Changes

Ch. 6

Shifting quickly from cat to human, Jane opened the back door to the restaurant, an Italian place that fronted the smaller gang in the major city. New York was huge, a reason Jane liked it, but it also meant crime was rampant. Jane was ignored by the cooks as she passed them, their heads ducked low and their gazes straight ahead in hopes she would ignore them. And this time, she did.

A swinging metal door served to separate the kitchen from the dining area, well oiled but extra heavy in case of an attack. She pushed through it easily, her above- human strength an advantage in this situation. As easily as she pushed the door open, she strolled across the room to the stairs, hidden cleverly behind a small stage and foliage. The small Italian band never wavered in its music but Jane knew they watched her carefully.

Jane absently counted the steps as she climbed, purposely missing step number 13, the booby-trapped one. At twenty-six the stairs abruptly ran into a blank wall. Pushing the panel in the wall to her right, Jane watched as the flat wall in front of her slid backwards a couple inches before swinging inward. Swiftly, Jane turned back into her cat form, and walked in as if she owned the place. Just inside the door, the room spread out like an apartment. Two men sat in the stiff- backed chairs by the fireplace, their posture as stuff as the chairs. Jane walked unimpeded by the two, jauntily walking over to rub against their legs before quickly heading for the open door at the other side of the room. The bigger man, weighing around three hundred pounds, sneezed violently as Jane continued into the other room. The smaller, about one- hundred eighty soaking wet, cringed away from him.

As Jane walked toward the bed in the center of the room, she switched back to her human form. The men in the other room had thought the room occupied, and so had not even gone near the door. now, they turned expectantly as Jane exited.

"Ma'am," The larger began to speak, but stopped at a raised hand from his boss. Jane put her hands on her hips, and stood with her feet apart, "What have you two been up to now? Didn't I give you a job to do?" She only raised an eyebrow as the two begun to stutter and stumble over each other's words.

"Well?"