Troublemakers [Engl.]

3. A Wakeful Night

Satisfied with himself, Bill shook out the pillow and tossed it on one end of the small sofa. Beans's room was up a flight of stairs on the first floor. As a small child, she had lived in a tin can with her father until she had a house built further away in the country to start a family with a ranch, which, however, was still missing.
As he looked around, he clicked his tongue approvingly. The girl didn't have a bad taste in the matter of decor. The house had painted white and the room decorated with beautiful light wallpapers. A large bed stood at one end of the room, while on the other side a dresser with a dressing table and stool adorned the corner. Beans was sitting in front of the mirror, combing her hair quickly and nervously.
Bill glowered at her. The girl felt his eyes on the back of her neck and their rivaling eyes met in the mirrored glass. Beans's fingers tightened around the handle of her brush as Bill grinned at her.
"Are you afraid of me?" he asked in a muffled, mocking voice.
"No," she replied shortly and firmly. "I just don't trust you, that's all."
"Trusting what?"
Her eyes narrowed. "You know exactly what I mean."
"Should this be an invitation?"
Very upset, she put the comb aside. For a few seconds, she just stared at her hands. Then she stood up with a jerk and strode over to a closet.
Bill kept his eyes glued to her. His searching look caused the girl discomfort.
Finally, she stopped and glared at him defiantly.
"What are you staring at me for?!"
"No nightdress?" Bill asked with mock depression. "I'm disappointed."
Annoyed, Beans rolled her eyes. "I'm going to change my clothes, but only if you go out."
Instead of complying with her request, the heavy Gila lizard settled in the padded bench and crossed his hands behind the head. "I can stay wherever I want. I will not look anything away from you."
Immediately Beans wanted to launch into a protest, but Bill was stubborn enough that he didn't want to listen to a woman, so she gritted her teeth and walked past him with a snort of rage. She opened the closet doors, took out a small stack of clothes, and ran to the folding screen.
Before she disappeared behind it, she gave him a last scathing, warning look.
"Don't you dare to stare in here."
The Gila lizard giggled with amusement. "Only if you insist."
Without another comment, just a mumbled growl, she jumped behind the wall and started changing for the night.
Initially the bigger lizard lowered his eyes a little, just in case if she watched him through a slit. In contrast to his hearing that paid attention to the smallest sound. When her dress rustled on the floor, he raised his head.
Finally, the Gila lizard kept an eye on the closet shield, in the hope to catch a glimpse of a shadow at least.
More hasty, scurrying, rustling movements followed. Then suddenly it was quiet.
Bill craned his neck. Had she fallen back to her stiffness? But then he noticed a slight movement at the top. Apparently, she had combed her hair again and seemed to be thinking about what to do now.
He heard how she took a deep breath.
"Okay, I'm coming out now."
"Go ahead. Or are you so ugly that you're afraid, I could tip over?"
"Don't you dare laugh."
With that, she came out from behind the shield.
Bill was sitting on the sofa and didn't know what to say at first. The only thing that changed a lot were his eyes, which widened somehow.
Beans put her hands on the hips.
"Is anything wrong?" she asked in a malicious tone.
"Nope, nope," the Gila lizard brought herself to say. "I just mean ..."
Instead of seeing a dress as expected, she wore light-colored pajamas. Bill couldn't remember ever seeing her in pants. Looked chic. He had to admit.
Beans ignored his stupid look as good as she could and turned to her bed.
"Then it's O.K."
With that, she opened the blanket and smoothed the pillow.
Bill's eyes were still fixed on her legs. He wanted to ask her to roll up her trousers for a moment, but he bit his lips immediately. This lizard lady would jump in his face for that undoubtedly, for this reason he choked off any comment inside.
The bed crunched slightly as Beans settled in and covered the blanket over her body.
Bill did the same. Even though the couch creaked under his weight. Then he pulled a thin blanket over himself and lolled his head on the pillow. Beans watched him from her bed.
"Well," she started. Her posture was downright tensed. "Then good night."
The Gila lizard nodded and took off the hat, which he placed on a small table next to him.
"Night."
Beans reached beside herself and turned off the oil lamp.
Suddenly it was pitch-black in the room.
Only the moon shone faintly through the curtains.
Still unsettled and with a very uncomfortable feeling in her stomach, Beans sank onto the pillow. For a while she stared at the ceiling and struggled to tell the crook boss, that he shouldn't get into mischief. But then she let it be. Words were useless for him. He only understood the language of firearms.
Suddenly Bean thought a bad thought. Why hadn't she taken her gun to her room? She cursed herself. Why didn't she? Should she go down the stairs again?
Slowly she raised her head a little and looked towards the sofa, where the lizard lay motionless. His breathing was quiet and regular.
"I hope, he doesn't snore," Beans thought. She didn't trust the whole thing.
Why had the four come to her house? Were they really followed by someone? Or was it just an excuse for something? Had Stump even faked his gunshot wound?
Beans shook her head. They would not even pull off such a stupid complex comedy, but she wasn't absolutely sure. So much has changed since Rango came to town.
With a deep sigh, she rolled herself on the side. Even if she had a gun, it wouldn't help her anything against four men who had no qualms about killing a woman. All she could do was to hope that they didn't target her.
She closed her eyes and tried to relax somehow. But she couldn't kill the feeling that Bill could stand next to her bed at any moment. Finally, the tiredness overcame her and fell into a restless sleep.

