked before he handed the man the money. The man chuckled before his two other companions pointed their guns at us. I immediately grabbed Felicity and yanked her behind me. Oliver rubbed my shoulder in reassurance before making his way over to the man. He leaned down close to the man's ear and said something. I don't know what he said to him, but it must have been something good if the guy was looking at Oliver fearfully and tossed him the keys.
"What just happen?" Felicity shook. "Did he just threaten him?"
"Maybe?" I whispered back, not taking my eyes off them. "I'm thinking 90%."
"What about the other 10%?"
"Please?"
"Please, really?" Oliver and Anatoly make their way over. Felicity looked at Oliver. "What'd you say?"
Oliver smirked. "Please."
I knew that was a lie but I couldn't help but grin and said, "Told ya."
Lian Yu
Ivo locked me and Ollie in separate cells.
"You know, in Russia, there is Gulag," the man next to Oliver's cell said. "Almost as bad as this."
Sara stood between my cell and Oliver's. I still can't believe she's alive. After all this time, I thought she was dead. I'm really happy to see her but I don't understand why she's with Ivo. Or how she even met with a lunatic like that.
"Sara -" Oliver began before she cut him off.
"Don't say my name," Sara breathed before looking at me. "Either of you. If they find out we know each other, they'll kill us." She handed us our food for the evening.
"I thought you drowned."
"When I came up, the boat was gone. And I thought all of you were, too."
"How did you even end up here?" I couldn't help but wonder.
"I was floating out there for days when this ship...They found me. And they saved me."
"Is that why you're helping them?" Oliver asked.
"I don't have a choice."
"We need to warn our friends."
Sara shook her head. "You said they were dead."
"Well, he lied." I couldn't help the small smile that came to my face as I thought about Slade and Shado. "They're not that easy to kill."
I just hope they're ok.
》》》》
Russia
I quickly pulled Oliver to the lobby. We missed the meeting and I know Isabel is going to scold us for it. Bitch wasn't supposed to be here anyway. She pretty much stalked Oliver to get here.
Oliver looked at the bartender and held up two fingers. "Vodki, Pozhalujsta," he ordered.
"You two missed the tour," Isabel said from behind. I turned around and automatically had the sudden urge to rip her head off. She wore a tight black dress and sat in the chair like she was waiting for Oliver to show up so she can look sexy. "What happened to you? Where's Tommy?"
"That's Thomas to you," I snapped. Only his friends and family can call him Tommy. Not her.
"Ash," Oliver whispered in my ear in a warning. I rolled my eyes as we sat down next to each other. "Tommy won't be joining us. He ate some bad crawfish, so he's not feeling well. Although, on the way here, I saw a Russian vehicle that I simply had to have."
I let out a fake chuckle. "I told you, you didn't need one."
Oliver smirked as he placed his hand on my knee. "You didn't seem to mind when we were in the backseat."
Man, I wanted to grin so much when the Trout had an annoyed look on her face. "Is that why you came to Russia?" she asked Oliver. "Car shopping and sleeping with your girlfriend?"
The bartender came over with three shot glasses. "Oh, I only ordered two," Oliver said as he and I grabbed our glasses.
Isabel grabbed the third one. "One's for me." And when exactly did she order it? Or did she tell him to wait 'til we got here? Isabel shot the glass back and set it back on the tray. To my surprise, she spoke Russian. "Another."
I just sat there while Oliver and Isabel talked. And it wasn't anything business related. She didn't scold him, the fish was practically throwing herself at him. I mean, why else would she touch up her makeup and curl her hair for a 'business trip.'
"Do people really think Felicity is my mistress?" Oliver asked amusingly. Ooh, if she says anything bad about Felicity then I'm going to cut her fingers off.
Isabel shook her head. "No. Just everyone who works at Queen Consolidated," she joked which got her and Oliver to chuckle.
"She's just a friend." Oliver reached back and grabbed my hand before lacing our fingers together. He smiled at me. "I'm really serious about Ashley."
I couldn't help but smile back. Ok, that answer deserves a kiss on the cheek. I leaned forward and did exactly that. If it wasn't for the fact that there were other people, then I would have made out with Oliver there to the point Isabel got uncomfortable and left.
"You don't seem like the kind of man who's serious about relationships or has female friends," Isabel pointed out.
