I tracked Helena to an alley where she was trying to shoot a leader of the Triad, flipping off of the building above her, getting in her way, hitting the gun out of her hand to make the shot fire aside.

They started to fire toward us.

I pulled Helena into cover.

They drove away, leaving.

Helena pushed me away. "Take your hands off of me."

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" I asked.

"That man was the leader of the Triad," Helena told me. "My father blames them for the recent hits against his men."

"These are men you killed," I told her.

Helena nodded. "That's right. I take out Zhishan and the Triad retaliates. I have weakened my father's organization to the point where there is no way that he can survive their onslaught."

"What, and then you'll have your revenge?" I asked. 

"Then I have justice, for what he did to Michael and me," Helena told me. 

"It's not justice," I told her. 

"And what you do is?" Helena asked.

"Would you let me show you?" I asked.

Helena sighed. "Fine. I'll let Jill Wright make me an offer, and maybe I can refuse."

"How'd you know?" I asked.

"I recognized your voice, and I recognized the look in your eyes," Helena answered. "Let's go."

⚔   

We were no longer suited up, sitting in the restaurant that Carly, John's sister-in-law, worked in.

"Anything else I can get you?" Carly asked.

"No, thank you, Carly," I answered.

"Where's Diggle?" Carly asked. "It's late, and this is the Glades. Shouldn't he be keeping you safe?"

"She is tougher than she looks," Helena told her.

Carly walked away, leaving.

I looked at Helena. "So, you think you have everything figured out."

"I don't think you're one to judge," Helena told me. 

"I don't kill people," I told her.

"But your friend in the hood does," Helena told me.

"He only kills when it is absolutely necessary," I told her. "It's not his opening move. And the way you're going, you're gonna get somebody hurt, like Moira Queen, or yourself."

"I'm sorry about Moira Queen," Helena told me. "That was an accident."

"How many more accidents have to happen before you're done getting back at your father?" I asked.

Helena scoffed. "Hopefully none. I am not getting back at him. I--I am stripping away everything that has meaning to him, just like he did to me when he had Michael killed."

"What if I could show you another way, a way you could take down your father's organization without putting innocent people at risk?" I asked.

"Thank you for the coffee but I'm not interested," Helena told me, standing, walking away.

I sighed.

⚔   

The next morning, I was at the hideout, doing a handstand pushup.

Oliver and John were watching.

"I don't know where the next Olympics are at, but you might want to think about signing yourself up," John told me.

"So, you want to talk about last night?" Oliver asked. "Because the last time you and I spoke, we were on the verge of stopping Helena Bertinelli from her one-woman war against the Mafia before we were stopped by the cops."

"Nick Salvati, Frank Bertinelli's right hand, was found with his head bashed in, and a few of his thugs knocked out or shot," John told us. 

I flipped down, standing. "I had to stop her from killing the head of the Triad." I walked toward the weight bar. "Tried to talk her down, and she--"

"What, she got away, or you let her walk away?" Oliver asked.

"I figured that you wanted to deal with her your way, not mine," I told him.

"This woman is a killer," John told us. "She's been dropping bodies all over the city."

I stopped, turning to face them. "Three years ago, she was gonna turn her father in to the FBI. She put everything she had on him on a laptop. Her father found it, thought it belonged to her fiance, and had him murdered."

I turned my back to them, grabbing the bar above my head.

"All right, listen, that's a heavy thing, guys," John told us. "But it doesn't change the fact that she is dangerous. And if Bertinelli retaliates against the Triad, or is perceived to, the Triad is gonna rain down hell, and innocent people are gonna be killed."

I hoisted myself above the bar. "She's lost, Oliver, and whether she knows it or not, we can save her, stop her from doing anything reckless, but only if you think that that's the right call."

"That's just it, Jill," Oliver told me. "You cant save her, okay? Some people don't change."

