A/N – So people are getting pretty impatient about the lack of Belle so far so I've been reworking my story line a bit. The next couple of chapters are longer than the others so I can move the story along a bit faster. Belle will make her first appearance in Chapter 12!

Chapter 10

The day after the gathering at Mary Margaret's, the team traveled several hours north until they reached the picturesque town of Storybrooke. Nestled in a small bay, it was the perfect place for antiquing, trips to the beach, and an ideal getaway to save failing marriages; the bread and butter of the many bed and breakfasts that littered the hamlet.

Regina's casino was a fairly new but very profitable addition to the seaside town. Its hotel boasted two hundred rooms, a luxury spa and state of the art convention center that was frequently used for concerts and shows.

In three weeks' time it would host a sold out televised boxing match featuring two of the biggest rivals the sport has ever seen. It had been a great boon for Regina to be chosen to host the much anticipated fight as they were usually held in larger venues in Las Vegas or New York.

"Just look at it," spat Mary Margaret, wrapping her cardigan around her small frame at little more tightly to ward off the cool Atlantic breeze. "That ultra-modern monstrosity has completely destroyed the charm of the beach!"

"It certainly doesn't keep with the rustic esthetic of the town," Mr. Gold agreed.

David removed his light coat and attempted to place it across Mary Margaret's shoulders but she brushed it off and went to stand next to Emma, who seemed to be trying to avoid Neal like the plague. He sighed dejectedly then addressed Gold. "You know, I heard a very interesting rumor yesterday during my shift. Apparently Regina was forced to hand over a very large bribe in order to get the rights for that boxing match. The revenue gained from the publicity should more than make up for it. But for arguments sake, if she were to lose $120 million in liquid assets in one night, it would seriously put a crimp in her cash flow."

"So you're saying she may lose the Casino?" asked Neal.

"Her insurance will cover the losses, but that takes time," added Gold. "There will have to be an investigation by both the police and the insurers."

"Why do I have the feeling that you four are far more interested in taking her pride than taking her money?" asked Emma as she checked on Henry playing on the rocky beach.

"The money is our goal, dear. Anything extra is a bonus. Come. Let's meet the others at our headquarters."

~8~8~8~

The twenty thousand square foot warehouse used to be a profitable cannery until a few too many poor fishing seasons forced the business to close. The fact that a young mechanic had recently been murdered just outside the loading doors meant that Mr. Gold had managed to talk the rent down to practically nothing.

"It smells in here," whined Jefferson, covering his face with his frilly cravat. "Why can't our base of operations be at the motel?"

"First of all, we don't want to attract too much attention to ourselves. This place is out of the main tourist flow so we should have adequate privacy. Second, we require a great deal of storage space."

"In order to accomplish our mission, we must be precise and prepared for anything." Neal looked around the room, meeting every set of eyes. "Some of you will be given specific tasks; others will help out wherever possible until it's time for their own cons."

"Individual assignments first," said Gold. "Jefferson, you have one of the most important ones. Construction. We need a working replica of Regina's vault."

"For practice?" asked Jefferson, twirling his top hat absently around his finger.

"Not quite," Gold replied, grinning mischievously at his son. "Neal, Emma and I have managed to acquire the blueprints for you. Once it is built it needs to be filled top to bottom with casino gaming chips."

"Oh, is that all? Do you know how difficult some of that stuff will be to find?"

"Which is why I'm giving you two full weeks to complete your task. It must be absolutely identical to hers. Now off you go."

Jefferson marched towards the doors, either for better cell phone reception or to escape the overwhelming stench of cod.

"Next is power. The night of the fight we need to pull the plug on Storybrooke. Leroy, it's your show."

"Do you want broke, blown or absolute mayhem?"

"How about all three?"

"Done. I'll go through the sewers and blow out one of the main power conduits. It'll be hours before they get electricity flowing through those lines again."

"Just remember, Leroy," said Neal warningly. "We're cutting power, not blowing up mine shafts, ok? We don't need cars falling through a large crater in the street."

"Keep talking to me like that, sister, and you'll wake up to a stick of dynamite up your…"

"Assignment number three!" Gold hollered. "Granny, we need you to go out of town and buy two cube vans, one black if possible. If not we'll have to paint it."

Granny put aside her knitting and glowered at father and son. "Why am I getting stuck with the crap job? I may be old but I'm not useless."

