A few days had passed after the massive storm Storybrooke had suffered. Emma and Eve were driving along the road leading towards the remote cliff where Henry's castle playground was set up. As they pulled up to the play area, Henry showed up on his bike, practically blowing past the two women in his rush towards the destroyed fortress.
"Well, it would seem the storm took quite a toll on the castle," Eve mused. "Though I'm certain Marco would be more than happy to fix it up."
"Hope so," Emma replied. "Henry's gonna be pretty bummed about this."
Much to the surprise of the two women, Henry ignored the castle altogether, instead dropping to his knees in the dirt, beginning to shovel through it.
"Hey kid," Emma called out. "Whatcha looking for?"
"My book!" Henry called back. "I think it's still here!"
"The book is here?" Eve questioned. "Why?"
"I hid it here so my mom wouldn't find it."
"Guessing hiding it under your mattress wasn't an option?" Emma remarked.
"Everyone always looks under the mattress first," Eve pointed out. "It's where everyone hides everything."
"What about leaving it with me?"
"My mom is out to get you," Henry quickly shot down, finally unearthing a red, rusted lockbox. "And I didn't want to give her more ammunition against you."
"Considerate," Emma conceded.
Henry opened up the box, seeing that the storybook was still inside.
"Good," Henry let out. "Still here."
"Are you certain leaving it here is safe?" Eve questioned. "What's to keep Regina from finding it?"
"She doesn't know about this place," Henry explained as he relocked the box. "That's why I hid it here. Only us three know about it."
"And Mary Margaret," Emma added.
"She's Snow White, so she's good," Henry brushed off, reburying the box. "And as long as it remains between us, she'll never find out."
Just then, a car pulled up, parking right next to the police cruiser. All three turned to see that it was the mayor's car, must to the annoyance of the two adults.
"Doesn't look like that's going to be true for long," Eve muttered.
"Henry!" Regina called out as she exited the car, glaring right at Henry. "I've been looking everywhere for you! You know you have a session with Archie this morning," she looked up at Emma, her eyes narrowing. "Should have known he was with you. Henry, car!"
Henry went towards the car as Regina stayed to talk with the two women.
"You let him play here?" Regina questioned.
"This place looked a lot better before the storm," Eve pointed out.
"She's right," Emma agreed. "Besides, we can fix it up."
"Well, can you fix a cracked cranium?" Regina retorted. "Because that's what he'll have if just one of these boards collapses under his weight. You're not thinking about Henry or his safety, just ways around me." She scoffed, then crossed her arms. "Miss Swan, don't let your feelings cloud your judgement, or people will get hurt."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Emma questioned, tensing slightly at Regina's tone and forcing Eve to put a hand on her shoulder, holding her back slightly.
"It means that you're the sheriff now. So start acting like one."
…
Later, Emma and Eve met up with Mary Margaret at Granny's Diner for some lunch. Eve mostly just sat to the side, enjoying some warm food as Emma and Mary Margaret talked.
"Don't let my feelings cloud my judgement?" Emma quoted. "That's all Regina ever does."
"Don't let her get to you," Mary Margaret insisted. "She's just upset that you and Henry have a special place and she… well, she doesn't."
"How'd she even know about the castle in the first place?"
"She's the mayor, Emma," Eve spoke up, popping a french fry in her mouth. "There's little about this town that she doesn't know, no matter how hard people try to hide."
Just then, Mary Margaret's cellphone began vibrating. She checked it, seeing a text message that read 'We need to talk. Meet at our spot'. Eve caught sight of the message, seeing that it was from David. She smirked slightly, but played ignorant.
"Is everything alright, Mary Margaret?" she questioned.
"Uh… yeah," she replied, scooping up her things. "I just need to go." Before she left, she turned to Emma. "If it makes you feel any better, I think you're right. I see the effect she has on Henry."
"I wish everyone else did, too," Emma remarked as Mary Margaret left.
Once Mary Margaret left, Eve gathered what was left of her food in her hands.
"I just remembered that I need to head to the notary's office. I'm hoping to file for ownership of the land my store was on so I can, hopefully, begin reconstruction."
