Can I Trust You?

[Felicity Smoak]

Felicity sat at her desk, and could not even think about work. Instead she stared at her cell phone. Oliver Queen had given her his cell number once, so she could call him when she had something on one of his mystery objects. She had kept it. Secretly enjoyed having it in her phone.

Having to use it now, made her feel edgy. She didn't like this, and wasn't sure who to trust. Walter was missing, and she knew the police would not find him because he surely must be dead. This damn notebook, the list of names in it, was why. But if she went to the police, then she would disappear too.

Reaching for her phone she opened a text message then shut it. Did she trust him? He had given her some really stupid lies, but she wondered if he did that so she'd know he was lieing and he didn't have to lie. Or maybe he thought her stupid and she would believe him. Or maybe he was in on it, and his mystery jobs where apart of the whole mess.

Opening the text again she stared at it. To, Oliver Queen. She touched the spot to type and paused. Did she trust him? If Walter was alive, this was his life. So did she trust him with her life, and Walter's life? 'I need to talk to you. It's important. Not at work or home. You pick the place. Please.'

Staring at it for a moment longer, she closed her eyes and pressed send.

[Oliver Queen]

Oliver was still basking in the relief that Thea was released from custody, and furthermore, that she was seeing sense by taking Laurel's offer. It was the best deal she could have been given, and he knew that Laurel would teacher her valuable lessons. He only hoped that the drugs and rebellion stopped here. He was too afraid for what could happen if Thea continued to live like this. But he couldn't blame her for it. She had endured so much. Their father's death -- and finding out the truth about their father -- Walter's disappearance, and . . . well, Oliver's presumed death. But he was here now, and wanted to be here for Thea more. His father's list kept him busy but he knew that family was also a priority. So for tonight, he was just home, letting Thea rest a little before her work started. He was doing something he did not do often: relaxing on the couch. Watching the news. So when his voice went off, he assumed it was Diggle, or perhaps Tommy. Or anyone . . . other than who showed up on the ID. That, was not a name he had been expecting and he grew both curious and slightly concerned.

Felicity wanted to speak to him, but not at his house or work. She had been a great help, whether she knew it or not, to his cause. Had she not given him the information he'd asked for . . . who knows how set back they could have been. So he wanted to be there for her, just as she was for him. He thought of another place they could meet at. It seemed she wanted it somewhat public. Somewhere comfortable. Meet me at Big Belly Burger. I'll be waiting. With that message he immediately got off the couch, grabbed his coat, put on his shoes and was out the door.

[Felicity Smoak]

Big Belly Burger. That was unexpected for a man who was particular of what he put in his body. Still, she wasn't going there for the food. Putting the notebook in her purse, she left work, and went to her car. Driving down to the Glades, she parked somewhere safe and sat there. She still wasn't sure.

Oliver was a good guy, and she felt she could trust him. She'd had this debate for weeks now, and knew she needed to speak up before anything more happened to Walter--if he was even still alive. She could see up in the distance that Oliver had arrived and was going in, and even still it was another 15 minutes before she could force herself to get out of the car and walk to the door.

She could see him wave from the window, but she didn't wave back. She was too worried. Her whole body felt tight from the stress of this choice. "Hi." She greeted once she was inside. He greeted her back, and she stalled for a moment, while trying to speak calmly. "Thanks for meeting me. I was nervous to come to your house."

[Oliver Queen]

Once Oliver arrived, he parked and went inside. His eyes scanned the crowd, not seeing Felicity yet. To make sure she would see him, he decided to sit at the stool by the window. Not feeling very hungry -- which was fairly normal for him -- he just ordered a coffee and sat quietly, letting his mind wander as he stared out the window at the falling rain. He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting here but soon enough, he saw Felicity walk by. He waved from the window to make sure she would see him, and smiled. A genuine smile. There was something about her that always made him do so. Her little babbles, her slips, her awkward comments . . . it was refreshing, to be able to be around someone like that. Someone who didn't bring intensity, or pressure, or anything else that Oliver felt weighed down by.

Continuing to smile, he watched her as she came in and greeted him. "Hi," he replied in return. He noticed that she didn't take a seat, and could tell that something was wrong. She seemed, nervous. Hesitant. Uncomfortable. While one may argue that those feelings were also associated with her babbles, this was of a different kind. She continued to thank him for meeting her, stating that she was nervous to come to his house. That was interesting, and once again, he found himself smiling at her admittance. "Ok," he said, letting out a small chuckle along with the word. Usually he forced himself to hold back a smile but this time, things felt a bit more casual. This time, she had asked to see him about . . . something.

