"Rule number one," came Gold's thick Scottish voice from the chair in the corner of the room, "never carry a gun. You may be tempted to use it."
"What are you doing here?" Belle demanded, not realizing that she was naked from the waist up and lit rather perfectly by the moonlight streaming in through the open window.
"I'm going to ask you some questions, dearie." He countered smoothly, ignoring her outrage.
"And it had to be in the middle of the night?"
"What are you doing here?" Gold carried on.
"I've got a proposition for you. The Robin Hood and the Monk manuscript will be on display at the Darling Castle. I've been offered $40 million to steal it. But I need your help."
"Rule number two: never trust a naked woman." He smirked, letting his eyes drift down to her pert breasts. She was beautiful, this was going to be more difficult than he had originally anticipated. With a soft gasp she pulled the comforter up to cover her body, staring daggers at him.
"Someone stole my suitcase, I had nothing to sleep in."
"Amazing what's being stolen lately." Gold laughed softly, reaching for the magazine she left on the end table. On the cover was a photo of the manuscript in question, worn from age and beginning to crumble. "So, this is your proposition?"
"The manuscript is going to be kept in a pressure sensitive, locked case. I have the code, but I need help getting in and out undetected, that's where you come in. I've got the buyer set up."
"I don't believe you."
"But you want to." She grinned, leaning back against her pillows, watching him as closely as she could in the dark room. He was quite handsome up close, it was hard not to be taken with his long fingers as they thrummed noiselessly against his good knee. They sat in silence for a few moments, simply observing each other.
"First we try, then we try." He finally sighed. "Meet me outside of the hotel at 2 pm… dressed if you'd like."
"How do I know you'll be there?" Belle asked, sitting up again.
"If I tell you I'll be there, I'll be there. I'm never late. If I'm late, I'm dead." Was his simple response. She rolled over and reached for the light on the nightstand.
"My hotel or—Gold?" He was gone.
Belle was tired still when her alarm went off at 7 am. She was still out of sorts after arrived the day before and her late night visitor made it difficult to get back to sleep. Her mind was reeling, trying to figure out the angle she would have to work to get Gold on board with her. She pulled on her clothes from the day before, a short tweed skirt and fitted red sweater. After a call to Archie she found a small restaurant to wait in, slowly eating lunch while reading her book. It was almost two when she reached the entrance of his hotel.
"Get in." Came his voice from inside a silver Porsche. Belle smirked, leaning down to make sure it was him before climbing into the passenger seat.
"Good afternoon, Rum." She greeted.
"You're chipper." He muttered pulling into traffic. "Sorry to see you've opted for clothing."
"Yes, well I thought going naked might attract the wrong sort of attention on our outing. Speaking of which—"
"We are going to an antique store, you will go in and ask for Marco. Tell him you want to buy the Victorian vase I have on hold. While he is in the back processing your credit card, you will steal the vase."
"What credit card should I leave him with?"
"This one." He pulled up a black card with a fake name on it and passed it to her. "You're a thief, steal."
With that he pulled the car to a stop outside of a rundown storefront. Gold watched as she walked inside, calm and smiling as though she weren't about to rob the store. It could be beneficial to have a pretty young woman around, she was unassuming and a distraction. Of course he wondered at her use a few minutes later when the alarm sounded, a man who had previously been watching from across the street fired a shot to shatter the window just as Belle returned to her seat.
"Drive!" She shouted.
"Where's the bloody vase?" He shouted back, taking a sharp turn down an alley, though not quickly enough to lose the tail.
"I broke it."
"WHAT?"
"It was a cheap knock off, you wouldn't have wanted it anyway." Belle yelled, holding fastening her seat belt as they took another sharp corner.
"That was the task I gave you. You missed the point of the exercise."
"No, I didn't." Her singsong tone caught his attention, forcing him to take his eyes off the road long enough to look at what she was holding up. The USB drive that was hidden inside the vase.
"Very good. Give it to me." He held his hand out just as the driver's side mirror was shot.
"Not until you tell me what's on it."
"Give it to me." He repeated.
"What's on it?" She countered again, holding her hand out the window, threatening to drop it.
"The blue prints, schematics and security layout for Darling Castle. Everything, soup to nuts."
"Focus on driving." She pulled her hand back inside and slipped the drive into her pocket. With a few more back alleyways and side streets they escaped their pursuers. They rode in silence the rest of the way, finally coming to a stop outside of a strange hotel.
"Look what you've done to this beautiful car." Belle frowned, looking at the vehicle now riddled with bullets, broken lights and windows, and a missing mirror.
"Doesn't matter, it's not mine." He shrugged, pulling a duffle bag from his backseat and tossing the keys onto the driver's seat and hurrying towards the hotel. Belle followed, climbing the stairs as quickly as she could, it was surprising how fast he could move with his cane. He glanced back at her briefly before pushing the bag into his arms.
"What's this?" She asked, unzipping the top flap. The pile of fabric looked familiar. "These are my clothes!"
"Yes. Thought you might need them." He replied calmly, pushing open the door that led to the roof. There before them was a large helicopter, prepared and waiting for them.
"Where's my suitcase, Rum?" She demanded, following him as he opened the door and started to climb in.
"It's with hotel security."
"Why?" He turned back, taking the bag from her and stowing it for the flight. She grabbed his arm and turned him to face her again.
"Insurance. Three Faberge hairpins that belonged to the Tsar were stolen from the museum yesterday. They are hidden in your suitcase, which…"
"Is with hotel security." She finished as realization dawned.
"One call and you're on their radar." He smirked, pulling a pair of headsets on and starting up the engines.
"This is entrapment!" She yelled over the whining propellers.
"What?" He pulled the headsets off.
"This is called entrapment!"
"Actually, it's blackmail. Entrapment is what cops do."
She fell silent, staring at him for a moment.
"Are you coming?"
Belle bit her lip, looking back to the door that led downstairs. She had no choice. With a deep breath she took his hand and climbed into seat next to him. Apparently they would be working together.