A bit of a look into the former members of Team Arrow's lives, and it's the current Team Arrow versus Cayden James . . . and company.

***

Kara walked through the halls of A.R.G.U.S. until she reached the office area where Felicity and Dig were waiting. She knocked and walked in, then stopped when she saw Felicity looked dead on her feet. "I could call Winn and ask him to help?" she suggested sheepishly, holding up a memory block.

Felicity blinked exhaustion from her eyes and straightened. "Better than Oliver would have done."

"Yeah, and the others," Kara agreed, handing her the drive. "That was given to us by Jerry Bertinelli. According to Malcolm, the port is the only thing the Bertinelli has left. Cayden James and Evelyn Sharpe are trying to take it from them."

"So we're getting in bed with the Bertinellis now?" Dig asked incredulously.

"I remember the last time we got in bed with one of the Bertinellis," Felicity began, only to blanch when Kara arched an eyebrow at her, daring her to say anything more. She quickly cleared her throat and turned back around, hastily working to plug in the block. "Not a good thing to say to the boss's superpowered fiancée . . . "

"Two nights ago, they paid Bertinelli a visit," Kara continued as if Felicity hadn't spoken. "This is the security footage. They made a threat against his daughter."

"Well, what's on here might help us locate them," Felicity nodded.

"That's the plan," Kara nodded.

Felicity pulled up footage on her computer, raising an eyebrow when she saw the car on screen. "Well, what about a license plate?"

She clicked on it, and Kara and Dig leaned forward, watching the plate clear. "Old school," Dig remarked. "I like it."

"Little bit of old school combined with some new school, and I'm about to find us this Cayden James needle in the Star City haystack," Felicity promised.

"Thank you," Kara smiled, standing up. "And now I'm going to make sure Oliver actually does sleep tonight."

"We are forever in your debt," Dig chuckled.

"Just looking out for him!" Kara grinned, heading out the door. "Happy hunting!"

***

"Then I was thinking after school, we could hit up the zoo," Rene told his daughter excitedly the next morning. "They have this new reptile room with a Komodo dragon. Thing's so big, it could eat a cow. That's dope, right?"

"I guess so," Zoe nodded, a distracted smile on her face.

"What's up, sweets?" Rene bent down in concern. "I thought you were all about this animal stuff."

"I am, but . . . " Zoe fidgeted slightly. "Why aren't you going into work today?"

"I's . . . " Rene fumbled with what to say. "Going through a little transitional period."

"Will I have to leave again?" Zoe asked worriedly.

"Hey," Rene came around to come face to face with her. "No one will ever take you away from me ever again." Zoe smiled happily at Rene, who turned when there was a knock at the door. He walked over and opened it, nodding when he saw Curtis on the other side. "What's up, dawg?"

"What's up, dawg?" Curtis nodded back, entering and holding up a paper bag. "I brought crogurts."

"Crogurts?" Rene repeated.

"I didn't name them," Curtis shook his head. "I just eat them. Hey, Zoe!"

"Hi, Curtis," Zoe smiled.

"Hey, go get your bag," Rene told her. "We're about to leave."

Zoe hopped off her stool and went to find her backpack, and Curtis smiled, watching her. "Must be great having her back, huh?"

"Best feeling in the world," Rene confirmed.

Curtis frowned, however, looking at his expression. "You don't look like you're having the best feeling in the world, though."

"I can't shake how everything went down with Oliver," Rene confessed. "In order to do right for me, I . . . I had to betray him."

"You had to put your daughter first," Curtis assured him. "She's family. Is that why you called me over?"

"Actually, I was thinking," Rene answered. "All the evidence Agent Watson says she has against me has to be digitized, right?"

"Yeah," Curtis nodded.

"So what if that evidence suddenly vanished?" Rene suggested. "Then I'll be able to . . . what do you call it? Um . . . recant."