"Right. Did you forget my superpower? Where are you really going?"
Eve just smiled.
"To the notary's office. After checking on a friend."
"Mary Margaret?"
Eve just shrugged, then headed off. Just as Eve walked out of the diner, Sidney Glass slipped into her seat, a glass in hand and clearly drunk. Upon seeing him, Emma grimaced, both at the intrusion, as well as his unkempt, unwashed appearance.
"You said you wanted to expose Regina?" he recalled. "I can grant your wish."
"Sidney," Emma greeted. "Want a side of bacon with that whiskey?"
"You wanna show this town who the Mayor really is, then you'll need help."
"I find it hard to believe you would want to help me take her down. I mean, you're so deep in her pocket, you might as well be living in her make-up compact."
"Not anymore. After what happened during the election, she had me fired from the paper. I started working on an expose on the Mayor's office, and I found something she didn't want found."
Emma shook her head, gently pulling the glass from Sidney's hand.
"Look, you're drunk, and clearly not thinking straight. Go home, and sleep it off." She then rose to her feet, dropping some money on the table to pay for the meal. "Be grateful that you don't have to answer to her anymore."
Emma then prepared to leave, but Sidney quickly held out a card.
"Call me if you change your mind. Storybrooke deserves to know the truth about her."
Emma took the card reluctantly, stuffing it into her pocket before heading out.
…
Later, Emma had received a message from Henry about the castle, prompting her to take off. When she got there, a demolition crew was working on demolishing the entire structure. Most of it was already torn down, the planks being dragged off to be destroyed. Regina was leaning against her car, watching the entire spectacle with one of her trademark malicious smirks. Henry was also watching, a look of pure horror on his face.
"Hey, what happened?!" Emma let out as she ran up to him. "I came as soon as I could."
"The castle! She's tearing the whole thing down!"
"Henry, your book."
Henry's eyes flew open and he quickly ran up to where it had been buried. All he found though was a massive hole in the dirt, and no sign of the lockbox anywhere.
"No, no, no..." he let out, sifting through the dirt frantically. "It's not here! It's gone!"
Seeing the horror in Henry's face, Emma marched up to Regina as she was talking with the contractor.
"Congratulations, Madame Mayor," she announced. "You destroyed the thing he loves."
"A dangerous thing that can only hurt Henry and others," Regina countered. "Contrary to what you try to paint me as, I'm not a villain, Miss Swan. I'm just looking out for my son's well being. So I suggest you move past your preconceptions and learn your place in this town, or you won't be in it."
Regina then walked off in triumph, leaving Emma utterly fuming. Turning away from the scene, Emma grabbed the card from her pocket and pulled out her phone, dialing Sidney.
"Sidney, hi. I'm in. I want everyone to know who she really is."
...
Meanwhile, Mary Margaret made her way down to the toll bridge, where David was waiting for her.
"Got your text," she spoke, getting his attention. "What's going on?"
"Follow me," he insisted, taking her arm and leading her down to the stream.
"David, you're scaring me. What's wrong?"
"What's wrong is you're late," David explained as they approached a picnic that had been set up on a large, flat rock, "and the wine is getting warm."
Mary Margaret couldn't help but smile at the warm gesture, touched to her core. She turned to David, and the two shared a passionate kiss.
"We have to stop doing this," She said in between kisses.
"We just started doing this," David responded, laughing.
"Well, we have to figure out what… this is, at least."
"And we will. Tomorrow."
Mary Margaret paused for just a moment.
"Okay. tomorrow," she relented as the two began kissing again.
As they did so, they were unaware of Eve watching from the bridge. She was leaning on the railing, hidden by an overhang of trees as she finished her own meal with a smile.
"They will always find one another, no matter what," she mused to the wind.
…
Elsewhere, Emma's squad car pulled up to a dark tunnel. There, she got out, closing the door as Sidney approached. He was dressed in a trench coat and a fedora, arriving on foot and looking around to avoid being noticed.
"Were you followed?" he asked.
"Not a chance. Now, Regina, what do you know about her?"
"Fifty thousand dollars."
Emma blinked in response.
"I'm sorry?" she let out.
