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The week preceding the nanotech conference and the three days of the conference McKenna gets no sleep. Her entire world is consumed with what ifs and maybes. She’s been running possible security scenarios in her head trying to find every possible outcome. She knows she’s as prepared as she can be; everyone around her is as prepared as they can be, but that does little to comfort McKenna.
The first annual Starling...no, Star City Nanotechnology Conference is a joint partnership between Palmer Technologies and Kord Industries, celebrating the scientific advancement of nanotechnology. Scientists and researchers from all over the world are in Star City to attend. There’s also a healthy amount of people who are here to protest the conference, citing ethical and moral issues in using nanotechnology. Kord Industries was the target of a pipe bomb last month, which is what has McKenna on edge. Palmer Tech has had threats sent in, thankfully nothing credible, but this past week as protesters have gathered, employees have been using the parking garage entrances exclusively to avoid the disgruntled crowds.
Oliver has not been allowed to come to the first two days of the conference. Careful negotiations had commenced between Oliver and Felicity as to how much participation he would have during the conference. The negotiations fell apart last Tuesday when a very loud conversation took place that had McKenna falling back to her office and taking Gerry with her. Felicity had strode into McKenna’s office an hour later with the news that Oliver would only be attending the last day of the conference, to watch Felicity give her speech, but otherwise would be too busy with his mayoral campaign to be at the conference.
Watching Felicity stalk back to her office, Gerry had immediately started taking bets on the size of flower bouquet she’d receive the following day. McKenna still thinks she was robbed as Patty, Walter’s executive assistant and judge for this ridiculous exercise, declares the flower arrangement delivered Wednesday morning as costing at least $150.00 and rules that Rob, on Felicity’s security detail, is the winner.
Oliver’s Felicity-imposed ban has caused more work for McKenna, who has felt obligated to keep Oliver in the loop about the security situation at the conference as it pertains to Felicity. Oliver is pretty conciliatory after the blow-up with Felicity, sending polite e-mails and texts back, asking pertinent questions, but for the most part it seems he’s trusting McKenna and everyone involved in security to make the right decisions.
From what McKenna can gather from the Felicity’s vague statements of annoyance and what Gerry’s overheard, the Oliver-Felicity blowup stems from Felicity’s reluctance for Oliver Queen, mayoral candidate to attend the conference. As a mayoral candidate’s girlfriend, Oliver Queen’s girlfriend no less, Felicity has garnered a lot of press attention that’s focused more on her looks and place in their relationship rather than on Felicity’s ability and her accomplishments as Felicity Smoak, CEO. McKenna can tell it’s frustrating for Felicity to constantly field questions about Oliver, their relationship and his campaign when she’s trying to assert herself as the innovative leader of Palmer Technologies. Oliver tagging along to the conference all three days would, in Felicity’s mind, would pull focus from the conference itself and Palmer Technologies’ work.
Obviously, Oliver disagreed purely from his ever present need to keep his loved ones safe. Somehow, they work it out because a few hours after the $150.00 bouquet arrives, Gerry sends McKenna a notice to add Lyla Michaels as a special guest to the conference for the first two days. McKenna knows Lyla isn’t interested in nanotechnology but doesn’t question it, having met Lyla and immediately recognizing a badass, kindred spirit. She’s a plant from Oliver and Felicity lets him do it, because, well, it’s all about compromises.
The first two days of the conference have gone very well. Security has been tight and unrelenting. Convention center employees all underwent thorough background checks, as well as any extra security Palmer Tech and Kord Industries brought it. SCPD has been helping with crowd control of the protesters outside the convention center. Attendees in the conference were vetted before being issued conference credentials. Overall, it’s been smooth sailing, save for two protesters who tried to sneak in but were caught without correct credentials immediately.
During the first two days, McKenna’s stress level is directly proportional to Felicity’s excitement over all the nerd stuff that she’s seeing. Felicity has a habit of darting from shiny exhibit to shiny exhibit in the exhibit hall, and walking up to random people after panels and presentations to talk. She’s seems to have forgotten all the protocols McKenna walked her through, seemingly unaffected by the threatening and inflammatory rhetoric directed at her, and by the end of the second day McKenna resorts to invoking Oliver’s name and threatening to call him to get Felicity to calm down and stay with her protection detail. It’s a bit undignified, and not entirely professional, but it works.
