Monty's Master – Part 9
Monty was awakened by the intense sunbeams pouring directly into his face and the sound of hurried footsteps circling the room.
He rubbed his eyes, pushing the blanket aside. Perry was already fully dressed, looking as perfect as usual in a beige Achkan as he stuffed some sandwiches into his backpack.
Monty yawned. "Have you been up long?"
"About two hours," Perry said, pulling the zipper.
"So what's today's plan?" Monty asked, groping for his slippers under the bed.
"First things first, gather your things," Perry said, pointing to the chair where Monty had hung his dirty clothes the night before, one of the socks still lying on the floor below.
Monty groaned.
"Or a mad scientist could steal them to extract your sweat and make evil clones of you."
"Ha ha, very funny, Agent P," said Monty, rolling his eyes.
Perry frowned.
"Wait... you're not kidding."
"Just do as I say and I'll meet you in the lobby," Perry said, brushing his hair back before turning to leave.
The lobby was even more crowded than the night before, but there was no sign of Doctor Bringdown.
Monty passed a luggage cart, wondering for a moment if there was any chance the Doctor might have hidden in the large flower-patterned wheeled suitcase. But he had to hope that Perry's plan was working and that he still wasn't aware that they were after him.
Perry sat in a bamboo armchair, bent over a small table where he was thumbing through a book that looked suspiciously like one of the volumes they had found in Doctor Bringdown's apartment, checking a Sanskrit dictionary every few seconds.
Monty sighed. There must have been a faster way to do this. He took a quick look around. A smirk spread across his lips as he turned back to Perry.
"Psst, don't look now, but I think the pretty girl at the front desk might be into you," Monty whispered, pointing to the young woman behind the counter who quickly looked away from them, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I don't really see how that's my problem," Perry muttered, jotting something down in a notebook.
Monty looked at him in shock.
"Oh come on! She's probably here all day! She must have heard or seen something, don't you think?"
Perry looked up and raised an eyebrow.
"And she certainly knows the place. Maybe she can help us find out what Bringdown is looking for!"
Perry let out a breath. "Alright," he said, closing the book. "But you let me do the talking."
They waited their turn for an old man with a polka-dot suitcase who had come to return his room key.
"Hi," said Perry who was all smiles again.
The receptionist quickly looked up from the register.
"Oh hi!" she piped up, putting her pen down. "You must be new here. I didn't see you when you came."
"Yeah, we got in late last night," Monty intervened. "I'm Michael, and this is... um..."
"Steven, Steven Platt, nice to meet you," said Perry quickly, holding out his hand.
"Steven Platt, for real?" Monty mouthed, but Perry ignored him.
The receptionist eagerly shook his hand.
"And I am Aashritha! So what brings you here?"
"Well, we're ancient history students, so this is more of a research trip," Perry said.
"Yeah, old Steve here is my mentor," Monty said, putting his arm around Perry's shoulders. "Such a cool guy! Real smart too! Seriously, sometimes it feels like he can read your thoughts, but no one ever knows what's going on in that brain of his!"
Aashritha giggled.
Perry shot Monty a sharp look, then turned back to her, clearing his throat.
"Yeah, but I'm afraid we're not very familiar with the language just yet," he said. "We were wondering if maybe you could put us in touch with a tour guide."
"Oh, well, we got Shawn, but he usually takes the senior travel groups, and perhaps you'd prefer someone who can keep up with you. Hmm... I know! Today I got the morning shift and I also happen to know a little something about the temples and shrines around here. I could give you the tour myself if you like!"
"Oh, that's alright, there's no need—"
"Of course! We'd love to!"
Perry scowled at him, but Monty just winked.
"That's great! Then see you at the exit in an hour! I should be done by then!"
"Well then, thank you. We sure could use a friend out here," Perry said, articulating the word friend in particular, and giving Monty a sideways glance.
He continued to glare at him all the way to their table. "Alright, what was that all about?"
"What?" Monty asked with an innocent smile. "We are one step closer! And besides, you just made yourself a date! You're welcome!"
Perry drew some air through his nose and did not release it until after a very long time.
"You know you're coming with, right?"
"Oh, man, and be the third wheel?" Monty asked, dropping his arms.
"Didn't you use to have a tricycle when you were little?" Perry asked as he gathered his books.
"Actually, it was a unicycle, don't you remember? Dad wanted me to start early."
"Well, guess that was never really an option to begin with, so wear something light because we're going out!" Perry said, handing him a tube of sunscreen as he walked away.
Monty read the label. It was explicitly intended for sensitive, light skin, which didn't make much sense considering Perry had that healthy kind of natural tan that people who went to the salon usually paid a fortune trying to recreate.
Had he bought it just for him? Only a second earlier he looked like he was about to kick him.
He turned around. Aashritha met his eyes and waved at him over a large package that had just been delivered.
Monty smiled and waved back at her.
Perry sure was good at giving mixed signals.