Monday August 3, 1989
3:15 PM Moscow time
Moscow, USSR
He should never have let her come.
Of course if she weren’t here, he’d probably be dead.
Glancing over his shoulder, he flinched as yet another bullet whizzed past his ear.
“There!” he yelled, pointing to a door tucked into the corner of a recessed entryway. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her in front of him and shoved her into the alcove as he turned and squeezed off another three shots toward their pursuer. “Damn!” he swore as the clip fell to the ground. He was now out of bullets.
“It’s locked!” She frantically jiggled a half-rake in the keyhole until she felt the tumblers release. She turned the knob and pushed the door open. Stumbling into the building she pulled him in with her and he slammed the door shut, locking it behind them.
“Come on, let’s get away from the door.” He reached for her hand and headed into the room.
“You will be safe here,” a matronly voice said in broken English.
“What the . . .” Lee Stetson blinked, his eyes adjusting to the light as his heart dropped in to his stomach.
“We can’t stay here!” Amanda Stetson hissed. “Lee! What have we done?”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
An hour later, Lee and Amanda sat in two old wingback chairs in a dingy room, drinking tea. A fire was burning to ward off the damp chill of night. It had been raining since they arrived in Moscow, five days ago.
Amanda was still trying to calm herself from their earlier escape, and the surprise of what awaited them inside the building. As luck would have it, they were indeed very safe here. But the very thing that made them safe also sheltered 20 children and three nuns. “Lee, we can’t stay,” Amanda repeated her earlier statement. “We can’t have Mironov knowing we’re here, coming after us. What if he tells his boss? What if . . . ”
“Amanda,” Lee rubbed his fingers over his temples and then back through his hair. “I don’t think even Butsayev is cold-hearted enough to come in here after us. This is the perfect place. And the children will be fine. They won’t come looking for us here,” Lee repeated, silently praying he was right.
“The children will be safe, Mrs. Stetson,” the voice with the heavy Russian accent from earlier broke in, agreeing with Lee.
He glanced at Amanda. “See, I told you. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Amanda stood, sighing and rolling her eyes at Lee. “Thank you for being so kind, Sister. But really, I don’t feel comfortable putting you and the children at risk. The men who are looking for us . . . ” Amanda broke off as Nadya placed her hand on Amanda’s arm.
“The children are in no danger. Come, we will eat now.” Glancing over at Lee she smiled. “You, also?”
“Yes, thank you, Sister.” Lee stood and moved next to Amanda, taking her hand. “Let’s go eat and then we can figure out how to get out of this one,” he said.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Reaching the end of a hallway the small group turned the corner and entered a long, open room set up with four tables. It was surprisingly quiet in view of the number of children in the room. As Lee and Amanda walked in they were greeted by one of the other women who took them to a small, unoccupied table. They ate in silence, with Lee watching Amanda as she watched the children. There were about a dozen in the cafeteria, looking to be as young as 3 years old and up to just about Jamie’s age. They were all chattering quietly amongst themselves and every so often, one or two of them would steal a curious, hopeful glance in their direction. Amanda watched them throughout dinner, a contemplative look on her face.
“Hey?” Lee reached across the table and took her hand. “You’re not eating. What’s up?”
“Lee, look at them,” Amanda inclined her head toward the tables. “They’re no different from our boys and their friends. Even halfway around the world, in unacceptable conditions, children are children.”
He nodded. “At least they appear to be well taken care of.” He squeezed her hand and gave her a small smile. “Looks like they get more attention and love than most kids in their situation.”
The three women were bustling around the children, dishing out food and helping the littler ones eat. Amanda watched the women, one of whom appeared to be about her age, as they hugged and smiled speaking to each one in rapid Russian. “You’re right, Lee,” she sighed again. “They don’t look neglected. I just can’t help feeling sad for them. They have no parents. Or no parents that want them. I can’t even begin to think about the reasons they’re here and what will happen to the ones who aren’t lucky enough to be adopted. I’d like to just pack them all up and take them home with us . . . to give them all a family. Most of them won’t get that. It’s just not fair,” Amanda stopped when she realized what she was saying and quickly picked up her fork and picked at her food. “I’m sorry, Lee, I didn’t mean to . . . ”
“It’s okay.” He lifted her free hand to his lips for a kiss. “It won’t be much longer, Amanda, I promise. We’ve been away from the boys for so long already. I miss them, too. We’ll get out of here as soon as we can and head for home. The American Embassy isn’t far from here. I think we’re close to Zoo Park, about fifteen minutes from our hotel and the Embassy should be just a short hop away. But we need to lay low for a few hours before we can leave. I’ll see about getting in touch with the Embassy guys tonight and we can head out in the morning.” He looked at her questioningly. “Why don’t you try to get some rest, huh? It’s been a long week and you haven’t slept much.”
“Yeah, sure, I’ll try.” Amanda didn’t meet his eyes, and he was pretty sure she wasn’t going to go lie down.
Lee stood, still holding her hand. “Amanda, I mean it. Go get some rest.” He leaned down and kissed her tenderly. “I love you.”
Amanda smiled up at him. “Yeah, I know. I love you, too.”
Lee disappeared with Sister Nadya toward the office to try contacting the Embassy, promising Amanda he’d return shortly. He was reluctant to leave her but she had shooed him away. “I’ll be fine, Lee. Go on. The sooner you call the sooner we can leave, right?”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As Amanda helped clear away the remnants of dinner with Elena, she found that the woman was in fact much younger than she had first thought. They had struck up an easy conversation and she found herself liking the young woman immediately. But she couldn’t ignore the nagging feeling in the back of her mind that there was something about Elena, something familiar.
“Would you come to help with the babies, Amanda?” Elena asked. “We have six who need to be fed and it would be nice to have extra hands.”
Amanda smiled at her and said, “Of course! Who could resist babies? It’s been so long since my boys were that age.” She had no idea what was in store for her as she rounded the landing and continued her climb behind Elena to the second floor.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The relative quiet of the dining room was left behind as they entered the nursery. Ten cribs lined the outer walls of the room while a dresser, three rocking chairs, a changing table, and two highchairs were arranged in the center. Two of the rocking chairs were occupied already, one by Anna, the third woman Amanda had met, the other by a young girl that had been in the dining room earlier. She was the one who looked about Jamie’s age. Elena gestured toward the cribs, “We have six babies, one is just a year old, he is Maxim.” Amanda looked to where she was pointing. The young girl was singing to him as she held his bottle. “She is Daria. Maxim is very loving to her. No one else feeds him.” Elena smiled and laughed. “He is very stubborn. Hopefully they will go together. But she is older, and not his real sister.” Elena saddened at this. After a moment she slowly smiled again and continued her introductions. “Anna has Fedor and Mikhail. They are twins. They are always together, always in trouble.” Amanda smiled at Anna and the twins. They were beautiful babies who looked to be about 6-7 months old.
A commotion from the next crib drew Amanda’s attention. “Who is that?” She asked with a grin.
“Sergei is the hungry one,” Elena laughed at the little baby who had pulled himself up at the side of his crib. He had started voicing his objections to not being fed as the women approached him. “He is 10 months old. He has found his legs and is trying to walk all over. We think he is trying to be like Maxim.” Elena grabbed a bottle and reached for Sergei, who was now bouncing up and down in anticipation. Amanda laughed at the boy and was rewarded with a huge almost toothless grin. Elena took him and sat in the last rocker. “You may feed another if you like,” she said nodding toward the other two occupied cribs. Amanda walked to the first, peering in over the crib rail.
“That is Dominik,” Elena informed her.
“He’s asleep,” she whispered to Elena. She quietly moved to the next crib and what she saw there took her breath away. “Oh,” Amanda breathed. Two of the biggest, brownest eyes she had ever seen twinkled mischievously up at her. The baby gurgled at her and Amanda smiled back. Mesmerized, she reached into the crib and touched his hand with one finger. The intensity of her feelings surprised her; she hadn’t experienced anything like this since Jamie had been born. The baby was chewing on his toes but had not yet broken eye contact with Amanda. He looked at her as if he knew her. Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest and she was having a hard time catching her breath.
“That is Nikolai,” Anna said, startling Amanda. “He is our ladies’ man.” The women laughed at this as Amanda watched Nikolai. “He is very smart.” Elena added.
As she leaned in to pick him up he threw his arms and legs out and wiggled with excitement, giggling at her the whole time. “How old is he?” she managed to force past the lump in her throat.
“Nicky is about nine months old. We found him on the front step one morning. He was a newborn but we’re not sure of his true birthday. No one has come forward to claim him. We haven’t even had any inquiries about him. That’s all right, though. He is very special,” Elena said with a proud smile. “God brought him to us safely and protected him through the night until we found him. He has been through a lot. Now it is our job to protect him and keep him safely,” she looked pointedly at Amanda, “until his new parents take him home.”
Amanda had barely registered any of this information as she picked up Nicky and cradled him in her arms. He smelled so good, like the boys had when they were little babies. Amanda drew in a deep breath. “Hello there, Nikolai. My name is Amanda. And you . . . you are just about the most gorgeous little thing I have ever seen,” she cooed at him quietly. A look exchanged between the two women seated in the middle of the room. “Look at you, what a sweet little boy you are!” Amanda held him up and kissed his cheek, resulting in a squeal of delight from the baby. Anna had finished feeding Maxim and rose from her seat. “You may sit here to feed him if you wish,” she offered.
Retrieving another bottle from the table, Anna handed it to Amanda as she sat in the vacated rocker. Nikolai squealed and opened his mouth wide as she brought the bottle closer to him. He attacked the bottle hungrily and Amanda smiled at him as his body relaxed and he snuggled in to her arms. Her heart fluttered as he grabbed one of her fingers with his left hand and poked at her face with the other. His eyes hadn’t left hers the entire time, but it didn’t take long for Nikolai to lose himself to the comfort of the bottle and warm, loving embrace she provided. As the last of the bottle was finished, he fell asleep, his mouth still making tiny sucking motions in response to the bubbles of formula still resting on his lips. She still held the bottle in her hand, as Nikolai had a firm grip on her finger and she didn’t want him to let go.
“He looks very content,” a deep voice startled Amanda. “Of course if I were in his place I would be, too,” Lee whispered in her ear, taking the bottle out of her hand and placing it on the table. He smiled down at Amanda and the sleeping baby, noticing how relaxed and comfortable she looked as well. Lee moved in front of them, and crouched down. He shook his head and looked up at his wife. “I sure wish I’d been around when the boys were this age,” he continued whispering. Amanda managed a small smile but dared not look at Lee or open her mouth. She felt something she had never felt before -- maybe only once -- when her father had died years ago, leaving her with a huge empty place in her heart. She couldn’t suppress the tear that rolled own her cheek, and sniffed hard to try and stop the cascade of emotion that had suddenly overtaken her.
Lee looked up at her, startled to find her crying. “Amanda? What is it? What’s wrong?” He reached up to wipe the tear away and waited for a moment. “Amanda, look at me.” Lee stared at her in confusion.
“I’m sorry, Lee,” she sniffed again and drew in a long, deep, breath to calm herself, trying hard not to wake the baby sleeping peacefully in her arms. “I . . . he . . . I . . .I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m feeling, Lee.” They sat in silence for a few minutes. “Lee?” Amanda called his name softly. Getting no response, she looked up at him. “Lee?”
He had reached out to stroke Nikolai’s hand, which was wrapped tightly around his wife’s right index finger. It was so tiny. He’d never really been around babies before, not this close, anyway. As he rubbed the baby’s hand softly, he realized what he was looking at was just about the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, besides the woman he had married. “Wow,” Lee said quietly. “He’s beautiful, Amanda.”
“His name is Nikolai,” Amanda responded, her voice wistful. In response to Lee’s stroking, the baby had let go of Amanda’s finger and taken hold of Lee’s, his tiny hand wrapping around it tightly. “Someone abandoned him after he was born. The nuns found him outside on the steps one morning. That was nine months ago. No one knows who he belongs to.” She looked up at her husband; she knew he could tell something was bothering her, she could see the look of concern in his eyes.
“Amanda,” he whispered a soft warning, glancing over at Elena and Anna self- consciously.
“Please, just listen to me for a minute . . . please?” she begged. At his reluctant nod, she started slowly. “He’s alone. His own mother didn’t want him. What are the chances of someone coming and taking him out of here? It's not like it is in China. In Russia they want baby girls, not boys. Did you see how many boys were downstairs? Look at him, Lee.” He had been watching her as she talked and was reluctant to look at the baby. “Look how trusting he is of us, how content and comfortable. You said it yourself when you saw us.” she paused for a moment. “When I looked into his eyes, it was like looking at Phillip or Jamie for the first time. Lee, I can feel him, right here,” she reached up and took his free hand, placing it on her heart. He closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.