"You put your family first, Rene," Curtis told him. "That's nothing to be ashamed about." Rene slumped, but Curtis continued, thinking out loud. "I mean, now, accessing the files might be a little easier now that the case has been moved back to the Star City D.A., but – "

"So that's a yes?" Rene asked hopefully.

"No, that's a 'let me think about it,'" Curtis corrected. When Rene gave him his best pleading look, however, he caved. "Fine, yeah, I'll do it. We all know I'll do it."

"Aw!" Rene whooped, high fiving Curtis as he laughed. "That's what I'm talking about, Hoss!"

***

"Oh!" Dinah laughed as she walked with Vincent by the water that night. "That was – that was the worst stakeout of my life! Do you remember? OK, it was, like, what, minus one? It was freezing. I was freezing my ass off, and the car's heater broke down."

"I warned you about that," Vincent grinned.

"Yeah, you did, and I didn't listen," Dinah conceded.

"I think there's a life lesson in there somewhere," Vincent smirked.

"Oh, ha ha," Dinah laughed sarcastically. "I think I drank a gallon of coffee that night to stay warm. I had to pee so bad. I've never had to pee so bad in my life! And I had to go back behind the car so, you know. I mean, I wasn't gonna ask the scumbag if I could use his bathroom. Oh, God, and the second I go back there, he decides to make a run for it, that son of a bitch. I go chasing after him, fall face-first into the snow bank, and knock – knock myself out on the curb!"

Vincent joined in on her laughter, which faded as they stopped and realized how close they were to each other. "This is complicated," he said. "I know."

"I'm used to complicated," Dinah told him. "Vine, this is a whole new level."

"It doesn't have to be," Vincent shook his head.

"I stopped being the Black Canary weeks ago," Dinah told him. "I really want to uncomplicate my life right now."

"Just so long you don't forget to live it," Vincent reminded her. Dinah nodded in agreement, looking up at him as he moved closer to her. Their lips were just inches from touching when Vincent's phone chirped loudly. Dinah closed her eyes, internally cursing their luck. Vincent seemed to do the same thing as he sighed, pulling out his phone. "I'm sorry," he told her regretfully. When he looked at the message, however, he took a deep breath. "Text from an informant. My next target's on the move." Dinah gave him a warning look, which he grinned at. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill him."

"Well, just make sure you bring him in when I'm off duty, OK?" Dinah smirked. "Because all this intake is giving me carpal tunnel."

Vincent smiled and nodded, squeezing her hands before he left, Dinah watching him go with a wistful look on her face.

***

Oliver finished looking over the last of his paperwork for the night, opening a drawer nearby. He frowned, not finding what he was looking for, and turned to check the drawers behind him –

"Pen?"

He straightened up at the familiar voice and turned around. He was greeted by Thea smirking at him and holding out a ballpoint pen for him to use. "I can always count on you," he said fondly, taking the pen to sign off on the paperwork. "So, Quentin told me the good news." He put the pen down and looked at her as she sat on his desk. "You're back with me."

"Yes, I am," Thea answered, a proud smile on her face.

"And you're happy about that?" Oliver asked, just to make sure.

Thea nodded. "I'm just sorry that I can't be of more help to you and the team . . . or the new one, I guess."

"That's fine," Oliver assured her.

"I just know you need the manpower right now, and you have tons in three of the scariest people in existence, but I'm . . . I'm just not there. Saving the world from Nazis from another Earth, or going on an intel mission in space is something else, but here in Star City – "

"Thea," Oliver cut her off, reaching over and taking her hand. "You will always be my Speedy whether you're using a bow and arrow or not."

Thea smiled warmly, then both turned when the door opened quickly. "Oliver," Kara hurried in, eyes wide. "Felicity found him."

"Where?" Oliver sat up straight.

"We found a car on the footage, and Felicity found it parked outside a warehouse in Adams Heights," Kara answered. "It looks like he's alone, but I'm heading over just to make sure."

"He doesn't know that we know?" Oliver clarified.

"No," Kara shook her head. "The others are already suiting up."

