Oliver, John, Felicity and I were in the basement of Verdant at the hideout.

Felicity was sitting at the computer.

"I've been watching your mother for days, now, Oliver, and nothing," John told him. "She goes to work, she comes home. Occasionally, she goes out for dinner. She seems to particularly like the salmon tartar at Table Salt."

"I'm linked into her home and office phone," Felicity told us. "Nothing out of the ordinary. No mention of Walter's abduction or the Undertaking. Just a few innocuous calls to Malcolm Merlyn."

"Why wouldn't she call him?" Oliver asked sarcastically. "They're old friends. We're all old friends."

I walked closer to Oliver in concern. "Are you okay?"

"My mom and my best friend's dad are involved in a conspiracy that may have dire consequences for the city," Oliver told us. "And I'm pretty sure they murdered my father. I'm not planning on using the word 'okay' again any time soon."

"Listen, all we know for sure is that Malcolm and your mother are planning something for the Glades," John told him. 

"And that Walter and I were getting too close to it, and that's why they had him kidnapped," Felicity told us. 

"We have to find out what this Undertaking is," I told them.

"I got to ask her," Oliver told us. 

"Well, no," Felicity told him. "The last time the hood paid your mom a visit, you got shot, and Jill got to play doctor with you." She groaned in frustration. "My brain thinks of the worst way to say things."

"This time it'll just be me asking," Oliver told us. "Friendly mother-son chat."

Oliver walked upstairs.

I looked at John and Felicity.

John gestured for me to go after him.

I sighed, following Oliver upstairs. "Oliver..."

"I need to talk to my mother, Jill," Oliver told me.

"I get that," I told him. "Believe me, I do." I grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving. Oliver turned to me, sighing. "I just want to make sure that you have your head clear of any... opinion of your mother before you see her. I know that you're angry with her, and I know that you're betrayed. But you need to let that go to get the answers that you need. Don't let it cloud your judgement."

Oliver nodded in understanding, sighing, taking a deep breath, walking out, leaving.

I watched him go, sighing heavily.

⚔

Flashback

The soldiers that had taken Oliver, Jill, Slade and Shado were driving with them across the island into their camp.

The rocket launcher was spinning around behind them.

The soldiers forced the four of them to stand, dragging them along, pushing them into the tent where Yao Fei and a man was waiting.

Oliver and Jill recognized the man as Alan Durand, the man that they had left in the cave.

Oliver lunged at Alan angrily. "You!"

The soldiers held Oliver back.

"We on't have the luxury of indulging in vendettas," Slade told them.

Shado looked at Yao Fei. "Ba."

"Shado," Yao Fei told her.

Slade glared at Yao Fei. "You led Fyers right to us, you coward."

Yao Fei walked closer. "Fyers was about to fire bomb the entire forest just to eliminate you. This way, you all have a chance."

"Well, pray I don't get the chance to repay your mercy," Slade told him angrily.

Edward walked in. "How fitting. Everyone reunited for the end."

"The end of what?" Jill asked. "What is all this for?"

They heard a man on the radio. "HKIA, this is Ferris Air Flight 637 out of Paris, nonstop to Hong Kong. We are ready on approach at 33,000 feet and winds at 15 knots. ETA, two hours, 15 minutes, over."

"Ferris 637, this is HKIA," Alan told him. "Adjust course to 0.6 degrees south. 11 minutes, over."

"Roger, HKIA. Why the course change?"

"Nothing to worry about, 637. Just looking to make sure you avoid a little turbulence."

"Roger that. Adjusting course now."

Alan looked at Edward. "They're altering course, sir. The plane will be in range of Lian Yu in 26 minutes."

"Good," Edward told him. "Keep tracking it."

"That's a commercial airliner, Fyers," Oliver told him. "It's not like it can land here."

"It won't be landing anywhere, Mr. Queen," Fyers told him. "I'm going to destroy it."

Jill looked toward the rocket launcher outside.

⚔

Now

Oliver knew that Moira wasn't going to tell him the truth if he asked her, as the hood or as himself because he had already tried both ways.

So he asked me for help this time.

As the girl in blue.

In a warehouse in the middle of nowhere, Oliver and Moira were tied up.

Oliver looked up. "Mom."

Moira looked around. "Oliver."

"Are you okay?" Oliver asked.

Moira struggled against the binds. "Oliver? What--what... we got to get out of here."

I walked closer, disguising my voice. "Moira Queen... you have failed this city."

⚔

Flashback

The soldiers still had Slade, Oliver, Jill and Shado restrained in the tent.

Jill looked at Edward. "This doesn't make any sense. Why do you want to blow up a plane?"

"When the New York stock exchange reopened after 9-11, the Dow Jones dropped nearly 685 points. Can you imagine what would happen to China, the world's second largest economy, if all air travel in and out of China were to be grounded indefinitely?"

