Chapter 6

"Of course she was lying. Thing is that we don't have anything to proof that."

Regina's tired voice echoed through the bullpen as both she and Emma entered through the main doors, her footsteps stopping on her desk as Emma did the same several meters at her right.

Both women sported dark circles around their eyes and Emma was drinking her second coffee of the day thanks to Ruby kindness. The woman had needed to only look at the blonde one second before deciding that it was obvious she hadn't slept properly last night -right- and it had obviously, something to do with Regina-wrong- considering how tired the other woman also looked. She had given Emma a second coffee, asking Regina if she wanted one only to be answered with a cold stare.

"Don't you say." The blonde replied while finishing the cup and sighing at its emptiness. "I spent all-night trying to find any clue on what Nora gave us. The Lost Boys are a dead end; they had their general description only written down. Ours looks like four of them at least. Ashley is gone. Her record is written as existing once but it's not there anymore and our John Doe is impossible to be found without a proper name."

Regina closed her eyes and caressed her temples. The news of the names of their murders being a dead end was frustrating but not something she hadn't expected after yesterday's chat with the blue fairy. Emma had only needed a second after leaving the building to tell her in a frustrated sigh that the woman was purposely hiding something. Whatever that was.

"And Pan?" She asked through gritted teeth. There were times in where she wished to be able to throw fireballs freely without getting in trouble for them. This case felt like one of those times.

Emma shook her head. "Nothing, he answered me by telling me he didn't plan on talking to me anytime soon. The note was left next to a dead bird by the way. My neighbor almost had a heart attack."

Regina smiled slightly despite the bad news but felt the smile slip off her when she thought again on her own evening.

Henry hadn't come down to dinner once she had arrived home. Regina knew that she should have explained herself better. Her worry, however, had been stronger and she hadn't known what to do. The utter silence had made her wonder if she could call for Emma, ask her to come over, talk, anything. She had halted just as the idea had begun to form, Henry's words echoing on her mind.

She didn't need to add any more confusion to an already complicated situation.

"I've thought about what Ghorm gave us." She finally said, walking up to Emma and picking the papers the blonde had all over her desk. Emma's perfume hit her for a moment as she did so, making her blink before catching herself. "It was obvious that she was hiding something, right?"

Emma nodded. "Definetely."

Regina hummed. "She may know that someone is stealing the Dust and doesn't want to tell us because of something we are not seeing or she may be part of this. She even may don't want to admit she has lost control of who has the Dust. I know some people at the mayoral office that would have a field day if Ghorm admitted to be guilty of all of this. Whatever that is, that amount of Dust needed for several people in a short amount of time would create something we would be

able to trace. Like your pendant does."

Emma stared at Regina, first not really talking and later nodding as the brunette's words entered on her brain.

"We need to find that trace." She thought outload. "If we find the place…" "We will have something to go back to Ghorm."

Emma nodded and stood quickly, her knees bumping into her desk, making Regina lose her own footing as she was. The sudden movement made them stood closer than before, both set of eyes glancing down for a second too long.

"Message for Mills and Swan."

The voice of Sidney Glass made the two of them part as the few that had come as early as they had done glanced towards their direction before turning back to their own cases. The short, lanky man gave Regina his signature lovesick puppy look before handing the small piece of paper to Emma, the blonde frowning as she felt a sudden burn around her neck.

"Regina?" She asked, eliciting a frown from Regina as she waved Sidney goodbye with a quick movement of her fingers.

"You sent another message to Pan?" She asked, circling the table and almost putting her hand over Emma's forearm as the blonde unfolded the small missive.

"No, this is not his usual…" Words died out on the blonde's throat as the warmth around her neck only grew stronger, shaky fingers circling her pendant as she read the neat, small writing that waited for them both in ink as black as coil. "Regina?"

In the middle of the paper the words "Stop meddling" waited for them, the ink shinning beneath the warm golden light of the office almost as if they had just been written down.

"What the…"

Regina's expletive was cut short but Emma's sudden cry of pain, her gaze settled on her fingers that felt glued to the paper in where the ink had ebbed away, touching the blonde's skin in the process; wherever the ink touched the skin angry red and purple marks appeared on the blonde's flesh, eating the skin away as a strange scent, not ozone but something darker, like stagnant murky water, seemed to float in the air.

"Emma!"

Picking the piece of paper Regina threw it away, the ink of the paper diluting as it fell in the floor.

