Arrow (2012–…): Season 3, Episode 3 - Corto Maltese - full transcript

My name is Oliver Queen.

After five years in hell,
I have come home with only one goal:

To save my city.

Now others have joined my crusade.

To them I am Oliver Queen.

To the rest of Starling City,
I am someone else...

...I am something else.

Previously on Arrow:

What are you doing here?

Whoever did this, I'm gonna find them.

- There's another bidder for the company.
- Who?



Ray Palmer. Yes, I am your boss now.

No!

Roy, I don't trust you. Or anyone.

Don't try to find me. I am never coming back.

Now I gotta go get Thea.

Long past time she came home.

Well done.

Thanks, Dad.

So where are we going?

Wherever you want.

- It's up to me?
- Why not?

I'm the well-traveled man,
been every place in the world.

But you wanna get out of here...

...because if the police knew
you were alive, they'd come after you.



The Arrow too.

You're very perceptive, Thea.

Knowing when people are hiding something
behind their smiles. Your mother had that talent.

Yes.

If someone knew where I was,
it would be unfortunate.

For both of us.

So why did you reach out to me?

- You reached first.
- But still.

I don't want to feel this pain again.

I don't wanna hurt or get hurt.

Never again.

And you seem like someone
who can teach me how not to.

A woman was killed on a rooftop
last week. Black leather, blond hair.

- Wore a mask.
- I didn't kill her.

- You were there.
- I don't know anything about it.

Your fingerprints are on this.

- From a fifth I drank up there, but I...
- What did you see?

Nothing.

I was up on the roof with some buddies.

This lady, she showed up
and she told us to go.

Looked like she could handle herself.

Whoever it is you're looking for,
I wouldn't wanna be him.

Another dead end.

It took me a week to get a hit off that print.

I had to reconstruct the partial
using a predictive indexing algorithm.

Appropriate since it was his index finger.

Not particularly relevant now.

Don't worry, Oliver. We'll find him.

- He's out there somewhere.
- No, he's not.

Trail's gone cold.

I hate to do this but I have to head off to work.

- Tech Village is open this early?
- Not exactly.

- Have you figured out where in Italy Thea is?
- About that, she's not in Italy.

Or Europe. Or... Well, she's...

Where is she?

I had to ping her cell phone to find out
where in "Italy" she was texting from.

Turns out, came back Corto Maltese.

Corto's an island off of South America.
What's up with your family and islands?

Hey, Oliver.

- Thea's letter said not to come find her.
- That letter was addressed to you, not to me.

I'm watching Laurel
go through losing Sara.

It's time for my sister to come home.

- What are you doing?
- Thea's gone because of me.

Because of lies I told her. I owe this
to both of you to make things right.

No. What are you doing?

You can't travel with that.

I've actually never been on a plane before.

I know. You're not doing anything
and I could literally watch you forever.

Oh, yeah?
What about once she discovers boys?

Well, that's what my Glock is for.
Right, baby?

Right. That's my Glock.

I'm gonna enjoy some quality time
with her for the next few days.

I'm even looking forward
to changing a few diapers.

And I'm looking forward to
believing that when I see it.

Why the time off?

You quit the team again?

No, Oliver's going to Corto Maltese
for a couple of days.

Could you go with him?

Like I don't already spend
enough time with Oliver as it is?

Team Arrow may have
Starling City purring like a kitten...

...but the rest of the world
is still a very dangerous place.

- Including Corto Maltese.
- I already don't like where this is headed.

- We have an operative there who's gone dark.
- All right, so send an agent.

- Send a task force.
- He's not in any kind of trouble.

He hasn't touched his panic button.

He's probably just drunk
in some belleza's villa.

Mark Shaw has been known
to miss days from time to time.

Will you just do me a favor...

...and see if he's okay?

Tell him to check in.
Two more days and I have to call the cavalry...

...and I don't want him
to get into trouble with Waller.

Mark's an old friend.

She better not do anything
interesting while I'm gone.

Next time keep your hands up.

Ted Grant.

That badge means
you're not here for a self-defense class.

No, I've had my fair share. I'm here about
one of your students, Tom Bronson.

A witness places him
at the scene of a break-in last night.

Well, that's not possible. See, because
Tom and I were sparring last night.

