The cool breeze blew in fron the open door, bringing a chill to Felicity's neck. She shivered for a brief moment, reflecting on how high her body temperature had risen a few nights ago when Oliver had placed his hand on her. Even though they had touched each other numerous times in the past and each time brought with it an uncontrollable heat, this last time was something more almost a burn on her skin that she could still feel. Felicity hadn't been able to figure out what it was exactly that had been the cause of the lingering feeling, but she couldn't help but fully accept the warmth that came over her everytime she replayed the moment in her head.
"I know that look." Thea began, a giant grin spreading on her face. Felicity snapped out of her daydream and remembered that she was in the middle of lunch with Thea. After Oliver's disappearance the following year Thea and Felicity had spoke a few times but it wasn't until Felicity's selfless gift to Thea that brought the two closer. Even without Felicity dating Thea's best friend, the two ladies began to meet for lunch and the occasional shopping excursion from time to time. Felicity not only enjoyed Thea's company due to the fact that she almost endlessly worked with and around men, but mainly because they simply got along. Thea wasn't apart of Oliver's secret life, atleast not in the sense that she knew of his secret life but it was a nice step back in a normal life that Felicity used to have. Though she wouldn't trade anything for the life she had now, Felicity did miss somethings that she rarely got to do anymore. Fortunately Thea was her link to a temporary shelter outside of the Arrow Cave, as she still liked to call it. Felicity quickly straightened up at Thea's comment, unsure what she was referring to.
"That's the look of a guy problem." Thea happily explained, taking a sip of her coffee. Felicity forced a laugh.
"What? No. There's no problems with me in that department...not that I'm bragging or anything, because under normal circumstances I would be having about a million different problems revolving around the lack of a guy." Felicity nervously babbled, doing her best to sound confident but failing miserably.
"Is there something wrong between you and Riley?" Thea asked, taking notice of Felicity's uneasy demeanor. Felicity nearly forgot about Riley, she hadn't seen him in a few days and her mind was currently elsewhere. A brief sting of guilt struck her for not thinking of the man she was currently dating, a characteristic she had never once displayed.
"No. No, Riley and I are fine. It's not about him." Felicity stated, wanting to throttle herself for letting the last part slip out. Thea lifted her head back and smiled as she now understood what was bothering her friend. She knew Riley was very charming and sweet but even he couldn't have this effect on a woman such as Felicity, and in Thea's mind that left only one other suspect. Felicity caught Thea's prying glare and sighed, knowing she couldn't escape the conversation now.
"Oh. Well it's not really a problem as much as it's a..." Felicity began, searching for the words to keep the true meaning of her distraction from Thea.
"Let me guess. Brooding, handsome, and emotionally shut off?" Thea finished for her, unable to contain her childish smile. Felicity paused and sighed, nibbling on her bottom lip.
"It's just...so difficult between us sometimes." Felicity began, not completely sure why she was telling Thea. Thea leaned in over the table, paying closte attention to her friend's confession.
"We've known each other for almost five years now and sometimes it seems like things are just as hollow and unknown as they were when we first met...and then other times it's as if we can hear each other's thoughts." Felicity explained glancing off to the side, remembering her expansive past with Oliver. Thea listened intently, not wanting to interupt Felicity's train of thought.
"He can be the sweetest man I've ever met but then make me want to run him over with an unmarked van under an overpass." Felicity stated, quickly flashing back to when she ran over Isabel Rochov with the team van. Thea noticed the odd attention to detail in Felicity's statement, but remained quiet.
"It hurts enough to just be his friend...I just don't think I could survive anything else." Felicity ended, looking down at her hands. Thea nodded, understanding where her friend was coming from.
"Well I may not know my brother as much as you do, but I do know what he used to be like." Thea began, glancing down at the table and fidgeting with her napkin.
"Before the island...he was so different. He was selfish and reckless, he didn't second guess any decision he made and that hurt alot of people." Thea continued, fighting back all the painful memories.
