Code of Silence

Untitled Part 26

Felicity huddled in the life raft as Oliver maneuvered them around, trying to find any survivors of the crew. There were none. It was pitch black outside so he quit rowing and decided to wait until morning. He could hear Felicity softly weeping and he reached over and pulled her close to him. She was shaking violently and he prayed she was not injured. Anger coursed through his veins as he held her close. Someone had sabotaged the boat. He tried to think of who might be trying to kill him, but being a mob boss meant you had lots of enemies.

But his rage was for the fact that Felicity had been in the cross-hairs as well. Whoever was trying to kill him did not hesitate to put her in danger as well and for that alone, when he found them, they would die.

Felicity gripped his shirt tightly in her fist as tears flowed down her cheeks. She couldn't stop shaking and her side was throbbing. Oliver leaned down and whispered in her ear. "I am here my love. I will keep you safe. Are you hurt?"

Felicity shook her head no. She was not sure why her side was hurting but at this point she didn't want Oliver to worry about her. She needed him to focus on getting them to safety.

They clung to each other, the waves softly rocking the boat, the quiet, deep around them. At some point they must have drifted off to sleep because suddenly Felicity was opening her eyes as the sun started to rise. She gasped when she was able to see around them. There was debris everywhere and a couple of bodies were floating in the water. She didn't look at them closely enough to see who they were. Oliver was already starting to row, and Felicity glanced around trying to see land. She could see the barest shadow off in the distance and she knew Oliver was heading that way.

"We are close to land. That is Spain in the distance." Oliver said as he rowed. He was feeling sore as well but overall felt in good shape. He knew they needed to make it to land and then they could figure out their next step. Suddenly Oliver noted a boat in the distance. It was nearing them pretty quickly and as it got closer, Oliver could hear Russian being shouted. Felicity perked up and hearing the men talking she looked at Oliver with hope.

"They are Bratva!", she said.

Oliver looked at her in surprise. As the boat approached the men yelled at them to hold up their hands, and Felicity answered them in Russian. She explained who they were and about their boat going down and soon they were on the boat, blankets around their shoulders, and the men working to make them comfortable. Being the niece of the Pahkan had its benefits and soon the boat was speeding back to shore. They found out that the men had come this far south on the shoreline chasing a drug shipment and had been about to return to shore when they saw their raft on their radar. The men always patrolled these waters and knew every boat that transversed the area, so having seen the life raft had been a red flag for them.

Felicity started to hyperventilate and Oliver realized she was having a panic attack. She had never had them before and he realized they must have been triggered by her fear and the boat sinking. He pulled her to his chest and gently stroked her back as he spoke to her.

"Breath baby!" He said. He pressed her ear to his chest. "Listen to my heart beat." He held her and rocked her slowly and soon Felicity relaxed against Oliver. They were tired and wet but she was starting to relax and Oliver felt good knowing they were being taken to see her Uncle. They could decide where to go from there.

PRESENT DAY

Slade walked by Felicity's side as they went from shop to shop. She had decided to buy Zoya some clothes and wanting to get her out of the house for a while had decided to take Zoya with her. Slade was by Zoya's side and another guard behind them as Felicity made her purchases and then headed out the door. She was laughing as Zoya was reaching for Slade and he finally caved and took her in his arms. Slade had become Zoya's personal playmate and the time he had spent with her had been rewarding. It made him feel like a father again and as he thought of his son, a sadness filled his chest. He missed him desperately. Slade laughed as Zoya cooed at him when suddenly he saw Felicity stop beside him. He looked where her gaze had landed and immediately stiffened.