Monty's Master – Part 17

Perry flapped his eyes open. For a moment he thought the Major had returned to check on him, but the footsteps approaching were far too light and clearly much too swift.

From his position, he could see a large wheel scratching the polished floor, which only made him feel dizzy. It was then that he decided he had had enough hand standing for one day, and he jumped back to his feet on the second wooden post. He grabbed onto a rope dangling from the ceiling, then swung over a pool full of inflatable sharks (Major Monogram had told him he wasn't prepared for the real deal yet), and, after flipping through a metal hoop, he landed gracefully in front of the little boy who dropped his unicycle.

"Whoa! That was so cool!" he said in a high voice, clapping his tiny hands together.

Perry watched him closely. He remembered now. Even though the Major sometimes told him that he thought of him as a son, Perry already had a dad and he was well aware that the Major already had a son. He had seen Monty Monogram before, though he was usually half-hidden behind his father's legs. He hadn't thought much of him then.

"Now look at me! Look what I can do!"

Monty mounted the unicycle with practiced ease, outstretched his arms, and stepped on the pedals. He held on for about two seconds, but one wrong turn sent him flying forward.

Perry gritted his teeth. He expected him to start crying at any moment. Candace always cried when she fell, ever since she started walking, and Monty wasn't that much older.

But Monty just sat on the floor, twitching his lips into a small pout and glaring at his unicycle. He appeared relatively unharmed except for a small bruise in the center of his forehead.

Perry dug into his pockets. Good thing he always carried an extra Band-Aid.

He knelt down next to him and peeled off the paper. Monty looked up.

"That's no sticker."

"Huh?" Perry blinked and lifted his arm, glancing at all the colorful stars, smiley faces, and various wild animals covering almost every inch of his skin. Only that morning he had received a big blue elephant which he had stuck to his forehead. That was the Major's own reward system for every time Perry mastered a new move, but he wasn't aware how much Monty knew.

"I'll never get one," said Monty, pulling his knees up to his chest and burying his face in them. "I just can't get it right!"

Perry frowned. He didn't know why, but at that moment nothing seemed more important than to reassure him.

"They're not all stickers. Look!" he said, pushing the hair out of his face and pointing to the blue Band-Aid on his nose bridge.

Monty lifted his head and sniffed a little. "You… really?"

Perry nodded and moved close enough to gently stick the bandage to his forehead. "I get hurt too sometimes but I always get back up. That's what being a secret agent is really all about!"

Monty rubbed his eyes and scrambled to his feet as if to prove his point.

"So you think I can be a secret agent too?"

Perry slowly rose from the ground. "I think..." He glanced back at the obstacle course, then back into Monty's twinkling eyes. He clenched his still-numb fist at his side and said, "I think you can be anything you want to be."

Monty gave him a big toothy grin and bent down to pick up his unicycle. Perry held onto it until he was back in the saddle and didn't move from his side.

Monty looked at him and Perry told him exactly what he had told Candace, "Don't worry, I'm not letting you fall this time!"

Monty smiled and hit the pedals.

When Perry found himself lying on his back on the cold stone floor and gazed up at the dark ceiling, he realized he was no longer in his ten-year-old body and he could only think of one thing.

"Monty!" He jumped up and rushed to the teenager sitting down against the wall, cupping his cheeks in his hands and tipping his head from side to side, inspecting his face. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"Uh, ca'm down, Ajent P," Monty managed to say between his squished cheeks. "'m a'right."

Perry stared into his eyes until his vision was no longer foggy, then he let his hands fall to his lap and sank to his knees, taking a deep breath.

He slowly lifted his head and took in his surroundings. They appeared to be trapped in a small chamber with carved walls and little light, but what really caught his eye was the white stone coffin in front of the statue of a young woman holding a fragile-looking flute to her lips.

Perry noticed a half-empty water bottle he'd knocked over in his panic, right next to a slightly scorched brown combat boot. He realized that his ankle was clumsily wrapped in one of Monty's extra shirts.

"Sorry, that's all I could find," Monty said, reading the question from his face.

Perry didn't have the heart to tell him that he had a whole roll of bandages in his backpack. He was actually surprised that they had been allowed to keep their belongings at all. He even still had the communicator on his wrist, but he supposed they were out of signal.

At least the wet, cold fabric offered some relief. He pulled himself closer to the wall, letting his shoulders slump with an exhausted sigh.

Monty winced. "Are you ok?"

"I've had worse," Perry said.

