Art & Fic: Adventures in the Bad Green Apple: Blood for a Bauble - Prologue (Wicked)
Fandom: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Disclaimer: Wicked (c) Gregory Maguire.
Rating: This chapter PG, whole fic PG-13/R.
Summary: In a slightly different Oz, Elphaba Thropp ekes out her living as a bitter private eye in the Emerald City, the bad green apple of Oz, where rain rarely lets up, crime runs rampant, and sensual socialites wrap themselves in cigarette smoke.
Chapters: Prologue - Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 / 12
Adventures in the Bad Green Apple: Blood for a Bauble
Prologue
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Don't play stupid with me, it's far more than your sorry life's worth. Can you get it?"
"Have I ever disappointed you?"
"Yes."
The darkened room had already begun to fill with the smoky overtones of cheap roll-ups. An exposed light bulb swung listlessly above the heads of the room's occupants while they held their hushed discussion.
"And you're sure the girl won't suspect you?"
"Are you kidding me? I have her wrapped around my little finger!"
"Be that as it may, I really can't afford for any... liabilities, loose ends, so to speak." The speaker's voice dripped with the threat, more than enough to be picked up by the slowest wit. "One word from me and you can be found in an alley, or several alleys between here and the Wizard's footsteps."
There was the sound of a person swallowing and an ego deflating. "Look, do you want my help or not?"
There was a pause, long and drawn out, enough to allow sweat to form and more than one set of possibilities implant themselves into an already nervous mind. The air in the room felt thick, churning with plans and ticking with thoughts. A clock on the wall announced the time as being half past eleven, but it had been a long time since it had been wound. Not a sliver of outdoor light could be seen, nor a breath of fresh air felt upon faces.
"Yes. Yes I believe I do." The figure nodded to one of the expressionless servants standing around them. "Take down the necessary information, and tell my driver I wish to go down to the City. The Emeralds do gleam so beautifully this time of year..."