AN:Alfonzo, Bartholomew Poindexter, Mac, Rico and Manfred Mouse are the only characters that belong to me. Mickey and Minnie and Chief O'Hara belong to Disney.
Mickey's Middle name really is Theodore, as I'm going by 107 Mickey Mouse Facts You Should Know on YouTube and the video got it from a French comic.
Also, Brownie points for whoever guesses where Freslin comes from, as it really is from a Sci-fi TV series, but right now it would give too much away, though by the end of this chapter I've already given away a lot, but not too much I promise.^.^;
The mice reached Alfonzo's mansion without any problems, and needless to say…the building was an interesting sight, and that's saying it in the most sarcastic of tones. There were ginormous cat statues all lined up in front of the mansion. And they were hideous.
"I'd ask if ya were sure if this was the place, Min, but judging by those statues, I don't think there's any doubt about it." Mickey said uneasily as he held his hand out to Minnie as she took it and got out of the car.
"I had a feeling he had a bit of an ego, but I didn't think it was that bad." Minnie replied just as uneasily.
"Makes ya wonder how he can eat if he's so full of himself." Mickey somewhat muttered under his breath, but it was loud enough that Minnie heard it and couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh-ho, Mickey! You really shouldn't say things like that." She chided through her giggles as she linked arms with him.
"Yet yer laughin'." He pointed out and even 'tsked' at her. "The signs were kinda there Minnie. Ya said so yerself, he never stopped talkin' about all the investments he ever made and didn't seem ta mention making any new ones, particularly with you."
"I suppose." Minnie sighed tiredly. "I guess I should've seen it coming, huh?"
"If ya had come ta me about all of this earlier, I probably would've warned ya about it from a mile away even if ya didn't believe me." Mickey replied with a light hearted chuckle. Knowing her, she probably wouldn't have believed him at first since she'd think he'd be saying it out of a fit of jealousy. That is until she saw it for herself. Mickey just had a better sense of people's characters at first impression than she did, but sometimes she could beat him to the punch. It depended on the situation really, as well as the person and their character.
"Oh, please, I'm sure I would've believed you sooner than you think." Minnie corrected lightly. As they got closer to the front door she noticed something missing from Mickey's current attire. "No bowtie for this?"
"I brought it with me in case ya'd think I'd look better with it. I just didn't wanna look too old fashioned. That's why I nixed the coat tails." Mickey explained as he jabbed a thumb behind him for emphasis on the coat tails. "So should I put it on?"
"No, you're right, you look better without it. And I didn't even notice that you lacked the coat tails until you mentioned it, handsome." She said the pet name without even thinking, and instantly blushed when she realized that she did say it. Mickey chuckled and lightly kissed the side of her head.
"Thank ya kindly, Minnie. Ya look mighty beautiful in yellow if I do say so myself." Mickey reckoned playfully.
"Thank you." She replied humbly, not quite looking at him though she kept him in her peripheral. "It's not a color I'd usually wear in it's entirety without a little bit of pink, but for the style of it I just couldn't resist."
"Well, ya've always had excellent taste. It really is a pretty dress. I'll even admit that I was stunned stupid when I first opened my front door an' saw ya standin' there." He admitted shyly.
"Oh, Mickey. You're so sweet." Minnie softly cooed at him. She stopped them just as they reached the steps, and leaned up and kissed him. She couldn't help but moan when she felt him kiss back as she was reminded again of his sweet taste. It took a few minutes of indulging, but Mickey was the one to finally pull away and remind her of the task at hand.
"We really should go on in and get this over with…but we can always catch up later." He added the last part with a blush.
"I'm gonna hold you to that, then." Minnie replied as she blushed and batted her eyelashes at him, and even tightened her grip on his arm lovingly.
"I don't doubt it." Mickey shot back with a chuckle. Minnie giggled right along with him as they finally walked up the front steps together, and rang the doorbell.
A rather thin and elderly looking butler answered the door. "Miss Mouse I presume? And her guest?" The mice nodded in unison, and then the butler opened the door wider and stood off to the side to let them in. "Please come in, right this way. Master Alfonzo has been eagerly awaiting your arrival."
"Oh, well I hope I haven't kept him waiting too long?" Minnie asked hopefully.
"Nonsense. The Master has the patience of a saint, but if it would help put your mind at ease, the Master has kept himself busy by conversing with the other guests." The butler replied.
