...
Chapter four
"Hey I get it. I do," Emma said earnestly as she stood against the wall of the interrogation room. "You came here just looking for your happy ending and other people's greed and selfishness took that from you. After everything this town has thrown at me? Trust me, I get it."
Ali Baba's face remained impassive, fixed on a random empty spot on the table he was handcuffed to.
"Just tell us your side of it. What happened?" Emma tried again an edge of impatience creeping into her voice. If she wasn't able see his chest moving as he breathed she'd have thought he was under a freezing spell.
The door to the small interrogation room opened and Mulan walked in and gave Emma a nod that she'd take over for a bit. Emma frowned at the silent man and then the sheriff, very reluctant to admit defeat. Mulan then gave her a tiny head tilt towards the one way window, her face becoming slightly pinched. Ah, Emma realised, less about her ability with the suspected murderer than Mulan's trouble with the men outside.
Stepping out she nearly walked into her father who was pacing back and forth like a tiger in a cage. He waved his hand in apology and turned back to walk in front of the glass again. Hook waggled his eyebrows at her smirking at full power as David passed where the pirate was leaning against the window and she walked over to stand next to him.
"How long has he been doing that?" she asked quietly.
"Since you went in there," Hook whispered. "I think he is feeling frustrated that it is no longer his place to conduct such interviews."
"I can hear you," David said, not willing to admit how insightful his partner had been. "And I'm fine. I just wish he'd talk."
"Okay, I have some pieces of paper here," Mulan's voice said out of the intercom. They all turned to the window to see her pull out some A4 paper stapled at one corner. "I need you to read through it and sign it. If you refuse I'll sign it for you." she spoke flatly and matter of factly and the contrast to Emma's earnest cajoling earned the warrior a twinge of Ali Baba's eyebrow. She pushed the paper into his eyeline and waited for a response.
"So you're not going to read it? Then I'll read it to you." Mulan said when the man didn't move and brought the paper back in front of her. "I, Mr Ali Baba, formerly resident of the Land of Untold Stories, have been arrested and charged with the murder of Mr Owen Smith and the attempted assault and murder of Her Majesty Queen Snow White also known as Mrs Mary Margaret Nolan, Mr David Nolan also known as His Royal Highness Prince James and -"
"I do not care," Ali Baba said, his voice gruff.
"And I don't care that you don't care. This is the protocol in this realm so it's going to get done," Mulan replied in a bored voice. "And Captain Killian Jones also known as Captain Hook. I am also under investigation for the murder of Mrs Morgiana Baba and when found guilty will-"
"I did not kill my wife," Ali Baba said his voice trembling with suppressed anger. "It was those bastards from across the road. I had grown suspicious of their watching devices and oddly regular times for coming and going. I realised they were watching us. My wife and I normally ensure we leave the house at the same time only very rarely. In my distraction I forgot she had plans in town. Why did I chose that afternoon to investigate their tawdry little flat?"
"You were breaking into their apartment at the exact same time they were breaking into your house? Is that what you're saying?" Mulan asked incredulously.
"My wife must have returned and discovered them. I watched…," his voice faltered as he relived the moment in his mind. "I watched through their looking device as she fell...by the time I got back to the house she was already dead."
"You saw your wife dying but didn't see who killed her?" the sheriff asked not unkindly.
"Their backs were to the window," he replied. "I could see it was the same people who had been watching us. They must have fled immediately, they were gone when I got back to the house."
"From across the road?" Mulan clarified. "And after witnessing your wife get murdered by the people who had been watching you... you buried her yourself. In your garden." The man went back to staring at the table.
"OK, I believe you," Mulan said sincerely after a pause. She got out a pen. "I'll just change this part to failure to report a serious crime and desecration of a body." With a sweep of her pen she struck out two lines from the written statement. Ali Baba stared at her opened mouthed. Outside the room Hook chuckled.
"Bloody hell, that woman really is something. You best be careful Swan," he teased. David expected Emma to be offended or hurt but unlike him she didn't misunderstand and laughed along with the pirate.
"I know," she said. "No more taking stationery from the office for us. We'll have to buy our pens at the store like everyone else."
