Chapter 16

"Yeah. We're in deep shit!" roared Leroy as he peeled off his sewage soaked jacket and threw it unceremoniously over the edge of the wharf into the ocean. He carefully removed his flannel over-shirt and wiped the offending substance off of his face and balding head.

"What the Hell happened to you?" asked David as he charmingly shielded Mary Margaret from any splatter.

"All I can say is, I hope you guys pre-paid your return-tickets home because we ain't getting our hundred and twenty million now!"

"Calm yourself, Leroy!" ordered Gold sternly. Things were starting to get out of hand and there was no need to upset everyone. "Now will you please, slowly, explain what has happened?"

"The plan is screwed! That's what!" He dug around in his back pocket and pulled out a shiny, metallic flask. He cautiously smelled the top of it then took a long swig. "We might as well pack it in and get drunk."

"Leroy!" hollered Neal. "What happened?"

"The God damn earthquake is what happened!" he bellowed in exasperation. "It caused some frigging mines to collapse under the town!"

Gold and Neal looked at each other and shrugged. "So what?"

"So what?" he cried. "Have any of you noticed we're hanging around in the dark right now? The mines caved in, which caused part of the sewers above it to collapse. Where the Hell did I put my explosives, you ask? In the fucking sewers!"

"Okay," said Emma, holding her hands out in front of her to pacify him. "You have more C4 and stuff in your room right? So just put some further down the line. Problem solved."

He growled in frustration and started pacing the wharf. "The problem ain't solved, sister! The city knows of the problem now so they're correcting it as we speak. They're bypassing all the lines to another grid. A grid I can't get access to!"

"You mean there's nothing you can do?" asked Mary Margaret.

"Unless you expect me to start randomly hitting electrical boxes with a pickaxe, then yeah, there's nothing else I can do."

"So what you're saying is..." said August slowly, "we're royally screwed."

"It was a good plan, Daniel," said Granny sadly. She reached out and softly touched his arm. "But it isn't going to work. I'm sorry."

Gold limped slowly to the edge of the wharf, his head bowed in concentration. His son quickly joined him and they began to speak in hushed tones. The other members of the team could only catch snippets of their conversation.

"We could always…" said Neal.

"By tomorrow?" asked Gold.

"What about…" he suggested.

"If I had a month to plan, maybe…" was the reply.

"Hang on a minute!" cried a voice from the crowd. "We could use a Pinch!"

"A pinch of what?" scoffed Leroy after helping himself to another drink. "Fairy Dust?"

Jefferson waved Gold and Neal back over then addressed the rest of the group. "A Pinch is a device which creates like, uh, a cardiac arrest for any broadband electrical circuitry. Or better yet, a Pinch is a bomb…but without the bomb."

He was met with a dozen blank stares and several raised eyebrows. Clearing his throat loudly, he tried to explain as simply as he could. "You see, when a nuclear weapon detonates, it releases an electromagnetic pulse which shuts down any power source within its blast radius. That tends not to matter in most cases because a nuclear weapon usually destroys everything you'd need power for anyway. But a Pinch creates a similar electromagnetic pulse, but without the fuss of mass destruction."

"That doesn't seem like much fun," grumbled Leroy. "Let's get back to drinking!"

Understanding suddenly gleamed in Gold's eyes. "So basically, instead of Hiroshima, we would be getting the Dark Ages."

"Exactly."

"How long?" asked Neal, smirking conspiratorially at his father.

"About thirty seconds."

Gold nodded and gestured with his hands. "And could a Pinch knock out the power of a small city, for instance…?"

"Storybrooke?" suggested Jefferson. "Yeah, I think it might. But there's only one Pinch in the world big enough to manage it."

"And where would that be?"

"The Massachusetts Institute of Technology."

"MIT," added Neal. He clapped his hands together and turned towards the others. "Get some coffee, people. We leave for Boston in twenty minutes."

~8~8~8~

Emma cautiously made her way across the second floor terrace to Mr. Gold's room with the help of a keychain flashlight. Jefferson had managed to acquire several torches but she had left hers in the company of Henry, who was happily building a fort of blankets and pillows in their room.

He seemed happy enough despite the power outage. This entire job was turning out to be one big, continuous adventure for him and she admired his optimistic view that everything would turn out for the best. Emma was far less confident.

When had she become so jaded?

