Mutt Williams and the Wrath of the Golden Goddess

Mutt hopped off the train feeling guilty. He knew he’d scared Lily with his speech about following orders, but he wasn’t about to watch some innocent girl die just because she was too proud to listen to a “greaser”. He himself was completely unsure about his own competency at adventuring. His father had just thrown a hat at him and said, “Make me proud, kid.” What the hell was that supposed to mean? Make him proud? By what? Putting himself and this girl in mortal danger several times, then barely escaping with their lives, let alone the treasure? -Most likely-, Mutt said to himself. He heard a low, feminine voice mutter, “Jesus Christ!”

Mutt turned and saw Lily struggling with her bag. He sighed, then walked over to her. He picked the bag up and slung it over his shoulder. “Why did you bring so much stuff?” he asked her.

She glared at him through wisps of hair and replied, “I only brought one bag.”

“Yeah, but it’s a *big* bag.” Indeed, Mutt himself had brought nothing more than the bag he kept on his bike. The bike itself he’d left with Indy for safe-keeping. The bag she’d brought, however, was a huge army tote, and felt like it was filled with rocks.

Lily gave him a withering look, which he smiled at, then the two of them headed down the road. “Um,” Lily said, her heels clicking as she hurried to keep up, “are you sure you can carry that bag like that? It’s really heavy.”

Mutt almost laughed. Should he tell her he could bench-press about 200 pounds, last time he checked? No, he’d sound like he was bragging. He knew he didn’t look like an exceptionally strong young man, being only about 5 feet, seven inches, and she probably wouldn’t believe him. “It’s fine,” he said instead, and just kept walking. He listened to Lily’s heels on the cobblestones, then said, “Do you have anything to change into that might be a little more… practical?”

“What - what do you mean?” Her voice was further behind him than he’d thought it would be, and it was a little breathless. Mutt stopped, and turned around. Lily was twenty feet back, struggling to get through the crowds. Whereas people moved out of the way for Mutt, being a white man, Lily was just another girl to these Indians, and they weren’t budging. Some where even grabbing her clothes, trying to slow her down. Just then, a large man with a pot-belly and grease all down his front caught a hold of Lily and grinned.

“Who’s this pretty all by herself?” he leered in Hindi.

Mutt dropped the bags and darted to her side. He hit the man squarely across the jaw, sending Lily to the ground. If the man had been smaller, the blow would have knocked him on his back. As it was, he staggered several steps. Then, he glared and Mutt and yelled in Hindi, “What’s the matter with you, son of a pig?!”

“Stay the hell away from my wife!” Mutt yelled in English, then again in Hindi. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lily glare at him. He didn’t care; no one would listen to him if they felt he had no claim on her. And since her hair was so vibrant, and a completely different color than his, no one would believe she was his sister.

“You should put a leash on her,” the man muttered. “And cover her skin. Your wife looks like a harlot.”

Mutt raised his eyebrows and took a step forward. “You wanna say that again?” he asked.

The man just sneered and walked away.

Mutt turned to Lily, who was still sitting on the ground, looking shocked. He held out a hand to her. She took it, silently, and let him pull her to her feet. “You *have* to stay with me, Lily,” he told her. “This isn’t America, and it isn’t England. Women don’t wander around on their own here unless they’re…” he hesitated.

“Unless they’re what?” Lily asked, still sounding a bit numb.

“Working,” Mutt finished lamely. He didn’t want to insult her, but he wanted her to understand the seriousness of what could have happened. “Unless they’re prostitutes.”

“What?!” Lily cried, drawing stares from the passersby. “Is THAT what he thought?”

Mutt sighed, and took Lily by the elbow. Leading her back to where he’d dropped their bags, he said, “Around here, women just don’t do things on their own. He thought you were… for sale. Or rent, I should say.” He stopped. The bags were gone. “Mother fuck…” he sighed. Turning to Lily, he said, “You have money, right?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“Because while I was defending your virginity, someone was stealing our stuff.” He saw her blush. Aha! He’d guessed right! He felt irrationally proud of himself, but continued on indifferently, “So, we’re going to need more supplies.”

Lily sighed. “Yeah, and you’re right, I should get some more appropriate clothes.”

“Okay, pigeon, let’s head out.”

“I’m not your -” Lily began, but Mutt cut her off.

“Look, honey, I’m going to call you whatever I damn well please. If it bothers you, then just don’t answer to it, okay?” He pulled her forward, keeping her close to his side, guiding her through the streets. Luckily, Mutt had a photographic memory, and had managed to find a map while on the train. He knew exactly where he was going.

After about half an hour, he found a small store selling clothes. He turned to Lily. “You don’t speak Hindi, do you?”

“No.”

“Okay, well, just let me do all the talking, okay? Here women are seen and not heard.” He smiled at the look of annoyance on her face. Then, without warning, he pulled her inside.

It took him several minutes to persuade the shop-owner to serve them, as he also thought that Lily was a hooker. Finally, he managed to convince the man that they had been robbed, and Lily had been left in her nightclothes. The man took pity on them and called for his wife, a large, pleasant woman who’s veil couldn’t hide her smile. Mutt asked her to find Lily something she could travel in, preferable trousers. She took Lily into a back room, and for the twenty minutes, Mutt leaned against a wall and waited.

He stared down at the cloth-covered floor. The last two days were a blur, and Mutt’s situation was just starting to sink in. There he was, in a foreign country, with a cold, condescending girl, in search of something he himself didn’t really think existed. He sighed, and scuffed his boot on the ground. What a mess. He should have just stayed in Fiji.

