Chapter Text
November 2014
Felicity towel dried her hair as the steam from the shower felt heavy against her naked skin. The fan rattled above her, threatening to fall from the ceiling cavity at any moment. It wouldn't surprise her if it did, this place was a dump.
She stared at herself as the fog lifted off the bathroom mirror, this was not where she expected to be or wanted to be, but it was her life right now. She did what she needed to do to survive.
The red dress hung on the back of the door almost tauntingly bright in the flickering light of the bathroom in the studio apartment that was – by all accounts a dump. She breathed in slowly, her mind wasn't in it today and it needed to be. This would help them, this would move them to a proper apartment, with a manager that didn't make every attempt to grope her and with a ceiling fan that might actually do its job.
“Head in the game Felicity,” she coached as she painted her lips a dark rouge.
30 minutes later she was dressed the part, her blond hair pulled to the side, loosely tousled and falling down one shoulder. The red dress catching her in all the right places, with a sweetheart neckline that was designed – she assumed – solely to cause men to be distracted.
It was 10:30pm and time to make some money.
Oliver paced around the club, he was bored, restless and frankly tired of listening to the same three sounds boom through the speakers just at different tempos or in a different order.
Tommy sat the drink down on the table in front of him, a cocktail that ought to have gold in it for the price he paid.
“You're going to wear a hole in the floor Oliver,” he yelled over the music.
Oliver shrugged.
Tommy gestured him outside where the bass was present but the sound was less deafening.
“What's up man? This club is going off,” Tommy hyped – chances were high that his earlier hit of vertigo in the basement was finally kicking in.
“I'm just over this, you know? There has to be something better to do,” Oliver lamented, eager for a change in scenery.
“There's one of those underground casinos around the corner,” Tommy hinted.
“Ah, I see you're back on drugs,” Oliver laughed, pushing his friend's arm, “Oliver Queen couldn't visit one of those places even if I wanted too, they would make me in a heartbeat and escort me, probably not all too kindly, out the front door.”
“So, be someone else for a night.”
Oliver went to retort the idea further, but maybe it wasn't such a bad idea, maybe it's just the kind of something different he needed.
“Alright man, lets go.”
“Password,” the heavyset bouncer enquired staring Felicity down.
“Snapdragon,” she calmly replied – it had taken a lot of very heavy flirting and the promise of something more (which she had no intention of keeping her word on) with the drug dealer next door to get that information.
The bouncer stepped aside and nodded to the doorman who opened the door and shuffled Felicity inside.
She caught a few eyes glancing her direction as she strode through the room filled with card tables and large men with guns – and not a single slot machine she thought, it was hardly a real casino without at least one.
She took an empty seat at a black jack table and pulled a wad of money from her bag. She knew that was at least 3 months' rent which she had got from working hard at Big Belly Burger earning minimum wage and tips from sleazy lowlifes, but she needed more than 3 months' rent, she needed enough to leave Starling City and never look back.
She understood numbers – she saw them in sequences other's didn't, she could count cards and she could do it without anyone noticing, one job and two one way tickets out of this place.
“Nice,” Tommy grinned as a waitress in a very small gold dress slinked passed him, “this is definitely one of my better ideas.”
“I don't even want to know how you knew the password,” Oliver quipped looking around the very different surroundings. Laurel would have killed him if she knew where he was – the thought at how pissed she would be actually made him laugh She can be such a bit- his thoughts of her stopped dead when his eye caught a pretty blond sitting at a black jack table.
She was stunning, the curve of her back, the roundness of her breasts – his eyes were dancing all over those areas and they were definitely worth getting a closer look at.
He patted Tommy on the shoulder and walked off, his eyes latched onto her like he was been pulled in by a dragnet.
“Is this seat taken?” he smiled, a coy look brimming across his face.
Felicity turned to the voice in her ear Oh, the universe had to be kidding, him?
“I guess not,” she sighed her eyes almost rolling – typical.
Oliver slid onto the chair beside her, she could feel his eyes on her chest and, as he casually leant back in some pathetic attempt to act as though he was stretching, she could almost place money on the fact he was checking out her ass.
