The dark SUVs turned rapidly onto the street with no concern for public safety. The light rain caused their tires to screech on the asphalt as they gripped for traction. Both vehicles stopped in front of a small laundry service store. The occupants exited the vehicles and moved into the building, scanning the area for anything out of the ordinary. The men hastily passed through the store, moving past the main desk and toward the rear rooms. The frail elderly woman behind the counter lowered her head and kept quiet as the henchmen stormed past her. The group approached a single door, guarded by two men. The guards quickly opened the door and stood to the sides, making room for the visitors. The men stepped inside the next room suddenly surrounded by dozens of gambling tables with numerous patrons crowding around them eager to lose their money. The henchmen split into two groups, the first continuing to move toward the back of the room while the second spread out through the gambling floor. The first group entered the final room at the very end of the building, two men stopping to stand guard at the door. Ki Su Waan stepped into the managers office, his Triad thugs stood off to his sides each one step back in case of trouble. The owner of the establishment rose from his chair out of respect, pure fear straightened his posture. Su Waan's blank expression did nothing to help ease the nerves of the frightened man or his associate standing next to him.
"To what do we owe this surprise visit?" The owner began in his native tounge, his hands trying to keep from shaking at his sides.
"There have been a lot of rumors spreading lately." Su Waan began, slowly making his way closer to the man's desk.
"Rumors that might embolden some to question the arrangements they have with me." His tone was chillingly calm as was his demeanor. The owner of the gambling den shook his head and nervously replied.
"We would never dishonor our arrangement." Su Waan toyed with a few of the objects on the man's desk, as if he was allowing the man to come clean about his possible betrayal.
"Good. Because rumors are much like a wildfire." Su Waan explained, stepping beside the man.
"Once they reach a certain point, they spread without warning and burn everything." He finished and suddenly grabbed the man's arm, twisting it behind his back as he thrust his face onto his desk. The man began to breathe heavily as his free arm frantically danced in the air.
"Please I haven't told anyone about the murders I swear!" The owner pleaded, his voice shaken. Su Waan held the man down as he slowly pulled an acient knife from it's sheath on his belt.
"Fortunately the only way to combat a wildfire is to cut off it's life source by starting a controlled fire nearby." Su Waan gripped the knife as the man continued to shake beneath his grasp. The man pleaded again, catching sight of the weapon hanging above him.
"In this case, we start another rumor to drown out the other before it can spread." Su Waan finished preparing to bring the knife down into the man's head. The sound of gunshots rung out, causing Su Waan to freeze. Muzzle flashes and people running in all directions was visible from the two way mirror in the office. Su Waan watched as his henchmen fired at a dark figure quickly darting through the gambling den. Su Waan barked an order to the men near him, sending them out into the main room with their weapons drawn and ready. Su Waan looked back down at the man, his knife still held above him ready to plunge into the owner's skull. He knew now he would need this new rumor of what happened if you crossed him to spread more than ever. Su Waan grinned as he tensed his muscles and guided the knife downward. Within an instant the glass window behind cracked, a single arrow passing through it and knocking the knife from Su Waan's hand. Su Waan released the owner from his grasp and quickly turned toward the window looking for his attacker. The window exploded a second later, the Arrow crashing through it. The glass struck Su Waan, causing him to shield himself from it. Oliver quickly rolled out of his landing, arrow already on his draw string and target in his sights. He released the arrow, pinning a henchman's arm to the wall beside him. The man's weapon dropped to the floor, as Oliver quickly turned to face Su Waan. Within a second the Triad enforcer had began his lightning fast attacks toward the hooded hero. Oliver's reflexes took over as he moved and did his best to dodge the incoming blows. Su Waan guided his fists and feet toward his enemy, not giving him a second to recover from his entrance. The two men backed away from the desk, Oliver taking the opportunity to counterattack his opponent. His bow spun around after deflecting a punch and found it's way into the side of Su Waan's