So pain meds kicked in yesterday, and I took at least a three-hour long nap . . . wow. Power naps are the best.

So, here's your update! And hopefully there will be another by the end of the day. :) Enjoy!

***

Dig paced anxiously, hands behind his back, feeling his right one still shaking. "You OK?" Dinah asked from where she sat on the couch.

"My best friend is under a microscope by everyone in this city and the FBI, so he couldn't stop the Bratva from taking hostages," Dig ground out. "So let's just assume I'm not."

"I wasn't talking about what's going on with Oliver," Dinah gave him a significant look.

Dig looked at her incredulously, then folded his arms. "Dinah, I'm fine. The only thing that's really bothering me is you being up in my business."

Dinah considered him, then looked past him when the door opened. "Hey," she stood up as Oliver and Quentin walked in. "We came as soon as we heard."

"We need to know why Anatoli took the Markovians, and we need to find him now," Oliver ordered.

"Oliver, Felicity and Curtis are on this, but you need to stay here," Dig warned.

"Look, I know I said before Chase could be behind this, but now I'm thinking," Quentin began.

"It's Anatoli," Oliver finished. "He leaked the photo to tie my hands."

"We're on this," Dig promised. "We'll take care of it."

Oliver sighed, frustrated he couldn't do anything.

***

"SQL or Java?" Felicity called as she worked on one side of the Arrowcave.

"What?" Curtis frowned from his work station on the other side.

"In your job as a secret programmer, are you coding in SQL or Java?"

"Both. Plus a little Swift."

"I can't believe you've had a secret job this whole time, and you didn't even tell me about it," Felicity swung around.

"Is this relevant to locating the Bratva and/or their hostages?" Curtis sighed.

"I am multitasking, thank you very much, and yes, if you must know, I am running my image analysis algorithm on the photo of Oliver."

Something beeped nearby, and Curtis turned as Felicity walked over to the image of Oliver. "What? Get something?"

"No," Felicity groaned in annoyance. "Just my algorithm crapping out again."

"Don't despair," Curtis turned to his computers. "I think I might have a line on our friend Anatoli. Now, working on the assumption that he hasn't been in town that long, I wondered how he was fixed for cash."

"I bet his Bratva buddies are good for it, no?" Felicity raised an eyebrow.

"Well, he has to pay them somehow," Curtis pointed out. "Cash would set off too many alarm bells, plus he'd have to convert it from rubles. Credit cards are way too easy to track, but then there's . . . "

Felicity leaned in closer when she saw what Curtis pulled up. "Cryptocurrency's virtually impossible to track!"

"For mere mortals," Curtis smirked. "But we're Mr. Terrific and Overwatch."

"Overwatch and Mr. Terrific," Felicity smirked back, going to her station as Curtis laughed.

***

"No, I can assure you, we are doing everything in our power to get the hostages back," Oliver said into his phone, barely paying attention to his office door opening.

"We haven't determined a motive for the kidnapping, but the police are working on it around the clock, all right?" Quentin continued to speak on his as Kara stepped inside, a tray of take-out drinks in her hand.

"Of course, of course, of course. Thank you, minister."

"Yes, that's right, we'll be in touch. Thank you."

"That sounds like fun," Kara remarked sympathetically, handing each of them a coffee. "Here."

"Thanks, Kara," Quentin sighed.

"Thanks, angel," Oliver kissed the side of her head, taking a drink of his own. "The Markovian consulate is losing their minds."

"It's the same with the Vortex home office," Quentin nodded. "They want to send private security to get their people back. I told them we've got it handled, but – "

"Felt like you were lying?" Oliver guessed, and Quentin nodded with a sigh. "Where are we with the SCPD?"

"Dinah's got people rounding up every Russian thug with a record, but, you know, they're shorthanded down there," Quentin answered.

"Got a new problem!" Thea announced as she and Rene entered, Rene taking a moment to cough into his arm.

