"I found you, you bitch." Belle French growled at the image on the computer screen. She had poured over all of the footage she could find from the area where the explosion occurred. The place where he had been-she couldn't, wouldn't let herself finish the thought. She would deal with the grief later, for now she was focused on finding those responsible. With the frozen video on the screen in front of her she believed she had.
Humans react in predictable ways when they are startled by a catastrophic event. By instinct they will freeze, they will run away, or they will investigate, but there will be an immediate reaction of some kind. Unless the person knew what was coming beforehand. The split second after the explosion she had watched the people nearby reacting instantly. There was one camera that had captured an image of a woman calmly walking away in the opposite direction, completely unfazed by what had just happened. It wasn't a clear image at all, grainy and too far away, but the woman's hair was striking. She was the one, Belle was certain of it. Now the task had been to identify the silver and black haired woman. After pouring over databases she had finally matched the fuzzy image on the video to a clear photograph of a woman standing next to none other than Robert Gold. The picture had been taken from a distance but the similarity could not be ignored. Will had been murdered by Cruella DeVille, and Belle would find her and Gold and make them pay.
The food was drugged, she knew that, but was the water drugged too? She could go for a while without eating but she needed the water if she was going to fight her way out. She decided that she would have to risk it. So far Gold had drugged her twice but she still felt in control of herself. But she knew that wouldn't be the case for much longer. Emma had to take advantage of the first opportunity that presented itself.
Except for when they fed her or drugged her, Cruella and Gold left her alone in the basement. It was bare except for a small cot she slept on, a portable toilet and a wooden chair. A plan began to form in her mind, and she hoped that it was Cruella who would be coming down next. Half the time it was just Cruella coming down alone, the other times it would be both of them together. Gold never came down alone.
After what felt like an hour, Emma heard the activity near the top of the stairs that meant someone was coming down. She took her place inside the portable toilet and closed the door. She listened as someone descended the stairs. Emma began making retching sounds.
"That sounds disgusting." It was Cruella's voice, Emma thanked whoever was listening to her prayers that it wasn't Gold. "If you make a mess in there I'm not cleaning it up." Emma took a deep breath and counted to three then she used her shoulder and shoved the door open as hard as she could. The door hit Cruella hard and sent her flying backwards. Emma pounced on her like a rabid dog. She punched and punched and punched until her knuckles were burning with pain. She looked and saw the pummeled mess that used to be Cruella DeVille's face.
Emma had heard the metallic clatter when she hit Cruella with the door so she looked frantically on the floor of the basement. Finally she spotted the gun under the cot and scrambled off the unconscious woman to retrieve it. Emma sprang to her feet and pointed the pistol at her captor. Her shaking finger hovered over the trigger and she bit hard on her bottom lip.
She deserved it. She had held her hostage. She drugged her. It would be easier to escape if Emma just killed her. If Cruella was dead then Gold would not have help to track her. Just pull the trigger Emma. Pull the trigger. Pull it!
"No." She whispered to herself. She wouldn't become a murderer and that's what this would be, cold blooded murder. She put the gun in the waistband of her pants and grabbed Cruella by her armpits and dragged her into the portable toilet. She propped her up and then closed the door. She then grabbed the chair and used it to jam the door shut. Taking a second to make sure that the door was secure she then turned and bolted up the stairs.
Mary Margaret cradled a cooing Henry in her arms as she began to brew the first pot of the morning. She smiled down at her grandson for his confused look. "You have all kinds of energy when you wake up little guy." She reached for a clean mug and places it on the counter. "But us grown ups need a little help." Seemingly satisfied with her explanation, Henry busied himself attempting to put his tiny fist in his mouth.
She thought about waking Regina, it was half past nine in the morning, but then she decided against it. The woman had been sleeping maybe two hours a night and it was beginning to show. The mayor looked terrible, her eyes were sunken and her usually healthy looking skin now looked tired and grey. Her raven colored hair was dull and flat and her shoulders seemed rounded in defeat as she walked.
Mary Margaret didn't blame her, Regina had been through a lot in her life and had a dim view of hope. Mary Margaret on the other hand saw everything her family had been put through and concluded that they could withstand anything. From her paralysis to David's coma and how they overcame those obstacles she had full confidence that things would work out and they would find Emma safe and alive. Emma was the strongest person that Mary Margaret knew and she was so proud of the woman her daughter had grown up to be. She knew that wherever Emma was that she was fighting hard to get back home.
Just then there was a knock at the door causing Mary Margaret to frown at the gurgling baby in her arms. "Who could that be?" She rolled to the front door and opened it to see two women standing outside. One woman was a tall and elegant woman she had never seen before. The other was a woman who Mary Margaret thought she would never see again.
"Mary Margaret, may I come in?" Cora Mills asked.
A/N: Sorry about the long time between updates. I am working on the second novel in my King & Moretti series (the first one is on sale on Amazon right now! King & Moretti Partners) But anyway, writing that has now become my primary objective so updating this story might take longer than it used to. But I haven't abandoned it and I am close to the end. Thanks for sticking with the story!
