"Jesus!" Emma shrieks, her voice so abnormally high that she doesn't even recognize her own tone as a shockwave of nervous energy ripples through her system. "What the hell are you doing here?" She sputters out, her hand flying over her chest to keep her heart inside before the damn organ runs away in fear.
He doesn't say anything at first, no, he just sits at the edge of the couch, eyeing her warily. He's inspecting every detail, every move and breath she takes with great interest, like it's the first time he's ever laid eyes on her. A deep chill erupts from the base of her skull and torments her entire body, all the way down her spine. She knows by the haunted look in his eyes that something is wrong. Her detective skills and basic instincts are blaring and flashing in her mind, provoking her eyes to drift back toward the door, wondering if she can make a break for it.
"Bae, what are you doing here?" She investigates again, hoping the use of his name will snap him back from wherever his mind has traveled to.
His dark eyes drift slowly toward her wide-eyed gaze and he immediately smiles softly back at her. His index finger runs across his goatee before he gives it a little tug and he sinks further into the couch.
"You know there's something about you," he begins, his voice low, calm and almost soothing, if he didn't just break into her home. "Right away, I knew I liked you." She swallows thickly, listening very intently and wondering where he's going with this story. "When our eyes locked, I felt this instant connection," he explains, snapping his finger to stress his point. "Like maybe you held a secret deep inside that matched the one harboring inside of me."
"Bae, really, why are you here?" She quietly asks again, knowing she needs to keep her temper in control and not agitate the man who may or may not be threatening her life right now.
"I'm here because I know," he cryptically states with conviction, his hard gaze locking onto hers and just waiting for her to confess.
"Know what?"
"I know you're a cop," he smugly replies, never insinuating that he's going to divulge any more information.
"What?" She gasps breathlessly, squinting at him in disbelief.
He breathes out a laugh through his nose, mindlessly scratching the scruffy hair decorating his chin. "Don't play dumb, I'm not a fool." He leans forward, resting his elbows upon his knees and clasping his hands together. "Just please tell me," he gently pleads, "are you snooping around my brother's new business?"
Emma tilts her head to the side in consideration, examining his puppy dog eyes and his crooked smile and even though the sirens of mistrust are screaming in her mind, he appears innocent.
"Why do you think I'm a cop? I'm just a writer," she feigns innocence still, shrugging her shoulders and flashing her most adorable grin with her dimples coming into the play.
"It's okay," he tenderly says, peering up at her so sweetly. "I just want to know if my little brother is doing something wrong. I just want to protect him, you know?" He sighs, scratching the back of his neck and dropping his gaze to the floor. "He always does whatever everyone tells him, I just hope he didn't find himself in a bad situation. If he did, maybe I can put a stop to it." He slowly stands and on instinct Emma moves to step back, but she forces herself to remain rooted to the ground to appear confident and not at all like she's in danger. "Maybe I can call my dad and he can talk some sense into him. Just please, tell me if he's in the wrong," he begs, his dopey eyes glistening with compassion and pleading for the truth.
She swallows thickly, so unsure how to even navigate her way through this unexpected conversation. She should play the fool, insisting she is nothing more than a writer, on her way back to take care of her sick father. Yet, there's this voice whispering in the back of her mind, that maybe she can uncover some more information on Gold and Gideon if she plays her cards right. Jones and a team are on their way to bust Gideon now, Bae will never know until it's all over, maybe she can weasel her way onto his good side.
"Bae, I don't know-"
"Stop lying!" He shouts, eager to cut her right off from whatever lies she's about to spew, but she remains calm and doesn't even flinch. "Please," he lowers his voice again, stepping forward into her personal space and holding her gaze. "Please tell me if I can help my little brother before it's too late."
Emma's mouth pops open, but instead of words, the sound of her phone rings through the room and cuts through the tense moment. She sighs, reaching for the phone in her coat pocket to discover Killian's name across her screen.
"Your ex-husband?" Bae awkwardly chuckles, persuading her eyes to slide back toward his face to find a hint of jealousy peeking behind his mask.
One corner of her mouth deepens to express her lack of amusement. "Something like that," she murmurs, then sends the call to voicemail, knowing he's calling to confirm that Gideon is in custody. The last thing she needs is Bae overhearing that his brother has already been arrested when he's trying so hard to protect him. "Bae, again, why were you in my house?" She exasperates and pockets her phone.
"Ugh," he groans, stepping back from her personal bubble and rubbing his hand through his hair. He flashes her a cheeky, lopsided grin that easily breaks the tension between them. "I know, I know it was stupid, but I just really needed to talk to you in private," he tenderly states, stuffing his hands into his pockets and shrugging so innocently. "I kinda do stupid shit when my loved ones are involved. I just needed to help my little bro."
"Okay, so what are you gonna do if he is involved with something stupid?" She inquires, watching his every move because she's still on high alert.
"I don't know," he exasperates, mindlessly pacing around her living room. "Maybe my dad can knock some sense into him or maybe I can convince him to shut the whole thing down before things get out of hand."