Lyla stays out of McKenna’s way, staying a few feet ahead of Felicity, her head constantly swiveling from one side to another. McKenna is sure Lyla has better things to do than this, but when asked, she smiles and reassures that she’s just here to support Felicity. She’s a great liar. McKenna’s pride pouts a bit that there’s any indication that the security Palmer Tech is providing won’t be enough, and she wonders if there’s more to this than she knows, but she has to push it out of her mind and get through.
Today, Monday, the third and last day of the conference, Felicity is a nervous ball of energy in the green room. She paces back and forth looking over her keynote address which will close out the conference. Oliver sits in one of the leather chairs, his head resting on his left hand, dopily staring at Felicity, a small smile on his face. There’s pride in his eyes as he watches her make last second adjustments and wonder aloud if she needs to call some Cisco guy to check her numbers one last time.
When it’s time for Felicity to go onstage he grabs her and kisses her, murmuring a good luck. She pulls him closer into a hug with her thank you. They stand there for a good ten seconds before Felicity reluctantly pulls away. McKenna spares Oliver one last look as she and the rest of the detail lead Felicity out of the green room. At once she sees his body tense up, a hard look forming on his face as he turns his attention to the monitors where he’ll watch Felicity’s speech. His bodyguard, Dig, pats him on the back before pulling out his phone to make a call.
McKenna walks Felicity all the way up to the backstage curtain. They stand right at the entrance while they listen to Felicity’s introduction by Dr. Su, a research scientist at SCU. Felicity squeezes her eyes shut and swallows compulsively.
“My mouth is really dry,” Felicity whispers to McKenna, “but I didn’t want to drink anything. I’ve had this recurring nightmare where I have to pee really badly during my speech and end up doing the I’m about to pee dance behind the podium for twenty minutes.”
McKenna chuckles and squeezes Felicity’s arm. “Just remember to breathe. You’ll be great.”
Felicity nods as she hears her name and walks through the curtain being held back for her. McKenna doesn’t move from her spot, wanting easy access to the stage. There’s extra security around the stage, and plainclothes plotted throughout the audience, as well as security on the catwalks.
The next twenty minutes McKenna watches the closest monitor as Felicity talks about nanotechnology and the medical advances Palmer Tech has been working on. The audience loves Felicity. While there’s a large portion of her speech that McKenna doesn’t understand, the audience is responsive, laughing at Felicity’s jokes, applauding here and there. McKenna can’t help but smile. Felicity is killing it.
Felicity closes out her speech and Gerry joins McKenna at the curtain, “She’s getting a standing ovation,” he beams. They watch as she self consciously stands there, as Dr. Su takes the stage again and shakes her hand. The ovation is loud and there’s flashes from cameras from the press section.
Dr. Su starts to lead Felicity offstage when something falls from a catwalk. No, not a something, a someone. A security guard lands in the middle of the stage, right in the path Dr. Lee and Felicity are taking. The audience begins to scream and McKenna bolts on stage as Felicity begins pushing a frozen Dr. Su towards the curtain. It’s then that Dr. Su is thrown back as shots begin to ring out. Felicity immediately reaches out to him, but he’s on the ground, a bullet in his head. McKenna reaches Felicity, grabbing her arm and pulling her behind the podium on the left side of the stage.
In a stomach dropping moment, McKenna looks up to see masked men in black fatigues rappelling down and she sees another security guard tumbling down from the catwalks into the audience who are clammering over one another trying to get out of the hall. It’s mass chaos and a lot of people are going to get hurt, but McKenna can’t think about that right now. She can only think about getting Felicity off this stage. In her periphery she sees security rushing the stage to help, but as one gets close they are picked off, seemingly by the same sniper that shot Dr. Su.
So, it’s left up to McKenna to get Felicity off by herself. Okay. “Take your shoes off,” McKenna says urgently to Felicity, not looking at her but looking up at the two masked men rappelling down to the stage. It’s Felicity’s little whimper that makes McKenna whip her head around to her, realizing that Felicity has snapped one of the heels of her Manolo Blahniks, her favorite stilettos, and is now holding the heel in her fist, ready to stab someone. At least Felicity is keeping her head.