I let myself down, turning to face them. "You can. You changed. Before, you killed. Last night, I saw you hesitate, and you didn't kill that guy. You had the chance to snap his neck, and you didn't. You knocked him out. I can help her."

"Maybe you think you're more persuasive than you are, or maybe she thinks she's fine with her path of righteous fiery, but whatever it is, either way, all of this, it ends badly," John told us.

"Either way, I got to try," I told them.

They sighed.

I turned around, walking away, leaving.

⚔   

I went to the Bertinelli house, ringing the doorbell.

Frank opened the door.

"Frank," I told him. "Sorry to drop by unannounced."

Frank shook my hand. "No, no, no, come on in. It's all right. Come in." I walked in, seeing Helena was on the staircase. "Look, I know, uh, I know we've been working on that construction deal, and I'm sorry for my dropping the ball. We've had a death in the family."

"I'm terribly sorry to hear that," I told him. 

"Thank you," Frank told me. 

"Actually, though, I'm not here to discuss business," I told him. I held up Helena's necklace from the warehouse where we had fought with Nick and his guys. "Helena dropped this last night at dinner."

"Oh, thank you for bringing it back," Frank told me. He looked at Helena. "Excuse me, sweetie. A father knows when he's not needed."

Frank walked out, leaving.

Helena walked toward me. "Was I not clear that I wasn't interested in talking?"

"You don't have to talk," I told her, opening the door.

Helena grabbed her jacket, walking out, leaving.

I followed, closing the door behind me.

⚔   

We were in the cemetery, walking toward where we had issued a family plot for mine for my parents, Sean and Angela, my brother, Austin, and my sister, Angela.

"Is this your family?" Helena asked.

"Yeah," I answered. "There's no bodies here. My parents and my brother were caught in a shootout in Mexico that me and my sister were forced to abandon so we wouldn't have to die. Their bodies were buried in a mass grave of the other victims. And then, when my sister and I took a cruise to take our minds off of them... Well, you know the story. Amy was lost at sea. There's no finding her now. And then the island. Since the island and since I've been back, I haven't been able to let anyone in. Because I can't be hurt again. And right now, you're on an island of your own, and if you don't get off, people are going to die. Innocent people will get caught in the war that you're trying to start. And what happens next is up to you. We can help you, or we can take you down. It's your choice."

⚔   

I brought Helena to the hideout.

Helena was trying to throw knives into a target, missing each time, making them clatter on the floor. "This is a waste of time."

I took the knives from her. "I'm trying to teach you something."

"What, the least effective way to hurt people?" Helena asked.

"No," I answered. "Control. Throwing knives and swords isn't as easy as it seems to be, as you know now. It requires patience and discipline." I picked up a sword from the table, holding it up for Helena to see, throwing it into the bulls eye on the target, the blade completely going through the board until the hilt reached it. Helena walked over to a table, sitting down, picking up a cup, throwing it up. I threw a knife into it, making it fall to the floor. Helena picked up a target toy, tossing it up. I threw a knife into it, wedging it into a wall. Helena picked up a tennis ball. I threw a knife into the tennis ball while it was still in the palm of her hand without hurting her. "I can do this all day. It's kind of fun."

Oliver walked toward us. "Yeah, Jill does have plenty of stamina."

I turned to him. "Oliver, Helena. Helena, Oliver." Oliver walked closer, stopping next to me. "Be nice."

"Who, me?" Oliver asked. 

I tilted my head. 

Oliver smirked.

I turned to face Helena. "Oliver is my, uh..." I looked at Oliver, wondering if he wanted to tell. Oliver shook his head. I looked at Helena. "Associate."

"Well, any associate of Jill's is--" Helena started.

"Absolutely nothing to you," Oliver told her. 

"I'll leave you two 'associates'," Helena told us, walking out, leaving.

Oliver turned to face me.  "You trust her?"

"If I trusted her, I would've told her who you were," I told him. "But that's not my secret to tell. That's yours."

"But you trusted her enough to tell her your secret," Oliver told me.

