Chapter 20

Regina inwardly groaned as she followed the representative of the New England Gaming Commission to the Blackjack tables. Talk about lousy timing! It was bad enough that she was going to be late for dinner with Belle on such an important night but she hated the thought of Mr. Gold sneaking around her facilities, trying to reconnect with his ex-wife.

That girl had started to get some of her spunk back and she did not like that one bit! It had taken almost two years of careful manipulation for Belle to finally give in and send that bastard divorce papers and she wasn't about to let it see it all go to waste now.

Gaining her trust had been so simple. Then it had been no trouble at all to hack into her computer and delete emails from her friends and family members, specifically Gold's son, Baelfire. She had never been able to ascertain his whereabouts or his new name (the boy was too careful, even in sending emails to his beloved step-mother) but by clearing them from her inbox, Regina had swiftly conned Belle into thinking that everyone had abandoned her.

The thought made her giggle.

Running late to her own grand event, however, made her seethe inside! If this Jim Shrink were not a member of the NEGC she would have squashed him like the insignificant bug that he was. Fortunately for him, she needed to keep on the organization's good side in order to keep her gaming license.

They walked through the busiest parts of the casino to the somewhat quieter gaming tables. She could see in the distance her security guards Killian and Claude conversing with the handsome Blackjack dealer that Mal had taken out to dinner. She could certainly see the appeal. He was definitely handsome, especially in his well-fitting dealer's uniform.

I bet he looks even better without it, she thought devilishly. Unfortunately it looked like she wouldn't get the chance to steal him away; not if he was in trouble with the NEGC.

"I'm sorry but this matter has just come to our attention this morning," said the cockroach next to her. She had already forgotten his name. "Apparently this man has a rap sheet longer than my…uh…well, let's just say it's quite long."

Regina frowned at his poor taste in humor and continued to stare at him coldly.

He coughed awkwardly and looked away. "Wow. Crickets."

She waited impatiently for her guards to escort the handsome dealer to her, wanting to be as far away from this idiot as possible. In the meantime, she opened up her black portfolio and carefully tucked the new vault codes into an inside breast pocket of her long black jacket. When she looked up, she caught the insufferable man staring at her chest!

His face turned as red as his hair when he realized he had been caught staring. "That's…um… that's quite an impressive rack…I mean rock! Diamond! That's a beautiful diamond. Ma'am."

He cleared his throat loudly as the accused was finally brought before them. "James Prince? I'm with the New England Gaming Commission."

"What's going on?" asked James, frowning in confusion.

"It's come to our attention that when you…"

"Ahem!" interrupted Regina. Really, is the man a complete idiot? "I think it would be better if we speak off the floor and not do this in front of my guests. Follow me."

Openly grimacing now at the situation, she guided the small group back towards the cage doors. Now she was really going to be late. Gaston's men had better be keeping a close eye on Gold or there will be Hell to pay.

~8~8~8~

Belle smiled graciously at the Maître D' as he ushered her to her usual table where her usual red wine had already been decanted. She did not feel like smiling. Not tonight. In fact, she felt like she wanted to curl up and have a good cry.

Oh, how she hated what had become of her life! She barely even recognized herself anymore. To think, she was spending the evening watching two sweaty, smelly men beat the crap out of the other and calling it a sport!

At least she was not dressed and painted up like Regina tonight. That black lacy dress was far too racy for her tastes. No. Tonight she was going as Belle Gold, sophisticated Museum Curator and not as some tawdry sidekick.

"Excuse me," she said to her escort. "Could you please bring me a glass of white wine instead?"

"White?" His polite smile could not mask the sudden alarm protruding underneath. "But Ms. Mills always orders the red."

Regina was certainly threatened by change. She wanted everything to be the exactly the same, day in, day out, so that she was always in control. Maybe it was time for Belle to gain some of that control as well. "I thought I might try something different for a change. You know…live dangerously!"

She watched as the poor man retreated to fetch the wine quickly, most likely in the hopes that she would consume it before his boss had a chance to see her drinking it. Regina certainly invoked quite a lot of fear in her employees.

Her eyes travelled across the dimly lit restaurant as her gaze moved towards the picturesque windows. That's when she saw something that made her look twice; standing by the door, looking as dapper and in control as ever, was her husband.

All around her, the sounds of clattering plates and idle conversation seemed to stop as their eyes locked. She heard nothing; nothing but the beating of her own heart. A strange buzz filled her ears and her chest swelled with…something. Surprise? Joy? Love?

No. It was panic.

She was suddenly overcome with abject fear for what Regina or Gaston might do if security were to see him. She wasn't naïve. She had seen the poster. He was Priority Number One and every eye and ear in the building would be out for his blood.

She had to get him out of here. She had to save him.

Rising quickly to her feet, she looked around in a panic as she made her way between the tables to stand by his side. Her fingers instinctively entwined with his warm ones.

"No, Danny!" she whispered furiously. "You can't be here! Everyone is looking for you. You have to leave while you still can!"

He smiled at her sadly and tucked a loose tendril of hair behind her ear. "It's all right, love. I know what I'm doing."

"And what exactly are you doing?" she demanded. "If this is some way to…to win me back after everything that's happened…."

Gold held up a hand and shook his head. "No. That's not why I'm here. I came to say goodbye."

The air rushed out of Belle's lungs like a swift punch in the stomach. What did he mean by that?

"Goodbye?" she repeated, a lump forming in her throat.