“Amanda, don’t . . . ” he started. “We can’t. I’m so sorry.” Lee pulled his hand from hers and stood. Turning his back to his wife and her charge, he ran a hand through his hair. He dropped his head to his chest and sighed, walking to the window. He rested a hand on either side of the window and looked down to the street aware that Amanda was watching him. Abruptly he shoved off the wall and turned to look at his wife. “He looks so . . . *right* there, Amanda. Like he’s meant to be there. Like he’s always been there. How can that be? We’ve only been here for a few hours. I just met him ten minutes ago.” He shoved a hand through his hair yet again, as he moved in front of them. “We can’t just come in here hiding from some KGB separatists, stay for a few hours, and take a Russian baby home with us.” Kneeling back down in front of his wife, he reached up to trace a finger over Nikolai’s forehead and down his cheek. His voice was shaking when he spoke again. “Can we?” He looked up at her again in shock.
‘He feels it too!’ Amanda thought excitedly.
“Can I hold him?” Lee whispered.
Amanda nodded. “Of course.”
He stood, taking the baby from her. Nikolai stirred in his sleep and started to whimper. “Shhh . . . it’s okay, buddy,” Lee soothed, rocking the baby back and forth. Nikolai opened his eyes and, seeing Lee, snuggled in closer. “Hey, shhh . . . go back to sleep.” Nikolai had taken Lee’s finger in a tight grasp again and Lee brought the tiny hand to his lips, kissing it gently. “Nice to meet you, Nikolai,” he whispered.
Seeing Lee rocking the baby, comforting him, was almost more than she could take. She needed to put some space between herself and the situation. This was all moving much too fast. Standing, she brushed past Lee and Nikolai, and hurried from the room.
“Amanda?” Lee turned and started to go after her. A firm hand on his arm stopped him. He started, realizing he wasn’t alone. They had both forgotten the two other women in the room. He desperately hoped they hadn’t said anything incriminating but just as quickly decided that even if they had, these two women could be trusted. After all, they had taken both of them in without question and been more than generous in the last few hours.
Elena smiled softly at him and motioned to the chair. “Sit, I will go.” She started to leave but hesitated. Taking a deep breath, she turned, meeting Lee’s gaze, “I have seen this before,” she gestured to Lee and Nikolai. “Some people are meant to be together, Mr. Stetson. I believe in God putting people and circumstances in our lives for a reason. I hope you do, too. With respect, sir, there is a reason you are here, in this building, holding that little boy.” She turned and followed after Amanda, leaving him gaping at what she had told him. He sat carefully in the rocker and tried desperately to catch his breath and calm his pounding heart.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“This feeling is so completely different from when I first saw my boys. I knew they were coming, I was ready . . . prepared. I knew for months that they were there and loved them before they were born. I knew they were mine. This is so different.” She looked up at Elena with bright eyes. “But so much the same. Nikolai is meant to be our son; I know it in my heart. I knew it when he looked at me. Is that crazy?” Amanda asked the younger woman pleadingly. “I saw him for the first time only an hour ago; how can I possibly feel like this? Like I can’t leave this place without him?”
Elena put her arm around Amanda and gave her a contemplative look. “I was telling your husband -- you are here for a reason. This whole situation is strange, no? It was not by chance that you sought refuge here, in our orphanage. God led you here. You are here for Nikolai and here for yourselves. I trust God -- that He will take care of you, your husband, and Nikolai. And that everyone will end up where they belong. You need to trust, too.” Elena said nothing more, and Amanda was glad. This was just too much to process all at once. And the fact that they were in the middle of a very dangerous assignment, one that Elena knew nothing about made this all the more confusing.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Amanda sat alone in the small room for another forty-five minutes, thinking, praying, and reasoning with herself, until she couldn’t stand being away from them any longer. She had wanted to give Lee the chance to think about what was happening without her presence putting pressure on him. She knew how he was when it came to something she felt strongly about. He’d do just about anything to ensure her happiness. He’d proved that over and over in the last six years. She wasn’t going to let him do something like this just because he knew she wanted it. This had to be okay with him as well. He had to feel it too, or she wouldn’t pursue it any further. It would probably kill her, but she wouldn’t do this without Lee’s complete agreement. And she’d know exactly how he felt as soon as she saw his face.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
9:00PM
Orphanage
Moscow
As she walked into the nursery, Amanda could see Lee standing in front of the window across the room, his head moving slightly up and down as if he was deep in discussion with someone. But there was no one around. The babies were all asleep, the other women gone to help the older children get ready for bed. As she approached him, her heart caught in her chest again, as she heard her husband’s voice. “Your country really is amazing, you know. There are some very beautiful places here. I’ve been to so many of them, and I’ll tell you all about them when you’re older. But I can’t wait until you see our home. We have a big house, horses, dogs, cats, lots of room to run and play, two wonderful big brothers . . . ” Lee’s voice broke and the sound tore at Amanda’s heart. He was holding Nikolai with the baby’s back to his own chest, one arm under his bottom and the other wrapped protectively around his torso so the baby was looking out the window with him. Lee had his chin resting gently on the baby’s head. Amanda moved to stand behind him.
“How did we get ourselves into this one, Amanda?” he sighed. “Dr. Smyth is going to want my head on a platter.” He turned slowly and handed Nikolai to her, kissing the top of his head before releasing him. Lee turned back toward the window. He could see St. Basil’s Cathedral in the distance, the distinctive cupolas and spires magnificently lit up against the night sky. Just to the west, he knew, stood the Moscow Kremlin. “An American spy with a Russian son,” he snorted, shaking his head and rubbing his temples roughly. He turned from the window, putting the images of Red Square out of his mind.
Nikolai snuggled into Amanda the minute she had taken him from Lee. An overwhelming feeling of love filled her heart and soul as he sighed and closed his eyes, his tiny hand gripping her blouse. “We’ll figure it out, Lee.”
“Amanda, we have a lot of talking to do.” He had stopped pacing and turned to face her again, “We’re not going anywhere tonight until we figure out what it is we want and what’s best for him,” he pointed at Nikolai as he finished. “Can we really even consider taking him home with us? Amanda, we’re American Intelligence! Do we really think they’ll let us have him? Can . . . no, will the Agency let us?” He looked at her, then started moving again as he continued, “I’ve done a lot of unorthodox things in my time with the Agency, but this one takes the cake. Smyth’ll never allow this.” He was desperately trying to stay calm for Amanda’s sake.
“I’ll quit,” she whispered. “If that’s what it takes, I’ll resign from the Agency.”
He stopped again and was quiet for a moment. A slow smile spread across his face and he took her hand, pulling her up from the chair into a loose hug. “I know you would. But I don’t think we’re going to need to go that far.” He was starting to get excited as he ran down the possible benefits of the situation. “Amanda, the same reason we’re going to have problems doing this is the same reason it’ll be so much easier! We ARE the government! How many contacts do we have at the State Department? Most of them owe us favors. We have Billy,” he ticked off a list on his fingers behind Amanda’s back. “We have Harry, Pfaff, T.P., Francine, and the former President! Amanda, we have the former President of the United States on our side. How many times have we gotten a message from him about ‘if there’s ever anything you need . . .’ Well, I’d say we *need* Nikolai.” Lee pulled back from his wife and bent to kiss her forehead. “We can do this. I’m not leaving Moscow without him.” He placed a kiss on the baby’s head and wrapped his arms around them both.
“Thank you, Lee,” Amanda whispered. “I came in here prepared to have you tell me there was no way we could pull this off, that we’d have to leave him here. I wasn’t sure you’d feel the same way I do. I mean, I was pretty sure you did, but then I thought it might just be wishful thinking, you know, reading more into what I was seeing than was really there. And I wouldn’t even think of doing anything like this without your agreement. I mean really, there’d be no way I . . . ”
Lee smiled and shook his head. “Amanda, shhh. It’s okay.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me quite yet,” Lee said grimly. “We may be here for a while.”
“What did you find out from the embassy?” Amanda asked Lee quietly. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know. She turned, sat down in the rocker, and watched as Lee paced.
“They said they’ll get someone out to ‘retrieve’ us as soon as they can spare the manpower. Butsayev has been captured. Apparently André Mironov got cold feet, so to speak, and turned himself in to the KGB. Sang like a bird. I guess when we ran in here, André was certain that it was a sign. Told the *good* KGB about every one of their deals, plans, and colleagues. He just sat down and made a list. He said God was telling him that what he was doing was wrong, that he’d hurt too many innocent people in his life and it was time to stop and repent.” Lee shook his head. “This just gets weirder by the minute.”
Amanda was always impressed with how quickly and easily her husband could slip back into agent mode, no matter what else was going on. “So we’re finished? We can go home? We’re not in danger anymore?” Amanda’s mind was running in overdrive as she tried to figure out how they were going to get through this.
“All we have to do is make our statements at the Embassy and we’re free to leave.” Lee stopped pacing and smiled at his wife. “Gives us plenty of time to concentrate on making Nikolai our son. As for danger, we’re in Moscow. We still have to watch our backs.” He sat in the rocker next to hers. “I’m gonna go give Billy a call, let him know what’s going on and have him get the ball rolling over there.” He reached for her hand and squeezed it gently. “You need to go get some sleep. Will you do that for me, Amanda? Go lay down and I’ll be there right after I talk to Billy.”
“Sure.”
For some reason he didn’t quite believe her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lee had gone back to Nadya’s office to use the phone, leaving Amanda and Nikolai rocking in the nursery. Nikolai had been asleep since she’d taken him from Lee, but she couldn’t force herself to put him down quite yet. She had the feeling that if she put him down and left the room, he wouldn’t be there when she returned. So she sat in the rocker while he slept, practically falling asleep herself. “This is ridiculous,” she said after almost an hour, standing and heading out the door with Nikolai. She headed for the room Elena had taken her to earlier, passing Nadya’s office on the way.
“Billy, you know I don’t care what Smyth says,” she heard Lee’s voice through the partially opened door. Hesitating, Amanda leaned on the wall outside the office listening to Lee’s strained conversation.
“No, I really don’t think you *do* understand,” Lee said softly, hesitating for only a moment. “We’re not leaving Moscow without him. I don’t care how long . . . ”
Amanda desperately wished she could hear the other side of the conversation. Not only had she wanted to hear Billy’s reaction to what Lee had told him but also, if it wasn’t good news, she doubted that Lee would tell her every detail.
“So call in a few favors for me, man! Come on, there are enough people who ‘owe’ us to get us somewhere on this. We should have most of the paperwork and clearances already on file through work, we know everyone at the State Department, the U.S. Embassy . . . ” Lee hesitated and Amanda knew Billy had cut him off. “Fine, you call me back here when you have everything we need. Francine knows where all my paperwork is and Amanda’s is with it. She can fax it over here. I’ll get our court appointment, call the Embassy, and wait for your call. If you have any problems, we can find a way to get you in touch with T.P.” Lee was quiet again for what seemed like an eternity to Amanda.
“I know, Billy. We certainly didn’t plan on this happening. We didn’t even know where we were until it was too late.” Silence again. “That’s fine. She’ll need to know if she’s going to be getting our stuff together. But you make sure she keeps her mouth shut.” Lee’s voice softened and Amanda had to strain to hear what he said next. “Yeah, Billy, you should see him. He’s . . . I don’t know how to describe him. He’s perfect.” Lee cleared his throat and sounded more composed as he finished his conversation. “Thanks, I knew we could count on you, Billy. We’re going to try to get some rest now; there’s really nothing we can do here until morning. But I don’t care what time it is here, you call if, or when, you have something. I’ll talk to you later . . . Yeah . . . Bye.” Lee hung up the phone and Amanda heard him sigh heavily. She turned to walk down the hall, stopping for a moment to shift Nikolai to a more comfortable position.
“I thought I told you to go to bed.”
Amanda jumped at Lee’s voice in her ear. “Lee, stop doing that!” She took a deep breath. “I was on my way there.”
“But . . . ” Lee looked questioningly at her.
“‘But’ nothing. I was just on my way to go lie down.” Lee raised an eyebrow at her as he reached out to stroke Nikolai’s head.
“How long ago, Amanda?”
“How long ago what, Lee?” She was avoiding his eyes. She was busted and she knew it.
He laughed, shaking his head. “How long ago did you manage to wrap me around your little finger so completely, without me even knowing it?”
Amanda smiled and decided to play along. “Oh, THAT. Well, let’s see. There was that time you used my Junior Trailblazers map . . . no, maybe when you found and carried me out of Delano’s house . . . no, wait! I know when it was. I think it was around the time that some Russians mistook me for the great Scarecrow . . . something about treason . . . ” Her next thought was cut off as Lee pulled her into an embrace, careful not to wake the sleeping baby on her shoulder.
Lee chuckled, “I think you’re right, Mrs. Stetson. On all counts.” He ducked his head to plant a kiss on her lips. Nikolai wiggled between them and Lee smiled, resting his forehead on Amanda’s. “We’re going to get interrupted a whole lot more now, aren’t we?”