Thea took the remote from the table and turned on the TV screen, pulling up Channel 52. "We received an anonymous message from the group claiming responsibility for today's abduction of the contingent of executives from Markovia," the newscaster said. "In what can only be a small consolation, the mayor and the reporters at the delegation were not – "

"Lady's getting a lot of anonymous messages these days," Rene remarked.

"As for what exactly this group wants, they said they will execute the hostages in twelve hours unless the city pays them a ransom of twenty million dollars. Mayor Queen could not be reached for comment."

"Rene, my comment is that we don't negotiate with terrorists," Oliver growled.

"Yeah, but if we did, we got twenty million dollars from the reconstruction of the police department," Rene said as Thea turned off the television.

"Which is the exact number Anatoli chose," Kara sighed.

"I don't care what number he chose, we're not paying him twenty cents," Oliver said in annoyance, taking his phone out when it vibrated. He checked the Caller ID, then answered. "Yeah? This is he." He paused, then looked at Kara. "Is he OK?"

"William?" Kara's eyes widened.

"No, of course, of course," Oliver shook his head, hanging up and grabbing his jacket. "We have to go," he told her.

Kara nodded and ran after him, the three others in the office watching them leave.

***

"Want to tell us what happened?" Oliver asked as the limo drove back to the loft.

"They know you're the Green Arrow," William answered, clinging to his backpack. "They said you're not here to help me."

"Oh, man," Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose. "William, I'm really sorry."

"They were really big eighth graders," he added.

"Eighth graders, huh?" Oliver mused. "You should go for the nose."

"Oliver!" Kara stared at him, eyes wide, as William blinked.

"What?" Oliver shrugged. "If something like this happens again, go for the nose. Find the biggest one, the biggest one in the group, walk right up to him without saying a thing, and punch him in the nose as hard as you possibly can. He will have no idea what is going on. He won't be able to see, and if he can't see, he can't fight, and then all of his buddies, all the guys that were being so brave, they will back off. Trust me on that one."

"Oh, Rao," Kara pinched the bridge of her nose as William laughed slightly. "I love an idiot."

"I'm your idiot," Oliver smiled cheekily, looking down at his phone when it vibrated. "Yeah?" he asked as he answered.

"It's me," Felicity said. "Hang on a second."

Oliver winced and held the phone away when static took over. "What was that?" he asked.

"Had to secure the line," she answered. "Curtis and I found Anatoli."

"Russian restaurant owned by a dummy corporation," Curtis took over. "Thermal satellite reads four bodies in an industrial cooler."

"Is it the hostages?" Oliver asked.

"That's what we're thinking," Felicity confirmed.

"Text me the address," Oliver ordered. "I'll be there soon." He hung up and looked at Kara. "Can you – ?"

"Absolutely," she nodded.

"Thank you," he told her gratefully, reaching up to the intercom. "Stop the car, please."

"Dad?" William asked.

"Listen," Oliver leaned down as the car stopped. "Kara's gonna make sure you get right home. I promise that we'll talk about this right when I get home, but for now, I got to go. Please, trust me."

William nodded, and Oliver headed out of the car. "Do you want to sit over here?" Kara patted the now open spot by her.

William swallowed, then nodded and headed over by her. Kara wrapped her arm around him protectively and reached up to the intercom. "Drive on."

***

"Three access points, north, south, and east," Dig reported from where he stood.

"Lance said these guys are packing some heavy artillery," Dinah added.

"Where's GA?" Curtis asked.

"Right here," Oliver walked up.

"We thought maybe you couldn't get away," Dinah frowned.

"It wasn't easy," Oliver shook his head. "Terrific, keep eyes on the perimeter. Spartan, Canary, occupy the guards. I'll extract the Markovians."

He fired a grappling arrow to the building, swinging down and smashing through the window. He took out one of the guards in the main area, then hurried into the kitchen. The first two guards went down easily, then knocked the next two into the stainless-steel counters. The next three were flung into appliances. Another one Oliver flung onto an open flame before punching him over a table.