He picked up her hand and softly ran his thumb over her small knuckles. "You were right about me. I am a coward. I have been my whole life. Honesty has never been the best color on me but I've been trying it on lately, just for you. I'm glad I had the chance the other night to explain my actions, explain why I lied and did what I did. You have no idea how incredibly sorry I am to have hurt you. I just…I couldn't bear the thought of losing you again, without you first knowing… everything."

Moisture threatened to spill from her eyes and her throat constricted painfully. She was at a loss. She didn't know what to think, what to say, how to feel. She was so confused.

"Goodbye, Belle," he whispered.

His arms encircled her in a tender embrace, lingering around her waist. His lips hesitantly touched her cheek, then withdrew quickly, as though her flushed skin had somehow burned him. With one last gentle caress, he was gone.

She stared ahead blankly, too stunned to react.

Oh no! she thought morosely. What had she done?

~8~8~8~

Gold took a deep, cleansing breath as he walked away from her, willing himself not to cry in the middle of the damn restaurant. That had been much harder than he had anticipated. Letting her go had been the most difficult thing he had ever done in his life.

But it had to be done.

He sniffed loudly and withdrew his monogrammed handkerchief. He lingered for just a few seconds in the alcove where he knew no security cameras could see him. He needed a brief moment to compose himself before limping out into the lobby and once again reprising the role of the stoic and sophisticated businessman.

"Mr. Gold?" demanded a giant, beefy man suddenly appearing in front of him. He was dressed in beige slacks, a crisp white shirt and had a large radio earpiece attached to the side of his head. If that wasn't obvious enough, he was accompanied by another similarly sized man dressed exactly the same way.

"Ms. Mills would like a word with you," gruffly added the second thug.

He snorted mockingly. "Yes. I thought she might."

~8~8~8~

Archie tried valiantly not to tremble as he walked alongside the foreboding presence of Regina Mills through the crowded gaming floor. The heavy metallic cage door slowly closed behind them with a loud ominous thump that sent chills down his spine.

He was committed now. There was no turning back.

David was doing a great job pretending to be confused and irritated by the sudden summons. He walked directly behind the Casino owner and the bogus representative of the NEGC, with the security guards Killian and Claude flanking his rear. Archie surreptitiously turned to his head to glance at his co-conspirator to see that he walked with his head bowed and fists clenched at his sides.

If he didn't know any better he'd swear that David looked nervous.

That was impossible though. David, or James as he was known as right now, was the bravest man he had ever met. Unlike himself, he was an excellent con-man and actor.

He winced as he replayed the recent conversation with Regina in mind. August had warned him not to stare and what was the first thing he did? He got caught staring as she placed the vault codes into her jacket. He had meant to play it cool by complimenting her diamond necklace but it sat so snugly on top of her revealing breasts that he became distracted for just a split second.

Hopefully Neal hadn't heard his Freudian slip or he'd never hear the end of it!

They made several turns through the maze of whimsical black and white corridors and Archie did his best to keep track of their movements. Regina led them to a glassed enclosed board room with a long mahogany table and a dozen chairs. Instead of claiming the power seat, she opted to stand off to the side to watch the proceedings.

"Take a seat, Mr. Prince," she commanded. He immediately sat in the center of the table and swiveled his chair to face them.

"James Prince. Or should I call you…David Nolan?" Archie grinned smugly as he opened his briefcase and removed a file with a flourish. Removing two sheets of paper from the folder, he placed one in front of the accused and handed the copy to Regina. It was Showtime! "You are David Nolan, a former guest of the New York State Penitentiary system, are you not?"

David placed his fingertips on top of the page and gently slid it away from him without giving it a second glance. He then turned all of his attention to his nails.

"I take it from your silence that you are not going to refute that," continued Archie. "Your arrest record is quite impressive, I must say; petty larceny, shoplifting, identity theft, breaking and entering, etcetera, etcetera. Ms. Mills, I'm afraid you have been employing an ex-convict which, as I'm sure you are aware, is a violation of the NEGC Code 108."

If looks could kill, David would be a smoldering pile of ash. Regina's nostrils flared as held up the rap sheet. "Is this true?" she demanded quietly.

"Ex-convicts can't make a decent wage in this country," David mumbled sadly. "This is supposed to be the land of opportunity for Christ's sake and I can't even get a job cleaning up dog shit in an animal shelter now!"

Archie sat on the edge of the table, directly in front of Regina, and removed his glasses to clean them on his polka dot tie. "Maybe if you had applied yourself in your youth instead of turning to a life of crime you wouldn't be in this predicament right now."

"Like I had a choice! I had a sick, widowed mother to support and the government was too corrupt to help us out. There was no other option at the time."

"There is always another option. Giving in to one's dark side is never the answer."

"And how many meals has a clear conscience bought?" David's fist came crashing down upon the table with a resounding crack. "We were practically starving! I did what I had to do to help my family. I paid the price and did my time. It's not fair that I continue to be punished for it. I'm an honorable man, Ms. Mills. All I want is an honest day's pay for an honest day's work and there's no way I can get that unless I lie about who I am."

"I'm sure District Attorney Spencer would disagree with that." He leaned in close to the blackjack dealer and smiled grimly. "I plan on personally reporting this to him. He'll have your head."

Archie yelped like a frightened puppy as David lunged across the table, hands clawing for his throat. He narrowly managed to avoid being strangled by jumping from his precarious perch on the table and colliding head on with Regina.

"Get off of me!" she cried as he hid behind her long black coat.

During the brief struggle, she never noticed his nimble fingers reaching into her inside pocket. She turned her back on the cowering NEGC officer as she berated David for his unprofessional outburst. Archie smiled in relief and quickly nodded to his accomplice.

He had the codes. They were good to go.