"You wouldn't but Ollie's full of surprises," I commented. I scoot closer to Oliver and wrapped my arms around his as I laid my head against his shoulder. "We've been friends since we were kids and...I guess spending so much time with each other, sparked something in us. He knows me, I know him. We've seen each other at our better and worst."
"Even with his reputation as a womanizer?"
"He hasn't given me a reason to doubt this relationship. But, if he does cheat on me, then it's done. No second chances. And I don't want to hear excuses." I gave Oliver a pointed look. "Got it?"
Oliver chuckled. "I told you, you're the only one for me."
"Didn't you say that to Laurel?" I laughed when he raised his brow at me. "I'm kidding. I'm only messing with you."
Oliver wrapped his arm around me and leaned down toward my ear. "You're going to regret that later," he whispered huskily. He smiled at Isabel. "Can I ask you a personal question?"
Isabel smirked. "With some vodka in me, I just might answer," she responded.
"Why does saving my family's company mean so much to you?"
"Despite what Sheryl Sandberg might say..." she let out a breathy chuckle, "...it still isn't that easy to make it as a woman in business. I've...given up a lot. Which means if I don't succeed at everything then what was the point?" Oliver hummed. "May I ask you a personal question?"
"Others have tried and failed."
"Why do you try so hard to make me think you're a lazy idiot? I know you're not. Underneath that swagger, I see you pretty clearly."
"Really? And what do you see?"
"You're intelligent. Driven. And lonely." Does she have a point in this or is she going to flirt with him in front of me?
"How do you see that?"
"Because it's what I see when I look in the mirror."
I raised my brow when I saw her mouth slowly opening. Her eyes lingered on Oliver. Her chest was slowly heaving. I rolled my eyes as I stood up abruptly.
"You really are a bitch," I said as I walked away.
I knew she feels something for Oliver. That talk alone is enough proof. Well, I'm glad I was there, or else, who knows what she would do to him? She seems to hold her liquor very well so she can't say that she's drunk. Ugh, I really want to kill her. I haven't felt this much rage towards anybody since Helena. Which is saying a lot.
I pressed the button for the elevator door. Once they opened, I went inside. Just when the doors were about to close, a hand stuck through and opened them last second. Oliver slid his body inside just as the doors shut completely. He decided to stand right next to me. I didn't bother to hide how annoyed I am and crossed my arms.
"Ashley," Oliver tried to call out.
"No," I shut him down.
"Look, what happened out there -"
"Oh, you mean the fact that Isabel was undressing you with her eyes." I shook my head. "Whatever, I don't care. Just go back to the lobby. I figured you want to be there before we head out." Oliver rolled his eyes as he reached over and stopped the elevator from moving. I growled under my breath before I tried to press the button but he used his body to block it, "I'm done talking about this, Ollie."
"I'm not." Oliver let out a sigh. "I told Isabel that nothing's going to happen."
"I sure hope not or else she's not the only one getting a dagger to the eye." I groaned as I felt a massive headache beginning to form. "I should have just killed her at the airport." Oliver started to chuckle. "Is this funny to you?"
"It's not," he stated but he was still smiling. "But it's cute when you get this angry."
"Well, excuse me for getting pissed off when the chipmunk is all over you." I pursed my lips as an idea came to my head. "You know, if that's your thing then go ahead. I'll just head back down and flirt with the bartender. Who knows, he might get lucky tonight." I smirked when I saw how dark Oliver's eyes got, it was pissing him off. "See, doesn't feel good when it's happening back at you. How did that saying go? What happens in Russia..."
I was cut off when Oliver pushed me toward the corner. He cradled my face as his lips attacked mine. My hand reached up and gripped his jacket. Oliver moved his hands from my face and slowly trailed them down to my thighs. He gave them a firm squeeze which was enough for me to jump and wrap my legs around his waist.
Oliver detached his lips from mine and began trailing kisses along my jaw. He kissed my jaw before whispering in my ear, in Russian, "If anyone touches you, they're dead."
I closed my eyes and enjoyed his lips as I tightened my grip on his jacket. I let out a breathy moan before saying in Russian, "Just shut up and fuck me."
》》》》
I tried to fix my dress as best as I could, but it was hard when Oliver kept unzipping the back of it.
"Would you knock it off?" I asked with a chuckle.
He smiled. "Am I still in trouble?"
