Technical Assistance

Chapter 60: Hard Drive Cloning

Waking with a jolt, Oliver comes to wildly, his body already trying to keep moving, to pull him into survival mode. It doesn't work, however; it takes a moment of struggling to realize that his arms and legs are bound to the chair in an abandoned warehouse. It looks like part of the Glades by the state of it, but it's hard to tell in the dim light.

Gasping calls his attention away from the structure and to the opposite dark corner, and he squints through the darkness to see who's there. Until his eyes adjust to the light, all Oliver can see is the subtle shifting of darkness as someone moves around, struggling probably as the first did. Finally squinting manages to do him some good, and Oliver can faintly make out the person across from him: his own mother. He fights harder against the restraints until a voice says in the earpiece he didn't know was there, "Relax, Oliver—this is the plan, remember?"

He stops immediately, remembering what they'd discussed earlier. He hasn't made any progress learning about his mother's plotting as Oliver Queen, and talking to her as the Arrow before hadn't served any purpose, other than to get him shot. Not one for repeating futile efforts, the team had turned to a new plan together. Oliver can't make any headway, nor can the Arrow, so they needed something else.

Diggle had suggested that the two of them combined might have a better effect.

Oliver waits for the show to begin, but Felicity says into the comm, "You're far enough away that, if you have any ideas for questions, you can say them without her hearing you." The next comment has nothing to do with him. "Digg, the stage is ready—you're on."

The words barely have time to leave her mouth before Diggle steps out of the darkness. "Moira Queen," he demands under the synthesizer, and Oliver can hear it twice—in the comm and in person. It's all he can do to keep from rolling his eyes; though he knows it's necessary, it feels a little like dinner theater to him. "You have failed this city." To his surprise, Felicity actually laughs over the comms. Apparently Oliver isn't the only one who feels like this is a farce.

The fear on his mother's face sobers him instantly. "What do you want from me this time?" she demands, and something in her tone is harder and darker than he expects. "And why is my son here? This has nothing to do with him."

Perhaps because they've worked together so long that Diggle knows what Oliver would do in the situation, he ignores her pleas. "What is the Undertaking?" he demands, but he's met with stony silence. Oliver can't say he's surprised; the last time he asked her that question, she shot him. Whatever the damn thing is, she isn't interested in sharing the details with anyone.

"Do it," Oliver suggests under his breath. They have to get this information out of her somehow, and this seems like the best scenario. He can handle a few bruises, and he's been hit a lot harder than Diggle is capable of. And Slade wasn't known for pulling his punches.

"Remember to pull your punches," Felicity adds in a frantic tone over the comm. "Did I mention that I don't like this idea? Because I don't. I understand why you're doing it, but that doesn't mean I like it. I'm opposed to any and all plans that require using the people I care about as punching bags."

Diggle turns on his heel without saying anything, stomping back toward Oliver. Knowing that bracing for the hit will only make it hurt worse, Oliver keeps his posture loose, even when he sees the punch coming a mile away. That's something he'll need to mention to Digg later; he's horrible about telegraphing his punches. It hits him square in the jaw, but not nearly as hard as he's managed during practice. Oliver's groan is mostly show, though he does rotate his jaw to make sure nothing is broken. Jammed, possibly, but not broken.