Mr. Grant, do you know that lying
to the district attorney is against the law?

You mean am I willing to lie
in order to keep a good kid...

...who happened to make
a stupid mistake out of the system...

...I think you know my answer.

Are you admitting to perjury, Mr. Grant?

Now that's a big word.

I'm just a dumb fighter.

Right?

Look, Tom was here with me last night.
We worked on his uppercut combinations.

Like I said, in this city there's a lot
of good people who get dealt bad hands.

They lose someone, they lose themselves.
They come in here to work off that rage.

I've gotten good at picking out the types.
Types just like you.

If I'm angry it's because
I'm dealing with someone...

...who's willing to lie
to protect a punk kid.

I don't think that's the case.

Either way...

...if you do have something
you wanna work off...

So, what's the play with Thea?

Do you mind if I talk to her
alone first? It's been a while.

- Felicity able to pin her down?
- She gave me an address.

Thea!

You must be Mia's brother.

- I see the resemblance.
- Is Mia around?

- She works at the cafe.
- Where's the cafe?

- I'll show you.
- Thank you.

I didn't come all the way to South America
to have you poison me, did I?

It's a meditative tea.

It will activate your mind and body.

I think I'm gonna need a little bit more than tea
to learn how to use one of those.

The Sohei Buddhist warriors
believed that first...

...you must fight with the mind...

...then your sword.

I remember when I was...

...training to be a warrior
I began just like you.

Devastated by my wife's death.

I was angry...

...and hurt.

The pain was unbearable.

Like this.

You're out of your mind.
Put your hand in here.

Every warrior must learn the simple truth.

That pain is inevitable
and suffering is optional.

Please, don't... Don't do
what I think you're gonna do.

You asked me to teach you.

No.

Thea?

Good to see you.

You too, but how did you...?

Well, it's not exactly the Amalfi Coast.

Didn't you flunk Spanish?

More like skipped it altogether.

You look good.

I like your haircut.

Thank you. Yeah.

Wanted it short, you know.
Gets hot down here.

I'm sorry I lied to you about Italy.

I just needed some space.

It's okay. You've had five months of it.

This isn't just a visit.

Got one for you too.

After Mom, I understood why you left Starling.

But, Thea, I miss you.

And I would really like it if you came home.

I miss you too.

And I love you.

So much. But I'm never
coming back to Starling City.

I can't. I'm sorry.

There is strength in you, Thea.

I see it, even if you can't see it yourself.

I'm sorry, this...

This just isn't me.
I'm not like you. I can't do this.

It's all right.

It's not your fault.

It's mine.

QC stock up 10 bucks
at the open. That is love. Ha.

Ah, Ms. Smoak. Good morning.

I think. I've been here all night.

My predecessor left things, um...
What's the polite way to say this?

...A little wonky.

Sorry if I'm rambling. I'm a little
over-caffeinated. I just had three espressos.

- Speaking of coffee...
- Let me stop you.

I told myself that I would
stand firm on a few points.

No late-night emails. No personal errands.

And definitely no coffee. There'll be
no espressos brought to you by me.

I stand very firm on that last point.

And I admire your conviction.

This is Gerry Conway,
your executive assistant...

...and I wanted to know
if you'd like him to get you a coffee.

Or are you just anti-latte in general?

Um...

Executive assistant?

I think that's a yes on the latte.

- Thank you, Gerry.
- Thank you, Gerry.

Shall we get to work?
Excellent. Applied Sciences.

Bleeding edge research division
until some wacko blew it up.

- I'm sure they had their reasons.
- The point is...

...it's the cornerstone for my plan
to rebuild Queen Consolidated...

...and thus, the city.

I've had my people working day and night
salvaging what they can, including this.

The file server containing
Applied Sciences' design work.

It's not working, on account
of being caught in a massive explosion.

You want me to access the data.

Brilliant mind at work already.
Speaking of, I gotta get back to work.

Then why are you leaving your office?

I'm not. I'm leaving yours.

This is Lyla's busywork.
You didn't have to tag along.

Well, I don't know how to vacation
like a normal person, Diggle.

- What's the plan?
- This spot's his usual dead drop.

Lyla sent me over this file photo.
Just gonna make sure he's all right.

