15334/The Calm Before The Storm

The Calm Before The Storm
Date of Scene:	07 July 2023
Location:	The Penthouse AKA Team Arrow Command -- New York City
Synopsis:	Oliver and Felicity meet up with Emiko while on their impromptu New York vacation to catch up quick. Before their real work begins...
Cast of Characters:	Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, Emiko Queen

---

Oliver Queen has posed:
Look, their temporary base of operations while they are here in New York may not quite compare to either the luxury of the Queen Estate, or the high tech wonderland of the Arrowcave with all of it's systems and weapons and training apparatus close at hand.

Still, it's not too bad on either front.

Neither Felicity nor Oliver can really claim credit on the luxury front -- they just rented the place -- but with the modern interior, the sprawling rooftop deck complete with plunge pool and the amazing views of both Central Park to the west and the East River to the East, well, it might not quite have all the comforts of home.

Oliver also can't claim much credit for the impromptu command center that has already come to dominate one corner of the main room, the sprawling setup already starting to creep outwards to take up more and more space. Not that there isn't plenty, mind you. But Felicity's hard work has brought at least some of the conveniences they are used to back in Star City to their temporary home.

Once the rest of their gear arrives in a couple of days they should be ready to start dealing with the issues caused by the Triad infecting the neighborhood of their newest real estate project. Not too bad, all in all.

For now though there is time for a brief interlude, a chance to take something close to a vacation -- or at least as close as they are likely to get. To enjoy the city and the company. No doubt they will get back out there and see the sights. Eventually. But for now the pair is out on the patio, the hot midday sun high overhead as they wait for a certain visitor to drop by...

Felicity Smoak has posed:
Hardwood floors. New appliances. A kitchen chefs would kill for. A living room with floor-to-ceiling windows and a sectional big enough to seat twelve. Built-in speaker system throughout. A master bedroom plus two guest rooms and a study/reading room. Formal dining room. Breakfast nook that overlooks the city. Outside, there's a private foyer with a reinforced door and an express elevator that skips all of the rest of the floors with a keycard -- a keycard that Felicity ensured Emiko had in advance in case she needed to get access to the place. It might be their 'home' in New York, but it as also the 'base' and the 'safehouse.' Privacy concerns were secondary to making sure the team had a safe place to fall back to, even if Emiko did have her own apartment.

You can't rent a place like this in New York City, with this view, unless you have connections and money. A lot of money. Fortunately, Oliver had both.

Because as absolutely practical as it was to have the privacy and security of a secluded high-rise rented through a shell corporation, Felicity was not at all put out by 'having to' live a life of luxury for a little while instead of going home to her (comparatively) tiny apartment in Star City. It wasn't that being Oliver's assistant didn't pay well, but the differences in their bank accounts was the GDP of a small country. Maybe even a medium-sized country.

Blonde hair let loose around her shoulders instead of being tied up into a ponytail, sunglasses perched on her nose instead of her normal, rectangle-framed glasses, it would be hard for Felicity to look any more relaxed without actually being asleep. She's wearing a light-colored cotton dress and wedges, a chunky necklace, colorful earrings, and a few bangles on her wrists.

"Okay... what's your most embarrassing childhood memory?" Felicity's looking up at Oliver with an eager, toothy smile. She's resting her back against the balcony railing, the fingers of one hand interlaced with his, the other holding some sort of fruity-looking drink on ice (and though it might look more enticing, it's literally just juice).

Emiko Queen has posed:
Team Arrow had another helpful resource when it came to New York City, in the form of a certain younger half-sister. Emiko had learned a fair bit about living in the Big Apple with having her own apartment there. As much as she loved her family a gal needed her own space. Plus it was conveniently closer for when she's working with the Outsiders or the Young Avengers.

Emiko also had familiarity on how to adapt it to the vigilantism. Access to open roof space was likely one of her suggestions, as it made coming and going away from street level and prying eyes an easier. So the patio was a good choice... And she would be utterly unsurprised that Oliver went that extra splurge to find one with a pool. Though that's also a reasonable source of excersize, so it's excusable.