"Other guests?" Minnie questioned under her breath, Mickey heard it, but thankfully the butler didn't. They were both so preoccupied with how hideous the outside decor was, that they didn't even notice all of the other cars parked outside.
"I will go announce your arrival." The butler quipped as he headed through the double doors ahead of them.
"Ya see, Min? Ya didn't hafta worry 'bout much. Ya wouldn'tve been alone with him." Mickey whispered in her ear comfortingly.
"I suppose…Oh! Do I look okay?" She replied hesitantly and then asked quickly.
"Ya mean yer make-up? Ya look gorgeous. No need ta redo anything even." Mickey assured her. She breathed small sigh of relief after blushing at his compliment. After all the crying she did at Mickey's, even if he was able to cheer her up easily, she thought for sure that she would have to redo something of her make-up.
"The Master and the other guests will see you now." The butler interrupted as he poked his head in, and then opened the double doors.
The mice walked in and found themselves in a large ballroom that was made to be more of a large dining room, and both of them were greeted warmly by the host himself.
"Minnie, darling there you are! I was getting worried that you wouldn't make it." Alfonzo greeted enthusiastically and then noticed Mickey himself. "Oh, and who is this fine specimen of a man that you brought with you?" Alfonzo then proceeded to look Mickey over quite thoroughly, from head to toe, a quick look at Mickey's backside, and finishing off by examining Mickey's free arm and politely asking him to flex, Mickey complied just to humor him. "Oh, I think you'll do just nicely for the expedition, wouldn't you agree Bartholomew?" Mickey's ear twitched at the name, it wasn't a very common name but he actually knew someone who belonged to it but preferred to go by his last name because he didn't even look like a 'Bart' for short.
"For the umpteenth time, just call me by my last name, Poindexter! And for pity's sake leave the poor man alone! There isn't going to even be an expedition until we get a willing candidate-! Mickey? Buttons? Is that you?" The blonde Chimpanzee in a formal looking lab coat asked curiously, adjusting his glasses to get a better look. Mickey grinned from ear to ear upon recognizing his old friend, and that his old friend recognized him first.
"Yeah it's me P.D. An' ya still don't look like a Bart! I'd thought ya'd legally change yer name by now, and workin' as physicist like ya planned. What're ya doin' all the way out here?" Mickey greeted his friend from high school, and tried to unhook his arm from Minnie's but she gripped him tighter. Evidently she wasn't willing to let him out of her sight or out of her presence just yet.
Thankfully Poindexter noticed it and came up to Mickey instead to give him a one armed hug and handshake. "Well, legally changing my name proved to be more of a hassle than it was worth. As for my current employment let's just say things don't always go according to plan, in more ways than one." His eyes very quickly glanced in Alfonzo's direction and then came back to stay in eye contact with Mickey's. Mickey recognized the old code of the importance of emphasized words from when they were teenagers and played along, blinking twice to confirm that he got the hint before speaking.
"Lemme guess, ya inherited a business from some relative ya hardly knew personally but seemed ta adore ya enough ta bequeath it ta ya."
"Something like that." Poindexter replied with a chuckle. "Now, aren't you going to introduce me?" He asked tilting his head towards Minnie.
"Oh, right." Mickey quipped and then turned to Minnie. "Minnie, this is Bartholomew Poindexter, he and I went ta high school together. He never did look like a 'Bart' so we just called 'im by his last name instead." He then turned back to his old friend. "Poindexter this is Minnie, she's my-! Well, uh, we've been in an off phase fer about five months, so I'm not sure what we are right now other than dear friends." He scratched the back of his head bashfully. He then felt her grip his arm tightly again.
"We're still an item, we just have a lot of catching up to do is all." Minnie explained, answering Mickey's unasked and implied question.
Suddenly the three of them heard a loud thump from behind Mickey. They all looked to find Alfonzo passed out on the floor.
"Oh, dear. The poor boy fainted." Poindexter quipped, sounding like he was expecting it from a mile away. "He really did have a thing for you Miss Mouse. While we were waiting, he absolutely wouldn't shut up about how delightfully charming you were. His words not mine, but I don't doubt his description. He was so nervous that you wouldn't make it that he couldn't stop sniffing his ring." He pointed out a specific ring on Alfonzo's right hand, as he lifted the billionaire feline up from under his arms and dragged him over to an armchair. Minnie finally let go of Mickey, so he helped by carrying Alfonzo by his legs. "Just as I thought, catnip." Poindexter said, as he examined the ring more closely. It was one of those fancy secret compartment rings, mostly known for carrying small amounts of powdered things, like poison. However, Alfonzo decided to use his to store catnip.