"She figured it out," I told him.

"Jill, if I had a hundred dollars for everyone who figured it out, then I'd be a billionaire just off of that," Oliver told me. "But we always give them a reason to doubt their logic, and make them think that we're not who they think we are. Jill, what we do is dangerous. And getting confused as to who's good and who's bad is a good way to get you dead."

I nodded barely. "You done?"

"Yeah, I'm done," Oliver answered. "With this. I'm going after Anthony Venza tonight. He works for Frank Bertinelli, and he sells illegal prescription pills, along with a lot of drugs. He's in my dad's list, and no doubt on Helena's. Now, I know that you can't resist helping. So you can either help Helena get innocent people caught in the crossfire, or you can help me and make sure that they stay safe."

I walked closer. "As if you have to ask."

⚔   

We were at the warehouse where Anthony Venza and his lackeys were making the illegal prescriptions and drugs.

Oliver and I were suited up, hiding in the balcony above the workstation.

"This isn't crack," Anthony told them. "Anyone can sell crack. All you need's a street corner and a hoodie. This is pharmaceutical grade oxycodone. It is caviar. It is champagne. And you sell this with fancy houses, at parties with rich kids that got money to burn." I threw a knife into the power supply to shut the power down. "Check it out!" 

A man with a gun walked up the steps to Oliver's side of the balcony.

We heard fighting.

The gun dropped to the ground.

Anthony picked it up. "Whoever you are, you really think you're gonna get out of here in one piece?"

I stepped out of hiding. "I was thinking the same thing."

Oliver stepped out of hiding. "Anthony Venza, you have failed this city."

Oliver shot an arrow into a table, making it shower with sparks.

I jumped down from the balcony to the floor. Man 1 ran toward me, trying to punch me with both hands. I caught both, elbowing Man 2 in the face, turning to kick Man 3 behind me, making them all fall.

Oliver used his bow to hit Man 4 in the stomach, making him double over in pain, turning to kick Man 5 behind him, pushing Man 4 off of the balcony onto the table.

Man 1 tried to kick me. I caught his leg, kicking it hard enough to make him flip through the air, watching him fall. 

Anthony ran toward the door.

I held my sword in front of him to stop him. 

"Please, don't hurt me," Anthony told me.

"Aw," I told him. "How about just a little?"

⚔   

Oliver and I were outside, hiding, watching the cops take the men and the drugs away from the warehouse.

"Millions of dollars' worth of illegal drugs confiscated, a massive blow to Frank Bertinelli's criminal proceeds, and nobody had to die," I told him. "This is all I've ever wanted from you."

"And now you want it from Helena," Oliver told me. "You think that she will go for it."

I looked at him. "There's only one way to find out."

⚔   

I was at the hideout, after having changed into regular clothes, grabbing my jacket, walking toward the exit.

Oliver walked toward me. "Hey, where you headed?"

"To see if I can find Helena and stop her from making a mistake," I answered.

"Well, I think you can have the rest of the night off, right?" Oliver asked. "I may have found out that Helena is under guard at her home with her father. And you've both said it yourselves. She doesn't want to harm him. She wants to take everything away from him."

"What are you up to?" I asked.

"Tommy asked me to come meet up with him and Laurel and this restaurant that is crazy expensive and the lines are always long," Oliver explained. "He would take care of it himself, except for his father, Malcolm Merlyn, froze all of his assets, so he can't do anything that he used to do."

I was surprised. "Oh."

"And I was hoping that you would come with me, so it wouldn't be awkward between the three of us," Oliver told me.

"Why would it be awkward?" I asked.

"Because they're starting to date," Oliver answered.

I chuckled out of surprise. "Your best friend and your ex-girlfriend, the sister of the girl that you cheated on her with. Got it."

"So, what do you say?" Oliver asked.

"I say that you're right," I told him. "I can't resist helping." Oliver chuckled. I nodded. "Let's go."

