Chapter 1

Wednesday Morning, September 16th

“What do you mean they’re all unavailable?” Jack Bristow agitatedly paced behind his desk as he spoke into the phone. “Are you seriously telling me that every single senior agent whom we trust is out on assignment? How suspiciously convenient. How am I supposed to go out of the country and investigate the rumors of this leak? I have to have someone here to watch her for me, and it has to be someone with experience…Like Hell you’re going to send me some rookie agent.” Jack heard a soft knock at his office door. “Never mind. I’ll just call Langley and see if they can help me figure something out.” Hanging up the phone, he walked over to his office door. Opening the door, he looked down at the source of the knock.

“I’m sorry, Daddy. But I need you to sign my permission slip for the field trip this afternoon.” A pair of innocent brown eyes peered up at Jack as his daughter held out a piece of paper.

Taking the paper, he motioned for Sydney to enter the office. “Don’t worry about it, Sydney. Where exactly are you going again?” He watched as his daughter’s eyes lit up with excitement. Her long brown hair swayed a little as she walked.

“We’re going to the Griffith Observatory. I can’t wait. Of course it’ll be very hard to see any constellations or anything other than clouds and sky in the daytime, but it should be a very interesting trip anyway.” Sydney sat down in one of the chairs on the other side of her father’s desk. As she watched him sit down in his own chair and pull out a pen, she noticed an airline ticket sticking out from under one of the corners of her father’s desk blotter. “Are you going out of town again, Daddy?”

Jack followed her gaze and nodded. “Yes.”

“Your business must be doing really well. There must be a huge market for airplane parts, because this is the fifth time this month you’ve gone away, and it’s only the third week of September.” Sydney’s eyes narrowed a little, as she tapped her fingers on the edge of the chair. “Did you forget that Maria’s going out of town tomorrow?” Her dad shook his head, indicating that he hadn’t forgotten. “So am I going to stay with the Johnsons next door again? Or is someone coming here? And how long will you be gone?”

Jack sighed. “To answer your first two questions, I’m not sure who’ll you’ll be staying with yet. As for how long I’ll be gone, hopefully not longer than a week.” He looked at his daughter across the desk. She seemed older for some reason. When had the innocence disappeared from her eyes? He sighed. His twelve-year-old daughter looked more and more like her mother every day. Perhaps that’s why he didn’t mind leaving town so much. The memories in this house, the pain that he felt whenever he looked at his daughter, was sometimes just too much. Shaking his head, he put his signature on the paper and handed it back to his daughter.

She took the offered paper and rose from her chair. “Oh, well I guess I’ll find out when you get home tonight.” She turned to head out of the office. Reaching the door, she placed her hand on the doorknob and paused. She turned back towards her father, an unreadable expression on her face. “You will be here for dinner, right? I mean, you aren’t leaving for your trip today, are you?”

“I’m not scheduled to leave until tomorrow, but I may be late tonight. So…I don’t know if I’ll make dinner or not.” Jack saw the flash of disappointment in his daughter’s eyes, and calling on his agent training, he masked the guilt he felt for making her feel that way.

Sydney’s eyes looked down at the floor as she turned the doorknob and opened the door. “Oh, okay then. I better finish getting ready for school; I wouldn’t want to miss the bus.” She stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind her.

Jack laid his head on the back of his chair. He knew Sydney missed having him around, but it was for the best, wasn’t it? He loved his daughter, and he was only doing what was best for her, wasn’t he? He was a better professional if he compartmentalized his emotions. Without emotions, people couldn’t get close enough to disappoint you. What was the saying ‘Once bitten twice shy’ or was it ‘Once made a fool of shame on them, twice, shame on you’? Perhaps ‘Never lose your heart, use your head’ was more the motto he should live by. Shaking his head, he leaned forward. He needed to call D.C. and figure out what to do about Sydney’s safety while he was gone.

SMK a SMK a SMK

Billy Melrose hated giving out long assignments in the middle of the week, but sometimes it couldn’t be helped. “All right people, you have your assignments. Are there any questions?” The section chief asked as he scanned the faces of his staff. A smile crossed his lips as his eyes fell on the two partners seated next to each other at the end of the conference table. He knew their relationship was something more than partners, and he couldn’t be happier for them. How deep their relationship went, well he wasn’t exactly sure, but he was confident that they would tell him when they were ready. After all, he had told them time and time again that their relationship, whatever it was, was fine with him.

Now, he observed Amanda scanning her folder and saw the look of concern etched on her face. He watched as she turned to look in her partner’s direction and saw a look of equal concern appear on his face. He knew their assignment was not going to sit well with her, but she was the best choice. Seeing Lee begin to open his mouth in protest, Billy decided now was the best time to dismiss everyone. “Good, if there are no questions or comments, I expect everyone to get busy. Amanda, Scarecrow, I’d like to see you both in my office.” The pair nodded as Billy preceded his agents out of the conference room.

Moments after he entered his office and was moving towards the chair behind his desk, he heard the click of the door as it latched into place. As he sat in his chair, he again noticed the worried expressions his two agents wore.

“Sir…” Amanda began as she approached the desk, with Lee close behind her.

Billy put his hand up to stop Amanda’s query. “Have a seat, you two. I know you have concerns; that’s why I wanted to talk to you both in the privacy of my office.” They both nodded their understanding and he watched as the pair took their usual seats in front of his desk. “Before you say what’s on your mind, let me say that I chose you, Amanda, because I think your skills are just what are needed on this case.”

“Thank you, sir. I appreciate your confidence in me, but I’m concerned for my family’s safety.” Amanda held the folder in her hands tightly. “I mean, I do my best to keep my family out of harm’s way and away from anything Agency related, and it just seems to me that this assignment will be putting them directly in the path of danger.”

“What kind of protection are we going to give the family if she accepts…if we accept this assignment?” Lee knew that Amanda’s allegiance was torn. One look at the girl’s background and he had known, without a doubt, that his wife would not be turning down the assignment, but he also knew, that by accepting it, she would be bringing danger into her home.

Lee’s use of the term ‘the family’ rather than ‘Amanda’s family’ didn’t go unnoticed by Billy. “Well, we’ll put a full surveillance on your house.” He looked towards Amanda. “And since Lee has also been assigned to this case, you’ll have a twenty-four hour agent on duty as well.”

Amanda looked from Lee to Billy. “Excuse me, sir, but how exactly am I going to explain Lee’s presence at the house, overnight?”

“Look, I know you two are in a relationship and I can only assume that your family knows that as well.” Billy looked pointedly at Amanda. He watched as Amanda glanced at Lee, who shrugged, and then turned her attention back towards him and nodded. “So, I think you two can come up with some sort of ruse that would require Lee to crash at your house for a little while, right?”

“I guess we could tell them that my apartment is being fumigated for roaches. They do a regular spraying at least twice a year.” Lee watched as Amanda raised her eyebrows. “What? They do, I’m just usually out of town when they occur.”

Amanda sighed. “I guess that would work. There’s a pullout couch in the living room. I’m sure the boys would be thrilled. And it would make me feel better if you were there overnight just in case something went wrong.”

“Good,” Billy smiled. “Then that’s settled.”

“Uh, sir, I do have one question. I mean, well, this poor girl,” Amanda pointed to the file in her hand, “it says here that she usually stays with the nanny, family friends or distant relatives. Why the sudden change?”

“Well, the truth of the matter is that her father is an operative with the CIA…”

Lee quickly opened his file and thumbed through it. “Wait, I didn’t see that mentioned in my folder.” He looked back at his boss. “If her father is CIA, how come we’re in charge of protecting his daughter?”

“Lee, what does it matter? It says here, that she lost her mother when she was six years old in some sort of car crash and, while her father runs all over the world, he leaves her in the care of either a nanny or ‘family friend’. I think it would be nice for her to be part of a family, even if it is for just a little while.” Amanda wanted to reach over and touch her husband, however she hesitated. She knew that some of Sydney Bristow’s history would hit a little too close to home for him and any contact now might remind of him of his own past.

“A-man-da,” Lee drew out her name as he turned to look directly at his wife, “the point of my question is this, if her father is CIA, why aren’t they doing something to help protect their own? Why do we have to put Phillip and Jamie in danger?”

Needing to make him understand, Amanda reached over and put a hand on his arm. Her action had the desired affect; her husband’s features relaxed slightly and when he turned towards her, their eyes locked. She knew exactly what he was trying to say; she felt the same way. However, after reading about Sydney, she had a strong desire to help make up for what the girl had missed these last few years; the kind of love and understanding that only a mother could give. “Lee, believe me, I’m worried about their safety, too, but I don’t think it would do any good for this poor girl to be stuck with someone like Francine. She needs to be in a friendly and nurturing environment. I want her to stay with us and make her feel like she’s a part of the family.”

Lee closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew better than to argue with Amanda when she was in mother hen mode. “I hear you. I don’t have to like it though.” As his wife removed her hand from his arm, he turned his attention back towards his boss. “I still want to know why the CIA turned to us to protect this girl.”

Billy leaned forward in his chair and opened the top folder on his desk. “Well, it seems that the CIA may have a leak.”

“Is there any branch of this government that can keep its secrets, secret?” Lee mumbled.

Billy chuckled. “Yeah, I know sometimes it seems that nobody is really on their own side anymore. Anyway, Jack Bristow is trying to discover how deep this particular leak goes and it appears that it may have something to do with his daughter.” He held up his hand to silence any further comment from the pair in front of him. “Jack is unofficially CIA. As far as anyone who knows him, including his daughter, is concerned, he sells airplane parts.” Closing the file, he passed it over to Lee. “The information contained in that file was given to Dr. Smyth directly from the CIA’s Deputy Director. I’m letting you see it so that you’re familiar with why we need to keep a close eye on Sydney. I don’t think I need to remind you the importance of keeping anything you read in there strictly within this room.”

“Billy, Amanda and I know how to keep a secret.” Lee kept his eyes on the file in front of him. He didn’t need to look at his wife to know that she had looked in his direction. It may not have been the easiest thing in the world for them, but he thought that they had done a pretty good job of keeping their marriage a secret for the last seven months.

“I’m not saying that you can’t. I’m only trying to make it clear to you that the information in that folder is ‘need to know’. I need to make sure you are mindful of the fact that Sydney doesn’t know anything about her father’s true profession.”

Lee passed the folder over to Amanda then stood and placed his hands on his friend’s desk. “Oh come on, Billy. How stupid do you think we are?” He looked his boss directly in the eye. “You’re not talking to two freshman agents. Need I remind you that Amanda has kept her true profession from her family for the last four years?”

Billy nodded. “At ease, Scarecrow. I hear what you’re saying. I have the utmost confidence in both of you. It actually makes this whole set up a lot easier.” The section chief kept his gaze locked with Lee’s. “However, I’m only stressing the point because the CIA almost didn’t hand over that information; I had to threaten not to cooperate unless they gave us a good reason to do so.”

Lee sat back in his seat and looked over at his wife. He knew what she was thinking. This case, although on the outside seemed innocent enough, inside, well it was a web of lies. Here was a man putting the life of his daughter in the hands of total strangers. Although, it made the most sense to have Sydney Bristow stay with their family because to the average outsider, the King family appeared to be your typical suburban family, but in truth, there were a number of secrets that had a serious chance of coming to the surface this week, secrets that made the King-Stetson family anything but normal. The irony of the whole situation was that they had kept their marriage a secret for seven months on the pretense of keeping their family safe from the world of the Agency, and now…and now the Agency was putting them in a potentially dangerous situation. Running his hand through his hair, he turned his attention back towards Billy. “Okay, so we keep this information secret. What I don’t understand is why Jack Bristow fears for the safety of his daughter.”

Amanda shook her head. She knew her husband had barely skimmed the contents of the folder. “Lee, according to this, Jack’s wife was a KGB agent by the name of Irina Derevko.”

“How the…? What the…?” Lee grabbed the folder from Amanda’s hands.

“Sir, I thought Sydney’s background information said her mother’s name was Laura Bristow.” Amanda opened the folder on Sydney that she had been given earlier.

“Well that’s what she led everyone to believe. It seems Irina Derevko deceived poor Jack into believing that she was American. She had everyone believing she was an English teacher who loved her husband and daughter. Apparently Jack was working on something called Project Christmas and, before you ask, no, we don’t have any information on it. The CIA refused to give us any information on that project other than it was something top secret. Anyway, it must have been something big, because the KGB sent in Irina Derevko to get that information. She manipulated Jack into falling in love with her, got him to marry her and then, whether part of her cover or not, they had Sydney. Then in 1981 Laura Bristow, aka Irina, was killed in a car accident. Shortly after that, Jack learned the truth about his wife. As hard as it is to grieve for a loved one, it’s even harder to find out that you were grieving for someone you only thought you knew.”
A look of sympathy crossed Amanda’s features. “Oh, that’s just horrible. I can’t even imagine what that man must be going through.”

Lee reached over and clasped Amanda’s hand in his. He could almost relate to Jack Bristow. He knew a lot about being used and he knew how hard it had been for him to trust again. He thought back to Eva and realized that he had been in a similar situation. Although Eva had told him, when they were protecting Angelo that she had loved him, she had in fact used him. He couldn’t believe that he had almost asked her to marry him. He shuddered at that thought. Looking over at his wife, now, he realized just how lucky he was. It had taken him a long time to trust Amanda and even longer for him to trust himself to admit how deep his feelings for her ran. He said a silent prayer of thanks every day to whomever it was that had brought Amanda King…Stetson, into his life.

Amanda squeezed Lee’s hand. She noticed the faraway look in his eyes and knew he was thinking back to something in his own past that allowed him to relate in some way to Jack Bristow. “Sir, it says in Sydney’s file that a man named Arvin Sloane is her legal guardian. It also says that Mr. Sloane is with the CIA. I’m curious, why isn’t Sydney going to stay with him? I mean, I’m willing to let Sydney stay with us, it’s just…”

Billy shrugged his shoulders. “Honestly, I don’t know. Perhaps Mr. Sloane isn’t available.”

“Sloane…I recognize that name from Jack’s folder.” Lee interrupted as he began scanning the contents of the folder in his hand. “Here it is. It says that Arvin Sloane headed up the investigation into Laura Bristow, I mean Irina Derevko’s accident. It also says here that Mr. Sloane is Jack Bristow’s direct superior, which explains why he headed up the investigation.”

Billy nodded. “Yes, I read that too. It also says that the investigation was a joint effort between the FBI and CIA. An FBI agent was pursuing Sydney’s mother and died in the crash as well. When the investigation turned up information that Laura was actually KGB, they arrested Jack and put him in solitary for six months under the suspicion that he was working as a double agent.”

Amanda shuddered. She knew exactly what it was like to be wrongly accused. She never regretted running off with Lee during the Stemwinder incident almost a year ago. She knew, without a doubt, that she would have been worse off in an Agency holding cell. She would have been totally cut off from her family, from Lee, and treated like an enemy of her own country. “Sir, I’m guessing that Sydney doesn’t know any of this, right?”

Billy nodded. “According to the Deputy Director, Sydney believes her mother to be Laura Bristow, devoted mother and teacher, who died tragically in a car accident when she was six. However, it seems that Jack has recently received intel that the KGB is looking to get their hands on more information regarding Project Christmas. I don’t have confirmation on this, but I gather something about Project Christmas has him discreetly increasing security around Sydney. Regardless, it seemed very important to the CIA that Sydney be placed in an environment that she was not only protected, but she wouldn’t suspect anything out of the ordinary.”

Picking up a piece of paper from his desk, he handed it to Amanda. “Now, according to this, Jack and Sydney will be arriving tomorrow morning at eleven a.m. at Dulles on flight 369 from LAX. I suggest you familiarize yourself with her background and Jack’s. I want you two to meet them at the airport. It’ll give you a chance to meet Jack and for him to get to know a little bit about the people who will be watching his daughter. It’ll also give Sydney a chance to get acquainted with you before her father goes on his ‘business trip’.”

Lee and Amanda rose from their seats, folders in hand. As they made their way towards the office door, Lee paused and turned back towards Billy. “Do you mind if I check in with a few of my contacts at the CIA and some of my ‘family’? I want to see what I can find out about this Project Christmas?”

“No, go ahead, but don’t be surprised if you can’t find anything.”

Lee nodded. “Well if I can’t get anywhere I may just pull Jack Bristow aside and ask him directly. I want to know why it’s so important that he has to have his daughter protected.” He turned and as he followed Amanda out into the bullpen, he thought to himself, ‘I also want to find out why it’s worth the risk of putting my family in danger to protect his daughter.’ Putting his hand at the small of his wife’s back, he led her out of the bullpen and towards the elevators.

Chapter 2

Wednesday Evening, September 16th

As Lee maneuvered the Jeep through the city streets, he tried to ignore the worry he was feeling regarding their current assignment. Although he loved a challenge, he didn’t like the idea that the biggest piece of the puzzle for this particular case was so hard to uncover, especially when that piece was putting his family in jeopardy. He had checked in with a few of his contacts at the CIA and with T.P. Aquinas but, at the moment he still had no information on Project Christmas other than what they already knew, which was pretty much nothing. He knew that Jack Bristow was in charge of it and that was all. Lee had hoped that he could get more from his CIA contacts but they turned out to be a dead end. T.P. on the other hand, had heard the name and said he would look into it but it may take him a while. T.P. had always been a very reliable source in the past and somehow he always managed to find things hidden under the most remote rock. He could only hope that T.P. would be able to find something for him this time too and, if he was really lucky, T.P. might be able to give him some information before they pick up the Bristows from the airport tomorrow.

As he waited for the light to change, he stole a quick glance at his wife. With nothing more to do at the office, they were heading home to have dinner with the family. God how he loved the sound of that word: family. He was part of a family, even if they didn’t know what his official place was. He knew that Phillip really loved having him around. His eldest stepson had not only told Amanda that on more than one occasion, but had even told him that as well. Jamie, well, his younger stepson was still warming up to the idea of having him around. Jamie may not have accepted him as easily as Phillip had, but at least the younger boy didn’t give him the cold shoulder or angry stares anymore. In fact, on more than one occasion in the last few months, Jamie had teamed up with Phillip for some two-on-one games of basketball.

Amanda saw the familiar dimple on her husband’s cheek and knew all too well that he was wearing one of his famous smiles. “What are you so happy about?”

The traffic light had just changed to green and Lee pushed down on the accelerator to continue the journey towards home. “Honestly? I was thinking about Phillip and Jamie.” Out of the corner of his eye he could see her curious look. “This whole case, if you want to call it that, has me thinking. I mean, maybe this is fate’s way of telling us that our ‘mystery marriage’ is a stupid idea. We've spent the past seven months, since our wedding, trying to hide the fact that we’re married and now…now, we have to come up with a ruse for me to stay at the house, when, in reality, if we hadn’t gone along with my idea to keep all of this a secret, I’d get to sleep upstairs in bed with you, rather than in the living room.”

Amanda reached over and placed her left hand on Lee’s thigh. Squeezing it gently, she sighed. “I know. It really is ironic, isn’t it? After all, the house is technically half yours. You help me pay the mortgage and help me out with some of the other expenses of running the household. Although, as much as I appreciate the assistance, I still think it’s not fair to you. I spend quite a bit of time at your apartment, yet you’re still paying all of the rent.”

“A-man-da. We’ve been over this a dozen times. I’m your husband and I can afford it. I want to help.” Lee’s jaw clenched. He really didn’t want to start this argument all over again. He was well aware of the fact that Joe provided money in the way of child support and he had told Amanda on more than one occasion, now that they were married, he would be damned if she would use any of that money to help with the household bills. Joe’s money should be used for exactly what it was meant for: Phillip and Jamie.

Amanda patted his leg. “I know and I’m not trying to start a whole new discussion about it. I was simply trying to point out that it would be so much easier if everyone knew the truth. I mean mother just thinks I got a really nice raise, which isn’t entirely wrong. I did get a raise once I became a full-time agent but that’s not my point. The point is, maybe this is a test or maybe you’re right,” She started methodically massaging his leg, “and this is fate’s way of saying it’s time to end the charade and live like a real married couple should.”

“That idea does have some major benefits, doesn’t it?” Lee looked at his wife briefly, wiggling his eyebrows up and down before turning his attention back on the road. “Well, Billy is right, having the family know me, at least as your boyfriend, makes it easier to find a reason for me to stay at the house.”

Amanda chuckled. “You know, I don’t think we’ve done a good job of fooling Mr. Melrose. I bet it wouldn’t surprise him one bit if we told him tomorrow that we were, in fact, Mr. and Mrs. Stetson.” As the car turned the corner into her neighborhood, another thought sprang to her mind. “Lee,” she turned to face him, “I think we may have to come up with something other than spraying for roaches at your apartment.”

Lee glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Why? I think that’s as good a story as anything.”

“Yeah, but I’ve used that excuse to get my family out of the house more than once, only it was termites not roaches and well that story’s only good to cover you staying at the house for a few days. We have no idea how long Mr. Bristow plans on being out of the country. He could be gone for a few weeks.” She removed her hand from Lee’s leg and began playing with her heart pendant.

Although, normally, his wife’s actions were a sign of nervousness, he also knew that, occasionally, when she was trying to come up with a clue or pattern, playing with the pendant seemed to help her draw some sort of conclusion or come up with the answer she was looking for. “Yeah, I guess we didn’t think about the length of this one.” As he turned into her driveway, an idea sprang to mind. “Amanda, I’ve got it. We’ll just tell them that my apartment got flooded. It’s going to take at least a week to rip up the carpet and repair any damage that was done. That way if Sydney needs to stay with us longer than a week, we can just say that the workman ran into complications. I’ll head over to my place after dinner, pack what I need and then come back to the house tonight.”

As the Jeep came to a complete stop, Amanda unbuckled her seatbelt. “I think that’s a brilliant idea.” She leaned over to kiss her husband on the cheek.

Lee, however, had other ideas and turned his head just at the right time, so that the kiss landed on his lips. Pulling her to him, the kiss intensified, until he accidentally leaned on the horn. The sound startled them both and they pulled apart. Laughing, they both exited the car.

As they met at the front of the car, they entwined their fingers and headed towards the back of the house. “Well, we’ve solved one problem.”

Lee looked over at his wife. “Okay, what’s the second problem?”

Amanda shook her head. “Well, my dear husband, now you get to face your first challenge as a parent. We get to tell our sons that they have to share a room for at least a week. Not to mention the fact that one of them will have to give up their room…”

“…to a girl.” Lee finished with her. “Yeah, I can see how that’s going to be a problem.”

Amanda squeezed his hand. “It’s all part of being a member of a family. Come on. Let’s go tell mother that we have not one, but two houseguests to prepare for.”

SMK a SMK a SMK

“Lee, can you pass the ketchup please?” Jamie asked as he pushed his glasses up on his nose.

“Sure, thing Champ.” Lee nodded as he handed the condiment to his youngest stepson. “So, Phillip, Jamie, your mom and I have a few things we wanted to discuss with you tonight.”

Both boys looked at each other, then in the direction of their mom. Noticing that she didn’t appear to be extremely excited, they wondered what exactly the news was.

Phillip looked directly at Lee. “Is this about what I think it’s about?”

Lee shrugged. “I couldn’t begin to guess what you think this is about.” He heard Amanda clear her throat, and with her hand raised just above the table, she wiggled her fingers. Lee coughed slightly. “Um, no, it’s not.”
Amanda jumped to her husband’s defense. “Actually fellas, Lee’s apartment experienced a significant amount of water damage this morning and well, he needs a place to stay. We were both kind of hoping, that if it would be okay with you, Lee could crash here at the house. We can convert the living room into a temporary bedroom for him.”

Phillip looked at his younger brother, then in Lee’s direction. “I can’t speak for wormbrain, but I think it would be really cool to have you stay at the house.”

Dotty shook her head. “Phillip, don’t call your brother names, especially at the dinner table.” Then, looking pointedly at Lee, she added, “I do have to agree with Phillip that it’ll be nice having you here. Besides, we already consider you one of the family.”

Lee smiled and gazed towards Amanda. He had a very good idea what his mother-in-law was getting at and she was right, he was a member of the family. Once this assignment was over, things were definitely going to change.

Jamie nodded in agreement with his brother and grandmother. “Lee, it’s nice that you want to ask our permission but you’re here almost all the time anyway. We like having you around and it’s not like we use the living room anyway. We spend all of our time in the den. Besides, if you stay here, it means we’ll see more of mom.”

Phillip elbowed his brother. “Plus with you around, we outnumber the females 3-2.”

“Actually,” Amanda chuckled, “that won’t entirely be the case.”

Phillip looked accusingly at Lee, “Just because you’re dating mom, doesn’t mean you get to side with her on everything, does it?”

Before her husband dug himself a hole he would be unable to dig himself out of, Amanda continued, “That wasn’t what I meant, Phillip. A business associate of ours needs to go out of town and since he doesn’t have any family nearby, he asked me if his twelve-year-old daughter, Sydney, could stay here with us for the next week.”

Dotty watched as her youngest grandson’s features scrunched in thought. Taking a bite of her hamburger, she waited for the inevitable.

“Mom?”

“Yes, sweetheart?” Amanda smiled at her youngest son. Somehow it didn’t surprise her that Jamie would be the first one to figure out the next item for discussion.

Jamie looked at his mother suspiciously. “If we’re going to turn the living room into a temporary room for Lee, where exactly is your friend’s daughter going to be staying?”

“What are you talking about du…Jamie?” Phillip stared at his brother, confusion written on his face. “She can stay…” All of a sudden, the situation became clear to him too. There was no way his mother was going to let this girl stay on the couch in the den for a whole week. “Let me get this straight, you want one of us to give up our room, right?”

Amanda nodded. “I think that would be the gentlemanly thing to do. Besides, it’s not like you guys aren’t used to sharing a room. You have to share one when you go to your dad’s.”

“But Mom, it’s not the same thing. I don’t want some strange girl staying in my room.” Phillip whined.

Jamie laughed. “Oh, what, its okay for you to sit really close to Linda at the snack stand at the arcade, but it’s not okay for a girl to stay in your room?”

Phillip punched his brother in the arm. “That’s not what I was getting at and you know it. Fine, if you don’t have a problem with it, I suggest you give up your room.”

Jamie rubbed his arm. “We don’t know anything about this girl and I have too much expensive camera equipment in my room…”

“Phillip, Jamie, that’s enough!” Amanda’s tone challenged her sons. “First off,” she pointed in the direction of her eldest son, “no hitting your brother. Secondly, I was hoping you two would be able to make the decision for me, but since you would rather argue the point, I’ll just decide which one of you is going to up their room.”

“Mom, that’s so unfair.” Both boys complained together.

Sensing the situation was getting way out of hand; Lee decided to add his two cents. “Amanda, can I make a suggestion?” Suddenly all eyes were focused on him. His wife raised her eyebrows and nodded. “What if we arrange some sort of contest, where the loser gives up his room.”

Amanda smiled. “You know, that’s a wonderful idea. It’s definitely not a solution I would’ve ever come up with. What kind of contest were you thinking?”

“Well, it would have to be something that both of you boys,” Lee looked from one stepson to the other, “are evenly matched at. Perhaps a one-on-one basketball game, I’d referee of course. Or perhaps there’s a board game you two are both good at.” He gazed in the direction of his wife, then towards his mother-in-law. “Do you ladies have any suggestions?”

Before either Dotty or Amanda could chime in, Phillip spoke up. “We could go down to the arcade at the mall. I think we’ve both had enough practice playing air-hockey that it might actually be an even match.” He looked over at his brother, who nodded his head enthusiastically.

Amanda looked at her husband then at both her sons. “I don’t know…it is a school night.”

Lee noticed the excited look on both his stepson’s faces. “What if we promise to only play one game and, no matter what the outcome of that game is, it will determine the winner and loser?”

Amanda sighed. Lee was just as excited as her sons. As she looked into her husband’s eyes, she couldn’t help but notice the innocence of the little Lee who longed to break free shining back at her. Not being able to say no, she nodded. “Okay, but just this once.” She smiled as the three males at the table began giving each other high-fives. Shaking her head, she looked from Phillip, to Jamie and then to Lee. “However, you must all promise me,” she gave her husband a pointed stare, “that it will be only one game and you’ll be home before nine o’clock.”

Phillip and Jamie looked at each other, than towards Lee. All three nodded in agreement.

A satisfied smile crept on Lee’s face. It may have been a little thing, but it was the first time he actually felt like a member of the family. “Good, now that that’s settled, how about we all help your mom and grandma clear the table. I need to run over to my apartment and pack a few things, and then when I come back we can head over to the arcade and let the games begin.”

Both Phillip and Jamie nodded and, grabbing their plates, they stood and headed towards the kitchen. Lee rose and gathered his dishes. As he started towards the kitchen, a hand on his arm stopped him. Looking over he saw that the hand belonged to his mother-in-law.

“You know, Lee,” Dotty whispered, “I have to say that you handled yourself quite well tonight. I think those boys could definitely benefit by having you around here as a permanent member of the family, not just as a guest for a short time.” Winking, she let go of his arm and followed her grandsons into the kitchen.

Although Dotty’s comment was not a new one, it definitely added to the theme of the day. Putting his plate down, Lee gently grabbed his wife’s arm as she started to pass him. As she turned and locked eyes with him, he took her dishes from her and put them on the table next to his. Looking over his shoulder to make sure the family was out of earshot, he leaned down and whispered, “You know Mrs. Stetson, your mother is right.”

Amanda wrapped her arms around him. “I know. I definitely think someone is trying to tell us something.” She leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. Feeling him tighten his arms around her, she pulled back. “Come on, let’s get the table cleared so you can run your errand and get home that much sooner.” Her husband responded by bending down and placing another kiss on her lips.

“Ugh! I think I want to change my mind. If you guys are going to do that all week, maybe Lee should stay at a hotel instead.”

Lee let go of Amanda as they both turned to see the teasing look on Phillip’s face.

“Just kidding, guys. But seriously, I thought we were all supposed to be clearing the table?” Phillip gave his mother and Lee an accusatory stare.

Amanda smiled. “We are, but I was just thinking that Lee should leave the clean up to us so that he can get back here that much faster.”

Jamie re-entered the room and nodded. “Go on, Lee, we can manage. The sooner you leave, the sooner I can beat Phillip.”

Lee noticed Phillip opening his mouth to retort and quickly jumped in to diffuse the oncoming battle “Are you guys sure?” Both his stepsons nodded. “Okay, I guess that’s settled then. I’ll be back before you know it.” He grabbed Amanda’s hand and led her towards the front door. “I just realized something.” He smiled at her. “It’s going to be wonderful not to have to say goodnight on the doorstep at night.”

“No, now we get to say goodnight at the bottom of the stairs instead.” Amanda caught the mischievous gleam that sparkled in Lee’s eyes. “Don’t be getting any bright ideas about sneaking up to my room at night either.” Lowering her voice, she added. “At least not while Sydney’s here.” She winked and saw him smile. “Seriously, though, I’ve been thinking about it and it actually makes perfect sense that you’ll be on the ground level, it’ll be easier for you to hear any noises down here.”

Lee knew she was right, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t find a way to enjoy living under the same roof at least a little. Leaning down, he captured her lips again. As the kiss ended, he let go of her hand and opened the door. “I’ll be home before you have a chance to miss me.” As he closed the door behind him, a sudden sense of urgency came over him. He couldn’t wait to pick up the stuff he needed at his place and get back home. Suddenly, the idea of calling Amanda’s house ‘home’ felt so right. This was home, no matter where he would be sleeping.

SMK a SMK a SMK

Amanda looked at her watch and sighed. It was nine-thirty. She wasn’t worried, she trusted Lee with the boys. However, she was concerned that they were running late. It was a school night and it took the boys a good half-hour to forty-five minutes to get ready for bed. She knew that one of her sons would be extremely excited about the outcome of tonight’s competition and would want to share the excitement delaying bedtime even more.

Getting up, she moved to the television in order to change the channel. She had been watching a very boring documentary. Well, she hadn’t really been watching it. After they had gotten the pullout bed in the living room ready for Lee, her mother had gone upstairs to take a bath. Amanda had then gone to her room and made space in her dresser and closet for some of Lee’s clothes. Even though he wasn’t really moving in, it was a small gesture to let him know how much she really did want him there. It might make him feel more at home if he wasn’t living directly out of a suitcase. Once she had finished that task, she had come back downstairs. Since they had to wait until the outcome of the ‘game’ to determine which one of her sons’ rooms to put the cot from the attic in, Amanda had picked a book off the shelf and began reading it. She had merely left the television on for background noise.

Now, as she reached down to change the channel, she heard the sound of car doors slamming. Turning the television off, she quickly rushed back to her seat on the couch and picking up her book again, she pretended to be engrossed in the pages while anxiously awaiting the sound of the back door opening. She didn’t have to wait long before she heard the key in the back door.

“Mom! It was amazing. We know you said we could only play one game, but Jamie and I tied, we had to go into extra innings.” Phillip bounded in ahead of his brother and Lee.

“There are extra innings in air-hockey?” Amanda turned and looked at the faces of her sons. She then put on her best ‘you’re in trouble buster’ look and gazed in her husband’s direction.

Lee caught the look and wasn’t sure if she was really upset or just toying with him. Erring on the side of caution, he smiled sheepishly. “Well, sort of. It’s actually kind of my fault. Once the game began, we started making up new rules and before we knew it, we weren’t sure who had really won. So we had to start over and begin a whole new game playing with the original rules.”

Amanda rose from the couch and moved into the kitchen. “So who ended up winning?”

“Phillip did, but only by one point.” Jamie admitted as he shuffled his feet. “I guess it won’t be so bad, Lee was telling us that Sydney’s really smart, so maybe she’ll enjoy staying in my room better than Phillip’s anyway. Since I have all those books, she might feel more at home there than in Phillip’s room with all the sports stuff.”

Amanda approached her youngest son. Reaching out, she mussed his hair. “That’s a very grown up attitude, Jamie. I’m very proud of you.” Placing her hands on his shoulders, she turned him in the direction of the stairs. “All right, you two, time to head upstairs and get ready for bed. I’ll be up to check on you in a few minutes.”

“Goodnight, Mom. Goodnight, Lee.” Both boys chorused as they dashed towards the stairs.

Just as Phillip reached the landing, he poked his head back around the corner. “Thanks, Lee. We had a great time tonight.”
“You’re welcome. I enjoyed it too.” Lee waited till he heard his eldest stepson’s footsteps on the stairs before turning his attention on his wife. “So, how much trouble am I really in?”

Amanda walked up to her husband and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Aw, you were never really in trouble. A phone call from the arcade telling me you were running late would have been nice, but I wasn’t worried.”

Lee put his arms around Amanda. Looking her in the eye, he bent down and kissed her nose. “I really enjoyed that. I need to spend more time with just the boys but, next time, I promise not to take them out on a school night.”

Amanda returned the embrace. “I couldn’t agree more. Having a strong male role model is exactly what Phillip and Jamie need. I mean Joe is a loving and attentive dad, but I’ve realized more and more over the last seven months just how much the boys are losing out from our ‘mystery marriage’. At the time it made sense, even if we told ourselves that the real reason was because of their safety. I think you being their secret stepfather has given you the confidence that you needed to feel like you truly belonged. Plus, these past few months have given Phillip and Jamie more time to get to know you and for you to grow comfortable around them. I don’t think we can use their safety as an excuse to keep living apart any more. I think they would…that we all would be safer, and happier, if you were here on a permanent basis.”

Lee bent down and placed a kiss on her lips. His reasoning for doing so was partly to end her Amandaramble, but mostly because her lips were so inviting. As the kiss deepened, he moved his left hand up and down her back. As he felt Amanda’s hand move to play with the hair on the back of his neck, he reluctantly broke the kiss. Since the boys were still getting ready for bed and Dotty had yet to make an appearance, he didn’t want to let things get too out of hand. Touching his forehead to hers, he tried to get his breathing under control. He smiled, as he noticed Amanda having the same problem. “Do you have any idea how hard it’s going to be for me to fall asleep tonight?” He felt Amanda nod her head against his. “It’s hard enough saying goodnight to you and heading home to my apartment every night. However, knowing that you’re going to be right upstairs, rather than across the river…Amanda it’s going to take all my willpower to keep myself from sneaking upstairs and making love to you all night long.”

Amanda moved back a little and looked into his eyes. “I know, sweetheart, I know. We’re just going to have to do our best.” Leaning in, she placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “I have a surprise for you.”

Lee raised his eyebrows and smiled mischievously. “Really?”

Amanda shook her head and laughed. “Not that kind of surprise. While you were gone, I made some room in my dresser and closet for you. I figure you might enjoy not having to live out of your suitcase while you’re here and this way you can use my room to get changed in.”

Lee tightened his arms around her. “Too bad I can’t sleep in your room as well.” He gave her a mischievous smile.

“I promise, sweetheart, we’ll make it happen, just as soon as this assignment is over.” Hearing footsteps on the stairs, Amanda reluctantly broke their embrace. Taking Lee’s hand in hers, she led him to the couch. “Let’s see if we can find anything on TV to take our minds off of our current predicament.”

Lee let go of her hand and went to turn on the television. Finding a local news channel, he moved back to sit on the couch beside Amanda. Preparing to place his arm around her, he stopped and turned his head when he heard clattering in the kitchen.

Dotty was moving around the kitchen preparing herself a glass of warm milk. “Lee, I don’t know how you did it but you wore those boys out. They were so exhausted, they didn’t even argue with each other as they shared the sink getting ready for bed.” She grabbed the bottle of Galliano from the cabinet above the fridge.

“We had a really good time.” Lee admitted as he wrapped his arm around Amanda’s shoulders.

Amanda cuddled closer to her husband. “I guess we’ll have to wait till tomorrow to move the cot into Phillip’s room.”

“Yes, you definitely can’t do that now. They must have fallen asleep the minute their heads hit their pillows.” Adding the Galliano to her milk, Dotty closed the bottle and put it back on its shelf. “Well, I’m off to bed. Goodnight, Amanda. Goodnight, Lee.”

“Goodnight, Mother.” “Goodnight, Dotty.” The couple said in unison.

As Dotty reached the bottom of the stairs she paused. Peering back around the corner, she added, “Oh and Lee, I just wanted to let you know how much better I’m going to sleep knowing that you’re here in the house. I always feel so much safer when there’s a man around.” Winking, she headed upstairs to her bedroom, hoping the couple would take advantage of the quiet household.

Amanda laughed at her mother’s lack of subtlety. “You do realize that isn’t going to be the last we hear about that, right? With you staying at the house overnight, the comments are going to keep on coming.”

Lee nodded. “I know.” Turning his head towards her, he realized, not for the first time this night, exactly how right this felt. “Your mother’s right, it is much safer with me here, even if they are unaware of the real reasons.”

Amanda turned and noticed the sincerity in his eyes. “I agree with her, too. I feel so much safer knowing you’re here. Not just for our safety, but because I know you’re safe too. I worry about you, just as much as you worry about us. Probably more so. I hate the fact that you have to go home to an empty apartment. I know that sometimes it’s nice to have your own space, especially after a full day with the boys and my mother and me.” Seeing Lee open his mouth to comment, she placed a gentle finger on his lips. “I love you, Lee. I also know you. I know how hard it’s going to be for you not to have a place to escape to. Even if there is really nothing wrong with your apartment, I think you need to act like it really is unavailable. Besides, I have a confession to make.” She smiled when he raised his eyebrows questioningly. “When you first suggested the idea of our mystery marriage and you said it was because we needed to think about the boys’ safety, I knew that wasn’t the whole reason.”

“Amanda…”

Amanda shook her head, “Lee, let me finish. We hadn’t even announced our engagement to anyone and yet you were jumping head first into plans for the future. You wanted to buy a big house with a place to raise horses and play baseball in the backyard. However, Khai’s situation made you realize that you weren’t ready to be a full-time part of the family. You knew that you couldn’t uproot the boys like that, especially since they hardly knew you. They had no idea you’d been watching them from afar for four years. I realized all of that, so I agreed with you. I wanted to marry you, to prove to you how much I loved you. I wanted you to know that I knew you were ready to commit to one person forever.” Placing her hand gently on his cheek, she looked lovingly into his eyes. “I think this case may be a blessing in disguise. We’ve been saying all day how the signs are telling us it’s time to end the charade, well now is our chance to find out how right they are. It’ll be good practice. I think this next week or so is going to give you the chance to experience first hand what it’s like to be a full-time member of this family.”

He nodded and, taking the hand that was on his cheek in his own, he brought it to his lips and placed a feather light kiss on her palm. It never ceased to amaze him how his wife was able to understand him, sometimes better than he understood himself. He hadn’t even really thought about the idea of ‘escaping’ if things got too tough, at least not consciously. Now that he let himself think about that fact, he knew she was right. He intently studied his wife as he processed what she had just said. Her confession just now, only confirmed what he had suspected all along, that she had agreed with his idea because for his sake. Back when he had suggested the idea of the mystery marriage, he was surprised she had gone along with it so willingly. Yes, it was true, the boys’ safety had played a huge role in his decision, but truth be told he’d been scared. He had been scared of being part of a family again and afraid of what he could lose. He realized he was missing out on so much by not being a permanent member of his family. Now, however, he was more than ready to let go of his fears and he was going to prove that, not only to himself, but to Amanda and the boys as well. The Agency was giving them the perfect opportunity to be a real family.

“Just when I think I couldn’t love you anymore than I already do, you do something that makes me do just that. I love you so much, Amanda Stetson.” Lee whispered huskily as he leaned over and captured her lips with his own. He pulled her closer to him and placed his free hand on her waist. His wife swung her legs over his and wrapped her arms around him.

As the kiss deepened, Lee knew there was no way he was letting go of her tonight. Moving his arm between Amanda and the couch, he maneuvered himself so that he could easily lift her up. Reluctantly he broke contact with her lips as he carefully rose from the couch with his wife in his arms. Before she had a chance to protest he kissed her again as he carried her towards his makeshift bedroom in the living room. Entering the room, he closed the door between the den and the living room with his foot and said a silent prayer of thanks when it didn’t slam shut. As he laid her on the bed, he saw the passion in her eyes and knew that it would be well into the morning before his wife made it to her own bed.

Chapter Three

Thursday Morning, September 17th

Lee stood next to Amanda in the crowded airport terminal; their hands entwined as they watched the passengers disembark from flight 369. Catching sight of the Bristows coming out of the walkway, he squeezed his wife’s hand and motioned with his head that their guests had arrived. Even if he hadn’t seen a picture of Jack Bristow, he would have known without a doubt that the man entering the terminal with the brown-haired girl was the man they were waiting for. To the average passerby, Jack Bristow didn’t really look that much different from anyone else. However, to the trained eyes of an agent it was obvious that the man walking towards them was acutely aware of his surroundings; his face was devoid of emotion, and his eyes held a distrust of everyone.

As the pair came closer, Lee reluctantly let go of Amanda’s hand. “Jack and Sydney Bristow?”

Jack grabbed his daughter’s hand and regarded Lee suspiciously. “Yes.” Sloane had mentioned that the Agency was sending a pair of its top agents to meet them at the airport. However, he was unable to obtain a picture of them. He knew their names, and that was all.

Something in Jack Bristow’s eyes reminded Amanda of the Lee she had met four years ago; his gaze was a mix of uncertainty and distrust. Although Lee had changed, he still had a tendency to act before thinking and the similarities between the two men could easily get out of hand if she let her husband make the introductions. Taking the initiative, she extended her hand towards the young girl. “Hi, my name is Amanda King.” She smiled as Sydney accepted her hand and gave it a small squeeze. Letting go, she nodded towards her husband. “This is Lee Stetson. I can’t tell you how pleased I am that you’ll be staying with us.”
Something about Amanda King made Sydney feel immediately at ease and she smiled tentatively. “It’s…”

Jack stepped in front of Sydney protectively; until he was sure that these two were who they said they were, they would be directing their conversation to him and not his daughter. “I apologize for the short notice. I appreciate your… well we appreciate you being able to take Sydney in. I realize that this must be a huge imposition for you.”

Amanda didn’t care for Jack’s tone of voice. Knowing what she did about the man in front of her, she could understand the need for walls and skepticism, but she would be damned if she’d let this innocent girl feel like an unwelcome guest. Feeling Lee’s hand on her shoulder, she knew he was having similar thoughts. Moving a step to the side, she regained eye contact with Sydney. “Nonsense.” Smiling, she inched closer to the brown-eyed girl. “I’m really looking forward to having Sydney stay with us. It’ll be nice to have another girl in the house. You see I have two boys at home. Phillip is fourteen and Jamie is twelve.”

Sydney’s eyes lit up. “I’m twelve, too.”

Amanda nodded. “I know, and I have a feeling you and Jamie are going to get along just great. How about we head on down to the baggage claim area and gather your bags. I can tell you more about my boys as we walk and you can tell me all about yourself. How does that sound?”

Sydney nodded and then, for some unknown reason, she reached around her dad and took Amanda’s hand in hers. That feeling of warmth and acceptance came over her again. For the first time, in a long time, she was actually looking forward to her father going away on his business trip.

Lee watched Amanda and Sydney walking hand in hand ahead of them. Although the girl’s hair was straight, anyone watching the pair would have thought they were mother and daughter. Not wanting to let his mind wander down that path, he cleared his throat. Looking to his left, he saw Jack watching them intently as well.

Never taking his eyes off his daughter, Jack slowed his pace and decided that now was as good a time as any to clear a few things up. “Would you mind showing me your ID? I don’t want to accuse you of not being who you say you are, but there’s a lot at stake and I can’t afford not to be extremely cautious.”

Lee opened his mouth to comment, but quickly closed it again. He realized that Jack had every right to be suspicious. He didn’t know them from Adam and putting himself in Jack’s shoes, he realized that if it were Phillip and Jamie who needed protecting, he would be doing the exact same thing. Reaching into his back pocket, he took out his credentials and handed them over to Jack. “As you can see, I am who I say I am and I can assure you that Sydney is extremely safe with Amanda.”

Jack nodded and, satisfied that Lee’s federal ID was real, he handed it back to the man in charge of his daughter’s life. He returned his gaze back on his daughter. “I don’t think I need to tell you how important it is that Sydney is kept safe.”

Lee shook his head. “No, you don’t. I know exactly how important it is. Her safety is as important to you as Phillip and Jamie’s are to both Amanda and myself. We will do everything in our power to make sure she’s safe.”

Jack took his eyes off of his daughter, briefly, to look in Lee’s direction. “The Agency made sure that no one knew she would be staying with you?” His tone was quiet, but demanding.

“Yes.” Lee’s response came out almost as a hiss. “Mr. Bristow, we know how to do our jobs.” Then, since he had read about Jack’s past and understood where the man was coming from, he took a deep breath to keep his temper under control. “Look, I’m sure you’re very anxious about all of this. However, as I’m sure you’ll agree, the airport is not the most secure place to be having this discussion.” Never taking his eyes off of his wife and their charge, he added. “How about after we stop by the house to drop off Amanda and Sydney, you and I can head over to the Agency and we can discuss all the specifics there.”

Nodding, Jack turned his focus back on his daughter. “What exactly have you told Amanda’s family about Sydney?”

Lee rolled his eyes and shook his head. Jack Bristow was clearly not a people person. He was obviously a man who was all business. “We told them you were a business associate who asked us to watch your daughter for you while you went out of town. Since Amanda’s family thinks we both work for a film company, it was better to be as vague as possible.” Turning his attention on Sydney’s father, he asked a question he was sure Amanda would have asked, if she weren’t already occupied, “Mr. Bristow, what did you tell Sydney? I mean how did you explain the fact that you were leaving her with total strangers in a city three thousand miles from her home?”

Jack clutched his carry-on bag a little tighter. “Actually, I told her that you were an old friend that I hadn’t seen in years. When you heard I was coming to town, you said you wanted to meet my daughter and had arranged for her to stay with a friend of yours.” Turning his attention towards Lee, he added, “Therefore, I think we should drop the formality and you should call me Jack.”

Lee nodded and sighed. This whole assignment was turning out to be nothing but a whole bunch of secrets and lies. First there was the secret of his marriage to Amanda. Then there were the lies attached to Sydney’s presence in the house. Add to the list the fact that he was staying at the house under false pretences and they had a recipe for disaster. If they managed to get through the next week or so without everything blowing up in their faces, it would be a miracle.

Jack returned his gaze on the pair walking a short distance in front of them. This whole situation was not one he was completely comfortable with. Even if Sydney thought that Lee Stetson was an old friend, they were still strangers; strangers who, in reality, had jobs not much different than his own. Amanda King seemed genuine enough and Sydney seemed quite taken with her. He wasn’t sure why the fact that his daughter was so accepting of this woman bothered him so much. He knew that Sydney was clearly in need of a mother’s touch and caring. He suddenly realized, as he watched his daughter talking animatedly with the woman next to her, that it wasn’t Sydney’s openness towards Amanda King that really worried him. What concerned him the most was how this mother of two boys could possibly be a good protector for his daughter.

When he had found out the names of the agents who would be responsible for Sydney, he had gained access to their Agency files. Amanda King had clearly not entered the world of intelligence by conventional means. However, her file indicated that she was a very resourceful woman. Then there was the matter of the man walking beside him, the ‘famous Scarecrow’. From what he had discovered in Lee Stetson’s file, the man was a huge asset to the Agency. Jack had found it interesting that Lee was a second-generation spy, especially since his file indicated that he had been orphaned at the age of five. Hopefully the fact that Sydney’s mother had died in a similar fashion to Lee’s parents wouldn’t affect the man’s ability to do his job. It was clear from the file that this was one agent who tended to act on impulse a little too often. It had unnerved Jack a little when he had read that the man known as Scarecrow didn’t appear to take direction from authority well and clearly broke rule after rule whenever it suited him.

Jack remembered reading somewhere that Lee had actually committed treason when he traded a Russian spy for his partner. Looking at the woman holding hands and chatting with his daughter, he realized that anyone willing to do something that bold had to trust his partner completely. ‘If that’s any indication of Lee Stetson’s loyalty, then I should feel a little better about trusting him with the one thing I care about more than my job and my country.’ Jack mused to himself.

He was suddenly struck by a sense of envy towards the Agency team. He had been watching them when he and Sydney had been entering the terminal and had noticed the apparent closeness the two seemed to have. Then there was Lee’s gentle hand of support on Amanda’s shoulder earlier. He had also caught Amanda mentioning that Sydney would be staying with ‘us’ and had caught the slight inflection of Lee’s voice when he had mentioned Amanda’s boys. There was definitely something familiar about their partnership. He remembered a time when he thought Laura was a loving wife, someone that he had trusted with his heart and soul and therefore had confided everything to and, although she hadn’t worked at the CIA with him, he had considered her his partner and equal. What a fool he had been. From what he had gathered from both Lee and Amanda’s files, they were an effective team and it appeared that Stetson was a more successful agent since the Agency had paired him with Amanda King. He could only hope that the team of Scarecrow and Mrs. King would be enough to keep his daughter out of enemy hands.

Jack’s train of thought was broken by the sound of his daughter’s voice. Realizing they were now standing at the baggage carousel waiting for the luggage to begin its trek along the conveyer belts, he caught the impatient demeanor of his daughter. “I’m sorry, Syd, what is that you wanted?”

Sydney approached her father and asked again, “Amanda was telling me,” she noticed the raised eyebrows of her father, “Mrs. King said that I should call her Amanda. She felt Mrs. King was too formal.” She watched her father’s features relax a little as she continued, “Amanda was saying that she might be able to talk to her son Jamie’s school and see if they would let me attend classes with him. That way I can stay on top of my studies. She said that the only thing she would need would be a written letter of consent from you.”

Jack saw the excitement on his daughter’s face. He knew how much she loved school and she had been very disappointed that she would be missing time from her regular schoolwork. “If Mrs. King…”

“Jack, please call me Amanda. Like I told Sydney, there’s no reason to be so formal.” Amanda gave him a warm smile.

Jack cleared his throat. “If Amanda thinks that she can arrange it with the school, I don’t see why not. Lee and I were planning on heading to his office a little later, I’m sure I can borrow one of their computers and create something formal looking.” He was taken aback when his daughter unceremoniously wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

Amanda watched the exchange and noticed Jack’s obvious discomfort at his daughter’s affections. She had stolen a few glances back in Lee and Jack’s direction when they had been walking towards the baggage claim. She was sure they had talked mostly business, but she had observed a softness in Jack’s gaze when he looked towards his daughter, so at least there was a little compassion in the man. It was clearly evident that Jack would do anything for his daughter. Nevertheless, she couldn’t help but wonder if Jack Bristow cared for Sydney more out of responsibility than out of love.

After reading Jack’s file, she had been struck by the similarities between her husband and Jack. They had both experienced significant losses and betrayals in their pasts. Those experiences had caused Lee to build walls around his emotions but he had never lacked compassion towards others. She had known that all Lee needed was the right kind of patience, love and understanding in order to be able to trust again. And she had been right, it may have taken three years to break down those walls but her persistence and friendship had gotten Lee to trust again. However, when she looked at Jack Bristow, she could see nothing but distrust in the man’s eyes. Unlike Lee, there was no little boy pleading to be loved; instead she could see only a man that wanted to keep the world at a distance, including his own daughter.

Watching Jack’s demeanor now, Amanda was suddenly struck by a strange thought. Jack reminded her more of Lee’s uncle the Colonel than of Lee. She suddenly wondered exactly how the Colonel would have managed if Lee had been a girl. During their walk to the baggage claim, she had been surprised at Sydney’s openness. Sydney was clearly a very smart, intelligent and caring young girl. She knew enough of Lee’s past to know he had given the Colonel an extremely hard time. Amanda was glad that Sydney’s past hadn’t turned her into a rebel. Looking at her husband, she was still amazed that despite the lack of love and affection he had received from his uncle, Lee had turned into the loving, caring and wonderful man he was today. She was going to give Sydney as much love and affection as she could during the girl’s stay.

Lee observed the various emotions playing across his wife’s features. The look of amusement at Jack’s discomfort had struck him as odd; he would have to remember to ask her about that later. What worried him now was her current expression, it was the look she always wore when she was thinking about her sons. Noticing that her attention was on Sydney, he could only begin to imagine what ideas were going on in Amanda’s mind. Then again, Sydney would probably enjoy a little mothering. Seeing Sydney point to three bags coming around the carousel, he bent down to assist Jack in removing them from the conveyer belt.

Once they had all the luggage accounted for, Amanda took Sydney’s hand again. “Shall we head on home? I’m anxious for you to meet my mother and the boys. I know my mother is going to enjoy having another girl in the house even more than I am. I wouldn’t be surprised if she hasn’t already dug out my old dollhouse and put it in my son Jamie’s room for you. And, even though I’m sure you’re too old for them, I bet she even managed to unpack some of my old dolls. I’m sure she thinks putting some of my old things around will make the room you’re staying in seem less boyish. My mother loves to do little things like that; it’s her way of welcoming you.”

Sydney’s smile could have lit up the darkest room. It felt wonderful to be so welcomed. She was sure she was going to remember this week for years to come.

SMK a SMK a SMK

Lee entered the Georgetown foyer with Jack right behind him. As he approached Mrs. Marston, he was suddenly struck with the sudden image of his youngest stepson’s face. The ever-present scowl on the guardian of the Agency’s face, reminded him of the look Jamie had shortly after seeing what his grandmother had done to his bedroom. They had arrived at the house on Maplewood and everything seemed to be going smoothly. Jamie had taken an instant liking to Sydney and trying to be a true gentleman, his younger stepson had gathered up Sydney’s bags, anxious to show her the room she would be staying in. He chuckled as he remembered the anguished cry he heard moments after they had ascended the stairs. Always on alert, he had instinctively reached for his gun, but had paused when he heard Phillip’s not so subtle ribbing. Jamie had run down the stairs and confronted his mother and grandmother. “I agreed to let her stay in my room, not take it over. It’s going to take me years to get the mental image of all those dolls out of my head. I may never sleep in that room again.”

Seeing Mrs. Marston’s annoyed expression now as she cleared her throat trying to get his attention, he realized that she was impatiently waiting for him to take his ID badge.

“Sorry, Mrs. Marston.” Lee took the offered badge. “Do you know if Billy is in?”

Mrs. Marston barely nodded as she handed Jack a visitor’s badge. “Yes, he’s here. But he asked me to tell you to meet him in his office. He said to tell you he might be a little late, due to a last minute meeting with the good doctor.”

Lee groaned. A last minute anything with Dr. Smyth was never a good thing. “You’re sure he wanted us to meet him in his office?” He cast a sideways glance in Jack’s direction.

Mrs. Marston closed her eyes and sighed. “Yes, Scarecrow. His exact words were, ‘tell Stetson to meet me in my office, no arguments’.”

“Okay, I get the hint.” Attaching his badge to his jacket, Lee started towards the closet. As he opened the closet door, he motioned for Jack to enter. It surprised him just a little when Jack didn’t remark about the fact that he was entering a room where coats were hung. Most people, upon entering the closet, usually had some kind of comment.

Jack noticed Lee’s curious glance as the elevator descended from the lobby. He had heard about the Agency’s secret underground office. Lee was probably wondering why he hadn’t said anything. He actually thought it was a great idea. No one would suspect that a closet was actually a means to enter a top-secret government facility. The idea had some merit. He didn’t think he’d ever have a need for anything like that in his future, but it couldn’t hurt to store away that idea for future reference.

As they exited the elevator into the hallway, Lee began to ponder exactly why Billy wanted them to meet in his office. He had every intention of bringing Jack to the Q-Bureau. He felt that Jack really didn’t need to see the inner workings of the Agency. It’s not like he had ever had a real tour of Langley and the CIA headquarters had a sign directing you to it form the George Washington Parkway; the Agency was supposed to be a top secret facility. He was going to discuss with Billy the fact that too many outsiders knew how to get down to the Agency by way of the Georgetown entrance.

Either way, Lee hoped that Billy’s meeting would end soon, but not too soon. He hadn’t heard from T.P. yet and now that they were in a more work-related atmosphere, he was anxious to get a few answers about Project Christmas from Jack. For some reason the car ride to the Agency didn’t seem like the right time or place to have that particular conversation. After leaving Sydney at Amanda’s, Jack had steered the conversation onto his daughter’s current accommodations. Jack had commented, and it was true, that Amanda’s house was the perfect place for Sydney to stay. Since no one in Amanda’s family knew that she was a federal agent, Sydney would be totally oblivious to the fact that she was under government protection. That was another thing he was anxious to get to the bottom of: why exactly did Sydney need protecting. He was anxious to know what the young girl’s connection to Project Christmas was but hadn’t approached that subject in the car either, knowing that Billy would want to be present for that conversation. He had just entered the bullpen ahead of Jack and was heading towards Billy’s office, when his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Francine’s voice.

“Lee, aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?” Francine approached and sidled up to Jack. She had been watching the two men as they were walking down the hall. She knew who Lee’s companion was but had decided to have a little fun. Jack Bristow wasn’t bad looking. He was stocky and definitely took care of himself, but he appeared to be way too serious.

Lee coughed in order to hide his amusement at the look of indifference Jack shot in his direction. He didn’t think Jack was a prude, but he knew that look; it was a look that said, ‘Is she for real?’ Jack may have been hurt by his wife, in such a way that he wouldn’t trust another woman again, but he was pretty sure the man beside him was no stranger to taking comfort in the arms of a woman. Heck, he had done it himself many times in the years before he had met and fallen in love with Amanda. Clearing his throat, he made the introductions. “Francine Desmond, this is Jack Bristow. Jack this is Francine, she’s Billy’s assistant.”

Francine shot him a look that would wilt a flower. “I do more than just assist Billy. If it weren’t for me, you’d never get any of your expense vouchers reimbursed. I honestly don’t know how you managed before Amanda came into your life. She makes it so much easier for me to push your paperwork through. Before she started doing your typing for you, it would take me hours to decipher your handwriting.”

“Fran-cine,” Lee drew out her name in annoyance. “Look, I introduced you to Jack so now, if you don’t mind, we have business to attend to.” He pushed past her and made a beeline for Billy’s office door. As he opened it, he allowed Jack to enter ahead of him. Before entering the office, he turned and called after the blonde, “Do you have any idea what the old man wanted to see Billy about?”

Francine shook her head and moved closer to him. “I'm not sure, but the way Billy stormed out of here, it definitely can’t be good.”

“How long ago was that?”

Francine glanced at the clock on the wall. “I’d say that was about thirty minutes ago.”
“Great,” Lee mumbled. “Well hopefully he’ll be down soon. We don’t have a lot of time to waste.”

“You might want to make yourself comfortable; it could be a long wait.” Francine smiled. “I could always come in and keep your friend company if you have other things you need to take care of.”

“No, that won’t be necessary.” Lee turned and entered the section chief’s office, closing the door on Francine. He moved to stand against the window with his back to the bullpen and folded his arms. “You might as well have a seat. We may be here a while.”

“Bureaucratic meetings never change, no matter which agency you’re with. This Dr. Smyth of yours sounds like a real winner.” Jack moved and sat on the couch against the wall. At Lee’s raised eyebrows, he explained, “I don’t know much about your operation but I have heard of Dr. Smyth. I know that when he says jump, he expects everyone to say ‘how high’. We’ve got a couple of self-righteous directors over at the CIA, too.”

Lee nodded. “Well, we may not like the man but he has his ears in all the right places, so we tend to get information we normally wouldn’t get.” Pushing off the window, he moved towards the chairs in front of Billy’s desk. Turning one around so it faced Jack, he sat down. Stretching his legs out, he clasped his hands behind his head and relaxed. He was no stranger to Class ‘C’ interrogations, but one thing he had definitely learned from Amanda was that if you showed you were at ease, it was easier to get information; a rigid stance or threatening demeanor was never going to get blood from a stone. “Jack, I’ve been wondering, what can you tell me about Project Christmas?”

Jack had been expecting this question and keeping his expression neutral, he looked Lee directly in the eye. “Absolutely nothing.”

Lee tensed immediately and sat up straight. “What do you mean…nothing?”
“You’ve obviously read my file otherwise you wouldn’t even know the name.” Jack understood Lee’s need to know about the project in order to protect Sydney properly, but there was no way he was going to give out any information; the project had already been compromised enough. “So when I say nothing, I’m saying I can’t tell you because you don’t have clearance to know anything about it.”

Lee took in Jack’s demeanor. The man was cool, composed and was clearly not going to budge. Running a hand through his hair, he rose and began pacing; he did not like being told ‘no’. “You’ve got to be kidding. We take your daughter in, agree to protect her and you can’t even tell me what it is we’re up against.”

Jack shook his head. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t tell you what we were up against. I just said I couldn’t tell you what Project Christmas is.” He leaned forward in his seat, his back straight and his expression neutral. “Look, we’re in the business of keeping secrets. You should know that better than anyone. I know your parents were in this business, too. ”

Lee stopped in his tracks, his back to the door, and looked pointedly at Jack. “Don’t you dare mention my parents!” He hissed through clenched teeth. “My parents’ need to keep secrets was what got them killed and wrongfully accused of being traitors.” He knew all too well what it was like to be kept in the dark about things he had a right to know about. He remembered the CIA’s blacked out files on his parents. Even though he had cleared their names, it still stung a little to know that the CIA had so willingly considered them traitors. The more he thought about his parents, the more his blood boiled. “I don’t give a damn about you CIA agents and your ‘top secret’ crap. Apparently Project Christmas isn't so 'need-to-know' because the KGB managed to get their hands on it. However, you're unwilling to share the information with your own government. I don't buy it. I want answers and I want them NOW!"

“Scarecrow! That’s enough.”

Lee spun around and came face-to-face with his section chief.

“I’ve had to deal with more than my fair share of tirades today and I don’t need to deal with yours, too.” When he saw Lee opening his mouth to protest, Billy slammed the door shut. “I mean it Stetson. I need you on this case, not off of it, and I will suspend you if you don’t get your ass in gear right this minute. Now, sit down!”

Lee slumped down in the chair he had been occupying earlier. With a scowl on his face, he avoided eye contact with either of other the two men in the room.

If Billy hadn’t been in such a foul mood after sitting with Dr. Smyth, he would probably have laughed at Lee’s obvious boyish acquiescence. Turning the remaining chair in front of his desk around, he sat down and looked from Jack to Lee. “Now, what is it that has you so bent out of shape?”

Before Lee could answer, Jack took charge of the conversation. “Lee was just voicing his opinion on being kept in the dark about Project Christmas.”

Billy nodded. He understood completely. He had told Lee that it wasn’t going to be easy and that if Lee couldn’t get anything from his sources, he was pretty sure Jack wasn’t going to divulge anything either. “Well, Dr. Smyth confirmed that, too. He told me that Project Christmas is strictly hands off.”

Lee’s head shot in Billy’s direction and he glared at his boss. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Billy put up his hand to stop any further protest. “Those were his direct orders. Now, I suggest we drop this subject and get on with the other topic, Sydney.” Turning his attention on the other man in the office, he extended his hand. “In all the uproar, I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself properly. My apologies. I’m William Melrose, Lee’s supervisor.”

Leaning forward, Jack shook the offered hand. “Jack Bristow. I appreciate your Agency assisting me with this.”

“Well its not every day that the CIA asks us to help them with anything.” Billy leaned back in his chair. “You guys really like to keep to yourselves.”

“That’s an understatement,” Lee mumbled.

Billy shot Lee a stern look. “I mean it Scarecrow. I can find someone else to assist Amanda.”

Lee shook his head adamantly. “Don’t even try it, Billy. She’s my partner and you are not assigning anyone else to this case.”

Billy stared him down. “Then I suggest you let us get down to the business at hand.” He was extremely glad when Lee showed signs of reigning himself in. He didn’t want to tell Scarecrow that pulling him off the case wasn’t just a threat. It was one of the things he had gone around and around with Dr. Smyth about not twenty minutes earlier. For some reason, the old man didn’t like the idea that Scarecrow and his partner would be ‘playing house’. Dr. Smyth had apparently heard the water cooler gossip and was pretty sure that the pair had developed a relationship that was way more than just partners. Dr. Smyth didn’t want this case to give them any harebrained ideas.

Jack watched the exchange with extreme interest. He had read that Lee Stetson was hotheaded, but seeing it first hand, put a new spin on things. The man was obviously very passionate when it came to his partner. He couldn’t help but notice the brief show of jealousy at the mention of anyone else being assigned to work with Amanda. He wasn’t sure if Lee’s attitude during the past few minutes was something he should worry about with regards to Sydney or if it meant that his daughter really was in good hands. Having been introduced to Amanda’s family and hearing her boys call Lee their mom’s boyfriend, had only confirmed what he had suspected at the airport; the relationship between Lee and Amanda was much closer than that of partners. Lee’s reaction when Mr. Melrose threatened to take him off the case, made him realize that Lee would probably do anything to protect his partner and her family, and right now that included Sydney.

Glancing at his watch, Jack realized that he needed to check in with his superiors soon. “Just what are your plans for protecting Sydney? I assume you realize the importance of keeping her whereabouts as quiet as possible.”

Billy saw the muscle in Lee’s jaw tense and realized that this was probably something they had already discussed. “Mr. Bristow, I can assure you that only five people know anything about Sydney.” At Jack’s questioning look, he continued, “You obviously know about Lee, Amanda and myself. The other two are Dr. Smyth and my assistant Francine Desmond.”

Jack nodded. “Yeah, we ran into your assistant briefly. Not to get off topic, but someone should tell her not to come on so strong. She’d probably get a lot more dates that way.”

The tension in the room dissipated as Billy let out a deep, belly laugh.

“I wouldn’t want to be the one to tell her that though. Francine can be mean when she wants to be.” Lee felt the tension leave his own body as he joined in the laughter.

As his laughter subsided, Billy wiped a tear from his eye. “Anyway, we’ve assigned a twenty-four hour surveillance team to watch over Amanda’s house. To answer the next question I’m sure you want to ask, the members of the surveillance team only know to keep watch over Amanda and her family, they don’t know the specifics. Also, to put your mind at ease, Lee will be going anywhere Amanda goes; therefore Sydney will have a full-time bodyguard.”

Lee watched Jack nod, before chiming in with his own set of questions. “Okay, I won’t bring up Project Christmas again but I think you owe us an explanation as to why Sydney’s safety is so important. What exactly is this ‘leak’ that has us watching your daughter and not one of your own?”

Jack leaned back into the couch and closed his eyes. “This is where it gets tricky.” Opening them, he looked in Billy’s direction. “I’m sure you read about my wife, which means you know that she was after Project Christmas. Let me just say that some of Irina’s former associates would love to get their hands on a prototype and they believe Sydney is the key.”
Lee watched Jack suspiciously. “What do you mean by key?”

“They would love to use Sydney to get to me. Perhaps they didn’t get enough information from Irina’s reports to perfect their own version of Project Christmas. I need to go over to Russia and do some investigating of my own.” Jack knew he wasn’t being completely honest with the men in front of him, but he couldn’t be without divulging the truth about Project Christmas. Too many lives were at stake for that. However, knowing that Mr. Melrose and Lee weren’t rookies, he needed them to believe what he was telling them. Making eye contact with Mr. Melrose, he continued, “We believe that someone within the CIA might be feeding them information and if they know I’m not in the picture, they might go after Sydney. Everyone I trust in our L.A. office is currently out on assignment. The timing of their sudden missions couldn’t be more suspicious.”

“That does sound a little too convenient. It’s almost like someone high up is in on the game.” Lee was beginning to get a really bad feeling about all of this.

“That’s why we came to you. I have no idea how long I’ll be gone and I need to feel confident that Sydney won’t be whisked away to Russia the minute my back is turned.” Jack looked at his watch again. “Look, I can’t tell you anymore than I already have, because, frankly, I don’t know much more myself. The only thing I can tell you is this, the man who might be behind the threats to Sydney is Valery Kholokov. He’s a prominent member of the KGB’s psych ops division. I’m telling you this so you can run your own background search on him and keep an eye out for anyone you have on record who might be associated with him.”

“I wonder if Kholokov had any connection to Serge Krutiov.” Lee looked towards Billy. His section chief just shrugged.

“I’ve heard of Krutiov. He’s called the Puppet Master, right?” Jack watched as Billy nodded.

“Yes, up until recently he was considered Moscow’s number one brain bender. He may very well have been connected to Kholokov. After all, Krutiov did manage to mess up a lot of people’s minds with his psychological warfare before he was captured.” Lee stood and began to pace.

“I understand you and Amanda helped put Krutiov away.” Ignoring Lee’s surprised look, Jack added, “however, from what I’ve heard about Kholokov, he likes to use psycho-active drugs. Krutiov used other methods. But they both appeared to have worked in the mind control division of psych ops, so who knows.”

Lee stopped his pacing and moved to stand in front of the window. Leaning his back against it, he folded his arms and gazed in Billy’s direction. “You know, we might want to pull some files on Krutiov, too. Cross-reference them with anything we come up with on Kholokov.”

Billy nodded in Lee’s direction. “Good idea.” He then looked back towards Jack. “Is there anything else?”

Jack nodded and glanced in Lee’s direction. “Actually there is, I made a promise to my daughter earlier. Is there a computer I can use?”

Lee uncrossed his arms and pushed off from the window. “That’s right. You need to give her permission to attend school with Jamie.” Turning towards Billy, he asked, “Do we have any standard school forms around here?”
“Actually steno has a variety of forms. I’ll get Francine to bring them up. I’ll also have her bring some standard guardian forms, in case something should happen to Sydney.” Being a father himself, Billy knew anything could go wrong. “I recommend you give Amanda temporary guardianship just in case of an emergency.”

Jack let out a small sigh. “I’m so used to everything being in order back home and I’ve been too wrapped up in trying to get a lead on this leak, that it totally slipped my mind.”

Lee turned towards his boss, concern evident in his eye as he realized the need for extra security. “Billy we’ll want to arrange for a team at the middle school, too.”

Billy caught the look of concern on his agent’s face. “We’ll arrange one for the high school, as well. I’m sure it’ll make Amanda feel much better.” A knowing grin crossed his features as he watched Lee relax, and he knew that Amanda wasn’t the only one who would feel better with the added security team. Turning, he headed towards his office door. Opening it he shouted, “Desmond!” Then, walking in her direction, he intercepted his assistant.

As Lee watched Billy giving Francine instructions, Jack’s earlier comment came back to mind. “You know, your comment about Francine wasn’t entirely off base. She can come on a bit strong sometimes.” He watched as his friend headed out of the bullpen. “However, she’s a damn fine agent and I wouldn’t be surprised if she was just having a little fun with you earlier.” Before he could elaborate, Billy reentered the office.

“I sent Francine down to retrieve the necessary forms and I’ve asked her to have research start pulling what they can on Kholokov and Krutiov. If research pulls anything on them while you’re still here, Jack, I’d like for you to look through it. Perhaps you’ll recognize someone we might need to keep an watch out for.” Billy motioned for Jack to follow him back out into the bullpen. “Meanwhile, I’ll set you up at one of the desks with a typewriter and you can call into your office. As soon as you’re done, Lee can take you where you need to go.” He turned towards his agent. “Scarecrow, I want you to head up to the Q-Bureau and see if we have any files on Kholokov. You might as well pull the Krutiov files, too. But be back as soon as you can, there are a few things I need to go over with you,” he moved a little closer to Lee and, in a fairly quiet voice, added, “privately.”

Lee nodded and sighed before heading out of the bullpen. He wasn’t entirely looking forward to the upcoming conversation with his section chief. He had a bad feeling it had to do with Billy’s meeting with Dr. Smyth and his gut was telling him that he had been the main topic of conversation.

Chapter Four

Thursday Evening, September 17th

Lee took a deep breath before entering his house and smiled. No matter what anyone had to say, this was his home. Even if he didn’t officially live here, Amanda was here, and anywhere his Amanda was, was home. He was definitely going to enjoy ‘coming home’ here everyday for the next week. As he put his key into the lock, he took another deep breath. ‘Damn, Dr. Smyth anyway.’ No need to let his mind go there, he was home and he didn’t need to get himself all worked up. After all, he commended himself, he’d done a pretty good job of keeping his anger in check for the last hour. He had only blown his top once in Billy’s office. Of course that was right after Billy had informed him for the second time that he needed to lay off finding anything out about Project Christmas.

Apparently Dr. Smyth was really pissed that he and Amanda had been assigned this one. Billy had tried not to go into too much detail, but from what his section chief had said he was beginning to think that Dr. Smyth would like nothing more than to find a way to break up his partnership with Amanda. If that were true, he wasn’t sure what would happen once they went public with their marriage. He didn’t want to think about that right now. Sydney and his family were the only things that concerned him at the moment. Turning the key, he remembered what Billy had said to him right before he had left: “One slip up and Smyth will have me pulling you off this assignment. We can’t afford to do that, not after your cover’s already been established. I won’t be able to put anybody else in Amanda’s house without raising everyone’s suspicions, especially Sydney’s. Just behave yourself.”

As Lee opened the door, he made a pact with himself. He would do whatever it took not to be pulled off of this one. He didn’t want anyone else responsible for his family. Of course, he still hadn’t heard back from T.P. and his favorite librarian always came through for him. It was contacting his sources in the CIA that had tipped his hand. So as long as he didn’t do any more questioning there, he might not get into trouble. A smile crossed his lips as he stepped into the house and took in the smells of dinner coming from the kitchen.

‘Playing house indeed.’ Lee laughed to himself, as he remembered one of Dr. Smyth’s comments to Billy. ‘If the old man only knew.’

Stepping over the landing, Lee peered around the corner and, as he watched his wife pulling something out of the oven, a sudden feeling of domesticity came over him. Unable to control himself, he smiled and called out, “Honey, I’m home.” Moving into the kitchen, he put the folder he was carrying on the counter and approached her.

Amanda put the pan on the hot plate and wrapped her arms around her husband. “God, it sounds so right to hear you say that.”

Pulling her to him, Lee smiled. “You have no idea.” Leaning down he placed a longing kiss on her lips. “I missed you this afternoon,” he commented as their kiss ended.

Amanda caught the tone in his voice. “Uh-oh. Not that you wouldn’t miss me, but something in your voice is telling me that I should’ve been there with you. What happened? You didn’t do something impulsive, did you?”
Lee pulled back a little and shook his head. “No, but it was close. I really had to fight the urge to pound my fist into something…or someone.” At his wife’s questioning gaze, he continued, “Billy had a very long meeting with Dr. Smyth and it seems that I was the main topic of conversation.” Looking around, he made sure there were no family members in earshot. “Let’s just say that I’m more than anxious to find out just what Project Christmas is.” He caught Amanda’s raised eyebrows. “Apparently it’s so top secret that the CIA is extremely intent on keeping a very tight lid on it. Jack pretty much clamped up at the mere mention of it. Then Billy said that Dr. Smyth threatened to pull me off this assignment if he finds out that I’m still asking around about it.”

“Oh, Lee. I know you and I know you aren’t going to stop until you get your answers so please be careful. I need you here.” Amanda kissed him on the lips. “I want you here.” She kissed him again. “I don’t want anyone else living in my house, but my husband.”

Lee smiled. “Believe me, I plan on treading very carefully because there is no way I’m getting pulled off of this assignment. In the meantime, I still have T.P. doing research and if he does come up with anything, I’ll only share those findings with you. As far as I’m concerned Billy and the Agency can stay in the dark. So, no worries, I’m not going anywhere.” He leaned down to place a kiss on her lips, when he was interrupted by what sounded like a herd of elephants running down the stairs. Breaking the embrace, he took a step and turned in the direction of the stairs. “I was just about to ask where everyone was.”

Phillip bounded into the room with Jamie close behind. “We thought we heard your car pull into the driveway.”

Lee looked over the boys’ heads. “Where’s Sydney?”

“She’s in my room.” Jamie replied as he moved into the kitchen. “She’s doing some unpacking.” At his mom’s questioning gaze, he explained, “I emptied out a few of my dresser drawers for her. I figured she might feel more at home if she didn’t have to live out of a suitcase.”

Lee looked over at his wife and saw a strange expression on her face. Reaching over, he squeezed her hand in support when he saw a single tear appear at the corner of her eye. She had mentioned to him, once or twice over the past few months, how hard it was to watch her sons turning into young men. To her, Jamie was always going to be her baby.

“That was very nice of you, Jamie.” Amanda sighed. No matter how hard she tried to deny it, her baby wasn’t a baby anymore.

Jamie shrugged his shoulders. “Well this morning, as I was coming downstairs for breakfast, I overheard you telling Grandma how you had done that for Lee. And…well…I sort of felt bad for my outburst earlier. You know…when I saw what Grandma had done to my room. I figured it was the least I could to do to try and make Sydney feel a little more welcome.”

Amanda smiled and began to turn her attention back to finishing up dinner but stopped when a thought occurred to her. She turned back to look at her youngest son. “What did you do with the clothes you took out to make room for Sydney’s?”

Jamie looked down at his feet. “Well, I kind of folded them neatly and shoved them under my bed.” Raising his head, he looked sheepishly at his mother. “I only took out the clothes that I wouldn’t be wearing right now.”

Amanda shook her head and sighed. “Tonight, after dinner, we’ll find some boxes and pack the clothes away in the attic.” Reaching over she mussed his hair. She never tired of doing that, even if he was getting too old for it. “Now, dinner’s almost ready. Jamie, can you please set the table for me and Phillip, can you please go ask Sydney and your grandmother to come and join us.” As she watched her first born head for the stairs, she added, “And, Phillip, please go upstairs and tell them, do not shout up the stairs.”