Gold walked over to his elderly step-mother and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. "You are far more useful than you can imagine, Mum. But right now, I need you out of sight, and more importantly, out of that casino. You are our secret weapon and we can't have you recognized when the time comes, okay? Besides, you can frighten a salesman far better than any of these youngsters."

"That I can, Daniel. All right. But my part in this had better be huge!"

"My dear, your part in this mission is a matter of life and death!"

Mr. Gold turned to the rest of the group. "The rest of you, go dress up, put on a disguise or two, and spend the next few days gambling. Your task is surveillance. I want to know the rotation of all the dealers, the path of every cash cart. These casinos are built as labyrinths to keep people in. I want you to find the quick ways out. I want to know everything about every guard, every watcher, anyone with a security pass. I want to know their names, their nicknames, and how they take their coffee. Knowledge is power! And we need to be the most powerful people in town."

~8~8~8~

Mary Margaret was not comfortable with her new look. In fact, she absolutely loathed it.

"Stop fiddling with your wig!" Ruby chastised her new friend while she added more black liner to her own eyes.

"I don't know, Ruby," she moaned, smoothing her new long locks once more. "Why does it have to be blond?"

"Because the last thing you need is for Regina to recognize you," said Emma, adjusting her now short black hair.

"Besides," added Ruby as she applied a thick coat of scarlet lipstick, "only I can pull off the red wig! Okay ladies! Lower those tops and hike up your skirts. Lesson number one in being invisible: don't be! Men are creeps. As long as their staring at your tits they'll never remember your face."

"That is definitely true!" said a male voice behind them. "From here I can't even tell which of you is Emma and which is Mary Margaret."

"Hey! Boys are not allowed in here!" cried Ruby as she threw a super-sized bottle of hairspray at August's head. "How did you even get in my room?"

"Flimsy locks," he replied, his eyes wandering towards their enhanced cleavage. "Mr. Gold wants us to arrive either individually or in groups of two to avoid suspicion. I for one would love to walk in with a gorgeous lady on my arm. Any takers?"

Neal and Archie suddenly filed into the small motel room and looked appraisingly at the group of young women. "Wow," said Neal, his brow narrowed in thought. "You girls look…uh… different."

"Different good, though, right?" asked Ruby, jutting out her hip provocatively.

He reached out and caressed Emma's dark chin length locks. "I think you girls looked perfect before."

Emma leaned into the tender touch then quickly shook herself as if waking from a dream. "You know what, Booth? I've always had a thing for motorcycles. I'll ride with you."

Neal looked crestfallen and kept his back turned until the couple had shut the door behind them. Archie looked questioningly at his old friend then cleared his throat loudly. "I think the redheads should stick together, don't you Ruby?"

She playfully hooked her arm through the gentle pickpocket's. "Hell, yeah! Red has cred!"

"I guess that just leaves the two of us," said Mary Margaret. It could be worse, she thought. She could have ended up with Leroy.

"Even as a blond you're still the fairest of them all." He smiled sweetly at her and took her proffered arm. "Come on. Let's go make Nolan extremely jealous."

Mary Margaret brightened considerably at the thought. "Can we gamble at his table too?"

"Sure thing, Princess. Don't forget. This is all on your dime."

~8~8~8~

They entered through the casino's opulent glass domed foyer that prominently displayed a live tree bursting with ravishing red apples. Mary Margaret shivered at the sight of it. Her step-mother had always had an unnatural fondness for the hearty fruit.

A uniformed bell hop bowed politely to them as they arrived onto the gaming floor. Her head was immediately filled with the garish sounds of jingles and whistles, all designed to create an atmosphere of excitement. It was meant to trick the average gambler into thinking that everyone was a winner.

They were only a lever pull away from winning it all.

The room was impossibly huge, made to look even larger thanks to the light sandy colored paint and full length mirrors that reflected everything two fold. Everywhere she looked, lights flickered and sparkled. The soft carpet was the color of fresh blood with beige geometric shapes dispersed throughout.

It quickly gave her a headache.

Neal suddenly surprised her by interlocking his fingers through her own. "Relax, honey, and smile," he whispered. "We're a couple visiting from Manhattan, hoping the salty New England air will revive our flatlining relationship."

She had once been an internationally renowned model. If there was one thing she knew how to do, it was smile. "Anything else?"

"Yeah. You find me incredibly funny, especially whenever we pass by Emma and August."

She stifled a giggle and rolled her eyes instead. "Anything I should know about staking out casinos?"