face. In the front of the building Roy and Diggle moved in, meeting some of the henchmen in the laundry area. Roy fired a single arrow into the washing machine next to the large group of Triads. He and Diggle paused as the henchmen raised their weapons to end this fight before it began. A moment later the arrow Roy had fired exploded, stunning the nearby enemies. Diggle and Roy instantly closed the distance between them and their enemies. Roy jumped over a group of washing machines and kicked a man backwards away from the group. Diggle stepped up to one of the men raising their weapon, his instinct taking over. Diggle grabbed the man's forearm forcing the weapon to aim down toward the floor, while he thrust his own pistol into the man's head. The man's head jerked back as Diggle pulled the henchman's limp body over his own, slamming into the floor. Oliver and Su Waan's battle raged on as did the firefight in the gambling den next to them. Visceral continued to pop up behind the slot machines near the outter wall, each time firing an arrow toward the Triad guards currently trying to kill him. Another arrow hit dead center of a man's chest, throwing him back onto a blackjack table. Oliver knew he didn't have much time left, if he didn't move on Visceral now he would either be killed or more likely escape. Oliver evaded another attack and spun himself around, guiding his bow into the heel of Su Waan's foot. The attack caught Su Waan off guard, the sudden displacement of his weight shot him into the air and gravity did the rest. Oliver watched as his enemy crashed into the desk behind him and rolled off onto the floor where he lay motionless. Satisfied Oliver charged into the firefight in the next room. The henchman next to the manager's office readied his weapon, he gained a clear shot at Visceral and wasted no time lining up the killshot. Oliver suddenly slid out of the doorway, bow drawn and aimed directly at the armed man. The arrow struck high on the man's shoulder knocking him back into the slot machines along the wall. Oliver slid under a nearby table, kicking it onto it's side for a fragile form of cover. Bullets riddled the tabletop as it slammed onto it's side. Roy grabbed the attacking man's arm and pulled him forward while kicking his feet out fron under him, sending the henchman face first into the floor. Roy quickly leaned back evading another fist as he guided his boot intonthe man's stomach. The Triad goon stumbled backward clutching his aching mid section as Roy capitalized on the moment. He jumped up and brought his fist down hard on the man's temple, knocking him to the ground. The sound of a gun cycling a fresh round caught Roy's attention as he looked to his left and spotted one more henchman, weapon trained on Roy's head. Two gunshots rang out and the henchman's body jerked back, colliding with a clothing rack. Roy looked to his right seeing Diggle, gun still held high and smoking. Before they could speak, the sounds of cars suddenly stopping outside drew their gaze.
"Looks like Su Waan called in backup." Felicity began over the comms, observing the CCTV footage she had hacked into. Roy and Diggle shared a concerned look. The last two guards relentlessly fired at the two vigilantes now hiding from the barrage of automatic weapons. The sub machine guns' barking seemed endless, as Oliver stayed as low to the ground as possible. He spotted a hanging light fixture and made his move, pulling his draw string and aiming for the small chain holding up the fluorescent bulbs. He released, sending the speeding arrow directly into the chain. The side of the fixture broke free and swung downward toward the guards, sparks spraying from it. The guard side stepped away from one another to avoid the swinging object before it collided with the slot machines behind them, shattering the brightly lit face of both machines. Visceral took the split second opportunity and fired two arrows at the men with one shot. The henchmen both fell backward into the other slot machines, each with an arrow emerging from their chests. Oliver rolled to his feet and readied another arrow, this time aimed toward Visceral's direction. The vigilante had once again ducked back down behind the slot machines for cover. Oliver stood ready, not sure what Visceral's next move would be.
"We should've taken this place together, would've been cleaner!" Visceral began, still kneeling behind his cover.
"Oh well, maybe I'll let you help me out with the next place." His voice was somewhat playful again, as if what he had just done was simply a game.
"The only place you're going is a jail cell!" Oliver sternly replied, bow drawn and ready. Visceral gritted his teeth, the comment infuriated him. Someone he once looked up to was now threatening him, a loyal follower and believer.