"-I could not tell anyone without revealing why those dogs were in my house," Ali Baba was complaining. "My wife would have understood and agreed." Mulan gave him a look that clearly stated she thought that was unlikely.
"You can drop the vagueness, I know about your treasure Mr Baba. In fact we know about your treasure. Although that is something I am curious about, if you and your wife were so careful how did those bastards know about it?" Ali Baba frowned deeply at the table.
"I was arrogant, I believed coming to a new realm would be enough to protect us. But somehow every other person in this realm knows who I am and about my-." He cut himself off from saying the word out loud, still clinging to his shattered secrecy.
"Treasure," Mulan finished for him bluntly. Ali Baba glared at her, but the Sheriff acted like she didn't notice.
"You are the law here," Ali Baba said suddenly, as if he'd only just realised that fact. "You must find these curs and make them return what they've taken."
Hook tilted his head in surprise. That was an odd thing to say. Not pay for their crimes, no justice for my wife just return what they've taken?
"You weren't too concerned with my position in town when you failed to report what had happened and then went after Owen Smith yourself," Mulan said pointedly.
"I have already told you," Ali Baba hissed. "I did not want to involve others only to have them lust after my-."
"Treasure," Mulan said again. The man chained to the table actually growled. "It's a shame, if you had come to me we probably would have caught them by now and therefore you'd have your belongings returned to you. But you took things into your own hands so now we have no clues to follow and they'll get away with it."
"No!" he shouted the handcuffs rattling. "The man I killed, the blacksmith, was one of them. Before he died he admitted he was working with others, he tried to convince me that it was all their idea and doing. That they have hidden my treasure. You must discover who they are and force them to give it back. Those Pirate Investigators! They know their identities. Have you questioned them?"
For the first time David didn't enjoy hearing the still unofficial name of their agency spoken out loud. What was the raving man on about? Had he really just confessed to a murder in the hopes that it would help investigate a robbery?
"I can see this is important to you," Mulan said in a carefully constructed understatement. "What exactly did they take?"
"A bag of gold coins, several gems of varying size and a small golden statue of a bird," Ali Baba listed. Mulan's blank exterior cracked slightly in surprise at the detailed list.
"And this was your entire treasure?" she asked.
"No," the man replied with an irritated scoff. "Barely a fraction, but the amount is not the point."
Emma and David jumped as a string of cursing left the pirate standing next to them. Hook felt his blood boiling with fury. In all his years his passions had lain in love, no matter what riches he stole or what powers he held, it had all been in the name of the people he valued above all else, Liam and Milah and now Emma.
He never fooled himself into thinking that there weren't men who held little value for those they claimed to love. His early abandonment was enough proof of that. But to speak of it with such lack of any shame. How could this man announce that a small part of his treasure was more of a concern than his wife's murder? Was he even aware of what he was saying? Hook had slain better men for far less.
"You OK?" Emma asked her boyfriend. She got a stiff and unconvincing nod in reply. "I should go back in, you'll be alright out here?" Another nod.
"It's OK Emma, give him hell," her father said encouragingly. She gave them both a cautious look as she opened the door and went back into the small room.
David turned to the pirate hoping to get him to let out some of his anger now Emma was away from earshot. He found only empty space and the door back out to the main office swinging shut.
….
A little while later he found his partner stood outside. There was a slither of a gap between the sheriff's station and the next building through which you could make out the ocean. Hook was stood in front of it. Night had well and truly fallen and the pirate's dark clothes blended him into the shadows in a way that was effectively threatening.
"He say any more?" Hook asked as David walked up, he sounded calm though tension still cut through his tone. David noticed his fist open and close almost rhythmically, working off his energy. He hoped the idea he was about to suggest would help the Captain keep his temper in check.
"Nothing new," David said. Hook turned to face him.
"So what now then?" he asked.
"Emma and Mulan don't have enough to link in Baker so they're going to move on Peep and hope she squeals," David told Hook. "Not that they have a lot on her either. They are going to check out her house and then Baker's to see if she's there. I offered Pirate Investigations to check their shops to save time."
"Aye Mate, good idea. I'll head to the bakery you check out the butcher's shop," Hook agreed, his shoulders relaxing in relief at having something to do to help the situation.
