Diggle pursues two Ghosts through a lumberyard. They open fire on him and then double back. One of them knocks him down, and the other one prepares to fire... and then runs off. Felicity is monitoring Diggle, and says that Green Arrow is on his way. The hero arrives on his motorcycle and a shot hits the motorcycle, blowing it up. Green Arrow jumps clear and Felicity starts up a crane by remote. She drops off lumber, cutting off his escape routes. Diggle tackles the man and stops him from taking a cyanide capsule, and demands to know what H.I.V.E. has to do with the Ghosts. The man's jacket fires off an electrical shock, and he runs off, and Diggle tells Green Arrow that they need more people with Thea and Laurel out of town.
In Nanda Parbat, Malcolm and Nyssa are fighting in the central chamber. Malcolm parries her lethal blow to his throat, and uses a bit of water from the Lazarus Pit to heal the scratch. Thea and Laurel come in and the guard explains that they have a coffin. Laurel wants them to bring Sara back to life, and Malcolm refuses. He warns that resurrection of the truly dead has only been done in legend, which is why Nyssa didn't ask Ra's to bring Sara back. Malcolm warns that what would emerge from the Pit wouldn't truly be Sara.
Oliver and Diggle return to the lair and Diggle gives her the extracted tooth from the Ghost. She warns that it will take time to analyze it and suggests that they go out for drinks. Oliver agrees but Diggle abruptly says that he has to get back to his family. Once he's gone, Oliver says that he's done waiting for Diggle to come around.
Five Years Ago
On Lian Yu, Oliver is patrolling the poppy fields when one woman, Www, complains that he must like bossing people around like he did in Starling City. One slave tries to run and Oliver tackles him. Another mercenary, Conklin, beats the slave and Oliver remains silent.
Now
Diggle returns home and finds the front door open. He draws his gun and goes inside, and finds a man waiting for him. He flashes his ARGUS badge and explains that Lyla asked him for a favor. He gives Diggle a file on Mina Fayad, the woman who hired Deadshot to kill Diggle's brother. The agent says that TSA flagged Mina flying in from Mina the night before, and promises to send Diggle her location.
Mina arrives at Damian's lair with a man covered in card tattoos, Jimmy Tell. She says that Damian's HVIE partners told her to bring a metahuman to solve the vigilante problem. Jimmy says that he plays cards and Mina offers a demonstration, and Damian tells them that one of her operatives survived an encounter with the heroes. Jimmy gestures and three razor-sharp cards sink into the Ghosts' chest. As Damian looks on, impressed, Jimmy says that taking out Green Arrow will cost extra… and Damian agrees.
At Nanda Parbat, Laurel promises Sara's coffin that she'll never give up. Nyssa comes in and says that the Pit gave Ra's a much longer life than he deserved, but he paid a terrible price. Laurel insists that she has to try, and Nyssa warns that she's doing it out of grief rather than love. She advises Laurel to accept Sara's death and walks out.
In Starling City, Felicity completes the DNA scan and says that it has half the genetic markers that it should have. An alarm goes off of a robbery at an auto parts store, and Oliver figures that he should check it out because the police haven't been effective in dealing with the city's problems.
Diggle finds Mina just as Felicity calls him. He ignores the call, and Oliver says that he'll be fine on his own.
Five Years Ago
Conklin tells Oliver to lose any concern he might have for the slaves. He explains that they're manufacturing Slam, a genetically modified hybrid of heroin and cocoa leave. Another mercenary reports that some of the Slam is missing, and Conklin figures the slave was a distraction. He has the mercenaries round up all of the slaves.
Now
Green Arrow arrives at the auto parts store and finds two bloody corpses. Jimmy steps out and thanks the hero for coming, and peels a playing card tattoo off of his arm. He then throws it and Green Arrow just manages to deflect it.
One of Mina's men comes up behind Diggle, and he knocks the man out. He tries to shoot Mina but her men open fire and Diggle takes cover.
Jimmy keeps throwing cards at Green Arrow, who finally shoots back and closes enough for hand-to-hand. The two men fight and Green Arrow knocks Jimmy--Double Down--to the floor. He throws more cards and Green Arrow is hard put to deflect them. As Mina drives away, Diggle runs out of ammo.
Double Down keeps throwing cards and green Arrow finally smashes through a door. He discovers that one of the cards is embedded in his arm, and leaves.
Malcolm finds Thea on the balcony and asks his daughter if she's all right. He insists that he wouldn't be helping Sara, well aware of Thea's condition. Malcolm warns that the Pit contains traces of the souls of everyone who has bathed in its waters, and the waters can take what they restore. He tells Thea to give in to the bloodlust and it will subside for a while. Thea angrily tells him to be a normal father, and Malcolm says that high in the mountains there is a sage high in the mountains who knows the ancient ways of healing. Thea reluctantly acknowledges Malcolm's help, and he says that they'll start at dawn.
At the lair, Felicity treats Oliver's wounds as Diggle arrives. He apologizes for not being there, and Felicity angrily says that she's had enough. She says that they almost got killed because they didn't have each other's backs, and says that they're going to sit down until they resolve their issues. Oliver reluctantly agrees and Felicity goes to Palmer Tech to have Curtis analyze the card. Once she's gone, Diggle says that it isn't about forgiveness. He doesn't know how to move forward and says that Oliver crossed a line and might do it again. Oliver angrily says that he understands, and asks why Diggle won't give him a chance to earn his trust back. Diggle drops the matter and Oliver says that Double Down mentioned Mina. Upon hearing the name, Diggle says that they're going somewhere where he hopes he can trust Oliver again.