She could hear Gold's Scottish brogue arguing heatedly with his son before she even reached the door. She knocked loudly on the doorframe before cautiously letting herself in.

"We're ready to go," she announced. "Granny promised to look in on Henry throughout the night for me, just in case."

"There's no need," said Neal gruffly. "You're not going."

Emma huffed heavily and looked at her ex-boyfriend in annoyance. "Look! I've been in more dangerous situations than you could imagine. I've gotten along just fine without you over the past decade so don't you start getting all over protective on me, okay? I'm no damsel in distress."

"There's no need to be angry at him, dearie," said Gold firmly. "It wasn't his decision. In fact, he's not going either."

"What?" she exclaimed.

The shadows from the torch danced eerily across Mr. Gold's sad, worn face, making him appear at least ten years older. He sighed resignedly and carefully sat on the couch's armrest. "I made a promise to you, Miss Swan, that no harm would come to you on this job. There is a very good chance that tonight's B&E will end badly for us, so the best place for you is to stay here with your son, safe and sound."

"So why isn't he going then?" she asked, looking over at Neal who was sulking quietly in the corner. "Of everyone on this team he's probably the best at breaking and entering. Why not use his skills?"

"Because he once gave up everything to keep me out of jail," said Neal softly.

"Aye," Gold replied. "And I won't have you get hauled off tonight either. I will do whatever it takes to keep my family safe." He gave Emma a pointed look that was completely lost on Neal. "I am refusing to allow either of you two, Granny or even Miss Blanchard to come along. The rest are free to make their own choices."

"Why not Mary Margaret?" she asked.

"Because she is our Financer, dearie. She was never meant to be put in harm's way either."

He heaved himself up and slowly limped across the room with the aid of his cane. At the sound of glass crunching underneath his high-end shoes, Emma shone her light in his direction. "Whoa! What happened to my monitor?"

Gold cleared his throat awkwardly. "It was…damaged in the earthquake, dearie. Now, with any luck, I shall see you both in the morning. Be sure to get some rest. Tomorrow is a big day."

They followed their leader out of the room and watched silently from the terrace as the rest of the team divided themselves up between the white cube van and Nolan's black SUV. Emma was unsurprised to see Mary Margaret kiss David passionately goodbye, but she was caught off guard to see Ruby plant a quick kiss on Archie's lips before he jumped into one of the vehicles.

When had that happened? Ruby then hooked her arm through Mary Margaret's as they made their way across the street to a bar that was clearly running off of several generators, giggling the whole way.

"It's nice how David and Mary Margaret and Archie and Ruby have managed to find their way to each other on this job, isn't it?" asked Neal quietly. "Love is a powerful thing."

Emma shuffled her feet uncomfortably and looked down at her hands. "Neal, we need to talk."

"So talk," he replied stoically.

"You kept the dreamcatcher," she stated simply.

"You kept the keychain."

She unconsciously grasped the swan pendent that hung around her neck. It was warm against her skin, like it was just as much a part of her as her own heart. She gave it a quick squeeze for luck and continued on. "During the earthquake…you grabbed Henry and got him to safety."

Neal breathed out slowly and ran his hand through his hair. "If I could have grabbed both of you I would have. You know that, right? But I only had the time and strength for one of you."

"I know," she said breathlessly. "It was the right choice, Baelfire. I can't tell you how much it meant for me to see you save him."

At the sound of his old name, he reached out and entwined his fingers with hers and smiled sadly. "Emma…you mean more to me than I can ever express. Henry too. As pathetic as it sounds to say it out loud, he's one of my best friends now, and I can't imagine my life without that kid in it anymore."

Moisture threatened to spill out of Emma's eyes as she leaned in and tentatively kissed him on the lips. He returned the kiss gently then deepened it as she softly moaned. She wrapped her arms around his neck, marveling by how easy it was to slip back into his embrace after more than a decade of being apart.

Her breath hitched in her throat as his lips moved down her neck and sucked on her pulse point. She ran her fingers through his hair, tugging a bit too hard when he took her ear lobe into his mouth.

"I never stopped loving you, Emma," he whispered.

She kissed him back fiercely while slowly walking backwards to her room, pulling him along. He pushed her up against the wall to stop her, hands wandering everywhere they could reach and muttered, "You share a room with Henry, remember?"