"Sure. You be careful," David said. "Call if you find anything."
"You too Mate, both counts."
…
The bakery was as silent as the grave, after only a brief survey Hook could tell no one had been there in awhile. Cursing, the pirate pulled out his phone to call David but as he was raising the device to his ear a light flicked on in the window next to him. He stared in amazement at the lit desk lamp inside the closed shoe repairs and key cutting shop. A shadow danced across the window and Hook dived into the shelter of the doorway before he was seen. Leaning against the wood he strained to hear any movement inside the shop, nearly toppling over when the door opened as he leant against it.
His hook snagged the handle and kept it from swinging all the way open, allowing a small crack that he could peer through. Apart from the desk light all appeared as it should, the moving shadows seemed to have disappeared. Then he heard a whispering, it was too soft to make out any words but there was definitely more than one person inside the old man's shop. He heard a rustling and decided he didn't have time to play around with whoever was messing with their client.
He flung the door open with a yell expecting to catch whoever it was in the act. The room was empty. Hook growled in frustration, he was sure he'd heard someone, where the hell had they gone? Hiding behind the counter? He prowled around the shop, each dark corner revealing no one and only irritating him further. Then he noticed one of the shoemaker's tools was not in its carefully crafted slot on his workbench, resting on the middle of the work top instead. With a deep frown he strode over to double check it, and completely missed the open trap door in the floor until he fell through it.
...
The butcher's shop was exactly as they had left it. Peep apparently hadn't needed to come back after escaping them earlier. David pulled out his phone but stopped himself from ringing Emma just before his thumb mashed the icon. The shop had been a long shot and if she had found Peep she'd have called him already. She might be in the middle of arresting her right now and not need the distraction. He'd be patient and wait to hear from her or Mulan. He pressed the picture of Hook's face instead and listened to the phone ring out. If Hook hadn't remembered to charge it again he was going to kill him. He counted to ten and just before he could redial he heard a young voice behind him.
"Hey look it's the prince," said the voice.
"The Captain around?" asked another.
"We have news for him," said a third.
It was the Lost Boys from Ali Baba's road.
"No, you can talk to me though," David said. The boys looked doubtful. "My money's just as green as his," he said rolling his eyes.
"The scary lady is back at the little flat," the smallest boy said. "She's tearing up the place."
"Thanks," David said, thanking whatever power had sent him this bit of luck. "It's getting really late you should get home."
He made to jog back to his car but the boys moved to block his path and looked up at him expectantly. Rolling his eyes again, David pulled out his wallet and grabbed some notes, not wasting a second to check the values and pushing the bills into the largest boy's hands. They whooped in delight as he sped away. He'd regret not checking how much he'd just given away later.
…..
David heard Bo Peep before he saw her. The boys hadn't been wrong, the butcher was cursing and complaining loudly as she tore through the little flat, the sound of ripping material and breaking wood rattling around the night air. He quickly sent Emma a text to let her know where to find them and crept through the open door of the little garage flat, his gun out and his finger on the trigger.
It was a studio style room with a kitchenette in one corner and a sofa bed on the other. Although, it was difficult to appreciate as the apartment looked like a bomb had hit it. The cupboards were all hanging open the contents also opened and thrown around. The sofa was lying upside down with holes cut into the lining. Bo Peep was in the middle of the carnage on her hands and knees ripping up the carpet.
"That ginger bastard baker," she growled to herself. "If he runs off with my gold there won't be a rock in this entire realm he could hide under that'd stop me-"
"Lose something?" David asked. Peep spun around, a large knife in her hand but David pushed his gun into the centre of her vision and she dropped it to the ground with a scowl. He flicked his head towards the sofa and Peep grudgingly pulled herself up and sat down heavily on it without turning it the right way up. "A bag of coins, some gems and a bird statue was it?" David asked, feeling pleased when Peep looked surprised.
"How do you- I don't know what you're talking about," she said unconvincingly. David laughed, enjoying having one over on the cruel woman who'd bullied and threatened him and his mother for so long in the old world.
"Let me guess, your partner has double crossed you?" he asked. Peep crossed her arms and scowled harder. "Come on, I know most of it already and you're going to the cells either way."
