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Chapter Text

The Siege of Starling City

By Kylia

Chapter 1: Unexpected

Susan Williams: Thank you for agreeing to sit down with me, Mister-

Thomas Merlyn: [raises a hand to interrupt] Please, don't call me that. Call me Tommy. Thomas if you absolutely have to be formal.

Susan: [nods] Alright. Thomas it is. As I was saying, thank you for agreeing to sit down with me for this interview.

----

Thomas: ...I'm sure some of your viewers will think it's self-serving to say this, but my father and I were not close. Haven't been for years. [long pause] Not since my mother was killed. He was... very distant. The last year was an exception - first he cuts me off, then he starts trying to reconnect. I didn't know what to make of it when he tried to reach out. Part of me assumed he was up to something.

Susan: You don't think he was trying to reach out to you out of some sort of... I don't know, guilt over what he was planning?

Thomas: [humorless laugh] If Malcolm Merlyn was capable of feeling even the slightest shred of guilt, I can't imagine he'd have tried to kill thousands of residence of this city. No... maybe there was some tiny remnant of fatherly affection left in him, I don't know. Maybe he just wanted to try to make sure I didn't die at Verdant when his fancy devices went off, so someone could inherit his stuff eventually.

Susan: Do you miss him?

Thomas: Now isn't that a loaded question to ask? If I say yes, there's video of me saying I miss a mass-murdering psychopath, and if I say no, I look like some prick who's dancing on the grave of the father he didn't really love.

Susan: ...That's not an answer.

Thomas: No. It isn't. 

[Long Pause]

Susan: I suppose I can't expect you to give me an answer to that.

Thomas: I know he had to die. He would have gotten the death penalty if he'd been taken in alive... and like I said, he was a mass-murdering psychopath. There's no other way it could have ended, no other way it should have ended.

Susan: And yet you haven't shut down his company.

Thomas: No, I haven't. I've already given over the Merlyn Mansion to the city to help house, I've given all the properties he bought up in the Glades over to their residents, Glades charities or the city, I've donated almost all the actual money I got in the will, after the fines the city, state and federal government hit the company with. 

Susan: And what, you feel like that's enough?

Thomas: I had nothing to do with what my father did. I gave what I did because I wanted to help the people my father hurt, because it was the right thing to do. And I'm keeping Merlyn Global Group open for the same reason.

Susan: How is that?

Thomas: Even with pretty much everyone who works for the company in Starling City quitting, and plenty more worldwide, there's still over ten thousand people employed by Merlyn Global Group or it's subsidiaries worldwide. A lot of them... their livelihoods depend on this company. I'm not going to just leave them all out in the cold because my father decided that he wanted to play mad scientist and create his very own earthquake.

Susan: An admirable desire, but given the company's stock prices and falling revenues, will that do anything but delay the inevitable? And... well, you're not exactly a man with a strong track record in business. 

Thomas: [Deadpan] Ouch. Tell me what you really think, why don't you?

------

Susan: Have you been to see Moira Queen in Iron Heights?

Thomas: I've barely left the Merlyn Global building in the last two months. I mean, you've seen the people protesting out front. If I wasn't for the State Police stationed outside by the governor... well, I understand why people want to take their anger out on someone available....So no, I haven't had the chance to see her.

Susan: Her lawyers have been claiming that she was coerced into everything, but the District Attorney seems determined to prosecute Mrs. Queen. Do you think he's right to do so?

Thomas: [Shakes head] No, not remotely. He seems to think my father wasn't actually threatening her or that... I don't know, she was willingly in on it. Which is absurd. 

Susan: You believe that he threatened her, threatened her children? That he would have actually killed Oliver and Thea Queen?

Thomas: You don't? [scoff] My father or not, Malcolm Merlyn was, as it turns out, even less sentimental than I ever thought. He killed Robert Queen - supposedly his best friend - to keep his scheme hidden, and even those scientists who made him his earthquake machines. Moira Queen was practically a second mother to me, after mine died. [Long pause] I've known her practically my entire life. I was closer to her than I was ever to my dad and there's nothing that she wouldn't do for her children. She certainly believed my dad killed Oliver for five years, so why wouldn't she believe he'd kill Thea too? 

