I pulled out my phone and looked at the screen. The tracker beeped on a screen with roads marked. Now I'd know wherever he went.

"He's supposed to be dead, Olly." I said quietly, a tear slipping down my cheek. He lifted his hands to my face and wiped away my tears and kissed my forehead.

"I know. I'm sorry." He whispered, arms wrapping around me tighter.

******

***On the Island***

Mia crouched in the bushes. There were men up ahead. They were camped around a fire. Slade tensed next to her, hand gripping the handle of his sword. She lifted a hand. Not yet.

They listened to the men for quite some time before they returned to Oliver and Shado at the plane wreck.

"There are people here." Mia said when they arrived back. "A bunch of guys. Looking for something on the Island."

"What are they doing here?" Oliver asked.

"I don't know, but it can't be good." Slade said grimly.

"But they might have a boat!" Mia said hopefully, turning to look up at him. "We should try and get to higher ground, and find their plane or boat, and then we can-"

"Maria, I do love your enthusiasm, but they had guns. Lots of them." Slade interrupted gently, a hand moving to her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Yeah, but they don't know we're here." Mia said seriously, refusing to drop the subject. Escape was so close. "And, while they're distracted looking for that- what was it?- oh, the arrowhead, we can book it for their ship."

Shado's smile faded. "They're looking for an arrowhead? Like...this?"

Mia's excitement waned. "I...guess so. Where'd you find it?"

"In a cave. With deformed skeletons not too far from the plane wreck." Oliver said.

Maria wasn't surprised the two of them were away from the plane wreck. They did that often. She tried not to be jealous. "Then we should bargain with them. The arrowhead for passage off this hellhole." She said seriously.

They looked at one another, then Shado said, "I don't think we should give it to them. It could be like Fires all over again. This thing has numbers on it. Coordinates to something on the Island. They'll probably kill us if they find out we have it."

Maria clenched her jaw. "I'm not giving up hope that I can make a deal with these people."

"Maria, you tried to make a deal with Fires when you first meet him, remember? It didn't end well for you." Slade said seriously, but there was concern in his eyes.

Maria's hand reached up to the scars on her face and she clenched her hands into fists. "I think it's ok to have hope sometimes. Especially after everything."

"How about this, then? Oliver and I will scout it out, get on the ship, and then try and go from there." Slade said, reaching for Mia's hand and rubbing it with his thumb.

Mia wanted to argue that she was capable of going, but just nodded and said, "Fine."

She and Shado helped Oliver and Slade pack, then watched them leave. Neither of them came back for a long time.

It was dusk the next morning when Slade came back. And he was alone.

Shadow frowned. "Where is Oliver?" 

Mia's heart began to pound. No.

"He was taken aboard the ship. He hasn't come back out." Slade said, a worried look on his face.

"I'm going to scout." Shado said and ran off into the woods with bow and quiver of arrows on her back before either of them could stop her.

No sooner had she left, then a sudden whistle sounded and an explosion a few feet away from them sent them flying several feet back. Mia landed hard on the ground, gritting her teeth as her shoulder screamed in pain.

She got up and looked around, head spinning, and screaming Slade's name as another missile struck, sending grass and chunks of dirt high into the air. She shielded her face and a rock cut her thigh.

"Maria!" Slade's voice called out.

Then, another missile hit and Maria fell back. Ears ringing and squinting, she called for Slade again. There was no answer. Her ears were ringing and there was smoke.

Panic rising in her chest, she shakily got to her feet and began to run through the destroyed field, until the smoke cleared and she saw him laying on the ground a few yards ahead.

She ran to him and fell to her knees painfully beside him, tears entering her vision as she saw the burns covering his body.

"Slade, Slade. Stay with me, ok?" She begged, gently sliding an arm under his shoulders to help him sit up. He coughed and winced, but held onto her arm tightly and allowed her to help him sit up just a little. He weakly leaned into her and she held him, his head in the crook of her arm. His face was covered in burns and it was bleeding.

Mia began to cry.

He leaned heavily against her, groaning a bit in pain, and wheezed, "Leave...me..." His shaking hand reaches up to rest on her shoulder, as if to try and push her away. She wasn't having it.

"No. Stand." She said seriously and anger rose in her throat as tears cut through the dirt on her cheeks. "I'm never leaving you."

He just looked her, face contorted in pain and didn't say anything more. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the top of his head where there were no wounds or burns and he gripped her arm tightly, dropping his head to her shoulder, whole body shuddering once.

A tear slid down her cheek. "I'm not leaving you. I'm going to take care of you. Like you took care of me. And you're going to be ok. You got that? You're not allowed to die on me. Is that clear?"

"A-Alright." He managed softly.

"C'mon. We can't stay here. Hold onto me." She said and began to slide her arms under his, rising into a kneeling position. Slowly, he did the same. He held onto her and she knew how much pain he was in. Any movement made him whimper.

They couldn't stay here. Not at all.