"This is all that baker's fault," she spat bitterly. "The snivelling idiot, him and Smith. I should have just done this whole thing on my own, but I needed people to watch the house when I couldn't be here."
David turned slightly so the window and the telescope they'd seen when they'd first followed Baker appeared at the edge of his vision, the sandy coloured house also visible through the glass.
"Ali Baba and his wife hardly ever went out at the same time," David said as the pieces started slotting together. "So you three took it in turns to watch the house waiting for your chance to break in."
"Smith had done a bit of work on their house," Peep continued. "Saw which room they didn't want him going near. Figured the safe must be in there."
"How did you know he'd have a safe at all?"
"He's Ali Baba and living like they do? No work but plenty of nice things? Even if he weren't the guy from the story he'd still have something worth taking." She grinned in a way that was totally repellent.
"But you got caught in the act," David said continuing the story. Peep frowned again wondering how the shepherd turned prince knew so much.
"Yeah, the woman came back. Nearly took Baker's head off. She had some moves," the butcher said appreciatively. "Turned out to be a good thing though, overpowered her and got her to open the safe." Peep spoke like she'd done it on her own but David was pretty sure the thieves being three on one probably had more to do with it. "She did something though," Peep continued scowling again. "The stupid door started closing the second we were inside. We nearly got trapped. Only managed to grab a handful each."
"That why you killed her?" David asked.
"That was an accident," Peep declared hotly. "She was struggling and it was only a tap to get her to calm down. Her own fault she lost her balance. She hit the fire surround." David shook his head in disbelief of her lack of guilt.
"Why did you come back here after you robbed him, especially after killing his wife? Why keep watching him?" he asked.
"You didn't see it," she said as her eyes glazed over. "I saw it with my own eyes and I don't believe it. I've never seen so much gold."
"So what? You were going to try again? To get more?" David asked. He hadn't thought her story was could get any worse.
"Why wouldn't it work again? Especially after Ali Baba didn't report his wife's death," she shrugged. "If Baker had managed to get rid of the evidence without attracting the attention of the whole town, we'd have been in the clear."
"The bakery," David realised.
"Yeah," Peep sneered. "I thought, he can manage that, it's just some blood stained overalls, how hard can that be? Apparently they were fire retardant so he poured lighter fluid on them and threw them in his coal fire. Then the whole place went up." She rolled her eyes not one scrap of sympathy anywhere in them.
"Even then you were planning to try again?"
"Ali Baba still didn't know it was us," she shrugged again.
"He did know it was you!" David exclaimed. "He was over here the same day you were over there."
"What? How could he have-?" Peep mumbled.
"Because he has eyes? We only saw Baker here for five minutes and we figured it out," David said in exasperation.
"But he-"
"He didn't see your faces, not until he saw us talking to Owen," he said bitterly. "But as soon as he did he went to Owen's workshop and stabbed him through the heart, but not before he made him tell him he was working with others."
Peep's overconfidence finally dissolved and she looked scared. Her face looked really odd, the woman somehow looking older and frailer and David realised he'd never seen her without her suffocating air of smugness before.
"Does he know it was me?" she asked.
"No. But he will when you're sitting in the cell next door to him," Emma said from the doorway.
"How much did you hear?" David said, relieved to see his daughter.
"Just the end," Emma replied.
"It's a good thing I recorded it all then," David said holding up his phone so she could see the recording app.
Peep snarled and leapt off the couch towards him but Emma was ready with a blinding flash that threw her back into the seat where she slumped unconscious.
"Oh, crap. Now we have to carry her. I need to work on that," Emma said flexing her fingers. David checked her pulse and it was strong and steady, her breathing also clear and regular.
"We could wait for her to wake up?" he suggested. "Though she's properly implicated Baker in all this if want to go pick him up too."
"He wasn't at his house," Emma said. "Hook see him at the bakery?"
"I haven't heard from him yet," David said, frowning as he noticed how much time had passed since he last spoke to his partner. He exchanged a worried look with Emma and quickly dialled the pirate feeling his sense of dread build with each unanswered ring.
….
