Arrow-Rieka

Bulletproof

Oliver's POV:
I get back to the club and the team tells me that what Amars people stole tonight were industrial diamonds.

Roy goes out to some of his contacts to see what Amar is doing with the diamonds. Diggle stays seated and looks at me.

"What's going on?" He asks and I look at him confused.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been different since we got back. Wanna tell me what's going on?" He asks and I sigh.

"Ras predicted this. He said that the city would turn against me, and I would die alone. Then we come back and the first thing that happens is, Lance shutting me out...and I see Felicity with Palmer. It's like he looked into my future." I say leaving out the fact that Rieka chose not to come back with me.

"Sounds to me like Ras is playing with your head. Question is, why are you letting him?"

"He wants me to take his place in the League of Assassins. That's why he let us go. As a sign of good faith." I confess and Diggle gawks at me.

"Is there even a world where he can imagine you saying yes?" Diggle asks shocked and I sigh.

"He said that I can do more as the new Ras than I could ever do as Oliver Queen or the Arrow. That I would have unlimited resources. That I could make a difference, not just a dent." I explain.

"You're not really considering this? Just because captain Lance is angry and Felicity is momentarily unavailable." Diggle scoffs.

"It's more than that. I just...you didn't see what I saw..." I shake my head thinking about Rieka.

"What did you see?" He asks me concerned.

"Ras gave Rieka a choice to come back with me. She turned it down." I say and bow my head and Diggle looks at me confused.

"That's what this is about? Rieka not coming back with you?" He scoffs.

"She killed 10 of Ras' highy trained men with their own swords in seconds. Ras explained that she has a bloodlust problem." I start to explain and he furrows his brows.

"If I become Ras...I could help her." I finally confess my deepest desire.

"Oliver-she's past helping. If what you say is true." Diggle states but I shake my head.

———

I head back to Thea's and see that Malcolm is still alive.

"I've been trying to remember who I was before mom died. Before Malcolm. Before Rieka left..." Thea says with a wine of glass in her hand.

"And I don't recognize her. I couldn't even fathom killing someone and in the last month, I've held a gun to Slade Wilson's head...and nearly took my father's life twice."

"But you didn't kill either of them." I say.

"You know why I didn't kill Malcom?" She asks and I shake my head.

"Rieka. About what she's think about me becoming a murder just like him."

"Thea...you're nothing like him."

"There's something broken inside of me...just like there's something broken inside of him." She says softly.

"Nothing can change that." She says and gets up and leaves.