But given the way the last bit of color drained from Monty's face, he had probably said the wrong thing.

Monty looked down at his knees and clutched at his gray trousers.

"I'm sorry, Agent P!" he burst out. "You got hurt and it's all because of me!"

Perry blinked, trying to process his words. "Monty, it's okay. You didn't know what was going to happen."

"But you said a secret agent should always be one step ahead!"

Perry glared at the floor. "I should have told you I had a bad feeling from the start," he murmured.

"You're just saying that... Agent P, I've done nothing but screw up ever since we left Danville!"

Perry shook his head. "Those were all rookie mistakes. You're still learning, and I should have told you what I was thinking instead of letting you figure it out yourself."

Monty was silent for a couple of seconds, after which he said in a voice barely above a whisper, "I know dad put you up to this."

Perry raised his eyebrows, feeling his muscles tense.

Monty buried his face in his knees and suddenly he was the same distressed five-year-old. "I know you like to work alone, but I was really hoping I could be more than just another mission to you."

They both fell as silent as the grave they were in. Perry stretched his legs and stared off into the distance. "My siblings..."

Monty jerked his head up. Whatever he expected to hear him say this certainly wasn't it.

"They don't need me as much as they used to anymore," Perry continued, turning to face him. "And then you came around. You needed someone to guide you and I... I wasn't sure what to do." He took his hat out of his pocket and started fidgeting with it. "I wish I had treated you more like a brother, but I never let my siblings see this side of me. There was just so much that could go wrong, that I just... I'm sorry."

"Perry, I..." Monty mumbled though it was clear he was at a loss for words. "Does that mean you still want to be my master?"

Perry smirked. "I know we're both new to this, but I never give up that easily."

Monty smiled too, but it didn't last long. "But what if Bringdown was right? What if I'm only here because of dad?"

"Your father never wanted you to be a spy, you know that. You're here because you chose to be and you've already proven you've got what it takes."

"You really think so?"

Perry was prepared to confirm, but a slight sting flashing through his leg caused him to rethink his words.

"Monty, this is no summer job."

Monty raised his eyebrows.

"You have to understand what you're getting yourself into and that sometimes you're going to have to step on your heart and do what must be done," Perry said and a dark shadow crossed his face. He grabbed him by the shoulders and looked him dead in the eye. "And when I tell you to stay put, you absolutely have to listen to me, you understand?"

Monty nodded resolutely, "You have my word!"

Perry pulled back, feeling a weight lift off his chest. "Then I'm willing to give you another chance if you agree to do the same for me."

Monty seemed just as excited as when they had first been assigned as partners, and the only thing preventing him from hugging Perry this time around was his injured leg.

"You got yourself a deal!"

Perry smiled and stared at the ceiling for a moment. "Hey, are you hungry?"

Monty perked up at the offer.

"Hey, not bad!" he said a few minutes later, after biting into a grilled cheese sandwich.

"It's my specialty," Perry said.

Monty gaped at him as though that was the most interesting thing he'd learned about him all day.

"You know, I'm pretty sure your siblings still need you," he said.

Perry stopped chewing and glanced down at the leg which was now safely wrapped in a clean bandage.

"Yeah, maybe," he said only half-heartedly, taking another bite.

Monty nudged him playfully, but his swallow went dry the moment he laid eyes on the white coffin.

"Um, it's not wrong to assume that the Escape Master himself has a plan to get us out of here, right? It's just that I never imagined I'll end up roommates with some two-thousand-year-old dead girl."

Perry tapped his chin. "Just give me a minute."

But it didn't even take that long for a stone door to slide aside and a blue walrus head with curled tusks to poke in.

Perry and Monty both jumped to their feet.

The man took off his mask and peered inside.

"Flipper?" they asked in unison.

But the look of shock on Monty's face was soon replaced by one of absolute disgust, and he immediately went into a fighting stance.

"You really got the nerve to show your face! Did Bringdown send you?"

Perry stepped toward him and put his hand over his clenched fist. Monty looked up. Perry shook his head and Monty exhaled, letting his hand flop to his side.

"Flipper is no traitor. Bringdown and the brothers betrayed Flipper. Flipper has come to your rescue."

"Huh, really?" Monty asked, turning back to Perry. "Did you know he was going to do this?"

"No, but his timing couldn't have been more perfect," Perry said, glancing back at the princess statue. "I think I have a plan." He then turned to them with a smile. "Would you like to hear it?"

"You don't have to ask me twice," said Monty, and even Flipper came over with a curious look in his eyes.