It doesn't take long for the direct elevator to see use again as it's called down. The system probably has some sort of signal that it is being used, by one of the keycards Felicity provided to trusted others. A few minutes later it returns up, opening to allow Emiko to step out. As usual her demeanor was fairly casual, but her attention was always on her surroundings. Which almost immeadiately draws her gaze to the computer setup in a corner and more of the main room. She pffs softly. "I see Felicity has already made herself right at home."

Oliver Queen has posed:
It is possible that Oliver is a little used to a degree of luxury in his life -- at least if one discounts the years on Lian Yu at any rate. There wasn't a whole lot of luxury to be found there of course.

But there is another reason for the relative extravagance. He is not just here as the Green Arrow, looking to keep a low profile while dealing with the pressing crime problem around Phoenix Towers. He is also here as the Queen Consolidated CEO, seeking to reassure the tenants that the purchase of their building is going to be a good thing, that his copany is not looking to dispossess them of their homes. Playing the part, doing as other people expect you to is sometimes the best cover at all.

As far as a little stopver before they get down to work, it's pretty nice too. There's plenty to see and do while they are in the city of course, but it is nice to have somewhere like this to come back to.

Oliver is sprawled out in one of the loungers, a glass of iced water sitting on the table beside him, little beads of perspiration slowly rolling down the surface of it as he stretches out under the sun. "Most embarassing childhood memory, huh? That's a tough one. Tommy and I got up to more then our fair share of mischief growing up. Hmmmm..." he allows thoughtfully.

It might not be good to give Felicity even more ammunition to tease him. Fortunately he is save by the bell -- for now -- by Emiko's arrival and he glances up with a smile at his sister's arrival.

"Good timing," he says wryly. "Grab a drink and take a load off if you'd like," he says before twisting in his seat, glancing towards the penthouse behind them, that increasingly sprawling command center pretty easy to spot through those tall, floor to ceiling windows.

"You have no idea," he agrees with a hint of a smirk. "I don't think we were on the ground here for more then half an hour before she at least had the bare bones of her play area setup. It's lucky that we made it out at all. I was pretty sure that our little vacation was going to turn into an electronics seminar," he says with a low laugh.

It would seem a safe bet that Oliver is just as willing to tease her right back.

Felicity Smoak has posed:
Oh, the /other/ source of exercise was on the way. Rest assured that Felicity was having Diggle bring the salmon ladder with him when he came. That empty space in the living room that looks like its been reserved for something in clear view of her workstation?

Yeah.

/Tommy and I got up to more then our fair share of mischief growing up.../

Felicity's eyebrows lifted, her posture shifted forward, and her eyes took on a glint of hungry anticipation.

And then..

/I see Felicity has already made herself right at home./
/Good timing./

"UGH!" Felicity's hand slips from Oliver's and clenches into the fist of a villain whose prey has just slipped through her fingers. "SO CLOSE."

But her smile is pure joy as she steps away from the railing and beckons Emiko in farther.

"Yes. I have. And LexCorp should be thanking me for helping save their /butts/ when their vault almost got stolen. But /who/ already had her whole," she flattens her palm and does a big circle gesture, "rig already set up and ready to jump into action?" Fist closed, thumb pointed back towards her self. "This chick." She was so awkward. She did look over at Oliver though. "That reminds me. I told Barry we need to have him up here. I /might/ have mentioned that you missed him." Beat. "In a /purely/ buddy bro-mancey kinda way, so if he brings you flowers, that's totally not on me. OH! And, there's a /small/ chance.." She holds up a hand, fingers pinched together, "there may be some follow-up involving some LexCorp drone tech I reallocated and tasked to helping Barry, Diana, and the crew. /Still/. Four bad-guys busted /and/ a vault recovered. I feel like that's a pretty good day."

"AND."

Now she's looking between them.

"Thanks to my efficient use of time, we now have backdoors into the NYPD, traffic control system, subway system, /and/ the planning department. I'm still working on air traffic control. Those systems are /tight/."