"Fifty grand out of the budget is missing, and Regina is responsible."
"Wait… that's it? That's all you have?"
"No, no," Sidney stepped closer. "The money is just the tip of the iceberg. We figure out what she's doing, and it all falls apart. It all crumbles, and we'll finally learn her secrets. You see what she is. I see it. All we need is a crack in the mirror to show everyone. I'm telling you, this is it."
Emma mulled over, knowing this was probably her only shot at getting anything on Regina.
"Alright, what's your plan?"
"Tap her phone. GPS her car. Hack her email. Dip into your bail bondsperson bag of tricks."
"No. I'm Sheriff now. I have to be responsible. I wanna do this by the book."
"Are you kidding me? She's going to know you're onto her sooner than later. Are you ready to feel the full brunt of her wrath?"
"Oh yeah."
"I hope so… because I wasn't."
Emma turned to leave, but stopped for a moment.
"If you thought she was so terrifying… how did you allow yourself to end up in her pocket?"
Sidney sighed, his face full of regret.
"I used to think she was a different person."
…
Eve walked through the doors of the Blanchard flat, having been summoned by Emma. As she stepped inside, her eyes locked on Sidney, and her gaze became hard.
"What is he doing here?" she all but growled.
"Working to take down Regina," Sidney answered.
"He found something that could expose Regina for the villain she really is," Emma explained, gesturing to the large pile of various documents strewn across the table. "We just need to find the records."
"Emma, I'm all for taking down Regina," Eve reassured, her gaze never leaving Sidney, "but not with him."
Sidney seemed to sigh in resignation, and Emma pulled Eve off to the side, speaking in a hushed whisper.
"Look, I was skeptical at first, but he seems like he genuinely wants to help."
"Emma, you don't understand just who Sidney Glass is." Eve paused, trying to find the best way to explain. "To… best explain it, let me borrow Henry's fairytale theory. If Regina is the Evil Queen, then Sidney is her magic mirror: reflecting the world as she wishes it to be. He has been by her side ever since they met, and he would be willing to kill for her if she asked him to. In fact, if rumor has it, he did once."
"You're kidding…"
"No, I'm not. She used to be married, but her husband died under mysterious circumstances. The rumor was that Sidney did it, on Regina's orders, but there was never any proof." Eve glanced back at Sidney, who was doing a very good job of staring hard at a paper he was holding. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he was the one who tampered with my gas line."
"Okay…" Emma let out. "He said he was done with Regina. She even fired him from the paper."
"That may be true, but I will never trust Sidney Glass. And if you're smart, Emma, you won't either."
"I'm desperate. Regina destroyed Henry's castle."
"She what?" Eve's eyes went wide. "The book?"
"Missing. Whether Sidney's legit or not, this may be my best chance. If you're still unsure, then… help us out. You can watch my back."
Eve still looked reluctant, but eventually just let out a long breath.
"Alright," she conceded. "Alright, I'll help."
"Great," Emma replied, sifting through some files. "Cause I think I found something. Sidney, when did that transfer go through? About three weeks ago?"
"Yeah, why?"
"The records from that day are missing."
"Meaning odds are, Regina either removed them, or destroyed them," Eve mused.
"Exactly," Emma concurred as the door opened.
"Emma," Mary Margaret called out as she walked in. "there's something I'd like to talk to you-" she stopped the instant she saw Sidney and Eve with her. "Eve. Sidney. Hi."
"Mary Margaret," Eve greeted with a wave.
"Miss Blanchard," Sidney said with a nod.
"Sorry for commandeering the dining room, but we're working on diggin up dirt on Regina," Emma explained.
"Oh?" Mary Margaret got a smirk that made her look more and more like her fairytale counterpart. "Well then, I approve. Find anything."
"Possibly," Eve admitted. "Now, we just need to get a warrant."
"And what judge are we gonna find that she doesn't own?" Emma countered. "Unless one of us suddenly gained a law degree, we're screwed."
"Or…" Sidney spoke up. "There's my way."
"I want to do this right, Sidney."
"And what's right is exposing her," Sidney insisted. "Sometimes, doing a bad thing for a good reason is okay, right?"