"I'm sorry you see it that way." He managed to get out, doing his best to disguise the pain in his voice. The crackling of glass caught Oliver's attention, he instantly turned to his right seeing Su Waan push himself to his feet inside the office. The two way mirror had taken some damage and sections of it were now missing. Visceral jumped up and fired, his single arrow flew directly toward Su Waan's chest. Oliver instantly reacted, shifting his aim slightly and releasing his arrow. Thankfully Oliver had been standing closer, otherwise his arrow would have been too late. Oliver's arrow struck Su Waan's thigh, causing him to recoil in pain just as Visceral's arrow passed centimeters from the enforcer's neck. Oliver quickly turned back toward his foe to see the next attack aimed toward him. Visceral fired an arrow into the fallen table next to Oliver. Before he could react the arrow exploded, throwing Oliver into the air before crashing down into another table. The table gave way under the sudden weight of Oliver's body colliding on top of it, showering the area with playing cards and poker chips. Oliver, stunned by the force of the explosion, slowly regained his awareness and pushed himself to his knees. The sound of more gunfire alerted Visceral that it was time to make his exit. He glanced toward the Arrow's slumped body and decided staying to finish him would almost certainly result in his death as well. Satisfied with his performance Visceral turned and escaped through a side door behind him, leaving the former gambling den in shambles and ruin. Oliver rose to his uneasy feet, head swiveling for Visceral and another attack. He saw nothing, the room was empty for the exception of the carnage that remained from the battle that had just taken place. Anger took over Oliver's face, he couldn't hide it. He glanced down at his trembling hand, doubt quickly replaced any feeling on anger that was in him.
The table jerked for a brief moment, Oliver's only reaction to the pain that shot through his nerves.
"I'm sorry!" Felicity shouted, slightly stepping back from him. Medical tweezers in one hand and blood stained gaws in the other. She had once again failed to successfully remove one of the many splinters in Oliver's back.
"It's okay." Oliver assured her, his voice soft for a moment reassuring her he wasn't in pain because of her. She cautiously returned to the task, carefully removing the remaining splinters. Behind them Roy sat at another table, an ice pack on his hand. Diggle stood next to him, observing the team.
"You okay?" Oliver asked, glancing over his shoulder at his young partner. Roy nodded, shifting the ice pack on his hand.
"You'd think my fists would be used to hitting guys in the face by know." He joked, trying to take his mind of the stinging muscles. Diggle smiled but let it fade away once he noticed Oliver's concerned look.
"He was prepared." Diggle started, directing his words at his leader. Oliver nodded, turning his head back to face forward as Felicity continued to patch his wound.
"The other night, at the depository it's like he knew my every move before I made it...and this time he used it against me." Oliver explained, his voice doing a poor job hiding his discomfort.
"He's been studying me for years. My tactics, my training, even my planning. There's no way he could've known about that side exit unless." Oliver continued, as Felicity picked up his train of thought.
"Unless he hacked into the city's network to get a look at the blueprints." Felicity excitedly finished, pausing with her medical task and looking to Oliver.
"Which means you might be able to track him." Oliver stated, attempting to look back to Felicity and motion her toward the computers. Felicity remained where she was, not wanting to abandon her task of helping Oliver.
"I'll take over." Diggle said in a low and thoughtful tone, his hands carefully taking the tools from Felicity's. She nodded, fighting the urge to continue her work. Diggle noticed her trembling fingers as he replaced her hands with his own and went to work cleaning his friend's wound. He inspected her work and was pleasantly surprised, the medical training she took a few months ago had clearly paid off. However Diggle knew that wasn't the reason she was hesitant about handing over the task to him. Felicity stepped away toward her station, stopping when she looked down at her hands. Oliver's blood stained them, her knees nearly gave way under her from the sudden amount of weight she felt in her heart. The same feeling had nearly destroyed her over seven months ago when Malcolm Merlyn paid her a visit in the Foundry to deliver the news.
Oliver Queen is dead
Unimaginable pain surged through her veins and stung her heart. After Merlyn's visit Felicity lost all hope, her world quickly slipped into darkness. If it weren't for the team she wouldn't have survived. Diggle, Roy, and Laurel all reminded her what Oliver had fought for and why he risked his life for others. She knew he wouldn't want her living the rest of her life in pain, and she fought for him. Felicity trained herself in as much as she could to better herself and occupy her time. One of those new skills happened to be advancement in medical knowledge, hoping she would never feel that helpless again. Diggle's large hand on her shoulder snapped her back to reality. She slightly twitched, finding herself caught off guard.