Emma was glancing at her hand, the angry colors slowly disappearing from her skin.

"What the hell has just happened?"

It turned out Sidney didn't know who had sent the message. It had appeared on his desk down at the first floor and he had thought he had forgotten to send it in. Considering that it was a message for Regina as well as for Emma he hadn't been able to stop himself and so he had delivered it personally. According to him, he had gone to Granny's for a second, buying there his morning coffee. He had been out less than 10 minutes, he said between deep, affected sobs, they could've

slipped inside and leave that note during that time.

Being realistic, the blonde muttered while glancing at her skin every few seconds, they had nothing.

"The confirmation that we're coming closer." Regina replied with a nod, pointing at the list they had been about to start reading in order to determine where were the places in where Dust could've been smuggled from. "And Reul's own implication in all of this."

Emma hummed at the thought, swallowing on White's direction as the man looked at them from his doorframe, the sickly look of his skin casting shadows over his wrinkles as the rest of the officers came down to their places, all of them casting nervous glances to every new paper they touched. For everything that had happened, however, Emma doubted they were going to receive a similar trait that she had had.

"We really didn't have a clue when we went to talk to her." She muttered, opening and closing her hand, the residual pain something close to the prickling sensation of her hand haven fell asleep. The touch of the ink had been oily, thicker than the usual ink. It had felt strange on her skin, almost if, by itself, it tried to climb and write through her flesh. Nothing than any other normal report would probably share with the note. "Why even bothering to clue us in that we were searching where we needed to do so?"

Regina, who was eyeing her hand with the same look of concern that had adorned her face ever since the ink had dissolved into nothing, tilted her head and shrugged, her badge catching the dim light of the bullpen and glinting as she reached for Emma's wrist. She was still wearing her bracelet; copper filaments grazing the blonde's skin as she caressed the bony hand with her thumb, playing on it quickly drawn circles that tingled as Emma could feel herself blush.

Regina blinked before moving backwards, squaring her shoulders and pointing at the meagre notations she had atop of her table.

"It could be someone else with connections to the Fairies. They could have seen us entering the place and felt that we were coming closer than they wanted us to be."

Emma cleared her throat before running a hand over her hair, the residual static that kept floating near her crackling on her fingers as she did so. The inky substance was still on her mind's eye; they hadn't been able to send any trace downstairs but almost everyone could have said that the ink had been treated so it could be what was known as Author's ink. The electric substance that made the dust the moving force whenever a bead of the Mix was put into any machine. Someone was trying very hard to either call for their attention or trying to scare them. Maybe even both.

"If Ghorm is linked to all of this." She finally said between whispers, glancing around before moving closer to Regina. "Then she could be hiding how she suffuses that amount of Dust outside the factory in the form of seemingly legal contracts."

Regina blinked once before retreating to her desk, propping against it before nodding. From where Emma was she couldn't really tell but a faint blush seemed to cover the brunette's cheeks and for a second the blonde did nothing but stare until she was reminded where it was by Regina's own voice.

"I've asked a list of the fairies' properties." As soon as she finished talking the box at her desk chimed and spitted several ink -stained pages in where a list of a surprising amount of properties were listed alongside with the number of boxes had been sent towards them. "Ghorm didn't want to help us but this information…" She said while picking the papers, a smirk on her face. "… can be seen by everyone."

Emma smirked and grabbed the papers Regina was handling to her. She hated paperwork and that part was usually handled by the brunette but she was starting to be fed up of feeling lost. Sitting on her desk and beginning the slow reading of the apparently unending warehouses the fairies owned near Storybrooke.

It took them more than four hours and almost the same quantities of coffee before Regina clicked her tongue and circled a short name almost in the middle of the list she had been reading and checking non-stop. A residential house in the north side of Storybrooke, almost touching the forest that surrounded the city Something strange considering than the other properties were either warehouses or industrial places in where the shipments were either for storage or readied for them to travel to several of the cities the fairies provided for.

"I think I have something." She said while stretching her back and staring at the desk in front of her, vaguely registering that the desks surrounding theirs were empty. Her voice died out as she took on Emma's sleeping form in front of her, head on her right hand, eyes closed and drool almost coming out of her parted lips.

She was in the verge of coming closer when White screamed her name behind her, eliciting a jump from Emma as she blinked sheepishly and the curious stares of the few who hadn't cleaned out their desks in case some other note reached the bullpen.

