The Way We Talk

Revelations (Talkative #3)

Thea isn't sure she likes this side of her brother.  It's not because they're in a building in God-knows-where, captured by men who want to do God-knows-what to them—which is probably Oliver's fault.  No, she's terrified of the side of himself he's displayed.  Gone is Ollie, the carefree, never-serious womanizing brother.  The man before her is foreign, cold, calculating, and capable—especially of violence.  The two guards he... took care of haven't gotten up yet, and he's currently in the process of stripping them of their weapons.  Instead of taking them himself, however, he tosses them on the ground in pieces.

"What are you doing?" she asks for what feels like the millionth time in the experience.

"Getting us out of here," he replies quietly.  He keeps digging through the guards' belongings, smiling when he finds a cell phone.  Without any hesitation, he dials a number into it.  After it rings for a while, he finally says, "Hey—"  He's interrupted by the person on the other end, and he rolls his eyes—with... is that a smile?—before finally cutting in.  "Listen to me," he says finally, his tone stern even though he's almost smiling.  "Thea and I were abducted—"  Another barrage of questions before he finally snaps, "Felicity!  Now is not the time."

Thea gapes, eyes wide in surprise.  Why he's calling her instead of the cops is something she simply can't understand, but she decides to give her brother the benefit of the doubt.  Despite what people say about him, he's never let her down before, and she doubts this will be the time he does.  She carefully reigns in her expression, fighting to hold back her outburst.

Oblivious to this, Oliver continues, "Thea and I were abducted.  She's standing right here, and she's fine."  There's another pause before he adds, "We're fine."  Thea's eyes narrow of their own accord, but he continues anyway.  "I don't know where we are, but can you get a trace on this number and send SCPD our way?  I think Officer Lance needs an arrest or two this month."  She doesn't know how Oliver knows that—or what Lance has to do with this—but she doesn't question.  "But before you do that, if you could send Mr. Diggle our way first, please?"  A pause for something that must be an affirmative before he replies, "Thank you."

He terminates the call with a swift movement, pocketing the cell phone.  He smiles at her before saying, "Come on, Speedy.  We need to go."  She takes his hand again, moving through the building quickly together.  And that's all that matters for the moment—they're together.

***

It takes about half an hour for Mr. Diggle to show up, and Thea scoffs at his excellent response time.  They could have been killed in the time it took him to show up, and he just strolls up to them as if it's nothing.  Behind him by a few minutes, though, is none other than the Officer Lance in question, looking like he simply got out of bed and put on his uniform.

"Officer Lance," Oliver says cheerfully, sounding for all the world like the spoiled billionaire the world expects him to be.  "You won't believe the day my sister and I have had."

Lance seems suitably bored by the thread of conversation.  "I'm told there was some sort of disturbance," is his no-nonsense response.  "Want to tell me what happened this time, Queen?"  Thea wonders why he wanted to call the guy; he's gruff, rude, and mocking—all qualities that get on her nerves.  "Mr. Diggle called me."

Oliver shoots Thea a glance she can't quite interpret before jumping into a seamless lie.  "I don't really know what happened," he admits, making a face.  "They stopped our car, and we woke up here.  They tried to use torture"—he carefully motions to his side and his bloodied shirt—"but I had no idea what they were wanting."  He sighs.  "Thank goodness Mr. Diggle showed up; he dispatched the two guards, and then he led us out."

It's clear Lance doesn't really buy it, but by that point, Thea doesn't care.  She has come to a more important revelation.  Oliver is not the person he was five years ago—that much is certain—and he clearly doesn't want anyone to know what he's capable of.  But the most important thing is that she now knows his earlier promise is now a lie.  He isn't going to explain things to her, to let her in on the trick.  Oliver Queen is not going to reveal his secrets easily.  And that's fine.

Thea will just have to figure it out herself.  She likes a good challenge.