- Got him.
- I got you.

He's a friendly, Oliver.

Shaw.

Hey, hey, hey. Hey, hey, hey.

Listen, I'm with Lyla Michaels.

Have you seen any capuchins today?

If that's a code, I'm not with A.R.G.U.S.
I'm just Lyla's baby daddy.

You didn't check in, Shaw.
She was worried so she sent me to find you.

You're lying, you'll be picking
your intestines off this sidewalk.

That's fair enough.

Lyla gave me a security transcoder
in my right jacket pocket.

- You're pretty jumpy, Shaw.
- Better jumpy than dead.

Copy that. What's going on?

Not here.

Sorry, I had...

I had eyes on me all week.
A whole follow team.

Wait, Shaw. What makes you so important?

I have hard intel.

Someone hacked into the server,
acquired the A.R.G.U.S. Actual.

- They wanna sell it.
- I don't work for A.R.G.U.S.

The Actual is an encrypted data omnibus.

It's a complete record
of agent covers, personal details...

...affiliated soft targets.
- Whoa, soft targets.

As in family members?

Yeah, as in women and children.

You get why this is so important?

Hi, my name is Laurel. I'm an alcoholic.

Hi, Laurel.

A week ago I...

Something happened.

Something that I can't share with anyone for...

...several complicated reasons.

I thought that I was gonna want a drink.

But I didn't.

Not even tempted, really.

But what I am is...

...I'm angry.

And I don't know what to do with it...

...or where to put it, I just...

Thank you for letting me share.

Are there any other burning desires?

Erica. Alcoholic.
Hi, Erica.

My boyfriend and me
got into another fight last night.

Some of you know he still drinks a lot...

...and I said something.

I know I should have just kept my mouth shut.

I know I should just leave him, but...

...I can't.

Maybe there's a meeting
I should be going to for that.

Once a month Erica gives a share like that.

It's getting worse.
Yeah.

The boyfriend has eight assault
charges against him.

Not just Starling. He's got warrants
out on him as far as Coast City.

It takes everything in me
not to go after the dirt bag.

The day the cops start bringing
their badges into AA meetings...

...that's the day that the drunks stop coming.

I'm in position.

That sale of the Actual is going down here.

Only two of us?
You sure you don't wanna call for back-up?

Hey-

That's the only insurance policy
you're gonna need.

We're here.

You're not worried
about them seeing our ride?

How'd you know the buy
was happening tonight?

I've been the station agent
in Corto Maltese for three years now.

I got this third-world garbage dump wired.

What's wrong?

There's no buy, is there, Shaw?

Oliver, go! Go!

Sorry for lying to you, John.

Well, partially lying. There is a buy
going down, just not until tomorrow.

I needed to get this first.

Thanks for helping me decode the Actual.

Diggle!

Should have got the heavy-duty ones.

I like your hair.

What, are you and my brother,
like, travel buddies now?

No, we're just worried about you.

Oliver said you weren't gonna come back, so...

...I figured I'd come here
and try to convince you.

- Well, you can't.
- Look, I get it. You're hurt.

I lied to you. I lied right to your face.
But I need you to know...

...that when I said I wanted
to leave Starling with you, that wasn't a lie.

I didn't just leave because of you, Roy.

My mother lied to me. My brother.

I had to get away from
Starling City and all the secrets.

And I found myself here.

Isn't it lonely here?

That's kind of what I like about it.

There's no one here who knows me...

...or thinks of me
as Thea Queen or Thea Merlyn.

No one who lies to me or...

...tries to protect me with secrets.

All I ever wanted
was for you to be happy, Thea.

I'm sorry I got in the way of that...

...and I'm sorry that I hurt you.

If being here instead of home
makes you happy...

...then you should stay.

Roy?

Are you okay?

You look a little tired.

I just haven't been sleeping much lately.

You take care.

But what do you mean?

It's not your fault, it's mine.

I thought I could do this differently, but I can't.

I need to train you as I was trained.

Treat you as my student,
not my daughter.

What are you doing?

The way to forge steel
is to temper it with fire.

Stay away from me, you sick son of a bitch.

Now we can begin.

Why didn't you call me sooner?
I could've helped.

Didn't want you to worry.
I thought we could handle it.

