Whistling casually, Prince Charming sauntered into the Trip Trap and up to to the counter where Gren sat alone. He was deep in conversation with Holly, something about "that smug fuckin' prince has come back into town, did you hear?" but they both fell silent when Charming approached them.
"Good evening, Gren," Charming greeted. "Holly."
"Charming," Holly muttered sullenly.
"A Midas Gold please," Charming said and Holly went to get a glass, rolling her eyes.
Charming looked down at Gren who was pointedly ignoring him and slamming down his beer. He peered down at the stump poking through the fabric of his shirt that used to be an arm. He smirked.
Knowing the answer, Charming asked, "Whatever happened to your arm?"
Gren slammed his empty cup down on the counter. "The same thing that will happen to yours if you don't move the fuck away from me."
Charming burst out laughing and threw an arm round Gren's shoulder. "You're a funny guy, Grennie. I like you already."
"Charming -" Holly said by which of warning.
Gren stayed silent. He got up slowly, grabbed Charming's arm, slung it behind his back and then he grabbed Charming by the throat.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Charming said, his laughs fading to shaky little chuckles. "Let's just calm down for a minute."
"Get this straight, okay? I don't like you. Don't fuckin' touch me again, or I will tear that pretty face of yours to fuckin' pieces, you hear me?" Gren growled viciously with yellow in his eyes and venom in his voice.
"Okay, I get it," Charming said, carefully taking Gren's hand and moving it from his neck. "The thing is, I want to make a deal with you and Holly."
Gren and Holly shared suspicious glances.
"What deal?" Holly asked, folding her arms.
Charming's eyes gleam. Flashing them both his million dollar smile, he says, "I need a certain Mr Wolf to be rid of and thrown away like a sack of rubbish because he seems to be getting in the way of my plans and I can't have that."
"Get to the point," Gren snarled.
"What I'm saying is ..." Charming said. "I need you to kill Bigby Wolf for me."
Holly's eyes widened and she stared at Gren. Gren stared back impassively, his yellow eyes giving away no emotion.
Kill Bigby?
** flashback **
"Be honest, Sheriff ..." Holly yawned drowsily. "Why are you going after him? Crane. You could've quit a long time ago, but you're still going. Why?"
"I'm doing this for Lilly," Bigby said. "She deserves whatever justice I get her."
Holly blinked up at him. "I'll take it," she said, and then closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
** end of flashback **
"I'm in," Gren said. "But I want to get paid that fuckin' money now."
"Excellent," smiled Charming. "But listen here. I don't want pussy cats on my team." He looked at Gren's armless arm as he said it. "I need someone strong to overpower the Big Bad Wolf. Because this bastard is no puppy. I need someone I can rely on to put the old mutt to sleep. Got it?"
"Hang on a minute," Holly snapped. She didn't trust Charming one bit, no matter how charming his smile may be. "How can we trust you? How can we trust you to reward us for doing this little scheme?"
Eyes glittering menacingly, Charming brings out a roll of cash from his pocket. "I can easily pay you both now if you wish. Is that convincing enough?"
Holly stared at the money, her heart thumping. It would certainly make a change from her boring life serving pints of beer to hardly any customers. For years her life had been going round in miserable circles. If she was killing someone insufferable and irrelevant like Jack, it would be different.
But this was Bigby Wolf and he had done quite a lot for her and her sister.
"There's no way we can even take down the Sheriff," Holly argued. "Look what he did to Gren."
"That's why we're going to kill him through stealth and intelligence," Charming told them mysteriously. "Just follow my instructions..."
*
Bigby slammed the cab door. "Keep the change," he told the cab driver and made his way to the Trip Trap, slipping a cigarette between his teeth. His mind was still whirling from Snow White's cold and aggressive manner around him. She was acting as if she truly detested Bigby after what he did. He just wished he could turn the clock and feign control over himself.
As soon as he walked into the bar, something cold pressed against his head. "Don't move," ordered a familiar, snarky voice.
Gritting his teeth, Bigby wasn't at all surprised when he turned his eyes to see Prince Charming holding a gun against his head.
"Hello Bigby," Charming smiled tauntingly.
"Charming," Bigby muttered through his teeth.
"Isn't it quite?"
"You do realize regular bullets won't be able to do much to me," Bigby growled.
"Oh, these are only three of the finest silver I could find. Isn't that right, fellow employees?" Charming turned to smirk at Gren and Holly who walked up behind him. They were both unglamoured; Gren into his full white monster form and Holly as a large gruesome troll.
"Put your hands up," Charming demanded.
Bigby did so slowly.
"Now walk."
Keeping his eyes forward, Bigby let Prince Charming push him into walking forwards and putting his head on the counter. The rage was already building inside him like a volcano, but he kept obedient, worried that if Charming truly had silver bullets or if he was just bluffing.
"Hmm..." Charming said, pretending to think exaggeratedly. "Should we use the silver bullet and make it quick and painless, or let Holly and Gren skin you alive? I have to admit that Option Two sounds more promising ..."
"I'm ready now," growled Gren behind him. He turned to Holly. "Are you?"
Bigby noticed with narrowed eyes that Holly had been looking anxious about this whole thing. She didn't reply to Gren, and instead gulped.
"Option Two it is then," laughed Charming. "I'm going to enjoy this more than a cinema movie ..."
Snarling hungrily, Gren thumped his one arm hard on the floor and slowly crawled over. Holly tentatively followed. But Bigby bared his teeth. He was ready.
Thank you for reading :)