"Shit," she giggled. Turning around, she began guiding him in the opposite direction, towards his room. He had to release her when he found his door was sealed. He could have sworn he had purposely left it unlocked. Digging around in his pockets, he dug out his key card and slid it in.

He picked her up newlywed style and carried her over the threshold while she peppered his neck with kisses. The room was black as night and Neal quickly stumbled in the dark. "What the Hell was that?"

Emma shone her keychain light around the room and gasped. "Do you have a bigger light?"

Neal withdrew his smartphone and flashed the screen on. Boxes littered his floor and bed. Squatting down next to one, he carefully opened the lid and peeked inside.

"Son of a Bitch!" he roared. He swiftly picked Emma back up and raced out of the room.

'What was in the boxes?" she asked nervously once they were safely back outside.

"Leroy's collection of explosives," he replied furiously. "I don't know why but he's storing them in my room."

He exhaled loudly and tenderly placed his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I guessed it's not meant to be tonight."

She leaned forward and gently kissed his lips. "We still have the back of the Bug," she whispered seductively.

Neal smiled. "Just like old times?"

"Yeah," she replied, putting her hand in his. "Just like old times. Let's go."

~8~8~8~

It was well past midnight before Mr. Gold and his team finally arrived in Boston. Thanks to David's GPS system, they easily navigated the busy city streets and found their way into Cambridge. The campus was much larger than they expected and the two vehicles met up at the Great Dome to discuss their next move.

"Jefferson, which building is it in?" asked Gold tiredly.

"Give me a second," he replied, working furiously on his cell phone. "I just need to figure out what department it falls under."

"And here I thought you could find anything," mocked Leroy under his breath. "Schmuck."

"It'd be Engineering, wouldn't it?" asked August unhelpfully.

"There's Electrical Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Chemical Engineering…right now your guess is as good as mine."

In the end it turned out to be Nuclear Engineering and the team cautiously made their way to the buildings that housed the laboratories. Security was much tighter there due to the dangerous matter that was safely stored inside and they parked across the street deep in the shadows to formulate a plan.

Mr. Gold ran his hand over his haggard face and got down to business. "Jefferson, do you have a photo of the device to show the others? There's no point going in there if we don't know what it looks like."

"Sure thing." He brought up a picture from the internet of a long cylindrical piece of equipment filled with coils, filaments and a strange greenish liquid. "It's about five feet long, weighs almost 300 pounds and you'd better hope is already on a gurney or we're in big trouble. Any questions?"

When no one responded, Gold opened up the sliding van door. "Nolan's in charge. Good luck."

"Wait. You're not coming with us?" asked David.

"And what would you have me do if security arrives?" he replied, tapping his bad leg with his cane. "Catch a ride on this nuclear device while you push it out the door? Besides, someone has to be able to bail you lot out of jail if you're arrested."

David, Jefferson, August and Leroy jumped out of the van and it was a few seconds before Gold realized that Archie was still sitting in the passenger seat. "And what, may I ask, are you still doing here?"

Archie just sat, quietly turning his umbrella over in his hands. "I…I don't think I can do it."

"What? Steal? Hopper, your parents have had you stealing since the day you could hold your head up on your own. If anyone here is qualified for this it's you."

"I'm not cut out for this kind of thing," he clarified. "Lifting wallets and watches sure…but I'm not good enough to steal nuclear weapons and certainly not $120 million. I'll just screw it up."

"First of all, this is not a nuclear weapon," Gold chided him. "It's a college science experiment that turns off lights. And second, what is this really about? The job where that Marco kid got taken away from his parents? Because that wasn't your fault."

Archie huffed and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Of course it was my fault! I knew my parents were up to no good but I went ahead with their plan anyway. I should have realized…I should have seen!"

Mr. Gold sat quietly, silently contemplating his old friend's dilemma. "Hindsight is a cruel companion, Hopper," he said softly. "The future is like a puzzle. It's hard to see the big picture when you're only working with one piece of it at a time. By the time you realize it, it is usually too late. You can't change the past, no matter how much you wish it."

He didn't know if he was referring to his own past or to Hopper's but it didn't matter. Regret was an emotion that did not discriminate.

When had he become so introspective? God, he needed a drink!

The building's loading doors suddenly opened with a resounding bang as a large cylinder came rolling out on a dolly with several shadowy figures following closely behind. Archie swiftly opened the back door to the cube van and lowered the ramp.

