14 hours

9. Undercover

Nobody in Primrose Town knew what was happening in a lonely corner behind some houses in a lonely alley. At least it was lonely enough so that nobody could hear a protesting voice, followed with harsh commandos.
"No!"
"You put this on now!"
The Gila monster's voice sounded like a bad daddy who ranted with his little mutinous son.
But Kinski crossed his arms and eyed the red-black dress with deep disgust what Bill held out to him, what Bill had "borrowed" from a clothesline robe.
"But, dude," Stump tried to calm down the tensed situation. "You have to sacrifice your personality. Otherwise, we will never find..."
"I know!" Kinski interrupted him loudly and contorted his face even more.
"I'm watching the time the whole time," he hissed through his teeth. "But you can't force me to put this on."
He turned around and lifted his nose in the air.
Stump cleaned his throat. "But you've said you wanted to wear a dress on the last carnival."
Kinski snorted loudly and looked at him angrily. "I've been a child! Now I'm an adult and I'll not wear that drag."
Bill was shortly before to grab him, but Stump and Chorizo held him back in last second.
"As you want," Stump said. "Then we have to cancel the work. Our whole work for nothing."
He waved at Kinski with disappointment and walked away. "Other people had never behaved so stupidly. I read about so many undercover agents, they would do a swap with you."
Chorizo followed him in the same way. "Yes, thank you very much for the flop. Come Bill, let's take a drink. I don't want to count the seconds until midnight."
Bill meanwhile had thrown the dress on the floor and kicked it. Then he went away too.
The still angry rabbit looked after them, then he eyed the dress on the floor.
The three had almost gone around the corner, when they heard an obstinate grim sound. "Alright."

"That's... to-o... tight."
"Suck in your stomach."
"That's so... dumb!"
"I can't tie together that thing on the back," Stump panted who was busy to bind the cords of Kinski's dress on his back together and waved at Bill.
"Could you give me a helping hand?"
Bill snorted and went over. "Have you never seen a lady from behind?"
"Of course," Stump argued. "But I never had to put them on a dress."
Bill didn't reply and grabbed the cords of the dress.
"Bill! You suffocate me!"
The lizard loosened tugging.
"You should diet."
"OH, and what about..."
Bill tugged the cords again. "Did you want to say anything?!"
The rabbit in dress shook his head. "No, no."
"I've got it, guys." Chorizo appeared around a corner and stopped immediately.
Kinski narrowed his eyes. "Say nothing."
"Oh, no," Chorizo stuttered. "You look... uh... fine."
"For a drunken clown," Kinski pressed through the teeth.
"But with these you will look... irresistible."
The mouse held up a box with some makeup utensils.
"Where did you get that?" Stump asked with surprise.
"Professional secret."
"Anyway," Bill grunted and tied the cords and went a few steps back. "Mm, still a big belly, but it could work."
Before Kinski could protest, Stump took the box. "Well, let's paint Mona Lisa."

"No, no re..."
"Red lips are still the best," Stump cut the rabbit's protest and pressed the tip of the lipstick on Kinski's lips.
Stump covered the whole mouth with red color.
"Perfect, with that nobody will resist you."
Kinski pushed him away. "Hang on a minute! I should cheat my way through the door, but not inviting the doorman for a date."
"But you should look like a lady for a date."
Stump chuckled.
"Powder," Chorizo thrust a powder compact into Stump's hand.
Bill didn't participate in doing the face art and watched all from the distance.
"Oh, this too."
Stump eyed the object in Chorizo's hands.
"What's that?"
"Something for the eyes, but you can also use it to paint a beauty spot over the lip. Fresca does it from time to time. That's fashionable."
Stump shrugged his shoulders. "Well then."
"Don't you think you overexaggerate..."
But nobody listened to the dressed rabbit and shortly after a little black spot enthroned over the left side of his lips.
"And we don't have to forget that one."
With a wide grin, Chorizo held up a blond wig. "Apposite to your hair."
Kinski said nothing and let it happen that they put the wig on his head.
"And now... last but not least..." Chorizo held a perfume bottle.
Stump eyed the red-orange bottle. "No-uit d'... uh am..."
"Nuit d'amour," Chorizo read it with a French accent.
"That smells..." Stump took a new deep breath. "Whoa, that smells good! Like roses and candies together in a soap bath. If Beans wore such a smell, I would kiss her immediately."
Kinski covered his lips, just to be on the safe side. And before he knew what was happening, he was fogged in a smelling cloud.
With heavy panting, he waved his hands. "Do you wanna gas me?!"
"Et voila."
Chorizo and Stump were more than satisfied with their work. Bill eyed their masterpiece, and had some troubles to smother a smirking.
"Even not mother would recognize you," Stump continued and gave Kinski a sidekick.
"Damn! That will never work!"
"Alright," Bill made a last try to whip away his starting mocking and took Kinski by his hand.
"Let's make a test."
He tugged the now-female rabbit and pushed him on the sidewalk next to the filled main street.
Kinski growled at him and stamped his foot on the wooden floor.
"This is dumb! It'll never work."
"Good day, Madame," a man said in passing and lifted his hat politely. Then he walked on.
Kinski stood there like a drowned rat
"It'll never work," Stump parroted mockingly.
Bill grinned with satisfaction. "Let's put it into practice."