"Can you talk me in?" Kara nodded in response. "OK," Oliver stood up. "We have the chance to take him by surprise. We can't pass it up."

"That's what the fielders agreed on," Kara nodded as he walked over to join her.

"Ollie?" Thea twisted to see them leave. "Kara?"

"Yeah?" they turned to look at her.

Thea gave them a wide smile. "Go get him."

Oliver smirked and nodded, opening the door and letting Kara out first.

***

Oliver and Slade were the first into the warehouse, weapons blurs of motion. The guards on that side were no match for them. It only took Slade a few seconds to ram one into the wall, hard enough to knock him out, and Oliver shot the other with a tranquilizer arrow; both were down around the same time. "Overwatch, Deathstroke and I are in the east sector," Oliver reported as Slade double checked both to make sure they were down.

There was a thud on the other side of comms, then Laurel spoke. "West sector secure."

"Where to?" Malcolm asked.

"All of you are coming up on the main floor," Felicity answered. "Same four heat sigs have been there for a while now."

"Good odds that's our target," Dig added.

"Supergirl?" Oliver asked.

"I can see him," Kara confirmed. "Talia and Evelyn are there, too."

"Copy that," Oliver nodded, moving on, Slade his silent shadow.

***

Cayden didn't look up from his work when he spoke. "I'm sensing some impatience, Ms. Sharpe. Would you care to elucidate?"

"I'm not impatient," Evelyn grumbled from where she was pacing restlessly, her teacher leaning against the doorway. "I'm annoyed. We have the numbers. Why not just take the pier from the Bertinellis?"

"Oh, no," Cayden's second in command said sarcastically from where he was leaning against equipment nearby. "Not impatient at all."

"Mr. Sheck," Talia's voice rang out sharply, making him glare over at her. "She raises a good question, but do not test her."

Evelyn smirked smugly, but Sheck grumbled and turned to Cayden. "No need to stir the pot, any of you," he said. "Ms. Sharpe, I think you'll find that brute force, while it's easy, it's exceedingly messy. I prefer precision. Design over chaos."

A green arrow smacked into Sheck, making him cry out in pain and collapse. Talia was moving instantly, drawing an arrow for her own bow, when two black arrows landed in her shoulders. She staggered, gasping in pain and reaching up, only to sway as the tranquilizers took effect. Evelyn swung around as Oliver and Malcolm jumped to the ground, and she opened her mouth to scream. Oliver's bow was up in an instant, and he shot two arrows at the same time. Evelyn was catapulted backward as a chain wrapped around her neck, and she was pinned by the arrows to the wall behind her.

As Evelyn choked, Cayden turned back to the two archers, reaching behind him and pressing a key on his laptop. The three T-spheres on the table whirred to life, spinning into the air and flying at them. Both ducked, and before the spheres could spin around again, a loud sonic scream threw them off course. One sphere was shot by two bullets, and the lost connection made the other two fizzle out, too.

Oliver turned to face Cayden as Slade and Laurel jumped down from their perch and walked to join him. "You taught yourself some new tricks," Cayden remarked.

"No more games," Oliver growled.

"Overwatch, we have the target," Malcolm reported.

"He's not your problem!" Kara broke in before Felicity could reply. "You're about to get – company!"

"Supergirl?" Slade looked up when he heard a pained cry from her.

"Supergirl!" Oliver insisted, not hearing her reply. "Overwatch? Do either of you copy?"

 "I'm afraid Ms. Danvers and Ms. Smoak can't hear you," Cayden smirked. "You see I also have some tricks, Mr. Queen . . . and like you, I have friends."

"Hello, kapuishon." Slade spun around and drew his sword as Anatoli walked in from one direction, armed members of Bratva accompanying him. "How were your holidays?"

"Funny you should mention that!" Diaz's voice came from the other side, and Malcolm turned, gritting his teeth and reaching for his sword as Diaz yanked the arrows out of the wall, freeing Evelyn. As she landed on her feet, massaging her feet and choking, Diaz reached down to check Talia's pulse. When he stood back up, he smirked and pointed the arrow in his hand at the four vigilantes, Evelyn glaring daggers at them, members of Diaz's organization flooding into the warehouse. "Looks like we're getting a late Christmas present!"