Lee watched his eldest stepson hang his head, as he trudged back upstairs. “That was very tactful.”

Amanda smiled. “I didn’t think Sydney was ready for the regular ruckus that usually goes on around here.” She turned her attention back to the pot roast in the pan. After she pulled the meat out and placed it on the platter, she began spooning the vegetables into a serving bowl. “Did Jack get off okay?”

Leaning in, so Jamie wouldn’t be able to hear him, Lee whispered, “Yeah, I dropped him off at Langley before heading over here.” He reached over to grab a piece of carrot that missed the bowl and popped it in his mouth.

“That’s good. You’ll have to fill me in on your meeting later.” Amanda swatted his hand as he reached over for another piece of carrot.

Jamie came back into the kitchen and pulled out the silverware drawer. “Mom, we seem to be a few dinner forks short.”

Amanda leaned over and inspected the drawer. “Hmm, guess we didn’t get a chance to run the dishwasher earlier. Go ahead and use a couple of dessert forks.” She turned her attention back to her husband. “Lee, why don’t you go on upstairs and get cleaned up. I’ll have dinner on the table by the time you get back down.”

Lee reached over one more time and successfully grabbed another carrot. “Yes ma’am.” He mock saluted as he headed in the direction of the living room. They had been in such a rush to get the house in order this morning before heading to the airport that he hadn’t moved any of his clothes upstairs. However, he stopped in his tracks when he noticed his bags were no longer downstairs. Turning, he re-entered the den. “Amanda, where are my clothes?”

Without looking up at him, Amanda answered, “I took the liberty of moving everything upstairs to my room while you were at the office.” She smiled, as he got closer. “I figured it was one less thing for you to do.”

Lee walked over to his wife and placed a kiss on her cheek. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now go get cleaned up.” Amanda pushed him towards the stairs. “Oh, before I forget, did Jack remember to fill out those permission forms for Sydney?”
Lee nodded as he paused at the bottom of the stairs. “Yep, everything is in the folder on the counter.” Before he could utter another word, he was practically bowled down by Phillip. He just shook his head and made his way up the stairs.

“Mom, Grandma and Sydney said they’d be right down.”

“Phillip, please be careful on the stairs.” Amanda admonished as she moved to pick up the folder. “Sweetheart, do me a favor and bring the food into the dining room.” As she scanned through the papers, she caught sight of the emergency form. She was glad that Jack had remembered to fill one out. With everything that had been going on, it had never crossed her mind and being a mother, it should have.

“Are those the permission forms from my dad?” Sydney asked as she came into the kitchen.

Amanda nodded. “They sure are and I spoke to the Principal at Jamie’s school. She said that it should be no problem at all for you to sit in on a few classes, so you’re all set.” She closed the folder and put it back on the counter. She placed an arm around the young girl’s shoulders. “Are you sure you want to do this. If you would rather use this time as a vacation and see the sights of D.C., I’d be more than happy to give you a tour. We could have a lot of fun.”

Sydney tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear and shook her head. “As much fun as that would be and I’m sure I’d love to see some of the museums, I want to do this. Besides, from what my dad mentioned, he’s going to be gone for at least a week and there’s probably a ton of things you need to be doing anyway, I wouldn’t want to be in the way.”

Amanda guided the girl towards the dining room. “Nonsense, I took off work to be with you, Sydney. I think it’s great that you want to keep up with your schoolwork and I’m not trying to talk you out of anything. But if you change your mind, there’s enough to do and see in D.C. and the surrounding areas that would keep us busy for much longer than a week.”

As Amanda removed her arm from around her shoulders, Sydney moved to take a seat at the table. “I appreciate the offer and I hope it won’t mess up any of your plans if I go to school. And, with me there you won’t have to take time off of work.”

Amanda sighed. “Oh Sydney, you didn’t mess up any of my plans. In fact, since you had your heart set on going to school with Jamie, I arranged to help out at the school’s book sale. So everything worked out anyway, I just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t rather be enjoying your time away from home.”

“You may think it strange but I really don’t want to miss too much school work.” Sydney watched as Phillip and Jamie entered the dining room. “I don’t want to be too far behind when I get back home.”

Dotty had heard Sydney’s last comment as she entered the room. “Well, I for one think that’s a very commendable attitude to have. Education is very important.”

“I think it’s pretty nerdy, if you ask me,” Phillip mumbled as he took his seat on the opposite side of the table from Sydney.

“I don’t think anyone did ask you dufus,” Jamie chimed in, glaring at his brother as he sat down next to Sydney. Leaning his head close to hers, he whispered, “Don’t mind Phillip, he thinks anything that doesn’t have to do with sports is boring.”

“Shut up, wormbrain.”

“That’s enough. We’ve got a guest here and I don’t want to hear any more name calling.” Amanda looked pointedly at her eldest son. “I want everyone on their best behavior, is that clear.” She looked from Phillip, to Jamie and back again.

“Yes, Mom.” Both boys chimed in unison.

“Good.” Amanda took her seat at the head of the table. Changing the topic, she watched her mother seat herself at the other end of the table. “Mother, I’ve been meaning to ask you, were all those dolls you put in Jamie’s room, really all mine? I don’t remember having that many.”

Before Dotty could reply, Jamie moaned. “Oh, Mom, did you really have to bring that up.” He gave his mom a thin lipped, tough guy stare. “I’m trying really hard not to think about it.”

Phillip laughed. “I’m just glad Sydney’s not staying in my room.” He looked at the brown-haired girl across from him, “No offense, but dolls and sports stuff do not go together.”

Sydney smiled in response and then turned towards Jamie. “It was awful nice of you to give up your room. I wanted to thank you again for finding a way for me to unpack my bags too.”

Jamie shrugged. “It was nothing.”

Dotty passed the vegetables over to her grandson “I think it was very sweet of you, Jamie”

“He’s just trying to impress Sydney ’cause she’s a girl, Grandma.” Phillip took a couple of pieces of meat from the pan and placed it on his plate.

Jamie glared at his brother. “Shut up, moron.”

“What did I just finish telling you boys about name calling and behaving yourselves at the dinner table? If I have to remind you two, one more time, you’ll both be excused from the table, is that understood?” Amanda admonished. She watched as both boys nodded and then turned their attention to the food in front of them.

Lee chose that moment to walk in and take the seat next to Phillip. Noticing the chagrined expression his stepsons were both wearing, he glanced at Sydney. “Guess I missed something, didn’t I?”

Sydney smiled shyly and shrugged. As she tucked her hair behind her ear again, she glanced around the table. The verbal battle between Phillip and Jamie had been extremely entertaining. It was a good change from the boring dinners she was used to. Usually she would either eat by herself or with the cook. Her dad was never around and Maria had to go home and make dinner for her own family.

“Sydney, what can I get you to drink?” Amanda asked as she turned to head back into the kitchen. “We have iced tea, lemonade or milk.”

“Um, lemonade sounds really good, thank you.”

Amanda headed into the kitchen and was just about to open the fridge to retrieve the pitchers of lemonade and iced tea, when the phone began ringing. Shaking her head, she hoped it wouldn’t be work related. Sydney was their case and there should be no reason the Agency would be calling them, unless it was urgent.

Amanda picked up the phone after the second ring. “Hello? … Oh, hi T.P.,” her voice reflecting the relief she felt that it wasn’t someone from the Agency. “No, you’re not catching us a at a bad time, we were just sitting down to dinner … Yes, Lee’s here … No, no need to call back later, I’ll … Honestly, T.P., don’t worry about it … Trust me, Lee is very anxious to hear if you found out anything for him … just hold on, I’ll get him.” She put her hand over the receiver and called out, “Lee, telephone.”

Before she could say anything more, Lee appeared around the corner. “It better not be work…”

Amanda shook her head as she handed him the phone. “It’s T.P.”

Lee took the phone and placed it to his ear. “Hey, T.P. I was beginning to wonder when I’d be hearing from you.”

Moving to the fridge, Amanda listened to Lee’s side of the conversation as she got out the drinks she’d come in for earlier.

“You did? Really?” A satisfied smile appeared on Lee’s face as he leaned against the counter. “No, as much as I can’t wait to hear what you’ve you found out, tonight won’t work. How about I meet you tomorrow morning, I just have to drop off Amanda and the kids at school first? I should be free by nine, just name the place … Perfect, I’ll see you there. Thanks again, T.P. … Yeah, I will. Bye T.P.”

“You will what?” Amanda had decided to wait and hear the rest of the conversation before heading back into the dining room.

Lee hung up the phone and turned towards his wife. “T.P. wanted me to tell you again how sorry he was for interrupting dinner.”

“Oh. So I gather from the grin on your face, T.P. has something for you?” Amanda moved closer to her husband.

“Yeah, I’m going to meet him tomorrow after I drop you, Sydney and the boys off at school.” Lee took one of the pitchers from her. “Now, let’s go back and join our family at the table. I don’t know about you, but I’m starved and if we don’t get in there soon, there may be only slim pickings left.”

Amanda laughed and followed him into the dining room.

SMK a SMK a SMK

Amanda sat on the couch attempting to watch an old movie on TV, but was having a hard time concentrating. After dinner and dishes were done, Phillip had challenged Lee to a game of one-on-one, and now Lee was upstairs, in her bathroom, showering. What she really wanted to do was go upstairs and join him; unfortunately she knew that was impossible. It would be a different story if everyone was asleep, but they weren’t. And even if they were, she still wouldn’t feel right about it, at least not until their marriage was out in the open. She still felt a little guilty because of their romantic encounter last night. No matter how enjoyable it had been.

Trying not to think about a very naked, very sexy Lee with water cascading over his very firm, muscular body, Amanda decided to remind herself that they weren’t alone. Phillip was upstairs doing his homework, Dotty was out on the patio reading one of her romance novels and Jamie was in the dining room with Sydney. Although she was sure that her youngest son was enjoying having someone to do his homework with, the idea to compare notes had been Sydney’s. Knowing that she would be going to a different school and that they probably weren’t learning exactly the same things, Sydney had asked Jamie if he wouldn’t mind going over what he was currently learning in school.

Having spent only a few hours with Sydney, Amanda was already growing very fond of her. She was warm, caring and obviously very bright. She began to wonder just how much attention Sydney received from her father. Knowing that the young girl spent most of her time in the care of anyone but her father, she could only surmise that it probably wasn’t a lot. If that were true, then it would most likely explain Sydney’s love of school. Sydney probably chose spending time with her studies as an alternative to feeling lonely.

Amanda was so engrossed in her current thoughts, she never heard Lee come downstairs. She jumped suddenly when he placed a tender kiss on her cheek.

“Nickel for your thoughts?”

“Gave up on the penny, huh?” Amanda smiled up at him.

“Well, with inflation on the rise, I figured a penny wasn’t enough anymore.” Lee came around and sat down next to her. “Good movie?”

Amanda shook her head and turned to face her husband. “I have no idea. I wasn’t really watching it.”

“So I gathered. What were you thinking about?” Lee eyed her curiously.

“Actually, more like trying not to think about certain things.” Amanda smiled mischievously. “So, I guess we’ll have to wait till everyone is in bed before I can find out how your meeting went earlier.”

His wife’s attempt to change the subject didn’t go unnoticed by Lee. He leaned over and whispered into her ear, “Nice diversionary tactics there, Mrs. Stetson.” Catching her brief shiver, he pulled back and smiled. “But you’re right, it’s definitely not something to discuss with ears around.”

Amanda nodded. “That’s one thing we’ll have to get used to.” At his curious look, she continued, “Well, we usually talk about what we’re working on either outside,” she motioned towards the backyard with her head, “or at your apartment. We’ve never had to worry about who might hear what. Now that things are more ‘normal’ we have to be extra careful what we say.”

Lee chuckled. “If this is what you consider ‘normal’, I’d hate to think what you consider complicated.”

Amanda elbowed him in the side. “Ha, ha. You know what I mean.”

“Yes, I do.” Lee bent down to place a gentle kiss on her lips.

“Ugh! Get a room you two.”

Lee and Amanda broke their kiss and turned around to see the giant grin on Phillip’s face.

“I’m just joking. I think it’s great that you two feel comfortable enough around us not to hide your feelings for each other.” Phillip moved closer to the couch. “Seriously, Lee, mom seems so much happier when you’re around. You’re good for her.”

Lee looked at Amanda, a satisfied smile on his face. “Thanks, Chief.”

Before Amanda could comment, the phone began ringing. She raised her eyebrows at Lee.

“I wonder who it could be at this hour.” Dotty remarked as she came in from the backyard and placed her book on the counter.

Phillip changed direction and went to answer it. “Hello? … Hi, Dad. … Yeah, hold on a minute, she’s right here.” He held the phone out towards his mother. “Mom, it’s Dad, he says he needs to talk to you.”

Amanda patted Lee’s leg as she rose from the couch and went to retrieve the phone from her son. Placing the receiver to her ear, she kept her focus on activity in the den. “Hi, Joe.” She watched Phillip head over towards Lee and ask if he could change the channel on the television. “Yeah, I suppose we could … How about I meet you here at the house for lunch? … I’m helping with the book sale at the school and don’t want to be gone too long … Great, I’ll see you around eleven-thirty tomorrow … I will. Bye, Joe.” Returning the receiver to its base, she leaned against the counter.

“Isn’t this Joe’s weekend with the boys?” Dotty asked as she went to remove a glass from the cabinet. Moving to the sink, she turned on the faucet and filled her glass.

Amanda nodded in reply as Lee came to stand beside her.

“What did Joe want?” Lee looked at his wife curiously.

“He wants to drop off Phillip’s football helmet. Apparently Phillip left it in his car Tuesday after Joe picked him up from practice and he hasn’t had a chance to return it until now. I’m kind of glad he called. I’ve been meaning to call him anyway. With Sydney here, I was going to see if he wouldn’t mind switching weekends. I want to plan some kind of outing for Sydney and it would be more fun if we could do it as a family. She might feel a little more at ease with Jamie and Phillip around.” Amanda took her husband’s hand in hers and gave it a little squeeze. Lee seemed to have gotten past his jealousy of Joe, especially now that they were married, but she still felt like she needed to reassure him, every now and then, that he had nothing to fear with regard to her ex-husband.

Lee squeezed her hand in return. He didn’t feel threatened by Joe, at least not anymore, but it was still nice to know that Amanda felt the need to put his mind at ease. “I heard you mention meeting him at eleven-thirty. Aren’t we going to be busy with the sale at the school?”

“Yes, but I don’t think they’ll miss me for an hour.” Amanda saw Lee’s eyes widen as he realized that she would be leaving him alone to handle things. She removed her hand from his and patted his arm. “Don’t worry, I promise not to be gone too long. You’ll do just fine.” She winked at him and then turned towards Dotty. “Mother, will you be here to let Joe in, just in case I’m running a little late.”

Dotty placed her now empty glass in the dishwasher. “Probably not. Edna Gilstrap is going to pick me up around eleven. We’re going to grab some lunch and then go shopping for new plants.” She started moving towards the den. “You know, Amanda, it’s the most amazing thing. All of a sudden things are starting to grow under the kitchen window again. I want to find something really pretty to plant in that spot. I’ve really missed having flowers under there.”

Amanda gave her husband a knowing look and he smiled at her in return. Now that Lee was using the front door, he didn’t have to sneak around in her flowerbeds anymore. “Sounds like you’ve got a fun day planned for yourself.”

“Well I do enjoy wandering around in a flower shop.” Dotty changed direction and went over to the counter. Picking up the book she had dropped there when she had come in earlier, she headed back into the den. “Amanda, do you remember getting anything from the phone company about them doing any work to the phone lines in the neighborhood? Like a note in the mail or even a phone call?”

Amanda shook her head. “No, Mother, I don’t recall anything like that, why?”

“Well, it’s just that the phone company appears to be working on the lines, again.” Dotty sat down in the armchair in the den, placing her book in her lap. “I could have sworn I remember them working on the lines just recently. In fact, they always seem to park right in front of that house at the end of the street, the old Cooperman place. You know the house that’s always up for rent. That house never can seem to hold onto occupants for more then a few days or weeks. Do you remember that nice looking young man, Mr. Sampson I think his name was?” She glanced in her daughter’s direction when Amanda let out a small cough. “You know, the one that I told you to invite over, but you never did. I guess that’s because he only stayed around for a few days, not even a complete week.”

Lee tried to conceal a chuckle as he looked over at his wife; her eyes were closed and she was shaking her head. “Perhaps they finally found someone to rent the place, long term. I’ve always lived in apartments, but I know they have to come over and flip some switch whenever anyone signs up for service. Maybe they’re just getting the phone lines updated for the new occupants.”

Dotty opened her book to the place she had book marked. “Well perhaps, but doesn’t it seem odd to you that they would be working this late in the evening? I don’t know about you but I can’t think of any reason why a phone company would be working at night. Do you want to know what I think is really going on?”

Amanda opened her eyes and stared at her mother. “I can only imagine.”

Dotty ignored her daughter’s sarcastic comment. “I think that that’s not really a telephone company van. I think that it’s someone from the government tapping our lines.”

“Cool, you mean like spying.” Phillip took his eyes off the program he’d been watching and glanced over at his grandmother.

“I’m sure she doesn’t mean that, Phillip.” Amanda shook her head, as she felt Lee tense up next to her. “Honestly, Mother I think you’ve been reading too many spy novels lately. What could possibly be going on around here that would interest the government? It’s just your typical suburban neighborhood.” She wanted to choke on her last words. It was hardly typical. She could count on her hands the number of times that matters of national security had indeed crept into her quiet little suburban neighborhood.

“I still think there’s something fishy about that van.” Dotty mumbled, before turning her attention on her book.

Lee caught Amanda’s eye. They both knew exactly what or who that van really belonged to. He made a mental note to mention it to Billy. Perhaps they had been using that cover a few too many times. He’d spent enough time around Amanda’s to know that Dotty wasn’t the only curious one. From what he had gathered, there were quite a few busybodies in this neighborhood.

Amanda shrugged and then glanced at the clock on the counter. Realizing what time it was, she moved over to the back of the couch and placed her hands on Phillip’s shoulder. “Time for bed, sweetheart.”

“Aw, Mom. This show is almost over.” Phillip turned around and looked pleadingly at Amanda. “Please, can’t I…”

Amanda shook her head. “I’m sorry, Phillip, but no. You have school tomorrow and besides it’s not like you started watching this show from the beginning.” She saw him start to protest. “I know for a fact you that only turned this show on ten minutes ago. Now, no more arguments, I want you to head upstairs and get ready for bed. I’ll be up to say goodnight in fifteen minutes.” She then headed in the direction of the dining room.

“But Mom, it’ll be over in another ten minutes. Can’t you tell Jamie and Sydney to get ready for bed first?” Phillip tucked his knees under him and rested his head on his hands, as he leaned on the back of the couch.

Amanda shook her head and put her hands on her hips. “Jamie is still working on his homework. You’ve finished yours. It’s time for bed young man.”

Before Phillip could protest again, Lee stepped next to Amanda. “Chief, I think you better listen to your mom. If I remember correctly, we were all running a bit late this morning and that was with just one extra person needing to get ready in the morning.” He pointed to himself. “We now have one more person who’ll need to get ready, pushing everyone’s schedules even further back.” He walked over and put a hand on Phillip’s shoulder. “That means you have to get up even earlier tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Phillip turned around and rose from the couch, his head hung in defeat as he headed for the stairs. “Goodnight, Mom, Lee. Goodnight Grandma.”

“Goodnight, Phillip” All three said in unison.

As Lee headed back towards the kitchen, Amanda stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Nicely done.” She smiled lovingly at her husband.

Lee watched his wife head in the direction of the dining room and as her words sunk in a wide grin appeared on his face; he really was beginning to get the hang of this parenting thing. Resuming his earlier path to the kitchen, he walked over to the coffee maker. Opening the cabinet, he took out the coffee grounds and began making a fresh pot. He and Amanda had a lot of things to go over tonight and he would need the extra caffeine to keep him awake.

Amanda stopped in the doorway of the dining room, smiling she listened to her son and Sydney.

“It’s great you're studying the same stuff and you’re at the same level, too. I should be able to jump right in and then, when I get back home, it’ll be like I haven’t missed anything.” Sydney smiled in Jamie’s direction.

Jamie shrugged. “Yeah, well thanks for doing my homework with me.”

“Ahem.”

Jamie and Sydney turned around at the sound of Amanda’s voice. “Um, Mom. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
Sydney jumped to her new friend’s defense. “I offered to do the homework with him, so that, if we are in the same classes while I’m here, like you said you were going to try and arrange, then I can contribute, too.”

Amanda smiled as she approached them. “I know, I was in the room when you suggested going over what Jamie was studying.” She placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “So is your homework done?” Her son nodded and she gently squeezed his shoulder. “Good, then it’s time for you two to get ready for bed.” She stepped back so that they could push their chairs away from the table.

Jamie collected his books and turned to head out of the room. “Goodnight, Lee, Grandma,” he called has he began his ascent up the stairs.

Sydney held back and, tucking her hair behind her ear, looked in Amanda’s direction. “I didn’t get Jamie in trouble, did I? I mean I didn’t really help him with his homework, it was more like were doing it together.”

Amanda wrapped her arm comfortingly around the young girl’s shoulder. “No, Jamie’s not in trouble. It’s a mother’s duty to make her children sweat a little.” She winked at Sydney as they began walking towards the stairs. When they reached the steps, she removed her arm and watched as Sydney stepped started up the stairs. “Sydney…”

The young girl stopped and turned to look at Amanda. “Yes?”

“I just wanted to let you know how glad I am that you’re staying with us.” Amanda smiled warmly. “I also want you to know that if you need anything…anything at all, don’t hesitate to ask; even if it’s the middle of the night, okay?”

That warm feeling that Sydney had felt at the airport, returned. Without warning, she stepped back towards Amanda and wrapped her arms around the older woman. “I promise.”

Amanda returned the hug and placed a kiss on the top of Sydney’s head. “Now, go on and get ready for bed. I’ll be up shortly to check on you, too.”

Sydney smiled and stepped out of the embrace and practically ran up the stairs.

Amanda turned to head back into the den. She cringed when she heard her mother talking to Lee. She was just about to go and rescue her husband, but then stopped. Assuming that her mother and husband might not be as candid with her in the room, she decided to eavesdrop instead.

“You know, Lee,” Dotty looked at Lee innocently. “I couldn’t help but overhear what Phillip said to you earlier.”

“A lot has happened tonight, you’ll have to refresh my memory, Dotty.” Lee gave his mother-in-law a confused glance. He and Phillip had had quite a few conversations tonight. They had talked about school during dinner and about girls and sports while playing basketball. He thought back on their conversation about girls. Phillip had simply been asking what do to when two girls liked you at the same time. He had given Phillip what he thought was pretty good advice on how to handle the situation so that neither girl would be hurt. He didn’t think Dotty had been in earshot of the driveway, though. Taking a sip of his coffee, he couldn’t wait to hear what his mother-in-law was referring to.

Dotty put her bookmark in her book and smiled sweetly at her daughter’s boyfriend. “He said you were good for his mom and I couldn’t agree more. I’ve never seen Amanda so happy. I’ve seen the way you two look at each other. You two are so obviously in love with each other, it’s almost like you have that newlywed glow. I’d love to see a ring on my daughter’s finger sometime in the very near future.” She let out an exaggerated sigh. “I just don’t understand what you two are waiting for.”

Lee had just taken another sip of his coffee and almost choked on it. Amanda had been right; Dotty wasn’t going to let up on the getting married comments. Trying to hide his shock, he coughed and put the cup on the coffee table.

Knowing that her husband was most likely growing quite uncomfortable, Amanda decided it was time to go rescue him. Leaving her spot on the landing, she headed into the den. “Well, the boys and Sydney are getting ready for bed. I’m going to give them another ten minutes and then go up and check on them.” She sat on the couch next to Lee and patted his knee reassuringly.

Dotty rose from her seat. “I was just on my way up, I can check on them if you want.”

“Do you mind? Lee and I do have some of our own homework to do.” Amanda gasped when a mischievous smile spread on her mother’s face and she heard Lee cough. “Not that kind of homework, Mother. Lee actually brought some work home from the office.”

Dotty headed towards the stairs. “Uh-huh, sure, whatever you say, dear.” She smiled and let out a little chuckle as she turned the corner. “Goodnight, you two. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Mother…” Amanda called out to Dotty, exasperation in her tone.

Dotty poked her head back around the doorframe, a teasing grin on her face. “Yes, sweetheart?”

Amanda shook her head. “Nothing, Mother, absolutely nothing.”

“Okay, well then, goodnight.”

“A-man-da…” Lee drew out her name. “Did you really have to go and say that?”

Amanda began laughing as she turned to look in her husband’s eyes. “Honestly, Lee, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.”

Lee glared at her in mock annoyance. “Oh, so you think this is funny?” He leaned closer to her and spoke in a quiet voice. “It’s a good thing we’re already married. If we weren’t, and she had said that to me a year ago, that type of comment from your mother might just have scared me off big time.”

Amanda swatted him in the ribs. “Well, you have a point there.”

Lee pulled back to look at her and his brows furrowed as he took in her unreadable expression. She was getting a little too good at hiding her emotions. “And what point is that?”

Amanda shrugged. “Well, if I didn't know that I'd already made an honest man out of you, I might be a little worried.” She let a playful smile cross her lips, as she leaned in seductively. “But I know the old Scarecrow is gone. The man afraid of commitment disappeared a long time ago.” She tantalizingly trailed a finger up his arm.

Lee gulped. What was she up to? This definitely wasn’t the time and place for this. Dotty and everyone were definitely not asleep yet. Deciding to play along, he wrapped his arm around her waist. “Oh, you definitely made me a one woman man.” He placed a gentle kiss on her lips. As he began to pull her closer and began to deepen the kiss, he felt her hands on his chest.

Before her husband could register what was happening, Amanda pushed him away and was out of his arms in a matter of seconds. Quickly standing she stepped away from the couch and stared down at him, a satisfied grin on her face. “Come on, Scarecrow. There’s no time for fooling around we have work to do. Didn’t you tell me you were bringing home some photos and files we needed to go through?”

Lee hung his head and took a deep breath. He knew they couldn’t repeat what had happened last night and it was going to be very hard to fall asleep knowing she was going to be so close. But did she have to tempt him like that. Getting his emotions under control, he looked up at her. “You’re one wicked woman, Amanda Stetson.”

“I know.” Amanda smiled wickedly at him. “Now, get off your butt and go get those files.”

Lee mock saluted. “Yes ma’am.” He rose from the couch and headed towards the back door. “I’ll be right back. I left them in the car. I figured they were safer from prying eyes that way.”

Amanda nodded. “Good idea. I’ll meet you in the dining room. I figure we can set up in there, have a little privacy and still be able to see anyone coming down the stairs.” After watching her husband head out the door, she picked up his coffee cup and walked into the kitchen. Pulling out a mug for herself, she refilled Lee’s and made herself a cup as well. Adding sugar to hers, she added cream to his and then headed into the dining room. She had just placed the mugs on the table when she heard the back door open and close. Sitting down in one of the seats facing the entranceway, she opened her eyes wide when her husband entered the dining room carrying a file box full to the rim with folders. “Goodness Lee, what did you do, bring half the vault with you?”

“No, but close. Jack gave us the name of the guy he thinks is behind this.” Lee placed the box on the table and took the seat next to Amanda. “His name is Valery Kholokov and he’s part of the KGB’s psych-ops division.” He started pulling files out of the box and handing them to his wife.

Amanda took the files and after a quick glance into the contents of each, she started putting them in organized piles. “Wait, psych-ops? Isn’t that the same division that Krutiov was part of?”

Lee nodded his head slowly. “Exactly, that’s why we have so many files to go through. We made that connection too. Figure it can’t hurt to cross-reference, especially since we have a ton of material on Krutiov and only have half that amount on Kholokov.” He paused for a second and looked towards Amanda. “I’ve been thinking.” His wife turned and gazed at him, her eyebrows raised questioningly. “Are you sure you don’t want to have the boys go with Joe? I mean, what if something happens over the weekend…”

Amanda shook her head. “I know what you’re getting at and no, I want to keep everyone here with us. I can’t really explain why, it’s just that I want to make sure I know where everyone is. I guess you can say it’s a mother thing.”

Lee nodded and smiled reassuringly. “Actually, I understand completely. I feel better knowing that I’m the one keeping my eyes on them during this whole thing, too.” He placed the empty box on the floor as he handed Amanda the final documents from the box. “I just wanted to make sure you felt the same way that I did.”

Amanda placed the last file in its appropriate pile and surveyed the amount of work ahead of them. Sighing, she picked up a folder on each man and started comparing the information within. “So, are you going to tell me what Dr. Smyth said?”

Lee picked up a folder on Kholokov. “You had to go and bring that up, didn’t you?”

“I’m sorry, Lee, but I’ve been dying to know ever since you brought it up before dinner.” Amanda replied, as she continued her reading.

Lee leaned back, rubbed his forehead and sighed. “Well, Billy was reluctant to say too much of anything really except a few words of warning. Which leads me to believe that a lot more went on in Billy’s meeting with old high and mighty than he was willing to tell me. I think Billy was afraid I might do bodily harm to Dr. Smyth if I knew exactly what the old man had said.” His wife stopped reading and looked at him curiously. “Well, while Jack was working on the forms for Sydney, Billy warned me again, not to look into Project Christmas. Dr. Smyth was adamant that I keep my nose out of it. Billy then went on to tell me that Dr. Smyth was looking for any excuse to pull me off of this one. Apparently he didn’t like the idea that you and I were going to be living under one roof.”

“Well, what did he expect was going to happen?” Amanda huffed in exasperation. “I’m sure he knew Mr. Melrose had chosen me and my family to take Sydney in. He knows you’re my partner. Did he honestly think that I wouldn’t want the extra protection for my own children? Never mind, I already know the answer to that one. He didn’t think about the assignment in that way because he doesn’t have children of his own, besides I know his take on children. Dr. Smyth believes that all children should be seen and not heard. As far as he’s concerned they’re are an expendable nuisance.” She grunted as she remembered back to the case with Khai. Dr. Smyth had made it quite clear that he didn’t give a fig about what happened to Khai’s son. “I’m glad I wasn’t there, I might have gone and given Dr. Smyth a piece of my own mind. What else did our fearless leader have to say?”

Lee turned in his seat and took her hands in his. “Amanda, Dr. Smyth isn’t as blind as we would like to think he is. I’m positive that he’s heard the water cooler gossip and I’m sure he thinks that we’re more than partners.” As she opened her mouth to comment, he let go of her left hand and placed his right index finger over her mouth. “Well, we are. Anyway, the comment Billy made was that Dr. Smyth didn’t want our ‘playing house’ to give us any ideas.”

Amanda gently pushed her husband’s finger away. “Lee, we’ve been so focused on the idea of coming clean about our marriage because we want to be a family that I never once thought about what Dr. Smyth’s reaction was going to be. From what you said earlier, I gather that he’d love nothing more than to break us up as partners.” Squeezing the hand that was still holding hers, she looked lovingly into her husband’s eyes. “I don’t want to be separated from you. We’re partners in more ways than one. You’re the main reason I’ve stayed with the Agency for so long.”

Lee lovingly caressed her cheek with his right hand. “I know and I won’t work with another partner. Look, we’ll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it.” Taking her left hand back into his, he locked eyes with her. “I’ll be honest with you, Amanda. I don’t really care what happens. If I have to take a desk job, I will.” He saw her start to protest. “I know what you’re going to say. I’d hate being behind a desk. Maybe I would, but you know what, I’m willing to give it a try because being a real family is more important to me than anything. I married you, Amanda, for better or worse.”

Tears welled up in Amanda’s eyes. “I love you so much, Lee.” She leaned forward and kissed him.

Lee let go of her hands and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer, deepening the kiss. As they pulled part, he tenderly wiped her eyes. “Okay, enough of this. As someone pointed out to me earlier, we have work to do.”

Amanda smiled. “Yeah, and we have to be up early to get everyone moving and to school on time.”

Lee turned his attention back towards the folders on the table. He meant what he’d said. He didn’t care what happened, as long as he had Amanda and his family, he would be a happy man. Opening the folder in front of him, he got back to the task at hand. He needed to familiarize himself with as many of the KGB agents associated with Kholokov as he could and figure out which ones posed the most likely threat to his family and Sydney.

Chapter Five

Friday Morning, September 18th

A wide grin spread across Phillip’s face when he caught sight of the wide-eyed, drooling faces of some of his fellow classmates as Lee pulled the Corvette alongside the curb in front of the high school. “I’m so glad you and mom decided to take two cars this morning.” Unhooking his seatbelt, he gathered up his books and reached for the door handle. “Thanks for letting me ride with you, Lee.”

“You’re welcome, Chief.” Before his stepson could open the door, Lee put a hand on Phillip’s arm. “Just remember, either your mom or I will be picking you up after school. We’re thinking of pizza and a movie tonight, so try and be out front once school’s out, okay?”

Phillip nodded. “Yeah.” Opening the car door, he turned back towards Lee. “You know, you sound more and more like a parent everyday and less like mom’s boyfriend.” He stepped out of the car. “Just don’t let it go to your head, Lee. Don’t get me wrong, I think you’d make an awesome stepdad, it’s just that I’d hate to see you lose your cool status too soon.” He grinned widely and winked.

As his stepson closed the door, Lee heard the other boys shouting, “Wow, Phillip.” “Totally rad ride.” “Whose awesome car is that?” A sense of pride came over him when he heard Phillip telling the guys that it was his mom’s boyfriend’s car. Keeping an ear on the conversation outside the car, he checked his mirrors for anything suspicious. Catching sight of the Agency power company van pulling up across the street, he breathed a sigh of relief that Phillip’s safety was secure. He was just about to wonder who had drawn the short straw for this stakeout when he heard one of the boys comment, “A total babe magnet, think you’ll get to borrow it?”

Lee looked back in their direction when he heard Phillip reply, “I can definitely guarantee it.” His stepson’s grin widened as he waved at Lee, and then turned to walk towards the school, still chatting about the car with the group of boys.

Lee shook his head and muttered, “Not until you’re old and gray.” He watched Phillip enter the school before putting the car in drive and pulling away from the curb. He only hoped that his stepson was showing off. It would be a cold day in Hell before he would even consider letting Phillip drive his baby. Thankfully he realized that his stepson had at least a year to go before he got his license. In the meantime, though, he would be more than happy to give his stepson a ride to school, if it helped increase Phillip’s ‘cool’ status with some of the other high school boys. He remembered what it was like in high school, trying to fit in. Then again, jumping around from base to base, he didn’t really get a chance to make many friends in high school.

As Lee drove the remaining few blocks to the middle school, he thought about Phillip’s comment. Did the boys really think of him as a father figure and not just as a friend? Now he was really glad he had insisted on going in two cars this morning. Since he had his meeting with T.P. and Amanda was meeting Joe for lunch, they’d realized it wouldn’t be a good idea for either of them to be without a car, just in case something happened. If they had driven in together, he would definitely have missed out on that little tidbit.

Smiling, Lee pulled into a spot at the middle school and, glancing in his rearview mirror, he caught sight of Amanda’s Jeep enter the parking lot. Putting his car in park, he shut off the engine and climbed out of the vehicle. Taking a quick look around, he took note of Fred Fielder overseeing an Agency crew working in the area of a manhole across the street. At least their cover should be a little more believable than the telephone company van back at the house.

Amanda pulled into the spot next to Lee’s Corvette, just as her husband had shut his car door. “Jamie, I know we’re a little early but I want you to head straight to your homeroom. No dawdling in the gym or anywhere else, okay?”

“Okay, Mom.” Jamie gathered his books and opened his door. “Hey, Lee. You made good time. I thought for sure Phillip was going to keep you there forever showing off the Corvette.”

Lee chuckled as he went to open the door for Amanda. “I was surprised he didn’t ask me to pop the hood, but I think he definitely earned a few Brownie points with some of the older kids.”

Amanda gathered her purse and turned back towards Sydney. “You ready for this?”

Sydney nodded. “I’m actually kind of excited…and a little nervous, too. Do you think you’ll be able to get me into the same classes as Jamie?”

“I think, since you’re just visiting, it shouldn’t be a problem.” Amanda smiled at the young girl. “You can still change your mind, you know.”

Sydney scooped up her backpack and opened her own car door. “It’s okay. I really want to do this.”

Amanda smiled as she got out of the car. She leaned over and kissed her husband’s cheek as he closed her car door. Taking Lee’s hand in hers they walked around the car to meet up with Sydney. “So you didn’t want to show off the engine to a bunch of teenagers?” Her eyes twinkled with merriment.

Lee rolled his eyes and let out what almost sounded like a growl. “Not in this lifetime. Do you remember the last time I let Phillip look under my hood?”

Jamie laughed. “I thought you said it helped increase the ’Vette’s performance?”

“Actually, I believe Phillip said it would. I was more afraid to find out exactly what he’d done to it.” Lee felt Amanda squeeze his hand. “So, how big is this book sale thing you have me signed up for?”

“Every year it changes. Last year’s was pretty tame, we didn’t have a lot of people coming in, but the year before that was pretty busy.” Amanda let go of her husband’s hand as they reached the entrance to the school. She opened the door and let Sydney, Jamie and Lee enter ahead of her. Once inside she took Lee’s hand again. “Jamie, I meant what I said in the car. Just go straight to your homeroom.”

Jamie nodded and rolled his eyes. “I will, I promise.” Then glancing briefly at his friend, he looked back towards his mom. “What about Sydney?”

Amanda reached out to ruffle his hair but stopped and let her hand fall back to her side. She had suddenly remembered that they were on school grounds and she was sure her son would rather die than have his mom do that to him in public. “Either myself or Principal Dennis will take Sydney to first period.”

“Okay.” Jamie then turned towards Sydney, “I’ll try and see if my first period English teacher, Mr. Sharkey will let me change seats temporarily. If he’ll let me have one near an empty desk in the back, I’ll save you a seat.”

Sydney smiled shyly. “Thanks, Jamie. I’ll see you soon.”

“Yeah, see you in a little bit.” Jamie shouted as headed in the direction of his homeroom.

Amanda wrapped her free arm around Sydney’s shoulders. “Come on. Principal Dennis is very anxious to meet you.” She smiled at the young girl’s questioning gaze. “She told me yesterday when I talked to her that it’s not every day she gets to meet someone who willingly wants to go to school, especially when they could technically be on a mini-vacation.”

When they reached the office, Principal Dennis was standing at the desk waiting for them. “You must be Sydney Bristow.” She extended her hand for Sydney to shake. “I’m Principal Dennis.

With all the confidence she could muster, Sydney took the offered hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Principal Dennis then turned her attention on Amanda. “Good morning, Mrs. King.”

Amanda smiled brightly. “Good morning, Principal Dennis. We really appreciate you letting Sydney do this. It’s very important to her. She doesn’t want to fall behind while she’s away from home.”

“I understand completely.” Glancing down at the young girl, Principal Dennis smiled. “It’s always gratifying to see young people excited about education.” She then noticed Lee standing quietly next to Amanda. “Have we met before? You look awfully familiar.”

Lee hadn’t thought about the fact that he had, in fact, almost met Principal Dennis just over a year ago. They had never been officially introduced but he had been close enough to her that she might have recognized his face. Putting on his best agent face, he shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

Amanda, too, had forgotten the fact that Principal Dennis had been present that day in the gym when Mr. Prescott had tried to abduct Phillip and Jamie. Deciding a diversionary tactic was in order, she quickly jumped to her husband’s aide. “Principal Dennis, this is Lee Stetson. You may have seen him driving my car to pick up Jamie from school once or twice before. Anyway, I managed to rope him into helping with the book sale. Since he’s never been inside the school before and is most likely going to need your help later, I wanted to introduce him to you. You see, he’s got a meeting in a little while and when he comes back he’s going to need to be shown where to go. I figure the three of us,” she motioned to herself, Principal Dennis and Sydney, “will probably be tied up for a while and I won’t be able to get him started before he has to leave. So I was hoping that when he got back he could come and see you and you could take him to the book sale area. That is, if it’s all right with you?”

Principal Dennis stared dumbfounded at Amanda’s rambling. She had had many conversations with Mrs. King in the past and it never ceased to amaze her how one woman could say so much so fast without taking a break to breathe. “Um…yes, that shouldn’t be a problem at all.” She looked in Lee’s direction. “Mrs. Thompson, the woman in charge of the sale, should have the signs directing the public, posted on the walls by the time you return. All you need to do is follow the signs to the book sale.”

“Thanks, I will.” Lee let a small grin tug at the corners of his mouth. Amanda’s rambling had, once again, managed to diffuse the situation. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I really need to get going.”

Amanda turned towards Principal Dennis. “Would it be okay if Sydney stays here with you for a minute? I just want to walk Lee out.” At the other woman’s nod, she led her husband into the hallway. “Say hello to T.P. for me.”

“I will.” Lee leaned over and kissed his wife on the cheek. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Don’t forget I need to stop by the office and drop off the files.”

Amanda nodded. “That’s right, I almost forgot. I guess you’ll want to meet with Mr. Melrose and brief him on the few likely candidates that we found last night.” With all the school students walking past them, she was trying to keep her comments as neutral as possible.

“Yeah, I want to make sure he gets Francine started on passing their photos around.” Lee glanced at his watch. “I really have to go, so I can be in time to touch base with you before you head out to meet Joe.”

Leaning in, Amanda placed a quick kiss on his lips. “I love you,” she whispered as they broke apart.

“I love you, too.” Lee winked and headed in the direction of the doors.

Amanda turned and headed back into the office. As she approached Sydney and Principal Dennis, she heard the older woman asking Sydney about her interests.

Sydney smiled as Amanda reached her side. “I love to read and I do really well in math.”

Amanda placed a hand on the young girl’s shoulder and looked towards the Principal. “So, what exactly do we need to do to get Sydney started?”

“Do you know how long Sydney will be staying with you?” Principal Dennis moved over to the counter and scanned the forms.

Amanda glanced at Sydney and shook her head. “Well, her father is away on business. He hopes to have it concluded by next Friday at the latest. However, he mentioned something about the possibility that complications might arise and he would need a little more time to conclude his business.”

Principal Dennis nodded in understanding. “Well, for now, since Sydney is really only visiting, I’ll just have you fill out a visitor’s form. If it turns out that she’ll be with us for more than a week, I may need you to fill out a complete registration form.” She pulled out a pink form and handed it to Amanda.

Amanda accepted the form and reached into her purse for a pen. Upon opening her bag, she found the forms Jack had prepared. Pulling them out, she glanced towards Principal Dennis. “I almost forgot. Sydney’s father filled out a few forms just in case. One giving permission for Sydney to attend school here and the other giving me temporary guardianship.” She handed the documents to Principal Dennis.

Principal Dennis accepted the papers and gave them a quick once over. “These look very thorough. Do you need them back? Or are these our copies?”

Amanda shook her head. “Actually if you could make copies, I’d like to keep the originals with me, if that’s all right with you.”

“Not a problem at all.” Principal Dennis walked around the counter. “I’ll be right back.”

Amanda glanced at Sydney, who appeared to be looking at some of the pictures that adorned the walls behind the desk. “Principal Dennis, before you go, there was something I meant to ask you.”

Principal Dennis turned around, and looked inquisitively at Amanda. “Go ahead.”

“Well it has to do with what classes Sydney would be taking while she’s here.” Amanda reached over and placed her hand gently on Sydney’s shoulder. “Sydney was hoping that she could attend classes with Jamie.”

Principal Dennis smiled pleasantly. “Actually, I pulled Jamie’s class schedule earlier. I figured Sydney would feel more comfortable being with someone she already knew. I’ve already made her a copy and was planning on bringing it with me when I returned. Just give me a minute and I’ll be right back, okay?”

Nodding, Amanda watched as a contented smile appeared on Sydney’s face. Giving the young girl’s shoulder a gentle pat, she turned her attention to the form in front of her. It was basic enough and only needed a few pieces of information. She filled in her address for Sydney’s home address; she was pretty sure that Principal Dennis wouldn’t be expecting her to put Sydney’s California information. Moving over to the next section, she glanced over at the young girl. “What’s your date of birth? I’m sure I saw it on the form your dad filled out, but since Principal Dennis has it at the moment and I can’t remember what it was.” She had actually seen it in Sydney’s file but hadn’t memorized the actual date; she remembered the month and knew the year, since it was the same year Jamie had been born. Besides, even if she had known the answer, she would probably have asked anyway, figuring that it might appear a bit suspicious to a bright girl like Sydney if she didn’t ask.

Sydney, who had been staring at a picture of the Principal and some of the students on the wall behind the counter, quickly turned her attention towards Amanda. “Oh, I was born on April 7th, 1975. When Jamie and I were working on his homework assignments last night, he mentioned that he was born in November, but that he was so far ahead of the other kids in his class that he was able to skip second grade. I could tell from how fast he was able to do his homework that he’s pretty smart.” She tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. “I’m really glad that he got to skip a grade because I’m not so sure I’d enjoy visiting a strange school if we weren’t in the same grade. I would have felt like an outsider. I only got my hopes up to do this when you told me Jamie was in the same grade as me. Does that make sense?”

“It makes perfect sense, Sydney.” Amanda smiled knowingly. “Jamie had a rough time of it for the first few months when he started third grade. Since all his friends were suddenly a grade below him, it took him a while to adjust to being the youngest in his class but in the end, it worked out for the best. He’s doing wonderfully in school and I’m sure Jamie’s glad that he’s the one who gets to show you around.”

Sydney nodded and went back to admiring the photos around the office. There were pictures all over the room, happy smiling faces of children and probably their teachers. “Principal Dennis is really well liked, isn’t she?”

Amanda followed Sydney’s gaze. “Yes, she’s a wonderful Principal. She really takes the time to get to know the students and their parents.” She sighed as she thought back to a year ago. If Principal Dennis hadn’t taken the time to be involved, then Mr. Prescott’s presence as a private investigator probably wouldn’t have aroused any suspicions. As it was, because the principal had known that she was still on good terms with Joe and that he was supposed to be out of the country, Mr. Prescott’s sudden appearance had concerned her. A small shudder ran up her spine as she realized just how fortunate they had been that day. She hated to think what might have happened had Principal Dennis not caught up with her in the parking lot that morning. Knowing it was useless to think about ‘what ifs’, she shook her head, and returned her attention to the form in front of her.

Amanda had just finished signing her name, when Principal Dennis returned. “Perfect timing.” She handed the form to the other woman.

Principal Dennis accepted the paper. “Thank you.” She then handed the original forms back to Amanda and a small piece of paper to Sydney. “Here’s your schedule…well Jamie’s schedule, really. You probably won’t need it, since you’ll most likely be walking to classes with Jamie. But it’s a good thing to have just in case.” She glanced quickly at her watch. “Now, first period is about to start. I’ll walk you to class and introduce you to Jamie’s English teacher. Shall we go?” She headed towards the door, with Amanda and Sydney behind her. “Mrs. King, the book sale is set up in the corridor outside the library.”

As they entered the hallway, Amanda touched Sydney’s shoulder. “If you need me for anything, the library is just around that corner.” She pointed down the hall and to the right.

“Okay, but I’m sure Jamie can help me find it, if necessary.” Sydney gave Amanda a bright smile. Anxious to get to class, she moved closer to Principal Dennis. “I’ll see you later.”

Amanda was about to turn when she realized she hadn’t packed Jamie or Sydney lunch this morning. Since she wasn’t a hundred percent sure that Principal Dennis would let Sydney shadow Jamie, allowing the young girl to store her lunch in his locker, she had planned on giving them money. “Sydney, wait up.” She turned around and took a few strides to catch up to Sydney and Principal Dennis. Reaching into her purse, she took out her wallet. “I almost forgot to give you and Jamie lunch money. I won't be here at lunchtime and Lee may be too busy during the book sale. Besides, it probably wouldn't look too good for him to be passing you money when he's supposed to be selling books.” Pulling out a twenty-dollar bill, she handed it to Sydney. “This should be more than enough to cover lunch for both of you.” The young girl took the money and put it in her back pocket. “I expect the change back though.” She smiled and winked.

“I promise not to let Jamie spend it all.” Sydney grinned and then resumed walking towards her first class with Principal Dennis.

As Amanda watched them go, she felt a little like she was sending her daughter off on her first day of school. For the first time since Sydney had arrived, she began to wonder what it would be like to raise a girl of her own. She loved Phillip and Jamie with all her heart but there was just something about the idea of having a daughter to share all the experiences and knowledge she gained when she was growing up; experiences you can’t really share with your sons. She wondered what a little girl with her husband’s genetic makeup would look like. Shaking her head, she turned and headed towards the library. Their lives were just a little too complicated right now for thoughts like that. ‘But, maybe someday.’ She smiled thoughtfully. Then again, it wasn’t a topic that had ever come up between her and Lee and she wasn’t sure what his thoughts on having children were. She knew he loved her boys as his own, but did he want children of his own. ‘One thing at a time, Amanda, one thing at a time.’ With their marriage still a secret and Lee not officially a full-time part of the family yet, now was not the time to start thinking about adding to the family.

Turning the corner, she spotted Mrs. Tompkins, who was in charge of the book sale, and headed in her direction. She needed to find out what her job for the sale was going to be.

SMK a SMK a SMK

Lee got out of his car and immediately spotted T.P. feeding the ducks near one of the benches next to the pond. Locking his car door, he made his way across the grass in the direction of his friend. As he scanned the area for anyone suspicious, he thought about the crazy business he was in. Normal people would just enjoy a stroll in the park and not worry about who might be listening to their conversations or watching them. However, he knew that in the profession he had chosen, letting your guard down, even for a moment, could be the difference between life and death. He wondered if there would ever be a day when he could truly be normal. Then again, every day that he spent with Amanda and her…no his family, he was getting closer to being normal, although he doubted that he’d ever stop being on the alert for anything suspicious.

“Ah, right on time, my boy.” T.P. handed Lee a bag of peanuts as soon as the younger man had reached him.

“Morning, T.P.” Lee accepted the bag and sat down on the bench. “What have you got for me?” He threw a few peanuts to the ducks near his feet.

T.P. shook his head and chuckled. “Always one to get right to the point, aren’t you?”

Lee gave his friend a lopsided grin and shrugged. “Sorry, T.P. I’ve got a tight schedule this morning.”

“Yes, you mentioned something about dropping off Amanda and the boys at school but I noticed you drove up in your car.” T.P. looked over in the direction of Lee’s Corvette. “Surely you didn’t try and fit them all in that tiny thing.”

Lee laughed good-naturedly. “No, actually, I drove Phillip to school. Amanda took Jamie and our friend Sydney in the Jeep.”

T.P. tossed a few more peanuts to his duck friends. “This is a new side to you, my boy. Things seem to be getting quite serious with you and Mrs. King. I sure hope so, anyway. She’s good for you, Lee. I’ve always thought so.”
Lee trusted T.P. and would love to tell his old friend exactly where he stood with Amanda but he didn’t feel right about spilling the beans without his wife present. He cleared his throat and focused his attention on the ducks. “So, what did you find out for me?”

T.P. smiled knowingly. Being quite used to Lee’s avoidance of conversations that revolved around anything personal, he decided to humor his friend and went along with the change in topic. “Quite a lot, in fact. It wasn’t easy but once I found what I was looking for, I found enough to write my own expose.” He sat down next to Lee. “However, since I can’t actually admit that I found proof of the existence of Project Christmas, the government would probably try and bury my findings along with all those crazy UFO stories.”

Lee turned to look directly at his friend. “Now you’ve really got my interest, not that you didn’t before.” He popped a few peanuts into his mouth.

T.P. threw some more peanuts onto the ground. “Seems that Jack Bristow was in charge of researching the learning curve of five and six year olds. Someone in the Department of Education had noticed a pattern and brought it to the CIA’s attention. Their studies showed that six year olds have the ability to learn math and cognitive skills at an alarmingly fast rate. The CIA picked up on this information and decided to see how true it was. They began developing questions about spatial relations and inserting them into various tests around the Los Angeles area, since that’s where Jack lived and for some reason they gave him the project. I don’t know much about the man, so I can’t say if it had anything to do with his field of expertise or not. Anyway, the CIA wanted to see if they could locate any children that showed really high scores in those areas.”

“What would the government want with children who have these types of skill?” Lee threw a few more peanuts to the ducks, before eating a few more himself.

“Patience, my boy, patience. I’m getting to that.” T.P. crumpled up his empty bag and walked over to the garbage can. Throwing it away, he returned to his seat next to Lee. “Well, from what I discovered, Jack managed to gather enough data to show that the theories were correct. He had questions put into tests for first thru fifth graders. The results that came back showed that almost thirty percent of the children with high cognitive skills were all first graders.” He reached into Lee’s bag and threw a few more peanuts onto the ground. “From what I gathered, the CIA thought that children with this gift would be good candidates for learning certain skills. Things like learning dozens of foreign languages with very little effort, and putting together intricate puzzles, in a short amount of time and without looking.”

“Do you mean blindfolded?” Lee remembered back to some of his earlier training with the Agency. One of the tests he had to endure was putting a gun together blindfolded, and in under sixty seconds. Not to mention, all the different languages the Agency had taught him. As it was, he was only able to speak about three or four, fluently. There were some languages he could understand, if not speak them, but he had started learning late in life, imagine how many a child with extraordinary learning capability could learn.

T.P. nodded. “Exactly. The traits that Jack’s studies were focused on were efficiency with numbers, three dimensional thinking and creative problem solving. They should sound familiar to you since I know they’re the type of things that the government looks for in its top agents.”

“You know, I never really gave it much thought, but we do concentrate on those traits a lot when looking for new recruits. But why focus on children?” Lee started to pop another couple of peanuts into his mouth, then stopped, his eyes growing wide. He looked directly at T.P. “You’re not suggesting that the CIA was trying to train first graders to be spies, are you?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” T.P. slowly nodded. “Apparently the KGB got wind of this and sent in someone to uncover the results Jack was gathering.”

“Irina Derevko.” Lee rubbed the back of his neck, trying to keep the hairs from standing. He was getting a very bad feeling about of all of this.

“Right and Irina reported her findings back to the KGB. Not long after they received her reports, a Valery Kholokov started doing his own studies.” T.P. leaned his head back on the bench. “Shortly after Irina’s death and he returned from solitary, Jack decided to stop doing research and found someone to test his theories on. Apparently the test was a success; the subject’s results were off the charts.”
“I’d really love to know what type of tests he subjected the child to. I remember some of my early tests with the Agency and they weren’t fun.” Lee threw the last of his peanuts to the ducks in front of him. “What happened to the subject? Obviously the CIA wouldn’t be brash enough to recruit a six year old.”

T.P. shook his head. “No, Jack found a way to reset the child’s memory so that the child has no recollection of anything related to the test. But, the information is there, the skills are there and all they have to do is reawaken the memories years later and they have an instant spy.”

Lee ran a hand through his hair. “So what you’re telling me is that Project Christmas is actually a way to create sleeper agents. They’re basically taking away the children’s right to choose what they want to grow up to be.”

“Well from what I found out and considering the fact that Jack’s test had positive results, they’ve already put their project into motion.” T.P. looked at Lee. “Back in 1982, they put a small number of spatial reasoning questions on some Standardized Tests. They then passed the tests out to thirty-three different states.”

Lee let out a slow whistle. “It’s all starting to make sense to me now.” He saw T.P. raise his eyebrows questioningly. “Jack refused to tell me anything and Dr. Smyth had Billy order me to keep my nose out of it. Now I know why. They’re creating sleeper agents using children. I wouldn’t want any of the other American agencies to find out that I let the KGB get their hands on something this big either. If the CIA is creating American sleeper agents, what’s to stop the KGB from doing the same thing? I’d hate to think of the repercussions of that. Think about it, Russian sleeper agents in America. Hell, the KGB would be just bold enough to try and set up sleeper agents all over world. They’d have an instant spy network.” He shuddered at the thought. Glancing at his watch, he rose from his seat on the bench. “Thanks T.P. Keep this information to yourself, okay?”

T.P. nodded. “I take it you’re not planning on sharing this information with anyone?”

Lee shook his head. “Only Amanda. If Dr. Smyth gets wind of the fact that I know anything about this, he may just have my job.”

“I understand. I had a hard enough time finding out what I did.” T.P. gave him an understanding nod. “The CIA was definitely keeping a tight lid on it.”

“One more thing, T.P.” Lee hesitated briefly, knowing that he probably wasn’t going to get answer to his next question. Deciding that it would bug him more if he didn’t ask, he plunged ahead with his question. “I don’t suppose you were able to find out the name of the six year old Jack tested his theories on, were you?”

T.P. shook his head. “Jack reported the child as a Jane Doe. I’m guessing it was to keep the subject anonymous.”

“That’s what I thought. You know, I’ve always wondered how you get your information.” Lee put up a hand. “Don’t worry, I don’t want to know. Thanks again T.P.”

“My pleasure. Give my regards to Amanda for me, will you?” T.P. smiled when he noticed Lee’s face light up at the mere mention of his partner’s name. It was obvious that the young man in front of him was off the market for good and he couldn’t be happier for his friend.

“I will, T.P. I’ll catch you later.” Lee turned and headed back to his car. He was glad he wasn’t going to share this information with Billy. It was kind of nice being able to hold some of the cards for a change. Besides, he only had an hour to get over to the Agency, fill Billy in on their KGB suspects and then get back to the school and have enough time for Amanda to show him the ropes before she left to meet Joe. He wouldn’t have enough time to tell Billy all about Project Christmas even if he wanted to.

Taking out his keys, he watched T.P. pull out another bag of peanuts. It was good to have friends and family who always managed to come through for you. He didn’t have many in this business but the ones he did, were loyal and reliable. He never really took the time to be thankful for little things like that until Amanda came into his life and showed him the true value of friendship. Unlocking the ’Vette, he got in and buckled his seatbelt. Placing the key in the ignition, he put the car in drive and headed towards the office.

SMK a SMK a SMK

Amanda had made it home with only minutes to spare. Not that Joe would have been mad if she’d been late, but she understood the demands of his job and didn’t want to delay him. She was running slightly behind because Lee had gotten back to the school a little later than he had expected. It was really all Billy’s fault that she’d had to rush out and leave her husband alone to fend for himself with the women of the PTA. Lee had told Amanda, when he had finally met up with her at the book sale, that he had been delayed because he had to wait for the copies of the photos.

Amanda had asked Lee why he had to wait for the photos. She was worried that distributing the photos might blow his cover. Her husband had laughed, telling her that that was exactly what he had said to Billy. When Lee had asked why it was so important for him to risk his cover, their section chief had told him that since the two agents who normally cover the Q-Bureau were out on another assignment, Francine was covering for them, and she was stretched pretty thin. The more help she could get, the better. So, Lee would have to find time to distribute the photos to the babysitters at both schools and on Maplewood, all the while keeping his ‘cover intact’. She opened the refrigerator and she started taking out the fixings for sandwiches. She hoped lunch with Joe wouldn’t take too long, she had a feeling her husband was going to need rescuing. As she began placing the items on the counter, she shook her head and let out a soft chuckle as she remembered the look on Lee’s face when she left the book sale.

It hadn’t taken long for one of the other mothers, a Mrs. Silvers, to grow curious about the strange man Amanda King was having a hushed conversation with. Mrs. Silvers had wasted no time in approaching them and enthusiastically asked her to introduce her to the very handsome man she was with. She had hesitated slightly, not quite sure how to introduce Lee, but in the end, she had introduced him as her boyfriend. It had been strange, however, to say boyfriend in conjunction with Lee, he was after all really her husband but since the boys knew him as her boyfriend, it had been the only real choice she could make. Mrs. Silvers had been overjoyed that she had found such a ‘fine looking specimen of a man’ and wondered when she had had the time to catch him. Lee had simply said that it was he who had caught Amanda.

Suddenly they had found themselves surrounded by five other mothers. Amanda knew that the main reason the PTA mothers were so excited was because it wasn’t everyday that they got to meet someone from her personal life and they definitely weren’t used to a man helping out with school functions during the daytime, unless it was a weekend function. After a few minutes of being bombarded with questions from all the mothers, she had glanced at her watch and said that she had to meet someone soon and really needed to familiarize Lee with what he would need to do. Mrs. Silvers had jumped at the chance to help get Lee started. Her husband had looked at her pleadingly, begging her to stay. She had smiled and then kissed him on the cheek, whispering that she’d be back as soon as she could and that he would survive. She then quickly rushed from the area, glancing back only once and caught sight of just how uncomfortable Lee was.

Amanda had tried to suppress a laugh at the flustered look on her husband’s face. One would think that a trained agent could adapt to any situation, but seeing Lee so obviously ill at ease with the attention the mothers were giving him was quite comical. She chuckled as she realized just how ironic that was. Lee Stetson, former ladies’ man, was uncomfortable being the center of attention from a group of women. Well, if the women were all single and gorgeous, Scarecrow the secret agent would do just fine. A gathering of married women with children was probably enough to make her husband wish he were surrounded by KGB agents.

Amanda had just finished putting the cold cuts and condiments on the counter, when the doorbell rang. She closed the refrigerator and headed towards the front door. Opening the door, she ushered her ex-husband inside. “Thanks for making the trek over here, Joe.”

Joe handed her Phillip’s football helmet and leaned in to place a kiss on her cheek. “Not a problem. I thought Phillip might need his helmet for practice tomorrow morning.”

“I take it the reason you drove all the way over here is because you won’t be able to see them this weekend?” Amanda stepped away and closed the front door.

“Yes. It’s why I wanted to meet with you in person. I have to go to New York for the weekend. I leave tonight and was hoping to switch weekends with you. I hate to do it especially on such short notice.” Joe sighed and looked at his ex-wife, remorse evident in his eyes.

Amanda reached over and placed her hand on Joe’s shoulder. “It’s all right sweetheart. I understand. I was actually planning on giving you a call anyway; you just beat me to the punch. I was going to ask you the same thing, well ask you if you wouldn’t mind if the boys stayed with you next weekend instead.” She moved over towards the hall closet. Opening it, she placed Phillip’s helmet on the shelf above the coats.

Joe looked at her quizzically. “Oh really?” He moved closer to her as she put Phillip’s helmet away. Standing behind her, he noticed the open door to the living room and caught sight of the pullout couch made up into a bed. “Amanda, who’s staying here? Not that it’s any of my business, but…”

Closing the closet door, Amanda followed Joe’s gaze. “Um, well…Lee’s staying here.”

“Doesn’t Lee have a perfectly good apartment across town?” Joe’s tone suddenly got defensive. “Wait a minute, does your need to switch weekends with me have anything to do with him staying here?”

Placing a hand on her hip, Amanda took a deep breath and glared at her ex-husband. “Now, wait just a minute, Joe. It’s not what you think. Lee’s apartment flooded and he needed a place to crash while they repair the damage.”

Joe crossed his arms and stared defiantly at Amanda. “Right, flooded.” His voice dripped with sarcasm. “I’m not buying it Amanda. It’s exactly what I think. This is Agency related isn’t it?” He shook his head when he saw Amanda start to protest. “Don’t try and deny it. I wasn’t born yesterday. If it isn’t Agency related, then tell me why Lee didn’t just rent a hotel room or have his apartment complex put him up in a temporary apartment. What’s so important that Lee has to stay here? Are the boys in danger?”

Dotty had been in her room waiting for Edna when she had heard the doorbell ring. Edna had called earlier, apologizing that she was going to be at least an hour late. She had decided to take advantage of the peace and quiet and had retreated to her room to read. She had been so engrossed in her book that she never heard Amanda come home. She had reached the end of the upstairs hallway just as Joe had asked about the living room. She hadn’t planned on eavesdropping on her daughter’s conversation with Joe but she was curious to hear Joe’s reaction when Amanda informed him of just who their houseguest was. She figured that if she announced her presence, Joe might not be so candid. Now, standing quietly in the shadows of the hallway, she was glad she had remained silent. ‘What was Joe talking about? What Agency? What danger could the boys possibly be in?’ She continued her silent vigil, hoping to get some answers to those questions.

Amanda sighed and relaxed her features. “No, the boys aren’t in any direct danger.”

“What’s that supposed to mean, Amanda?” Joe kept his arms crossed, his voice now concerned. “I thought when you told me about your marriage, you and Lee had decided it was best for the boys’ safety not to live under the same roof. What could possibly be so important that you’d risk that?”

Upstairs, Dotty had practically bit her tongue to keep from crying out. ‘Married!’ Her daughter and Lee were married? Why would they want to hide the fact that they were married?’ Amanda’s next words had her quickly searching for a place to keep hidden.

“Look, why don’t we fix ourselves something to eat” Amanda turned and started walking towards the kitchen. “I already pulled out some sandwich fixings. I figured you were probably anxious to get back to work and I really shouldn’t leave Lee alone at the school for too long. I promise to explain as much as I can over lunch.”

Joe uncrossed his arms and followed her into the kitchen. “I’m not going to like this am I?”

Fortunately for Dotty, Amanda’s bedroom door had been left open and she quickly moved into her daughter’s room, remaining out of sight. Once she was sure that both Amanda and Joe were in the kitchen, she moved back out into the hallway. Quietly, she crept down a few stairs, eager to hear exactly what Amanda’s explanation was going to be.

Amanda moved to the cabinet and pulled out two plates. She handed one to Joe and then moved to the counter. Pulling out two slices of bread, she placed them on her plate. “It has to do with Sydney Bristow.”

Joe began making his own sandwich. “Who’s Sydney Bristow?”

“Sydney is a twelve-year old girl who is currently staying with us. Mr. Melrose assigned us to her. We’re supposed to protect her.” Amanda opened the jar of mayonnaise and then, opening the drawer to her left, she pulled out a butter knife. “Before you ask, I can’t go into details. All I can tell you is that her father fears for her safety.” Closing the drawer, she put the knife in the jar of mayo and began spreading it on her bread.

Joe opened the package of ham and placed a few slices on his plate. “Is her father a spy, too?”

Amanda shook her head. “You know I can’t answer that Joe. Look, Lee and I weren’t happy about having to do this. We’ve done everything in our power to keep the Agency away from the boys. But I was ordered to take her in.” She reached over for the package of ham. “I’ll be honest with you Joe, even if Sydney hadn’t been assigned to me, I would have done it anyway. Sydney is a very special girl. Her mother died when she was six and her father is never around.”

Joe reached over and placed a gentle hand on his ex-wife’s arm. “I know you Amanda. You have a heart of gold. You always go out of your way to help anyone in need.”

Amanda smiled warmly in his direction, a slight blush creeping onto her cheeks. “Anyway,” she went back to her task of making her lunch. “Since Lee’s my partner, Mr. Melrose thought it was best to have Lee stay here at the house. We figure, it’d be safer with him inside rather than watching from the outside, especially since mother and the boys know him.”

“Is that why you left Lee at the school?” Joe grabbed two slices of cheese and added them to his own sandwich.

Amanda nodded as she picked up her plate and walked over to the kitchen table. “Yes. Sydney wanted to keep up with her classes and, since she and Jamie are in the same grade, we arranged for her to attend school with Jamie. Fortunately there’s a big book sale going on, and our presence at the school won’t look suspicious.”

“Lee’s not the only one keeping an eye on them, is he?” Joe picked up his own plate and followed her over to the table.

Amanda placed her plate down, then turned and headed towards the cabinet next to the sink. Opening it, she took down two glasses. “Would iced tea be okay, Joe? I made a fresh pitcher yesterday.”

“Iced tea is fine.” Joe sat down and began eating his lunch.

Amanda opened the refrigerator and pulled out the pitcher of tea. “To answer your question, no he’s not. We’ve got babysitters watching the high school, the middle school and the house.”

“Yeah I noticed the van at the end of the street. Is Sydney really that important?” Joe asked between bites.

Amanda let out a small sigh. “All I can tell you is that her father thinks she is.” Having filled the glasses with tea, she put the pitcher on the counter and carried the two glasses over to the table. Handing one to Joe, she sat down across from him.

“How long has Lee been staying here?” Joe picked up his glass and took a sip.

“Since Wednesday night.” Amanda took a bite of her sandwich.

Joe scrunched his face, as a thought occurred to him. “Amanda? Do you think that having Lee stay here is going to make you two rethink your decision?”

Amanda let out a deep breath and nodded. “Actually, ever since Mr. Melrose assigned this case to us, we’ve been talking about nothing else. It’s been so hard living apart and now that we’re under the same roof, I don’t think either one of us wants to go back to the way it was before.”

Joe put his glass down and smiled tenderly at his ex-wife. “I always thought your idea of keeping your marriage a secret was going to be tough. Look at us, we couldn’t keep our marriage working and we lived thousands of miles apart, with a whole ocean between us.” He saw regret flash across Amanda’s face. Reaching over, he laid his hand gently over hers. “I didn’t mean it the way it came out. I think we both knew we weren’t destined to stay together. We were always more friends than soul mates. I see the way you and Lee look at each other and how you two always find a way to be near each other.” He caught sight of her eyebrows rising questioningly. “The two of you can’t be in the same room without having some sort of physical contact. We never had that, Amanda.”

“Oh, Joe… ”

Joe squeezed her hand. “I will never regret what we shared.”
“Nor will I. We wouldn’t have Phillip and Jamie.” Amanda wiped away a few tears from her eyes. “I think our friendship has grown stronger because of them.”

Joe nodded. “I also wouldn’t have realized what I have with Carrie. My marriage to her has made me realize the difference between love and true love.”

Amanda let out a silvery laugh. “I know exactly what you mean.” Removing her hand from Joe’s she picked up her glass. “To love, friendship and happy marriages.”

Joe picked up his own glass and clinked it with hers. “I’ll drink to that.”

Amanda swallowed and placed her glass back on the table. “We should probably finish our lunches. I really don’t want to leave Lee alone with the members of the PTA for too long.”

Joe laughed heartily. “Yeah, I’ve met some of those women. I wouldn’t want to be alone with them for long either.”

Dotty sat on the stairs, stunned. She didn’t know what to make of what she’d just learned. Her Panda had mentioned that exasperating Mr. Melrose twice. She had made it sound like he was her boss. Which made her wonder if that whole mix-up last year wasn’t just because of a couple of filmmakers. Was her daughter really a spy? The fact that she had been right in assuming the van down the street wasn’t really from the phone company, didn’t make her feel any better. It made her feel worse. Not only had her daughter been lying to her, but she also had a son-in-law she didn’t know about, and her former son-in-law had been keeping secrets from her, too. Her head suddenly felt like it was going to explode.

Quietly she rose and crept back upstairs. She needed to call Edna and tell her not to bother coming over. She wasn’t in the mood to go look at flowers anymore. Once she finished calling her friend, she was going to call Captain Kurt. Kurt was always up for a flight somewhere and, right now, she needed the escape. She briefly thought about just disappearing but quickly realized that she’d be doing exactly what Amanda had done on more than one occasion. How many times had her daughter up and disappeared with out so much as a note or phone call. No, she’d just leave a note letting the family know she decided to go out of town and would be back sometime Sunday. As she entered her bedroom, she thought about confronting her daughter now, rather than later but, as she sat down on the edge of her bed and picked up the phone, she realized that she was too angry to have a coherent conversation with Amanda at this point in time. Dialing Edna’s number, she knew that she was making the right decision; she needed a few days away in order to make sense of everything she had just learned.

Chapter Six

Friday Evening, September 18th

“I wonder if there’ll be a message on the machine from mother when we get home,” Amanda glanced over at her husband as he maneuvered the Wagoneer out of the theater parking lot.

Lee reached over and placed his hand on Amanda’s knee. “I’m sure there will be. You’re always telling me how Dotty worries when you don’t call. I’m sure she doesn’t want you to worry.” He gently squeezed her leg. “She’ll call.”

Amanda sighed and leaned her head back against the headrest. “I hope you’re right. It’s just…oh, I don’t know…something just feels wrong.” She saw the quick glance her husband threw in her direction. “Nothing like that. It’s just not like mother to decide to go off for a whole weekend at the last minute. I mean, maybe it is but I guess she’s always found a way to let me know. This time she just left me a note.”

Lee could hear the boys and Sydney talking about the movie and was glad that they weren’t paying attention to their conversation. “Amanda, how many times have you had to run out at the last minute for an assignment and just left your mother a note?”

Amanda leaned forward slightly and turned her gaze towards her husband. “That’s just it, Lee. It’s not that she left me a note, it’s the note she left.” She saw Lee’s eyebrows scrunch questioningly, as he quickly glanced at her, before turning his attention back on the road. “I can’t explain it, but the note seemed very impersonal.” She closed her eyes as the memory came back to her.

They had stopped by the house briefly to drop off Lee’s car, so they could all go to the pizza parlor in one car. While Lee had hung out in the car with Sydney, Jamie and Phillip, she had run into the house to drop off their back packs and to see if her mother wanted to join them. Of course if Dotty had wanted to come, they would end up driving over in two cars again and she was sure Phillip would have jumped at another chance to show up somewhere in the ’Vette. Upon entering the house, she had called for her mother, only to be greeted by an eerie silence. She had run upstairs, deposited the backpacks in the appropriate rooms and then headed over to her mother’s room. Knocking she had found it empty. Running back downstairs, she entered the kitchen and found the note.

“Amanda?” Lee reached over and gently touched his wife’s arm. “Amanda?” he called again.

Amanda shook the memory from her mind, as her husband’s voice registered. She turned her head in his direction. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I guess I got lost in thought.”

Lee nodded slightly. “I could tell. One minute you were talking and the next minute you were quiet and seemed a million miles away. You had started to tell me what was wrong with Dotty’s note.”

“I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it just seemed very short and impersonal. ‘Off to spend the weekend flying with Captain Kurt – Dotty.’ There wasn’t a ‘love Mother’, ‘I’ll see you when I get back’ or even a ‘have a great weekend’. Nothing.” Amanda sighed uneasily. “Maybe I’m just being silly.”

“Amanda, I know you,” Lee shook his head softly. “I don’t think you’re being silly. Your feelings and instincts are usually right on the money.” He reached over, took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. “But…I’m sure Dotty’s fine. She probably just got a last minute invitation from Captain Kurt. You know how much she loves to fly. Some days, it’s all she talks about.”

Amanda looked lovingly at her husband. “I guess you’re right.” Any further comment was cut off, as the voices in the back seat suddenly grew louder. She turned around in her seat to watch the animated conversation. With their schedules so busy, they had been fortunate to find a theater still playing Mel Brooks’ new movie “Spaceballs.” Everyone had enjoyed it and, after the stress of the last few days, a comedy was just what the doctor had ordered.

“No, no, no. Dark Helmet confronts Lone Starr and says: ‘Before you die, there is something you should know about us, Lone Starr’.” Jamie mimicked Rick Moranis’ deep voice.

“Right, then after Lone Starr asks him what, Dark Helmet tells him: ‘I’m your father’s, uncle’s, brother’s cousin’s neighbor’.” Phillip waved his hand in the air, emphasizing his point.

Jamie shook his head excitedly. “No, that’s not what he said at all. He told Lone Starr that he was his ‘Brother’s, nephew’s, cousin’s, uncle’s roommate.”

“No, that’s not right either.” Phillip laid his head in his hands, his features showing he was deep in thought. “I think it was ‘I’m your father’s, uncle’s…”

“You’re both wrong.” Sydney jumped in, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. “The line was, and I quote: ‘I am your father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate’.”

Both boys stared at her, dumbfounded. “That sounds right, how did you remember that?”

Sydney shrugged her shoulders, noncommittally. “I don’t know. I’ve always been able to remember things. My dad sometimes jokes that I have a memory like an elephant, I never forget anything.”

“You mean you have a photographic memory?” Jamie looked at his friend, curiosity written all over his face.

Tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, Sydney tilted her head to the side and shrugged. “Maybe I do. I’ve always been able to remember phone numbers pretty easily without having to write them down.”

“This is all very interesting but can we get back to talking about the movie.” Phillip stared intently at his brother and Sydney. “I mean, I don’t know about you guys but I don’t think I’ll be able to eat pizza again for a week. That Pizza the Hutt, ugh, how disgusting.”

Jamie laughed good-naturedly. “Yeah and the worst part was that he ate himself to death.”

Amanda let out a deep-throated chuckle. “I think I’m cured from eating pizza for a while, myself.” As she turned her attention back towards the front, she caught sight of her husband deep in thought. Knowing that they were almost home and that he probably wouldn’t want to share those thoughts in front of the boys and Sydney, she decided she’d have to ask him later, when everyone was in bed.

Lee glanced in the rearview mirror. Phillip’s words echoed in his head. ‘Interesting indeed.’ His thoughts went back to his conversation with T.P. earlier that morning. He alternated his view from the road to the occupants in the back seat. He watched Sydney, sitting between Phillip and Jamie, her head gazing from one boy to the other, as they recited lines from the movie. Every now and then Sydney would interrupt to supply the correct line. A sudden thought occurred to him. ‘Jack Bristow wouldn’t be cold enough to use his own daughter as a test subject, would he?’ He quickly shook his head in an attempt to clear that thought from his mind.

As Lee maneuvered the Wagoneer onto Maplewood Drive, he caught sight of the Agency van and chuckled. His mother-in-law had been right, a phone company van, hanging out at ten-thirty at night was definitely suspicious, especially when it was parked in a neighborhood full of nosey neighbors. As he pulled the Jeep into the driveway, he remembered he hadn’t had a chance to pass the photos to the agents in the van, yet. He had passed the ones to Fielder before going to find Amanda at the middle school and had arrived early enough to pick up Phillip that he was able to signal Jones to meet him at his car before school had let out; however, he had been unable to stop by and talk to the Maplewood team earlier because everyone had hung out in the car while Amanda had run inside.

With the Jeep in park, everyone had started climbing out of the vehicle. Lee put his hand on his wife’s arm, successfully delaying her. “Amanda, I’ll meet you guys inside. I have a few things I have to get out of my car.” He subtly motioned towards the van with his head.

Amanda nodded in understanding. She mouthed the words ‘be careful’, before getting out of the vehicle. “Come on gang. What do you say, we go in, I’ll make some hot chocolate with marshmallows and you guys can rehash more of the movie before its time to hit the sack?”

“All right, Mom.” Phillip and Jamie shouted as they ran towards the front door.

Smiling shyly, her hands clasped behind her back, Sydney hung back a bit falling into step with Amanda. “That sounds great. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had so much fun. Phillip and Jamie sure do love to try and one up each other don’t they?”

Amanda wrapped her arm around Sydney’s shoulders and laughed. “You have no idea.” She removed her arm and reached into her purse to dig out her house keys.

They reached the front door to find both boys impatiently bouncing on their feet as they waited for their mother to unlock the door.

Lee watched as Amanda opened the door and stepped back to avoid being barreled over by her sons. Once they were all inside and his wife had closed the door, he exited the Jeep and walked over to his own car. Opening the trunk, he took out the last of the photos. Closing the lid, he headed towards the sidewalk. He then glanced up and down the street to make sure that no ‘nosey’ neighbors were keeping late night vigils. Assured that the coast was clear, he crossed the street and casually strolled over to the Agency van. Reaching his destination, he knocked on the driver side door.

