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The foundry had never been so full of chaos since Oliver had singlehandedly decimated it, fighting a hallucinated version of Slade. The irony lay in the cause of the bustle now, which was the actual Slade who kidnapped Thea without a trace. It had been two hours, but Felicity found no hint of Thea’s whereabouts after combing through all surveillance footage in the area. Everyone knew Slade was behind this disappearance, but the how or more importantly, where remained to be seen.
Oliver was dangerously quiet, but restless; spending the time pacing, casting a shadow over Felicity’s form when he hovered over her, or attempting to break his fight dummies. After exhausting the salmon ladder, he let Sara take over while he sparred with Diggle. Roy appeared to be on a different continent; vacantly staring at the remaining pieces of the bracelet he had given Thea. He had not moved from his position since he came down.
No one wanted to state the obvious gravity of the situation, but Felicity was waiting for anyone to pop the cap and release the pressure building in the room. It was a matter of time before someone would crack.
“Any trails of Thea yet?” Oliver asked, hovering over Felicity for the tenth time. She sighed.
“I want to find her as much as you do, but invading my tech-bubble is not going to make her whereabouts magically poof on the screen,” Felicity replied, waving her hand.
She kept her eyes glued to the monitor. He was beginning to test the last thread of patience she had left in her. Little did she know that a lot more than patience would be tested. The sharp screech of a table being pushed away broke the silence.
Roy pounded his fist on the table, dangerously close to Felicity’s arm. She couldn’t help but release a tiny gasp and guard her head with her arms. He then punched his fist straight through one of the monitors and shards sprayed everywhere.
“Tell me you got something, Felicity!” The way he screamed her name terrified her, and her body flinched. Before she could respond, she heard a bowstring pulling back with an arrow aimed at Roy’s head.
“You. Need. To. Leave,” Oliver said, keeping his voice barely above a whisper, but the clipped tone and piercing glare betrayed his calm exterior. Roy’s shoulders tensed and without even turning around, he grabbed the arrow and snapped it like a twig.
“You know that won’t stop me. All of you are fuckin’ useless. The hell with this. I’m finding her on my own.” Roy released the broken arrow from his hand and thundered out of the foundry without making eye contact.
“I’ll go follow him and talk some sense into that kid,” Sara said, watching Oliver. “You guys stay behind for Thea.”
“No, you won’t. Not without backup,” he snapped.
“Ollie, you need to find your sister and I know what I’m doing. Stay,” she ordered, gathering her staff and her outfit.
“Hey, let it go,” Felicity said and tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder. Oliver gave her a confused look.
“Why? You just saw him. You could have gotten hurt!” He didn’t mean for the last statement to echo in the lair but it did, causing Sara and Diggle to look up.
“But he didn’t hurt me. I’m fine. I know a thing or two of how maddeningly frustrating it can be, not knowing where someone you love is. Or worse, knowing they are in danger while you’re sitting on the sidelines waiting for them to come home,” her voice faded, and although she did not want to, she let her hand drop to her side. Oliver’s expression softened and he grazed his hand on the back of her arm.
“Felicity, I-” he dropped his hand to her wrist, but she cleared her throat. She was entering a territory she did not want to touch with a ten foot pole, which Sara would happily provide her with.
“I’ll find her. These hands were meant for hacking and finding the truth.” She raised her hands up and wiggled her fingers, forcing a tight smile.
“I know you will.” He barely hinted at a smile and walked away. Oliver would never tell her that he knew the double meaning of her words tonight.