Carefully the Gila monster peeked around a corner where he could see the back door of the wellness club.
"Alright. Nobody outside."
"Uh, Bill?"
The big lizard sighed angrily. "Yeeeessss?"
"What if he recognizes me?"
Kinski was close to run in the opposite direction.
The Gila monster rubbed over his face with annoyance. "I thought we had talked about it enough. Come on now!"
With that, he grabbed the dress-rabbit and pushed him to the house.
"Shouldn't I take out a life assurance... or a dentures policy at least?"
But all arguments and protest were useless. Bill showed no mercy and Kinski stood alone in front of the back door.
He looked back for a last time, but Bill just waved ahead. "Time doesn't stop. Hurry up!"
With a deep, deep sigh, the rabbit in dress lifted his trembling hand.
"For England, Bond said."
With that he knocked against the wood.
Heavy footsteps came toward the door. The others took shelter around a corner of a house and watched how the door began to move.
Stump held his hands above his mouth when the face of the wolf appeared.
At this moment the wolf lifted his fist.
Kinski in woman dress pressed his eyes together.
"There you are at last!" the doorman cried. "The others are already finished!"
With a fast movement he grabbed the rabbit's arm and Kinski was pulled into the house. Shortly after the door closed with a loud slam.
The following silence made every one of the three remaining men speechless.
"Maybe we should change our job to makeup artist," Stump suggested.

