Fables #35

Nimble Studios first film, "Jack and the Beanstalk" did extraordinarily well at the box office. Jack already knows the second film will go even better. Nimble Studios and its mysterious owner "Mr. John Trick" are the biggest things in Hollywood now. Moss Waterhouse pays the boss a visit, begging Jack to make at least one public appearance. Because soon, the people's love and adoration will turn to suspicion and hate. Jack declines, instead agreeing to give Moss permission to select all future projects after the Jack Tales trilogy concludes. Jack also gives him authority to expand Nimble Studios however he sees fit, which satisfies Moss.

That night in the office, Jill of the lilliput makes a daring attempt to reach the phone. Jumping across the wide chasm between her dollhouse stand and the desk, she manages to lift the receiver off the hook with some effort. The next tricky task was to dial a number...

Twenty-eight days later, Jack 2 opened even to bigger numbers than the first. The studio is getting phone calls from different celebrities wanting to be in on the next project. Moss's assistant also mentions a phone call specifically asking for John Trick. Moss tells her to dismiss it, but she said the caller described John perfectly, including a moon shaped birthmark on his hind end. Moss decides to take the call. A few days later, Jack is called into an emergency meeting with the board members, which is odd since the board only consists of Moss and himself. What he finds when he enters is a team of new lawyers hired by Moss, to ensure a clean transfer of power. He then gives "John Trick" the bad news; he's fired. Moss was taking over in full. Jack protests, of course, but Moss tells him to talk it over with the man waiting in his office.

Beast is waiting for Jack inside. Jill called him and told him everything because Jack didn't treat her right. At first Jack tries to put on a threatening stance, but he's quickly humbled when Beast changes into his beast form. After changing back, Beast tells Jack he's forcing him to leave town, with only as much money as he can carry in a small briefcase. The rest belonged to Fabletown, including Nimble Studios, which Jack must sign over. Fabletown will funnel the money made by the studio using layers of cutouts and shell companies, to keep the secrecy. He also informs Jack that the only reason his head isn't going on a chopping block was because he stayed hidden out of sight the whole time. Beast finds what Jack did sickening. Jack reluctantly agrees, saying it didn't matter since, due to the trilogy films popularity with Mundies, and the theory that a Fables mortality was dependent on how popular their story was, he was now essentially immortal. He tells Beast he couldn't kill him even if he tried.

A while later, in the Woodlands, Ambrose (Fables) tells Grimble (Fables) that he's going to the theater to watch a nine-hour marathon run of the Jack Tales trilogy. Even though he's already seen the movies a dozen times each. Grimble isn't that interested, having never much cared for Jack. Flycatcher admits he didn't use to like him either, but ever since he got famous, he now wonders if they'll ever see him again.

Somewhere along the roadside, Jack sticks out a thumb to any passing car he sees to no avail. He has no plans of ever returning to Fabletown, and only a suitcase full of money to his name.