Chapter Text
Sighing in relief Felicity Smoak got into line at the Jitters coffeehouse. Navigating around a new city was proving to be very difficult, but she had finally found the popular coffee shop after passing by it at least three different times. Catching a glimpse of herself in the reflection of the glass on the wall she almost didn’t recognize herself. Gone were the days of her trying to poke contacts into her eyes, dying her hair black, and dressing in goth inspired clothing. Instead, she now had blonde hair and wore a sharp business dress with the accompanying high heels, and glasses to complete her new look. Her mother had been overjoyed at Felicity’s new look and while they had a difference of opinion as to where the hemline of a dress should end and how tight it should be, Felicity had had fun shopping with her mother and had ended up with quite the haul at the very best prices thanks to Donna’s haggling prowess and knowledge of where to shop in Las Vegas.
She had arrived in Starling City two days prior for a combination of job interviews and house hunting. She had already spent several hours looking for the perfect house, but nothing had stood out to her or suited her very specific requirements. She needed something close to the city that offered privacy and that she could easily access after her nighttime activities. Felicity thought about her kidnapping and her fiancée’s murder and the path that she had taken which led her to track one of his killers all the way to Starling City. She was here in the city to find one of her kidnappers, Logan Vanags, and to make him pay for what he had done to them. Then, she planned on using him to find the others.
Felicity took a step forward in the long line and thought about the two interviews that she had already been to at Merlyn Global and Queen Consolidated and the interview she had at Kord Industries that afternoon. The interview at Merlyn Global was perfunctory with an employee from Human Resources, who hadn’t seemed very enthused about their job, conducting the interview. She wasn’t sure what it was about that place, but even if they did offer her a job she would be turning it down, but something about that place made her skin crawl. Maybe there weren’t enough of a homage to Merlin the magician, she wasn’t sure. On the opposite end of the spectrum was the Queen Consolidated interview, which she thought had gone great. The heads of the company, Walter Steele and his wife, Moira Queen, had conducted her interview themselves.
Mr. Steele had impressed Felicity with his knowledge of her resume and how the IT department was run. “Might I ask,” He began in his British accent. “As to why you are applying for a job that is well below your capabilities?”
“Yes,” Mrs. Queen agreed. “A woman who graduates MIT at only twenty should be looking for jobs that are at a much higher level in the technology department.” She gave Felicity an appraising look, which almost completely unnerved her.
‘She knows’ Felicity thought, but she kept her cool and hoped she give nothing away. Giving them a small smile Felicity answered, “What drew me to your company is that it aligns with some of the same values that I have. I have also read about your upcoming applied sciences division, which is something that very much interests me. However, when I looked for job openings, at the moment all that was available in the IT department was this position.” Which actually suited her purposes just fine. As Mrs. Queen had pointed out her skills were far above what an IT tech needed, which should would work out perfectly. Giving her ample time to use the considerably large Queen Consolidated servers to search for her kidnappers. She had also amended her resume to have her new last name and had moved her graduation date to keep them from asking what she had been doing for the last two years or possibly even connecting her to Kuttler Corp as she wanted no ties back to her father.
“That’s very wise. We do tend to promote from within the company.” Mr. Steele said approvingly. After a few more questions, the interview was over. With a smile Mr. Steele shook her hand, “Thank you for your time. We have a few more people to interview, but I do hope to be able to offer you the job soon.”
“You are quite impressive Ms. Smoak.” Mrs. Queen said with a slight smile as she also shook Felicity’s hand.
“Thank you very much Mr. Steele, Mrs. Queen.” With that she had left the building and began her search for a coffee shop to get some refreshments before her last scheduled interview of the day at Kord Industries.
When it was finally her turn at the register, she quickly rattled off her order and was given a number. She then went to find a chair to sit in the crowded room and wait for it to be ready. She had just reached an empty table when a dark-haired woman also put her hand on the seat the same time as Felicity did.