***

Dinah screamed at the guards that came next, flipping her bo staff around and attacking. She turned around when she heard Dig stop attacking, and her eyes widened when she saw him aiming at one of the guards, but not firing. After a moment, he holstered his gun and the guard ran at him, but Dig easily knocked him out.

Dinah sighed in frustration, turning around to see if any more guards were coming.

***

Oliver knocked the last two guards out before firing an explosive arrow at the freezer, knocking it clear off its hinges.

Out came three shaking Markovians, but no one else. "There were four of you," Oliver frowned.

"Alec Tarkov, our CEO, they took him," one of them explained.

"Where?"

"They did not tell us."

Oliver turned around, gritting his teeth. "Spartan, Canary, we are short one hostage."

"We just did a sweep," Dig said.

"There is no one else here," Dinah added.

"Overwatch?" Oliver asked.

"I don't know what happened," Felicity answered. "Thermal read four warm bodies inside. They must have moved one."

***

"In the least surprising news ever, the Bratva-run restaurant is lacking in security cams," Felicity said dryly.

"Oh, you mean Russian mobsters like their privacy?" Dinah raised an eyebrow.

"So what now?" Oliver asked.

"So now I show you security camera footage from outside the restaurant," Felicity answered, pulling up the feed.

Dig frowned as he watched. "Where's Anatoli going with Tarkov?"

"Well, from this feed, it looks like he's headed northeast, but then we lose him right about there," Felicity pointed.

"We could cross-reference our list of Bratva cryptocurrency activities with Bratva-owned properties, see what comes from that direction," Curtis suggested.

"John, Dinah, be prepared to hit whatever location Felicity and Curtis come up with," Oliver ordered.

"Copy that," Dig nodded.

"What about you?" Dinah asked.

"I have to meet Quentin and Rene at the FBI," Oliver sighed. "The agent that's doing the investigation wants to interview me."

"You have a lawyer for that, right? Or an army of lawyers?" Felicity asked. "That would probably be better. That would work for you if you had an army of them."

"I don't want to look like I have anything to hide," Oliver shook his head. "Where are we with the photo?"

"Oh, I'm doing a recoding of Felicity's analysis algorithm," Curtis answered. "Should have something working within an hour to thirty days, give or take." Oliver and Felicity both gave him exasperated looks. "Much closer to the hour mark, though," he hurriedly said.

"Thank you," Oliver nodded, then pulled his phone out when it beeped. When he saw the urgent message from Kara, he sighed. "Keep me updated," he ordered, hurrying out the door.

***

Quentin and Rene sat across from Watson, waiting for Oliver to show up. Watson herself sighed in annoyance, checking her watch. "Did you always know you were gonna be FBI?" Rene finally asked, making Watson frown. "Because I have a little girl who I think has that potential." Quentin looked at Rene in confusion, who explained, "I mean, of course, a woman can do anything a man can."

"And why wouldn't they?" Watson frowned.

"Exactly," Rene nodded. "I mean, they can. I'm a feminist like that."

Quentin closed his eyebrows and rubbed his forehead, and Watson sighed. "Look, it's been over an hour, and my patience is beyond gone."

Quentin straightened when his phone buzzed, and he pulled it out to look at the message. "Actually, you know what? That's the mayor himself. He's got a family emergency, he's at home with the kid. Look at that," he showed Rene.

Rene nodded, but Watson scowled. "So it must just be a coincidence that during his family emergency, the Green Arrow was spotted rescuing the Markovian executives from the Russian mob?" she asked.

"Definitely a coincidence," Rene answered blankly.

"Do I really look that stupid?" Watson snapped.

"You don't look stupid at all," Rene shook his head.

"Look, we're really sorry about keeping you waiting, all right, but I don't know if you know this, but the mayor is actually recently a single dad," Quentin told her.

