Lost in Purgatory

Chapter 16

Oliver could see the entire financial district from his vantage point in Tommy's office at Merlyn Global. Even though he'd been away from Lian Yu for a year now, he still couldn't believe that he wasn't going to wake up one morning and find that his 'rescue' had been a dream. The cityscape at his feet was unimaginable, compared to the island where he'd thought he'd die.

Instead of hills, forests and cliffs, laid out before him were glittering skyscrapers festooned with huge signs – the more powerful the company, the bigger and more impressive the sign. He shook his head – maybe some of these so-called Masters of the Universe needed to spend a few months grubbing in the dirt to survive, to get a new perspective on life. It had worked for him, he thought, suppressing a rueful smile.

Oliver tried to imagine himself at the helm of Queen Consolidated and couldn't. The very idea was ludicrous. Also, he'd just spent two weeks trying to persuade his mother of that fact. He just wasn't sure how successful he'd been.

Oliver remembered the conversation they'd had when he'd told her he was going to see Tommy that day – Tommy and Felicity. Even though they'd talked about it, even though he'd tried to explain everything to her, she just wouldn't listen. He had to explain. Again. That was another thing he'd learnt on the island: patience. Though even that was starting to run out.

"Mom, I told you – this isn't for me. I have a plan. You need to let me get on with it." Her eyes widened as he let a hint of steel show in his words.

Ever since, two weeks ago, he'd walked through the front door and his mother had enveloped him in her arms, she'd been telling him her plan for the rest of his life. Never mind that he was almost thirty, that at his age his father had been completely independent of his parents. No, he had to knuckle down to his mother because he'd lost five years.

Oliver rubbed his forehead, remembering. He almost regretted coming back, sometimes. No, that was a lie – especially when he remembered Thea running down the stairs after hearing her mother scream when she saw his face. The look in his sister's eyes – the combination of relief, love, and yes, anger and blame – that was something he was going to have to fix, somehow. Still, he couldn't regret not coming home after Hong Kong. If he had, he would never have met Felicity.

Walter had been there that night, of all people – Walter Steele, living in his father's house like he owned the place. He'd just opened his mouth to ask what was going on when he'd spotted the ring his mother was wearing, matching Walter's wedding ring.

It had been five years. His father was dead. Who was he to decide whether his mother should move on or not? He forced himself to sit down and answer the seemingly millions of questions that were coming his way, hoping the story he and Felicity had worked on was convincing enough.

Oliver had explained that he'd been picked up from the island by Chinese fishermen. He spun a tale about being disoriented after the years on Lian Yu, and only remembering that he had to get back to the U.S, but had been taken to San Francisco, not Starling City. He'd started introducing Felicity slowly, first talking about being homeless, and scrounging for food in the garbage, until a young techie took pity on him and started pretending she wasn't hungry, giving him her lunch every day. When he saw the look on his mother's face, he regretted making this story up – though if he'd told her what he'd really been doing, the pain would have been replaced by horror.

Or would it? In the few days he'd spent with Felicity, she'd shown him all the information she'd found out about Malcolm Merlyn, and his plans. There was something she'd been reluctant to reveal, at first. Something involving his mother. Could he really use it? Could he really blackmail his mother, if she kept trying to control his life? He cleared his throat, and looked her square in the face.