"Yeah," Mary Margaret quickly agreed. "I mean, maybe you're doing something wrong, but it's what's meant to be, if it's what's right, does that really make you a bad person?"
Emma looked between the two, more than a little confused. Eve then cleared her throat, hoping to dispel some of the tension.
"Look, perhaps we should start with getting Regina's point of view on these files," she suggested. "As much as we all want to see her go down, we need to have all the facts."
"She's right," Emma relented. "Let's see what 'Madame Mayor' has to say about this.
…
"And just what are you, the homeless ex-hobby shop owner, and the… disgraced ex-reporter accusing me of?" Regina wondered as the three of them confronted her in her office.
"Fifty thousand dollars were transferred out of the city account by you," Emma informed.
"Well, as Mayor, I'm involved in many transactions. Check the public records if you have questions."
"You know, we would," Eve chimed in, "but they seem to be missing from about three weeks ago. Care to comment on that?"
"Well, if they're missing, I probably checked them out, as my job often requires me to do. And if they were checked out three weeks ago, well that means they burned… in a fire," she turned to Emma. "in a fire that, if I recall, got you elected Sheriff."
"How awfully convenient," Eve accused.
"If you think I'm behind it, you're mistaken. You have a certain imp to thank for that… violent message."
Emma stepped forward, leaning over Regina's desk in a dramatic fashion. After standing there for a few seconds, she got back up, letting out a breath.
"Sidney, Eve, we're leaving. There's nothing for us to do here."
"Emma-" Sidney began to protest.
"You heard her," Eve pressed. "Let's go."
With that, the three of them left the office.
…
"That was your plan?" Sidney questioned as they got outside. "I thought you were gonna do something."
"Are you kidding?" Eve let out, laughing slightly. "Did you not see her little display? She planted something under Regina's desk."
"Yep," Emma nodded. "I planted a bug."
"So much for doing this by the book," Eve pointed out, even if she didn't seem too disappointed.
"Whatever it takes, Regina is going down," Emma swore.
…
The next day in the Sheriff's office, the three of them listened in on Regina's numerous phone calls and conversations.
"Miss Ginger, I really don't have time for more complaints about working conditions. The air temperature is not one of my areas."
"Scintillating," Emma let out. "Find anything good, yet?"
"I just got here," Eve informed her, spinning in her chair slightly. "Turns out the notary lost my paperwork again. And now I have to wait another three weeks to try again, provided my land isn't purchased before then."
"Well, that sucks. Please tell me we have some good news."
"Better than good," Sidney reassured as he rewound the tape. "She made this call a little over an hour ago."
He hit play as the two ladies leaned in.
"I'll meet you tonight at Access Road 23 with the rest of your payment. Yes, it will all be in cash. A-And I don't need to remind you that no one can know about this. Yes, I know it has to be tonight."
"Who's she talking to?" Eve asked as Sidney stopped the tape.
"Don't know. Emma bugged the office, not the phone."
"Well, we have an address," Emma pointed out, "as well as a vague time."
"A payoff in the woods with stolen city funds," Sidney mused, his eyes sparkling. "This is certainly promising."
"Ease up, Glass," Eve warned. "We can't afford to make any rash actions."
"Still, it's the only lead we got," Emma reasoned. "If we can find out who she's meeting, it could fill in alot of gaps in this story."
"Well then," Sidney stood up, grabbing his had and putting it on. "Shall we be off?"
…
Later on, the three of them were in the squad car, following after Regina from a respectable distance. The mayor turned onto Access Road 23, and Emma prepared to do the same. However, when she went to apply the brakes, there was no pressure at all. She kept trying to press the peddle, but nothing was happening.
"Emma?" Eve let out.
"It won't stop," Emma told her.
All three passengers had a moment of panic, just as the car crashed hard into the "Leaving Storybrooke" road sign. Thankfully, the hit killed the car's momentum, bringing it to a stop. All three were knocked hard and the airbags exploded. Eve was left with a nasty bruise on her eye and a split eyebrow. Sidney got his nose broken from hitting the back of the seat, blood dripping down his face. Emma, thankfully, only got some stars in her vision, and a lump on her head.