"Yes, after the boy's mother died unexpectedly in a car accident," Watson nodded.

"Well, most car accidents are unexpected."

"And most leave behind a car wreck and a body," Watson scoffed. "The only proof to Miss Clayton's death was the accident report and the autopsy, both of which could have been easily faked."

"You're not exactly a very trusting person, are you, Special Agent Watson?" Rene asked with a frown.

"Trust isn't part of my job description," Watson said bluntly. "But let me make one thing clear as glass to you both. If you're protecting Mr. Queen, I'll find out, and I'll have you both indicted for obstruction." She let that sink in, then sat back. "Now get out of my office. You've wasted enough of my time."

Rene and Quentin exchanged glances, then Quentin nodded. "Let's go," he said, standing up.

***

"What brought this on, buddy?" Oliver asked as he sat next to William, Kara on his other side. William was clutching his Flash backpack tightly, his eyes slightly red. "It's never bothered you before that I've needed to leave."

"I didn't know if you were gonna come back," William whispered.

"William, look at me," Oliver put a hand on his shoulder. "I will always come back."

"Is it because of the photo release?" Kara asked gently. "William, that's gonna get solved. It'll be fine."

"But what if it won't be?" William asked. "I'm not as worried about you because that . . . whatever that stuff was that affected you, it's gone now. It can't kill you. But Dad, there's a million psychos always trying to kill you."

"And now that it's been revealed to the news, it just got more real," Oliver sighed, understanding where William was coming from. He watched his son nod miserably and crouched down so he could look into his eyes. "I lost my mom, and I lost my dad, and I was a lot older than you are now, but I remember exactly how it feels," he said quietly. "It's sad, it's scary, and it's lonely, and I swear to God, I will never let that happen to you."

"It's not up to you," William whispered.

Kara rubbed William's back comfortingly as Oliver sighed, trying to think of how to comfort his son, when his phone started vibrating. He closed his eyes in annoyance. "It's work," he said, standing up.

"Hey," Kara leaned down to look at William. "The next time he goes out, I'll go with him, and I'll make sure he comes back. There's nothing on this Earth that can hurt me, so I'll make sure nothing hurts him. OK?"

"Promise?" William looked up at her.

"Pinky promise," Kara held up her pinky.

William's lips quirked up slightly, and he did the pinky promise with her, making Kara smile brightly.

***

Oliver walked away from the two most important people in his life, taking the video call. "Hello, Oliver," Anatoli greeted.

"Anatoli, why are you doing this?" Oliver scowled.

"I need money," he answered simply. "And from what I understand, your city recently came into possession of twenty million dollars."

"There are plenty of cities in Russia."

"True," Anatoli conceded. "Beautiful ones, but, you see, I have been exiled. Apparently, Bratva thinks I am too weak due to my friendship with you, so now I show everyone I am not weak, and you and I no longer friends. I know sometimes you need persuasion to do right thing, so I help you." He shifted the camera, and Oliver narrowed his eyes when he saw Tarkov on camera in horrible condition. "This nice man has paralysis of muscles. Soon, will have lung collapse and not be able to breathe. This happens in . . . maybe three hours?" Anatoli shifted the camera back to him. "Now, I have cure for his problems. Do you have cure for mine?"

Oliver shook his head in disbelief, ending the call.

***

"All right, so you got this off Oliver's phone?" Dig asked as he looked over Felicity's shoulder, with Curtis, Dinah, Malcolm, and Laurel there as well.

"Five minutes ago, yeah," Felicity nodded.

"Any clues?" Oliver asked.

"Look at his face," Malcolm pointed.

"I was trying really hard not to," Curtis winced.

"The rash?" Laurel asked.

"Exactly," Malcolm nodded. "If we can analyze the facial rash – "

"We might be able to diagnose the poison," Felicity continued, eyes widening.

"And find the right cure," Curtis nodded, reaching for his tablet. "On it."