"Here." Diggle began, extending her a damp towel. Felicity smiled, accepting the towel and wiping the blood from her hands. Felicity sat at her desk and went to work, trying her best to suppress the dark feelings and memories that had come back to her. Oliver sensed the sudden change in the atmosphere revolving around his team, a feeling he had tried desperately to avoid ever since he had returned from his duel with Ra's Al Ghul. His homecoming had been much more complicated than he originally expected, the easiest part had actually been explaining his otherworldly revival while settling back into his life had been very difficult.
"So while Felicity tries to track Visceral down, maybe we should try a different angle." Diggle suggested, focusing on his friend's wound. Oliver moved his head to his side, waiting for his partner's suggestion.
"Viscerals still a man, which means he's gotta sleep sometime and somewhere." Diggle explained, finishing with Oliver's wound by applying a large bandage. Oliver nodded, thinking to himself.
"I could ask around, see if anybodies heard anything." Roy all but asked, as if awaiting permission to accomplish the task.
"Alright. But tread carefully, we still don't know who Visceral is behind that mask." Oliver replied, carefully putting on a fresh shirt. The fact that they hadn't been able to find any more information on Visceral was troubling and complicated the matter even more.
"Tomorrow though, everybody needs to get some rest for now." Oliver added, readjusting his posture in his seat. Roy stood, grabbing his jacket and moving towards the staircase.
"Night guys." He said, moving upward toward Verdant. The others returned his farewell. Diggle placed the medical utensils back in their respective cabinets and moved toward the exit. He passed by Oliver giving him a meaningful glance and a pat on the shoulder.
"Night." He announced, slipping on his jacket and moving to the stairs.
"Night." Felicity replied, looking back to see her friend leave before returning to her work. Oliver stood and walked over to his gear, wanting to inspect it one more time before leaving. He reached for a small tool and stopped. Vibrations moved through his hand, causing it to shake once again. Oliver stared at his trembling hand, not knowing how to stop it. A wave of memories crashed into him, weakening his spirit. Doubt and pain spread through his bones, every previous failure replayed in his mind. He closed his eyes in an attempt to block them out.
"Oliver." The sound of her soft and worried voice pierced through all the pain reaching directly into his heart. He opened his eyes, feeling an instant rush of light pour through him illuminating the dark memories and pain he felt. Oliver turned toward Felicity, a somewhat quizzical look on his face. She wanted to ask if he were alright, she could simply feel that something was wrong. She fought the urge to question him, fearing that he might actually open up to her and that would be enough. She couldn't hide her feelings for him but she could deny them, she had to. The pain that had nearly destroyed her when she heard of his death wasn't something she could ever feel again. The feeling of losing him was the most painful moment in her entire life and it was a feeling she couldn't survive again. She was certain being closer to him and losing him would be the death of her, and she couldn't bare it. Oliver waited for her to speak, silently pleading that she would ask just ask him what was wrong. He wanted nothing more than to tell her everything, to accept her warm and caring response that would follow. Felicity had always been there for him, she had never given up on him and he needed that. He needed her. Oliver's internal struggle to tell her how much she meant to him was countered by the knowledge that he couldn't put her through that. He had died and it had nearly ended her. He couldn't live his life knowing that he was destroying hers.
"The program is running. It should be finished in the morning." Felicity managed to explain, pain stinging her tounge as she spoke. Oliver nodded, emptiness quickly filling his stomach.
"You should get some sleep." He replied, looking away from her. She agreed, grabbing her purse and jacket. She stopped next to the stairsand turned to face him.
"Goodnight." She ended, waiting for his comforting gaze. Oliver turned back to her and smiled.
"Goodnight." He softly replied, his smile remaining on his face.
The crowd at the restaurant was smaller than Thea had expected. Although it had been a long time since she had returned to Big Belly Burger, she remembered there being more people here last time. She was overjoyed when Riley had suggested they meet up for dinner, she spent most of her day doing inventory at Verdant and she relished in the idea of a nice fun evening with her friend. Riley returned from the restroom, reclaiming his seat across from Thea.