We've hacked his email.
He's got a buyer en route to Corto Maltese.

- Who?
- The tech boys are still working on that.

But Wailer's dispatched a wet team.

- They're not gonna get here in time.
- They might. Keep your powder dry.

Copy that.

- We're not gonna keep our powder dry.
- Hell, no.

Hey. Any luck raising
our digital Lazarus from the dead?

The hard drive is toast.

And the power supply.

- And the actuator.
- I'm sensing a pattern.

Sorry. One second.

- Hello?
- Hey, Felicity. This is John.

- Where are you?
- You wouldn't believe me if I told you.

- You near a computer?
- Kind of.

- I'm looking for somebody in Corto Maltese.
- I'm in the middle of a...

I need to know where he is.
I've emailed you everything.

...meeting right now.

I am so sorry. It's a friend.

Um, well, a few friends...

...actually. You know what? It's a long story.

Heh. Why am I under the impression that
you have a lot of stories, all of which are long?

- You want me to come back later?
- What? Sorry.

- Hello?
- Felicity, I need a favor.

Are we favor-friends now?
Are we friends?

- What?
- Never mind. Sorry.

Oh, dear God. One second.
One more second. Hello?

We got cut off.

According to the file you sent me,
this guy is a hacker.

Let me guess. Long story?

The guy I'm looking for
broke into A.R.G.U.S.

He left a trail. It's faint, hacking-wise,
but with a bit of luck...

...I will find him. Or his laptop.
I will email you when I have something.

I'm having a bit of a day.

I need you to find someone
by Googling his phone.

Pinging his GPS.

- Can I call you back?
- Is this what a typical day looks like for you?

Believe it or not,
this is better than most.

When Felicity has Shaw's location,
text me and I'll be there.

- Thea?
- Yeah.

I don't think she's gonna
change her mind on this.

She doesn't wanna hear from anyone
and I don't blame her. We both lied to her, a lot.

- It's why it's time to tell her the truth.
- When you say the truth...

What happened the five years I was away.
Everything we've done since I've been back.

- All of it.
- You might wanna think about that.

Lies are what drove Thea away
from Starling City. The truth...

...is the only thing that will bring her back.
- You won't be telling her the truth.

You'll be telling her that her brother
has been lying to her to her face...

...with almost pathological sincerity
for the past two years.

She won't believe another word you say,
and you will lose her, Oliver, forever.

Oh, look around.

I've already lost her.

I don't have any other choice.

I hear you like to hit women.
How about one who likes to hit back?

You're right. It's better when they hit back.

on. Baby.

Baby. Baby, you okay?

I'm so sorry.

I'm too relieved to be mad at you. I really am.

But, sweetheart...

...this is crazy.

What the hell were you thinking
going after that girl's boyfriend?

There's just something I needed to work out.

I know that the world isn't fair.

I know that it's a terrible place...

...where people deserve to get punished...

...and they don't. I just...

For one night,
I needed the world to be different.

Okay, Laurel.

Laurel,
what's going on with you, huh?

You're not being yourself lately.

Now you're running around,
you're tuning this guy up. What are you doing?

Baby, you could talk to me about anything,
you know that, right? You know it.

I know.

Talk to me then.

Laurel, you're not the Arrow.

Or your sister.

Promise me you'll never
do anything like this again, ever.

Promise.

It was a mistake. I wasn't thinking.

You wanna stay in Corto Maltese, fine,
but there's not much here in sightseeing.

May I talk to you?

Look, between you
and your new best friend Roy...

...I'm pretty sure you guys have said everything.
- I haven't.

Not yet, anyway.

Roy showed me the note you left him.

And you were right about everything.
I've lied. I have kept secrets.

The truth is that if I tell you...

...all the things that you don't know about me...

...then I might lose you forever.

I spent five years...

...in the worst kind of hell
and there were things that happened...

...there were things that I did...

...that if...

If you knew, you would see me differently.

No, I'll always see you as my big brother.

I mean, no matter
what happened to you on that island...

...or who you became.

It's the secrets you kept about my own life.

I mean, you...

You lied to me about who my father was.

Malcolm may have been your blood.

Robert was your father.

I lied to you about him too.

Dad wasn't the man we thought he was.

He was better.

And I've kept something
from you because I just...