The sharp ache and burn radiating from his head to his upper back was the first thing he became aware of as Hook slowly swam back into consciousness. Bloody hell, if he'd ruined another jacket Swan would never let him live it down. He shifted his arms and legs satisfied that he hadn't broken anything. Leaning back he could see the light from the desk lamp that had sent him in here through the square hole of the open hatch above him. The yellow light shone down on him but did very little to illuminate the rest of the space he had fallen into. He could just make out piles of boxes and rough concrete walls. Some sort of storage basement then.
He had, thankfully, landed on some canvas bags, which had undoubtedly helped him escape serious injury. With a groan he levered himself up, rubbing his head. Unfortunately whatever was in the bags wasn't pillows, he heard the items shift under him as he sat upright and groaned again. Something scurried between some boxes to his right.
Turning suddenly caused his head to remind him he'd just been knocked unconscious and he had to blink and steady himself for a long vulnerable moment before the world stopped spinning. Another something ran on tiny light feet from his left around to join the one on his right. He was pretty sure he spotted the small figure of a person in the shadows. A person only five inches high.
"Great, bloody brownies" he grumbled.
"Excuse me sir," a tiny but very offended voice said. "We are elves, not brownies."
"My apologies sir," Hook said formally in reply. "But it is rather dark in here, please forgive me for mistaking." His manners appeared to have bought him some trust as two small faces appeared out of the gloom. They appeared to be one male and one female with little round faces with pointed noses and ears. They were wearing clothes that looked like they had been cobbled together from various random scraps of material. In fact, considering the circumstances, that is exactly what they were.
"You're the ones moving around the old man's affects upstairs aren't you?" Hook asked. The elves gave each other a panicked look.
"We never touched the customer's things or any of the stock, just the scraps he was throwing away," the male elf said desperately.
"We're not thieves, but when we reached here from the Land of Untold Stories we had nothing…." The female started to explain. Hook held up his hand to calm them down. Though their voices weren't that loud they were shrill and Hook's head rebelled against listening to them as they shouted up to him. He brought his hand to his eyes and attempted to massage the lingering ache away.
"Are you alright?" the female asked. "You fell very hard."
"I believe I will fine, thank you for your concern mi'lady," Hook said with a crooked smile. The little elf blushed.
Blinking his eyes into focus Hook managed to discern more shapes out of the darkness and found himself looking at a tiny house made of pieces of wood and cardboard and unidentifiable pieces of twisted metal. It was otherwise a very serviceable replica of a full size home and with a lick of paint would probably be indistinguishable, apart from the scale of course.
"Did you make that?" Hook asked. "And your clothes?" The elves nodded and very good idea formed in Hook's aching head. "It is fine work sir, madam. You know, I think if we explain things to the gentleman who owns this shop and allow him a little time to grow accustomed to the idea… you might stay here in exchange for working upstairs. I hear he could do with the help."
"You really think he will accept us?" the male elf asked. The two little faces lit up with excitement and Hook couldn't help smiling back down at them.
"When he sees the quality of your work down here? He'd be a fool not to. I can help mediate," Hook assured them. "However, the more immediate question is how do I get out of here?" he asked, finally getting up on two feet and thankfully finding the world didn't feel the need to spin about.
"There's a ladder attached to the trap door. You hit your head on it on the way down," the male elf answered helpfully.
"Ah yes I see it now," Hook sighed.
As he closed the door in the floor behind him he heard the latch click shut on the other side and wondered for the first time how the tiny people were managing to open and shut the trapdoor on their own. Dismissing the question for later he pulled out his phone. Three missed calls from David and one from Emma. Hook decided it was best not to over analyse it and pushed the icon for his partner.
"Dave….Yes…. Yes apologies, I managed to knock myself unconscious…. No no, I'm alright. Actually, I'm better than that, I solved our case. The one we got hired for... Is Emma with you?... Where should I meet you?"
He left the shoe repair shop by the back door, stopping in the dark of the doorway as he listened to David explain everything he had found out. Just as his partner was explaining that the baker had managed to double cross Peep and steal all the treasure they'd stolen for himself, the backdoor to the bakery opposite him popped open and the man in question stumbled out, a heavy looking holdall clutched in his hands.
