Prodigal Son

Chapter 26

(Author's note:  This is not a short chapter.)

Game day had finally arrived.

Oliver walked with Tommy and Felicity across the open floor of Merlyn Global's three story lobby. It was similar to the street level entrance of the Queen Consolidated building with a wall of glass doors and windows, but the dark wood accents and large metal sculptures made the atmosphere feel heavier. Or maybe that came from the looks sent their way as they headed toward the elevator bank. He kept his hand at the small of Felicity's back and rather than ignore the stares, met each one directly with a blazing smile. He received three kinds of reactions: people would smile back, duck their eyes, or convert their stares into scowls.

He didn't mind it for himself. He could handle it, but it was all he could do to hold his smile and maintain the carefully crafted air of indifference when many of those hard stares looked past him and fixated on Felicity.

He wouldn't have minded if they stared because she looked beautiful, and she did, wearing another one of her new, brightly colored "work dresses". This one bared her toned arms and shoulders while tastefully highlighting her curves and legs.

Felicity would claim most of the stares were for the matching salmon-toned, ostrich tote Thea sent for her use. She was mistaken if she thought under normal circumstances even a $50,000 Birkin bag could pull attention from her. And again, under normal circumstances, he'd accept the scrutiny she received as due a brilliant, beautiful woman. Nothing was normal right now.

From the side, he studied her. Felicity kept a pleasant expression fixed on her face, but he knew her smiles. This one didn't reach her eyes and the stiff line of her back spoke to her rising tension. Nevertheless, she was coping better than he'd expect of someone who hadn't grown up in the fickle eye of the public.

Felicity Smoak was a determined woman. Getting to this day had taken longer than she'd hoped with one thing after the other piling up. They now knew why the police dragged her in for questioning.

Blood.

Presumably George Patel's blood spotted inside her car. That's where things got complicated. The same night she'd been taken in for questioning, her cherry red, Mini Cooper had been towed into the Starling City impound lot. Felicity hadn't been notified until the next day.

At first it wasn't clear if the tow was a part of the Patel mess or merely wrongfully removed; Tommy had a contract with a local guy to tow cars left for too long in his lot, though no call had been made specifically about hers, a fact Jean Loring pounced on once the SCPD came forward with a search warrant. She was already challenging the legality of what they subsequently found. She'd earned her fee so far and kept Felicity free and uncharged, not a small thing in light of the surveillance video the police produced to challenge her alibi.

Oliver couldn't blame Tommy, even with Felicity in the mix, the police were continuing their separate investigation into him. To shore up his shaky alibi, he'd turned over all the outdoor surveillance footage—inside the club he didn't have cameras preferring a "what happens in Verdant stays in Verdant" mantra. How could he have known how damning the video looked for Felicity?

Unidentifiable, Jean declared of the person on the feed. It was true, the person's face couldn't be seen, mostly because the cameras immediately out back of the club had all been smashed. Vandalism was a constant problem in the Glades, but this was no coincidence. Only one camera survived to show the rear exit. One placed far out in the parking lot, but high up, angled to get a large overview of Verdant's rear in a single glance.

The black and white video showed when he and Felicity exited the club and spoke to Diggle. Then, it showed her in her shiny dress stopping at her car to retrieve her gym bag. After that, Oliver had helped Felicity get into his truck and they drove away. But time stamped a half hour later, someone with Felicity's build emerged from the shadows of the alley behind Verdant. Dressed in leggings and a baggy, hooded sweatshirt, glimpses of light hair could be seen caught up in the hood, hiding the length and cut.