The Starling Saviour

Chapter 53

'So this book contains a list of the names of the guys you've been hunting,' Diggle was discussing as I entered the Arrowcave. 'And this book, your mother's, that's the same list of names.'

He waving around a small book covered with brown canvas, its condition looking nearly new but apparently being a match to the tattered, aged one Oliver had.

'It's identical,' Oliver confirmed.

'What's this?' I greeted them with a question, both turning to me.

'There's another copy of The List,' Oliver explained. 'And for some reason, my mom had it in her possession.'

'Oh, really?' I pretended to act surprised, but really, I remembered Felicity telling Leyla and I about the exact same thing.

'So where'd your mother get her copy, Oliver?' Diggle turned back to Oliver aptly, as though he suspected something.

Did he know that she was involved in Tempest?

'For that matter, who gave it to you?'

'Felicity Smoak,' Oliver replied simply. 'She said that Walter found it in their bedroom.'

So this was the copy of the book Walter had given Felicity, the one that could possibly have cost him his life.

'And now he's missing,' Diggle pointed out.

'She's my mother, Diggle,' Oliver challenged his friend seriously. 'She's not the kind of person who would-'

'Have her husband disappeared?' Diggle carried on with his more-than-likely correct theories. 'Because that's really the question, isn't it Oliver?'

If only they knew the truth.

'If I may say so, Oliver, I think I agree with what Diggle is saying,' I nodded, standing next to Diggle proudly.

'You too?' Oliver asked me sadly, as if he was disappointed in both of us.

'I understand why you would believe your mother over your stepfather, but I tend to believe the innocent party is whoever's missing and presumed dead,' Diggle finished his point.

'Maybe you should... Talk to her about it,' I suggested, trying to find a middle ground between Oliver and Diggle's strong opposing views. 'You need to find out if she's involved for yourself.'

I desperately wanted to tell Oliver what I knew, but I didn't want to compromise his or Diggle's safety. Tempest was bigger than our team could ever be, and if we did as little as attempt to go against them, I was sure that we would be in deep trouble.

'What is he doing?' Diggle pondered out loud after Oliver had left, cupping his face in his hands as a way of showing his frustration at his friend.

'He doesn't want to admit that his mother is far more involved with The List than he wishes,' I read Oliver's actions accurately.

'It's more obvious than he being The Hood,' Diggle commented with an edge of sarcasm. 'Oliver Queen returns from the dead after five years the same time a vigilante is roaming the streets. What a coincidence.'

'People see what they want to believe and are blind from the truth,' I said astutely, my words resonating with Diggle.

'Then we need to help Oliver see that his mother is part of what he's fighting against,' Diggle decided quickly.