"She's passed out again." Mendell intoned disappointedly.
"You torture her much more and she won't be any use to us." Tamera said with a bite of impatience in her voice but checked her emotions under the wounded, puppy eyes her partner turned on her. "Look, I understand." She placed a hand on his arm and gazed down at Regina's prone, sweating form strapped to the table. The skin under the electrodes on her temples and arms was beginning to blister and swell. "We need to focus on the greater good: reporting the information."
"And what of my father? Just give up? After all this?"
"I don't think she's talking, mate." Hook appeared at the door and gestured over Regina's body with his sharp, metal limb. "If there is one thing I've learned from working with Regina; it's that she's stubborn as hell."
Mendell advanced on the pirate. "Look, mate," he said menacingly, "I didn't ask for your advice."
"Consider it a loan." The dashing fellow said with a dazzling and wolf-like smile. "But I'm telling you, Regina will die before she admits defeat." Tamera gave him a cold, scathing look. He shrugged and leaned against the door casually.
"Remember this, pirate." Mendell said, eyes burning. "If she doesn't talk, then we have no lead on my father which means you are of no use to us. Therefore, we're under no obligation to help you enact your vengeance on your crocodile."
He turned back to Regina and placed a hand on her neck; checking her pulse with rough fingers. His eyes attempting to bore into her mind; as if to unlock the information by force. But the woman simply breathed deeply through her nose in her unconscious state.
Hook shrugged and exited the small building. "I'm going to stand at the pier."
"Fine, stay out of sight." Tamera said before leaving Greg in the room with the restrained brunette. Hook tipped his head sardonically to them.
Emma and Henry had split up from her parents to scour the city; looking for Regina. She looked down at Henry as he kicked a rock along the sidewalk. "Hey kid, we're going to find her." She said with conviction. He glanced up.
"I don't want her to be hurt." He shrugged. "But I don't want to really see her either."
"I understand." Emma put a hand on his shoulder as they turned down the street. "She's your mom; she raised you for ten years and you turned out ok, right?"
He gave a half-hearted smile. "Yeah, I guess. I did…do…I do love her."
"I know." Emma said quietly. "And that makes it harder."
"Yeah, I mean she's bad. I get it…but I remember a time she wasn't."
Emma's mind was flooded suddenly with Regina's dark, vulnerable eyes locked onto hers. That day at the mine and then the night she rushed out of the party when Regina apologized with an earnest edge to her voice. Emma knew that voice; knew that tone. She knew it was real. Why Regina? Why go back from that?
"You're getting old enough to know that things aren't black or white. They're more tones gray, Henry. People do good things or bad things because they've had things happen to them that make them feel like they should."
"Snow does good, but she killed Cora."
"Yes."
"You lied to me."
Emma swallowed hard. "I did."
"Because you love me."
"Yes."
"My mom wanted to put a spell on me to make me love her."
"She wanted to because she loves you but she didn't because she loves you too much."
"That's messed up." Henry said and Emma laughed. It was somewhat humorless and sounded harsh even to her ears.
"Yeah, kid. That's life though…or at least life in Storybrook." She squeezed his shoulder just as the phone on her hip rang. They both looked down and Emma pulled the phone up to peer at the number. "Who is this?" She wondered aloud before answering. "Hello?" She was met with silence. Well, not total silence. The sound of wind and calling gulls came to her ears. "Helloooo?" She questioned again. "Who is this?"
More semi-silence. She could hear a creaking in the background and a tingling sensation began at the base of her skull as it always did when she knew sensed something amiss. "Wrong number?" Henry asked.
"Yeah." She hung up and shrugged convincingly. "I guess so. Maybe someone butt dialed me?" Henry smiled. But the niggling in the back of her brain continued. "Look kid, let's go to Granny's and see if anyone has seen her. " She text her parents and told them to meet her there.
As Henry and Snow sat down, Emma lingered with James at the counter. "I'm going to backtrack and head over to Regina's house in a bit."
"We've already checked there."
"I know." She shrugged. "But maybe she's magicked a secret room or something? And as I'm the only one with magic…" she implied her qualifications and he looked at her hard.
"Ok."
"I want you to keep Henry. I don't want him with me if I have to confront her. She's vicious on a good day, if I corner her it would be like fighting a tiger with a spork."
A worried smiled tightened his young face. "Ok, Emma." He said. "Good luck." She waved a hand and headed out.
Getting in her bug, she powered it up and headed toward the docks. The blonde felt this was where she needed to be. After the mysterious phone call with the sea-side sounds over the cell connection, she had a hunch that someone was leading her here. Emma knew it could be a trap but she was counting on her bounty hunter experience to keep her safe.
She parked the yellow car several blocks away and clicked the safety off her gun as she crept up to the smattering of dilapidated buildings beside the water. Peeking around a corner quietly, she saw Mendell's car and her suspicions were confirmed. It seemed that someone had chosen to tip her off.