Their deal was half done. Regina had gotten the charges against him dropped, and now he had to make sure that Mary Margaret "got what she deserved"-freedom. He was looking forward to that, to Regina's realization that she'd lost to him yet again. But he knew there was a long way to go before that happened. In order for everything else to work perfectly, then it had to be a long way away. In truth, he needed everything to appear like it was going in Regina's favor until he took it all away. He wanted all this to end with an angry Regina and an angry Emma staring each other dead in the eyes, daring the other to move first. That was what was going to get this Curse broken; that had been his plan all along. Right now, Regina was distracted by Mary Margaret, but when all was said and done, she'd turn her attention back to Emma. If this was the way he needed to do it in order to get that result, then so be it.
As far as the investigation went, he'd done his part, it was Regina's turn to play dirty now. She had to leave the skeleton key in the cell for Mary Margaret to find. And when all this fell apart, well…that was what Glass was for. Regina wouldn't let herself take the fall, she'd look for someone else to do it and the most willing person he saw would be Sidney Glass. There was still time for all that to happen, still a long while until he needed to have a talk with Sidney to make sure he was primed and ready to have that talk with Regina and "take one for the team" in order to save her ass. But first, he had to switch teams. Quietly for now, but he could get a little louder about it soon enough. Outside the police station he parked his car and took a deep breath. Trying to keep his head straight in all of this was like constantly trying to untangle a knot by making new ones. But he'd get there. He just had to play this out, day by day, one step at a time, one play before another. With that in mind, he focused on the purpose of his current visit, turned the car off, and went inside.
Once inside the station, he heard the two women talking in very different, very suggestive tones.
"The heating vent? Emma, I don't even know where the heating vent in my bedroom is!" Mary Margaret cried frantically. She was stressed, perhaps even loosing her grip on reality a bit. Perfect.
"Well, someone did, and they put a hunting knife in there," Emma explained, her tone was different; tender and delicate. She was trying to figure it out. The use of the word "someone" suggested she was suspicious, just as planned. That was good. She just didn't want to force the issue because of the state of her friend. Understandable. "I checked for signs of a break-in, but there weren't any."
He smiled. His employees had done well then, used the borrowed key and gotten in and out clean. It was good to know he was getting precisely what he was paying for. Once Mary Margaret discovered the skeleton key in her cell, Emma would put two and two together. She'd make an assumption, one that was incorrect, but ideal for the situation.
"You don't believe me," Mary Margaret cried.
"Of course I do," Emma exclaimed. "But what I think doesn't matter. The evidence is piling up by the hour."
"Okay, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying, you should think about hiring a lawyer."
What a perfect opportunity for an entrance. He didn't need magic, sometimes the situation called perfectly for a magical appearance.
"An excellent idea," he stated finally rounding the corner and revealing his presence.
"Mr. Gold," he heard Mary Margaret breath before casting her gaze away and wringing her hands together. She looked embarrassed and guilty. It was an understandable reaction, though probably not quite for the reason that she assumed. He was a lawyer who had just caught the Sheriff talking to a suspect about a case…alone. As the Dark One he was pleased things were working out as he wanted. As Mr. Gold, attorney, he knew it was a stupid thing for his client to be doing. Not that it mattered, she'd be out of there faster than she knew.
"What are you doing here?" Emma demanded with much less tact than her mother.
"Offering my legal services."
"You're a lawyer?" she blanched.
"Ever wondered why I was so adept at contracts?" He smiled, after all this time she hadn't figured that out yet? Emma was an excellent Sheriff, her detective skills left something to be desired though. "I've been following the details of your case, Miss Blanchard," he explained turning his attention back to his would-be client. "And I think you'd be well-advised to bring me on as your counsel."
"And why is that?" she asked.
"Well, because the Sheriff had me arrested for nearly beating a man to death, and I managed to persuade the judge to drop the charges," he lied. The call they'd shared the other day made it sound like she clearly thought that he'd done some bribing to make the charges drop. From where he stood there was no need to let Emma on to his deal with Regina. At least not yet.
"Asserting your influence isn't what's needed here. We need to find the truth."
"Exerting influence may be exactly what's needed here," he argued.
"What's needed here, is for me to do my job," she fought back.
"Well, no one's stopping you. I'm only here to help."
"Enough," Mary Margaret pipped up in a voice that was less than influential but enough to quiet them both. "Please go…" she breathed.
"You heard her," Emma snapped at him but she clearly hadn't seen what he had. Mary Margaret hadn't looked at him when she'd made her order, she'd looked at Emma.
"No, I was talking to you," she corrected quickly.
The girl whipped her head back, looking shocked to hear the pronouncement. He couldn't blame her for that given their relationship. It would have been so easy to pull her aside and explain that in this situation he really was on their side, but it wouldn't help. He had to play carefully. That meant maintaining an air of mistrust. He had to let Emma be skeptical about him. He had to let Mary Margaret do the convincing.
"Oh, Emma, he's right. I need help," she explained. "And you need to do your job, or else I'm screwed. So, just please…do your job the best you can, and you'll prove me innocent. Until you do, I need some practical help."
She ended with a sweet smile typical of the schoolteacher but Emma didn't see it. She cast her gaze down looking like a hurt dog.
"Trust me," he explained stepping closer. "This is in Miss Blanchard's best interests."
He'd said the words, but he didn't exactly expect her to believe them. Fortunately for him, whether she believed them or not, she was legally bound to listen to them.
"Good luck, Mary Margaret," she nodded, stepping closer to him and looking into his eyes. He sensed a threat coming on and smiled at her as he prepared to take it. "I hope your best interests are what he's looking out for."
Yes, certainly a threat of some kind. But he held his smile as she walked away. It was a shame there was already so much bad blood between the Savior and himself. He really did appreciate her spunk.
"I can't pay you," Mary Margaret whispered when they were finally alone.
"I didn't ask for money," he pointed out.
"Then why are you doing this?" she asked.
Ah. Emma's veiled threat had gotten to her after all. Right now, his interest was in finding his son and in order to do that he needed Mary Margaret, so yes, for now this was in her best interest. She'd pay her back, in a way.
"Let's just say," he paused and let the corners of his mouth lift as he remembered saying the exact words to her so long ago in another life. "I'm invested in your future."
Quick scene, short chapter. But it gets the job done. Any questions?
Thank you, Alarda and Grace5231973, for your reviews on the last chapter. I know a lot of this is all really confusing when you get right down to it, but I'm happy to hear that it's tracking for you. Storywise, it works from an outside observer's perspective, but once you really dig in deep, there is a lot about this Rumple is controlling, right down to Sidney Glass. Fun fact, the talk he has with Sidney is actually another one of my favorite chapters in this fiction, but we've got a bit to go before we can get to that conversation. So let's move on to the next chapter and we'll keep trucking along! Peace and Happy Reading!