"But what if he's in too deep? I mean, isn't your dad helping him start the business?"
"Yeah," he confirms, skeptically studying her out of the corner of his eyes.
"Well, what if your dad is involved?"
"What do you know?"
XXXX
Belle is in hysterics, her eyes gushing tears like a broken faucet as she sobs in a rickety chair in a cold, damp room. Her mind is still reeling by the prospect of her family being involved with something so complicated and illegal, that she can hardly understand the officer questioning her.
"Belle, it's not wise to hide anything right now. If you know any piece of information, it's best to tell us now before you go down for conspiracy charges, do you understand me?" Sheriff Graham states for what feels like the hundredth time since he arrived on her doorstep an hour ago, flipping her entire world upside down.
"I swear to you," she pleads, her ocean eyes spilling waves of tears down her flushed cheeks. "You know me, Graham, ever since I used to babysit you. You know I would never involve myself in anything illegal. And you know I would never put my family in harms way," she cries, shivering involuntarily from the thought of her family going behind her back in such a cruel way.
"Then why was your husband depositing hefty amounts into your son, Gideon's, bank account?"
She shakes her head vehemently, that gray streak falling into her face. "For college, I swear."
And in another room, directly next to Belle's, Officer Jones is snarling at Gold in disgust as he slaps down the bank statements in front of the man.
"Come on," Jones sneers, pointing at the last transaction to process six weeks ago. "You're telling me that number is an acceptable amount for a college student?"
Gold laughs, it's a mix between nervous energy and disbelief as he holds his hands up in surrender. "Between tuition, room and board, food, extra spending...yes, I would say that's acceptable."
"Bullshit," Jones coldly demands, straightening his posture from the agitation spreading maliciously down his back. "You're a smart man, Gold. You own half of Storybrooke, you're a business man, you know damn well where every penny is being spent and I know, you know, how much college will cost each month."
Gold peers down at the bank statement before him, intently studying the numbers calculating down the page. He sighs, expressing his confusion with the debate rattling around inside his brain.
"I'm not proud of it," he reluctantly concedes, his eyes never lifting from the evidence below. "But, I was sending money for Gideon to pay off his professors in order for him to graduate. However, it seems that was all for nothing, considering he didn't graduate at all."
Jones kicks back his chair, gathers his evidence and exits the room without another word, hoping Gold will sit and stew in his own insecurities and thoughts and maybe open up just a little more. He treks across the hallway and enters another room with Gideon Gold anxiously sitting alone and biting down on his thumbnail.
Killian closes the door behind him and confidently struts across the room, sliding so swiftly into a chair across from the twitchy man-child. He flips open a folder and shuffles through the bank statements again, slamming them down in front of the suspect.
"He has been in control all along, hasn't he? Brainwashing you to obey his every command," Jones speculates, leaning closer into the table and lowering his voice. "You're just a kid, we both know you are not the ring leader of this operation, so just tell me the truth before you get blamed for something you didn't do," he kindly says, switching so easily into the good cop role.
Gideon's nervous eyes flick toward Jones, assessing, and trying to understand if this cop is playing him or not. It's just too bad this kid is too naive to comprehend this little game.
"Listen Gideon, you have your whole life ahead of you, don't take the fall and waste away in jail. If you tell us the truth, your dad won't be able to control you again. He'll be behind bars and he can't hurt you any longer."
"My dad?" Gideon balks in utter bewilderment. "What does my dad have to do with this?" He questions, completely flabbergasted by the implication.
XXXX
"Look, I don't know anything," Emma exhales slowly to calm the nervous energy sparking below her flesh. "All I'm saying is, your dad owns those docks, right? What if he's involved, too? What if they are both in trouble?"
"So, they are in trouble? My dad too?" Bae asks, his eyes filling with remorse just before they fall closed and he sighs.
He begins pacing the room again, so Emma takes a moment to check her phone, where she finds a message from Jones informing her of the ridiculous amounts of heroin they found stowed away in the warehouse on Gold's property at the docks, along with everyone who is in custody at the moment and being interrogated. She doesn't respond, she simply shoves her phone back into her pocket and glances back up to find Bae watching her closely. Everything is now out in the open, the Gold property has been busted and everyone is now in custody, so she relaxes the slightest bit.
"Do you want to talk about it? Has your dad ever asked you to help out with starting some businesses or anything?" She sweetly asks, hoping to find out more regarding Gold and his operations of pop up businesses.
"Why?" He suspiciously fires off a little too aggressively, instantly putting her nerves on high alert again. "Was that your cop friend? What did he say?"
"No-nothing, I just-"
"Are you trying to pin all of this on me now?" He scoffs, running a twitchy hand through his hair again. "I really should go, I don't want anything to do with my family if they are only going to bring me down."
"Wait, calm down, I-"
He moves quickly, stepping into her personal space, but he has this charming smile gracing his face that makes all the women swoon, just like Ruby and Regina have mentioned.