"Everyone alright?" she called out, holding said lump as she stumbled out of the car.
"Fine…" Eve reassured as she slowly got out. "Though it seems I might be adding even more hospital debt to my ever growing pile of problems."
"Yeah," Sidney winced, holding his bloody nose. "But the bigger issue is what just happened."
All three convened in front of the car, checking one another for wounds.
"Safe to say we're gonna miss that hand off," Eve presumed before turning to Sidney suspiciously, "Especially since someone clearly cut the brake lines on the squad car."
"And you think it was me?" Sidney remarked.
"Oh, I'm almost positive it was you, Glass," Eve spat. "I may have joined in on this venture, but I have never, ever, trusted you. Your words are nothing but the honeyed lies of a man who remains infatuated with a woman who will never see him as more than a tool."
"Okay, enough!" Emma shouted. "I don't know who did this, but it's clear that arguing with one another will get us nowhere. So I'm going to look for answers!"
Emma then stormed off, with Eve and Sidney quickly following close behind.
"Emma, wait!" Eve called out. "Let's just calm down for a second."
"Bitch tried to have me killed. We are well past calm."
"She's right," Sidney insisted. "Miss Flemming, I mean. We need to think clearly on this before we do something rash."
"I am thinking clearly. I'm thinking we should find out what she's doing and why she's out here."
"She was meeting me," an all too familiar voice answered.
All three stopped in their tracks, turning to see Mr. Gold coming up an embankment, a briefcase in his hand. Eve's eyes went wide at the sight of the man, who met her gaze before flickering over to Sidney.
"Well, isn't this a motley crew."
"What are you doing out here?" Eve all but demanded.
"Like I said, meeting the Mayor. We had a business transaction."
"In the middle of the woods?" Emma questioned.
"The transaction involved these woods. More accurately, some land she purchased from me."
"Land..." Eve let out. "She bought land from you?"
"The very ground you're standing on."
"What does she want it for?" Emma asked.
"I find in business, it's best not to ask too many questions. Hurts the bottom line. Question is, Emma, why are you and Miss Flemming standing out here, in the middle of the night, with Mr. Glass?"
"You don't know what she did to me," Sidney countered. "You don't know what she's-"
"I wasn't talking to you," Gold cut off, and Sidney fell into a terrified silence.
"Regina's crossed enough lines," Emma spoke up. "We can't just let her keep hurting people."
"Of course you can," Gold remarked. "Though if you insist on going down this path, I would suggest caution," he started walking away. "Emotional entanglements can lead us down very dangerous paths."
With those words, he left the three alone to think about what they'd learned.
...
Eve had decided she was done working with Sidney, hailing herself a taxi to take her back to Granny's. This left Emma and Sidney alone to continue their mission. After getting a tow truck for the cruiser, the two got into Emma's bug, and made their way to town hall.
"So what are we doing here?" Sidney asked.
"We know she bought land from Gold," Emma answered. "I'm willing to bet it's for personal reasons, but we have to know for sure. We need documents that officially link her to that land."
"So you wanna break into her office?" Sidney clarified as they approached the building. "It's locked. And she's got a state of the art security system and alarm."
"If we don't show this town who Regina really is, who will?"
"And how do you intend to crack her code?"
Emma grabbed a brick, heaving it in her hand for a moment before using it to smash the window. Alarms went off almost instantly.
"I don't," she explained as she unlocked the door. "The alarm alerts the police, i.e. me. Two minutes for her to get a call from the alarm company, one minute to get her coat and keys, three minutes to drive here. We got six minutes tops."
The two then made their way to Regina's office, where Sidney made a beeline for the filing cabinets. Emma went to her computer and started searching through her files.
"What are you doing?" Sidney asked.
"Hacking her files, uncovering everything that references a tract of land she purchased from Gold, and printing them out."
With a final keystroke, the pages she referred to started printing. As Sidney went to collect them, Emma started going through some nearby drawers, finding a large key ring with several keys on it.
"What the hell do these open?" she wondered before dropping them back in the drawer.
"I don't know. What are you doing?"
"Looking for Henry's book."