She thought about getting up and leaving, but she was close. She'd already won close to $15,000 – she only needed $5,000 more and that would be enough. She would cash out and leave for good.
“So, I think you might be my good luck charm,” Oliver winked leaning in closer than she wished him to.
“I don't think so,” she snorted – it took every ounce of self-control she had not to laugh in his face at whatever this was he was trying to do.
“Well maybe I can be yours?” his hand grazed her arm and she jolted away.
She'd just won another round, maybe $17,000 was enough. Before she could think further on it a large hand grabbed at her shoulder and Oliver's.
“You guys need to come with me,” the gruff voice spoke as a giant of a man leaned down between them.
“I'm not with him,” Felicity smiled – her heart racing through her chest, she had been careful not to be caught.
“Up, now,” the giant demanded, pulling them both up like they were featherweights.
“Hey look man, I'm just here enjoying my Saturday night with this pretty girl,” Oliver smiled.
Felicity rolled her eyes, the idiot actually thinks he can charm his way out of this?
They were marched down a back hall into the manager’s room – a man about a foot above hobbit size with a poorly placed toupee and far too much cologne.
“Mr Queen, what brings you to these neck of woods? You're hardly our normal clientele,” he grinned, lighting a cigar as he placed his feet on his desk.
Great, it's his fault, Felicity screamed internally.
“The pretty blond here is your partner huh?” a drawn out inhale on the cigar.
“While I was hoping for that by the end of the night,” Oliver smiled.
“Oh god,” Felicity bemoaned he had no idea who he was talking to did he?
The hobbit behind the desk stood up and stamped his feet around to the front of them. He stepped up to Felicity, his body very clearly invading her space.
“Leave your chips and get out of my establishment,” he spat, waving his hand at the giants behind them.
“Come on man, that's no way to treat people,” Oliver complained as he stepped forward and held his arm out in front of Felicity.
Oh god, is he trying to protect me? – she almost laughed.
The giant took exception to the counter move and grabbed Oliver by both arms, jerking him backwards. The second giant took a less offensive approach and placed his hand on Felicity's shoulder, pushing her from the room.
They were both unceremoniously jostled out into the dark alleyway as the foreboding figures stared them down.
“Get off home rich kids,” the larger one snarled.
“That's no way to treat a lady,” Oliver snipped back.
To Felicity it was like seeing a primped and pampered spaniel trying to take on the pit bull of the neighbourhood.
Oliver stepped in front of Felicity, “You should apologise,” he taunted.
Did he want to get his ass kicked?
The two giants had decided not to take this one on the nose and they approached with menace in their eyes, Felicity could tell they would take great delight in kicking the rich boy's ass, however she wasn't about to be caught up in the crossfire.
“Stay behind me,” Oliver instructed, his hands attempting to draw a line between the giants and Felicity.
She sighed as she shook her head and used her gold pumps to flick a length of wood up from next the dumpster beside them.
She caught it and in an instant reflex spun it like a baton, just enough to gain the momentum she needed, one, two, three, the wood came down heavy on the base of the larger one's head sending him stumbling backwards, she took the opportunity and planted a swift side kick to his liver which caused him to lose his balance. As he fell like a giant redwood she finished him with a roundhouse kick – the heel of her shoe was definitely going to leave a mark.
It took the other one that long to grasp what was happening. He grabbed her arm and went to swing. She caught him under the chin with the wooden weapon, likely breaking his jaw. She twisted her body around, her arm releasing from his grip and taking his own arm around to an unnatural position behind his back, she finished with a heel kick to the middle of his spine sending him head first into the dumpster.
Oliver stood there, his mouth aghast.
“Who are you?” he questioned his eyes wide in shock.
“I'm positive that is something you don't need to know, Oliver,” Felicity replied as she kicked off her heels and scaled the fence at the end of the alleyway.
It took a moment before Oliver realised he'd never told her his name, but before he could say anything she was gone and he was the only conscious one left in the alleyway.