⚔   

Oliver and I walked into the long line at the restaurant, standing behind Laurel and Tommy. 

"Hey," I told them.

"Hi," Oliver told them. "It's the two of you."

"And the two of you," Laurel told me. "I didn't expect to see you here, Jill."

"Yeah, it was kind of last minute," I told them.

"You look so pretty," Laurel told me.

"Thank you," I told her. "Likewise."

Laurel smiled.

Tommy chuckled.

A waitress walked toward us. "Mr. Queen, your table is ready."

"When is our table gonna be ready?" Laurel asked.

"When it is," the waitress answered.

I looked at Tommy and Laurel. "Why don't you join us?"

"We'd love to," Laurel told us.

"That'll be great," Tommy told us. "That sounds great."

The waitress led us away.

⚔   

We were sitting at the table.

Oliver looked at Tommy. "I had forgotten that you filled your parents' pool with beer. How many cases did that take?"

"Roughly a thousand or so," Tommy answered.

Laurel chuckled.

I smiled a small smile.

"You know, your father was so pissed, I thought he was actually going to drown you in it," Oliver told him.

"Yeah, well, death by beer?" Tommy asked. "There's worse ways to go." He looked at me. "Right, Jill?"

Tommy took a drink.

I sighed. "Well, there are no good ways to die. You three have a lot of history."

Laurel chuckled. "Sometimes a little too much. So, how's the night club coming along?"

"Slower than I expected it to," Oliver answered. "I've, uh, I've been busy."

"Well, then you must be happy to have the extra help, then," Laurel told him, looking from Oliver to me. "I think it's great that you're deciding to help Oliver with the night club."

"Well, I don't have much to do, and I kind of need the money," I told them. "I mean, the Queens have been so gracious to take me in, but I need to go my own way eventually."

Laurel nodded understandingly. "And what about the help from Tommy?"

"What do you mean?" Oliver asked.

"Laurel, I'm sure that Oliver and Jill don't want to talk about work right now," Tommy told her. 

"You didn't ask him?" Laurel asked.

"Ask me what?" Oliver asked.

"Tommy wanted--Tommy said that he was gonna talk to you about working for you at your night club," Laurel told him. 

"Tommy, you working for me, that could be fun," Oliver told him.

"I don't feel so good," Tommy told us. "I'm gonna step outside."

Tommy stood, walking away.

"I should probably go check on him," Laurel told us, standing, walking away.

I looked at Oliver. "Well, that went swimmingly."

I stood, walking away.

⚔   

I was at the hideout, getting suited up.

Oliver walked closer. "Didn't expect you to come back here tonight."

I sighed. "I think you're right, Oliver."

"Okay," Oliver told me. "About which part?"

"About all of it," I answered. "I should've listened to you."

"What made you change your mind?" Oliver asked.

"You know that it was you bringing me to the dinner with Tommy and Laurel, seeing them, seeing how light they were," I told him. "Just like you knew that I would see what you wanted me to see."

Oliver walked closer. "Jill, you said you wanted to help her change. The thing is, she already did change. When her father killed her fiance, she changed into something dark and twisted. You see that now, don't you?"

"It's not that I--It's not that I couldn't see it, Oliver," I told him. "I didn't--I didn't want to. I--I just wanted to help her, because for the longest time, no one was there to help me."

"But you can't stop her from going over the edge," Oliver told me. "She's--she's already past it. I get that you want to help her. I do. But not everyone wants to be helped. Not everyone can be saved. She doesn't want to. So let's go stop her."

I sighed, nodding.

⚔   

Oliver and I were suited up, coming across a scene in the warehouse where the leader of the Triad was dead on the ground, and some of his guys that were there.

I called John.

"It's Dig. What's the situation?"

"War."

⚔   

Oliver and I got to the Bertinelli house when the Triad was storming inside.