"You know when he came back our mom told me that the Oliver that went away might not be the Oliver that came back...and she was right." Thea said, tears quickly forming in her eyes. Felicity gently placed her hand over Thea's to comfort her.
"I love my brother, but I'm glad he didn't come back." Thea began, catching Felicity somewhat by surprise.
"I'm glad, because who did come back wasn't my brother...he was a new man." Thea explained, lifting her head up.
"He was a good man...and I think you only made him better." Thea added, smiling in appreciation of what Felicity had done for her brother's newfound humanity. Felicity smiled, greatful for the compliment. The two sat in silence for a moment, both reflecting on how Oliver returning from his five years of hell had changed their lives for the better.
The elevator opened, as two interns carefully passed by Captain Lance as he made his way toward Felicity's office. Diggle stood from his desk and greeted the Captain as he neared the door.
"Hello Captain. What can I do for you today?" Diggle began, standing at attention behind his desk.
"Didn't you used to be Oliver Queen's bodyguard?" Lance began, remembering how he had seen Diggle at very many diffrent scenes all involving Oliver.
"Yes sir. Now I'm tasked with keeping an eye on Miss Smoak." Diggle explained, keeping his stance tall and strong. Lance quietly laughed at the idea of the Arrow's partner needing anyone other than the Arrow himself to protect and watch over her.
"Well I'm sure that has it's benefits." Lance joked, noting at how irresponsible Oliver used to be.
"It does. Thankfully I don't have to follow Miss Smoak into the restroom like I did for Mr. Queen." Diggle replied, smiling to his unknown partner. Lance chuckled, only imagining what secrets the bodyguard had to tell.
"Are you ever going to let me live that down?" Oliver playfully asked, stepping up behind them. Lance turned and shook Oliver's extended hand.
"Good to see you again." Lance began, smiling at the casual attitude between Oliver and his former bodyguard.
"And you sir. What brings you by today?" Oliver asked, wondering if the Captain's visit pertained to his nightly activities.
"Well Miss Smoak actually requested a police presence at the upcoming Queen Tech event and I came by to unfortunately dissapoint her." Lance began, his words flowing somewhat too fast. Oliver quickly caught on that the Captain was lying, most likely to keep the truth about his visit to one of the Arrow's partners a secret from anyone else. Oliver admired Lance, they may not have always seen eye to eye but he was a good man and would never do anything to endanger Felicity or any other member of the team.
"Due to the rise in gang activity, I just can't afford to take any of my men off the street." Lance ended, shrugging his shoulders in an apologetic manner.
"Ofcourse, and I'm sure Felicity will agree with you one hundred percent. If you'd like I can tell her for you, after all I am kind of in charge of the event anyway." Oliver replied, smiling with a hint of pride in his voice. Lance chuckled.
"Why am I not surprised that you are in charge of a party...well atleast you've found a way to use some of your life skills for your career." Lance suggested, silently admiring how far Oliver had come in life. Oliver laughed, not expecting a joke from Lance or a twisted compliment as well.
"I will take that as a compliment." Oliver assured him, noticing Diggle's grin.
"Well, I better be on my way." Lance ended, patting Oliver on the shoulder slightly disrupting his wound on his chest. Oliver flinched a little as he fought off the slight pinch of pain.
"Good day...Captain." Oliver ended, stopping himself from referring to Lance in his former title. Lance nodded to both men and entered the elevator. Oliver limped over to Diggle, thinking about why Lance had decided to visit Felicity in person regarding business with the Arrow.
"What was that about?" Diggle asked, relaxing a little.
"I'm not sure." Oliver replied, leaning onto the desk to take the weight off of his knee.
"Why would Lance want to see Felicity in person regarding the Arrow? Why not just call you?" Diggle asked, searching for a logical explanation.
