A/N - Thanks again for all the reviews, faves and followers! You guys are awesome!
Chapter 4
"We'll need a tracker," said Neal, choosing a glossy red grape. "Someone who can shadow Regina and her men without being noticed."
"That's easy," Gold said, waving his hand dismissively. "Graham Humbert."
"Dead."
"On the job?"
"Heart failure."
"That's truly unfortunate. Not only was he a good man but he was the best at what he did."
"There's always Ruby. She may be green but she's a natural; a real predator. She has animal instincts."
"And it never hurts to have beautiful women on the payroll either. It's settled then. You fetch her."
~8~8~8~
Ruby's whereabouts were never as easy to track down as the others. After severing her small town roots in Iowa when she turned of age, she swore she would never be tied down to any one location for too long.
Neal simply sent an email letting her know that he had a lucrative job offer to discuss with her and on which day he would be in Manhattan. If she was interested then she would find him.
He didn't make it easy for her. He used one of his many aliases to acquire a room in Brooklyn. The following day, he travelled by bus, taxi and subway to get to his destination: Gray's Papaya in the Upper West Side. He ordered two sausages and two beverages (one diet) and sat himself at the window.
Before he managed to even bite into his hot dog, a raven haired beauty dropped into the seat next to him. "Yum! You remembered I hate onions!"
"Do I know how to treat a lady or what?"
"So did I pass?" she mumbled, her mouth full of the juicy meat.
"With flying colors." He dug into his own lunch heartily. "I see you finally ditched the red streaks in your hair."
Rudy's features were suddenly subdued. "Graham said it made me easy to spot."
He reached out and squeezed her hand. He knew how close she had been to her mentor. They were two lone wolves who managed to somehow carve out a little place for the other in their solitary lives. "I didn't see you at his funeral."
"Ah, but I saw you," she smirked playfully, her somber mood gone as quickly as it came. "You cried during Danny Boy then tried to pass it off as a sneeze."
"Shit." Neal felt his body blush from head to toe. He tugged at his collar and blew out a deep breath. "Wow! This sausage was spicy! Is yours spicy? Mine was really hot."
Ruby giggled. "You're so cute when you're embarrassed!"
"You wanna hear about the job or don't you?"
"Don't need to. I rifled through your luggage while you were showering this morning. There was a bus ticket to Connecticut with my name on it. Now, the only thing interesting about that State is that Mary Margaret Blanchard lives there, which tells me she's involved. I also saw a list of names in your father's handwriting, which tells me he's out of jail and he's got something really big planned that requires a large crew. Combining what I know about M&M and your dad's incarceration, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you are planning on robbing Regina's casino."
"You were in my hotel room this morning? Geeze woman! Learn some boundaries!"
"So was I right?"
"Eerily! That's amazing."
"That's why I'm paid the big bucks." She hopped off her stool and grabbed her drink to go. "Oh! And Cassidy? I think it's real sweet how you still travel with that old Dreamcatcher."
Neal's face was now on fire. "Shit."
"Who's next?" asked Neal, smiling at the waitress as she cleared away their table.
"We need a pickpocket; an expert at sleight of hand. We need Archie Hopper."
"He won't do it. He got out of the game a year ago."
"Did he finally develop a conscience?"
"Sort of." He threw back the last of his wine and smacked his lips. "He helped his parents out on a lift… against his better judgment. You know how they are. The whole thing got screwed up so they placed the blame on some innocent couple. Their kid, Marco, got put into a foster home while they were hauled off to lockup. They're out and back with their boy but Archie blames himself. He's lost his confidence."
"I guess I'll just have to bolster it then, won't I?"
~8~8~8~
After the dry heat of New Mexico, Seattle's constant humidity was wreaking havoc on his knee. He hobbled along as quick as he dared, not wanting to slip on the slick sidewalk. The umbrella in his left hand was in danger of blowing away in the sudden updraft and he gripped it more firmly. He sighed in relief as he reached the entrance of Hopper's apartment and smiled when he saw the elevator. Archie lived on the tenth floor and he was relieved he would not be forced to climb the stairs.
Gold knocked on the door and didn't have long to wait before it was answered. Archie, wearing a polka-dot tie and a striped sweater vest, looked up in surprise at his old acquaintance.
"Mr. Gold! Are you here about a job?"
Gold exhaled audibly. "Why does everyone keep asking me that?"
"Well, because you…um…never mind. Won't you come in?"
Gold looked around the small but sensibly furnished bachelor pad. He could smell the remains of a late supper, lasagna by the smell of it, and his mouth watered momentarily. Then he noticed that Archie had no oven, just a microwave. A frozen dinner box lay open in the trash.
"You never had your mother teach you how to cook before you moved out?"
Archie's face reddened enough to match his hair. "You, uh, heard about that?"
"Yes, and it's about bloody time too! You're almost forty for God's sake. You should have flown away from the nest decades ago."
"Those people…my parents…are quite controlling. It's been difficult to get away."
"Well, I'm proud of you for finally cutting the cord. You were always at the top of your game when they weren't around. They were holding you down."
"They were drowning me! I'm not the man I want to be. I'm tired of being known as their son." Archie dropped into an armchair and rested his head on his hands.
"Come work for me and they'll be known as your parents instead. Make a name for yourself."
"So you are here about a job."
Gold smirked. "Of course I am. I am offering you the chance of a lifetime. Do this last job with me and you'll never have to worry about money again. You could finally go to college if you wish, travel the world, start a new life…help out a certain young family to make their life a little easier."
Archie chuckled humorlessly. "How is it that you always know everything?"
"Magic, dearie! Plus my son kept his ear pretty close to the ground during my absence."
"Well, if you and Baelfire are teaming up on this then it must be something big. All right. I'm in. But this is my last job…ever!"
"That's what we all say, Archie. Every time."
A/N – Next Chapter: Jefferson and Granny!