- Laurel Lance: Diaz is in A.R.G.U.S. custody. He's not running around free. Trust me. I would be thrilled to see his head explode, but is it really worth the consequences?
- Felicity Smoak: Yes, it is worth every consequence. I have to protect my family.
- Laurel Lance: By family you mean you, Oliver, and your baby?
- Felicity Smoak: What, are you psychic now?
- Laurel Lance: Well, there's no wine or champagne and no caffeine on this mission, and that - that is a pregnant lady amount of chocolates you just consumed.
- Felicity Smoak: I ate that much chocolate before I was pregnant.
- Felicity Smoak: You want to know why I didn't kill Diaz. I wanted to. I was ready to. But then I realized killing Diaz wasn't going to prove anything. The whole reason I wanted Diaz dead was to protect our family, and... what our family needs is a fresh start, one in the light just like you're doing. I want our children to know that they are the most important thing to us and that we would do anything... anything for them.
- Oliver Queen: You said "children".
- Felicity Smoak: I'm pregnant.
- Rene Ramirez: He's still not answering your calls.
- Oliver Queen: No.
- Rene Ramirez: Zoe froze me out when I first lost custody. Don't worry. He'll come around. You just got to be patient.
- Oliver Queen: Patience is not really my thing, Rene. But thank you.
- Felicity Smoak: You don't get to go free.
- Ricardo Diaz: Honey, didn't we go through this already? You don't have what it takes.
- Felicity Smoak: [cocking her gun's hammer] I do, and I'm not scared of you, and I am stronger than you are, which is why I'm not going to kill you.
- [from behind, Dig knocks Diaz out]
- Felicity Smoak: I thought Dante was the objective.
- John Diggle: He is the objective, just not the priority. Not this time.
- Oliver Queen: Any word on when Dinah is coming back?
- Rene Ramirez: Well, she's already tried to check herself out of the hospital a couple of times. Patience is also not really her thing.
- Oliver Queen: Working a new case?
- Rene Ramirez: Not exactly. It's for your sister.
- [seeing his look]
- Rene Ramirez: Yeah. That's still weird to say out loud.
- Felicity Smoak: Okay, Operation Blow the Head Off the Dragon is officially a go. I overrode A.R.G.U.S.'s security protocols and accessed the bomb in Diaz's brain, which means as soon as Dig's Ghost Initiative mission's over, one click.
- [snapping her fingers]
- Felicity Smoak: Boom!
- Laurel Lance: [on her phone, distracted] That's great.
- Felicity Smoak: High score on "Candy Crush"?
- Laurel Lance: I'm working.
- Felicity Smoak: I'm sorry. I didn't realize that being a fake lawyer was more interesting than getting revenge on the bastard who killed Quentin.
- Adult Zoe Ramirez: I don't know how we're gonna use this old stuff to find Felicity. It's like a tech time capsule.
- Dinah Drake: Here goes nothing.
- Adult Zoe Ramirez: [the power, and the computers, turn on] Whoa.
- Adult William Clayton: And we have liftoff.
- Mia Smoak: What do you have against our parents? Seems like you came out all right. You're super-rich.
- Adult William Clayton: Well, let's see. Oliver, being my dad, got my mom killed. Then he and Felicity promised to stay in my life after my grandparents took custody, and then I never heard from them again, and my whole justification for it, you know, that it's hard for publicly recognized vigilantes to raise children, sort of went out the window when I found out they actually had another kid, which means that they just didn't want me.
- Mia Smoak: Being the kid they wanted wasn't so great, either. If you hate Felicity so much, why are you wasting all this time trying to find out where she is?
- Adult William Clayton: Because of this.
- Mia Smoak: A rock?
- Adult William Clayton: Felicity gave it to me when I was a kid, and it's how she sent out her distress signal, now nearly two decades later.
- Mia Smoak: And you held onto it all this time. It's actually really sad.