"I'm not entirely sure he wanted to talk about the Arrow with her." Oliver answered, glancing up at his friend. Diggle angled his eyebrows, not being able to fathom what Felicity could possibly be hiding from them. Oliver painfully sighed, just the thought of Felicity keeping a secret from him was almost unbearable. The secrets he kept from his team was in order to protect them as best he could and to keep them from learning of the horrible things he had done in the past. They already knew too much of what he had done, he worried that anything else they might discover about him would casue them to look at him diffrently. His team saw him as a hero and he couldn't tarnish that image in fear of losing them.
By the time night had fallen, the team had already made their way to the Foundry. Diggle had finally managed to find two babysitters for Sara, one for day and the other for night. Oliver and Felicity noted at how quiet and boring the Foundry had quickly become since her absence. Diggle was convinced that three nights of them watching over Sara was enough however, and Oliver agreed knowing that the Foundry was still dangerous even though he would battle to the death to defend Sara as would Felicity. Roy and Diggle had made their way into the field, mostly tracking down and dealing with a few smaller troublesome threats in the Glades. Oliver had completed his shortened workout, opting to avoid the salmon ladder for awhile much to Felicity's dissapointment. He slowly moved toward her station as he continued to bounce a tennis ball off the floor.
"It's been four days and I already have cabin fever." Oliver began, laughing at how ridiculous his statement sounded. He never heard Felicity complain once about being stuck underground surrounded by a bank of computers and arrows. He admired her dedication to their night job, she successfully found a way to handle two full time jobs and never complained to him about it.
"You could always read a book." Felicity suggested, focusing on her task of updating several programs.
"Or watch a movie, or dance, or learn another deadly skill that will strike fear into our enemies." Felicity continued, not exactly paying attention to what she was saying.
"Just don't watch any porn on my computers!" She quickly snapped, pointing a finger at him. Oliver laughed, shaking his head at her off comment.
"Well now that porns out of the question." He joked, smiling at her. Felicity gave him a passive glance as she titled her head back toward him.
"How about some food?" Oliver suggested, hopefully glancing back at her. Felicity continued her work and nodded.
"That actually doesn't sound like a bad idea, Laurel asked me to back her up tonight so I could use the extra energy." Felicity stated, momentarily stopping from her programming.
"Wait, Laurel's going into the field tonight? Why didn't you tell me, I would've sent Roy with her." Oliver nervously began, limping back over toward her station.
"I didn't tell you because I knew you'd worry, which you currently are and because I am her backup." Felicity stated turning toward him. Oliver opened his mouth to speak but was quickly cutoff by Felicity.
"And before you make any chauvinistic comments remember that Laurel was out in the field for months fighting lowlifes all over town while you were missing." Felicity explained, standing to meet him at his level. Oliver sighed.
"And look where that got her? The last time she was in the field she almost got shot...twice." Oliver stated, doing his best to remain calm.
"And the last time you were in the field you almost got blown up." Felicity countered, quickly ceasing Oliver's argument.
"Besides, she has given me all the info I need to get her in and out safely." Felicity confidently said, a prideful smile reaching her face. Oliver wasn't convinced and his expression matched his thoughts.
"I'm not gonna let anything happen to her." Felicity added, gently grabbing Oliver's hand in an attempt to calm him. His muscles instantly relaxed at the feel of her skin on his, sending a cooling sensation through his body. He reluctantly nodded in approval.
"Thank you." Felicity said, smiling at him.
"For what?" He asked, unsure what she was referring to.
"For trusting me." She replied, looking down at her hand as it rested over his. Oliver nearly lost his balance, having to quickly find his equilibrium before he collapsed onto the desk. Felicity felt him wobble, tensing her muscles incase she needed to catch him.
"You okay?" She asked, grabbing his arm to help him balance himself.
"Yeah, just a little off balance." Oliver quickly covered, hoping she couldn't see through his lie. Felicity quickly returned to her chair to hide her blushing cheeks, unaware and proud that she could have such an effect on him.