Susan: So you think she's innocent?

Thomas: She was coerced. She was protecting her children's lives. Was it the right thing to do? Probably not, but... what, would you let someone kill your kids - hypothetically - to save the lives of strangers?

Susan: [Pause] I suppose that's the question, isn't it? I don't have an answer - at least not a fair one.

Thomas: Neither do I. I'd like to think I'd do the right thing, but in the end... can I be sure? Nobody can.

----

Thomas: ...I won't sit here and say that I think vigilantes are a good idea. I didn't before the Hood - or the Arrow, or whatever we're supposed to call him now - killed my father,and I don't now. But... well, it seems like they were necessary. And the Hood's stopped killing people, low bar to clear as it is.

Susan: Do you think the SCPD is right to still consider them criminals to be arrested?

Thomas: In a perfect world, sure. But we don't live in a perfect world. I'm not saying I'd walk up to the Arrow, or the Black Canary, shake their hand and thank them, but... well, it looks like Starling City needs them. I have nothing but respect for the Starling City Police Department and their detectives and officers, but... things would be a lot worse in the Glades without them. Hell, the rest of the city too.

Susan: You're not worried about copycats?

Thomas: You mean like the guys who called themselves the Hoods? [Scoff] I think the Hood - Arrow - pretty much made it clear how much we needed to be worried about them. [Deep breath, sigh] Yeah, I'm worried about other people being vigilantes. I mean, sure, the Arrow and the Black Canary have proven their hearts are in the right place, and when he was killing, at least he was judicious about it, but... those guys weren't. At all. I mean, for god's sake, they tried to go after Oliver Queen, and... well, the worst he's ever done is steal a taxi seven... no, eight years ago.

Susan: Weren't you involved in that too?

Thomas: I was never charged... but yes. [Sigh] I won't deny that I was a reckless kid... and reckless adult. And so was Oliver. But both of us have had to become something we never planned on being.

Susan: Like CEOs of your fathers' companies?

Thomas: [Nods] Among other things. [Pause] You know, the Hoods aren't the only copycats. You've got that new community watch, in the Glades. The Canaries, they're calling it. It's been years since something like that made progress, and... whether anyone likes it or not, and I have it on good authority the SCPD does not, the Black Canary has... well, she's inspired something in the Glades. Gave people hope.[Pause] Both of them have, in different ways, for different things.

Susan: What do you mean?

Thomas: I mean... the Arrow... god knows there's a problem with rich people abusing the system to get away with crimes - guilty as charged. I can't say I like how he's been doing it, but he's giving people hope that justice will be served, the guilty will get punished. And the Black Canary? She's... she's given people hope that things will get better.That life can change, things don't have to be shit forever. [Pause, clears throat] Sorry, you're probably gonna have to censor that on airtime, aren't you?

Susan: Unfortunately, but I think the viewers will understand what you mean.

Thomas: Like I said, they seem to be necessary. And... with any luck, they'll do their job well enough Starling won't need them forever. 

Susan: Pretty philosophical for someone who reportedly barely skated by in College.

-----

Susan: What do you think of Alderman Sebastian Blood? Word is he's planning on running for mayor.

Thomas: Well, the man's been outside practically calling for my head on a stick, so I can't say I'm his biggest fan. But... well, he seems to care more about the people in the Glades than the rest of the city's government. 

Susan: Is that an endorsement?

Thomas: I think the last thing Alderman Blood wants would be me to endorse him... [Small Laugh] so yeah, let's call it an endorsement.

-Excerpts from the transcript of an interview between Susan Williams and Tommy Merlyn, August 15th, 2013, aired on Channel 15 August 16th, 2013 at 7:00pm PST.

October 5th, 2012

Sara Lance's Apartment

Over the last few months, Sara had spent even less time in her apartment than she ever had before. Between the SCPD working double time to try to keep order - especially after a number of prisoners escaped Iron Heights in the chaos after the Undertaking, including Vanch and the Count - and working with Oliver and her sister to try to do... something for the city.