[Felicity Smoak]

Oliver seemed to be in a good mood today, and she hated that she was about to ruin it. "The thing is, I've been debating whether or not to share this with you for weeks." She admitted, knowing that was bad. She should have spoken up before but it was hard, and she was afraid. Starling City wasn't really safe right now between this Notebook, and everything that had been happening with the crime rates.

Was she even doing the right thing? "Can I trust you?" She asked, then explained why she felt the need to ask. "I'm not an idiot. You've dropped some fairly ridiculous lies on me, and yet I still feel like I can trust you." Because they were so big, she wanted to believe he meant for her to know they were lies. "Why is that?" She hoped he would give her something. Anything! Prove to her this was a good idea.

[Oliver Queen]

She had been thinking about this for weeks? That was, interesting. It made him all the more curious about what this was pertaining to. Had she somehow managed to link him to the Hood and realize why he had been asking her to do all that he had? He remained calm though. Because, he trusted her, or well, trusted her more than others since trust wasn't something that came easily for Oliver. And ironically, she too began to speak about trust. When she asked if she could trust him, a puzzled look crossed his face and he made no attempt to hide it as he looked at her with clear confusion. Why was she asking him this? She went on to explain that she was aware of his ridiculous lies. He . . . knew they were far fetched. But she had never questioned them. Or well, had never refused to do what he asked despite her knowing he was lying to her. That was why he continued to go to her. That was where this semblance of trust he felt for her came from, and it was something that continued to grow.

She asked why it was that she could trust him, and he wanted to lighten the mood a little. He wanted to put her at ease because she still seemed tense and uncertain. "I have one of those faces," he joked. He noticed that his attempt to humor her had not worked, and that instead, she had looked away. The smile faded from his own lips and he re-composed himself. "Sorry," he apologized, now aware that that was not the answer she was looking for. She was genuinely asking him a question, and he couldn't play it off or use humor to lighten whatever load she was carrying. So instead, be became more serious, he looked at her, making direct eye contact and spoke in a sincere voice. "Yes. You can trust me." He wanted her to know that. She could trust him with anything. So he hoped she would believe him and let herself tell him what was burdening her so that he could help in whatever way possible.

[Felicity Smoak]

He joked, and gave her the answer she almost expected. The one that lined up with all the jobs he had her do, and their 'stories'. Looking away, she almost went to the door, and changed her mind, but then he apologized, and became serious, as if knowing she needed him to take her seriously right now. "Then I have something to show you." It was now or never.

She opened her purse, and pulled out the tan notebook. She paused a moment with it in her hand, and passed it too him. It had once been blank but she'd managed to get the words to stay visible by using---foucse. "Have you ever seen this before?" She asked when he seemed to react to the sight of it. Not much, but enough to make her wonder. Or maybe she was reacting to handing it too him and just reading what she wanted.

[Oliver Queen]

Oliver froze when he saw her pull out a very familiar looking book. It couldn't be. It couldn't be what he thought it was. He paused before taking it, slightly folding his lips inward as he opened it, afraid of what he would see inside. And his fears were confirmed. For as he skimmed through the pages, he saw the names of the people that were also on his list. A list given to him by his father before he took his own life. He had thought the list was created by his father but yet, here was another copy. One in Felicity Smoak's possession no less.

She asked if he had ever seen it before and he was using everything within him to remain composed, and casual. Without looking at her, keeping his gaze fixated on the book, he answered her question with yet another lie. "No." It was for her own good. Her own protection. Did she know what this list was? How did she get it? Who gave it to her? How was this possible? "Where'd you get it?" He asked, continuing to make his tone sound casual when really, so many thoughts raced through his mind and so many emotions raced through his heart. It didn't exactly make him proud that he had to lie to her when she was entrusting him with this . . . but as he previously recognized, it was for her own good.

[Felicity Smoak]

She had expected so many questions from him. What was it. What were the names. Questions about what he was looking at, and why she thought it a big deal. Instead he seemed to recognized the power the book held, because instead of what, and why, or any other question he could have asked--it was where. Felicity wondered if he knew more then he let on, and she hoped he did--for Walter.

"From your step-father." She told him, while watching his face, and feeling like she needed to do something or say something. She had been so ready to explain everything, but he only wanted to know about how she got it. "From Walter." Who was now missing and while everyone thought they should be looking for him, she thought he was dead. The other man had died, and she'd kept this scary secret, but she couldn't keep it any more.