Within a few seconds, Agent Miller appeared. Leaning over the driver’s seat, he rolled the window down. “Hey Scarecrow, give me a minute, I’ll go unlock the back door for you.”

Lee shook his head. “No, the van’s presence has already raised a few eyebrows this late at night. It’d look really strange if someone sees me getting into the back. I’ll just stay out here. We can talk through the window. This way if anyone asks questions, I can tell them I was inquiring to the nature of your business in our quiet little neighborhood this late at night. You know, concerned occupant of the neighborhood.”

Miller nodded in understanding. “I guess we should move from this spot and maybe make it look like we’re actually doing something to the phone lines.”

“Might not be a bad idea. Anyway, I came over here to pass these photos to you. We doubt that they’ll show their faces around here but we wanted you to have them just in case.” Lee handed the photos to Miller. As he watched Miller study the first one, he pointed at the face in the photo. “This is Issac Borsky, he’s not widely known around here, the KGB likes to keep him close to home. However, we have reports that he came through LAX about a week ago. We have no reason to believe he’ll be coming to D.C., but…” he shrugged, “you never know with the KGB. Our men at the airports are keeping an eye out for him.”

Lee watched as Miller flipped to the next photo. “That’s Sergei Romanovich. The KGB calls him the Magician.” He caught Miller raising his eyebrows speculatively. “I’ve run across him once or twice. He’s a tricky sort of fellow, uses a lot of slight of hand and other tricks to make things disappear right before your eyes. He’s the one we really have to keep a watch out for. Our reports from Dulles show that he just arrived in D.C. He’s staying at the Russian Embassy but we haven’t been able to uncover why he’s in town.”

“We’ll keep our eyes open. I’ll fill Johnson in,” Miller motioned towards the back of the van with his head. “We’ll be sure to pass this on to the next shift, too.” He studied the photo intently, trying to memorize the face. “You know,” he looked up at Lee, “we weren’t told why it’s so important to keep watch over Mrs. King’s house. Usually we get some sort of a reason. What’s the big secret and how come you get the cushy accommodations, Scarecrow?”

“Nice try, Miller. You know our motto ‘need to know’.”

Miller snickered. “I thought the Agency’s motto was ‘Service in the Shadows’.”

Lee glared at Miller, his demeanor indicating he was in no mood for the agent’s sarcasm. “Since when do you question directives, anyway?” He stared at him, his face showing no emotion, other than that of a seasoned agent giving orders. “Right now you just need to keep an eye out for anyone suspicious, especially these two. As for my accommodations, hey, I’m Mrs. King’s partner.”

“Right, I’m sure that’s the real reason.” Miller rolled his eyes and was just about to wish Lee a goodnight when he remembered something. Snapping his fingers, he turned to get out of the driver’s seat. “Hang on a minute, I have something for you, too.” He quickly disappeared into the back of the van.

Lee impatiently tapped his foot as he glanced up and down the street again making sure that none of the neighbors had decided to take a late night stroll. He didn’t have to wait too long before his fellow agent reappeared.

Miller sat down in the driver’s seat and then handed Lee two small devices that looked like mini phones. “These are from Leatherneck. He stopped by earlier but you were all out on your ‘family outing’.” He commented sarcastically.

Lee glared at Miller as he accepted the devices. He then looked down at the items, turning one over to inspect it. “What exactly are they?”

“Well, since neither you nor Mrs. King will be wearing communication links, Melrose had Leatherneck design those, he called them vibrators.” Miller tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, watching the other agent inspect the devices. “Melrose wanted to have a way for the teams to contact you and for you to contact us, in case of an emergency.” He handed Lee a piece of paper with a series of numbers. “If we need to contact you and you guys aren’t reachable by phone, we dial the number associated to one of the devices and it’ll vibrate. If it vibrates three times, it just means that something’s come up and you need to call in to the Agency as soon as you can. If it vibrates persistently, then you know it’s an emergency and to get in touch with one of the teams, or Melrose, immediately.”

Lee noticed a set of three numbers on the back of the device he had turned over before. Turning the other one over, he saw another set of three numbers. “I take it these are the identifiers?”

Miller nodded. “Yeah. Basically you dial 555-3 then the three numbers on the back to reach that one. If you then dial 333, you’re asking the other to just check in. If you dial the number and then 911 – it’s the sequence to alert the other person of the emergency.”

“So basically I keep one and give one to Amanda.” Lee watched Miller nod in acknowledgement. “So how do we contact the teams, if we need assistance?”

Miller reached out and turned one of the mini phones back over. “That’s the easy part,” he pointed to the numbered buttons, “You simply dial 1-911. Leatherneck wired them so that they will transmit a signal directly back to one of the vans and to the other vibrator. However, they only work within a ten-mile radius, so if you’re outside that range from either the teams or the other vibrator,” he raised his hands in front of him, palms up and shrugged, “then you’re basically on your own, unless you’re near a phone.”

“Got it.” Lee pocketed the vibrators, one in each of his back pockets. He then folded the instructions and tucked it in his left back pocket along with one of the devices. He was amazed at how easily the vibrators fit into those pockets. “The things Leatherneck comes up with. I wonder if Billy will let us keep these for future cases. They could come in handy.”

“Oh, wait. Leatherneck said these come with the vibrators. They attach to the rungs on the back.” Miller handed Lee two little clip-like pieces. “Just in case you want to clip it to your belt, instead of putting it in your back pocket.”

Lee glanced at his watch and realized he’d been out here longer then he had planned. “Thanks, Miller. Have a good evening.” Tapping the van door with his hand, he turned towards his house.

“You too, Scarecrow,” Miller laughed as he rose from his seat and headed into the back of the van to share the information on the two KGB agents with his partner.

Lee rolled his eyes, doing his best to ignore the agent’s insinuating tone. He knew it would only add fuel to the office gossip if he reacted to Miller. Besides, he didn’t care anymore. Let them talk, soon the cat would be out of the bag and the office gossips would have some real information to pass around at the water coolers, not just speculation.

As Lee reached the sidewalk, he changed course a bit. Instead of heading towards the front door, he decided to go around back. His initial reasoning was that if any of the busybodies had seen him at the van, it would give them something to really talk about if they saw him enter Amanda’s front door. In reality, he was feeling a bit nostalgic. He’d been going in the front door for quite some time now and, he admitted to himself that he kind of missed lurking in the shadows of Amanda’s backyard. Upon reaching his familiar lurking spot, he paused and gazed in the kitchen window. He watched as his wife brought two mugs into the den and gave one to each of the boys. She then turned around and gathered a third one from the counter and, returning to the other room, passed it to Sydney. He smiled as he listened to his stepsons mimicking more lines from tonight’s movie.

Amanda turned back around and headed back into the kitchen. She took the kettle off the stove and moved over to the sink to refill it. As she put the kettle under the faucet and turned on the water, she looked out the kitchen window and caught her husband’s gaze. She smiled lovingly at him, and he winked at her before he headed in the direction of the back door. There were times when she missed the old days. Gone were the days when she would be pleasantly surprised to see Lee’s face peering at her through her kitchen window or hear his unexpected knock on her back door, inviting her outside for a secret rendezvous. Turning, she put the kettle back on the stove and turned on the burner. Her thoughts were still on those precious memories from the past, unaware that Lee had actually entered the house, until she felt his arms around her waist. “You were gone for quite a while.” She turned in his embrace.

“Had to make an ‘exchange’ so to speak.” Lee winked at her. “I’ll…”

Amanda smiled knowingly and whispered, “I know, you’ll fill me in later.”

“So, did Dotty call?” Lee looked in the direction of the answering machine.

“Yes. She said she’d arrived safely and that she’d see us sometime Sunday.” Amanda sighed, a hint of worry evident as she stared at the phone.

Lee placed his finger gently on her chin, and turned her face to look at him. “You’re still worried that something’s wrong, aren’t you?” He put his arm back around her waist.

Amanda nodded as she gazed into his eyes. “It’s just a feeling really, I can’t help thinking that there’s more to mother’s sudden trip than just an opportunity to spend some time with Captain Kurt. I mean, she didn’t say where she was going to be and she didn’t leave a number where we can reach her. It’s almost like…”

Lee’s eyes widened and a grin spread across his face as a thought occurred to him. “I bet I know what she’s up to. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier.” He pulled her into a closer embrace. “I bet you anything she’s trying to give us a chance to spend a weekend as a real family. You know, just you, me, the boys and…well…Sydney, too.”

Amanda’s face beamed. “You’re absolutely right, Lee. It makes perfect sense. I don’t know why that thought never occurred to me. I wouldn’t put it past my mother to do something like that. She’s been throwing enough hints around about us getting married.” She leaned up and kissed him gently on the cheek. “You always know just how to make everything all right, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Lee leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips.

“Oh come on, can you at least wait till we’re upstairs and asleep to make out?” Phillip’s voice floated into the kitchen.

They broke their embrace and looked into the den. Phillip was grinning from ear-to-ear, amusement sparkling in his eyes. Sydney’s head was turned away from them, her eyes focused on the blank television screen. Jamie’s head was moving ever so slightly back and forth, as he suddenly found the floor interesting, his shoulders shaking slightly, evidence that he was clearly laughing.

Amanda cleared her throat to speak, but Lee beat her to the punch. “It wouldn’t be as much fun if we didn’t have an audience.” His wife’s eyes grew wide as a pink flush invaded her cheeks. Her eye’s squinted in annoyance and she elbowed him in the stomach. He doubled over slightly and grimaced.

Laughter erupted from the den. Phillip and Jamie were clearly enjoying their mother’s discomfort and Sydney was smiling, clearly enjoying the familial show.

Amanda cleared her throat again. “I think we’ve had enough fun for one night.” Looking at the clock, she realized how late it really was. “Time for you three to head on up to bed.” She moved away from Lee and headed towards the den. Reaching the couch, she put her hands on her hips and gave them all her best ‘don’t even think of arguing with me’ stare.

Phillip, still chuckling softly, rose from the couch. “Yeah, I guess I better get some sleep.” He covered his mouth to hide a yawn. “I have football practice in the morning.”

“That’s right. So while the rest of the house gets to sleep in, you and I have to get up early.” Amanda turned towards her husband. “While I’m taking him to practice, maybe you can read through the paper and find something fun and exciting we can all do later on, once practice is over.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Lee grinned, thinking not for the first time, just how right this all felt. Being around every night for bedtime, waking up every morning in his house with his family and getting a chance to be a part of the everyday routines was something he didn’t want to ever give up. When this assignment was over, things were definitely going to change. There was no way he was going to go back to heading home to an empty apartment every night.

Phillip walked over and placed a kiss on his mother’s cheek. “Goodnight, Mom.” Then turning towards Lee, he winked. “Goodnight, Lee.”

Lee brought a fisted hand to his mouth, trying to hide his amused grin with a cough. “Yeah, same to you, Phillip.”

Jamie got up from his spot on the couch. “Yeah, goodnight and 'May the Schwartz be with you'.” He waved his hands jerkily in the air, trying his best to imitate the character of Yogurt.

Sydney had already left her position on the armchair and was heading towards the landing. She turned and gave Amanda an amused smile, as she watched Jamie head around the corner. “Goodnight, Amanda. You make really good hot chocolate.” She then turned in Lee’s direction. “Goodnight, Lee.”

“Goodnight, you three.” Amanda called out after them. “I’ll be up to check on you in fifteen minutes.”

“Yes, Mom.” She heard Jamie and Phillip holler back. Their laughter mixed with exchanges of ‘May the Schwartz be with you’ floating down from the upstairs hallway.

“They all really seemed to have enjoyed that movie.” Lee leaned against the counter, his arms casually crossed across his chest. “I’m glad we were able to find a theater that was still showing it.”

Amanda nodded in agreement and walked around the couch. She gathered up the three empty mugs and headed back into the kitchen. “I am too. I know the boys had wanted to see it when it first came out, and with our schedules we just never got around to taking them. My mother had already said that it wasn’t she wanted to see and she was right it wasn’t something she would have enjoyed.”

Lee watched his wife place the mugs into the sink. “I wonder why they didn’t bug Joe to take them.”

Amanda shrugged her shoulders. “I’m glad he didn’t, though. It gave us a chance to take them.”

Lee had moved away from the counter and came to stand next to his wife. “I’m glad too. I enjoyed that movie, almost as much as the boys did. I only got to see Star Wars when it came out on video. It’s fun experiencing things like movies through the eyes of our sons.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

Amanda gave him a warm smile, as she emptied the little bit of cocoa from each mug. “I was glad to see that Sydney seemed to enjoy it, too. I was afraid that she might feel a little out of place hanging out with two boys but she seems to have adapted quite nicely.” Pouring some dish soap over the dirty dishes, she turned the faucet on. “In fact, she seems to have no trouble at all putting them in their place.” A warm smile crossed her face, her thoughts from earlier coming back to mind. She wondered how Phillip and Jamie would treat a sister of their own. Her thoughts were interrupted when the kettle began to whistle.

Lee moved over and turned the burner off, moving the kettle to one of the other burners. “Making tea?”

Amanda shook her head. “No, I was going to make myself a cup of hot chocolate and was just about to ask you if you wanted one?” She shut the water off and began washing the mugs.

“Actually, a cup of hot chocolate would be great.” Lee took down two more mugs from the cabinet. “I was thinking coffee might be a good idea but then that might keep me up and, after today, I need some sleep.”

Amanda put the clean mugs in the drain board and then dried her hands on a nearby dishtowel. She then moved over to the counter and began fixing the hot chocolate. “Would you mind going up and making sure that your sons are getting ready for bed. I’m sure Sydney’s already in bed, but I know Phillip and Jamie. They’re probably re-enacting some duel from the movie.”

“Not at all. I’ll meet you in the den once I make sure everyone is safely tucked into bed.” Lee leaned over and kissed her cheek.

Amanda smiled warmly as she watched Lee head for the stairs. Lee Stetson, once known to the world as Scarecrow the loner, was now a family man. She wished she had a camera, or video recording device. No one would believe her if she told them. Picking up the kettle from the stove, she poured hot water into the mugs. Once the mugs were topped off, she placed the kettle back on the stove. Picking up both mugs, she headed into the den.

As she placed the mugs on the coffee table to let them cool, she sat down, her eyes scanning the photos on the bookshelves. She smiled tenderly at the images displayed. Only a year ago, most of the pictures were of just the boys or Phillip and Jamie with her mother. Now the shelves were adorned with pictures of Lee with the boys. There was even one of Lee and her standing outside near the gazebo, their arms wrapped around each other, as they gazed lovingly into each other’s eyes.

Amanda remembered back to the day when Jamie had taken it. They had just come back from work and had decided to steal a few minutes to recoup from the stress of the day before facing her family. A simple milk run had gone bad and they had ended up being separated. When she had finally found her husband, he was being held at gunpoint. She had managed to create a diversion but the bad guy had managed to get off a shot in Lee’s direction. She had heard her husband shout out in pain and her heart had stopped, thinking that her distraction hadn’t worked as planned. She had been extremely relieved when he rose and, after a lengthy fistfight, had subdued the criminal. She found out later that he had cried out because in his effort to dodge the bullet, he had misjudged his proximity to the crates beside him, and had managed to hit his head on one of them. When they had arrived at her house, she had once again, as she often did after a rough case, sought comfort in his arms to reassure herself that he was, indeed, okay. Unbeknownst to either of them, Jamie had been rounding the corner, his camera in hand and had snapped the photo.

Amanda treasured the photo and the fact that, after Jamie and Lee had developed it, Jamie had insisted it find a place of honor. It was just another example of how much a part of the family Lee had become. As she stared at the picture, a chuckle came to her throat. It seemed that lately milk run assignments, at least for them, were becoming anything but simple.

“What’s so amusing, dear wife?” Lee leaned down and whispered in her ear.

Amanda jumped at the sound of his voice, coming close to bumping heads with her husband. “That’s not funny. You know I hate it when you do that.”

“Well then stop making it so easy for me to sneak up on you.” Lee chuckled and moved around the couch to sit beside her. “What was it that had you so deep in thought that you didn’t hear me come up behind you?” He leaned forward and picked up one of the mugs of cocoa. Sinking back into the couch, he propped his legs out in front of him and laid his arm along the back of the couch.

“As my mother would say, I was just wool gathering.” Amanda moved forward and picked up her own mug, before snuggling against her husband. “I take it everyone is in bed?”

“Yep, snug as bugs in a rug. Of course, you were right. I got up there and Phillip and Jamie were using their toothbrushes as Schwartz-sabers.” He moved his arm down, placing his hand on her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. Taking a sip of the cocoa, he swallowed. “Sydney’s right. You do make really good hot chocolate.”

“Well thank you. It’s an old family recipe.” A feeling of warmth spread through Amanda as she sipped her own cocoa. She wasn’t sure if it was just from the warm brew or if it was due to the warm feelings of contentment she was experiencing, wrapped in her husband’s loving embrace.

Lee tried to suppress a yawn. “You know, it still amazes me that, after four years of knowing you, I still manage to learn something that makes me truly appreciate the ‘stamina’ of the average housewife.” He smiled as his wife leaned forward slightly and turned to look at him, her eyebrows raised questioningly. “I never realized exactly what you had to deal with on a day to day basis. I mean you’re always talking about this charity or that, or some school function that you were helping with and yet you still managed to find the energy to help me out, you still do. I never fully appreciated all the responsibilities that you have to juggle until I got to witness some of it first hand.”

“All in the life of a mother, I guess.” Amanda shrugged and leaned back into his embrace. “You did really well at the school today.” She lovingly patted his leg. “I was pleasantly surprised to see you still there when I got back. I thought for sure you’d have run screaming.”

“Believe me when I tell you that the thought had crossed my mind more than once. In fact, I almost ducked into the library a few times. But after a while, I just remembered my Agency training.” Lee took another sip from his mug.

Amanda shook her head slightly and smiled. “Oh really? And which training was that?”

“I just pretended I had infiltrated an enemy camp and that I had to do my best to blend in or get caught.” A pleased grin spread across Lee’s face.

Amanda smacked his leg. “Lee, those weren’t KGB agents, they were mothers.”

Lee shook his head and chuckled heartily. “Amanda, those PTA mothers are worse than the most terrifying KGB interrogators. Every five minutes another one was coming up to me trying to get me to give them all sorts of juicy tidbits about our relationship. How we met, how long we’d been dating or what my hobbies were. Fortunately, we were busy enough that at the same moment a question was asked, we had a customer interested in purchasing something.”

“I guess some of the PTA mothers can come on a bit strong sometimes.” Having finished the last of her cocoa, Amanda bent forward and placed it on the table. She then turned, pulling one leg up underneath her and leaned back against the corner of the couch. “So, I’ve been dying to ask you this all day. What did you find out from T.P?”

Lee moved to place his mug on the table and then reached into his back pockets, pulling out the vibrators and instructions Miller had given him earlier. He then settled back against the couch. “A lot, actually but, before I forget, Leatherneck brought these by and left them with the guys in the van. He called them vibrators.” His wife raised an eyebrow, an expression of amused disbelief on her face. He caught the look and gave her a wicked grin. “You know, I never made that connection till just now.”

They both laughed, and in unison said, “Only Leatherneck.”

Still grinning, Lee continued his explanation, “It’s our way to easily communicate back to the vans if anything goes wrong.” He handed her one of the devices.

“They look like mini phones.” Amanda turned it over in her hand, inspecting it. “How does it work?”

“Miller gave me a list of instructions.” Lee handed the paper over to his wife. “It seems simple enough. Basically, it allows the teams to secretly contact us and we can get back in touch with them if necessary. It also allows us to instantly alert them if we need backup and can’t get to a phone.”

Amanda read the detailed instructions. “Wow, the things Leatherneck comes up with. I’m keeping this. Mr. Melrose can’t have it back.”

Lee smiled, shaking his head. “That’s exactly what I said. We should probably remember each other’s vibrator ids.” He let out a chuckle. “I don’t think I’ll be able to call them that without laughing.”

Amanda nodded in agreement, a knowing smile on her face as she pocketed the device. “So…now that that’s out of the way, are you going to keep me in suspense all night or are you going to tell me what T.P. was able to find out?”

Lee ran his hand through his hair and sighed. “It took a while for the impact of what he told me to sink in but, the bottom line is, Project Christmas is a program that the CIA or, more importantly, that Jack developed to basically program children to become spies.”

Amanda’s mouth opened, then closed, as her eyes grew wide. “What? Do you mean to tell me that the CIA is recruiting children into this business? That's... that's downright inhuman.”

Lee shook his head vigorously. “It’s not quite like that. Apparently a study was done that showed that five and six year olds have the ability to develop strong spatial relation skills faster than any other age group. They thought that they could teach these kids certain skills and then, as T.P. put it, ‘reset their memories’ giving them no knowledge that these skills had been acquired. Then, years later, the CIA would find a way to reawaken those skills and,” he snapped his fingers, “instant spy.”

Amanda stared at him, still flabbergasted. “You mean they plan on training these children to be sleeper agents?”

“Exactly and that’s why the KGB sent in Irina.” Lee ran a hand through his hair. “It’s hard enough to swallow the idea that our own government could do something so unspeakable but can you imagine the KGB creating their own set of sleeper agents? And the KGB is just bold enough to do something like that all over the world.”

Amanda shuddered. “I don’t want to think about it. No wonder the CIA doesn’t want anyone to find out the true nature of the project; not only because of what it really is but because they let the KGB get their hands on it.” She looked at him with a furrowed brow. “You said reset, earlier. What exactly does that mean? How can you reset someone’s memory?”

“Well its a little like forced amnesia or forced repression done under hypnosis.” Lee saw his wife watching him, her eyebrows still furrowed in confusion. “It’s like tricking the mind to think that nothing out of the ordinary occurred, basically wiping away certain memories. The Agency experimented with it after the war in Vietnam. There were a few agents who were so traumatized by what they witnessed over there that they couldn’t effectively function as field agents anymore. So the Agency had a few of the shrinks erase the more painful and disturbing memories.”

Amanda watched him with renewed interest. “They didn’t…I mean…well I guess you wouldn’t know if they did or didn’t would you?”

Lee shook his head adamantly. “No. It was never done to me and yes you’re right I wouldn’t remember if they had. I remember a lot from my time in ’Nam, so I’m pretty sure the memories I have are complete. Besides, the unit I was in, well we were there to gather intelligence, not necessarily join in the fighting. They really couldn’t afford to wipe any of my memory clean, too much classified information up here.” He tapped his head a few times and grinned at her. “Additionally, if they had, I probably wouldn’t be able to tell you anything about the procedure. See I knew a few agents who had it done to them. They knew going in what was going to happen but when they came out, they were unaware that anything was done to them and have no knowledge that the procedure even exists.”

“The problem with the process, though, is that it had a few drawbacks.” Lee saw the question in his wife’s eyes. “See you can’t really erase a memory, at least not completely. You can remove it from a person’s consciousness but the memory remains in the subconscious. All it takes is one thing to trigger bits and pieces of the memory or even the entire repressed memory. One or two of the agents who had their minds reset talked about feeling like they were forgetting something but couldn’t figure out what. After awhile, bits of the memory started coming back to them in brief flashes but not enough to make any sense. As far as I know, they still don’t remember everything, but I couldn’t tell you for sure since I’ve lost touch with most of them.”

Amanda nodded in understanding. “I think I know what you mean. Back when I had amnesia, it’s like I remembered most of my life but I still felt like something was missing or that a part of me was. It wasn’t until I was on that plane and my entire life flashed before me, that it all came back to me. I guess you could say that the possibility of death was the trigger that brought everything flooding back to me.”

“Precisely. Well the Agency saw that it really didn’t work and stopped using the technique. However, I’m pretty sure the CIA used it back then and from what T.P. told me, I’m guessing they’re still using it. I guess they’ve found away to perfect the technique.”

“But to use the technique on children…that just seems so…wrong.” Amanda shook her head in disbelief.

Lee leaned his head back. “Yeah, well that’s not the worst part.” He turned his head to see his wife watching him with renewed interest. “After Irina’s death, Jack decided to put his theories to a test and found himself a test subject. T.P. couldn’t find out the name of the test subject, the CIA just listed the subject as a Jane Doe.”

“I can’t believe anyone…” Amanda paused, her eyes growing wider. “Wait, T.P. said Jane Doe, which means that the child was a girl.” She sprung up off the couch and briskly walked over to the landing. Peeking around the corner, she glanced up the stairs. Reassured that everyone was safely in their rooms, she walked back into the den and glanced at her husband briefly before looking up towards the ceiling. “You don’t think…” She lowered her gaze and locked eyes with Lee, a chill running down her spine.

Lee shrugged. “I don’t know but that thought crossed my mind, too.” He rose from the couch and closed the distance between them.

Amanda wrapped her arms around her husband and leaned her head against his chest. “That’s what you were thinking about in the car on the way home, wasn’t it? You were wondering if Sydney’s correction of the movie lines and her mentioning her knack for remembering numbers might be indications that she was Jack’s test subject.” She shook her head trying to chase away those thoughts from her mind. “No, I don’t want to believe a father could do that to his own child. How could anyone want to take away his own child’s choices in life like that? Plan her future for her?” She shook her head again. “No, I refuse to even think that Jack could do something like that. Maybe she’s just gifted. Remember Zhmed Doorlof, he had a photographic memory.” She pulled back to look into her husband’s eyes.

“I don’t want to believe it either. Maybe you’re right; maybe she’s just a very bright, gifted young girl. Look,” he bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead, “how about we try not to think about it anymore, at least not for tonight. What do you say,” he wiggled his eyebrows up and down, “we move back to the couch, and take Phillip up on his suggestion.”

Amanda grinned mischievously. “You mean...you want to make out?”

Lee’s dimpled smile spread across his face. Grabbing her hand, he led her to the couch. “That’s exactly what I mean, Mrs. Stetson.” He plopped himself down on the cushions and pulled her down with him.

Amanda laid her legs across his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I like the way you think.” Leaning in she initiated a very passionate kiss.

Lee pulled her closer and returned the kiss, intent on removing all disturbing and negative thoughts from her mind. As the kiss deepened, all coherent thoughts were wiped away from both their minds.

Chapter Seven

Saturday, September 19th

Amanda stretched her legs out in front of her as she sat down on the blanket she and Sydney had just spread on the ground. They had all just returned from a family outing to a fair in Rockville. Leaning back on her arms, she chuckled as watched the basketball game currently taking place on the driveway. Her sons seemed to have a never-ending supply of energy. What made it even more amusing was the fact that her husband believed that he possessed a large amount of reserve energy too. She shook her head as she realized that he would be complaining about all his aches and pains later. He may be one of the Agency’s top agents but, as she had reminded him on more than one occasion, he was no Superman. He didn’t need to prove anything to Phillip and Jamie, they were teenagers and they were supposed to expound large amounts of energy.

Amanda gazed over at the other member of the game’s cheering section. Sydney was lying on her stomach, her head lying contentedly on folded arms, her knees bent and her feet bouncing. For the first time since last night, her thoughts traveled back to what Lee had told her. She could only hope that the young girl next to her never found out what her father was capable of. Anyone who could even think of training children to be spies had to be twisted. As she watched Sydney, she prayed that their earlier suspicions about Jack were wrong and that he hadn’t been so messed up by his wife’s betrayal that he would use his own daughter as a test subject for Project Christmas.

Sydney turned her head and caught Amanda’s gaze. “Phillip’s really good, isn’t he? I mean, Jamie’s not a bad player, but Phillip really seems to put his heart into the game.”

“You’re very observant, young lady.” Thankful for the interruption to her dark thoughts, Amanda smiled encouragingly. “You’re right though, Phillip does love this game. Jamie likes to play, but I think he learned so that he could have something in common with Phillip; besides, it’s what almost all the neighborhood boys like to play.” She turned her focus back to the game. “So did you have a good time at the fair today?”

“Oh, yes I did. I don’t usually get to go to things like that.” Sydney turned her head to look in Amanda’s direction. “My dad’s work takes him away so much and Maria really doesn’t enjoy doing that type of thing.” She caught the questioning look in Amanda’s eyes. “Sorry, I’m so used to Maria being around that I talk about her like everyone knows who she is. Maria is my nanny. I guess it sounds strange to hear a twelve-year-old call someone their nanny, but Maria’s been taking care of me since I was seven. I don’t really know how else to describe her.”

Amanda looked back towards Sydney. “I understand. Sometimes people become such a huge part of your life that you can’t imagine a time when they weren’t there. Was Maria unable to stay with you this time while your dad went away?” She knew the real reason the young girl wasn’t staying with her caretaker, but it would seem odd to someone as smart as Sydney if she didn’t appear to be curious. Then, realizing that her question might have a different meaning, Amanda smiled endearingly at the young girl beside her. “I hope that didn’t come out wrong, because I wouldn’t want you to get the impression that we don’t enjoy having you stay with us. I love having you here, and Jamie’s enjoying having someone around who shares the same interests as him. I think Jamie finds it hard to compete with his brother’s new life, now that Phillip’s started high school. Having you around is helping him re-adjust to school without his big brother.” She stopped when she saw Sydney gazing at her in amazed silence.

Amanda let out a self-conscious chuckle. “Sorry about that. Lee loves to give me hard time about my rambling. I usually tend to talk too much when I’m either very nervous or excited. Anyway, we somehow managed to get off topic, didn’t we? You were telling me about Maria.”

Sydney gave a pleasant little laugh. “Yeah, I think I was telling you why we never do anything fun anymore. It’s just that now that I’m older, Maria tends to concentrate on cleaning the house, especially now that I’m at school all day. Besides, she’s only around during the week, if my dad’s away over a weekend I usually stay with neighbors or even my friend, Rachel. So, I’m really glad Lee suggested the fair, I had a very good time.”

“Well, I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” Amanda leaned forward and placed a hand on Sydney’s shoulder. “We did too. To be honest, I haven’t been to a fair in quite a few years myself. Well, at least not one that wasn’t run by the PTA and I’m usually helping out at those.”
Sydney looked back over at Amanda. “You’re very involved in everything Phillip and Jamie do, aren’t you?”

Amanda shrugged her shoulders, as she eased her hand away from Sydney’s shoulder. “I try to be. Although, I feel like I haven’t been as involved as I used to be, not since I started working with Lee.”

“Well I think you’re a pretty cool mom. I’ve heard some grownups say how much times have changed since they were kids and how it’s a real shame that a lot of moms have to work and are unable to stay home with their kids anymore. I guess it’s true because most of my friends have two parents that have to work. From what Jamie says, though, you do everything you can to go to his games or school functions. He told me that even though you don’t make it to everything, and he misses not having you there, he knows how hard you try and how guilty you feel for not being there. I bet you’re around a lot more than most parents.” Sydney turned her focus back on the game, hoping that Amanda hadn’t caught any sign of the disappointment she felt as she thought about her dad.

Amanda heard the catch in Sydney’s voice, however, and placed her hand back on Sydney’s shoulder. “Sydney? You miss your dad, don’t you?”

Sydney shrugged her shoulders. “I guess you could say that. I don’t like that he travels so much, or that we’re not as close as we used to be before my mom died.”

“You know, just because your dad isn’t always around, doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about you. Sometimes people tend to put their work ahead of everything else. In many cases, it’s a healing mechanism, or even an escape.” Amanda gazed lovingly at her husband. She knew quite a few people, men mostly, who would dive head first into their work, trying not to let their emotions get the better of them. “I think your dad is escaping from what happened to your mom and he doesn’t know how to connect with you anymore.”

“I know my dad cares about me, but you’re right, he does concentrate on his work, a lot. Who would have thought that selling airplane parts would be that demanding?” Sydney rolled over on her side, bending her arm, she propped her head up with her hand. She started tracing the pattern on the blanket. “I bet you’re wondering why my dad hasn’t called. You probably think it’s pretty unusual, and maybe it is, but I’m used to it. We rarely have much to say to each other when he is home. I doubt we’d be able to find anything to talk about over the phone. He might call when I’m not home, you know to check up on me, but Maria has never mentioned to me that he has, so who knows.”

Amanda had been curious about Jack’s lack of contact with his daughter, especially considering the real reason she was staying with them. Maybe he had checked in with Mr. Melrose, afraid that calling here might alert someone to Sydney’s whereabouts. She’d have to mention it to Lee later and have him ask Mr. Melrose about it. She was just about to reply when she heard a voice calling her name.

“Yoo-hoo, Amanda? Dotty? Are you back here?”

Amanda rose from her position on the blanket and moved in the direction of the voice she recognized as one of her nosiest neighbors. “Hello, Mrs. Gilstrap.” Putting on a friendly face, she waved.

“Oh, there you are.” Edna Gilstrap smiled, relieved that she had found someone. “I hope you don’t mind me stopping by, but I was hoping to talk to your mother. I tried knocking but no one came to the door. Then I heard the boys playing basketball and decided to try around back.”

“I’m afraid my mother’s not home.” Amanda shrugged apologetically. “She went flying for the weekend.”

Edna approached Amanda. “Hmm. I wonder if Captain Kurt is the reason she cancelled our trip to the nursery.”

Amanda tried to hide the surprise from her voice. “Mother cancelled on you?”

“Yes, she called me about ten minutes before I was going to pick her up, saying that something came up and she wouldn’t be able to go with me.” Edna’s attention was drawn to the young girl, who was now sitting Indian style on the blanket, watching the basketball game. “Who’s your young friend? Is she with Phillip or Jamie? You know Amanda, I think your boys are a little young to have girlfriends.”

Amanda, fighting the urge to tell Mrs. Gilstrap that it was none of her business if her boys had girlfriends or not, just shook her head. “No, she’s a friend. She’s staying with us while her father is out of town on business.”

Sydney had heard them talking about her, and stood up from the blanket. She walked over to stand next to Amanda.

“Edna Gilstrap, this is Sydney Bristow. Sydney, this is one of our neighbors, Mrs. Gilstrap.” Amanda put her arm lovingly around Sydney’s shoulders.

Sydney nodded at the older woman. “Nice to meet you.” She then turned her attention towards Amanda. “I think I’m going to go help Lee. I just heard the score, and Phillip and Jamie are really creaming him. He could probably use a partner.”

Looking down towards Sydney, Amanda smiled warmly. “Sounds like a good idea to me.” Knowing that Sydney was anxious to join the game, she removed her arm from around Sydney’s shoulders.

Amanda watched Sydney run over to the driveway and knew, from the vigorous nod of Lee’s head, that he was extremely willingly to accept the young girl’s offer to be his teammate. Hearing the comments her sons were making, she hoped that her husband and Sydney would be the victorious team. She couldn’t help but shake her head and laugh as she heard Phillip telling Lee that there was no way he was going to bounce back and win, especially with the help of a girl. When would her sons learn that they should never underestimate girls, particularly in light of the fact that Sydney was obviously not like most girls; at least not like most of the girls Phillip and Jamie were used to. She had a feeling her two boys would be eating crow before the end of the day.

“So, is that handsome man over there the one your mother keeps talking about.” Edna’s eyed Lee approvingly. “I don’t think your mother did him justice with her descriptions. He’s a very handsome young man, Amanda.” She smiled conspiratorially. “I wouldn’t let that one get away.”

Amanda smiled lovingly in her husband’s direction. “I don’t plan on it.” She then turned her attention back on her impromptu guest. “Speaking of mother, you were saying how she cancelled on you at the last minute?”

Edna nodded. “Yes, she did. I was running a little late and was just about to leave when she called to cancel.”
That nagging feeling that Amanda had when she had first read the note last night, was coming back. “Did she seem upset when she called?”

“No, just flustered, I guess. Like she was in a rush.” Edna gave Amanda a supportive glance. “I wouldn’t worry about her, dear. You said she was flying with her very attractive flight instructor. I’ve heard the way Dotty talks about him. She’d drop almost anything when he calls.”

“You’re probably right, and it wouldn’t be the first time Kurt called to invite her at the last minute for a trip and wanted to get an early start.” Amanda wasn’t as reassured as she sounded, however. She was beginning to wonder if her mother had been home yesterday when Joe was there. Had her mother overheard her conversation with Joe? She glanced back towards the basketball court as she heard Lee and Sydney congratulating each other. She shook her head slightly, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth, as she watched how happy her husband currently was. No, Lee was probably right; her mother had probably jumped at the chance to go away with Captain Kurt, giving them time to feel like a real family without, as her mother would put it: ‘a meddlesome mother getting in the way’.

“Well, I just stopped by to talk to Dotty. Since she’s not here, I’ll let you guys get back to the rest of your Saturday.” Edna turned to leave.

“I’ll let mother know you stopped by.” Amanda didn’t mind Mrs. Gilstrap’s company, but she really just wanted to spend time with her family. “Is there a message you wanted me to pass along to mother?”

Edna spun back around. “No, no message. It’s just that I’ve just been dying to ask Dotty her opinion about the phone company van that’s been parked at the end of the street, but since she cancelled yesterday, I didn’t get the chance. I really don’t know how anyone could miss it. I mean it’s been there since Wednesday. They don’t even appear to be doing any work, not to mention that today is a Saturday, which means that whoever is supposed to be working is getting paid time and a half. No wonder our phone bills are so high. It’s to pay for all that overtime!”

Amanda took a deep breath and sighed. “Actually mother made a similar comment just the other night. I’m sure the workers have a good reason for being here so long. I can’t imagine, with the amount of phone problems that constantly arise, that the phone company would waste their men on unimportant jobs.” She hoped that would appease her neighbor. She needed to add the van to her growing list of things to talk to Lee about. Mrs. Gilstrap was now the third person to comment on the van, and would most likely not be the last. It was definitely time for the Agency babysitters to hang up their phone company costumes for something a little less conspicuous.

“I suppose you’re right dear. Well I’m going to head home now. Maybe I’ll get a chance to meet your gentleman friend another time.” Edna waved and turned to head back the way she came in.

“I’ll make sure if it.” Amanda watched as Edna headed out through the opening in the latticework, before turning her attention back to the game. A smile crossed her face as she took in the scene before her. Despite the fact that Phillip was blocking Lee, her husband had managed to get a pass over to Sydney, who ducked around Jamie and made her shot. Lee let out a whoop and gave Sydney a high-five as the ball sailed right into the basket. Phillip and Jamie hung their heads, in obvious defeat.

“I can’t believe we got beat by a girl.” Phillip looked back at the basket, disbelief showing on his face.

“Hey, what about me?” Lee sounded a bit dejected. After all he was the other half of that team that had just beaten his sons.

Phillip gave the older man a slap on the back. “Face it Lee, before Sydney joined the game, Jamie and I were trouncing you. We would have won, too.” He shot Sydney a glare of mock annoyance.

Jamie stepped over and put a supportive arm around Sydney. “Hey, I thought it was a pretty good game. Besides, it wasn’t really a fair game until Sydney joined in.” He turned to look at his friend. “Where’d you learn to play like that? You’re really good.”

Lee nodded in agreement. “I’ll say, and Jamie’s right, I definitely wouldn’t have won without your help. You can be on my team anytime.”

Sydney looked down at her feet, a little embarrassed by the compliment. “Um, thanks, and actually, I learned how to play in gym class.” She stepped away from Jamie and bent down to pick up the ball that was now lying near her feet.

Phillip watched as Sydney began dribbling the ball. “You learned all that in gym class. I’m amazed. All the girls I know only care enough to pass the class.”

Sydney shot the ball into the basket. “I really like gym.” Catching the ball as it fell from the net, she turned to look at the older boy. “You’d be surprised at how many girls really enjoy sports.”

Amanda walked over and stood beside her husband. “She’s right, Phillip. Just look at the Olympics. I honestly don’t know where this ‘boys are better than girls’ attitude comes from.” She gave her eldest son a teasing look.

“Your mom’s absolutely correct.” Lee put an arm around his wife’s waist. “There are a lot of things that men do that women are just as good at, sometimes even better.”

Jamie saw the annoyed look his brother shot at Lee, and started laughing. “Lee, I think you just lost a ton of cool points.”

“Big time!” Phillip winked at Lee.

“Before the testosterone level rises again, I think it’s about time we start working on dinner. Even though I know how much you all ate at the fair, I’m sure you’ve managed to work up quite an appetite this afternoon.” Amanda received enthusiastic nods from everyone. Turning, she looked at her husband. “How about you go fire up the grill, big fella, while I go get the burgers ready?”

Lee squeezed his wife’s waist. “Sounds like a great plan to me.” Reluctantly he let go of Amanda and headed towards the patio.

“I didn’t realize how hungry I was till you mentioned food, Mom.” Jamie rubbed his belly.

Phillip grinned. “I agree with wormbrain.”

“Don’t you two ever stop thinking about food?” Sydney laughed. “I’d bet money that the two of you would starve to death if you were ever on a desert island.”

Phillip shook his head. “That’s not true at all. I’ll have you know, I’m a certified Junior Trailblazer. I can survive in the wilderness, probably better than you could.”

“Too bad we didn’t have this discussion last night, I’d have challenged you to a wilderness test.” Sydney chuckled, then looked at Jamie. “Jamie’s mentioned that you guys go camping a lot.” She looked back in Phillip’s direction. “I bet we could have gotten Amanda and Lee to take us camping instead of the fair. I’d love to show you just how good a scout I am.” She was enjoying this banter. It was all in fun, and it felt nice being so at ease around Phillip and Jamie. She didn’t have many guy friends; in fact, she realized, she didn’t have any. She always felt like none of the boys wanted to hang out with her because she was such a brain, as most of the boys back home loved to call her. She secretly hoped her dad’s business would last a while. She missed Rachel, and maybe Amanda might let her call her friend later, but she was really enjoying being a part of this family. She was so caught up in her own thoughts, that she had missed Phillip’s come back.

“Hey numbskull,” Jamie replied. “Sydney may not be a Junior Trailblazer, but I bet she knows a lot about survival. She told me she spent two summers at camp and the camp was in the woods, with very little in the way of stuff you need to survive. Isn’t that right, Sydney?”

Sydney had no idea what Phillip had said, but she had heard everything Jamie said when he had come to her rescue. “That’s right Jamie.” She gave him a smile of thanks.

Amanda saw Phillip opening his mouth to retort and quickly put her hand out to stop any further comment. “All right children, that’s enough name calling and one-upmanship. Before this conversation gets anymore out of hand, how about you three go on in and wash up; then you can help me get the table set.” She shook her head, as the three started trudging towards the house. She heard Phillip tell Jamie that it wasn’t cool that his own brother chose to side with a girl, as he held the door open for his brother and Sydney. Amanda missed Jamie’s comment, but caught the wink Phillip gave Sydney.

“I think Phillip’s been attending the Stetson charm school.” Amanda said as she walked over to where her husband was moving the coals around in the grill, getting them nice and hot.

“Oh, what makes you say that?’ Lee closed the lid on the grill and moved to wrap his arms lovingly around his wife’s waist. Leaning down, he placed a kiss on her nose.

Amanda shook her head and chuckled. “Let’s just say, Phillip idolizes you in more ways than one. He may think your car is ‘rad’, but he’s also picked up your ‘subtle’ little charms.”

Lee graced her with his famous smile. “Why, Mrs. Stetson, I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.” He lowered mouth to hers and placed a very gentle kiss on her lips. Pulling back, he winked at her.

Amanda closed her eyes. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about Scarecrow, and you know it.”

Lee laughed huskily. “Well, I guy has to use what he’s got.” He decided it was time to change the conversation before it led them down a path he knew they couldn’t continue right now. “So which neighbor were you talking to before, the one that had Sydney so eager to help me out of my losing streak?”

“That was Edna Gilstrap, the one that my mother was supposed to go to the nursery with.” Amanda sighed, and her brow creased with concern.

Lee knew the look on his wife’s face, all too well. “Amanda? What’s wrong?”

“I was just thinking about the fact that my mother hasn’t called.” Amanda glanced into the house.

Lee followed her gaze and tightened his arms around her. “Look, she’s probably having a wonderful time with Captain Kurt.” He placed a kiss on her forehead. “Try not to worry about it.”

Amanda laid her head against Lee’s chest and sighed. “I can’t help it.” She then pulled back and looked into her husband’s eyes. “Lee, don’t you think it’s strange that Jack hasn’t called? Sydney mentioned that she’s used to him not calling, but I find it odd. I hope he’s okay…I mean I hope he’s okay for Sydney’s sake, because it’s the only reason I can think of that would keep him from calling to check up on the daughter he just had to have protected.”

“Maybe he’s deep undercover, or maybe he’s afraid that calling here might jeopardize her safety.” Lee shrugged, but saw the concern in his wife’s eyes. “You know how this business goes.” He saw her start to protest. “But I know what you’re saying. No matter what, you always find a way to call home, unless of course it’s physically impossible. I remember a few times when we were ‘tied up’ or weren’t near a phone. But you’re right, we haven’t heard from him in three days. If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll ask Billy if he’s heard anything from Jack when I call to check in tomorrow, okay?”

Amanda let a slow smile creep across her lips and nodded slightly. “That would make me feel a lot better.” She placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “Thank you.” Wriggling from his embrace, she moved towards the back door. “I better go get those burgers so you can get them started, otherwise we’re going to have three very grumpy, very starving teenagers hounding us before long.”

“You’re probably right.” Lee watched his wife head into the house and chuckled. It never ceased to amaze him the amount of food his two sons could eat. He couldn’t believe that any of them could even contemplate eating again after all the food they consumed at the fair earlier today; however he’d seen the amount of food the King boys could pack away and wasn’t really all that surprised that they’d be hungry again. As his stomach growled, he realized he couldn’t really complain about his stepsons’ eating habits since he seemed to have worked up a pretty good appetite himself. However, there was no denying the fact that his stepsons were bottomless pits, and as Phillip and Jamie loved to point out, they were growing boys. Yes, they were indeed growing up, in more ways than one. Maybe it was time that he had a man-to-man talk with Phillip. He had given Phillip pointers before about girls, and if Amanda was right, the boy was probably beginning to pick up a few things from him that could come off wrong, if not used correctly.

Lee opened the grill cover to make sure everything was good and hot. Glancing into the house, he saw his eldest stepson getting the plates down from the cabinet and by the look on Sydney’s face, Phillip had obviously said something peculiar. Shaking his head, he realized that it was definitely time to sit Phillip down and make sure he understood exactly how best to use those charms. Maybe he’d include Jamie in the discussion as well. A smile spread across his lips as he thought about the idea of giving fatherly advice to his stepsons. He began whistling a happy tune as he waited for Amanda to bring out the burgers.

SMK a SMK a SMK

Amanda stirred slightly as a flash of lightning lit the room and the boom of thunder rolled away slowly. She jumped as a louder crash echoed outside, shaking the house. She rolled over on her side, trying to block out the sounds of the storm. As another lightning flash lit the room, she caught sight of a figure silhouetted in her doorway. “Lee?” she mumbled, still half-asleep.

“Amanda,” the meek voice replied, “it’s me…Sydney.”

Hearing a tinge of fear in the young girl’s voice, Amanda was instantly awake. She hastily pushed the covers aside and swung her legs over the side of the bed. “Sydney? Is everything okay?”

“Yes…I’m sorry if I woke you.” Sydney started turning around, ready to head back to her room.

Amanda rose from the bed and took three quick steps over to the young girl. She put a gentle hand on Sydney’s arm. “Wait, it’s okay, I think it was the storm that woke me, not you.” Wrapping her arm around the girl’s shoulders, she started to guide her over to the bed. “Did the storm wake you, too?”

Sydney nodded slowly, feeling a little better with Amanda’s arm around her. She jumped as another clap of thunder reverberated within the bedroom. “I’m not really afraid of thunderstorms.” She let out a self-conscious chuckle

Amanda squeezed Sydney’s shoulder affectionately. “I’m sure you’re not.” Removing her arm, she sat on her bed and patted the space next to her. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Sydney hesitated briefly, glancing at Amanda. A flash of lightning lit the room again, illuminating the look of concern on the older woman’s face. Letting out a sigh, she sat down next to Amanda and clasped her hands in her lap.

As Sydney contemplated whether or not to share her fears with Amanda, another member of the household had been disturbed by the storm. Hearing footsteps in the hallway upstairs, Lee had automatically reached for the gun he had hidden under his pillow earlier in the evening. Wrapping his left hand around the cold metal, he pushed aside his covers and climbed out of bed. He then quietly made his way out of his ‘bedroom’ and tiptoed towards the stairs. Pausing at the base, he listened for any unusual noises. He quickly went into agent mode at the sound of voices coming from his wife’s bedroom. With his back to the wall, and his gun hand raised, he began creeping up the steps, ready to surprise any unwanted guests. As he reached the top of the stairs, he relaxed when he heard the soothing tone in Amanda’s voice and lowered his gun to his side. Moving up a few more steps, he tucked his gun into the waistband of his sweatpants and, keeping himself hidden, he listened to the conversation inside.

“You know, I’ve always believed it makes a person feel better if they talk about what’s bothering them.” Amanda reached over and turned on the light on her nightstand. She then fluffed her pillow and leaned it against the headboard. Scooting back, she leaned against the soft cushion and tucked her legs beneath her.

Glancing at Sydney, Amanda caught the look of uncertainty in the young girl’s eyes. She knew from years of breaking down Lee’s walls that it was easier not to push someone into admitting what was bothering them, and she knew Sydney would open up to her when she was ready. “But you don’t have to if you don’t want to. We can just sit here and listen to the storm outside. When I can’t sleep, and it’s storming like it is now, I like to think about the good that can come from all the rain. I know that rain helps the flowers grow, and I know that makes my mother happy. When it rains like this, I know I won’t have to worry about watering the garden tomorrow, Mother Nature’s doing the job for me.” She smiled tenderly as Sydney shifted her position and tucked one of her legs beneath her, while her other leg hung over the side of the bed, an expression of wonder on her young face. “Sometimes, though, the storms bring back memories that I’d rather keep tucked away, and sometimes it brings back some very pleasant memories.” A small grin tugged at the corner of her mouth as she thought back to a rainy night just over a year ago.

Sydney watched as a far-away look crossed Amanda’s features. “Are you thinking of one of the more pleasant memories now?”

Amanda nodded. “I guess you could say that. Storms like this remind me of a night not too long ago. The events surrounding that night weren’t the most ideal, but it’s what occurred during that storm that I like to remember.” Catching the expectant look on Sydney’s face, she smiled. She had a feeling that if she shared her own thoughts, Sydney might do the same; however she was unsure of just how much to share with the young girl beside her. “You see, Lee and I found ourselves in a very complicated situation and, while we listened to the storm outside, we shared some of our fears and thoughts. I like to think that the storm helped to bring Lee and I closer.”

A knowing smile appeared on Lee’s face. He knew exactly which night his wife was referring to. A lot more than just talking had happened that night. They had been on the run from the government for three days and that night had them facing the possibility that the following day might bring disaster. They had both been scared of the fact that he might actually have had to defect to Russia if Billy was unable to come through for them or if Alexei didn’t show and eluded capture, successfully cutting off any hope they had of clearing their names. Knowing that it could have been their last night together, they had found themselves needing some sort of physical comfort. They had come very close to making love that night, but common sense had prevailed. Not only would it have been too soon in their relationship since they had only just voiced their true feelings for each other; but they both realized that an intimate act like that might have caused some very pleasant, but distracting emotions and, given the events that they expected take place the next day, they both knew that they would need to remain focused. So, after they had gotten their hormones under control, they had taken comfort in each other’s arms instead, sharing their fears over the events that would most likely take place, and gaining strength from their newly expressed feelings for each other.

As Lee continued to stand outside his wife’s bedroom, he thanked the powers that be for letting everything work out the way they had, because he knew one thing for sure, if things had gone differently, and he had been forced to go with Rostov, he would have been absolutely miserable without Amanda. Life might not have been ideal these past seven months, living apart, but he wouldn’t trade them for all the gold in Russia. He thought about retreating back downstairs, but his curiosity won out; anxious to discover what had brought Sydney searching for his wife in the middle of the night, he turned his attention back on the conversation inside the bedroom.

Sydney tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked down at the bed. There was something so open and honest about Amanda that she felt the overwhelming urge to confide in her. “I found out my mother had died in a car crash during a storm like this one.” She started tracing the pattern on the comforter.

“Oh, Sydney.” Amanda reached out and placed her hand gently over Sydney’s. “Is that why you came looking for me?”

Nodding ever so slightly, Sydney raised her head and caught the sympathetic look in Amanda’s eyes. “I guess I just needed to make sure you were still here. I haven’t been afraid during a storm in a really long time, but for some reason tonight, when the thunder woke me, I remembered the night the police stopped by to tell us about my mom, and I needed to reassure myself that I wasn’t alone.”

Amanda’s eyebrows raised in concern. “Sydney, wasn’t your dad with you when you found out?”

“Yes,” Sydney gave an imperceptible nod, “he’s actually the one who told me. I remember coming out of my room and seeing two policemen standing in our doorway. My dad came over to me and told me that my mother was dead and that I had to be strong.” She looked at Amanda curiously. “I didn’t understand why he wanted me to be strong when all I wanted to do was cry. I guess I figured he didn’t want me to break down in front of him. When I went back to my room, I suddenly felt very alone and since I didn’t understand what had really happened to my mom, I blamed the storm for taking her away from us. Then two days later my dad went away.” A few stray tears trickled down her cheek.
Amanda’s heart burst with emotion for this young girl and, moving closer to Sydney, she wrapped her arms around the young girl. She thought back to her earlier observation about Jack Bristow. She had been right in her assessment of Jack; he really was very similar to the Colonel. Why would anyone want to tell a child, who had just lost a parent, to be strong? Children need to be comforted, not told that they should be tough in situations like that. “Sometimes grown-ups don’t know how to handle their own grief. I’m sure your dad was having a hard time with the news about your mom, and he was asking you to be strong for him.”

Sydney pulled back and shrugged as she looked up at Amanda. Sitting here, being comforted by Jamie’s mother, she suddenly longed for her own mother. Gazing longingly at the woman in front of her, she realized that in some ways, Amanda actually reminded her a little of her own mother and she felt oddly comforted by that fact.

Amanda wiped a stray tear from Sydney’s cheek. “It’s okay not to be strong especially when something terrible happens. You should know that it’s perfectly okay to break down and cry, no matter who’s around. No one will think any less of you. You just remember that, okay?”

Sydney nodded, and a shy smile crossed her lips. “Thank you.” She gently pulled away from Amanda’s comforting arms.

Amanda smiled warmly at the young girl in front of her and reached out, taking one of Sydney’s hands in hers when the storm reminded them of its presence with a very loud thunderclap. “I bet your dad being away so much doesn’t help matters, does it?”

Sydney shook her head and pulled back a little to look up at Amanda. “Actually, I haven’t felt this way in a very long time. I guess this time it’s different because I’m in a place so far away from home.”

Amanda tenderly squeezed Sydney’s hand. “It probably doesn’t help that you’re in an unfamiliar room, either.”

Sydney looked away sheepishly and shrugged. “I guess so. I mean I’ve been staying in Jamie’s room for the last few nights, but I think you’re right, it’s not the same as waking up in my own room.” She looked back at Amanda. “I don’t want you to think that I don’t want to be here, because I do. I’ve really enjoyed staying here with you and your family, Amanda. It’s been kind of interesting hanging around with Phillip and Jamie.”

“I’m glad, and I think you’ve been good for them too, especially Phillip. He needs to have his attitude towards girls adjusted just a little.” Winking, Amanda let out a quiet chuckle.

Sydney chuckled with her. “Yeah, he does think girls can’t do much, doesn’t he?” She shook her head. “Typical jock attitude.” A yawn escaped her mouth and she quickly moved her hand up to cover it.

“Are you feeling a little better now?” Amanda eyed the young girl. “Or do you think you might still have trouble sleeping? If you want to we can go downstairs, I can make us some hot chocolate and we can find an old movie on TV.”

Sydney covered her mouth again, as another yawn escaped. “That sounds wonderful, but I think I’m okay now.” She glanced over at the clock on Amanda’s nightstand. “Besides, it is pretty late and I’m sure you must be tired.”

“Don’t worry about me, I’m more than happy to watch a good movie if it’ll help you sleep better.”

Sydney stood up from the bed and shook her head. “Thanks anyway, but I really do feel a lot better now and, despite the fact that it’s still storming outside, I’m so tired that I’ll probably fall back to sleep the minute my head hits the pillow.”

Amanda rose and stood beside her. “How about I walk you back to your room and tuck you in.”

“Okay.” Sydney smiled shyly.

Amanda wrapped her arm around Sydney’s shoulders and guided her towards the door. “If you change your mind, you know you can always come and get me, right?”

Sydney nodded, hiding another yawn as they stepped out into the hallway and turned towards her temporary bedroom.

Lee quickly stepped down a few steps and pressed himself firmly against the wall in an effort to remain hidden. From his position, he watched as Amanda and Sydney disappeared into Jamie’s room. As soon as the coast was clear, he quietly crept up the remaining stairs, and entered his wife’s bedroom. Removing his gun from his waistband, he moved over to the bed and sat down in the spot Amanda had vacated a few minutes earlier. He then placed his gun on the nightstand, hiding it just behind her alarm clock. He was tempted to turn out the light in order to alert Amanda to his presence, but the luminance was oddly comforting. Hearing Sydney recount the night her mother had died had struck just a little too close to home for his liking. A lightning bolt lit up the sky outside and, rising from the bed, Lee walked over to the window. He pushed aside the curtain and watched the trees dancing in the wind. His wife’s words about letting out your emotions replayed in his head as he watched the rain continue to fall, and he wondered if the heavens were shedding their own tears for some indescribable loss. He wondered if she knew he had been there listening and if she had been trying to comfort him as well as Sydney.

Amanda entered her bedroom to find her husband standing by the window, deep in thought. Quietly she began shutting her door, leaving it just slightly ajar in case Sydney came looking for her again. She then moved over to her nightstand and, so as not to startle her husband, she turned out the light, casting the room into darkness and alerting him to her presence. Walking over to the window, she stood behind Lee and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I think you need to take the Agency’s Eavesdropping 101 course over again, Scarecrow.” She whispered, with just a hint of humor in her voice.

Lee clasped his hands over hers. “You knew I was there, huh?”

Amanda nodded her head against his back. “Well, I have the advantage. I know the normal sounds the house makes at night, so I knew what noises to listen for. Besides,” she squeezed his midsection lovingly and placed a gentle kiss on the back of his neck. “I figured you probably heard Sydney walking around. You are one of the Agency’s best after all. I’d have been a little worried if you hadn’t come to check on us.”

Turning around in her embrace, Lee wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. “Is Sydney going to be okay?”

Amanda sighed contentedly. “Yes, she should be. Although she puts on a brave front, not unlike someone else I know.” She looked at her husband knowingly. “Are you okay?”

Lee bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. For half a second he thought about telling Amanda that he was fine, but he knew his wife could read him like a book so there really was no use in trying to hide the truth from her. “I can’t fool you for a second, can I?” He smiled as he watched her shake her head. “It’s weird. Listening to Sydney, I realize just how similar her experience is to my own. Both my parents may have died in that crash, but I can’t help but wonder if, on some level, Sydney lost more than just her mother six years ago. Jack may still be alive, but I don’t think he’s much of a dad to her when he is around. I know what that’s like. When I went to live with the Colonel, I always felt alone. I know I’ve probably said this to you a hundred times, but the Colonel wasn’t much for affection, he was more a rule maker than a parent.”

Amanda gazed lovingly at her husband. “And despite all of that, you turned out just fine. You’re a loving, caring husband and stepfather. But I know what you’re saying. When I look into Sydney’s eyes, I can see the longing, the yearning to be loved, and I just want to wrap my arms around her and make everything okay.” She broke from her husband’s embrace and, slamming her fist into her hand, she began pacing. “Then I start thinking about her father, I don’t know whether to feel sorry for him, or to wring his neck. I just don’t understand how a man could be so distant and cold towards his own daughter. What happened to him wasn’t Sydney’s fault. I wonder if he even realizes how much he’s hurting her with his indifference.”

Lee approached his wife and tentatively put a hand on her arm, stopping her tirade. “Shhh, you need to calm down, before you wake up the whole house.” He gently pulled her back into his arms. “I’ve been watching Sydney, too, and I can’t help but notice that despite all she’s missed since her mother died, she’s still a very caring and bright young girl.”

Amanda relaxed in her husband’s arms. “You’re right. I just can’t help getting mad at Jack. I mean, and I realize this may come out wrong, but I keep comparing Jack to the Colonel. Based on what you’ve told me about being raised by your uncle, and even though I got to spend an afternoon with him, it’s obvious that he wasn’t prepared to raise a child. It’s like you’ve told me on more than one occasion, he’s a military man through and through, and he brought you up the best way he knew how. He wasn’t used to showing affection, so he did it through his own methods. Jack doesn’t have an excuse, at least not in my opinion. I listen to Sydney talk about her life before her mother died, the way she describes it they were a happy family once, Lee, which leads me to believe that Jack knows how to show affection. I realize Irina ended up betraying Jack’s trust, but is that any excuse to neglect his own daughter?”

“I know what it’s like to be betrayed like that, but then I had a wonderful, compassionate woman come into my life, who showed me what I’d been missing.” Lee placed a kiss on his wife’s nose and smiled at her. “She made me trust again, and helped me find true, everlasting friendship and love. I don’t think Jack will ever be that lucky.”

Amanda gazed lovingly up at her husband. “I love you, you know.”

Lee tightened his hold on his wife. “I love you, too.” Bending down to place a kiss on her lips, he stopped and tilted his head to the side when he noticed the door slightly ajar. “Afraid of being alone with me?” he asked, a teasing lilt to his voice.

Amanda followed his gaze and shook her head slightly. “Not really, although now that I think about it, leaving the door slightly ajar probably saves my virtue.” She let out a silvery laugh. “Since I knew you probably wanted to talk, I figured shutting the door would give us some privacy, but I didn’t want to close it all the way, just in case Sydney woke up again. I stayed with her until I knew she was asleep but, even though the storm seems to be moving away, who knows if another bad thunderstorm won’t roll through. I don’t want her to feel unwelcome, and I think a closed door really does say ‘stay away’.”

Lee chuckled at his wife’s ramble. “You were good with her, you know. You always seem to know exactly what to say in order to get people to open up to you.” He gazed at his wife appreciatively. “It’s one of the many things that I not only admire and love about you, but what helps to make you such a great agent.”

Amanda looked away, slightly embarrassed by the compliment. “I guess I just try and put myself in their shoes, you know figure out what might be going through their minds, and figure out the best way to make them feel more at ease. With children, it’s a little easier than with adults. Children need to be comforted. If you make them feel wanted and open your heart to them, children are more likely to open up to you. I think I want to help Sydney so much, not just because of her situation, but because her experience is so close to yours. I guess in some small way, if I can help her, I’m helping the five year old little boy in you, too.” She looked back and gazed lovingly into her husband’s eyes.

Lee bent down and kissed his wife tenderly. When their lips parted, he asked in a quiet voice, “How did I get so lucky?”

“Blame it on lots of men in red hats.” She laughed, then turned serious again as she glanced at the door. “I really hope Sydney’s going to be okay. I mean it’s hard enough to lose a parent, any parent, but I think she really misses her mom. I’ve seen how much Phillip and Jamie have thrived since you became such a huge part of their lives, and how much they enjoy having their dad around. It makes me realize just how much they missed out on, with Joe being away for so much of their lives. I know I did the best I could, but boys need a strong male role model in their lives, just as much as girls need their moms.”

Lee hugged her comfortingly. “You really did a wonderful job with Phillip and Jamie, you know. I’ve been watching you with Sydney, and I’ve been wondering, do you ever wish that you had a little girl of your own?”

Amanda pulled back and looked curiously into his eyes. “What are you getting at Stetson?” She wondered if his thoughts were similar to the ones she'd been thinking about lately.

Lee shrugged a little self-consciously. “Well, it’s something that’s been on my mind ever since I watched you walking hand-in-hand with Sydney at the airport. I keep wondering what it would be like to have a little Amanda running around.”

“I’ve been thinking about the same thing, too.” Amanda gazed at her husband wistfully. “A little girl with your hazel eyes and disarmingly charming smile.”

“And your chestnut curls, with the West women’s knack for getting into trouble.” Smiling, Lee leaned down and kissed her nose.”

“And your stubborn streak.” They both said in unison and laughed.

Still chuckling, Amanda smiled knowingly. “She’d be a handful, that’s for sure.” Then smiling tenderly, she reached up and gently caressed his cheek. “It’s something we’d have to seriously talk about, though. I’d love nothing more than to have a child with you, boy or girl. A child who would be a symbol of our love, and someone to carry on your legacy.”

Lee bent his head down and laid his forehead against his wife’s. “I’d like that too, but I think we need to jump one hurdle at a time. Once we’ve shared our secret with everyone and I move in, and the initial adjustment period is over, I think it might be an assignment we’ll both enjoy, very much.”

“An assignment Scarecrow?” Amanda raised her eyebrows, in mock dismay. “I don’t think I’d consider the idea of creating a new life as an assignment. It’s supposed to be something wonderful, exciting, memorable…” Her words were cut off when her husband’s lips captured her own.

Lee pulled her closer to him, deepening the kiss. The heat between them beginning to rise as he moved his hands hungrily up and down her back. When his wife’s fingers began playing with the hair at the base of his neck, all his rational thought evaporated and he began moving them towards the bed. A sudden crack of thunder, however, brought him back to his senses. Breaking apart, Lee tried to get his breathing under control. He knew from the deep, ragged breaths his wife was taking, that she was doing the same. “It’s always something, isn’t it?” He joked, his voice husky.

Amanda nodded, her own heart racing. “I guess Mother Nature intervened this time. Probably a good thing, too. It’d be quite embarrassing if the boys caught us, but I’d be mortified if Sydney were to walk in here in the middle of…well, I mean she’s a bright girl and all, but she doesn’t really know us and she’s only just beginning to feel comfortable around us.”

Lee shook his head and laughed, his breathing coming more evenly. “I love you, Mrs. Stetson.” Breaking their embrace, he took her hand in his and started heading for the door. A few feet from his destination, he bent down and placed a longing, but gentle kiss on her lips. Pulling away, before their hormones took over again, he smiled. “Just something to help me sleep.” He let go of her hand and, as he reached for the doorknob, he stopped and then headed back towards the bed.

“Lee?” Amanda looked at him curiously and then watched as he took his gun off her nightstand. “Oh.”

Lee placed a quick kiss on her cheek as he passed. “Sleep tight.” He winked back at her, as he opened the bedroom door.

“You, too. I love you.” Amanda whispered as he disappeared into the hallway. Sighing, she made her way over to the bed. Climbing under the covers, she touched her hand to her lips and looked longingly at the empty space next to her. She knew it wouldn’t be long before her husband would be lying beside her every night for the rest of their lives. She hoped she had the strength to wait for that day to arrive. Closing her eyes, she let the memory of their last kiss play through her mind, if she couldn’t have her husband physically beside her, at least he’d be with her in her dreams.

Chapter Eight

Sunday Afternoon, September 20th

Sydney moved her queen into position and smiled. “Checkmate.” A hint of merriment twinkled in her eyes as she looked at her opponent.

Jamie looked her square in the eye and shook his head in defeat. “That’s the second time you’ve checkmated me in the last half-hour. I give up.” Smiling, he jumped off the stool and, walking over to the couch, he put his hands on the back cushion and watched the action in front of him with extreme interest.

“Pay up, Lee.” Phillip thrust his hand forward, his palm up. “You know it’s really too bad we’re not playing for real money, I’d be a millionaire.” He accepted the money from his mom’s boyfriend and started counting it.

“It’s all there, Champ.” Lee grimaced at his eldest stepson. “You just got lucky landing on Park Place and then Boardwalk within your first two times around the board.”

Sorting the money into his already existing piles, Phillip laughed and shook his head. “Ah, you’re just sore ’cause you’re losing.”

Amanda tried to hide a chuckle at her husband’s obvious dislike at losing. He hated to be bested at anything, and it was quite humorous to see the Great Scarecrow being beaten by a fourteen-year old boy, especially at a simple game like Monopoly. “It’s a shame it rained and we didn’t get to go on that bike ride along the Potomac, but I have to admit, I’m having more fun watching you lose.” She smiled sweetly at her husband, who just glared at her.

Jamie patted the shoulder of the man who was sitting on the couch. “How about we trade places, Lee. I’ll take over for you here and you can play chess with Sydney.”

Lee turned around and gave his youngest stepson a curious look. “You’ve only been playing for about half an hour.” He looked beyond Jamie towards Sydney, who was placing all the chess pieces in their starting positions.

Jamie started walking around the couch. “Sydney’s really good. She’s already beaten me twice. I think you may have found someone who can give you a real run for your money.”

“You certainly aren’t winning any money here.” Phillip let out another chuckle.

“I wouldn’t gloat too soon, Phillip.” With a twinkle in her eyes, Amanda lifted one eyebrow and gave her eldest son a stern glare. “If I’m not mistaken, I’ve got a few more hotels around the board than you do, young man.”

Lee started to stand. “Well I’m always up for a challenge and, as Phillip has so kindly pointed out, I’m obviously not having any luck here. Maybe you’ll have better luck than me.”

Jamie sat down in the spot Lee had just vacated and started surveying Lee’s lack of properties and the small amount of money he was leaving behind. He then glanced over at what his mom and Phillip had. An evil smile crossed his lips as he noticed the amount of properties still available. “Don’t worry, I’ve got a few good tricks up my sleeve.” He then turned around and watched as Lee took the seat over at the kitchen counter that he had vacated only moments before. “Hey Sydney, if you beat Lee then I’m going to put you down in my book as an expert chess player; Lee says he’s played with people from all over the world. It’s a shame you’re not sure how long your dad’s going to be out of town. You could enter the chess tournament they’re having at school next week.”

Sydney glanced over in Jamie’s direction and shrugged her shoulders. “When does it start? I mean, I probably couldn’t enter since I don’t know when my dad will be back, but it might be cool to at least check it out. I doubt they’d let me enter though, remember I don’t really go to your school, I’m just a visitor.”

“I doubt that would really matter much.” Jamie smiled encouragingly. “Apparently the winner of the tournament gets to play the final match with some chess prodigy and he’s from Russia. So you being from California shouldn’t make a difference at all.”

Lee and Amanda exchanged a worried glance. Lee shrugged his shoulders and mouthed ‘later’ to his wife. Amanda nodded in understanding.

“Well, it might be fun to go and watch. See how well some of your classmates play,” Sydney’s face lit up at the prospect,” and maybe even pickup a new move or two.”

“Do you think we could, Mom?” Jamie turned to face his mother, an expectant look on his face.

Amanda looked at her son, then over towards the counter and saw the excitement written on Sydney’s face. She hated having to say no, but it was too risky. “How about I find out more about the tournament from Principal Dennis. From what I understand, it’s a game that requires a great deal of concentration and they may not want to let in too many spectators. A large number of onlookers could be too distracting.”

“Will you be able to ask Principal Dennis tomorrow?” Jamie’s voice sounded just a little disappointed.

“I’ll definitely talk to her tomorrow. I’ll let you know what she says, okay?” Amanda ruffled his hair. She hated disappointing either one of her boys, but this time, she knew it couldn’t be helped. The possibility of a Russian student at the tournament, who would most likely be accompanied by fellow countrymen, who might just recognize Sydney, was too big a chance to take. She needed to talk to Principal Dennis and get more information about this guest player. She hoped that, after her conversation with the principal, she wouldn’t have to come up with a reason to keep Jamie and Sydney away from the tournament, but if she did, she hoped she’d be able to come up with a plausible excuse. “Now, I believe it’s my turn.” She picked up the dice and rolled.

Lee looked over at his opponent and, noticing her slightly slumped shoulders, he tilted his head and tried to make eye contact with her. “Hey, I thought you were going to show me just how good you were at this game.” He hoped his attempt at trying to get Sydney to forget about the tournament wouldn’t be too obvious.

Sydney looked up at Lee, her face brightening a little. “Yeah, I guess I was, wasn’t I? Do you want to go first?”

Lee shrugged his shoulders. “Since you bested Jamie twice, you’re technically the reigning champion, so I’ll let you choose.”

“Well since I already have the white pieces in front of me, I’ll go first.” Sydney picked up a pawn and moved it to its new position.

Lee concentrated on the pieces lined up on the chessboard, trying to determine his own move. “Do you like going first?”

Sydney shook her head. “Actually, I usually try and go second. It allows me to see what kind of moves my opponent is going to make. I’ve found that you can sometimes tell quite a bit about the other player by the first move they make.” As she waited for Lee to make his move, she took a deep breath. “Mr. Stetson, can I ask you a question?”

Lee caught a hint of uncertainty in Sydney’s eyes. “Sure, but only if you promise to call me Lee.”

Sydney, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear, suddenly felt a little unsure of herself and focused her eyes on the chessboard. “Okay…Lee. It’s kind of personal.” She glanced back up at Lee, trying to gauge his reaction.

Although being around Amanda and her family for the past year had allowed him to feel more comfortable about sharing his feelings, personal issues were things he really only felt comfortable sharing with Amanda. Seeing the pleading look in the brown eyes in front of him, he nodded slowly. “Okay.”

Sydney looked in the direction of the den and then back towards Lee. “Well, Jamie said you lost your parents when you were around my age.”

Lee glanced at the group playing Monopoly. He had a feeling that Amanda had shared that little bit of information with her boys. He knew she would only have told them if one of them had asked. He could only surmise that Jamie had shared that information with Sydney once he found out about her mom. “Yes I did,” he hesitantly answered. “They were killed in a car crash.”

“Really!” Sydney’s eyes grew wide. “Jamie didn’t mention that. My mom was killed in a car crash, too.” She quickly moved her gaze back to the chess pieces.

Lee watched Sydney as her eyes scanned the chessboard. “I know, your dad mentioned that.”

“Well, I wanted to know, after your parents died, do you remember a lot about things that happened?” Sydney looked at Lee, patiently awaiting an answer.

Lee looked at her curiously. “I try not to think about it too much, it was hard being five and losing my parents. But, I guess, if I really want to think about that time, I remember most if it, why?”

Sydney picked up the queen and rolled it in her fingers, as if contemplating where to put it. “This is going to sound strange, especially since my mom died only a few years ago, but I feel like I’m missing things. I remember things like the funeral and staying with family friends when my dad had to go away for six months.” She put the queen back in its previous spot and picked up a pawn. “I can’t seem to remember a lot about things that happened right after my dad returned, though. I mean, I remember some things, but sometimes I feel like I’m forgetting things I should remember, like things that happened in school or at home or with my friends. This probably isn’t making much sense is it?” She looked up at Lee apprehensively.

Lee ran his hand through his hair. Sydney was making more sense than he would like to admit. His earlier hopes that Jack Bristow couldn’t have been heartless enough to try out Project Christmas on his own daughter were quickly dashed. Noticing the young girl watching him intently, he let out a small sigh. “Sydney, believe it or not, you’re making a lot of sense. Although I’m not a psychiatrist, it’s possible that you repressed certain aspects about that time. Maybe the trauma of losing your mom, and then your dad disappearing for six months, was just too much for you. It took me a long time to come to terms with the death of my parents. Thirty years to be exact. I’m only now allowing myself to remember most of it. Give yourself time.” Lee reached out and touched Sydney’s hand briefly. He didn’t want to tell Sydney that the memories she seemed to be missing were a direct result of some experiment her father had performed on her, and those missing memories were probably things she really didn’t want to remember anyway. “Now, what do you say, you show me just how good you are at this game.”

Sydney smiled and placed the pawn she’d been holding in its new spot. “Sounds good to me.”

Lee surveyed the pieces now scattered strategically around the board. He was amazed at how well the twelve-year-old across from him was playing. She was better than a lot of the people he’d played in the past. “Wow, you really are good. Do you play against your dad a lot?

Sydney shook her head “No, I sometimes play against Maria, she’s my, well I guess the best way to describe her is that she’s the woman that my dad hired to take care of me after my mom died. Anyway, she doesn’t really like to play too often, especially since I always beat her. Actually, I don’t really get to play very much. I guess the game just comes to me naturally.”

Lee smiled at her in admiration. His thoughts, however, were somewhere else. He wondered if Sydney really was a natural, or if it was a result of her exposure to Jack’s Project Christmas experiments. “Well it’s not an easy game, so I’m really impressed.”

“My friend Rachel Thompson’s dad told me the same thing.” Sydney looked sheepishly at Lee. “He’s the one who taught me. He said I picked it up amazingly fast. He loves it when I come over and he’s not busy so that we can play a game or two. He says I help challenge him to learn new strategies.”

Lee’s curiosity was getting the better of him. He had to know if his suspicions were right. “How long have you been playing?”

Sydney’s voice grew quieter and she got a far away look in her eye. “About six years now. After my mom died, I would spend a lot of time after school at Rachel’s house and, one day when Rachel was sick, Mr. Thompson asked if I wanted to learn how to play. Rachel doesn’t really care for the game and he was really happy to find someone who was interested enough in the game. Mrs. Thompson teased him about being more excited than a kid in a candy story, because he could finally teach chess to someone who was eager enough to learn.”

Lee felt anger boiling up inside him. He dropped his hand to his side, balling it into a fist. He wanted to find Jack Bristow and punch him. It was hard to digest that anyone would want to train children as spies to begin with, but to use your own daughter. Remembering where he was, he took a deep breath, trying to keep his anger in check. He took another deep breath and glanced at Sydney, who was, thankfully, busy looking at the chessboard and didn’t seem to have noticed his sudden change in demeanor.

Sydney glanced up from the board and looked at her opponent inquisitively. “Have you really played against people from all over the world?”

Lee let out a small chuckle. “Well not from all over, but from quite a few countries.”

Sydney looked up at him with admiration. “Wow, I bet that was cool. Is it because you have to travel a lot for your job? My dad travels a lot, but his work only has him traveling within the U.S.”

“Although I do a lot of traveling for work, I really gained most of my experience when I was living with my uncle. He’s a Colonel in the Air Force and not long after my parents died, I was sent to live with him. Well he was always being transferred from one base to another and wherever he went, I went.” Lee picked up his rook and moved it. “He was stationed in the Sahara for a little while. We were even sent to Greenland, Hamburg and Guam. There isn’t much to do in places like the Sahara and Greenland. Believe me when I tell you that Greenland isn’t very green. It’s very cold and covered in ice.”

“Yeah, that’s what my geography teacher told us. She said that Greenland is really all ice and not very pleasant, but Iceland is supposed to be beautiful.” Sydney slid her bishop across the board. “I think she mentioned that the Vikings did that to trick explorers or something like that. Anyway, I guess in a place as cold and desolate as Greenland, you probably had to find things to occupy your time.”

Lee picked up his knight and moved it into position, hoping to avert his opponent’s current plan of attack. “I spent most of my time trying to challenge the men in my uncle’s barracks to various games. Cards were more their style. A few of the locals, though, enjoyed a good game of chess.”

Lee and Sydney both turned towards the den as the sounds of laughter interrupted their conversation.

“What’s so funny?” Lee stood from his stool and walked over to the couch.

Sydney jumped down from her seat and followed, eager to find out what was going on.

Jamie pointed to his brother. “Phillip was grumbling because he landed on my property, again, and he was complaining that he may have to mortgage one of his hotels.” A satisfied grin crossed his face. “See, Lee, I told you I’d get you out of the hole in no time. Anyway, he was trying to decide which hotel to mortgage, grumbling and grumbling the whole time, and then all of a sudden his stomach decided to join in.”