Kinski didn't know what was going on around him. The wolf tugged him through wallpapered corridors over carpets.
"Don't be so prudish," the doorman grunted in front of him. "Mr. Daren hates delays. In with you!"
He opened another door and pushed the rabbit inside. Then he closed the door behind the rabbit again.
Kinski felt like in a dream. A bad-good dream. He was standing in a big dressing room for women. On the left wall stood mirrors and chairs. On the right site clothes and dresses in all colors.
At least he was alone. But he prayed to god that nobody would realize him. But his prayers were ignored when the door opened behind him and a familiar figure entered the room.
"Oh," the female fox said and waved her black handheld fan. "Are you the new one?"
Kinski's heart missed a beat. It was the same fox girl which had greeted them at the back door a while ago.
"Uh... I..." The rabbit cleaned his throat in despair. "Yes."
He didn't know how his voice sounded, but he tried to speak like a woman, or he thought that could be like a woman.
The vixen closed the door, but kept sight of him.
"Mm. You look familiar to me. Have we met before?"
"Maybe my sist... brother?"
He laughed nervously with high voice.
But the girl narrowed her eyes, so that he ducked his head.
Suddenly, without warning the girl kicked between his legs.
"OUTCH!" Kinski sank together.
With poisoned glance the fox girl looked down at him. "I knew it! You are a guy!"
She reached for the door handle. "We don't need dirty stalkers like you. I will tell to Ralf!"
She opened the door and shouted. "RALF!"
"No!" Kinski cried with pressed voice. "I'm not a stalker, I'm not a ... I'm nothing.... I mean... that's... they put it on against my will..." He wrapped his hands around her feet. "For a disguise, not in bad faith. I- I – I'm working undercover."
"Undercover?" She snorted. "Don't tell me lies."
"No! It's true."
If the doorman got ahold of him, he could land in hospital.
"I'm looking for a missing person, and I need information about a man who had kidnapped him. For this reason, I have to ask some questions to Black Mary. And we have just time until midnight."
She tried to kick him away.
"Who told you?"
"Clark."
"What's going on here?"
The deep voice of Ralf, the doorman, let Kinski froze his blood. The girl was going to open her mouth, but she hesitated in last second.
"Uh, I only wanted to give you this."
She reached for a flower and gave it to him.
"For your good work."
He snorted and walked away.
"Women's things," he muttered with grim voice.
The female Kinski looked up at her. "Why?"
"I've never heard such a story. I was wondering what you wanted with your fellas outside. And by the way..."
She bent down to him. "Clark is a stupid thief, but a loveable one. And I think he told something about a Gila monster in his past. How should I know that it was your... Is "friend" the right word?"
"Comrade, more,... don't kn... uh... boss comrade, buddy... something between."
"Alright."
She gave him her hand and helped him to stand up.
"If you are from Clark, that's something different."
Kinski cleaned his dress.
"And you want to speak Blacky Mary?"
"Is she here?"
"She has her own room. I will lead you."
They left the big dressing room and went few doors more.
"Wait a minute."
She knocked. A female adult voice replied. "Who's there?"
"It's me - Roxy."
"Come in."
The vixen gave Kinski a waiting gesture and disappeared into the room after closing the door again quickly.
Voices whispered to each other. Suddenly a woman laughed loudly.
"Let him come in."
The door opened again and Roxy waved inside. "She awaits you. And excuse me, I have to refresh myself."
She walked away.
For a moment, the rabbit in dress didn't know how to behave. He had met ladies in the past, but not with himself in a dress.
After some inner struggling, he knocked gently against the door and opened it a tiny crack. The room was dark, just a light shined over the big mirror. But the chair was empty.
Carefully, he entered and closed the door behind. The room bore analogy to the big dressing room, but it was smaller.
He craned his neck and made one step forward.
"Before you come closer," a female voice let him freeze. "Tell me your name."
The rabbit looked around in confusion. His glance stuck on the folding screen where he guessed that the voice came from that direction.
"Uh, Kinski."
A shadow moved and came out of its hiding.
"Pleased to meet you."
Kinski opened his eyes wider.
The woman was thin and elegant proportions. It was a mammal with jet black fur and yellow eyes. Her chin-length hair was black like her fur and pinned-up. She wore a shiny purple-red robe where he could see some tracks of a dark red bikini under it. Her face was unmade-up, but it was beautiful enough to let him open his mouth.
"Uh, and... you... are Black Mary?" he started after a while of silence.
"And you are the one who is investigating a kidnapping case?"
"Temporary," he added.
"How cute."
She smiled and came closer. Kinski's eyes wandered down to her legs, which became visible with every step under her robe.
The rabbit rubbed his neck nervously.
"Don't be afraid," she said gently. "I don't bite."
She gave him a smirk and went over to the chair of the mirror.
Now Kinski had a little view of her back and swallowed.
"You are a skunk?"
Blacky Mary sighed. "You're not the first man who said that in such a tone."
"I'm sorry, Madame."
Kinski wiped over his head and came closer.
"It's just... I..."
"I know what you're thinking," she interrupted his stuttering and reached for a lipstick. "People who don't know me, know nothing about my real personality."
She lifted her right leg. Kinski swallowed again. Her black fur was a perfect beauty.
"You don't know how much time and money I gave to create my body so that he looks like it is today."
She lowered her leg again.
"Even my scent glands I let cut away."
Kinski stared down at her. If he hadn't seen her back, he would think she was a cat.
"But beauty knows no pain."
She sighed again.
"I didn't feel pain while my operations."
She averted her eyes from the mirror and gave him a gentle smile.