Oliver looked up in relief when he heard a crash in the ceiling, and Kara dropped down to join them. She took in all of their enemies, and as she did that, Oliver and Laurel completed their turns. Laurel was the first to look up, and she inhaled sharply. "Thought you only targeted criminals!"

"I thought you'd know vigilantes are criminals, Ms. Lance," the disguised voice of Vincent Sobel answered, and Oliver looked up sharply to see him in full Vigilante gear, gun at the ready.

"You'll find that I don't play games, Mr. Queen," Cayden smirked triumphantly, bringing Oliver's attention back to him. "But I do win."

"That's enough," Evelyn snarled, fuming angrily. "I am so sick of everyone not killing him when we get the chance!"

She ran forward, but Kara shot forward, knocking Evelyn back to the ground. She did a quick circle around the rest of her team, knocking away those closest to them. As everyone tried to aim for her, Slade started firing at the Bratva members, Malcolm and Oliver shifting so they were back to back, taking shots at Diaz's gang members. Laurel slowly circled, narrowing her eyes to try and find a target. When there was a gap in the circle and she had a clear view of Vincent, she smirked, took a deep breath, and opened her mouth.

Except nothing came out, and eyes wide, she reached for her throat. Behind her, backing up behind cover, Cayden held up a glowing green device. "Lost your voice, Ms. Lance?"

Laurel gawked at him, then Vincent held up his gun and fired. The shot tore through her shoulder, and Laurel jerked, yelping in pain. "Siren!" Malcolm turned to check on her.

Slade spun and fired off a shot at Vincent, which bounced off his body armor. Kara rammed into the platform Vincent stood on, and it crashed on its side, sending Vincent sprawling and criminals scattering. "More inbound!" she warned.

Oliver gritted his teeth, then turned to Malcolm. "Get her out of here!" Malcolm nodded in response, and Oliver turned to Slade and Kara. "Cover us!"

Kara took off at once, firing her heat vision and scattering criminals backwards. As Slade shot at those who recovered quickest, Oliver bent down and helped Laurel to her feet. "Easy," he told her.

Malcolm fired off a grappling arrow quickly, and with Oliver's help, Laurel got her uninjured arm over his shoulders. Malcolm shifted his grip to hold her better, and Laurel hissed when her injured arm was jostled. Still, she clung on tightly as Malcolm swung away, Laurel ducking her head as fire turned to them.

Their distraction allowed Oliver to fire off a grappling arrow of his own. Only Vincent recovered in time to fire after him, and Kara swooped down, grabbing Slade and flying off as Oliver escaped.

***

"So Cayden James not only has Talia and Evelyn, but he's backed by two different criminal organizations?" Dig asked in disbelief.

"And a deranged killer that we haven't been able to put down for two years," Felicity closed her eyes.

"Oliver, if Cayden James has his own posse, man, maybe we need to think about evening the playing field," Dig said.

"We have Kara, Slade, Malcolm, and Laurel," Oliver shook his head. "We have Kara's team if we need them. We are not folding Curtis, Rene, and Dinah back in. We don't need them, and I don't trust they won't compromise us."

"Cayden James told you that he wants to watch this city burn," Dig reminded him. "This is no time for ego, man."

"This is not ego," Oliver retorted. "John, you more than anyone know you don't go into the field with people you can't rely on!"

"OK, well, then, how about not going into the field?" Felicity suggested before they could argue further. "They need to know what's going on. Dinah deserves to know the truth about her ex."

"I agree," Oliver nodded. "So we share intel, but that's it."

Felicity nodded in agreement, followed reluctantly by Dig.

***

"Oh, I am going to kill that son of a bitch the next time we see him," Laurel seethed, wincing in pain as Slade worked on her shoulder.