“I sure hope so,” Amanda answered quietly. Lee’s comment brought her back to their current situation. “How long is this going to take, Lee?”
“Come on, let’s go where we can sit and relax. I’ll tell you what Billy said . . . since you’ve only heard my end of the conversation,” Lee said with a wink.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tuesday, August 4th
11:48AM
Orphanage
Moscow
Amanda awoke to sunshine falling across her face. In all the confusion and excitement of the previous days, she wasn’t sure what time or even what day it really was. But the sunshine was a welcome change from the rain of the past week. She was lying with her back to Lee, and his arms were wrapped tightly around her waist. Hearing his deep, even breathing, Amanda assumed he was still asleep. As little sleep as she’d had in the last few days, Lee had gotten even less.
After realizing the night before that they were too tired to discuss anything, they had taken Nikolai and put him to bed in his crib. Amanda hadn’t wanted to leave him, but Lee and Elena had both insisted he would sleep better there. Lee had guided her back to the tiny room they had been given and they collapsed on the single bed together, both falling asleep instantly.
Amanda carefully wiggled herself onto her back and looked up into Lee’s face to find him smiling at her.
“Morning,” he whispered, “sleep well?”
“How long . . . oh, never mind. I should have known you were already awake.”
Lee grinned sheepishly at her, “I can’t help it. It’s habit. You know how we ‘spies’ are.” He kissed her nose and grinned.
Amanda stretched and yawned; desperately wishing they had their toothbrushes. “No matter how long we’re in the field, I will never get used to not being able to brush my teeth,” she stuck her tongue out and wrinkled her nose. “Yuck.”
Lee chuckled, releasing his hold on her waist. “We’ve got bigger problems today than not being able to brush our teeth, Mrs. Stetson.” He sat up, rubbing his hand over his face. “We slept all morning, it’s almost noon, and I’m starving. Let’s go find some food and I’ll see if Billy called while we were sleeping. I have to get to the Embassy -- we’ll need an immigrant visa application -- and get an appointment for a court date so we can take Nikolai home with us.” Lee stood, stretching, and headed to the door. He stopped short and turned to smile at her, eyebrows raised. “We should think about getting a twin bed,” his eyes twinkled mischievously, “I like having to hold on to you all night long.”
Amanda laughed at him as she straightened her clothes. “Not on your life, Stetson.”
“Come on, you need to eat,” he said softly. “You didn’t touch your dinner last night.”
Amanda stood and followed Lee as he headed for the door. She knew she had to eat but wasn’t sure her nerves were going to comply. Lee stopped right outside their door and Amanda ran into his back as she came into the hallway.
“Oofh – Lee wh . . ?”
She started to ask what was wrong when she heard the reason he wasn’t moving. Muffled voices were coming from downstairs and they didn’t sound friendly. At least it sounded like they were speaking English. But from down the hall to their right, both could hear the heart-wrenching cries of a baby. Lee turned to Amanda, placed a kiss on her forehead and smiled, “You take care of Nikolai, I’ll go see what’s happening downstairs. Give him a kiss for me,” Lee said with a smile and a quick squeeze.
“Be careful, Lee.”
“Always.” And he was gone.
Amanda headed down the hall toward the nursery, keeping one ear trained on what was happening downstairs. It wasn’t easy, as the crying got noticeably louder and more frantic. Opening the door and stepping into the room, her fears were confirmed. It was Nikolai, giving Elena quite a hard time as she was changing his diaper.
Hearing the door, Elena turned, her face registering relief at the sight of Amanda. “Oh, Mrs. Stetson, I am so glad to see you. Maybe you can get Nicky to calm down. He has had a very bad morning. He never gives us this much trouble. I fed him his lunch but he would not take his bottle from me. I am not sure what is wrong but here, you try.” She stepped aside and Amanda approached the changing table. Nicky was lying there in only a diaper, screaming at the top of his lungs. If Amanda had thought that the emotions she felt the night before were just a product of lack of sleep and adrenaline, she’d been sadly mistaken. But, she hadn’t thought that for a minute and as soon as she saw Nikolai again, she was flooded with the intense feelings she had experienced last night. “Shhh, Nicky, it’s okay. Let’s get you dressed, shall we?” Amanda spoke softly to him. At the sound of her voice, Nicky opened his eyes and crying changed to sounds of quiet protest. After focusing on her face, his protests ceased and he hiccuped, giving Amanda a huge grin and squealing in delight. “Well, Nikolai, it seems you know who I am.” Amanda pulled a shirt over his head and he giggled at her ‘Boo’ as his head popped through the opening. “There, much better,” Amanda finished dressing him and smiled as he continued to hiccup. “See where screaming will get you?”
From the other side of the room, Elena gave Amanda a wide smile. “He knows you already. Look how happy he is. It was you he wanted, not me. He knows you are his mother.” Elena ducked her head, “I’m sorry if I am being too bold. I watched you and your husband last night with Nicky. He feels as you do. I could see it. I have seen it before.” She hesitated slightly before continuing. “You know how I feel about why you are here. I’m not sure who you are, or why you are being chased through Moscow but I don’t think that is important. This is not the way we usually do things, but I want you to know that we all will help you with everything we can to send Nicky home, with you . . . where he belongs.”
Amanda had retrieved a bottle from the table and was feeding Nikolai as Elena spoke. She looked up at the young woman and smiled, “Thank you Elena. You’re right . . . about everything. I wish I could tell you why we’re here but I can’t. I *can* tell you that we’re with the American government. We have a whole lot of friends who will be helping us to get Nicky back to the States as soon as we can.” She looked down at the baby, who was sucking lazily on his bottle, seeming more contented to be in her arms than to be eating lunch. “We would appreciate any help and advice you can give us. I . . . we’ve . . . never done anything like this before. We have no idea what we need to do.”
Elena crossed the room to stand beside Amanda, putting her hand on her shoulder. “We will do everything we can to help.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
While Amanda was tending to Nikolai, Lee had headed for the main floor of the orphanage, praying that the heated discussion he could barely discern didn’t concern him and Amanda. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he came face-to-face with two agents from the American Embassy.
“Scarecrow!” The older of the two men looked relieved to see him. “You’re a sight for sore eyes. We’re not getting anywhere with your ‘protectors’ here. Mind filling me in on what the heck is going on? Where’s Mrs. Stetson?”
“McCarty, Draper.” Lee acknowledged both agents with a nod of his head. “Nice to see you fellas, too. Amanda is up stairs. We heard about Butsayev; is that all straightened out?”
The two other agents looked around nervously, their confusion evident. “Shouldn’t we, uh . . . ” McCarty started, motioning to Nadya, who still stood next to Lee and the other agents.
“Oh, sorry, yeah.” Turning to Nadya he placed his hand on her shoulder, “Sister Nadya, these are colleagues of mine and Mrs. Stetson’s. They are here to escort us back to the embassy. Is there anywhere we can go to talk privately? I’m sorry, but some of the things we need to discuss are . . . sensitive.”
McCarty and Draper exchanged confused looks as Scarecrow talked with the Russian nun. Lee watched them out of the corner of his eye. He could only imagine what they were thinking. The last time he had worked with either of them was before he and Amanda had been married. He was a completely different agent than he’d been then. He had finished talking to Sister Nadya and turned to the two men. “Gentlemen?” Lee gestured up the stairs. “We can use the office upstairs. We’ll need the phone and there are chairs and a desk we can use.”
“Great. Let’s get up there.” McCarty answered.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Three hours later, Lee sat in the office with the other two agents; they had discussed the unexpected conclusion of the case that had them here in the first place and everyone was satisfied with the outcome.
He and Amanda would need to get to the Embassy for formal debriefing soon. Now, though, they were going over adoption procedures and plans for the last time. Lee hadn’t been sure of what to expect when he presented their dilemma to his fellow agents and was pleasantly surprised to find that he had willing accomplices.
“You’ll take care of the Immigrant Visa for Nikolai, the court appointment, and our transportation home once this is taken care of. We don’t need to go through the Ministry of Education because we’ve already found Nikolai. If they give us a hard time, you’ll handle that, right?”
“You bet, Scarecrow. I know a few people there; they won’t have any problems with this. Makes their job a lot easier,” Draper answered, jotting down more notes in the notebook he carried.
“Great. As soon as the Agency faxes over our paperwork, you can bring it back here. If you can find anyone at the Embassy who has an idea of what we’re up against, please, get them in touch with us.” Lee stood, offering his hand to first McCarty, then Draper. “I can’t thank you two enough. I know this is a very unusual request but . . . ” Lee broke off.
“Hey, man,” McCarty slapped him on the back with a smile, “I’ve got four kids of my own; you really don’t need to explain.”
“Yeah, thanks. Amanda and I are going to owe you big. Both of you. We’ll talk to you soon, right?”
“You’ll hear from us as soon as everything is set up. We’ll coordinate with Mr. Melrose, too. The two of you should be fine to travel around the city now, also. Just keep your eyes open. The KGB knows you’re here and they were informed of your involvement in the Butsayev case. Remarkably, things have gone very smoothly and no one has stepped on any toes.” McCarty shook his head, “The times they are a changin’, huh? Get this; they wanted to thank you personally for your help in their little ‘problem’. And not the way they would have a year or so ago, either. They were legitimately grateful. I guess this whole little incident may have been an embarrassment to the government. But, we told them you were ‘held up’ for a while. With things changing around here the way they are, this could work to your advantage. We’ll check with them if need be. Anything comes up or you need us, just call. Here’s the number. Take care, Scarecrow. We’ll be in touch. Tell Mrs. Stetson we said hello.” With that, the agents left.
Lee sat alone in the office, still slightly shell-shocked at the direction their lives had taken just twenty-four hours ago. Suddenly, he realized how long the whole meeting had taken. It had been almost three hours since he had seen Amanda and he still hadn’t gotten lunch or seen Nikolai. He gathered his notes and headed out the door, his heartbeat quickening in anticipation.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Amanda was sitting on the floor of the nursery with Nikolai, Sergei, and Maxim crawling around her. The afternoon had flown by; raising Phillip and Jamie had been a physically demanding job, but this was incredible. Chasing after the babies all afternoon had worn her out quicker than one of her training courses. She didn’t think the babies got out of their cribs much; when they were first placed on the floor, they had acted like they didn’t know what to do. They had quickly made up for that. Amanda pulled herself up off the floor and flopped into one of the rockers. Nikolai army-crawled over to her. As she leaned to pick him up, he squealed with excitement at something he saw over her shoulder.
“Hey buddy! How ya doing today?” Nikolai was squirming frantically in Amanda’s lap at Lee’s greeting, arms and legs waving in anticipation.
Amanda stood. “I think someone wants you.” She passed the wiggling baby to Lee and smiled. “Seems Nikolai has adopted us. He hasn’t let me out of his sight all afternoon. That was him screaming earlier. As soon as I talked to him, he . . . ” Amanda stopped talking. She had never seen the look on Lee’s face that was there now. Nikolai had snuggled in to Lee’s shoulder and was gurgling quietly, pulling on the buttons of his shirt. Lee had his eyes closed but was absolutely beaming. She didn’t think he’d heard a word she said. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked at Amanda, shaking his head.
“This is amazing, Amanda.” He leaned in and kissed her. “How did everything go?”
“I had forgotten what a workout taking care of an active baby can be,” she sighed, leaning into Lee’s chest. Nikolai reached down and poked Amanda’s eye. “Ow! And a health hazard!” She took Nikolai’s hand, kissing it before returning it to Lee’s chest. “Who was downstairs?”
“Dan McCarty and Mike Draper. They were here to ‘rescue’ us.” Lee laughed. “They were a bit confused by the situation at first. I think they thought I was losing it. I’m glad it was them, though. They each have a house full of kids and really understood where we were coming from. They’ll be the best help to us. Hopefully we’ll know something in a few hours. They have considerable connections around Moscow and seem to think our involvement in the Butsayev case will help our chances of getting Nikolai home. But we still have a lot to tackle here. Did you find out anything from Elena about what we have to do?”
Amanda moved to the rocking chair again and sat down, exhausted. “We have probably as much to do on this end. Did you know that nothing here is Nikolai’s? We need to get him clothes, bottles, blankets, diapers, everything, before we leave the building. We can’t take anything with us. He has one blanket he was brought in with, and that’s it.” Amanda pointed at the blanket across her lap. “Elena said she knows where we can get a few things, but we’re going to have to see if there’s anything the Embassy people can do. For that matter, I could use some different clothes, too,” she looked at Lee wrinkling her nose. “And so could you.”
Lee nodded, “We should get back to the hotel to shower and change. Draper mentioned we should be fine out on the streets. We’ll still have to be on our toes, but going back there will be fine.”
