The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 2 plus 8 letter word DEVIL IN DISGUISE
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
D
E
V
I
L
I
N
D
I
S
G
U
I
S
E
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Number" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case number = devil in disguise.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.