"Oh, fer gosh sakes. He's high as a kite and he fainted." Mickey groaned in annoyance. "Welp, sorry, Min. I guess he's not gonna deliver yer business demands anytime soon."
"Oh, please don't sell him short just yet. He's actually been trying to make up for all that he hasn't done." Poindexter said almost pleading.
"And you're speaking on his behalf because…" Minnie trailed off curiously.
"Unfortunately, I'm his lead scientist when it comes to actually making his perfumes. It's not the easiest job but at least it pays the bills. Anyway, we've actually been trying to make the scents you ordered Miss Mouse, but along the way we ran out of a key ingredient. Even worse, the only place to get the ingredient is deep within the depths of the Amazon." Mickey and Minnie both parroted the name in gasped unison. "That's right, we have a team of men down there who usually harvest it for us, but lately they've refused to do so any longer because some of them have gone missing or just have never returned when they go off in search of it. Alfonzo has been desperate to make it up to his new favorite business associate, so he's been asking for anyone adventurous enough to go look for that key ingredient." He had rolled his eyes at the emphasis of the word 'favorite', thus one could only assume exactly how much Alfonzo wouldn't shut up about Minnie. It only proved to Mickey how much Alfonzo liked her. Overzealous was the perfect way to describe it, but at least it was somewhat tolerable if Minnie's constant cheerleader smiles were anything to go by.
"So that's why he looked me over and said something about an expedition." Mickey mused aloud.
"Correct. I would ask you to do it, Mickey, because knowing you, you haven't changed a bit from when we were younger. However, I'd completely understand if you'd rather not." Poindexter continued.
"Oh, no. I'll do it alright. It sounds like ya need the extra hands, an' since its fer Minnie anyway, well that's just double fer me." Mickey said proudly. His tail wagged excitedly behind him at the thought of adventure.
"Mickey…You don't have to do this for me, it sounds dangerous." Minnie said worriedly.
"Aw, don't worry, Min. I'll be okay! Besides," He then turned to Poindexter for his next sentence. "I was kinda hoping ta get paid fer doin' this…"
"Ah, well, you'll have to take that up with him. Make sure you milk him for all he's worth, Mickey." Poindexter warned, and then he promptly woke Alfonzo up by literally slapping him upside the head. "Wake up, he says he'll do it."
"Really? Oh, thank you so much Mister Mouse!" Alfonzo said enthusiastically as he vigorously shook Mickey's hand in the utmost gratitude. He then switched gears and dashed over to Minnie and gently held one of her hands. "I'm terribly sorry that you've had to wait so long for those perfumes that you ordered all those months ago, Minnie darling. We've had nothing but drawback after drawback, but I'm determined to keep my promise and fulfill it no matter what. I hope you can forgive me for taking so long to tell you how it was going up until now."
"Well, you had your reasons, and I'm sure you've been working very hard on trying to get me what I asked for, so of course I forgive you." Minnie replied sweetly. Poindexter gave Mickey a questioning look, and Mickey returned it with a slight roll of his eyes and a twitch of his nose. Yes, Minnie was the type to be easily persuaded, and yes, it wasn't easy to keep her out of trouble either.
"Oh, thank you my dear. It warms my heart to know that you've forgiven me for that much." Alfonzo sighed happily.
"However," Poindexter interrupted.
"However?" Alfonzo parroted in suspicious confusion as he turned his head back towards the male mouse and the chimp.
"Mickey here, would like to be paid once he's done his job." Poindexter finished coolly.
"Oh! Is that all? Of course, of course, I'll pay you handsomely for your efforts. Just name your price." He inched back over to Mickey, and the mouse promptly whispered a price in his ear. "Just that much? Child's play."
"Bear in mind, I tend to have the worst luck when it comes to any adventure I go on. So any hassles I come across, I'll beef up that price as compensation fer my troubles." Mickey warned with a devious glint in his eye.
"Well, then, I hope you don't run into too much trouble out there." Alfonzo replied nonchalantly. Then he turned back to Minnie, and casually offered his arm to her, and she gingerly took it, daring a glance back at Mickey. Mickey just gave her an assuring nod and mouthed that he'd keep an eye on Alfonzo. "Now how about we see if dinner's ready yet, hmm? And I can introduce you to everyone else while we're at it, Minnie darling!"