Things in the Glades had been getting worse, overall. Sure, Oliver and Laurel had made quick work of the 'Hood Gang' trying to pretend they were doing good for the city, instead of just stealing for themselves, and there were signs that the people of the Glades were trying to take their home back, like with the new neighborhood watch - the 'Canaries' as they were calling themselves (and she'd enjoyed teasing Laurel a bit about that) - or Alderman Blood's work to organize the Glades and probably run for Mayor. All but confirmed, really.

But even with all that, Sara was busy, two jobs and very little sleep to show for it. And if Captain Stein hadn't practically forced her to stop taking double shifts, she wouldn't be home either.

Even dad told me to take a break. And her workaholic father was going half mad after being busted down to beat cop. It was the punishment the higher ups in the department had insisted on after he'd taken the fall for her... for working with vigilantes.

It's not gonna last. He's too good at his job to waste in a patrol car. Sara was happy that IA wasn't on her case any more, but she couldn't help but feel guilty... even if he'd insisted he'd do it again.

Though they'd had some choice words after the Hood Gang had started their thing. About vigilantes. About Sara not being willing to never work with them again.

If only he knew how close. 

But here she was. Home with time to spare for the first time in a while.

And her fridge was empty.

Sara started looking through cupboards, trying to figure out when the last time she'd been to the store was, finally finding a package of instant ramen she could make. Even as she started to boil the water, she had to admit...

I've got no damn idea when I last went.

"Of course, all of us have too many jobs right now." Sara muttered to herself as she added the pasta to the water. The whole thing was done quickly enough and soon she had something she could at least call dinner.

Sara was just starting to eat, not even bothering to leave the kitchen when she heard a knock on her front door.

Sara's hand went to her gun. "Who is it?"

"Sara, it's me," 

Sara closed her eyes and let go of her gun. She swallowed, standing there, debating whether or not to just... ignore her. She was good at that, pretending her mother didn't exist. 

"Sara?" Her mother asked again, and finally, Sara set her bowl down on the counter and walked over to the door, pulling open.

"What do you want?" She hadn't seen her mother since... since Laurel had come back. 

"Really?" Her mother asked softly, raising an eyebrow, and Sara closed her eyes again, pulling the hand that wasn't on the door down her face. "Hi Sara, it's been nearly a year."

"It has," Sara agreed. "And you had no problem staying away that year, or the year before that." She stepped aside, letting her mom walk in. "So... I ask again, what do you want?"

"Is it so hard to believe that I might want to see my daughter?" Dinah asked,closing the door behind her as she walked in. "I... I was in town, visiting Laurel at her new place. She - she invited me up, and..."

"And what, you decided to drop in unannounced, on the off chance I was even here?" Sara snapped. She knew she shouldn't be like this, intellectually. Her mother was just a phone call away, and Sara could count on the fingers of one hand she'd actually initiated a phone call herself since her mother had moved to Central City..

But Sara hadn't been the one to move in the first place. 

"You do still have my phone number, right?"

"I wasn't sure you'd even pick up," her mother pointed out. "I mean... it's not like you've wanted to have much to do with me,"

"Yeah, I wonder why that might be?" Sara scoffed. "I can't imagine. Oh... wait," She held up a finger, as if suddenly getting an idea. "Right, I know why. You made it pretty clear how you felt about being my mother years ago: Not great. Probably regret it and everything - Sara the problem kid who grew up and decided to follow her dad rather than you."

"Sara, I know you're still upset I divorced your father, but don't ever pretend I don't love you or that I regret having you - you're my daughter, and I'm always going to love you," Her mom said, voice serious, stern. She let out a long breath. "I just haven't known how to talk to you, lately." She added, softer. 

"Well, you could start by making sure I'm home before visiting," Sara pointed out. She let out a long breath, trying - and failing - not to make it obvious how frustrated and exasperated she was. She leaned against the wall, looking at her mother.

"I thought I might just wait for a bit, if you weren't here..." Her mother explained. "And... leaving a note if you didn't show up."

"You mean because I'm as much of a workaholic as dad?" Sara raised an eyebrow, knowing what her mother was implying.

"Sara, our entire family is workaholics," Her mother pointed out. "I'm not innocent of that either. I used to think maybe you were, but I guess you just had to grow into it, like I did." Sara bit her lip, inhaling sharply. Dinah let out a long sigh.