McKenna returns her attention to the two masked men touching down on the stage and starts shooting. She hits one in the chest and he hits the stage dead and then gets the other guy in the shoulder, who flinches, and lurches forward at her and Felicity. McKenna uses his imbalance and tackles him, hitting him in the head with her gun. Felicity yelps behind her, and McKenna turns to see Felicity being forced up by another man in a black mask. McKenna raises her gun, but she can’t get a shot off because Felicity is in the way.
The man is trying to drag Felicity off stage, but she won’t have it. She slams her elbow into his gut. His grip on her waist loosens for a second and Felicity takes the opportunity to turn around and slam the stiletto heel into his arm. The man yells in pain and staggers back, pushing Felicity off balance. It should be a proud mama moment for McKenna, but worry quickly takes over as McKenna watches Felicity smack her head on the podium.
McKenna scrambles over to Felicity, and small panic wells up when she sees blood. “Come on, Felicity,” McKenna says, pulling Felicity up. They are sitting ducks right now. They’ve got to get off this damn stage. McKenna’s able to get Felicity into a sitting position up against the podium. Felicity looks a bit dazed, and squints up at McKenna, like she’s not sure who she’s looking at. McKenna starts to hoist Felicity up, but there are more shots that hit the edge of the podium.
McKenna gets a few rounds fired off in the direction of the sniper but she’s pretty much shooting blind. This isn’t working. She can see more black masked men jumping on to the stage and coming straight for her and Felicity. She fires, emptying her clip. She hits one of them, but misses the other who is coming fast and furious at her.
McKenna stands up, sniper be damned, and grabs for the gun the masked man is holding. She gets a hold of the barrel, dodging left as she twists the gun up and then spins into the man, grabbing his wrist and jabs her elbow into his nose. The gun drops away from them, but he’s able to stop her from flipping him. He grabs McKenna’s ponytail, wrenching her head back, and then sweeping her legs out from underneath her. She lands hard but sees the discarded gun a few feet away and begins to scramble up for it, but a combat boot comes down hard on her hand. McKenna lets out a scream, feeling bones in her hand cracking.
It’s then that McKenna hears the whizz of an arrow, and the pressure is suddenly off her hand. McKenna turns to find the woman in black and the red hooded vigilante crossing the stage to her and Felicity. The dick who smashed her hand is getting up as well, an arrow in the shoulder. McKenna kicks him, hard, and the woman in black finishes the job by hitting him in the head with her police baton, while the red hood puts three arrows into three different masked men who are still trying to get to the stage.
McKenna picks up a discarded gun and whips her attention to Felicity, who is being helped up by the woman in black. McKenna aims back up to where the sniper has been, but the red hooded one, tinier in real life than on tv, shakes her head, “Sniper’s been taken care of,” her voice distorted.
“He’s making us a clear path,” the woman in black is saying to Felicity, who is swaying a moment on her feet.
“I’m gonna hear a huge I told you so,” Felicity chuckles before squeezing her eyes shut. McKenna comes to her side and puts one of Felicity’s arms around her neck.
“She needs a doctor,” McKenna says to the woman in black and the red hood...God is she a freaking teenager?
“Let’s go,” the woman in black says, her voice also distorted. The man that she has just put down starts to move, but a swift kick in his head makes him think twice.
The woman in black leads McKenna and Felicity to the curtain and backstage, with the red hood covering them, letting loose multiple arrows.
“Stay behind me,” says the woman in black. McKenna nods and pulls Felicity along. It’s probably better that the Manolos had to die. Felicity would be no good in stilettos right now.
They’ve got to get to the other side of the backstage area to get to the emergency exit and it is mass chaos. McKenna thinks of Gerry and prays he’s not one of the dead bodies on the floor. There seem to be masked men everywhere. The woman in black says out of nowhere, “Speedy and I have the targets...they’re okay.” Is she talking to someone?
Shots fly over their heads. “Keep your heads down,” the woman in black says and ushers McKenna and Felicity behind a large sound equipment container while Speedy lays cover fire. The woman in black looks for an exit path, but the gunshots are coming fast. McKenna hears Speedy firing more arrows, and McKenna can hear screams of pain that makes her feel oddly satisfied.
“Stay here,” the woman in black says before disappearing around the equipment case. She’s only gone for a few seconds, but it feels like an eternity to McKenna, sitting here feeling like a sitting duck, listening to arrows and bullets in the air.
There’s movement and McKenna aims her gun, but lowers it at the sight of the woman in black, who is not alone. She’s with...Judge Dredd is all that comes to McKenna’s mind as she takes in the tall figure dressed in black leather with a black helmet and dark visor.