"But I am hungry though." She reminded him, doing her best impression of his puppy dog eyes that he so often saved for her. Oliver smirked as he grabbed his jacket and moved toward the stairs.
"Dumplings for two?" He asked, slowly ascending the steps.
"Yes please!" Felicity excitedly replied, smiling back at him as he carefully navigated each step.
Laurel leapt from the rooftop, passing over the alleyway below before landing on the next roof. She didn't break stride as she charged toward her destination, passing over anything in her way.
"How are we doing?" Felicity asked over the comms, preparing for her and Laurel's operation for the night. Laurel stopped at the edge of the roof and spotted her target through the window across from her.
"On schedule. Target in sight." Laurel replied, catching her breath while she planned her path toward the next buulding.
"Okay, I've hacked into their security system and I'm standing by to shut them down. But remember the system will only be down for maybe six minutes." Felicity explained, her typing fingers bleeding through over the comms. Laurel stepped back from the edge and prepared herself for her next move.
"Alright. I'll let you know when I'm in position." Laurel replied, checking her gear one last time.
"You're going in through the roof aren't you?" Felicity asked, concern coating her words.
"It's the fastest way Felicity." Laurel answered, hoping her friend wouldn't press the issue.
"Laurel it's a pretty big drop. If you don't stick the landing just right you could really hurt yourself, not to mention the guards with guns." Felicity said, cycling through the live feeds on her monitor.
"Yeah well ever since Ollie started taking out guys like this they decided it was best to have people watching the roof." Laurel replied, in an attempt to change the subject.
"Don't try to change the subject. The roofs too dangerous, let me lead you in through the service entrance...it'll take three minutes." Felicity suggested, already knowing her friend wouldn't listen. Felicity had discovered that Laurel could be just as reckless as Oliver in the field, only she wasn't as patient.
"Sorry but I have an early day tomorrow." Laurel replied smiling as she took off running toward the edge of the roof. Felicity instantly snapped into action, disabling the security system for the target building. Laurel stepped off from the edge and leapt into the air. Her body went weightless as she plummeted downward toward the smaller building's roof. The two story drop was slightly bigger than Laurel had expected, sending a hint of regret into her mind just before she landed. Her knees took the bulk of the crash as she did her best to roll forward with the extra momentum, finally stopping behind the first guard. The man had obviously heard her landing as he spun around and raised his weapon toward what had ever made the noise. Laurel quickly struck him in the stomach before snapping him over herself and striking him once more in the face. The second guard was located on the other side of the roof, unaware that his partner had just been incapacitated. He scanned the area as he walked along the railing, looking out over the city. Laurel rolled under a vent unit hanging over the ground and kicked the man's feet out from under him. The guard dropped to his back as Laurel worked him into a headlock, slowly beginning to cutoff his oxygen supply.
"So. What's with you two lately?" Laurel asked through her gritting teeth as she held onto the struggling man.
"What'd you mean? Nothing! There's nothing going on." Felicity quickly replied, her voice obviously distressed from the topic.
"C'mon. I've never seen him act this way around you before...or anyone for that matter." Laurel continued, noticing the guard had finally stopped thrashing. She checked his vitals before moving on, satisfied that he was unconscious.
"Must be the pain killers for his knee." Felicity suggested, trying to take her mind off of Oliver at the moment. Laurel laughed to herself. She, like most other people in their lives, could easily see how much Oliver and Felicity cared for each other. Laurel wasn't jealous, in fact she was thrilled for them both. After everything Oliver had been through she had feared he would never be able to be happy but she knew that thanks to Felicity he was happy, even though they could both be happier if they would simply come to their senses.
"Must be. I'm going in." Laurel announced, moving into the building. She carefully made her way down toward her target, trying her best to move fast but stay hidden. Felicity watched over her via the the security system that she had hacked into and programmed to play a loop for thhe real security guards.