“Should we just stay there at night? We can’t take Nikolai anywhere until the court makes the adoption legal. Did you know we might have a ten-day waiting period before we can take him home? Hopefully they’ll waive that. I don’t know what I’d do here for ten days, Lee. I’m already too attached to these babies. I can’t imagine what’ll happen if I have to spend more than a week with the rest of them, too. Daria is the sweetest girl.” She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Is it legal in the US to arrange international marriages?”
Lee laughed out loud. “I don’t think the boys would appreciate having their mother arrange a marriage for them. Phillip is quite capable of finding his own dates, that’s been pretty obvious lately. Although, she seems very sweet, maybe she’d be more Jamie’s type?” They both laughed.
“You’ve lost him,” Amanda pointed to Lee’s shoulder with a smile. “He’s snoring. Here, let me put him down, we really need to get cleaned up and eat something.” She took the baby from Lee, who gave him up reluctantly. “You can come back later. I’m sure they can use some help at feeding time.” She winked at him, laying the baby down in his crib and covering him up with a blanket. Leaning on the crib rail, she stroked his head softly.
“I still can’t believe this is happening to us.” Lee smiled as he moved behind Amanda, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. “You, I can believe; this is your area of expertise. But me? This type of thing never crossed my mind. I always figured that if we had a baby at least I’d have a few months to get used to the idea. This is a little sudden. Any suggestions, here? Because I’m at a loss.”
“He’s a baby, Lee,” she teased. “You handle two teenage boys by yourself and you’re afraid of a little baby?”
“Scarecrow, afraid?” Lee teased back. “No way. I said I’m at a loss. I remember my teenage years. I know exactly what those boys are thinking. Well, Phillip, anyway. I tried it all and got away with most of it. I don’t remember being a baby.” He grinned at her mischievously. “Of course, I have a great teacher. I can learn by watching you.” He kissed her nose.
“And the flattery begins. You seem to have that down pretty well. I did the last two by myself, Stetson; you’re not getting out of anything. No amount of nose-kissing will get you out of midnight diaper duty, buster,” Amanda whispered.
Lee sighed. “I have no intentions of ‘getting out’ of anything, Amanda. This is something I don’t plan on letting slip away. You and the boys are stuck with me whether you like it or not. I saw what you went through with Joe not being around. And that was after the boys were older. I can’t imagine what it was like for you, and them, when they were babies. I’m very thankful I had my parents full attention at least as long as I did.”
Amanda turned, grabbing his hand. “I’m gonna hold you to that, you know. Especially at three in the morning.” She squeezed his hand and smiled. “Come on, let’s get going so we don’t miss his dinnertime.”
“Yeah, okay.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tuesday, August 4th
4:00PM Moscow time
Hotel Rossiya
Lee made sure Nadya and Elena knew where they would be and headed for the hotel. He stopped at the desk and extended their reservations indefinitely as Amanda continued up to their room. She called her mother and filled Dotty in on everything that had happened the last few days. Everything she could share, anyway. Amanda still hated that she couldn’t be completely truthful with her family, but at least they didn’t have to hide their jobs or marriage anymore. After promising to call again with more information, Amanda hung up and headed for the bathroom. She desperately needed her toothbrush and a shower. After showering, she came out of the bathroom and found Lee on the phone.
“That’s what one of the nuns was telling Amanda,” Lee sounded a bit defeated. “Billy, she doesn’t have to . . . ” He had stood up and turned to face Amanda, a look of surprise on his face. “I don’t know what to say. Do you have the information?” He looked around, motioning with his hand to her for a pencil. Retrieving one from the nightstand, she handed it and a pad of paper to him and resumed towel-drying her hair. She watched as he wrote what looked like flight information and ‘FRANCINE’ in big letters. “We’ll be there. I really don’t know what to say. Just tell everyone . . . heck, I don’t know. Tell them thanks, Billy.” Lee ran his hand through his hair and put the phone back in the cradle.
“What’s going on, Lee?” Amanda had grown curious when she saw Francine’s name on the paper with the flight information.
“Well, it seems Francine has some friends who adopted a baby here in Russia last year. She went and visited them and found out even more than we could have hoped for. She went back to work and took over, started making calls and arrangements, told everyone what was going on, and collected everything we’re going to need to get Nick home.” He gave Amanda a perplexed look. “As of right now, she is somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. Francine is personally bringing everything over to us and staying to help with whatever extra things we need done. And it was her idea. Billy even tried to talk her out of it.” Lee shook his head. “Francine and I have been friends for a long time but . . . well, I guess I just never would have expected something like this from her, since it had something to do with children and family and all . . ." He had walked to where Amanda was staring at the pad of paper and stood behind her. Taking the towel from her hands, he gently finished drying her hair.
“What do you mean by ‘everything’, Lee? Can’t they just fax over the stuff we need?” Amanda was stunned by Lee’s news.
“Well, from what Billy said, there are clothes, a stroller, car seat, bottles, diapers . . . everything.” He chuckled. “Billy said Jeannie is sending over enough formula and bottled water to last two weeks. He told me she said ‘the formula over there isn’t good enough for my nephew.’”
Amanda smiled. “Leave it to Jeannie.”
“I just hope Francine doesn’t have problems getting everything through customs. But Billy said the former President called in a few favors so she should be all right. I told him we’d meet Francine at the airport. We’ve got about 7 hours before she gets here, so I thought we’d head over to the Embassy and start our paperwork. Couldn’t hurt to be a little ahead of the game, right?”
Lee hesitated. “Amanda?” He put his hands on her shoulders, turning her to face him.
“I’m just thinking.” She shook her head. “It never ceases to amaze me what people are capable of. Both good and bad.”
Silently, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his cheek on the top of her head. “I know,” he whispered, “pretty amazing. This whole thing is pretty amazing.” They stood there for a few minutes, before continuing their discussion. She released her hold on Lee and turned to pick up her hairbrush. Moving to the mirror, she started to brush out her hair.
“I’d say ‘amazing’ is a good word for it. Francine collected things we need for Nicky and is personally flying half-way around the world to bring them to us.” It wasn’t a question but rather a statement, like she was trying to reconcile the Francine she knew with the one who was on the way there with the physical and moral support they so desperately needed. Amanda continued to brush her hair while Lee sat on the edge of the bed.
“Yeah, she is,” he said.
“Francine DESMOND,” she emphasized, stone faced.
Lee laughed out loud. “Yes, Amanda, ‘our’ Francine.”
“I KNEW IT!” Amanda slapped her brush onto the counter. “I knew she had it in her,” Amanda joined Lee in laughter for a moment. “I can’t wait to hear her talk herself around this one,” she said with a smirk.
“This should be fun,” Lee stood and headed for the bathroom.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After a trip to the Embassy and the courthouse, Lee and Amanda decided to head back to the orphanage to see Nikolai again. By the time they picked up Francine and finished at the airport, it would be too late to return and see their son. As they walked into the rundown building, Nadya appeared and walked to the nursery with them.
“I received a confirmation request from the courthouse just now about Nikolai. They needed to know he was over six months old and had no living relatives. That part is cleared. Now you just have to get through the court appearance itself. I will go with you, if you desire,” she told them as they reached the nursery door. “It helps if the orphanage director approves of the family.” She stopped and turned to face them, smiling. “I most certainly approve.”
Lee reached out and took her hand, squeezing it as Amanda hugged the older woman. “Thank you so much, Sister,” he said quietly. “We can’t thank you enough for everything you’re doing to help us.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lee was the first one to the crib this time and therefore, the first one Nikolai saw when he awoke. The now familiar squealing and wiggling brought a huge smile to Lee’s face, which in turn made Nikolai giggle. “I sure could get used to this greeting every morning,” he said to the now frantic baby. “Okay, okay. Here you go!” Lee lifted him up out of the crib and put the baby up to his shoulder for a hug. He was patting the baby’s back when Nikolai let out a huge burp. Lee felt something warm seep through the shoulder of his shirt and down his back. “Hey now! What do you thi . . . ” He stopped as an indescribable smell reached his nostrils. “Ugh!” He turned his head toward the baby and sniffed, wrinkling his nose. “Amanda!”
Lee heard her ill-disguised snickering and turned to face her. “Hey, Amanda, a little help here, huh?” Lee tried to sound stern.
She cleared her throat and grinned. “Oh, sure, let me get a . . . ”
He glared at her. “I don’t find this funny at all, Amanda King.” He hoped the use of her former name would get her attention. Unfortunately, it wasn’t working.
“I’m sorry Lee, I was just thinking about the potential for blackmail here.” She turned and winked at him. “Let’s see, the infamous Scarecrow with baby spit-up running down his back. Hmmm . . . how much is that worth?” She raised her eyebrows mischievously and laughed at him again.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“You wanna bet?”
Lee was suddenly reminded of another time he had dared her. They had ended up with cake everywhere in the Q-Bureau and a lot of explaining to do. He sighed and looked down at Nikolai. “I’m going to have to teach you how to defend yourself, you know. She’s ruthless.”
Amanda had picked up a cloth diaper from the changing table and was now wiping off the back of Lee’s shirt. “It certainly isn’t going to be the last time that happens, Stetson. You’d better get used to it.” She smiled and leaned up on her toes to kiss his cheek. “I think you look rather sexy like this, myself.”
Lee grinned and whispered to Nikolai conspiratorially, “You can spit up on me anytime, buddy.”
“Well, not necessarily the spit-up part.” Amanda scrunched up her nose and took the baby from him with a laugh. “Ever change a diaper before?”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“No.” She laid Nicky on the changing table.
Lee sighed. “Look, we don’t have time right now for diaper changing lessons.”
Amanda raised an eyebrow and nodded. “Mm-hmm.”
“Really, we don’t.” He looked at his watch and held it out for her to see. “We need to be out that door in twenty minutes if we’re going to make it. And he still needs to eat. You wouldn’t want to keep Francine waiting in a Russian airport, would you?”
“All right, fine, you win.” Looking down at Nikolai she whispered, “He’s gonna have to do it sooner or later.” She finished changing and dressing the baby and handed him off to Lee once again for a bottle. Lee sat in the chair closest to the window and started to rock slowly. He could get very used to this. And hopefully soon.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
10:30PM Moscow time
Sheremetevo Airport
45 minutes northwest of Moscow
Amanda had enjoyed the scenery as they sped up the M10 toward St. Petersburg. After about twenty-five minutes, they turned onto another roadway heading west to Sheremetevo Airport. She had had no idea that Moscow was so sprawling and huge. Even after planning for their trip, the pictures and maps just hadn’t prepared her for actually being there. Slightly shocked at the fact that Lee obviously knew his way around Moscow, Amanda made a mental note to one day ask about his time spent there.
“I think this is the smallest ‘international’ airport I’ve ever been in, Lee,” Amanda said, her voice barely above a whisper. They were standing in a rather unkempt terminal awaiting Francine’s arrival on Delta flight 367. Despite the cool, damp weather, it was quite warm and rather dark in the airport, elements that added to Amanda’s restlessness. It had been little more than a day since she had first laid eyes on Nikolai but it seemed like forever. The last few hours had dragged on, and she wondered if they’d ever get him home. She looked at her watch, only to realize that she still had not changed from Eastern Standard Time. Normally she would have changed her watch on the plane but she’d been otherwise occupied during the flight and the last week had been so hectic she hadn’t even looked at it. Francine’s flight was due in at 10:40 PM and her watch said 2:25.
A brusque Russian voice made a hollow announcement over the PA system prompting Lee to take Amanda’s elbow and move them toward one of the gates. Almost immediately Francine was heading down the jetway toward them. She caught Amanda’s gaze and for a moment, looked embarrassed. But by the time she reached them she had regrouped and was her usual cool, collected self.
“Lee, Amanda.” She nodded and gave them a brief smile. “Billy said you’d be here to meet me. I have a ton of things waiting at baggage. Customs should be a breeze.” She flung a look back over her shoulder at them and smiled. “Reagan still has pull over here, you know. He’s been out of Office for almost a year now and I think some people here have forgotten.” Francine started toward Passport Control at a brisk walk. “Come on, you two, we don’t have all night, and this place has never agreed with me. The lighting is all wrong.”
Amanda looked over at Lee, shaking her head in amazement. “She just got off a nine-hour flight! Look at her!”
They caught up with her just as she shoved her passport to an older Russian woman behind the Passport Control desk. The woman raised an eyebrow at Francine’s paperwork, stamped the passport, and tossed it back at her. Grabbing the small book, she spun around, heading off again toward the baggage area.
Collecting a few bags, she motioned to Lee and Amanda to pick up the rest. “My gosh, Francine,” Amanda muttered.
There were three boxes, a stroller, and two suitcases which, luckily, were on wheels. Carting the luggage and packages, they turned and entered the line for customs.
“Do you have everything ready for customs, Francine?” Lee asked.
Francine turned, and, rolling her eyes, huffed, “Do I have everything for customs? Lee, really.”
Despite the length of the line, they were through customs in record time, the paperwork from the former President of the United States a big boost in getting them through. Amanda listened to Francine converse in fluent Russian with the officers. She had to admit, not for the first time, that Francine was very good at what she did.