- Felicity Smoak: The Ghost Initiative sounds a lot like Task Force X.
- Oliver Queen: Didn't Lyla shelve that years ago?
- John Diggle: She did, but there's now a more immediate, more dangerous target that the brass at A.R.G.U.S., even above Lyla, is preventing us from pursuing. We're using the Ghost Initiative to go after this target without their oversight.
- Felicity Smoak: Well, I love a spontaneous OTA moment as much as the next person, but you didn't really come here to tell us about resurrecting an old A.R.G.U.S. defunct program, did you?
- John Diggle: It's not about the program. It's about who's in it. Ricardo Diaz.
- Felicity Smoak: You have to be joking. You're working with the man who threatened and tried to kill my entire family?
- Oliver Queen: I think it's important to hear what John has to say.
- John Diggle: Look, working with this monster is a small price to pay for bringing down a much larger threat. Diaz was the only one we could use to get close to this guy, and I promise you he is a million times worse.
- Felicity Smoak: So Diaz is just walking around free right now in exchange for intel?
- John Diggle: He's not free, Felicity. He has a bomb in his head. If he makes one misstep... we are taking every precaution.
- Felicity Smoak: Well, I understand why Curtis left.
- Oliver Queen: Hey.
- Felicity Smoak: You can't really be okay with this.
- Oliver Queen: No. But I-I trust John, and I believe that he would only take a step like this if he had no other choice.
- John Diggle: There was no other choice. And I hate that it came to this, but Lyla and I believe that using the Ghost Initiative is the best way to take down this threat.
- Felicity Smoak: You realize that this is the second time you have prioritized your job over keeping your friends safe?
- John Diggle: Working with A.R.G.U.S. does keep you safe, because it makes the world safe.
- Felicity Smoak: You can keep telling yourself that.
- Adult William Clayton: You know, parents aren't perfect. They love us the best way they can. Ahh, maybe I was just trying to do the same.
- Mia Smoak: My whole life, my mom told me that our dad was a hero, but everything in this city says the opposite, that all of our problems today are because of him and the other vigilantes. You knew him back then. Was he a hero?
- Adult William Clayton: Yeah, he really was, and, you know, I'm starting to think that this rock was supposed to lead me to you. Family was always the most important thing to my... our parents.
- Mia Smoak: Damn it, you are here to just talk me into joining you.
- Adult William Clayton: Well, did it work?
- Oliver Queen: Just got off the phone with John. He and Lyla are gearing up for a Ghost Initiative op. They asked me to be in the field.
- Felicity Smoak: In the field with whom, exactly? Diaz?
- Oliver Queen: I told John it was your decision. Whatever you decide after the mission, I will back any move that you want to make against Diaz.
- Oliver Queen: I know why you've been acting so strange lately, right?
- Felicity Smoak: You do?
- Oliver Queen: Yeah.
- Felicity Smoak: I was gonna tell you. There's just been so much going on. I...
- Oliver Queen: You're planning to kill Diaz.
- Felicity Smoak: [covering] Yeah. Uh, so I'm guessing there is a speech coming.
- Oliver Queen: Felicity, I think there's a better way. I-I think that, but that's my choice. I have no right whatsoever to make yours. Right after I got out of Slabside, I-I didn't realize or totally understand the-the pain that you were dealing with. I just want you to get closure because I want us to be able to move forward. I hope you change your mind, but if you don't, I swear I will not stand in your way.
- Felicity Smoak: Thank you.
- Oliver Queen: I have your back no matter what.
- Felicity Smoak: Tell John you're coming on the mission. And so am I.
- Oliver Queen: Glad you called. Thought you were done with me.
- Emiko Queen: Yeah, I did too, until I got that.
- Oliver Queen: Yeah.
- Emiko Queen: Thanks for having Rene bring that over. I'm sure it's not SCPD protocol to release interrogation records.
- Oliver Queen: Mm-mm.
- Emiko Queen: Yeah.