"You want to destabilize China's economy?" Slade asked.

"It's not what I want, but rather my employer," Edward answered. "We have enough missiles here to shoot down any aircraft approaching the mainland. And that will decimate China's economy." He turned to face Yao Fei. "Especially... once a rogue element in China's own military claims responsibility. You see, inconvenient though you occasionally were, you're always worth more to me alive than dead."

"Then you should have killed me," Yao Fei told him. "Because I won't do it." Edward nodded sarcastically, turning to punch Oliver in the face and shoot Slade in the knee, making them both fall. He shot Jill in the shoulder and Shado in the stomach. Yao Fei ran closer. "Shado! Shado!"

"I said I need you alive, but I can kill everyone you care about," Edward told him.

Yao Fei glared at Edward.

⚔

Now

I was still suited up in front of Moira and Oliver.

"Please," Moira told me. "Do not hurt my son."

"Tell me what the Undertaking is and I won't have to," I told her. 

Moira didn't answer.

I turned to face Oliver, not really keen on this part.

Oliver nodded.

I punched Oliver in the face.

"No!" Moira told me.

"Tell me!" I told her.

"Please!" Moira told me. "Leave my son alone."

"What is Malcolm Merlyn planning?" I asked.

"I can't tell you!" Moira told me. "He'll kill me, he'll kill my family."

"You should be more worried about what I'll do," I told her, spinning to kick Oliver's chair to the ground.

"No!" Moira told me. "Malcolm is planning to level the Glades." I turned to face her. "He said so he could rebuild it, but..."

"How?" I asked.

"There's a device," Moira answered.

"What device?" I asked.

"He says that it can cause an earthquake," Moira told me.

"How is this possible?" I asked.

"I don't know," Moira told me. "It was invented by Unidac Industries. Malcolm used my company's applied sciences to turn it into a weapon."

I walked around her seat to stand behind her. "Why would you get involved in something like this?"

"My husband..." Moira trailed off. "He got involved without my knowing. He was just trying to do some good. He was lost. He... his decisions left me vulnerable to Malcolm, and I had no choice. I had to protect my family and my children."

I stepped away from her toward Oliver, keeping my back to her and my voice disguised. "This device... where is it?"

"I don't know," Moira told me.

"If you don't tell me, I can't stop Merlyn," I told her. 

"Oh, you can't stop him," Moira told me. "It's too late." I walked toward Oliver, drawing my knife. "No, no, no, I told you everything." I cut Oliver free, walking toward Moira to cut her free, walking away. Moira ran toward Oliver. "Oliver!"

"No," Oliver told her.

"Please," Moira told him. "I know what you must be thinking, sweetheart, but I never intended any of this to happen." Oliver coughed. "You know I would never willingly be a part of anything like this."

Oliver stood. "I don't know anything anymore."

Oliver walked away.

⚔

The man in the black hood that had almost killed Oliver during Christmas had killed six people in a lab.

Felicity, John and I were in the hideout.

I was in normal clothes.

Oliver walked in, limping slightly.

Felicity stood. "Oh, my God." She looked at me. "You said you were going to pull your punches."

"I did," I told them.

Felicity looked at Oliver. "Let me get you an icepack for... everything."

"I'm fine," Oliver told us. He looked at me. "You did good." He looked at Felicity. "I need you to dig up everything you can on Unidac Industries."

Felicity walked toward the computers. "Well, we know Queen Consolidated acquired them seven months ago."

Felicity sat down.

"I need information about what I don't know," Oliver told us. 

Felicity typed away. "Unidac is a small research and development technology company that specializes in seismic infringement."

"Merlyn plans on leveling the Glades with a device that triggers a man made earthquake," I told them.

"You're kidding," John told us.

"What else does it say?" Oliver asked.

"More information on the stock auction and, you know, the latest on what the media's calling..." Felicity trailed off.

"The Unidac massacre," I finished.

"There's no way this timing is a coincidence," John told us. 

"There's a website claiming the police suspect a copycat archer," Felicity told us.

"What?" I asked.

"So the other archer works for Merlyn?" John asked.

"He's tying up loose ends," Oliver told us. "Erasing all evidence this device exists so no one can trace the devastation back to him."

"All right, so you're going to have a pointed conversation with Mr. Merlyn," John told us.

"Well, even if we stop Merlyn, the other archer is still out there," Oliver told us. "He can set off the device. We need to find it. Then Merlyn can get his."

"Well, maybe there's another way to get Merlyn to tell us," Felicity told us. 

"What do you have in mind?" I asked.

"As I keep proving, people keep secrets," Felicity told us. "Computers don't."

"Felicity, are you hacking into the Merlyn Global mainframe?" I asked.