Leaving the building, the trio headed for the car. “I sure hope you didn’t get yourself some little German sports car, Stetson. I’m in no mood to cuddle with the two of you for an hour.” Francine waved her hand at them.
“No, Francine, you’ll be happy to know we picked up a distinguished yet comfortable Mercedes sedan, courtesy of our colleagues at the US Embassy. Oh, that reminds me, Agent Maltby was quite interested in the fact that you were coming here. He told me to say ‘Hey’.” Lee smirked at her.
“Oh, great. Is he still here?” she sighed shaking her head. “Just great. I’ll be dodging that bullet all week.”
“Old boyfriend, Francine?” Amanda asked.
“Old annoyance is more like it,” Francine shot back. “Let’s just say he puts Beaman to shame. Thank goodness he’s always been *away* at Christmas. I can only put up with one imbecile at a time.”
They reached the borrowed car and Francine slid into the back of the black Mercedes. “I’m so tired. There was no way I was going to sleep on that plane, and once we get back to Moscow there won’t be time.” She seemed to finally relax, lowering her voice so only Amanda could hear her, “Russians make me so nervous when they’re on their own turf. They have less sense of humor than Dr. Smyth. I know Gorbie is moving to make changes in this country, but thousands of square miles of nothing but KGB still tends to put me on edge. I’ve had a few too many run-ins with these people.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The return trip to Moscow was uneventful as Francine fell asleep right away. Amanda sat sideways in her seat, glancing every so often at the woman in the back. She sighed. Lee glanced over at her and smiled. “You really need to get some rest tonight, you know,” he whispered sternly. Reaching over, he ran a hand down her cheek. It was finally dark, although not for long, and she decided to take advantage of the car’s droning motor lulling her to sleep. Smiling at her husband, she took his hand in hers, kissed the backs of his fingers, and, leaning her cheek on the headrest, she closed her eyes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“ . . . anda . . . Amanda!” Lee’s voice woke her with a start. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she realized they had reached the hotel. Lee stood at the open passenger door, his hand held out to her. “Welcome home,” he said with a grin.
“We should probably wake up Francine, too, huh?” she asked.
“She’s all ready inside. You, on the other hand, were a bit more difficult to wake up. I told you you needed to rest.” Lee took her hand and provided her with the leverage to get out of the car, drawing her to himself as she stood. Sliding his arms around her waist, he buried his face in her neck. “It’ll all be over soon, I promise. We’re really ahead of everyone here. Things are falling into place for us, Amanda.” He pulled his face back and smiled at her. “This time next week we will be home with our baby. Come on, we’re going up and getting you in bed.”
“Hmmm . . . ” she smiled, closing her eyes. “I really like the sound of that.”
Lee grinned wickedly, “The sound of what, Mrs. Stetson? Being home with our baby, or me getting you into bed?”
She pushed away from him and playfully punched him on the arm. “Take your pick,” she winked as she slipped past him and headed into the lobby of the Rossiya.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“So the hearing is all you’re waiting for? That’s not bad, Stetson,” Francine nodded approvingly. “There are certainly benefits to this job. It took Claire and Timothy months to get through all this, and he’s not exactly a civilian.” She gave them a knowing look.
Amanda glanced questioningly at Lee. “Who?” she mouthed.
“Timothy Bowman, he’s an Aide to the Secretary of Defense,” Lee whispered to her.
Amanda nodded. “Oh.”
Francine seemed not to hear their exchange. “How long have you been here?”
Amanda glanced at her watch and rolled her eyes. “I have no clue how long we’ve been here. On top of jet lag when we arrived, problems with customs, getting caught in Butsayev’s place, Mironov chasing us, and all that’s gone on at the orphanage, we’ve gotten no sleep. I don’t think I’ve eaten a meal at all, and when I have it hasn’t been the most appetizing food Russia has to offer. And this weather is enough to depress anyone. It’s rained ninety- eight percent of the time we’ve been here; everything I brought has been soaked at least once this trip. I packed summer clothes and the temperature hasn’t gotten above 65 degrees, it’s light out from four-thirty in the morning until ten every evening. Honestly, Francine, I really don’t know what day it is. I’m not even sure my watch is correct.” Amanda held up her wrist to show them.
By the time Amanda finished, Francine was rubbing her temples, “By the time Amanda had finished, Francine was rubbing her temples. “Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve heard you go on like that, Amanda. The lack of sleep is definitely getting to you. For your information, it is 1:00 am, Moscow time, Wednesday, the fifth.” The elevator door dinged open and Francine marched out, a large bag slung over her shoulder, trailing one of the wheeled suitcases after her.
Lee was chuckling as he pushed the cart with the remaining bag and boxes out of the elevator after Francine. Amanda followed with the other suitcase.
“Just *what* is so funny, Stetson?” she inquired.
“You. You never cease to amaze me with how easily and quickly you can get to her. And I never get tired of it. Quite a talent, if you ask me,” he stopped, to let Amanda catch up with him and leaned back to give her a kiss on her nose.
“I seem to remember you being just as annoyed by my rambling for awhile, too. You gave Mr. Melrose heck for pairing us up . . . Don’t you have the least bit of sympathy for her?” Amanda teased as she started off again. “I can still confuse someone to death, you know,” she threw over her shoulder as she reached their room. Turning, she took the key from Lee and unlocked the door. “Where did Francine go?”
“Her room is three doors down, didn’t you see her go in? She already had the door unlocked by the time you got to Billy pairing us up,” he grinned at her, shaking his head. Leaving the luggage cart sitting inside the door, he flopped down on the bed, sighing heavily. “I used to be able to go for weeks without sleep, Amanda. I’m getting too old for this.” He slid his hands under his head as he kicked off his shoes.
“And we’re not even on a case. You are losing it, Stetson. Just wait until you’re up a couple of times every night,” she had moved to the bed and was lying on her side next to him, brushing some stray hair back off his forehead and trailing her fingers down his face.
“Mmmm . . . ” He closed his eyes, relaxing under her caressing touch. “Keep that up and you won’t get me out of here for a long time.”
“Would you two get a room already?” Francine laughed at them from the door. At their slightly annoyed looks she added, “That’s a joke, you know, get a room . . . ” She sighed and waved a hand at them. “Never mind. I thought we’d get through some of this stuff tonight and then once we have the hearing we’re out of here. Considering who you are and the fact that the KGB is seemingly on your side, the ten-day waiting period shouldn’t be an issue. But, obviously, it all hinges on the judge. We should see if anyone from the Embassy has an in with the judges or connections at the courthouse.” She finally sat in one of the chairs across from Lee and Amanda, leaning back and crossing her legs. “Hello? Anyone awake over there?” she called testily.
“Fran-cine.” Lee sat up and slid back to lean on the headboard of the bed. Amanda shifted and moved up next to him. “It’s almost two o’clock in the morning. Amanda and I have gotten almost no sleep this week. Even if we could get anywhere tonight with the Russian end of things, it’s quitting time at home, too. No one will be available until tomorrow morning. Why don’t we just call it a night and start this all up, say . . . ” He glanced at his watch. “Around seven?”
Francine sighed. “I just thought maybe you’d be interested in what the office had gathered . . . ” she began, but was cut off by Amanda’s voice.
“Actually, Francine,” Amanda started, glancing at Lee. “I’m very interested. I thought we’d go through the boxes and get everything organized. I’m going to want to get to Nicky before breakfast tomorrow, well, this morning, I guess. I want to feed him and spend some time there until everything opens and then we can go from there. Lee if you’re tired, we can take the stuff down to Francine’s room and go through it there; you’ve had less sleep than I have. I’ll only be an hour or so, I promise. I’d really like to see what’s in those boxes. Kind of feels like Christmas, you know? It’s been a very long time since I got to sort through baby clothes and I’m afraid we won’t have the time tomorrow. It’d be nice to be able to bring some things to Nicky when we go, too,” she finished, smiling gently at Lee.
“You can stay here. No use carting it all down to Francine’s room and then carting it all back. I could use a shave and another shower – that’ll take me a while so go ahead and get started here.” He stood and grinned. “I’m sure this will be a learning experience for both of us, Francine,” he winked at Amanda and headed into the bathroom.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
An hour later, Lee emerged from the bathroom to find Amanda and Francine surrounded by baby supplies. “We’re gonna have enough stuff to last us for six months,” he laughed, looking around at the piles.
“Actually, Lee, most of this . . . the diapers, formula, and food . . . won’t last more than three weeks,” Amanda said absently, as she folded a small T-shirt.
“Three weeks?”
“If we’re lucky.”
“Wow.” Lee shook his head. “And I thought it took too long to do the shopping before.”
“We’ll have to go in shifts,” Amanda teased back.
“You can take care of this stuff; the boys and I will take care of the food.”
“Nice try, Stetson. We tried that set-up once before and I wasn’t impressed. You blew the lid off the grocery budget and there wasn’t anything in the house that even resembled the makings of a normal, family dinner. The boys don’t like exotic food, you know that. You agreed when you moved in that they could have three normal meals a week.” She glanced back at him with a challenging look on her face. “I don’t think you could handle shopping for hot dogs and macaroni.”
“I’ve never claimed to follow the rules, you knew that from the beginning. That’s your own fault.” Lee wrapped his arms around Amanda’s waist and hugged her. “You should be thankful I don’t follow the rules, Mrs. Stetson,” he whispered.
“Oh, I don’t think you . . . ” Amanda began quietly.
“Excuse me!” Francine interrupted, rolling her eyes. “There is someone else in this room, you know. I hate to interrupt your little romp through domesticity here, but we really have to get this organized so I can get freshened up before we leave.”
Lee kissed Amanda on the cheek and grinned. “Did you hear something?”
Francine huffed and shook her head. “Honestly, Stetson, after all these years you’d think that one-track mind of yours would have let up a bit.”
Lee released Amanda and straightened, “Not a chance, Francine.” He walked to the bed where the three boxes were sitting empty, waiting to be refilled. “Okay, then, let’s get this finished. And as soon as we’re through, we need to call home.” He turned to look at Amanda. “The boys will be there this time and they need to hear this from one of us.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When Love Takes You In
Chapter 5
Wednesday, August 5th
7:00AM
Orphanage
Moscow
The three Russian women watched with amazement as Lee carried the boxes in from the back of the car. He put them in the sitting room and returned with a stroller and larger duffel bag. Noticing the strange looks on the faces of Sister Nadya, Elena, and Anna, he gave them a sheepish grin. “I had absolutely nothing to do with this. Really. I’m just the brawn in this operation.” Elena shook her head, laughing, as she made her way upstairs.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Amanda walked into the nursery with her stomach in knots. Today was the day they would legally become Nikolai’s parents. But first, she needed to see him. She hadn’t been able to sleep at all at the hotel and had pestered Lee into leaving earlier than he had wanted, but now they were here, and she was more nervous than ever. ‘I should just stay away today. The less I see him, the better it will be if something goes wrong.’ Her need to see him, though, won out in the end. The conversation the night before with Phillip and Jamie had gone surprisingly well. Both boys had thought it ‘cool’ that they were going to have a little brother around the house. Especially Jamie. Amanda knew from the tone of his voice that he was looking forward to being a big brother. She headed over to Nikolai’s crib, smiling as she thought of all three of her boys together. She and Lee were the luckiest two people in the whole world.
Francine had reluctantly agreed to accompany them to the orphanage, knowing it would be pointless for them to come back to the hotel and pick her up for their court appearance. She followed Amanda into the room with trepidation. Children were definitely not her thing. Everyone knew that. Sure, they were cute -- but only one at a time and in limited doses. The thought of several at once sent Francine into an almost catatonic state. She prided herself on being up to any challenge her job threw at her, luckily, none of these jobs ever had her undercover in a day care center.
As she entered the room, she spotted Amanda at the side of a crib, whispering lovingly to whomever was occupying it. She walked quietly up next to her and peered over the rail cautiously. What was it she had heard about waking a sleeping baby? The sight that awaited Francine was something she hadn’t expected. One of the cutest babies she had ever seen was sleepily smiling up at Amanda, his hands wrapped tightly around her fingers, trying to shove them in his mouth. Francine was amazed to find a baby who looked like he actually could be Lee and Amanda’s biological child. His eyes were the same color brown as Amanda’s and his hair the same as Lee’s. And those dimples!
“Oh, just what western civilization needs, another devastating Stetson smile,” Francine whispered teasingly.