"Bloody hell," Hook said in surprise. Baker froze for a split second and then ran like Cerberus was nipping at his heels. Hook cursed loudly. "He's here! He's running towards the sheriff's station," he yelled into the phone and set off in pursuit.
…
Baker was amazed that he'd given the pirate the slip. There must have been something wrong with him as the baker had noticed him stop and hold his head and had used the opportunity to put on more speed and change direction. He'd have thought the gods were on his side if he hadn't gotten lost and ended up behind the docks.
He jerked around in panic as he heard angry shouts from more than one voice. They sounded a lot closer than he'd hoped, but as he tried to pinpoint their direction he got confused by the sounds bouncing off the tall warehouses around him. In desperation he turned in the only direction he knew his pursuers wouldn't be, towards the water.
The handles of the holdall cut into his palms and he pulled the bag up to his chest. He was so close. He could make it. He may have been a fool for buying Peep's lies about how easy a job it would be stealing from Ali Baba, joining forces with the vile woman even after she killed Ali's wife, but he'd got the last laugh. She had thought so little of him, it had never occurred to her that he'd take all the treasure for himself and now that Owen was dead….
He physically shook off the thoughts of his murdered friend and the gold in the bag clinking together. He smiled as he hugged his treasure tightly. Gold was currency everywhere in every realm. He could set himself up anywhere he wanted. He just had to get away.
The ground under his feet suddenly changed to uneven wooden slats and he stumbled and tightened his arms around the holdall, breathing in a shaky breath of relief once he'd righted himself.
There was a thunk next to him and he looked down to see the woman from the liquor store unloading crates from a small dingy. She was looking up at him in surprise and he felt something cold grip his heart as her curious gaze dropped to the bag in his arms. He slung the holdall over one arm, pulling a revolver from his waist band with the other and then wobbled dangerously as the heavy swinging bag threw him off balance.
"Get in the boat," he snapped, waving his gun at her. She looked at him blankly.
"I'm already in the boat Mate," she replied.
"Then move over. You're taking me to the other side of the bay," he commanded. Without waiting for her to agree he jumped into the little wooden boat, and fell solidly onto his arse as the row boat rocked in the water. He didn't lose grip on his bag or the gun however and swung it up to point at the woman who held her hands up in surrender.
"Alright, alright. No need to wave that around you might hurt someone," the dark haired woman said in a careful but teasing tone.
"That's right I might," he snarled. The woman's smile fell and she pushed the boat out onto the bay without another word.
She set a good rhythm, the oars slapping the water and pushing them through the waves. Baker was surprised she seemed so at home, he had expected the store owner to tire quickly and beg to be allowed to stop. As they got further from the dock the waves grew larger and the dingy rocked not only side to side but in every direction. Baker was having a difficult time keeping his gun trained on the woman, but he wasn't going to let go of his treasure either.
"Lean on the stern there," the woman suggested after watching him struggle, nodding behind him. Baker twisted and saw the end of the row boat had a thick plank of wood which jutted up at the middle. He shuffled backwards, clumsily climbing over the seat as he tried to keep the gun pointing in the same direction. When he made it he slumped to the floor, his back against the plank and felt much more stable. The liquor woman nodded, smiling at him flatly.
He was just getting comfortable when he realised the seat of his trousers was getting wet. Looking down he was alarmed to see water sloshing around the bottom of the boat and it seemed to be getting deeper.
"Is the boat leaking? How can your boat be leaking?" he demanded. The woman looked genuinely embarrassed.
"It's not meant for long trips, just pootling about the dock for unloading the stock. Climb up on that crate of ale there." She said pointing out the box she'd not managed to unload next to him. "Don't worry it's only a small leak we'll be across before we come a cropper."
"Whatever," he huffed, doing as she suggested, but now he didn't have the stern at his back any more and the swell was making him sway about again.
"There," the woman said. "See that rope? Loop your arm in, it'll give you a bit of stability eh?" He looked where she pointed and saw a thick knotted rope hanging from a hole in the top of the plank he'd just been leaning on. Probably some sort of way to tie up the boat at the dock, he thought as he reached for it. The rope stubbornly swung away from him and he leaned further out, his fingers just grazing the rough fibres. An oar hit him square in the chest and the next thing he knew was the cold slap of the water as it engulfed him.
