This idea has been bouncing in my head lately. So here it is…
The Labyrinth of Shadows
Boston, Massachusetts
Emma shakes her head as she patrols the area, watching closely as her client is giving a little speech to the kids that are gathered in the lecture hall, "Here's another one. Two politicians are having an argument. One of them stands up and says, 'You're lying!' The other one answers, 'Yes, I am, but hear me out.'" The audience laughed.
Oldest joke, Emma huffs silently, but all the same is given a command in her ear to check outside. So giving her understanding back, she goes out to the alley and sees the waiting crowds and limos, "All is clear." Emma says into her radio as she heads back inside. Soon, she thinks, I'll get to leave and then be home again. It was sudden. She hadn't heard from this particular contact in a long while. However when the call came, she had to go. Henry was upset, as was her parents and Killian, but she knew she had an obligation to fulfill.
"Mr. Harper, do you have time for one more question?" Emma hears the moderator ask as she looks back towards the stage.
Chris Harper, former head chairman of the economics department at Yale University, father of three who are also going through school, and now currently running for state congressional office smiled at the moderator, "I don't think I answered the last one. Suzanne's got me telling jokes. Here's an answer to your question that I don't think you're going to like; the current crop of 18-25 year olds is the most politically apathetic generation in American history. In 1972, half of that age group voted. In the last election, 32%. Your generation is considerably less likely than any previous one to write or call public officials, attend rallies, or work on political campaigns. A man once said this-"
Emma tuned out. The man had a gift, she didn't deny that fact, hell if she was allowed to vote in the state that she used to live in, she would vote for this guy sitting on the stage. As it was, when she ran for sheriff of Storybrooke, that election wasn't entirely 'by the books'. Hell Regina's Mayor-ship probably wasn't legal either. Emma smirked wondering what would have happened if she challenged Regina to be mayor instead of sheriff that day, "Swan." Emma turned her attention away from Harper and to the man that called her, "We're moments away."
Emma nodded, "I'm going to get the door."
"Emma?" Emma turned to the man, "Thank you for coming. I appreciate it."
Emma smiled at the person responsible for the current path she had been on as a bails-bond person, "Anytime Ron." Ron nodded and they parted ways.
It was twenty-minutes later that the doors opened and they greeted the cheering crowd of people, "Straight to the car." Ron told her over the noise.
"He's not going to work the rope line?" Emma asked as she guards the sides, but still close enough that she could hear his instructions.
Ron smirked, "There's a softball game that he wants to watch."
"They show softball on TV?" Emma asked surprised, but still scans the crowd of people as they keep making their way through.
He looks insulted at her tone, "Well, yeah. Why wouldn't they?"
"The possible next Senator, watches it?" Emma still asks as she cannot wrap her mind around it. Although in her defense, Henry and her mother had been on her about watching some of her stuff…mainly weird documentaries lately, especially about a highly historical famous serial killer.
"He likes to unwind by watching sports on TV." Ron said shrugging, "Why what do you watch these days?"
"Not softball." Emma responds.
"Whatever's on that makes him happy. Just keep scanning." He sighs out as he could tell that she was now just teasing him.
"Okay." Emma responds still amused by this revelation, and starts to once again survey the mass crowd.
Another moment later, they heard the next Senator yell out, "Thank you, everyone! God bless you, and God bless America!"
"Show time." Emma heard in her ear, and she turns as the staff and the man who was running for senate start to exit the hall.
"He's not working the rope line. Straight to the car. I've got Bookbag." Emma said into her wrist mike as she approached the daughter.
"This is completely not necessary." Zoey said as Emma got next to her to walk her to the limos.
Emma smiled, "Yea well, you are a prominent daughter, so I think that makes me a necessity."
"You are only here because they needed backup and you were trained by the best once upon a time." Zoey countered with a smile, "By the way, Bookbag? Whose idea was that for a codename?"
"Mine." Emma said smirking again, "Besides I remember a sweet little girl who loved showing me that Dora the Explorer bookbag and-"
Zoey snorted, "Urg! First my dad mentions those baby pictures, just so he could heckle me with it, now you. I am pretty sure this is child abuse…speaking of my dad, look." Emma glances to where she is pointing, "Now he's working the rope line. If there's ever a chance, he's going to walk past a crowd of people. Charlie!" She waves another boy down, and he comes walking over to them as they had paused to watch Harper and the crowd.
However that isn't what made Emma's hair on the back of her neck stand, "I saw something." Emma muttered apprehensively.
"By the way, Charlie apologized to me. He made a full apology. Right?" Zoey said ignoring Emma's sudden change in demeanor.
"I saw something!" Emma yells now, and starts to shove a now startled Zoey and Charlie behind her.
In the crowd, a troublesome-looking young man looks up at something behind Emma's head. Emma turns around in slow-motion to see what he is looking at. The skinheads in the office building raises their guns. Just as the first shot is about to go off, Emma yells, "GUN!"
The creepy boy turns to walk away and his cap is knocked off, revealing a "skinned" head, just as Emma knocks Charlie and Zoey to the ground by the limo moments before they fire into the crowd and all hell breaks loose. Agents and passersby are scurrying around as Emma keeps yelling to Zoey and Charlie, "Get down, get down!" The agents fire up at the shooters. Then when she is able to, Emma shoves Zoey into the limo and as it takes off, she runs to assist other people.
She is alone by the gates as the firing is still going on, however she turns and freezes as she raises her own gun to return fire as something burns and stings just below her chest, however she doesn't register it for too long as the scene overtakes her. Agents firing, the crowd screaming and scurrying. Snipers hidden on the roof tops continuously firing at the gunmen, while in return the gunmen are firing into the crowd. Suddenly a cop car's top light shatters, and Emma watches as a man pulls the woman next to him to the ground as the window shatters.
Emma feels the pull of darkness as she no longer has the strength to stand or keep firing her own weapon. She falls to her knees and her one hand finds the area that is now suddenly causing her pain. Briefling she glances at it to see her hand had red liquid on it. Finding a statue, she makes her way to it and begins to apply pressure on the wound. The shooting finally stopped and once again the pool of darkness pulled her as she hears a faint voice in her head, "Oh, god, we've got people down. People down, people down! Who's been hit? Who's been hit?"