He put his arm around her shoulders and steered her away from the mirrored walls. "Security is everywhere. You never know where they could be hiding. There are most likely hidden rooms with one way glass back there so avoid looking into it. Those weird black balls on the ceiling? State of the art video surveillance. They can swirl 360 degrees and zoom in close enough to count the pores on your skin." He looked over his shoulder and squeezed her arm. "I'll be right back."

Neal made a beeline for the platinum and glass bar in the center of the room. Mary Margaret decided to put a few coins into a random slot machine so that she could covertly watch the passing of a large gold cash cart. The employee pushing it was wearing a bright red blazer while the sharp eyed security guard who manned the locked door wore a simply cut black suit.

"Certain employees have access cards to specific areas of the casino cages," explained Neal as he handed her a frilly looking drink. "Don't worry, it's a virgin. We need to stay sharp while keeping up appearances. As I was saying, Nolan can only get into the public areas. We'll need to get access another way."

They spotted David dealing out cards to a full table. He looked up briefly as they passed and quickly did a double take. She found herself wondering if her disguise was good enough that he failed to immediately recognize her or he was just surprised to see her dressed like a high class call girl with Neal's arm wrapped around her possessively. For a second there it looked like he was frowning. It was so wrong that that made her stomach flutter.

"The guards are switching shifts," said Neal, rousing her from her meandering thoughts. He checked his watch to take note of the time. "They went in at 9:46."

"9:48, Cassidy," said August as he and Emma passed by, going the opposite direction. "Get a watch that works!"

Neal and Emma both looked over their shoulders at the same time, catching the other watching. Mary Margaret could definitely empathize with her new friends. "Where's Henry tonight?"

"My dad's watching him for Emma. He can't risk coming into the casino right now. A man of his age with a cane is too noticeable and we can't afford to have Regina spot him."

His cane. Of course. It was so easy to forget his disability because he always had the air of power about him. "If you don't mind me asking, how did your father hurt his leg?"

Neal took a drink of his ginger ale on the rocks and frowned. "I was fourteen. Dad and I were doing alright, getting by on small cons and lifting wallets, but he wanted a better life for me. He didn't want me to become like him. That's why he got involved with some big shot crime boss named Zoso who made him all sorts of promises. He thought that if he had more power and prestige within the underworld then I could get out of the con game, go to a good school, have a stable home."

"So what went wrong?"

"Zoso set him up to take a fall when things took a turn for the worse. You have to understand there was a war going on; a mob war against rival families. Dad was beaten pretty bad and his knee shattered to send his people a message. He ended up in a hospital for six months and I got put into the system. It was a couple of years before he was able to find me and get me back."

"I'm so sorry, Neal," she said as she rubbed his back sympathetically. "It must have been really hard."

"You have no idea," he mumbled. "Apparently Mother Superior wanted to make an example of dad and made it almost impossible for him to find me. She kept me away from him out of pure spite and righteous indignation."

"Is that where you met Emma? While in a group home?"

Neal smiled brilliantly, all traces of melancholy gone. "Nah. When I was eighteen I decided to do a little travelling, conning my way across the country. She stole a car that I had rightfully stolen first. She didn't notice me sleeping in the backseat. We hit it off pretty quickly, had ourselves a little Bonnie and Clyde adventure, minus the guns. Some of my happiest memories took place in that yellow Bug."

They were silent for a while after that, walking around the slot machines like a couple of bored tourists. When Neal finally did speak, his voice was low and serious. "Do me a favor, okay?"

"Of course, Neal. Name it."

"Ease up on Nolan a bit. There's nothing worse than having to work alongside the love of your life when it's not reciprocated. Okay?"

She hung her head down and nodded solemnly. The problem was, it was reciprocated. She just couldn't trust that his feelings were real.

She cleared her throat loudly. "There goes another cash cart. Make note of the time."

~8~8~8~

The teams went back to the casino several times over the next several days. They went at different times, arrived in different groups and went through more makeup and wardrobe changes than a Broadway play!

Emma, Ruby and Mary Margaret were there now under the guise of a girl's night out while David was working another shift at the tables. Mr. Gold was below the quiet streets of Storybrooke, wanting to check on Leroy's progress with the explosives himself. Jefferson and August were picking up a delivery of metal shelving, Granny was still in Boston getting the vans and Archie was tailing a mark.

Neal could not figure out how he had ended up with babysitting duty.

Not that anything was wrong with him. As far as kids went, Henry was sneaky, inquisitive and funny.