"'Hacking' is such an ugly word," Felicity told us. "No. I'm... yeah, totally hacking into the Merlyn Global mainframe."

⚔

Flashback

Slade, Jill and Shado were still on the ground from behind shot.

Oliver knelt next to Jill, keeping pressure on her shoulder.

Yao Fei knelt next to Shado, keeping pressure on her stomach.

Edward raised his gun.

"Stop!" Yao Fei told him. "I'll do it."

"I knew your good judgment could be counted on," Edward told him, lowering his gun. "Come along now. We need to get you back into uniform." Edward aimed his gun at Slade. Yao Fei slipped a knife into Oliver's tied hands, helping Shado sit up, speaking in Chinese. Oliver used the knife to start to cut himself free. The soldiers led Yao Fei away. Edward walked outside, making a call. "It's Fyers. It's happening."

A man in an office walked toward a woman. "That was Fyers. Everything is proceeding as planned."

⚔

Now

Felicity was still looking.

John was sitting next to her.

"Anything?" I asked.

"Just for the record, I will pump my fist in the air and scream 'Yes!' if I get in," Felicity told us.

"You know, you can just say this isn't working," John told her. 

"This isn't working," Felicity told us.

"All right, there has to be some other way we can find out where he's keeping this device," John told us, standing to sit on the table.

Felicity stood. "Unless I can waltz up to Merlyn's mainframe and plug in my tablet directly, there's no way of getting that location."

"Then we waltz," I told them.

"Excuse me?" Felicity asked.

"You need direct access to the mainframe, so we get you direct access to the mainframe, and we figure out where the device is being kept," Oliver told her. 

"Did I mention that the mainframe is located inside Merlyn Global group's main headquarters, on the 25th floor?" Felicity asked. "It's only accessible through a restricted access elevator."

"I know," I told them. "We're going to have to break in."

⚔

Oliver walked into the building. I could hear him through comms. "HI. Oliver Queen. I have an 11:30 with Tommy Merlyn."

Felicity walked inside, posing as a delivery girl, standing at the desk with Oliver and the security guard. "I have a super deluxe Big Belly Burger for a Mr. Andrews. I think he's in security. He a good tipper?"

"You can go on up, Mr. Queen," the guard told him. He looked at Felicity. "You can wait a second."

John was also inside, posing as a new security guard.

Felicity and Oliver started to take the elevator up.

I got to the doors, walking in. "Hold that. Mr. Andrews got his lunch?"

Felicity nodded. "One Belly Buster with benzodiazepine. Hold the mayo."

We heard John through comms. "Mainframe's on 25, guys. That's as close as I can get you."

The elevator stopped at the 24th floor.

I looked at Oliver. "Give me a boost."

Oliver nodded, helping me reach the elevator shaft.

I opened the shaft, climbing out on top of the elevator.

Felicity handed her briefcase up to me.

Oliver helped Felicity up to the shaft.

I helped Felicity up onto the elevator.

Oliver pulled himself up. 

I opened the briefcase, pulling out a crossbow with a wire claw at the end, shooting the claw into the ceiling above, swinging from the elevator to the nearby wall, landing on a ledge, letting the crossbow swing back over to Oliver and Felicity.

Oliver let himself swing over.

Felicity was terrified. "I just learned I'm scared of heights."

"Don't look down," I told her.

"Too late," Felicity told us, finally letting herself swing over.

Oliver and I helped steady her on the ledge.

⚔

Oliver really did have a meeting with Tommy and Malcolm, distracting them away from the mainframe.

Felicity and I walked into the mainframe.

"You all right?" I asked.

Felicity nodded. "I'm fine. Yeah, this is just my 'about to hack' face. I always... oh, look like this right before I, you know, hack."

"Security patrol's on a ten minute cycle," I told her. "Oliver will have his meeting with the Merlyns to distract them and then we'll be out of here in nine."

"Okay," Felicity told me.

I slid the security card to unlock the mainframe doors.

Felicity walked in, sitting at the desk, plugging in her tablet.

⚔

I heard John through comms. "Jill, you got trouble."

"What?" I asked.

"You're about to have some head of schedule company."

"I'm not there yet on the download," Felicity told us.

I looked at Felicity. "Finish the hack. I'll be right back."

I walked out, leaving.

⚔

A security guard walked toward me. "This is a restricted area. Let's see some ID."

"ID?" I repeated. "Mm, wow. Someone in Starling City that doesn't know who I am. That's a relief."

"I'm going to need you to come with me," the security guard told me, reaching to take my arm.

I grabbed his wrist, twisting his arm back, punching him in the face, making him fall unconscious.

⚔

Roy Harper was looking for the vigilantes for some reason.

John, Felicity, Oliver and I were in the hideout underneath Verdant.