“His stomach seemed to have perfect timing.” Amanda wiped away the tears of laughter from her eyes. “One minute he was grumbling about losing, the next…his stomach was grumbling. We found it extremely amusing.”

Phillip’s eyes narrowed, and he glared at his mother. “I don’t think it’s that funny…but I am hungry.”

“Maybe it is time for lunch” Lee glanced at his watch just as his stomach growled in agreement. He rubbed a hand over his midsection. “I guess you’re not the only one hungry, Phillip.”

“Well if you’d eat a little more at breakfast, you wouldn’t be so hungry now.” Amanda chuckled, knowing full well how her husband felt about the concept of eating in the mornings.

Lee put his hands on hips and glared at his wife with a mock scowl. “Hey, Phillip’s hungry, too but you’re not giving him a hard time.”

“That’s because I’m a growing boy, Lee. Mom’s right, you didn’t eat much of anything for breakfast. It’s no wonder you’re hungry.” Phillip grinned at Lee, as he rose from his spot on the floor.

“I’m kind of hungry, too.” Sydney leaned her hands on the back of the couch.

Jamie rubbed his own stomach. “Yeah, me too. Can we have lunch now?”

Amanda stood from her seat. “I guess that makes it unanimous. It looks like the rain has slowed down to just a drizzle. How about we head out for lunch?”

“Mom, can we go to Marvelous Marvin’s?” Phillip looked pleadingly at his mother.

Amanda looked at her husband and they exchanged a knowing look. “I suppose we could. We’ll leave the games the way they are and pick up where we left off when we get back.”

Jamie bolted off the couch and gave his brother a high-five. “Race you to the car.” He quickly dashed in the direction of the front door, with his brother close on his heels.

Sydney just laughed as she followed them to the door.

“Don’t run outside, fellas. The ground is still wet from all the rain.” Amanda called after them, as she went to grab her purse from the counter.

Lee moved to stand beside his wife. “Marvin’s huh? I know one thing for sure, I’m staying away from the Colossus Burger.”

Amanda fought the urge to shiver at the memory of that case. “I think I’ll have a hot coffee.”

Lee wrapped his arm around her shoulder and whispered in her ear. “I’ll keep you warm, and protect you from any big bad freezers.”

Amanda looked up at her husband and smiled. “I know you will.” She laughed as her husband’s stomach growled again. “Come on.” She patted his stomach affectionately. “We’d better get some food in you.”

“Yeah, and I’m sure the natives are more than restless.” Removing his arm from her shoulder, Lee took his wife’s hand in his and led her in the direction of the foyer.

Reaching the front door, Amanda could hear one of her sons calling them. “I’d say they’re more than restless. If we make them wait any longer, they’re going to have everyone in the neighborhood wondering what’s going on.” Opening the door, she stepped outside and saw her oldest son, sticking his head out of the car window.

“Come on, Mom. We’re fading away from hunger out here.”

Amanda handed the house key to her husband and marched in the direction of the Jeep, shaking her finger at Phillip. “Stop shouting, young man. They can hear you three blocks over. Now stick your head back inside the car, sit down in your seat and fasten your seatbelt. We won’t be going anywhere until everyone is properly buckled in. Safety first, hunger second.” She watched as her eldest son did as instructed, and then noticed the other two occupants of the vehicle pointing to their already buckled seatbelts. Smiling at them, she opened the car door and climbed into the passenger seat. After shutting the door, she fastened her own seatbelt and waited for her husband to join them.

Lee shook his head in amusement as he locked the front door. He put the key into his pocket and, with a contented smile on his face, headed to join his waiting family.

SMK a SMK a SMK

Lee took the now full kitchen trash bag out of the can and tied it shut. Picking it up, he stepped outside to deposit it in the larger cans near the garage. He was thankful that the rain had stopped; taking out the trash was never a pleasant task, but having to do it in the rain would have been even more unpleasant. As it was, the ground was soaked and squished beneath his feet as he made his way to the garage. He knew he’d be taking his shoes off once he got back inside; he was pretty sure Amanda wouldn’t be happy if he tracked mud all over her nice, clean kitchen floor, and he was already in the doghouse, no need to add more fuel to that fire.

He didn't think telling the boys that they could rent that movie would be such a big deal. Then again, what did he know about what was and wasn’t okay for teenage boys to watch. Movies like Predator were similar to the type of movies he'd watched when he was their age, probably because his uncle never really monitored what he did in his spare time, especially what movies he watched. Even if his uncle did care, Predator was basically a war-type movie, just with some sci-fi thrown in, so the Colonel probably would have let him watch it, considering the fact that he was living on military bases, and watching movies that focused on some aspect of war wasn’t that much different than the environment he was growing up in. However, he hadn't thought about how much more real the movies were today than when he was the boys’ age. Besides, he knew how much his stepsons liked science fiction and action movies, so he thought there’d be no harm in renting it. He just hadn't thought about the blood and gore aspect, or the fact that Sydney probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it very much either.

So somehow, in a matter of seconds, he had managed to get Amanda mad at him, and had disappointed Phillip and Jamie. He wasn’t sure which part the boys were more upset about, the fact that they wouldn’t be able to watch the movie, or the fact that he had eventually backed down and sided with their mom instead. He had a feeling his cool status had dropped another few notches.

Maybe he should have agreed with Amanda and just come back and finished the games they had started this morning, but neither of the boys nor Sydney really wanted to do that anymore. So when he had suggested the idea of stopping at the video store, who would have thought it would turn out so badly. The worst part about the whole ordeal was the fact that the argument over the movie had taken place right in the middle of the video store. If it hadn’t been for the store manager coming over and suggesting a film that would be appropriate for everyone, he had a feeling he would have been calling a cab home, which probably would have been better than the eerily silent car ride. It was probably a good thing that Phillip waited till they were back at the house to mention the art supplies he needed for school; it gave both him and Amanda the opportunity for a little space. Sighing, he realized that adjusting to being part of this family was definitely not going to be all fun and games, and for some strange reason, he was looking forward to it.

Reaching the side of the garage, Lee took the lid off the large can and deposited the garbage inside. Closing the lid, he turned back towards the house just as the back door opened, and was pleasantly surprised to see his mother-in-law stepping out onto the patio. “Dotty, you’re home. We were getting worried about you.” He started walking towards her. “Amanda had to run Phillip to the store. She’s going to be so that you’re back.” As he stepped onto the patio, he peered through the windows, looking for his mother-in-law’s sometime boyfriend. “Is Captain Kurt with you?”

“No, Kurt just dropped me off. He had to get home. And Jamie already told me where my daughter is.” Dotty had been quite relieved that Amanda hadn’t been home. She had been hoping to speak with Lee, privately.

“Well, why don’t we head inside and I’ll help you bring your luggage upstairs.” Lee began to head back into the house, but his mother-in-law moved in front of him, effectively blocking his path.

“You’re not going anywhere, mister.” Dotty pointed a well-manicured finger at him. “I have a few questions I need to ask, and I expect some straight answers from you.”

Lee had seen tough and inflexible expressions on enemy agents before, but the look that Dotty West was suddenly giving him, would make even the best agent crack. “Questions? What kind of questions?”

Dotty put her hands on her hips. “Well for starters, what kind of business have you gotten my daughter involved in?”

Lee looked at her dumbfounded. That wasn’t the question he had been prepared for. He thought for sure she was cornering him about getting him to finally ask Amanda to marry him. “Dotty, I…uh…what do you mean?”

“Don’t give me that, you know exactly what I mean. You two are no more filmmakers than I am. Documentaries on the flight patterns of geese, please.” Dotty looked Lee square in the eye. “No more lies. I want the truth.”

Lee pulled at his shirt collar. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that Dotty West could definitely give the interrogators at the Agency a run for their money. “Dotty, isn’t this a conversation you should be having with Amanda?”

Dotty shook her head vehemently. “If I thought she’d give me a straight answer, I would. But I’ve come to discover that my daughter has apparently been lying to me for quite some time. I’m not exactly sure when the lies started, but I think I noticed her behavior start to change around the time she got the job at I.F.F. Since I know she works with you, I decided to start with the source.” She fixed him with a pointed stare. “Am I wrong in assuming that you’re the reason for her odd behavior over the last few years?”

Lee ran a hand through his hair and let out a deep sigh. Closing his eyes, he shook his head. “No, you’re not wrong.” He was now wishing that he had paid more attention to Amanda’s intuition about his mother-in-law’s unexpected trip. When was he ever going to learn? At the time his reasons for Dotty’s disappearance had seemed to make perfect sense. She’d been hinting about them getting married for quite some time and it would be just like her to head out of town, giving them a chance to feel like a family. After four years, he should have learned not to doubt his wife’s instincts, they were always right. However, he knew one thing for sure, he hated being in the hot seat and decided it was time to turn the tables. “Dotty, how did you find out?”

“How I found out isn’t important.” Keeping he gaze focused on Lee, Dotty sat down on one of the picnic table benches. “I want to know what ‘the Agency’ is. Do you even work for a film company? Does I.F.F. really exist? I mean it must exist because I’ve called Amanda there on a number of occasions and the receptionist, if she really is a receptionist, always answers ‘I.F.F.’. What is the Q-Bureau? I’ve always assumed it was some fancy film talk. I’m guessing I’m wrong about that, too.”

Lee put his hand up to stop her questions. “Whoa Dotty, please, one question at a time. I really think that we should wait for Amanda, but since I don’t know when she’ll be back, and I can tell you really don’t want to wait any longer,” he watched as Dotty nodded in agreement, “I’ll do the best I can to answer most of your questions.” He sat down on the bench across from his mother-in-law. “Now, to begin with, I.F.F. does exist and on some level, it is a film company. However, even though, I.F.F does create documentaries, Amanda and I, well…we really have nothing to do with those films.” He ran a hand through his hair. “We’re federal agents for a branch of the government called the Agency. The Agency uses I.F.F. as a cover.”

“So you’re telling me that my daughter is a spy and that this Agency is a government organization like the FBI?” Dotty kept her eyes locked on Lee’s face, trying to read his expression.

Lee shook his head vigorously. “No, we’re nothing like the FBI. We’re more like the CIA. We do a lot of undercover work like the CIA does, but the difference between the CIA and us is that we’re not supposed to exist. That’s why we use I.F.F. as a cover.” He listened to the sounds of the neighborhood, hoping that he would hear the sound of the ’Vette pulling back into the driveway. He really didn’t want to continue this conversation without Amanda present.

“So you’re saying the work you do is more dangerous than the work the CIA or FBI does?” Dotty stared at Lee with an expression of concern on her face.

Lee fought the urge to run his hand through his hair again. “Yes…sometimes, but most of the time we just do research. There are times when it does get dangerous, but I’m a highly trained agent and your daughter has some amazing instincts. She’s gone through the Agency’s formal training and knows how to take care of herself.” Pride was evident in his voice, as he spoke about his wife.

Dotty knew that if she hadn’t had the last few days to think about what she had overheard and taken the time to think back on all the crazy things that had happened to her daughter in the last couple of years, this information may have come as quite a shock. However, she had taken the time, and the answers didn’t surprise her as much. Hearing the truth, though, didn’t make her worry any less. “What I don’t understand is, how you could convince my daughter, my honest, sweet, kind daughter, to lie to me, her own mother?”

Lee looked his mother-in-law directly in the eye. “Dotty, I’ll be honest with you, Amanda’s hated having to lie to you. In the early days when she started working with me, I lost count of the number of times she said she refused to lie to you. We always tried to come up with some story that was pretty close to the truth.”

Dotty shook her head. “I just don’t understand how she could lie to me. Did she think I wouldn’t understand? I’m a romantic at heart and would’ve thought that, although possibly dangerous, her career choice isn’t without its sense of adventure. I’ve also read enough spy novels, and seen enough movies to know the importance of keeping a secret. I wouldn’t have told anyone what she did for a living.” The hurt was evident in her voice. “I mean, why is it okay for Joe to know the truth, and yet, she couldn’t confide in me?”

“Amanda was ordered not to tell anyone about her association with the Agency. It wasn’t just for her safety but because, well, it was safer for you and the boys’ if you didn’t know the truth. As for Joe…well that’s a long story, but the bottom line is that we were the ones who helped him get out of that mess he was in when he returned from Africa.” Lee eyed his mother-in-law suspiciously as a sudden thought occurred to him. He was pretty sure that Joe wouldn’t betray Amanda’s trust by telling Dotty what they really did for a living. Amanda’s ex-husband had known about her job for just over a year, now. Joe had told Amanda that he’d had some suspicions after his return from Africa, but had made the actual connection when she’d disappeared last September during the Stemwinder case. No, it had to be something else. Maybe Dotty had overheard a conversation she wasn’t supposed to hear. Had his mother-in-law overheard them talking Thursday night? No, they had been careful…hadn’t they? “Dotty, how do you know that Joe knows?”

Dotty suddenly found the etchings on the picnic table quite interesting. “Um…well…” She really didn’t want to admit that she had been eavesdropping on her daughter’s conversation; she’d yelled at the boys enough times when they were listening to conversations they shouldn’t be. “Well, I had some time to reflect this weekend, and it suddenly occurred to me that Joe didn’t seem at all surprised about that Mr. Melrose’s presence at the house last September, or the fact that Amanda had just up and left us all behind to run off…with you. He seemed too calm about the whole thing, too willing to except everything as almost normal behavior for Amanda.” She glanced up at Lee, who was watching her intently. “So all those times she said you were working late in the editing room, that was really a code for something, wasn’t it?”

Lee looked away quickly and cleared his throat. Recovering his composure, he turned back towards his mother-in-law. “Yes, in most cases when she told you were working late in the editing room, it was because we were on what we call a stake-out. Some of those stakeouts would last all night.” He was trying really hard to be honest with Dotty, but he felt like he was being just a tad bit dishonest with that answer. The truth was that lately when they had used that excuse, Amanda was really just spending the night at his place.

Dotty tilted her head, eyeing him skeptically. “What do you mean, most of the time?” “Well…I guess you could say that some of the times when Amanda told you were in the editing room and couldn’t call, we were really tied up on a case.” Lee avoided making direct eye contact with Dotty. That answer wasn’t a lie, either, sometimes they really had been tied up.

“Do you mean to tell me that you were really tied up…with ropes?” Dotty watched Lee shrug slightly and nod. “Wouldn’t you have just said you were tied up? In fact I believe Amanda used that very excuse on quite a few occasions, I just thought she meant she had gotten stuck with something at work, you know what most people would think. I guess now that I know the truth, I won’t ever be able to think of that phrase in the same way again, no matter who says it.” She still had her suspicions behind the ‘editing room’ excuse, however. Reaching over, she gently patted Lee’s hand. “You know Lee, Amanda’s a big girl. I’m pretty sure that not all those nights she told me that you guys were in the editing room were spent on some stake-out.” Noticing the lack of eye contact and sudden change in color on Lee’s face, she knew she’d been right.

“Um, Dotty, is there anything else you want me to tell you? I mean about our jobs?” Lee tried to focus on anything but the knowing grin on his mother-in-law’s face.

Dotty relaxed a little and chuckled at his obvious discomfort. Being kept in the dark for so long, she felt justified in seeing Lee squirm just a little. “Actually, there’s a lot more I want to know. Like exactly how did Amanda get involved with you? And how long have you two really known each other?”

Lee felt a little more at ease with these questions, but he still wished his wife were here. He was feeling a little guilty telling Dotty all of this without her present, but they were planning on coming clean anyway; so what did it matter if his mother-in-law found out sooner rather than later? “Amanda and I met about four years ago. She helped me out when I was in a huge jam. She was taking that weather guy…Dan”

“Do you mean Dean?” Dotty smiled at his obvious misuse of Amanda’s former boyfriend’s name. “I always wondered why Amanda suddenly lost interest in Dean.” Amusement danced in her eyes. “Now I think I know why.”

Lee waved it off and shrugged. “Yeah, well…anyway, she was taking Dean,” he emphasized the name with the tiniest bit of sarcasm, “to the train station when we sort of bumped into each other.” He caught the look of skepticism in his mother-in-law’s eyes. “Okay, so that’s not quite accurate. The truth was that I was in a lot of trouble and, just as I was starting to lose all hope of completing my mission, I looked up and there she was. So I approached her and asked her to help me. She refused at first, but after quite a lot of begging on my part, she finally agreed.” He got a faraway look, as he remembered that morning. “To this day, I still don’t know why she actually agreed to help me but I’ll be forever grateful that she did. Anyway, once she agreed to assist me, I gave her a package and pretty much forced her to get on the train. She was supposed to give it to my contact, a man wearing a red hat. Only, when she got on the train, there were twenty-five men in red hats.” He laughed at the memory and, catching Dotty’s curious look, he smiled. “Apparently there was a Shriners’ convention on the train and she had no idea what my contact looked like. Anyway, she kept the package, and well, because of that package she ended up saving my life, twice. She also helped us catch the bad guys.”

“So, because she helped you that day, you offered her a job working for you?” Dotty’s interest was now truly piqued.

Lee let out an amused chuckle. “Oh, no. I didn’t think the Agency was the right kind of place for a mother of two boys, who had no experience with my line of work. If you want to blame anyone, you should probably blame my boss. He’s the one who kept insisting that I work with Amanda. The Agency uses civilians from time to time, for odd jobs here and there. Billy must have seen something in Amanda from the start, and obviously thought she would be good for me. Right after she helped me that first time, Billy called her my partner. Believe me when I tell you that I was not at all happy about that.” He caught his mother-in-law’s questioning gaze.

Lee let out a sigh, before continuing, “You see, back then I didn’t work with a partner. I believed in working alone. I didn’t have to depend on anyone else, or look out for anyone other than myself. Your daughter, however, is a very stubborn person, Dotty. She refused to believe that I didn’t need anyone. No matter how many times I tried to push her away from me and the Agency, she kept coming back.” A wistful expression crossed his face. “I thank God every day that she took that package. It took me a long time to admit how much I needed Amanda, but in the end, I wouldn’t change a thing.” He suddenly grew embarrassed. He wasn’t used to pouring his heart out to anyone other than his wife, and even that was difficult at times, although, it had grown easier since they’d gotten married. Now, he found himself openly telling his mother-in-law things that he normally kept to himself. Amanda had definitely changed him.

Dotty noticed his sudden discomfort and put her hand lovingly over his. “I guess it all starts to make a little more sense now. I mean, all those odd excuses, those strange clubs she said she belonged to. How she would drop everything at the drop of a hat whenever I.F.F. called. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were the real reason. I remember getting annoyed with her when she ran straight to I.F.F. when Joe was in trouble. I thought she cared more about her job than the father of her sons; now I know the real reason behind her behavior.” She tilted her head and took a good look at Lee. “I still remember the first time I met you, that time you stopped by the house. You seemed so distracted, especially for someone who was just making a social call, but I was too preoccupied myself, because I was finally able to put a face to the name I’d heard mentioned so often, that I never gave it a second thought. Well, that’s not true, after you left I thought you just missed not being around my daughter, since she usually went out of town with you, and you wanted to be near her. Now, however, I can’t help but wonder…was she really on an assignment?”

Lee paled slightly as his own memories of that day came rushing back. That was one question he wasn’t going to answer, at least not completely, and he hoped that he never had to. Regretfully, he shook his head. “I’m sorry, Dotty, but I really can’t answer that last question. I can tell you that I did stop by the house because I was missing your daughter, and wanted to meet you, but I can’t tell you where Amanda really was.”

Dotty sighed in resignation. “Need to know, and all that, right?” She watched Lee nod in response. “I guess I always suspected there was more to that visit than you or Amanda would ever tell me. I suppose it’s one of those dangerous things I don’t want to know about.” She looked down at the picnic table and another memory came to mind. “Do you remember Harry Barrigan?” She watched as Lee nodded his head. “You and Amanda were quite adamant that we didn’t go to the FBI or police, and insisted that we call that Mr. Melrose. Mr. Melrose works with you, doesn’t he?”

“Yes, Billy…he’s our boss. Well, he’s more like a supervisor really.” Lee saw the apparent look of dislike for his boss on his mother-in-law’s face. “Dotty, Billy is like a father to me. He may have come on a little strong both times you met him, but I assure you, it had to do with the circumstances. Billy is usually the most even-tempered man I know. He’s gone to bat for me more times than I can count. He’s a good friend, and I really believe that if it wasn’t for him, Amanda and I wouldn’t be together today.” He caught the still skeptical expression on Dotty’s face. “Honestly, once you meet Billy under the right circumstances, I know you two will hit it off.”

Dotty smiled half-heartedly. “I’m sure you’re right.”

Lee felt suddenly drained, a feeling he often got after a lengthy Agency debriefing. He glanced into the family room; Sydney and Jamie were still watching the movie they had begun earlier. Rubbing his hand over his forehead, he sighed. “Was there anything else that you wanted to know?”

Dotty had followed his gaze into the house. “Yes, actually there is. Is your apartment really flooded, and how does Sydney fit into all of this? I mean she’s a sweet young girl, she doesn’t strike me as someone that the government would need to protect?”

Lee’s earlier suspicions about Dotty having overheard a conversation she shouldn’t have had just been confirmed, and he had a pretty good idea whose conversation she had been eavesdropping on, too. Amanda hadn’t given him all the details of her conversation with Joe, but she had mentioned that the topic of Sydney had come up, especially after Joe was concerned with his presence in the house. He decided, that since she’d obviously been hurt by his wife’s secrecy, he’d let her have this one little ‘secret’. “Well, I really can’t tell you too much. I can, however, tell you that no, my apartment isn’t flooded. We felt it would be safer for me to be staying under the same roof as Sydney, just in case.”

Dotty eyed him curiously, a hint of concern in her voice. “What do you mean, just in case?”

Lee shrugged his shoulders. “Like I said, I can’t really tell you why. What I can tell you is that her father is concerned for her safety, so the Agency is doing him a favor, and because of his concerns, we feel it’s safer for everyone, if I stay here too.” He looked down at his watch, and then towards his mother-in-law. “Dotty, we should probably get in and think about starting dinner.”

Dotty nodded in agreement as she watched Lee start to get up, but didn’t move from her spot on the bench. “Okay, but only after you answer this one last question.”

Now standing, Lee was just about to turn and step over the bench to head inside, but closed his eyes and let out a deep breath instead. “I can’t imagine what else you could possibly want to know, but…shoot.” A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth, at the irony of that comment.

“Just exactly how long have you been married to my daughter?” With her elbows on the table, Dotty propped her head on hands, fixing Lee with an expectant gaze.

Caught totally off guard, Lee sat back down with a thud and stared open-mouthed at his mother-in-law.

Chapter Nine

Sunday Evening, September 20th

Amanda pulled the Corvette into her driveway and, after putting the vehicle in park, turned to look at her son. “Phillip, please try and remember what we discussed. I know most of what you’ve been saying has all been in fun, and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t really bother Sydney too much, but it does bother me; so please try your best to lay off the ‘boys are better than girls’ comments.”

Phillip nodded reluctantly as he removed his seatbelt. “I promise.”

Amanda smiled. “Good” She was just removing her own seatbelt when a knock on the passenger window made her jump and almost hit her head on the low ceiling of the car. Glancing in the direction of the noise, she saw one of the neighborhood boys peering in at them.

Phillip quickly opened his car door. “Hey, Andy.” He greeted his friend as he climbed out of the Corvette.

“I thought that was you in the passenger seat.” Andy leaned into the car and waved. “Hey, Mrs. King. Nice wheels. Is this a new car?”

Amanda shook her head, but before she could reply, Phillip answered for her. “Nah, it’s not ours. It’s my mom’s boyfriend’s car. Isn’t it awesome.” He gave the roof a loving tap as he gently shut his car door.

Andy began walking around the car, eyeing it appraisingly and stopped when he reached the front of the car. “Mrs. King, would you mind popping the hood? I’d love to see the engine.”

Amanda gathered her purse and the packages from the floor on the passenger side. As she opened her car door, she shook her head in response to the pleading look on the young boy’s face. “Sorry Andy, but since Lee’s not here, I’d think it’s best if you both stayed away from the car.” Climbing out of the ’Vette, she shot her son a warning look.

Phillip motioned to Andy to follow him to the fence. “Yeah, Lee’s way protective of this car and I don’t blame him one bit. If it were mine, I’d be the same way, although I’d make a few minor adjustments to it, you know, give it more performance power.”

Andy nodded in agreement as he joined Phillip over by the white picket fence. “Yeah, can you imagine what that car could do with the right adjustments?”

Amanda stood beside the car watching the two boys as they admired the car from a distance, and debated what she should do. She was anxious to get inside and start dinner, but was a little hesitant to leave the two boys alone with her husband’s baby. She trusted Phillip, and knew that he wouldn’t let anything happen to Lee’s car; however, she didn’t entirely trust Andy Kaskill, the boy had a knack for finding trouble.

“So, what’s up?” Phillip asked as he turned to look at his friend.

Andy’s face beamed as he nearly jumped out of his shoes. “My parents just bought me a bullfrog and a snapping turtle. I came over to see if you wanted to come by and see them.”

Phillip pushed off the fence and looked pleadingly over at his mother. “Can I, Mom? Please?”

Amanda nodded reluctantly. “Okay…but be back in half an hour, it’s almost dinner time.”

“Great! Thanks Mom.” Phillip was halfway down the driveway, with Andy at his side. “See you in half an hour.”

Amanda chuckled as she watched them running down the sidewalk. “When will the Kaskills learn? That boy can’t keep a pet alive for more than a week.” Making sure that the car was locked, she headed towards the back yard. As she walked, her mind wandered back to a year ago when Jamie had told her about the live toad Andy had swallowed. She couldn’t believe how much her life had changed since that day. One minute she was standing in her kitchen telling her mother and son that federal agents might be coming by to question them, and the next she was climbing out her bedroom window with the man who had just declared his love for her. Now, she was secretly married to that man and they were seriously considering becoming a full-time family; a role that he was getting a good amount of practice in adjusting to this week. She quickened her pace, anxious to find her husband and apologize to him for overreacting the way that she had at the video store. After all, he was a guy, and to him that movie was the perfect guy bonding movie; however, he seemed to forget that her sons weren’t quite old enough for an R rated movie, not to mention the fact that there was a young girl who would most assuredly not enjoy that particular film. She was just getting ready to round the corner when she heard her mother’s voice.

“Close your mouth, Lee. You’ll catch flies with it wide-open like that.” Dotty chuckled softly as she watched her son-in-law quickly close his mouth. “I guess I saved the best question for last, didn’t I?” She said more to herself, than to Lee. Fixing him with a pointed stare, she tapped her fingers on the table. “Now, you’ve been more than gracious answering all the questions I had about your jobs, but I would have thought that this one would have been a lot easier for you to answer. Perhaps I didn’t ask it correctly the first time so let me try again. Just how long have you and Amanda been married?”

Rounding the corner just as Dotty had finished asking her question, Amanda nearly dropped the packages she’d been carrying. “Mother? Lee?” Wondering if she had heard her mother correctly, she looked quizzically from her mother to her husband. The shocked expression on her husband’s face confirmed that she had, indeed, heard correctly. She was now extremely thankful that Andy Kaskill had stopped by. She didn’t relish the thought of her son overhearing his grandmother’s question. It wasn’t that they weren’t planning on telling the boys about the marriage, she just didn’t want to spring it on them.

Both Dotty and Lee looked in her direction simultaneously. While her son-in-law’s expression couldn’t hide the relief he felt at seeing his wife arrive, Dotty’s gaze was fixed on her daughter, extreme interest written all over her face. “Amanda, you’re back just in time. I seem to have rendered your husband speechless…so maybe you can be kind enough to answer my question.”

Unable to move, Amanda just stared blankly at her mother. Desperately trying to make sense of the scene in front of her, she narrowed her eyes at her mother as a sudden realization dawned on her. “You were here Friday, weren’t you?” Finding the ability to walk again, she moved closer to the table, her gaze still fixed on her mother. “When Joe came over for lunch Friday, you were eavesdropping on our conversation.”

Dotty refused to be dissuaded so easily. “You didn’t answer my question, Amanda.”

“And you’re avoiding mine, Mother.” Amanda removed her gaze from her mother and glanced at her husband. Noticing how drained he looked, she moved to his side of the table and sat down next to him. “What’s been going on here? I wasn’t gone that long, and you look exhausted.” She then looked back at her mother. “How long ago did you get back?”

Lee spoke for the first time since Dotty had dropped the bombshell on him. “She arrived home not long after you left with Phillip.” His forehead creased in concern as he looked back towards the direction Amanda had appeared. “Where is he, anyway?”

“Andy Kaskill stopped by and wanted to show off his new pets.” Amanda heard her husband let out a brief sigh of relief and knew what he was thinking; it was the same thought that had occurred to her just moments before. She turned her attention back towards her mother. “Now, can someone please tell me why we’re sitting outside on the patio, having this…discussion?”

Dotty reached over and patted Lee’s hand, where it still rested on the table. “Your husband has been kind enough to fill me in on exactly what you’ve been doing the last few years, darling.”

Lee gave his wife an apologetic look as her head snapped in his direction. No words were needed; he could read the question in her eyes. He just shrugged, and shook his head. “What can I say, I let my guard down.”

Amanda took his hand in hers. Her mother had to have been pretty determined to get the great Scarecrow to drop his guard like that. “Oh, boy.”

Dotty watched the exchange with interest and wondered why it had never occurred to her before now just how well these two seemed to know each other. It was almost as if they could read each other’s thoughts with just a look. Knowing that her daughter had actually known Lee Stetson for four years, that idea probably held a lot of merit. “Ahh-hmmm.” Two pairs of eyes turned in her direction. “Now that I have your attention, I think my question deserves an answer, don’t you? When did you two get married?”

Amanda sighed and felt Lee squeeze her hand encouragingly. “We were planning on telling you.” She saw her mother raise an eyebrow. “Honestly, Mother, we were. Lee and I have been discussing coming clean for a while now. We both decided that we would be much happier if we started living like a real family. We’re tired of living apart and lying to everyone. We want to let everyone know just how much we love each other and that we’re husband and wife. We were waiting until a few things were taken care of…well taken care of isn’t really correct. More like waiting until things got back to normal.” She felt Lee squeeze her hand again, and realized she’d been rambling.

Dotty glanced briefly into the house, before turning her attention back on her daughter. “You mean, once Sydney goes home?”

Amanda turned her attention towards her husband. He nodded and she returned her gaze back on her mother. “Just how much of my conversation with Joe did you overhear, Mother?”

Dotty shrugged. “Most of it, but you still haven’t answered my question, Amanda. How long have you two been married?”

Amanda took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “We’ve been married since February.”

“February!” Dotty started counting back on her hand. “That was…that was seven months ago. You’ve been married for seven months and you didn’t want to share this exciting chapter of your life with me?” She stared at them both in disbelief. Then suddenly she remembered the horrible event that had taken place during that time and her voice grew more subdued. “Oh my…that was when you were…” Looking sadly at her daughter, she gave her son-in-law’s hand a loving squeeze. “What a horrible way to start your life together.”

Lee looked at his mother-in-law with a hint of sadness in his eyes. He let go of Amanda’s hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to him. The mere mention of California had him finding any way possible to reassure himself that his wife was alive. “I came close to telling you back in the hospital, Dotty, I really did, but I just didn’t feel comfortable telling you something like that. You didn’t really know me all that well, and under the circumstances I didn’t think it was the right time to tell you that I had just married your daughter.”

Amanda wrapped her arm tightly around her husband. The ghosts of that day still haunted him, almost as much as they haunted her. Every time she looked at the scar on her chest or had another argument with him because he was being overprotective, she was reminded of how precious her life was.

Dotty saw the haunted look in her son-in-law’s eyes and glanced in her daughter’s direction. “Amanda were you…well was what happened to you really just a freak accident or was it because of something related to your jobs?”

Lee placed his hand over Dotty’s and squeezed it lightly. “It’s not what you’re thinking. What happened that day had absolutely nothing to do with Agency business. We really were just in the wrong place at the exact wrong time.”

Dotty watched Amanda nod in agreement before turning her attention on her son-in-law. “Well then why did you disappear from the hospital for such long periods of time? At the time, I never gave it much thought, but with everything I learned today…well I’m really curious, if it had nothing to do with your jobs…”

Lee removed his hand from Dotty’s and ran it through his hair. “It’s kind of complicated.” A feeling of warmth spread through him as his wife moved closer to him and placed her hand on his thigh, gently squeezing it in support. “Let’s just say that I’m not the type of person who can just sit on the sidelines and wait for the answers, I have to be out there, doing something especially when it concerns your daughter.” He felt his wife squeeze his leg again and turning, he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. He was glad she was here for this part of the conversation. “She’s my life, Dotty. I had to find the person responsible.” Tightening his arm around his wife’s waist, he took a deep breath and tried to get the images of her lying in that hospital bed, fighting for her life out of his head. “Anyway, as I started asking questions, I found out that a friend of Barney’s was trying to uncover a counterfeit gold scheme and we had gotten caught in the cross-fire.”

“Barney…I remember meeting him at the hospital. He was that really nice man who came by to visit Amanda a couple of times. He’s a friend of your uncle’s, right?” Dotty watched her son-in-law nod in agreement.

“Right. Barney was more like a dad to me than the Colonel ever was. So when I found out that Barney’s friend was in over his head, I decided to help. Besides, it gave me something to keep my mind off of other, more unpleasant, things. I couldn’t just sit around waiting, doing nothing. I’d have gone crazy. Does that make sense?” Lee looked at his mother-in-law questioningly.

“I’ve seen the type of man you are, Lee, and knowing what you really do for a living, it makes perfect sense.” Dotty looked at him, a loving smile on her face. “So, did you end up catching the people responsible for what happened?”

Lee’s face beamed with pride. “You bet I did.”

“Good. Well, then…”Rising from her seat on the bench, Dotty walked around and kissed Lee on the cheek. “With all that I’ve learned today, I know how much you love my daughter and I’m sure it hasn’t been easy sacrificing the true joys of marriage to keep your family safe.” She leaned in and kissed him again. “Thank you for watching over this family, Lee.” She then moved over to Amanda and placed a kiss on her daughter’s cheek. “I believe belated congratulations are in order.” She started heading for the door, then paused and looked back at the couple. “Just one more question and then I’ll go start dinner. You are planning on telling the boys, right?”

“Yes, Mother. We were planning on telling you and the boys, together. Now it seems we just have to let Phillip and Jamie know.” Amanda let out a small sigh. “We haven’t even told anyone at work that we’re married, and to be quite honest, neither one of us is looking forward to that.”

“It must be hard keeping your feelings a secret from your co-workers.” Dotty watched as the couple looked at each other knowingly. “Well at least I know I’m not the last one to find out about your little secret.” Putting her hands on her hips, she fixed them both with a pointed stare. “Are you going to tell the boys everything? I mean not just about the marriage, but about your jobs, too, right?”

Amanda nodded. “Yes, everything, well as much as we can. We both feel that they would be safer if they knew the whole truth.”

“Good. I’m glad.” Dotty sighed with relief, and reached for the doorknob. “Oh, just one more question.” Hearing Lee groan, she laughed good-naturedly. “I promise this time.”

Amanda just shook her head. “Go ahead, Mother.”

“You said February. Well what day in February? I want to mark it on my calendar so I can make sure you two get to celebrate your anniversary properly.” Winking, Dotty smiled at them.

“Oh…it was February 13th.” Amanda replied and, as the meaning behind her mother’s words began to register, her expression changed to one of mild embarrassment.

“You really couldn’t wait, could you? One more day and it would have been Valentine’s day.” Dotty laughed as she turned the doorknob and headed inside, closing the door behind her.

Amanda leaned her head against her husband’s shoulder. “Well that certainly explains everything.”

“You were right all along. When will I learn that I should never, ever, doubt my wife’s instincts?” Lee placed a kiss on her forehead.

“I want that in writing.” Amanda chuckled. “Seriously though, I’m kind of glad Mother knows. I just wish she hadn’t found out the way she did.” She pulled back a little so she could look at her husband. “I know we hadn’t really discussed it, or maybe we did, I can’t remember anymore, but I want to tell the boys everything, Lee.”

Lee nodded in understanding. “I figured as much. I agree with what you told your mother, they would be safer if they knew everything. We can arrange for them to take Agency classes in awareness, and I can teach them the finer points of self-defense.”

“I also don’t want them to accidentally find ours gun, Lee.” The worry was evident in her eyes.

“Amanda, I would never…”

Amanda put a finger to his lips. “I know, and we’ll make sure your gun and mine are locked up when we’re home. It really hasn’t been an issue especially since my gun is at your apartment. But once you move in, it’ll be here too and there’s always that one time when something happens and we forget…well I just don’t want them to get curious. If we show the boys our weapons, tell them how dangerous they are, and make sure they’re locked away when we don’t need them…” She glanced briefly at her husband’s side where his gun holster usually was. “Lee? Where’s your gun now? I mean I know you don’t have it on you, well I mean you have your back-up around your ankle, but, well where’s…”

“When it’s not on me, I’ve been locking it away in a strong box that I’ve been hiding under the pull out couch.” Lee pulled his wife closer. “Trust me, I don’t want anything to happen to them either. We’ll do everything we can to make sure that things change just enough, but not so much that the boys’ lives are disrupted too much.” Removing his arm from around her shoulders, he started to stand. “Come on, let’s go in and help your mother with dinner.” He extended his hand to assist her off the bench.

Amanda accepted his hand and stood up. “And I need to call Andy’s house and remind Phillip to come home. Boy, was I glad he wasn’t with me earlier.”

“So was I.” Lee let out a sigh of relief. “I’d had more than my fair share of questions from your mother and if I had to start all over again with another member of this family, I think you’d be checking me into the Agency clinic.”

Amanda laughed affectionately. “I’m sorry you had to go through that by yourself sweetheart. I wonder why my mother didn’t just wait for me to get home.”

Lee didn’t want to tell his wife that her mother didn’t think she’d get a straight answer from her daughter, so he stretched the truth just a little. “I guess she really wanted answers and couldn’t wait. She did mentioned something about wanting to know the truth from the source.” He caught the quizzical look his wife was giving him. “She guessed that I was the reason you got involved in the spy business and said something about going directly to the source.”

“Ah…so she really did have an ulterior motive. She wanted to corner the less experienced member of the family.” Amanda smiled knowingly. “I guess it’s safe to say you survived your first official West interrogation.”

Lee chuckled as he turned to face her, and wrapped his arms around her waist. “The Agency could use someone like your mother, Amanda.”

Amanda swatted his arm. “Don’t you even think about it, Stetson!”

“Trust me when I tell you that I’m only joking. One West woman working for the Agency is more than enough.” Lee flashed her his famous Stetson smile. “But seriously, when your mother wants to know something, there’s just no denying her the information. Now I know where you get it from.”

“Ha, ha, very funny, Scarecrow.” Before Amanda could say anything else, her husband bent down and captured her lips with his own.

As they broke apart, Lee smiled again. “We better head inside before I forget where we are.” He winked at his wife.

Amanda rolled her eyes and began moving towards the door. Suddenly remembering their earlier argument, she grabbed Lee’s hand and stopped walking. Her action had the desired affect, and her husband stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her questioningly. “Lee, we need to talk about what happened earlier at the video store.”

Lee’s shoulders sagged as he took a deep breath. “Haven’t I been through enough today?”

“I know that love, but I think we should have this discussion before we go back in there.” Still holding onto his hand, Amanda led him back over to the picnic table. Sitting down, she leaned her back against the tabletop and, never letting go of her hand, her husband sat down beside her. “Remember, after that list fiasco, we promised each other that we’d get things out and into the open rather than let them fester. If we take the time, now, to discuss what happened earlier, then we can keep things from getting blown out of proportion when it comes back up later.” She smiled at her husband’s puzzled expression. “Trust me, the boys will bring it back up again, you'll see, especially since they'll want to share the experience with their grandmother.” Reluctantly she let go of his hand and shifting her position, she straddled the bench so she could look at her husband. “Anyway, I took the time, while running that errand with Phillip, to really think about what happened and I realized that you weren’t entirely to blame for the whole situation.”

Lee practically jumped from his seat and turned so that he was staring down at his wife with narrowed eyes. “What do you mean ‘entirely to blame’? If I remember correctly, you’re the one whose voice rose three octaves the minute I said yes to Phillip when he asked if we could rent that movie.”

“It did not rise three octaves.” Amanda folded her arms across her chest defiantly and then, at the sight of her husband’s raised eyebrow, she sighed and relaxed her posture. “Okay, so maybe I did overreact just a little.”

“A little? Amanda we’re lucky the manager didn’t kick us out. I finally backed down because I saw the look of embarrassment on the boys’ faces and was afraid Sydney was going to go running from the store.” Lee sat back down on the bench mirroring his wife’s position. “You would have thought we were arguing over a case the way we started trying to one-up each other.” He reached over and took one of her hands in his. “Look, I admit that looking back on it, Predator wasn’t the best choice in movies, but the boys’ seemed so excited about wanting to see it, and I remembered how much I liked it, I guess I responded without really thinking.”

“I’ll agree with you there, you really weren’t thinking. I saw the movie with you, remember?” Amanda smiled lovingly at him and gently squeezed one of the hands holding hers. “I’m sure things were a lot different for you when you were living with your uncle; you had a lot of rules and regulations, but I know from the stories you’ve told me that you got away with a lot of things that most teenagers don’t. I do my best to monitor the type of things that the boys watch, and that movie was definitely not appropriate for them or for Sydney.”

“And you’re a wonderful mother. I guess that’s part of the problem. I don’t know where I really fit in. All this parenting stuff is new to me. The Colonel acted more like my guardian than a parent. Sure he set down rules, which I usually broke, but he didn’t really look after me the way a mom or dad would.” Lee let go of his wife’s hands and slung his right leg back over the bench. Leaning back against the tabletop, he stretched his legs out in front of him, and closing his eyes, took a deep breath. “These past few days…living here, well I finally started feeling like a real member of the family. Maybe I let it go to my head, and for once I thought I was making a decision as part of the family rather than just trying to be the cool boyfriend. I guess I’m still trying to figure out just where I belong in this family.”

Amanda placed a loving hand on his shoulder. “You’re right, you are a member of this family and you have just as much of a right to make decisions as I do.” With her other hand, she took one of his hands in hers and linked their fingers. “I have a confession to make,” she looked down at their entwined fingers, “I think I overreacted because I’m so used to being the one who makes the decisions where the boys are concerned, I forgot that you have a say in their lives too. I also know that you’re torn between being the boys’ friend and being their stepfather, especially since they aren’t aware of that last part. It’s going to take time, and I plan on being there to help you every step of the way.” She squeezed his hand and gazed into his eyes. “However, it might be useful to remember that you need to think before responding the next time the boys ask you for something. One thing I’ve learned in my many years of experience,” she smiled and winked at him, “is that it helps to ask yourself if what they’re asking to do is a good thing for them or not. If you had stopped to think about the contents of the movie, you probably would have realized that in a few years they’d be mature enough to watch it, but right now, it’s not really all that appropriate.”

Amanda moved her other hand to his face and gently caressed his cheek. “I also don’t want you to feel like you have to check with me on everything, either.” She smiled when he turned and placed a kiss on her palm. “However, if you want to check with me before giving a definitive answer, no one can say you’re taking the wimpy way out. It provides a more united front and ensures that the old ‘but mom said I could’ or ‘but that’s not what dad said’ aren’t tossed around. Besides, I don't think Phillip and Jamie can get mad at you if you say something like it's ‘okay with me, but I want to make sure its okay with your mom’. Until they know that you’re their stepdad, they shouldn’t expect anything less from you.”

Lee leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “Do you have any idea of how much I love you?”

Amanda rose and, stepping over the bench, reached out her hand to invite him to stand as well. “I have a pretty good idea.” As her husband wrapped his arms around her waist, she smiled at him. “You realize that once you move in, and officially become a member of the family, scenes like the one that happened earlier will happen more and more often. Hopefully, though, it won’t happen in a public place like it did today. I guess things were going just a bit too smoothly and something was bound to go wrong. Between mother’s sudden disappearance, the house being a little more crowded than usual, the issues surrounding Sydney, and the fact that we’re under the same roof and still can’t sleep together, well…something had to give.”

“Yeah, you’re right, I guess we didn’t realize just how stressful this whole situation was going to be. Ever since Billy dropped this case into our laps...” Lee bent his head and leaned his forehead against hers. “Between the number of lies we’ve had to tell, the lack of communication from Jack and this whole Project Christmas thing, everything just started adding up. We’ve been so focused on keeping Sydney and the boys safe that we’ve been suppressing a lot of the stress, trying to keep up the façade of things being normal, that I guess it crept up on us and hit us full force.”

“It sure did. I guess we need to figure out a way to release some of that stress.” Amanda shook her head slightly when she caught the mischievous glint in her husband’s eyes. “As much fun as that would be, I don’t see how we can get away with it. Even if mother does know we’re married, it’s not like we can just sneak off for a secret rendezvous, there’s too much at stake right now. But we’ll think of something. In the meantime, I promise to try and be a little more flexible when it comes to the boys, and not jump down your throat just because you agree to something that I wouldn’t normally agree to.”

Lee smiled endearingly. “Really? Can I have that in writing, because I don’t want you to turn around and throw it back in my face one day when I remind you of what you just said?” His smile turned into a grin.

“We’ll see. Now,” Amanda stepped out of his embrace, “as you suggested earlier, we should probably go help mother with dinner. Not to mention that if Phillip still hasn’t come home yet, I need to call over there and remind him of the importance of keeping one’s word.”

“That should be an interesting conversation. Is that anything like staying in the car? Because if it is, I might want to tape record the conversation.” Lee grinned as he jumped back, successfully avoiding the swatting arm of his wife.

Shaking her head, Amanda glared at him. “You’re incorrigible, you know that.”

Lee winked as he swept past her and headed for the door. “Yes, but you love me, and you know it.” He quickly opened the door and stepped inside.

Amanda just shook her head and chuckled. There were many things she loved about that man and many things that drove her crazy, but she wouldn’t trade him for anything. Fate had brought them together and their bond was so strong that only death would part them. Entering the house, she closed the door behind her and went to join her family.

SMK a SMK a SMK

Lee leaned back against the couch and, resting his arm comfortably behind Amanda’s shoulders, sighed contentedly. Rubbing his stomach, he turned his head towards the kitchen. “Dotty that was probably the best meatloaf I’ve ever had.”

Dotty placed the dishtowel over the drain board and shook her head. “Oh, Lee, you say that every time I make meatloaf for dinner.”

Lee chuckled and gave her his most charming smile. “Well, it’s the truth.”

Dotty smiled in return as she walked towards the couple. “Well, thank you.” Reaching the couch, she bent down and placed a kiss on Lee’s cheek. “I think I’ll head outside and keep an eye on the crew.”

Amanda nodded. “I think that’s a good idea, Mother. I’m not so sure we want to leave Jamie alone out there to referee.”

“Jamie’s probably too busy taking pictures of his brother getting beat by a girl to be an effective referee anyway.” Lee laughed heartily.

Amanda glanced over at her husband. “I was pretty surprised when he challenged Sydney to a rematch.”

Lee shook his head. “I’m not. I think he’s extremely impressed with how well she played yesterday. He probably just wants a good old game of one-on-one so he can figure out just how good she really is.”

Amanda smiled knowingly. “You and Sydney made a pretty good team, but I don’t think Phillip was too happy about being beaten by, how did he put it again, oh yeah ‘an old dude and a girl’.” She laughed as her husband glared at her. “Seriously though, I don’t think he wants to see how good Sydney is, I think he wants to prove how good he is.”

Dotty moved over to the counter and retrieved her book. “I think Sydney might have a small crush on Phillip.”

Amanda turned her head to stare at her mother. “Really, I would think Jamie would be more her type, besides the way she acts around them, I think she considers Phillip and Jamie more like brothers.”

Dotty laughed and shook her head slightly. “Oh, I think you’re wrong. I think she sees Jamie simply as a friend, someone she has a lot in common with. Phillip is the unattainable boy; you remember the type, the one who really doesn’t pay much attention to her. I remember a few boys you would talk about non-stop, and how you complained about the fact that they never paid any attention to you. I think it made them all the more appealing.”

Amanda’s cheeks started turning a little pink, her gaze still on her mother. “Mother…” Knowing how the mere mention of any man from her past, tended to make her husband see several shades of green, she glanced nervously at Lee. The hint of humor in his eyes, however, took her slightly by surprise.

When his wife’s expression changed from slightly embarrassed to one of curiosity, Lee leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheek. “I can’t imagine any guy not wanting to give you the time of day.”

Amanda elbowed him in the side. “Ha, look who’s talking. I remember a time when you would rather I was half way around the world, rather than sitting beside you.”

Lee shook his head vigorously. “That’s not true, I never minded your company. I just wanted to keep you at a safe distance for your own good. Can I help it if I was concerned about your safety?” Placing a kiss on her nose, he grinned devilishly at her. “You have to admit you have an uncanny knack for finding trouble.”

Glaring with mock anger, Amanda turned to face him. “Well it’s not always my fault, I blame most of it on you. You’re the one who brought trouble to my door in the first place.”

“Oh, so it’s my fault now is it?” Finding a very ticklish spot, Lee attacked his wife.

Squirming and laughing, Amanda moved back on the couch, attempting to evade her husband’s fingers. “You don’t play fair, Stetson.” Blocking one of his hands, she reached over and found a very ticklish spot on her husband.

Laughing, Dotty shook her head at the pair. If she didn’t already know they were married, she would have found this a perfect time to bring up that topic. “Uh, hmm.” Not getting a response, she cleared her throat again. “I realize the children are otherwise occupied, but you might want to put an end to this before it gets out of hand.” As if suddenly remembering that there was someone else in the room, both adults turned to look in her direction.

Still laughing, Amanda nodded towards her mother. “You’re right.” She then turned her attention on her husband, pointing a finger at him. “You keep your hands to yourself mister.” She took a calming breath. “Now, what were we talking about? Oh yeah, trouble. Speaking of trouble, have you talked to Mr. Melrose about a different cover for the babysitters.” Looking in her mother’s direction, she breathed a contented sigh. It felt good to be able to speak openly in front of her.

Dotty nodded enthusiastically. “Now that I know that they aren’t really from the phone company, I understand why that van is still sitting there; but you have to admit, in this neighborhood the fact that a crew from the phone company has been sitting in the same spot for more than a day, and doesn’t appear to be doing any work, is going to raise a lot of questions. Couldn’t they at least move to a different location, or have someone look like they’re actually doing something, anything, to the phone lines? Then again, maybe they are maintaining their cover, isn’t that what you spies like to say? Anyway maybe they are doing some kind of work during the day, when no one’s home to actually witness them doing something. You know the more I think about it, I suddenly recall a lot of different workman and crews setting up around this house. Just how many times have you had, what did you call them, babysitters, parked down the street?” She put up a hand and shook her head. “You know what, I don’t know if I really want to know. What I am curious about though, is what’s so special about the Cooperman house?”

“I don’t think there’s anything special about the Cooperman’s house, Mother.” Amanda shrugged her shoulders. “I suppose the Agency vehicles do sit in front of that house a lot, but it’s only because it’s usually vacant.”

“Well that’s another thing I’ve always wondered, why don’t the Coopermans just sell the place. They’ve had trouble renting that place for years. It must be hard to find renters who want to live in an established neighborhood where most of families have lived here for quite a few years.” Dotty studied her son-in-law curiously, as recognition suddenly dawned on her. “Wouldn’t you agree, Mr. Sampson?”

Lee looked from Amanda, whose eyes had grown a little wide, to his mother-in-law. “Um…who?”

“Oh don’t try and deny it. From the look on both of your faces I can tell that my hunch was right.” Dotty laughed, humor dancing in her eyes. “I did a lot of thinking while I was making dinner and I realized just how many of the odd things that have occurred over the last few years suddenly began to make a lot more sense. Then, just now, when I was staring at your profile, I realized how similar it was to the one I remembered from the quick glimpse that I got of Mr. Sampson. So I took a chance that maybe, just maybe, that had been you. Certainly explains why you only stayed a few days. What kind of case could you have been working on that had you renting a house in this neighborhood, or did you just want to be closer to my daughter.” Her grin grew a little wider.

Positive that her husband was growing uncomfortable with the direction their conversation had taken, especially since she wasn’t exactly comfortable with it herself, Amanda cleared her throat. “I don’t know how, but we managed to get off topic.” She looked towards her husband, who had suddenly found the pattern on the back of the couch extremely interesting. “Getting back to the babysitters, Lee, mother’s right, the neighbors are starting to get curious. Mrs. Gilstrap stopped by yesterday and wasn’t exactly pleased that the phone company was still working, especially since she wasn’t even sure what work they were actually supposed to be doing. ”

Lee gave his wife a brief smile of thanks for the change in topics. He didn’t want to admit it, but Dotty probably wasn’t too far off base. He wasn’t sure when his feelings for his wife had changed from simple friendship to something more, but he had to admit that when he had rented the Cooperman house, he had felt a little closer to Amanda. Shaking his head slightly, he caught his wife staring at him expectantly. “I’ll mention it to Billy. Maybe he can come up with something else for the babysitters to do, something that won’t have the neighbors asking too many questions.”

“Especially since we don’t know how long we’ll need them.” Amanda then turned her attention on her mother. “You know, Mother, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something.” She caught the curious look on her mother’s face. “Now that you know the truth about everything, can you promise me that you won’t do any more eavesdropping? I don’t want you to overhear something you really shouldn’t.”

Lee nodded in agreement. “She’s right, Dotty. In the future, if you have any questions, please come to us. I promise we’ll do our best to give you a straight answer.”

Dotty looked from her son-in-law to her daughter. “I promise to do my best. I just wish you would have trusted me sooner, dear.”

Amanda lowered her head and sighed. “Oh, Mother. It’s not that I didn’t trust you,” she looked back up at her mother, “I just wasn’t allowed….”

Dotty raised a hand to stop her daughter’s explanation. “Amanda, Lee already explained it to me.”

The ringing of the telephone interrupted any further comment she was going to make. Moving over to the phone, she put her book down on the counter and picked up the receiver. “Hello? … Yes, he’s here. Is this Mr. Melrose? … I thought you sounded familiar … You know I never did get a chance to thank you for helping Harry Barrigan out, I realize I probably didn’t seem all that grateful at the time, but given our encounter the first time we met, I’m sure you can understand my hesitancy to accept your assistance … Yes, I’m sure it was all part of you doing your job. Oh, here’s Lee now … Same here, Mr. Melrose.”

Upon hearing his boss’ name, Lee had stood up from the couch and had begun heading towards the kitchen. Having heard Dotty’s side of the conversation, he knew that he was going to have a lot of explaining to do. As he approached his mother-in-law, he accepted the phone from her outstretched hand. “Hey, Billy, what’s up? … Well that’s a very long story and not one that I really want to get into right now. So is this a social call or is there something new we need to know about?”

Dotty picked her book back up and walked back towards the den. “You know it just occurred to me that Mr. Melrose has called here before. I wonder why I never made the connection between him and your job, especially after he invaded the house last year.”

Amanda took her gaze off her husband and turned her focus on her mother. “I don’t know how to answer that for you. Perhaps you just chose not to think about it to closely? You know, Mother, Mr. Melrose is really a very sweet man. He’s been a very good friend to Lee and to me as well.”

“Yes dear, I know.” Dotty nodded and glanced briefly at her son-in-law. “Lee already told me that I should meet him again under better circumstances. He seems to think that we would really hit it off. I’d like to believe that.”

Amanda smiled at the thought of her mother and Mr. Melrose in the same room when Agency business wasn’t involved. “I agree with Lee. I think you two would get along wonderfully, especially now that you know the truth.”

Dotty tilted her head as she thought about that prospect. Her brief conversation with Mr. Melrose just now had been very pleasant, still she didn’t know if she was ready to forge a lasting friendship with the man. “Considering the fact that he’s the one who ordered you to keep all of this a secret from your own mother, it may take me awhile.” She glanced back over at her son-in-law on the phone. “You know, I’ve been thinking about something…every time you would get a phone call and then run out of the house, dropping everything like the world was going to end if you didn’t leave right away, you were going to meet Lee weren’t you? I mean, now that I’ve gotten to know Lee, who can blame you.”

Amanda sighed, a tinge of pink creeping into her cheeks. “Mother, it wasn’t like that, at least not in the beginning. When I first starting working with Lee, I believed I was doing something important, so I was eager to get out there and help him. I will admit that it wasn’t just because I was excited about helping to make the world a safer place, I also knew how much Lee needed me, whether he wanted to admit it or not, which in most cases he refused to admit. But yes, it was usually Lee calling me and asking me to help him with some assignment.”

A knowing smile spread across Dotty’s face. “I always knew you were having a clandestine affair.”

“Mother!” Amanda began to protest. “I was not having an affair with Lee, and I believe I told you as much every time you suggested such a ludicrous idea like that.”

Dotty moved closer and patted her daughter’s arm gently. “You may not have been having a physical affair, dear, but you were having an affair of the heart, whether you want to admit it or not. The connection you and Lee share wasn’t built overnight. From what Lee’s told me, you two have been forging a relationship together for the past four years, and it’s clear that the foundation you’ve built is what’s going to make your marriage last a lifetime.” Turning, she headed towards the back door. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I believe I was going to go out and read, and see how badly Sydney is beating Phillip in that basketball game.” Grinning wickedly, she opened the door and disappeared outside.

Amanda shook her head and, laying her chin on her arm, she watched her husband talking on the phone. Maybe her mother was right. There had been some connection between her and Lee, even from that first day, and she had read her fair share of romance novels to know that affairs didn’t have to be physical. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her husband hanging up the phone. “Interesting conversation?”

Lee rolled his eyes. “I’m going to meet with Billy in the morning. I can drop Phillip off at school again and then head into the office. I’ll meet you at the middle school afterwards and fill you in.” He walked back into the den and sat back on the couch next to his wife. “He’s very curious to find out just what Dotty knows, and how she found out.”

“I don’t envy you that conversation. Speaking of my mother, she’s beginning to put two and two together. I think we should be prepared for a lot more of the Mr. Sampson type comments.” Amanda turned and, resting her head on the corner of the couch, she laid her legs across his lap.

Lee chuckled. “I’m not sure if your mother’s newfound memory is a good thing or not. If her earlier comment is any indication of what’s to come, I think I’m going to miss her not-so-subtle hints about marriage. Even though they usually caught me a little off guard, at least I was a little more prepared for those comments because we half expected them, and they were all focused on the same topic; but now we have absolutely no idea what she’s going to spring on us next.”

“I know, I think we’re just going to have to prepare ourselves for the unexpected.” Amanda sighed. “Did you ask Mr. Melrose about Jack?”

“Yes, and he hasn’t heard anything from Jack.” Lee began massaging her leg. “He said he would call over to Langley and see if he can find out if Jack has at least made his check-ins. He agrees with you, he thinks it’s very strange that Jack hasn’t called here to talk to his daughter, but he also said the same thing I did, that he’s probably working a contact zero scenario; however, if he was going deep undercover, it might have been nice of him to at least mention it during our meeting with Billy. Then again, after spending just half a day with Jack, he isn’t the type to divulge information willingly. And before you ask, I also mentioned to Billy the neighbors’ growing concerns about the phone company van. He said he’ll talk to Beaman tomorrow and they’ll try and come up with a less obvious cover for the babysitters.”

Suddenly the back door swung open and Jamie came bounding into the house. “Mom, did you remember to pick up some more film for me when you were at the store, earlier?”

Amanda nodded. “Yes, I did. It’s in the bag on the counter next to the fridge.” She watched her youngest son walk excitedly into the kitchen. “Oh, and Jamie, please try and remember not to slam the door open.”

Jamie had reached his destination and, picking up the bag, he reached inside and took out a new roll of film. “Okay.” Placing his camera on the counter, he began changing the rolls. “Mom, I’ve been thinking about the chess tournament. Sydney would really like to go, and I wouldn’t mind going either. All we want to do is watch, and maybe pick up a few tips from the pros. Do you really think it’ll be a problem for us to attend? I mean, if they didn’t want anyone to attend, why would they hold it at the school or allow students to sign up?”

Amanda exchanged a knowing look with her husband before focusing her attention back on her first born. “Jamie, your argument makes perfect sense, but I still want to talk to Principal Dennis and make sure it’s okay. Besides, we should probably wait and see how much homework you and Sydney receive tomorrow.”

Having completed the task of loading the new film into the camera, Jamie slung the strap back around his neck. “You’ll let us know what you find out?”

Amanda nodded. “I promise.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Jamie rushed towards the still open door. “Gotta go, don’t want to miss anymore of this game, Phillip and Sydney are tied.” Grabbing the doorknob he pulled the door shut.

“What are we going to do about the tournament, Lee?” Amanda returned her gaze onto her husband.

Lee sighed and patted his wife’s leg gently. “That’s one of the things I’m going to be talking to Billy about in the morning. I asked him to check into it. Nothing’s come across his desk yet, but if this prodigy is of any importance to Russia, you know the KGB is going to be involved.” Leaning his head against the back of the couch, he ran his hand through his hair. “Why do these things always happen to us, Amanda? Do we have bad Karma or something? The one place Sydney should be absolutely safe from recognition is Jamie’s school, and the damn KGB has a free pass to walk right through the front door.”

“I know, but there’s no reason to believe that the KGB planned this.” Amanda reached out and touched Lee’s shoulder, squeezing it tenderly. “Look, I’ll talk to Principal Dennis tomorrow and find out how long this tournament has been on the books, and how long they’ve known about their ‘guest player’. I’ll also try and find a clever way to ask if she knows if the Russian boy will have any bodyguards or not. I’d like to believe this is all just a mere coincidence, I mean there’s no way the KGB could know where Sydney is. Even if…” she closed her eyes, not wanting to think the worst, “even if there’s another reason Jack hasn’t called. I think he’d rather die than give up her location.”

Lee wrapped his hand over hers where it rested on his shoulder and patted it affectionately. “Hey, I’m sure Jack is fine, he may not want to admit it to the world, but he really does love his daughter; I could tell by the way he talked about her. Besides, he knows Sydney is counting on his return and, if he’s anything like me, he’ll do everything he can to keep from letting her down. Look, let’s wait and see what Billy can find out, and what you learn from Principal Dennis. If it turns out the bodyguards are going to be any of the KGB agents who work for Kholokov we’ll just arrange to have more of our own inside the school. It might not be a bad idea to increase security anyway. Either way, we’ll have to find away to keep Sydney far away from that tournament.” A devilish smile spread across his face. “I think Francine would make a great gym instructor don’t you?”

Amanda nudged his stomach with her knee. “Oh sure, if that does happen, and Francine finds out that it was your idea, she’ll find a way to get even with you, big time.”

Lee chuckled. “Well I for one don’t plan on telling her, do you?” As his wife shook her head, he gently removed her legs from his lap and standing, he offered his hand to her. “What do you say we go outside and watch the game? I’m really curious to see who wins this one.”

Amanda accepted his hand and pulled herself off the couch. “Sounds like a plan to me. I don’t know which will be worse, if Phillip loses to Sydney, or if he beats her. We may never hear the end of it no matter what the outcome.” Laughing, she walked hand-in-hand with her husband towards the door.

Chapter Ten

Monday Morning, September 21st

Lee stood at the sink and looked out the kitchen window, a smile of contentment spreading across his face. Wrapping his hand around the handle of his coffee cup, he brought it to his lips and took a sip of the now cooling brew. He was enjoying the brief moment of quiet before the troops invaded the room. As he stared out into the garden, he realized just how marvelous it was to be able to be looking outside from within, rather than the other way around. He had learned a lot about Amanda's family during his casual surveillance through this window over the years, but there was just something truly wonderful about being a part of the daily chaos he usually only got to witness from afar. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the back door opening. Turning, he saw his mother-in-law entering. “You’re up early, Dotty.”

Dotty wiped her brow with a gloved hand. “Well I figured it was going to be a while before I could get into the shower, so I decided to get an early start on my gardening.” Pulling her gloves off, she laid them on the edge of the counter. “You know, I don't know which I dislike more, weeding or pruning. Have you ever noticed that if you give ivy an inch, it takes a mile?" She watched her son-in-law shake his head, and a small smile began to tug at the corners of her lips. "Oh, of course you wouldn't, what would a scarecrow know about gardening even if he is a spy?”

Lee quickly tightened his grip on his coffee mug as the color drained out of his face. He was very glad that at least his reflexes appeared to be working, because for the second time in two days, Dotty West had managed to take away his ability to speak.

Dotty chuckled. “I’ve done it again, haven’t I? Just how good a spy are you, Scarecrow, if I’ve managed to render you speechless twice?”

“Dotty…I, uh…you just caught me off guard.” Lee took a deep breath and looked towards the stairs, hoping that neither one of his stepsons, or Sydney for that matter, were within earshot of this conversation. He also silently prayed that his wife would appear any minute. He didn’t like being in the hot seat. “How did you figure it out?”

“Oh, I was clipping away some of the vine that has gotten a little out of hand at the bottom of the lattice around the gazebo when I remembered that I need to tackle the ivy that’s growing on the two trellises on the side of the house by the driveway, and I decided to get a start on it before the sun hits it and it gets too hot to work over there. Well, anyway, I was staring at the work that I’d cut out for myself, and I looked up at Amanda’s bedroom window and I suddenly remembered one of those federal agents yelling out something about Scarecrow and Mrs. King right before Amanda disappeared last year.” She moved into the kitchen and headed for the cupboard next to the sink. “I don't know why you two insisted on trying to climb down that trellis at the same time, goodness knows Amanda’s told the boys more times than I can count that that trellis wasn't very sturdy. Did you know that it came very close to hitting the neighbor’s window? Thank goodness the bushes next to the driveway were so high. It cost us a pretty penny to have the trellis reattached as it was, I’d hate to think what it would have cost if we had to repair any damage to the house next door, too.”

Dotty opened the cabinet and took down a mug, then moved over to the coffee pot and poured the brew into her cup. “Anyway, I figured that since I know Amanda ran off with you, and they didn’t say there goes Stetson and King, I made the logical deduction that they were referring to you.” Placing her cup on the counter, she opened the refrigerator and pulled out the creamer. “So, is Scarecrow a codename?”

Lee took a sip of his coffee and swallowed. He had a feeling that he was going to need the extra energy. Looking towards the stairs again, he made sure the coast was clear before responding. Satisfied that it was, he let out an exasperated sigh. “Yes, it’s my codename.”

“It’s kind of an odd one isn’t it? How did you get it, and does Amanda have one too?” Dotty eyed him curiously.

“Do I have one what?” Amanda entered the kitchen and looked quizzically at her mother. As she headed in her husband’s direction, she noticed that he looked a little pale. “Oh, no. Mother, what did you do now?”

Dotty poured the cream into her coffee and then put the container back in the fridge. “I was just asking Lee where he got his codename, and if you had a one too.”

Amanda looked at her husband, who nodded. “Oh, well, no I don’t have one, and I’m not sure I want one. Not a lot of agents have them, and if they do, they don’t seem to be used very often. In fact,” she looked directly at her husband, “now that I think about it, you’re the only one who seems to be referred to by his codename on a regular basis.”

Lee just shrugged. “I know quite a few agents who have codenames, but you’re right, people do call me Scarecrow a lot, don’t they?”

“Yes, Scarecrow, they do.” Amanda walked over to him and placed a kiss on his cheek.

“So, where did Scarecrow come from? Oh wait, let me guess it has to be from the Wizard of Oz, am I right?” Seeing both her daughter and son-in-law nod, Dotty grinned. “Ray Bolger made a great Scarecrow, but I think you’re a nicer looking one.”

“Uh, thank you, Dotty, I think.” Lee looked a little self-consciously at his mother-in-law. He pulled a mug out of the cabinet next to him and handed it to his wife. Before he could say anything else they heard the sound of one of the boys barreling down the stairs.

“Lee, are you ready to go?” Phillip entered the kitchen, his backpack in hand.

Lee nodded. “I am, but I think you need to eat something first.” He glanced over towards his wife. “If I let you leave here on an empty stomach, your mom’s likely to give us a lecture on the importance of breakfast at dinner tonight.”

Phillip saw his mom nod in agreement with Lee. “Oh, okay.” Placing his backpack on the floor by the couch, he headed into the kitchen and walked over to the cabinets. He then took down a bowl and retrieved a box of cereal from another cabinet. Grabbing the milk from the fridge, he began fixing his breakfast. “You know, if I get a ride to school from you every morning, Lee, you can move in here permanently as far as I’m concerned.”

“Hmm…not a bad idea.” Dotty grinned knowingly. Heading over to the breadbox, she pulled out two pieces of raisin bread. “I don’t think Phillip’s the only one who’d like to see you move in here on a permanent basis.” She winked at her daughter, and moved over to place her bread in the toaster. Then, leaning closer to her son-in-law, she added in a quieter voice, “That was very wise advice, too bad you don’t listen to it.” She caught the raise of his eyebrows. “I’ve seen what you eat for breakfast, Lee, or rather, what you don’t. Maybe you should take a trip down the yellow brick road and see the Wizard, after all he helped the Scarecrow find his brain and anyone with a brain knows that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” Humming ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’ she moved over to the fridge to retrieve the butter.

Lee looked over at his wife, and shook his head. He caught her brief smile and knew that she was thinking the same thing he was. Dotty was going to have a lot of fun with this one.

“Okay, I’m done.” Phillip placed his bowl in the sink and bounded back towards the den to retrieve his bag.

Lee just stared at his stepson in awe. “What did you do, drink the food down?”
“Nah, three big spoonfuls is all it took.” Phillip headed for the front door. “Come on, I can’t wait to see the look on the guys’ faces when they see me in the ’Vette again.”

Lee shook his head and mumbled. “He better not get sick in my car after eating so fast.” Turning, he looked at his wife. “I really should get going, I don’t want to leave him alone with my car for too long, who knows what he’ll do to it.”

Amanda chuckled and patted his arm. “Don’t worry, I think you scared him off the last time he did something to the car, in fact, he seems to be much more protective of it now.” Wrapping her arm around his waist, she smiled. “Come on, I’ll walk you to the door.”

Lee placed his arm around her and shook his head. “Tomorrow, I’m going to hide in my room until I know you’re downstairs.”

Amanda grinned and let out another little laugh. “Some spy you are. You can track down enemy agents and shoot a bull’s-eye miles away, but suddenly you’re afraid to be alone in a room with my mother.”

Reaching the door, Lee stopped and pulled his wife into a tight embrace. “I’m not afraid of facing your mother alone, Amanda. It’s just that I’d like to finish my coffee and be more awake, and better prepared for what she’s going to say.”

“Wasn’t it just last night that we said we had to be more prepared for what she might throw at us?” Amanda lifted her head and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

Lee deepened the kiss briefly before reluctantly breaking the contact. “Yes, we did, but I can handle her suddenly realizing there’s more to certain events,” glancing briefly at the stairs and not seeing any sign of Jamie or Sydney, he added, “it’s the shockers like her figuring out my code-name, that I’m not ready for.” Leaning down, he placed another kiss on her lips. As they parted, he sighed. “That should get me through the next hour or two.” He winked and then stepped out of the embrace.

Amanda reached over and opened the door for him. “I’ll see you at the school whenever you get done with your meeting.”

“Hopefully it won’t run too long.” Lee stepped outside, then turned and placed another kiss on her cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you, too and please drive carefully.” She smiled as he nodded and waved her comment away as if to say ‘yeah, yeah I always do’. As she watched him head towards his car, she couldn’t get over how natural it felt to be saying goodbye to her husband as he drove their son to school. It was moments like this that made her wonder why she ever agreed to the stupid mystery marriage in the first place. Sighing, she closed the door and headed back into the kitchen.

Dotty was seated in the breakfast nook eating her toast. “I guess you’ll be heading out soon, too? Where are Jamie and Sydney?”
Amanda glanced back towards the stairs. “I suspect they’ll both be down soon. Jamie was just getting into the shower when I came down. He let Sydney use the bathroom before him.” She sighed and moved over to the counter. “I think Jamie may have a little crush on her. It’s hard to think of my boys growing up and becoming more interested in girls.”

“Yes, it is hard to watch your children grow up and move on with their lives, especially when they forget to tell you about important, life altering changes in their lives.” Dotty gave her daughter a knowing look.

Amanda picked up her coffee and, moving over to the table, sat down across from her mother. “I really am sorry about all the secrecy mother, you have to believe me.” She placed her hand over her mother’s.

“Oh, I do, it’s just hard when you find out that your daughter has been deceiving you for the last four years. I am curious about one thing though, did you really have your own pet sitting and plant watering business or was that just one big lie?”

Amanda glanced out the window and swallowed hard. “No, Mother I didn’t really have my own business, although I did take care of Lee’s fish and plants one time, although, I don’t know how much care I really gave them considering I wasn’t there very long.” She looked down at her coffee cup. “You can bet that I’ll never answer ‘yes’ again when someone calls looking for Scarecrow.” She mumbled to herself.

“Why what happened? Did someone mistake you for Lee?” Dotty eyed her daughter curiously, wondering what kind of answer she’d get.

Amanda looked up at her mother, her eyes just a bit wide. “I didn’t think I said that loud enough for you to hear.”

Dotty nodded slightly. “I’m afraid, darling, that you did. I guess that’s one of those things you never planned on telling me. Did something terrible happen to you because someone thought you were Lee? I find it a little ridiculous that anyone could mistake you for him. Lee’s so much taller than you, he’s devilishly handsome, and, not to mention, a man.”

Amanda laughed self-consciously. “That’s the same thing I thought, well the part about him being taller than me.” Then turning serious, she shook her head. “No, Mother nothing happened to me, Lee saved me, but I can’t go into details about that. So, how did you figure it out, Mother? I mean about the name Scarecrow?”

“I just remembered hearing it somewhere.” Dotty sighed. “I guess I’m going to have to get used to only knowing tiny bits of information, at least getting some of the details is better than being kept in the dark completely.” She then looked her daughter straight in the eye. “You know, missy, our lives would have been a lot less complicated a year ago if we had known the truth about your job. Well…maybe not less complicated, but at least I would have had more of an idea of what was going on. I still wouldn’t have liked being under constant surveillance, and not being allowed to go anywhere without, what do you call them, babysitters, but at least I would have understood and I wouldn’t have accused your Mr. Melrose of wasting taxpayers’ money chasing after a couple of filmmakers. I don’t suppose you can tell me what really happened, can you?”

Amanda traced the rim of her cup, and sighed. “Do you remember how I told you that they thought Lee gave away some things that he shouldn’t?” She looked up and watched her mother closely. “Well, that was the truth. Mr. Melrose and the rest of the Agency thought that he had given secret documents to the Russians. Only it wasn’t true, and I knew it, but because I was with Lee when they said the documents were stolen, they suspected I was involved, too. The only chance we had to prove them wrong was to go into hiding, and try and clear our names.”

Dotty eyed her daughter with a renewed sense of respect, mixed with a twinge of worry. “So, I’m guessing that since we’re having this conversation today, you two managed to find the person who was really responsible?”

“Yes, we did.” Amanda gave her mother a small smile. “And that man is behind bars for good. It’s also because of how well Lee and I worked together to apprehend him that I’m now a full-time employee of the Agency, and officially Lee’s partner.”

Dotty shook her head. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand exactly what it is that you see in this Agency of yours. I’m sure it seems romantic and exciting, but if it’s anything like what I’ve read in my spy novels, or seen on TV, it can be a dangerous business. It also sounds like this Agency of yours will turn on their agents at the drop of a hat. Why would you want to work for a place that would so easily turn on one of their own?”

“Oh, Mother, I can’t explain it. The Agency is a huge part of who Lee is, and although they may turn on you, they only do it because they are trying to protect the government’s secrets.” Amanda glanced towards the stairs as she heard the sound of Jamie and Sydney chatting about the chess tournament, and then turned her attention back on her mother. “We’ll have to finish this discussion later.”

Dotty let out a sigh of resignation. “I suppose so, but don’t think you’ve been saved by the bell, Amanda. I plan on finishing this discussion with you at some point.”

“I’m sure you will, Mother, I’m sure you will.” Turning towards the two youngsters, Amanda rose from her seat. “What can I get you two for breakfast?”

“Cereal’s just fine for me, thanks.” Sydney answered as she took a seat at the counter.

Jamie nodded as he sat down beside her. “Me too, Mom, but I can get it, it’s not like it’s really hard to make.”

“Nonsense, I’m already up, but if you want to help you could get Sydney and yourself something to drink.” Amanda moved over to the cabinets that housed the bowls and cereal, and, as she began fixing their breakfast, she smiled when her son moved over to the cabinet to get down two glasses.

Dotty picked up her dishes and brought them over to the sink. Placing them in the soapy water, she headed towards the stairs. “Now that the shower is free, I’m going to go up and get ready myself. I’m going to call Edna and see if she’s interested in going to the garden shop with me today, since we didn’t go on Friday.” She turned and gave her daughter a knowing glance before heading upstairs. “Have a good day, you three.”

“You too, Mother.” Amanda called over her shoulder as she grabbed two spoons from the silverware drawer. Then, moving over to the counter, she placed the bowls in front of Jamie and Sydney.

“Mom,” Jamie pushed his glasses up further on the bridge of his nose. “You won’t forget to talk to Principal Dennis about the tournament, will you?”

Amanda closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. “Jamie, I promised that I would talk to her and I will, but if you ask me again there’ll be no point in me speaking to Principal Dennis because neither one of you will be allowed to go, end of story." She looked from Jamie to Sydney and then back at Jamie. "Is that understood?" She watched as they both nodded and then glanced down at her watch. “Good, now eat up, we have to leave in fifteen minutes.” Putting the cereal back in its cupboard, she silently prayed that one of them would ask her again before they made it to school, because then she wouldn’t have to come up with a clever ruse to keep them away from the tournament after all.

Picking up the coffee cup Lee had left on the counter, Amanda moved over to the sink. While she waited for Jamie and Sydney to finish their breakfasts, she began washing the dishes. In a small way, she realized she couldn’t wait till her sons knew the truth about her job. That way if the situation was too dangerous, she would be able to give them a straight answer when it came to why they couldn’t do something. Then again, if her mother’s curiosity was any indication as to the type of questions that would be coming their way, it was going to be a long road ahead. However, she had a feeling that her two sons would be a little more direct with their questioning. She knew one thing for sure, life at 4247 Maplewood Drive would never be dull again, not that it ever really was.

SMK a SMK a SMK

Billy opened his office door as he saw Lee entering the bullpen. “Nice of you to join us Scarecrow.” He glanced down at his watch.

Lee approached his section chief and shrugged. “Sorry, Billy. I dropped Phillip off at the high school, and he begged me to pop the hood on the ’Vette. My car seems to be a big hit with the Junior Varsity football team.”

Billy stepped aside and chuckled as Lee entered the office ahead of him. “Actually I know all about it.” Closing the door, he smiled as his agent turned to look at him with raised eyebrows. “The babysitters at the high school called in. They were quite amused at the sight of you, the ‘mighty Scarecrow’, standing amongst a bunch of teenagers while they looked under the hood of your car. They’re a little concerned that you’re going soft, and that it’s a direct result of you spending too much time with your partner and her family.”

