A.N. I listened to Love me like you do by Ellie Goulding for this chapter ...

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She takes a step back from the infamous killer and tilts her head to Graham, but her eyes never leave Emma's. "Leave us."

She feels a brush of fingertips ghost the shoulder of her blouse as the man leans in to whisper along her ear, "Are you sure? Maybe I - "

Regina shakes her head slowly and steals a glance into the mans well meaning gaze. "I'll be fine. We are standing in the presence of greatness, Graham and I hate to dent your ego but if she wanted us dead, we would have been despite any gun pointed at her."

Graham's head whips back toward the woman standing before him and he can't help but smirk at his boss's proclamation.

Yeah, right. Oh - kay. Sure.

Regina seems to be able to read his thoughts and she feels it necessary to show this man just what in fact this woman is indeed capable of. "Take out your gun, Graham and aim it at her, like you did before. And you .. " She nods her head to the woman in question, "Show him."

Emma's eyes widen in alarm and she thinks she can't possibly be witnessing any of this right as she shakes her head to clear the sudden cobweb. She watches as impatient eyes glare into her own and she hears her voice squeak out a quiet, "Are you serious?"

Regina only nods at her and sweeps her arm out, her body language clearly saying, The stage is yours.

Emma hears the click of the gun and her adrenaline kicks into over drive. Before Graham even has a chance to register the sudden grip on his arm, and the gun being tossed aside, he is feeling the rush of misplaced gravity as he is flipped and his back smacks soundly against the solid ground. His eyes widen in shock as he feels the brush of jagged metal press against his throat. The word, "Checkmate .. " gets whispered softly into his ear and then the knife is tossed onto his heaving chest.

He is up and on his feet, grasping the handle of the slim blade and can only stare in bewilderment at the woman who is now handing him back his gun. "Here ya go."

He slowly wraps his other hand around the gun being extended to him and his eyes shine with awe and a dash of respect as they capture hers. His breath is still choppy as he asks, "How the hell did you know I was carrying a knife?"

Regina beats her to the question. "Your lower left leg is shaped different than your right, through your jeans when you are holding compared to when you are not." Her eyes once again never leaves the other woman's and she watches as sea green eyes snap to her own away from Graham's. She can see the alarm and wonder dance along the girls features.

Emma breaks her gaze from Regina's and looks back at Graham who is still standing there just staring down at his weapons in wonder. "Yeah, and with jeans it's really obvious, definitely harder if you had been wearing trousers, it would have been difficult to tell which calf but honestly, all goons .. " Graham snaps narrow eyes at her and she quickly stammers, " .. um .. guys in your line of work usually wear a knife .. ya know." Her eyes catch Regina's again and she waits.

"You can go, Graham." Regina nods at him with teasing eyes, knowing this little demonstration was a success.

"Sure thing, boss .. she's all yours." Graham shakes his head once more and walks away.

"Yes, I believe she is." And Emma narrows her eyes at the older woman, not liking the tone or innuendo in that statement. Nope, not one bit. For the first time, Emma finds herself with no cards to play with. Her deck has been shuffled and taken away from her and she feels .. lost. Without direction. Or purpose. And as she watches Regina stalk toward her, she finds herself walking backwards, until the too bright yellow of a bug presses along her back. She realizes she has no where else to go.

Literally.

"Give me the phone." Regina's tone is direct and her gaze layered in steel as she glares at her. Emma doesn't think that's a good idea and she voices it so but Regina is having none of it. She extends her hand and demands, "Now."

A deep breath escapes Emma's lips as she ducks into the bug and her eyes look for where the contraption had fallen after their earlier altercation. She spots it laying in wait for her, like a trusting pet, along the passenger floor and she scoops it up quickly. Her fingers brush along soft skin as she places the phone along Regina's palm and a slight tingle remains against her fingertips. She wonders if Regina feels it too. Or was it just all in her head, this bizarre connection she has felt toward this woman since the Diner?

Probably.

She waits with bated breath and her eyes never leave the captivating features of the woman standing before her as she watches Regina peruse her phone. She reads the latest and only text messages that are available and brown eyes dim a little and then flare up, dark and defiant once more as they look up from the phone and find hers.