While Mutt was wallowing, Lily came out from behind the curtain. He heard someone clear their throat. Mutt looked up… and froze.

They had dressed Lily in the only English things they had: a pair of riding pants, high black boots, and a men’s white shirt with a blue vest. The riding pants were incredibly tight, almost like stockings, and the shirt didn’t hide so much as accentuate the fact that she was a woman. Mutt’s mother, Mary, wore men’s clothes all the time, but they *never* made her look this… womanly.

Mutt cleared his throat. “Well, um - “ his voice cracked. He cleared his throat again and continued, “Well… what do you think?”

Lily sighed, putting her hands on her hips. “I think I look ridiculous. I mean, this stuff is comfortable, I suppose, but I look silly. None of it was made for me, and the way it hangs on me is just - “

“Stunning,” Mutt interjected without thinking. He saw a look of shock, and a little suspicion, flicker over Lily’s face. He turned quickly to the shop-owner and said in Hindi, “We’ll take it.”

He moved up very close to Lily, who immediately looked nervous. “What?” she asked.

Mutt gave her a commiserating look. Geez, was this girl distrustful! “Um, I need the money,” he said to her. “This shop-keeper seems like a nice guy, but he still probably won’t take money from you.”

“Oh!” Lily whispered. She put her hand in her pocket, then gasped.

“Oh, Jesus, what now?” Mutt asked.

Lily looked around, then back at Mutt. “My money was in my bag,” she said, so quietly he had to lean in to hear her. He was almost distracted by the smell of her hair, but what she said sank in before he could register the scent

“Mother fuck,” Mutt said again, drawing a look of annoyance from Lily. He turned and looked back at the shop-keeper and his wife, who were watching them with big, expectant smiles. He turned back to Lily. He really didn’t want to do this, but they pretty much had no choice. “When I say ‘go’” he said quietly, “we’re gonna run, okay?”

Lily frowned. “Or…” she stepped around him and towards the woman. She bowed, then removed a ring from her left ring finger. She handed it to the woman, who fanned herself in shock and happiness. Lily rejoined Mutt, and continued, “We could do *that*.”

Mutt took a deep breath and released it, slowly. “I can’t believe I just got shown up by an egghead,” he said.

Lily rolled her eyes, then picked up the bag carrying her old clothes, and headed out the door. Mutt followed, trying not to stare too hard at her ass in those tight pants. Once out in the street, Mutt turned to her and asked, “So, where did you get that ring from? Are you engaged or something?”

Lily actually smiled, and Mutt’s breath hitched in his throat. She really was beautiful when she wasn’t so angry all the time. “Actually, it’s a promise ring,” she said.

“What’s the promise?”

“That I’ll remain pure until I’m married.”

Mutt laughed sharply. Lily’s smile disappeared. “What?” she asked.

“It’s nothing, it’s just… I’m sorry, that’s just kind of silly.” Mutt was still laughing. He felt bad, but he couldn’t help it. It was 1959, after all! Talk about living in the past! “I mean, is that the kind of thing they teach you at Oxford?”

To his surprise, Lily giggled. She had an infectious laugh. “Actually, it was my mom’s idea,” she said. “Probably something about how she was the ‘other woman’ to my dad, and she’s never been married… I think she’s afraid I’ll end up some tramp with six kids living in a shack on the wrong side of the tracks.” She looked down at her slender, pale hand and said thoughtfully, “I’d been looking for a reason to get rid of that for awhile.”

“Really?” Mutt asked. “Why?”

Lily shrugged, but said nothing.

They walked in silence for over half an hour, until finally they arrived at their destination: the house of one of Indiana’s many contacts, a woman named Nazeera Jhanda.

Mutt knocked on the door. He saw Lily step up next to him, and he impulsively caught her around the waist and pulled her close. She looked at him, startled, and he ventured a smile. He thought she was going to smile back, but just then the door opened and Lily jumped away. Mutt was vaguely disappointed, but he turned to see who had answered the door.

A tall, stately Indian woman stood in the doorway. She smiled at them. “You must be Henry Jones, III,” she said warmly in English.

“It’s Mutt,” he said as he and Lily stepped inside. “Mutt Williams, ma’am. And this is Lillith Brody.”

“Lily,” the girl said, shaking the woman’s hand.

“Well,” Dr. Jhanda said, shutting the door, “let’s get down to business.

They spent the rest of the evening discussing how to get into, and through Tibet without dying an horrific death. They were headed for Mount Kali, a small mountain in the northernmost regions of Tibet. It’s peaks would be covered in snow and ice, and it’s paths were guarded by a violent tribe whose indigenous name translated to “Death Bearers”. However, Dr. Jhanda knew a man, a guide, who could lead them safely through the woods and over the mountain. He was difficult, and spoke pidgin English, but was honest, and would see it through to the end, if paid.

Finally, Mutt glanced at his watch. It was past midnight. Dr. Jhanda noticed and said, “I have a room for you. You’ll have to share it, but there are two beds. You will be comfortable.”

“Thanks,” Lily said gratefully. Mutt could see fatigue in the sagging of her shoulders. Normally she stood so straight he wondered if she had a wooden rod up her… well, at any rate, he could see she was tired.

Mutt followed the women silently up the stairs, wondering what the next day would bring. He still was nervous, and felt a bit lost. He’d never realized how much he admired Indy until he wasn’t there. Mutt felt, for the first time, a real desire to live up to his father’s expectations. It was an entirely new sensation, and Mutt wasn’t sure what to make of it.

As he drifted to sleep later that night, he decided to just let it be. It was nice just knowing that, somewhere, thousands of miles away, Mutt Williams had a father.


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