- Oliver Queen: Least I could do, though. It is your mission.
- Emiko Queen: It's... been hard for me not seeing you as him.
- Oliver Queen: "Him" being our father?
- Oliver Queen: I just assumed I shouldn't trust you. That's why I've been keeping so much distance between us.
- Oliver Queen: Then you give me a chance, and I, of course, immediately overstep.
- Emiko Queen: Pretty much.
- Oliver Queen: I've lost a lot in my life. People, you know, but... with you, I've... I lost time, so you gave me a chance, and I immediately saw it as an opportunity to get some of it back, but there was no excuse for the way that I behaved when I was coming aboard your mission. I'm sorry.
- Emiko Queen: I didn't realize Oliver Queen did apologies.
- Oliver Queen: Well, I mean, I didn't, but I've... grown a bit over the years.
- Mia Smoak: So? Fill me in. What do you guys have so far?
- Adult William Clayton: The same bomb plans you have, plus a map of tunnels into the Glades.
- Mia Smoak: Cube in a cube.
- Adult William Clayton: You know it?
- Mia Smoak: Felicity used to force this stuff on me. Little, uh, mother/daughter bonding time before I wised up. There's another solve.
- [working the Rubik's Cube]
- Mia Smoak: Cube in a... cube... in a cube.
- Adult William Clayton: [a hidden compartment opens] No way. Huh.
- Mia Smoak: What is that?
- Adult William Clayton: I think it's a mini-cassette. My grandparents had an answering machine that used these.
- Mia Smoak: What's an answering machine?
- Adult William Clayton: It's not important. What is important is the message that's on this tape.
- Mia Smoak: Can you hack it, or...
- Adult William Clayton: No, you can't hack this. It's encryption through obsolescence. It's pretty genius, actually.
- Mia Smoak: Yeah, so genius you can't listen to it.
- Adult William Clayton: We'll figure it out.
- Mia Smoak: I hope so, because this could be the key to finding our mom.
- Oliver Queen: [dicussing Emiko] Our team has been deputized to work with the SCPD. She hasn't been. She shouldn't be out there as a vigilante, and I would actually really appreciate if you didn't encourage her.
- Rene Ramirez: Do you really think I could stop her? Stubbornness runs in the family. Besides, this is personal.
- Oliver Queen: Why?
- Rene Ramirez: This is the bullet that killed her mother.
- Oliver Queen: Her mother was murdered?
- Rene Ramirez: She didn't tell you?
- Oliver Queen: No.
- Rene Ramirez: Look, I'm not trying to get in the middle of any family drama.
- Oliver Queen: Too late.
- John Diggle: Your job is to meet with Virgil, convince him that he should be in business with you. You get through Virgil, you get a meeting with Dante.
- China White: So our first mission is a meeting? That is way below our pay grade.
- Carrie Cutter: Wait. We're getting paid?
- Adult William Clayton: My sister? No. That's not possible.
- Mia Smoak: I wish it wasn't, but here I am. Now get the damn gun off me.
- Adult Zoe Ramirez: He will when you stop lying.
- Dinah Drake: It just doesn't make any sense. We all knew Oliver and Felicity. They never had a daughter.
- Mia Smoak: Guess you didn't know them as well as you think.
- Oliver Queen: [dodging a knife thrown at him] Really snap your wrist next time. Gives it just a bit more power.
- Emiko Queen: How the hell did you get in here?
- Oliver Queen: [offering an evidene baggie] I have something for you.
- Emiko Queen: Of course Rene told you.
- Oliver Queen: Don't get mad at Rene. I just... I want to help.
- Oliver Queen: I had Felicity analyze the composition of the bullet. It's made from a...
- Emiko Queen: A rare promethium alloy, the kind used by a handful of black market weapons manufacturers? I've done my homework.
- Oliver Queen: Do you know it was shot with a customized rifle?
