Part 7 of 18
A bit later
Richard is leaning over the back of the front seat and urging Johnny on in the car chase, giving advice and telling him when to brake and when to floor it! "This is almost as much fun as the Guadeloupe Demolition Derby I once attended years ago with Camille! How thrilling, how exciting, how…"
He is just as aghast as Angus when the car sputters to a juddering halt by the roadside. The object of the chase rolls back to meet them with such stealth that Richard has only time for a stifled oath before he dives to the floor and covers his head.
The resultant spy-banter does not hint at the Russian spy's awareness of a third person in the red car. Richard holds his breath and listens most furiously. If there is a clue to be found in any of this, he is the man to find it!
When the woman buzzes off (it does indeed sound like a nose hair trimmer!), Richard counts to ten then pops back up, smiling and pleased with himself, "Whew, that was close! So what's next?"
"Next?" Johnny sighs. "Next, I keep my date with the femme fatale and you two earn your keep by impersonating one another. Oh, and Bough? It IS your duty to keep the car gassed up."
As Angus looks at Johnny in wounded silence, Richard leaps right in, "Johnny! I was right there when Angus asked you about gas and you said…"
Johnny squinches his eyes shut and waves a peevish hand, "Yes, yes, yes! All right!" He looks at the two men, so alike in many ways and yet so different, and sighs. "Yes, Richard, you're right. Sorry, Angus. Richard has obviously come to trust your judgement implicitly and so should I. From now on, you do whatever you need to keep me on the straight and narrow. All right?"
Angus smiles, nods then turns to look back at Richard. He mouths 'Thank you' just moments before Johnny groans and says, "Nothing for it, lads. We'll have to push the car from here."
And, by 'we', he means 'not me'.
At the Hotel de Paris, night
A red car rolls silently out of the warm night and up to the front entrance. Two quite lovely profiles are pushing if anyone is lucky enough to notice… lucky enough to notice and observant enough to appreciate.
Angus goes into the bar with Johnny and then retraces his steps, picks up Richard in the lobby and together they search the woman's room. Angus is amazed at Richard's innate ability to find whatever there is to find. Later, in the bar, he tells Johnny, "He has an uncanny knack, sir. You'll never guess what he found!"
Angus is a bit disappointed. He'd snuck up on Johnny like an invisible zephyr and Johnny hadn't even noticed! Well, he'll try the move on Celeste when he gets home. It never hurts to keep your spouse on her toes! Just when he is finishing up his report, he feels a presence at his back and turns to find Richard has joined them, his mustache firmly in place and his hat pulled down over his eyes.
Johnny's eyes light up suddenly, "Gentlemen, may I offer you some nuts?" Moments later he is alone in the bar once more, shaking his head, Oh, I am a very bad man! What comes over me, I wonder? His guilt finally overcomes his puckishness and he goes to their room and knocks but there is no answer.
Unbeknownst to him, they do not even have a bathroom. They are downstairs, taking turns splashing water onto their faces as they gasp in response to whatever atomic hell Johnny had tricked them into eating! Only a united raid on the kitchen to procure a bottle of milk can calm the fire in their mouths. As they go to their room, they both pant and vow retribution!
What with the full day and the shocking assault on their taste buds, they are asleep within moments of their heads hitting the sole pillow and so… miss all the fun.
End – part 7