I never wanted you to know.

Dad made it off the Gambit with me.

You told me he drowned.

We made it to a lifeboat together...

...but there wasn't enough
food or water for both of us...

...so he killed himself.

And that is one secret
that I'm telling you now...

...because I need you to realize...

...Mom and Dad...

...they sacrificed themselves...

...so that we could live.

But if we're not together, then...

...we're not even really alive.

You are my family...

...and even if you don't need me...

...I need you.

Please just consider what I'm saying.

He's here.
- And so is his buyer.

I was expecting Armitage.

This country's soil
is not worthy of Mr. Armitage.

Do you have the item?

Where's the money?

And the transcoder?

We better go.

Where'd you get this?

Our hotel room.

Who are they?

Could be A.R.G.U.S.

That's not A.R.G.U.S.

Let's go.

Go.

A.R.G.U.S., they know we're here.

Which is why I got rented soldiers
to secure the perimeter.

It's amazing how cheap you can buy an army.

Diggle!

Behind you.

I never said I didn't know how to use a gun.

Lyla was your friend and
you endanger her and her daughter for what?

- For a lousy payday?
- Not a payday.

- It's my ticket out.
- Of what?

A.R.G.U.S.! You don't know
the things Wailer's made me do.

You don't know the things
or the person she turns you into.

That still gives you no right
to put a bull's-eye on my family's back.

I had no choice.

But you do, John.

Tell Waller I died.
Tell her you put a bullet in me.

If only.

I've been thinking.
I wanna go home...

...to my brother.

And all his lies and secrets?
Maybe you haven't come as far as I thought.

Let me prove it to you.

Impressive.

I had a good teacher.

Looks like you're going home.

You let me win, didn't you?

I'll be seeing you soon.

Safe flight.

- Thank you.
- Yup.

Thanks.

You Okay?

She's not coming.

I'm sorry, Oliver.
You did everything you could, man.

Oliver.

I'm glad you changed your mind.

Still not sure about flying commercial though.

Oh. I'm so sorry.

Thea, are you okay?

Yeah, I'm fine.

Laurel?

- I didn't know the Arrow took vacations.
- Hey. What happened?

I'm fine. Please.

What happened?

I tried to do good. It didn't work out.

Laurel.

I know that it probably sounds insane.

It probably is, but...

Sara.

She gave me this.

And when I wear it, it makes me
wanna help people like she did.

Like she's alive again.

I get it.

Sara had training.

- She had years...
- Oliver, I know.

Which is why I need to start.

And I need your help.

L...

No.

- Oliver.
- No.

No.

L...

I want you to consider...

...what would happen to your father...

...if something happened to you.

Oliver, ever since it happened
I have had this fire inside of me.

That I can't get rid of with booze or pills.

I need another way.

And the other night,
even though it went wrong...

...it was the first time since Sara died
where I haven't felt that fire.

I'm sorry but I can't.

And even if I could...

...Sara would never forgive me.

There we go, yeah.

There we go.

Yeah.

- Hey.
- I love you.

I love you both. The two of you
were all I could think about.

I'm just trying to put her down.

That's okay. I just wanna look at her for a while.

Okay.

- I have to head into the office.
- Why so late?

I do whatever Amanda Waller asks, remember?

You Okay?

Yeah, just hurry back.

What's with this guy?

Outstanding warrants for
assault and battery in Coast City.

Got an anonymous tip that he was in Starling.

Anonymous tip, huh?

That's a bad break, buddy.

All right. When can I start?

Do you know how many of QC's techs
said this data was unrecoverable?

Only all of them.

Seems like this would be a good time
to ask for a few days off then.

- You just started.
- I know.

But my friend was struck by lightning
and is in a coma, so...

Well, was.

I don't know. Um...

- it's...
- A long story.

- See you.
- Thanks.

You did good over there.

I had a good teacher.

A judgmental and occasionally
temperamental one, but...

Those are the best kind.

Did Thea seem different to you?

Her hair is a lot shorter.

But that's not what you mean.

- What do you mean?
- I don't know.

She say anything? She maybe...

...seeing somebody in Corto Maltese or...

If Thea was with anybody else,
I've got a feeling I'd be the last one to know.

Where is she?

Where is Sara?