Man 1 walked up the stairs toward me. I threw a knife into his shoulder, making him fall down the steps and land in front of the door. I walked down the steps, jumping over the railing to the floor.

There was a lot of gunfire throughout the entire house.

Oliver was out there somewhere, fighting some of the Triad.

The blonde woman that had been trying to protect Martin Sommers, the one that I had fought before, pushed Frank against the wall. "Frank Bertinelli. This is for Zhishan."

The woman raised the knife to stab him.

I threw a knife into her wrist to make her drop her knife. The woman turned to face me. I threw a knife into her leg, making her fall to her knees. 

Frank turned to aim a gun at me.

"Run," I told him, sensing two men behind me, turning to throw a knife into one's shoulder, making him back away into the wall, punching the other in the face, pushing him to the floor.

Frank was confused as to why I was letting him go, walking away, leaving.

I knew that Helena was gonna go after him, following him, letting Oliver deal with the Triad inside.

⚔   

Frank was on the ground with a gunshot wound in his shoulder.

Helena stood above him, aiming a gun at him.

I threw a knife at the gun in her hand, making her drop it. Helena turned to face me, walking closer, scoffing, shaking her head, spinning to try to kick me. I ducked, using the smooth side of my sword to knock her legs out from under her, making her fall to the ground without injury from the sword. Helena stood, jumping me. I flipped both of us to the ground. We both stood. Helena tried to punch me. I ducked, punching her twice, grabbing her, kneeing her in the stomach, flipping her to the ground. We both stood.

Frank aimed the gun at Helena.

"No!" I told him. Frank shot Helena in the shoulder, making her fall to the ground. I punched Frank in the face hard enough to make him fall unconscious. "Helena?" I walked toward her. "Helena."

I heard sirens in the distance, helping Helena stand, getting her away.

⚔   

Helena was lying on the table in the hideout.

I was standing nearby, waiting for her to wake up. 

Helena woke, gasping in pain.

"Helena, easy, easy," I told her. "You were lucky."

"Am I supposed to be grateful?" Helena asked.

I sighed. "Helena--"

"He's a monster," Helena told me. "A criminal." She sat up. "Why would you save him?"

I walked closer. "I didn't save him. I saved you. You think that because you've killed, you understand what it's like to have blood on your hands. You don't understand. You don't understand the toll that it takes on you, especially when it's family."

"I'm not going to stop," Helena told me. 

"The police have him in custody," I told her. "He's going to jail, and then on to prison."

"They don't have any evidence on him," Helena told me. 

"They do now," I told her. 

Helena realized what I meant. "The laptop."

"He's going away, Helena, for the rest of his life," I told her. "This is the difference between you and me. This... is justice."

Helena stood, walking toward the stairs. "Then I guess you were right. I'm more interested in revenge. Stay out of my way, Jill, or I'll make sure your secret doesn't stay secret."

I sighed, walking toward her. "What I did, everything that I've done, I've done because whether you believe it or not, you need help. You may not want it, but that's different from needing it."

Helena didn't answer, walking out, leaving.

⚔   

I was sitting in the restaurant where Carly worked, obviously in normal clothes, eating without tasting or feeling anything.

Oliver walked toward me, sitting across from me. "Chili cheese fries with jalapenos and water from the girl that could give Lindsey Lohan a run for her money. Hmm. That's a cry for help if I've ever seen one."

I sighed. "I don't know what hurts worse. This or getting shot with a Curare-laced bullet."

"Been there, done that," Oliver told me. "Definitely the bullet." I barely managed a chuckle, looking down, sighing. "You know, Jill, I'm no expert at this, but... so things didn't work out exactly as you planned. You did save Frank Bertinelli's life. He'll be doing time for a while. Justice wins out."

I nodded. "Helena doesn't see it that way."

"Well, here's the way I see it," Oliver told me. "We see her again, and we both take her out."

I pressed my lips together, nodding, sliding the tray of food toward the middle of the table to share.

We smiled, chuckling, starting to eat together.