The heist.

The black cat got on its feet and started moving away, after a few meters it stopped and turned back toward John.

"Come on, what are you waiting for? I don't have all day, let's find the little cunt and send you back where you came from!" said the cat, then she continued, more grumbling for herself. "Pff, leaving me here five years, five! And when she calls it is to help a brat fix the things he did to the little princess. Who does she think I am? I'm not her pet, the old crone went too far..."

"Sooooo... You work for Mrs Wentworth? Are you her familiar or something like that? Do you know where is Vanessa?" asked John, following the cat, hoping no one would see him talking to a cat.

"I... AM... NOT... HER... FAMILIAR !!! She caught me stealing something from her and she turned me into a fucking cat! I don't think you want to be seen in this uniform around here, you might want to remove it," she proposed.

John switched his school uniform for a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, he still actived the charm though. A quick check revealed that he was now an old man with grey hair, a beard and wearing a suit.

"So... How long have you been a cat? Will she turn you back one day?" he asked.

"I was caught in her hotel room in Paris, in October 1789, she said the spell would last 300 years. It has perks, as long as I am a cat whenever I die I reappear in her house the next day, a few tricks and powers too. What I can't understand is why she decided to make me a male cat! Look ahead, this is there. Won't be easy, I warn you." said Katia.

John looked at the beautiful 30 floor building that Katia had shown him.

"The Aurelien, it is high standing hotel that also has full apartments. They are very exclusive, new customers only on referral from members. They have their own security staff, everyone's ID is checked at the entrance, deliveries only go to the lobby where hotel staff bring the parcels to the rooms. You need a special key to get the elevators to the top ten floors and another one for the stairs too. The little bitch and her mommy have rented the penthouse, they only have one servant with them, the others are busy getting the apartment they have just bought ready. They will move there in three days and security will be even better there than here. Now, show me what you got!" taunted the black cat.

John hadn't expected something like that, he had thought that the main challenge would be to get Vanessa to a secluded spot long enough to fix her without being caught. Now he had to break in a very secure building, locate her and find a secluded spot to fix her without being caught.

"Are we sure she's in the penthouse? That she didn't went shopping or something like that. I don't want to get inside of this place and discover she isn't there," he asked.

"She refuses to leave the place, you did a good job on her, totally broke her. She's been acting like a total slob, spending all her time either in bed or in their spa. No risk of her going out looking like she does. You can trust me on that.

John walked around the building, like an old man having a walk, nothing suspicious there. There was no easy access point, the lobby was only way that was open. Secondary doors were locked with electronic locks that his Unlock skill couldn't open and using electricity on them had a good chance of getting them stuck in the locked position.

He walked away from the building, finding a hidden spot and cycled the charm until he looked nothing like the first time or himself. He was now an obese black man with some dreadlocks, wearing a Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts. He sat down on a huge pile of old newspapers in an alley and tried to think of something that could work. The first thing he came up with was that it would probably be easier at night, but in itself it brought other issues, the night wouldn't fall for a long time and he would need to warn his mother and find an excuse. There was one entry for staff in a delivery dock at the back and two emergency exits on the lateral sides of the building. The apartments only started on the third floor, it wouldn't be possible to climb unnoticed.

"How do you know so much about the place if no one can enter?" he ask his guide.

"I told you, my condition has its perks!" replied a cat that looked like it was made of mist now, walking through a cardboard box. "I can scout for you, but I can't do anything else to help you, I have very strict orders concerning this."

"Alright, I can work with that. Let's go, let's do it!" replied John.

"Wait, you can't have found a way in already. Tell me what you will try first, so I can see if you'll get caught," complained Katia.

"Don't worry, I have a plan!" was all the answer she got. Not really a reassuring one...

John walked slowly toward the building, trying to match the pace someone looking like he appeared would adopt. Doing this he edited his equipment, changing only his second set. In full armor, hood up, with the new fireproof slime gloves, he would leave any trace of his passage that could lead to him. He had equiped the respirator he had bought at the Tool Barn, it had a full face shield and the lower part that went on his mouth and nose would help in hiding his face. In the future he planned on upgrading it and tinting the whole face shield to give it a cool aspect, for now he would have to to make do with a pair of sunglasses worn underneath, he didn't want to have his face caught on camera while breaking in a building. Of course it was only secondary, his plan relying on the sleep pollen bombs Sylvia gave him, he couldn't risk breathing some of it while using it.

His dark armor with this mask under the hood would also look really cool and that was always a good thing. He walked casually in front of the closest fire exit and while doing so used Shadow Clone. His double, a jet black version of his disguise, appeared inside of the building, on the other side of door, exactly where he focused on while looking through the small window in the center of the door. It was made of reinforced glass with metalic wire inside of it, but it was clear enough for John to pull this trick off. John started a count down of 10 minutes on his phone and walked rather fast to the closest hiding spot he could find.

Meanwhile his double walked in the hallways. He needed to find something, something precise. Real John was back in the alley, sitting in the shadows behind a big dumpster, he had piled up garbage to make it enough of a hiding spot and activated Stealth.

Katia was looking at him with interest. She didn't know what he was doing, but she was impressed that he did not use the Clone to open the emergency exit, it was linked to an alarm and security would have been there to check under a minute.

There! An unlocked door in a service hallway... A small closet. The door closed, lights off, perfect obscurity in which he could only see the monochromatic outline that his night vision revealed to him. He closed his real eyes and focused on what the Clone could see. He had just equipped his combat gear.

Shadow Step

When he opened his eyes his was in the dark closet, with his double looking at him, now matching his new appearance.

A few seconds later a shape began to form on the wall and a cat materialized by his side.

"We're in!" he said to his guide. "Now, where are the stairs?"

Katia looked at him with scorn. What the hell was that guy? He was supposed to be be a beginner mage, one that only had his powers for a few days! Still, she had a job to do, she didn't want to spend 20 years in a box like the last time she disobeyed her mistress.

"Follow me!" she replied.

"No, I will rest here until I get all of my mana and health back, just tell me the display of the floor," he told her. While she discribed the location of various elements, he just sat there eyes closed, with Meditation engaged.

He wouldn't rush this. He had gone into enough trouble by rushing things already.