Arrow In My Wild Heart

Dead To Rights

Diggle and I were training Felicity to be able to defend herself while Oliver was out being the Hood. I decided to take the night off, because I knew he could handle it. Felicity groaned as she landed face first on the mat. "Ow," she hissed as she flipped herself onto her back and I held down my hand to her. She took it and I pulled her to her feet. "Now the trick is to keep your weight evenly distributed," Diggle called from off to the side. He was teaching her tactics while I was schooling her in said tactics.

"I thought the trick was to avoid getting into fights," she said as she rubbed her shoulder. "Yeah, well, Starling City's not the kind of place where you can talk your way out of trouble. Trust me, I know," I told her as I grabbed my water bottle and took a drink. Then I grabbed her water bottle and a towel, tossing the latter to her. "Besides, if you're going to be working with us, I'll sleep a lot easier knowing that you can handle yourself... at least a little bit," Diggle told her as she took a drink from the water bottle.

The sound of footsteps on stairs made me glance over to see Oliver had returned. He had been going up against a master assassin and had returned without a scratch on him. "How'd it go?" I asked him. "Badly for him," Oliver replied simply as he put his bow away. "Who him?" Felicity asked in confusion. "An assassin for hire with an affinity for knives," Oliver replied simply. "Basically Melanie, but bad and minus the mask," Diggle put in. I smiled at being compared to a master assassin – but only the knife-wielding part, not the murdering part.

"His name was Guillermo Barrera," Oliver continued. "Was?" Felicity asked. "So we can't ask him about his intended target?" Diggle asked Oliver. "No," Oliver replied before holding up a gray phone. "Which is why I need you to hack his phone," he said, holding it out to Felicity. "Barrera's world class. He kills high profile targets. And whatever job he was hired for isn't finished. We need to figure out who he was here to kill, and fast. They are probably still in danger. Okay?" Oliver told her.

"I have to meet Makenna," Oliver muttered. "Good thing she didn't meet you at the heliport," I grumbled as I grabbed my civilian clothes and headed for the bathroom to change. It was Tommy's birthday celebration tonight. Just the five of us – Tommy, Laurel, Oliver, me... and Makenna. I wasn't exactly happy about that but I would put on a brave face. When I exited the bathroom, I heard Oliver call "Well, it's slim pickings for us vigilantes." I sighed and heading for my car so I could get back to Laurel's apartment and quickly change.

I arrived and quickly changed before I heard a knock at the door. Tommy opened it with a smile. "Welcome," he greeted Oliver and Makenna. "Happy birthday, buddy," Oliver told him, holding out a small bag. "Thank you," Tommy told them as the couple moved into the apartment. "Oh, this feels like a chateauneuf de pape," Tommy said with a smile. "It's going to taste like one, too," Oliver told him as they moved into the dining room where Laurel and I were waiting. "You are a true friend, thank you," Tommy told Oliver as he followed them into the dining room. "Tommy, you remember Makenna Hall," Oliver introduced them. "From back in the day," Tommy replied. "And back again," Makenna said with a small laugh as Laurel finished lighting the candles on the table.

"Hi," Laurel greeted Oliver with a quick hug. "Hi," he greeted her in return. "Hi Ollie," I greeted, getting my hug in there. "Laurel, this is..." Oliver trailed off before Laurel interrupted him. "Makenna Hall. We know each other from the court house," Laurel explained. "How are you, Counselor?" Makenna asked in a teasingly formal way. "I'm well, Detective," Laurel replied in an equally teasing fashion. "I'm going to go crack this open," Tommy said before disappearing into the kitchen.

"Makenna, this is Melanie," Oliver introduced us formally. Makenna's eyes widened slightly and her smile faltered. "Oh, this – this is Melanie? Wow, um, Oliver's told me a lot about you," she said, holding her hand out for me to shake. "Not too much, I hope," I told her teasingly, shaking her hand. She laughed nervously, pulling her hand back as she glanced at Oliver. I noticed the uneasiness in her eyes, but had the better judgement than to comment on it.