Sighing, Regina turned and stared at White, his face a few shades darker than usual. The man was wearing a pair of spectacles that made him look even older but the warning on his posture didn't escape Regina's gaze who followed suit, her bracelet glinting on her desk where she had left it a few hours ago. Useless.

"Not you, Swan." White exclaimed as Regina approached him. "Just Mills this time."

Regina could hear the snickers as she finally entered White's office, her back as straight as she could and a careful created mask covering her repulse for the man that was her superior. Instead of saying anything, however, which was what a part of her prompted her to do, she focused instead on the almost the same desk that had greeted both Emma and herself a few days before. Still full to the brim, the old pistol had disappeared and was now being displayed at the wall in front of her, the pearly white line around the handle catching her attention before the man sat at the chair behind his desk, making her change her focus from the pistol to him.

White was many things, Regina thought; a benevolent lieutenant if one wanted to believe on the façade he put every day, a hardworking man if you were fool enough to think that or even a compassionate man. However, all of those tidbits of information, information he had used for his own personal gain, couldn't hide the fact that for all of this White was horrible with his poker-face. He hated her, it was something as obvious as the tremble that seemed to have descended on the man's hands as he now interlaced them.

The feeling was some or less mutual, of course, but if someone looked inside White's office they wouldn't have been able to tell.

"I don't care what you do on your free time, Mills." Leopold started, seeming to bite on every of his words in order to not to scream. "But I don't want to hear anymore speculation of what the daughter of Cora Mills is doing with Emma Swan. Understood?"

Regina blinked; she hadn't really been expecting that. Not in the slightest. Dumbfounded, she opened her mouth only to be cut short again by the man's exasperated sigh.

"Some would say that what you are trying is to corrupt her. I won't enter into politics or into your own past."

"Liar." Regina thought; everyone knew that her name would forever be associated to politics. Like White's did and many others from the time her mother had tried to create a new era. As twisted as that was.

"But if I ever see you again like I saw you outside I will throw you to the wolves. No questions asked. Got it?"

Regina swallowed and briefly thought on what White had said. On what he had seen. She hadn't really done anything and, momentarily, she thought on saying that to man, realizing just as quickly that she wouldn't be able to get her point across. She had already got used to the word that tended to float between her coworkers. Rumors had been floating ever since Emma had been paired up with her and she hadn't killed her on the spot. Quite a low bar if anyone wanted Regina's opinion.

However, they had never been told anything by a superior. Not until now and Regina found herself unsure if she could speak to Emma about why she had been called to White's office. Muttering a quick "Yes sir" she exited the place, careful to close the door behind her while avoiding any curious stares from her coworkers.

She had enrolled in the Division out of spite at first more than the moronic ideas the force taught at the Academy again and again; she wanted to prove a point. The point of her not being her mother. She had excelled at it until someone else with a name as powerful has hers had appeared in the picture; Emma Swan.

Emma didn't believe on the white and black ideas many of the ones at the force believed in; she had also had her fair share of grey. However, she held a different type of belief, a trust on how actions always spoke louder than words, no matter what those were. That had made it be the reason why they had ended becoming friends. Or something.

Sitting at her own desk and grabbing the bracelet from where she had left it, Regina found Emma's stare and muttered a brief "Everything's fine." That didn't seem to convince the blonde much.

She had always known when she was lying after all and, Regina thought, how could she even think on denying a rumor she wasn't sure wasn't true anymore?

"I still don't know why you don't want to tell me what was the matter with White." Emma was saying as they did their way into the darkened street. It had rained a little a while before and even though the clouds had already disappeared there were still puddles on the small road, muddy droplets staining the already worn out asphalt. Both the blonde and Regina wore their badges on full display and a few of the ones who lurked into the place looked at them once before moving away as fast as they could, weary stares following their movements.

Regina sighed; it was already mid-afternoon and yet Emma hadn't let the chat with the lieutenant go, no matter how many times she assured the blonde that there wasn't a thing she needed to worry about.

"I told you, it's nothing." The brunette finally replied as the blonde kicked an empty glass bottle, its contents sloshing inside but never spilling. Regina didn't react to it but stared at the younger woman with a cocked brow.

Emma sighed and rose her hands in defeat. "Fine… how's everything with Henry?