Thus, Alfonzo introduced Minnie to everyone else who was there, and they all happened to not even notice that Alfonzo had fainted as the ballroom-turned-dining room was just that big. Meanwhile, Mickey caught up with Poindexter since they hadn't seen each other since they graduated high school.
"How much should I trust Alfonzo?" Mickey asked his old friend as soon as the billionaire was out of ear shot, yet still within sight so that he could keep an eye on Minnie.
"Not wholeheartedly. Don't be fooled by his flamboyant nature." The Chimpanzee replied solemnly.
"I never did trust anyone who was that nice up front. It hasn't failed me yet." Mickey quipped jovially.
"Good to hear. How long have you known her?" Poindexter asked suddenly.
"Minnie? Well lessee…I met her exactly two years after we graduated high school, so I'd say a pretty long time." Mickey replied easily. "Can't remember exactly how we met though."
"Regardless, you know her better than he does, thank heavens for that." Poindexter sighed in relief.
"Well, yeah, that's why I never became jealous over all this. Minnie's much fiercer than she looks, but only if ya push all the right buttons ta make her mad. It's also why I'm not too worried about her right now, she can fend fer herself just fine, but if she needs me I'm right here." Mickey chuckled.
"Good to know. I mostly asked because you may have won the bet we all made when we graduated." Poindexter said nonchalantly. He said it so casually that Mickey had to do a double take to realize what he was talking about, and a third take to remember the actual bet.
"Oh, right, the bet on which one of us would get a girlfriend first. Well, I can't take all the money yet, so far I've only seen you and Manfred, though Manny's a given since he's my cousin. Mac is a more likely candidate to have gotten a girlfriend probably before me even, and Lord only knows how Rico's doin'." Mickey replied. Mac was a perverted gecko with a greaser look, and Rico was a ram but a gentle giant and a hippie straight out of the sixties, the comment regarding him was meant for the fact that the government might have caught him as he tried to expose government conspiracy theories. One could only hope that he wasn't dead.
"So, true. How is Pinknose doing?" Poindexter asked, referring to Manfred by his high school nickname.
"He's doing okay. He's kept me in line and on my toes when she hasn't, just as he always has when he first moved across the street from me." Mickey said jabbing his chin in Minnie's direction when he mentioned her.
"Good to hear. I'd advise taking him with you, but judging by how worried your significant other sounded, I'm assuming she might opt. to go with you instead…" Poindexter trailed off, wondering how his friend would react.
"Ah, ya picked up on that already, huh? Yeah, even if I told 'er I'd bring Manny with me or even some other friend of mine, she'd insist on coming with me anyway. She's as stubborn as I am if not more than I am, and it'd be a perfect opportunity to catch up with each other, even if it ain't the most romantic way to go about it." Mickey chuckled, already able to picture it.
"You'd be surprised." Poindexter quipped, but didn't explain further, and Mickey couldn't tell if he emphasized it or not in the way that he said it.
The two friends went on and talked about numerous other subjects of conversation and even exchanged cell phone numbers as Poindexter had other things to warn Mickey about but was unable to here where the walls had ears.
Dinner was finally served and thankfully it did not include caviar.
"I'm coming with you." Minnie insisted sternly as soon as she and Mickey got to her car.
"To the Amazon? Of course." He agreed simply as he opened the passenger door for her. His compliance was so shocking to her, that she did a double take at him and waited for him to get on the driver's side before she spoke.
"You're not arguing…Why aren't you arguing?" She asked suspiciously.
"What's the point if yer gonna insist on comin' with me 'cause it's dangerous? An' since we just got back together, ya've already lost me once so ya don't wanna lose me again, an' on top of that, what better opportunity ta catch up than ta go hiking in the Amazon itself? So yes, yer comin' with me 'cause I know yer not gonna take no fer an answer even if it's Alfonzo who insists that it's too dangerous fer ya." Mickey explained coolly, as he made sure that she and he himself were buckled in before he put the car in drive.
"After all this time, you still know me so well." Minnie marveled aloud.
"Well it's only been five months and ten days since we've seen each other." He quipped with a chuckle. Then he lost his small smile as he spoke his afterthought. "A little less than that for the last time we talked to each other." He saw her look away from him at the corner of his eye, and almost regretted saying it. Almost, because it was one of those things that needed to be talked about in order to move on from it. Communication is important in a relationship after all.