- [Emiko brushes past to her laptop]
- Oliver Queen: Specs are on the drive.
- Emiko Queen: Thanks.
- Oliver Queen: I can help you catch who made it.
- Emiko Queen: This is my mission.
- Oliver Queen: Maybe we can discuss your mother.
- Emiko Queen: Rene has a big mouth.
- Oliver Queen: I'm glad he told me, okay? I know what it's like to lose a parent.
- Emiko Queen: I don't want your sympathy. I want justice.
- Oliver Queen: Except you're not authorized to get it. I am.
- Emiko Queen: Why should I trust you?
- Oliver Queen: I understand that my parents weren't exactly the best people, but... if they taught me one thing, it's the value of family, which is what you and I are, so if someone's hurt you, you better believe they've hurt me, too.
- Mia Smoak: I thought you had Archer. Why do you need all this old junk?
- Adult William Clayton: Because as advanced as Archer is, it was designed for the Glades. This system was built for Star City. So who am I looking for again?
- Mia Smoak: Uh, some guy. Paul Loiseau. SCPD has him listed as the only eyewitness to Felicity's murder. I'm guessing she paid him to say she was there.
- Adult William Clayton: Says this guy committed suicide about a week ago.
- Connor Hawke: Wait. That was right when we started looking into Felicity's disappearance.
- Dinah Drake: What about the coroner?
- Adult William Clayton: Another suicide.
- Adult Zoe Ramirez: Star City's bad, but not that bad. Someone's taking these people out, but why?
- Dinah Drake: So Felicity uncovers a bomb plot, but before she can tell anybody, the party responsible fakes her death. Now they're tying up loose ends.
- Roy Harper: So why not just kill her?
- Dinah Drake: Because they needed her. You were the last one to talk to Felicity. What did she say?
- Mia Smoak: Just the usual bull about how the city's not safe and she wanted me to get out of town.
- Connor Hawke: It might not have been bull this time.
- Mia Smoak: You guys are just junkies looking for your hero fix. My mom is the only person I care about, and I'm gonna go look for her myself without any of you.
- Kane Wolfman: This is my kind of place.
- China White: This used to be a Triad hangout.
- John Diggle: Everyone, focus. The objective is to find Virgil, and get him to agree to your deal.
- China White: Where *is* Virgil?
- Virgil: Ah, speak of the devil and he shall appear.
- Virgil: Ricardo Diaz. And here I thought the almighty Dragon was in prison.
- Ricardo Diaz: No prison could hold me. You should know that.
- Virgil: You know, Mr. Diaz, I was, uh... I was happy to get your call. My employer would like to know when he can collect on your debt. The Longbow Hunters were not cheap.
- Ricardo Diaz: We have a proposition, and I think it'll cover more than what I owe.
- Virgil: That's intriguing.
- [flipping a coin in the air]
- Virgil: Too bad it wasn't made in good faith, though.
- [guns are drawn around the Ghosts]
- Virgil: Kill them, except for Mr. Diaz. Dante will deal with him personally tonight.
- China White: Are the handcuffs really necessary?
- Lyla Michaels: Until you tell us which one of you tipped off Virgil.
- Carrie Cutter: Hey, we were caught in the same ambush. In case you missed the show out there, we almost died.
- Lyla Michaels: We just finished the analysis of the phone call between Diaz and Virgil. No obvious ciphers or patterns.
- John Diggle: Okay. Well, if Diaz was telling the truth, then Virgil must have been tipped off by someone else.
- Lyla Michaels: Probably the same someone who's been blocking us at A.R.G.U.S., and now they know we're using the Ghost Initiative to go after Dante. We need to catch him before they shut us down completely. Any luck figuring out his next move?
- John Diggle: Well, we did manage to find this. It's an Italian Florin coin circa 1300s.
- Lyla Michaels: Wouldn't have pegged Virgil as a coin collector.
- John Diggle: He wasn't. It's a fake. Turns out there's a microchip hidden inside.