"Get through that bulletproof armor of his, and I'd gladly watch," Malcolm said as he browsed through the fridge, coming out with a few water bottles.

"I don't need to get through the armor," Laurel narrowed her eyes. "Get me to his ear, I'll scream so hard he won't have time to heal."

Slade paused in his stitching, looking at her in surprise. "There are times when I see you as the Laurel Lance from this Earth . . . this is definitely not one of those times."

Laurel scoffed lightly. "I have my moments, but I'm still not exactly her."

"I can attest to that," Malcolm said dryly.

"There," Slade told Laurel, cutting the stitching and picking up a few bandages.

"Thank you," Laurel gave him a quick smile.

Slade nodded in response as he wrapped the gauze around the bullet wound. Malcolm held out a water bottle for Laurel to take, pre-opened, and he frowned when he saw her distant look. "You with us?"

"Yeah, I'm with you," Laurel nodded, taking the water bottle. "Thanks."

"No problem," Malcolm nodded, sitting down across from her. "But you're thinking."

"Is that good or bad?" Slade raised an eyebrow.

"Shut up," Laurel gave him a quick glare before sighing. "I'm just thinking . . . Dinah isn't going to like what she hears when she learns her ex is working with Cayden James."

"I highly doubt it," Malcolm snorted. "Why? What's on your mind?"

"That led me to thinking about Rene," Laurel continued. "Hey," she glared at Slade when he snorted his opinion of him. "That made me think about the last traitor Oliver had on his team."

"Evelyn?" Malcolm asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Laurel nodded. "Did I tell you that last month, when I was held hostage . . . she let me go."

"She did?" Slade blinked, finishing bandaging her shoulder.

"She did," Laurel nodded.

"Heads up," Malcolm tossed Slade the other water bottle.

He caught it one handed and nodded, looking at Laurel for her to continue. "And it just makes me wonder," Laurel leaned forward. "She's only nineteen. She shouldn't be in this, much less on Cayden James's side of this. She's a kid."

"She chose this life after everything that happened to her," Slade shook his head. "We can't do much about the past."

"Maybe not," Laurel sighed. "But look . . . Rene knew what he was doing when he betrayed Oliver. Evelyn . . . I think she was just looking for someone to blame and go after. She said after learning Oliver was the Hood, that was when she joined up with Chase. She found someone to blame and joined with who could help her fight against that person. There were parts of us everyone could reach to set us straight again . . . why not Evelyn?"

"You think you might be able to get Evelyn on Oliver's side again?" Malcolm asked in surprise.

"I think she needs a different side than that of Talia al Ghul's," Laurel countered. "And certainly not Cayden James's."

***

Felicity opened her door when she heard a knock. "Hey," she said.

"Hey," Curtis nodded back, walking in, followed by Rene and Dinah.

"Thanks for agreeing to meet with us," Dig said.

"Yeah, I'm not really sure I see the point," Dinah scowled. "We're out of the game."

"I don't exactly see Cayden James respecting those type of boundaries," Felicity said.

"Cayden had Talia and Evelyn plant a camera at the bunker," Dig announced. "We're all compromised."

"How long have you all known about this?" Curtis frowned.

"24 hours," Dig admitted.

"You've known we were exposed like this for a whole day?" Dinah demanded, straightening. "You're just telling us now?"

"Look, we thought our intel was rock solid," Dig told them. "And then we found out that Talia and Evelyn weren't the only ones that he's in league with."

"He's working with the Bratva and Ricardo Diaz," Felicity nodded.

"Just what the city needs," Rene rolled his eyes.

"They're not the only members of his group," Dig said.

At the three's confused looks, Felicity sighed. "Dinah . . . Vincent's working with them, too."

Dinah blanched as both Curtis and Rene looked at her. "No," she shook her head violently, walking forward. "No, that's – that's – that's insane, that's insane. Vince hunts criminals, he doesn't throw down with them."

"Oliver and the others saw him with James and the rest," Dig told her.

"Well, excuse me if I don't just take Oliver's word for it," Dinah scoffed.