"I've regretted that phone conversation every day since it happened." She sighed sadly.
"Now, now, as much as it hurt when it happened, I think we both needed time away from each other, just like that instance back in the fifties." He assured softly.
"You started it back then." She couldn't help but mutter, knowing exactly what instance in the fifties that he was referring to. She didn't realize until he replied right away that he heard her.
"An' this time you started it so now we're even. It's all in the past now Min, all that's left ta do is ferget about it as best as we can while still learning from it, and just move on and look ahead ta the future."
Minnie did a double take at him, it wasn't often that he would say something deep and wise. He wasn't usually all that smart either, except when he was running on an adrenaline rush on a police case he'd be working on or if he were on an adventure. Just to be sure though…
"Who are you and what have you done to my Mickey?"
He guffawed at that.
"It's still me, Minnie. Manfred's odd wisdom has just been rubbing off on me lately. Honestly, I just got the chills as soon as all o' that came out, 'cause omigosh I sound like my cousin." He had laughed so hard he had tears in the corners of his eyes and had to wipe them away quickly because he was driving.
"So I have him to blame for that odd truth of wisdom that you just spouted?" She asked with a smirk.
"Mostly, but it actually is how I truly feel about it." He admitted.
Sooner than expected he pulled her car up to her driveway. She was home, which meant that he'd have to head home himself. Minnie wasn't quite ready for that yet.
Before he could even open the car door to get out, Minnie latched herself onto his right arm, it was so sudden that it was enough to keep him from going anywhere.
"Please, don't go yet. It feels like I've hardly seen you at all tonight." She pleaded, burying her head in his arm.
It was an honest and understandable request in Mickey's opinion. Though he got to sit next to her during dinner, he was still catching up with Poindexter, who was sitting on Mickey's other side. She hardly spent much time with him anyway since Alfonzo stole her away to go meet everyone else who was there.
"Alright, I'll stay…but just fer a little while longer. I'll come by tomorrow if ya want." He offered.
"I'd love that." She replied with a happy sounding sigh, nodding into his arm.
After maybe ten minutes of enjoying each other's company in silence. Mickey remembered her original goal before heading to that dinner party meeting…thing.
"Sorry ya didn't get ta cut ties with him…" He apologized, drooping his ears for good measure.
"It's all right, it worked out better than I had planned anyway. I'd rather take my first vacation from the Bowtique with you any day." She quipped nonchalantly. Mickey's ear twitched at that statement.
"So I've been right in assuming that yer a workaholic, huh, Min?" Mickey questioned curiously with a smirk creeping onto his face. She giggled, and lifted her head to meet his eyes.
"Only a little. I do take days off, though I guess I did spend half of them trying to get something out of Alfonzo…" Minnie admitted. Then she thought of something he did quite recently. "Speaking of getting something out of him, I think that was first time I've ever seen you ask for a reward. Just what do you plan to do with that money, Mickey Mouse?"
His smirk grew to look quite smug and he had that all too familiar mischievous twinkle in his eye, but his answer was not what she was expecting. "Not gonna tell ya, Min. That's the number one secret that I'm keepin' ta myself." He chuckled as she puffed her cheeks and pouted defiantly, obviously she didn't like his answer. "It's nothing bad I promise, but I really can't tell you otherwise, 'cause I want it ta be a surprise." She stopped puffing her cheeks, so at least she was a little more satisfied with this answer.
"Fine. Keep your little secret, but you better not spend it all in one place." Minnie warned playfully, as she adjusted herself to sit in his lap with her legs to one side of him and nestled her head into the crook of his neck. She'd keep it in the back of her mind for a while, after all, she knew that twinkle in his eye all too well, and she knew he was up to something, but what, she could never guess.
"Don't worry, I promise I won't." He chuckled back at her. He then silently eyed her moving into his lap, and once she was all settled and happy as a clam, he couldn't help but playfully quip, "Ya really don't want me going home just yet do ya?"
"Nope. I want you all to myself for just a little while longer." Minnie remarked nonchalantly. It were almost as if she didn't care how late at night it was.
"Alright, toots, just a little bit longer, but then I gotta go okay? We both need ta sleep sometime ya know. An' don't ferget I'm comin' by tomorrow so you'll have me all ta yerself then too." Mickey reminded her. At the last part of his sentence, it seemed to please her as she gave a quick peck to his neck.