"I didn't come here to argue with you," She murmured. 

"Well, what did you expect Mom?" Sara stared at her mother. "I mean... really? And while we're on the subject, you really think the only reason I'm upset with you is because you divorced dad. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not thrilled you just broke up with him and left him to deal with everything himself a year after we all thought Laurel died, but that's not the only problem I have with you. Or the reason I wonder if you actually want to be my mother," Sara swallowed, then looked down.

"Look, mom... I... I know you love me. I haven't ever really doubted that, not... really." Not in her heart of hearts, anyway. "It's just - you moved. You moved to Central City, not to somewhere else in the city, or nearby. I was still mourning my sister, my dad was crawling into a bottle, and you... you just left. And that's not even talking about how you reacted when I told you I wanted to become a cop!" Sara wished the plaintive note in her voice wasn't there, the -

"I did try to encourage you to transfer to Central City University," her Mom pointed out, softly. Sara stared at her mother, not believing her. I mean, you mentioned the prospect like... once? Before you'd actually told me you were moving. "As for..." she swallowed, then looked away before speaking again: "You're right. I wasn't very supportive about your choice. But given how dangerous being a police officer is in Starling City, can you- can you at least understand why I at least wasn't thrilled about the prospect?"

"Bullshit. You married a cop! You were unhappy I was 'taking Dad's side'," Sara used air quotes around that part, though her mother had never said it in as many words. "I didn't even know you two were going to divorce when I first told you both I wanted to go into law enforcement, so how could I have been taking-"

"Sara!" Dinah raised her voice, something that she'd only done a few times, and not since Sara had been 14. And even then, it still wasn't even a yell, here and now. "Yes, I married your father knowing he was a police officer, but for one, the city was safer back then, and for another, I still had countless sleepless nights worrying about him. I'd lost your sister to the sea, and I'd lost your father to the bottle, and the thought of losing you-"

Dinah choked up and stopped talking, swallowing. "Maybe...maybe subconsciously I thought you were taking his side, or... something." She admitted, quietly.

Sara licked her lips, taking another long breath. "I don't even understand why you just... why did you just... leave him? We all lost Laurel, we all mourned together. Fine, he started drinking again, he threw himself into the job even more, but - I stayed for that. I was able to still be there for dad and to mourn my sister, why couldn't you stay there for him?" Sara had never understood this, never gotten it. She'd always thought her parents' marriage was practically perfect, until one day they just... weren't married anymore. Even when her mom had said she was divorcing her dad, Sara hadn't really believed it was happening until it did.

"I mean... what happened to 'in sickness and in health'? Did... did mourning Laurel just... was it so much you just stopped loving Dad?"

Dinah put a closed fist to her mouth for a moment, then pulled it away. "I didn't stop loving your father because we all thought Laurel died," she shook her head. "Your father's an alcoholic. It wasn't as if that was the first time he'd crawled into a bottle... I'd been there for him through that before. Hiding it, saying he was working late when he was at the bar. Then hiding empty bottles everywhere. The lying about why he was stumbling home, reeking of alcohol..." Her mother shook her head. "Every bit of it. We always kept it hidden from you, from Laurel, your father never got so bad as that, but..."

She swallowed. "I loved your father, and yes, we did vow to stay together for better or for worse, in sickness and in health. But I couldn't... I couldn't stay there and deal with your father vanishing into a bottle again, and deal with all of it, while mourning your sister. Not again," she repeated. "I wasn't going to light myself on fire to keep your father warm."

Sara opened her mouth to say something, to argue, but...

She didn't agree with her mother, exactly, but...

I can't... I can't say she's wrong. 

She closed her mouth and swallowed, letting out a long sigh. "I..." She dropped her head down, chin on her chest a moment, before looking back at her mother. "Okay. Okay. I...fine. You..." she swallowed again. "But you didn't have to just... leave? Go to Central City? I mean... you said you tried to get me to come with you, but - you..." she cut herself off again.

"I'm sorry," she finally said after a long moment to her mom. "I - I don't want to admit you have something resembling a point, but..."