Lee rolled his eyes. “Great, as if my name isn’t being dragged through the water cooler gossip enough. Speaking of babysitters, Billy, any word on the team at Maplewood?”

“Actually, I have some good news on that front.” Billy walked over and leaned back against the edge of his desk. “We’re pulling the phone company van out, and Beaman’s arranging to have Maplewood Drive repaved a small section at a time. It should take them at least a week to finish. I don’t know why we didn’t think to do that in the first place.”

“Maplewood Drive has got to be the best maintained street in the entire neighborhood.” Lee chuckled as he sat down on the couch. “Heck, it’s probably the best-kept street in all of Arlington.” Stretching his legs out in front of him, he leaned back and linked his hands behind his head. “Okay, paving the street will definitely keep the neighbors from suspecting anything out of the ordinary, although they probably won’t be happy that the street is suddenly being worked on without any advanced warning.” He shrugged, and then looked at his boss, a curious expression on his face. “Since, it’s only crews working on major roadways that get away with working at night, our crew will be working during the day, right? So, where will the babysitters on the night shift be hiding?”

“That won’t be a problem. Haven’t you ever noticed the abandoned work vehicles on the side of the road when the road crews aren’t working?” Billy watched as his agent nodded. “Well, we’ll just leave a vehicle behind at night when the paving crew isn’t working. No one would suspect that there would actually be someone inside the vehicle, so we’ll still be able to keep Amanda’s house under surveillance.”

Lee removed his hands from behind his head and leaned forward. “Yeah, that should work. We can always curb any curious neighbors questions about the vehicle by reminding them of the same thing you just did: that road crews leave vehicles behind all the time.” He stood from the couch and started pacing. “You know, Billy, I’ve been thinking. Dotty’s mentioned several times in the past few days that the Cooperman house, the house I rented a couple of years ago, is still available. They haven’t had much success in renting the place, so maybe we can make them an offer to buy it. It would make a perfect safe house; besides, with Amanda’s family constantly needing to be watched, it’d save on resources and the need to come up with new things that Maplewood needs to have done.”

Billy raised an eyebrow, considering the idea. “Hmm… that idea has merit, a lot of merit. But what about the famous welcome wagon that Amanda’s always talking about?”

Lee stopped in front of the window to the bullpen and, turning to look back towards his boss, leaned his back against it. “We furnish the house so that it looks lived in, so that any nosey neighbors who decide to peak through the windows don’t grow suspicious. No one has to actually live there. We just arrange to have a landscaping service come once or twice a month to maintain the yard, which we do at all our other safe houses, anyway. Then, to make everyone happy, we have Amanda and Dotty mention to some of the neighbors that they were the welcome wagon. They can make up some cover story. Perhaps the new owners are a newly married couple, which would explain whey there aren’t any children around, and that they both have jobs that keep them traveling, which would explain why no one sees them very often. Then, if we need to keep watch over Amanda’s family, the occupants are home.”

“Hmm. Not bad, not bad at all. I’ll have someone in scenarios do some research and contact the Coopermans, see if they’d be willing to sell.” Billy pushed off his desk and began walking around to the other side. Reaching his chair, he sat down and fixed his best agent with a questioning stare. “Speaking of Amanda’s mother, do you want to explain to me exactly how she found out about your association with the Agency?” He put a hand up when he saw Lee begin to open his mouth and protest. “Don’t try and deny the truth, Scarecrow. I’ve grown accustomed to deciphering Amanda-speak, maybe not as well as you have but well enough, and it’s obvious from my brief conversation with Mrs. West last night that Amanda’s interesting conversation habits run in the family. Based on Mrs. West’s comments about Harry Barrigan, I came to the conclusion that she knows the truth about your jobs. Do you want to explain to me how she found out, and exactly how much she knows?”

Clearing his throat, Lee pulled on his collar and looked at his boss sheepishly. “It’s kind of a long story.” He pushed away from the window and moved over to the chairs in front of his section chief’s desk. Sighing, he sat down in the chair closest to the window. “But the long and short of it is that Dotty overheard a conversation between Amanda and her ex-husband. I’m sure you’ve read the Maplewood team’s daily log report from Friday that Joe stopped by the house.” He stopped and slapped his hand against his leg. “Why didn’t we think to check Friday’s logs? We would have found out when Dotty left, then again, we weren’t really concerned with when she left, just the why.” He muttered to himself.

Billy cleared his throat. “Do you care to explain any of that to me? Maybe your fellow agents are right, you have been spending too much time with Amanda. You’re starting to pick up some of her quirks, except when Amanda goes off on a tangent, it usually has some bearing on something we’re working on. We may not always be able to decipher what she’s saying but it’s usually relevant. What you just said made absolutely no sense, whatsoever.”

Lee chuckled and smiled good-naturedly. “Sorry about that, Billy. You see, when we got home after school on Friday, we found out that Dotty had taken an impromptu trip. Amanda had been suspicious about her mother’s sudden disappearance, but we didn’t have any real reason to suspect that Dotty left for any reason other than to spend the weekend with one of her gentleman friends. Well Dotty returned home Sunday, while Amanda was out running an errand with Phillip and, well I guess you could say, she cornered me. She demanded to know what type of career I had gotten her daughter into. She apparently had discovered quite a bit from Amanda’s conversation with Joe, and had a ton of questions. I tell you, Billy, the KGB has nothing on the interrogation skills of Amanda’s mother.”

Billy shook his head and laughed. “She must be good, because I know it takes a lot to make you crack, Scarecrow.” He leaned back and folded his arms across his chest. “So what did you tell her?”

“I answered as many of her questions as I could without giving away any secrets relating to national security.” Lee ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “She knows that I.F.F. is really a cover for the Agency. She knows how long Amanda’s been associated with the Agency, and she knows that Sydney isn’t just a houseguest.” He caught the raise of his boss’ eyebrows and shook his head. “Don’t worry, all she knows is that Jack was concerned for Sydney’s safety, and that’s all. We explained to Dotty that we couldn’t tell her anything more than that. I’ll tell you what though, now that Dotty knows the truth, it’s become very interesting. She’s putting a lot of pieces together, trying to make sense out of all of Amanda’s strange behavior since she started working here.”

Billy nodded in understanding. “I guess that’s where the conversation from last night came from. She finally made the connection between Amanda and me.”

Lee nodded and laughed. “And that’s not all; you know what they say about women never forgetting, let me tell you Dotty West is living proof of that fact. Last night, after getting the boys and Sydney down for bed, we came downstairs to find Dotty staring at a painting in the den. When we asked her what she found so fascinating, she responded by asking me if I would have actually shot that man in front of everyone in the audience. Once we asked her what she was talking about, she explained that she had taken the boys to the opening night performance of ‘Parisian Intrigue’, you remember that totally absurd play by Tony Martinet.” He watched as Billy nodded. “Well apparently Dotty and the boys had helped Amanda rehearse, so she knew our little performance wasn’t part of the show. She did say it was the highlight of the play, though. Anyway, she remembered Amanda running on stage yelling something about the Gestapo after Krutiov tried to get the cassette, and how I ran on stage with a gun in my hand. I assured her that I would only have used deadly force if someone’s life had been in danger.”

Lee let out a little chuckle. “She commented that she was somewhat relieved to find out that Amanda’s role in that play had actually been a cover because she couldn’t understand why anyone would willingly be in a play that made absolutely no sense. Amanda was quite offended by that comment, and wasn’t thrilled that I agreed with Dotty, either.” Catching the curious glance his boss was giving him, he shrugged. “Billy you read that play, it wasn’t until we found out about Krutiov’s involvement that the fact that it even got produced made any sense. You know how Amanda puts her heart and soul into everything she does. Anyhow, Amanda tried to convince Dotty that even though it had started out as part of a case, she had been excited about being in the play. She went so far as to remind both Dotty and myself about her brief acting career in college.”

“Sounds like you have your hands full.” Billy laughed heartily. “I know from the few encounters I’ve had with Amanda’s mother, that Mrs. West can be quite a handful.”

“You have no idea.” Lee shook his head slowly. “Last night’s revelation wasn’t the only thing she suddenly remembered, and we know it won’t be the last.” His thoughts drifted back to the conversation from this morning. “At least she waits until the kids aren’t around to spring her comments on us.”

Billy chuckled, and then put on a serious face, pretending to be pondering an idea. “You know, if Dotty West can get you to divulge secrets related to national security, and I’m not just referring to her sudden memory of things that happened in the past. Face it, the fact that you and Amanda are secret government agents is, in my book, something that shouldn’t be broadcast to the world, maybe we should hire her to work down in Interrogation.”

Lee’s eyes grew wide, and he studied his boss’ face, trying to discover whether his friend was joking or not. “Although I suggested the same thing to Amanda, jokingly of course, I hope you’re only trying to be amusing. If you were even slightly serious, Amanda would wring our necks. Besides, as I told Amanda, one West woman working for the Agency is more than enough.”

A smile spread across Billy’s face and he let out a belly laugh. “Relax Scarecrow, I’m only kidding. We were lucky enough to get Amanda cleared and given permission to go through all of the Agency training considering the fact that she wasn’t someone we normally recruit. I realized from our first encounter with Amanda that she’s got great instincts and was just what you needed, so I pushed her through. Face it Scarecrow, before Amanda came into your life, you were a loose cannon, living on the edge with no one but yourself to look after. Now you’re a better agent and you don’t give me as many gray hairs as you used to.”

“Gee thanks.” Lee rolled his eyes, and then smiled. “You’re right, though. A few years ago, I’d be denying it up and down, and telling you that you were crazy. But not anymore; I wouldn’t change my life as it is now for anything in the world.”

“Glad to hear it. But I don’t think you or Amanda have anything to worry about; other than Mrs. West’s ability to get you to talk, which probably had more to do with the fact that she’s Amanda’s mother, I don’t think Mrs. West would really fit into to the Agency as well as her daughter does. Then again Amanda, didn’t have the usual qualities we look for in an Agency candidate, and look how well that turned out, she’s been an incredible asset to this organization, and to you, so who knows…” A thoughtful grin spread across his face.

“Billy…” Lee drew out his friend’s name. Then, noticing the time on the clock behind the desk, he decided it was time to get back down to business. “I think we’ve discussed Amanda’s mother enough for one day, don’t you? Besides, I don’t want to leave Amanda alone at the school for very long, especially with the possibility that the KGB might show up at anytime. Were you able to find out anything about this kid that’s going to be at the tournament and if his protectors are going to be KGB or not?”

Billy reached over and picked up a folder from his desk. Nodding, he handed it to Lee. “Yeah, and you’re not going to like what I found out. The champion that the winner of the tournament gets to play is a ten-year-old boy named Aleksandr Molinkof. He’s going to be traveling throughout the United States playing in one tournament after another, and the one at the middle school is his first stop. Since he’s Russia’s newest pride and joy, they’ve assigned their best agents to protect him.”

Lee opened the folder he had just taken from his section chief, and started scanning the contents within it. His eyes grew wide as he saw the names of the agents assigned to Aleksandr, and he jumped to his feet. “You’ve got to be kidding me. The Magician?” He threw the folder back down on the desk and ran a hand through his hair. “Could our luck get any worse? The one KGB agent who could very well recognize Sydney, and we put her right in his path. We sure as hell can’t pull her out of school now without raising all sorts of suspicion.” He started pacing back and forth between the chair and the window. “Damn! Why couldn’t we have known all of this earlier? We could have told Sydney that the school wouldn’t let her visit. Now we really have to come up with a good excuse as to why she can’t attend the tournament.” He stopped when he reached the chair for the third time and looked towards his boss. “Even if we manage to keep Sydney away, I think it would be a good idea to get a few more agents inside the school, ironically the tournament can provide a good cover. Can you arrange to have a few agents attend as spectators?”

Billy nodded. “That’s a great idea, Scarecrow. The team at the school already reported seeing a few flyers advertising the event posted around the school, so it shouldn’t be a problem to have a few of our people walk in off the street. I already put a team at the Embassy, they’ll follow Aleksandr and his bodyguards to the school, and we’ll buzz you when we know he’s in the building.”

“Good. Once we know he’s in the building we’ll find a way to keep a closer eye on Sydney.” Lee moved away from the desk and started pacing again. “Maybe Amanda can come up with a reason to shadow Sydney and Jamie to each of their classes. And with a few agents actually keeping an eye on the Magician, we may get very lucky. However, since the tournament is going to last for three days, we’re going to have to do some fancy footwork to keep the Magician from accidentally crossing paths with Sydney.”

“Scarecrow, sit down or find a place to stand because you’re making me dizzy.” Billy leaned forward in his chair and stared at his agent. “Besides, they just replaced the carpet in here last week, and I don’t need you wearing a hole in it so soon.”

Lee stopped his pacing, and placed his hands on the back of the chair he had vacated a few minutes before. “Sorry Billy, bad habit.” He let out a deep sigh and looked intently at his boss. “Do you ever feel like we’re pawns in someone’s game, and right now he’s laughing at us because he’s cornered our king, and we have to figure out our next move in order to secure the king’s safety once again?”

Billy let out a low chuckle. “I think you’ve got chess on the brain, Scarecrow.”

“Okay, so maybe that explanation was a little to chess-oriented, but think about it, Billy, doesn't it seem just a little too coincidental that the Magician is going to be at the same school where Sydney Bristow is? Children are supposed to be safe at school, aren’t they?” Lee let out an exasperated breath.

“Yes, they are, and we’re doing everything we can to make sure Sydney stays safe. And although it does seem very coincidental,” Billy shrugged as he looked at his agent, “that’s all it is, Scarecrow, a coincidence. Don’t go reading any conspiracy theories into this.”

Lee ran a hand through his hair. “I know. I know. Especially since Jack’s too cautious a man to put his daughter deliberately into a potentially dangerous situation. He brought Sydney here because he figured she’d be safer three-thousand miles away from home.” He let out a sarcastic laugh. “Little did he know…”

“The best laid plans of mice and men…” Billy rose from his seat and smiled. “Anyway, to get back on track, since I don’t want to keep you away from the school for too much longer, I thought you’d like to know that, before you suggested the tournament angle, I had already made arrangements for someone else to be present at the school, to serve as extra on-sight backup for you.”

Lee tilted his head and looked curiously at his boss. “Really? Who?”

Moving around his desk, Billy walked over to the door and opened it. “Desmond! My office now!” Leaving the door ajar, he headed back over to his desk.

“Billy, what are you up to?” Lee eyed his boss suspiciously. He’d only been joking when he made his suggestion about Francine to Billy on the phone last night.

“I took you up on your advice. She’s the perfect candidate, especially since she’s trained dozens of recruits at Station One, and she knows about Sydney.” Billy grinned as he leaned back against his desk.

Lee watched as his friend walked through the bullpen in their direction. “You’re not going to tell her it was my idea,” he turned to look at his boss, “are you?”

“Only if she threatens retribution.” Billy laughed, as Francine entered and shut the door behind her.

“What did you do now, Stetson? Billy was in a good mood before you got here.” Francine looked Lee up and down. “Nice outfit, is that what passes for casual in the suburbs?”

Lee self-consciously glanced down at his attire, and then back up at his friend. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing? I’ve worn jeans to the office before.”

Francine shook her head. “It’s not the jeans, it’s the flannel shirt. In all the years I’ve known you, you’ve never worn flannel, and to make matters worse, it’s checkered. Amanda’s lack of fashion sense is starting to rub off on you.”

Billy cleared his throat. “Before this gets out of hand, I called you in here Francine because I need to give you an assignment.”

“Oh, come on, Billy.” Francine groaned. “Don’t you think you’ve given me enough to do? Between assisting you and running the Q-Bureau,” she glared briefly in Lee’s direction, “I barely have enough time to have a social life. Now you want to throw an actual assignment on top of that. Goodbye life.”

“That’s enough, Francine.” Billy growled and put a hand up to stop any further comments form his assistant. “I’ll admit that you’ve had a lot on your plate lately, but I thought you could handle it; obviously I was wrong. Therefore, while you’re out on assignment I’ll arrange for someone in the steno pool to take over your assistant duties. As far as the Q-Bureau goes, I’ll talk to Beaman and get him to assign one of his junior agents up there temporarily. The situation with Sydney has gotten more complicated and I need you on this, or would you rather take a two week vacation?” As his assistant’s face brightened, he added. “Unpaid of course.”

Francine’s shoulders slumped in resignation, and she let out a long drawn out sigh. “No, I’ll take the assignment, but if you could get someone from steno to handle some of your paperwork that would make my life a little easier; and you don’t need to have Beaman assign someone to the Q-Bureau.” She looked in Lee’s direction. “I don’t need Beaman owing me any favors.” Turning her attention back on her boss, she asked, “So what do you need me to do, hang around Sydney and teach her proper fashion etiquette?” She glanced at Lee’s shirt again and chuckled.

“No, Francine, Amanda and I are doing just fine with Sydney. Billy’s assignment for you is something that’s right up your alley.” Lee grinned from ear to ear as he turned his attention on his boss.

“Lee’s right. I need you to change into your Station One outfit and head over to Arlington Middle School.” Billy tried to keep the humor out of his voice at Francine’s curious glance. “You’re to report to the gym, you’ve just been hired as the new assistant gym teacher.”

Francine’s mouth dropped open and she glared at Billy, then turning slightly, she pointed a finger at her co-worker. “You had something to do with this, didn’t you?” Her face took on a reddish hue as Lee shrugged and appeared to be trying very hard not to laugh. She then turned back to her boss. “Come on, Billy. Isn’t there someone else you can send? Haven’t I put up with enough torture this past week? Being an instructor at Station One isn’t exactly ideal, but it’s better than being ogled by a bunch of adolescent teenage boys.”

Billy shook his head. “Sorry, Francine, but there is no one else. With the exception of Amanda and Dr. Smyth, no one outside this room knows about Sydney. The Magician is going to be chaperoning the Russian prodigy at the chess tournament and we need all the backup we can get inside the school, without attracting a lot of attention.”

Francine rolled her eyes. “Fine, but I don’t have to like it.” She turned on her heels and headed towards the door. As she opened it, she turned back and glared at Lee. “You better watch your back Stetson, I will get even with you for this.” Not giving her co-worker a chance to respond, she exited out of the office and slammed the door shut behind her.

Lee stared at the now closed door. “Guess Amanda was right. I have a feeling I’m going to live to regret this one.” He then turned back to look at his boss, who was no longer holding his laughter in. “Have a good laugh, Billy because I have a feeling she’ll find away to get even with you, too.”

Billy wiped a tear of joy from his eye. “You’re probably right, and I feel a little guilty doing that to her, but boy will it be worth it in the end.”

Lee smiled and shaking his head slightly, let out a chuckle. “I know.” Glancing down at his watch, he realized he had spent way too much time in his boss’ office. “I should probably get going. I need to bring Amanda up to speed on all of this and make arrangements for something exciting to do after school today that will keep both Sydney and Jamie’s minds off of the tournament.” He turned to head out of the office. “Oh, has the team at the middle school been briefed on the Magician yet, or do you need me to do that?”

Billy shook his head. “I took care of it already, I had them meet here extra early this morning and filled them in before they headed over to the school.”

“Great.” Lee nodded at his boss. “Oh, one more thing, have you heard anything from the CIA about Jack?”

“They said he’s making his check-ins, and when I asked if he was on a contact zero assignment, they said he wasn’t.” Billy walked behind his desk. “So I have no idea why he hasn’t called his daughter or even checked in with us to make sure everything’s still quiet. The man’s a mystery.”

“You can say that again.” Lee headed for the door. “Keep in touch if you find out anything new and I’ll try and check in with the teams as much as I can without arousing too much suspicion. If anything urgent happens Amanda and I have our vibrators.” He chuckled. “Leatherneck really could have come up with a better name for these things.” He pointed to the device clipped to his belt.

Billy shrugged his shoulders and sat down in his chair. “Oh, Scarecrow, before you leave, I’m curious about one thing. And this is completely off the record, but did any of your inquiries into Project Christmas pay off?”

Lee kept his face neutral as he put his hand on the doorknob. “Maybe they have, and maybe they haven’t. I’m pleading the fifth.” He shook his head as he saw his boss open his mouth to comment. “Billy, even though you’re asking off the record, I wouldn’t tell you because I don’t want to put you in a position where you’d have to choose between our friendship and doing your job. I really need to get going. I’ll check-in with you later.” Turning the doorknob, he walked out into the bullpen.

Billy shook his head and smiled. He knew Lee Stetson well enough to know that the young man would stop at nothing to get to the bottom of something. Lee’s evasiveness just now had confirmed his suspicions. His top agent had indeed uncovered information on Jack’s secret project.

As he watched his best agent head out of the bullpen, Billy sighed and moved back around his desk. Sitting down in his chair, he picked up a folder from his inbox and wondered, once again, what could be so important about Project Christmas that a twelve-year-old girl might be the key. Sighing, he realized that he’d just have to wait until this whole affair was over before he could get Scarecrow to spill the beans, and Scarecrow would indeed be briefing him on his findings about Project Christmas when all was said and done. Dotty West may be able to give the KGB a run for their money, but he had known the brash young agent a lot longer than she had; and if his friend refused to crack, well he still had a few cards up his sleeve that might do the trick. Opening the file in front of him, he decided to try and get through some of the other issues awaiting his attention before all hell broke loose, and with the way the deck was currently stacked, disaster was definitely in the cards.

Chapter Eleven

Monday Afternoon, September 21st

Amanda placed the book in the bag, and smiled as she handed the package to the woman in front of her. “Your daughter is going to love that book. Little Women was one of my favorites when I was growing up.” She gave a small wave as the woman nodded her agreement and turned to walk a way.

Amanda scanned the crowd trying to catch a glimpse of her husband. However, instead of catching sight of Lee, she caught sight of two very familiar youngsters approaching her table. “Jamie, Sydney, why aren’t you on your way to class?” She glanced down at her watch. “Oh, I didn’t realize what time it was.”

“Yep, it’s lunch time. We were on our way to the cafeteria and thought we’d stop by and see how your conversation with Principal Dennis went.” Jamie looked around at the other tables. “Mom, where’s Lee? Don’t tell me he actually found a way to weasel out of helping you with the book sale?” Suddenly he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders.

“Nope, I’m right here, Champ.” Lee smiled as Jamie turned his head around to look at him. He then glanced at his wife over the top of his stepson’s head. “Sorry, my meeting ran a little longer than expected, then, because I knew it’d be close to lunchtime when I got back, I stopped by the deli near the office and picked us up a couple of sandwiches.”

“That was good thinking. I’ve been so busy here at the sale that I didn’t realize how late it was, and I am getting hungry.” She turned towards Jamie and Sydney. “Shouldn’t you two be heading to the cafeteria?”

Jamie shrugged. “Yeah, and we will, but we’re dying to know what you found out from your meeting this morning.”

Lee put an arm around Jamie’s shoulders and another around Sydney’s. “I’ve got a surprise for you two. How would you like to go to the Oriole’s game this evening?” He looked over at the young girl beside him. “They’re playing the L.A. Dodgers, and the tickets are behind home plate.”

Both Jamie and Sydney turned their heads to look at each other then at Lee, their eyes wide with excitement.

Jamie practically jumped where he was standing. “Home plate? Really?”

“And they’re playing the Dodgers?” Sydney’s voice was almost as excited as her friend’s.

Lee nodded enthusiastically, as he caught Amanda’s eye. “I realize that I haven’t cleared it with your mom yet,” he looked over at Jamie, “but a friend of mine called me as I was on the way over and offered them to me.” He looked back towards his wife. “He has six tickets for seats three rows behind home plate, I just couldn’t pass them up.” He winked at her, hoping she’d get the hint.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea.” Amanda nodded. “What time do we need to be there?” She had been hoping to put off answering Jamie’s question until she could talk to Lee about everything, and it seemed that her husband had come up with the perfect diversion.

“Well, I have a buddy who works at Camden Yards, and if we get there early enough, we might be able to meet some of the players during batting practice. So, I’d say we probably want to leave here as soon as school gets out, get over and pick up Phillip from football practice, and then head on over to Baltimore.” Lee squeezed Jamie’s shoulder. “The sooner we leave, the less traffic we’ll run into.”

“My dad is going to be so jealous.” Sydney’s face beamed. “He loves the Dodgers.” Then as she realized that she was getting to do something her father would probably never get a chance to do, since he was always so busy, her excitement turned to guilt. Stepping away from Lee, she moved over and began inspecting the books. Her eyes fell on a set of Nancy Drew Mysteries. Picking one up, she began running her finger over the well-worn cover.

“I loved reading those when I was your age. I used to pretend that I was Nancy Drew, solving cases and helping to catch the bad guys. I used to tell my mother that I wanted to be a detective when I grew up.” Amanda glanced briefly at her husband and smiled when she caught him looking at her, one eyebrow raised knowingly.

Sydney smiled as she glanced up at Amanda. “I’ve read a few myself. I love how she stumbles on to the crime and ends up getting involved. I guess it helps that her dad is connected to the law somehow, and for some reason, I can’t remember how.”

“I thought you said you had a memory like an elephant.” Jamie looked up from the comic books he was scanning through, and smiled teasingly at his friend.

Sydney shrugged. “Hey nobody’s perfect.” She scrunched up her nose and then stuck out her tongue at Jamie.

Lee moved over and was now standing next to Sydney. “Stumbles onto crimes, huh. Did Nancy happen to witness any murders that no one else saw but her? Perhaps she reported the crime but the cops couldn’t find a body or the victim’s car, or any trace of the suspect’s car that she just happened to see leaving the scene of the crime; even though Nancy wrote down the license plate number?” He chuckled when he caught the glare his wife was giving him.

Sydney nodded and looked at Lee. “I think I do remember one like that, I can’t remember the name of it though. Did you read these too?”

Lee shook his head. “Definitely not my type of book, but I’ve seen enough detective shows to know that some of the plots get used over and over again.”

Amanda kept her glare even and trained on her husband. “I wonder if they get some of the stories from real life police reports.” She then moved her attention back to Sydney. “You know, I may have a few of those in the attic at home. How about tomorrow after school, you and I can go through some of the boxes of my old books and see if I have any that you haven’t read, and would be interested in reading.”

“That’d be great.” Sydney smiled and then moved her hand to her stomach as it let out a tiny growl.

Amanda glanced down at her watch and looked back at Sydney and Jamie. “I think its time you two headed over to get some lunch, before lunch time is over.”

Sydney nodded and put the book down. “Where should we meet you, so that we can get to the game on time?”

Lee glanced first to Sydney and then to his stepson. “Meet us back here as soon as your last class is over.” He then looked directly at Amanda. “Do we have to help clean up here, or can we sneak out as soon as school lets out?”

Amanda understood the subtle meaning behind his question, and subtly nodded her head. “I think I can get Mrs. Thompson to let us out of any after school responsibilities.” Then looking at Jamie. “No dawdling after class, we’ll expect you right after the last bell rings, okay? Especially if you want to meet the players.”

Jamie linked his arm through Sydney’s. “We’ll be here, you can count on it.” He called out, before turning to his friend and starting a debate on which was the better team.

“That was very clever planning. What made you think of the baseball game?” Amanda eyed her husband curiously. “Last minute tickets must have cost you a fortune.”

Lee walked around the table and placed a quick kiss on her lips. “Actually, it didn’t cost me anything. The buddy I mentioned owed me a big favor. I helped him out with a situation a little while back, so I gave him a call. I know how much the boys love baseball, and when he told me that the O’s were playing the Dodgers, I knew it was an opportunity that we couldn’t pass up. What could be better than getting to watch her favorite team to get Sydney’s mind off of the tournament?”

Amanda leaned over and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. “I’m so glad you got here when you did. I didn’t know what to tell them.” Glancing around, she took note of the lack of customers. “How about we head outside and find a place to eat lunch so that we can fill each other in on our meetings.”

Lee started to nod when someone caught his eye. “That sounds like a great plan, how about I meet you out there.” He motioned his head in the direction of the intrusion.

Amanda immediately brought her hand to her mouth to hide the giggle that wanted to erupt. “You didn’t.” She shook her head slightly. “You know she’s going to find a very slow and painful way to kill you for this, right?”

“I know, but like Billy told her, there are only three others besides you and I that know about Sydney, and Dr. Smyth would not make a good gym teacher.” Lee took his keys out of his pocket and handed them to her. “The sandwiches are out in the car. I’ll meet you out front as soon as I find out what she so urgently needs to speak to me about.”

Amanda accepted the keys. “Okay. Why don’t I try and convince her to come over here and talk to you, make it look like she wants to buy a book, otherwise we have no way to explain you talking to her, and you know how these PTA mothers love to talk.”

“Good idea.” Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, Lee playfully swatted her rear. “Go on, the sooner you get her over here, the sooner we can have lunch. We have a lot to discuss.”

Amanda smiled back at him briefly, before heading over towards Francine. As she got closer to their co-worker, a group of four boys passed by, all of them drooling as they looked in the blonde’s direction. She chuckled as she heard one of them comment about how lucky they were to have a ‘babe like that’ as a gym teacher. “I’m sorry about this Francine,” she whispered as she approached her friend. “I want you to know that I had nothing to do with this.”

Francine narrowed her eyes in Lee’s direction. “Trust me, I’m fully aware of whose idea this was: Billy and Lee’s. Speaking of whom, why did he send you over here when I was trying to get his attention?”

“I thought it might be a good idea if you went over and pretended to be buying a book. You know to try and maintain your covers.” Amanda made a sweeping gesture with her hands, making it look like she was trying to make a sale.

“Ah, good idea. You really are getting the hang of this agent business, Amanda.” Francine whispered as she patted the brunette on the shoulder. “Thanks for the advice.” She then headed over to the table Lee was standing behind.

Amanda shook her head as she watched Francine walk away. She hoped that their friend didn’t keep Lee too long; not only was she was hungry, but she was extremely anxious to find out what Mr. Melrose had told him. Hopefully there was some news about Jack. It still worried her that he hadn’t called. Sighing, she walked over to the head table to let Mrs. Thompson know where they’d be for the next hour, in case they were needed.

Lee nodded at his fellow agent as she bent over his table and picked up a book on cooking. “Interesting choice of books, Francine.”

Francine glared at him. “I don’t think you are in any position to be making any snide remarks, Stetson.”

Lee gave her one of his most charming smiles. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Now do you want to tell me what’s so important that you need to talk to me here?”

“It’s about your cover, Lee.”

Lee looked at her with a mixture of curiosity and worry. “What about my cover? Smyth’s not yanking me is he?” He whispered through clenched teeth. “Because if he even thinks of pulling me off of this case, I’ll make his life a living hell.”

Francine shook her head. “Oh, no, nothing like that.”

“Well then what is it, because I really don’t have time for any of your games, Francine?” Lee tapped his foot impatiently. “I still have to touch base with Amanda. There are quite a few things that she really needs to know about.”

“Look, I ran into Jones this morning after stopping by Leatherneck’s to pick up my vibrator.” Francine pointed to the device clipped to her pocket and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah I know. Anyway, Jones had just come off of his shift, he’s on the team stationed on Maplewood, and he told me that he thinks you may be taking this assignment a little too seriously. When I asked him why, he asked me what your cover on this assignment really was, because he saw you kiss Amanda goodbye this morning, right before you drove off with her son.” She lowered her voice to just above a whisper. “Don’t worry I told Jones that due to a threat to Amanda’s family you’re staying there pretending to be her boyfriend, no mention of Sydney. But for my own sanity, please tell me that the kiss he saw was just you maintaining your cover, because I don’t know if I could handle it if the two of you were involved again. It’s bad enough that she’s affected your sense of fashion, but I’d hate to think that you really believe you’re a member of the family.”

Lee gave her a devilish grin. “You never know, Francine, miracles have been known to happen. And would it really be so terrible if it were true?”

Francine unceremoniously dropped the book she was holding back on the table, and put her hands on her hips. “Don’t even joke about that, Stetson. Isn’t it bad enough that you got Billy to agree to stick me here, teaching a bunch of drooling adolescent boys how to spike a ball over the net, all the while getting death stares from the girls. I think I’d rather date Jeff from the morgue than have to spend another minute in that gym. So now that you’ve had your fun, you can drop the act. You’re just not the ‘normal’ type.”

“Maybe I’ve changed, Francine. And besides, who you wish to date is really none of my concern.” Lee glanced around hoping that none of the other PTA mothers were paying attention to their conversation. He silently cringed when he noticed a few of them were curiously looking in his direction and decided it was time to end this discussion. “Well, Ms. Desmond if you don’t plan on buying anything, I’m going to go find my girlfriend, we have lunch plans,” he said in a voice a little louder than normal.

Lee chuckled to himself as Francine huffed off muttering curses at him under her breath. He knew that she was adding that to her long list of things to get even with him for, but he didn’t care, it had been worth it. Walking around the table, he headed in the direction his wife had gone a few minutes before. As he passed some of the other tables, he received approving nods from the mothers who had been scrutinizing him. Oh yes, it had been extremely worth it. Not only had he managed to throw Francine for a loop, but he also managed to look good in the eyes of these women; women who could make Amanda’s life unbearable if she had to listen to stories about the wandering eyes of her boyfriend. He would repeat that performance over and over if it would prove to every woman in the world that he only had eyes for Amanda.

As he followed the hallway towards the front of the school, he wondered what Francine’s reaction would be when she found out that, not only did he want to be a member of Amanda’s family, but he already was, and had been for the last seven months. He hoped that his friend would be happy for him, and for Amanda, once they finally came clean, but after her little scene, he wasn’t so sure. He began to wonder what it was about him settling down that really bothered Francine. Was she afraid that he wouldn’t stay in it for the long haul, and that in the end he’d end up hurting Amanda?

Suddenly a light bulb went on. Lee had to smile as he realized the hidden messages behind his friend’s sarcastic comments and snide remarks. Francine was afraid that he would end up hurting Amanda, not unlike Francine had been hurt by Jonathan, not once, but twice. In her own way, she was looking out for Amanda. He had heard the tail end of the warning she had given his wife during the whole Raymond Piralta-T.P. mess. She had pretty much told Amanda that he wasn’t the type to commit. Even though Amanda had given him a brief synopsis of what was said, he had actually been standing outside the door eavesdropping and had heard Francine tell her that he was a confirmed bachelor at heart who would never be satisfied with just an hors d'oeuvre, that he had to have the whole buffet. Amanda had, of course, known the truth, especially since she had proof of that, even if her engagement ring had spent more time in a box in his apartment then on her finger.

Lee shook his head at the fact that Francine couldn’t have been more wrong about him. She had been referring to the old Lee, the Lee Stetson who had a reputation of dating a lot of women, a new flavor of the week as they were referred to. The old Lee didn’t want a steady girlfriend, he was too busy bouncing around from place to place for some case. His life had been too hectic back then for anything permanent. Sure he had four black books, but it wasn’t like he used these women, he just needed variety, and back then he’d had no desire to rely on anyone but himself.

It wasn’t until Amanda had come into his life and showed him what he was missing that he realized what he’d really been doing with all those women he’d put into those little black books; he’d been searching for something. He’d been searching for a place where he belonged, where he felt loved, and when he finally opened his eyes, he realized it had been right in front of him, in the body and soul of Amanda. Reaching the front doors of the school, he exited and scanned the area looking for his reason for being. He spotted her instantly, sitting on a stone bench and swinging her legs. He quickened his pace as he headed in her direction.

Amanda smiled as Lee approached the bench. “Hey, handsome,” She scooted over to make room for him. “I was going to give you five more minutes, before I started to eat without you.”

Lee sat down beside her. “I’m very tempted to kiss you right now, but I think the rumor mills have enough to talk about already.”

Amanda handed him a sandwich and a drink. She caught the curious raise of his eyebrows as he took the cup. “You only mentioned sandwiches, so I stopped in the cafeteria on the way out here.” Unwrapping her own sandwich, she looked at him. “What did you mean about the rumor mills?”

Lee sighed and let his gaze fall on Fred Fielder’s team working diligently on the street. “That’s what Francine so desperately wanted to talk to me about. Apparently Jones saw me kiss you goodbye this morning. So, we basically gave the water cooler gossips something to really talk about.” When he heard her sigh, and saw her shake her head slowly, he put down his drink and rubbed her shoulder affectionately. “Well, even though our reputation at work is being dragged through the gutter, at least I salvaged my reputation here, the PTA mothers think I’m a very loyal boyfriend.”

Amanda looked at him curiously. “What did you do?” She asked as she took a bite of her sandwich.

“Well while I was talking to Francine, I noticed a few of them giving me questioning glances. I guess they were thinking that I might be interested in her.” Lee chuckled good-naturedly. “So after she finished lecturing me on not getting too caught up in my cover, I told her, in a very loud voice, that I was going to go find my girlfriend.”

Amanda closed her eyes and laughed. “Oh, I bet that got Francine good and annoyed. I guess she’s going to give me another lecture about watching out for my heart where you’re concerned, since she obviously won’t get anywhere talking to you.” She sighed. “I’ll be very glad when this is all over and we’ve come clean with everyone. We can finally put an end to the rumors, and stop hiding our true feelings for each other.”

“Amen to that.” Lee took a sip of his drink. “You know, I think I know why Francine’s so against our relationship.”

“Oh, really?” Amanda eyed her husband skeptically. “This should be interesting.”

Lee put a hand over his heart. “Oh, I’m hurt.” He then gave her a look of mock annoyance. “You think you’re the only one who can analyze people?”

Chuckling, Amanda shook her head. “No, but if there’s anyone who is totally out of their element when it comes to reading people…”

Lee glared at his wife. “I think I’m qualified to read Francine, I’ve known her longer.” His features softened as he continued, “anyway, as I was saying, I think Francine’s afraid that I’m not in this for the long haul and that I’m going to get bored, just like I have in the past. She may not always show it, but in her own way she considers you a friend, and is afraid she’ll have to pick up the pieces when I dump you just like I dumped her.”

Amanda scrunched her face as she thought about his analysis. “Hmm…not bad for a beginner, but I don’t think you’re entirely right. Eight months ago, when she was lecturing us about our relationship, and we pretended to break up, I might have agreed with you. Now, however,” she turned to look at her husband, “I think it goes deeper than that. Francine’s not really worried about me anymore, she’s protecting herself.”

Lee looked at her curiously. “I’m afraid you’ve lost me now. Why would she want to protect herself, I’m with you, not with her.”

“Think about it, Lee. You’ve said it yourself a time or two before. This job makes you afraid to love, afraid to get close to anyone, afraid to rely on anyone else other than yourself.” She patted his arm affectionately. “You and Francine hooked up all those years ago because you were so much alike, and although Francine believed differently, you were in the relationship as a means of physical comfort, nothing more and that’s why you ended it, you didn’t want to lose a friend.”

Lee looked sheepishly at the ground and kicked at the dirt. “That’s true, but I was a different person back then.” He looked up into his wife’s loving gaze. “You know that, right?”

Amanda nodded and smiled endearingly at him. “Yes, love, I do. We’re married remember, and besides, I’m not talking about you, I’m talking about Francine. But you’re right, you have changed and that’s exactly my point. You allowed yourself to trust again and let someone break down your walls…you let me in.” She fought the urge to touch his cheek tenderly. “Francine's afraid to admit that you've changed, and if you can change, that would mean she could too. She's afraid of admitting that it's okay to love and trust someone. Especially after Jonathan burned her – twice.”

Lee took her hand in his. “I never thought to look at it that way. How is it you’re so good at figuring people out?” He smiled as his wife shrugged. “I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised, you’ve always been good around other people. It’s one of the things I love about you. I can’t wait to see the look on her face when we tell her that not only am I committed to you, but that I pledged to love, honor and cherish you for all the days of our lives.” He gently squeezed her hand and winked. “The look on her face will more than make up for her earlier comments. Do you know that she not only thinks that you’ve made me normal, but that you’ve corrupted my sense of fashion, apparently she doesn’t like the relaxed flannel look.”

Amanda relaxed and, letting out a laugh, rubbed his arm ever so gently. “Yeah, well four years ago you were worried about being caught dead wearing flannel.”

“First off, I never hated wearing flannel, I just didn’t want to be caught wearing Dan’s flannel, and it was plaid.” Lee huffed.

Amanda shook her head and laughed. “It was Dean’s, not Dan’s. I know you know his name, Lee.”

Lee waved her off. “Yeah, well, as I was saying, I didn’t want to be wearing someone else’s clothes, and I happen to like flannel, it’s warm and comfortable.” He took another bite of his sandwich.

Amanda lovingly wrapped an arm around his waist. “I happen to like you in flannel.” She moved her lips closer to his ear and whispered, “although, I think I like you better in your birthday suit.”

Lee let out a small groan. “If we didn’t have so many eyes watching us, I’d kiss you senseless right here and now, Mrs. Stetson.”

Amanda shivered slightly with anticipation. “I know you would.” She squeezed his side gently before removing her hand from his waist. “Now, before we let ourselves get too distracted, I believe we have a ton of things to discuss. You really are the knight in shining armor, you know. I really didn’t know what to tell Jamie and Sydney about the tournament. Principal Dennis said that it’s open to the public, which means that there’s no reason the students can’t go in and watch.”

Lee nodded. “I know, and even though on one hand it makes it a little more difficult to come up with ways to keep them away from the tournament, it also makes things a little easier, too. The fact that it’s open to the public actually works to our benefit.” He caught the curious expression on his wife’s face. “We’re having a few agents pose as spectators. What else did you find out?” He asked before taking another bite of his sandwich.

Amanda shifted slightly on the bench, and turned to face her husband. “Well, she did tell me that the arrangements for the guest player, Aleksandr Molinkof, were made weeks ago when they agreed to host the tournament. However, she said that she only found out Friday that he was going to be needing ‘mandatory bodyguards’ and that she wasn’t thrilled with the idea of the school having to let men with guns onto the premises. I was thinking of using that excuse with Jamie and Sydney, and I may still use that as an excuse, especially since the tournament continues through Wednesday, and you’ve only managed to take care of today. Otherwise we’ll have to come up with more fun and exciting after school activities to keep them away for the rest of the tournament.” She let out a sigh. “Although, it seems kind of hypocritical of me to tell them that they can’t be there because of men with guns, when they’re around you all day, and you’ve got a gun on you, even if they are unaware of that fact.”

Lee took her hand in his and gently squeezed it. “I know but nothing about this whole situation is easy, and that may be the best ploy we have to keep them away. Look, today’s taken care of; we’ll worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. Okay?”

Amanda nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. “So what did you find out from Billy? Did Jack call? Are Aleksandr’s bodyguards KGB?”

Lee shook his head and chuckled. “Now I know where you get it from. Your mother did the same thing to me yesterday. She fired question after question at me, she’s lucky I answered them all.”

“Don’t even mention my mother and her questions. At least you got to leave this morning. I had to handle the clean up from the Scarecrow issue. She may be putting on a happy face for the sake of the boys, but she hasn’t forgiven me for lying to her all this time.” Amanda shrugged. “I know it’s going to take her a while before she truly gets over being kept in the dark for so long. This morning’s revelation just proves that we’re really going to have to be on our toes. It also got me wondering about the kind of reactions we’re going to get from Phillip and Jamie.”

Lee looked at his wife and gave her a reassuring smile. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. It’s like you said yesterday, there’s going to be a period of adjustment, but we’ll get through it. Hopefully we’ll be able to convince them to be more forthcoming with their questions, and not just spring them on us.”

Amanda laughed softly. “I doubt it. Mother may be curious, but she’s got nothing on the boys. Now, no more diversions, what did Mr. Melrose find out about Aleksander Molinkof?”

Lee crumpled up his sandwich wrapper and shot it into a nearby garbage can. “Unfortunately he didn’t have good news for me. Turns out that because Aleksandr is the pride of Russia, they have one of their best assigned to him, and it just happens to be the Magician.” He looked over at his wife when he heard her gasp. “Yeah, I know, but even though we knew that he was in town, we had no idea why or where he’d turn up. None of our sources even indicated that he was here to protect a Russian prodigy. Look at it this way, at least now we know where he’s going to be and we’ll take every precaution we can.” He so desperately wanted to put his arms around his wife and let her know it would be okay, but he knew that he couldn’t, not with the Agency eyes watching things, so he settled with taking her hand back into his.

“Aside from arranging for Francine to be here, and placing a few other agents at the tournament, the team’s going to buzz us the minute they see the embassy car arrive. I talked to Fielder, and if something should go wrong, we’ll meet him at the main entrance.” Lee nodded in the direction of the doors with his head. “This way we can find out what’s going on and formulate a plan of action.” He gave her a reassuring smile when he saw the concern on his wife’s face. “It’s the only option we have. We can’t pull Sydney out of school without raising a whole lot of suspicion, so we just have to be extra cautious. Look, Billy suggested that one of us should follow them to and from class, and I think it’s a pretty good idea. We could take turns. I can follow them to one class, and you can take the next. If they spot me, I’ll just tell them I got lost.”

Amanda nodded. “And if they spot me, I can always tell them that I’m trying to track down a teacher for some reason or another.” She looked down at the ground. “I really hate this. All the lying…”

Lee reached over and put his finger under her chin, guiding her to look at him. “Hey, no one said this was going to be easy. We’ll make the best of it, just like we always do, and you’re not doing this alone. I’m right here with you.”

“I know.” Amanda gave him a small smile. “Did Mr. Melrose hear anything about Jack?”

Lee let out deep breath. “Yes and no. He found out from the CIA that he’s been making his check-ins, and that he’s not deep undercover.” He let go of her hand and ran it through his hair. “I tell you, Amanda, the next time I see him, it’s really going to take all my willpower not to beat him senseless.”

Amanda looked at him curiously. “Why? What else did Mr. Melrose say?”

“Billy didn’t say anything.” Lee turned to look at his wife. “Did you by chance hear any of my conversation with Sydney while we were playing chess, yesterday?”

Amanda shook her head. “No, I was too busy trying to outsmart my two boys at Monopoly. Why?”

Lee rubbed his forehead. “Well, after what Sydney mentioned to me, I’m thoroughly convinced that she was Jack’s test subject.” He watched his wife’s eyes grow wide, and her brow creased with concern. “Sydney asked me if I remembered much about what happened right after my parents died. When I asked her why, she told me that she felt like she was having memory lapses. The way she described it to me, I felt as if I was talking to one of the agents I mentioned to you the other night; the ones who had their memories reset after the war. I knew, without a doubt, that someone had reset her memory, and that someone had to be Jack.” He ran his hand through his hair again. “Amanda, the Russians don’t want to get their hands on Sydney because they want to break Jack; they want to get their hands on the first test subject. That’s the leak Jack is trying to uncover. He wants to find out who knows, and how they found out. And if he is anything like me, he’s not only trying to plug the leak, but he’s also trying to find a way to keep them from ever coming after Sydney.”

“Oooh, that man makes even me want to punch something!” Amanda jumped up from her seat. “When he does get back and if you manage to get your hands on him…don’t finish him off.” She looked him square in the eye, anger written on her face. “I want a crack at him first. I don’t understand how anyone can be that heartless. One thing’s for sure, Jack Bristow doesn’t deserve to be that sweet girl’s father.” She squinted her eyes and put her hands on her hips. “Wait a minute, if you came to this conclusion yesterday, why are you just telling me now?”

Lee looked up at his wife and shook his head. “I wanted to tell you yesterday, but other things came up, and I never got the chance.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to jump at you like that. This whole situation is just getting more and more complicated.” Amanda bent down and gathered up the rest of their trash. She took a few deep breaths before walking over to the nearby garbage can and threw the items inside. Turning back around, she saw that Lee had risen and was moving towards her. “I wish Jack would have been more honest with us from the start. Although, I don’t know what we would have done differently if he had, I’d still agree to take Sydney in, you know that.”

Lee stood next to her and put his hand at the small of her back. “I know, but at least we’d have known more of the puzzle rather than having to put the pieces together ourselves.” He looked down at his watch. “I guess we should head back inside. I want to make sure Jamie and Sydney are at their next class, and I want to be ready when the Magician does show up.” Walking towards the front of the school, he let his hand move up and down her back ever so slightly, just enough to comfort his wife without raising suspicion from the Agency babysitters. “Don’t worry, we’ve got plenty of backup if something should happen.” As he opened the door for her to enter, he wondered who he was trying to convince more, his wife or himself. No matter how hard he tried to be optimistic, he couldn’t help but feel like a black cloud was following them, waiting to rain on their parade.

SMK a SMK a SMK

Jamie tapped his pencil on the desk as he watched the second hand move around the clock for the third time. Turning his head, he couldn’t help but smile at how intent Sydney was on getting tomorrow’s homework done now, so that they could enjoy the game tonight. He knew he should be doing his own homework, and he was excited about the game, too, but he really wanted to check out the chess tournament, which had started half an hour ago. Glancing at their substitute teacher, an idea suddenly sprung to mind. Leaning over, he tapped Sydney’s shoulder.

Sydney looked over at her friend. “What’s up?” She noticed that he hadn’t written anything down on his homework and her expression turned to one of curiosity. Miss Downs had instructed them that Mrs. Severn hadn’t had a chance to leave any assignments before she left and that they should use this time as a study period. “You’re not having problems with the math assignment, are you?”

Jamie shook his head. “Nah, haven’t even started it.” He turned in his seat and motioned for Sydney to move her head a little nearer. Glancing quickly towards the substitute to make sure she wasn’t paying any attention to them, he smiled and leaned his head closer to Sydney’s. “I’ve got an idea,” he whispered. “My mom never said what the verdict on the tournament was, and now that we have the game tonight, we won’t be able to see anything till tomorrow. What if we head over there now?”

Sydney looked at him skeptically. “Um, how do you suppose we do that? Miss Downs may be a substitute, but she’s not going to just let us walk out of here.”

Jamie nodded and smiled. “I know, but I’ve go the perfect plan that will get us out of class with a pass and everything. That is, if you’re game.”

Sydney shrugged. “Let’s hear what your idea is, before I agree to anything.”

Jamie glanced briefly back towards the teacher and, satisfied that she was still preoccupied, he leaned in closer and put his hand to the side of his mouth as he whispered in Sydney’s ear. “If you pretend to have an upset stomach and need to go the nurse’s office, I’ll tell her that I have to go with you, since you’re sort of my responsibility.”

Sydney leaned back and eyed her friend cautiously. “I don’t know.”

Jamie kept his voice low. “Come on. What have we got to lose? I know you want to check out the tournament just as much as I do. Look, if we go now we can hang out at the tournament for the last half hour of school. We can sit in the back and leave as soon as the last bell rings, that way we can head over to meet my mom and Lee at the sale on time and they’ll never be the wiser.” He moved back into his own chair and looked at her pleadingly.

Tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear, Sydney sighed. “Okay, but if we get in trouble, I’m blaming it all on you.” Putting her hand over her stomach, she raised her hand.

Miss Downs looked up and saw the raised hand, then looked back down at the seating chart. “Yes, Sydney…isn’t it?”

Sydney nodded her head slowly. “I’m not feeling so good all of a sudden. I know it’s almost the end of the day, but I don’t know if I can last that long.”

Miss Downs rose from her seat and quickly approached the young girl. “You do look a little pale,” she commented, as she got closer. “Let me write you out a pass to the nurse’s office.”

Jamie reached over and touched the substitute’s arm. “Miss Downs, Sydney’s staying with us, and I should probably accompany her to the nurse’s office, especially since she doesn’t know where it is.” He smiled innocently at the teacher as she turned to look at him. “My mom would be awfully upset with me if there was something wrong with Sydney and I didn’t do everything I could to help her.”

Miss Downs looked at Jamie, a hint of uncertainty in her eyes, and then back at the young girl. “Do you think you can manage on your own Sydney?”

Sydney shook her head slightly “I think it might be better if Jamie came with me.” She clutched her stomach a little tighter and let out a small moan.

Miss Downs turned and nodded towards Jamie. “Okay, I’ll go write out the note. I guess you should pack up your books and hers, I’m guessing you won’t be back to class.” She headed back to her desk.

Jamie was trying hard to suppress the grin that was tugging at the corners of his mouth as he gathered his books. He then moved over and gathered Sydney’s keeping up the charade. He waited for Sydney to stand up before moving to the side and letting her pass. Following her, he made his way up to the desk at the front of the room.

“Here’s your pass. I’m not fully familiar with procedure here. Do I need to let the nurse know you’re coming?” Miss Downs looked directly at Jamie.

Jamie called on all his courage to keep from fidgeting. He knew that usually the nurse needed to be notified so he told a variation of the truth. “Normally, yes if the person were heading down by themselves, but since I’m going with Sydney, you don’t have to.” He silently prayed that Miss Downs would buy it.

Miss Downs handed the pass to Jamie. “Okay, I’ll take your word for it.” Then turning to Sydney, she gave a concerned smile. “I hope you feel better soon.”

Sydney smiled politely. “Thank you.” She then turned and slowly walked towards the door.

Jamie followed right behind Sydney and as they got closer to the door, he quickened his step so that he reached the door before she could, figuring that it was best if he was as helpful as possible in order to keep up appearances. With his free hand, he pushed open the door and moved aside so she could enter the hallway ahead of him.

Sydney stepped out into the hallway and moved slowly until she was out of sight of the door. As soon as she heard the door shut behind them, she turned and smiled at Jamie. “I wonder if that would have worked so well with Mrs. Severn.”

Jamie waited till he had caught up with her, and they had started walking in the direction of the auditorium before replying. “I don’t know, but that was great. You were really convincing, I really thought that you were in terrible pain.”

Sydney shrugged. “I’ve always enjoyed play acting. My fifth grade class had to put on a show about the gold rush in California. We wrote the play ourselves and I was cast in one of the lead roles.”

“Maybe you should pursue a career in acting when you get out of school.” Jamie kept his eyes open for any teachers or parents who might be wandering the halls.

“Nah,” Sydney shook her head, “I want to do something important with my life, something that makes a difference in the world.”

Jamie looked at her curiously. “You mean like become President or something?”

Sydney laughed. “Not a bad idea, Jamie, but I was thinking of something a little different, something exciting, but still important. I just have no idea what that could be, at least not yet.”

Jamie shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, we’re here.” He stopped in front of the auditorium doors. Pushing one of the doors open, he whispered, “After you, my lady.”

Sydney giggled and entered the auditorium. Since it was still early, there weren’t a lot of people in the room. On stage a man and woman were staring intently at their chess pieces. The only object on the table, other than the chessboard, was a box with two clocks and two buttons on top. Next to the table was a screen, projecting the image of the chessboard, so the audience could get a better view of the players’ moves. She started walking towards the front of the room, watching the two players. She stopped when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning she looked at Jamie. “What?” she whispered.

“I thought we were going to sit near the back, so we could hear the bell.” Jamie pointed towards the door with his head.

“But then we can’t see what’s going on. There are a couple of doors near the stage, I was thinking we could sit there, and still be able to hear the last bell ring.” Sydney looked pleadingly at her friend.

Jamie shrugged. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. We just have to make sure we leave as soon as the bell rings, or we’re in deep trouble.”

Sydney nodded and sat down in one of the seats three rows back from the stage. She moved her arm away from the armrest of the chair when Jamie sat down, to avoid bumping elbows. Shifting in the seat in order to get comfortable, she took note of the activity on stage. A boy, not much older than herself, was sitting behind the two players, watching the game intently. Sitting on either side of him were two men, one with dark black hair, the other blond. The boy had to be the prodigy that Jamie had mentioned was going to be attending. As her gaze began to shift back towards the two players, she caught sight of the dark-haired man looking at her intently, as if studying her. It made her feel very uncomfortable.

Jamie sensed a change in his friend’s demeanor and leaned closer to her. “Sydney,” he whispered. “Are you okay? You’re not worried we’re going to get in trouble are you? I mean we are the only two kids in here, I guess it does look suspicious.”

Sydney glanced around the room. Jamie was right, aside from the boy on stage, they were the only two students in the auditorium. That was probably why the man was looking at her strangely. “Yeah, I mean no. I’m not worried about being caught. Let’s just watch this game play out.”

As Sydney watched the game, she noticed the man glance at her one more time before standing and walking over to the blond-haired man. He bent down and said something and then disappeared back stage. She felt a little better with the man gone, and concentrated on the game once again. It was actually kind of fun to watch. Every time one of the players made a move, they pushed a button above the clock on their side of the table. “That’s pretty cool,” she whispered to Jamie after the woman pushed the button.

Jamie nodded. “Yeah, makes it more intense when you know there’s a time limit. You know, trying to make a move in a time faster than you’re opponent.”

They were both so intent on watching the players, that Sydney didn’t notice the dark-haired man return.

Sergei Romanovich, better known in the intelligence circle as the Magician, walked back on stage and headed over to his comrade. Bending down he whispered in Russian, “Take the boy to his room backstage. Tell him we will be bringing him a couple of visitors. No questions, Comrade.”

Ivan Plotkovich knew better than to question orders, so he nodded and moved over to talk to their charge. The young boy rose from his seat and headed towards the edge of the stairs. Ivan followed behind and as they descended the stairs from the stage, he glanced over and watched the Magician approach the two youngsters who had entered the room a few minutes ago. The young girl looked vaguely familiar, and he wondered just what the Magician was up to. As he exited the auditorium behind Aleksandr, he figured that he would find out what was going on soon enough, and turned his attention back on the young boy whose safety he was responsible for.

Sydney looked up to see the dark-haired man approaching. He was tall, and reminded her a little of her father, not in looks, but in the way he carried himself, very self-assured and with an air of authority. The only real difference was that this man seemed more relaxed then she’d ever seen her father, and the smile he was wearing as he approached them, seemed just a little too friendly. Growing very nervous, she grabbed onto Jamie’s arm. She nodded in the man’s direction when her friend looked at her questioningly.

“I could not help notice that you are the only two students in the room.” Sergei commented quietly as he stood before the two children.

“Is that a problem, sir?” Jamie asked, a slight quiver in his voice.

Sergei shook his head and let out small laugh. “Oh, no. But you are the only students who have visited the game so far, and I thought you might want to meet Aleksandr Molinkof.”

Jamie and Sydney looked at each other, their earlier nervousness erased. “Really?” They both whispered in unison as they looked back at the man hovering over them.

“Oh yes, he is in the classroom assigned to him right now, working on some strategies, and I thought one of you might want to challenge him.” Sergei smiled, hoping that the two young children would eagerly jump at the chance. Noticing the worried expressions on their faces as they exchanged glances with each other, he extended his hand. “Oh where are my manners, as you say, I really should introduce myself. My name is Sergei Romanovich, and I am with Aleksandr.”

Jamie looked skeptically at this dark-haired man before glancing at the clock on the wall. He knew that they still had about fifteen minutes before the final bell rang. Deciding that it this was an opportunity too good to pass up, he reached out and shook the man’s hand. “My name is Jamie King, and if you don’t think it’ll be a problem, it would be an honor to meet Aleksandr, but I don’t think we’ll have time to play against him.” He turned towards his friend. “What do you think Sydney?”

Sydney still felt a little unsure of this stranger. He kept looking at her strangely, like he recognized her, in fact his features seemed to almost brighten when Jamie had said her name. “I don’t know…”

Jamie stood up and reached his hand out, motioning for her to do the same. “Come on, we may never get another chance to meet someone like Aleksandr again. I have a feeling that my mom will probably come up with something for us to do tomorrow, and we won’t get another opportunity like this.”

Even though the little voice inside her head was telling her no, Sydney didn’t want to disappoint her friend. Shrugging her shoulders, she sighed. “Oh, okay. I guess it would be exciting to meet a real chess expert.”

“Wonderful.” Sergei’s smile grew wider. “Just follow me.” He headed towards the door next to the stage. “We must go out this door and across the hall to the room Aleksandr is in.”

As Sydney followed behind Jamie, a little voice inside her head kept repeating the mantra. ‘Never talk to strangers. Never talk to strangers.’

SMK a SMK a SMK

Amanda glanced at her watch as she headed down the hallway; she had only a minute to go before the final bell rang. Knowing that she’d need a good excuse for coming to get them, she and Lee had decided to tell Jamie and Sydney that they had gotten out of the sale early, and that Lee would be meeting them at the cars. In reality, once she had collected her son and Sydney, she was going to dial Lee’s vibrator, signaling him that everything was on schedule, and then he would head out and meet them by their cars. Reaching down, she readjusted the device hooked to her belt and laughed as she remembered the strange looks the other mothers had given them when they had jumped, startled by the vibrators going off, just under an hour ago. Lee had just returned to the book sale after safely seeing Jamie and Sydney to their last class, when the devices had buzzed, alerting them to the Magician’s arrival. It was now a dangerous game they were playing, if the Magician got even a quick glance at Sydney, he’d know she was in town, and her safety would be in even more jeopardy than it already was.

Amanda reached their classroom, just as the last bell rang. Stepping aside, she watched all the children exit the room, anxiously awaiting Jamie and Sydney. When it appeared that all the students had left, and neither her son nor Sydney had appeared, she stepped into the room. “Um, excuse me?” She caught sight of the unfamiliar face sitting at the teacher’s desk. “Where’s Mrs. Severn?”

“She had to leave early today. I’m Miss Downs, the substitute. Is there something I can do for you?” The young teacher moved closer to Amanda.

“Yes, my name is Amanda King, and I’m looking for my son, Jamie King, and a young girl whose staying with us, Sydney Bristow. They should have been here.” Amanda tried to hide the panic from her voice.

“Didn’t the nurse call you to come pick up Sydney?” Miss Downs saw the confused look on Mrs. King’s face. “Sydney was complaining of a stomach ache and Jamie accompanied her to the nurse’s office.”

Amanda took a deep breath. “Oh, thank you. I’ll head over there now.” She headed out of the classroom and walked as briskly as she could towards the nurse’s office. She had a sneaking suspicion that her son and Sydney were not going to be there, and the knot she had felt earlier when her husband had first mentioned that the Magician was going to be at the tournament was beginning to grow. It didn’t take her long before she’d reached the nurse’s office. Rushing in, she looked around frantically for Nurse Mead.

“Hello, Mrs. King. What are you doing here?” Nurse Mead asked as she rounded the corner.

“Isn’t Jamie here? He should have brought a young girl in with a stomach ache – Sydney Bristow?” Amanda tried to keep her voice calm.

“I’m sorry, I haven’t had any students in here since just after lunch, and I haven’t seen Jamie at all this year, amazingly enough.” Nurse Mead smiled as she realized just how often the King boys had been in her office for one reason or another. They usually came to her with some sort of playground injury.

Amanda quickly pulled the vibrator from her belt and dialed 1-911. She then turned towards the nurse. “Sorry to have bothered you.” Quickly she turned and dashed out of the office. She desperately wanted to go in search of Jamie and Sydney, but knew that she needed to touch base with Lee and Fred first. So, instead, she stuck with the original pre-arranged plan; if an emergency came up, they were to meet at the front of the school and determine the next step. Maneuvering as best she could through the now crowded hallway, she made it to the front of the school in a matter of minutes.

“Amanda!”

Amanda turned her head at the sound of her name, and rushed over to her husband. “Lee!” She took two deep breaths, not only to calm her nerves but also because she had just run through an obstacle course more hazardous than anything at Station One. “Jamie and Sydney weren’t in their classroom, the substitute said she gave them a pass to the nurse’s office, but when I got there they weren’t there. Nurse Mead said they never showed up.”

Lee put his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to make eye contact with him. “Amanda. Let’s not jump to any conclusions just yet.”

“She said she gave them a pass half an hour ago. I have a pretty good idea of where they are. I bet you any amount of money that they decided to check out the tournament. I never told them they could go, but then again, I never told them that they couldn’t either. Since we were going to the game, I bet they decided to check it out.” Amanda’s eyes met her husband’s, fear shining in them. “Lee, if they went to the tournament and the Magician…”

“Scarecrow? Amanda? What’s going on?” Fred Fielder interrupted as he came running up to them.

Lee let go of Amanda’s shoulders and turned towards Fred. “I need you to go out and put your team on alert. Put a man at every exit of this school, and keep an eye on the Embassy car, and be ready to act at a moments notice.” He grabbed Fred’s walkie-talkie. “You can get another one from the truck,” he began explaining when he caught the annoyed look on his fellow agent’s face, “or take one from another team member. I need a way to communicate with you.”

“We put a tracking device on the embassy car. They won’t get anywhere without us knowing about it.” Fred gave Lee a stern look, one that said, ‘we know how to do our job’.

Lee shrugged as he clipped the walkie-talkie to his belt. “Just be ready for anything unexpected. We’re dealing with the Magician. He doesn’t play by any rules.” He watched Fred head back out the main doors before turning towards his wife. “Amanda, I want you to wait here for Francine.”

“Lee...” Amanda’s eyes narrowed and she put her hands on her hips, ready for a fight. “Don’t you dare start the ‘wait in the car’ speech.”

Lee shook his head vigorously. “A-man-da, this has nothing to do with you staying behind. Someone has to wait for Francine. She won’t know her way to the auditorium, but you do, so when she gets here, you two can meet me there. Before you mention the fact that I could just as easily wait for her, let me remind you that I have a gun on me, you don’t. We don’t even know if the kids are in trouble, and if they are we’ll need backup. Let’s not jump to any conclusions just yet, okay?”

“What, you're just going to whip out your gun in a room with children present?” Amanda’s voice was just above a whisper, her tone firm. “Not to mention the fact that the Magician will probably recognize you. He doesn’t know me and if he’s there, and Sydney and Jamie aren’t, why give him reason to get suspicious?”

Lee ran a hand through his hair and stared at his wife intently. “Amanda, we don't have time to argue about this right now. We've wasted enough time as it is standing here discussing the situation. Now just stay here and wait for Francine.” He turned and hurried down the hall.

Amanda took a deep breath and resisted the urge to call out a 'be careful'. She was too steamed. Tapping her foot impatiently, she scanned the hallway. Glancing down at her watch, she wondered what the hell was keeping Francine.

Lee didn’t look back as he headed towards the auditorium. He knew Amanda wouldn’t be happy, but someone had to stay behind, and he didn’t want Francine to see the worry on his face; it would raise too many questions he didn’t feel like answering right now. He needed to focus. Picking up speed as he maneuvered around the students in the hallway, he was glad that he had taken a few minutes this morning before joining up with Amanda to locate the auditorium. He wanted to make sure he knew his way just in case something went wrong. Sprinting through the hallways, careful not to run into any students, he tried to suppress the panic that was threatening to take over his common sense. Calling on his agent training to take over and help him keep a level head, he pushed open the doors of the auditorium. As he stepped inside, he quickly scanned the room, looking for any sign of his stepson or Sydney. Instead of finding either of the youngsters or the Magician, he made a beeline to a row near the middle when he caught sight of Agent Gordon. He approached his fellow agent and tapped the man on the shoulder. “Gordon.”

Gordon turned around. “Scarecrow? I sure hope you’re here to relieve me, this has got to be the dullest assignment ever, even a stake out is better than this.” He started to rise. “I should tell you the Magician was pretty busy earlier. He disappeared for a little while, but came back and talked to Aleksandr’s other bodyguard, and then the kid and the bodyguard left the stage area. Then the Magician went over and started talking to two kids, a boy and a girl.”

Lee shook his head and tried to hide the panic he suddenly felt as he listened to the agent’s report. “I’m not here to relieve you, Gordon. We’ve got a situation. Where’s the Magician now, and what about the two kids he was talking to?”

Gordon pointed to the door to the right of the stage. “He left that way about fifteen minutes ago with the two kids shortly after the prodigy left the stage. I should tell you, Ivan Plotkovich is the kid’s other bodyguard.”

Lee took a deep breath. “I’m aware of that. What about the two kids, and why didn’t you follow them?” he said through clenched teeth.

“Relax, Scarecrow. I did.” Gordon rolled his eyes. “In fact I just came back in here about ten minutes ago. I followed them to a classroom across the hall from that door.” He pointed in the direction the Magician had gone earlier. “But I looked kind of suspicious loitering outside the classroom, since the bell hadn’t rung yet, and no one was in the hallway but me. The boy and girl were talking with the prodigy, and moving pieces around the chessboard. It looked harmless to me, so I came back in here. Besides, our assignment was to watch the Magician, not follow him all over the place.” He gestured towards the stage. “I figured as long as the prodigy is still here, the Magician will be too, and Fielder’s watching the embassy car. Believe me, I’d rather be doing anything but watching this enthralling chess match.”

Lee silently cursed as he realized that none of the agents had been given a picture of Sydney. No one was supposed to know about her, that’s why all the teams had been told to keep an eye on the Magician. Pulling out his wallet, he took out a picture of Amanda and the boys. Showing it to Gordon, he pointed to his youngest stepson. “Was this one of the kids that was with the Magician?”

Gordon looked at the picture and then up at Lee. “Yeah that’s the boy. Hey, isn’t that Mrs. King in the picture?” He looked curiously at the agent. “Why do you have a picture of your partner in your wallet?” Understanding suddenly dawned on his face, and a knowing smile spread across his face. “Oh…”

Lee gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. He didn’t have time to waste discussing the fact that he had a picture of his partner and her sons in his wallet, or why he had it. Right now all he cared about was Jamie and Sydney. Ignoring the knowing look Gordon was giving him, he took another deep breath. “Look, Amanda and Francine should be here any minute. Tell them where I went.” Cursing again, he took off at a sprint in the direction the Magician had gone with Sydney and Jamie. Ignoring the annoyed looks of the tournament participants, he prayed that the two youngsters were still in the classroom, but that feeling of dread told him that they wouldn’t be. Reaching the door, he pushed it open and was thankful that the hallways seemed to have a lot less students now.

Stepping out into the hallway, he approached the room directly across from him. Peering in, it appeared empty. Opening the door, he looked inside and saw Ivan Plotkovich and a young boy in the corner. “Where’d they go, Plotkovich?”

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the great Scarecrow. To what do we owe this pleasure?” Ivan kept his face neutral, not wanting give anything away.

“Where did the Magician go, and what happened to the boy and girl who were in here earlier?” Lee resisted the urge to reach down for his gun. The young boy was an innocent in this whole ordeal, and didn’t need to be frightened.

Ivan shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Scarecrow.”

Lee took two menacing steps towards Plotkovich, his fists clenched at his side. “Yes. You. Do.” He turned towards the boy, and in a quieter tone he asked in Russian, “Where did the young boy and girl you were talking to go?”

Aleksandr looked up at Ivan, unsure of what to do. He caught the barely noticeable shake of his bodyguard’s head. Unsure of what Ivan wanted him to do and not wanting to lie, he shrugged and decided to be as vague as possible. “They only just left. Right after the bell rang.”

Lee was just about to ask the boy where the Magician was, when he saw an exterior door to his left. He muttered a few choice words as he made a beeline for the door. Throwing it open, he caught sight of the one thing he feared. Thirty yards a way, he saw his youngest stepson being forced into the back of a black sedan by none other than the Magician. Squatting, he pulled his gun out from around his ankle and then took of at a sprint. “Romanovich!” he shouted, just as the car door slammed shut.

The tires squealed as it headed towards the parking lot exit. Lee raised his gun ready to shoot out the back tires, just as a group of students rounded the corner. “Damn!” He didn’t want to risk causing a scene and lowered his gun. Fielder was going to get an earful for not having anyone covering the back lot of the school. Tucking his gun in the waistband of his pants, he pulled the walkie-talkie off his belt. “Black Sedan, heading north on Filer – Diplomatic tags – set off in pursuit, NOW!” He was now torn between needing to get some answers from Plotkovich, and making sure the team had dispatched a car in the direction he had indicated.

Lee’s decision was made for him when the walkie-talkie crackled. “Scarecrow, two cars are following the sedan. We’ll keep you posted.”

Turning, Lee ran back towards the door he had just come through, ready to beat some answers out of Plotkovich, and he didn’t care who saw. His son and Sydney’s lives were at stake.

Chapter Twelve

Monday Late Afternoon, September 21st

Jamie sat in the back of the car with his arm protectively around Sydney, who appeared to be sleeping soundly, knocked out by whatever was on that cloth. He thought about pinching himself to make sure he wasn’t in the middle of some horrible nightmare. Unfortunately, he had the feeling that if he did that, it would only confirm the fact that the nightmare was real and that some strange Russian man was indeed holding them at gunpoint. For the first time in his life, he was really and truly scared. Staring out the window, he pulled Sydney closer to him, hoping to provide himself with some sense of comfort that he wasn’t alone and tried to figure out exactly what had gone wrong. One minute they were standing there talking to Aleksandr and then Sydney mentioned something about the bell about to ring and when he had turned to acknowledge her comment, he saw Mr. Romanovich with his arm around Sydney, pressing a cloth to her nose and mouth. He had run over and tried to stop Mr. Romanovich, but the second man, Ivan, had pulled a gun out and aimed it at him. The next thing he remembered was another, very large, very menacing-looking man coming in through the exterior door, and Mr. Romanovich passing Sydney to that man. Then Mr. Romanovich grabbed him by the wrist and started dragging him towards the door. He had fought as hard as he could, but when Mr. Romanovich pressed a gun into his side, he stopped fighting. He knew he’d be better off if he went willingly.

So, now here they sat in the back of a black car, with the man who had carried Sydney out driving, and Mr. Romanovich in the backseat, aiming his gun at them. Jamie desperately wanted to curl into a ball, but knew he had to be strong. He had to protect Sydney, especially since she was out cold and defenseless. To make the situation even more confusing, some guy had come running towards the car, and he could have sworn it had been Lee. But Mr. Romanovich had called the man running at them with a gun in his hand, ‘Scarecrow’, so it couldn’t have been Lee, could it? He was too far away, but the man sure did resemble his mom’s boyfriend. But what would Lee be doing with a gun?

“Romanovich, we’ve got two tails.” The driver shouted from the front of the car.

Sergei turned his head and glanced out the back window. Sure enough two unmarked cars were following them. “Well lose them. Damn! I should have known the Scarecrow would’ve been prepared.” He then turned a menacing glare in Jamie’s direction. “How did the Scarecrow know to come looking for you?”

Jamie had turned towards their captors when he had heard that they were being followed. “I…I don’t know any Scarecrow.” He answered honestly.

“Then how do you know this girl?” Sergei pointed his gun at the unconscious Sydney.

“She’s staying with us. Her father is a friend of my mom’s, and he went out of town on business.” Jamie tried not to sound as terrified as he was.

The Magician stared intently at the young boy. “Your mother, you say, is friends with Jack Bristow?”

Jamie nodded but before he could say anything, the car made a sharp turn and he hit his head against Sydney’s, where it lay resting on his shoulder.

The Magician turned around and saw that the two cars were still on their tail. “Vadorsky, turn left now. There is an alley not far ahead and a parking garage we can cut through. We should lose them.” He braced himself as the driver did as he was instructed. He then turned back towards Jamie. “What did you say your last name was?”

“It’s King, Jamie King.” Jamie tightened his arm around Sydney as he felt the car speeding up. He was glad that he had taken the time to at least put his seatbelt on, and had buckled Sydney in as well. He may not have remembered to listen to his mother’s warnings about strangers, but at least he had heeded that advice.

“Hmmm. I wonder. I had originally brought you along to keep Miss Bristow company before she went on her journey, and because you would have caused too much trouble for me if I had left you behind, especially since you heard where we plan on taking your friend. But if you are who I think you are, you may just be joining her on her trip.” A sinister smile crossed the Magician’s lips. “I thought Miss Bristow was going to do wonders for my career, but the son of the famous Scarecrow’s equally famous partner will really be a…how do you say in America…ah yes, a feather in my cap.”

Jamie didn’t know what the crazy man sitting next to him was talking about. What did his mom have to do with any of this, and what did Mr. Romanovich mean by Scarecrow’s partner? Maybe that had been Lee running towards them, and if that was so, did that mean he was the Scarecrow, and was his mom the Scarecrow’s partner? None of this was making any sense. What did these men want with Sydney? As the car squealed through the empty parking garage, their captors desperately trying to lose their pursuers, he braced himself for another sharp turn. Looking back out the side window, he silently prayed that they wouldn’t lose the cars following them, and that he and Sydney would be going home and not on some trip to who knew where.

SMK a SMK a SMK

Lee ran a hand through his hair as he stood outside the door he had come through just moments before. How did it all go wrong so quickly and why hadn’t he listened to the little voice inside his head that had been trying to warn him not to let Jamie and Sydney out of his sight? He knew he should have found a way to stay outside their classroom once the Magician had arrived. He thought they’d be safe with their teacher. Who could have guessed that they’d sneak out of class early? Reaching down, he placed his hand on the doorknob and, knowing that this was an exterior door, he prayed that it hadn’t locked automatically behind him. Saying a silent prayer of thanks when the doorknob turned all the way, he yanked the door open. Scanning the room, he saw Ivan heading towards the interior door, clutching Aleksandr’s hand. Pulling out his gun from his waistband, he raised it and aimed in Ivan’s direction. “Hold it right there, Plotkovich. You’re not going anywhere.”

Ivan turned and stared Lee down. “I’ve got diplomatic immunity, Scarecrow. You can not touch me.”

Lee held Ivan’s gaze as he moved closer to the Russian. “You’re not on Embassy grounds, Plotkovich, and it appears that your associate has just kidnapped two American children. Therefore, I can arrest you as an accessory. Now, let go of the boy’s hand, and step away from the door.”

Ivan let out an evil laugh. “And if I don’t, what will the almighty Scarecrow do? Do you have the right stuffing to shoot me, right here in front of an innocent boy? Do not forget all the children out in the hallway. If you shoot me, you will bring them all in here, no?”

Lee kept advancing towards Ivan. “Step away from the boy, Plotkovich. I don’t want to hurt you, I just want some answers.” The walkie-talkie on his belt crackled and he took it off and laid it on a desk nearby. He didn’t need any distractions right now; he needed to concentrate on the current situation. Taking another step, he was now just a few feet away from Ivan.

Ivan kept his hand linked with Aleksandr’s. “I have done nothing wrong, Scarecrow. I am here to protect Aleksandr, and I will continue doing so.” He reached for his own weapon.

Lee saw Ivan going for his weapon and knew he had to act fast. He couldn’t let this become a stalemate. With his gun still aimed at Ivan, he lunged at the Russian.

Startled, Ivan quickly let go of Aleksandr’s hand and instead of drawing his own weapon, he prepared to block Scarecrow’s advance.

In one quick move, Lee grabbed Ivan by the collar, slammed him up against the wall, and pressed his gun to the Russian’s temple. “Now, do we do this the easy way, or the hard way?”

Ivan was suddenly quite afraid, but he was a Russian agent and he knew better than to show fear to the enemy. “I have done nothing wrong, Scarecrow.” He glanced to the side and saw that Aleksandr had moved away from them. Placing his hand on Lee’s wrist, he struggled to loosen the man’s grip on his shirt.

Lee ignored Ivan’s hand and tightened his grasp on the man’s collar. “Where is the Magician taking those children?” He asked through clenched teeth. He wanted desperately to beat Ivan and get some answers, especially since beating up on the worthless KGB agent would relieve some of his own guilt at letting things get so out of control.

Ivan tried again to remove Lee’s hand, the tighter the Scarecrow gripped the harder it was for him to breathe. “I…don’t…know.”

Suddenly the door to the classroom swung open. Lee tightened his hold even more, but removed his gun from Ivan’s temple, ready to aim it at the intruders if necessary. He relaxed when he saw his wife enter the room and turned his focus back on the Russian.

