Technical Assistance

Chapter 23: Secure Data Transfer

Felicity wakes to a hand shaking her shoulder, and it pulls her out of her dreams too quickly. She flails, startled as her bleary eyes try to focus, and a hand grabs her wrist. She's surprised to find she's holding her alarm clock, ready to hit her intruder with it. "It's just me, Felicity," he says gently through the synthesizer, letting a glove fall on her face. At the same time, her eyes focus on the blurry outline of the Arrow, and she takes a few deep, calming breaths as she sets her alarm clock back on the table. He's crouched in front of her bed, his opposite hand still on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry that I tried to hit you with my alarm clock," she blurts, then winces. "You startled me." She sits upright then, reaching across him for her glasses case, then slides them on her face as Saphira makes her way toward him. Felicity is surprised to find that he doesn't pass her a treat this time.

"I didn't mean to scare you," he says in some semblance of apology, still crouching in front of her. She pats the bed, and he joins her. Felicity gets a kick out of watching Saphira paw at his back for his attention as he turns away from her, but she tries to contain her sleep-deprived giggles. "But, if you say yes, we need to move as fast as possible."

If she says yes? With maybe a little more hostility than necessary, she replies, "Well, I've never turned you down before." Then she bites her lip, thinking that she might have overreacted. Generally, there's a reason when he says things like that, and she shouldn't doubt him now. "Sorry—I'm moody when I first wake up."

He sidesteps her apology as he uses his thumb to guide her lip out from between her teeth. "No, you've always helped me," he agrees quietly, "but this time is different." He looks away for a moment before saying, "This time, it's a personal favor." She can't help to sit a little straighter at that; Arrow business is generally impersonal, so, if he's asking, it's probably going to be interesting. "And I want you to say no if it makes you uncomfortable."

She doesn't say anything, and he finally continues, "Laurel Lance has been helping me investigate some of my targets recently. She brought Cyrus Vanch to my attention a few nights ago—he murdered his lawyer and he's not going to stop killing." He sighs. "During the... incident a few nights ago"—she knows the one he means; it was the one where the police used Laurel as bait to catch him—"she was handing me information. Vanch has a cop on his payroll, and he passed the information that we were working together on to Vanch. They've taken her hostage, and Detective Lance and I are going to be working together since he can't trust anyone in the department."

He frowns. "Vanch is in his lawyer's house, and the wiring is controlled by computer circuitry." He hesitates. "If you agreed"—she appreciates the way he emphasizes that she has a choice—"to help me, lighting control would assure I had the advantage against Vanch's guards." He frowns. "You'd be out in the field, but I can position you in a location out of harm's way."

She doesn't even flinch. "You've done plenty of favors for me over the past few months. It would be the least I could do." She turns away as his eyes take on that dark, intense look again, even though she sees his mouth start to turn up at the corners in a rare smile.

His fingers use her chin to turn her head back to his direction, and he says quietly, "Felicity, you don't owe me anything." He says it so confidently, so assuredly, that she thinks he might actually believe it. But how can he, when he's given her so much that she'll never repay? For once in her life, she feels like she belongs to something, and that she feels like it's an important cause is all the better. He must see the doubt in her eyes because he rephrases it and she understands this time when he says, "I don't want you to do this because you feel like you owe me something. You'll be in the field tonight, and I can't promise your safety." His hand falls one of hers, the one that rests on her leg. "But I won't put you in danger—and I'll do my best to keep you safe." When he says it, she knows it's a promise he intends to keep.