She sees flecks of light sea green staring back at her, looking at her with depth and something. And it's the something that makes Regina's heart gallop and remember feelings she had in fact buried a very long time ago. She looks for and spots the scar that lays up above the corner of Emma's left eye, just below her eyebrow and before she realizes what she is doing, her fingertips are ghosting along the faint line. It's small, just an indent of pressed skin along other wise perfect features and Regina realizes she still feels bad for being the one who put it there. The familiar heat she feels from being this close to the other woman makes her pull her hand away and she makes it a point to avoid Emma's intense gaze, as her eyes focus on the phone again.

Emma doesn't know what the hell just happened here. There was something so familiar .. almost like deja vu when Regina stepped forward and basically caressed her scar. It was just a scar after all. Barely noticeable and yet, Regina zoned into it like a radar missile. Why? She shakes her head and watches as Regina mirrors her exact actions when deleting texts. She knows to delete both threads and Emma's eyes widen in surprise, words tumbling out of her mouth, quick like her picked up heart rate. "You've been trained?"

Regina doesn't look at her as she responds, "Yes."

"So, wait .. are you a - "

And Regina's cold eyes find hers now. "A killer .. like you?" She flips open the back of the phone and takes out the GPS chip, breaking it in half, letting the pieces fall to the ground. Emma's eyes follow and watch as a light breeze begins to scratch them along the dirt, moving the fragments whether they want to go or not. And she can't help but feel it's a metaphor for her as Regina's next words cut into her.

"No, I'm nothing like you." Regina begins to walk away only stopping when she realizes the other woman isn't following. She turns to see Emma standing, with hands stuffed into the back pockets of her jeans and eyes tracking something along the ground. "Well, what are you waiting for, an invitation? Let's go."

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They make it to the plush grounds of Regina's estate and the regal woman commands one of the guards to take the girl to a guest chamber. She needs space and time to figure out her next move and she can't do any of that with bright eyes glancing at her every few minutes. She needs room to just breathe for one god damn minute and sort all of this out. She finds herself sipping on a much needed drink after checking in on her son and kissing his sleeping temple. She hears the heavy oak doors of her office, slide open and then close again, and her eyes lock onto Graham's.

He folds his arms against his chest and waits for her to speak. She knows he's looking for answers. She just doesn't know if she is ready to give them. She glances at the liquid amber in her glass and wishes she had a few more drinks in her before having to partake in this conversation with the man. She sighs and slams her drink down, and walks around her desk, sitting. Feeling some sense of comfort and courage wash over her, from this familiar power position. She opens a folder and pretends to be interested in it as she asks, "Did you take care of that god awful bumble bee of metal?" She steals a quick glance at her trusted right hand man and sees him nod, yes.

"Thank you."

The phrase is quiet and Graham thinks, a little sad as he hears the words leave his boss's mouth and he brings himself to the opposing chair across from the woman and sits. And waits. And then taps his foot.

Regina's eyes finally glance up, registering the sound of a boot clapping along the polished wood grain. She closes the folder and clasps her hands on top of it, before finally speaking.

"Her name is Em - Miss Swan and she is a well known killer. The best actually. In the business."

"And you know all of this, how?" Graham tilts his head at his boss and watches as her eyes become hooded and she glances away.

She falters for a minute, and Graham thinks, he has never seen her this way. Except for when Henry is sick or in danger. There is an alarm bell ringing in his head now and god, he knows before she even says it.

"Because I helped train her. That's how." And Graham feels his heart drop in his chest. It lands soundly in his gut and twists. And stays there as he reaches over and takes a gulp from her drink. And then another.

"Jesus Christ, Regina .. you're telling me that your own mother has put a hit out on you? You're telling me that's who were fucking dealing with?! The Evil Queen herself?" Graham's voice is grave and laced in fear as he watches Regina glide out of her prestigious leather chair and step to a wide, bay window, peering outside at the surroundings she chose.

She doesn't speak for awhile and when she does her voice is low and rough, "Yes, it appears so."

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A.N. I know .. I know .. how does Emma not remember her then .. and what took so long for Regina to recognize who she was? I could explain it to ya'll here in this author's note, but come on, where's the fun in that! :) More to come, next week .. love to all ~