"We're not here for a child's storybook. We're here for files, and-"
"You may not have come here for Henry, but me? That's the only reason I'm here."
All of a sudden, the light flipped on. Emma turned around to see Regina entering the room, shielding her eyes from Emma's flashlight.
"What are you doing here?" Regina demanded, shutting off the alarm.
"Some kids broke in," Emma explained. "I heard the alarm so I'm checking it out. Cause I'm Sheriff."
"And yet, you brought him instead of your 'deputy'," Regina pointed out, giving Sidney a pointed look. "On top of that, your response time was awfully quick."
"You told me to do my job, so I'm doing it. Eve's back at the station, and Sidney said he saw the crime in progress while on a walk. He's a witness."
"And what did you see Sidney?"
"Just some kids with a…" he began to respond.
"Rock." Emma added.
"A rock."
"Did they take anything?" Regina pressed, disbelief laced in her tone.
"I need to finish my sweep to find out, but so far, no."
"Then it appears to me that this was all some sort of elaborate prank."
"You're sure you don't want me to take the place apart?" Emma offered.
"Sheriff, your services are not wanted nor needed."
"Well then," Emma turned towards the door, Sidney following close behind her, "you know where to find me."
And with that, they left.
…
At Granny's diner, Henry was sitting at the counter, a cup of hot cocoa in front of him, along with a large notebook. He was hard at work writing in it, adding summaries of the various tales from his storybook, as well as a list of known counterparts that he was aware of. As he did so, the Stranger came in, sitting down next to him. He glanced at the notebook curiously.
"Whatcha working on?"
"No time to talk," Henry replied, still glued to his work. "I gotta write it all down before I forget."
"Yeah, I hate it when great ideas slip away from me."
"They're not my ideas. They're stories from a book that I lost."
"Must be a hell of a book. What's it about?"
"Stuff."
"Sounds exciting."
Henry paused at that, setting down his pencil and closing the notebook. He then turned to the Stranger with a look of suspicion.
"You seem awfully interested in me and my book."
"No, just being neighborly."
"What are you doing in Storybrooke?"
Henry: What are you doing in Storybrooke?
"I'm a writer."
"You can write anywhere. What are you really doing here?"
The Stranger leaned in closer, lowering his voice to a whisper.
"Stuff." He then stood up to leave, ruffling Henry's hair slightly as he did. "Good luck with the stories."
…
At the offices of the Daily Mirror, Emma and Sidney were looking through the files they'd recovered from Regina's computer
"Blue prints bank statements," Sidney recognized.
"What is she building out there? A mansion?" Emma wondered.
"It doesn't matter. These escrow statements have her name all over it, with personal use in the tag line. We got her. She's done."
Emma looked happy at first, but then her smile fell and she leaned back in her chair. Sidney noticed that and looked confused.
"What's the matter? Didn't you hear? We've won."
"By stooping to her level. That's exactly what I promised Henry I wouldn't do."
"But we got her."
"All we have are fruits of the poisonous tree. Illegally obtained evidence that will get thrown out in court in a heartbeat."
"We don't need her to go to jail."
Emma looked up in confusion.
"Then what are we doing here?"
"What you wished for: get everyone to see who she is." Sidney then reached under his desk, pulling out another box. "Here, look at this."
Emma opens the box, seeing several photos of herself, and Henry. They even included pictures of them at Henry's castle.
"She had you follow me?"
"I was never on board with it, but yes. She was just waiting for a chance to destroy your special place. And, you're not her only target." Sidney reached into the box, pulling out a file. "All this? These are correspondence between the Mayor's office and the notary, ordering them to push back on Miss Flemming reclaiming the land her store was on. She's the reason Eve's remained homeless since getting out of the hospital."
Emma looked down at the papers in astonishment.
"This is what she does to people," Sidney told her. "And if you won't do this, then I have to."
Emma looked at the photos, then at the file. After a moment, she let out a reluctant sigh.
"Alright..."
…
Later that day, Regina was conducting a city council meeting, banging her gavel to bring the meeting to attention.
"This session of the Storybrooke City Council will come to order," she addressed the crowd. "We will begin by reading the minutes from our last meeting."