"Or the word of two of Oliver's former enemies and one metahuman who tried to kill us all at one point," Curtis added.

"Kara was there, too," Felicity raised an eyebrow. "You gonna take hers?"

"Or maybe you should take Laurel's, considering she got one of Vincent's bullets in her shoulder," Dig shot back at Dinah.

Dinah just shook her head, still in disbelief. "Keeping us under surveillance?" Rene mused. "It sounds like Oliver and Cayden James have a lot in common."

"Rene, that was done for the good of the team," Dig began.

"Oh?" Rene's eyebrows shot up.

"Is that how you sleep at night, John?" Curtis agreed.

"We are facing an actual breach in security," Felicity snapped as Dig turned away, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You guys gave up on Oliver. You don't get to stay mad at daddy because he read your diary and you get to just skip out on curfew. That's not the way it works!"

"I'm getting sick and tired of you talking to me like I did what I did on a whim," Rene narrowed his eyes. "I did it for my daughter."

"And your choice put the whole team in jeopardy, Rene!" Dig snapped. "We think that showed us where you stand."

Dinah abruptly turned and headed for the door, and Felicity frowned. "Dinah!" she called.

"Where you going, Dinah?" Dig asked as well.

"Out," Dinah answered, yanking the door open. "I'm not gonna sit here and watch you two point fingers at everybody but yourselves."

***

A car driving out of Star City was stopped by two figures standing in the middle of the street – one in green, the other in blue and red. Two men stepped out first, one with a gun in his hand. "Move," he barked as another man got out the back. "Or get moved, Hoodie, Cheerleader."

Kara's lips quirked up at the familiar insult, but Bertinelli intervened. "Hey, stand down. They're, uh . . . they're friends of mine. Well, they're acquaintances. Business associate?"

"That was me," Kara smirked.

Bertinelli conceded the point. "What do you need?"

"You going somewhere?" Oliver eyed the car.

"I got a text sent to me tonight from inside my daughter's dorm room," Bertinelli answered. "Now, Cayden James, he can – he can have the port."

"You're running scared," Oliver deduced.

"I'm gonna run anywhere for my baby girl, all right?" Bertinelli scowled.

"As long as James and his crew are out there, she will never be safe," Oliver told him. "Neither will you."

Bertinelli frowned. "But?" he prompted.

"But we can stop him with your help," Kara answered, walking forward. "By doing that, we can make sure he doesn't hurt you or your daughter."

Bertinelli considered, then looked back at Oliver when he continued. "If you listen to us, you do what we say, we can end Cayden James."

***

Vincent turned, smiling when he saw Dinah striding up to him determinedly. "I'm so glad you wanted to meet again."

Dinah threw a swift right hook, punching him in the jaw. When he looked back up, eyes wide in shock, Dinah looked a few seconds away from bursting into tears. "Cayden James," she accused, voice wavering.

Vincent stared at her for a few seconds, then sighed. "You don't understand."

"You lying son of a bitch!" Dinah sobbed, betrayal burning in her eyes. "You were just getting close to me for him!"

"Dinah, hey," Vincent leaned forward, taking her hands. "Can we talk about this somewhere else?"

"That's a great idea, Vince," Dinah nodded, and he looked down when she snapped handcuffs on one of his wrists, the other attached to hers. "The precinct has a really nice room for you, really nice interrogation room."

"I can't let you do this," Vincent shook his head.

"I should have taken you in the second you came back into my life," Dinah spat.

Vincent sighed, then flipped Dinah end over end. She landed on the bricks, knocked out cold, and Vincent pulled the handcuff around his wrist free. "I'm sorry," he whispered to her, looking down at his hand, at the blood pouring down his fingers, bones cracking as they started to snap back into place.

He looked once more down at Dinah lying on the ground, then hurried off, abandoning her as he left.

***

Of course there was going to be a bit of a fight in the warehouse. We'll see how lucky everyone else is next time.

Hope you guys enjoyed!