Chapter 20


Graham had arrived soon after Robin and he had come bearing gifts - her overnight supply bag. It was filled with clothes, toiletries and any other things she had deemed 'essential'. A quick text was all it had seen that to see that she was brought what she needed. Her text had also called for him to collect some sensitive surveillance equipment that she could use to tag several of the containers with GPS. The Agency would be able to monitor where the shipping containers and there contents went. Emma had a gut geeling that Gold would attempt to retrieve his goods if they were on lockdown in the Corsair's shipping yards.


The tension in the living room had reeked of discomfort. Emma had ignored the awkward and confused stares of Graham and Robin. Neither knew the exact reason for her silence and for Killian's lingering intensity. Their unspoken guesses were probably not that far from the truth.

Emma was thankful that the ride to the docks was not a long one or the tension in the car would definitely suffocate her. She shifted awkwardly against the leather seat, her eyes remaining glued to the passing scenery. It was quite a feat to ignore the presence of the three men in the town car, especially Killian. She had felt his eyes on her, his hot stare burning holes into her skin. Emma had needed to suck in a large gulp of air before she had shored up her walls against Killian's presence. Lately, she had found her walls slipping more and more, something that not only irked her but presented a challenge. People did not just slip through Emma Swan's defences.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket again! It had been going off for the last half hour but knowing that it was likely to be David wanting her head, she ignored it! Emma knew she would have to deal with her boss eventually and she would rather do it with some progress up her sleeve.


The security at the Corsairs Shipyards and loading docks was incredible. Killian had wasted no expense and she had to admire that. The security and technology was top of the line - anything that could be installed had been. Emma had not missed the dark sedan following them to the docks, knowing that it was extra security as they were easily allowed inside the yards.

The thought that this could be an inside job had filtered through her mind previously but was now a big possibility. There was absolutely no way anyone was getting into this facility without an identification badge, fingerprint scans or a purpose.

"How are they getting the goods in?" Emma mumbled against the window.

If there was someone on the inside than it was essential to flush them out and link them back to Gold. The car pulled up outside of a smart looking office building and Emma couldn't help but be reminded of the last time she was caught in one of the docks office buildings.

'Head hurting, smoke billowing, flames licking...'

The thoughts were flying through her mind rapidly, her breathing hitched and her pulse raced until she felt a reassuring pressure on her hand.

"You don't need to come inside." Killian's voice told her softly.

Emma scoffed before wrenching her hand away harshly.

"You are not keeping me away Jones!" She told him fiercely before getting out of the car. There was no way she was going to allow him to mollycoddle her any further. He was lucky she had allowed this much!

Their job was not going to be a simple feat. They needed to flag all of the business in the computer databases and then physically mark all of the containers currently in the docks. Emma had made sure that Killian had men that he trusted implicitly posted at the yards to ensure that nothing from the flagged companies would slip through the net.

The shipping containers found as flagged would be placed aside. Emma would use them as evidence in her case later. Her progress on this case was not something David could be angry about. Dealing with him was on her to-do list for the day and not something she was looking forward too.

Robin and Graham would locate the cargo containers and flag them. Staff would then relocate them to a currently vacant area of the yards. Emma took a moment to pull Graham aside, thankful that the man was now able to help her out. She knew Killian was watching them and knew she needed to be concise with her instructions.

"There are 2 GPS locators. Place them on shipping containers you consider important." Emma told him before discreetly placing the bugs in his hands, her body shielding the action. A huff from behind alerted her to the intimate nature of their stance. This was much bigger than the trivial jealousy Killian was displaying.

The two men were quickly dispatched, leaving Emma and Killian to work from the offices.

They had proceeded through tough security - which had consisted of metal detection, x-ray and finger print scans. This had only reinforced Emma's feelings that there was an inside man.

Killian had remained with her all morning though he had not spoken to her directly. He was obviously following her lead from the car ride and Emma was grateful for it. She knew that Killian's close proximity had everything to do with the incident in Durban and wondered if the beefed up security had something to do with it also?

His brooding behaviour didn't seem to affect his work and whilst she worked away so did he. Killian had received several phone calls that he had dealt with quietly and efficiently. It wasn't until his phone rang and he abruptly declined the call did Emma look up at him. His brows were furrowed and he was staring at the phone screen with a tormented expression.

The phone began ringing again and she watched him take a big breath before answering – whoever was on the other end was not someone he was looking forward to talking to. Killian's words were soft and hard to distinguish but Emma could tell from his tone and body language that he was taking a personal phone call.

Emma knew from working for Killian that the only personal calls he had ever taken were those from Miranda. Her stomach began twisting into uncomfortable knots and she forced her gaze away. Miranda was technically Killian's girlfriend, someone that he slept with on a regular basis. Emma didn't know why she was tormenting herself with this train of thought so she pushed her feelings down and continued her work.

"I know! Do you think I don't know that!" Killian's voice had risen and caught Emma's attention. She didn't want to listen but also couldn't help herself.

"You were invited..." Killian's voice trailed off as he caught Emma's gaze. Her heart jumped into her throat and she felt like an animal caught in a trap, unable to move.

"Look, I have to get back to work. Be ready!" Killian told her quickly before hanging up the phone abruptly. Emma tore her eyes away and held her hands up.

"Done." She proudly told him, trying to alleviate the tension in the room. Each company she had located now had a 'No Ship' stamp all over it. If she had done her job right than none of the Corsairs shipping yards around the world would be moving Gold's products.

"You do realise that this puts an even bigger target on your back?" Killian told her softly.

"Nothing I can't handle." Emma threw with a carefree smile over her shoulder.

The ride back to the apartment was filled with chatter about what Robin and Graham had found - so far 50 containers associated with Gold. Killian had been mortified to discover that he had been shipping such a vast amount of Gold's products. Graham had given Emma a slight inclination of head – indicating he had planted the GPS surveillance.

The phone conversation had not been brought up but Emma knew Killian would want to explain himself. She planned not be alone with him if possible. Whatever was happening between them was starting to get too complicated and complicated was something she just didn't need.


"Have you considered an inside job?" Emma voiced when they were safely back to the apartment. It was something she strongly suspected but hated to suggest. These were people Killian trusted and she knew that trust was something that didn't come easily

"The people that would be able to pull something like this off are..." Robin trailed off as he looked towards his boss.

"Limited." Killian finished with a frown. Emma knew that the access needed to pull something like this off was going to be restricted to more senior employee's but she didn't know exactly how many. Graham had a confused expression marring his face which was to be expected as he had limited working knowledge of the company.

"Aside from the board members there are only a dozen employees that have the access and the pull to be able to have covered up this type of sham for so long." Killian informed them.

"Maybe you need to start discreetly looking into these people. Pull their records, follow their movements and their transactions." Emma suggested. Killian and Robin stared at her as if she had two heads. She bit her lip as she realised she was speaking as an 'Agent' again and not as an innocent secretary – time for some damage control...time to play dumb again.

"Sorry...Addicted to the crime channel." Emma gave a small shrug and a smile lit up her face.

Killian flashed a crooked smile before turning to Robin, "You know what to do."

Robin gave a quick nod, pulled out his phone and tapped Graham across the arm. Graham got the message and rose from his position and followed Robin towards the home office. This left Emma and Killian alone. Emma could already feel the tension rising and quickly jumped to her feet in order to escape. She didn't even spare him a glance before swiftly striding off towards her makeshift office. Emma hadn't even made it half a dozen steps before his voice had her frozen in place.

"Running away?"

TBC