You arrive at the pet shop, and of course it had to be during the worst heat wave on record for the past decade at least. Well, you assume you can use that to your advantage. Your body isn't the most attractive but it can turn heads nevertheless! On the beach, more than one guy notices! A revealing blouse with an incredible cleavage and short shorts, very short shorts, with a bikini with tropical motifs teasingly peaking out from her clothes as you use them as your undergarments should do the trick! You add plenty of bright makeup, flip-flops and tropical earrings to boot. Now you need to act a complete ditz so the owner shall not feel suspicious and you can snoop around discreetly. Okay, now, on to the investigation.
You enter the pet shop. It's well-,lit and furnished abundantly. Toys for dogs. For cats. For birds. Grains for rodents of every kind, it seems. Cages, leashes, tanks, gravel, kitty litter,... Looks like every pet brand in the world is represented. But... Where the actual animals? You jump as someone speaks behind you.
"May I help you?"
You jump and turn to see a tall man, skinny, with sleek hair combed back and hands with fingers like a pianist's.
"I... Um..."
Damn! Why are you stammering, all of a sudden?
"Do you wish for accessories for your little darling at home?"
"No, I came for a pet. A nice little pet," you answer, placing a finger on your cheek in a feather-brained way. "A dog. A little dog I can put in my purse and give little bows and a little pink collar. I like pink."
There! That should lower his suspicions.
"I see," he smiles. "But if I can offer you pink bows and leashes for your dog, I fear I cannot propose an actual dog. You see, I cater to professionals that inquire to have pets for zoos or indeed conservation parks. And naturally legal ones. Otherwise, I sell pet food and objects that can help the more usual owner. You cab browse for dog accessories, though. Would you like that?"
"Well..."
Shoot! You had completely forgotten that this store sold only live exotic animals. Damn! Now what do you do with you stupid dog story? You're stuck with it! He'll take you for a mindless deetz all right! But to what use if you can’t snoop around the place outside the dog aisles? Unless...
You twirl a lock of hair absentmindedly and pretend to think for a few seconds. He continues smiling at you. He's patient with idiots, that's undeniable.
"You see, sir, since I can't get a dog, I was hoping for a nice little bird. You know, the really pretty colorful kind. Do you have any of that?"
"Indeed, what species might satisfy you? Are you here on the behalf of a zoo, or an animal park?"
"Yeah. I'm here for a zoo. I'd like to see if you have any flamingoes."
"Not at the present. You need just ask. But I can show you the other birds we have so you can decide if you wish for something other than flamingoes."
"Yes, that would be great! Can I see the birdies?"
"They are in a specific room, where there's less noise so the poor animals don't get frightened. Then employees of the zoos come to pick them up as fast as possible."
"Cool! Can I see that?" you say, not forgetting to play apparently absentmindedly with the straps of your bikini for emphasis.
"Naturally, young lady," he smiled. "Please follow me."
Yes! Mission accomplished! You'd pretend to be interested in the birds and ask questions while you'll look around. The backrooms! Where the seedy business happened! Awesome! You'd become a hero and famous! The guy totally believed you were an idiot and he was letting his guard down.
When you both enter the room, the birds became agitated, but not more so than when you did.
"Ooh! You've got parrots!" you exclaim at the red and blue birds.
"Indeed. And cockatoos, Tahitian parakeets, Polynesian species, Hawaiian birds and New Caledonian crows, along with more Northern species."
There were falcons and a bald eagle so yeah, it made sense. You dart your eyes around, hoping to see other doors leading elsewhere but you do not see any. Suddenly all the birds beat their wings and shout out. Then abruptly someone grabs your head and a cloth gets pressed to your nose and mouth. Already your vision gets blurry and you start sinking to your knees.
"And soon a pretty little toucan," John whispers in your ear.
When the young woman was sleeping for sure, Mr. John opened the trapdoor. That silly girl had looked everywhere except under her feet. Not that it was easy to see in the first place. And this girl was just a lousy detective. Worse one he'd ever seen. A waste as human being. Hopefully she'd make a better bird. Certainly, even. It's not like it would be hard for her to be a better being as a bird. And he had received an order from a bird sanctuary that would not mind a few southern species, toucan included. Mr. John carried the girl through the trapdoor, down stairs and put her in a cage. He'd inject her with the serum a bit later. The other half-transformed people in their own cages backed away or stopped uttering any sounds as he came into the room. They all had beaks and feathers. Whether the mind remained after the transformation was debatable. Mr John had several rooms like that and each led to different 'pet projects', in all senses of the word. There was a canine room, a feline room, a reptilian room and a few others. It allowed for easy sorting. Oh, all these people would became wild animals, all to go to good preservation and wildlife institutions, all to keep precious species alive. Humans were too numerous and these wild beasts too few. It made sense to stabilize the balance. The pet food and commodities above were just a front and an extra way to make money. And to make pets happy, of course. He stripped the young woman from her clothes. She'd be covered in feathers and won't need them anymore soon. He did not do anything untowards because Mr Smith just wasn't that depraved. He was an asexual, moreover. Yes, her becoming a toucan was quite appropriate. He had thought about it as soon as he saw she was a fraud, what with her exotic getup and her horrible undercover acting. Yes, his work benefitted everyone, really.