[Oliver Queen]

Walter. What had he gotten himself involved with? How did he get this? Did he tell anyone else other than Felicity about this? If he had told her, it meant he had asked her to look into it, because of her skills. Oliver looked at her when she revealed it was his step father and glanced down at the book again. He was doing all he could to keep his voice from shaking and remain perfectly calm in this moment. If he did something telling, then she would know. She would start to suspect something, if she didn't already. Since, after all, she had commented on his ridiculous lies. He knew they weren't the best excuses, but she had never questioned them enough. Never demanded to know the truth to do the shop. She never had that whole 'tell me or I won't help you' mentality. And he had greatly appreciated that. Though right now, he couldn't tell her the truth. He absolutely could not.

"Um, well, where did he get it?" He was fully aware that his voice did not come out as steady as he liked but he was trying. Perhaps he could just blame it on the fact that Walter was still missing and he was greatly worried for him -- because that certainly wasn't a lie. If Walter had a list like this, then the likelihood that he was dead suddenly increased and . . . Oliver felt devastated with that thought.

[Felicity Smoak]

Walter had tried to keep her from this at first, but she could tell he was worried when he trusted her. It had made her feel good to know a nice man like Walter trusted her, but when he went missing she felt helpless. She wanted to help him. "He said he found it in your house." Felicity began to explain, knowing this wasn't easy to hear. It was his mother, and from all points--the book and the other thing Walter asked her to look into--his mother looked guilty.

Felicity didn't think Moria Queen was the type to make her husbands go away, but this was the 2nd one she lost. So either whatever Moria was into, was killing off her family, or she was the one doing it. "That it belongs to your mother."

"Walter thought she was hiding something. Something more, and He wanted me to look into it, but then he vanished." She paused, for a moment building the courage to tell him more. Thought it hurt her to say, and even though her tone was soft, there was regret and slight fear in her tone. "I think this list might have cost Walter his life."

[Oliver Queen]

It took all of Oliver's strength to withhold his emotions and suppress any sort of reaction when Felicity revelaed that Walter said that the list came from his house: from Oliver's mother. No. That couldn't be right. But at the same time, Oliver knew full well that Walter had no reason to lie. There had to be a logical explanation for this. Something that did not incriminate his mother. Because . . . what Felicity, or well what Walter had suggested . . . was impossible. How could his mother have something to do with this list? How could there even be a copy of it when it had been compiled by his father? There was more to it, obviously. There was something grander going on. And he needed to get to the bottom of it. Yet he feared what he may find going down that path, now knowing that his mother was somehow involved.

He looked at Felicity, doing all he could to remain calm and composed, and not letting his curiousity be misinterpreted. He had to pretend he was curious because he knew nothing. Not curious because he already knew too much. He wasn't sure how much silence had passed before he finally spoke, knowing he had to give her something. She was entrustig him with something so huge, and he wanted to help alleviate some of the burden that was this list. She had no idea what she had stumbled across. "Is it alright if I hang on to this?" He both asked and said in a tone that suggested it was also partly a statement. "It'll be easier to look into if I have it with me." Also suggesting that he would ineed look into it. And that started with questioning his mother about it. Though the mere thought of that made him uneasy and uncomfortable.

[Felicity Smoak]

He 'asked' if he could hold onto it, and Felicity knew it was more then just a casual question. Whatever the queen family was into, he surely knew more then he could tell her about. Which was fine, she understood both loyalty and protection.

But nor would she lie. "Sure, I made copies of the pages." And she also needed to make sure he was going to be alright. "I know your coffee shop is in a bad neighborhood, but I don't think Walter was the first man to disappear over this." She hesitated and looked afraid for a moment. "Actually I know he's not. Only the other man, the police found his body."

[Oliver Queen]

She said that she had made a few copies of the pages. "If this explains Walter's disappearance, then you shouldn't have copies of your own." Because Oliver no longer knew what this list was all about. He didn't know who else knew about it, and he couldn't protect her. Just like he hadn't been able to protect Walter. The less people that had any evidence of their knowledge of this list, the better. And she didn't need to be involved in this any more. He would try to be sure of that, especially with her handing over the book.

She then went on to say speak of his coffee shop being in a bad neighborhood. He knew she was aware that he had been lying, but appreciated that she was not demanding the truth, but rather, going along with the false story he had told her. Her tone changed, becoming slightly more on edge and Oliver looked at her carefully. He needed to know what else she knew, how much more she knew. "What is it, Felicity?" He asked. He had no idea that Walter was inevestigating any of this . . . so needed all the facts. All the information she could provid him with.

[Felicity Smoak]

Oliver told her that he didn't think she should have any of the pages but Felicity wasn't going to just let Walter go. He had trusted her, and respected her, and didn't make her feel like an idiot. All the things Oliver has done too, even with his lies. Which was why she wasn't just going to hand Oliver over everything and step back from this. "Walter trusted me, and I can't just not try." Walter had not trusted Oliver it seemed, and for a moment she almost stepped back.