"Are you sure you don't mind that I invited your brother?" He asked once again, expecting to finally hear her true feelings on the subject.
"Yeah, it's fine. It'll be nice to see him." Thea replied, her smile was accompanied by a lifted eyebrow.
"Uh oh. The Queen eyebrow." Riley jokingly began, joining Thea in a giggle.
"Have you two not seen each other for awhile?" Riley asked, sensing the topic was of the sensitive nature. Thea took a deep breath to collect her thoughts before replying.
"It's just been...akward between us. Ever since we found out about Merlyn." Riley nodded, understanding the seriousness of the subject.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to push you two into a confrontation, I just thought it would be nice having us all here for dinner." Riley pleaded, his expression begging for forgiveness.
"It's fine. It will be nice." Thea answered, unable but to smile a Riley's apologetic eyes.
"What'll be nice?" Oliver asked, stopping beside the table catching them both off guard. Thea stood, hugging her brother.
"Hey Speedy." Oliver greeted, smiling as he embraced his sibling. Riley laughed.
"Wow. He still calls you that." He joked, rising to shake Oliver's hand. Thea sighed.
"Unfortunately somethings never change." She replied, glancing over her brother's shoulder to see his friends move up behind him. A quick glance of confusion shot across Thea's face as she watched her brother's friends stop at the table.
"I hope you don't mind, I invited my friends to join us." Oliver explained, the gigantic smile on his face stinging at his muscles. Felicity, Diggle, and Roy all stopped next to the table and awaited approval to join. Thea's brow raised upward as she smirked to Riley.
"See what I mean." She snickered, directing the comment to her thoughtless brother.
"Please sit, join us." Riley happily stated, waving to the vacant seats at the table. Oliver introduced his friends, many of whom had already made Riley's acquaintance.
"So, how do you all know each other?" Riley asked, gesturing to to the new additions at the table. The group seemed dumbfounded by the question, each speaking at the same time.
"Well I used to be Oliver's bodyguard, after he returned home." Diggle started, leaning over the table and pointing down to Oliver who nodded at the comment.
"Right, and he met me in the IT department at Queen Consolidated." Felicity spoke up, looking to both of her friends.
"Right." Oliver nodded, content with the answers so far.
"And then he lost the company." Felicity added, almost stopping mid sentence to correct herself.
"I mean he didn't lose the company." She tried explaining, hands nervously moving in front of her face.
"Actually he was tricked into losing it." Diggle assisted, looking to Felicity.
"Right!" Felicity excitedly replied, realizing her expression didn't match the statement. Oliver slowly rubbed the side of his head, trying his best to let his friends clean up their own verbal disaster.
"Not that it was a good thing. Or that he is the type of person to be easily tricked, it's just they got him this one time...and it was a big one time." Felicity stated, playing with her napkin attempting to stop herself from talking.
"Little help here Digg." She added, quickly noting the awkward silence that was creeping up on the table.
"Nah you're doin' just fine." Diggle replied, smiling and sipping from his cup. Felicity uncontrollably forced a smile to her face as she checked the groups response. Thea simply smiled and shook her, enjoying the babbling of her brother's friend. The group remained silent for a moment, everyone trying to calculate what was just said.
"But after a breif power struggle the company was purchased by Ray Palmer, who as you know, eventually named me his successor. At which point I hired Oliver and Diggle to be CFO and my bodyguard...respectively ofcourse." Felicity finished, a wide smile gleamed across Oliver's face as he listened to her nervous ramblings. Riley nodded, still going over all the information just given to him.
"And I used to date Thea." Roy added, no hint of remorse or regret in his voice. Riley glanced to Thea, noticing her unimpressed expression. He laughed and looked to the group.
"Well it sounds like you guys are all very close." Riley stated, the others replying with nods.
"What about you Riley, what brings you back to Starling?" Diggle asked, wiping a few crumbs away from his place mat.
"Well I just finally finished school and I decided it was time to come home, and besides I should be able to get a job here." Riley answered, casually smiling to the group.