Five Years Ago
Conklin tells the slaves that he's going to kill one man if they don't give him the name of the thief. No one says anything and Conklin shoots the man. As they bring another man forward, and Oliver suggests that he was on the island for years and knows some things about pain.
Now
Felicity finds Curtis in the lab. He's working on contact lenses with built-in HD displays. Her phone starts acting up and she finds a small metal sphere on a stand. Curtis explains that it's an autonomous communication device and carefully puts it back, warning that it spontaneously explodes. Felicity shows him the card and tells him to do a full-workup. She claims that she plays poker and quickly leaves.
Diggle takes Oliver to his home and tells him what Lawton told him about H.I.V.E.. He shows Oliver a photo of Mina and figures that she's connected to Double Down as well as Andy's death. Oliver points out that Diggle didn't tell him for two years, and Diggle insists that he has to find Mina.
Damian berates Double Down for failing, and warns that his partners are eager to progress to Phase 3 of Genesis. He knows that Mina was compromised, and demands another demonstration. Damian tells Double Down to try and kill him, and the metahuman agrees once he confirms he'll still be played. He throws a card and Damian telekinetically catches it. Damian flicks the card back and forth and then throws it into Mina's throat. He pulls it back and hovers it in front of Double Down's throat, and says that the demonstration is to show him how he deals with disappointment.
Thea is trying to sleep when a two League men attack her. She kills them both, smiling, and Malcolm asks her how she's feeling. Surprised, Thea realizes that there is no cure. Malcolm says that because she can't kill Ra's, she has to indulge the bloodlust on others. He says that Thea won't feel the bloodlust again for weeks, and assures her that he would do anything to help his daughter.
In Star City, Felicity traces Mina's cell phone to an address.
Five Years Ago
Oliver tortures a slave, driving a knife into his kneecap. Www finally speaks up and says that she took the drugs to kill the pain of the slaves worked too hard. She says that the Slam is all used up and tells Conklin to kill her. Oliver quickly says that Conklin has already killed one slave and can't further reduce their workforce. He advises Conklin to just make Www disappear. And the mercenary agrees.
Thea goes to Laurel's room and tells her that they have to leave. Malcolm follows Thea in and insists that he was trying to help, and she vows not to kill people. When she tells Malcolm to stay out of his life, Malcolm warns that they are bonded for life. He agrees to heal Thea's conscience by restoring Sara to life.
Green Arrow and Diggle follow the cell phone signal and find Mina's corpse tied to a chair. There's a playing card in her mouth, and Diggle admits that she's dead because he didn't trust Green Arrow with the truth. If he had then Mina would be alive. Green Arrow says that now that they're working together, they'll get answers.
Felicity returns to Palmer Tech and Curtis explains that the playing card contains a neural net and motor proteins. The ink is magnetite, the key component in tattoo ink. Curtis explains that it can be used to get the owner's location. However, he warns that if the owner has a deck of the cards, he can find Felicity. Double Down comes in and throws a card, and asks for Green Arrow's location. Felicity tells Curtis to run, and they get into the elevator just in time. She then tells Curtis that she works with Green Arrow and she's taking them down to a safe place. They emerge into the lair and grab guns, just as Double Down arrives. They take cover and Felicity opens fire, and Double Down fires back. He takes out the lights and wounds Double Down in the arm, but discovers that Curtis is unconscious.
Oliver and Diggle return and Oliver is surprised that Felicity drove Double Down off. She's sent Curtis to the hospital, and continues the trace on the cards. It shows Double Down heading for the expressway to return to Central City.
In Nanda Parbat, the League prepares the ritual. Nyssa storms in and vows to stop them, and the guards hold her at bay with their swords. Laurel and Thea lower Sara's corpse into the water, which starts bubbling. After a moment, a restored Sara emerges from the waters. When Laurel calls her name, Sara leaps out of the water and the guards subdue her as she growls. Malcolm drugs her unconscious and Laurel runs to her sister.
Green Arrow and Diggle get ahead of Double Down and Green Arrow shoots out the car engine. Double Down gets out and starts throwing cards, and Diggle nails him with a bolo gun. He demands to know who leads the Ghost, and Double Down says that he's much more scared of the Ghosts' leader. He manages to throw a card and Green Arrow dives in the way. Diggle knocks Double Down unconscious and goes to Green Arrow, and thanks him for taking a bullet for him.
Later, Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity go out for drinks. They share a toast to Team Arrow, and Felicity confirms that Cisco has locked up Double Down. They figure that they need a new lair in case Double Down told Damian, and Oliver says that he has a surprise for them.
Five Years Earlier
Oliver leads Www into the jungle and tells her to move faster to put a distance between them and Richards, the accompanying guard. Richards runs to catch up and hits a mine, and Oliver frees Www. He says that she needs to trust him or they're both dead, and they head on.
Now
Curtis is cleaning up his lab when Felicity comes in. He explains that he's excited that his boss is making Star City a better place, and Felicity assures him that they couldn't have stopped Double Down without him. Her phone acts strangely again.
Laurel approaches a restrained Sara and tries to get through to her without success. Thea and Malcolm come in, and Malcolm warns that Laurel should prepare herself for the worst. A guard comes in and tells Malcolm that something has happened. In the chamber, they find Nyssa standing over the contaminated Pit. She says that Ra's took steps to destroy the Pit as necessary. She says that one day she will kill Malcolm and there will be no coming back. As the guards take Nyssa away, she says that what happens now is on Laurel's hands.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 22, 2015