With the bump in my financial resources, my plans were back in motion. During the day, I worked the scummiest part of Lucy, recruiting germs willing to get in on my big score. I had preferred to do it alone, but Kat had done her best to convince me that having a little bit of muscle on my side would make the job easier. Plus, it was smart to have a few stooges to use as fodder just in case anything went south. That was my Kat, always thinking ahead.

Kat was busy during the nights, making quick work of the fat cats in this city to bring in some more dough. I never asked her how she took care of the competition. But as long as she was thorough, I didn't give a spit. Out of all the low-lives working under me, she did her job the best. Every morning, I woke up to a new wad of cash waiting for me while Kat was decked out in a new outfit or piece of jewelry. I never called her out on her expensive tastes. As long as I had what I needed, I didn't care what she did. Besides, the girl had style.

I watched the goons I had hired enter with their own swaggers and malicious sneers. I had chosen an abandoned warehouse to be the temporary meeting place as I moved my plans forward. I sat back in my chair and bridged my claws in front of my face. Once all six germs were accounted for, I glanced at the watch on my wrist. The goons exchanged looks with each other before staring at me expectantly.

"Uh… Boss?" a deep purple germ started in his baritone voice while scratching the top of his head in confusion. "Is we gonna start now?"

"Not yet. We're waiting on one more," I said and adjusted my trench coat. The germs all exchanged looks. I saw a couple of them subtly looking around, trying to count everyone present. I rolled my eyes. 'Don't hurt yourselves trying to count too high.'

Suddenly, the door swung open loudly. The stooges all tensed, their hands reaching for the guns at their waists. I glanced to the side before smirking at who I saw in the doorway. Simultaneously, the others relaxed as their eyes bulged from their membranes. I heard a few wolf whistles and stood slowly. "Glad you could make it, baby, " I greeted as I watched Kat strut into the room.

She pushed her large, white shades onto her head and took a lollipop from her mouth long enough to grin and giggle. "Sorry I'm late, Hun. I saw this coat in a store window and couldn't say no," she said and twirled once to make the large, white fur coat that she was wearing flare out.

"You're here now so let's get started," I said and slipped the coat from her shoulders. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see every germs' eyes on her as she strut over in a fitted, black dress to where I had been sitting at the head of the table. As she was sitting down, I rested her coat on the back of the chair. "Alright, listen up!" I declared and eyed each of the drones that sat around the table. "It's time we start makin' moves, people. I've got big plans for little Lucy and I want to get started."

"Plans for what, Boss?" a germ asked with hesitation in his voice.

I smirked. "Feast your eyes on this," I crooned and pulled out my master plan from a pocket within my coat. I laid it out on the table for everyone to see and stood back with a deep chuckle.

"You wanna kill Lucy? Ain't dat a bit extreme?" another germ said. To be honest, he reminded me a lot of Bruno. This germ had that same build and dumb look on his face. I rolled my eyes exaggeratedly.

"And what were you gonna do? Incubate in the girl for her entire life and not accomplish anything until Immunity finally caught up to you and put a bullet in your head?" Kat scoffed and mimed shooting herself in the temple with her hand.

"Nobody's incubating," I sneered and glared at my stooges. "I've wasted enough time as it is in this city, I'm gonna make my move. I'm gonna take this little girl down in a week flat. Just watch me. And you're either in or out. It's your call, gentleman."

They all exchanged some final looks.

"What do you want us to do, Boss?"

I grinned.

~:~

That night, I was sitting in a car with Kat, both our eyes peeled for anything noteworthy about the Immunity forces in Lucy. We were parked in an darkened alleyway across from one of the lymph node stations in the neck. The closer they were to the head, the more likely that these clowns would be the first responders once Lucy was going down in flames.

"Artie can't be trusted," Kat said to me, breaking the silence.

"Which one is Artie?"

She sighed loudly with a roll of her eyes. "The big, gorilla looking one. I saw his eyes. I've seen those eyes before on the germs that squealed to Immunity. Those are the eyes of a germ in doubt. He'd sell you out to save his own membrane in a heartbeat."

"Well then, I'll just have to keep a close eye on him."

"What are you going to do when he shows his true colors?"

"He shows me his, then I'll show him mine," I promised and held up my claw with a wide smirk. She chuckled once before leaning over to kiss me on the cheek. "What was that for, baby?"

"Just because," she replied and combed her fingers through my dreads.

I saw it for what it was. The look in her eye wasn't hard to make out. Maybe she didn't see it, but I sure as spit did. Katerina was falling for Big Daddy Thrax. I hadn't planned on this. She was just a partner (in the loosest definition of the word). This was still my show- a solo act. Then again… A she-cell in love could be convenient. If I played my cards right, I could have her eating out of my claws. I grinned widely at her.

She was about to say something else to me, but she paused. "Look alive, Hun."

I turned back to the station to watch several white blood cells rush out of the station while shouting orders at each other. I raised a brow at how they seemed to bumble around.

Some of them got into the wrong cars or forgot something inside the station. This is what I had to worry about? "So much for Lucy's finest," I scoffed.

"She's still young. Immunity in a child haven't exactly got their spit together. We could probably take care of her in less than a week," Kat said.

"Let's see if you're right."

~:~

The next night, I decided to go downtown with Kat. I'd decided to give her the night off and take her someplace nice tonight. She'd done her job. Why not give her a little break? I had more dough than I knew what to do with. Not even Kat could spend this much cash on her own.

"I'm happy we're out tonight, Hun. You make everything so much more fun," she gushed while slipping her arms around mine. I kept my hands in my trench coat pockets and started to hum lowly. It took her a few beats, but she eventually caught on to the tune. "You give me fever..." she sung lowly.

We walked down the streets of one of the nicer areas in Lucy- the kind of place where snobs and fat cats tend to gather. I noticed some cells walking tiny dogs or taking a late night stroll in fancy threads. When I glanced down at Kat, I saw her staring at a young couple that was sitting on a bench across the street. The she-cell was staring down at the cat on bended knee as he showed her a large bouquet and one hell of a rock. My brow raised. "What you lookin' at, baby?" I asked, testing her.

"That girl looks so lit up over the ring. It's pretty pathetic," Kat said with a scoff. Both of my brows shot up in surprise. "If a guy ever proposes to me, he better have a rock bigger than anything I can buy for myself," she said and stuck out her hand to display the large ruby she had resting on her middle finger. The ruby was wider than her finger and way too big to fit in her tiny purse. I chuckled lowly with a smirk.