"What is it, exactly, you need us to find?" Hook asked carefully as he brought his mug of ale to his lips and took a hearty swig of it. The end of Cora's lips twitched nervously, the first sign of inferiority or fear she had shown in practically forever, as she tapped her fingers listlessly on the table of the inn. The swell of boisterous people around her did nothing to sooth her nerves and the smell of smoke and alcohol assaulted her senses; she was used to more refined, less populous locations for her meetings.
"The ashes I have are not sufficient to open up the portal. With the compass, I-"
"We." Hook ground out. He couldn't let Cora get the wrong idea.
Cora rolled her eyes.
"We can navigate our way through the portal with the compass, so we'll know in which dimension to stop in, but the ashes only get us half way there in opening the portal. There's one other pivotal piece to the puzzle." Cora confided to them, shifting awkwardly away from the bawdy man next to her and the tawdry barmaid sitting in his lap and cackling wildly, trying much to hard to hold his attention.
"Okay, great, but what is it?" Emma asked impatiently. Cora could use her cryptic words and evasive tactics any other day, but Emma needed to get back to Henry as soon as possible. Every new second she didn't spend with him wrapped in her arms were becoming more and more painful.
Cora smiled uneasily.
"Another bust." Hook announced despairingly, raising his hands to the sky, as he stepped out of the rickety shop and into the street. Emma mirrored his frustrated movement, adding a 'dear god' under her breath and kicking the side of the building on which she leaned.
"Are any of your friends going to have it?!" she asked angrily. The two had been searching the city's most questionable venues for Hook's sources, asking (but never begging, Hook insisted) for Cora's hard-to-find item. They were getting no closer, based on the information they were receiving, and both members of the 'search party' were growing more and more frustrated.
Cora had decided not to accompany them, deciding instead to 'leave them to what they do best' while she stayed in her room at an inn of her choosing. Apparently, Hook's choice had been a bit too 'common' for her.
"Be patient, love. We'll find it..." Hook promised her, adding a quiet "eventually" after he brushed after her. The woman had hawk ears, however, and heard him clear as day. "And when, exactly, is eventually? I need to get back to Henry...like now." she nagged, chasing after Hook who was strutting rather quickly down a narrow (and suspicious) street. He disregarded her, mmmhhhhhmmmmm-ing disinterestedly, obviously consumed in his own thoughts. "You're not even listening to me, are you?" Emma asked exasperatedly. Again, Hook just nodded his head and replied, mmmmmhhhhhhmmmmm...Emma scoffed and lifted her hands to the sky. "You're impossible." Hook didn't even respond. Emma bit her lip and stood on her tip toes to peek over his shoulder. As they walked, he was reading something...that looked like a map? "What are you looking at?" she asked curiously, forgetting momentarily that he was totally tuned out. When he didn't say anything, she swatted his arm annoyedly.
Hook looked up from his reading with a mock-hurt look on his face.
"Hey! What was that for?"
"For ignoring me! Where are we going?"
"To talk to another one of my informants, the same thing we've been doing for the past three hours...Nothing new."
Emma rolled her eyes, he could be so annoyingly condescending!
"But where is this informant!?"
A small, secret and most importantly, devious, smile spread across Hook's face. "You'll see."
Emma arched an eyebrow. This could not be good.
Twenty brief minutes later, Emma and Hook stood in front of a large, wooden building that was much too far off the beaten path for Emma to remain comfortable. There was no sign, nor any other indicator of what the building housed, except for the girlish squeals and shouts that could be heard through the door. That alone was enough for Emma to understand what it was.
"Your informant's in there?" Emma asked, half disbelievingly, half disgustedly.
"My informant's in there." Hook replied redundantly, a grin spread from ear to ear. "And you're going to talk to him."
Emma turned abruptly, eyes wide with horror. She grabbed his coat and asked indignantly, "Me? Why me?!"
"I don't have the best history with this particular source..." he said cryptically. He didn't particularly feel like giong into detail on their last encounter.
"If you can't even talk to the guy, then why would you even come here?" Emma asked annoyedly-she really didn't want to walk into that building.
"He knows everything about everyone. He's one of the best in the business. His...location...allows him to meet people from every corner of the world. If anyone will have it, he will."
"Then why didn't you go to him first, instead of last?"
"Like I said, bad history. If anyone else had what we needed, I'd rather ask them. But apparently, we're left with only one option..." he looked dramatically to the building, from which squeals and moans were still emerging, making Emma blush ever so slightly. Did it really have to be here where she had to meet the informant?
"Well, I'm not doing it. You'll have to get someone else to talk to him..." she declared, turning her back away. Hook caught her arm with his, well, hook and pulled her back. "Ah, ah, ah...not so easy. We both need to get back to Storybrooke. This man-he's our route. So...are you in or are you out?"
Emma rolled her eyes and huffed. She could't argue with him. "What do I have to do?"
There was another devious grin from hook.
"Not...much. I'll get you in, you'll just have to talk to him directly." he told her with a sly grin, prodding her towards the door of the establishment. She eyed it skeptically and resisted at first, but all it took was a little nudge from Hook before she submitted. Swinging open the door like the gentleman he was, Emma walked slowly into the building. Immediately, her senses were bombarded with the stench of sweat and perfume and she clapped her hand over her nose and mouth rather indiscreetly. The squeals and moans had grown even louder, and Emma saw multiple scantily clad girls pulling men into lush rooms containing beds; her suspicions were confirmed...she had walked into a brothel.
Hook walked up behind her, taking a deep breath of the air, it being a familiar and beloved scent to him. He was grinning from ear to ear, and not just because a foreign goddess was undressing him with her eyes only a few feet away, and he her, but because he knew how much Emma would hate this. He may be here on a business venture, but who was to say he couldn't have a little fun?
He stepped up directly behind Emma and rested his chin on her shoulder, wrapping left arm around her waist and toying affectionately with her hair. She shifted uncomfortably in his hold and looked nervously around; was this part of the plan?
"What are you doing?" she whispered, tilting her head to the side in an effort to shrug him off her. It was unsuccessful.
"Trust me; everything will go much smoother if you just play along." he assured her, whispering it hotly in her ear. In truth, the fondling had nothing to do with their 'infiltatration'...it was just fun to screw with her. And to hold her, but he wasn't about to admit that.
"How is this" Emma gestured to Hook's arm, which was rubbing gentle circles on her arm "going to help us talk to your informant?" she asked annoyedly. His touches, the way his body felt behind her, it was more pleasant than she would like to admit. It was almost...intoxicating.
"Just trust me, Emma." Hook said breathily into her ear, swaying gently. "Do you trust me?"
Emma shifted even more uncomfortably in his hold and tried to peel away his arms from her body. He had her in an iron grip, however, and her squirming was only causing unnecessary friction between their bodies.
"If you don't trust me about the plan, at least trust me on this-" Hook told her with a wide grin, "any more squirming and you'll be feeling something rather unexpected."
That was the last straw for Emma. She thrust her right arm in front of her and slammed her elbow into Hook's ribs as hard as she could. Immediately, his grip on her vanished and he keeled over, groaning slightly. Emma smiled victoriously.
Revenge was sweet.