Regina bit down on her bottom lip. Henry. That was another subject she didn't want to discuss with the blonde due to how close it was to the why White had called for her. Not when she was still thinking about it. The blonde, however, was worth an answer.

"We are… still fighting."

Emma eyed her as they finally reached the door they were there for.

"If I can do anything…"

Regina nodded, surpassing Emma and entering Gold's pawnshop for the second time in the same days.

"I know, thank you."

Gold's shop was in the same state that they had left it a few hours before with the only difference than instead of a woman a young man no older than 21 glanced at them from their side of the counter before seeing their badges and taking a step backwards, his hips hitting the counter as Gold smirked behind it, his suit glimmering into the lighted place as the threads it was made off were made with his namesake.

"Officers!" He spoke as the man whose intricated tattoo on his uncovered wrist signaling him as being one of the many security guards that some of the richer houses employed, walked past the two of them, hurriedly trying to hid what seemed to be a stash of dust. "How can I help you?"

Regina could feel the heat on Emma's glance as the door behind them closed with a jingle. The blonde hadn't wanted to go to Gold once they had managed to reduce the impressing list to two different places apart from the house she was still suspicious of at the edge of town. Regina, however, had insisted on going until Emma had admitted defeat.

"Gold was the one that led us to Ghorm and told us about the author. He knows something."

"How to get into our nerves! I swear one day I will punch him in the face Regina. I'm not kidding."

Emma could be many things, sore loser, however, wasn't one and with only one last skeptic glance at her, the blonde took a step forwards while resting her hands on her narrow hips.

"We want to make you a few questions."

Gold tilted his head, his smirk making him look almost reptilian as he waited for either Emma or Regina to speak. The second Regina parted her lips, however, Emma beat her to it, a fiery glance on her eyes that shone greener -or seemed to- from where Regina was for a second.

"What do you know about the Blue Fairy?"

The man hummed, still looking amused, before sighing; his chest raising and failing as he feigned surprise.

"Why would I know something of our beloved Reul? There's nothing I can help you with, officers."

A nerve trembled on Emma's temple. Regina could feel her own patience running thin.

"You know what we are talking about." She finally said, pausing before she placed her left hand on Emma's back, a sudden electric current seeming to run up her arm as she did so. Frowning, White's words came to mind and so she moved away from the blonde before raising her hand enough so her bracelet was in full display. "You wanted us to do your dirty job. Clever. However, I can still send here some officers, tell them to clean this place and see how many prattler's names we manage to find and catch. How about that?"

Punches were good, Regina thought while throwing at Emma a small self-satisfied smirk. But threats were better.

Rumple waited for a fraction of a second before letting out a small laugh that got lost on the many objects his shop was full off.

"There have been some movement on a small property Miss Ghorm possess at the edge of town, very close to the forest and less than thirty minutes ago from the factory. Several… boxes had been seen, all of them labeled with the Fairies logo." Gold made a pause before pointing at the general direction of where the house was. Regina nodded and she could feel Emma doing the same at her side; it was the very same house she had felt intrigued by; a property under the direct name of Ghorm but linked to the factory in a way the papers she had managed to get her hands into didn't really explain.

"So you think that the Blue Fairy is behind this?" Regina heard Emma asking. The idea was, in itself, worrisome. The Blue Fairy was the responsible of the production and distribution of dust and Mix not only in Storybrooke but in a good part of the Enchanted Forest as well, the implications of the woman being in the middle of what was a series of gruesome murders wouldn't sit well once the news got to the press. And they were eventually going to find out that the Division were taking care of all of this.

Gold, however, didn't seem worried about the mediatic nightmare his words were going to bring and so he laughed before shaking his head, the lapels of his suit glimmering briefly at it.

"That's not my job, officers. I'm merely a concerned citizen."

Emma kept on eyeing Gold, her face almost glowing with the distrust the man produced on her. They, however, didn't have any other option but play with Gold's rules if they wanted to know the finishing pieces of the puzzle. Or, at least, enough so they could know what was waiting for them in that house.

Taking Emma's forearm and squeezing it once, Regina let her know that the conversation was over; Gold wasn't going to tell them more.

"We still have things to discuss." She said behind her back only to be met by a set of glowing eyes.

"I'm sure of it." Gold finally replied. "I hope to help you in the future then, officers, back when… this part of the city has returned to its usual calmness."

And, with that last string of words, the door closed in front of an irate Emma and a strangely tired Regina.