Thriving

Hostage

The rest of the drive was silent. Both Jessica and Oliver were too busy blaming themselves to say an actual word to one another.

It wasn't until they actually got inside the unopened club that Jessica finally decided to speak.

"All right, we're here. What's so important that I need to see it now?" Jessica asked, glancing around the empty space.

"It's in the basement." Oliver kept walking towards the back where there was a short hallway with a single door at the end locked with a keypad.

"The basement?"

Oliver punched a code into the keypad and opened the door. He entered first, leading the way down a metal staircase.

Jessica hesitantly followed. She wasn't sure what she expected Oliver to show her. Sure, she had a list of possibilities and guesses in her head but, nothing on that list came close to what was actually in the basement.

"Oh, my god." Jessica breathed out. She stood frozen at the end of the staircase, staring at a massive computer set-up, a workbench, a few training dummies, and dozens of shelves and drawers storing weapons and medical supplies. "You're the vigilante."

Oliver nodded. "I am."

Jessica's surprise wore off and morphed into anger pretty quickly. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't arrest you right now."

"Because we can find Amber."

"We?" Jessica scoffed. "You and me?"

"And us," Diggle spoke from behind Oliver.

Jessica furrowed her eyebrows as she walked further into the bunker. When she initially entered the room, her eyes locked on all the evidence. She focused too much on that to notice the presence of two other people.

"Dig? You're a part of this?" Jessica questioned.

"It's a long story," Diggle said.

"It better be a good one because I can't even count how many crimes all of you could be charged with based on this room alone."

"Help us find Amber and get her back home safe. Then, if you still want to arrest someone..." Oliver took a deep breath, still unsure if he wanted to put this offer on the table. "You can arrest me."

Jessica cross her arms and glared at Oliver, like a challenge. "You would actually let me arrest you?"

"The fastest way to get Amber home safe is with my resources," Oliver said simply. "You know her better than I do and can offer insight into who in her life could be behind this."

"And how do you know that whoever took her isn't someone who knows that you're the vigilante and just wants to get payback or revenge?"

"Because I'm careful."

"Careful like when you were caught on tape holding the hood for your costume?"

Tensions were rising fast. Diggle and Felicity could already imagine the verbal bloodbath that Oliver and Jessica were about to engage in. Both bystanders decided to intervene. But in very different ways.

"Guys--" Diggle only managed to get out one word before Felicity interrupted him.

"What is wrong with you two?" She shouted, her eyes darting between the distressed parents. "Your daughter was just kidnapped and you're wasting time arguing about secret identities?"

The room fell into a dead silence after Felicity's outburst. It lasted for several moments, only ending when Diggle cleared his throat. 

"I was going to be a bit more delicate but Felicity is right. You two can get mad and blame each other all you want after we find Amber and get her home in one piece. Until then, you two need to play nice.