The shrill ringing of her alarm clock woke her, and after what runakatte made her drink last night the noises she made were akin to the sounds of what Mildred got up to with Dino when he couldn't afford rent. She rolled over and reached out to knock the offensive appliance to the floor and hopefully shut it up when her vision cleared enough to see the paper on the wall that had been stuck there with a knife. "Wow, that's gonna hurt the property value." she thought, laughing at her own joke since this place was a step below a shithole. She blinked a few times trying to get her eyes to focus so she could read the drunken message she left herself when finally she had enough and picked up the alarm clock, lobbing it across the room to smash against the door and then land on the ground finally silent but also in a few too many pieces to work again. She looked back to the paper and started swearing before getting out of bed and getting ready. 

She picked up the phone to call RunaKatte and fill her in on the plan to meet in town and also yell at her a bit, but softly because ouch since she was the one who insisted on "A few" drinks last night. She was nodding her head and finally said, "Look, pick up the cake and grab El and I'll see you there." before hanging up and grabbing her coat and heading out of the boarding house, giving Mildred and her 3 remaining teeth a wave goodbye. She set off towards where the snowball fight had taken place, but thankfully with March being mild this year, the snow had melted and the sun was shining in the sky. As people started appearing she put them to work, every once in a while holding up a finger to go throw up in a garbage can, or just close her eyes and hold her head while making sounds like a dying cow. 

The morning passed and at last, everything was ready. Knowing JackMezzo would be leaving his meeting soon and passing through this way Frankie did a quick walk-through of the party, making sure everything was in place. The banners hung in bright colors, the number "34!" on every few flags. A large piece of cloth had been raised and attached to one of the buildings that said, "HAVE A PURRFECT BIRTHDAY JACK!"  and under it was a massive birthday cake that stood taller than the man himself, the kind that you would think a person would jump out of. But they were a classy group of people so there absolutely was not a woman scantily clad inside it. The Cake was banana but the frosting was a thick fudge, some layers sweet some dark chocolate. The band was playing some music, ready for the signal and Dino was joining in with his beautiful musical spoon talent. 

Heading to the bar they had set up and made sure was fully stocked, she caught a flash of the man in question and put two fingers in her mouth to whistle to Runa and El. Picking up two glasses of Whiskey she half walked, half ran towards him. "Alright, alright..." She said as she handed him both of the glasses so he couldn't reach for his gun and shoot her before the surprise. She didn't give him a chance to talk and instead half led, half dragged him towards the cake. Once he was stood there she started doing what she did best, talking. 

"Now, I know you didn't tell any of us but I get bored wandering around when I can't sleep and I'm not saying I was snooping or anything but thats besides the point," She stopped to gently slap his upper arm, "Why didn't you tell anyone about this?" she once again didn't give him a chance to speak instead gesturing the trouble makers over with a grin. As they joined her she lifted her arms in the air, "So now..." she drew his attention to the cake, "It was a bit short notice, but I think we did alright. I hope you're ready for the big finish, old boy!" she elbowed him with a cheeky wink before stepping back so it was just Jack stood by the cake, the band striking up quite a saucy number. "Alright, birthday Boy let's all count down from 34... Just kidding, Three, Two... One!" she shouted the last word and after a few muffled pops, confetti started drifting down and blowing in the breeze. 

Taking a few steps back, out of hitting distance, Frankie started laughing as five seconds later instead of a half-dressed woman, a massive amount of cats started running around the party, jumping on tables, rubbing against legs, and if you looked closely and got lucky you'd see one wearing an adorable little hat. She picked up a chunky boy with a bit of a smushed face and held up in front of her, "You can't shoot a woman trying to drown you in pussy!" she shouted at him before backing up some more, "Runa, Please, Mistakes have been made!" 

Dino, at Frances behest, played a celebration medly on his spoons.  'For he's a jolly good fellow' was followed by 'i'm a creep'

Unsure if this was a birthday celebration or not, Dino picked up the cat with the hat an battered it, disappointingly, no candy came out of it

'meh, must be a dud, Happy birthday mate'

Frances was a character, in the truest sense of the word. She could be odd sometimes, but she'd earned Runa's trust- and friendship. As Runa hung up the phone, her thoughts turned to JackMezzo.

She hadn't known Jack for long- yet, at the same time, she felt like she'd known him for much longer. Their bond was strong, but Runa hoped for more, even if that made her feel greedy.

Her greed also extended to the cake. Runa spoke to Tony about where he'd gotten his "get out of jail cake", then picked it up with him and Elle_E_Ott.

"Does this cake seem... strange?" asked Tony. Runa could just shake her head, knowing what Frances had planned. She'd tried to tell Frances that Jack was older than 34, but her musically talented friend insisted that Jack would be sensitive about his age. Disagreeing but unwilling to find more cats, Runa had given in.

As Jack entered, Runa shot him a grin. Better to just let Frances talk.

After the cats emerged and started running around the bar, she intercepted Jack to give Frances a chance to hide.

"Happy birthday, Jack. You don't need to change the name of the bar to "The 34 Cats and Phoenix", but it's going to take a while to find them all..." 

She grinned.

"And, uh, I got a backup cake. I figure that one's full of a bunch of catshit. Anyways, look."

Runa cleared her throat and raised her voice so everyone could hear her.

"I'm not one for long speeches, but I just want to say this. There're a lot of men and women in this business, and I've never known anyone who does it better than you. Happy birthday, and may you have a long, happy year ahead. Salut!"

She raised her glass, toasting Jack, then drinking and looking toward the bar, where FrancescoBagarella was working.

"Francesco! Drinks on the house tonight."

