Chapter 292: [007: James Bond: Theme]

Kat bit her lip and glanced over at Xiang. *Shit. With that armour I doubt he can fit either. It's not like it would be hard to knock the fence down.. in fact, that might actually be the bigger problem. If I try to slip between it and the wall, the fence is actually the weakest link here not my own strength.*

Kat bit her lip as the steps got closer and closer, but prevented herself from burning energy to give her more time. *I only have a limited amount; I can't waste it.* At this point even Xiang could hear them and was looking around frantically as if a better option would magically present itself to him. *Can I maybe just balance on it? I'm not sure it can support our combined weight but.. it might have to do.*

Kat glanced over at the fence once again and had to suppress another grimace. The fence was pointed. It wasn't anything major, just a bit of barely sharpened wood for some minor aesthetic purpose, however, Kat recognised that her shoes were not equipped to stand on such a small area without snapping the thing. *Dammit the fence really is the weakest link here.*

Kat went to wrap her tail around Xiang to pull him along but found the limb unwilling to comply. *Dammit!* Footsteps were already next to the warehouse door, she was moments away from getting caught. *I mean look I get why. He insulted my tail and now I'm being petty.* Kat shook her head. *I'll deal.* Wrapping her tail around Xiang's midsection Kat jumped off the ground quietly towards the fence.

Flipping herself upside, Kat held Xiang flatish against the wall, while her hands reached down to sit around the pointed tips of the fence. Kat could feel the wood already straining under the weight of two people, but her fingers held strong. Focusing on her hearing again, Kat heard the disciple walk around the corner just a moment later.

Sadly, he did of course turn towards Kat's hiding place. She guessed he was actually heading for the compound rather than the yard or even looking for her.. but it still put the pair in a tricky situation. Kat glanced down the fence and realised she probably didn't have the speed to make it. *Shit. I can maybe move fast enough.. but I'm not sure if the fence will hold. It's already straining like this. Wait.. if I use the same trick I did with the bandits..*

Kat spread her light film of energy over the fence.. and found it did little good. Even as she watched the film spread lower, the structure of the wood wasn't stable enough for this. Neither did Kat really have time to take it slow enough to spread the energy across every fencepost.

*Um.. ok new plan.. maybe..* Kat glanced around. The upside-down view hardly affecting her. She felt no blood rushing to her head, and the slight distortion was nothing compared to flying around. Kat felt her eyes rest on the roof of the warehouse again. *I'm stupid. Now that he's moved I can hide on the other side of the roof.. except that we'd be visible to anyone if they looked out the windows of the accommodation.. of course if we break in the front door we'd be screwed anyway.. so I guess this will have to be good enough.*

Kat flexed the muscles in her arm while bending her elbows. *I really hope the fence can take this.. maybe if I just..* Kat tried to extend her film of energy over the ground, but it fought her every step. It was as if it was refusing to be contained for some reason. Kat frowned as the footsteps quickly approached the corner. *Dammit, no time.* Pushing herself off Kat launched herself off of the fence and over the roof. Seeing that she'd over shot her target Kat threw out her wings, catching the air on them and halting her momentum somewhat.

Kat started to place her hands below her to 'stand' on the roof, but as her palms approached the wooden slats that same golden shine started appearing across the roof. She wasn't touching it just yet, and decided to throw her mind into overdrive, and so the world slowed.

*Shit. I don't know if I can push off that. Even if I can.. I'm sure it will make at least some noise. I can suppress the sounds I make by keeping my own muscles enhanced, and that helps me step lightly.. but if I start shooting of sparks from being in contact with the barrier.. well that would be rather bad.*

Kat checked her exact position. She was close to the edge, having just barely stopped in time to not fly off the roof. *Which in hindsight was clearly the right decision. I should have let myself continue.. flying? Is that even the right word anymore when I can actually fly? Shit anyway..*

Kat looked towards her tail still holding Xiang. *I can at least throw him away.. maybe not make as much noise? Unless.. it might react to me not being human more than Xiang.. so maybe I can use him as a stepping stool? Nah, I'll just throw him and use my wings, while praying they aren't too loud.*

Kat lined her movements up with her thoughts. First, she threw Xiang up higher and towards the walkway. After that she started to flap her wings, which thankfully were still out from when she killed her momentum. Finally, she pulled her hands in as close as she could to give her a bit more time before setting of the defences.

Kat used her wings mostly to keep pushing herself forward. It worked somewhat well but she could tell she was losing height rapidly. Pulling her head in and curling up as much as she could without bending her back too much and changing the angle of it, Kat just barely managed to slip past the edge of the roof.

historical

Once she was clear, Kat let her body act on its own. Instincts flaring, Kat unfolded and ended up feet down, after twisting herself over into a complete flip. Before she got too comfortable though, Kat held her hands out and took a single step back. A moment later Xiang fell into a princess carry.

Xiang recoiled as if he was burned, quickly throwing himself out of Kat's arms. While he did that Kat listened for any sign that they had been heard. Once Xiang was on his feet, and Kat was sure that they weren't being investigated, she took a quick glance to check that the greenhouse front was also obscured by plants and they weren't being watched before turning to the door.

It looked to be a standard affair, with large barn doors to allow for bigger things to be moved in and out. Of course, for Kat the size and weight of the door were no concern. She had hoped there would be an obvious lock on the door.. but it just looked like it had two rings for someone to grab onto.

Walking carefully up to the door Kat found the familiar golden barrier appearing beneath her fingers. Waiting a bit longer, until she heard Xiang walk up behind her and tap his foot, Kat asked "What would you like done? I can break this but I'm pretty sure it will make some noise"

"Well, maybe we just attack them all then" said Xiang, perfectly confident in his choice.

*Dammit why. Why did we even take the time and effort to sneak to the warehouse door if you still want to go full assault mode? I mean sure this was my idea but.. why are you still fighting this after you agreed?*

Deciding she didn't want to argue anymore, Kat waited for the moment when the disciple that almost caught them knocked on the door. She timed her slam with the second knock, just to be sure. As Kat's hand hit the surface, she felt it creaking, and, realising it wasn't quite enough, she flared her energy and increased her strength for a split second.

That was enough for the barrier to shatter. There was a bright flash for just as second, but Kat was hoping it was something only her eyes caught. She glanced back at Xiang quickly and he was staring at her with slight annoyance.. but his lack of blinking helped calm her down. Pulling back on the door rings Kat opened the warehouse to reveal shelves stacked high to the ceiling with..

Bags of rice.

*Shit.* "Rice? We went through all this trouble for rice?" hissed Xiang

"Now now.." said Kat trying to calm Xiang down who was already raising his voice a bit. We still have more warehouses.. this one just must be for food, don't worry"

Xiang clicked his tongue and stomped over towards the second warehouse. Kat flinched every time his foot hit the ground. It was much too loud for them to be unheard, and she could only hope that anyone in hearing range thought they belonged to someone else.