"Uh, excuse me, um, Madam Mayor," Sidney called out, rising to his feet. "I have something I'd like to bring to the council's attention."
"This is not an open forum, Sidney. And no one on this council is interested in hearing the boozy complains from a disgraced reporter."
"He's not the only one with something to say," Emma chimed in, standing up as well.
"Miss Swan, this meeting is to discuss issues facing Storybrooke."
"Like the Mayor stealing thousands of dollars from the city to build herself a second home?"
That caused a massive stir amongst the crowd, including from Eve, who was sitting in the back, next to Mr. Gold. However, Regina did not seem to be taken aback by these accusations, only enraged by them.
"Miss Swan," Regina spoke back up. "You will sit down immediately or so help me-"
"What? You'll punish me? You'll bully me like everyone else in this town? Like how you've been bullying Eve Flemming by keeping her homeless and barring her from her own land?"
"And now you're just throwing around baseless accusations without any proof."
"You want proof?" Emma held up the papers she had collected. "Here's proof. In my hand, I am holding documents proving that this woman, your mayor, stole funds from the city to build herself a lavish home in the woods. And this disgraced reporter," she gestured to Sidney. "You want to know why he was really fired? Because he stood up to her. Because he questioned her. We all know what happens to people who question the Mayor." She pointed at Eve as she said this, who was doing everything she could to shrink into her poncho. "You claim that you act in the best interest of all of us, but that isn't the truth, is it? The truth is, you are a thug that doesn't care about anyone, or anything, but yourself. That is who you really are. And it is time for the people of Storybrooke to know that."
Regina met Emma;s eyes, but rather than defeat, or anger, she seemed to be almost… elated.
"You're right, Miss Swan. I am building a house," she stood up. "A playhouse."
Emma suddenly looked surprised as Regina activated a projector that showed an image of a playground reminiscent of the Evil Queen's castle.
"The accusations are true," Regina explained. "I did take city funds. I wanted to build a playground so my son Henry, and all the children of Storybrooke could have a special place to play. Safely. As for the sketch, it was inspired by one of the illustration's from one of Henry's books."
"But, what about the notary reports?"
"Miss Swann, are you not aware of how dangerous a gas leak is? Or the potential hazards of building on a foundation that has been ruined in a fire? I'm doing Miss Flemming a favor by pushing the date back until all inspections are complete, and the necessary repairs have been made." Regina's smirk became triumphant as she leaned back, satisfied. "After all, as you've just shown, I care about the safety of all the citizens of Storybrooke. That is who I really am. "
…
After the meeting concluded, Emma and Sidney walked out of the Town Hall in defeat. Regina was off to the side, talking to a small group of people, and Eve was still trying to bury herself in her poncho.
"I knew it..." she muttered. "I knew there was something wrong here. It was a set-up, and Emma fell for it."
"A shame, really," Gold remarked as he walked up. "Standing up to the Mayor is no small feat. Especially like that."
"And now, Regina has all the ammunition she needs against Emma..."
"Thankfully, you got out in time, so you were only caught in the crossfire. Still, I am almost certain Regina will be using this… unfortunate turn of events to her advantage."
"Sadly… I fear you're right."
As the two made their way off, Regina locked eyes on Emma. Her gaze hardened as she approached the Sheriff.
"Miss Swan? A word? Alone?"
Sidney saw the cold look Regina was giving him and quickly walked away. Once he was gone, Regina turned her full wrath on Emma.
"I don't know what you were hoping to accomplish in there, but now, I hope you'll go back to your job, which is upholding the law - not breaking it. You don't think I know you broke into my office?"
"Don't pretend you're so innocent," Emma shot back, not cowed in the slightest. "I know, you messed with the brakes on my car."
"Your brakes?" Regina snorted. "Are you delusional? Why would I kill you when you just saw I had nothing to hide?
"Nothing I can prove."
"Well, until you have something more substantial than disdain to throw my way you're going to stay away from me. And, more importantly, from Henry."
"But that's-!"
"Not open to discussion." Regina's look became one of pure, sadistic glee. "You've lost the high ground, Sheriff. If I wanted to, there's not a judge in the world that would deny me a restraining order after what you've done. You don't get to see my son unless I say so. And right now, I don't say so."
