Lawrence was about to finish the mail he was writing. It was addressed to Laurent, just a casual message to check on him and hear about him. He hadn't been off that long, but to Lawrence it felt like the last week had lasted longer than a year.

When he was done with the mail, I clicked 'send' and went back to pondering.

To tell the truth, he was thinking about the Yakuza thing. And his promise to Johnny Chase. He had set the ribbon pretty high up, but there was no rush now. he could take his time. Months. Years, even. Raising as the crime overlord of one of the biggest states in the country wasn't a small feat.And he was still young. He had a whole life in front of him.

So yes, he would go slow and safe.

First things first, he decided he needed money. His ambitious plans needed a lot of metallic backup to be fulfilled, and as much as he could earn with his job, it wasn't near enough the amount he assumed he would need.

The question was: where could he get that money?

He wouldn't steal banks, as previously stated. Not only the risk of being caught was very high, it was something that would taint his own reputation, the way he saw it. No, he would have to earn his cash in a way that involved no stealing. But then, what else could he do?

Buy a business? Like Johnny? No, it would take too much time. And it was too bothersome to deal with.

Extortion? That sounded better. He could get Christiane to dig up some filth in some big fish at the state government or the LHU. The second sounded better, as he could not only get money but also valuable information. And even, why not, support from the heroes! Power can be very attractive, after all. Not everyone plays hero because they think that it's the right thing. Many do it for money, and many more for glory. If Lawrence could convince them that they gained more of that working secretly for him that with the LHU...

Yes... Yes! It was a fantastic idea! It would take preparations to be take care of, but it sounded like a revolutionary idea. A couple of criminal organizations had a hero or two on their pockets, true. But recruiting LHU heroes under their own noses? Using them to raise the livestock and them taking the fat cows without them noticing? That was evil.

And it was a very effective way of gathering powered people. And making sure the LHU in his state didn't have power to face him.

He'd have to discuss this with Mika and Christiane. But before that, he should think the thick part of the business himself.

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"But I need a coffee to fuel up first" he sighed. "So many thinking's got me yawning nonstop..."

He slid his feet on his newest mules, this time they were little white foxes. Lawrence just couldn't see what society's thing with people wearing fluffy stuff was! You could be very, very rough while wearing pawprinted pants! It had nothing to do with nothing...!

He pushed these thoughts out of his head as he spun the doorknob and left the room with a small thud of the door against its frame. He went downstairs, found Mika's shoes sprawled around the living room. He sighed. That girl still didn't adjust to living in a house, did she? He headed to the coffee machine, making himself a plain black coffee, no sugar or milk. Strong coffee was the best to help him think better.

He drank it all quickly, then headed back with Mika's shoes on one hand. On his way to his studio, he stopped in Mika's room. It was closed, but not locked. He assumed she was already sleeping.

He opened the door quietly, coming inside her room.

Despite Lawrence's first thoughts, Mika kept her room tidied up and clean. In fact, it was cleaner and tidier than Lawrence's own. Everything was where it was supposed to be, clothes in the wardrobe, shoes in their racks, desk organized...

This girl was too random, Lawrence thought.

He slid her shoes under her bed. Then, as he noticed her a little curled over herself, he threw a blanket over her, just to be sure she didn't catch a cold.

He left her room, making no sound as he closed the door.

"Look at me, I look like a single father" he sighed. He would probably kill himself if someone ever found out he had this soft side too. especially since his goal was ruling the world now.

He returned to his studio and pushed aside any thoughts not related to this new idea of his...

It needed a name, he decided as he sat in his deluxe chair. It was a brilliant plan, so it needed a brilliant name to refer to.

Operation... Yeah, it should start with something like Operation. All nice plans often started with that.

Operation something then. The trick was finding what that something should be. It was a recruiting operation. But also involved stealing soldiers to the enemy. And increasing his own powered troops. He needed propagandize it to every hero he could, while making sure nobody would give away his plans...

Operation what, then?

He pondered over the matter.

Operation... Steal the Livestock?

Ew, that sounded so lame even Lawrence himself wanted to slap himself for thinking of it. No, it had to be something brilliant, not vulgar and... plebeian-like.

Operation... Something that alluded that he was under their own noses, and he would use that to finish them off. Like a virus. Like an ambush. Like...

"Like a Trojan Horse! That's it!"

Operation Trojan Horse. He liked it. It had a nice ring to it. And it did describe what he was intending to do, too.

He grinned. He picked up his cellphone, a small pocket model, from the time where 3G was a novelty. But it was hard to crack, and it lasted all this time so far. He shut his eyes for a moment, trying to remember something, then dialed on a number. He waited for the person on the other side to pick up...

There was a light 'crack'.

"Christiane? Yes. Yes, I do. Come to my house, we have something to discuss."

Oh, he was enjoying this conversation already...