Amanda took a moment to take in the scene. Her stomach tightened as she realized that Jamie and Sydney were nowhere to be found. Seeing the determined look on her husband’s face as he stared at the man in his clutches, she knew something had gone terribly wrong. She was about to comment, when she saw the frightened boy, no older than her son, cowering in the corner. Her motherly instincts kicked in and she ran to the boy. “Are you Aleksandr?” The boy barely nodded. “It’s okay. No one’s going to hurt you, I promise.” She put a comforting arm around the boy.

Francine had entered the room with Gordon right behind Amanda. Walking over to Lee, she put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Scarecrow, if you choke him,” she motioned to the man desperately gasping for breath, “we won’t get any answers out of him at all.” She then reached behind Ivan and took the Russian’s gun from its holster. Placing it in the waistband of her jeans, she shook her head. “I see in your eagerness to drain the man of all his oxygen, you neglected to disarm him. Not a wise move on your part, Scarecrow.”

Ignoring his fellow agent’s comment, Lee looked closer at the Russian and noticed that the man was actually turning blue. Loosening his grip, he looked towards Francine as he lowered his gun. “Don’t think this is over Plotkovich.” He then roughly shoved Ivan towards the blonde. “Cuff him, Francine. We’ll take him back to the Agency. He’ll answer our questions there.”

Francine fought the urge to snap to attention and salute. Lee may be the senior agent, but she didn’t appreciate him giving her orders like that. However, knowing the current state her fellow agent was in, it was better not to bait the hook. Instead, keeping one hand on Ivan’s arm, she pulled a pair of handcuffs from the back of her pants. She caught the questioning glance Lee gave her. “What? A girl has to be prepared. You’d be surprised where I can hide things.”

Lee shook his head as he watched her place the cuffs on the Russian’s wrists. Assured that Ivan was secure, he bent down and put his gun back into his ankle holster. With two other agents in the room who had their guns drawn, there was no chance Ivan was going to get away and he didn’t want to risk blowing his cover by having his own gun out. Standing up, he turned towards Gordon. “Why the hell didn’t you stay outside this room?” He stormed towards the agent. “From what I could tell you weren’t all that interested in the game. Your assignment was to watch the Magician and because you didn’t do your job, he now has Sydney Bristow and Jamie King in his possession. Do you have ANY idea what this means?”

Gordon took a step back from the advancing agent. “Now hold it right there, Stetson! Our assignment was to keep an eye on the Magician. Make note of any moves, not watch his every move. I did exactly what I was told to do and, as you’ll recall, I told you I couldn’t just ‘lurk’ outside the classroom. That would have looked damn suspicious and would have raised the eyebrows of anyone who might have been passing by. This is a school, Scarecrow.”

Amanda walked Aleksandr to the table that had the chess set. “Why don’t you keep yourself occupied? Okay?” She pointed to the board. The boy nodded and took a seat, but didn’t make a move to touch any of the pieces. She shook her head slightly and sighed. This poor boy was just an innocent bystander who didn’t understand anything that was going on around him. Turning her attention on her husband, she took a few quick steps in his direction.

Lee gritted his teeth and ran a hand through his hair. He was just about to lash out at his fellow agent some more when he felt his wife’s hand on his arm.

“Lee, Gordon’s right. The teams were only instructed to watch out for the Magician. No one knew they were supposed to watch Sydney. That was our job.” Amanda’s tone was calm, but held a hint of regret, too.

Lee turned his head and looked at his wife, pain and regret evident in his own eyes. “Amanda, I’m sorry. I didn’t get there in time. I saw the Magician push Jamie into the car, but I wasn’t in time to stop the car from getting away.”

Amanda shook her head. “Don’t. There’s no time for placing blame and feeling guilty. We have to concentrate on finding Jamie and Sydney.”

Gordon watched the interaction with extreme interest. It was truly amazing the affect that Amanda King had on her partner. Perhaps there was a lot more going on with these two than they wanted anyone to know about. Why else would the proclaimed ladies’ man have his partner and her sons’ picture in his wallet? He was about to comment on that fact when the classroom door opened and a very annoyed woman entered the room.

“What in Heaven’s name is going on in here?” Principal Dennis looked from one occupant to another. Her gaze came to rest on the substitute gym teacher, Miss Desmond, holding one of the Russians assigned to Aleksandr Molinkof handcuffed and at gunpoint. “One of my students came running to my office telling me there was something going on in here, but I had no idea exactly what. Please explain to me why you people are running around school property with guns while there are children present. What kind of example do you think you’re setting for these children?” Her gaze fell on the young boy at the desk attempting to move chess pieces around.

Francine saw the barely noticeable shake of Lee’s head, indicating that if he said anything, his cover was blown. She was about to start explaining when Gordon opened his mouth.

“Excuse me, ma’am, but this is a government investigation, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Gordon reached into his pocket and pulled out his ID.

Principal Dennis turned her attention to the man who had just spoken. “I will not leave. I'm the Principal here, and I demand to know what's going on. Who’s in charge here?”

Gordon opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by Francine.

“I am.” Francine shot Gordon a look that said ‘don’t even think of arguing with me’.

Gordon glanced in Lee’s direction. He caught the barely noticeable shake of Scarecrow’s head and decided that it was in the best interest of his career to keep his mouth shut.

Principal Dennis turned to look at Francine. “I don’t understand. You’re our new assistant gym teacher, aren’t you?”

Francine shook her head and reached into her back pocket. Pulling out her ID, she handed it to Principal Dennis. “I’m sorry to have deceived you, but I was sent here undercover.” She then motioned towards her fellow agent. “Agent Gordon, can you please take the suspect.” As soon as Gordon had the suspect in hand, she turned her attention back on the Principal. “I’m sorry we didn’t inform you ahead of time Mrs. Dennis, but it was necessary that my presence here was kept quiet. You see, this man,” she pointed in Ivan’s direction, “is a known KGB operative. He and his associate have been under suspicion for a while. When we found out he was going to be here at the school, we had to take certain precautions. We apologize for not informing you, but we felt it was better not to alarm you.”

“Alarm me! Are you people insane? What right do you have to invade my school? I don’t care what kind of operation you’re running this is still my school; I had a right to be informed.” Principal Dennis was getting more and more frustrated by the minute. Suddenly she remembered the other occupants of the room and turned towards the woman she had always known to be quite sensible. “This whole situation is just so surreal. Mrs. King, you’re always the voice of reason. Maybe you can make sense of all of this because right now I feel like I’m swimming in a sea of insanity.” She then turned her attention on the man standing next to Mrs. King. As she looked more closely at him, an odd sense of déjà vu swept over her. Something about this whole situation gave her the feeling that she knew Mr. Stetson from somewhere, and it wasn’t from their official meeting in her office on Friday.

Amanda could sense the situation was quickly spiraling out of control. Taking a deep breath she did her best to explain. “Oh, Principal Dennis, it’s just awful. I went looking for Jamie and Sydney, they were supposed to meet us at the book sale, but after the last bell rang and they hadn’t shown up I went to their classroom. The substitute teacher, Miss Downs I think she said her name was, well she said that Sydney had an upset stomach and Jamie escorted Sydney to the nurses office. When I got there, Nurse Mead said that she hadn’t seen Jamie since last year. Well then I got concerned and decided to see if they were at the tournament. All of a sudden, these federal agents appeared,” she pointed towards Gordon, “and I got curious so I decided to follow them. I heard them talking about a kidnapping.” She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. Feeling Lee’s arm wrap around her shoulder, she opened her eyes and looked into the astonished face of Principal Dennis. “I overheard them talking about Aleksandr’s chaperones being KGB agents and not just ordinary Russian bodyguards from the Embassy like you originally thought, and, well, I followed them into this room and that’s when Lee told me that he saw one of the men, that is one of the KGB agents, force Sydney and Jamie into a car and drive off.”

Principal Dennis’ head was reeling. Maybe Mrs. King wasn’t the best person to ask. Then, as what Mrs. King said started to sink in, her eyes grew wide and she gasped. “Did I understand you correctly? Jamie and Sydney have been kidnapped?”

Amanda took a deep breath. She knew she needed to be strong. She was, after all, an agent herself but Principal Dennis didn’t know that, nor did she want to reveal that information. Nodding her head, she turned her attention towards her husband. “Oh my gosh. It just hit me. Lee, some strange Russian spy has my son.” She turned a distraught face towards her husband.

Lee wrapped his arms around his wife. He knew that she was putting on an act for the Principal, but he also knew, that underneath the façade, she was really concerned. “It’s going to be all right. I’m sure these agents will do everything they can to find Jamie and Sydney.”

Just then the walkie-talkie Lee had placed on the desk earlier, crackled. “Scarecrow, the teams lost them, do you copy?”

Lee tensed momentarily as he fought the urge to go over and pickup the hand-held himself. Instead, he tightened his arm around his wife’s shoulders. This whole situation was turning into one giant nightmare.

“Scarecrow, I repeat. We’ve lost the sedan. Do you copy?”

Francine quickly ran over to desk and grabbed the walkie-talkie. Pressing the button on the side, she spoke into the device. “Fielder, we copy.”

“Desmond? Where’s Scarecrow?”

Francine rolled her eyes. “He went looking for his partner. We have Plotkovich. Be ready to transport. We’ll meet you out front in ten minutes.”
“Roger that, see you in ten.”

Francine clipped the walkie-talkie to the waistband of her sweats and turned towards Ivan. “Looks like your partner gave us the slip, so you might as well face the fact that you’re going to be with us for a very long time.” She smiled threateningly at the Russian.

Principal Dennis looked towards the young boy and then over towards the blonde agent. “Agent Desmond, what’s going to happen now? I mean what about Aleksandr?”

Francine looked over at the young boy, realizing for the first time that he was in the room. “Well, we’ll be taking Mr. Plotkovich with us, for questioning.” She then turned towards her fellow agents. “Mrs. King, Mr. Stetson, since you were witnesses, you’ll have to come with us as well, to give your statements.” She then turned her attention on Principal Dennis. “As for the boy, since his other escort has disappeared, and he is a Russian citizen, I’ll have to arrange for one of our agents to return him to the Russian Embassy. I’m afraid you’re going to have to cancel the rest of the tournament.”

“What about me, I have diplomatic immunity.” Ivan opened his mouth for the first time since the other agents had entered the room. He turned his gaze towards Lee, menace in his eyes.

“You are an accomplice, pure and simple. We’ll discuss your rights down at the Agency.” Francine cut him off before he had a chance to blow Lee’s cover. She then turned back towards Principal Dennis. “I’ll have one of my fellow agents, an Agent Fielder, come find you and fill you in on what will happen here since we’ll have to send in a forensics team. They’ll need access to any of the places that our suspects and the children in question would have gone.” She then walked over towards Aleksandr.

Amanda watched in amazement as Francine, who would normally run screaming from anyone under the age of fifteen, bent down and spoke to Aleksandr in Russian, showing no hint of any discomfort.

“You will need to come with me. I promise you that we intend you no harm. We’ll arrange for you to be taken back to the Embassy. Okay?” Francine watched the boy nod his head and then rise from his seat. She let out a small gasp of surprise when the boy placed his hand in hers. Quickly, she gathered her composure, squared her shoulders, and with Aleksandr in tow, headed towards the door. She then motioned for Gordon to bring Ivan and headed towards the door to the hallway. Turning her head, before she leaving the room, she looked over at Principal Dennis. “I hope we can count on your cooperation.”

Principal Dennis nodded. “Yes, I understand completely and I promise to cooperate in any way that I can.” She then turned towards Mrs. King and placed a comforting hand on her arm. “Don’t give up hope, Mrs. King. Jamie and Sydney will be just fine, especially if these agents are already on the case.”

Amanda gave her a weak smile. “Thank you, Principal Dennis. I only hope you’re right.” She then turned towards her husband and locked eyes with him as they followed Francine and their suspect out the door. They had a lot to do to ensure that Jamie and Sydney did, indeed, come back safely. They had just reached the door when she stopped. “Oh my gosh, Phillip. He needs to be picked up from practice, and mother, what am I going to tell mother?”

Lee pulled her tighter to him. “Look, why don’t I go with Agent Desmond. You can head over and get Phillip. It’ll take your mind off of things for now.”

Amanda shook her head. “No, I’m coming with you. I want to be there to get the answers first hand. I’ll call Joe from the car. He should have gotten back from his business trip this morning. I’ll ask him to bring Phillip home and stay for dinner. I’ll invite Carrie, too.” She looked over at her husband. “I know what you’re thinking, but Joe needs to be told. I can’t keep this from him.”

Lee removed his arm from around his wife’s shoulders and, placing his hand at the small of her back, he led her out of the classroom and into the hallway. “I agree with you. We can’t keep Joe in the dark. That would probably make things a lot worse.” He wrapped his arm around her waist, and pulled her closer to him.

Principal Dennis rubbed her forehead hoping to rid herself of the headache that was forming. There was a reason everyone hated Mondays, and the events of today were definitely an indication as to why. Stepping out of the room, she glanced down the hallway and observed how well Mrs. King and Mr. Stetson seemed to fit together; although she still had the nagging feeling that she was missing something, something big about the pair. She couldn’t seem to shake the sense that there was just something very familiar about Mr. Stetson. Trying to ignore those thoughts, she let her thoughts wander to the two children who were now in danger. Suddenly her memory flashed back to the school gym, and Jamie and Phillip King being ushered over to their parents, while another man, who she learned later was a government agent, was fighting with the man who had told her that he was a private investigator. Mrs. King had told her, later, once everything had calmed down, that her ex-husband had been in trouble, framed for a murder in Estoccia, and the people who had really been responsible had tried to kidnap the boys.

Shaking her head from the memory, she wondered if the reason that Mr. Stetson looked so familiar was because he had been that government agent. If that were true, than that would mean…no, she shook her head again. The idea of Mrs. King being involved with government agents was ridiculous, wasn’t it? Pushing such thoughts from her mind as she watched the pair round the corner, she hoped, instead, that in the days to come, Mrs. King would be able to find the strength she’d need until her boy was returned to her. She turned towards her office to wait for the agent Miss Desmond had mentioned and prayed that Jamie King and Sydney Bristow would be found safe and unharmed.

SMK a SMK a SMK

Amanda leaned her head against the headrest and closed her eyes as she spoke into the car phone. “I promise Joe, I’ll tell you everything that I can at the house … No I don’t know when we’ll be getting home … Phillip’s practice ends at four-thirty … Just tell my mother that, well…tell her that I only asked you to pick up Phillip and that we stayed behind at the chess tournament with Jamie and Sydney … Thank you, Joe … We’ll see you and Carrie at the house…yes I think it’s important that she be there too, after all she’s family … Bye, Joe.” She let out a frustrated sigh as she placed the phone in its base.

“Joe didn’t give you a hard time, did he?” Lee asked as he watched his wife out of the corner of his eye.

Amanda shook her head slightly. “No, he didn’t. He’s worried, but he didn’t seem mad. Although after he has time to let the information sink in, that might change. However, he has faith in me…in us…and he knows that we’ll do everything we can to find Jamie.”

Lee could tell by the tone of her voice that she was hiding something from him. “Amanda, Joe did give you a hard time, didn’t he?”

Amanda shook her head and glanced over at her husband. “No, Lee, he really didn’t. It’s just…” she let out an exasperated breath, “I just asked Joe to lie to my mother for me. We promised her no more lies and... not twenty-four hours later here we are lying to her again. Will the deceit ever end?”

“Would you rather your mother spend the next few hours pacing and worrying? Isn’t it better to wait until we have more information to give her rather than almost nothing at all?” Lee glanced briefly at his wife, locking eyes with her momentarily before turning his attention back on the road. “However, I think we need to face the fact that we’re always going to have to tell some kind of half-truth. We may be able to tell your mother where we’re really going, but we won’t ever be able to tell her exactly why.”

“I know and the fact that she knows the truth about our jobs makes it a little easier for her to except the half-truths.” Amanda let out a sigh of frustration. “What are we going to tell the family, I mean about why Sydney and Jamie were kidnapped? Do we tell them a modified version of the truth and risk Phillip or my mother accidentally letting something slip in front of Sydney, and then she finds out the truth about her dad, or do we lie to protect Jack’s cover?”

“I hate to say this, but in this case, I think we’re going to have to tell them something that doesn’t paint Jack as a member of the intelligence community.” Lee drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Once we get back to the Agency, we’ll talk to Billy and see what he can come up with. Maybe we can come up with a story that has at least a few elements of truth.” Seeing the light in front of them change to red, he let out a groan of frustration as he stopped behind the Agency van carrying Plotkovich. “That is if we ever get there. This is taking forever. I knew I should have taken the lead, we’d be there by now.”

Amanda reached over and placed a hand on his arm. “Lee, if we drove the way you want to, we’d either lose the caravan, or end up in an accident, which is one thing we don’t need right now.”

Lee took a deep breath. “I know you’re right, I just hate this. Plotkovich knows where the Magician took Jamie and Sydney, Amanda, and I probably would have gotten the answers out of him if it hadn’t gotten so chaotic back there.” He pressed the accelerator lightly as the caravan moved forward once again. “Of course if Fielder’s teams hadn’t lost the Magician’s car in the first place then we wouldn’t have to worry about trying to get Plotkovich to talk. Realistically, the team shouldn’t have been spotted at all. I think it’s time the Agency revisits it’s ‘how to tail a suspect without being seen’ course.”

Removing her hand from his arm, Amanda let out a small chuckle. “Considering the fact that the Agency now passes out audio cassettes on how to tail a suspect instead of setting up real scenarios, it’s no wonder.”

Lee gave a small laugh before turning serious again. “Yeah, but being spotted is a rookie mistake, Amanda. Hell, you’ve followed more than your share of suspects and you weren’t even a full-time agent. I’d love nothing more then to give the drivers of those pursuit cars a piece of my mind.”

“Which is exactly why Fielder refused to tell you who they were.” Amanda leaned her head back against the headrest. “Look, we need to concentrate on finding Jamie and Sydney, and you taking out your frustrations on everyone around you, isn’t going to help.”

“Amanda, I am not taking my frustrations out on everyone.” Lee gripped the steering wheel tighter.

Amanda rolled her eyes. “Yes, you are. Did you even think about Aleksandr when you were trying to strangle Ivan Plotkovich? That boy was scared to death; he had no idea who you were or why you were aiming a gun at his bodyguard.”

“What would you have had me do, let Plotkovich leave? Then we’d be even worse off than we are now. We’d have no way to get any answers at all. Besides, I would never have hurt the boy, you know that.” Lee glanced briefly at his wife, a mixture of hurt, anger and worry evident in his eyes, before turning his focus back on the road in front of him.

Amanda put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently. “I know that, Lee, but sometimes you let your emotions take over and you lose sight of the bigger picture.”

“Now you sound like Billy.” Lee rolled his eyes and let out a groan. “One minute I need to have more compassion and feelings, and the next everyone’s telling me not to let my emotions get in the way.”

“That’s not what I meant, Lee.” Amanda removed her hand from his shoulder and placed it in her lap. “You need emotion, it’s what makes you a better agent, I’ve heard Billy say that a number of times. He said the agent you were before I came along was too brash, too uncaring, and way too willing to take risks. You’ve changed a lot in the last four years. I’m sorry I made the comment about Aleksandr. I just keep seeing the frightened look on his face when I first came into the room and then it turns into Jamie’s and…”

Lee let out a frustrated sigh. “Ah, hell Amanda, I’m sorry.”

Amanda turned and looked at him, confusion written on her face. “Why are you sorry? None of this is your fault, Lee.”

Lee slammed his hand against the steering wheel. “Yes, Amanda, it is. I let the Agency put our family in danger. I should have put up more of a fight when we were given this assignment, but I didn’t because I was being selfish. I knew what the potential danger was but I ignored it because I was looking forward to being a part of the family.” He let out a deep breath. “Damn it, Amanda. I should have listened to that little voice telling me not to let Jamie and Sydney out of my sight. I should have gone back and hung around outside their classroom the minute we knew the Magician was on the premises.”

“Is taking the blame making you feel better?” Amanda watched her husband slowly shake his head. “Then stop trying to take all the blame. Look, even if you had said no to this assignment, I would still have accepted it. You know that there was no way I was going to turn my back on Sydney.” She reached out and touched his shoulder again. “Secondly, there’s nothing we could have done differently. How would you have explained your presence outside their classroom? Admit it, you would’ve looked mighty suspicious hanging around. Besides, I was the one who was supposed to walk them to their last class, but because I was busy with a customer, you had to go. Had I gone, I would have known that they had a substitute and it might have dawned on me that they’d try and sneak out to go to the tournament, but then again it might not have.” She rubbed his shoulder gently, trying to ease some of the tension she felt there. “Do you realize that because of everything, I haven’t taken the time to get mad at my son for sneaking out of class? He knows better than that and he knows better than to talk to strangers.”

Lee let go of the steering wheel and placed his hand over hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. “You’re truly amazing, you know that. I should be trying to comfort you but instead you’re focusing all your energy on trying to keep me sane.”

Amanda shrugged. “If I worry about someone else, then I won’t have to think about what’s really going on. If I’m strong for someone else, then I can keep my own emotions at bay.”

Lee glanced over at his wife. “But you shouldn’t have to do that, Amanda. You’re allowed to let your emotions show. That’s one of the reasons I love you, because you’re not afraid to let people see how you feel.”

Amanda removed her hand from under his. “Yes, but normally one of my sons isn’t the one in danger. If I let my emotions flow freely, then I won’t be very effective and I need to be effective, Lee, I need to be strong. I know that we have a job to do and if I let my emotions take over, well, then I won’t be able to do my job. I know that my…our son is in the hands of the KGB and three years ago, I would have been a blubbering mess, but I’m a trained professional now and I know that it wouldn’t do any good to let my emotions get in the way. It’s hard enough to admit that we failed Sydney, and that we let the KGB get her.”

“I know. I guess I am focusing my frustrations elsewhere, because if I admit that we failed Sydney, than I admit that I screwed up and that won’t help us find them.” Lee reached over and placed his hand on Amanda’s thigh. “We will find them, I promise you that.”

Amanda placed her hand over his and sighed. “You know, there’s one thing I really don’t understand. The KGB was after Sydney. Why did they take Jamie, too?”

Lee shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe because Jamie saw the whole thing and they didn’t want any witnesses, or maybe he went willingly because he didn’t want to leave Sydney’s side. Face it, Amanda, he is your son, and you never do what’s logical. He probably tried to help Sydney and ended up getting captured as well.”

Amanda smiled knowingly at her husband, and let out a small nervous laugh. “Maybe you’re right. I just hope we find them before they send Sydney to Russia. They won’t need to keep him around after they ship Sydney out.” Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath to calm the queasiness that she suddenly felt as she realized just how much danger her son was in. “Oh God, Lee, what will they do to him?”

“Well the Magician is a smart man, and he’ll probably figure out that Jamie is your son, which might actually work in his favor.” Lee saw his wife watching him. “What I mean is, that once they find out he’s your son, they won’t kill him, they’ll try and use him instead.” He glanced briefly over at his wife. “Face it Amanda, you’re almost as well known as me in Russian circles, and if nothing else, they know you’re my partner.” Squeezing her hand lovingly, he reluctantly let go and put his hand back on the steering wheel. “Look, it won’t do any good to think about the ‘what ifs’.”

Amanda nodded. “You’re right. Besides, Jamie and Sydney are both smart kids, and they have each other.”

“Exactly.” Lee pulled into the Agency garage behind the van carrying Ivan. “Let’s concentrate our energy on getting Plotkovich to talk.” He maneuvered the ’Vette around the van and pulled into his parking spot. Turning off the engine, he climbed out of the vehicle and walked around the passenger side to help his wife out. “Come on, it’s time to get some answers.” With his hand at the small of his wife’s back, he guided her over to the van, and followed Francine and the other agents as they led Ivan into the back entrance of the Agency.

Lee kept his eyes trained on Ivan. He knew that it was only a matter of time before Plotkovich cracked, he just hoped it was sooner rather than later. He didn’t like the idea of someone taking his son out of the country or using him as bait. He was pretty sure the KGB wanted Sydney unharmed, but he also knew the Magician’s reputation. The man was slippery and ruthless. Mentally shaking his head, he cleared his mind of those thoughts. They were going to get Jamie and Sydney back, and Amanda was right, Jamie and Sydney were smart and they did have each other, and together…well he just hoped they wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize their safety. No matter what, Jamie was his mother’s son, and there was something in the West gene that could make any situation worse, but then again it had also helped his wife get out of some pretty hairy situations, too. He looked over at his wife and silently prayed that, for his son and Sydney’s sake, the West good luck was on their side.

Chapter Thirteen

Monday Early Evening, September 21st

Letting out a small groan, Sydney brought a hand to her head. Opening her eyes, she quickly shut them again. She thought she’d been having a bad dream, but one quick look at her current surroundings confirmed that it was all too real. “Jamie?” Her voice sounded strange, even to her own ears.

Jamie had been searching the room, trying to find some means of protecting himself and Sydney. Turning at the sound of his name, he quickly ran over to his friend. “Hey, you’re awake. I was getting really worried about you.” He bent down and helped Sydney raise herself into a sitting position.

“Where are we?” Sydney took a better look at their surroundings. The bench she was now sitting on was definitely uncomfortable, but at least she hadn’t woken up on the floor. The floor was littered with broken items and looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in months. The walls were lined with metal shelves, housing all sorts of electronic equipment, musical instruments, car parts, kitchen utensils and even some pots and pans.

Jamie shrugged as he went over to a small sink in the back corner. “I don’t know. I know we’re somewhere in Arlington, and not far from the airport. The planes keep flying overhead and they’re pretty low, like they just took off or are coming in for a landing.” Taking a paper cup from the stack next to the sink, he filled it with cold water. Walking back he, handed the cup to Sydney. “Here, drink this. I don’t know what that Mr. Romanovich put on that cloth, but I’ve seen enough TV detective shows to know that it probably made your mouth dry.”

“Thanks.” Sydney took a sip of the water. “You were right, though, my mouth is dry. Actually it feels like I put cotton in my mouth.” Putting the cup down on the bench, she stood and began stretching her legs. Walking around the room, she began looking at the objects lining the shelves. Picking up a watch from the shelf in front of her, she examined the tag attached to it. “Jamie, take a look at this.”

Jamie moved over to his friend. “Yeah, I noticed that all the items have some sort of tag, but I didn’t bother to read the information on them.” He picked up a small tape recorder and examined the tag. He then put it next to the one Sydney held.

Sydney put the watch down and looked at the tag attached to a blender next to her. She gave Jamie a small smile as she realized the tags were all the same. “Looks like you were right, we are somewhere in Arlington. It’s too bad they didn’t leave a phone in here, we could call someone and tell them the name and address of this place based on the information on the tag.” She pointed to the rest of the shelves along the walls. “My guess is we’re probably in the back room of some sort of pawnshop. I mean look at the assortment of stuff back here.”

Jamie had been so busy looking for something that could be used in self-defense that he didn’t take the time to actually think about everything he was looking at. “You know, you could be right. Where else would you find things like a car battery, jewelry, and guitars all stored together?” He walked over to the shelves and examined everything more closely. Picking up an old radio, he turned towards Sydney, a sly grin spreading across his face.

Sydney eyed her friend suspiciously. “What’s going through that mind of yours, Jamie King? The last time you looked at me like that you came up with the brilliant idea to sneak into the tournament, and look where that got us.”

Jamie shook his head excitedly. “If my idea works, it may just get us out of this mess.” He motioned for her to come over to him, not wanting to yell across the room, in case their captors were listening.

Sydney crossed her arms in front of her. “All right, let’s hear it, but I’m warning you, if I even think it’s a bad idea, you’re on your own.”

“I think there might be enough stuff here for us to put together some sort of radio transmitter.” Jamie caught the skeptical look his friend was giving him. “Seriously. My mom helped me build one a few years ago for a science project. Of course it didn’t work, but I think between the two of us, we might be able to make one that really works. Think about it, we’re near the airport, and if we can put together some sort of transmitter that we can send an S-O-S from…”

Sydney’s eyes widened in excitement and a smile spread across her face. “I think, Jamie, you may actually have come up with a good plan for a change.” She began looking around at all the objects on the shelf. “Okay, so what are we going to need?”

Jamie moved a few items off one of the more empty shelves. Placing the radio down, he moved over to another shelf with jewelry. “Well, we’ll need some wire, and if we can find something copper or gold, we can use it as a conductor. We’ll also need something that creates a current, like a battery.” He started rummaging through the strands of jewelry. “Man all of this looks like junk, and if it’s junk it’s definitely not going to be real gold.”

Sydney walked over to a shelf with pots and pans. Picking up an oddly colored pot, she banged on it. “Jamie, I think this might be a copper pot.”

Jamie turned towards her. “Good, that might work, go put it on that shelf.” He pointed to the one he had just cleared off. He then walked over and picked up one of the car batteries. “I’m not sure if this thing is charged or not, but if it is, I think we just found our power source.” He had just placed the battery on the shelf, when he heard the click of the lock. Looking at Sydney, his eyes grew wide. “Quick, get back on the bench.” He whispered as he headed over to the wooden seat.

Sydney rushed over and sat down, just as the door opened. Scooting closer to Jamie, she watched the man they had met earlier walk into the room.

“Ah, I see you are finally awake, Miss Bristow.” Sergei said, looking closely at the young girl. She looked so much like her mother. He had never met Irina Derevko, but he had seen pictures of her. She was, after all a legend. He turned and motioned behind him. “Vadorsky, bring in the food.” He then turned towards the two teenagers. “I suggest you eat something.” He motioned to the food Vadorsky was carrying on a tray. “I need to make sure you are well enough to travel, Miss Bristow.”

Vadorsky placed the tray on the floor in front of their two captives. He then turned and walked over to his fellow agent. “I just got off the phone with Levinson at the Embassy. He says the Americans brought Aleksandr back, safe and unharmed, but alone. Apparently the Agency is holding Plotkovich, Scarecrow apprehended him.”

“I knew we shouldn’t have left that fool behind.” Romanovich kicked a nearby garbage can in frustration. “However, if Ivan knows what’s best for him, he’ll keep his mouth shut. Was Levinson able to confirm my suspicion?” He tilted his head in Jamie’s direction.

“Levinson said that the driver of the Embassy car returned a few minutes ago. He was busy watching the chess match, and paid no attention to what was going on around him until federal agents came in and broke up the match. He overheard one of the agents talking to a woman and mentioning the names Stetson and King. Levinson said he would do some more checking, but my guess is,” Vadorsky pointed towards Jamie, “the boy is very likely Scarecrow’s partner’s son.”

An evil smile crossed the Magician’s face as he turned towards the two youngsters. “I hope you two get along, because you are going to be with each other for a very long time.”

“What do you want with us?” Sydney asked in a voice she hoped sounded more courageous than she felt.

Sergei let out a wicked little laugh as he looked at the young girl. “There is someone who is very anxious to meet you. But don’t worry, it seems that you won’t be traveling alone; Master King will be joining you on your trip. Now, I suggest you two eat up.” He turned around and started heading for the door.

Vadorsky followed his mentor. “Oh and one other thing, Levinson said that it would not be in your best interest to return to the Embassy. You’ve angered quite a few people with this little stunt. He suggested that you contact Borsky and let him know you have the package, and that he should come here to D.C. and head home to the mother country with you.”

Sergei stepped aside and let Vadorsky walk out of the room ahead of him. “That won’t be a problem. I needed to contact him anyway to let him know that he can stop his search in Los Angeles.” He glanced back towards the pair still sitting on the bench. There was a lot to plan and not a lot of time to waste. He knew Scarecrow well enough to know that his adversary would be working every angle to track them down, especially if Jamie King was his partner’s son. Now that Scarecrow had Plotkovich, he knew that the timetable had to be moved up if he wanted to deliver Sydney Bristow into Kholokov’s hands. If they didn’t move soon, their window of opportunity would be gone, and he’d never get back to Russia. Closing the door behind him, he inserted the key into the lock.

Jamie waited to hear the click of the lock before turning to Sydney. “Okay, now I’m really worried. Mr. Romanovich said something in the car about you going on a trip but never mentioned anything about me going too until now. I wonder what he meant by that, it’s almost like he singled you out for a reason.”

Sydney shrugged. “I have no idea but I thought he was looking at me kind of strangely at the tournament. It was as if he recognized me, but I’ve never seen him before.”

Jamie pushed his glasses back up on his nose. “Now that I think about, Mr. Romanovich asked me if my mom knew your dad. I didn’t really think much about it at the time. Do you think there might be a connection between these men and your dad?”

“I don’t know, but I hope not. I’d hate to think of my dad associating with men like Mr. Romanovich.” Sydney glanced back around the room at all the clutter before turning her attention back towards Jamie. “At least we’re together.”

Jamie gave her a small smile. “Yeah, at least that’s one thing that’s good about this whole situation.” Suddenly his eyes grew wide. “You know what? I was so worried about you that I never really gave any thought about what they were going do to me. Now that I know they plan on taking me with them I don’t have to worry about more unpleasant thoughts. I wonder where they plan on taking us, and do you think they were speaking Russian?” He then looked down at the food at their feet. “Do you think we should eat something?”

“Boy, do you think you could have asked any more questions.” Sydney chuckled.

“Sorry.” Jamie self-consciously shuffled his feet. “I guess I’m just a little bit nervous.”

Sydney smiled warmly at him. “If it makes you feel any better, I am too.” She then looked over at the food that was brought in earlier. “And, to be honest, I’m not very hungry. I think we should get back to our little project.” She stood and started walking back towards the supplies they had started gathering earlier. “As far as what language, I’m pretty sure it was Russian. Aside from the fact that it makes sense because we know that Aleksandr Molinkof is Russian, I think I recognized it. Also, I think they’re planning on taking us to Russia.”

“Russia? How do you know or are you just assuming that because that’s what language they might be speaking?” Jamie stood and followed her.

Sydney shrugged. “Well I know they said something about the mother country. I know that most Russians refer to Russia as the ‘mother country’ so…” She reached the shelf and looked at the few items they had already placed on it. “Didn’t you say we needed some kind of wire?”

Jamie nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t remember seeing any wire when I was searching earlier.” He passed by a guitar and stopped. “Hey, we could use the guitar strings.” He bent down and picked up one of the instruments. As he walked back over to the bench, he started unwinding the string. “Hey, how did you know they said mother country? Do you know how to speak Russian?”

Sydney pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and looked at her friend. “No, I don’t know how to speak Russian, but I did recognize some of what they were saying.”

Jamie looked at his friend intently. “If you don’t speak Russian, how did you know what they were saying? And what other things did you recognize?”

“I don’t know, maybe I picked it up from watching the movies. I love James Bond movies and most of his enemies are Russian, and sometimes they speak it. I think they put subtitles up on the screen when they do.” Sydney shrugged. “Anyway, my dad doesn’t know that I’ve seen most of the movies. He’d probably get mad. I usually watch them at my friend Rachel’s house.” She moved over and started going through the jewelry. She figured that it might not hurt to see if she could find something made of gold. She knew from her science lessons that copper would be a good conductor, but gold was better. “I don’t know why my dad doesn’t like James Bond, I thought all guys did.”

Jamie shrugged. “I know I do.” He turned another of the knobs on the guitar, trying to unravel the string. “I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if you picked up Russian from watching the movies, you have a really good memory, you said so yourself. But it does seem weird that your dad doesn’t like James Bond. In fact, most of the movies I’ve watched recently have been with my mom and Lee.” He looked up to see what Sydney was doing. “Hey I already looked through there and didn’t find anything usable.”

Sydney turned to him and smiled. “Yeah, but I’m a girl. I probably have a better idea of what’s gold and what isn’t.”

“Ha ha. All right, little miss-know-it-all, you still haven’t told me what else our ‘keepers’ said.” Jamie turned his attention back to the guitar string.

“I don’t know. I only recognized a few words here and there.” Sydney picked up a necklace and eyed it suspiciously. “I know they said something about a Scarecrow. I also picked up the words partner and son. Other than that, they were talking too fast for me to really understand anything.” She looked over at her friend. “Remember our conversation from earlier, the one about what I want to be when I grow up?” She watched Jamie shrug and nod slightly. “Well I think I know what I want to do?”

“What? Do you want to be a spy?” Jamie let out a laugh.

Sydney narrowed her eyes at him and shrugged. “Perhaps, but whatever it is, it’s going to be a job where I can make sure that men like Mr. Romanovich and his friends get what they deserve.”

“Maybe you should pay more attention to what Mr. Romanovich does. It might give you some good insight and experience that you can use later on when you’re working your way through spy school.” Jamie chuckled good-naturedly. “Sorry, Sydney. I know you’re being serious. I’m just trying to lighten the mood a little.”

Sydney shrugged and let out a small laugh. “Yeah, well you better watch out, because if I do become a spy, the first thing I’ll do is track you down and make you eat your words.” She then looked at her friend curiously. “Jamie, do you remember what the guy who brought us our food said? I think I heard him say the names Stetson and King, too.”

Jamie stopped fiddling with the string and looked at Sydney intently. “Yeah, I heard that too, now that I think about it. You know, in the car Mr. Romanovich kept saying something about the Scarecrow, and kept asking me how I knew him…the Scarecrow that is. I could have sworn I saw Lee running after us, too, right after Mr. Romanovich pushed me into the car.” He shook his head. “This is so unreal, you know. I mean this whole situation,” he motioned to the room around them, “it’s like the things we see on TV, it’s not supposed to happen in real life.”

“I know what you mean. I feel like we’re in the middle of some bad movie.” With the necklace still in her hand, Sydney walked over to the shelf of items. “I think this might be real gold, if not we always have the copper pot.” As she placed the necklace on the shelf, she noticed the bracelet on her wrist and let out a little chuckle. “I totally forgot I had this on. It was my mother’s, and it’s real gold.” She twisted the bracelet around and stared at it intently. “Hey, I think I know why I recognized what they were saying.”

Jamie unwound the rest of the string. Placing the guitar on the ground, he coiled the string up and walked over to Sydney. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I just remembered that my mom had a Russian friend who came over to our house sometimes. He usually came over during the day, when my dad wasn’t around, and I think I remember her talking to him in Russian.” Sydney looked up at Jamie. “My mom said she took Russian in College and that’s where she knew him from. I don’t remember his name though. So it’s possible that I picked up a few things just by listening to them.”

“Like I said, you have a great memory. It doesn’t surprise me that you picked up some of it just by being around it.” Jamie went over to a nearby toolbox and pulled out a screwdriver. He then went back to the shelf and started taking the radio apart.

“You know, Jamie, if you think you saw Lee, that means they definitely know we’re missing.” Sydney’s face brightened.

Jamie nodded his head. “Ever since Mr. Romanovich said something in the car, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.” He pulled a few items out of the back of the radio. “My mom ran off with Lee about a year ago, but they said it was some security mix-up. We had federal agents crawling all over the house. I was never fully convinced that they would go to all that trouble because of a couple of documentary filmmakers.” Jamie put down the screwdriver and looked over at Sydney. “Wait a minute, if Lee really is connected with those government agents, that means my mom is too.” He leaned back against the wall and shook his head. “That doesn’t make any sense, I mean she’s my mom. She doesn’t go around waving a gun at people.”

Sydney walked over and placed a hand on his arm. “Jamie, I think I know what you’re feeling. I think I’d feel the same way if I suspected that my dad was a spy. The thought is so ridiculous. My dad sells airplane parts. Your mom’s supposed to produce documentary films. Those don’t sound like the type of things that government agents do. Does it?”

Jamie shrugged and pushed away from the wall. He stared at the items on the shelf. “I don’t know what to think anymore. What I do know is, that if by some chance Lee really is this Scarecrow they keep talking about, then we have a really good chance that, if we can get this transmitter to work,” he pointed to the items in front of them, “Lee might have people listening for it.”

“Well, let’s stop talking and start working.” Sydney was now more determined than ever. She still didn’t know why Mr. Romanovich had taken them, but if Jamie was right about his mom’s boyfriend, then they had a very good chance of being rescued.

SMK a SMK a SMK

Lee stared through the two-way window, watching the smug look on Ivan Plotkovich’s face. There was no way he was going to let anyone else interrogate that man. Turning around, he stared at Francine and Gordon. “I’m not budging on this one, he’s mine.” He heard his wife clear her throat. “Let me rephrase that,” he pointed from himself to Amanda and back again, “he’s ours.”

“Oh, come on Scarecrow. You had your chance with him back at the school. Let us take a crack.” Gordon didn’t get much of a chance to do interrogations and he was really looking forward to doing this one. Plotkovich would be his first KGB agent.

Lee shook his head and pointed towards the window. “That man in there knows exactly where those kids are, and there is no way I’m letting anyone else get the information from him.”

Gordon stepped closer to Lee and looked his fellow agent directly in the eye. “How about we discuss the fact that you carry a picture of your partner and her kids in your wallet.”

Lee’s face grew three shades of red and he narrowed his eyes the agent. “That is none of your business, Gordon.”

Francine stepped between the two men. “Actually, Scarecrow, I think it is our business.” The phone rang and interrupted anything else she wanted to say. She watched as Amanda picked up the receiver.

Amanda nodded. “Yes, he’s here. Okay, I’ll let him know.” She put the phone back on its base and turned towards her fellow agents. “Gordon, that was Research. They say they need you downstairs, now. I guess they’re short handed.”

Gordon let out a frustrated sigh. “Well, looks like you won this round, Scarecrow.” He turned and headed out of the room.

“Looks like your interrogation partner’s gone which means,” Lee looked over at Amanda, “we get to do the questioning.” He smiled and turned towards the door to the interrogation room.

Francine quickly moved in front of him. “Not so fast, Scarecrow. I think I’d like to know if what Gordon said was true or not.”

Lee shrugged. “What difference does it make, it’s none of Gordon’s business and it’s certainly none of yours.” He moved to step around the blonde.

“I’m not taking the side-step answers anymore.” Francine looked behind Lee towards Amanda. “I want to know exactly what’s going on between the two of you.”

Before Lee could give Francine any kind of an answer at all, Billy walked into the room. “I’m glad you guys haven’t started interrogating Plotkovich, yet. It makes this a whole lot easier.”

Francine glared at her friend and whispered, “Don't think I'm going to let you wriggle your way out of this Lee. I promise you, I will get the full, unabridged answers to my questions.”

Lee smiled smugly at his friend and then turned towards his section chief. “I’m glad you’re here Billy, now you can tell Francine that Amanda and I are doing this interview.”

Billy shook his head. “Sorry Scarecrow, but I’m giving this one to Francine.”

“No way Billy, Plotkovich is mine.”

Billy put up a hand to stop his agent’s protest. “Scarecrow, I’m not letting you go in there. I have a feeling that Ivan Plotkovich is going to be a hard nut to crack, and I don’t need you doing anything stupid.” He looked over at Lee knowingly. “I’ve seen some of your interrogation techniques, and that’s when you don’t have a personal stake in the information…when you do have a personal stake…”

Lee let out a groan of frustration. “Oh, come on Billy, I’m not that bad.” He rolled his eyes at the hard glare his boss was giving him. “Okay, so sometimes I get a little carried away.”

Billy let out a small chuckle. “Fine, I’ll let you get away with ‘little’, however, I promised the Embassy we’d return Plotkovich in good condition.”

“Return him.” Lee took a step closer to his boss. “Please don’t tell me that we’re just going to hand him over.”

Billy shook his head. “Give me a little more credit than that.” He then turned towards Francine. “Go ahead and start the interview. See if you can get him to give you any idea what their plan is, where the Magician took Jamie and Sydney, and if he has any idea what airport they might be flying out of.” As the blonde turned to head in, he put a hand on her arm to stop her. “Oh, and Francine, Plotkovich can holler all he wants about diplomatic immunity, but tell him that it won’t do any good. Let him know that the Embassy knows we won’t be returning him until those two children are returned, safe and unharmed.”

Francine nodded and, putting on her sultriest face, entered the interrogation room. “Ivan, Ivan, Ivan. Now that I’ve got you alone, I can tell you how handsome you are.” She walked over to him and ran a hand teasingly across his shoulders and neck. “I couldn’t let anyone back at the school know, but I find you very, very attractive.”

Billy shook his head and turned away from the window. “Francine loves to use that technique, doesn’t she?”

Lee chuckled. “Yeah, and most of the time, it does work. Then again, sometimes it doesn’t.” His face then turned serious. “All right, Billy can you please tell me why we’re promising to return Plotkovich?”

“Because, in order to avoid an international incident, since Ivan really does have diplomatic immunity, the Embassy has agreed to let us hold Ivan until Jamie and Sydney have been returned. The Russians were very thankful that we returned Aleksandr to them, especially after one of theirs just kidnapped two American children.” Billy looked over towards Amanda. He could tell that she was putting up a strong front. If it was one of his children that was in the hands of the KGB, he knew his wife would be a wreck. Giving her an encouraging smile, he turned his attention back towards Lee. “So, as a way of thanking us, they’re letting us hold Plotkovich for questioning. Right now, he’s our only source of information. The Magician won’t be able to get back into the Embassy without being taken into custody, or shipped right back to Russia. Which means he most likely won’t go back there, but I’m sure he’s got enough friends inside the Embassy that he’s not totally cut off. And even if Romanovich does go back there, it’s not like the Embassy is going to just hand him over to us.”

Lee leaned his head back and looked at the ceiling. “So if we can’t get Plotkovich to talk, we’re basically back to square one? Have you heard from Fielder? He was doing a thorough search of the school, not that I expect him to find anything, but we had to leave him there to make it look like an official investigation was being done.”

Billy sighed and leaned back against the window. “Fielder called, he’s on his way back. His team finished at the school, and you’re right, they didn’t find anything. He didn’t expect to find anything either, but, like you said, we had to make it look convincing for the Principal. He did say that when he was leaving, he noticed the Embassy car was gone. Apparently we all forgot about the driver of the car. He tracked the car back to the Embassy, and they aren’t releasing any information on the driver. I tried to encourage them to let us at least talk to the driver, but they said we already have one bargaining chip, they refuse to give us another.”

Lee turned and glared at the man on the other side of the window. “Francine’s not getting anywhere with him, Billy.” He turned back and looked pleadingly at his boss. “Please, let me go in there.”

Amanda moved forward and stood next to her husband. “Lee, I think the threatening angle won’t work. You tried that back at the school, remember?”

Lee turned to look at his wife. “A-man-da.”

Billy cleared his throat. “I stick with my earlier decision, Scarecrow.” He then turned towards Amanda. “Now, I know you want to stick around and hear what we find out, but it may be a long while before we get anything out of him.” He pointed back towards the window. “I want you to go home and take care of your family. I’ve already sent extra teams to your house, just to be on the safe side, and I want you,” he looked directly at Lee, “to go with her. She’s going to need all the support she can get.”

“Thank you, sir.” Amanda nodded at her boss. “Um, sir, Lee and I were trying to decide exactly what to tell my family. As much as I would love to be able to tell them a modified version of the truth, we realized that wouldn’t be possible without exposing Jack as a spy. Since my mother and Joe know what we do for a living, it’s going to be awful hard not to tell them the truth. Do you have any suggestions?”

Billy scrunched his face in thought. “Well, we know that Jack tells everyone that he sells airplane parts for a living…so, tell them that he sold some parts to a couple of Russians who turned out to be with the KGB and the deal went bad.” He then looked at Amanda. “As far as your oldest is concerned, if you feel like telling your son what you do, go ahead, it might make things a little easier for him if he knows that you have the right connections to find his brother. With regards to Sydney, you can tell them that since Jack is now working with the government to fix the situation with the deal gone wrong, you were ordered to take Sydney in because Jack feared for her safety. Tell them that the Russians who were assigned to protect the chess prodigy recognized her, and took her to get to Jack. That part, at least, is the truth. Let them know that we’ve got every available agent working overtime to find your son and Sydney.”

Amanda gave her boss a half-hearted smile. “Thank you, sir. It may not be the complete truth, but at least it does have a few elements of truth.”

Billy reached out and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I know how much you hate lying to your family, Amanda.”

Amanda nodded and gave him a small smile, but it quickly turned to a frown of concern. “Sir, have you contacted the CIA yet? So that they can get word to Jack.”

“Yes, I called them as soon as I heard.” Billy gave her a reassuring nod. “They said they would let Jack know. I’m sure he’ll be on the next flight here.” He had not looked forward to making the phone call to the CIA director, but surprisingly, the director had been very understanding about the whole situation. He had a feeling that it had a lot to do with the fact that Jamie King had been kidnapped, as well.

“Great,” Lee groaned. “That’s all we need, Mr. Personality arriving and mucking up the entire rescue mission.” He looked at his section chief. “You know what’s going to happen the minute he gets here, he’s going to say that since it’s his daughter, the CIA is going to take over the investigation.”

Amanda moved over to her husband and placed a hand on his arm. “Lee, Jack is just as entitled to be a part of the search for his daughter, as you are because of Jamie. We all have a loved one’s best interest at stake.”

Billy watched the exchange with renewed interest. They really were perfect for each other, and he couldn’t help but wonder how long it would before they came to their senses and made a life-long commitment to each other. He had given Lee enough pushes in that direction, and he had been outside the room when Gordon had made the comment about the photo. He wasn’t looking forward to dealing with Dr. Smyth, but he’d do whatever it took to keep the pair together, he owed Lee that much. Shaking his head, he got back to the business at hand. “Actually, Scarecrow, I’ve already received confirmation from the CIA’s deputy director that they’ll let us handle this since it’s been our operation from the start.”

“Well that’s a first.” Lee looked at his boss, with a mixture of shock and relief on his face.

Billy shrugged. “Actually, I think it has more to do with the leak. I think they're afraid that if they get involved, they'll have to admit that Sydney was in the D.C. area all along, and it might tick a few people off that the CIA came to us for help. Since it’s still our operation, I’m having Research get more information on the Magician’s known associates and frequent haunts here in the D.C. area. I told them to follow up on any leads, no matter how small or insignificant they think it might be.”

Amanda removed her hand from her husband’s arm and looked at her boss curiously. “Is that why Research called up here looking for Gordon?”

Billy nodded. “Yes, they need all the available manpower they can get and honestly, Plotkovich is way out of Gordon’s league. He hasn’t had much experience with interrogations, and I didn’t want Gordon to tangle with him,” he motioned at the glass window, “being as green as he is.”

“I think you were probably right, even Francine’s having trouble with Ivan.” Amanda glanced into the interrogation room. Although her husband had openly admitted that he wanted to be the one interrogating Ivan Plotkovich, she had secretly hoped to get a crack at the man as well. She wanted desperately to go in there and wipe the smug look off the man’s face. It was killing her to know that Plotkovich knew where the Magician was holding her son and Sydney, and that the Russian might never give up the information. Fighting the urge to storm into the room, she let out a sigh and then turned to look in her husband’s direction. “I guess we should head home, Lee.” Receiving a nod in response, she turned and headed for the door. As she reached the doorway, she stopped and turned around. “You know, sir, there is one other person who might know where they are?”

Lee looked at his wife curiously. “Amanda, there was no one…” he looked directly into her eyes. His wife nodded and he turned towards Billy. “Amanda’s right. Aleksandr was in the room with Jamie and Sydney. You know he had to have seen what happened, and I’m positive he heard what the Magician would have told Plotkovich.”

Billy shook his head. “I’m sorry, but even if he does know something, there’s no way we can get to the boy and question him.”

“Actually, Billy, there is. One of my family works inside the Embassy. I’ll get in touch with her. She may be able to get in to talk to Aleksandr. Even if she can’t, I can at least have her keep an ear out for anything that might be useful.” Lee turned to follow his wife out the door. “I’ll also get in touch with some of my other family and see if they have any information on the Magician. I’ll let you know if I turn up anything.”

Billy waited until Amanda was in the hallway before reaching out and placing a hand on Lee’s arm. “Amanda’s going to need you more now than ever. I can tell she’s putting up a brave front, but that’s her baby out there in enemy hands.”

“Billy, I’m fully aware of what’s at stake.” Lee looked his boss in the eye. “Jamie’s very important to me, too.”

Billy nodded. “Yes, I know. What I’m trying to tell you is that it’s obvious that she’s bottling up her emotions and it will only take something small to make her explode. Just remember to be there for her, no matter whom she directs her anger at,” he looked pointedly at Lee, “and don’t take it personally, okay?”

Lee ran a hand through his hair. “I hear you.” He had witnessed the type of explosion his wife was capable of just yesterday. The only difference with what happened yesterday and the current situation, was that before neither one of them realized the amount of stress they had been suppressing. Now, however, he was fully aware of the situation and would be able to react a whole lot differently. He would be there for her, no matter what. He glanced briefly towards the interrogation room. Billy was right, Ivan was definitely biding his time; even Francine’s cunning wiles didn’t appear to be working. “I’d better go. I’ll touch base with you if I hear anything from my contacts.”

Billy nodded. “And I promise that I’ll get in touch with you as soon as we have any information at all.”

Lee gave his boss a smile of thanks before heading for the doorway. Entering the hallway, he walked over to his wife.

“What did Mr. Melrose want?” Amanda asked as she started heading towards the elevators.

Lee fell into step beside her, and placed his hand at the small of her back. “He just wanted to assure me that he’ll call us as soon as they hear anything.”

Amanda shook her head and looked at her husband. “Nice try, Scarecrow, but I’m not buying.” She stopped in front of the elevator and pushed the button to go down to the garage.

“Actually, he really did say that. But you’re right, that’s not what he wanted to talk to me about.” Lee glanced over at his wife and caught her looking at him, her eyebrows raised questioningly. “He’s worried about you, and wanted to make sure I was going to be there for you.” He looked directly into his wife’s eyes. “And that’s the honest truth.”

“I love you, Lee.” She looked deeply into her husband’s hazel eyes, so full of expression. “I don’t think I’d be able to keep my wits about me if I didn’t have you.”

Lee placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. “And I’m not going anywhere.” The elevator doors opened and he guided his wife inside. “And I love you, too.”

“Lee?” Pressing the button for the garage level, Amanda turned and looked up at her husband. “Do you really carry a picture of us in your wallet?”

Lee let out a self-conscious laugh and, as the elevator doors closed, he pulled out his wallet. “Yeah, I do.” Opening the wallet, he took out the picture he had shown Gordon earlier. “As long as I have that, my family is always with me.”

Amanda wrapped her arms around him. “Our family is very lucky to have you.” She leaned up and kissed him on the lips.

Lee returned the kiss and pulled her closer. It wasn’t until the bell dinged to let them know they had arrived on their floor, that he remembered where they were. “I guess we just gave the security guys something to talk about.”

Amanda rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly. “I guess we’ll be telling a lot more secrets when this whole thing is over.” She took his hand in hers. “Come on. We have a lot of ground to cover at home. The sooner we fill our family in on what’s going on, the sooner we can get back here and help look for Jamie and Sydney.”

Lee nodded as he accepted her hand. He knew that she wanted to be back in that interrogation room, just as much as he did. He also knew that she needed to go take care of things on the home front. The next twenty-four hours were going to be extremely tough, especially on his wife, and he was going to be there for her, in whatever way he could.

Chapter Fourteen

Monday Evening, September 21st

Amanda stood on her back porch peering in the window at the activity inside. Her ex-husband was sitting on the couch next to Phillip playing a video game, and her mother was in the kitchen with Carrie, preparing the meal that, once everyone found out what was going on, would most likely not get eaten tonight. She desperately fought back the lump that was forming in her throat. This wasn’t how they were supposed to be spending the evening. They should be sitting at Camden Yards, eating hot dogs and cheering on their favorite team; instead the world of espionage had once again interrupted their plans. As she wiped away a stray tear that fell to her cheek, two strong arms wrapped around her waist. Leaning back against her husband’s chest, she let out a small sigh. “Is this what it was like for you, always looking in on the activity inside, wanting desperately to join in but not sure you really belonged?”

“Are you trying to tell me that you feel like you don't belong in there? Is that why you're standing out here, looking in, instead of being a part of what's going on inside your home?” Lee moved his hands up from her waist to rest on her shoulders and then, gently, he turned her to face him until he could meet her eyes. “Amanda, you have to accept that you're not responsible for the fact that Jamie and Sydney aren't inside with everybody else. Isn’t that what you were trying to drill into my head earlier?” He watched as his wife gave a slight nod of her head. “You belong in there with your family.” He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her forehead. “There’s a big difference to what I experienced in the past and how I feel today. In the past, I was just an observer, longing to be a part of the King household chaos, but today I am a part of it…and so are you.”

Amanda shrugged slightly. “I know you’re right and even though, on some level, I do feel responsible for what happened to Jamie and Sydney, as I know you do too, the reason I’m standing out here is because I didn’t feel like facing our family alone. I knew that if I went in there without you, I’d fall apart, and I can’t let myself do that. I have to be strong.” She placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “But thank you for the reassurance. So, did you get in touch with Katrina?”

Lee let out a small chuckle at his wife’s obvious attempt to change the subject. “Yes I did. I’ve arranged a meet with her for later tonight. I didn’t want to go into too much detail over the phone; you never know who might be listening. I’ll sneak out after dinner and be back before you have a chance to miss me.” He winked at her and then, as he looked deeply into her eyes, he saw the pain and anguish that she was trying to hide from everyone. “Amanda, why do you feel like you have to be strong? No one’s expecting you to put on a brave face. I know that, deep down, this is killing you and no one would think any less of you if you broke down.”

Amanda stepped away from him. “Lee, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from all my Agency training, it’s that I have to compartmentalize my emotions. If I don’t, I’ll worry too much and then I won’t be able to concentrate.” She turned to look at her husband. “And if I can’t concentrate, it could mean the difference between life and death for me or for someone else.”

With two quick strides, Lee was standing in front of his wife. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he tenderly put a finger on her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Amanda Stetson, that is the most absurd thing I have ever heard come out of your mouth. Your emotions are what make you a good agent. If you bottle them up, you’ll end up doing more harm than good. Sure, the Agency teaches agents to compartmentalize, but they don’t tell you not to feel. Believe me when I tell you that because, as you know, that’s what I did for too many years. You’re allowed to break down and show that you’re worried, especially when loved ones are concerned. It doesn’t make you weak, it makes you human.”

Amanda leaned in and wrapped her arms around her husband. Looking up at him, she gave him a shy smile. “How did you get so smart?”

“I learned it from my partner.” Lee placed a gentle kiss on her nose. “Now, what do you say we head inside and let our family know what’s going on?”

Amanda looked up at her husband, a twinkle of merriment dancing in her eyes. “I think it’s really sweet that you think of Joe as part of your family.”

Lee rolled his eyes and shook his head slightly. “You know that wasn’t what I meant. I was referring to Dotty and Phillip…”

Amanda let out a small chuckle and placed a kiss on his cheek. “I know, love, I just couldn’t resist.” Turning serious, she glanced back through the window. “I’m still a little hesitant to go in there.” She looked back at her husband and caught the questioning raise of his eyebrows. “I feel like we should be doing something to help find Jamie and Sydney. I don’t feel right letting someone else do all the research and leg work, when Sydney was our responsibility in the first place.”

Lee let out a long sigh. “Amanda, I understand how you feel, I don’t like sitting this one out, either, but Billy’s right, you’re first responsibility is to the family members we can account for.” He locked eyes with his wife. “I don’t mean to be so straight forward, but you need to realize that your place, right now, is inside there.” He tilted his head towards the house. “I’ve done everything I can at the moment. I’ve contacted the members of my family who might be able to help us. Other than pacing back and forth in our office, what else is there for us to do?”

“You’re right. We need to be here to give our family all the love and comfort we can, not to mention answer any questions they might have.” Amanda smiled tenderly at her husband. “You really have been spending too much time with me. I’m making you think like a normal person.”

Lee pulled his wife to him and wrapped his arms around her. “And I’m enjoying every minute of my new life. You’ve made me realize that my place is and always will be where ever you are, and I know that, right now, your place is here, with our family.”

“I love you.” Amanda leaned in and placed a quick kiss on his lips.

Lee winked. “I love you, too.” He then tilted his head in the direction of the back door. “Now, don’t you think we should go inside?”

“I guess there’s no time like the present.” Amanda took her husband’s hand in hers and headed for the door.

As they stepped inside the kitchen, they were greeted by the sounds that had accompanied the scene Amanda had witnessed from outside the window. Dotty and Carrie were clanging pots, pans and dishes in the kitchen as they put the final preparations on dinner, and the steady beep of the video game was coming from the den.

Amanda gave her husband’s hand a gentle squeeze, before letting go and heading into the kitchen to say hello to her mother and Carrie.

“One more level, Dad, and I’ll be the high scorer.” Phillip shouted, his eyes glued to the video game.

“Phillip, did you complete another level?” Lee asked in amazement as he headed towards the den and placed his hands on the back of the couch. “That’s great.”

Phillip pushed pause on the video control and turned to look at his mom’s boyfriend. “Thanks, Lee. Hey, by the way, you really let the guys down when you didn’t show to pick me up. Tommy Watkins was bringing Susie Miller over to show off the car.” He then turned and gave his father an apologetic grin. “Sorry, Dad, I didn’t mean that I wasn’t happy to see you.”

Joe gave a small laugh as he patted his son’s arm. “Don’t worry Phillip, I know how much fun it is to impress the girls with hot cars.” He then turned and looked towards Lee, giving him a knowing grin.

“Hey, Lee,” Phillip stood and looked behind his mom’s boyfriend, “where’s Jamie? He’s always bragging about how much better at this game he is than me, I wanted to prove to him that I really can beat his high score any day. And where’s Sydney? She didn’t believe I could do it either.” He looked out the window onto the patio, expecting to see them walking towards the back door. When he didn’t see any sign of them, he looked back at Lee. “Didn’t they come home with you?”

Lee looked towards the other room and locked eyes with his wife. Before he could answer Phillip, Dotty called out from the kitchen.

“You didn’t leave them at the tournament, did you? I mean it can’t still be going on, I would have thought that they would have finished for the day by now. Besides, dinner’s almost ready.” Dotty finished scooping the vegetables into a bowl and looking up, she caught the look that passed between her son-in-law and daughter. Taking a closer look at Amanda, she noticed the lines of worry that were etched on her daughter’s face. “Amanda,” her tone of voice suspicious, “where are Jamie and Sydney? Joe said that you were all staying behind to watch the tournament.”

Amanda took a deep breath and moved over to turn off the stove. “Mother, Carrie, I think we should all go into the den. Something’s happened…”

Dotty’s eyes grew wide as a sudden realization dawned on her and she turned towards the den. She quickly moved into the other room and pointed a finger at Joe. “You lied to me.” She then turned back towards the kitchen and stared at her daughter. “You had Joe lie to me. Yesterday, you and Lee sat there,” without taking her eyes off of Amanda, she pointed towards the back patio, “and promised me that there would be no more lies.” Suddenly she put her hand over her mouth and let out a small gasp. Removing her hand, she looked directly at her daughter. “This has something to do with Sydney and the people you were protecting her from, doesn’t it?” She watched her daughter nod her head almost reluctantly. “I knew Joe was side-stepping something. He wouldn’t look me in the eye, I should have guessed right then that something was wrong.”

Amanda followed her mother into the den and stopped behind the couch. “Mother, I asked Joe not to tell you anything because I didn’t want you to worry. We wanted to wait until we had more information before we told you anything.”

Dotty eyed her daughter suspiciously. “So, I take it that, since you two are home now, you have more information to tell us?”

Lee walked over and placed his hands on his wife’s shoulders. “Unfortunately, Dotty, we don’t. Look, why don’t we all just have a seat and then Amanda and I can tell you what’s going on.”

Carrie King, who had been standing in the kitchen watching the exchange with some confusion, moved into the den. She found it slightly odd that her husband had told her the same thing that he had told Dotty. Then again, maybe he didn’t want her to worry either, after all Jamie was her stepson, and she loved him just as much as she would if he were her own son. Taking a seat next to her husband, she gently rested her hand on his leg.

Dotty sighed and moved to sit in the armchair, and let her gaze fall on her eldest grandson. She saw the confusion written on his face. She then looked back at her daughter and son-in-law and wondered just how much of the truth they were going to share with them.

Amanda reached up to her shoulder and taking one of Lee’s hands in hers, led him around the couch and into the den. Stopping in front of the fireplace, she turned to look at her family. Feeling the gentle squeeze of her hand, she took a deep breath. “Jamie and Sydney have been kidnapped.”

“Kidnapped?” Dotty looked stunned. “You’re right, I’m glad I didn’t know this before you got home. So do you know who has them and if you do, why aren’t you two out there doing your jobs, trying to find them?”

Lee looked at his mother-in-law. “Dotty, believe me, we would prefer to be out there looking for them. We know who took them, but we don’t know where they are. We had a team set up at the school, and they followed the vehicle that drove off with Jamie and Sydney, but unfortunately they lost them. I’ve already put a few feelers out with some of my contacts, but so far we haven’t turned up anything more.”

Phillip looked at his mother, his brows frowning in confusion. “Mom what did Grandma mean when she said that you were supposed to be protecting Sydney?” He then turned towards his mother’s boyfriend. “Lee, what do you mean by contacts? That almost sounds like spy talk. I think you’ve been watching too many James Bond movies, you’re a film-maker.” He caught the knowing look that passed between his mom and Lee. “Aren’t you?”

“Not exactly.” Lee kept his gaze focused on the small audience in front of them. He didn’t need to look at his wife to know what she was thinking. That phrase was the one that had opened his eyes to the fact that his partner was tired of dancing around their feelings for each other. She never would let him forget the fact that, technically, she had made the first move.

Phillip looked at his mother’s boyfriend like he had just grown another head. “I’m confused, if you say you work for a film company, how can you not be film-makers. I thought you worked for I.F.F which I thought stood for International Federal Films which means they make films, right?”

Amanda let go of her husband’s hand and moved towards the couch. “Phillip, we do work for I.F.F, and to some degree the company does make documentaries,” walking around the coffee table, she sat down in front of her son, “but, you see, the documentaries I.F.F produces are merely to hide the fact that it’s a top secret government organization. And the truth is, Lee and I don’t work in the documentary production department. We work in the information gathering department.”

“Are you saying that you two,” Carrie pointed from Lee then to Amanda, “are spies?” She then looked at her husband and was a little surprised that he didn’t seem the least bit shocked by this news. In fact, he seemed to lock eyes with Dotty, as if they were sharing a secret. She wondered how long her husband had known about Amanda’s career, and wondered why he hadn’t shared that information with her. She liked Amanda, but the closeness that still existed between her and Joe made her very uneasy at times. She made a mental note to have a nice long conversation with her husband, later.

“Spies?” Phillip let out a small laugh. “That’s a good one Carrie. My mom a spy.” He then looked at his mother. “You’re not a spy? Are you?”

Amanda looked at her son and nodded. “I wouldn’t say spy, but yes, we’re federal agents, and what is so unbelievable about the idea of me being a ‘spy’?”

“You’re my mom. Moms don’t become spies…sorry, federal agents.” Phillip looked closer at his mother, as if really seeing her for the first time. “Then again, maybe it isn’t so ridiculous.”

Lee moved to the coffee table and placed his hands on her shoulders. “You’re right, Phillip it's not so ridiculous. Your mom is a damn fine agent; in fact many people at the office think she’s one of the best. I’ve learned a lot from her, just as she’s learned a lot working with me at the Agency. She’s the best partner I’ve ever worked with.”

Phillip saw his mother’s cheeks turn pink with embarrassment as she turned and looked at Lee. He followed his mother’s gaze and studied his mom’s boyfriend for a moment. As the older man’s words started to sink in, he suddenly remembered something. Taking his eyes off of Lee, he looked at his dad and then at his mom, before staring directly at Lee again. “That was you!” He energetically jumped out of his seat and turned back towards his father. “That day in the gym, when you showed up, Dad.” He then turned back in Lee’s direction. “You’re the federal agent who saved Jamie and me in the gym when that guy pulled a gun on us.” He watched as both his mom and Lee nodded their heads in unison. “Is that how you met my mom, because of the mix-up with my dad?”

Amanda shook her head and took her son’s hand in hers. “No, Phillip, I didn’t meet Lee that day. I actually helped Lee get the charges against your dad dropped. The truth is, I met Lee four years ago.”

“If you met four years ago, then how come you didn’t introduce Lee to us that day in the gym?” Phillip sat back down next to his father. “Did you know about mom back then, Dad?”

Joe shook his head. “Not really. When I first returned and ran into your mom, I thought the same thing you just did, that Lee had met your mom while trying to track me down. It wasn’t until after the whole mess with my return was cleared up that your mom told me the truth.”

“You’ve known for over a year.” Carrie turned and looked at her husband, her even tone did nothing to mask the anger flashing in her eyes. “I realize that we didn’t know each other all that well back then, but we’ve been married for just over six months, I think you could have found time to tell me before now. I thought husbands and wives weren’t supposed to keep secrets from each other.”

Joe reached out and placed a hand over hers. “Carrie, I was sworn to secrecy. Besides it wasn’t my secret to tell.”

Carrie rose from the couch. “Oh what a convenient answer. Sometimes I wonder if I really am part of your family, Joe. If you can keep your ex-wife’s secrets, what other secrets are you keeping from me. You didn’t even bother to tell me the truth about Jamie when you said that Amanda had invited us over for dinner.”

“Carrie…” Joe stood and took his wife’s hands in his. “Please, don’t do this. Not now. I’m sorry you found out this way, but can we put this discussion on hold, I want to find out what’s going on with my son. Don’t you want to know what’s being done to find Jamie?”

Carrie removed her hands from Joe’s and, narrowing her eyes at her husband, she let out a deep sigh. “Yes, I do.” Sitting back down on the couch, she crossed her arms in front of her. “But don’t think for a minute that this discussion is over.”

Amanda cleared her throat and looked at the petite blonde woman. She liked Joe’s wife and she didn’t want to be the cause of friction between the pair. “Carrie, please don't be angry with Joe, it's not his fault. When I told Joe the truth, I had to make him swear not to tell anybody, I never even gave it a second thought after you two were married. I could tell you the old company line about national security, but the truth is, we believed that if we kept our jobs a secret from the family, you’d all be safer.”

“A lot of good that did. I still think you should have told Phillip and Jamie sooner, then maybe Jamie would have some idea that you’re out there looking for him.” Dotty turned her attention to Joe’s wife. “And Carrie, don’t feel so bad. I only found out this weekend. I guarantee that if I hadn’t overheard a conversation that I wasn’t supposed to, I would be just as stunned and angry as you are now. As it was, they were forced into telling me the truth.”

“I guess knowing about your job helps explain some of your odd behavior over the last few years, Mom,” Phillip looked over at his grandmother, “and all those times you sent us out of town to visit Aunt Lillian or some other relative and you never came with us.” He then looked back towards his mother. “Last year when we had to go see Aunt Edna because the house was being sprayed for termites, was the house really infested?”

Amanda looked at her son, a sheepish expression on her face. “No, sweetheart it wasn’t, but it was necessary for you all to be out of the house for a while, and that was the best excuse I could come up with at the time.”

“I don’t want to think about all the excuses you’ve given over the years to get us out of the house.” Dotty shook her head slightly. “Like the time you practically forced us to go see Uncle Herman. You said something about a bomb and that you held the key to the whereabouts in your memory.” Her eyes grew slightly wide as the memory came back. “You weren’t kidding about that were you?” She watched as her daughter shook her head in response.

Carrie almost jumped out of her seat as she stared at Amanda, dumbfounded. “Bomb! What bomb and how long ago was this?”

Amanda let out a deep sigh, and exchanged a knowing look with her husband. “About three years ago.”

Lee glanced over at Carrie. “Let’s just say that there was a bomb threat that threatened all of Washington, D.C. and the surrounding areas, but it was taken care of before anything happened.”

“Thank God for the blue wire.” Amanda muttered.

“The blue wire?” Carrie looked at Amanda, curiously.

Amanda shrugged. “I always jiggle the blue wire on the dishwasher when it’s not working, so I told Lee to cut the blue wire and the timer on the bomb stopped.”

“Wow, way to go, Mom!” Phillip grinned at his mother.

“I think we’ve drifted way off topic.” Dotty glanced briefly at her grandson, before turning her attention back on her daughter and son-in-law. “Now, I’m sure there are a ton of things about your jobs that Phillip would love to know, but I think that can wait. I think it’s time we got back to the main reason for this family meeting, don’t you?”

“Yes, Dotty. You’re absolutely right.” Lee removed his hands from his wife’s shoulder and began pacing. “Before I begin, I’m going to tell you right from the start, that we won’t be able to tell you everything. Most of what we deal with is classified information and we’ll only be able to give you the basics.” He stopped and looked at the family in front of him. “That means if you ask any questions, we most likely won’t be able to give you a complete answer.”

Amanda rose from the coffee table and went to stand beside her husband. “Okay, here’s what we can tell you. Sydney’s father sells airplane parts for a living and recently he sold some things to a pair of Russians. Apparently the original items weren’t exactly what they had expected and when he refused to get them what they really wanted, they threatened him. It turns out that the Russians were actually members of the KGB, so Jack was forced to contact the CIA and, because he feared for Sydney’s safety, he said that he would only cooperate if they provided protection for his daughter. He was afraid that if the KGB found out he was working to help capture the men he had been dealing with, then they might try and take Sydney in order to get Jack to stop assisting the government. That’s how we got involved, our bosses asked us to look after Sydney. Unfortunately something happened that we didn’t expect, the man who took Jamie and Sydney is an associate of one of the men Jack had dealt with. We found out today that this man was going to be at the tournament and, although we had arranged for Jamie and Sydney to stay away from the tournament, they decided to sneak in and watch some of it before school let out.”

“If you knew this man was going to be at the school, why didn’t you do something about it? Couldn’t you have had some of your own people watching him or something?” Dotty sat forward in her seat and eyed the couple.

“Actually, Mother, we did.” Amanda turned her attention on her mother. “We had agents at the tournament and another agent undercover at the school.”

Joe looked at his wife. “Well if you had agents in place, how the devil did this man manage to get Jamie and Sydney off school grounds?”

Lee ran a hand through his hair. “Unfortunately, our guys screwed up. They didn’t have every area of the school under surveillance and we didn’t realize that Jamie and Sydney were missing until it was too late. They were supposed to meet us at the book sale after their last class. In fact, Amanda and I had been making sure they made it to and from class safely.”

“When I got to Jamie’s last class, they weren’t there.” Amanda tried not to make eye contact with any of her family, afraid that they would be able to see the guilt she felt for not getting there sooner written on her face. “That’s when we went into panic mode, and by the time we figured out where they had gone, it was too late.” Needing to gain strength from her husband in order to continue, she took his hand in hers. “The other thing that worked against us was that we didn’t want to broadcast to everyone that Sydney was the one in danger, and before you ask, I can’t tell you why we had to keep that a secret. Anyway, our agents were only instructed to watch the Russian. You see the Russian was assigned to be guarding the guest player at the tournament, which is why he was at the school. The agent we had following the Russian, noticed him talking to Jamie and Sydney, and then followed the Russian, Jamie and Sydney to a classroom. Apparently the Russian tricked them into meeting the young prodigy. Since the agent didn’t know who Jamie and Sydney were, he thought everything was perfectly innocent and didn’t stay outside the classroom. If he had, there’s no way the Russian would have gotten away with the kidnapping.”

“We were able to take his associate into custody, though.” Lee let go of Amanda’s hand and began pacing again. “Unfortunately, by the time we left he still wasn’t talking. Our boss told us that he’d contact us the minute they got any new information. So, in the meantime, we have to sit tight.”

“I can see you’re doing a fine job of that, Lee.” Dotty watched her son-in-law walk from one end of the fireplace to the other. “I’m sure we’re all extremely worried about Jamie and Sydney, but what do you say, we head into the dining room and have something to eat. It won’t do any of us any good if we sit around waiting for news on empty stomachs.”

Amanda caught Lee’s arm as he passed by her for the third time. “I think you’re right, Mother. We need to keep our strength up.”

Joe looked at his son. “Phillip, what do you say we go and set the table? I’m sure your grandmother and Carrie were too busy to do that earlier.” When his son nodded in agreement, he stood and started walking towards the other room.

As Phillip rose from his seat, he glanced through the open door to the living room. Catching sight of Lee’s temporary bed, he turned towards his mother’s boyfriend, a curious expression on his face. “Lee, did your apartment really get flooded?”

“No, it didn’t.” Lee shook his head. “Since you guys didn’t really know what we did for a living, and we couldn’t tell you that Sydney was really staying here for her own protection, we had to come up with a good excuse for me staying here. ”

Phillip shrugged his shoulders. “I guess that makes sense.” His brows then creased, deep in thought. “Now that I know the truth, and I guess Jamie will too, when you and mom bring him home…does this mean that you won’t have to make up stories anymore? I mean, you’ll be able to tell us the truth?”

Amanda sighed. “We promise to tell you as much of the truth as we can. But there will still be details that we’ll have to keep from you. Our jobs require us to keep some secrets.”

“I guess I understand that. If James Bond told everyone what he was really doing, MI6 couldn't send him out on operations, could they? He wouldn’t be able to move about in secret if everyone knew who he was and what he was really up to.” Phillip glanced around the room at the adults and noticed them all trying to hide their amusement. “Yes, I know James Bond isn’t real. I was just using him as an example.” He let out an exasperated sigh.

Lee chuckled. “I think that James Bond is as good as an example as you can get.”

“I hate to be the voice of reason, but if we let ourselves start talking about spies, we may never get a chance to eat.” Carrie rose from the couch and looked towards the blonde woman. “Dotty, I’ll help you finish getting dinner out.” She then started walking towards the kitchen.

“Thank you, dear. I’ll be right in to help you.” Dotty watched as Phillip followed his stepmother into the other room, before moving over to her daughter and son-in-law. “While you were divulging secrets, why didn’t you tell Phillip that you two are married?”

“Mother,” Amanda began playing with the pendant around her neck. “Now was not the right time. When we tell the boys what Lee’s place in this family really is, I want both of them present. I promise that we will tell them, but they deserve to hear it together, not separately.”

Dotty looked up at her son-in-law, who nodded his agreement. “I suppose you’re right. I’d better go get the rest of dinner ready. I hope it’s not too cold to eat.” She turned to head into the kitchen. “You know, I can’t wait to hear the dinner conversation. I bet Phillip dominates the whole conversation with questions about your job.” A knowing grin broke out on her face as she moved into the other room

Lee let out a groan. “Amanda, why do I get the feeling that now that the truth is out, your mother’s going to declare open season on us?”

Amanda chuckled as she began leading him towards the dining room. “Because she will. Look on the bright side, maybe now when mother suddenly remembers something, it won’t throw us for such a loop.”

Lee rolled his eyes. “Somehow I truly doubt that. Some of the things she comes up with…” Shaking his head he followed his wife towards the dining room. “You know she’s going to have no qualms about throwing her own questions at us whenever she wants now.”

Amanda laughed and stopped just outside the dining room entrance. “Well at least we don’t have to worry about who hears the answers anymore.” At her husband’s worried glance, she squeezed his hand. “Don’t worry, I trust mother enough not to ask questions in the wrong company.”