With her victory firmly in place, and Emma without any options, Regina turned and left, not even bothering to hide her evil look.
…
The playground was constructed not long after that, with the entire area looking like a more child-friendly version of the Evil Queen's castle. All of the kids were enjoying themselves on it, including Henry. As he played, he noticed Emma in the distance, watching him from her bug. He waved happily, then pulled out his radio so he could talk to her.
"Why are you so far away? Come over here."
"Sorry, kid, I can't today."
"You're undercover, aren't you? For Operation Cobra?
"No, Henry. I'm not undercover. Your mom…" she hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "She doesn't want us seeing each other for a while."
"You don't have to listen to her."
"Actually, this time, I do. I screwed up, Henry. I got mad at your mom about you and the book and everything and... Well, we're just going to have to be apart for a little while."
Henry sat down on the edge of the playground, looking very upset by that news.
"I don't want to be apart."
"Neither do I. But, right now, we have to. Don't worry, though. I'll find a way back in. And hey. If it's out there, Henry, I will find your book."
"Good luck. It's probably gone and it's probably never coming back."
…
Inside a room at Granny's, the Stranger set down the red box containing Henry's book, before reaching for a pair of bolt cutters. With a quick snap, he broke the lock, and pulled out the book. With a strange look in his eyes, he traced his hand across the cover.
"Found you."
...
Inside the Diner, Sidney was enjoying a drink when Emma walked inside and sat down next to him.
"Looks like we had the same idea," she noted.
"Well, if you can't beat her… drink," he remarked before taking a sip. "How did we not see this?"
"We did. We saw it all, right from the start. Just didn't want to look. Blinded by our anger… by everything."
"Perhaps Miss Flemming was right to leave when she did," Sidney mused. "Still, I'm not willing to give up just yet."
"Neither am I. Regina's still got skeletons in her closet, right?"
"Right," Sidney agreed, lifting his glass. "And now, you've got yourself an ally."
"And we won't be fooled again," Emma declared.
The two tapped their glasses together with a soft clink, then downed their drinks.
…
Meanwhile, Eve was in her own room at Granny's, looking over the paperwork from her store. Seeing all the red ink and the Denied stamps made her groan, burying her face in her arms.
"I loathe and despise this world..."
Just then, there was a knock at the door. She lifted her head, approaching the door and looking through the peephole. With another groan, she opened the door.
"What do you want, Gold?"
"Just wanted to see how repairs were coming along. I know how… cutthroat City Hall can be."
"Get to the point."
"Well, it has come to my attention just how much trouble you've been having reclaiming what is yours. I'd be more then happy to lend my-"
"No," Eve cut off. "I have already made more deals with you than I am comfortable with, Rumplestiltskin. I will not fall any further in with you. I will reclaim my store on my own, without owing you any favor."
"Well… if you change your mind, you know where to find me."
With that, Gold took his leave, Eve closing the door a bit harder than needed. She then leaned against the door, sliding down as she buried her face once more.
…
Meanwhile, Sidney found himself gazing aimlessly into a mirror that hung in the Mayor's office. As he did so, Regina walked up to him from behind.
"Have a seat, Sidney," she told him, watching as he sat down before plucking an apple from the fruit bowl under the mirror. "Well?"
Sidney reached into his pocket, pulling out a recorder. When he hit the play button, a copy of his conversation with Emma began playing.
"You've got yourself an ally."
"And we won't be fooled again."
"She bought it," Regina recognized.
"All of it," Sidney confirmed.
"Masterful job, Sidney. Top to bottom," she offered him the apple. "And cutting the brakes of her car? Inspired."
"I'm glad you approve. Sadly, Miss Flemming does not seem to share Emma's feelings. She never trusted me from the start."
"I knew you wouldn't be able to convince her, but so long as Emma does, Eve's feelings are moot." She smirked. "Now, everything Emma does and everywhere she goes, we'll know about it, and I couldn't do it without you, Sidney."
Sidney returned her smile with his own lovesick expression, showing that, as Eve said, he was still head over heels for her.