Taken by surprise his mouth was open and suddenly filled with the salty bitter seawater. He coughed and panicked, thrashing about until his head broke the surface and he spat out dirty water and spluttered breaths. Then a cold sensation even worse than the water surrounding him grabbed his heart. He wasn't holding the bag. He'd had the handle wrapped around his arm, he must have dragged it overboard with him. He plunged back under the surface but he might as well have had his eyes shut it was so dark. The treasure was gone.
He heard a steady splashing and realised the liquor woman had switched direction and was striking out back to the dock, the oars propelling her through the water before the baker had had time to push his wet ginger hair out of his eyes.
He still had his gun, his fingers feeling frozen around the grip. He lifted it above his head, his aim swinging back and forth as he kicked his legs, treading water poorly as his head dipped under the larger waves of water. The boat was getting smaller as it coasted away and in desperation he pulled the trigger again and again. Wet empty clicks sounded from the waterlogged weapon and he flung it in frustration, a pathetic plop echoing back to him from the dark water.
"Come back," he yelled.
"No," the woman yelled back, already well out of reach. The baker splashed left and right but couldn't see anything but dark water and the distant lights of the town. There was a splash and slop somewhere behind him and he heard a clanging in time with the churning waves.
"Hear that bell mate? It's a buoy for marking the shipping lane, I'd get to that if I were you. The water's awful cold this time of year," the sly fox called back to him, her cackles bouncing off the water as she disappeared into the darkness leaving the baker alone in the frigid ocean.
…
"So when this new prison is ready they'll all be in there together?" Mulan asked Emma as she waited for the deputy to pick the lock on the door.
"Mmm," Emma hummed. "Well I'm pretty sure whoever ends up in charge'll keep Ali Baba and Baker separate but they'll be in the same prison." She made a triumphant noise as the lock clicked and she shoved Ali Baba's front door only to hear a bang as a second lock prevented it from opening. "Seriously?" she asked the door and got to work again. "Peep'll be on the women's side," she said, going back to their conversation. "I guess she'll be company for Sapsorrow. They can swap skinning techniques."
Mulan looked disgusted but Emma missed it as she finally got the door open and stepped inside. It had been a couple of days since everything had happened and things had settled back down enough for Mulan to suggest they move Ali Baba's remaining treasure to a secure and actually secret location. Regina had worked up a nice vault with some hefty protection magic that should put off any would be thieves. Emma and Mulan just had to get the treasure and take it there.
Baker and Peep had told them the safe was in the front room behind a big fire place. Ali himself had refused to even admit he owned a safe. The front room was furnished like an office with a large desk and walls covered in shelves, apart from the far wall which had a large marble fireplace taking up most of it. Emma could just make out a faint dark stain spreading from the edge of stone onto the wood floor. She started to search for the panel the thieves had told her opens the door to the safe as Mulan walked to the room's window and looked across the road to the little flat opposite. So much greed focused on this one little patch of road, she marvelled. Turning back to Emma she realised you couldn't actually see the fireplace through the window just a narrow view of the office desk and the shelves behind it.
"Bingo," Emma said happily as a panel popped open on the wall beside the fireplace, revealing a very modern looking electronic key pad.
"Now what?" Mulan asked. "The thieves only saw the trap code and Ali Baba is not going to give us the real one."
"He doesn't need to," Emma said. "I know it already."
"How?" the Sheriff demanded.
Emma didn't answer, instead she leaned down and pressed the button labelled "OPEN" and then 737263. Nothing happened.
"Crap, I was going to look so cool when-"
The entire fireplace suddenly moved. With a shrill grinding of stone against stone it slid sideways into the wall and a golden light shone onto their amazed faces. There was an entire room of gold. Gold just piled up in heaps, gold bars in stacks, gold jewellery studded with gems, ornaments and statues and even gold furniture. Everywhere you looked there was something gold shining back at you.
"Huh, you don't see that everyday," Mulan said.
...
Hook looked up as a knocking sounded. He put down the book he was reading and opened the front door to find his partner stood outside.
