Prodigal Son

Chapter 20

From Verdant's packed bar, Oliver intently watched Felicity as she let loose on the dance floor. Hair down, glasses off, barefoot and wearing a short, shimmery dress Thea produced from out of thin air, no one looking at her would guess several hours earlier she'd been handling her second police interview in the last 24 hours. His first instinct had been to wall her off behind the gates of the mansion, but Felicity refused to go into hiding.

"I made a promise to Thea. Besides, no one," she said, "is going to make a move in a crowded nightclub."

"Have you forgotten Carina and her gun? Crowds didn't bother her."

"True, but she was already the exception to the rule so it only ups the odds against anyone breaking them again so soon. I'll be perfectly safe."

He, Diggle, Tommy, Roy and the security crew at Verdant were on high alert to make sure she was right. So far, the evening had been without incident. Well, without any unplanned incidents. Thea worked several surprises into the non-stop party going on at Verdant. His least favorite was the glitter filled balloon drop. A few were still intact, wafting around the dance floor but most had been popped, each one its own special glitter bomb. He tried brushing off the specs still clinging to his dark shirt but it was hopeless. With just as many stuck to his hand, he only spread the sparkle.

Even without the dress or the extra glitter, Felicity dazzled tonight and given the crap she'd gone through, it was an act of defiance. She looked amazing. Guys had been flocking around her all evening but she handled each one lightly, but firmly, making some kind of joke and sending them away smiling. Thea worked hard to make sure the energy never flagged but Felicity might as well have been her wingman tonight, enthusiastically embracing every moment, gathering a flock of like-minded women. Several bachelorette parties peppered the crowd making it unofficially ladies night.

The music shifted from a high-energy, pulsating, technetronic track to something slower with an acoustic guitar playing over the beat. The laser show shifted into a million points of light drifting over the crowd. He left the beer he'd been nursing and pushed away from bar. By the time he crossed the dance floor, Felicity had turned down three proposed dance partners. The guy she'd just said no to saw him coming and mouthed 'Good luck.' But he didn't need luck.

When she saw him, Felicity's sweaty, glitter covered face lit up.

"We never got to finish our last dance," he said.

She readily slipped into his embrace. She'd abandoned her borrowed heels an hour ago and without the extra height, her head only just came above his shoulder, but she fit perfectly against his chest, her arms wrapping around his neck. It was loud, so they didn't try to keep up a conversation, instead just moved together to the music.

He relaxed, letting his guard down a notch since having her in his arms meant he didn't have to worry where she was. She seemed to be handling the near complete destruction to her property better than he was. Not since he'd left Starling City in a cloud of shame and loathing had he felt this angry and helpless. Both their places had been trashed but where his had been thoroughly turned upside down and searched, it hadn't come with the same level of meanness as had the attack on Felicity's space.

His drawers had been emptied and all the clothing from his closet pulled from their hangers but no real damage had been inflicted. His kitchen and main bath were mostly untouched, probably because both were nearly empty. The drawers in the master bath had been pulled out and dumped, but his products left in their bottles.

The mattress and his rented leather couch had both been slashed but after looking at the precise cuts, he was sure it was done out of thoroughness for whatever they were searching for rather than because of any personal grudge. That's not how Felicity's side felt. The destruction in her townhome, particularly her bedroom, looked personal. Violent. Like her things became a stand in for the pain they wanted to inflict. He was more worried than he'd let on. If he thought he could convince Felicity to leave for some remote island, he'd hire the private jet himself.