Diamond in the Rough

"Diamond in the Rough"
Information
Series	Arrow
Chapter number	24 of 36
Released	March 20, 2013
Written by	Story: Marc Guggenheim Andrew Kreisberg Script: Tiffany Williams
Pencils by	Victor Drujiniu
Inks by	Juan Castro
Colors by	Ikari Studio (Sergi Erra & Santi Casas)
Chronology
Previous chapter	"Hunters"
Next chapter	"The Pieces Missing"

"Diamond in the Rough" is the twenty-fourth chapter of the comic book series Arrow. It was released digitally on March 20, 2013.

Synopsis

Felicity gets in over her head when a dreamy new colleague invites her to dinner...

Plot

Felicity is shown dangling precariously from a tall building. The story then cuts back to earlier in the day.

At Queen Consolidated, Felicity is working whilst singing along to some music. A man approaches her, claiming to be looking for a "Mr. Smoak". Felicity babbles that she is Ms. Smoak, the one he is looking for. The man apologizes for his mistake and introduces himself as Ted Daniels, a new employee of Applied Sciences sent to help her out with a work-related task. Instantly charmed by him, Felicity shows Ted around and directs him to his office. After Felicity leaves, Ted locks the door and texts an anonymous individual, "Made contact."

That evening as Felicity is getting ready to head home, Ted invites her out to dinner. At the restaurant, he is impressed by Felicity's abilities and flatters her, calling her a "diamond in the rough." After dinner, they head to Ted's loft and have a nightcap at his urging. Ted then claims that he needs to get some important work for Applied Sciences done tonight but left his company laptop at the office and isn't approved for remote login yet. He requests Felicity to use her skills to hack into his computer. Felicity is initially hesitant but Ted ultimately convinces her with the promise of a second date.

Using his personal laptop, Felicity is able to bypass remote login and grant Ted access into QC's basic functioning system. Ted asks if she can go further, but Felicity refuses and jokes that she needs a better incentive than dinner to comply, to which he pulls a gun on her and has some men enter the room. Ted attempts to coerce Felicity into doing the hack, claiming she shouldn't care about the people who don't regard her talents. Suddenly, The Hood crashes in through the window. Ted takes Felicity hostage and orders his men to kill the vigilante, but The Hood defeats them and quickly overpowers Ted. Ted grabs Felicity as he falls out the broken window. Felicity dangles from the edge with Ted holding onto her ankle, but he loses his grip and falls to his death. The Hood rescues Felicity with a grappling arrow.

Oliver reveals that Ted Daniels aka Rick Matheson aka Rob Serling is a corporate spy from The List who he's been tracking for a while. Humiliated and angry with herself for buying into Ted's deception, Felicity walks off in tears, bitterly expressing how he actually made her feel special.

When Felicity arrives home, she finds her apartment full of flowers, courtesy of Oliver. In a note pinned onto the wall with an arrow, Oliver assures Felicity she is special because she using her abilities to help make Starling City a better place and thanks her. Felicity smiles.

Gallery

Digital cover