She looked at him. "We have to walk now, ok?"

He nodded once, and together, they trudged off into the forest. They made it to a stream and she had him sit. He was breathing hard, his whole body was shaking. She knew she needed to clean his wounds.

She kneeled by the river bank and pulled off her sweatshirt and spread it out so he could lay on it and gently had him set his head on her lap. He did everything he told her without complaint, his dark eyes gazing up at her.

"It's gonna be ok." She whispered as she ripped her shirt hem and soaked it in the cold water.

His arm circled around her waist and he just held onto her shirt in a tight fist. She gently began to dab the cold cloth on his face. He winced every time, but she cleaned his face of blood and dirt.

She looked at him, then leaned down and kissed his head again. "You're going to be ok, Slade. I'll take care of you. I promise."

"And I promise to keep you safe always." He said softly, reaching up with a bloody hand to rest it on her cheek, but she didn't care.

She loved him.

******

I sat in the hideout, one of Slade's swords sitting across my knees.

I had sent Adler coordinates to the hideout and he arrived at Verdant at the same time we did and came down with us. He now stood behind my chair, looking at the others with a reproachful expression.

Oliver and Sara stood leaning against a table. Diggle stood with his arms crossed. Felicity was sitting at a computer. Roy was sitting on a table.

"So, let me clarify." Felicity said slowly. "Slade Wilson was on the Island with you and Oliver. He saved your life and you two were together? Then he was dying. Hurt in some missiles sent from Ivo. You took care of him, then Shado arrived with a wounded Oliver. And Sara..." she drifted off and looked at her. "Then Ivo captured the four of you for finding the miracle drug before him and using it on Slade. He shot Shado after making Oliver choose between you three. And then said Oliver could keep one. And Ivo almost shot you, Mia, but Slade arrived and distracted him by killing all his men."

"But you were still shot in the shoulder, so he blamed Oliver for it. So that's why he hates Oliver." Diggle added. "Then, Slade found out that you, Mia, had a plan to leave the Island. But you were worried Slade was too dangerous to take back now and was going to leave him there. He found out, felt betrayed, and promised to kill you both."

"Sounds about right." I said hoarsely. "I never wanted to leave him. I loved him. But he was unstable. I didn't trust him anymore. He had hit me in a rage with so much force it had broken my wrist. He almost killed me. But Oliver shot him through the eye before he could kill either of us. Then Sara and I were swept out of the freighter as it began to sink. And Nysa picked us up and brought us to Nanda Parbat, where I learned of my lineage and we were both initiated."

The room was silent for a long time.

"But he's back now. He's alive. And we have to stop him before he makes good on that promise to take away everything we ever loved." Oliver said softly.

Adler moves his hands to my shoulders and gives them a squeeze. The others watched his every movement carefully. "Mia. It'll be ok. We'll take him down. I won't let him hurt you."

"None of us will." Oliver adds on.

"And I won't let him near you." I said to Oliver determinedly. "Or your family. Or mine."

"So, what are we going to do?" Roy asked.

"First, can you tell us who this guy is?" Sara asks and was looking at Adler distrustfully.

My brother straightened and crossed his arms over his chest. "My name is Adler Walker. Maria is my twin sister. We were separated at birth for our own protection, but recent events have made it crucial that we be together now."

"So, you're the one that attempted to kill Isabel Roshev." Diggle said. "Oliver said Mia was in Moscow with someone."

Adler clenched his jaw. "Attempt? Mr. Diggle, I can promise you, I don't miss my targets. They never leave the scene alive."

"We watched her die, Dig." I said and stood from the chair, setting the sword on a table and patting Adler's arm.

"She's alive. And I think you can guess as to how." Oliver said.

I frowned and Adler clenched his jaw, an irritated look on his face.

I sucked in a sharp breath. "That's why she was contracted, then." I found myself saying.

"What?" Oliver asked.

I looked to Adler and ignored Oliver for a moment. "A million dollars to kill Isabel Roshev. Roshev is connected to Slade. No sooner had we returned to Starling than Slade appeared. Someone knows about the League, but also knows about Slade. Who in the hell has that kind of influence that they can contact the League, and know about Slade?"

"Someone on the inside." Felicity piped in and I turned to face her. She continued, "Someone on the inside that has an understanding and knowledge of how the League of Assassins functions, knows who is on it, and might even have discovered Slade and his plot."

"So, we're looking for a spy, is what you're saying?" Adler asked, looking at her in interest.

Felicity stood and nodded. "That's exactly what I'm saying."

"So, the question is, who is it?" Roy asked.

******

Hey readers! Here's a longer chapter for y'all for the New Year. Happy 2020! I hope it's amazing for you and you can achieve all of your goals. One of my goals is to actually start writing/updating this story more but, alas, the life of an English Major in college is rather busy and unpredictable xD. Anyways, I'll see you in the next chapter!

Love always,
Cora Knight xoxo