Perry woke up back at home, in his pet bed.

It took him a moment to remember what had happened the night before.

"Good, you're awake." A platypus with bright blue eyes said. She was standing in front of him.

Perry squinted. "Penny?"

"Hey, little bro. Man, you were frozen solid. It took an hour with the hairdryer on high to defrost you. Good thing I was taking a walk in the woods last night."
Perry rubbed his head. "You're not in the zoo?"
"Not at the moment, no. I was actually coming to visit you."

The TV blared in the other room.

"I must have forgotten to turn it off." Perry stood up.

"No, that's my son, Paris. I told him he could watch something. Is that okay?"

"That's fine. Wait… you have a son?"

"Yeah. He's only a week old."

"Should you be monitoring the television in case he changes the channel?"

"Nah."

"And now," Said the TV. "A movie that was so gruesome it had to be rated higher than R- even higher than X! It's so gruesome it's been banned in thirty-seven states and three continents! Presenting the new Z-rated movie!"

Penny ran into the living room. "Paris, turn that off right now!"

Perry followed.

Paris was sitting on the floor, chewing on the remote.

"We don't chew on things." Penny pulled it out from his mouth. She switched the channel to a program with a dancing pink sheep.

"Moo." Paris said.

"By the way, you should probably get to work." Penny pointed at the clock.

Perry shook his head.

"Why not?"

"I quit."

"Oh." Penny didn't meet his gaze. "Okay then."

"You don't think I should have quit, do you?"

"No. I don't, actually. You're like the pride of the agency." Penny said. "As a matter of fact, you're listed as top field agent on the O.W.C.A internet."

"I just couldn't take it anymore. Monogram was yelling at me too much."

Penny shook her head.

"But on a lighter note, I destroyed my least-favorite clown toy in the dishwasher."

"Say the ABC's with me!" Said the pink sheep on the TV. "A… B…"

"L… K… 3…. R…" Said Paris.

"I'd better take Paris back home to the zoo." Penny said.

"That's fine. Thanks for rescuing me."

"No problem. Come on, Paris."

"Mommy!" Paris reached for Penny.

Penny picked him up.

"You're not mad, are you?" Perry asked.

"No. It's your choice. I just think that… you shouldn't have left. They need you."

"If Monogram didn't want me to leave, he would have told me. But when I quit, all he said was 'Fine'."

Paris stuck his paw in his mouth and started drooling on it.

"They need you."

"I'll keep that in mind." Perry opened the door for his sister.

"Bye-bye." Said Paris.

Perry closed the door. The dancing sheep on the television was still rambling on about sharing with others.

He felt uneasy, like something weird was going to happen.

Perry was eating cereal when the doorbell rang.

He stood up drowsily. He wasn't fully awake. He'd forgotten to get coffee after it had run out. Perry practically ran on the stuff.

He opened the door and gave the visitor a tired stare. "Yes?"

"Hi hi! I'm really sorry to bother you, but… I just need some work." A small rabbit said. She was a little taller than Palmer, white, with a pink nose and pretty blue eyes.

"I can't pay you anything."

"I don't work for pay, I work for experience." The rabbit said. "My name is Denise."

"I know a rabbit named Dennis."

"Any work at all, I can do it." Denise said. "Don't judge me by my size or my age or anything. You look tired."

"I didn't have any coffee left."

Denise brightened. "I could go buy you some. I could even make it. If you promise to let me work. I can help you with anything. It'll just be for a month or so."

"Fine. Make sure you get the Caramel Deluxe Chocolicious brand."

"Thank you!" Denise saluted him. "I'll be back! And I'll be back with coffee!" She gave him a huge hug and sped away.

Perry went back inside. Denise was right next to him.

"The store's that way. As in out of the house."

Denise laughed. "I know, I'm sorry. I forgot I actually had the same brand you liked in my bag. I had it all along. I can make it now."

Perry raised an eyebrow. "You had that exact brand in your bag?"

"Of course. Caramel Chocolicious is often requested, because it's so yummy." Denise bounced over to the coffee maker and started pouring some coffee beans in. "You can do whatever while I make this. It'll be ready in a bit."

Perry started to get suspicious. "What are you gaining from this?"

"I told you, experience. I need to learn to work."

"Isn't that your parents' job? To teach you?"

"My mother doesn't work. I had to teach myself. But I can do anything you need, anything at all. Just holler." She smiled cutely.

"How… OLD are you?"

"A little under a month. But I can't help what time I was born, so let's not let that be an issue."