“Scary, isn’t it?” Amanda asked with a laugh. “You know, Francine, the last three days have been like something out of a ‘made for TV’ movie. I’m still not sure any of this is happening.” She reached down and picked up a wiggling Nikolai, who grabbed her cheeks and tried desperately to suck on her nose. Laughing, she walked to the center of the room, placing the baby on the changing table. Francine followed, handing the diaper bag she had been carrying to Amanda. “Looks like those clothes I brought over will come in handy. Leaving what we don’t need here was a good idea, Amanda. I’m sure the Sisters will appreciate it. Timothy told me that when they adopted Sergei, they had to leave ‘gifts’ at the orphanage. From what he said, they also had to bring something for the interpreter, the lawyer, and the judge.” She watched as Amanda expertly took off the baby’s clothes and diaper and began redressing him. “Lucky for you, I have the only ‘gift’ you’ll need. Did you see the look on that Customs officer’s face when she spotted Ronnie’s letter? I’m quite surprised she didn’t question its authenticity. Of course, we were probably followed until they were satisfied this is the only reason I’m here.”
“We’ve been lucky throughout this whole thing. It’s just amazing.” Amanda stopped dressing Nikolai for a moment and looked at Francine, “I’m going to thank you now, in case I forget later,” she said quietly. “This is the most unselfish thing you have ever done for us, Francine. I really don’t know what I could ever do to repay you for your friendship during this.” Francine started to open her mouth, looking flustered, and Amanda continued. “Don’t worry, I won’t spread it around and I won’t throw it back in your face once we get home. But I really want you to know what this means to Lee and me. It would have taken so much longer without your help.” She returned to dressing Nikolai as she finished.
Francine found her voice and composed herself. “Well, you know, I do have some prior experience in this area. I went through a lot of the legal end of Timothy and Claire’s adoption last year, I’m more fluent in Russian than you and Lee put together, although you’d think Lee would have picked up a bit more Russian in the last sixteen years. And being unattached, it just made sense that I’d be the one who came.” Francine waved a dismissive hand at Amanda and had turned away. “Don’t let this go to your head, Mrs. Stetson. It certainly doesn’t change a thing between us.” She softened a bit as she continued, so quietly that Amanda wasn’t sure she was hearing right, “You’re still teaching me a lot about being a friend.”
They were interrupted as Lee strode through the door, a huge grin on his face. “Where’s my little man?” he bellowed.
“Shhh!” both women simultaneously turned swiftly around to silence him.
“Sorry.” He grinned sheepishly and held up his hands in apology.
Thankfully, he hadn’t awakened any of the sleeping babies, but Nikolai had heard him, and was frantically twisting around on the changing table, looking for the source of the voice. He started grunting and reaching out his arms as soon as Lee came into his view. “There you are, buddy! Are you hungry? Your Grandma is going to tell you all about how important breakfast is once we get you home. And for now, I’m going to have to stand behind her. But once you’re older, we can find ways to work around that if you want to.” Lee had walked to the table and picked up the bottle Elena had prepared earlier. He turned and sat in the rocker he had occupied the night before and began to talk softly to Nikolai as the baby drank hungrily from the bottle.
“Now that is a sight,” Francine stood staring at Lee and Nikolai. “I had enough problems picturing him with teenage boys, but this is definitely something I can say I never expected to witness.” She shook her head and went to look out the window.
Amanda followed Francine and stood next to her looking out at Moscow. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. “Why is it that neither you nor Lee can ‘see’ him in that way? I’ve seen it for years now. I’ve noticed a change in him in the last couple of days. He’s starting to come around, but it’s fairly recent. I just don’t get what it is that has you, and the rest of the office for that matter, convinced that this ‘Daddy’ thing isn’t Lee.” She sighed, turning her back to the window to watch her husband and the child who would soon be their son. “It is so Lee,” she continued gently. “He’s gentle, loving, protective . . . all the qualities that make a wonderful father. He’s always been that way . . . ”
Francine turned as well as she quietly cut Amanda’s words off with her own. “It just took you to bring it out of him. No one else could have done that. I suppose I saw glimpses of it before the whole package incident but no one ever cared to see that side of ‘Scarecrow.’ Myself included. No one else ever even tried. I honestly don’t know of anyone before you that wanted ‘Lee’, and not his secret, glamorous, alter ego. And of course, this,” she gestured to Lee and Nikolai, keeping her voice low so that Lee couldn’t hear them, “isn’t Scarecrow. This is most definitely Lee.” Francine smiled. “Joke’s on the rest of us, huh? You knew all along who he really was. I sure wish I had your faith and patience.” With that, she walked across the room to Lee, placing a hand on his shoulder. “He’s gorgeous, Lee. I’m really very happy to be able to help you.” She started for the door and stopped, turning slowly to face Lee and Amanda again. “But don’t forget what I said earlier, Amanda.” She pointed a perfectly manicured finger at them. “If I hear anything I said or may say today repeated to me or to anyone at the Agency, I will make your lives miserable. Do we understand each other?” At the couple’s simultaneous nod, she continued. “Good, I have a reputation to uphold, you know. I’ll be downstairs resting in front of that lovely fire I spotted as we came in. It seems quieter down there, and I have a feeling I’m going to need the solitude for as long as I can get it today.” Francine turned abruptly and walked out of the room without another word.
Lee turned back to Amanda with a puzzled look. “What the heck was that all about?”
Amanda chuckled. “Nothing, Lee, just Francine being Francine. Don’t mind her.”
“She scares me when she gets like this,” he answered with a grin. “It’s almost like she’s got some kind of a heart in there.”
“Lee!” Amanda scolded. “Now I know I’ve not been her biggest fan but we sort of have an ‘understanding’ between us. Honestly? I’d trust her with our children’s lives. I know you would, too. And I know she feels the same about us. Just try not to be rude while we’re here, okay? I have the feeling this is as much for her as it is for us. There’s just something about her attitude that has me thinking.”
He nodded slowly and looked down at Nikolai and slipped the bottle out of the baby’s mouth. “He’s finished, would you like to do the honors? I know how much you appreciate a good, manly belch.” He winked at her, and stood to hand over the half-sleeping baby.
“Of course. Maybe I can instill some good manners in him before you get a hold of his fragile little psyche,” she said, laughing at his innocent ‘who me?’ look.
“Well, Dr. Stetson, shall I go find you an ice cream bar?” He raised an eyebrow at her.
“Very funny. Pfaff I’m not.” She suddenly realized they had been there for quite a while and started to panic at the thought of missing their appointment. “What time is it?”
“We’re fine, Amanda. We have another fifteen minutes before we need to leave. Relax with Nikolai; it’s probably the last time you’ll see him until tonight.” He leaned in to kiss her forehead. “I’m going to go down and talk to Sister Nadya before we head out. Want me to come get you when it’s time to leave?”
“No, I’m going to put him back down and I’ll be right there. I just want to say goodbye.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Moscow Courthouse
Wednesday
9:00 am
Moscow time
Lee, Amanda, Francine, and John Devin, a lawyer from the American Embassy, sat anxiously in front of Judge Romanov as he read through the papers given to him by Devin. Devin leaned up and whispered to Lee, “I’ve never been in front of Romanov before, I’ve heard good things, though.” He smiled thinly and sat back against his chair.
Judge Romanov flipped the papers back and forth and looked up incredulously at them. “You are serious?” he asked. Lee and Amanda nodded and he continued, “You are American Intelligence agents, how did you come to this decision?”
“Well, sir, it wasn’t what we came here for,” Lee began.
“Obviously.” The judge raised an eyebrow at Lee.
Lee fervently hoped this judge wasn’t in the Mafia’s pocket. If he was, they were finished. Butsayev’s group was closely connected with the Mafia, from what McCarty had told him. He stole a glance at Amanda, hoping the same thing hadn’t occurred to her.
“I have heard that the two of you were the agents who brought down Butsayev and his little cell of dissidents. The KGB has sent over a recommendation on your case. But, before I make my decision final, I would like to hear this . . . story . . . of yours.” He leaned back in his chair, folding his hands and resting them on his chest.
Amanda looked nervously at Lee and then turned back to look at Francine. She had opened her mouth to speak when she was startled by Lee’s voice. She turned back to find him standing. “Your Honor, you are aware of the circumstances under which we arrived at the orphanage. Once there, we were introduced to the staff and welcomed into the everyday routine. While I contacted the American Embassy, my wife stayed with the orphanage staff. Amanda,” he gestured to her with his right hand, “was feeding one of the babies when I found her. It was Nikolai. She introduced me to him, let me hold him, and left us alone for a while. It’s hard to explain, Your Honor. We had only just met, but there was an instant connection between that little boy and me.” Lee closed his eyes and ran his hand through his hair. “I strongly believe this is the right thing for us to do. No one is more surprised than I am, but I know this is why we are here. We have two older boys at home who can’t wait to meet their baby brother, an office full of colleagues who have already stood behind what we’re doing and contributed greatly to our needs, and, well,” he looked down at Amanda with a smile and took her hand in his, “this little guy, he belongs in our family just as much as our older sons do. Your Honor, the last thing I ever expected was to adopt a Russian baby. But honestly, it’s the only thing I want right now. I realize that our,” he cleared his throat nervously, “*occupation,* puts us in a unique position in this case.” Lee looked away from the judge for a moment and started to speak again, but was silenced by the judge.
“Thank you, Mr. Stetson. Mrs. Stetson, do you have anything to say?”
Amanda stood hesitantly, squeezing Lee’s hand for reassurance. “Well, Your Honor, I feel the same way, if not more strongly, as my husband. I was sure I was finished raising babies but being with Nikolai has filled something I didn’t know was empty until I held him. As Lee said earlier, we are in a unique position with our jobs, but Sir, this will be an advantage for Nikolai. We have better access to Russia than civilians and will be able to provide him with links to his heritage that most people can’t. But, in regard to my job, that is all it is to me. My children are more important to me than any job. If it were necessary, I would give up my job for my family. I just wanted to make that clear. Thank you, Your Honor.” Amanda and Lee sat and he slipped his arm around her shoulders.
The judge sat forward again, flipping through the paperwork slowly.
A woman from the Guardianship Department stood and confirmed that Nikolai was indeed old enough, healthy, and had no known blood relations. Devin translated her part of the hearing as the Judge started signing their forms and thanked her. After a moment, he looked up at Lee and Amanda. “I know this may surprise you, but I am very impressed with your request. Russia has too many children waiting for families. I believe that what you are offering, although outside Nikolai’s native land, is in his best interests.”
Amanda squeezed Lee’s hand again as a grin spread across her face. Lee sat silently, nodding in agreement with the judge.
Judge Romanov continued soberly, “The irony of this situation is not lost on the court. But neither is the opportunity of a loving, stable family for a little boy who won’t get that if you leave our country without him. We need better policies in dealing with our orphans than we have now. The two of you are in the position to do something about that,” he pointed at them grimly. “Along with Gorbachev’s new programs and policies, we need adoptive families to be helpful in bringing about this change. I sincerely hope that you will use this experience, and your positions with the American government, to help the children here. With that being said, I am satisfied that you are honest in your petition and will provide Nikolai with a better life than he could have here. Your petition for adoption of Nikolai is approved and I am waiving the ten-day waiting period.”
At the judge’s statement, the four Americans stood. Lee slapped his hands together. “Yeah!” he said, then turned and threw his arms around Amanda, lifting her off the ground.
“ Lee!” Amanda exclaimed happily. Lee kissed her before putting her down. She turned to Francine who reached out and squeezed her hand. Lee moved to the judge and shook his hand saying, “Thank you, Your Honor. We appreciate your support. You don’t know what this means to us. Thank you.”
“I have an idea,” he replied quietly. “You just take care of that baby,” he ordered gruffly. “This will be a challenge for you. He is Russian, even in America and your family. Do not forget that.” He turned and retreated through a door behind his desk.
John Devin was talking with Amanda and Francine when Lee returned to the group, “ . . . get his Immigrant Visa. It should only take the day to get this all together. I know everything at the Embassy is in order, we just need to have these papers translated and get the new birth certificate and his adoption certificate. He also needs a passport, which has already been started,” he added with a satisfied look, “and then the Visa will be issued. If everything goes well, you should be out of here tomorrow afternoon. The only hold up would be getting the papers translated and that may put you out Friday morning. We’ll arrange flights for all three of you once the paperwork is complete. Are you ready?” He looked at Lee with a grin. “Let’s go get this taken care of and get you home.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Their first stop was to the Civil Registration Office to pick up Nikolai’s adoption and corrected birth certificates and then they headed for the Visa and Registration Department for his passport.
After discussing it with each other for a few hours the previous night, Lee and Amanda had decided to change Nikolai’s name slightly and give him Lee’s name as a middle name. The birth and adoption certificates each reflected this change. Devin had obtained a picture of the baby and once again, the procedure went off without a hitch. Things were definitely coming together. Lee had read the birth certificate over and over on their drive from the VRD to the Embassy. Nikolas Lee Stetson. It was still hard to believe. The boys were as close to him as sons could be, but they had Joe’s last name. Nicky would carry Lee’s name on after he and Amanda were gone. It was something Lee hadn’t really thought about much. The thought now warmed him in a way he was unfamiliar with.