Just as he was about to reciprocate with a kiss her forehead for good measure, he heard the sound of a car engine behind them. What was strange about it was that there were no reflections of the lights passing by, which any sane person should've had their lights on at this time of night. The sound of the engine even stopped behind them, just across the street. Mickey looked into the rearview mirror and saw a dark colored car that was maybe brown, he didn't hear a car door slam so he knew the driver hadn't gotten out yet. So Mickey waited, one minute turned to five seemingly quickly and no one came out of that car, and it was too dark to see what was going on in the driver's side of the car which was the visible side of it anyway.
Not wanting to alarm Minnie, he kept it in the back of his mind and decided that he really should get home. He opened the car door and scooted them out, carrying her bridal style. After quickly making sure that she had her purse, and her car keys in his own hand, he made his way up her porch steps and set her down in front of her front door. Minnie kept her grip on him even when her feet touched the ground, still not wanting him to go anywhere just yet.
"Thanks for everything tonight, Mickey." She said finally, looking up at him with admiration and appreciation.
"Anytime, Min. I'll see ya tomorrow, okay?" He felt her give him a loving squeeze, and he promptly returned it.
"I'm already looking forward to it." She replied, and then leaned on her tip toes to kiss him. After a few seconds of indulging they both pulled away, and an afterthought came to her. "Call me when you get home, okay?"
"Funny, I was gonna ask ya if I should." He replied with a smile. It was an old habit of theirs, just to make sure nothing happened on the way home. "Of course I'll call, as long as ya don't fall asleep on me."
"I have no intention of falling asleep just yet." She shot back playfully with a slight roll of her eyes.
"Better not be pullin' all-nighters too." He teased with raised eyebrows and a wagging finger.
"Oh, come now, I only did that once when I was planning a bow show that I had forgotten about." Minnie deadpanned. Mickey couldn't help but chuckle at her, as it would be something she would do. Minnie then pulled him against her for one final squeeze and whispered into his ear, "Please be careful on your way home. I don't trust that car across the street." Mickey smirked at that, as he was glad that she noticed it too.
"I don't either but let's just act natural and assume that the driver fell asleep in the car." Mickey whispered back. Making them look normal, he pecked her cheek and pulled away with a, "G'night, Min," as he then placed her keys in her palm.
"Good night Mickey. I already can't wait for tomorrow." She replied and then preceded to unlock her door.
"Ha-huh! Neither can I, toots." He quipped, and waited for her to step inside. Common courtesy after all.
As soon as she was inside she turned back and gave one last wave at him, which he returned, and then she closed the door and he headed down the porch steps, hopped over her front gate and walked briskly down the street in the direction of his house.
After a few minutes and quickly nearing his house, he saw something amiss. His house lights were out. Every last one of them, even the porch lights, and he knew that he left them on when he left. He also knew that he locked his door on the way out, so maybe there was a power outage…or someone sabotaged his fuse box which was unfortunately out in the open in the back of the house. He could only hope that it was the former, but the strange brown car across from Minnie's put him on edge, and it was enough to make him regret leaving her alone. However, she could take care of herself, so he tried not to worry too much.
Still…he had his dark house to worry about, and he didn't have his cell phone with him to provide a tiny bit of light. He looked across the street and luckily found his cousin's house lit up from the inside. Manfred always helped him when he needed it, so he jogged on over and knocked on the door.
"When the snow melts, what does it become?" Manfred's muffled voice asked from the other side of the door. The common are-you-really-who-you-say-you-are question placed between the two of them ever since the master of disguise impersonator, Miklos came and impersonated Mickey and ruined his reputation a little with his friends. Manfred had his own way of being able to tell the difference and this question was the more immediate way to tell. Minnie was also able to tell and made it more obvious by tricking Miklos into getting a tattoo.
"Spring." Mickey replied simply. Manfred then opened the door and his eyes widened at his cousin's attire. Though he stood aside to let his cousin in.
"Mickey Theodore Mouse, where have you been at this hour of the night?" Manfred questioned as he shut the door, in his best impression of Clarabelle Cow stumbling upon something juicy and scandalous.
"Minnie wanted me ta be her bodyguard tonight for a swanky business meeting that turned out to actually be a dinner party of sorts at Alfonzo's." Mickey replied, blushing only because he knew how his cousin would react.