"You really think you'll find a decent art and history major job in Starling?" Felicity asked, almost instantly realizing she had just talked about information he had yet to give. She quickly began to follow up her statement with some form of excuse as to how she knew his college major. Oliver placed his hand over hers, signaling her to wait. She stopped, glancing down at her hand. Feeling Oliver's hand resting ontop of hers, delivering a calming feeling into her was all she needed. Riley angled his brow and looked to Felicity.
"How did you know I had an art history major?" He asked, almost laughing. Oliver prepared to step in and explain how he had mentioned it to her in passing, although he shouldn't have known either. This way the notice would be taken off Felicity however, which was good enough for him.
"Seriously...wow that was just a guess." Felicity snapped back, joining him in a giggle. Oliver released his breath and felt a glimmer of pride shoot through him, he enjoyed the fact that Felicity was fully capable of handling herself. He regrettably removed his hand from Felicity's, to which she felt instantly less confident after feeling the warmth of his hand dissapear. The evening progressed smoothly and without incident, or much more awkwardness. The main topic of conversation settled around childhood memories involving Thea and Riley, with the occasional inclusion of Oliver. The group laughed from the latest story of happier times. Oliver slightly blushed as he lifted his cup to sooth his raspy throat, he hadn't laughed this much in the past months and he wasn't used to the sensation.
"That sadly wasn't the last time I would see Oliver in a less than appropriate situation." Riley added, stirring up a few more laughs. Thea shook her head, embarrassed from the ending of the story and the fact that involved her brother in a proactive way. Felicity smiled, glancing over to Oliver. Their eyes met, sharing a caring and greatful look to one another. The team needed this slight retreat from the harsh reality of the night life they thrived in. Thea noticed the meaningful look her brother and his close friend were currently sharing, bringing a genuine smile to her face.
"That kinda sounds familiar." Diggle spoke up, adding to Riley's last comment. Referring to his time as Oliver's bodyguard, aiding to the playboy cover that his friend had once been known for. There had never been such an instance, but Diggle knew it would strengthen the cover none the less. Riley lifted an eyebrow and chuckled.
"That was one time." Oliver quickly replied, adding to the flase story. A few more laughs reached the table.
"Well I'm sure you have your hands full now, what with being Felicity's bodyguard." Riley began, quickly stiffening his appearance as he corrected himself.
"I mean not that she has a lot of guys chasing her down. Not that she doesn't however, I'm sure there are." The group's silence and puzzled looks did nothing to aid him. Oliver lifted his brow, completely baffled by the sudden rambling of Riley. The similar sensation of jealously crept up his spine as he listened to his sister's childhood friend babble about the women he loved, in a way extremely similar to how she would get her words mixed up.
"I'm just saying with as beautiful as she is, you must have to keep a lot of jerks away from her." Riley managed to finally finish, his embarrassment plainly obvious. Felicity smiled, slightly blushing as she glanced across the table at Riley.
"You have no idea." Diggle replied, looking to Oliver with a smirk on his face. He easily recognized the look on his friend's face, he wore it a few times in the past, each when Felicity was being eyed by another man.
"Well, in reality I actually end up beating them away myself." Felicity began, catching her mistaken words instantly.
"I mean I push them away...not that I have a lot of guys to push that is." She stated, rubbing the side of her temple. Oliver's jaw nearly dropped, she was getting flustered due to Riley's comments. His temperature rose at the thought of Felicity getting tounge tied over his younger sister's childhood playmate. He quickly realized that Felicity wasn't a topic he hid well, a forced smile found it's way to his face to cover his blank expression. Thea had already noticed her brother's sudden change in body language, she was quick to realize why.
"Maybe you just haven't met the right guy yet." Riley suggested, taking a sip from his drink. His eyes moved to Oliver for a moment, as if challenging him.
"Maybe." Felicity quietly answered, looking down at the table her mind drifting to the man now sitting beside her. She fought the urge to look up at him, even though she knew he would happily accept her hopeful gaze. Diggle smiled, leaning in on the table he had to stop himself from laughing at the unheard conversation taking place between his two love-sick friends. Roy gritted his teeth, as he had for most of the night. Something about Riley didn't sit well with him, his confidence seemed too touch and go at times as if he were playing a role. Besides the obvious comments pertaining to Thea and the numerous times Riley had seen her in questionable situations, he was now flirting with one of his team members. Not that Roy thought of Felicity in that way but he still cared for her as Diggle did, like a brother. He like many others saw how Oliver and Felicity acted toward one another, in his mind they were already married and Riley was threatening their potential happiness. He cleared his throat before beginning.