"Okay… I guess."

"Thank you." Denise handed him a cup of coffee. "And there you are."

"Thanks."
"Not a problem. Anything else I can do?"

"Nah, I'm good."

"Pinky! Did you hear? Perry's gone."

"I heard. He told me."

"Oh." Devon turned his head to the side in confusion. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know." Pinky put down the paper crane he was making.

"Is he okay?"

"I don't know."

"Well, you could call him and find out."

"I don't really want to talk to him right now."

Devon looked sad. "Don't get mad at him for quitting. He was having a really hard time. He could use a friend more than ever right now, I bet."

"I went over there. He didn't want me."

"He just kicked you out?"

"Well…" Pinky hesitated. "No… he was happy to see me at first. Then we got into this fight. I just told him that I thought he should… well… not… throw his whole life away. You should have seen him. He wasn't happy. He was all alone."
"No wonder he was upset, then. He already knows he's not happy. I think all he wanted from you was company."

"You're probably right. Still, he shouldn't have yelled at me."

"Monogram shouldn't have gotten on him in the first place. Perry always was really messed up. He's been that way ever since his friend Terrence died. He's hardly ever happy. He just jokes so much it's hard to remember that."

"We could fix his lair."

"We could."
"I bet that would cheer him up." Pinky smiled a little. "We could try."

Perry wondered when the boys would get back from their trip. He really missed them.

He would have been lonely by now, except Denise was here. The only thing was, Denise only appeared whenever something needed to be done: Answering the door, cleaning something up or making something. Otherwise, she would vanish. It was really annoying. Perry wanted more time to talk to her so he could figure out what the heck she was really doing there.

Perry sat down on the couch. "Denise? You there?"

Denise came out of the kitchen. "Yep. You need something?"

"Just… stay in here for a while." Perry turned on the television. "It gets too quiet in here."

Denise nodded. She sat down on the floor and looked around the room. "Were you ever a member in the O.W.C.A?"

Perry stared at her. "What?"

"No need to freak. My brother told me all about it. His friend spilled to him after he was fired. His friend had his memory erased, but they never found out about my brother. I just kind of suspected you'd been trained, because you're smart."

"Yeah. I have been."

"So are you a rogue now or something?"

Perry laughed a little. "No. I'd never try to bring the agency down. I just quit."

"No hard feelings toward it?"

"None."

The doorbell rang. Denise leapt up. "I'll get it."

The television was playing a Christmas movie. It was a while away, but apparently the channel wasn't aware.

"Come on, Holly, let's help Santa save Christmas!"

"Okay, Ginger! Come on, Mistletoe!"

"Arf arf!"

"Ha ha! Mistletoe, that's not Santa's sleigh! That's our sled! Hey, here comes our friend Nick!"

Perry shook his head and switched the television off.

Denise came back with an envelope. She handed it to Perry. "It's from some guy named Percy."

Perry shrugged and tore the letter open. No doubt Penny had told their father about Perry quitting. He wished everyone would just shut up about the whole thing.

Perry,

Your sister has told me that you quit the agency. I know you've been having some trouble with Monogram- believe me, EVERYONE has trouble with Monogram- but I also know you're having a little bit of trouble with yourself. It's hard to not be able to understand what you want.

I remember when I rebelled against Monogram. I actually wound up doing something I'm not too proud of… I killed three agents. One of them was a new recruit. I sat around feeling sorry for myself too long after I remembered all of this, and I nearly killed you as well. I'm not saying you'll do the same. I just want you to know that I was always so proud that you stuck with your agency no matter what.

I happen to know first-hand that Monogram is unhappy because you left. I also know that there weren't any tacos in the lunch menu this past month, and that they're coming back next week.

You're a great agent. The agency won't be the same without you. But it's your choice. You can go back, or you can stay away. Whichever one you choose, make sure it's what you really want.

Perry put the letter down. He didn't actually understand it all that well. It didn't make much sense.

But he knew what he was going to do. He stood up and put on his fedora.

He was suddenly grabbed from behind and tied up. His attacker dragged him toward the basement and down the steps.

Perry was too surprised to say anything. He struggled against the ropes as he bounced down the stairs.

His attacker wrapped a loose end of the rope around a wooden pole. Then it turned him around to face it.

"Denise? Why…"

Denise shrugged. "I was adopted by a former O.W.C.A agent. A rogue. He trained me. He'll be here pretty soon to collect you."

"Adopted? You said- your brother- you just wanted work!"

Denise smiled. "I lied."