The End Of All Things (An Arrow: Season 8 Fanfiction)

Chapter 18: The Two Silver-Spoon Siblings and the Russian Gangster

I was sitting next to Oliver at the bar, as he was looking at his phone, seeing the text from John. 

'Any word from your contact?' Oliver asked Anatoly as he walked into the bar, holding some bottles in his hands. 

'Нет (No),' Anatoly replied. 'Oh, these things take time.' He put the bottles down behind the counter. 'I don't know about you, but I could handle drink without umbrella.' 

'I'm good, thank you,' Oliver said softly. 

'If by good, you mean - how you say - moody, yes, you are.' 

'Oh, yeah, he's definitely moody,' I chimed. 

'Is this because you ruin family vacation?' he said, pouring a drink. 

'I have to send them home for their protection.' 

'Do you not think they can handle it?' 

'They can handle it, Oliver replied. 'I just - I want to keep them away from the Bratva.' 

'You mean keep them away from your Bratva past.' 

'Dark time for me.' 

'You mean a dark time for us,' I said. The two of us looked at each other. 

'That is understandable. You are ashamed. You have truly done some terrible things.' Oliver gave him a look. 

'Thank you for the reminder.' 

'But you two have also done some good things. It's important that the kids see both.' 

'Right, but why would we want to share some of the worst mistakes of our entire lives with his kids, let alone my niece and nephew?' I asked. 

'That is the thing about teaching,' Anatoly replied. 'It's not about what you want to say. It's about what they need to hear. Remember first thing I taught the both of you?' 

'Living is not for the weak,' Oliver and I said in unison. 

'Your children are not weak, Oliver,' Anatoly replied. 'They're also not children. Whatever it is you have to say, they can handle it. If you do not, they will never learn to be heroes.' The three of us raised our shot glasses of vodka and clinked them against each other's, knocking them back. 

Mia and Laurel walked in a while later, as Oliver, Anatoly and I stood on the other end of the room. William sighed in exasperation. 

'Oh, good,' William said. 'Do we have time for one more fight before we leave?' 

'I'm not looking for a fight,' Oliver replied. 

'Then stop trying to send us home, because we're not leaving,' Mia said sharply. 

'Good, because we need your help,' I replied. 

'Oleg is selling drive during bloodbath tonight.' 

'And how are we supposed to get in?' Laurel asked. 'They know our faces.' 

'Right,' Oliver replied. 'We use that to our advantage.' He turned to Mia. You, me and Evelyn will be going in the ring together as a team.' He then turned to William. 'You will be helping us get in.' Anatoly handed William a suit jacket. 

'I'm sorry. I didn't have time to get it dry cleaned.' He took it. 

'I'm really more of a behind-the-screen kind of guy,' William replied, 'but wow, that is a nice suit.' 

'What exactly will Anatoly and I be doing while you two are playing father/daughter/aunt Fight Club moment?' Laurel quipped. 

'When Oleg realises it's the three of us in the ring, it'll cause a distraction. You guys go and steal the drive. What do you say?'