Arriving at the American Embassy, Devin dropped the three agents off at the curb, while he went to park the car. They stood outside the doors, waiting for Devin to join them. Amanda breathed a sigh of relief and leaned her head on Lee’s chest. “It’s finally over, although I can’t imagine it going any faster. Can you believe some people wait months for this? I would have gone crazy waiting that long. Of course, most people don’t find the baby first, they go through the channels a totally different way than we did and they probably have to do a lot of this stuff on their own. I’m so glad we didn’t have to wade through this all by ourselves. It’s such a shame that so much of this is so difficult . . . ”
“Amanda,” Lee interrupted, “slow down. We’re not out of the woods yet. I won’t feel relieved until we’re stepping off the plane in Dulles.”
“Sorry. It’s the lack of sleep, the excitement. I’ve gotten my second wind, I think,” Amanda sighed again, turning to walk up the steps with Lee.
“Second? At last count I had about seventeen,” Francine interjected dryly as Devin joined her. “You do realize it is one o’clock and we haven’t eaten lunch yet? Let’s get moving here, you two.” She turned on her heel and strode off toward the main doors, their attorney following her quietly.
As they entered the Embassy and headed up the stairs to Devin’s office, Amanda looked questioningly at Lee. “Is it just me or does it seem like she’s trying a bit too hard to be sarcastic?” Lee chuckled and nodded.
“Looks to me like Francine is having a hard time keeping up her façade. John and I were talking earlier and it seems he is interested in our Ms. Desmond.” Lee snorted. “Poor man, won’t even know what hit him.”
As they reached the top of the stairs, McCarty hollered at them from the bottom. “Stetson! Hold up! I’ve got a message for you,” he continued as he bounded up the steps.
“McCarty, I wondered if we’d see you today. What’s up?” Lee had turned and stood waiting for the other agent to reach him. John and Francine had reached the door to his office and turned back toward them when they heard McCarty.
“Well,” the agent looked at his feet and took a deep breath. “I just got a call from the orphanage and it seems that there’s an emergency there.”
Amanda had turned sharply at the mention of the orphanage and she gasped at McCarty’s words. “Lee!”
Lee felt her grip on his arm tighten as the same feeling gripped his chest. He took a deep breath to keep himself from bolting out the door. “What kind of emergency?” He asked calmly. A little too calmly. ‘I wish I felt as calm as I sound,’ he thought.
“I’m not sure, man, it was a weird message. It was one of the Russian women but she was very upset. Something about a man and the baby. She kept asking for you and saying they needed to hurry. That’s about all I could . . . ” He stopped talking as he realized Lee and Amanda had taken off back down the stairs away from him. “Do you want some back-up?” he called after them as they disappeared out the doors. He turned back toward Francine and John. “I’m gonna get Draper and head over there, too. You coming?”
John looked at Francine questioningly. “I have a few things I can check out here. Are you staying with me or going with him?”
Francine motioned to McCarty, “Go ahead. Tell Lee we’ll be there shortly.”
McCarty nodded. “I’ll call back here when I know what’s going on.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter 6
2:30PM
Orphanage
Moscow
"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Stetson. I didn't know what to do." Elena was crying, sitting in one of the rockers in the nursery. Amanda stood in front of her, with her head in her hands. Her mind kept going back to earlier in the day, the last time she had seen Nicky.
Lee was pacing behind Amanda. "It's Butsayev, I know it. That bastard. How did he manage this? He hasn't been in contact with anyone since he was in custody. He's been watched around the clock." He stopped his pacing directly behind where Amanda stood and she turned to him. She looked up at him slowly, the lack of sleep even more evident now than before and he pulled her into his arms.
She laid her head on his chest and sighed. "What are we gonna do, Lee?"
"We'll find them, Amanda, I promise. Look, McCarty and Draper are here," Lee said quietly. "I need to go see what they've found so far." He eased her back slightly to look into her face. "You'll be fine while I'm gone, right? You can come with me if you want . . ."
"No, Lee, I need to stay here. I'll be okay." She sighed again and nodded. "Just . . . don't be long, please?" Amanda smiled softly at Lee.
"I'll be back before you miss me." He kissed her on the forehead and turned toward the door.
"Too late."
Lee squeezed Amanda's hand and released it, smiling at her. "I won't be long. Promise."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
McCarty and Draper stood just outside the door, questioning Sister Nadya about what had happened. "He just walked in. He grabbed Anna and demanded to know where the American's baby was. He dragged her up the stairs yelling at her to take him to the baby. When she said she did not understand he threatened to kill the children . . . one by one. She told him `no' again, that she did not know who he was talking about, and he shot his gun . . . toward the nursery. She panicked and took him to Nikolai. He told her to grab the baby and things for him. She did, and he took them both. Anna will take good care of Nikolai as long as she is able to. But he was very angry." She started to shake as she recalled the events. "He was yelling at us . . . we did not know what to do . . . " She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to find Lee standing behind her.
"It's not anyone's fault. You had to think of the rest of the children. Anna did the right thing. We'll find them, I promise." Lee cringed inwardly at the promise he had again made. He prayed he would be able to keep that promise to both women. And he was careful not to make the same promise to himself. He exchanged a look with the other agents and then turned back to Sister Nadya. "We've got a lot to go over here, thank you. If we have any more questions, we'll come find you. We'll keep you informed."
Sister Nadya nodded and walked down the stairs as the three men moved slightly away from the door. Lee slumped against the wall, bringing his hands up to his face and rubbing hard.
He was still for a moment, and sighed, pushing the emotions back down once again. "Do we have ANYTHING?" he asked wearily as he rubbed his temples.
"Not yet, I'm afraid whoever did take them is someone who is closely associated with Butsayev, but I'm fairly sure he had nothing to do with it." Draper leaned against the railing and continued. "I talked to Devin right before I came up here and he had just finished a chat with Butsayev. He was taken completely by surprise. Devin is going to work on him for some names. He has to have an idea of who would be the most likely to take action. This has to be in retaliation for what happened with Butsayev and Mironov. There's no other explanation." He stood straight again and moved to go downstairs. "I'm going to head back to the Embassy, I've got a few ideas myself but I need to check them out. I'm going to have my own little chat with Butsayev, too. I'll call as soon as I can." He turned and descended the stairs quickly, turning back to face Lee and McCarty as he reached the bottom. "We're going to find them, Scarecrow. The whole Embassy has been involved with that baby since you made your first request." Draper paused and looked down for a moment. He looked back at Lee with a sigh. "We all have a stake in this, too. Tell your wife we're busting our asses on this one. It's personal for all of us."
Lee raised his hand and nodded to Draper in acknowledgment. He didn't think his voice would cooperate with him. Even agents he hadn't worked with in years were stepping up and throwing everything they had into this. It had to work out, it just had to. He turned to McCarty. "Speaking of my wife, I need to go check on her. She was doing all right earlier but it's been a while. I don't know how long she'll hold up in there alone." Lee walked back to the nursery and put his hand up to the door. "Once I've checked on her, I want to get in contact with someone. I'll need to be fairly discreet, but it shouldn't be much of a problem with everything that's gone down this week." He took a deep breath, not quite believing he was actually going to do this. "Do you think you can find Isaac Petrovitch?"
McCarty gave Lee a surprised look. "Oh, uh, yeah, I've got a good idea of where to find him. He's Russia's equivalent to . . . well, to you. We're always on the lookout for him. He and his wife aren't quite as active as they used to be but when something big goes down they're typically right in the middle of it. I'm surprised we haven't heard anything from them about this Butsayev case."
Lee turned back around and smiled thoughtfully. "Wife?"
"Yeah, Nadine Petrovitch. She's been his partner for years. Trickled down through the grapevine here that they've been married for quite some time, although no one is really sure how long – and they're not telling."
Lee smirked, thinking back a few years to an international cooperative case and how envious he had been of Petrovitch and his open affection for his `assistant'. "Go figure," he laughed under his breath. He looked back up at McCarty, his face grim again. "Well, if you could find both of them, I'd like to arrange a meeting. I think they may be able to help us out on this one. And having Nadine there could make all the difference in the world."
"You know, Scarecrow, as much as I'm in favor of all this glasnost and Perestroika stuff Gorbachev is touting, I'm still having a hard time buddying up to these guys." He sighed shaking his head. "Maybe this'll help change things, huh? Situations like this seem to bring out the best in everyone." He put his hand on Lee's shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze. "Hey, forget you're an agent for ten minutes, okay? I'll let you know as soon as I find them. Go take care of your wife." McCarty turned and headed the direction Draper had gone a few minutes before.
Lee took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. As hard as this was, he had been able to force himself into professional mode and not let the details affect him. He wasn't so sure about Amanda. Over the past few years, she had become very good at keeping her emotions under wraps during rough cases. But this one was much too close to her for his liking. He was worried about her. Opening the door to the nursery, he sighed and headed in the room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lee had gone out to talk with Sister Nadya and the two agents from the Embassy. Amanda sighed as she watched him walk out the door and concentrated on breathing. She made her way around the room, stopping at each crib and pulling the covers back up over the sleeping babies. Only Fedor was awake and fussing. Amanda stood at his bedside for a few minutes, rubbing his back and talking soothingly to him. Realizing that he wasn't going to calm down with a mere back rub, Amanda picked up the little boy and cradled him in her arms as she rocked back and forth. Any doubts as to the intensity of her feelings for Nicky that had been hanging around before were quickly dashed. Fedor cuddled into her arms and drifted off to sleep, his little face relaxing peacefully, much as Nicky's did when she held him. She realized as she held Fedor, she felt none of the emotions toward this baby as she did Nicky. She almost felt guilty that she didn't feel the same way toward Fedor. He was sleeping soundly now and Amanda laid him back in his crib, covering him up as she had the others. She walked over to Nicky's crib and reached in to pick up his blanket. Anna must have left it there. Fingering the satiny edge, she hoped Anna had taken something warm for him with her. She hoped Lee wouldn't be gone too long. With the strain of trying to stay halfway professional and dealing with the rest of the children, she needed to draw from his strength. She just prayed he had enough for the both of them this time. He hadn't looked quite like himself when he left her. For a moment, she thought of everything he'd already lost in his life and hoped this wouldn't close him off again. They'd dealt with that in their past, and she didn't know if she could pull him out of it again.
Amanda looked over at the young woman still seated in the rocking chair. Her heart went out to the girl in front of her. Elena was visibly distraught over Anna and the baby being taken, and Amanda suspected she was blaming herself. She had just kept saying, "I'm sorry," over and over and was now repeating something in Russian. Amanda slowly pushed herself away from the crib, and walked to the window. Somewhere out there, Nikolas was being hidden. For a moment, she wondered at changing his name. She had gotten so used to calling him Nikolai that calling him Nikolas would take getting used to. Scanning the horizon, she sighed, resting her forehead head on the cool glass of the window. "Don't worry, Nicky, don't be scared. We'll be there as soon as we can," Amanda whispered as she placed her open palm on the window and squinted. A very foreign city sprawled out before her, almost mocking her with its deceptive beauty. If this were DC, she would have felt a little more confident. But it wasn't DC. It was Moscow, and no matter what the President, former President, or Gorbachev said about new international relations, or more openness in Russia, they were American Intelligence agents in a sea of Red.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Opening the door, Lee sighed and headed into the nursery. As he walked into the room, he could see Amanda at the window, the same window he had been standing in front of yesterday with Nicky. A feeling of emptiness started to overtake Lee and he had to smother the panic that threatened to follow. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides and he fought the urge to put his fist through the wall. Suddenly he found himself standing behind his wife at the window. He raised his hands to place them on Amanda's shoulders but hesitated, his hands frozen in mid-air, fists clenching again. He didn't know if his emotions could handle touching her right now. If he couldn't hold it together, he'd be no good to anyone. But then, the decision was made for him as she turned and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her head in his neck. Lee slid his arms around Amanda as well and was relieved to feel most of the tension slip away. He should have known. She had had this effect on him for as long as he could remember. She had the ability to calm every nerve, pull him back to reality, and she didn't even realize it. He tightened his grip around her waist and kissed the top of her head. "Hey," he whispered hoarsely. "You all right?"
"I've been better. I'm feeling a bit numb right now. I'm just glad you're back." Leaning back slightly in Lee's arms she studied his face, and sighed. "How are you doing? You hanging in there?"
Lee looked at the ceiling, hoping she hadn't seen the remnants of the panic and fury he was sure was visible on his face just seconds before. "I think there's a thread left, yeah." He nodded. "Draper just left to hunt down someone we both think could be a huge asset in helping us find whoever has them." He broke away from her, took her hand, and led her from the window to the chairs in the center of the room. All three chairs were empty and Lee wondered when Elena had gotten up and left. When he'd come in, she had been sitting there. Maybe she wanted to give them some privacy. Looking at the hard wood rockers, he decided this wasn't the place he wanted to sit and try to relax with Amanda. After pausing for a moment, he continued out of the room, her hand still enclosed in his.