“Oh! Sorry!” They both exclaimed simultaneously.
Felicity laughed and gestured at the seat across from the one her hand was on. “We could always share the table?”
“Sure! I’m Laurel Lance by the way” The dark-haired woman, who was impeccably dressed in a woman’s business suit said with a winning smile as she stuck out her hand after placing her number beside Felicity’s on the table.
Shaking the hand that was offered to her and then taking a seat at the small table Felicity smiled at Laurel and said, “Felicity Smoak, and I think it’s so cool that your name is an alliteration.”
“Not many people catch that,” Laurel said laughing as she studied Felicity. “My first name is actually Dinah, but like you said going by Laurel makes my name an alliteration. So, do you go to Starling U?”
“No,” Felicity said, as she chuckled. “I graduated from MIT; I’m here looking for a job and house hunting.”
Laurel grimaced, “Good luck on both fronts! I just signed the lease for my apartment last month. I thought that I was going to end up being stuck at my dad’s place forever!”
Felicity nodded in understanding, “I love my mom dearly, but I am so ready for my own place!”
“So, where all are you, job hunting at?” Laurel inquired. “Have you had any interviews?”
“I interviewed with Merlyn Global this morning followed by Queen Consolidated.” At the mention of the two companies Laurel got a strange look on her face. “And after lunch I have an interview at Kord Industries. So please let me know if I get any lettuce stuck between my teeth.” Both women laughed at the joke.
“I’ll be sure to let you know!” At that time both Felicity’s and Laurel’s food came. Both women spend a few minutes enjoying their food before resuming their conversation. “Any stand outs so far?”
“I was really impressed by Mr. Steele at Queen Consolidated. It looks like that might be a good place to work.” Trying to read Laurel’s face Felicity asked, “Do you have any insights?”
“From what I know of Mr. Steele he is a stand-up guy.” Laurel paused for a second then added, “The CEO of Merlyn Global? Not so great. But I think that the company is pretty good.”
“Really?” Felicity inquired.
“I went to school with the CEO’s son and we’re friends.” Laurel said as she took a bit of her salad. “So where are you from?”
“Most recently Vegas, but I’ve been around. Lived in Boston for a while and before that Coast City.”
“Is it as beautiful as I’ve heard? Coast City that is.” Laurel leaned in with a smile on her face. “It’s on my list of places to visit, well that and Vegas. I’ve already been to Boston. My mother took the family on one of those Trail to Independence Day trips where you drag your teenage kids and grumpy cop husband around to see the historic sights. But Monticello was pretty cool.” She laughed, and the conversation continued while they ate. Looking at her watch Laurel said, “Shoot, I’ve got to hurry up and get back to CNRI!”
“CNRI?” Felicity questioned, with a frown.
“Sorry, it’s the City Necessary Resources Initiative.” She went on to explain as she gathered up her things, “I’m a lawyer, we are a nonprofit that provides different legal services to people who otherwise might not get a fair trial or be able to afford competent legal services.” She dug a card out of her large purse, “Here’s my card, text me your number and I’ll send you my real estate agent’s number when I get back to the office. I wouldn’t usually be in such a rush, but I’ve got to relieve my friend, Joanna, so that she can go on lunch!” She handed Felicity a crisp new business card with all of Laurel’s contact information on it. “It was nice meeting you!” She said as she walked towards the door.
Felicity waved as Laurel exited the coffeehouse. Digging her cell phone out of her purse she quickly texted the number listed on the card. Well, she thought to herself, lunch turned out great. If she was friends with a lawyer then if she ever got caught doing her night job then who better than to defend her?
She had just pulled into the Kord Industries parking lot when her phone dinged indicating a text message. It was from Laurel and was the number of her real estate agent, Vera Atwell. Checking her watch, she saw that she had just enough time to call the agent before she had to be in the office for her interview. They chatted for a few minutes and Felicity described what she wanted. Mrs. Atwell gave her the office’s address and asked Felicity to meet her there when her interview was done.