"Wait…Seriously? So does this mean, you and Minnie are back together?" Mickey nodded with a small smile. "Finally! Now we can get over this awkwardness down at the station." Manfred jumped in glee. Then a sudden thought came to him. "Hold the phone, you met Alfonzo? How'd he react to you? And what in Sam Hill is his actual job?"
"He reacted surprisingly well when he saw me, he looked me over as if he was fascinated with my physique. Though he fainted when he found out that I was Minnie's boyfriend, he seemed ta forget it as soon as he woke up, and he's actually a perfumist. Minnie's been trying ta use him ta fund and supply her with fragrances fer a line of scented bows." Mickey explained.
Manfred laughed so hard that he had tears in his eyes. "She would do that!" He finished off his laughter as a chill suddenly went up his spine at one specific tidbit of information. "Wait a tick, he's a perfumist? And he looked you over for your physique? That's kinda creepy."
"Well, he looked me over only 'cause he needed someone ta go into the Amazon ta get an ingredient ta help make the fragrances needed for Minnie's orders of scents fer the bow line that she's workin' on. Guys have apparently been going missing so the team that's down there hasn't gotten the ingredient in a while and they need someone adventurous ta do it, so I volunteered. It can't be that bad." Mickey added.
"Welp, you've certainly been busy digging your grave for yourself. Guys are going missing and you volunteer to go get something that probably ain't really worth the effort. I'm honestly starting to believe I can't leave you alone half the time or else you'll make a really dumb decision like that!" Manfred retorted.
"Well, Poindexter was quite convincing so it ain't entirely my fault, and it's the Amazon Manny, the guys goin' missing probably just got lost, or worse eaten." Mickey defended carefully. He watched curiously as Manfred's ear twitched at the name.
"Poindexter? Our Poindexter? Bartholomew 'doesn't even look like a Bart' Poindexter? Poindexter from High school Poindexter?" Manfred blurted out his guesses.
"Yes, yes, yes, and yes. That Poindexter. He's working for Alfonzo under unfortunate circumstances as his lead perfume making scientist. He couldn't tell me exactly how unfortunate even through our old codes." Mickey confessed, crossing his right ankle over his knee in the chair he sat in while Manfred paced as he listened, though he clearly had something important to say on the matter as a whole.
"Ugh, lovely. Our old friend could be getting paid by a billionaire to be a mad scientist…" Manfred sighed exasperatedly, stopping by his mantle to lean against it and rub his temple. He then thought of an old habit of his cousin's whenever he was with Minnie and decided to remind him of it just in case before he spilled his end of terrible news. "Have you called Minnie yet?"
"Huh? Oh, gosh! No I haven't. That was the original reason I came here. My house is probably out of power and I fergot ta charge my cellphone so I don't even have it with me." Mickey confessed, in a panic.
"Borrow mine." Manfred quipped, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and tossing it to Mickey, who caught it expertly.
"Thanks, pal." Mickey quipped as he dialed Minnie's number. It went to the answering machine of course, but as soon as he was able to say that it was just him did she pick up. He explained to her the whole situation, and carefully worded that Manfred would help him fix the lights in his house with the help of the biggest honking flashlight he ever did see. While she updated him on the weird car across the way. It hadn't moved and she still hadn't heard a car door slam in its direction. Mickey warned her to at least keep the outside lights on, and any alarm system that she had. Then they said their goodbyes and hung up.
"You have no idea, how happy it makes me to hear you two make nice-nice again." Manfred couldn't help but compliment, since he heard the whole conversation, even her end of it. "Though you do realize all this is adding up very creepily right?"
"That depends on what you've been dying ta tell me since I mentioned that I finally met Alfonzo." Mickey retorted lightly. He was curious as to what Manfred had to say, because he doesn't pace around unless it's something big.