Mouthing the words "Thank you!" in an exaggerated fashion, Frankie slipped away trying to make sure she had enough people between her and Jack should he decide that this was not a kind thoughtful gesture, and thus her time here was brief. Bumping into Dino she laughed, "Thank you for the spoons earlier," she told him, "quite the addition to the music, I must say." 

Three cats darted out of the small utility closet that Elle had stuffed a large briefcase into. As she watched, one of them slipped and slid across the floor erratically, one one-hundred-dollar bill stuck to its foot.

"Shit." Edging away from the crowd, Elle set down her slice of questionable cake and opened the closet door. A broom fell over, forcing two more strays to scamper out, across a very large pile of spilled cash.

"Well of course." Elle knelt down and inspected the broken briefcase latch, then sighed loudly while scooping up all the bills and trying to cram them back into the case. She emerged from the utility closet minutes later, a trail of hundreds dropping to the floor behind her as she made her way towards JackMezzo .

"Happy birthday, Boss. Sorry it's not wrapped better." Elle set the briefcase down on the bar next to him, then leaned in close so that only he could hear her next words. 

"A million per cat. Might want to put that somewhere safe." With a sly smile, she moved down the bar, sticking her tongue out at RunaKatte while she went. 

Jack rarely passed up the opportunity to enjoy a good joke, and as they went, 'drowning in pussy' wasn't half bad. It was certainly not how he anticipated any event surrounding his age to be celebrated. He chuckled, for a moment considering how territorial Merah would likely be, though overall appeared to be tickled by the event. Frances was unfortunately nowhere to be seen, though.

He greeted RunaKatte with as much of an embrace as he could, with a drink in both hand, and nodded in appreciation that there was a cake without the excretions of 34 cats within it. 

"Very kind words, my dear," he would ignore that he called her anything less that a formal title for the time being, and just raised his glasses to her speech. He also found Dino within the crowd and nodded a friendly greeting while miming the word 'Shame'.

As Elle Ott approached, he was relieved to see another so close and important to the operation was present. She presented the case and Mezzo had to wonder for a second how many of whatever was in the glasses he'd had already.

"I'm sorry, did you say thirty four million?" Elle_E_Ott was one of the few people of whom without, the operation would lack the stride and pace it had maintained from the very early days. "Ms. Ott, I don't know how I could every show my appreciation for this gift. Thank you."

Now, if he could only find that livewire Frances...

"Say, does anyone know where the fuck Frances is?"

That's one expensive cat, thought Runa, as a cat who'd gotten a least a thousand dollars stuck in its claws awkwardly stumbled away. As Elle carried a giant briefcase towards Jack, Runa felt a blazing jealously inflame her in a way that was hard for her to reconcile from the otherwise joyous occasion. She wanted to be the one presenting Jack with such a gift... but she exhaled and the moment past.

Elle was Jack's left hand. She was a don who'd been in the business far longer than Runa, even if they were close to the same age. She joked with Elle about catching up in earnings, but watching Elle flex like that... it was hard not to feel like she'd failed Jack. Runa forced herself to exhale her negativity and focus on the many positives; soon, she had started to chase those darker thoughts away, and they evaporated completely when Jack gave her an awkward, drink-laden embrace. His "my dear" sent her onto Cloud 9; when she grasped Elle's hand in excitement, there was only love flowing from her again towards her best friend. 

Seeing how pleased Jack was, Runa slipped through the crowd to find Frances and push her in front of JackMezzo.

For the first time in as long as she could remember, Illiana arrived at the affair fashionably late. Dressed for a celebration in an emerald green A-line dress, she entered the party on the arm of Billy_Pilgrim 

It was a fantastic party, lively and energetic. Spotting Runa standing near the front of the receiving line, they moved through the crowd in that direction. There was a small, nearly wrapped gift in her hand, wrapped in silver paper with a black ribbon. The music and hum of attendees was quite loud, so Illiana leaned over to speak to Billy. 

"I meant to tell you in the car, but you clean up pretty good."

Her grin was accompanied by a little wink. 

As long as Francesco could remember, Jack Mezzo was a strong name on the streets of Philly. When younger, sometimes Francesco and his small gang would see Jack leaving or entering some place, and they were always impressed. For his conduct, for his fame. Some even fantasized about working for him someday.

Years later, there was Francesco, present on the man's birthday. He had been warned by Runa of the festivity, and that he would be scheduled to work at The Cat and Phoenix, where the event would took place. So there he was, wearing his best clothes and catching a glimpse of the figure of Mezzo, who, to say the least, had always served him as an inspiration.

Drinks on the house tonight, he heard Runa saying to him. Well, that would mean a lot of work, probably. He just hoped for a chance to personally wish the boss a happy birthday.

Illiana chuckled a bit. 

​​​"You're too modest. There's something about a witty, handsome international spy in a crisp tuxedo like that makes a girl want to live to die another day."

They reached the receiving line and slipped in with Runa. Illiana wedged the gift gently under her arm and gave her friend a hug. 

​​​​​​"Look at you. Absolutely stunning."

She gave Runa a kiss on each cheek, then snagged a glass of wine from a passing waiter. 

"Sorry we're late. We were getting caught up at the office. You know." 

The party was officially in full swing, and while Frankie wanted to wander and mingle, she also knew that perhaps this was the one thing that finally made JackMezzo snap. She was really good at pushing his buttons, wanting him to be a bit less serious and enjoy life more. There was a balance to be reached, and she wanted to make sure he found that so he didn't end up a bitter old man like her father. 

Her current hiding spot was on the ground behind a rather big tree, watching the party. If people looked down they'd see her, but weirdly most didn't bother looking down. Most of the cats had discovered her location, so she was sat with a heap of purring, pawing, and general attention-seeking. "Maybe I'm a cat," she said to one who had a half-torn ear, before giving him a nice scritch under his chin.