Judge Dredd presses his lips together as he takes in McKenna and Felicity, “Stay…”
“Behind you,” McKenna finishes, “Yeah.” She tightens her grip around the gun she’s still carrying.
Judge Dredd lays down cover fire while the woman in black leads McKenna and Felicity from one large equipment case to another. It’s when they run behind the fourth storage container that McKenna sees the promised land: the emergency exit, the remnants of two double doors laying on the ground, clearly opened by some type of explosive.
The gunshots have eased off, and behind them McKenna can hear Speedy taking care of stray henchmen, and Judge Dredd directs McKenna and Felicity to stay where they are before he and the woman in black head in different directions, presumably to help Speedy. Before McKenna’s eyes though, is the main show.
The Hood, who apparently likes to be called the Green Arrow now, has a man, whom McKenna can only assume is the ringleader of this little caper, in his grasp. They’ve arrived just in time to watch the Green Arrow deliver a punishing blow to the ringleader’s head, pummeling him to the ground. McKenna watches as the Arrow grabs the man by the lapels.
“Who hired you?” the Green Arrow yells, his voice modulator doing nothing to hide the menace in his voice.
The ringleader spits out a mouthful of blood before smiling, “Mr. Dark sends his regards.” McKenna feels Felicity stiffen at the sound of the name Dark. The Green Arrow delivers another blow to the man’s jaw, and he’s splayed out, unconscious. The Green Arrow straightens up, and seeing McKenna and Felicity, starts making his way towards them. McKenna can’t see under the hood, but she does see the way he tightens his grip on his bow as he comes closer. She also sees the stray henchman behind him, firing a bullet that cuts through the Green Arrow’s left arm, the velocity of the bullet pitching him forward to the ground.
Like second nature, McKenna stands up, leaving Felicity crying out on the ground at the sudden loss of support, squares her shoulders and fires four rounds into the henchman’s chest.
The Green Arrow gets up, and McKenna’s pretty sure the look he’s giving her is one of thanks. She can’t be sure. It really is a big, dark hood. How does he see anything?
McKenna turns back to get Felicity up, but the Green Arrow is there and stops her, “I’ve got her,” he says, and with a gentleness that takes McKenna aback, he lifts her up into his arms, grunting a bit at the pain in his arm.
McKenna nods and with gun raised, leads the Green Arrow out and through the emergency exit, to the alleyway, a burning SUV at one end, with a few masked men on the ground by it. McKenna surveys around them, looking for any wayward, upright henchman, she can see Judge Dredd, Speedy and the woman in black (what the hell is her name?) headed towards them. In the distance McKenna can hear sirens.
The Green Arrow sets Felicity down, propping her up against a rusted barrel. McKenna finally lowers her gun and squats down in front of Felicity, who is gazing up at the Green Arrow like he’s Prince Charming. There’s a small smile on Felicity’s face. Definitely a concussion. McKenna checks Felicity over for any other injuries and she can feel the Green Arrow hovering. It’s incredibly weird seeing these four in daylight.
“SWAT’s coming,” Judge Dredd says, the sirens coming closer.
“You’ll be okay?” the Green Arrow says, and McKenna gets the feeling she’s almost the third wheel here.
“As long as I don’t hear I told you so,” Felicity murmurs. McKenna watches the four disappear, the Green Arrow and Speedy flying upwards, and Judge Dread and the woman in black running down the alleyway.
McKenna sighs and sits down next to Felicity. She’s almost forgotten about her throbbing hand. She hisses as she flexes it.
“You okay?” Felicity asks McKenna, who nods as she sees police officers running down the alleyway towards them.
“I’ll be fine, although I’m gonna have to go into hiding to avoid your boyfriend. He’s not going to be happy,” McKenna says, turning to Felicity.
Felicity gingerly turns her head towards McKenna, “You totally just saved my life and saved the Green Arrow’s ass. How could Oliver possibly be mad?”
McKenna side eyes Felicity, “He won’t be mad because I saved the Green Arrow’s ass?”
Felicity closes her eyes and lays her head on McKenna’s shoulder, “He’ll be appreciative. It’s a nice ass.”
Yup, definitely a concussion, McKenna thinks to herself. She leans her head back and closes her eyes a moment. What a truly fantastic start to the week. Tuesday has to be better, right?