Why didn't he trust Oliver? Was it because he was Moria's son? "Mr. Russo. The head of security at work." With Oliver not working there, she didn't know if he knew about him. "Walter trusted him too. A few nights before Walter disappeared, Mr. Russo was killed." There was more, but she wondered how much she should say. Looking around she felt nervous talking to him about this, but knew he would not hurt her.

[Oliver Queen]

She spoke of how Walter had trusted her and while that was the case . . . he didn't want her to get too involved. "And now you're trusting me," he told her. By bringing this to him, it was a huge leap of trust. "If this list is in fact what led to his disappearance, then he may not have exactly known what he was getting himself into while investigating it." Otherwise, he may not have gone so far. Of course Oliver couldn't blame him for that. Walter had a right to know, especially if his wife was involved. "Don't make that same mistake, Felicity," he said in a soft voice. He didn't want her to get too involved in this. Oliver could handle it . . . in fact, he was already handling it unknown to her. She then went on to explain Mr Russo, something else Oliver would have to look more into. Oliver didn't want to make it seem like he was too involved right now. He had to remain casual, pretend like he knew less than he did, and try to convince her not to take any of these matters into her own hands. Or leave any trace of evidence that she held knowledge about this.

"I'll see what I can find out," he told her, but the thought of considering his mother was involved, still left him uneasy. It no longer was his father that was involved in something, but now, it was both his parents. He noticed her look around, and could tell she was still nervous about all this. "Have a seat," he suggested, as he pulled out the stool next to him for her to sit down. She had come all this way, he couldn't exactly just take the notebook and send her off. Besides, something told him that she wasn't the kind of person to just drop a bomb like this and run. He could tell she genuinely wanted to help Walter, which was something he appreciated. And something that made the trust between them mutual.

[Felicity Smoak]

He was asking her to not get involved but she knew she was. When Walter went missing she had been afraid she was next, but so far no one had come looking. She looked around once more before taking the seat beside him, and twisting her fingers together. It was time to lay all her cards on the table.

"The thing is. . . . I've already been looking into this book, and. . . I'm also a little afraid I could be next. I mean, I was careful but so was Walter. And......and this wasn't the first time he'd asked me to look into your mother." She hated to lay all this on him, and couldn't imagine what he must think but she also knew he was not asking as many questions as he should be. Whatever Oliver was into, she knew she trusted him. "I'm sorry I brought all this to you. I just.....didn't know who else to trust."

[Oliver Queen]

She said she had already been looking into this book and . . . that this hadn't been the first time she had looked into his mother. It created a very uneasy feeling in Oliver, to know that his mother was being investigated by her husband. Because, she had done enough to raise suspicion. But, this was his mother. How could he even consider that she would be involved in anything so shady? Then again, he could have said the same thing about his father. He had been so sheltered from all this before the island and right up until the point his father had handed him the notebook, told him to right all his wrongs, and then take his own life so that Oliver could live. The ultimate sacrifice. But for what? Clearly, there was so much more to this than Oliver had initially assumed. He kept his emotions guarded, unable to let even the slightest one slip, which was getting increasingly difficult the more they spoke of his mother's involvement in all this.

"You don't have to apologize," he assured her, rather relieved to know that she was harboring all this information and had come to him with it, rather than the police or anyone else. "I'm glad you feel able to trust me," he further added, wanting to reassure her of that. He didn't want her to have any doubts about coming to him, because they could very well compell her to go to someone else with all this. "You said you had already looked into this book. Did you find anything else out about it?" She hadn't connected the names on it to the Hood's targets, had she? It wasn't as if his targets had been secrets. He went after the wealthiest men in Starling . . . it tended to make news headlines. So he needed to know whatever else she had learned of the book, so he could better protect her and find out exactly what was going on.

[Felicity Smoak]

She wasn't sure about if this was the right thing to do, but the more he talked to her she did begin to feel better now that it was done. Oliver wouldn't let something bad happen to Walter. She had to believe that. If Walter was alive, Oliver would help find him. Even if he was into shady things as well. Laptop with bullet holes, black arrows, the needles. She wondered if he was into corporate spying or if the Queens were secretly a mob.

"The book was blank at first. I had to use---" He didn't need the details. "I got the words to show up, and they were words. It's a list of names. Some really shady names." Which explained why some of them had been targeted by that Hood guy who was killing everyone, and oddly helping everyone at the same time. "They all are of men and women who do some really bad things. I didn't look into all the names but a lot of them have been on the news lately." She paused and watched his face.

"I never got to give this information to Walter, he disappeared before I got go back to him with it. I think whatever happened to him, was because of Tempest."