He reminded Neal of himself sometimes.

The two were stretched out on Neal's bed going through a large collection of comic books when the call came.

"Neal! It's Archie. I'm in a bit of a bind and I need your help."

"Are you alright? Have you been spotted?"

"I'm at the hotel's restaurant. My mark has been here for hours with his back to the wall. There's no way I can get to him and Gold needs this guy's ID card to make duplicates. I could use a distraction."

Neal bit hard on his lower lip. He couldn't leave Henry alone but neither could he let the mark get away. They needed to have passable ID cards to fool security on their next task. David's card is different from those of the guards.

"Henry!" he called across the room. "Are you up for an assignment?"

"Of course I am!" he cried, leaping off the bed. "You gotta use me! Let me help!"

Neal smiled and ruffled the kid's hair. "Don't worry, Archie. Help is on the way."

He turned toward the young eager face and licked his lips. "If you're going to do this you cannot tell Emma, all right? This is a little con that Granny taught my dad, and my dad taught me. Now I'm going to teach it to you."

~8~8~8~

The bar at the softly lit restaurant was cozy and romantic, the drinks strong and view of the Atlantic impressive. In other words, it was the perfect place to seduce neglected wives as their husbands gambled away their hard earned money.

Killian Jones was in his element! Nothing was more exciting to him than taking another man's wife.

He had been beguiling this one lass for a couple of hours now, plying her with the best Rums and bestowing her with his most roguish grin. She was hooked.

"Tell me again, love, why do you put up with your husband…what was his name? Phillip? …going off on these business trips with his assistant? If you were mine I would never leave your side."

"I trust Philip. I do!" moaned Aurora, her words slurring slightly from alcohol. She was definitely tipsy but not quite drunk yet. Jones signaled for another round of rum. "It's her I don't trust. Mulan! She's obviously in love with him. Plus she's Asian! How can I compete with that?"

"You deserve better than this, love." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and whispered seductively in her ear. "You know what you need? You need your own little adventure. I have a ship out on the docks. Come sail with me beneath the heavens tonight. You'll feel better in the morning. I guarantee it."

He placed his other hand on her knee and was slowly starting to move north when he felt a gentle tug on his shirt. He looked over to find a dark haired kid staring at him.

"What?" he snapped. "Can't you see I'm a little busy over here?"

"Dad," said the kid. "Mom says you need to come home tonight. You have responsibilities."

Aurora's head snapped up, all signs of intoxication suddenly gone. Jones growled low in his throat. "What the hell are you talking about, kid? Go away!"

"You're married?" she asked.

"No, the kid is obviously lying."

"Dad!" the kid whined. "There's nothing to eat in the house and you promised you'd bring home food this time. We're so hungry! Please don't tell me you drank away the grocery money again."

"You're not the person I thought you were, Killian! How dare you treat your family that way!"

"He's lying, love. Honestly! This isn't my kid!"

"Oh, Dad! How could you?" cried the little boy, running away.

The young woman tossed her drink into Killian's face and stomped away. She caught up to the young lad and handed him something.

Killian wiped his face with a napkin, and tossed a few bills on the counter. Every nerve in his body screamed at him to hunt down this kid and skin him alive. There was no sense in sticking around now. Every other do-able woman had just seen him humiliated. So much for getting laid tonight!

He got up from his favorite stool and made his to the exit. Perhaps he could tempt Regina into another desk side romp. Suddenly he collided with a middle aged red-headed man carrying an umbrella. What did he need an umbrella for? It was clear skies tonight.

"Even gutter rats have more manners than you've just displayed!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, sir," said the older man, his head cowed. "My apologies."

~8~8~8~

"Did you get it?" asked Neal, seated in the hotel lobby.

"Of course I did!" replied Archie. "Thanks for the help. I didn't think he would ever leave."

"You did great, kid," said Neal, ruffling Henry's hair. "Nice touch with the tears. Even I believed you!"

"Thanks, Neal," replied Henry. "That lady even gave me twenty bucks to buy my family something to eat."

"You wouldn't believe how many meals that trick has bought us over the years. I was a natural." He checked his watch and sighed. "We should get you back to the motel, kid. If Emma notices you're gone she'll kill me, then you, then me again."

Henry slipped his hand into Neal's. "Thanks again for letting me help. It was fun."

"Yeah, kid," he said, giving the boy's hand a squeeze. "It was."

A/N – I hate Hook. That is all.