Jefferson was sweating profusely as he jumped into the passenger seat. David and August, meanwhile, struggled to push the bulky device up the steep incline but they quickly managed it. Once everyone was safely inside, Archie slammed shut the door and yelled to Gold, who was sitting in the driver's seat. "Go! Go! Go!"

"I'm going to need several car batteries to get this thing to work," explained Jefferson while trying to buckle his seat belt as the van swerved around a tight corner. "And lots of jumper cables…"

"Wait!" interrupted Mr. Gold, looking in the rear view mirror to the other men. "Where's Leroy?"

The five men looked around the van as though the missing member would magically appear in front of them. Gold slammed on the brakes and everyone went flying forward. Once back on his feet, David slid open the side door and peeked his head out.

"He was right behind us!" protested Nolan.

"I think I heard him say something about creating a distraction," added August, flexing his leg.

Thanks to the buildings floor to ceiling windows, they were able to quickly spot the half dozen security guards racing up the stairs, guns drawn and speaking into walkie-talkies.

"There he is," exclaimed Archie, pointing at a hefty shadowy figure that stumbled down the other set of well-lit stairs on the opposite side of the building.

"Do we have to go back for him?" asked August.

Everyone turned to stare incredulously at the stubble-faced man. "What? I'm just saying that we run the risk of all of us getting caught. Or worse, shot!"

The sounds of glass shattering drew their attention back to the building. Leroy kicked shards of broken window panes out of his way as he climbed through unto the overhang above the main entrance.

"Back it up!" hollered Jefferson.

The van sped back towards the lab, jumping a few curbs along the way. Gold parked it under the ledge and Leroy jumped down onto the vehicle, denting the roof significantly. He rolled down the windshield and off the hood unto the hard concrete.

"My God!" cried Nolan. "Are you okay?"

Leroy raced around the van and jumped inside. "It's all right. I'm solidly built. Uh, Gold? You might want to start driving…like, right now!"

Suddenly, the dark sky was awash in orange light as a powerful explosion rocked the building. Fire spewed from the top floor windows as black smoke engulfed the air around them.

Leroy laughed maniacally in the back. "Haha! They weren't expecting that shit!"

"What did you do?" demanded Gold crossly.

"We needed a distraction! Those eggheads will be so busy trying to assess the damages upstairs that it might be days before they realize something's missing downstairs!"

"You're just jealous because I came up with an idea that didn't involve mass destruction," Jefferson replied dryly.

"Listen, sister! I was hired for one thing and one thing only…to blow shit up! You don't like it, go jump out a window."

Archie carefully removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "So basically, we have just set off a bomb in the Nuclear Science building of one of the most prestigious colleges in the world, while stealing a fusion device that will be used to shut down the power of an entire city to steal a hundred and twenty million dollars." He wiped his brow with a handkerchief and his eyes widened in fear. "Did they really shut down Guantanamo Bay? Because I don't think I would do well living with actual terrorists."

~8~8~8~

The sun was gently rising over the Atlantic as the team finally pulled into the cannery's loading bay. As his punishment for his terrorist act, Leroy had been forced to spend the four hour journey back to Storybrooke driving the cube van alone while the others sat companionably in the SUV.

Neal was leaning casually against the large metal doors, sipping a steaming cup of coffee, as they piled out of the vehicles. He smirked at their haggard appearance and nodded his head to the lunchroom where Ruby and Mary Margaret were setting up pastries and coffee.

"Why are you smiling so much?" Gold asked his son suspiciously.

"Oh, just had a good night, I guess," Neal replied good-humoredly. "You boys have a nice trip?"

Gold stifled a yawn and thought longingly of his motel bed. "No one died," he countered gruffly.

He was limping slowly towards the heavenly scent of coffee when Emma blocked his way, gripping a piece of paper tightly in her hands.

"We have a problem," she said quietly to father and son.

"If Leroy made the FBI's most wanted list, dearie, he's on his own," replied Gold, waving his hand dismissively. "It was not my idea to blow up MIT."

"What? No, this isn't from the FBI," she stammered. "This is from the Casino. And it's not Leroy's face that's on it. It's yours."

A/N - I don't know about you guys but "Manhattan" left me feeling sad and empty! Will nothing go Rumple's way? I feel like someone wripped my heart out just for fun. Anyway, I felt the need to include a little romance scene between Emma, Neal and the Bug to help fill the void. Hope you liked it!