I rolled my eyes as I walked over and kissed him. I sighed as I stood next to him while zipping my dress back up. "I wasn't mad at you. I just...I hate her so much."
"Yeah, I can see that. Especially after what we did in here." I groaned as I leaned back. "I'm sure no one will notice the -"
"It's not that. I just hate getting so jealous over every bitch who flirts with you. That's never happened before. It's usually me getting mad at you for flirting with other bitches while you're already dating someone. Hell, I've never been like this with any of my other exes."
"You never had sex in the elevator either," he joked. I groaned again as I covered my face. "There's a first time for everything."
I glanced up at him. "So you really told Isabel that nothing's going to happen?"
"I did."
I smiled. "I guess there is a first time for everything." I wrapped my arms around his waist. "I love you, Ollie."
He smiled back down. "I love you, too."
Just then, the elevator doors dinged. We were about to step off but my favorite blonde jumped in fright when she saw us. "Oh, geez, you guys scared me," she breathed as she placed her hand over her chest. Her brows furrowed as we got out of the elevator and made our way toward the stairs. "We should be heading out soon? Are we not taking the elevator?"
"Um, I don't think the elevator is that...sanitary, at the moment," I tried to explain.
Felicity looked between me and Oliver. My disheveled hair, wrinkled clothes, Oliver's tie was crooked and half his shirt was untucked. Felicity closed her eyes as she let out a breath. "Please, don't tell me you guys did what I think you did?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "Ok." I grabbed Oliver's hand and dragged him toward the stairs. "We won't tell you."
》》》》
Felicity kept muttering under her breath, "I can't believe you guys had sex in the elevator."
I chuckled. "Felicity, it's fine."
"I mean, who does that? People would usually wait 'till they get to their rooms or at least in the bathroom. Not in a public place where someone can walk in on them."
"Technically, anyone can walk in on someone anywhere?" Oliver piped up.
"At least tell me you guys used protection." My eyes widened before I looked at Oliver, who shared the same panicked expression. "You guys did use protection, right?"
"Well..."
"We were in the heat of the moment," I finished lamely.
"You guys didn't bother to wear a condom?" Felicity scolded. She got up from her space in the front and squished between Oliver and me. "Ok, I am sitting between you two until we are done with this mission."
"Felicity, it's fine. We can run to the store tomorrow to get the morning-after pill. Just relax and don't stress yourself out, too much."
Anatoly opened the door to the police truck and slid in. "There is nothing money cannot buy in this country," he said.
Oliver glanced at his watch. "Diggle and Tommy should be heading out with Lyla in two minutes."
"Well, breaking out of prison is harder than it looks." He gave me and Oliver a look. "You two, of all people, should know that."
Lian Yu
The sounds of my cell door opening is what woke me up. I glance at the door to see Sara holding her finger toward her lips which tells me to be quiet. I nodded as I got up and followed her out as she unlocked Oliver's cell.
"You'll remember the rest of us..." the Russian man pleased. "Yes?"
"We promise," I said. "We'll be back."
Sara closed Oliver's door. "Come on."
Oliver held his side as Sara led us to the hallway. "Are we making a swim for it?" he asked.
"No. They'd shoot us the second we hit the water," she said.
"What if we steal one of their boats while they're sleeping?" I wondered as Sara brought us to the radio room. "What's this?"
"You said your friends they have one of the radios from the ship, right?"
Oliver nodded. "Yeah." I furrowed my brows as Sara began playing with the radio. "You look like you know what you're doing there."
"The past year, I've learned a lot I never expected to."
"You and me both."
Sara grabbed the mic from the radio and handed it to me. I furrowed my brows. "Wait," I began. "Why are you giving me this?"
"They won't respond unless they hear one of your voices."
"I get that but why do we have to do it in here, on enemy territory? Someone could be listening in, right now and we give away our friends' location." Sara sighed before handing Oliver the walkie. I grabbed his arm. "Ollie, think about this."
He slowly nodded. Taking a deep breath, he spoke, "Shado. Ni neng tingdao wo ma?" There was no one. "Slade. Come on, can you hear me? Can you hear..."
I heard Shado's voice coming clear through the radio. "Thank god, you're alive. Is Ashley with you?"
Oliver smiled. "Yeah, she's with me, right now."
I quickly grabbed the mic from Oliver. "Shado, how's Slade?"
"He's burnt really bad. Where are you two?"