Finally back on Oliver. "What have /you/ done since you've been here?" Beat. Then she raises a hand and points at him. "Do /not/ answer that. I did /not/ think that through."

She rolls her eyes, and /finally/ back on Emiko again, because Felicity apparently hadn't interacted with anyone except Oliver for the last couple of days and she was going a mile a minute.

"Thank you, by the way, for helping pick this place out. It's /perfect/."

Emiko Queen has posed:
"That sounds like a rather busy evening." After which Emiko disappears into the kitchen area for a few moments. Then returns with her own glass of juice and ice and joins the two out on the patio. She sits on the edge of one of the lounge chairs, takes a sip, then turns her attention back to the pair, snickering a little to herself at the exchange. "You're welcome. Having means of access other than street level is extremely handy in this city. Plus you have much more space than you would in my own apartment, it's a bit smaller."

Relatively speaking. Small to someone with a disposable income like Oliver at least. It was still on the larger end, with it's own private roof access.

Emiko sits back, takes another sip... then pauses as something dawns on her and she lowers the glass and peers at Felicity. "Please elaborate. The way you phrased that initially almost sounded like they tried to steal the vault in of itself rather than the contents."

Oliver Queen has posed:
It is pretty airy and relaxed, at least for the moment. It's something to be enjoyed. Things might not be quite so lighthearted once it comes time to get down to work. The Triads are no joke and while Oliver's own investigation into the one that dominates the neighborhood they have interest in is still in its earliest phase, they certainly have a rather daunting reputation. One wouldn't think that a criminal organization run by a 'Madame Gao' would have quite so dangerous a reputation.

But appearances can be deceiving. As Oliver well knows. A bow and arrow doesn't seem like the best choice in armament to go up against foes toting around automatic weapons. He's proven that line of thinking wrong on more then one occasion.

For the moment though they can take a moment to relax and just enjoy the day. All things told, the timing of this trip has worked out rather well. This particular locale might not have had quite the same allure if all of this happened back in January say. The penthouse is nice and all, but the rooftop patio is particularly nice with the hotter, summer months.

"No need to go all supervillain. Just because I get a little more time to think doesn't mean you'll never hear childhood tales that you can ruthlessly use against me," he promises Felicty with a little smirk, reclaiming his glass from that table beside him, cradling it in his hands as he looks at the pair by the balcony's railing fondly.

One brow arches, and the corner's of Oliver's mouth twitch once more. "I mean, I can go into greater detail about how I've been keeping busy but I have to say I'm surprised at you," he teases before letting the matter drop.

"It is pretty impressive what she can throw together relatively quickly. I mean, we're not exactly lacking resources here, but I think I still expected it would take a little longer to get her whole rig up and running. Nevermind tapping into all the subsystems already," he conceeds with more then a faint hint of admiration. "And it has definitely come in handy already, admittedly. I think we're always likely going to default to working vacations at the best of times," he conceeds wryly.

Mention of Barry and the situation in Metropolis makes him get a little more serious, though just a little. "I didn't follow things quite as closely as you, but it does seem like those Rogues are keeping him fairly busy," he admits. "And with luck nothing will come from you comandeering those drones from LexCorp," he adds. Though one never knows.

'It would be good to see him again, even if he's busy," Ollie agrees. "Though I suspect if he does show up any flowers he might bring will be for you," he says with a shake of his head.

Felicity Smoak has posed:
"I better," Felicity answers Oliver's remark about her going all 'supervillain' with a pleased grin.

/I can go into greater detail.../

"N-n-n-n-n-n-no," Felicity rapid-fires the sound to make sure she was interrupting any attempt he made to /actually/ go into any more details, holding up a finger threateningly.

"Thank you. I appreciate that. At this point, though, I've had plenty of practice. At least I know I can reliably put 'works well under pressure' on my resume in case this whole 'executive assistant' gig doesn't pan put."

She pauses.

"Which.. we should probably talk about. Later."

Well, that's ominous.

