Chapter 7: Ambush

"When you get to the back wall, there are two doors." Emma heard Killian's voice crackle in her ear. "It's the first door. You won't see a keypad but it's there, behind a panel on the wall."

Will ran his hands over the wall until he found the hidden panel. "It's here." He said with a shake of his head.

"We found it." Emma announced.

"Ok, the backdoor code is 7344."

Will punched the code in and they heard a click as the door beside them unlocked. Ruby pulled the door open, and everyone followed her into the dark stairwell.

"It's going to be a long climb to the Mayor's floor. You'll know you're there when you reach a red metal door."

Emma nodded to Will, and they began their ascent through the darkened space until her legs were screaming in pain, and she felt like she couldn't climb another step. When they finally reached the metal door, Emma bent over, trying to catch her breath.

"Ok we're here." She wheezed.

"The code is 6812." Killian announced in her ear and Ruby punched the code into the keypad as the door clicked open.

Will peered into the dark room and then turned toward Mary Margaret. "It's clear."

"Ok let's go Emma." Emma followed her into the room as they scanned the darkness for the data port.

"What now?"

"The data port is kept behind her desk. There's a notch in the wall, if you click it, it will open the port." Killian's voice cracked in her ear as the com's device struggled to maintain its connection.

Emma reached up and pulled the ornate flower from her ponytail, clicking the flower stem out of its place until the metal nub was exposed.

"You mean you've had this important information in your hair this whole time?" Ruby asked with wide eyes.

Emma simply shrugged and made her way to the wall that Killian had instructed. Feeling around the wall she found the notch and clicked the button hidden inside of it. A noise emanated from beside her hand and light streamed into the darkness as the wall opened, revealing the data port inside.

"Will, over here…" She said nervously as he approached her side.

"Ok plug it in and then step aside so I can do my thing."

Emma shoved the metal into the port and stepped away from the wall, watching as Will plucked against the tiny keyboard. "Just a few more clicks…there you are." He said to himself, a smirk spreading on his face. "Merlin."

Emma closed her eyes, praying that this would all be done soon when suddenly the lights turned on around her. She spun around, coming face to face with men who had entered the room.

"Hey, who the hell do you think you are?" Emma recognized one of the men as she tried to shield her face, a man who most definitely did not belong in the Mayor's office.

"Emma, what's going on?" She heard Killian in her ear.

"It's Gold's men." She whispered before turning to Will. "How long until the message is sent?" She asked nervously as they all spread across the room to give him time to send the message. Nothing else mattered except getting the message to Merlin. If they didn't reach him, all hope was lost, and their lives wouldn't matter anyway.

"It's uploading, gonna need more time." Will grunted, turning his back to the portal, and raising his dagger in front of him.

"Then let's give these boys something to do while we wait." Mary Margaret said with a mischievous grin.

Ruby fired the first shot, the arrow striking one of the men in the shoulder as he stared at her in shock before grabbing the arrow and yanking it from his flesh.

One of the men grabbed her by the arm, pulling her toward him and Emma balled her hand into a fist, swinging through air until she made contact with his cheek. "Bitch, you're gonna pay for that. The boss is gonna be really pleased when I bring you back to him." Emma held her fists up in front of her.

"Who said I'm going anywhere with you." She smirked before she swung her fist again, ducking when his own came in her direction, she felt herself being tossed toward the ground, pain searing up her side when she slammed into the hard floor. She looked up as the man stood menacingly over her, a dark syringe in his hand. Emma felt her mouth go dry, she had seen them in Gold's lab, weapons used to knock their mark out while they took them to the lab to experiment on them. One stick of that syringe and they would be unable to fight.

"Watch yourselves." She screamed toward the others. "Stay away from the syringes."

The man laughed. "Come on sweetheart, don't want me to jab you with my stick."

"Dream on, you big cow." Emma growled. "You aren't putting me to sleep with that stupid thing."

He laughed loudly. "Put you to sleep…" He looked down at the syringe. "Oh, you think this is…oh no darling, you've been gone a while. We've upgraded. This is so much more now." He sneered, an ominous laugh filling the room.