"Just keep an open mind and no questions until I'm done, m'k?" Mickey nodded, keeping quiet. "To start, the Chief made me do the undercover work around Alfonzo, since you refused to do it, even though your reasons were understandable. But I was still worried about whether or not the guy working in missing person's finding all those connections to Alfonzo were accurate or not. I'm slowly beginning to think they are, and here's why…No one knew, what his occupation was, so for the start of my undercover work I went to a black market for info. As soon as I mentioned Alfonzo's full name, everyone within hearing distance scattered away from me like I had the plague. So obviously he was a big influence of someone not to mess with. So I thought he was a mob boss or something, I was corrected by one brave soul who actually sold Alfonzo's products, and told me that Alfonzo was a Godsend, mostly for making him rich because of Alfonzo's products, as at least 30% of the profit went to the seller. As it turns out the guy who gave me this," He quickly went over to a side table's drawer and pulled out a small bottle of what looked like perfume and set it on the coffee table in front of Mickey and quickly warned him 'not to sniff it' before continuing. "Said that it was the quickest way to get into someone's pants, and it's getting huge in the sex industry. That," He pointed to the bottle. "Is a bottle of Freslin, and Freslin's base element is found in the Senal gland of sentient beings. It's an attractant, one can be easily attracted to someone and vice versa. It could be strong, weak, anything, as that just depends on where it's manufactured. It's basically a bottle of pheromones turned up to eleven, especially Alfonzo's brand, because he prefers to make them strong. And you, my dear cousin, just confirmed to me that this really is his handiwork since he really is a perfumist." Manfred finished. After a few second he quipped, "Questions are now welcome." And waited patiently for Mickey's reaction.
Mickey was hesitant on speaking as he was taking his time letting it all sink in. He wasn't really sure how to respond, but there was one question that went through him that had to be asked for the sake of the police department's suspicions on Alfonzo. "How dangerous do ya think this stuff is?"
"Truthfully? One whiff of the whole bottle by itself works quicker than chloroform on a rag to knock someone out. But spread it out along skin and one whiff within a three foot radius gets someone attracted to you and aroused by you within seconds regardless of conversation topics." Manfred let it sink in for a solid five minutes before quipping another worry he had with Mickey's side of information. "What's worse is that the Freslin is probably Poindexter's doing since he's working for Alfonzo and everything."
"No, I don't think so." Mickey disagreed. "He let on that he wasn't proud of his job, but I'm sure he was also trying to warn me that Alfonzo's even smarter than he looks. Especially since I asked whether or not ta even trust Alfonzo, though he probably thought I meant should I trust him with Minnie. He said not wholeheartedly, which was enough fer me because Alfonzo acted so flamboyant on the surface."
"Thank goodness for Poindexter then. I'm sorry I doubted him." Manfred amended. Mickey was right, Poindexter would never do anything against their old unwritten code of honor, at least not without good reason. "Did you at least get his number?" Manfred amended.
"Darn tootin' I did." Mickey replied cheerfully.
After Mickey traded off numbers with his cousin, it was high time the two of them got to the bottom of Mickey's darkened house. Manfred really did have a big honking thing of a flashlight, it was so heavy duty it could've been mistaken for a search light, but the important thing was that it helped get Mickey's house lights back on. A fuse had popped on its own so there was no worry for sabotage. Manfred was well prepared and had brought a spare fuse just in case.
"So you're still gonna go through with it, even after all that I just told you?" Manfred asked as he started heading back home across the street.
"I'm doin' it fer the money, Manfred. I'll take the risk of his darker side of business 'cause he seems ta like Minnie enough ta not even consider doing anything out of line ta her, regardless of him crossing the line of professionalism with those business meetings. Besides, what could he possibly do to me?" Mickey countered.
"Look, I don't know much about the manufacturing process of Freslin, but if either of us finds out about it, we probably won't like it. That's just the feeling I get from all of it. Plus, don't forget about his bodyguards, y'know, the ones hidden within a hundred feet in all four cardinal directions of his person at all times. One of which we bumped into that one time and that was technically how we really met Alfonzo." Manfred shot back.
"I forgot about his bodyguards, but I'll still take my chances. I'm gonna earn that money no matter what." Mickey stood his ground.
"It better be a swooning amount to be worth it. What are you gonna do with it anyway?"
"Sorry, pal. I'm only gonna tell ya what I told Minnie." Mickey then smugly put a finger to the side of his nose. "It's a secret."
"Fine, just don't say I didn't warn you when you're running for your life out there in that jungle, rainforest, whatever the heck it is." Manfred rebuffed and tiredly headed back to his own humble abode. "G'night Mickey!" He called over his shoulder.
"G'night, Manny!" Mickey replied over his own shoulder, happy to finally go into a moderately lit house.
He wasn't sure if he'd be able to sleep well, with all this new and creepy information about Alfonzo, even trickier would be hiding it from Minnie. He wasn't good at lying, especially to her. The best thing he could do to keep it from her is try to forget it in the first place. He kind of had to anyway, since he had to keep a straight face when he met up with Alfonzo again the day after the next, and act normal. Easier said than done.
Still adventure is around the corner so stay tuned!