Then there's Emiko's question, and Felicity looks back over at her, nodding, her eyes getting bigger (though it's hard to tell behind her shades other than her eyebrows lifting). "You should have seen it. I tapped in to the live feeds just as this /giant/ boomerang was literally ripping the vault out of the corner of the LexCorp building. It was /wild/. Superboy flew up and drug the whole thing -- vault, boomerang, and all -- back down into the water. Of course, as far as I know, LexCorp is still being tight-lipped about what was /in/ the vault. Not that I've really had a chance to follow up, either."

That last remark, though, elicits a playful little quirk of one corner of her lips. She takes a few steps over to lean down and place a soft kiss on Oliver's forehead, and she looks between them.

"I'm going to put together some snacks for us. Any special requests? We have a /lot/ of food in there -- meats, cheeses, fruits, crackers.."

Emiko Queen has posed:
A giant boomerang ripping an entire vault out of a building is pretty wild, even when you've been working vigilante for a while. It's one of those ideas that sound so unorthadox it shouldn't of worked, yet it almost did.

Emiko nods her head a bit. "So it involved Captain Boomerang then," she surmises. She knows a bit about Flash's more infamous rogues mostly due to news and hearing about things from Bart. "It had to be some manner of advanced technology. All their other crimes had been directed towards technical and industrial theft, which would be within Lexcorp's operations easily. I had assisted in disrupting a similar effort by Weather Wizard and Mirror Master in the technology district."

But that is enough shop talk as it were. Emika drinks her juice, sets the glass aside and reclines fully on one of the lounge chairs, folding her hands behind her head. "If there is one important thing I have learned from you, Ollie... it's how to actually take it easy some times. Was never really allowed to 'relax' with the assassin clan."

Oliver Queen has posed:
'Relaxing' is something that Oliver certainly had plenty of experience with. At least before the sinking of the Queen's Gambit and his time on Lian Yu. He's not exactly terribly fond of the young man that he was back then, at least these days. Time, perspective and experience have most definitely changed him for the better in most respects.

Of course, coming back home completely focused on his mission, on bringing justice to his home and battling the criminal element of Star City didn't exactly allow a ton of time to stop and smell the roses. Or to have much of a life of any kind. Not exactly ideal either really.

It's all about balance sometimes and while he might still have a few things to work on, he's at least a lot closer to achieving that in some respects. This little respite has probably been a good step in the right direction.

He's definitely a lot more relaxed.

Or he was before Felicity's comment. "If it's about money I already told you that you more then deserve a raise with everything you do. Appearances be damned," Oliver says. Some might snicker about the company CEO dating his executive assistant, but he doesn't put a lot of stock in what others think, at least not about that. "Or if it's more time to pursue your STEM initiative, that can be arranged too," he points out before he takes her queue and lets the matter drop.

For now.

It's hard not to fall back into shop talk, and while Oliver has not been present in Metropolis for any of the recent Rogue attacks it is hard not to at least take an interest. With the Justice League being headquartered there, it is inevitable that they will get at least a little involved. "Not exactly the sort of thing that we see back home," he agrees drily. Which is just as well. The have enough problems dealing with more conventional criminals. And it's not as if they don't get the occasional high-powered foe making their lives miserable. "I think with the last batch, jsut about all of the common ones have been rounded up, so hopefully that's the end of it. For the time being," he muses.

Somehow he doubts it. It never seems to end.

As Felicity gets up to fetch some snacks, he smiles and takes another sip of his water. "Whatever you find and bring back will be great for me," he assures her before glancing over at Emiko with a faint smile. "I try to be a good influence," he notes drily. "One of the many perks in not being with an assassin clan."

He's had a few questionable associations over the years, from the Bratva to the intelligence community. He definitely knows how it goes.

Felicity Smoak has posed:
"It's not about money," is all Felicity is willing to say more on the topic.

And granted, she was present (sort of.. she was virtually present, anyway) during that whole fight in Metropolis. Not only was she helping coordinate it in real time, she's had time to process it and push it aside. She wasn't /supposed/ to be doing any of it during her time with Oliver, but she couldn't very well let Barry's team go in there without any sort of coordination at all. Not only that, but all of the civilians that she was re-routing and the MPD officers she was coordinating with to cordon off dangerous segment of the streets.