Oliver took the mic back. "We're on the freighter..." Sara yanked the mic away and turned off the radio. My mouth flew open as three men strolled in the room. "Sara, what are you doing?"
"There's only two of them," one guy said. "They haven't moved from the location of the mortar attack."
"What the hell is going on here?" I asked.
"You two just confirmed that your friends are alive," Ivo said as he was the last man to enter. "Which means they're still a threat. You know, until we kill them."
Oliver stood up. "You son of a bitch!" he shouted, only to get slapped. "Ow!"
I rushed over to him to make sure he was ok. Then I looked and gave a murderous glare to, someone who I thought is my friend, Sara.
》》》》
Russia
The coats came in handy. We were right on schedule as a loud explosion could be heard from the control room.
"I got it. I shut down the phones," Felicity informed us. "The guards can't call for help."
"Your friends and that woman aren't here by now," Anatoly pointed out. "They will not be here at all."
Oliver and I exchanged a look. He nodded before getting off the truck to follow the guards coming after Diggle and Tommy. The guards had their weapons pointed at the guys, plus Lyla and Deadshot. Oliver managed to knock a few on the ground. Tommy flipped one guy over his shoulders before taking the man's gun to shoot more guards.
"Oliver, get down!" Diggle shouted as he shot the guards that were behind him.
Oliver took out his baton and whacked the remaining guards. "Follow me! Move!"
I threw the door wide open and rushed all of them in. I managed to close the door in time as the last of their backup arrived. Wasting no time, I hugged Tommy from behind - taking note of a slight bruise on his cheek along with a busted lip.
"Please, tell me you weren't someone's bitch," I breathed which earned a chuckle from him.
We drove for a few minutes until Anatoly said, "We are clear."
"Stop the truck," Diggle ordered. Anatoly listened and parked on the side of the road. Diggle glared at Deadshot and shouted, "Get out. Get out!"
Deadshot scoffed as he got out. Diggle hopped out of the truck with a gun pointed at Deadshot. They walked until they were a few feet away from us. Diggle's hand shook and he lowered his gun. They exchanged a few words before Deadshot began walking away.
》》》》
I have never been so happy to be home. I am going to miss Anatoly, but we did promise to keep in touch.
Oliver sighed happily as he wrapped his arm around me. "I can't wait to get home. Maybe I can get some sleep," I said.
Tommy nodded. "Same. My stomach's still recovering," he said, obviously I told him about the lie.
"Ashley?" I heard from behind. I turned around to see Isabel there. "Can we talk?" I could feel Tommy and Felicity's glare. Oliver helped me out by taking Tommy and Felicity away. "I just want to apologize about last night."
"What's there to apologize about?" I asked. "You flirted with my boyfriend in front of me?"
"I know, it was wrong and inappropriate -"
"Because of the vodka?" Ok, fine, I'll be nice to her and give her an out since she's apologizing. "Yeah, alcohol makes us do a lot of crazy things."
She seemed to get it. "Exactly, I had too much and didn't know what I was doing."
"Let's just pretend last night didn't happen." This time, I placed my hands on my hips and gave her a death glare. "You flirt with Oliver again and I'll do to you what Art did to Allie, do I make myself clear?"
I could see the fear in her eyes as Isabel walked to the company car and got in. Oliver walked over and wrapped his arm around me again.
"Did I mention what a huge turn-on that is?" he asked.
Tommy gagged. "I think I'm gonna be sick."
Lian Yu
"We have their location," one of the guys said. "They're no longer of use to us." He looked at Oliver. "Let's see how good you are...at removing a bullet from your head."
The man was about to point the gun at Oliver, but I pushed Oliver behind me so the tip of the gun was right on my forehead.
"Wait!" Sara rushed out. She gave Ivo a pleading look. "They could still be useful."
Ivo nodded. "She's right. Once we get rid of their friends, we'll need them to lead us to the graves."
It was clear the man didn't like the idea but he slowly dropped his gun and said, "Sometimes I wonder who gives the orders here. You...or your little bouzin."
The man marched out without another word. Ivo seemed unaffected by his statement as he looked at me and Ollie. "You're both going back to the island." He smirked. "Oliver...and Ashley."
》》》》
A/N: Almost a year later but finally an update. And I applaud anyone who gets the Art and Allie reference. Also, is anyone still reading this story?