"And just how do you propose we decide which flat belongs to Baelfire? Ask the shawl to provide us with some sort of sign, perhaps?"
Regina snipes as the three of them stand shoulder to shoulder, each wearing a frown as they come to the realisation of just how many residences comprise the hulking block of brick that looms above them.
Turning to the Queen with an irritable scowl, Gold fingers the handle of his cane with out-of-character nervousness.
"We haven't read all the names yet. I'm sure we can find some sort of sense in a possible alias. Just give me a minute. I-"
"-It's this one."
The blonde interrupts, tapping one of the plastic plaques.
"How do you know? There's no name. It's probably vacant."
"No. There's no name because - as you keep telling us - Baelfire doesn't want to be found."
"But how would he have preempted that I would come looking for him? He-"
"-Your son ran once, Gold, there's a good chance he's made a habit of it."
"That's a rather grand conclusion to make!"
"Look, you wanted my help, remember? I could be wrong. Could be your kid's now going by, let's see, Tom Storie, and is happily listed in the phone book, but, I don't think so."
"It doesn't hurt to try, Gold..."
Regina reasons, and she feels a small wave of relief when the Sheriff offers her a grateful glance; a welcome departure from her previous snarling whenever her side has been taken.
The look Emma offers Gold is a little more disconcerting.
"What? What is it? Why the face, dearie?"
He frowns.
"Nothing, it's just-... He could be anyone. You do understand that, right? Who knows where he came through? When he came through? He might be an old man by now, we don't know. All we know is that he's still alive, or surely the shawl wouldn't guide us... I just-... I've told you I don't care what happens with you and your son so long as you leave us alone once my debt has been paid, but-... I was lucky. I searched for my parents for years and while the situation could possibly be a little less insane, I lucked out, you know? More than I'd ever imagined I would... I can't foresee ever trying to befriend you after what happened, but I do hope you find what you're looking for... This might not be what you want it to be."
"Nothing can be worse than not knowing. You of all people should understand that."
"Of course I do. I'm not telling you not to do this, I'm just advising you to guard your heart."
"... Thank you... Now. If you please..."
Gold makes a gesture towards the blank plaque and rusted call button the Sheriff had pointed out previously; a silent acceptance of her argument that she knows what she's doing.
Nodding, Emma swallows, before depressing the button to emit a shrill buzz.
Then silence.
A cruel, empty, vast fraction of time filled with nothing but the pounding of blood in each of their ears.
Then,
"Hello?"
Occupied after all.
And a man's voice, so that's definitely a step in the right direction.
Glancing hesitantly at Gold, the blonde presses the buzzer a second time; her voice wavering slightly.
"... Baelfire?"
The silence following Emma's tentative utterance is much shorter this time; broken by the glassy crash of a door somewhere to their left. Turning towards the noise, each of them spies the thin, distorted shadow of a man cast upon the brick wall of the building beside them as the figure descends the twisted iron steps of a fire escape.
"He's running!"
Regina exclaims as the three of them take flight and sprint towards the alleyway below the stairs in question.
"Of course he's running! Baelfire? What idiocy led you to call him by that name, you stupid-"
"-What else was I supposed to call him?! We know fuck all about him! How would I know what he's calling himself nowadays?!"
"You couldn't have fabricated a story?! Lured him downstairs?!"
"I did lure him down stairs! Just not the right ones!"
The Sheriff snaps over her shoulder, before coming to a skidding halt; dangerously close to running straight into the wire mesh fencing that cordons off the alley from the street. Regina pulls up sharply at her heels, making Gold to be the last to spot the obstacle in their way.
Up above, narrow steps are being made short work of, and when their mark reaches the platform of the second floor, he simply swings himself up over the railing and jumps down to land heavily in the dirt below.
"We can't! We-"
But the Mayor's cry trails off as the blonde springs at the wire fence and hooks her fingers into its geometrical web to gain leverage.
"I'm on it! You two go round and find a way through without a fucking fence! This one's got to end somewhere! Go! Go!"
Emma's breath comes out in exerted pants, but otherwise, she makes quick work of the fence; climbing over the top and springing down onto the other side with surprising agility, before taking off in pursuit of the diminishing footsteps that echo against the brickwork.
Turning to Gold, the brunette barks at him to follow her before hurrying down the street in search of a way around to the back of the building; inwardly damning Master Choo and his exquisitely useless shoes.
She finds what they're looking for half a block down, and by the time she reaches the end of the narrow through-way, she's almost bowled over by the Sheriff who comes streaking past her; Emma dodging her smartly without losing too much ground between herself and the man that sprints up ahead.
"Remember the deal, Swan!"
Gold yells after her, panting; limping in her wake. He comes to a stop, knowing he has no hope of taking part in the chase, and he watches as the Mayor slowly comes to the same conclusion up ahead.
"Damn..."
The darker woman hisses as she tries to catch her breath. She can blame her heels all she likes for losing her tail on the other two, but she supposes she'd always known that if challenged with a physical endeavour, the Sheriff would wipe the floor with her.
Still, she's surprised at the younger woman's speed - never having actually witnessed the blonde in a full sprint - and she imagines their cause may not be as hopeless as they'd feared.
"And that is why I needed Miss Swan..."
Gold growls as he falls into step at her side; his gait speaking of pain due to his momentary display of exertion. Regina frowns, rubbing at a stitch beneath her ribs.
"Come on, she might need us to help her."
She pants.
"I'm going as fast as I can... You hurry on along if you need to. Go watch over your lassie, dearie..."
Gold implores, and the brunette thins her lips as she comes to the realisation that, in spite of his terminology, there's no malice in the little man's words. She imagines that, had it been Emma to hear such encouragement, the younger woman might well have risked a smile to mark such a moment in time, but she's not Emma, and her vendetta runs true.
"I always will."
Is all she says, before struggling to find a second wind and running in the direction the blonde had taken.
"Hey!"
The Sheriff yells as the asshole that seems to be doing his best to wind her takes a sudden right down a narrow side street without giving her time to anticipate the move.
Using her own cunning, she makes use of the fact that Gold had led them traipsing around the area for so long before closing in on their target, and continues towards the next alley to meet her prey head-on.
Her tactic works; her mark focused on outrunning the hellishly fast bitch snapping at his heels, thus failing to notice the sudden change in the pounding of her footsteps.
It isn't until his vision is obscured by a veil of gold that he understands he's been played; his pursuer having ducked into the shadows at the next small intersection to lay an ambush.
The thought is fractured - brief - drowned out by the dull pain of his knees making cruel contact with cracked cobbles as his feet are swept out from under him.
A sound of scuffling to his right leads him to assume that his assailant's tackle may have been a little ill-practised as the blonde stumbles down onto the uneven stones herself.
"Mother fucker..."
She grunts, but pale hands - bloodied at the palms like robin's breasts - brush swiftly over dark denim in a business-like fashion, and the curious young woman is up on her feet in a matter of seconds, moving towards him lest he attempt to take flight once again.
"Seriously?! You couldn't have at least waited to see if I had something interesting to tell you?! I mean, shit, you-"
But her breathless scolding trails off as green eyes widen with a sense of recognition that matches the fallen man's own at the familiar cadences of her voice.
"Emma?!"
"... No."