- Lyla Michaels: Well, that sounds promising.
- John Diggle: Unfortunately, the data's very heavily encrypted. I don't really trust giving it to an A.R.G.U.S. analyst, but Curtis did leave us his decryption algorithm.
- Lyla Michaels: Considerate of him.
- John Diggle: It's gonna take a while.
- Lyla Michaels: Well, hopefully not too long. If Dante's in town, it must be for something big.
- Rene Ramirez: Thorton's ready to be questioned. Thought you'd be happier about that.
- Oliver Queen: Yeah, sorry. I just... with Emiko. I just, I need to make her understand we're on the same side.
- Rene Ramirez: I think the problem is you thinking you can make her do anything.
- Oliver Queen: Yeah, but I've been doing this a long time. She's new, she's unsanctioned, and I'm trying to help her.
- Rene Ramirez: But she didn't ask for your help. Imagine how you would feel if, when you first started your quest, someone had basically ripped your father's list out of your hand and taken over your mission.
- Oliver Queen: I see your point.
- Rene Ramirez: Emiko doesn't need anybody telling her what to do or how to do it, and she definitely doesn't need anyone's protection. You see that move she did with the bow and switched hands?
- Oliver Queen: Yeah. It's impressive.
- Rene Ramirez: Ridiculous. Just be her brother if you want her to be in your life and to trust you. Just... just be her brother.
- Mia Smoak: You think just 'cause we're related, I'm not gonna kick your ass out of here?
- Adult William Clayton: That was the hope, yeah.
- Mia Smoak: If you're here to convince me to join your little merry band of heroes, save your breath.
- Adult William Clayton: Actually, I was just hoping that we could commiserate about how much our parents suck. I never had anyone to do that with before.
- John Diggle: We have a lead on Dante's location.
- [seeing her look]
- John Diggle: What's wrong?
- Lyla Michaels: I got a call from the Pentagon. They want me in front of the Joint Chiefs tomorrow. They're going to ask for my resignation.
- John Diggle: Lyla, I'm so sorry. I should have never forced your hand with the Ghost Initiative.
- Lyla Michaels: I backed that play with open eyes, Johnny, and I stand by it now.
- John Diggle: Still, I never thought it would mean you losing your job.
- Lyla Michaels: Then we better make it count. Dante is within our grasp, and we may not have another chance. Now tell me about that lead.
- John Diggle: Well, Curtis' algorithm absolutely worked. According to the microchip in the coin, Virgil was using it as some sort of storage device for all kinds of data, including a forged diplomatic credential from the Quraci embassy. There's a delegation there tonight with a very interesting guest of honor: Princess Noor Harjavti.
- Lyla Michaels: Rumor has it Princess Noor is planning a revolution.
- John Diggle: So she needs Dante's money to fund her palace coup, which may be the reason why he's in town, to make the deal.
- Lyla Michaels: We need to get into the embassy and stop that deal from happening and nab Dante.
- John Diggle: Copy that. Only one problem. We have no idea how Dante looks.
- Lyla Michaels: We know somebody who does.
- John Diggle: Diaz. Which means we have to put him back in the field.
- Lyla Michaels: That's not our biggest problem. The Ghost Initiative is blown, and we can't rely on anyone at A.R.G.U.S., and we cannot go in there without backup.
- John Diggle: [getting an idea] Maybe we don't have to.
- Lyla Michaels: Harbinger's in position. Sitrep?
- John Diggle: I count eleven, twelve guards in this room alone. We have to move on Dante after the meet.
- Lyla Michaels: Agreed. You copy that, Diaz?
- Ricardo Diaz: Sure thing, boss. Can't wait for you to meet Dante.
- Lyla Michaels: Joke all you want. Just remember, we're only keeping you alive so you can ID Dante. After that, all bets are off.
- Lyla Michaels: Overwatch, what's your status?