Felicity felt that the interview went well, but only time would tell. Feeling upbeat and hopeful she headed to the real estate office hoping that Mrs. Atwell had something to show her that would meet her needs.
After introducing themselves Mrs. Atwell got down to business. “Just call me Vera, Ms. Smoak, based on what you told me of your desires, here are the four best options.” She handed Felicity four pieces of paper, each contained a picture and the pertinent details of the property on the bottom. “If there are any that you want to go see just let me know and I can make it happen.” Looking through the selection she found three that looked promising, and the last one was just too far out of her budget.
Vera was able to arrange for Felicity to view two of the houses that day. The first one they stopped at was a definite no, but the second one was extremely promising. It checked all the boxes and was very much within her budget. She asked Vera about it on the way to the house. “It’s been on the market for a while and the owners are highly motivated to sell as they have been moved out for several months. That being said it will need a few renovations and some new paint.”
With that in mind Felicity toured the place and she absolutely loved it. The house was a two bed, two bath, and was located at the end of the street. Behind the backyard was a large park. The location was a bit further out of town than she had hoped for, but with a little bit of love she was sure that it was the place for her. Looking at Vera she beamed, “I love it, can you get the ball rolling for me?”
“I sure can sweetheart, do you want to wait in here and continue looking around while I start making the phone calls?” Vera offered as she started towards the door.
“Sure,” Felicity agreed as she moved around the space imaging what she needed and how she would decorate the space. Her phone rang startling her. Answering it she said, “Felicity Smoak speaking.”
“Ms. Smoak, this is Walter Steele from Queen Consolidated.”
“Oh hello, Mr. Steele.”
“I would like to inform you that we would love for you to join us at QC.”
Felicity couldn’t keep the huge grin off of her face. “Thank you very much Mr. Steele, I would be delighted to come and work for you.”
“Very good, when is your flight back to Las Vegas?”
“Tomorrow afternoon, sir.”
“Would it be possible for you to come in around ten tomorrow morning to meet with our human resources department in order to start your onboarding procedures? We will work out your start date at that point.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Good. We will see you tomorrow then.”
“Good-bye.” She hung up the phone and did a happy dance. Everything was coming together. She had to call her mom to let her know, and not looking at the time she called.
“Yes, Lissy?” Donna answered the phone, sounding slightly distracted.
Hearing the noises of the casino in the background Felicity immediately realized her mistake. “I’m so sorry Mom, I didn’t realize what time it was there. I can call you back later.”
“You will do no such thing!” Donna exclaimed and then told the people around her, “Just a moment, it’s my daughter, she is in Starling, I’ll be right back.” The background noises faded. “Okay Hon, what happened.”
“Queen Consolidated just called and offered me the job! I go in tomorrow to sign the contract and do some of the onboarding stuff!” Felicity exclaimed, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice.
“Oh, baby girl I’m so happy for you!” Donna shrieked with excitement and then Felicity could hear sniffling.
“Mom are you crying?”
“Tears of joy!” She sniffed, “My baby’s got her first big girl job.”
“Mom,” Felicity said with exasperation. “But that’s not all the good news, I found the perfect house for me! I mean it needs some renovations, to bring it up to date but nothing too big, my realtor is making the offer right now.”
More squealing came through the phone, “I’m so happy for you Hon! I can’t wait for us to celebrate together back here!”
Felicity laughed, “Thanks Mom. Thanks for supporting me and being there for me through everything the last couple of years.”
“That’s what a parent is supposed to do. I love you Felicity.” Donna replied, with steel in her voice.
Getting choked up, Felicity replied, “I love you too Mom.”
“I gotta go, see you tomorrow, love you!” With that Donna hung up.