"Stop!" Felicity ordered, watching Laurel snap back around the corner she was about to walk around. A single guard stepped into the hall and made his way toward Laurel.
"One guard, heading right to you." Felicity explained, watching closely. Laurel knelt down and prepared her attack. The guard finally stepped past the corner, springing Laurel into action. She quickly wrapped her legs around the man's neck and pulled him to the floor, finishing up by striking him across the face with one of her batons. Felicity watched in slight enjoyment as her friend easily dispatched the guard and moved on toward her target. Laurel reached her destination and stopped at the door.
"Okay. I count three men inside. Two guards and one sex trafficking sicko." Felicity explained, typing in a few commands and waiting for Laurel to make her move. Laurel took a deep breath and calmed herself before kicking open the door and charging in.
"Subtle." Felicity muttered, readying herself to assist her partner at a moments notice. Laurel darted across the room and attacked the first man before he could draw his weapon. She tossed one of her sister's old sonic devices toward the other guard as he readied his weapon. The device began shrieking, nearly deafening the guard. The man dropped to his knees and covered his ears as the glass around him shattered, showering the area with broken shards. Laurel focused her attacks on the other guard's upper body, striking him with quick jabs to his ribs. The man's counterattacks were strung but easily dodged as Laurel moved behind him and kicked him into the hallway. The sonic device had ceased its attack as Laurel moved on the second guard. The two battled back and forth as the main target slowly checked from the safety of his massive desk. He watched as the blonde haired woman engaged his bodyguard in hand to hand combat. He reached for the pistol hidden under his desk and aimed toward where the blonde had been, only to find his guard's limp body lying on the floor. The older man recoiled in fear as he was struck by a baton across his chin. The blow threw him onto his back, knocking the gun from his hand. Laurel stomped her boot onto the man's neck and held it there while began to struggle and attempt to remove it.
"You can outsmart the law Henderson, but you can't escape it." Laurel confidently stated looking down at the man.
"You got nothin' you crazy bitch! The cops couldn't find anything on me, and neither will you!" The man siad through his gritted teeth, thrashing his body to get free.
"I'm clean!" He proudly added, confident that the vigilante had no evidence on him and his crimes. Laurel increased the pressure on his throat, hearing the man's breathing crackle beneath her boot.
"You sure about that?" Laurel asked glancing to the USB drive inserted in the man's computer. Henderson saw the USB drive and panicked, temporarily pausing from his escape attempt.
"I see you." Felicity jokingly said as she combed through the files that her USB drive was currently sending her from Henderson's computer. Laurel smirked at the comment as she looked down at the man. She turned as she heard noise in the hall. The first guard had gotten back to his feet and was raising his sidearm into the doorway at the blonde haired woman holding down his boss. The door suddenly slammed shut, crushing the guard's wrist. The gun dropped to the floor as the door held the man in place.
"I see you too." Felicity added, watching the feed from the security camera in the office.
"Thanks." Laurel gratefully began, glancing back at the door.
"You're welcome." Felicity happily replied.
"Is the download done?" Laurel asked, looking over to make sure the USB drive hadn't been interupted.
"Yup. One hundred percent of incriminating information." Felicity responded, scanning through the data on her monitor.
"Who the hell are you talkn' to you crazy bitch?" Henderson asked, looking up at his attacker. Laurel stomped down on the man's throat as she leaned closer and replied.
"Just another bitch...who happens to have Wi-Fi." Laurel finally removed her boot and struck the man across the face with a powerful punch, knocking his head to the floor.
The police arrived soon after, due in part to Felicity tipping off Captain Lance. Laurel watched from the rooftop across the street as Henderson and his men were taken into custody. She smiled, feeling very satisfied with heroic actions in aiding of the man's arrest.
