Rapunzel's shop sat wedged between a bcksmith and a textile merchant, easy to miss if you didn't know what you were looking for. The sign above the door read "Herbal Remedies & Tonics" in faded paint, but everyone in the mercenary business knew what else Rapunzel sold—information, magical expertise, and discretion.

  Big Bad pushed open the door, the bell chiming overhead. The familiar scent of dried herbs hit him immediately—vender, sage, something sharper he couldn't identify. Shelves lined every wall, packed with jars and bottles in various states of organization.

  Roslyn followed him in, pulling her red hood back. Robin came st, closing the door firmly behind them.

  "In the back," Rapunzel called out.

  They wound through the cramped shop, past workbenches covered in mortars and pestles, bundles of hanging pnts, and—Big Bad noticed—a small magic mirror propped on a shelf, its surface covered with a thick bck cloth.

  *That's odd.*

  Rapunzel didn't usually cover her mirrors. He filed that detail away without comment.

  The back room was rger, better organized. Rapunzel stood at a main workbench, her long blonde hair tied back in a practical braid. She looked tired—dark circles under her eyes, the kind that came from too many te nights working.

  "The Merry Men?" she asked.

  "At the inn," Robin said. "Figured this didn't need a crowd."

  "Smart." Rapunzel gestured to the chairs scattered around the room. "Sit. This won't take long."

  They settled in. Big Bad noted two more covered mirrors in this room—one on the wall, one on a side table.

  *Three covered mirrors. Strange.*

  "The job is simple in concept, difficult in execution," Rapunzel began. She pulled out a piece of parchment and unrolled it on the workbench. A rough sketch of a harp. "I need you to steal the magic harp from Jack."

  Big Bad went still.

  Robin let out a low whistle. "The one he got from the giant?"

  "That's the one."

  "Shit," Roslyn said quietly.

  Big Bad leaned forward, studying the sketch. "That's one of Jack's most prized possessions. I can see why you need assistance—he definitely wouldn't sell that thing."

  "No," Rapunzel agreed. "He wouldn't."

  "What do you need it for?" Robin asked.

  Rapunzel's expression didn't change. "Let's just say I need it for a project."

  There was a pause. Big Bad met her eyes and saw the walls up—whatever this was really about, she wasn't sharing. And honestly? They were smart enough not to push. Rapunzel had her reasons. She always did.

  "How much?" Robin asked instead.

  "Fifty thousand gold. Twenty-five now, twenty-five on delivery."

  The room went quiet.

  That was serious money. A year's worth of work, just like she'd promised. Maybe more.

  Robin gnced at Big Bad, who gave a slight nod. The Wolf looked at Roslyn, who shrugged—her expression said *dangerous, but doable*.

  "Sounds good to me," Robin said.

  "When do you need it?" Big Bad asked.

  "As soon as possible."

  "Anything you *don't* want us to do?"

  Rapunzel's lips twitched—almost a smile. "I'm an herbalist, Big Bad. I don't pretend to tell you how to do your job. My problem is getting it to me as soon as possible. How you accomplish that is your concern."

  She reached under the workbench and pulled out a heavy leather pouch. The clink of gold was audible as she set it on the table. "Half your payment. You'll get the rest when you deliver the harp—intact and functional."

  Big Bad picked up the pouch, felt the weight. Twenty-five thousand gold. He opened it briefly, confirming. All there.

  "You know Jack's mayor now," Roslyn said. "Not just a retired hero living off his giant-killing fame. He's got legitimate power in that town."

  "I know." Rapunzel's expression was serious. "Which is why I'm hiring you. This isn't a job for amateurs."

  "The harp tells him everything that happens in his territory," Big Bad said, thinking it through. "Guards, threats, opportunities. He'll know we're coming the moment we get close."

  "Then don't get close until you're ready to move," Rapunzel said simply. "You've handled worse."

  She wasn't wrong. But this would require pnning. Serious pnning.

  Big Bad stood, tucking the payment into his coat. "We'll be in touch."

  "Don't take too long," Rapunzel said. "I need that harp."

  There was something in her voice—urgency that went beyond just wanting a magical artifact. Big Bad studied her for a moment. The covered mirrors. The exhaustion. The expensive rush job.

  *She's worried about something. Really worried.*

  But if she wasn't sharing, he wasn't asking.

  "You'll have it," he said.

  They filed out through the shop. As they passed the covered mirror near the door, Big Bad saw Rapunzel's hand twitch toward it, then stop. Like she wanted to uncover it but decided against it.

  Outside, the street was busy with afternoon traffic. Robin immediately started calcuting. "We'll need to scout Jack's town. Figure out his security, the harp's location, guard rotations—"

  "And figure out how to get close without the harp reporting us," Roslyn added.

  "That's the trick," Big Bad agreed. He looked at his two best operatives. "This is going to take time to pn properly."

  "Good thing she's paying us enough to take that time," Robin said.

  They headed toward the inn where the Merry Men waited.

  Big Bad's mind was already working through possibilities, contingencies, approaches. Jack had a magical surveilnce system that knew everything. They'd have to be ghosts. Invisible until the moment they struck.

  He gnced back once at Rapunzel's shop. Through the window, he could just make out her silhouette among the shelves.

  *Something's got her spooked.*

  Whatever was driving this job, it was bigger than she was saying. But that was her business.

  His business was getting that harp.