Everything around her happened suddenly as Mary Margaret screamed behind her, one of the men leaning over her with his leg pressed against her stomach, the syringe sticking out of her thigh. The woman growled, grabbing the nearest item she could reach and slamming it over his head. The man slumped to the ground, and she scrambled to pull the needle from her body, tossing it to the other side of the room. She wouldn't have long before she would pass out cold.

Will was fighting a man at the back wall and Ruby had just dispatched a man who had tried to enter the room. She slammed the door shut again, pushing a large chair in front of the door, and jamming it against the doorknob. Men were banging against it on the other side, trying to get into the room.

She kicked the man next to her in the shin, causing his leg to buckle as he fell to the ground, the syringe falling from his hands and clattering onto the ground into the dark. She jumped up from her spot and dove onto the man's chest, grabbing the metal lamp from the desk behind him and pressing it against his neck hoping to take the air from his lungs away from him long enough to knock him out.

He snarled loudly, his eyes glaring into hers. "Want to know a secret…" He wheezed, letting out a strangled chuckle and Emma pressed harder against his throat. "We weaponized J2…" He coughed. "She won't live long." Emma pushed with all her might until the man's eyes glazed over and his head tilted to the side.

She fell over to her side, breathing heavily until her thoughts flooded her.

We weaponized J2…

The syringes.

She jumped up from her spot on the floor and rushed toward the data port. They didn't have long, they needed to get out of there, needed to get to the doctors…before…she couldn't think about it. The banging at the door was getting louder, it wouldn't be long before they breached it.

Will slammed the last man in the room to the ground and looked up at her anxiously. "Did it send?"

"We have to go." She exclaimed. "The syringe, it's J2."

His eyes grew wide as he looked over at Mary Margaret being helped up by Ruby. When his eyes returned to hers she was met with an understanding from her friend. They needed to go, now.

The door cracked and arms pushed through the newly created hole. "We gotta go now."

Emma reached in and grabbed the flower from the port, yanking it free and running toward the exit as Mary Margaret limped in front of her. They slammed the door shut and she felt like they were falling down each flight of stairs they took.

They got halfway down the stairs when the metal door sprung open beside them and a man jumped out and slammed into Will, he swung his fists, pushing the man off him. "Keep going." He screamed and Emma pushed Mary Margaret further down the stairs, looking back as she watched Will scrambling with the man above her. She pushed away the tears threatening to fall, focused only on getting Mary Margaret to safety.

They reached the bottom of the stairs, and Ruby shoved the steel door open, letting the light flood into the dark space. "We gotta get out of here."

"What about Will?" Emma cried.

"He'll catch up." Ruby grabbed Mary Margaret around the waist and pulled her forward, and Emma took one last look toward the door. She couldn't believe they were just going to leave Will behind.

They scrambled through the streets, rushing through the busy people moving around as if they hadn't a care in the world. It wasn't until they reached the boat that Emma stopped to look back again. "We can't just leave him." She said with tears in her eyes.

"We can't stay here, we're in the open." Ruby warned.

"I know but…" She took one last look as Ruby gave the order to pull away from the shore. In the distance she saw movement, someone stumbled through the wall. "Wait." She screamed, standing up and jumping out of the boat into the cold water as she waded back to the shore.

Will crawled, gripping his hand into the muddy shore until he fell against the cold ground. Emma reached him, grabbing at his jacket, and turning him to face her. "Hey Emmie." He laughed with a grunt. Emma didn't stop to think, she pulled at his jacket, dragging him toward the boat. Ruby met her and pulled him up, helping him into the boat as they road away from the shore.

Emma pushed Will up against the side of the boat, helping him to sit on the ground. There was blood on his shirt that was continuing to grow a deeper shade of red, she pulled his jacket away from him. "Leave it." He growled.

"No, stop, you're hurt."

"It's fine."

Emma snorted and yanked his jacket away from his body, examining his side until she found the deep gashes from a blade against his skin. "You're gonna be ok." She cried.

"No…" He said, reaching up and stilling her hands. "I'm not." He said solemnly, pressing something into her palm. When she opened it, she stared numbly at the empty syringe in her hand, the blood draining from her face.