"But let's drop the subject. I heard you wanted to know something."
Kinski shook his head wildly, in hope to get a clear mind again. "Uh, yes, yes. Clark said, yes, I..."
"Take a seat. Kinski."
He blushed under his fur and was lucky that she didn't see it. Rashly he sat down on a chair next to her and bent forward with folded hands. "Well, I... I don't know what exactly, but do you know something about a man, who told you something about a chameleon, or a kidnapped person?"
She raised her finger and rubbed her chin. The rabbit watched her movements with fast heartbeat.
"Well, not really, but I could know someone, what could give you a hint."
She crossed her legs.
"Ere yesterday, there was an old lynx with me. He isn't a regular guest, but I know him. While our dialog, he told something about that he is going to spend more time with me, and that he would give me a lot of gifts if I focus my attention on him for a long time. After a while he revealed to me that he would earn enough money with a blackmail. But that was all what I could educe from him. But..."
She made a little break.
"I don't think that it had been his own idea. He never did a criminal job alone. I guess, that somebody gave him orders, but I'm sure he would never admit."
The rabbit bent more forward.
"And his name?"
She took a deep breath. "Jeanny Thomson."
"Where can we find him?"
"Sorry, I don't know." She reached for nail enamel. "But he isn't an unknown guy. Ask some people on the street, they can tell you where you can find him."
Kinski wished he could stay, but this sentence gave him order to stand up.
"You gave us a great help, thank you very much."
He bowed. She nodded back.
The rabbit turned around, but before he reached the door, he heard how she was sitting up.
"Let me guide you to the door."
Her hand in his hand felt so warm.
But before they reached the door, she put her hands on his arms.
Kinski held his breath when she sniffed with closed eyes.
"Mm, Nuit d'amour. You seemed to know what men want."
She bent forward and pressed her lips on his. The gunslinger didn't know what happened. He felt numb and like on fire when she moved her lips and mouth.
Finally, she leaned back again.
Her lips were red a little because of his lipstick. She smiled cutely.
"That's the first time in my life that I kiss a man in dress."
She made some distance between him and herself.
"That's my way of saying, goodbye. And if you need a shoulder to cry on..."
She massaged his hands.
"You know where you can find me."
With that she released him completely and walked back to the mirror. She sat down and gave the impression as if he didn't exist anymore.
Silently Kinski reached for the door handle and stumbled backwards outside. After he had closed the door, he stood in the corridor like after a deep dream.
"What a woman."
He leaned against the door.
"Excuse me, who are... are you the one for what I'm searching for?"
He winced heavily when a shadow appeared next to him like from nothing. A rabbit in middle age, dark green jacket and combed head hair. Without interruption, he babbled to Kinski, who stood there like a stone.
"Are you new here? Never mind. Come on. Get ready, the first reservations for this afternoon are coming! Don't be so coy. Come on... uh... I forgot your... What's your name?"
Finally, the rabbit found a way to his mouth again.
"Kin-sk- uh- i-a."
"Never heard that name... Anyway! Go to work. I don't pay you for to act as a model. Hurry up! Hey! Hey."
Mr. Daren's attention drifted to two ladies who had a chat.
"You can patter later with your sister. Go to work. That's a decent bordel!"
Kinski took the chance and opened the next door. He had to hide somewhere until that pushy guy was gone. After he had closed the door, he sighed in relief. He turned around and – froze with wide open shocked eyes.
In the room stood a bed. And in the bed lay a man.
A naked man – he guessed. A blanket covered the under region of his body. It was a thin rodent with gelled black hair and a little black mustache. At this moment he reached for a glass of champagne on the little table beside the bed.
With an amused glance he eyed Kinskia – alias Kinski in lady outfit.
"Oh, what a nice service."
He smirked at the rabbit with a gleeful smile.
Kinski blushed so deep under his fur, that his face would be red like a tomato if someone shaved him. The rabbit's eyes grew bigger when the man was swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.
At least he kept the blanket around his hips. He took the full wine glass and waved it in his direction.
"Well then, how should we start our little romance?"
Kinski thought to live in a nightmare. Step by step the man came closer with a soft swing of his hips at him.
"I - I'm still in training," Kinski said hoarsely with his last female sounding voice what he could bring over his lips. The man smelled heavily of perfume that he got headaches. What was that for an expensive stuff?
"But sunshine. It doesn't take training for that."
He sniffed. "Hmm, Nuit d'amour. You really know what men want."
His shoulder almost touched Kinskia's shoulder.
"But if you need some lesson," he bent more forward so that his head was near his ear. "Maybe I could be your teacher, darling."
The last words echoed through Kinski(a)'s head like in empty space. His eyes shot into a direction, which guided him the last way of escaping – the window.

"Why does he take so long?" Stump muttered and eyed the pocket watch what Kinski had left in his clothes.
"Don't kill my nerves," Bill growled who leaned against the house wall of the wellness club.
"Calm down, boys," Chorizo tried. "I'm sure he will be here in the next moment."
Suddenly the sound of splintering glass crashed the air, not far away, followed by a loud thud.
Shortly after that a red-black figure passed them like haunted by thousand rattlesnakes and rushed around the next corner.
With wide surprised eyes, they looked at the direction where the figure had disappeared.
"What was that?" Stump asked in confusion.
"Mm, I would say," Bill began. "A flying rabbit, which looked very familiar to me."