"I'll take it for now," her mother nodded. "I - I could have done more, around when I left, or tried harder to stay in contact with you, even if I felt like you were too mad at me."

"I was. I am," Sara considered. She couldn't just let go of years of being angry at her mom all at once. "But I could have called more, or... I don't know, visited." She winced internally even as she suggested it, hating the idea of admitting she bore part of the blame here.

"Everything in Starling reminded me of Laurel. I don't know how you managed to stay here," her mother murmured. 

"We grieved differently," Sara noted. She closed the distance between herself and her mother and gave her a momentary, but tight, hug. "At the end of the day, I...I'm still mad at you. I still don't like what you did. But... I'll try. Okay?"

"Like I said, I'm not - I could have done better," her mother agreed. "I'll try too." Dinah echoed.

October 6th, 2012

The Glades, Starling City

From a very narrow perspective, the Undertaking had made moving around the Glades unseen easier, in some ways. With many buildings damaged and partially collapsed inward, it was easier to get to various high vantage points, and then jump to the next one without dropping to the ground.

Oliver still had the easier time of it with his zipline arrows, but Laurel preferred the climbing anyway. 

Things in the Glades had not gotten better since the Undertaking, despite her efforts, despite Oliver's efforts. Even with the Hood Gang shut down after a few quick attempts to 'redistribute' the wealth to themselves, the Glades were overrun with criminals, the desperate and the opportunistic. There were even rumors of criminals coming to Starling City specifically to

She'd asked Sin to keep her ear to the ground about that. The girl had returned to the Glades after the Undertaking, and had not been happy with Laurel - Dinah, as she knew her - for sending her away like that, and had all but demanded to help more. She hated asking the teenager to put herself at risk, even if she had before, but given the way things were working in The Glades now...

But there were things that were looking up. The new Neighbor Watch, the Canaries - they'd taken her name as their ideal, thinking of themselves as the canaries in the coal mine that drew attention to things that needed to be noticed. That really wasn't why Laurel had picked the name, but... it fit.

When Laurel was seen, either on purpose or not - no matter how good she was, moving around the Glades and staying invisible all the time was essentially impossible - she sometimes had some of them pass her information.

Not all of it bore out. One had been a trap by a new gang leader on the rise, calling himself the Mayor of the Glades, for all that his territory was tiny yet. Laurel hadn't been sure if the tipper was in on the trap or not, but she'd been careful to begin with.

One name that wasn't among those causing issues was Brickwell. He'd gone underground since the Undertaking, barely noticed, abandoning several of his known associates. Laurel was worried about him. He was a brute, but he had more cunning than most thugs.

The sound of a woman letting out a single scream of shock and surprise nearby drew her attention, and Laurel looked towards the sound, racing across a caved in rooftop, jumping across a narrow alley and then finding her destination, a young woman pressed against the wall by another man, groping her, while two of his friends looked on, big stupid grins on their faces.

They still haven't learned. Okay, that was unfair. Try as she might, she didn't get every criminal every time. So a lot of these types, if they thought at all, figured they were safe.

Criminals played the odds.

Tonight, the odds were not in their-

Laurel was just about to jump and attack when someone else arrived on the scene, interrupting the thugs, telling them to leave the girl alone - he drew the thugs attention, telling the girl to run, and she did so.

Leaving him three on one.

Laurel didn't stop to pay much attention to the good samaritan who was stepping in and risking getting his ass beaten. He was on the right side here, so she'd help him out - the three men rushed for the samaritan, but Laurel dropped down behind them and grabbed one guy, arm around his throat and pulling him backwards, hitting him on the head with the base of her tonfa and then pushing him, spinning a bit, into the wall.

The other two were already on the Samaritan - and then a hard kick to the leg sent him staggering back and one thug drew a knife - he didn't get one step before Laurel was on him, smashing her tonfa into the two, one on each, pushing them apart as she hit their sides, then ducked under their punches - they lacked any sort of finesse or skill, making the fight simple as she hit, ducked, sidestepped and hit. After a few rounds of that as she got them on the arms and sides, she managed to get one across the windpipe, making him gag and bend over, and then she took him out with a hit to the back of the head, and was able to focus on the last one - he tried to stab her with a knife of his own, but he never even touched her, and soon enough he was on the ground with his friends. 