- Felicity Smoak: The feed is live, but five of the cameras are down in the southeast corridor. One guess as to why.
- Lyla Michaels: That's where we'll find Dante and the princess. They don't want eyes on the exchange.
- John Diggle: Hold on. What the hell is Director Bell doing here?
- Lyla Michaels: Son of a bitch. He's Dante's source.
- Ricardo Diaz: Looks like somebody owes me an apology.
- John Diggle: Well, Diaz will be taken back to Slabside for reneging on his side of the deal. This time, he'll stay there.
- Oliver Queen: Still need to think about Dante. He's not gonna forget what happened tonight.
- Felicity Smoak: I won't, either. You could've gone after Dante, but you chose Diaz.
- John Diggle: Last year, I had the opportunity to catch Diaz, and I let it slip through my fingers. I wasn't gonna make the same mistake twice.
- Felicity Smoak: Well, what about Dante being the greater threat?
- John Diggle: When I knew there was a choice between catching Diaz or Dante, all I could think about was what letting Diaz go meant to you last time, Felicity, so in that moment, I decided that sometimes the best choice is to just protect your family, and that's exactly what you two are.
- Lyla Michaels: Agent Bell will be getting a hero's funeral. The official story is he was at the embassy on a covert assignment that went awry.
- John Diggle: Right. So it's a cover-up. Okay. What about the Ghost Initiative?
- Lyla Michaels: It's being suspended.
- John Diggle: Well, that's some good news.
- Lyla Michaels: That's all the good news. We lost Dante, and I lost my last chance to get him.
- John Diggle: You didn't lose your last chance. I'll be the one to resign. Look. We will tell them that I took out the Ghost Initiative without your consent and without your knowledge.
- Lyla Michaels: No. This is my responsibility.
- John Diggle: Lyla, listen to me. We have no idea how far this conspiracy goes. If you step down as director, we may never find out the truth.
- Lyla Michaels: Being terminated for an opsec violation will ruin your career.
- John Diggle: But you'll still have yours. Let me take this fall for the family.
- Rene Ramirez: Her mother was murdered over a year ago.
- Oliver Queen: Ohh...
- Rene Ramirez: Emiko's been trying to find the killer ever since, but all she's found were dead ends. This bullet is her only legit lead.
- Oliver Queen: Does she have any reason to blame my family for her mother's death?
- Rene Ramirez: Y'all did become Starling City royalty while she and her mom were left to struggle in the Glades. All I'm saying is there's a difference between trust and trust fund.
- Oliver Queen: She trusts you.
- Rene Ramirez: That's 'cause I had to prove to her that she could.
- Oliver Queen: Okay. I'll prove it, too.
- Kane Wolfman: Just like my father taught me.
- Ricardo Diaz: He should have taught you how to aim, boy. You'd be lucky to break skin.
- China White: Do you two ever stop talking?
- [the fighting continues, when an arrow flies through the air]
- Carrie Cutter: [feigning innocence] Oops.
- John Diggle: [entering] That is enough. You're supposed to be training, not trying to kill each other.
- Carrie Cutter: Aww. Why you got to ruin all the fun?
- Lyla Michaels: The op in Cairo was a bust. Dante's emissary Virgil managed to evade us.
- John Diggle: Virgil was our only contact to Dante. All that effort to trick Diaz into giving up the number, and we're back to square one.
- Lyla Michaels: Not completely. We still have the records from Virgil's phone. That could lead us to Dante.
- John Diggle: Meantime, Dante is wreaking havoc, financing terrorists all over the world. I was hoping to be done with this group by now.
- Lyla Michaels: I know. The only thing anyone knows about this operation is that Diaz is a part of the Ghost Initiative, but the longer this takes, the more likely A.R.G.U.S. brass is to find out the real reason for the Ghost Initiative is to go after Dante.
- John Diggle: It's time to tell Oliver and Felicity. Our position now is riskier than ever. The less secrets we have, the better.