Killian stared at the boy in his lap, his knee bouncing nervously as the child gurgled and cooed in his arms. "I'm sure she's fine lad." He reassured, knowing it was more for himself than the boy who had no idea what he was saying anyway. The coms unit had cut out just as he heard the men breach the office. He had no idea what had happened after that, and the line had been silent for an hour. He tried not to think the worst, tried to have hope that Emma was always telling him to find, but with each ticking minute his thoughts turned darker.

He couldn't reconcile what he would do if something happened to Emma, but he was starting to feel completely helpless. "Your mom is the bravest woman I know, but I'm sure you already know that." The boy's sparkling eyes stared up at him and Killian felt as if he was actually listening to what he was saying. "You look just like her you know." He said softly. "You have her nose." He tapped the boy on his tiny little nose, so much like his mothers. The boy had so many of her features, except for his brilliantly blue eyes, Emma's were an intoxicating shade of seafoam green.

Babies were a wonder to him, he had never been around children much, but was amazed at how something so tiny could mirror his parents with such perfection. He was happy that the boy resembled his mother and not Neal.

The night Emma showed up at his door, tears in her eyes as she told him she was pregnant with Neal's child; he didn't even hesitate to assure her that he would take care of her. He loved Emma, he would do anything to protect her and her child, regardless of who had sired the boy.

The boy wrapped his tiny fist around his thumb and Killian felt the tears come to his eyes. Emma needed to be alright, he thought.

He heard a commotion outside the door of his room, and he stood quickly, rushing into the hallway, the boy wrapped tightly in his arms. He saw her golden hair bounding down the hall toward him, a look of terror on her face. Ruby had Mary Margaret at her side, limping as she screamed for a medic. Behind Emma, Will was being helped down the hall by a few men, blood splattered across his face.

Emma rushed to his side, tears staining her face. "What happened?"

"The plague…" She said breathlessly. "They're using it against us." She dropped the syringe into his hand, and he looked up at her with terror in his eyes. "Will and Mary Margaret. We…we couldn't stop it."

"What happened here?" David asked as he entered the floor to the Mayor's office. When he heard over the radio that there had been a break in, he immediately left Regina at the wall and rushed back to the precinct.

"Break in. They came in through the back." The officer stated.

"How did anyone know about the back entrance?" He said out loud, not really asking a question, but instead talking through the situation to himself. Regina's entrance was a guarded secret. It took 2 codes to get through both doors. Only someone close to Regina would know the codes.

He stepped into her office and looked around at the mess that had been left behind. Broken items were spread across the floor. He bent over and moved a piece of broken glass with his hand. He needed to see the surveillance footage. Obviously there had been a fight in here, but why.

He walked toward Regina's desk, running his hand over the wood. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the data port open behind the desk. Looking in he found it empty. Regina's data port was the only one in the building capable of sending a message outside the walls. The screen was flashing, showing that a message had partially been sent, 89% showing on the screen. Whoever was trying to use the port didn't succeed in getting the entire message pushed through.

He clicked a few keys on the screen and pulled up the information of the intended recipient. He gasped when he read the name. Merlin.

Whoever had breached the room was trying to reach Merlin, the leader of all the realms. David couldn't think of a single reason that anyone would be trying to reach Merlin besides Regina. Something didn't feel right. He clicked onto the screen and had the message sent to his laptop for investigation.

"What did they take?" He looked up suddenly as Regina entered the room.

"Nothing was taken, it seems like they were trying to send a message, but it failed."

The woman paused. "A message? To whom?"

"Merlin." He said softly.

"Merlin? Are you certain it failed?" Regina stepped toward him, and he felt the hair on his neck stand up. He didn't know the reason for his concern, Regina had been acting strange the last few days but something about tonight wasn't sitting right with him.

"Um, yeah, nothing went through." He lied, clicking out of the screen in front of him and closing the port. "I'll check the camera's and see what I can find out."

"No." The woman almost yelled before stopping and laughing lightly, a gesture that made him even more concerned. "I'll take care of it. You should go home, David. Get some rest, check on that wife of yours."

"Are you sure, I don't want to leave you with all this to clean up?"

"I insist." She said firmly.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow." He said with a nod, looking back before he exited the room as Regina glared at him.

