"Impossible!" Jessie slammed the table hard, her eyes blazing as if sparks might fly.
"Cassidy, you greedy bitch—don't even think about taking advantage of the situation and making such outrageous demands!"
"Cassidy, what you're asking for is far too much," James said, still managing to stay relatively calm.
"This mission was assigned directly to us by Boss Giovanni. We've already poured more than a week of effort into it."
"You and Botch joining forces is one thing—but taking 70 percent of the credit? That's absolutely out of the question."
Before Cassidy could respond, the teal-haired young man standing behind her—who had barely spoken until now—suddenly erupted.
"My name is Butch, not Botch!!"
"And yes, the mission was assigned to Jessie's team—but precisely because of that, if you fail, you'll be punished by the Boss. We won't suffer any losses at all."
"We're here out of goodwill, to help you in your hour of need. That's called lending a hand in a snowstorm—do you understand?!"
Butch's voice thundered through the room.
"And let's be clear about something. You may have been busy for over a week, but you've achieved nothing."
"We even heard that the last time the kid came alone to Viridian City, the three of you mobilized together—"
"And not only did you fail to capture him, you got completely toyed with!"
"In the end, you were left squatting miserably outside Pallet Town, feeding mosquitoes all night—haha!"
"And now the mission difficulty has escalated again. With just the three of you, this mission is absolutely impossible."
"Cassidy and I, however, have already devised a flawless, airtight plan."
"So it's only natural that if we cooperate, we take 70 percent of the credit."
Butch folded his arms, his tone decisive.
"No—no way," James and Meowth both shook their heads immediately.
After working so long on this mission, a 7:3 split would leave them with practically nothing.
"Well, fine, fine~" Cassidy sighed theatrically.
"Seeing how pitiful you are, we'll settle for six-four. Cassidy and Butch take six, you take four."
"No, absolutely not," James insisted.
"At most—fifty-fifty."
"Deal."
The moment James and Meowth loosened their stance and said "fifty-fifty," Butch and Cassidy—who had been glaring at Jessie moments earlier—both slammed the table in excitement.
From the very beginning, it was clear they had planned this.
Their true target had always been a fifty-fifty split. The initial seventy percent demand was nothing more than a tactic to create bargaining space.
James: This is bad… we fell right into their trap.
Jessie: Damn that woman. I knew she didn't come here with good intentions.
"Don't look at it that way," Cassidy said sweetly.
"As Butch mentioned earlier, the mission difficulty has already increased. With only two to five days left, you simply can't complete it on your own."
"If the mission fails, you'll be punished by the Boss."
"Butch and I, on the other hand, would suffer no losses at all."
"Besides," Cassidy continued with a smile,
"we didn't just come empty-handed—we brought a perfect, flawless battle plan. You're not losing out."
Jessie clenched her teeth.
"Enough, Jessie," James finally said.
"If what Cassidy and Butch say is true, then the mission has escalated, and time is incredibly tight."
"That kid is far more troublesome than we imagined. He absolutely cannot be treated like an ordinary six-year-old."
"Fine—fifty-fifty it is. As long as we complete the mission Boss Giovanni assigned to us, nothing else matters."
"But," James added firmly,
"Cassidy and Butch, you two must report this to Matori."
"This mission will be jointly executed by both teams. If it succeeds, the credit is split evenly. But if it fails—"
"The punishment will also be shared equally—meow!!"
Meowth finished decisively.
"What? Didn't you just say you had a flawless plan?" Jessie sneered.
"Don't tell me you're scared now."
"Heh," Cassidy laughed coldly.
"You think we're like you—struggling this much just to catch a six-year-old brat?"
"Report it if you want. I'll call Matori right now—that scheming, baby-faced woman."
As she spoke, Cassidy decisively pulled out her phone and placed the call to Matori, Boss Giovanni's personal secretary.
After all, the mission target was just a six-year-old child—and Cassidy had absolute confidence in her plan.
-----
Underground Base Above · Viridian Gym — Gym Leader's Office
"Boss," Matori reported while holding a notebook, adjusting her glasses,
"Jessie, James, and Meowth have exhausted all possible methods over the past week."
"But the League is placing extreme importance on Professor Oak and that boy Ash. Pallet Town has essentially been turned into an iron fortress."
"Jessie's team has no way to infiltrate it."
"And now the boy has caused a major stir with this 'Magikarp + Tackle' incident."
"The entire Kanto Trainer community, the Indigo League, and all major upper-class families have turned their attention to him."
"The League will undoubtedly protect him even more tightly."
"And once the major Kanto families establish cooperation with him, due to Team Rocket's existing ties with those families…"
"…we may no longer be able to act freely against that boy."
"However," Matori continued cautiously,
"Dr. Fuji—who oversees the Mewtwo Project—has been calling daily to urge progress."
"Boss, what should we—"
Bzzz—bzzz—
Before the imposing middle-aged man seated on the sofa could speak, Matori's phone suddenly rang.
"Who is calling at a time like this…" she muttered inwardly.
Maintaining her professional composure in front of Giovanni, Matori softly apologized and answered the call.
"Hello… is the annoying glasses-wearing, baby-faced woman there?"
Cassidy's smug voice came through the line.
"This is Cassidy. The mission Boss assigned to that awful woman Jessie—our team has decided to participate as well."
"If the mission succeeds, the credit will be split evenly."
Before Matori could respond, another call barged in.
"Hey, is this Matori?" Jessie's furious voice rang out.
"I'm Jessie. I've agreed to let Cassidy's team join the mission."
"But if the mission fails and Boss issues punishment, that awful woman Cassidy will share it with us."
"That's the situation. Record it. I'm hanging up."
Beep.
Both calls ended abruptly.
As the line went dead, both Jessie and Cassidy could be heard muttering at the same time:
"That annoying, glasses-wearing baby-face… flat as a board and nowhere near as hot as me. Why would Boss choose her as his personal secretary instead of me?"
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