"Well it's getting pretty late and I still have somethings to attend to." Roy glanced at his watch, shifting in his seat. The others all agreed, each with another item in their nightly agenda. The group slowly moved to the exit, still engaging in polite conversation. Riley questioned Roy and Diggle what gym they seemed to workout at. While Felicity snuck off to the restroom, Thea pulled her brother close for a private conversation.
"It was really good seeing you." Oliver began, his faint smile still hanging on his face.
"You too. I'm sorry things have just been so...crazy lately." She replied, releasing a deep breath. Oliver nodded in agreement with her. He looked back to the group as they said their goodbyes. Felicity moved back through the restaurant toward her friends, Oliver watching her the entire way. Thea spotted her brother's lingering stare and smiled.
"You know. It can't hurt to let atleast one person close to you." She stated, giving her sibling an expression that reminded Oliver of their mother. He smiled, glancing off to the side. He wanted to believe his sister but he knew through personal experience that this time she was mistaken.
The clicking computer keys stabbed through the silence that was hanging over the Foundry. Felicity searched through her search results, aggravation quickly setting. The dinner with Thea and Riley was a much needed break from reality leaving the team in a cheerful mood, but after returning to the Foundry the vigilantes were quickly reminded of how unforgiving the real world was.
"Nothing. Not a single trace." Felicity began, angrily adjusting her glasses.
"Which means Visceral is either a very qualified hacker or he convinced someone to do it for him." She continued, glaring at her computer trying to think of another tracking method she may have overlooked.
"Did you have any luck on the streets?" Oliver asked, looking to Roy.
"No. I spent all day checking with my contacts in the Glades and none of them have heard anything that could lead us to where Visceral hangs his mask." Roy replied, lowering his head in shame. A wave of dissapointment washed over the team, completely dissolving any positive remnants from the dinner. Oliver knew his team was looking to him for guidance, which he doubted was in him at the moment. The buzzing of his cell phone next to Felicity's computer caught everyone's attention. Felicity grabbed the phone, reading the called ID before handing the phone to Oliver.
"It's Captain Lance." She announced, holding the phone out to the Arrow. Oliver accepted the phone and began.
"How can I help you Detective?" His voice masked by the voice immulator software installed on the device.
"It would seem our fear of escalation is coming true." Lance started, standing in the middle of fresh crime scene. Police officers and CI's were scattered all over the grisly scene. Oliver sighed, slowly turning to put some space between him and his team.
"We just found the bodies of three low level Triad enforcers at a known money laundering hole-in-the-wall." Lance explained, examining the bodies around him.
"Good news is they weren't killed with arrows...or bolts. Bad news is, they weren't killed with arrows...or bolts." Lance continued, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"One of the rival organizations." Oliver stated, for the benefit of his team. Realizing the call wasn't pertaining to Visceral eased their collective concern.
"Looks that way. We're canvassing the area and checking with witnesses, but perhaps our little blonde friend would have better luck at IDing these guys?" Lance suggested, half expecting to be told she had already discovered the perpetrators identities. Oliver turned back toward Felicity, sharing a breif glance. It was all she needed. Felicity spun around in her chair and went to work, starting by pinging Captain Lance's cell phone to get a base of what she was looking for.
"We'll see what turns up." Oliver replied, watching his partner go straight to work.
"Alright. In the meantime I'll post some units near some of the better known scumbag hot spots, maybe help these guys think twice before doing something stupid." Lance hopefully added, knowing he was only slowing down this looming disaster.
"Oh, and one more thing. I known that finding this psycho is top priority, but just remember...the city needs you too." Lance finished, looking back to the busy crime scene.
"Thank you Detective." Oliver uneasily replied, knowing the last statement for directed at their previous conversation concerning Laurel's safety. He ended the call and took a deep breath, his mind trying to find find a conclusion to the growing problem of a potential war starting in his city.