Felicity was at the computers. "In addition to the download, I also took the liberty of uploading a Trojan to Merlyn's system. Figured it might come in handy."

"That's smart," John told us. "If Merlyn thinks he's been compromised, it'll help if we know first."

"Can you locate the seismic device?" Oliver asked.

Felicity nodded. "I'm working on it. But there's at least a terraflop of data to go through."

Oliver walked away.

⚔

Oliver was at home in his room, holding his father's notebook.

I knew something was bothering him, standing at the door. "You all right?"

Oliver looked up. "My father, he told me that he failed the city. Asked me to right his wrongs. But I never knew what he meant until now. It's the Undertaking. I promised myself that when I crossed all these names off the list, I'd be done, but... taking down these people... it doesn't honor him. I was just treating the symptoms while the disease festered. I stop the Undertaking, I wipe out the disease."

I walked closer. "What are you saying, Oliver? You would hang up the hood?"

Oliver stood. "Merlyn's plan is what I returned from the island to stop. Ever since we came back, we've been doing this dance. We come closer, and the danger of what we do, the threat that hangs over our heads, it gets in the way. But after this... if we stop this... it might be over."

"What are you trying to say?" I asked.

"That... you know me better than anyone," Oliver answered. "And that you... are more important to me than anyone. I didn't say anything... because I was... afraid that what we do might get one of us killed, and I know that's something that neither of us have the heart to bear, not after everyone else that you and I both lost. I've felt for you for a long time, Jill, but I didn't know what to do. I just hope I didn't wait too long to say it."

I shook my head, pulling Oliver into a kiss. We continued to kiss slowly at first, building up passionately and hungrily. I started to unbutton his shirt. Oliver pulled it off. 

"You didn't wait too long," I told him. Oliver lifted me up so I could wrap my legs around his waist. "You're right on time."

I wrapped my arms around his neck, continuing to kiss him. Oliver carried me to his bed, lying me down, pulling my shirt over my head. We looked at each other for a long moment, smiling small smiles, breathing heavily, continuing to kiss.

⚔

It was after dark. Oliver and I had fallen asleep in his bed underneath the covers.

My phone buzzing woke us both up.

I picked up my phone, seeing it was John calling, answering, putting it on speaker phone for both of us to hear. "What is it?"

"Felicity found the Markov device. Merlyn's keeping it at a warehouse his company owns in the Glades."

"Good," Oliver told us. He looked at me. "Coordinate an attack. You take the device, Jill. I'll take Merlyn." I nodded in agreement. "John, you got a location?"

"Yeah. According to Felicity's Trojan, Merlyn logged on to his computer from his office."

"We're on our way," I told him, hanging up.

Oliver and I exchanged a look, sitting up.

⚔

Flashback

The group was still in the tent.

Edward was filming Yao Fei on camera. "The uniform suits you, Yao Fei." Slade, Jill and Shado still had their gunshot wounds, but they were bandaged and fixed up now. "Any time you're ready."

Yao Fei looked into the camera. "To the people of China and citizens of the world, I make this statement voluntarily, taking the responsibility for the shooting of Ferris Air Flight 637 to protest the people's republic of China's treatment of me." Oliver still had the knife Yao Fei had given him, still working on cutting himself free. "For betraying and abandoning me to the island of Lian Yu. Consider this my righteous delivery of powerful vengeance."

Edward turned the video off. "Thank you."

Edward shot Yao Fei in the head.

Jill and Shado both screamed in horrified denial. "No!"

Yao Fei fell to the ground, dead.

Shado started to cry in despair. "Ba!"

Alan looked at Edward. "Sir. Plane is within range."

Shado continued to cry.

Jill was horrified, breathing heavily.

Slade and Oliver glared at Edward murderously.

⚔

Now

I found the warehouse where the device supposedly was, suited up, walking along toward the sliding metal door. I used my swords to open the door, walking inside, looking around. I searched quickly for the device, coming across a large Unidac box, taking out my high tech blue glow stick, breaking it, using it as light, opening the box to find it empty. I turned on ear comm. "Oliver, the device... it's gone."

I could hear him disguising his voice to interrogate Malcolm. "Where's the device?"

"Safe," Malcolm answered. "I don't know how you got that Trojan onto my system, but it prompted me to take precautions. There is nothing you can do to stop what is about to happen. And you shouldn't. This city needs what is about to happen in order to survive. The people who are destroying it from the inside need to be erased from the map."

"Fine," Oliver told him. "Let's start with you."

"Ironic, isn't it? Last Christmas, I almost killed you. A few months ago, you saved my life. And now you're here trying to kill me. You should make up your mind."

"Done."

I was in shock when I realized Malcolm Merlyn wasn't working with the other archer.

He was the other archer.