“We can only hope.” Lee followed his wife into the dining room and watched as Dotty and Carrie brought in the meal, and Joe and Phillip took their seats at the table. Maybe the dinner conversation would take their minds off the current situation. Which, considering the fact that his wife could use a little distraction from worrying about Jamie and Sydney, wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Letting his own mind drift to his stepson and Sydney, he let out a silent prayer that they were still somewhere nearby and not on a plane heading to Russia. He was glad that Amanda hadn’t mentioned anything about that to the family. That was clearly need-to-know information, and the family did not need to know that. He knew he needed to stay positive and let his fellow agents do the dirty work, no matter how hard it was for him to be the one to sit around waiting. Right now, he knew he had to be here for his family and, most importantly, his wife; their time to be involved would come soon enough. Taking a seat next to his wife, he waited for the barrage of questions he knew his eldest stepson was going to fire at them.

SMK a SMK a SMK

Sydney watched Jamie carefully tinkering away at their makeshift transmitter. She saw the concentration written on his face, and decided to leave him to his task. The last time he looked up and saw her staring at him, he had gotten slightly agitated, thinking that she was critiquing his work and he had ended up cutting his hand with the screwdriver. Thankfully it wasn’t a deep gash, and amazingly enough they had found a small first-aid kit in the cabinet by the sink. With his hand bandaged, he had gotten back to working on their project. Walking over to the little window at the back of the shop, she peaked outside. Although the window was dirty from neglect, she could tell that it was nighttime already. Catching a glimpse of the moonlight bouncing off the bars on the other side of the window, she shuddered as, for the twentieth time in the last few hours, she remembered exactly how much danger they were really in. It was a shame that there were bars on the window; it would have been a perfect escape route.

Pressing her face against the glass, she tried to catch sight of at least one star. She remembered what her mother used to tell her when she was really little, ‘If you wish upon the first star you see, it’ll bring you good luck’. Well, luck was exactly what they needed right now. Unfortunately, between the dirt and the bars, she couldn’t see anything more than a few feet away. Sighing, she turned back around to watch her friend. “Jamie,” she began twisting her mother’s bracelet around her wrist, “do you think that anyone has contacted my dad?”

Jamie looked up from the transmitter and noticed her playing with the bracelet. “I hate to do this to you, but I’m almost ready for the bracelet. I don’t want to take a chance that any of this stuff isn’t real gold.” He motioned to the few items of jewelry they had managed to gather. “As for your dad, I’m sure that my mom tried to get in touch with him, why?”

Sydney walked towards him, unclasping the gold chain. “I sometimes wonder if my dad really loves me. I know how much your mom loves you, and I can even tell that Lee loves you.” She smiled shyly at Jamie’s almost shocked expression. “It’s written all over their faces when they look at you. You don’t believe that Lee loves you, do you?”

Jamie shrugged as he accepted the jewelry. Avoiding eye contact, he went back to working on their project. “I know Lee cares about us and I know he loves my mom…”

“Boys really are blind,” she muttered to herself, “Jamie, I’ve seen the way Lee looks at you. Granted it’s nothing like the way he looks at your mom, that puppy dog, head-over-heels kind of love, it’s more like the look most parents give their children. There’s pride and love in his eyes. My dad never looks at me that way.” She handed the bracelet to Jamie. “I sometimes wonder if he resents having to raise me on his own without my mom around. He’s always so cold and distant.” She took a deep breath and angrily wiped away a stray tear that fell down her cheek. Leaning over Jamie, she inspected the transmitter. “You said you’re almost done. Do you think it’ll work this time?”

Jamie looked over at her and narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean…this time?”

Sydney let out a little laugh. “Didn’t you say that the last time you built one of these, you couldn’t get it to work?” She was thankful for the change in subject, it got her mind off of other, darker thoughts.

Rolling his eyes, Jamie leaned back over the device as he put the final connections together. “Well the last time my mom helped me. However, since you and I built this one, I have every confidence that it’ll work.”

Sydney tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “That’s really sweet, Jamie, but you did most of the work.”

Jamie shook his head. “Not really, I may have done this before, sort of, but you’re the one who figured out which was the best way to connect everything. I was all ready to do it the same way my mom and I had tried, you’re the one who figured out what I was doing wrong. There,” he slapped his hands together in triumph, “that should do it. Maybe you should go put your ear to the door and make sure that no one’s coming. I want to test this baby out and see if we really can get it to work.”

Sydney nodded and moved to the door. Putting her ear against it, she listened intently trying to pick up any sound at all. She shook her head as she moved back towards Jamie. “It’s a pretty thick door, but I couldn’t make out any sounds near it. I think we’ll be okay.”

“Okay then, here goes nothing.” Holding his breath, he pushed down on the makeshift lever. “. . . - - - . . .” The transmitter seemed to mimic the clicking noise.

“By George, I think he’s done it,” Sydney said in her best British accent as she slapped Jamie on the back.

Jamie’s face beamed with pride. “Actually, partner, we did it.” He fought the urge to give her a hug, and instead took her hand in his and shook it up and down. “Now if I only knew more than S-O-S, we could transmit the address to this place too.”

Sydney gave him a knowing smile. “Guess what, partner, it just so happens that I do know Morse Code.”

Jamie shook his head and laughed. “Okay, I’ll bite, how the devil do you know Morse Code?”

“Well a couple of my classmates and I had to do a history project where we had to re-enact the time and place of a particular invention. We got the telegraph. So, in order to make it real, we made a fake telegraph, but we learned Morse Code so that we could transmit real messages. Our teacher was really impressed. Anyway, it’s come in kind of handy, because my friends and I use it to send secret messages to each other during class. We just tap the side of our face and the teachers are none the wiser.”

“That’s awesome.” Jamie looked closer at his friend with a new sense of respect; she was so full of surprises. It was too bad she lived in California. He was going to miss her a lot when she went back home. “Do you think you could teach it to me, I mean when all of this is over?”

Sydney nodded and smiled. “Count on it.” She started moving around for a piece of paper to write on. Finding a blank sheet of paper and a pen on the desk in the corner, she started jotting down the sequence of dots and dashes that they would need to transmit their location. She would be able to do it from memory, but since Jamie didn’t know it, a cheat sheet was definitely needed. When she was done, she placed the paper in front of the transmitter. “Do you want to do the first honors?”

Jamie shook his head. “Nah, I think you should.” He then started moving around and gathered a few larger items and placed them on the shelf on either side of the transmitter.

Sydney looked at him quizzically. “What are you doing?”

“In case Mr. Romanovich and that other guy come back in, I don’t want them to get suspicious. This thing stands out sitting on the shelf all by itself.” Jamie picked up another radio and placed it on the shelf, effectively blocking the transmitter from view of the door.

“Good thinking.” Sydney smiled at him as she moved over to the device and started transmitting their message. “…---…, …---…, …---…, --. .-.. . -… . .-. -.., …---…, …---…, …---…” She took a break and then started the message over again.

Jamie looked at the sheet of paper in front of the device. “That sure is a lot of dots and dashes. What exactly does it say?” He covered his mouth to hide a yawn.

“Basically its pretty much S-O-S over and over, I just threw in the street name in case anyone really does get this message. If they listen to it enough times, it might help them pinpoint our location faster.” Sydney shook her hand out and began the message again. When she had finished another round, she looked up at Jamie. “Why don’t you lie down on the bench and try and get a little sleep. I’ll wake you up in an hour and then you can take over. What do you say?”

Jamie reluctantly nodded. “Yeah, I am getting tired. Just keep an ear out. If you hear the sound of the key in the lock, you better stop and move away from the shelf.”

Sydney rolled her eyes. “Well that’s a no-brainer. I wouldn’t want to be caught doing this. They may not be the nicest of men, but so far they haven’t really mistreated us. I’d hate to do anything to make them mad.”

Jamie just shook his head as he moved over to the wooden bench. Lying down on the hard seat, he turned on his side and bending his arm, he made a makeshift pillow for his head. As he closed his eyes, he sent out a silent prayer that the transmitter was really working and that someone would hear their message. ‘I love you, mom. Please come find us.’ With that final thought, he tuned out all other noises and let the sound of the dots and dashes lull him to sleep.

SMK a SMK a SMK

Lee awoke and instantly felt the emptiness beside him. Turning his head, he realized that he was, indeed, alone in bed. As he sat up, he scanned his wife’s bedroom in hopes of finding a sign that she was somewhere nearby. Looking towards the bathroom, he saw the light was off and knew she wasn’t there. He climbed out of bed and, grabbing the bathrobe he had placed on the chair in the corner earlier, he quickly put it on and headed for the door.

As he stepped out into the hallway, he listened for any sound that might have indicated where his wife might have gone. She had asked him to sleep with her, rather than have him sleep downstairs. She had told him that it was going to be hard enough as it was to fall asleep and that she just needed to have him hold her. He hadn’t argued, needing to draw the same strength from her that she obviously needed from him. He had asked if she was sure, and she had told him that even if Phillip didn’t know their marital status, her mother did, and although she didn’t want to appear to set a bad example for her eldest son, she was pretty sure that Phillip didn’t really think they spent all their nights in the editing room, especially not after his comments over the past few days. As he quietly slipped downstairs, he thought about how much courage it had taken for her to admit that fact about her son.

Stepping off the landing, Lee peered around the corner into the den. He had thought that his wife might have come down here to think; it was a place he had found her many times in the past when he would sneak into her back yard. However, it appeared that she hadn’t come down here this time. He then moved towards the back door, but noticed that it was still locked and knew that she wasn’t outside. Sighing, he wondered where his wife could have gone, and then it hit him, he knew exactly where she was. He turned and headed back towards the stairs.

Amanda had gotten only a small amount of sleep. Even with her husband’s arms wrapped around her, thoughts of her son and Sydney out there scared, frightened and in the hands of the KGB wouldn’t stop running through her mind. Knowing that Lee needed his rest, she had quietly snuck out of bed and headed to the one place she would remotely feel closer to the missing children. Now, as she sat staring out the window of Jamie’s room, she allowed the thoughts and emotions she had been suppressing to surface. Her little boy was missing, kidnapped, and in the hands of men who wanted to ship them off to Russia. She knew that Jamie hadn’t been the intended victim, that it had been Sydney, but that didn’t make it any easier to accept the fact that her son and Sydney weren’t at home, asleep in their beds, like they should be.

It was ironic really. She and Lee were supposed to be protecting Sydney. Instead her son had probably taken it upon himself to come to the girl’s aide; that had to be the only logical explanation to explain why her baby boy was now in enemy hands. After all he was her son and, as Lee had pointed out time and time again, her family had a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The only thing that kept her from going totally crazy was the knowledge that once the Magician discovered who he was, Jamie’s life would be spared. However, if they didn’t find them in time, then her son and Sydney would be shipped to a foreign country. If Lee was right, and Sydney was Jack’s test subject for Project Christmas, than it was very likely that Kholokov would subject her to more tests once he got his hands on her. As for Jamie, he would end up being a pawn in some spy game, used to taunt Lee and herself into giving up secrets, and in the end he’d probably be killed anyway.

Damn the Agency anyway. Their life wouldn’t be so complicated if it weren’t for her job. Then again, she wouldn’t be with Lee if it weren’t for the Agency. They had worked so hard to keep her family safe, which was one of the main reasons for the mystery marriage. Sure there had been other reasons, reasons that at the time made sense. Lee hadn’t been officially introduced to the family yet, and she had had her own fears; fears that she might fail at another marriage. She was more afraid that if she couldn’t make things work with Lee, that her sons would be hurt in the end. They would lose another father, and it would have been her fault. No, she couldn’t, wouldn’t think like that. Joe had been right the other day, their marriage wasn’t meant to last. Lee, on the other hand, was her soul mate, and she was his. This case had made them both realize that their earlier fears didn’t mean anything; that they had no need to be scared anymore. Sighing, she realized that no matter what happened they needed to be together as a family. They needed to move forward; there was no going back, but what would be the cost? Would they end up being like Khai’s family? One day realizing that one of them wasn’t coming back, only to find out that they had done it for the safety of their family?

Lee had stood in the doorway of his stepson’s room, watching his wife lost in her thoughts. He had been right; this had been where she had come to. Hearing her sigh, he entered the room and stood behind her, placing his hands gently on her shoulders. “Penny for your thoughts?”

“This isn’t how I wanted everyone to find out, Lee.” Amanda stood and wrapping her arms around him, she laid her head on his chest. “This whole thing has me really thinking and I want us to make a promise to each other.” She leaned back and looked into his hazel eyes, the glow of the moonlight allowed her to see the love she felt for him, reflecting back at her. “We had decided to keep all of this a secret to protect the family, so that we never found ourselves in a situation like Khai’s right?” Her husband nodded, and she could see a hint of confusion and curiosity on his face. “When this is all over and we go public with our marriage, I want us to promise each other, that no matter what, we’ll never put each other through what Khai and his wife went through.”

Lee tightened his arms around her waist. “Over the years I’ve gotten pretty good at trying to decipher your rambles and I think I know what you’re getting at, but just to be safe, can you break it down a little better for me?”

“What I’m trying to say is that if for some reason one of us had to… you know…pretend to be killed for whatever reason, that no matter what, we’d find a way to let the other know what was going on. No matter what the reason. I can play the grieving widow pretty convincingly as long as I know you’re really alive. If I thought you really were dead, I don’t know how I’d be able to keep on living, but if I knew it was only a ruse…” Amanda took a breath when she heard her husband clear his throat. “Sorry, I guess I’m tired and worried, I didn’t mean to go off on another tangent. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ve played the part of the grieving partner before; remember the whole mess with the Barnstorm list, when I had to pretend to mourn because you died on the operating table in front of me. I mean it Lee, I don’t want to ever have to go through what Khai’s wife went through, thinking that her husband was dead, when he really wasn’t.” She leaned her head against his chest. “Then again, if it were true, and it wasn’t because of some game you had to play in order to solve a case or get the bad guy, and you really were dead…”

Lee unclasped his hands and leaning back, he gently placed his hand under her chin and guided her to look at him. “Let’s not let our minds wander down that path, okay.” He leaned down and placed a tender kiss on her lips. “Besides, I have a feeling that if something tragic did happen to either one of us, the other would instinctively know. Call it a gut feeling or cosmic link, I don’t know. Regardless, if one of us is asked to make the world believe that we were dead, I think we can definitely make a promise to each other, right here and now, that we’ll find away to let the other one know the truth; perhaps we’ll come up with a special code that only you and I know, or a way to contact the other, ahead of time if possible, okay?” His wife nodded and, leaning his forehead against hers, he let out a deep sigh. “I have a confession to make. You’re not the only one whose been thinking a lot about coming clean. I keep thinking that if we’d only told the boys about our jobs before this whole thing started, then we could have told Jamie the real reason why the tournament was off limits. If he’d had some of the facts then he wouldn’t be in this mess right now. If only…”

Amanda placed a brief kiss on his lips. “I thought we decided not to place blame or think about what ifs.”

“You’re right.” Lee tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn. “We should probably head back to bed and try to get some sleep. We have to be back in the office in a few hours for the five a.m. briefing.”

Amanda nodded reluctantly and stepped out of the embrace. “Do you think we’ll be able to find them in time?”

Lee put his hand at the small of her back as he led her out of Jamie’s room. “I know we will.” He gave her a warm smile, when she turned to look at him. “Besides the fact that we have men posted at every airport who are discreetly circulating pictures of Jamie and Sydney, we have the Amanda King luck on our side.”

Amanda rolled her eyes at him before entering her bedroom. “I thought my luck was what usually gets us into trouble.”

Lee closed the door behind them before pulling his wife into another embrace. “That’s true, but your luck is what usually gets us out of it, too. I have faith in that luck to help us find our son and Sydney.” He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “Come on. We only have a few more hours before we have to get up again.”

Amanda stepped out from the comfort of her husband’s arms and taking his hand in hers, led him back to the bed. “Tell me again why Mr. Melrose called for such an early meeting.” She asked as she covered her mouth with her hand to hide the yawn that had escaped.

“Because if anything turns up between now and then, he wants us to be able to act before the sun comes up.” Lee crawled under the covers and gently pulled his wife with him.

Yawning again, Amanda nodded. “That’s right and it makes perfect sense.” Turning on her side, she spooned up against her husband and let out a contented sigh when his arms wrapped around her. “I love you, Lee.” She tenderly placed her hands on his arms.

“And I love you,” Lee placed a gentle kiss in her hair. “Now get some sleep.”

Closing her eyes, Amanda focused on the warmth and love emanating from husband’s embrace. She hoped he was right and that luck would be on their side. If the Magician managed to get Jamie and Sydney out of the country, it was going to be almost impossible to get them back. She knew, however, that if that were to happen, she and Lee would be on the first plane bound for the Soviet Union. It wasn’t ideal, and they would be heading into enemy territory, but nothing, not even an executive order from the President himself was going to stop her from getting her son back. Letting out a deep sigh, she tried to wipe those negative thoughts from her mind, and instead focused back on the man lying next to her. He was her rock and together they would get through this. ‘Don’t give up hope, Jamie. We love you and we’ll bring you both home.’ Hearing the even breathing of her husband, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off to sleep as well.

Chapter Fifteen

Tuesday Early Morning, September 22nd

Billy stood at the front of the conference room watching the last few agents dragging themselves into the room. Any outsider might mistake the occupants of the room for zombies from an old B horror movie rather than highly trained intelligence operatives. Most of the agents in front of him hadn’t even gone to bed yet, and those who had managed to get some sleep still looked like death warmed over. As he scanned the seated agents, his eyes fell on the pair he was most concerned with. He couldn’t help but notice Lee’s arm draped around Amanda’s shoulders. To anyone in the room, it might seem that Lee was being protective of his partner in the current situation, however, knowing the pair like he did, he knew that Lee was providing Amanda with as much comfort and support as he could. He couldn’t help the small smile that formed on his lips as he realized that the great Scarecrow no longer seemed to care who saw what when it came to the attention he was paying to his partner.

As if sensing Billy’s scrutiny of them, Amanda turned to look at him. Giving her a sympathetic smile, he couldn’t help but notice that while outwardly she was projecting a calm demeanor, when he looked into her eyes, he saw the worry she felt for her son and Sydney Bristow, and a sense of pride washed over him. Amanda King had become a very strong and independent agent; so much different than the timid and insecure housewife she was four years ago. Knowing he didn’t have time to wander down memory lane, he cleared his throat. “All right people. I want to thank everyone for coming in at the crack of dawn.”

“Crack of dawn my foot,” Francine grumbled. “It was still pitch black out when I pulled my car into the lot.”

Billy shot her his ‘can it, Francine’ look. “I wasn’t sure that I would have anything to report as far as leads at this time, but, as it turns out, I received some very interesting intel about ten minutes ago.”

Lee glanced from Francine to Billy, a look of astonishment on his face. “You got Plotkovich to talk?”

Billy shook his head. “Unfortunately, we still haven’t gotten him to say much of anything. However, I received a message from our guys at National. Since the authorities there are aware of the situation, they made sure I got this as soon as possible.” At the sound of a knock on the door, he glanced irritably over at his assistant. “Francine, I thought I told you to pass the word that we weren’t to be disturbed?”

Before Francine could reply, the conference room door opened slowly and Sandy Wheeler tentatively stepped inside the room. “I’m sorry to interrupt sir, but there’s a woman with a strong accent on the line asking for Scarecrow.” The early morning receptionist looked at Lee. “She says that she’s part of your family and has extremely urgent information for you.”

Billy caught Lee’s questing gaze and motioned towards the door with his head. “Go see what your contact has for you. Amanda can brief you on what you miss.”

Lee didn’t hesitate and, removing his arm from around his wife’s shoulders, he rose from his seat and headed out of the conference room.

Billy cleared his throat. “All right, as I was saying, we received information from National. One of the tower personnel on the graveyard shift noticed a strange interference in their communications. When he finally isolated the interference, he discovered that it was a basic SOS. It was faint but strong enough to cause interference. We know the signal is coming from somewhere near the airport.”

“Sir, you don’t really think that it could be Jamie and Sydney, do you?” Amanda hoped that she didn’t sound too hopeful, especially since she could hear the doubt in her boss’s voice as he spoke to them.

Billy shrugged. “I honestly don’t know, but there is someone out there sending an SOS, and as I said before I want to follow up on any and all leads. Now the control tower operator caught something else hidden in the SOS, at first he thought it was just SOS over and over, but as he listened to it more closely, he realized that whoever was sending the SOS was also including Glebe Road in their transmission.”

Just then the door to the conference room opened and Lee stepped back inside. “That was my contact at the Embassy, she was able to get in and talk with Aleksandr.” He sat back down in his seat next to Amanda. “It took a little handholding, but she got him to talk. Aleksandr overheard Plotkovich and Romanovich talking about some pawn shop in Arlington.”

“Sir,” Amanda’s voice couldn’t hide the excitement she felt. “Glebe Road runs right through Arlington. I’d bet money that it’s Jamie and Sydney sending out that SOS.”

Francine rolled her eyes. “Not to play the devil’s advocate, but how in the world can you believe that two twelve-year-olds can possibly be sending out an SOS. Pawnshops don’t usually have working radio transmitters lying around.”

Lee looked at his wife, his eyebrows raised in confusion. He didn’t think his phone conversation with Katrina had lasted long enough that he missed so much information. “What SOS?”

Amanda smiled, hope written all over her face. “Billy said that the tower at National picked up a faint SOS signal, and whoever is sending out the message managed to sneak Glebe Road into the transmission.” She then turned her attention towards her fellow agent. “And Francine, I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the talents of today’s youth. Jamie and Sydney are both very bright young kids. In fact, not too long ago, I tried to help Jamie put a transmitter together for his science class. We couldn’t get it to work, but I have a feeling between them, Sydney and Jamie would be able to figure out a way to put one together.”

Lee nodded in agreement as he sat back in his chair and placed his arm back around his wife’s shoulders. “I agree with Amanda. I happen to know that Jamie is at the top of his class.” He ignored the raised eyebrow of speculation from Francine, “and I’ve had a chance to witness just how smart Sydney is since she’s been staying with Amanda’s family. I wouldn’t put it past those two to put together something like a simple transmitter, especially if they are in some pawnshop. Just imagine all the gadgets and items that you could find in a place like that.”

Francine shook her head and let out a reluctant sigh as she looked directly at Amanda. "Then again, he is your son and I have to admit that even the stuff you do still amazes me. I guess I really shouldn’t be so surprised that your son would figure out a way to send out an SOS.” She let her gaze fall on the location of Lee’s arm. What was with him lately, kissing Amanda good-bye yesterday morning, openly calling Amanda his girlfriend in front of tons of witnesses, and now the blatant gesture of support? She had given up on getting Amanda to listen; it was evident that the brunette was too blinded by love to think clearly. As soon as this meeting was over, she was going to corner Lee and straighten him out once and for all. She needed to make him see the error of his ways. Didn’t he realize how disastrous his relationship with his partner could be? If they ended things badly, it would definitely affect their professional partnership; and as much as she hated to admit it, Scarecrow and Mrs. King were a very effective team. Her mind was definitely made up. Lee needed a good dose of friendly intervention. If she couldn’t make him realize that it was for his and Amanda’s own good, then maybe she could at least convince him that ending any relationship with Amanda King was for the good of the Agency.

Unaware of Francine’s scrutiny, Lee glanced over at his wife and let out a chuckle at the truth of his friend’s comment. No one could deny that his wife had her own unique way of doing things, but she always managed to get the job done. When she glanced at him, he smiled at her affectionately before turning his attention back on his section chief. “Is the message still being transmitted?”

“According to the operator, there seems to be only a few moments of silence in between transmissions, but the message continues to repeat itself. So I’d say it’s safe to assume that whoever is sending the message, is sending it non-stop in hopes of it being noticed.” Billy turned to address the rest of the agents in the room. “Fielder, I want you and Gordon to start tracking down all the pawnshops located on Glebe Road. Lee, I want you and Amanda to head down and see Leatherneck. See if he has some device that’ll be able to pick up the signal, then I want you two to head out and start driving up and down Glebe Road.” He then looked over at his assistant. “Francine, I want you to get a team together to back up Scarecrow and Amanda once they find the location of the shop.” He then turned his attention back on the pair. “Once you locate the store, I want you to get in touch with Francine and then wait for backup.”

“Billy, wouldn’t it make more sense if we had more than one team searching for the store?” Francine put down her pen and stared at her boss.

Billy leaned his hands on the table as he looked at the blonde. “Any other time of day, I’d say yes. However, since it’s not even six a.m. and the streets are still deserted, I don’t want to alert the Magician. If too many cars start passing by their location, it might spook him and then we’ve lost our only lead.” He turned back towards Lee. “I mean it, Scarecrow, do not go in there without backup. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Billy, it’s understood.” Lee looked away from his boss and gazed at his wife. He knew that between the two of them, their track record for following orders was pretty much a running joke around the Agency. He knew that if the situation warranted immediate action, neither he nor his wife would be sitting idly by, besides, he hadn’t actually agreed that he wouldn’t go in without backup, he just agreed that he understood the instructions.

“Good. All right people, time’s wasting. Let’s move.” Billy waved his agents to proceed with their assignments. He watched as everyone began filing out of the room, his gaze following the pair who had the most at stake. He knew that if push came to shove, those two wouldn’t be waiting for backup, but at least he had gone on record as giving the order. “Scarecrow, hang back a minute.”

“Billy…” Lee rolled his eyes, but stayed behind as asked.

Billy shook his head as he approached his best agent. “I wanted to remind you of what’s at stake here.”

“I know what’s at stake, Billy.” Lee let out a frustrated breath as he looked out the conference room window at his wife talking with Fred Fielder in the bullpen.

“That’s not what I meant, not entirely, anyway. I don’t want you doing anything foolish.” Billy gave his agent a stern look. “If we mess this rescue operation up, and something happens to Sydney Bristow because you couldn’t wait for the backup, this may be the last time the CIA asks us for help with anything. It could very well put an end to all future interagency cooperation.”

“I have no intention of doing anything to put Sydney Bristow or Jamie King’s lives in danger.” Lee locked eyes with his boss. “Trust me.”

“All right. Now go.” Billy motioned him out the door.

Lee walked out the conference room and headed over to where Amanda was waiting for him. At her questioning look, he answered, “He wanted to make sure I knew that our relationship with the CIA was at stake and not to do anything rash.” He put his hand at the small of her back as he led her towards the hallway. The guards opened the doors for them, and as he stepped out into the hallway behind Amanda, he felt a hand on his arm. Turning, he came face to face with Francine. “Morning, Francine. You’re looking mighty grumpy this morning.”

Ignoring his attempt at humor, Francine waved his comment aside. “Whatever, I want to talk to you.”

Lee caught the look his friend was giving him, and knew exactly what she wanted to discuss. “Francine, I don’t have time for your interrogations into my personal life right now. In case you weren’t paying attention, we’re kind of on a tight schedule.”

Amanda had reached the elevator and turned to see what was keeping her husband. Reading his body language, she knew Francine had picked the wrong time to corner him. Letting out a sigh of frustration, she took a few steps back in their direction. “Francine, can what you have to discuss with Lee wait? If it’s all right with you, I’d like to find my son before he ends up living on the streets in some strange country?”

“Actually Amanda, this is case related. I promise I won’t keep Lee long.” Francine turned her attention back to Lee.

Lee let out a deep breath. “Fine.” He turned towards his wife. “Amanda, go on down and see Leatherneck. Get him to give you the best possible device he has to pick up the transmission, and I’ll meet you in the foyer in,” he looked down at his watch and then back up at her, “ten minutes.”

Amanda looked directly at Francine. “Okay, but if Lee’s not up there in ten minutes, I’m heading out on my own.” She turned and headed back over to the elevator that would take her to the Agency’s jack-of-all-trades.

Lee watched her get into the elevator before turning and giving his friend a determined stare. “All right, Francine, out with it.”

“Lee, you can relax. I’m not trying to give you the third degree.” Francine looked at her friend, her features softening. “I know how serious this situation is, and I want to make sure your head is really in the game. I know that you and Amanda are currently more than partners, and that she’s probably leaning on you a great deal during all of this. I just want to make sure that you don’t plan on breaking her heart once this whole case is over.”

“Francine, I appreciate your concern and I know Amanda does, too.” Lee ran a hand through his hair in obvious frustration. Looking up and down the hallway, he made sure that they were relatively alone, guards not withstanding. “Fine, you want the truth, I guess it’s time you got it.”

“Seriously?” Francine eyed her friend skeptically. “I’m going to get the absolute truth, no more dancing around the issue?”

“Yes, Francine, the truth.” Lee leaned up against the wall and casually crossed his arms in front of him. “The truth is that I love Amanda. She’s not some passing fancy, some notch on the ever-popular ‘Scarecrow’s flavor of the month’ card that everyone thinks I have. I love her with all my heart and soul.” He saw his friend’s mouth drop open and, not sure if it was from shock or because she was going to protest, he uncrossed his arms and put a hand up to stop any comments that might come out. “I know what you’re thinking, but you’d be wrong. Since you seem so fond of food analogies, let me put it to you this way: Amanda is my three-course meal. She’s the hors d’oeuvres, main course and dessert. I don’t want anyone else and I know for a fact that I won’t ever want anyone else. I don’t care if you believe me or not, but I know that I’ve finally found what I’d been searching for with all those other women from my past. You know the ones that everyone loves to keep throwing back in my face.”

Francine looked closer at her friend in utter disbelief. She had to admit that Lee had changed; the girls in the steno pool had confirmed that. She’d heard them whispering and complaining about the fact that none of them had seen the great Scarecrow down in their neck of the woods for at least a year. Still, she knew Lee didn’t like to get attached for very long, and no matter what he thought he felt for Amanda, she still believed that it was going to end badly for her friends. “I’m sorry, Lee, but I just don’t get it. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve grown to like Amanda. I even consider her a friend, but I also know you, or at least I thought I did. Face it, Lee, to the casual observer, she’s just not your type?”

“And what do you know of my type these days, Francine?” Lee fixed her with a determined stare.

Francine shrugged her shoulders “You like the fun, no attachment-type of woman. You know, blonde,” she started ticking off each item on her fingers, “young, care-free, girls you could lie to and give a convincing cover story to. Need I remind you of those four black books and their unique symbols?”

With a shake of his head, Lee interrupted her. “That’s where you’re wrong, Francine. That used to be my type. And I’ll have you know, I haven’t touched those black books in almost two years.” He wasn’t about to tell her what had really happened to those books. A smile crossed his face as he allowed himself to remember where those books were now. He and Amanda had been at his apartment, finally getting a chance to celebrate their engagement. She had told him, once she had been released from the hospital and the fog and effects of the drugs Birol had introduced into her system were gone, that she had had the strangest dream. In order to assure her that it wasn’t a dream, he had placed the ring on her finger in the Q-Bureau that morning.

Lee had given her the black books as an engagement present, to do with as she pleased. It was his way of telling her that he didn’t care about any of the women in his past anymore, that he was only interested in his future with the woman in front of him; the woman who was his best friend, soul mate and now owned his heart. Instead of burning them, as he was sure she was going to do, she had gotten up, gone over to his desk and got out a black magic marker. She then sat back down on the couch and patted the seat next to her. He remembered looking at her in confusion; he knew she had already seen them during the whole mess with Serdayech. Taking the seat next to her, he had asked her what she was doing, she told him that she wanted him to make sure that there was no one in them that he still needed to keep in contact with, for work reasons. So page after page, they had gone through each of the books. Anyone who wasn’t work related was efficiently blacked out, but only after he had told her the story behind each one. When they had finished going through all of them, she placed the books, whose pages now held more black marks than his Agency personnel file, in the top drawer of his desk. His Amanda was one amazing woman.

Francine cleared her throat to get his attention. “See that’s my point exactly. One mention of those black books and your mind wanders, no doubt thinking about all those women you haven’t called in ages.”

“Sorry, Francine, but that’s not what I was thinking about at all.” Lee’s smile faded and he let out a sigh of frustration. “How many times do I have to tell you that my care-free bachelor days are over?”

Francine rolled her eyes. “Fine, you’ve given up your care-free days and you may not have dated any of your old girlfriends in two years, but regardless of what ‘type’ of woman you prefer these days Amanda King isn’t the type who wants to be in a relationship with no future. You may not think I pay much attention to her, but I do, and I know for a fact that she’s someone who expects a long-term commitment from you. Are you sure you can give her that?”

Lee flashed her his famous Stetson smile. “I already have, Francine, I already have.” Giving her an exaggerated wink, he turned and headed for the elevators. Reaching the doors, he pushed the ‘up’ button, and then, not able to contain his curiosity, he turned his attention back in the direction he had just come. Sure enough, Francine stood exactly where he had left her. She appeared frozen in place, most likely from shock, and her mouth was hanging open. When the elevator doors opened, he stepped inside and couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. That had been a lot of fun, especially since it wasn’t often that he got the best of Francine, particularly not this early in the morning.

As the doors closed, and the elevator began its ascent, Lee couldn’t help but wonder if Francine had fainted in the middle of the hallway, or if she was contemplating how to get even with him for leaving her standing there without a proper explanation. Figuring it was the latter, he decided he’d have to fill Amanda in on what had happened, so that she would be prepared. He knew she wouldn’t be mad that he had inadvertently told Francine the truth, after all, they were planning on coming clean once the case was wrapped up, so Francine would have found out eventually. This way was just more fun. When the elevator reached the main level, he took a deep breath and got his mind back in the game. They had a lot to do in the next few hours, and he needed to put all his energy into finding his stepson and Sydney.

SMK a SMK a SMK

Amanda sat in the passenger seat of the Corvette, nodding and jotting down the addresses that Fred Fielder was dictating to her over the phone. “Thanks, Fred. This will certainly help us narrow things down a bit.” Letting out a small chuckle, she glanced over at her husband. “I promise to ask him, Fred … Okay, we’ll be in touch once we find the right shop. Right … Thanks we can use all the luck we can get, bye.”

As soon as his wife had hung up the phone, Lee briefly looked over in her direction. “You’ll ask me what?”

“Fred wanted to know what you said to Francine.” Amanda saw the edge of a smile on her husband’s face. “Apparently she’s been a bit distracted, and keeps muttering things under her breath. Your name occasionally comes up in the coherent parts of her grumbling.” She let out a small laugh as she recalled what Lee had told her about his encounter with Francine after they had met up in the foyer. “You do realize that she is going to find a way to get back at you, and maybe even me…then again, I’m not the one who left her standing in the middle of the hallway.”

Lee gave a small shrug of his shoulders. “Yeah, but it was worth it. Any time I can one up Francine, is something to brag about. Look on the bright side, at least she’ll stop making snide comments and trying to advise us on the dangers of the two of us being in a relationship together.” Glancing down at the list in his wife’s lap, he widened his eyes at the number of addresses. “How many addresses did Fielder give you?”

“He gave me about a dozen addresses. He said that only a few of them are actual pawnshops, the others are more consignment shops. He figured it was better to be safe rather than sorry, just in case one of the pawnshops was categorized incorrectly.” Glancing out the window, Amanda realized that they were not too far from Glebe Road, and bent down to pick up the device Leatherneck had given them from where it lay safely by her feet. “I sure hope this thing is able to pick up the SOS.” She turned her attention out the window. “And I hope that it really is Jamie and Sydney sending it and not someone else.” Her voice was just above a whisper.

Lee reached over and, taking her hand in his, gave it a gentle, loving squeeze. “Something tells me it’s them. Call it a gut feeling, something I must have picked up from my lovely partner.” When his wife returned her attention back on him, he could see the almost bashful look on her face. “We should probably turn that thing on. I’m almost at the part of Glebe Road that’s closest to the airport. I figured we’d start at this end and work our way out.” Giving her hand another quick squeeze, he removed his hand and placed it back on the steering wheel. “Once we get on Glebe, we can find an address on one of the buildings and then use the information Fielder gave us to start locating possible stores.”

Turning the device on, it produced a quiet hum and Amanda watched as the monitor displayed a straight line. “Leatherneck said that he recalibrated this to recognize radio signals and that as soon as we get close to the source, the line will start peaking. He described it like a heart monitor at the hospital.”

“You know that thing looks a heck of a lot like the device we had to use to track down that doomsday proximity bomb that Jake Williamson stole from Static Aerospace.” As Lee maneuvered the car off of Jefferson Davis Highway and onto Glebe Road, the melodic hum emanating from the device changed to a beep. “Did Leatherneck alter that thing so that we won’t pick up your basic radio tower signals?”

Amanda watched the monitor as the line started making intermittent spikes, albeit small ones. “I have no idea, Lee. I told Leatherneck what we needed it for, and I saw him making all sorts of adjustments to it, so I can only assume that he made it so we only pickup low level radio signals.” She glanced out the window and caught a street number on one of the buildings. Looking down at the paper in her lap, she found the closest number to the one she’d just seen. “Okay the first shop is just ahead.” Her eyes fell back on the monitor of the signal reader. “Though I doubt this one would be the one, the signal isn’t very strong.”

“Hopefully we’ll find it soon, I really don’t want to be trying to navigate along this road once rush hour starts.” Lee glanced in his rearview mirror, making sure that there was no one behind him. He wasn’t worried about a tail, he just didn’t feel like dealing with any road rage this early in the morning. Turning his attention back on the road in front of him, his brow creased. “Well that’s interesting.”

Amanda glanced over at her husband and then followed his gaze. “You’re right. None of the stores are open this early. Then again, it could be someone just returning home, it’s not that unlikely that they would arrive in a cab.”

“You could be right, but just out of curiosity, what’s the address of the next shop on Fielder’s list?” Lee kept his eyes on the cab as it pulled up in front of a store just a block in front of them.

Amanda was about to check the paper again when the lines on the signal device suddenly spiked. She let out a small gasp. “Lee, if this thing is working right, it’s picking up something. These spikes are pretty strong and consistent.”

Lee slowed his car slightly as they watched a well-built, dark-haired man step out of the yellow cab and head towards the building. “Amanda, that’s Issac Borsky.” He watched the man knock on the door of the shop and then step inside. “I’d bet a million dollars that if you double check your list for the address of that shop, you’re going to find a match.” Without increasing or decreasing his speed, he kept his eyes forward as he passed by the shop Borsky had just entered. Finding a parking spot a block ahead, he pulled the Corvette into it.

“This is almost too good to be true,” Amanda tried to keep the excitement out of her voice. “Issac Borsky just happens to arrive in front of that pawnshop as we’re driving by, and the signal device Leatherneck gave us seems to pointing to the same store, and the address does match one of the ones Fred gave me.”

“Maybe luck really is on our side for once.” Lee pulled his gun out and checked the clip. Assured that it was fully loaded, he re-holstered the firearm, and then looked at his wife. “You’re thinking this is all a little too coincidental, aren’t you?”

Amanda shrugged. “To be honest, I think I’m trying to talk myself out of getting my hopes up too high.”

Lee reached over and placed his hand over hers. “Amanda, my gut is telling me that the kids are in that shop.” He motioned behind them with his head. “I think our best bet is to check out the situation inside the shop from the outside. Once we know that the Magician is in that store, we can pretty much assume the kids are, too. Then you can come back here and call for backup.”

Amanda removed her hand from his and glared at her husband. “The next words out of your mouth had better not be ‘and I want you to wait in the car until the backup arrives’.”

Lee shook his head and gave his wife his most charming Stetson smile. “Actually, partner, I wasn’t going to say anything of the sort.”

“What?” Amanda looked at her husband quizzically, unsure that she had heard him correctly. “You weren’t going to tell me to wait in the car?”

“No,” Lee let out a small chuckle at his wife’s stunned expression as he opened his car door and began to get out. “I wasn’t.”

Amanda placed the device on the floor of the car and then took her handgun and federal ID out of her purse. Leaving her purse on the floor, she reached over and took the keys out of the ignition. She then climbed out of the vehicle and walked over to where her husband was standing on the sidewalk. “Okay, who are you and what have you done with the real Lee Stetson? You know, my overprotective partner?” Putting her ID in her back pocket, she then checked her handgun to make sure the safety was on before tucking it in the waistband of her jeans.

“I’m not that bad.” Lee caught the ‘oh really’ look his wife was giving him and shrugged his shoulders. “All right so maybe I do try and keep you out of harm’s way a lot, but it’s only because I want to protect the ones I love, you can’t blame me for that.” He placed his hand at the small of her back as he led her in the direction of the shop. “Despite what you may believe, I know you can handle yourself, and although I would like nothing better than to ask you to wait in the car, that wouldn’t be fair to you, nor would it make any sense. We have no idea what’s going on in there, or how many men besides Borsky there are.”

As they approached the shop, Amanda took note of the drawn shades and the closed sign on the front. “This place doesn’t look like they’ve done any real business in a while. There’s a lot of clutter in the display window, your typical pawnshop décor, but the windows don’t appear to have been washed in ages.”

Lee kept his voice low as he spoke. “Well, since we won’t be able to see anything through those windows, let’s sneak around the side and see if there’s another way to get a peek inside.” He led her down the side alley. Looking up, he saw a small window about halfway up the side of the building. He then spotted a few crates further down the alley, and motioned for Amanda to help him. Together they quietly piled two crates on top of each other just below the window, and then he climbed on top of the makeshift ladder. Peering inside, he saw all he needed to see to confirm their suspicions. He bent down and was now eye level with his wife. “This is definitely the place. I want you to go call in the backup, I’ll keep an eye on things.” He put a hand up to stop any protests. Keeping his voice low, he continued. “Then I want you to come back. While you’re making the phone call, I’m going to check out the rest of the building, see if there’s a back entrance. If there is, that may be our best way in if we want to use the element of surprise.”

“Lee, we aren’t thinking of going in before the backup arrives, are we?” Amanda eyed her husband skeptically.

Lee shrugged. “If it looks like they’re getting ready to move, we may have to.” His voice was hushed, but sincere.

“Promise me, that no matter what, you’ll wait for me to get back.” Amanda watched him nod and she gave him a look, doubt written all over her face. “I’m not going to call for backup until I hear you promise me.”

“I promise that I will wait till you get back before I do anything, okay. Besides, I want to make sure that you’re watching my back before I do anything.” He looked behind her towards the still deserted street. “Now go before we do run out of time, and I’m forced to break my promise to you.”

“Okay, but be careful.” Amanda whispered before turning and jogging out of the alley.

Lee waited till Amanda had rounded the corner before standing back up and peering in through the window. The Magician and Borsky were still deep in conversation. He really wished that the window had been open so he could at least hear what they were saying. As it was, he was having a hard time seeing anything through the dirty window, and he couldn’t risk clearing any of the dirt away, it would give his position away to the Russians inside. He glanced back down the alley, hoping Amanda would return soon. Climbing down off the crates, he made his way down towards the back of the alley, looking for a rear entrance. Although on one hand, he was thankful for the early morning light of dawn that had begun to appear, illuminating the darkened alley; he also realized that their window of opportunity was slowly dwindling. Soon the streets would be busy with morning activity and shops preparing to open.

Lee stopped half way down the now partially lit alley when he reached the back corner of the building. He then turned right into a small passageway created by the back of the pawnshop and its neighbor behind, and silently wished he had a flashlight on him. Fortunately a little light shone into the narrow alleyway from a barred window up ahead. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he noticed two possible entrances. The first was a door, most likely the back entrance, only a few feet from the corner of the building. Approaching the door, he tentatively tried the doorknob and, as he had suspected, it was locked. Looking beyond the window, he saw what appeared to be steps leading down. Moving past the window, he proceeded to the dark opening and, looking down, saw another door at the base of the steps. He wondered if Jamie and Sydney were being held in the basement of the building but quickly shook his head. There was no way that a makeshift radio would be able to transmit from a basement level. No, the street level back door would be their best bet.

As he turned to head back out of the small alley, he stopped in front of the window and decided to take a peek inside. A frown formed on his face; between the bars and layers of dirt on the window, it was impossible for him to see anything clearly. He was just about to turn and head back out of the little alley when he noticed movement through the window. Through the grime on the glass, he was able to make out the silhouette of a young girl. It had to be Sydney. He couldn’t make out anyone else in the room, but that didn’t mean Jamie wasn’t in there as well. Turning around, he gauged the distance from the back door to this window. Once they got inside, they would know exactly where they needed to go. With a renewed sense of urgency, he quickly turned and headed back towards the main alley. He wanted to get back to his crates and check on the Magician and his associates.

Lee had just climbed back up to his post, when Amanda turned the corner and quickly approached him. “Backup on the way?” He whispered as he crouched down to make eye contact with her.

Amanda nodded. “They figure they’ll be here in fifteen, twenty minutes tops. However, I wouldn’t count on them making it here that quickly. It’s almost six-thirty and rush hour is starting, so there are bound to be a few more cars on the streets now. I have a feeling it may be more like thirty minutes before we see any backup. What’s the status inside?”

Lee stood back up and peered inside. “There’s someone else in there talking to the Magician and Borsky. I bet that’s Vladimir Vadorsky, Katrina mentioned him to me when she called earlier. She said he’d been hanging around with Romanovich at the embassy and hasn’t been seen since early yesterday. It looks like Romanovich is motioning towards the back. Vadorsky just headed towards the back and now Romanovich is picking up the phone. I have a bad feeling about this.” He climbed down the crates. “Look, while you were gone, I found a back way in and I think I found the room Jamie and Sydney are in.”

Amanda looked down at her watch and then at her husband. She was extremely anxious to have her son and Sydney back and didn’t know if she could wait for the backup. When his words finally registered, she narrowed her eyes at him, and put her hands on her hips. “What do you mean you found the room? You didn’t actually go inside, did you? Lee, you promised me.”

Lee shook his head. “No I didn’t go inside. I didn’t have to.” He started walking towards the back. “Come on, just trust me, okay? I really was true to my word.” He watched his wife relax her features slightly before following behind him. He stopped at the corner and pointed to the barred window. “It’s impossible to make out anything clearly, but I’m pretty sure I spotted Sydney inside.”

Amanda quickly closed the distance from the end of the main alley through the narrow lane. Stopping in front of the window, she peered inside, but couldn’t see anything. “I’ll have to take your word for it.” She turned back to look at her husband. “So are we waiting for backup?”

Lee shook his head. “No, I don’t want to take the chance that the Magician’s getting ready to move. I think our best option is to head inside and assess things. At least inside we can hear what they’re saying rather than guess.” He turned towards his wife. “Once we’re inside and figure out which room that window belongs to, I want you to concentrate on getting Jamie and Sydney out of there safely. I’ll work on taking care of Borsky and the Magician.”

“I don’t know if I’m entirely comfortable with you confronting two KGB agents by yourself, Lee.” Amanda looked at her husband, concern written on her face. “If I’m busy getting Sydney and Jamie to safety, I won’t be there to watch your back. Maybe we should just wait for the backup.”

“Is that what you really want to do?” Lee asked, his voice indicating that he already knew the answer.

Amanda sighed. “No, I don’t want to wait any longer, either. I just want to make sure my son and Sydney are safe and out of harm’s way.”

Lee took his half-rake out of his pocket and gave her a knowing smile. “I knew you’d see it my way.”

“What can I say, your bad habits are rubbing off on me.” Amanda pulled out a small flashlight from her back pocket. At her husband’s raised eyebrows, she shrugged. “I dug it out of my purse while I was calling for backup. These alleys aren’t lit very well, I figured it might come in handy.” She grinned as she watched her husband move towards the back door. Turning on the flashlight, she walked over to the door just as Lee bent down and began picking the lock.

Amanda stood over him, shining the flashlight over the doorknob. “I hope they’re both okay.” She whispered more to herself than to her husband.

“I’m sure they are, remember Romanovich wants to hand Sydney over to Kholokov, and I’m sure they are under strict orders to bring her to Russia unharmed.” Lee maneuvered the metal pick in the lock and smiled when he heard a click. “There, I got it.” Standing up, he put his half-rake away and pulled his gun out of its holster. He then turned towards his wife. “You ready?” He watched her nod as she pulled her own gun out of the waistband of her jeans. “Okay, stay close.” Slowly he turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. He cringed when the door creaked and held his breath as he pushed the door the rest of the way. With his gun at the ready, he stepped inside the small entranceway and listened for any sounds that would alert them to the fact that they weren’t alone.

Not hearing anything, Lee took a step up and moved towards the light coming from the hallway up ahead on the right. Creeping stealthily forward, he waited until he heard the back door close before peering around the corner. Expecting to see an empty corridor, he was taken slightly off guard when he came face to face with the barrel of a gun.

“I suggest you hand me your weapon, Scarecrow. You American agents need to work on your stealth.” Vadorsky grinned. “Of course maybe your skills aren’t so bad, perhaps it was just the rusty door you chose to come through, no?”

“You Russians always think we Americans work alone.” Lee motioned with his head and Amanda stepped around him, her gun trained on the Russian. Raising his own gun, he aimed for the Russian’s heart. “Now Vadorsky, I believe it’s you who will be handing your weapon over to me, nice and slowly.” The Russian did as instructed. “Now, would you be so kind as to tell us which room you’re holding the two American children in?” He could see Vadorsky hesitating. “Believe me, it’d be a lot easier if you tell us. I’d really hate to have to force the information out of you.”

Vadorsky looked back towards the door at the end of the hallway. He could very easily call for help and bring the Magician or Borsky to his aide. “I do not have to tell you anything. Romanovich is just on the other side of that door. You won’t shoot me, because it would bring him running.”

Lee gritted his teeth. “Okay, so we do this the painful way.” Raising his gun, he brought the butt of it down and hit the Russian on the temple. It had the desired affect, and Vadorsky slumped to the ground.

“Lee,” Amanda whispered, “do you think that was really necessary?”

“Yes, Amanda, I do. He was right, one loud noise back here and Romanovich or Borsky would be coming through that door, and then we’d be in trouble. I’d rather have the element of surprise on our side.” Lee dragged the Russian over to the back corner and, taking out a pair of handcuffs from his back pocket, he cuffed the bulky man to the radiator. He then did a quick search, and came across a set of keys in the Russian’s pocket. “Besides, I doubt he would have given these to us willingly.”

Amanda looked at the three doors in the hallway. She quickly ruled out the one on the right. If Lee was correct, and he had seen Sydney through the window, then one of the rooms on the left would have to be the one. She moved towards the first door on the left. “Based on the location of the window, then this has to be the room.” She kept her voice low as she turned towards her husband.

Lee handed her the keys. “I’ll let you do the honors. I want to stand guard, just in case Romanovich or Borsky decide our friend over there is taking too long doing whatever it was he was supposed to be doing back here. My guess is he was just going to check on the kids, but we can’t be too certain.”

Amanda put her gun back in the waistband of her jeans. She then took a close look at the keys and, choosing one of the three likely candidates, she put it in the keyhole. When the lock didn’t turn, she tried the next key. She suppressed the urge to shout with delight when the key turned. She would wait until she saw her son and Sydney before letting herself get carried away with joy. “Okay, I’m going in.”

Lee nodded. “I’ll wait out here. If there’s someone else in there with them, the element of surprise is our best defense.”

“Right.” Amanda turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door. The first thing she noticed was the amount of junk piled on shelves all around the room. Stepping inside, she quickly spotted the objects of their search. Lying on a bench in the back of the room was a sleeping Jamie. Standing next to the sleeping figure, was Sydney.

“Amanda?” Sydney whispered as she pushed away from the wall and walked tentatively towards the woman.

Amanda nodded. “Yes, Sydney it’s me.” She opened her arms and embraced the young girl. Stepping back a little, she gave Sydney a good once over. “Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you did they?”

Sydney shook her head. “No. I’m just a little tired…and hungry.”

Lee poked his head into the room. “Amanda, everything okay?”

“I think so.” Amanda looked over Sydney’s shoulder at her son. “Is Jamie okay?”

“Yes, he’s just sleeping. We’ve been taking turns sleeping and sending out an SOS signal.” Sydney glanced over towards Lee. “How did you find us?”

“We followed your SOS, among other leads.” Amanda let go of Sydney and headed over towards her son. She bent down and gently nudged him. “Jamie, sweetheart, time to wake up.”

Jamie moaned and rubbed his eyes. “Is it my turn already.” He yawned as he opened his eyes. Expecting to see Sydney, he let out a small gasp of surprise to see his mother leaning over him. “Mom!”

“Yes, sweetheart.” Amanda helped him sit up and then wrapped her arms around him. “I was so worried about you.”

“Amanda, you need to get the kids out of here…now.” Lee moved into the doorway, but kept his eyes focused on the door at the end of the hallway.

Amanda looked at Jamie. “Are you awake enough to walk?”

Jamie nodded. “I’d run out of here if you wanted me to.” He covered his mouth to hide another yawn. He then looked over towards Lee and, noticing the gun in the man’s hand, turned back towards Sydney. “Guess we were right.”

Amanda raised her eyebrows as she stood and began ushering her son and Sydney towards the door. “Right about what?”

“I thought I saw Lee back at the school, and we kind of put a few things together.” Jamie looked at his mom. “Are you really a federal agent, mom?”

Amanda nodded. “Yes, but we’ll discuss all of that when we get you guys home, okay?” She followed Lee out into the hallway.

Lee pointed in the direction of the back door once Jamie and Sydney had joined them in the hallway. “I’ll keep guard until you three are safely out the back door.”

“Lee, please come with us.” Amanda turned towards her husband. “You can come back in here once we know the backup has arrived. I doubt the Magician and Borsky are going anywhere in the next few minutes.”

Lee shook his head. “You don’t know the Magician, Amanda but I do, and believe me when I tell you that he’s got more tricks up his sleeve than the number of nursery rhymes that Dr. Smyth seems to know. For all we know, he has a secret passageway out of here and if I don’t go after him now, he’ll get away and come back another day. He doesn’t like to lose.”

“All right, but be careful.” Amanda turned towards Jamie and Sydney. “Come on, you two. Let’s get you out of here.” She pulled her gun out of her waistband and led the way towards the back door.

Lee watched as they rounded the corner and waited to hear the creak of the back door before heading down the other end of the hallway. With his gun at the ready, he opened the door and slowly stepped into the store. After a quick glance around the room, he saw that only one of the Russians appeared to be in the room. Standing behind the store counter, hanging up the phone was Sergei Romanovich. Ignoring the nagging feeling that he should have gone with his wife, he raised his gun and aimed it at the Magician.

Sergei smiled devilishly as he turned to face Lee. “Ah, Scarecrow. It is so nice to see you again. I’m afraid, though, that the store isn’t open for business right now. May I suggest you come back in about two hours and I will be more than happy to help you with anything you wish to purchase.” His arms made a sweeping motion around the room.

“That won’t be necessary, Romanovich. You see I’ve already found what I came here for.” Lee kept his features neutral as he took a few steps closer to the counter.

Sergei looked behind Lee towards the hallway he had just come from. “Would you be referring to me or your partner’s son and Miss Bristow?”

“All of the above, actually.” Lee allowed a small smirk to cross his face. “Now, if you’d be so kind as to keep your hands where I can see them and step out from behind the counter. I’d like to invite you to join me on a little trip.”

“As nice as that sounds, I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere with you.” With a wide grin on his face, Sergei looked behind Lee again.

Lee had been so busy watching the Magician that he hadn’t heard the door open behind him. Turning, he noticed for the first time a door on the other side of the entrance to the hallway he had come from. Stepping out of the darkness was Borsky, his gun trained on Lee.

“Scarecrow, it would be wise for you to drop your gun.” Borsky looked past Lee and towards Romanovich, giving him a subtle nod.

Lee looked back in the direction of the Magician. With the distraction Borsky had provided, the Magician had enough time to pull out his own weapon. Lee silently cursed himself for not taking more time to check the room fully; that was a rookie mistake. Judging from the smell of mildew coming from the door Borsky had just come from, the Russian had been in the basement; another mistake. Maybe he should have gone back out and checked the basement first. Why had he insisted on going in alone to face the Magician and Borsky? It wasn’t like he had anything to prove or some vendetta against the Magician, even if they had faced off a time or two in the past.

“I believe, as they say in the game, this is checkmate.” Romanovich stepped out from behind the counter, his gun still trained on Lee. “I think that you will be joining me on a little trip. I may no longer have Sydney Bristow to bring me fame and fortune, but you will be a much bigger catch. Yes, if we return to Moscow with you, the infamous Scarecrow, I can live out my life a very rich man.”

Lee let his gun drop to the floor and silently berated himself for not listening to Amanda. He should have waited and let the backup team come in and get these two. At least, with Borsky and the Magician here with him, he knew that Amanda, Jamie and Sydney were safe. He only hoped the backup teams would arrive soon. He really wasn’t looking forward to a trip behind the Iron Curtain.

Chapter Sixteen

Tuesday, September 22nd

Amanda cautiously made her way back up the alley following closely behind Jamie and Sydney. “I want you two to stop when you reach the sidewalk. I want to make sure everything is safe before we go any further.” She watched as both children nodded, and then did as she had asked when they reached the edge of the building. Stepping in front of them, she looked both ways to make sure that the coast was clear. Assured that everything was safe, she led the way back towards Lee’s Corvette. Tucking her gun back inside the waistband of her jeans and keeping her eyes alert, she wrapped a protective arm around each child’s shoulders. As they got closer to the silver sports car, a brown sedan sped past and began pulling into the spot in front of Lee’s car. Pulling Jamie and Sydney closer, she focused her attention on the driver’s side of the sedan, watching to see which one of her fellow agents would be emerging from the vehicle.

Francine stepped out of the sedan and immediately turned and looked at Amanda. “I see you two still don’t know how to follow orders. Just couldn’t wait for the backup to arrive, could you?” She looked around before letting her gaze fall back on the brunette. “Where is your other half, anyway?”

“He stayed behind to keep an eye on the Magician. Issac Borsky was inside as well.” Amanda, with Jamie and Sydney still on either side of her, approached the blonde agent. Removing her arms from their shoulders, she turned to look at the two youngsters. “I want you to go with Francine. She’s a colleague of mine and Lee’s.”

Jamie looked over at the blonde and then back at his mom. “Mom? Why aren’t you going to stay with us?”

Amanda placed both her hands on Jamie’s shoulders. “Because Lee’s in trouble and I’m his partner. Francine will take good care of you, I promise.” She then turned to look at he fellow agent. “Is a med unit on the way?”

“Yes, it should be here any minute along with Fielder and the rest of the backup.” Francine eyed her fellow agent suspiciously. “What’s the situation?”

“The situation is this: I’m going back in to assist Lee. I want you to look after Jamie and Sydney.” Amanda stared her friend down, daring her to argue.

Francine rolled her eyes. “Oh yes, by all means we wouldn’t want the great Scarecrow to be separated from the old ball and chain for too long. Lord only knows what might happen.”

Amanda shook her head. “Not now, Francine. Lee’s in there, alone, trying to subdue two KGB agents. I don’t have time to deal with your barbs right now. We can discuss your little revelation later.” She started to head back towards the shop, but stopped suddenly and turned her head back in Francine’s direction. “Oh, as soon as the backup arrives, can you send someone in around through the back. There’s another KGB agent, Vladimir Vadorsky, cuffed to the radiator just inside the backdoor.” Without waiting to her the blonde’s reply, she turned and ran back towards the alley.

“It’s not my fault that you and Scarecrow couldn’t wait for the backup to arrive.” Francine gritted her teeth as she realized that her comment hadn’t been heard. Looking down at the two children in front of her, she let her features soften. “Come on you two. It’ll be safer for you to wait in my car while we wait for my fellow agents to arrive. And, to pass the time, you can tell me how you two managed to send that SOS signal.” She watched their faces beam with pride and, as she led them towards the brown sedan, she turned and caught sight of Amanda rounding the corner into an alleyway next to the pawnshop.

Amanda pulled her gun from her waistband as she jogged back down the alley. As she turned the corner behind the shop, she paused and slowly, with her gun at the ready, opened the back door. Peering in, she could see Vadorsky still cuffed to the radiator and out cold. As she stepped inside she heard two gunshots come from the front of the store and her heart stopped. What if she was too late? She prayed that it wasn’t Lee; if he were hurt in anyway, she would never forgive herself for not insisting that he come with them earlier. Clutching her gun tighter, she crept down the hallway.

Borsky cried out in pain as his gun fell to the floor with a metallic clatter, moments before he, himself, crumpled to the floor. Clutching his now injured hand, he scanned the room. “Who the hell shot me?” He asked before looking down at where the second shot had hit him. Catching sight of all the blood seeping through his left pant leg, he suddenly felt faint and before he could receive an answer to his his question, he promptly passed out

Having had the same thought as Borsky, Lee had done a quick scan of the room, right before the Russian had collapsed. He knew, without a doubt that it couldn’t have been Amanda who had shot Borsky twice, because his wife would only use her gun as a last resort, she would have found something else to cause a distraction. Perhaps it was one of the backup team, but then, even his fellow agents wouldn’t just shoot someone without sufficient cause, it would mean too much paperwork to deal with. Fighting the urge to look behind him to see who had shot Borsky, he took advantage of the Magician’s momentary distraction and, lunging towards Romanovich, he reached for the hand holding the gun. The force of the impact sent them both falling and the Russian’s hand hit the corner of a nearby table, knocking the gun out of his hand and sending it spinning across the floor along with several other items that had been on display.

Romanovich pushed Lee off of him with both hands and with a flick of his wrist, a knife sprung out from his sleeve. He thrust the knife at his adversary, and with one sweeping motion, sliced into Scarecrow’s left arm.

Ignoring the searing pain in his arm, Lee lunged for the Magician again, this time reaching for the knife wielding hand.

Romanovich held tightly onto his weapon as they both tumbled to the ground. Using one of his favorite tricks, he locked his legs around Lee’s and flipped him over onto his back. He then pinned his arm under his adversary’s neck and prepared to drive his knife deep into the heart of the Scarecrow.

“Romanovich, I suggest you drop your weapon or I’ll put a bullet in your hand, just as I did Borsky’s. I’d say a man of your talent wouldn’t want to be without the use of both his hands.” A cold, menacing voice echoed through the open basement doorway.

Amanda entered the room just as the unidentified voice had issued his threat. Looking first at her husband, she trained her gun on Romanovich. She then turned her head at the newcomer. “Jack, where did you come from?”

“From the basement.” Jack motioned behind him with his head. “I’ve been following Borsky for the last week. The idiot never knew I was on his tail.”

With everyone’s attention on Jack, Lee used the distraction to remove the surprised Russian’s arm from his neck and with his uninjured arm jerked the Magician over, landing him on his back with a thud. He then quickly moved over to retrieve the gun he had dropped earlier and aimed it at the Russian’s chest. “Not that I’m not glad to see you, Jack, but it would have been nice of you to announce your presence before Romanovich got a chunk of my arm.”

Jack shrugged. “I was enjoying the show.”

Lee rolled his eyes and moved closer to the Magician. “I’ll take that knife, if you don’t mind.”

“You have not won, Scarecrow. You’re country can not keep me here.” Romanovich let a smug smile creep across his face as he handed the weapon over to Lee.

Lee took the knife and placed it on the table beside him. “Your Embassy isn’t going to welcome you back with open arms, and I doubt you plan on going back to Moscow empty-handed.” He then turned slightly and glanced at his wife. “Amanda, I don’t suppose you have anything on you to secure our friend here do you?”

Shaking her head, Amanda walked around Lee and began scanning the room for something to use. Stepping behind the counter, she found a ball of thick twine. “This should work.” Finding a pair of scissors next to it, she picked up both items and walked back towards her husband.

“All right Romanovich, nice and slowly, move over to that chair and take a seat. Keep your hands out in front of you, where we can see them.” Lee kept his gun trained on the Russian. “Remember, I’m not the only one with my gun aimed at you.” He watched the Magician sit down on the small wooden chair, and then moved a few inches closer as his wife began tying Romanovich’s hands.

“I may not be welcome at my Embassy, but I still have diplomatic immunity. You forget I was sent here to protect Aleksandr Molinkof.” Romanovich kept his eyes locked with Lee’s.

Lee let out a small laugh. “I think your diplomatic immunity went out the window when you kidnapped Sydney Bristow and Jamie King. Face it Romanovich, right now you don’t have a leg to stand on. But just to be sure you don’t pull anymore tricks out of your sleeve,” he walked over to the captive, and using the butt of his gun, knocked the Russian out.

“Lee!” Amanda scolded. “Don’t you think that was a bit extreme? We had him tied up. With three of us to guard him, do you think he was in any shape to do anything? And just what is up with your sudden need to render the bad guys unconscious?” She let out a deep breath when her husband just shrugged in response. She then turned towards Jack, who was bending over Borsky, checking for a pulse. “Is he dead?”

Jack shook his head. “No, apparently he just passed out from the pain or the sight of the blood. Borsky may look tough, but he can’t handle torture of any kind.”

With Romanovich out of commission, Lee reholstered his gun. With both his hand’s free, he clutched his injured arm, and walked over to Jack. “Did you have to shoot him in the hand and the leg? Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate you taking Borsky out but,” he turned to look at his wife, “shooting him twice, that was a bit excessive. What I did to Romanovich was necessary. He would have found a way out of the ropes and pulled some hocus-pocus to give us the slip. Our best bet when it comes to the Magician, is to keep him unconscious until we can make sure he’s clean.”

Amanda just rolled her eyes and let out a deep sigh. “Men, why must you always use brawn instead of brains?” She gave her husband a knowing look before heading to the front door. Opening it, she stepped outside to check the status on the backup. She motioned towards Fielder, who was just stepping out of a blue sedan before turning and heading back inside. “The rest of the backup has arrived.”

Lee looked back over at Jack. “You mentioned that you’d been following Borsky. I thought, when we pulled Kholokov’s file back at the Agency last week, you said that he wasn’t someone we really needed to worry about. What made you change your mind?”

Jack picked up the ball of twine from the table Amanda had placed it on after she had finished tying up Romanovich, and moved back over to Borsky. “At the time, he wasn’t. After you dropped me off at Langley, I got all my documentation and took a trip behind the Iron Curtain. After doing quite a bit of digging there and taking care of a few loose ends, I got in touch with a contact of mine back in L.A.” He cut a nice size piece of twine and began tying the Russian’s hands together. “I was glad I did, because my contact informed me that Borsky was in town, asking all sorts of questions about me and Sydney.” He pulled the twine tightly making sure the knot was secure. “So I got on the next flight back to the States and, after arriving home, tracked Borsky down and spent the last few days following him all over Los Angeles, making sure that he didn’t find out where Sydney was.” Looking up from his work, he glared at Lee. “Imagine my surprise when I overheard his phone conversation with Romanovich, informing him that my daughter was in their possession and ready to head to the mother country.” He then turned his attention on Amanda. “By they way, where is my daughter?”

“She’s safe. My son, Jamie,” Amanda emphasized her son’s name, reminding Jack that Sydney wasn’t the only one who had been kidnapped, “and your daughter are most likely with the med team right now.” She looked at her husband. “Francine arrived right after I got them out of here. She wasn’t exactly thrilled that we went in without backup, so be prepared to hear a lecture from Mr. Melrose. I have no doubt, that after all we’ve put her through, it’ll be the first thing she puts in her report to him.” She then turned her attention back on Jack. “I don’t suppose you want to go and see Sydney?”

Jack shook his head as he began tying Borsky’s feet together. “No, I need to take Borsky back to Langley. I have a ton of questions for him. He’s the only link we have right now to our leak at the CIA.” He pulled the rope tight and tied it into a secure knot, before looking over at Amanda. “Besides, Sydney can’t know that I’m here. I wouldn’t be able to explain my presence here without blowing my cover. You may not care if your son knows what you do, but I do not want my daughter anywhere near this business.”

“I think it’s a little late for that.” Lee muttered under his breath. He then looked at the doubly bound Borsky. “He’s going to need medical attention when he finally wakes up. Is Langley equipped for that?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he gets treated for his injuries. Right now, getting information out of him is our first priority. Besides, if he’s in pain, he might be more willing to cooperate.” Jack bent down and lifted the Russian up. Just as he hefted Borsky over his shoulders, the front door to the pawnshop opened.

Fred Fielder entered, followed by two other agents, and looked at the scattered items all over the floor. “I see you seem to have everything under control as usual Scarecrow.”

Lee shrugged. “All in a days work.” He then pointed towards the Magician. “You can take Romanovich back to the Agency.” He watched as Fielder motioned for the other two agents to take care of the unconscious Russian. “Keep a very close eye on him, he’s slyer than a fox. I suggest you have someone strip search him back at the Agency.” He called after the agents as they headed for the door with their captive in tow. “There’s no telling how many tricks he has up his sleeves, literally.”

Fielder looked over at Lee as he pointed towards Jack. “What about them?”

“This man is going to be a guest of the CIA.” Jack answered before Lee could say anything. He then turned and began heading towards the basement door.

Lee pointed towards the door leading to the street. “You can use the front door, Jack, or even the back door. It’s got to be very unpleasant down there.” He motioned towards the basement.

Jack shook his head as he turned to look back in Lee’s direction. “I need to wait until all your Agency personnel have cleared out, I’ll just wait with Borsky down here. If I go outside now, there’s the very distinct possibility that Sydney might see me.” He then fixed Lee with a hard stare. “I’ll arrange transportation to the Agency once I’ve finished with Borsky, and we can discuss exactly how Romanovich ended up with my daughter.” He then turned and walked through the door.

Amanda glared at Jack’s retreating form. How dare he use that accusatory tone with them? If it hadn’t been for his insane Project Christmas experiment, Sydney wouldn’t have been in danger in the first place and her son never would have been kidnapped. She opened her mouth to say something, but caught her husband’s slight shake of the head as he mouthed ‘later’. When she looked back in the direction of the basement, she realized why. Jack Bristow had disappeared into the darkness.

Fielder looked towards the door Jack Bristow had gone through and then turned his attention on Lee. “I hope you plan on explaining what just happened to Melrose and the rest of the higher ups at the Agency because I’m not taking the wrap for letting a CIA agent walk off with a known member of the KGB.” He then turned and walked out of the shop before Lee could even reply.

Lee shook his head as he walked over and stood next to his wife. “We’ll have all the time, later, to give him a piece of our minds.”

“Yeah and he’s going to get a huge chunk of it.” Amanda turned to look at her husband. “We need to go check on Jamie and Sydney, and have the med team check out your arm.”

“Amanda, my arm is fine. It’s just a little scratch.” Lee moved his arm to show her, and quickly regretted it. Gritting his teeth, he tried to keep his wife from seeing him wince in pain.

“Right, Stetson.” Amanda took his good arm in hers. “We’re getting that arm checked out.” She then fixed him with her best ‘mother’ stare. “And don’t even think of arguing with me.” She led him out the front door.

Lee grinned at her. “Believe me, Mrs. Stetson, I’ve learned not to argue with you when you’re right.”

Walking towards the brown med truck, Amanda glanced back towards the store. “Do you think we did the right thing letting Jack take off with Borsky, like that?”

Lee shrugged. “I’m sure we’ll get some flak for letting the CIA take him, but considering the fact that Jack did save my skin, I figured it was easier not to argue with him. Besides, with only one suspect to interrogate, we have less paperwork to deal with.”

Amanda rolled her eyes. “It always boils down to the paperwork doesn’t it?”

Lee let out a small chuckle. “Without it, what would we have to complain about? Besides, I like to think that I’m a happily married man because I had enough paperwork that needed to get done in order to keep you coming back.”

“Oh, please. Mr. Melrose was the one who gave me your paperwork to do because he figured it was easier to have me do it right the first time, rather than have someone else redo what you’d done wrong.” Amanda smiled teasingly at her husband.

“Well why do something myself when I have a partner who not only types ninety words a minute, but believes in handing in perfect work.” Lee flashed his dimpled smile in her direction and then turned his attention on the brown vehicle ahead of them. “I guess they couldn’t find anything a little less conspicuous.”

Amanda shrugged. “I think they probably figured it was better to send the fully equipped med truck since they weren’t sure what we were going to run up against. Besides, it’s still early and the truck doesn’t really stand out. Most people will think it’s just your average utility vehicle.” As they reached the door to the med truck, she stepped aside. “You first, I want to make sure you get that arm looked at.”

“You think I’m going to leave you stranded here.” Lee ignored his wife’s stare. “Even if I didn’t have an injured arm, I’d want to see how Jamie and Sydney were doing.”

Amanda smacked him playfully on his behind. “Just get in there, Stetson.”

Lee brought his hand up to his forehead and gave her a mock salute. “Yes, ma’am.” He then climbed the steps into the truck.

“Lee, what happened to your arm?” Jamie asked from the back of the truck as soon as he caught sight of the blood on the older man’s shirt. “And where’s my mom?”

“I’m right here, Jamie.” Amanda responded as she entered the truck behind her husband. Eager to head over and check on the two youngsters in the back, she turned to the man in charge of the med team. “Dr. MacJohn, Lee’s arm has a nice gash in it. Please take a look at it.” Ignoring the annoyed look her husband was giving her, she slipped past him and went over to her youngest son.

“Is it over, Mom?” Jamie pushed his glasses up on his nose. “I mean did you get the guys who had us?”

Amanda nodded. “You bet we did.” She sat down on Jamie’s cot and wrapped her arm around him. She looked at the young girl watching Dr. MacJohn inspect Lee’s arm. “I thought you two would be resting.”

Sydney turned towards Amanda and shrugged. “I think we’re both too keyed up to sleep any more. I thought once Ms. Desmond brought us in here and I knew we were safe, that I could rest but there’s just too much going on in my head right now.”

Jamie nodded. “Yeah, I tried to tell her to sleep, especially since I was sleeping when you found us. She’d already been up for an hour and neither one of us really got a good night’s sleep.” He then looked up at his mom. “I knew there was no way I was going to fall asleep, not until you came back and I knew you were okay.”

“Well I’m here now.” Amanda placed a kiss on the top of her son’s head and then looked over at Sydney. “You two were very brave and your resourcefulness helped us find you. Who came up with the idea to send the signal in the first place?”

Sydney looked at her friend. “Jamie figured out that we had enough stuff in that back room to put the transmitter together.”

“Yeah, but it was your idea to put the name of the road into the signal.” Jamie smiled at Sydney. “I only know Morse code for SOS. It was your knowledge of the entire Morse code alphabet that allowed us to add to the signal.”

“I’m still amazed that it actually worked.” Sydney smiled brightly at Jamie. “I mean, that the signal was actually picked up.”
“I, for one, am very glad that it was,” Amanda reached over and patted Sydney’s leg, “and I’m very proud of both of you.” She then turned towards Dr. MacJohn. “Are they really okay, Doctor?”

Dr. MacJohn stopped his inspection of Lee’s wound and glanced in Amanda’s direction. “Yes, they’re both fine. I checked them both out. Jamie said that they knocked Sydney out with something but that he was alert the entire time during their captivity. My guess is they used chloroform on Sydney. I checked her out a little more thoroughly given the current accommodations and she’s fine, no lingering side effects. So, aside from being a little dehydrated, my only prescription is that they go home and get a lot of T.L.C. and rest.” He then turned his attention back to Lee’s arm. “Now, Scarecrow, this is going to sting a little.” He poured some antiseptic on the wound.

Lee gritted his teeth. “A little…what the hell is that stuff? It feels as if you just set my arm on fire. You’re supposed to be fixing my arm, not destroying it.”

“Lee…” Amanda admonished, her tone taking on a motherly tone. “Dr. MacJohn is only doing what he needs to do.” She kissed Jamie on the forehead and climbed down from the cot. “Sweetheart, why don’t you lie down and close your eyes for a little bit, I need to go hold Lee’s hand.” She winked at her son as he yawned and put his head down on the pillow. She looked over at Sydney. “Why don’t you try and close your eyes, too.”

Sydney nodded and lay down, facing Jamie. She locked eyes with Jamie and smiled. They were safe, but she still didn’t think she’d be able to fall asleep. As she tucked her right hand under her pillow, she remembered her mother’s bracelet. “Amanda…”

Amanda stopped and turned towards the young girl. “Yes, Sydney?”

“Well, do you think that your people are going to take the transmitter, to study it, maybe?” Sydney sat back up on the cot. “And if they do, we used my mother’s bracelet as a conductor, and I’d really love to get it back. It’s one of the only things I have left to remember her by.”

Amanda smiled. “I promise to do what ever I can to get the bracelet back for you, okay? Now, lay down and try and get a little rest.”

“Okay, and thank you.” Sydney tried to hide a yawn as she lay back down on the cot. Closing her eyes to make the adults happy, she listened to the conversation at the front of the truck.

“Amanda, I don’t need you to hold my hand.” Lee grumbled as his wife approached him.

Amanda smiled sweetly at him and leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Lee, my love, if you behave for the good doctor and stop acting like a child, I promise you will be well rewarded for your heroics.”

Lee’s eyes grew wide and he grinned devilishly. “Really?” His grin quickly faded as he felt a pin prick in his arm. “OUCH!” He shot Dr. MacJohn an evil look before turning his attention back on his wife. “This is why I hate doctors. They have no bedside manner.”

“And you, Scarecrow, are why we all draw straws when it comes to working any case that you’re involved in.” Dr. MacJohn kept his eyes on his work. “Now, I’ve cleaned the wound and that prick you just felt was me beginning to stitch it up, it’s a pretty deep gash.” He looked at Amanda. “Mrs. King, you’re more than welcome to hold his hand, if you want to, it might make my job a lot easier.”

Lee rolled his eyes. “Give me a break. I’m not that bad.” As he saw the raised eyebrows of his wife and Dr. MacJohn, he let out groan. “Fine, I’m not the easiest patient.”

“That’s an understatement.” Three pairs of eyes turned to look at Francine as she climbed into the truck. “I thought I’d come in here and see how things were going. Fielder followed the car carrying Romanovich back to the Agency.” She looked pointedly at Lee. “He told me that you let Jack…” She caught the wide eyes of her fellow agents as they looked at the sleeping girl on the cot. “…son, that Jackson took Borsky? I’m not even going to get into the dozens of regulations you broke with that one.” She turned her attention towards Dr. MacJohn. “How long do you think you’ll be, Doctor?”

Dr. MacJohn tied off the final suture. “Just finished.” He reached behind him and picked up a roll of gauze. “I just have to cover the wound and he’s all yours.”

Francine looked over at Amanda. “Once the doctor is done in here, we can head back to the Agency. We need to get their statements,” she looked over at Jamie and Sydney, “and you two need to be debriefed.”

Lee followed her gaze and watched the even breathing of the two youngsters lying on the cots and, turning his attention on Francine, he shook his head. “Sorry, Francine, but there will be no statements today. Those two have been through enough.” With his arm now fully bandaged, he jumped off the cot he’d been sitting on. “We’re taking them home. Tell Billy we’ll bring them both back tomorrow morning, bright and early, and he’ll get their statements…and ours, then.”

Amanda gave her husband a loving smile, which quickly turned to a look of confusion. “Lee, how are we going to get them home? We can’t all fit in the ’Vette.”

Lee turned towards Francine. “Do you think we can use your sedan and you can ride back to the Agency with MacJohn?”

“Scarecrow, if you expect me to just hand you the keys to my Agency issued car and then face Billy all by myself…” Francine put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at her friend. “You definitely are brainless.”

Amanda walked over to her fellow agent. “Francine, please. I realize we’re asking a lot of you, but Lee’s right, Jamie and Sydney have been through so much and I just want to get them home. I promise we’ll find a way to make it up to you.” She leaned in closer. “There might even be a box of Godiva chocolates in it for you.”

Francine glared at Amanda. “If you think that’s going to come close to cutting it, you’re sadly mistaken, Mrs. Scarecrow.” She then fished the keys to the sedan out of her pocket and handed them to Lee. “Here, but trust me when I say you two are going to owe me big time.”