So, now? Now she could relax and focus on what was important.

Family.

"Yeah, let's maybe avoid joining any more assassin clans in the future." She smiles, looking at each of them with a little, hopeful smirk. But then she's touching Oliver's arm briefly -- a two-fold acknowledgement of his sentiment about the snack and an affectionate reassurance about her statement.

"I'll be back. Give me a shout if you think of anything."

And then she's moving back inside, pulling her sunglasses up off of her eyes and tucking them into her hair on top of her head.

Emiko Queen has posed:
"Emphasis on 'try'," Emiko teases back with a wink. Then pffs softly at Felicity. "Not like I got a choice. Nor do I wish to repeat it."

Pretending the one time to want to kill her brother in order to save him was more than enough for multiple lifetimes.

She pulls out her own pair of sunglasses and slides them on, leaning back on the lounge chair once more. "Not often we get a quiet moment like this. Got to enjoy it while we can, Ollie."

She's been half anticipating an interruption, but none has come. So while always keenly aware of her surroundings to not let her guard down, she has at least allowed herself to properly relax a bit.

Oliver Queen has posed:
Admittedly sitting back is not really any of their specialities. Getting involved is much more their style, their speed. Changing that is not the easiest thing in the world, but it does have it's rewards, that much is certain.

Who knows, maybe we'll even be able to stick to a healthier balance between work, Team Arrow and his personal life. Maybe. But there are certainly no guarantees.

"I mean, what are the chances that any of us will get drafted by an assassin clan? Again?" Oliver asks with a faint smile. Famous last words. Hopefully he hasn't just jinxed them all. Given the lives that they lead the odds might just be surprisingly good. Which admittedly does say a little something about the lives that they lead.

Settling back in his own lounger, Ollie stretches out once more, his own dark glasses glinting in the afternoon sun. "You make a fair point Emiko," he conceeds with a smile. "Coming out here a few days early was definitely the right call. After the weirdness back in star City and Felicity's kidnapping --" he says, pausing for a moment. Not to mention the raccoon suit and requisite trauma that came from the whole thing. "Well, I think this time away has done a world of good," he admits.

"We'll be ready to start fresh and tackle the Phoenix Towers problem when our gear arrives this way."

So this will be a working vacation soon enough. At least they have a couple of days to just enjoy themselves still.

Emiko Queen has posed:
Emiko Queen of course has her own personal gear, but only the general necessities because she wants her apartment to stay a personal space. But it will be nice to not have to travel back to the Arrowcave or Titan Tower when she needs more specialized things like arrow assembly tools.

That's not really important right now, even if always in the back of her mind. Which actually makes her think of something else. "Have you ever considered some manner of collapsable bow? Of course it wouldn't be as strong as our standard ones, but it would be something that could be concealed when we are in situations we can't carry all our gear on hand."

Oliver Queen has posed:
When they get together like this, it is pretty hard not to talk shop. At least a little.

Which stands to reason. It is a pretty big part of all of their lives, and even if they can find some balance in their lives, it's likely to remain a significant investment of their time and energy. And really, that's perfectly good with Oliver. He remembers what it was like to be the idle, flippant frat boy. It's not something that he ever wants to go back to. Life might be a little harder these days, it's true. But it is also so much more rewarding.

"I have been messing around with something like that. With composite materials out there it should be pretty doable. You're right, not quite as much power or range as our standard bows, but easier to conceal," Oliver agrees with a smile. "And being able to carry around a backup bow is no bad thing," he admits drily.

"We can explore the basement under the Phoenix Towers in a couple of days when we're ready to really get moving on this thing. With the construction crews coming in it should be that hard to seal of a part of it, make a little bit of a secret depot so we can stash extra equipment practically onsite," he notes with a small shrug. "Having that sort of thing close at hand should prove pretty handy."

Which is a good thing. They might have time for a little relaxation now. But the fight to clean out the neighborhood around the residential project is just about to begin.