Technical Assistance

Chapter 29: GPS Location Services

It takes Felicity a long moment to come to, and the first thing she sees when she opens her eyes is the outline of a green hood. It takes a long moment before she realizes she's lying on some floor in an empty room, and she wonders how she made it here. Then she finds that her memory is somewhat blank for the past few hours.

The blurry outlines clear slowly until she’s finally looking at the Arrow, and he’s looking at her with concern that makes her wary instantly. She stares at him in confusion until she finally remembers what happens, and it comes back to her in bursts. Oliver in a black tie. The Odyssey. The auction. The horrible “family jewels” crack. The signal going live. Diggle talking in her ear.

The Dodger.

Dear God, she met the Dodger and lived to tell about it. But she knows the Dodger—she studied him maybe even too well—and she knows how he thinks. A criminal as cunning and ruthless as the Dodger wouldn’t let her go without a price for his mercy. Her hand flies to her neck as soon as she remembers his MO, and, sure enough, she encounters a hard, metal collar around her neck. Her first instinct is to pull it away because logic isn’t high up on her list of reactions after finding she’s just a button-push away from losing her head—literally.

A leather-clad hand pulls hers away from the collar gently, and she realizes that the Arrow and Diggle are standing around her when she could blow at any moment. She sits up, scrambling backward across the floor. “No, stay back,” she snaps immediately, her voice high and a little panicked, even to her. "If this thing blows—"

Because he’s the Arrow and it’s his wont, he ignores her, catching her wrist before she can pull back any further. “Felicity,” he says gently, cutting her off. With one word, she snaps back to her senses. Panic won’t do her any good here; calm, rational thought is going to be what keeps her alive. His hand reaches out and slides along her jaw, the concern clear in her eyes. “That's not going to happen. You’re going to be all right.” It sounds like he’s trying to convince himself, crouching there in front of her with very dark eyes. “It’s a circuit, and no one knows circuits like you. I’ll be your eyes—talk me through it.”

She nods but doesn’t trust herself to move, and suddenly strong arms hoist her up as if she weighs nothing. He gently places her on the table in the middle of the room, her legs dangling off the edge. A few steps place him between her knees, and she can feel the hem of the leather jacket at his waist brush against her legs. She’s fairly certain that, under different circumstances, she would be crimson, but all the blood seems to have drained from her face.

He doesn’t seem to notice, pulling a knife with an emerald handle from his pocket and flicking it open in one smooth motion. Vaguely she remembers it as the switchblade she used to cut an arrow out of his shoulder and pop the SIM card out of his phone, but she’s more concerned with how he’s going to use it tonight. “There’s a compartment,” he explains through the synthesizer, as though reading her mind, and his gloved hand slides between the collar and her neck as he wedges the knife into the device. A small pop lets her know he’s pulled it loose, and he frowns as he explains the circuit to her.

She frowns, too, when he finishes answering her questions. “There’s no way to break the circuit without blowing all of us apart,” she answers, sounding surprisingly calm for someone flirting with death at the moment. “The only way to release it is to use the switch—the one the Dodger has.”

He slides the knife back into the pocket of those leather pants before taking her elbow. “Then we’ll release it,” he assures her, and his voice is eerily calm—the kind of calm Felicity has always associated with resolute serial killers. And, for the very first time, she's afraid of what he’ll do. “Digg,” he calls as he hands Felicity the coat she checked earlier, “the police are already here—get their attention and let them know an item has been stolen.” He guides Felicity forward, to the door. “I’m going after this bastard, and you’re coming with me.”