Amanda placed a gentle hand on Francine’s shoulder. “Thank you.” She then walked over to the cots to rouse her son and Sydney. She smiled as she realized that both youngsters were, in fact, fast asleep. She knew they had been tired and was glad they had gotten even a few minutes of rest and felt slightly guilty having to wake them up so soon. “Come on you two, it’s time to go home.”

“Yes, Francine, thank you, and I promise, we will make this up to you.” Lee watched as the two youngsters sat up and began rubbing the sleep from their eyes.

“Darn right you will.” Francine just shook her head as she stepped down out of the truck. “Lee Stetson, family man. I just don’t get it.”

Lee let out a small chuckle at his friend’s comment. He felt bad that she would have to face their section chief alone, especially since he knew that Billy was going to be very upset with him for breaking yet another Agency rule, but he didn’t care. From the look of both kids, they needed a little love and understanding right now. They could be questioned tomorrow after a good nights rest. “You guys ready.” Jamie and Sydney nodded, and as he followed the two youngsters and his wife out of the truck, he knew he was making the right decision. He had a feeling that once Billy calmed down, he would understand and agree that family was more important than any of the Agency’s regulations. Francine had been absolutely right, though, he really was a family man now. He smiled as he thought about how right it felt to feel this way. His job was a part of him but it would never, ever be more important to him than his family.

SMK a SMK a SMK

“I’m sure Dr. Smyth isn’t happy, Billy, but you have to agree, Jamie and Sydney needed to be home with the family after the ordeal they just went through. I think Dr. Smyth gets so caught up in quoting the rules that he forgets that there are things more important than wrapping things up in nice neat little packages … Considering everything they’ve been through, they seem to be doing okay … Yeah, I know that a lot of people have delayed reactions to traumatic experiences that’s why Amanda and I plan on keeping a very close watch on Jamie … That’s good to hear, I’ll let Amanda know.” Lee pointed to his head at his wife’s curious look. When she didn’t get the hint, he pointed to the freezer and then mimicked licking a Popsicle. He nodded and smiled when Amanda mouthed ‘Dr. Pfaff.’ He then turned his attention back on his boss on the other end of the phone. “I agree now that Jamie knows about the Agency it make sense for him to see Pfaff rather than someone who doesn’t have a security clearance. I just hope we can convince Jack to do the same for Sydney.”

Lee rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. “Yes, I promise we’ll bring both Jamie and Sydney in by nine a.m. so that they can give their statements. I promise we’ll be there … I apologize that I didn’t touch base with you before now but we had a lot of things to deal with here … Just add it to the huge list of rules that I’ve broken today … Was there anything else?” His eyes grew wide and he gritted his teeth. “You’ve got to be kidding me … Believe me Billy, he seemed sincere when he told me that the CIA wanted Borsky … No, I really had no idea that he had no intention of turning him over … You’ve met the man, he’s not the easiest person to read.” He sighed and shook his head. “I promise that Amanda and I will have our report ready and we’ll hand it over to you after we’re debriefed tomorrow … Bye, Billy.”

Amanda looked at her husband curiously. “That didn’t sound good. What happened?”

“Billy just informed me that Jack never handed Borsky over to the CIA. He called over to Langley as a courtesy, to give them a preliminary report and see if Borsky was giving them any good information. Jack’s superior said that he knows nothing about Borsky being in CIA custody.” Lee leaned back against the counter and folded his arms. “I don’t know why I didn’t insist that Borsky come with us.”

Amanda placed a hand on his uninjured arm. “Because Jack had just helped to save your life. Neither one of us thought that he was being anything but truthful with us. Did Mr. Melrose say if Jack even checked in with Langley?”

Lee nodded. “According to Billy, Jack had just called in and told them that Sydney was fine and that he was on his way in to give his report to Langley.” A small smile crept on his face. “I have a feeling Billy just ratted Jack out. That makes me feel a little better, knowing that we’re not the only ones who are going to get in trouble for not bringing Borsky into custody. Oh, and I promised Billy we’d have our report typed up and ready to give him tomorrow after our debriefs.”

“We can work on that tonight once everyone’s in bed.” Amanda sighed at the sound of the doorbell ringing. “No rest for the wicked. At least we know it’s not Mr. Melrose coming over to personally escort us into the office.” She said over her shoulder as she headed into the foyer. Opening the door, she greeted their guest. “Jack, we were just talking about you.” She stepped aside. “Come on in. You just missed dinner, are you hungry? I’d be more than happy to warm something up for you.”

“That’s okay, I stopped and ate something on my way over here.” Jack entered the foyer and watched as Amanda closed the door.

Lee stepped into view of the foyer from the kitchen, his arms still folded across his chest. “Jack, I didn’t expect to see you tonight.”

Jack moved past the stairs and met Lee in the den. “Well I stopped by the Agency, but they told me you two hadn’t been in all day. Since I told you I wanted to find out what happened, I decided to come over here.”

Amanda joined the two men. “May I suggest we move this conversation outside? There are too many ears inside.” She walked past them and headed for the back door. Opening the door, she held it open and waited for both men to step out onto the patio. She was just about to follow her husband and Jack outside when her mother came entered the room.

“Who was at the door?” Dotty scanned the foyer and den before looking at her daughter.

Amanda closed the back door and looked at her mother. “Jack.”

“Oh.” Dotty turned to head back up the stairs. “I’ll just go let Sydney know her father’s here.”

“Mother, wait.” Amanda shook her head. “I don’t think he’s ready to see her yet.” She put up a hand to stop her mother’s comments. “Trust me, I know what you’re thinking and believe me, I’m pretty sure it’s the same thing that I am. His daughter has just gone through a terrifying experience, and his first order of business is not to see her but to talk shop.” She turned her gaze towards the stairs. “Is Phillip working on his homework?”

Dotty nodded. “Yes, albeit begrudgingly. He doesn’t think it’s fair that on the day of his brother’s rescue he should have to do schoolwork.” Glancing out the window, she shook her head. “I was thinking about asking Jack if I could warm something up for him but I don’t think I feel all that hospitable towards him at the moment.” She walked over to the sink to finish the dinner dishes.

“That’s okay, I asked him if he wanted anything to eat when he first arrived, and he said he’d already eaten.” Amanda commented as she followed her mother into the kitchen and picked up a dishtowel. “You know, you really didn’t have to leave the room while Lee was on the phone.”

Dotty shrugged. “I figured it was easier for him to talk with ease without prying ears around. Besides, I had to dig out your box of old books for Sydney to go through. Since I cleaned the attic the last time, I knew exactly where they were.” She turned the water on. “It was nice of you to let Sydney go through them. I think Jamie’s finding a few that he’s interested in reading as well.” Placing a dish in the drain board, she looked at her daughter. “You can go out there you know, I can finish these by myself.”

“That’s okay. I’ll help you and then go outside. I don’t feel like dealing with Jack at the moment, anyway. I’ll let Lee do that.” Amanda picked up the dish and, as she dried it, she turned her gaze towards the patio.

Lee led Jack towards the gazebo. “There’s more privacy back here.” He explained as he took a seat on the bench.

“Perhaps.” Jack looked around at the cozy backyard. Stepping up into the gazebo, he stood and stared at Lee. “Now that we’re secluded from the rest of the house, would you like to tell me how my daughter ended up in the hands of the very people that you were supposed to be protecting her from?”

Lee leaned back against the gazebo and clasped his hands behind his head; he refused to let Jack provoke him. “Let me assure you that we did everything possible to keep that from happening. We found out that the Magician was going to be at Jamie’s school as a bodyguard for some visiting chess prodigy. So rather than pull Sydney out of school and raise all sorts of questions, we put extra men at the school and arranged for Sydney and Jamie to stay away from the tournament. We even went so far as to follow them to and from their classes yesterday.” He leaned forward and looked at Jack. “Unfortunately, Jamie and Sydney had other ideas. They really wanted to check out the chess tournament and since we couldn’t come out and say ‘you can’t go to the tournament because there’s going to be a KGB agent there who might recognize Sydney and want to bring her back to Russia’, they didn’t know about the potential danger waiting for them inside the auditorium.”

“You just said you had extra men at the school.” Jack found Lee’s attitude slightly irritating. “Didn’t you have any of your agents covering the tournament?”

Lee took a deep breath. “Yes, we did, but since we couldn’t tell anyone that Sydney was the target,” he looked pointedly at Jack, “our agents were only instructed to watch Romanovich. It’s not our fault that the Magician recognized Sydney.”

“Well your agents obviously didn’t watch him closely enough.” Jack didn’t raise his voice, but his tone indicated just how annoyed he was.

“No, they didn’t and the agent who had been assigned to Romanovich has already been properly dealt with.” Lee stood and came face-to-face with Jack. “And before you start accusing the people who helped to get your daughter and Jamie King back, how about we discuss the fact that you never turned Borsky over to the CIA.” Realizing that he was invading the other man’s personal space, he took a small step backwards in order to avoid a physical confrontation, but kept his eyes locked with Jack’s. “CIA interrogation my ass. Do you realize the position you put Amanda and myself in? We let you walk out of there with Borsky and for what? Some personal vendetta?” He eyed the other man suspiciously. “Where is he now?”

“On his way back to Russia.” Jack replied nonchalantly as he shrugged and sat down on the bench opposite the one Lee had just vacated.

“You let him go? Are you insane?” Lee began pacing the length of the gazebo. “You are insane. Jamie King and your daughter were kidnapped because men who work for Kholokov wanted to bring your daughter to Russia.” He stopped pacing and stared at Jack. “Can you at least tell me why we went through all the trouble of protecting Sydney and putting this family at risk,” he pointed towards the house, “when Sydney’s in just as much danger as she was a week ago?”

“I did what I did to ensure Sydney’s safety.” Jack leaned back against the back of the gazebo. “Borsky is on his way back to Kholokov with a message.” He put up a hand to stop any questions Lee might have. “The message is none of your business, but the end result is that Kholokov won’t come near Sydney again, and you can rest assured that Amanda’s family is safe as well.”

Lee stood there and watched Jack intently. “How can you be so sure? And, while you were giving your message to Borsky, did you manage to uncover the leak inside the CIA?”

Jack rolled his eyes. “I’m quite capable of doing my job, Stetson. Since you obviously won’t let this drop, Borsky gave up the name of the mole and I’ve already seen to it that the parasite has been expunged from our organization.”

Remembering Jack’s earlier concern that all his trusted colleagues had been sent on missions around the same time that he had been assigned to investigate the CIA’s leak therefore making Sydney’s safety an issue, Lee’s curiosity got the better of him, and in a more relaxed tone, he asked, “Was it someone pretty high up, or just someone who gave out the assignments?”

Jack let out an aggravated sigh. “Stetson, I’ve seen to it that the CIA is cleaning up its own mess, and who our mole is, and what position he held, is of absolutely no concern to you or the Agency. As far as Borsky is concerned, I got what I needed from him and secured Sydney’s safety in the process. End of discussion.”

Lee was truly tempted to question Jack further on exactly what he had done to Borsky but then decided maybe he was better off not knowing. He did, however, still have serious doubts about whether or not Sydney was really safe. Shaking his head, he looked skeptically at Jack. “This discussion is far from over, Jack. I want to know how can you be so sure that Kholokov is going to be dissuaded by some threat? I have yet to come across any member of the KGB who lets a threat stop them from achieving their goal. I have serious doubts that Kholokov isn’t going to stop until he gets his hands on something tangible with regards to Project Christmas.”

Jack leaned forward and let out a deep groan. “You’re not going to start on that again are you?”

Lee looked Jack in the eye. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. I want to know how any sane man could do that to his own daughter.” He smiled to himself at the obvious shock that had just appeared on Jack’s face. “Your top secret project isn’t as top secret as you think. I have a few rocks I was able to turn over and what I found out was disturbing to say the least. If I weren’t so indebted to you for saving my life earlier, I’d beat you senseless. How could you use Sydney like that?”

“Yes, Jack, I’d love to hear the answer to that question myself.” Amanda stepped up into the gazebo and stood next to her husband.

Jack kept his expression neutral as he looked from Lee’s angry face to Amanda’s stern one. He wasn’t someone who confessed just because someone was trying to intimidate him, and he never justified his reasons for doing anything, especially when it came to his daughter. He briefly toyed with the idea of telling the couple that it was none of their business, however, considering everything the pair in front of him had done for Sydney, and the fact that Jamie King had gotten caught in the middle of the mess he was responsible for, he realized that he owed them the truth. Leaning forward, he let out a deep sigh. “As you probably both know, after my wife died, it came out that she was really a KGB operative sent here to get information on Project Christmas. I only found out the truth after I was arrested for being in league with her. While my supervisor, and friend, Arvin Sloane worked to clear my name, I did a lot of thinking during my six months in solitary confinement. After I got over the pain and hurt of being betrayed by the only woman I ever loved, I realized that I only had one thing that really mattered to me anymore, Sydney.”

Amanda sat down on the bench opposite Jack. “Well if she means so much to you, why did you take away her choices in life?”

Jack looked directly at Amanda. “I don’t think I took anything away from her. I gave her a chance to survive, and not end up being anybody’s pawn.”

Lee walked over and sat down next to his wife. Crossing his arms, he glared at Jack. “You programmed her to be a spy. You can’t seriously believe that the CIA won’t try and recruit her ten years from now?”

“They won’t because I already made arrangements with the CIA that they will never recruit Sydney.” Jack stood up and walked to the edge of the gazebo. Turning around, he leaned against the side. “You may not believe me but I did what I did to protect Sydney. When I was finally released, I went home and really started paying close attention to my daughter. I noticed things about her; things that made her stand out from the rest of the children her age. She was able to do complex puzzles without even trying, and I’m not talking about jigsaw puzzles either. I realized that she fit the profile of what we were looking for in our studies for Project Christmas.” He looked directly at Amanda. “I didn’t want my daughter to be a victim, like I was. I wanted her to be able to protect herself so I decided to test my theories on her. I want her to grow up to be as strong as she can be. I wanted to teach her to be able to think strategically in a world where one mistake can cost you your life.”

“And you believe that by giving her all of these new skills and then wiping away her memory of them, that you’re protecting her?” Amanda stood up and walked over to Jack. “I know you thought you were doing the right thing but you couldn’t have been more wrong.” She softened her tone as she leaned back against the opposite post from Jack. “Sydney didn’t need to be programmed to protect herself, she needs you to do that for her. She needs a father who will love and guide her, Jack, not someone to plan her future for her.”

Jack looked towards the house. “I did what I had to do. This world is too dangerous for her not to be prepared.”

Amanda shook her head. “You were blinded by betrayal, Jack, and you forgot that Sydney is first and foremost your daughter. Instead of thinking about what might happen, you should have been focusing on being a parent to Sydney.”

Jack took a deep breath and looked at Amanda. “That’s what I have been doing. For the last six years I’ve been Sydney’s only parent. It’s not easy trying to be both a father and mother to your child.”

“I know better than most what that’s like.” Amanda pushed herself away from the gazebo and moved a little closer to Jack. “Phillip and Jamie’s father moved to Estoccia around the same time that your wife died. Joe didn’t make it back to the States very often and, when he did, he was only around for a few days. So I know exactly what it’s like to be both a father and mother to my children.”

“That’s not the same thing at all. Your husband didn’t pass away.” Jack began pacing the small space inside the gazebo. “He’s still a part of your sons’ lives.”

Amanda placed her hand on his arm as he came near her. “Joe may still be a part of their lives, but it takes a lot more to be a parent than to just call yourself a father.” She looked over at her husband and gave him a gentle smile.

Lee returned her smile and winked. He had been tempted to get off the bench and join the conversation but decided it was better to let his wife handle this conversation. Parenting was Amanda’s expertise; he was just a novice in that area. If Jack started to get confrontational, then he would jump in and defend his wife but, for now, he was more than happy to sit this one out.

Amanda let go of Jack’s arm and fixed him with a gentle gaze. “There’s more to being a parent than just looking out for your child’s welfare. You have to be there for them; show them that you care. Parenting is about giving and taking. The parent gives love, understanding and attention to the child, and the child not only takes but gives it all back to you.” She glanced towards the house. “What your children give back to you is double what you give them. You get not only their love, but their trust, too.” Turning her attention back to Jack, she sighed. “Do you know what it takes to gain your child’s love and trust? It’s taking an interest in your daughter’s life, talking to her, showing her you care. It’s being home and eating dinner with your daughter; letting her eat alone or with the nanny isn’t good enough for someone as bright and loving as Sydney.”

Jack looked at Amanda, a hint of sadness in his eyes. “I don’t know if I’m capable of doing any of those things anymore. There was a time, when Laura was alive…” He closed his eyes and sighed. He wasn’t accustomed to sharing his feelings with anyone, but for some reason Amanda King had the ability to see right through him. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and looked at the woman he had entrusted his daughter’s well being to. “Let’s just say it’s very hard for me to be around Sydney knowing that everything she thought she knew when her mother was alive, was a lie and in many ways it’s my fault. I keep myself at a distance because I think she’s better off without me.”

“Jack, I think you’re really afraid of getting emotionally attached to anyone again, including your own daughter and that’s a mistake.” Amanda placed a gentle hand on Jack’s arm. “The longer you push your daughter away the harder it’ll be when she grows up and decides to move on with her life without you. If I were you, I’d try and amend your relationship with her now, before it’s too late. I’m not saying you have to go in with guns blazing.” She smiled and chuckled. “Okay, bad choice of words. What I’m trying to say is that you should start with something small, like calling her when you’re away on business, just to say hi and see how’s she’s doing.” She looked back towards the house. “And, as they say, there’s no time like the present to make a fresh start. There’s a young girl in there who’s feeling very abandoned and, after the ordeal she just went through, I think it would mean a lot to her if you showed her just how much you care.” She glanced briefly at Jack and then stepped down from the gazebo.

“I guess you’re right. I should go see her and let her know how glad I am that she’s okay.” Jack looked over at Lee. “I have one more question. I know my daughter, at least well enough to know that she had questions about what happened and why. What did you tell her?”

Lee stood up and walked over to Jack. “Well we knew that we couldn’t tell her the truth without revealing what you really do for a living so we told her the same thing we told Amanda’s family…a very big white lie.” He tried to read the other man’s expression to see if he was happy about that or annoyed, but found that Jack was way too good at hiding his feelings. “We told her that a deal you made with Romanovich’s associates went bad and that because the men were members of the KGB and very dangerous, you asked the government to place her in protective custody while you helped the CIA to capture them.”

Amanda approached the two men. “Since you had told her that you and Lee were old friends, we told her that when Lee found out that it was your daughter in trouble, he jumped at the chance to help. We didn’t want her to think that she was just an assignment, and wanted to make sure that she knew that she really was welcome here. We then told her that Romanovich recognized her and was going to use her to get you to stop helping the government capture his associates.”

“Amanda and I figured that, just in case Jamie and Sydney overheard things that might raise a few questions, it was the best possible scenario.” Lee gave Jack a half-smile. “Turns out we made the right choice. Jamie said that Romanovich did mention your name.”

“Sounds like you came up with a pretty convincing story.” Jack let out a slow breath. “I’m glad I asked, though. I’d hate to think what might have happened if she had asked me anything, and our stories didn’t quite match.”

Amanda nodded and started heading back towards the house. As she reached the back door, she stopped and turned to look at Jack. Fixing him with an intense glare, she pointed a finger at him. “And don’t even think of resetting her memory this time. I plan on checking up on her and I expect her to know who I am.” She then turned back and, opening the back door, walked into her house.

Jack leaned over towards Lee. “Why do I suddenly feel like I’m ten years old and was just told to go to my room without supper by my mother?”

Lee grinned as he followed his wife inside. “Because you were just scolded by a mother. Trust me when I tell you that when Amanda uses her mothers-know-best voice, it’s best not to argue with her. You’ll never win.”

Jack shook his head and, as he entered the house, he looked up to see his daughter stepping down from the foyer into the den. Their eyes met and he nodded at her. “Hi, Syd.”

Sydney fought the urge to run and give her father a hug. After being held in the back room of a pawnshop, she wanted reassurance that she was no long in danger, but knew that that wasn’t something her father was truly capable of. She had gotten support from Amanda and Dotty once they got home this morning, but it wasn’t the same. What she really wanted was for him to come to her and wrap his arms around her; she was tired of always being the one to make the first move. “Hi, Daddy. When did you get here?”

Jack took a few steps closer to his daughter. “Not too long ago. Lee and Amanda were just filling me in on what happened.” He looked over at Amanda and saw her head tilt subtly towards Sydney. Swallowing his pride, he closed the distance between him and his daughter and pulled her into a loose embrace. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

Sydney was very surprised that her wish had come true. Quickly overcoming her shock, she wrapped her arms around her father and buried her head against his chest. “I am too.” Pulling back, she looked at him. “Did Amanda or Lee tell you that the men who took us were planning on sending us to Russia? But they didn’t get a chance because Lee and Amanda got there in time.” She pulled her father into another hug. “I’m glad you’re okay, too, Daddy.” She leaned back and looked at her father, a hint of pride on her face. “They told me that you were helping the government catch the men who were working with the man who kidnapped us. I’m very proud of you.” She then let go of her father and, stepping back a few inches, put her hands on her hips. “But you could have told me.”

Jack had to bite his tongue to keep from smiling at his daughter trying to be strict with him. “I believed you were better off not knowing. I didn’t want you to worry about me, and I wanted you to have a good time while you were here. I also believed you were safer if you didn’t know where I was.”

Sydney rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You were wrong, Daddy. If I had known the truth, then maybe I would have listened to that little voice inside my head telling me that we shouldn’t have gone with Mr. Romanovich.”

“I guess I have to face the fact that you aren’t a little girl anymore.” Jack reached over and placed a hand gently on his daughter’s shoulder. “Amanda and Lee told me about the transmitter you and Jamie built. That was very brave and smart of you to come up with a way to call for help.” He looked briefly back towards the couple and subtly shrugged his shoulders. The truth was, that he had read about the transmitter in the faxed report Mr. Melrose had sent over to Langley. Turning his attention back on his daughter, he saw the shy smile on her face, an obvious response to his compliment. Suddenly remembering that they weren’t alone and that he and Sydney were actually having a father-daughter moment, he began to feel very uncomfortable. He wasn’t used to showing this much affection for his daughter, nor was he used to having such personal conversations in front of others. Clearing his throat, he put back on his mask of indifference. “How long will it take you to pack?”

“Pack? Are we going home, Daddy?” Sydney looked at him with wide-eyed excitement.

Lee cleared his throat. “Jack, you can’t take Sydney home tonight. She has to come into the office with us tomorrow to give her account of what happened.”

Jack took a deep breath and turned to look at Lee. “I thought you feds called it a debriefing.”

“Normally we do but since Sydney and Jamie are both under eighteen, the Agency doesn’t conduct the questioning like an interrogation.” Lee crossed his arms and leaned back against the counter. “We don’t treat children like suspects.” He narrowed his eyes slightly letting Jack know that he still hadn’t let him off the hook for what he’d done to Sydney.

Sydney turned towards her father. “So if we’re not going home tonight, why do I have to pack now?”

“Because I got a room at the Hyatt down the road.” Jack looked at his daughter. “I thought maybe you and I could spend some time together, and perhaps…talk.”

“Oh.” Sydney looked down at her feet. Although her father’s gesture was kind of sweet, the thought of spending any time with him in a small room wasn’t very appealing. She looked back up and over at Amanda. “Can’t I just stay here, especially since it’s going to be my last night with the Kings?”

Dotty, who had been sitting in the den watching the entire exchange, stood up and walked towards Jack, never taking her eyes off of Sydney. “It’s all right with us if she wants to stay. We love having her here, and I know we’re going to miss her terribly, so having her stay here with us for one more night would be a wonderful treat.”

Amanda had been watching Jack while Sydney had been talking and had noticed a subtle slump of the man's shoulders, obviously a sign of his disappointment at his daughter's request. She moved over and placed a hand on the young girl’s shoulder. “Sydney, I would love for you to stay here tonight, but I think your dad really wants you to stay with him. Especially since you two haven’t seen each other in a week. Besides, I know he’s worried about you, and probably wants to be there for you in case you want to discuss the ordeal you just went through.” She glanced over at Jack, who nodded slightly.

“I think Amanda’s right. You should spend tonight with your dad.” Lee turned towards Jack. “We can pick you both up in the morning. Amanda was going to sit in with her when she gave her statement since you’d given her temporary guardianship, but since you’re back in town it makes more sense for you to be there.”
Sydney sighed reluctantly. “Just give me a little while to pack my things.”

Amanda tenderly ran her hand down Sydney’s hair. “Would you like some help?”

“I’d like that, thank you.” Sydney smiled affectionately at the older woman. As much as she missed being home, she was going to miss Amanda even more. It had been nice having someone mother her for a little while.

Amanda wrapped her arm around Sydney’s shoulders and they walked up the stairs together. “Why don’t you get started and I’ll meet you in your room in a minute. I’m going to let Phillip and Jamie know that you’re leaving so they can be downstairs to say goodbye, okay?”

Sydney nodded and moved on into Jamie’s room. Picking up her suitcase, she put it on the bed and opened it. Instead of heading over to the dresser to remove her clothes, she slumped down on the bed next to her luggage and let out a disheartened sigh.

Amanda entered the room and her heart broke at the sight of Sydney looking so down. She walked over to the bed and sitting down put her arm comfortingly around the young girl. “You really don’t want to go with your dad, do you?”

Sydney shrugged and leaned her head on Amanda’s shoulder. “It’s not that I don’t want to spend time with my dad, it’s just that I’ve never had to share a room with him before. We never go anywhere together. Usually there are walls or rooms that separate us. If the silence at home gets too uncomfortable, we always have another room to escape to. What are we going to talk about?”

Amanda leaned her head against Sydney’s. “I’m sure he’s just as nervous about this as you are. I’m sure there’s a lot that you two will find to talk about. You can tell him about what you learned at school, or what we did over the weekend. You can tell him about the movie we saw Friday night and about the fair we went to on Saturday.”

“I can tell him about teaming up with Lee and beating Phillip and Jamie at basketball.” Sydney shifted slightly so she could look at Amanda. Her earlier melancholy was replaced with excitement as she thought about all the things she could tell her dad. “I can even tell him that I beat Phillip in that one-on-one on Sunday.”

“See, it won’t be so bad.” Amanda removed her arm and stood up. Walking over to Jamie’s dresser, she turned towards Sydney. “I’m really going to miss you, you know.”

“I’m going to miss you, too.” Sydney rose and, moving over to Amanda, wrapped her arms around the older woman in a loving hug.

Amanda returned the embrace. “I know I’ll see you tomorrow, but I just wanted to tell you that you can call me anytime, day or night.” She then stepped out of the embrace and pointed towards the Nancy Drew books on Jamie’s desk. “You can keep the books, or you can send each one back to me as you finish, along with a letter.”

“That sounds like a great plan.” Sydney stepped over to Jamie’s dresser and opened the drawer that she was keeping her clothes in. “I guess I should start packing. My dad’s been acting…nice, I guess is the best way to put it, and I’d hate to ruin his mood by making him wait too long.”

Amanda let out a good-natured little laugh. She knew that Jack was making a real effort and it would be a shame to ruin the mood. She had caught the look her husband had given Jack when they were talking about the Agency’s debriefings, and was extremely glad that her mother was still downstairs. With some kind of adult supervision, the two men were guaranteed to act civilly towards each other. As she helped Sydney pack her clothes, she took note of the dolls that lined the bed.

Sydney followed Amanda’s gaze as she placed the last item from the drawer into the suitcase. “I bet Jamie’s going to be glad to get his room back.” She walked over to the desk and gathered up the books she’d chosen from Amanda’s collection upstairs.

“Actually, I think he’s just looking forward to the dolls and girlie items going back up to the attic.” Amanda smiled and helped Sydney pack the books she was carrying. “Is that everything?”

Sydney looked around the room and nodded. “Yep.” She closed the lid on her suitcase and sighed. “I can’t thank you enough for everything you did for me. You really made me feel welcome, and made sure I felt like a part of your family.”

“It was my pleasure. Anyway, let’s not say goodbye right now.” Amanda picked up the suitcase from the bed. “We’re still going to see you tomorrow so we’ll save our goodbyes for the airport, okay?”

Sydney nodded and headed out into the hallway. “You know, my mom said to me once that you should never say ‘goodbye’ to someone. Goodbye was too final.”

Amanda followed the young girl out into the hallway. “That was very wise advice and I like that. So we we’ll only say ‘bye’.” As they descended the stairs, she could hear Phillip discussing the Orioles. Reaching the bottom step, she placed Sydney’s suitcase by the front door and then headed into the den right behind the young girl.

“Oh, man, you mean we had home plate seats to the game yesterday.” Phillip turned and gently pushed his brother. “We missed out on a great game because someone had to go watch some boring chess match.”

“Phillip, let’s not go there.” Amanda looked at her eldest son sternly. “How about you say ‘bye’ to Sydney.” She looked over at the young girl and smiled. “We all have an early day tomorrow and I’m sure everyone wants to get a good night’s rest.”

Phillip sighed. “Yes, Mom.” He then walked over to Sydney. “Next time you’re in town, I expect a rematch. And you better be sure I’ll have been practicing. I don’t plan on losing again.” He winked and then pulled his friend into a hug.

Sydney returned the hug and then quickly stepped back. “You’re on.” She then turned towards Dotty who was now standing next to them. “Thanks so much for making me feel so welcome.”

Dotty wiped a tear from her eye. “I’m going to miss having you around. It was nice having a girl to dote on.” She pulled Sydney into an embrace and smiled slyly at her daughter.

Lee caught the look and, glancing over at his wife, winked at her when she looked in his direction. “Like Amanda pointed out, it is getting late. Since you don’t have your own car, I’ll drive you over to your hotel in Amanda’s Jeep. And, if any of us hope to get a good night’s sleep, we should probably head out now.” He looked over at Jack. “We need to drop Phillip off at school and then we’ll swing by and pick you and Sydney up around eight-thirty.” He was sure that his eldest stepson would rather get back to riding the bus to school, but until the Magician and Vadorsky were fully interrogated, and they knew for sure that the threat was gone, he felt better escorting Phillip to school.

Jack nodded and headed towards the front door. He paused at the base of the landing and looked at Dotty. “Thank you so much for looking after my daughter for me.”

Dotty smiled. “Don’t mention it. Now get going, or we’ll be here for another hour exchanging pleasantries.”

Sydney started to follow her father but stopped and looked over at Jamie. Her friend had been quietly leaning up against the back of the couch while everyone was saying goodbye. Changing direction, she walked over to him. “You okay?”

Jamie shrugged. “Yeah, it just hit me that you’re leaving. I got used to having someone around that had the same interests as me.”

“I’m going to miss you, too, Jamie.” Sydney moved closer to her friend and then nudged him with her elbow. “Hey, we’ll see each other tomorrow. And once I’m back in L.A, I’m only a phone call away.”

“That’s true.” Jamie pushed off from the couch and offered Sydney his arm. “May I escort you to the door, my lady?”

Sydney giggled and slipped her arm through his. “Gladly.” As they headed towards the front door, she remembered something else that her mother had once told her. It was about true friends and kindred spirits. Her mother had said that when you found a kindred spirit, that you had found a friend for life. Despite the fact that they lived three thousand miles away, she knew that Amanda and Jamie King were two friends who would never forget her, nor would she ever forget them.

Chapter Seventeen

Wednesday, September 23rd

Startled by the sound of a knock on his door, Billy looked from the file he had been reading, and waved Lee and Amanda into his office. As the pair entered the room, he immediately noticed the paper in Amanda’s hand and smiled. “Is that your final report on the Sydney Bristow case?”

Lee nodded as his wife handed the report to their section chief. “It’s as complete as it’s going to be. We still don’t know what Jack did to Issac Borsky once he took him into custody.”

“Well, I didn’t expect you to be able to give an account of Jack’s little indiscretion.” Billy scanned the report briefly. “This looks like it’s a very complete and thorough job as usual, Amanda, despite the mystery of Issac Borsky’s current whereabouts.” He smiled and nodded at the brunette, as she sat down in her usual chair.

“Actually, Billy, Jack stopped by Amanda’s last night, and I found out that he let Borsky go. Sent him back to Russia with ‘a message’ for Kholokov.” Lee took the seat next to his wife. “We weren’t sure if we should put that in our report, or not. For the moment, we left it out, but if you think we should include it, we’ll amend the report once we’re done here.”

Billy shook his head. “While normally I’d say yes, especially since you do have knowledge of his supposed whereabouts, in this case, however, since you left Borsky in CIA custody, we’ll let the CIA file that information.” Scanning the report briefly, he found the section he was looking for. “As far as your report is concerned, since you noted that Jack informed you that he had planned on taking him to the CIA, and his reasons for doing so, I’d say we can officially wash our hands of the matter. Let the CIA deal with all the mess and paperwork.” He placed the report on his desk and then picked up another document. “While this might not be the same as an actual ‘I’m sorry for deceiving you’, it might help make up for Jack’s lack of judgment.” He handed the paper to Lee before looking in Amanda’s direction. “It’s a commendation from the Director of the CIA.”

Amanda leaned over towards her husband in order to read the letter. “Why would they do that sir? I would have thought that they’d be rather upset with us, especially since Sydney ended up getting kidnapped while we were supposed to be protecting her?”

Billy gave her a knowing smile. “What happened was a fluke, no one could have predicted the turn of events that led up to the kidnapping. The fact that your son was also kidnapped didn’t go unnoticed by the CIA either. In light of the personal aspect to this whole situation, I want to go on record as saying that you two did an amazing job, as usual, not waiting for backup aside.” He looked down at the letter in Lee’s hand. “And, as you’ll read in the commendation, the CIA was extremely grateful to you for taking in one of theirs, especially since it put your family at considerable risk. I wasn’t going to bring this up but, in light of the fact that he’s probably not your favorite person at the moment, I thought you should know that Jack was the one who arranged for you both to be given the commendation. According to the Director of the CIA, Jack hasn’t seen his daughter so happy in a long time and he wanted to do something to thank you for making her feel like a member of your family. Although I have a feeling the idea was more Sydney’s than Jack’s.”

Lee’s eyes widen in surprise. “You mean Jack told Sydney that he works for the CIA?”

Billy shook his head. “No, I’m pretty sure Jack hopes to take that secret to his grave. What I meant was that I think Sydney probably asked her father if he could do something nice for the two of you. I’m guessing that Jack came up with this.” He turned his gaze out the window into the bullpen and then back towards Amanda, a question in his eyes. “By the way, where are Jamie and Sydney?”

“Well we couldn’t really arrange for them to take a tour of the Agency, as much as they would have liked that, so once they finished giving their statements, we brought them down to see Leatherneck.” Amanda smiled at her boss. “He was really impressed with the transmitter they built and wanted to hear, first hand, how they made it. I’m glad Francine had one of the agents retrieve it from the back room of the pawnshop. Apparently Sydney used her mom’s bracelet as a conductor, and was worried that she wouldn’t get it back. Now I know that she won’t have to worry about losing that link to her mother, and, if Leatherneck wants to keep the transmitter working, he can use something in his shop to replace the missing piece.”

Billy let out a low belly laugh. “I can just see Leatherneck now. He’s probably showing off some of his own gadgets, and basking in the glory of being admired by two teenagers. I just hope he doesn’t go overboard.”

Lee laughed along with his boss. “Well, I wouldn’t worry too much about that, Jack’s down there with them.”

“He’s probably giving Leatherneck the stern, but silent, treatment.” Amanda let out a small sigh. “I just hope that Jack listened to some of my advice last night. Sydney really needs to know that her father cares about her.”

“I know what you mean and we can only hope. I assume you made Sydney promise to keep in touch?” Billy smiled as Amanda nodded in response. “I’m glad and I hope you’ll give me occasional updates on how she’s doing.”

Amanda nodded. “I promise to do that, sir.”

“Good.” Billy stood up from his seat, his gaze still on his female agent, and leaned his hands on his desk. “By the way, Amanda, I happened to catch some of Jamie’s statement as he was giving it, and I wanted to tell you that I think he was very brave, trying to protect Sydney back at the school. Not many kids his age would have the guts to stand up to adults like that, most would either try and run away or just freeze up. I can tell he has a good head on his shoulders, and he definitely puts others’ safety before his own.”

Lee glanced over at his wife, a proud and loving expression on his face. “Just like his mother.”

Billy saw the color rise slightly on Amanda’s cheeks and knew that, although she was proud of her son, she was more than a little embarrassed by the praise from her partner. Smiling, he decided now was the perfect time to discuss another issue. Moving around his desk, he leaned back against it and folded his arms across his chest. “Now, on to other matters. I was wondering if there was anything you two would like to share with me?” He asked in a fatherly tone.

Lee looked at Amanda and then at his section chief. “I’m not sure what you mean, Billy.”

“I saw the way Francine was walking around here yesterday.” Billy looked at Lee skeptically. “And although I didn’t come out and ask her what was wrong, I did pick up a few words here and there, and I’m almost positive she said something about marriage and you, Scarecrow.” He then turned his attention on Amanda.

Amanda looked at her husband who shrugged. “I guess now is as good a time as any.” She turned back towards their section chief. “We were planning on telling you once this whole situation with Sydney was wrapped up, sir. I’m sure that you’ve put a few things together by now and even though, from what Lee told me of his conversation with Francine, he didn’t really come out and tell her, but from what everyone is saying and the few snide remarks she’s thrown my way, I’m sure she’s figured it out by now. I think we’ll have to buy her some chocolates to make up for the fact that we didn’t tell her sooner.”

Lee took Amanda’s hand in his and smiled lovingly at her. “What Amanda’s trying to tell you, Billy, is that she and I got married.” He turned and looked at his friend.

Billy couldn’t keep the stern look on his face any longer, and his mouth spread into a huge grin. “Well it’s about time.” He then turned around and took two envelopes off his desk. “I have to tell you I’m glad my suspicions were correct, and on the off chance that I was right, I took the liberty of calling in a favor or two.” He handed one of the envelopes to Amanda. “This is an official order from the President that prohibits anyone from splitting you two up in the field unless you two make the decision on your own. Consider it a belated wedding present.”

Amanda stared at the envelope in her hand before looking at her husband. Without even opening the letter, she rose and wrapped her arms around Billy. “Sir, this is probably the best wedding present anyone could have given us.” She then stepped back and wiped a stray tear away from her eye. “Sorry about that, sir. I guess I got a little overwhelmed.”
Billy grinned at her and pulled her back into a hug. “Don’t apologize. I’m extremely happy for you two. Although, I think it would have been nicer if you hadn’t kept this a secret from me for seven months.” He released Amanda from the embrace and looked over at Lee.

“Billy, how long have you known?” Lee eyed his friend and boss suspiciously.

“Only about a day. After I pulled in the favor, I got in touch with your friend T.P. Aquinas and had him do a little digging for me.” Billy watched Amanda take her seat again. “If he hadn’t turned up your marriage license, I would have assumed that you told Francine that you had finally decided to ask Amanda to marry you or that you two were simply engaged. Either way, I figured this would end up being a wedding present, one way or another.”

“I guess we owe T.P. an explanation.” Lee looked over at his wife before turning his attention back on his boss. “I suppose we owe you one, too.”

Billy shook his head. “No, you don’t. I’m sure you had your reasons, and in this business keeping secrets is a fact of life. Besides, I was kind of hoping that when I assigned Sydney to you two, your living situation would force the issue.” He looked directly at Lee. “I kept trying to give you hints about marriage, and I was beginning to think that I was speaking to a brick wall. It’s nice to know that some of those words of wisdom didn’t fall on deaf ears.” He winked at Amanda.

“So, you’re really okay with this?” Lee pointed between himself and Amanda.

“Lee, I’m more than okay with it.” Billy nodded and grinned. “In fact if you hadn’t wised up after living under the same roof with Amanda, I was seriously considering making it an official order that the two of you tie the knot.”

“Sir, what’s in the other envelope?” Amanda asked eyeing the white document Billy was still holding.

“Oh, this is a copy of the letter that I just gave you. I’m supposed to deliver it to Dr. Smyth.” Billy grinned devilishly before handing the letter to Lee. “However, I think you might have more fun delivering it to the old man than I will.”

Lee accepted the letter. “Billy, this is the best present you could have given me.” He grinned at his friend.

Before the section chief could respond, Francine opened the door. “Billy, here are the backup team’s reports. I thought you’d like to…” She paused when she took in the happy faces on the three people in the room. “Why do I feel like I’ve just missed something important?” She rolled her eyes when no one answered her. “Fine, don’t tell me. Anyway,” she looked back at her boss, “I thought you’d like to have these when you meet with Dr. Smyth this afternoon.” She handed three folders to Billy. “The reports are in the bottom folder, the top two contain paperwork you need to sign.” She pointed to the top one. “If you could take care of the paperwork in the first one now, it’s the documentation that officially relinquishes any further hold we have on Ivan Plotkovich.” She then turned and, leaning back against Billy’s desk, looked at her fellow agents. “I'm sooo glad that this case is over and the Q-Bureau is all yours again. You two owe me big time, even if did Billy order me to take over your case files, I still had to do your jobs for a whole week.” She smiled thoughtfully, as she tapped her finger against her chin. "You know I saw the most gorgeous Vera Wang at Nordstroms that would be perfect to wear on my date to the Kennedy Center Friday night. There's also a matching bag and shoes to go with it...”

Lee rolled his eyes. “Just how much is this ensemble going to set me back?”
Francine smiled knowingly and waved her hand slightly. “ Don’t worry about it, I’ll just send you the bill.”

“Here you go, Francine, the paperwork for Plotkovich, all signed and ready to go.” When his assistant turned around to look in his direction, Billy handed her the folder.

Lee shook his head. “I can’t believe we’re really letting Plotkovich go.”

“Well, we did promise the bureaucrats at the Russian Embassy that we would release him once we got Sydney and Jamie back.” Billy glanced at his agent.

“But, Billy, that’s just a technicality, it’s not like Romanovich handed them over, we had to go in and get them.” Lee let out a sigh of disapproval as he looked at his section chief.

“And Plotkovich isn’t really going free.” Francine looked in Lee’s direction. “Fielder’s waiting outside Ivan’s holding cell right now, along with two MPs. Once I bring him a copy of the signed release papers, he’ll be escorting Plotkovich straight to Dulles,” she smiled shrewdly, “and will then pass him over to two members of the Soviet Secret Police, who are waiting to escort him right back to Russia, and straight to the Gulag.”

Lee relaxed in his chair. “Well, at least he’s not getting off totally scot-free. I guess the Soviets aren’t thrilled with his behavior, especially if they’re planning on imprisonment. They only do that if they feel one of their own has disgraced the motherland.” He glanced at Francine. “What about Romanovich and Vadorsky? Surely we’re not going to hand them over, too.”

Billy shook his head. “No, we won’t be. The Soviets waived both of their diplomatic statuses, so we’re free to try them here as enemies of the state, and sentence them to one of our maximum security prisons. Then, once they’ve finished out their sentences here, they’ll be escorted back to Russia, and most likely be sent to the Gulag, as well.” He pointed towards the other folder on his desk. “That’s what’s in this folder, all the necessary paperwork that puts everything into motion, and covers our asses, just in case.”

“That’s good.” Lee nodded towards the folder. “Does it also include orders that Romanovich be placed into solitary confinement, in order to reduce the risk of him escaping?”

Francine let out an exasperated sigh. “Of course it does. We have no intention of letting him get away, not on our watch.” Glancing over at Amanda, she noticed the letter in the brunette’s hand and caught sight of the Presidential seal stamped on the envelope. “What’s that you have in your hand, Amanda?”

Amanda looked at the blonde. “I was just getting ready to open and read it. Would you like to hear what it has to say?”

Francine’s eyes grew wide in anticipation. “Why of course. You know me, I’m never one to turn down an invitation to find out information first hand.”

Amanda rolled her eyes as she accepted the letter opener Billy was offering her. Opening the envelope, she pulled out the letter and began to read.

“By official order of the Office of the President of the United States of America.

This letter officially confirms that the partnership of Lee Stetson, codenamed Scarecrow, and Mrs. Amanda King shall not be dissolved based solely on marital status, whether to each other or other individuals. If at any time the aforementioned team decides to dissolve their partnership, it shall be of their own accord and not by directive from any executive order from within the Agency itself. The office of the President commends the work the team of Scarecrow and Mrs. King has done in the past. The country will forever be in their debt.

And then it’s signed and sealed by the President himself.” She glanced over at her husband briefly before looking back at the letter. “There’s a P.S. too. It reads: Congratulations on turning your professional partnership into a personal one. May you have many years of wedded bliss.”

“Well, how about that. There is absolutely no way Dr. Smyth can separate us now.” Lee winked at his wife.

“So, it’s really true.” Francine stared at the couple in bemused astonishment. “You two really did get married. I can’t believe it.” She walked over to the couch and sank back into it. “The Scarecrow finally settled down and married the housewife. The world really is coming to an end.” She then turned towards Amanda. “I’m sorry for all the comments I’ve made in the past. Obviously you do know him better than I do. Congratulations.”

Lee looked at Billy and then over at his wife who sat there staring dumbfounded at their fellow agent. Turning to the blonde, he laughed. “Well I think you finally did it, Francine.”

Francine looked at her friend. “Did what?”

“You may be the first person in history to render my wife speechless.” Lee caught the glare that both women shot him simultaneously and laughed again.

Francine shook her head. “Now that is something I thought I’d never hear you say, Scarecrow.”

Amanda managed to find her voice again and looked quizzically at the blonde. “What’s that, Francine?”

“I never thought I’d ever live to see the day that Lee Stetson would call anybody his wife and it wasn’t a cover.” Francine rose from her seat and started walking towards the door. “Oh, by the way, I give your little secret about a day before it becomes public knowledge. If you thought you two were the main topic of conversation around the water cooler before, just wait.” Turning the doorknob, she opened the door. “But I want you two to know, I’m here for you…whether you need support or someone to confide in.” She smiled cunningly at the couple and then turned and headed out into the bullpen.

Lee groaned. “Sure she’ll be there for us.” He turned and glanced at his boss. “Right after she rats us out to the Agency grapevine.”

“Somehow I don’t think that even a box of chocolates and some homemade brownies is going to get us back on her good side.” Amanda watched her friend walking towards her desk. She then turned towards her husband. “She’s just getting even with us for not telling her the truth sooner and for everything that happened during this case.” She shook her head when her husband looked at her, a question in his eyes. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten so soon. Do I need to remind you that it was your idea that she should teach gym class to a bunch of adolescent boys, or the fact that you dropped a bombshell on her and then left her standing in the hallway without a proper explanation?”

Billy chuckled. “If telling the office gossips is the only revenge Francine plans, then, if I were you, I’d count my blessings that you got off so easily.” He then looked from Lee to Amanda, his expression sobering ever so slightly. “All right you two go on home and spend some time with your family but I expect you back in my office at eight a.m. A new case just came across my desk that’s right up your alley.”

Amanda turned back and looked at her boss. “Are you sure you don’t want to brief us on it now?”

Lee stood and walked over to his wife’s chair and, taking both her hands in his, he pulled her to her feet. “We’ll see you tomorrow, Billy.” As he led his wife out of the office, he shook his head. “I don’t believe you. Billy just told us to spend time with our family and you want to find out what our new case is.”

Amanda smiled. “I figured if Billy told us now then we could sleep in a little later tomorrow.” She chuckled when her husband groaned. “Let’s go down and see Leatherneck. If we leave Jamie and Sydney down there too much longer, they might get some wild ideas, even with Jack supervising.” She entered the hallway ahead of Lee and started walking towards the elevator.

Lee quickened his pace and caught up with his wife. “You’re right, especially since Jamie does just fine on his own when it comes to wild ideas. Let’s not let Leatherneck start showing him how to turn any of the household appliances into sophisticated weaponry.” He’d seen the boys’ attempt at creating a volcano for science class, and what a mess it had made of Amanda’s kitchen. He didn’t want to think what Jamie could do with anything electrical. “You know, I’m still extremely impressed with Jamie and Sydney’s ingenuity in building that transmitter.”

“I am too.” As they waited for the elevator to arrive, Amanda took her husband’s hand in hers and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. She didn’t care who saw anymore. By this time tomorrow their secret would be all over the office anyway. “I’m going to really miss having Sydney around, but I am looking forward to getting things back to normal.”

Lee nodded. “And I’m looking forward to finally being an actual family.” As the elevator doors opened, he smiled as he followed his wife inside the car. “Do you think we could get Phillip out of school early?”

Amanda looked at him curiously. “I guess so…why?”

“Because, even though he was joking around last night, I could tell that Phillip was really disappointed about missing the game Monday night. So I called my friend, the one who got me the first set of tickets, and he managed to get me another set of tickets for today. Apparently the Orioles have a day game this afternoon. So, I was thinking that after we say our goodbyes to Sydney and Jack at the airport, I thought we could head straight over to Camden Yards.” Lee grinned at her with child-like enthusiasm.

Amanda shook her head and laughed. “And exactly when did you make that call, Stetson?” The elevator reached Leatherneck’s floor and she stepped out into the hallway ahead of her husband.

“While Jamie was giving his statement.” Lee looked at her sheepishly and shrugged. “I figured if Billy didn’t give us the day off, I was going to ask for it anyway.”

Amanda rolled her eyes. “You’re incorrigible, you know that? Just don’t go making this a habit, I want the boys to look up to you as a good role model.”

“I can be tough when I want to be, but I have to maintain my cool status somehow.” Lee winked and headed into Leatherneck’s so-called office.

“Don’t worry, love, between your car, your job, and your knowledge of just about everything, I doubt you’ll ever lose your ‘cool’ status.” Amanda playfully swatted his bottom. As she followed him into the room, she couldn’t help but wonder if becoming a family was going to be a good thing or not. For some reason, she had a feeling that she didn’t just gain a husband with her marriage, but a third child as well. Laughing to herself, she suddenly yearned for someone with an adult mentality and had a feeling that she wasn’t going to find someone to meet that description in Leatherneck’s lair of toys and gadgets.

SMK a SMK a SMK

Dotty sat on the couch in the den trying to read the romance novel she had started on Sunday. Glancing at the clock, she wondered how much later her family would be; she wasn’t worried, but it was a school night and it was going to be hard enough to get the boys to bed on time after a day at the ballpark. She looked down at her book and sighed. As much as she was enjoying this book, she felt a pang of regret that she wasn’t reading the spy novel she had started on Friday. She had just gotten to a really good part in the book right before her peaceful world had been turned upside down. Now, however, knowing that her daughter was living the life that she read about in those spy novels, she had decided to put those types of stories on the back burner; at least until she came to terms with her daughter’s career choice. With her overactive imagination she knew that she’d only picture her daughter in place of the heroines in those books. Sighing, she put thoughts of spies, real and fictional, out of her mind and focused her attention back on the love story in her hands. She had just started reading again when she heard the lock click on the front door, followed by the sounds of laughter filling the foyer. Closing her book, she looked towards the entranceway. “Did you guys have fun?”

Phillip raced into the room. “It was awesome, Grandma. You should have been there. Lee’s friend got us seats right behind home plate.”

“Yeah, Grandma, and then we stayed after and got to meet a couple of the players.” Jamie added as he entered the room behind his brother.

Lee followed them shaking his head in amusement. “Dotty, we really did miss not having you there.” He moved over and leaned against the back of the couch.

Dotty smiled at her son-in-law. “Why thank you, Lee, but baseball’s not really my thing so I was more than happy to stay home and read.”

“Did you have a nice quiet evening, Mother?” Amanda asked as she entered the den. Before her mother could respond, a loud clattering of plates hitting the counter came from the kitchen and she turned towards the sound. “Fellas, no more food. You had enough to eat during the game.”

“Mom, I’m still hungry. That last hot dog didn’t even come close to filling me up.” Phillip opened the refrigerator.

Lee glanced over at Jamie and, shaking his head, let out a chuckle. “Where do you two put it? When I was your age, I don’t ever remember eating as much as you and your brother.” His youngest stepson just shrugged in response.

Amanda walked into the kitchen. “Sorry, Phillip, you’ll just have to wait till breakfast before eating again.” As her son stepped back, she closed the door. “Okay, you two.” She turned from Phillip to Jamie. “I want you to go upstairs, brush your teeth and get your pajamas on.”

“But Mom,” Jamie groaned. “It’s still early and we’re too pumped up from the game to sleep.”

“If you would let me finish.” Amanda let out a deep sigh. “I was going to say that once you’re all ready for bed, I want you to come back down. Lee and I want to talk to the two of you about something very important.”

“Okay.” Phillip sighed and slumped his shoulders. He caught up to his brother at the foot of the landing. “I bet they want to talk about you being kidnapped, wormbrain and setting ground rules now that we know what they really do for a living.”

Jamie glared at his brother as he headed for the stairs. “I bet that wasn't it, but I'm sure it will be now. Nice going dork breath.”

“That’s enough name calling, boys.” Amanda moved to the landing. “But Phillip's right that is one of the things we are going to discuss.” She heard Phillip mumble something about ‘see I told you so’ before disappearing into his room.

Dotty glanced over at her son-in-law and then towards her daughter. “Are you sure you want to do this tonight?”

Amanda turned around and nodded. “Yes, we’ve waited too long as it is. Besides, by tomorrow everyone at work is going to know and I don’t want Phillip and Jamie to be the last to know.” She looked over at her husband knowingly.

“I’ll go make some hot chocolate, then.” Dotty rose from her seat on the couch and headed into the kitchen.

“That sounds good, Mother, I’ll help you.” Amanda followed behind her mother.

Lee pushed off from the couch “If you ladies will excuse me, I need to get something from the other room.” Not waiting for a response, he headed towards his temporary bedroom.

Dotty took the kettle off of the stove and moved over to the sink. “It was nice having Carrie and Joe here. I think Phillip appreciated the extra support.” Turning the faucet on, she started filling the kettle. “He and Joe had a wonderful conversation about football. I overheard Phillip saying that he decided to play football because both his dad and Lee played it in high school.” She moved over and place the now full kettle back on the stove.

Amanda walked over to the cabinets and pulled down five mugs. “I thought he wanted to play because all his friends were. I’m sure Joe was touched.” Moving about the kitchen, she began gathering the ingredients to make the hot chocolate. “I hope Carrie won’t be mad at Joe for too long. I think I’ll invite her to lunch one day next week and clear the air.”

“That might not be a bad idea.” Dotty nodded and then moved over to the cabinet where the marshmallows were hidden. “Carrie did seem a little distant while she was here. I tried to talk to her, but she spent most of her time with her head buried in some big legal case she’s working on.”

“Yet one more mess I have to clean up.” Amanda mumbled to herself, then, recognizing the item now sitting on the counter, she looked at her mother quizzically. “How did you know that’s where the marshmallows were? I thought I did a good job of hiding them.”

Dotty chuckled. “A mother always knows.” The kettle screeched and she moved over and turned off the stove. “By the way, Sydney called about an hour ago. She said you asked her to call when they were home, so you wouldn’t worry. She asked me to thank you again for the travel Scrabble game you got her. Apparently it helped make the five-hour flight very enjoyable. She said she beat her dad, twice.”

Amanda smiled. “Thanks, I’ll sleep a little better knowing that she and Jack made it home safely.”

“I’m really going to miss Sydney. It was so nice having a girl around here.” Picking up the kettle, Dotty walked over to where her daughter had the mugs ready. “Maybe some day soon, I’ll have another little girl to dote on?” She smiled affectionately at her daughter briefly and then, turning her attention on the objects sitting on the counter, she began pouring the hot water into each of the mugs.

“Mother…” Shock and exasperation were evident in Amanda’s voice. Even though she and Lee had discussed the idea just the other night, it wasn’t something that they were remotely ready for, at least not yet. However, she had a feeling that this would not be the last time the topic would come up, especially since her mother couldn’t prompt them about getting married anymore.

“Speaking of family...” Lee came up and stood next to his wife. With his right hand, he gingerly lifted his wife’s left and then, with his left hand, already sporting his wedding ring, he slipped her wedding set onto her ring finger. “These have been in the box way too long.”

Amanda looked down at her hand and then up at her husband, love shining in her eyes. “When? How?”

“I’ve had them here all week.” Lee kept his gaze on his wife. “I locked them in the strong box under the bed in the living room.”

“Oh,” Dotty tried to get more out but found she was too choked up to speak. Wiping a few tears from her eyes, she walked over to her son-in-law and pulled him into a hug. “That was very romantic, Lee. It’s about time those rings are where they should be.”

Lee, stunned, returned the hug. “They should never have left her finger in the first place. We were wrong…and now we’re making things right.”

Dotty nodded and placed a quick kiss on her son-in-law’s cheek. She then let go of Lee and turned towards her daughter. “I may not have forgiven you for not inviting me to the wedding, but I’m glad you listened to my advice and held on to a good thing when you saw it.” She pointed towards Lee before pulling Amanda into a tight embrace.

Amanda wrapped her arms around her mother. “I am, too.”

“Oh, no. Grandma’s crying and she’s hugging mom.” Phillip looked first at the pair of women and then turned towards his brother, who had just entered the kitchen behind him.

“This can’t be good.” Jamie gave his brother a worried glance.

Dotty stepped away from her daughter and, wiping her eyes, let out a little laugh. “Boys nothing bad has happened, I promise. These are happy tears.”

Jamie rolled his eyes and looked at his brother. “Girls sure are mushy.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll ever understand the opposite sex.” Phillip nodded and glanced over at Lee. “Are you guys going to share this good news with us?”

“Why don’t we head into the den and then we’ll fill you in, okay?” Lee picked up two cups of hot chocolate and followed his mother-in-law and his two stepsons into the other room. He watched as Dotty took a seat in the armchair and Phillip and Jamie sat down on the couch. Stepping around the sofa, he approached the two boys and handed them each a mug.

As Jamie took the offered drink, he noticed the gold band on the older man’s finger. “Lee, is that a wedding ring on your finger?”

Amanda had picked up the remaining two mugs and was heading into the den just as Jamie asked his question. Glancing at her husband, she caught the pleading look in his eye. Walking around the couch, she sat down on the coffee table, facing her sons. “That’s actually what we wanted to talk to you about.” She looked up at her husband and patted the table next to her with her left hand, inviting him to sit. When he had complied, she handed him one of the steaming mugs of hot chocolate.

Phillip took a sip of his hot chocolate as he looked from his mother to Lee, and then back to his mother, his gaze falling to her left hand. “Mom, I thought you stopped wearing your wedding ring years ago?” Suddenly he felt a sharp jab in his side. “Ow!” He turned and glared at his brother as he rubbed his side. “What did you do that for?”

Jamie tilted his head in the direction of Lee's hand and leaning closer to his brother, whispered. “I don't think that's mom's wedding ring from when she married dad.”

Phillip scrunched his eyebrows, confused. “It's not?” Then, as what his younger brother was hinting at finally sunk in, his eyes grew wide. “Oh, it's not. That means that you two are married...to each other.”

Amanda nodded slowly. “Yes, Lee and I are married to each other. We hadn’t planned on telling you quite like this, though, Jamie’s observation skills kind of beat us to the punch.”

“When did you two find time to get married?” Phillip’s expression was one of confusion. “I mean was it before or after wormbrain here got kidnapped.”

“Phillip, please stop calling your brother names.” Amanda sighed and shook her head slightly. “To answer your question, it was before Sydney arrived, way before, actually.”

Lee placed his mug on the table next to him and took Amanda’s hand in his. “Your mom and I eloped back in February.”

“February?” Jamie started mentally counting the months backwards in his head. “That was eight months ago.”

Phillip looked over at his brother and then towards his parents. “You guys have been married for eight months and never told us? Why the big secret?”

Jamie thought about everything that he’d been through in the last two days and all that he had learned about his mom and Lee’s jobs. Leaning forward slightly, he looked at his mom. “Did you keep your marriage a secret because of your jobs?”

“Wait a minute,” Phillip jumped in before either his mom or stepdad could answer his brother, “you were on vacation in February, and that’s when…that’s when you got shot.” He watched his mom closely. “Were you really on vacation, or were you there for work? And were you married before you went to California?”

“This family sure knows how to ask questions.” Lee looked at his eldest stepson with an expression of amusement. “Your mother and I weren’t in California for work. What happened to your mother was just what we told you after it happened. Your mom and I were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Amanda squeezed her husband’s hand encouragingly. “Lee’s telling you the truth. We were supposed to be on our honeymoon and, just like we told you back in February, we were meeting up with an old friend of Lee’s when we accidentally got caught in a cross-fire.”

Phillip exchanged a glance with his brother. “Wow, that doesn’t sound like a fun way to spend your honeymoon.”

“It wasn’t.” Lee closed his eyes and tried to keep the memories at bay.

Dotty leaned forward, deciding to break the melancholy mood. “I believe Jamie still has a question that needs to be answered. Something about why you kept your marriage a secret.”

Lee looked over at his mother-in-law and gave her a small smile of thanks. “You’re right.” He then turned back towards his stepsons. “Keeping our marriage a secret was largely because of our jobs. But, to be honest, it wasn’t the only reason.” He paused and glanced over at his wife.

Amanda picked up on his need for her to take over. “You see, you boys didn’t know Lee very well, in fact you had really only just met him.”

“We didn’t feel it was right for me to just pop into your life and announce that I was going to be your stepfather.” Lee looked from Phillip to Jamie. “Your mom and I felt it would be a good idea for us to get to really know each other first.”

“Why didn’t you and mom just have a really long engagement?” Phillip didn’t think he’d ever understand adults. “That would have given you time to get to know us.” He looked at his stepfather.

Lee sighed and smiled self-consciously. “Because I was…and still am…very much in love with your mother. I wanted to prove to her, and maybe even to myself, that I was really ready to make a lifelong commitment. I didn’t want to wait…”

Amanda glanced over at her husband and grinned. “We both couldn’t wait. It’s really hard to explain. We were so much in love. We wanted to prove to each other just how much we loved each other.”

Taking a sip of his hot chocolate, Jamie peered at his stepfather over the rim of the mug. His brow creased in thought as he lowered his mug and looked towards his mom. “Even though you eloped, were you planning on telling us the truth, eventually? Or are you telling us because we found out about your jobs and, since that secret is out, you felt it was time to tell us everything?”

“Sweetheart, we’ve always planned on telling you.” Amanda leaned forward and placed her hand gently on her youngest son's knee. “It was just a question of when.” She noticed the slightly skeptical look on Jamie’s face, and sighed. “I know you think that because we eloped that we were always planning on keeping it a secret, but that’s not true. I admit that we kept everything a secret, mostly because we wanted to keep you and your brother safe, at least until you were old enough to really understand what the potential dangers our jobs could mean and be more capable of taking care of yourselves.” Sitting up straight again, she moved a little closer to her husband and gazed over at Phillip. “We had actually started discussing the idea of telling you not too long before Sydney came to stay with us. Of course certain circumstances kind of forced our hand a little.” She looked back over at her youngest son. “You’ve more than shown us that you are capable of handling yourself in a less than ideal situation. We’re very proud of you, Jamie, not only for trying to protect Sydney, but for coming up with such a clever plan to send out that signal, although I hope and pray that you never have to go through that again.”

Jamie smiled a little self-consciously. “I hope I don’t have to, either. Although, I don’t know if I would have been as brave if Sydney hadn’t been with me.” Not wanting to think about the whole ordeal any longer, he looked over at his stepfather. “You were really going to tell us about your jobs and everything, not just because, as mom put it, certain circumstances made you?”

“We planned on telling you because we wanted to.” Lee smiled tenderly at his youngest stepson. “I was beginning to realize just how much I hated going home to an empty apartment after spending the day or evening with you boys,” he looked over at his mother-in-law, “and your grandmother, too, of course.” He then returned his gaze to Jamie. “Living here for the last week has made me realize just what I was missing, living across town, by myself, and just how much I love being a part of this family” He smiled lovingly at his two stepsons. “I want to be a part of this family on a full-time basis…that is if you’ll have me.” He glanced at each of the boys in turn, patiently awaiting their response.

Phillip leaned forward and smiled. “Lee, I told you the other day that we already think you’d make a great stepdad. Who knew you already were.”

“So you boys are okay with this?” Amanda glanced at her youngest son, skeptically.

Jamie shrugged. “I guess so.” He looked over at Phillip and then back towards his parents. “We just wish you would have waited to get married. We would have liked to have been there…we love you Lee and…well, we would have liked to have been present to welcome you into the family.”

Lee swallowed the lump forming in his throat. Glancing over at his wife, he saw the tears streaming down her face. “I don’t know what to say.”

“There’s nothing to say, Lee.” Phillip smiled and then looked over at his grandmother. “Grandma, did you know that they were married?”

Dotty wiped the tears from her own eyes. “Yes, but I only found out on Sunday.”

Phillip leaned forward and placed his now empty cup on the coffee table next to his mother. “So, was this the other thing that you wanted to talk to us about?” He then sat back against the cushions of the couch.

Amanda nodded. “Yes, it was. Which reminds me, we still need to talk about setting some new ground rules, now that you know what we do for a living. And I think we need to refresh your memory of some of the more basic rules that you learned long ago, like not talking to strangers.” She looked pointedly at her youngest son, her eyebrows raised slightly.

“Nice going dufus.” Jamie sunk back against the couch and glared at his older brother. “They probably would have forgotten about the rest, in light of the good news, but no, you had to go and open your big fat mouth.” He muttered under his breath.

“James King, that’ll be enough name calling.” Amanda looked at her son sternly. “Now, although I know you know better than to talk to strangers, and you’ve already explained to us what happened back at the school on Monday, it’s extremely important that you report anyone suspicious to us immediately.” She looked over at her oldest son. “That goes for you, too, Phillip.”

Lee leaned forward and looked first at Jamie, than at Phillip. “We’re not trying to scare you, or make you paranoid, but we want you to realize that there are certain dangers you have to look out for, especially once word leaks out that your mom and I are married.”

“We’re going to sign you boys and your grandmother up for a basic Agency course that’s given to family members.” Amanda let her gaze fall on her oldest son. “It’ll give a basic background of the potential dangers all agents face, and teach you what to look out for, without making you suspicious of every little thing. The class also teaches you the importance of keeping secrets, and the dangers of guns.”

“That’s another thing that we should discuss, too. Your mother and I both have to carry a gun when we’re working, but at home, all guns will be locked away.” Lee looked briefly at his wife, who nodded that he could continue. “Although the Agency class will go into greater detail, it’s important that you know now, that guns are not toys. We use them as a means to protect ourselves and our fellow agents when we’re out in the field.”

Amanda set her mug down on the coffee table and then placed a hand on each of her boys’ knees. “So, that means you boys are never, ever allowed to touch them, or show them off to friends. Is that clear?”

“I think we can handle that.” Phillip looked over at his brother, who nodded in agreement. “Will this class also teach us any cool self-defense moves?”

“Actually, the class doesn’t teach anything like that.” Noticing the crest-fallen face of his oldest stepson, Lee smiled at Phillip. “However, I was planning on teaching both of you boys some basic moves. Nothing too fancy, but enough to allow you to defend yourselves should the need arise. We’ll also talk about the proper time and place to use these moves. I don’t want to find out that you got into a fight and drop-kicked one of your classmates, is that understood?” Both boys nodded. “Good.”

Dotty cleared her throat. “Lee, I don’t doubt that you’re a skilled fighter, but are you certified to teach them?”

“Yes, Mother, he is.” Amanda replied as she looked over at her mother. “Lee’s been an instructor at one of the Agency’s training camps, numerous times. So, not only is he qualified to teach the boys, he’s the best choice. The Agency doesn’t offer self-defense courses for civilians. Trust me, I know. You have to at least be an agent-in-training to sign up for them.”

Lee smiled at his mother-in-law. “I’d be happy to teach you, too, Dotty.”

“Let me see how things go with Phillip and Jamie before I commit to anything.” Dotty smiled at her son-in-law. “But thank you for the offer, Lee.” Glancing at her watch, she looked over at her daughter. “Have you two covered everything you wanted to? I only ask because it is getting late, and some of us have school tomorrow.” She gazed at her two grandsons.

“I think we’ve covered enough for tonight.” Amanda looked over at her husband, who nodded. “All right, fellas. Time for bed.”

“Okay, Mom.” Phillip rose from the couch, and tried to stifle a yawn. “I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight.”

Jamie stood up and followed his brother towards the foyer. He stopped at the foot of the landing, and turned to face the adults. “You know, it’s going to be weird going to my classes without Sydney along. I really got used to having her around.”

“We all did, sweetheart.” Amanda watched her son climb onto the landing. “Oh, Jamie,” her son turned around and looked at her with a curious expression on his face, “I want you to give some serious thought as to what you think your punishment should be.”

“Punishment for what? Is it because I talked to Mr. Romanovich and followed him to that classroom? Wasn’t being kidnapped enough of a punishment?” Jamie gave his mother his best puppy dog pout.

Amanda shook her head. “Nice try, Einstein, but no amount of clever excuses is going to work, or puppy dog faces for that matter.” She looked at him sternly. “We’re meeting with Principal Dennis tomorrow to discuss the fact that you snuck out of class and deceived your teacher.”

“Oh,” Jamie sighed, and his shoulders slumped. “I guess I kind of forgot about that. I promise to give some thought to what my punishment should be.” Turning, he stepped up onto the landing. “I’ll let you know what I come up with, in the morning. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” All three adults replied in unison.

Dotty glanced over at the television, and was about to suggest they turn on the news, when she remembered something she had wanted to discuss with her daughter. Smiling, she looked over at Amanda. “You know, I was watching the Arlene Frances Show this morning,” she ignored the unhappy look that passed between her daughter and son-in-law, “and I got to thinking about that time she had that author on, the one who wrote that book, I think it was called ‘The Suburban Spy’ and he was talking about a mother with two boys from Arlington who jeopardized Operation something or other. That was you wasn’t it?” She looked directly at her daughter. When Amanda nodded, she shook her head in disappointment. “That’s what I thought. Do you remember how I thought it was Gwen Dorset?” She watched her daughter reluctantly nod again. “Well since you never bothered to correct me, I called and accused Gwen. She thought the whole idea that she could be a spy was preposterous. Amanda, she was so mad at me at me, that she didn’t talk to me for a whole month.”

Amanda cringed slightly at the memory of that whole incident. She didn’t want to think about where she might be right now had events turned out differently. The thought that she might not be married to Lee was just too horrible a thought to even fathom. Glancing over at her husband, she could tell by the distant look in his eyes, that he was having similar thoughts. “I’m sorry, Mother, but at the time, I couldn’t tell you that it was me who had almost blown Operation Sandstorm.” She looked guiltily at her mother. “I promise that in the future, I won’t let you falsely accuse any of our neighbors, okay?”

Dotty rose from her seat and narrowed her eyes at her daughter. “I’m going to hold you to that.” Bending down, she picked up Phillip’s discarded mug and started heading towards the kitchen. “By the way,” she turned and looked at her daughter. “Whatever happened to that book, anyway? Did it ever get published? Because if it did, I’ve never been able to find it and I still look for it every time I’m in a bookstore.”

Lee shook his head, not just in response to his mother-in-law, but also to ward off the dark thoughts that had entered his mind of how lonely his life would be right now, if the manuscript hadn’t been burned in that warehouse fire and had actually been published. “No, thankfully it was never published. It would have put a lot of people’s lives in jeopardy, including Amanda’s.” He looked at his mother-in-law. “In fact, if that book had been published, we would have had to put Amanda, you and the boys into the witness protection program.”

“Oh. I never gave any thought to what would happen to the people mentioned in the book. Now I’m sorry I asked.” Dotty turned and continued into the kitchen. Placing the mug into the sink, she turned and headed towards the foyer. “I think I’m going to go bury my head in a good romance novel, and try and forget all about what might have happened. Goodnight, you two.” Stepping up onto the landing, she paused again and looked at her daughter. “It’s nice to know that you’ll finally be able to snuggle up to something other than that large panda bear in your bedroom on cold nights.”

“Mother?” Amanda eyed her mother suspiciously.

“I wonder…did you give her that panda, Lee?” Dotty looked over at her son-in-law. “I know she’s had it for almost four years, I always thought it was from Dean, but when Amanda didn’t get rid of it after she broke up with him…” She let the rest of her thought go unfinished as she smiled cunningly at the pair before disappearing up the stairs.

As soon as his mother-in-law was out of sight, Lee turned and smiled at his wife. “You cuddle up with the panda?”

“Sometimes.” Amanda shrugged sheepishly. “Don’t start getting a big head about it though, I only started doing that after we started dating. It filled the empty void on cold nights when I couldn’t get cozy with you.” Ignoring the amused expression on her husband’s face, she gathered the remaining mugs and headed towards the kitchen.

“I think it’s sweet that you miss me so much, that you pretend that overstuffed panda bear that I got for Alexei all those years ago, is me.” Lee followed his wife into the kitchen.

Amanda shrugged. “Well I always said you could buy my affections with that bear.” Opening the dishwasher, she began rinsing out the mugs. “Who would have guessed back then, that we’d end up married?”

“Nobody, that’s for sure.” Lee took one of the rinsed mugs out of her hand, and placed it in the top rack. Reaching out to take another mug from his wife, he quickly changed course and covered his mouth to hide a yawn. “Wow, I didn’t realize how exhausted I was.”

Amanda placed the last mug into the dishwasher and closed the door before wiping her hands on a dishtowel. “Well it has been an exhausting week.” She then wrapped her hands around her husband. “But I’m glad everything’s out in the open and everyone’s home safe and sound.”

Lee nodded and smiled at his wife. “Me, too.” Lowering his mouth to meet hers, he placed a feather light kiss on his wife’s lips. “I guess we should turn in. We have to be in the office early tomorrow.”

“Back to business as usual.” Amanda turned her head to the side to hide her own yawn.

Lee leaned down and placed another kiss on Amanda’s lips. Before the kiss could get too passionate, he pulled back. “Well, I guess this is goodnight, I love you.” Reluctantly he let go of his wife, and began heading towards his bed in the living room.

Amanda took a few quick steps and placed a hand on his arm, stopping him from heading any further into the den. When he turned to look at her, she gazed at him with an expression of warmhearted amusement. “Lee, where are you going?”

Lee looked at her, slightly confused. “I thought I’d made that clear, I’m going to bed, why?”

Amanda shook her head. “No, I meant why are you heading for the living room?”

“Well that's where I'm supposed to be sleeping, isn't it?” Lee shrugged. “I figured that sleeping upstairs Monday night was because, under the circumstances, neither one of us wanted to sleep alone.”

Amanda chuckled softly. “You must really be tired. Weren’t you paying attention to the conversation we just had with our sons?”

Just then Jamie poked his head into the room. “Lee, Phillip and I were wondering, do you want help this weekend?”

“This weekend?” Lee looked at his youngest stepson with a slightly perplexed expression.

Jamie nodded. “Yeah, we were wondering if you wanted help packing up your apartment… you are planning on moving in here, aren’t you?”

Lee grinned boyishly. “I certainly am…but aren’t you going to be with your dad this weekend?”

“Oh yeah. Well, we’ll start helping you unpack Monday, after school then. See you in the morning, Mom, Lee.” Jamie smiled and then turned and headed back upstairs.

Amanda gazed at her husband with a smile. “See, I told you so. Now, shall we head upstairs to our bedroom?”

“Our bedroom. That has such a wonderful sound to it.” Lee’s grin grew into a wide smile.

Amanda smiled lovingly at her husband. “Yes it does, and that’s how it’s going to be for the rest of our lives.” She moved over to the landing and held out her hand, and as her husband linked his fingers with hers, she led him up the stairs towards their bedroom, where he belonged.

Epilogue

Thursday morning, September 24th

Lee entered the outer office and walked past the empty assistant’s desk. Things were definitely changing. Never in a million years would he have believed that he would willingly be coming into work for a meeting this early in the morning. However, what he was about to do would more than make up for the unusual hour. Without knocking, he turned the knob and entered Dr. Smyth’s office.

Dr. Smyth looked up at the intruder. “Well, well, well. When my assistant called me last night at home to let me know I had an early morning meeting she neglected to tell me who it was with.” He then pointed to his appointment book. “But when I came in this morning and saw that the meeting was with you, Scarecrow, and that you wanted to meet with me at seven-thirty in the morning, I thought she must have written down the time wrong or you were playing some cruel joke on me. I guess I won’t have to fire her for making me get in so early for nothing.” He closed his appointment book as he continued to puff on his cigarette. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your presence this early, Stetson?”

Lee walked up to Dr. Smyth and handed him two documents. “I wanted to personally hand these to you.”

Dr. Smyth glanced at the headers of both papers and then back at Lee. “You’re wasting my morning for a change of address form and a change of name form?”

“You might want to take a look at the names of the employees who are filing them.” Lee gave him a knowing look. “Oh, and this might help make things a little clearer.” He handed him another piece of paper with his left hand, making sure the glimmer of gold on his ring finger was clearly visible. “It’s a copy of my marriage license, and before you ask if it’s real, I assure you it’s as real as they come.” Then, before Dr. Smyth could say anything else, he reached into his suit pocket, pulled out a white envelope marked confidential and placed it on the desk. “And Billy asked me to give this to you, too.” He watched the almighty director of the Agency with extreme interest as the information began sinking in.

Dr. Smyth narrowed his eyes at Lee. “I told Melrose not to give you and your partner the Bristow case. I told him it would go to your heads.”

Lee shook his head. “You might want to take a look at the date on the marriage license. The only thing this case did was make me realize that I want to live the life I’m entitled to. Lay all my secrets out on the table so to speak.”

Dr. Smyth looked down at the date and then puffed on his cigarette again. “Oh the tangled webs we weave, when at first we practice to deceive.” Locking eyes with the agent in front of him, a sinister smirk crept across his face. “You do realize that this little revelation means that your partnership with the little housewife is hereby terminated, right?”

“I think you might want to read that letter, the one marked Confidential, with the Presidential Seal. I believe you’ll find it most interesting.” Lee kept his expression neutral. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go meet my wife and partner. We have an early morning meeting with Billy.” He turned and began heading towards the door. “Something about a new case he has for both of us.” Fighting the urge to see the look on the old man’s face, he continued his path out of the office.

Dr. Smyth watched the agent's retreating figure as Lee passed through the outer office. “Stetson, if you think that you and Mrs. King are going to remain partners in the field, you’re sadly mistaken. We haven’t even begun to discuss the implications of married agents working in the field together. If you walk out that door right now, it had better be to go and tender your resignation!”

Lee ignored the old man’s threats and kept on walking. He knew, that once Dr. Smyth read the letter, the Agency’s director was going to be eating crow. Entering the hallway, he turned in the direction of the elevators and whistled softly as he strolled down the carpeted hallway. For the first time, in a very long time, he felt at peace. He had a loving family, the perfect partner, and all the important secrets of his life were finally out in the open. Reaching the elevator, he pushed the call button and glanced briefly back in the direction he had just come from. A wide grin spread across his face at the knowledge that Dr. Smyth wouldn’t be able to do anything to the team of Scarecrow and Mrs. King. Stepping into the now waiting elevator, he heard the noise of Dr. Smyth’s door slamming shut echoing through the empty corridor and his grin grew even wider. It was going to be a wonderful future.

The End