"Looks like the missing files from Henderson's computer were sent to the SCPD just before his arrest...luckily for them it had already been unlocked." Felicity proudly stated, reading over the data from the SCPD on her monitor.
"Good work Laurel." Felicity added, closing out the files and switching to check on Diggle and Roy.
"Good plan Felicity." Laurel replied, smiling as she turned away from the rooftop and moved to leave the area. She froze in her steps when she spotted Visceral standing on the roof with her. Laurel readied her batons and took a defensive position, unsure exactly what to do. Visceral raised his palms in a non hostile way and began.
"I'm not here to fight." Laurel was still slightly in shock, she hadn't actually intended on meeting the man face to face let alone by herself.
"Then what'd you want?" She asked, remaining in her defensive pose.
"I was simply watching how you handled yourself." He began, slightly stepping to his side as he lowered his hands.
"Very impressive I might add. You've certainly come a long way from beating up muggers." Visceral added, checking chuckling to himself. Laurel watched him closely, doing her best to read his body language and hopefully foresee any attack he might have planned.
"So you just wanted to congratulate me on my progress?" Laurel stated, gripping her batons tighter. Visceral shrugged his shoulders slightly as he looked to her.
"Can't a guy give a lady a compliment without fear of getting punched in the face?" Visceral playfully asked, smiling through his mouth guard.
"Unless you like it rough..." Visceral added, doing his best to attack Laurel mentally and throw her focus off. He made a weighing motion with both of his hands as he moved slightly closer toward her.
"Trust me, you couldn't handle it." Laurel replied, unimpressed with his attempt to unsettle her.
"Fair enough." Visceral agreed, stopping a few steps from her.
"Let me get to the point, the Arrow...I know you work with him." Visceral began, changing his tone. Laurel stiffened at the mention of Oliver, knowing that the situation might turn bad.
"And I also know that he doesn't trust you." Visceral added, tilting his head and looking into Laurel's eyes to read her physical response. Laurel held back the urge to lash out at the man, both with words and her fists.
"You know it too. I've witnessed some of your training exercises...the way he watches you, judges you...he doesn't respect what you're capable of." Visceral explained, staring straight at Laurel forcing her concerned gaze on him.
"You're so much more than he allows you to be. He's holding you back." He stated, lifting his chin up and examining her change in body language from his comments.
"I've heard enough." Laurel angrily announced, lowering her batons and cutting the man's words short. Visceral paused and nodded.
"Alright." He said, turning to leave. Laurel watched as he stopped at the edge of the roof and turned slightly toward her.
"Just make sure you know why you're helping him." Visceral ended, jumping off the edge and disappearing from the area. Laurel waited for a moment, letting her adrenaline subside as she tried to go over the conversation in her head once again. She was furious at Visceral's attempt to create a wedge between her and Oliver. In her mind it was more pathetic than a well thought out tactic. Oliver had been in her life for as long as she could remember and no matter how difficult things got between them he had always been on her side. Laurel placed her batons back into their holsters as she began to move. The anger continued to build up inside her, Visceral's words bounced around her head. She admitted that training with Oliver hadn't been exactly how she would have planned it but it wasn't as bad as Visceral had said. She played through her memories of how Oliver had acted towards her since he learned of her new calling, a dark truth slowly began filling her thoughts. He had never been on board with her decision but she knew he was juat trying to protect her, but why hadn't he done the same for Sara. Her sister had worn the mask before her and she never once felt that Oliver had any doubts in Sara's choice. Laurel knew of Sara's training but it was more than that, Oliver trusted Sara even though she was a member of one of the deadliest organizations on the planet. Sara had murdered people, even in front of Oliver and he still trusted her. Laurel felt the rage build up in her, she couldn't fight the feeling. Oliver trusted her own sister, who was in fact a known murderer, over Laurel. She couldn't understand why she had never seen it before this point, perhaps her love for Sara had shielded her from the truth. The truth that Oliver didn't trust her and never would, no matter what she did.