David went to his office and gathered his jacket and keys. The nagging feeling continuing to weigh on his mind. He stared out into the hallway and stepped back into his office, shutting the door behind him. Sitting down at his desk, he opened his holo screen.

"Open surveillance for Regina's office." He announced and the screen in front of him came to life, images frozen on the screen. "Play video A16."

The image began to move as the door at the back of the office opened and a man and a blonde woman entered the screen. Behind him another woman moved in the shadows. He narrowed his eyes as four individuals moved in the dark, walking directly to Regina's desk. He watched the blonde woman open the data port as if she knew exactly where it was hidden and then the man started typing on the screen.

Suddenly light was exposed in the room and men he didn't recognize entered. A fight ensued and he watched as the group split apart, each taking on one of the assailants. And then his heart stopped.

"Enlarge video." He demanded as the size increased. "Pause." He stood up in front of the screen, leaning forward as if he was suddenly hallucinating. The woman standing with her face to the camera, a glint in her eye, a knife in her hand staring at the man in front of her was none other than the woman he had known his entire life, his wife, Mary Margaret.

He fell into his chair, staring at the screen in disbelief. It was impossible. Some sort of trick. There was no other explanation.

The dark-haired woman beside her was staring directly toward the camera. "Zoom in."

The woman's face was in the center of the screen. "Run facial scan."

The screen began to move in front of him. "Match found. Ruby Lucas, 26, member of the Resistance, Warrant issued for arrest in 2051."

David dropped his hand to his lap and exhaled loudly. His wife was in Regina's office with a known member of the Resistance.

Clicking into his computer he navigated to the message he had sent himself from Regina's port. Opening it he saw fragments of code. Whoever created this was good, but he was better. He clicked a few more times until words came into view.

Merlin,

My name is Emma Swan from Storybrooke, and we need your help. Our people are dying with no chance of help. Mayor Mills has been killed by the leader of the Hive; a man you already know named Mr...

David stared at the screen as the rest of the message corrupted on the screen, information that did not complete in the upload. What the hell was this bullshit? He had just seen Regina not ten minutes ago, nothing in this message could be true. Why would Mary Margaret be a part of this clearly made-up madness.

"Continue video." He said, watching the rest of the interaction on the screen, his heart beating out of his chest as he watched his wife fall to the ground, the man climbing on top of her as something shimmered in the light and his wife crumpled underneath him.

He was confused and angry but relieved when he watched as his wife was helped out the door. He didn't know how to feel from this obvious betrayal that he couldn't explain or comprehend. He grabbed his laptop off his desk and shoved it into his bag, walking out of his office and locking it behind him.

He drove to his home, stepping into the dark house and waiting for his eyes to adjust. Was anything about his life real? Had everything been a lie? He had known his wife since they were children, he fell in love with her before they were teenagers. She had known him better than anyone and he thought he knew her. Had he been so wrong about the woman who had stolen his heart?

"What have you gotten yourself into?" He said into the blackness around him.

His com alerted him with a beep, and he read the message on the screen.

I know you're confused, Mate. You have every right to be. If you want to know more, call me at this number, your wife's life depends on you.

David's heart was racing as he called the number.

"Hello."

"Where the hell is my wife, what have you done to her?" He yelled into the phone.

"Dave, I need you to trust me." The familiar voice sounded in his ear.

"Killian?"

"Aye."

"Where the hell are you?" He all but growled into the receiver.

"That's not important right now, you need to listen to me. Regina's not who you think she is. You can't trust her."

"Says the person who just disappeared without a trace."

"We have a lot to talk about, but we don't have time. I know you, so I know you've watched the surveillance video already. You're a good cop and I'm sure you have questions. The men who showed up, they belong to Gold."

"Gold? That idiot lab guy?"

"He's more than that. He's Hive."

David's heart was pounding in his chest. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Stop thinking Dave, you just need to know that you can't trust Regina and Gold has some dangerous stuff. He's weaponized J2, carrying it in syringes. You have to be careful."

"Why should I trust you, why should I trust anything you're saying right now?"

"David, they used one of the syringes on your wife."

"No, you're lying."

"I'm sorry Mate, I really am."

He sunk to the ground, leaning against the wall. "Where is she?"

"I'll be in contact."

The line went dead, and David screamed into the night.