"Anatoli said Tarkov has maybe three hours," Oliver warned.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Curtis tapped on his tablet, then straightened. "Got it! Tetrodotoxin."

"That's a neurotoxin," Dig frowned.

"Yeah," Curtis nodded. "Inhibits the firing of action potentials, preventing the nervous system from carrying messages and muscles from flexing in response to nervous stimulation."

"In other words, that's not good," Malcolm translated.

"Is there a cure?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah, they should have something down at Starling General," Curtis confirmed.

"That's great," Felicity smiled. 'So all we have to do is get it to him before the poison takes over his entire body."

"John?" Oliver prompted.

"Starling General, I'm on it," he nodded, turning and heading for the elevator.

"John, I'm coming with you," Dinah hurried after him.

***

"Administer this to the patient, and it will neutralize the TCCD poison," Schwartz told Dinah as she put the cure in a bottle. "I don't want to know what this is for, do I?"

Dinah just shook her head. "How long will it take to reverse the effects?"

"Starts working immediately, but I'd say seventy-two hours until a full recovery," Schwartz answered.

"Thank you, Doctor," Dig said gratefully.

"And, um, how are you feeling?" Schwartz asked, making Dinah look up curiously.

"I feel fine," Dig answered, catching Dinah's look.

Schwartz's phone buzzed, and she took a look at it. "Excuse me, I have a patient. Keep taking those pain meds," she advised Dig.

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded.

Dinah sighed as Dig made to leave. "It seems like you have another chance to lie to me again."

"I'm not lying," Dig frowned. "I'm telling you this is none of your business."

"I am out in the field with you at less than 100%," Dinah snapped. "This is damn well my business, and it's Oliver's." When Dig winced slightly, Dinah frowned. "What doesn't he know?"

Dig sighed. "When we went up against Cadmus, Thea and I got caught in an explosion."

"I thought Alex said you guys were fine," Dinah frowned.

"Thea was, just some burns," Dig nodded. "I caught some shrapnel."

"And didn't tell anybody?!" Dinah balked.

"Kara and Clark were comatose, Samantha dead," Dig scowled. "I was low priority."

"John, that was two months ago!"

"Dr. Schwartz said I have nerve damage," Dig admitted. "Degenerative."

"That's why you haven't been pulling your gun," she sighed.

"Dinah, I have this handled – "

"Yeah? You should tell that to Rene," she snapped. "He ended up in the hospital because you couldn't even get a single shot off!"

"It's just a tremor," Dig growled. "I can manage it. I'm a soldier, Dinah. Soldiers push through."

"So, what, I'm just supposed to lie to everybody now just like you've been doing?" Dinah frowned.

"You have to do whatever you have to do, but I'm asking you, please," Dig looked at her. "Will you trust me on this one?"

Dinah sighed, then headed for the door. "We should get going."

***

"I know Python."

Curtis frowned at the random statement. "The supervillain?"

"No, no, no, the programming language," Felicity shook her head. "Look, maybe you could send some of your freelance coding my way."

"Look, I think that would be a waste of your prodigious talents, Felicity," Curtis shook his head. "You are a – son of a bitch!"

"Not really a son, Curtis," Felicity frowned. "More of a – "

"No, no, talking about this," Curtis scooted over. "I revised your photo analysis algorithm and got back this."

Felicity looked at the photo and blinked. "What? That's impossible!"

"Data analysis doesn't lie, Felicity," Curtis grinned. "Question is, what do we do with it?" One of Felicity's computers beeped, and she turned to it as Curtis sighed. "What's that? Come on, no more bombshells. I can't handle anymore for the rest of the night."

"No, it's not a bombshell, Curtis," Felicity grinned. "It might just be the key to the Bratva's location."

***

I feel like I'm still trying to work out making these chapters even in length . . . this is a good thousand words higher than last chapter.

Oh, well. As long as you guys get chapters, you're probably happy. ;)