Laurel turned towards the good samaritan who had stood there, watching the fight, holding his side, clearly in some pain.

Laurel recognized him after a moment - the red hoodie was the first marker, then she goot a look at his face.

Roy Harper. Thea's boyfriend. Thea had mentioned to her, to Ollie, and especially to Sara that Roy really wanted to find the Black Canary, help her or... something. That her rescue of him had inspired him to make something of himself, do good.

Which she liked.

Less good that Thea's boyfriend was risking his life like this, but... 

She couldn't tell him to stop without being a hypocrite, not really. 

"Roy Harper," She said, voice modulator on. "I hear you've been looking for me... and it seems you've found me."

"You know?"

"You haven't exactly been quiet about it," Laurel pointed out. One tactic she'd found to be useful was to imply that she was more... aware of things going on in the Glades than she was. She tried to stay abreast of things, but she couldn't be omniscient. But if people thought she was more aware of things...

"Before you and the Hood - Arrow - saved me... I..." Roy shook his head. "I was scum. I just... I made excuses for myself, about how bad life in the Glades was, how stealing was okay because I had no other options. But I did. I just... did what was easy. When you rescued me, and then my girlfriend believing in me - maybe I don't have to just be a thug."

"You don't have to be a thug. And I'm not going to tell you to stop trying to help people, like you helped that girl," Laurel told him. 

"I want to more than just... fight people. You do more than just take out thugs - you fought Merlyn, that Dark Archer, you guys did everything you could to save the Glades. You're not just taking down gangbangers. I want to help, somehow. Be more."

"I'm not in the market for a sidekick," Laurel offered with a slight chuckle. The 'wounded ego' expression on Roy's face suggested it didn't quite go over so well. "Like I said, I'm not going to tell you to stop. I would say this: there are other ways to give back to the Glades, to rise above your past, if you want to be more than you were." Just like Laurel had set out to be more than a murderer.

"So why do you want to do it this way? Why risk yourself every night like that?" She asked, looking at him. "Why do you want to help me?"

"You saved my life." Roy said earnestly, taking a small step forward.

"I've saved a lot of people. Most don't come find me and offer to help. Or risk getting knifed by gangbangers to save a woman walking home from a night shift," Laurel pointed out. "Like I said, I don't need a sidekick - and while you held your own against those two as best as you could with your injury... you have a lot of work to do before you can do this safely."

"So that would be a 'go away, you're a liability and I don'tneed your help then?" Roy demanded, sounding more than a little bitter at the prospect of rejection.

"Not exactly. I may be dedicated to helping the Glades, but well... I can't be everywhere. You live and work in the Glades.You can hear things I won't."

"You want me to... what, be your street informant?" Roy  had an unsurprising mix of hope and impatience - the idea of doing something like that probably didn't sit well on the kid - he was eager, wanted to prove himself.

"Until you know for sure that this is what you want to do - and why you want to do it - you shouldn't risk your life fighting on the streets," Laurel told him. "But I'm not going to turn down an offer of help entirely. Let's call it a trial run," she offered.

She wasn't really interested in just... bringing Roy on. She didn't - as she said - need some sort of sidekick. She could imagine ways another vigilante could be useful, but she couldn't even contemplate promises without a lot more thought on the matter, talking to Ollie about it... and letting the kid really be sure he wanted this.

But if someone was inspired by her example... she couldn't just turn that down. Or tell him to stop. But if she could convince him to be more constructive...

"You aren't a half-bad street fighter, but there's a lot of room for improvement. Work on that. Find your answers for yourself, why you want this... and help. Let me know if you hear anything." She suggested, gently. "And I'll think about it."

"How do I 'work on it'?" Roy asked, again hopeful, just a little, but trying to sound less eager than he was at the prospect she was implying. 

"Join a gym, use your phone to learn some things and brush up on your basic technique... you've got some raw potential," he did indeed, from what she'd seen, what she'd heard from Thea or Sara. "Hone that potential, and like I said - I'll think about it." She jumped, grabbing onto a broken wall and quickly climbing to the roof of a building. "I'll see you around, Roy Harper," she told him, vanishing off into the night.