"Finally finished moving everything?" he asked, stepping back to let the other man into house he shared with Emma and Henry.
"Yeah, took most of the day though. You should have seen it," David said. "I almost get why everyone was so crazy about it.
"Well I should have seen it," Hook grumbled.
"Well you shouldn't have given yourself a concussion and been ordered to rest. Then maybe you could have helped move the treasure of unimaginable wealth too," David replied. Hook noticed the bag David was carrying and raised an eyebrow at him with a smile.
"You bring me a souvenir Dave?" he asked.
"Like Mulan would let me get away with that," David laughed. "Though I do think helping her catch a bunch of robbers and a murderer has won us some plus points. No, actually I have a gift from your little friends at the shoe repairs shop." He pulled out a tiny two inch high doll in a small black leather jacket with a very recognisable hook on its left wrist.
"That is cute," Hook gasped as he held it and then licked his lips and looked at David in embarrassment. "Have I just destroyed my persona?" he asked.
"Don't worry I've never noticed that you had one," the prince teased. The two men moved over the kitchen area and Hook carefully placed the tiny version of himself right on top the coffee machine as David sat down at the table.
"There now, he can bother Swan when she makes her coffee each morning," he said happily and dropped into the chair opposite David. "Were they getting on alright?" he asked the prince, thinking of the gruff old man and the two tiny elves. The cobbler had put on a good show of being outraged at finding out he had squatters but his excitement at seeing the quality of their work had soon overshadowed everything else and Hook had left him explaining his filing system in great detail to his new little employees.
"Like a house on fire," David said, earning a scoff of amusement from the pirate. "I actually have something else for you," the prince said looking slightly nervous.
Reaching into the bag again he handed Hook a brown paper envelope, with what felt like a small brick inside. Hook upended the package and a stack of small white rectangular papers fell out. He slid the top one out of the elastic holding them together and saw a simple black image of a skull and crossbones with a crown floating above it. Underneath was written Pirate Investigations in curling script. He turned the card over and both his and David's talking device numbers were written on the other side printed clearly next to their names. He turned the card back and forth a couple more times marvelling at how crisp and white and professional it looked.
"Do you hate them?" David asked. Hook looked up realising he'd been quiet for a while. "They're our business cards. We give them out so clients or people we want to be our clients have our numbers."
"I don't know much about business cards," Hook said carefully. "But I bloody love these Mate." David let out a laugh of relief.
"You know how to make a guy sweat," he complained.
"Pirate Captain," Hook shrugged as if that was an answer. "Well I have to make some room for these beauties." He stuck his hand in the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a couple of gold coins which landed on the table with a happy jingle. David picked one up as Hook reverently placed a few business cards in the now empty pocket.
"Where did you get these?" the prince asked suspiciously.
"Hmmm? Oh, here there's more actually," Hook unloaded two more handfuls onto the table top from various pockets. "Skylights gave them to me, said she felt we deserved a cut."
"A cut of what?"
"Seems she found sunken treasure in the bay" Hook said a slow grin slipping onto his face.
"This is stolen Hook," David scolded. Hook's grin got wider and he handed David one of his business cards, displaying the symbol on the front.
"Hello Mate, Pirate Investigations," he said smugly and more than a little proudly. "And I have no idea what you are talking about. This was a gift from an old friend." David gave him an annoyed look over the table. Hook sighed. "Who can really claim to own it? The people the forty thieves took it from? Tell me who they are and I'll give it back." David frowned down at the coin and then leaned to the side and felt in his bag, pulling out an electronics catalogue.
"So I think I found the camera setup we should get," He said, slipping the coin in his hand into his trouser pocket. Hook grinned and moved his seat so the two of them were sat side by side.
….
Author's Note: Check out the new cover image for this set of stories to see my mock up of their card, I found the images and put them together in a google search and then edited them in google photos and the editor on Fanfic. I did not draw them myself.
I hope you enjoyed this tale. Just the one shot to polish up and I should disappear to concentrate on my exam.
Thank you so much to everyone who has read these two stories, especially my regular reviewers andria, Nouqueret, PassOneonta and Drowned-dreamer. Your support meant the world.
Next chapter for further notes and disclaimers.
…..