"You know, I really liked you a lot, but I knew you were playing me. I knew you were a cop, always pretending to ask such innocent questions about my family. You just had to play games, huh?" He huffs in annoyance, enclosing the gap between them and forcing every hair on Emma's body to stand to attention. "I caught on to you pretty quickly," he lowers his voice and licks his lips, his hot breath beating down against Emma's own mouth, but she doesn't budge, she holds her own. "Only a true player can sniff another player out," he husks so challenging against her mouth and in that split second, she knows they all royally screwed up.
They have everyone in custody, everyone except for the real mastermind.
"Ah, it's you," she whispers, holding his dark gaze in a challenge.
"What'd ya say, we leave all this behind and run away. I recognize that look in your eyes, that's the hallow depth of being abandoned. Who was it? Your daddy?" And he doesn't sound condescending or like some smug asshole like she anticipates, instead he sounds sad, especially with the full pout on display.
"Right, because mommy abandoned you, right?" She softly inspects right back, never breaking their intense eye contact. He squints at her, pursing his lips and clicking his tongue, but never faltering. "So, what? Stealing money fills the void deep inside? Or is it taking advantage of innocent people to retaliate against your mother inflicting pain on an innocent?"
"And what? Saving lives and risking your own life for people you don't even know, fills the void of being so utterly alone in this world?" He mocks without skipping a beat, urging her heart to pick up its pace.
"I chose to be good-"
"And for what," he interrupts, his head swaying just a tad closer, to where their noses are just barely touching. "Where did that get you in life? You chose to be good and yet, you are still so miserable and alone. Come on, you're already a ghost according to society. You can pick up right now and disappear, become anyone you want. We can go spend the rest of our lives celebrating on a beach with the amount of money I have. Neal Cassidy and his lovely wife..."
"Yeah, see there's one problem with that," she whispers so seductively just to keep him hanging on, but there's a rapid knock at her door, disrupting their fiery conversation.
And before Emma can even blink, there's a gun flying out from Bae's pants and pointing directly into her gut. "Whoever that is, make them leave," he growls, his lips ghosting over hers with every intention of the kiss of death.
She's been in hostage situations before, been held at gunpoint plenty of times, but this is the first time ever in her career that she actually fears death. She finally has something to live for. A bright future with the possibility of a family she can call her own and it would be just like life to play some cruel joke and snatch it away, just like her parents and Remy were taken away far too early in life.
The furious knocking continues, beating down against her door, so she slowly nods, peering deep into those cold eyes, so Bae knows she will follow his instructions. Slowly, she spins around and they move in sync toward the door, her heart hammering along to each knock against the door, beating to the same rhythm.
"I mean it, get rid of whoever it is, no games or I promise you, nobody will ever find your body," he threatens in such a deep growl that her body instantly shivers.
"I got this," she vows and slowly moves one hand to open the door with just enough space for her head to be seen. Her heart crashes brutally against her sternum, causing her breath to hitch when she finds Regina on the other side in a panicked frenzy. "Regina," she surprisingly gasps, persuading the tip of a gun to press more firmly into her back.
"Emma, is Henry here?" Regina investigates in a rush, moving to barge her way inside, but Emma is quick to plant herself directly in the gap and block her frantic girlfriend. "Emma? What's going on? Let me in, I need to make sure Henry is okay. I just received a phone call from the school saying he never came in today."
Emma's heart sinks while her brain spins viciously and she feels woozy, knowing the kid might be in danger and she can't even help because she's being held at gunpoint and all she needs to do right now is get Regina the hell out of there.
"He's not here, maybe he's with Robin?" She suggests calmly, but her face is blank and the reaction immediately creates suspicion and doubt in Regina's mind.
"He's not, I just spoke with her. Emma, please, let me in, I'm sure he's hiding in there or he will turn up shortly. He's always running off to you," Regina urges, the sheer panic evident on her face and Emma can only assume her girlfriend is begging for some of her detective skills right now.
"I can't let you in, you know my instructions. You know I have to leave. Did you call the police? Dr. Hopper? Maybe he's with Ruby at the diner, stealing a milkshake."
"Emma, what is the matter with you?" Regina exasperates, attempting to steal another step forward, but Emma's body stiffens, her posture standing tall and looking over Regina with stern confidence.
"Nothing is the matter with me, I just don't want to lose my job. I have to go. I'm sure the kid will show up," she sternly states, narrowing her eyes at her girlfriend and hoping she understands that she needs to back off.
"But Emma-"
"I will call you when I get back to New York, now go," she growls and slams the door right in her girlfriend's face, leaving Regina stunned and blinking in confusion on the front porch.
When the door slams shut, a small thud vibrates through the house, forcing Emma's heart to leap into her throat.
"What was that?" Bae questions, his eyes growing more fierce and dangerous as he glares at Emma accusingly.
"The house is old," she flippantly replies. "I probably knocked a picture off the wall or something when I slammed the door shut," she claims carelessly even though every cell in her body is screaming its protest.
And she knows in that very moment, Henry is in the house and she needs to do everything she can to get the hell out before that little boy winds up hurt or even worse, more psychologically damaged.