Felicity allowed a few tears to fall, mostly from happiness, and to celebrate how far she had come in the last several years. Two years ago, she had woken up in a hospital bed with her life forever changed by the ordeal that she had been put through as well as Cooper’s death, but here she was putting her life back together and determined to find justice not only for herself, but also for Cooper. Wiping away her tears she decided to let the Sheldon’s know her good news before going to find Vera so she could become a home owner.
The next few months passed in a whirlwind. Donna had been bragging to her clients about how her daughter had just gotten a job and bought a house in Starling, but that it needed some work. One of the regular gamblers at her table, Al Gordiano, had volunteered his company to do the work. It turned out that his niece had just graduated from design school and needed houses for her portfolio, so Felicity got lucky and basically had everything done at cost, provided that Val Gordiano could use her house in her portfolio. Felicity saw that she knew her stuff and the layout that she had planned was amazing, the only thing Felicity requested was for there to be a panic room installed and that it remained off of the public portfolio for security purposes. She really wanted a place to hide her vigilante stuff, but figured that a mob connected person would understand the need for a panic room. “Don’t worry Doll, I got’ch! Now let’s talk bathrooms, if you’re anything like me, you’ll want the bathroom to be one of the best rooms in the house behind the kitchen.”
“I’m kind of a disaster in the kitchen.” Felicity said, grimacing.
“As long as you’re not a disaster in the bedroom I don’t think any guy’s gonna complain!” Val laughed as she slapped Felicity’s arm in jest.
“So, for the bathroom I was thinking maybe blues or greens?” Felicity steered the conversation back to more comfortable ground. By the time Val was finished with the renovations on her house it looked like a picture straight out of Good Housekeeping or Architectural Digest.
Work at Queen Consolidated was also going well. Her manager seemed like a competent guy who cared about his staff and everybody greeted her warmly, even her cubical wasn’t bad at all. She felt settled in at both home and work so she was ready to debut her night time uniform and starting bringing people to justice, specifically one Edgar Lee.
She and Laurel had become good friends and started having a standing lunch date where just the week before Laurel had been complaining about a scumbag who had attacked her client, however due to a lack of evidence the police were forced to release him. Felicity knew that she needed to capture a few low-level criminals to figure out the best way to go about doing things before she could go after the ones that had hurt her and Cooper, as she didn’t want anyone getting off of the hook. This guy seemed like the perfect target for her inaugural debut as a vigilante. She ended up hacking into Laurel’s computer to get the name of the scumbag, Edgar Lee, and any other information that Laurel had on him in her case files.
With her heart rapidly beating, Felicity stood naked in her bathroom ready to don her costume for the very first time. She pulled on the leggings and the boots, both fitting her perfectly. The dark blue boots gave her feet both heft for kicking and tracking all while supporting her ankles, she was in love! She then pulled back her hair and tightly braided it to keep the blonde out of sight. She slipped in her contacts that made her eyes look brown and pulled on the top part of her costume. She quickly arranged her weapons into their designated pockets, then slipped on the mask and pulled up the hood. She stared critically at her reflection in the mirror. The top was shapeless enough that she would not be easily identified as a female, but still tight enough to be easy to fight in. She wasn’t sure even her mother would be able to identify her in her costume. With a grin she slipped into the night to stop Edgar Lee from hurting any one else.
For the next two nights she conducted surveillance on Edgar’s apartment, but he hadn’t left once he got home, until the third night. On that night he attacked a woman in a dark alley. Felicity quickly descended from where she had been perched on a fire escape, and was able to sneak up behind him and get him with her stun baton. He quickly tensed up and then fell on the ground like a limp fish. The woman he was attempting to assault threw a hasty, “Thanks”, and took off. Using string Felicity tied his hands up and stuck a piece of duct tape over his mouth on which she had written the word ‘Justice’ on and called the police.
Using the voice modulator, that she had installed on the phone she called the emergency dispatch, “911 what’s your emergency?”