Pictures of the desert passed before Beans's inner eyes. But not for long. At some point a burned, stuffy smell stung her nose.
Did it burn anywhere?
She woke up coughing.
No, it wasn't a dream. The smell was real!
"What...!"
Startled, she sat up in bed.
"Bill!"
The girl gasped, holding her hand over her mouth.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Beans almost tripped over her legs as she struggled out of the blanket.
In just a few steps she was standing next to the sofa, where a large lizard calmly puffed a cigar.
"What do you think of?!" Beans scolded. "Are you crazy?! You can't smoke here!"
Bill didn't seem to care about her anger at all.
"Why so upset?" he asked after blowing another cloud of smoke into the already thick air. "I was only annoyed by a mosquito. I had to smoke it out..."
Beans's mouth remained open, but she had to close it again immediately because of the smoke.
"Do you wanna suffocate me?!" she gasped.
Bill shrugged. "Relax. It's just a little ..."
Beans didn't let him finish and tore the glow stick out of his fingers. Then she ran to the window, which nearly tore off its hinges when she opened it, and tossed the cigar outside, to Bill's frustration.
"Hey!" The Gila lizard rose up from her bed. "It was expensive!"
"Such stinking things don't come into my house," she snapped. "And now I advise you to sleep immediately, or I will ..."
At that moment the door opened after a short knocking and Kinski entered the room. When he saw the two competing lizards in the room, he stopped.
"Oh, chat hour?"
With anger, Beans ran to her dessert and turned on the lamp.
"Can't I have one moment of rest here?"
As soon as the light was on, Kinski's face changed from a sly grin to astonishment, which only made Beans angrier. With dark face, she put her hands on her hips.
"What's going on now? What do you want here?"
Kinski stood there; his mouth slightly open as if he had forgotten his text. "Uh ... it was something. Now I don't know anymore."
Only now Beans noticed how he was looking down at her.
At last, she had caught herself again and let out a loud snort. "Never seen a woman in pants?"
"Yes, yes," the desert hare said. "It's just ... uh, I don't know."
Annoyed, she crossed her arms. "Do you have any idea why you came up the stairs?"
"Oh, this is up here?" Kinski looked around in surprise.
Gradually, it went too far for Bill. He was dissatisfied enough that this lady had thrown his cigar out of the window literally.
"Now finally say it! I have no desire to philosophize about your stupidity here all night."
Kinski rubbed his head hastily. "What was it, what was it? Uh, I opened the door, then up the stairs ... oh! It's because of Stumpy. He doesn't feel very well, and now we found the wine closet. And then we thought it would be the best to ask you ... very politely."
He grinned broadly.
"Well, can we?"
Beans opened her mouth, but Kinski got ahead of her.
"Just so that he can fall asleep better. Such a little nightcap works wonders sometimes."
He pointed to his shoulder. "His arm hurts so much; you know."
Beans glanced up at the sky. "All right, all right. - But very little! No drinking orgy! Or you get something behind your ears."
"If you wear your pants ..."
"Get out of here!" Beans interrupted the grinning rabbit and Kinski preferred to leave the room.
Beans heard him trample down the stairs. A hasty verbal exchange followed immediately below, followed by loud laughter.
Beans rubbed her temples. They were probably joking about her night outfit.
"Headache?" Bill asked maliciously and Beans answered his question with a wailing murmur. Tiredly she rubbed her face and went back to her sleeping place.
"Do me a favor and just let me sleep in peace tonight."
With that she let herself fall onto the bed without strength.
"Just sleep."
She grabbed her blanket, which she hastily wrapped up and buried her head.
It was silent for a while. Bill stayed in the room all the time, watching her with a mocking smile.
On soft soles he approached the half-asleep lizard girl and turned out the light.