October 10, 2013

Conference Room, Queen Consolidated, Starling City

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Ms. Rochev," Oliver said, sitting down at the head of the table. Stellmoor had sent a few people with Rochev, but from what Felicity had told him the company and the people being sent, Rochev was the one he had to be worried about the most. 

"I figured it was the least I could do since I'll have your job in a few days," Rochev said, in a relatively flat tone - not so much emotionless as very, very careful and guarded. 

"You seem very confident that Stellmoor will be able to obtain controlling interest in the company," Oliver was glad he'd had a week to prepare for this meeting. It wasn't enough, not given everything else he'd been trying to do with his time... especially given how over his head he was. He had almost no idea how to run Queen Consolidated, and he was maybe, maybe treading water.

He'd had no idea how he was going to stop Stellmoore from buying up a majority of the stock until he'd visited his mother in jail a few days ago. She'd reminded him of something he'd forgotten, options he had.

It wasn't a great option, and there was a chance it wouldn't work, but knowing that he had Walter willing to help him buy him as much of the stock that was due to be released in a few days gave Oliver confidence that at least, he'd have a chance.

In so many ways, I wish I could just let someone else run the company. 

But he couldn't.

Especially not Stellmoor.

"I am," Rochev agreed. "Though I'm not surprised you're surprised by my confidence, given that you majored in dropping out of college," 

"I may have dropped out of four colleges, but I do know how to compare two numbers and do basic math. Stellmoor controls 45% of the company, but so do I. The remaining shares will be released in a few days, and your ability to control this company depends on you getting enough of them before I do."

"Something that will hardly be difficult, Mr. Queen," Rochev nearly scoffed, folding her hands in front of her on the table. "Your trust fund is not that deep, and while I'm sure you're searching for options, there's no angel investor that is going to swoop in at the last minute to rescue the company that built the weapon that killed 318 people and destroyed half the Glades."

"That would be Malcolm Merlyn, not Queen Consolidated," Oliver pointed out. 

"And if Merlyn Global had more than thirty percent of it's stock available for purchase, Stellmoor might have decided to try to take them over, but they don't," Rochev countered blandly. "And regardless of how you dress it up, Unidac Industries was owned by Queen Consolidated, and your company and your family will forever be associated with the Undertaking in the public eye." 

Rochev leaned forward a bit, "It would be much more beneficial for you to simply sell your shares to the only interested party and take your money while you can, Mr. Queen. Certainly, I don't think your chances of success in running Queen Consolidated, even if you do manage to prevent Stellmoor from obtaining a controlling interest, are very high. Not given your track record as caretaker CEO."

"Sell out so you can fire all the employees, gut the company, sell off the assets and destroy everything my family built?" Oliver asked pointedly. "I'll take my chances." He didn't let the way that comment hit close to home show on his face. His powers as caretaker CEO while much of the stock had been sold off in individual chunks - apart from what he already had, in his own right, or that his mother gave him after she'd been taken to prison - were very limited, and they hadn't allowed him to do much to salvage the company or it's name in the eyes of the public. He'd done what he could, but it was far from enough.

At least the board, such as it was, had stopped giving him grief over naming Felicity to head of the entire company's IT department after he showed them her internal aptitude scores and the performance reviews she'd had. Officially, he'd pointed out the only reason she'd been stuck in such a low-level position was...

Well, her foot in mouth disease. Oliver said he didn't care about that, and given how many of their employees in all departments, IT included, had quit, they couldn't afford to. So he'd promoted Felicity. A lot. And the Board had been ready to complain until he'd shown them those scores.

Unofficially, it was because he needed her in a position where it wouldn't seem strange if they were seen talking regularly. And, well, Felicity's aptitude with computers really was among the best in the company.

Rochev looked him in the eye for a long moment. "You're not at all what people say about you, Mr. Queen," she said, a note of surprise in her voice, a slight smirk appearing momentarily on her face.

"Most people fail to see the real me." Oliver told her simply. He stood, "Thank you again for agreeing to this meeting. It was... enlightening."

"Likewise, Mr. Queen," Rochev stood, extending a hand and he shook it.