“Um, I got a bad guy restrained here at 9th and Lexington.” Felicity said into the phone, her voice hesitant.
“Sir, you cannot restrain citizens.” The dispatcher said.
“He was assaulting a woman!” Felicity protested
“If there is a next time please call 911 first so we can arrest the perpetrator.” The dispatcher scolded Felicity.
“Well, you can come and arrest this one because he’s tied up like a Thanksgiving turkey.” Not wanting to further argue with the dispatcher Felicity hung up and retreated back up the fire escape to watch and make sure that the police would actually come and retrieve him. About thirty minutes later the police did show up and took him off in the squad car. With a proud smile she quickly made her way back to her new house and climbed into bed.
The next day Felicity couldn’t find anything on the news or in the newspapers about the apprehension. She looked online, but no mention was made there either, and driving into work she couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or bad thing. It wasn’t until three days later during her weekly lunch date with Laurel that she got her answer.
They were doing their usual who got the weirder case, “So I have to go up to the Director of Sales and Marketing, Dean Smith and get the virus off of his computer, again! I’m going to block BustyAsianBeauties.com from his computer if he doesn’t stop going there during work hours and getting a virus!”
“Busty Asian beauties?” Laurel questioned as she dipped her fry into her milkshake. They were at Big Belly Burger that week taking in the best burgers and milkshakes in the city. Her mouth full, Laurel started to say something but held up her hand telling Felicity to wait one second. “Do you remember me telling you about that creep that got off because of a lack of evidence, Edgar Lee? Well my Dad told me some wackjob stun-gunned the guy and then tied him up, slapped some duct tape over his mouth, and then called for the police to come pick him up.”
“What happened to him?” Felicity asked as she leaned forward.
“They didn’t have anything to charge him with. He’s a frequent flyer, but there is never any evidence.” Laurel sighed and shrugged. “Dad did say that the guy swore out a warrant against the wacko who tazed him.”
‘Damn it,’ Felicity thought to herself. “So,” she paused, thinking, and then continued, “In a situation like that what do the officers need to keep a guy like that in jail?”
If Laurel was surprised by the question she didn’t show it, but then again Felicity did have a habit of asking odd questions. “Evidence, and lots of it.” She said as she took the last bite of her burger. “You need hard proof such as a video of him committing a crime, evidence of said crime, a witness statement, or papers tying him to the crime. Stuff like that.” She glanced at her watch, “Gotta get back to CNRI.” She stood up and started towards the door then turned around and came back to the table. “So, you know my best friend Joanna and I’ve told you about Tommy, well we’re all going out on Friday, did you want to come with us?”
Felicity thought about it for a moment before saying “Sure!” She really needed to be more social and to make friends here in Starling.
“Awesome, do you want to come by my place after work to get dressed? Tommy would drive us and you can meet Joanna before we go to the club.”
“Sure, around seven?”
“Sounds good, I’ll see you then.” Laurel turned and left the restaurant. It was only then that Felicity realized she had just agreed to go to a nightclub again. This would be the first time that she had been to one since her kidnapping a few years ago. Quickly finishing her milkshake she contemplated how much, if anything, that she should share with Laurel about her past. Heaving a sigh, she sucked down the last of the shake and made her way back to QC. The work there was super easy for her and it left her with a lot of extra time which she spent tracking down the people that had kidnapped her. So far, she had identified two of the kidnappers who had hidden their identities behind the presidential masks, which left one more for sure. However, she was pretty sure there was someone else in charge pulling the strings behind the scenes that she hadn’t seen as well as whoever the big boss was that hired them in the first place. But first things first. Laurel had said that they needed evidence to hold whoever she caught. Then it hit her. She could load all the information and evidence that she would gather before taking someone down, and put it on a flash drive on a chain around their neck then call the police. She would just have to make sure that any information in the metadata that could identify her computer or network would be scrubbed, which was easy enough for her to do.
That Friday Felicity drove over to Laurel’s apartment with her slinkiest dress and the shoes her mother had picked out for Felicity’s birthday in a duffel. Sitting in her car she tried the calming techniques that Talia had taught her to calm her beating heart. ‘Felicity, you can do this. You’ll be with friends. Nothing can happen,’ She muttered to herself. Once she had calmed down a bit she plastered on a smile and headed up to Laurel’s apartment. Knocking on the door a dark haired man with a winning smile answered the door.
“Well hello, beautiful! You must be Felicity.” His voice was smooth and pleasant to listen to, and the charm rolled off him. No wonder why Laurel was so smitten.
“And you must be Tommy Merlyn.” Felicity greeted back the smile becoming real.
“Guilty as charged.” He opened the door wider, “Come on in. Laurel and Jojo, and please don’t tell Joanna I called her that.”
“Too late!” Joanna called playfully as she stepped up behind Tommy and shoulder checked him. “Come on back, Laurel can’t decide between two dresses.”
“Tell her to wear the shorter one,” Tommy said with a waggle of his eyebrows.
“Ignore the misogynistic pig.” Joanna said with a roll of her eyes as she steered Felicity back to Laurel’s room.
Laurel stepped out with a dress on, “Tell me I don’t look too slutty in this?” Before anyone could answered she added, “I’m not asking you Thomas Merlyn!” The sound of his laugher floated down the hallway.
Caught up in the camaraderie of a group of girls getting ready Felicity soon forgot her nervousness. Once they were all dressed they joined Tommy in the living room to discuss where to start their evening out. “Oli-” Tommy started to say, a look of sadness crossed his face before he spoke. “Hype Club used to be pretty cool. So did Oasis.”
“Didn’t the cops shut down Oasis?” Joanna asked a frown on her face.
“They did, then they opened back up.” Laurel explained, she shrugged. “Sounds as good as any other place.”
Feeling like time had slowed down Felicity could feel her heart trying to beat out of her chest, the panic had come roaring back. “You okay Smoak?” Tommy asked concern coloring his voice.
She could feel all of their eyes on her, “I, uh, I.” She took a second to take a deep breath hoping they couldn’t see how hard she felt like she was trembling. “I think I’m coming down with something. I thought I could make it. But yeah.”
“You do look really pale.” Joanna remarked a frown on her face.
“Go home,” Laurel urged. “I hate that you’re feeling bad.”
Nodding jerkily Felicity retreated back to Laurel’s bedroom stumbling a few times on the unfamiliarly high heels in her shaken state. Grabbing her duffle she turned around to see Tommy standing just outside the doorway. “Do you need a ride to your house? I don’t mind, I can meet the girls at the club or have my driver take you.”
She tried to muster up a smile, “I appreciate the though, but I think I’m good to get home.”
“Okay, but text Laurel so we know you got home safe.”
Nodding she followed him back to the living room, apologized to Joanna and Laurel again and made her exit. Sitting behind the wheel of her car she drove towards home. Every mile closer to home the better she felt. Since she was feeling better she didn’t want to waste the evening. So she changed into her vigilante gear slipping off into the night to see if she could catch that douchebag Edgar Lee at it again, hoping that since he hadn’t succeeded the first time he would be stupid enough to try again. As luck would have it she almost walked in on him assaulting another woman. Felicity quickly brought up her cell phone and recorded him for a few seconds before slipping on her mask, sneaking up behind him, and once again using her stun baton to put him down. After he was down the woman he had been assaulting kicked him in the balls and ran off. Felicity tied him up, tapped his mouth, downloaded the video onto a flash drive after scrubbing it and hung it around his neck. This time when she called 911, she pretended to be the woman that Edgar had attacked and it went much smoother with a quicker response time.
Two days letter she saw a small blurb in the paper about him being prosecuted. ‘Success!’ She thought as she fit pumped. Now she was ready to tackle her next target, Logan Vanags.