"Where are we going?" She asked quietly.
"Downstairs. I need to talk to you and I don't want to do it there, in separate chairs." He moved his hand to her back as they descended the stairs and headed for the sitting room. A fire was burning in the fireplace and the room seemed much more inviting than any place else they'd been in the last few hours. Lee walked to the couch and sat down. Amanda turned so that she was facing him and sat with one leg tucked underneath her. Lee stared into the fire, not quite ready to continue talking about what was happening. He could feel her eyes on him and he closed his, he was so tired. When this was over he was going to sleep for a week. He felt her fingers on his cheek, brought his hand up to capture hers, and kissed the palm of her hand. He still hadn't opened his eyes.
"Lee, what happened while you were with McCarty? Who is Draper going to get? Do we know anything else yet?" She paused for a moment. "Are you all right, Lee?"
He took a deep breath and turned toward her, opening his eyes. "I'm fine. Really. Just tired. It's strange, I've only spent a few minutes with Nikolai . . . Nikolas, but I miss him already. " Lee swallowed hard around the lump forming once again in his throat and leaned his head on the back of the couch. He heard her sigh and turned to look at her, not lifting his head from the couch. Reaching out with his free hand he ran a finger down her cheek. "We're gonna find him, Amanda. I swear." Lee paused a moment. "Draper went in search of a Russian Intelligence Agent I think will be a huge help to us. You may remember him and his wife from an international co-op case we worked on few years ago."
She looked away for a minute and shook her head, her forehead furrowing in thought. "A husband and wife Russian Intelligence team? I don't remember anyone . . . Oh my gosh! You don't mean the Skylar case?" Lee smiled as she figured it out. "Nadine and Isaac? Lee, they're married?" A smile spread across her face. "I knew it. I knew they were together."
"Seems we have more in common than we realized."
Amanda looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean?"
"McCarty said no one knows how long they've really been married but that it's been a while. The intelligence community just found out recently, and Isaac and Nadine aren't talking." He grinned at her and raised an eyebrow. "I bet you they were already married when we worked with them. I was pretty suspicious of that pinkie ring he was wearing. Nadine had one on her left ring finger as well. And did you notice when he introduced her he didn't give us a last name?" He sighed, pulling Amanda close. "I was so envious of them on the plane . . . on our way back east. I wanted to tell you right then and there how I was feeling but I just wasn't ready. All I could come up with was that cheezy line about your nose." He snorted and shook his head. "What was I thinking?"
"I thought it was rather sweet, after I thought about it for a while. No one had ever complimented me on my nose before. Or since, for that matter." She teased him, but the teasing didn't reach her eyes. Amanda was quiet for a minute. "Do you really think they'll help us? You and Isaac barely got along, Lee."
"That's where you and Nadine come in. The two of you kept us from killing each other and pretty much solved the case yourselves. I think if Nadine knows it's us and what's going on, they'll be here to help." He smiled at her again and lifted her hand to his mouth for a kiss. "If Isaac and Nadine are anything like us, he'll do what ever she wants him to."
Amanda grinned, "He will, will he?"
Lee leaned in and kissed her nose, then rested his forehead on hers. "Oh yeah. Anything."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Francine and John Devin arrived at the orphanage two hours later to find Lee and Amanda asleep on the couch in front of a dying fire. Lee had leaned into the corner of the couch with Amanda across his lap, her head on his chest.
At the sound of their voices, Lee opened his eyes slowly. Careful not to jostle Amanda too much, he sat up slightly, looked around, and shook the sleep out of his head. "Wow, last thing I remember was discussing our next course of action. I guess we were pretty tired."
"You both need about 12 more hours of sleep, Lee." Francine stated. "I don't know how Amanda is doing it." Lee started to wake Amanda. "No, Lee, don't wake her up yet. Let her sleep for a few more minutes. I have a feeling it'll be the last she gets for a while longer."
"My, my, is that a hint of concern I detect, Ms. Desmond?" Lee raised an eyebrow at her. "Doesn't look too bad on you."
"Can it Stetson. I'm not in the mood. This has turned into much more than I ever expected."
"There she is! The Francine I know and love."
"Lee, really, I'm worried about Amanda. And you too, for that matter. This certainly isn't going to be easy. Draper has come up with a couple names and," Francine drew in a long breath and held it for a moment before averting her eyes away from Lee's, "I'm not sure you're going to like this. In fact," she turned slightly and gestured to the man standing behind her, "John, you tell him. I'm going to go, um, over there," she finished nervously and pointed to the fireplace. Francine walked over to the fire, and stood stiffly, one arm crossed in front of her and her other hand rubbing her chin.
Lee looked from Francine to John. "Well, out with it."
By this time, Amanda had awakened as well, and was trying to reorient herself. She and Lee turned together and ended up side by side on the couch, Lee leaning his arms on his knees. Amanda rested her hand on Lee's leg. "Out with what, Lee? What did I miss?"
"Draper came up with some names and John was just about to tell me those names," Lee stood, moving in front of John, his hands on his hips. "Right, John?"
"Yeah, I'm not sure of the significance of any of this, Fran tried to explain it, but we really didn't go into details. She said the less I know the better this will turn out for me." Devin cleared his throat and glanced nervously at Francine, who was shaking her head slowly. "We have the names of two KGB agents whom Butsayev thinks are behind this. Strangely enough, he's cooperating with us in this. I get the impression he is trying to teach these two agents a lesson. I haven't quite figured out why yet, but . . . "
"Who?" Lee interrupted.
Francine turned from the fireplace and sent a tight smile to Amanda. "The man is Yuri Karloff. Alexi Butsayev's right hand man for years. Up until just a few months ago, actually. We're still not sure what transpired between them but this whole thing is becoming quite a mess and unfortunately the three of you are caught up in it."
"I've heard that name before but besides being Alexi's associate, it doesn't mean anything to me, what's the problem here? Why are you so jumpy, Francine?" Lee had turned to face her and she rubbed her hand over her eyes before meeting Lee's stare.
"Lee, sit down," she started.
"NO! Damn it, just tell me would you!"
Francine walked up next to Lee and placed her hand on his arm. "His accomplice, suspected accomplice that is," she nervously looked up at him again, "is Eva Karloff."
Lee shrugged his shoulders, a bewildered look on his face. "Who is that?"
"Oh my gosh." Amanda gasped, putting her hand up to her mouth. She stood and looked at Francine. "Are you sure it's her?"
"Unfortunately, yes. We've had her under surveillance since she was released six months ago. She came directly back here."
"Why is she involved?" Amanda whispered. "Does she know?"
"We're not sure yet," Francine began.
"Would someone please fill me in here? You two seem to know exactly who you're talking about. I've never heard that name before." Lee looked at John. "Would you tell me what I'm so obviously missing here?"
John cleared his throat. "Eva Karloff is Yuri's wife. She went by the name Spinelli a few years back during a case she was on. I've been told you know her rather well." As John talked, Lee's face paled and he sat down heavily on the couch.
"*Knew* her." Lee corrected. "And not as well as I had thought." Why did these things always come back to him? All he wanted was to take his family home and forget all of this had happened. They didn't deserve any of this. Especially Amanda and Nikolas. Maybe it was time for a new line of work. Or at least a line that didn't involve fieldwork or old vendettas. Lee sighed. At least this time there was no confusion as to where his heart belonged. "It certainly doesn't surprise me, though. She was quite the agent. I'm sure the KGB scooped her back up as quickly as possible. We're gonna have to find out somehow if she knows who we actually are. Sister Nadya said Yuri asked for the American's baby. So that leads me to think that he didn't know exactly who we are. But if he was avenging Alexi's betrayal and capture how could he not know it was us?" Lee had paced his way over to the fireplace and was leaning on the mantle.
Amanda and Francine had been watching him the whole time, exchanging glances, hoping to squelch any impulsive behavior before it got out of hand. Amanda couldn't watch him work this out alone any longer and headed for her husband. Francine reached out and squeezed Amanda's arm as she passed.
"She's no match for you, you know." Francine gave her a sympathetic smile. "Especially the two of you together."
Amanda stopped and returned the smile. "I know, Francine, thank you. Lee and I worked Eva out a long time ago." She glanced over in Lee's direction, placing a hand over Francine's, which was still on her arm. "Before there was an *us.*" She squeezed Francine's hand in response and continued across the room to where Lee stood. He was facing the fire, both hands on the mantle, his head down. Amanda put her hand on his back and stood next to him. Lee shook his head slowly.
"This can't get any more complicated, can it? I feel like I'm watching myself in some bad movie." He hit the mantle with the heel of his right hand and swore under his breath.
"Lee, don't. It's not worth it. We'll deal with this just like we would anything else. No difference."
She didn't quite sound convinced. Lee took her face in his hands and just stared at her for a moment. "I love you. So much." He smiled at her. "I know you know that. But if this gets too hectic and I forget to tell you, I love you. You know it's over; you were there. Whatever happens, whatever she says to you, to me, don't ever doubt this." He leaned in and kissed her, desperately wanting to make sure she understood. John shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot while Francine turned and gave them as much privacy as possible. Lee deepened the kiss for a moment, then pulled away slowly. He searched her eyes for an answer. He needed to be sure she understood.
"Lee, I'm fine. I know how you feel. About me and about Eva. Don't worry, I can definitely hold my own when it comes to her." She chuckled slightly and took his hands in hers. "I've been practicing on Francine for years now. Eva will be a walk in the park, believe me."
Lee laughed at her, relief washing over him for the first time since they had run from the Embassy. She understood, and she knew exactly what he needed to hear, as well.
"You're amazing, Mrs. Stetson."
"Thank you."
"All right!" Francine cleared her throat and turned back toward John. "I think we should start out by getting as much on these two as possible. Do you have any contacts here at all, Lee?"
"Hmmm?" Lee was still staring at his wife, wanting to make everything else fade away around them.
"Contacts. Do you have any contacts here in Moscow or up in St. Petersburg?" Francine sighed, shaking her head.
Lee sighed, dropping his head to his chest, knowing that they needed to move fast to make sure the trail didn't grow cold.
Francine continued. "We could really use some local experience here. Draper told me McCarty was on some hunt for an old acquaintance of yours. Has he turned anything up yet?"
"We don't know. Haven't heard anything from him. But then we were both asleep, so I'm not sure if he called or not."
"Nope!" A voice came from the doorway. "I didn't call. And guess who I have with me?" McCarty had appeared at the door and was grinning from ear to ear.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 6:00PM
Orphanage
Moscow
"Nadine!" Amanda greeted the Russian woman warmly. Nadine Petrovitch embraced Amanda with a sad smile.
"It is so good to see you again, Amanda. I am so sorry it is for this reason." Nadine broke the hug but took Amanda's hands in her own, her eyes holding Amanda's. "We will do all we can for you and Scarecrow." She looked pointedly at Isaac. "Isaac agrees."
Across the room, two of the best agents in the Intelligence Community were uncomfortably attempting their own reunion. "Petrovitch." Lee nodded, sticking out his hand to the Russian.
"Stetson." Isaac returned with a similar nod, taking Lee's proffered hand and shaking it firmly. "We were disgusted to hear of what a comrade has done. These people have peculiar ways of showing loyalty to Mother Russia. Some do not want the change." He paused, then sighed sadly. "This is not the way to fix it." With a grim look on his face, he placed his other hand on Lee's shoulder and shook his head. "We will do all we can to help you find your son. I cannot imagine what you are going through."
"Thank you, Isaac." Lee released the agent's hand and looked away, not wanting Isaac to see the fatigue and desperation in his face. No matter what transpired between the countries, it would always be hard to totally trust their Russian counterparts. Lee felt certain that Isaac held the same opinion. Glancing over at Amanda, he realized the women definitely did not share their outlook. Nadine and Amanda were sitting on the couch talking quietly together. Lee shook his head and said to Isaac, "Looks like our better halves are already planning out something over there. They always were less stubborn when it came to working together. " He ran his left hand through his hair and let it rest on the back of his head for a moment. Isaac chuckled.
"You too, I see." He gestured to Lee's hand with his right and held up his left hand for Lee to see the ring there, now placed on the proper finger.
Lee brought his hand down and looked at the ring thoughtfully. "Yeah. Us too. Two and a half years, two publicly." He raised his eyebrows and grinned. "You?"
Isaac blushed slightly and cleared his throat. "Well, we have told no one," he said gruffly.
"1981." Nadine's voice came from across the room.
"Wow." Lee glanced over his shoulder at Amanda and grinned, "Told you."
"I never said I didn't agree, did I?"
"You knew?" Isaac looked at Lee suspiciously.
`Ha! Got ya!' Lee thought with smug satisfaction. "Of course. When we were in LA, I saw the rings the two of you were wearing, even though yours was on the wrong finger. You introduced Nadine without ever telling us her last name." Lee shrugged. "I'm trained to notice these things."
Francine cleared her throat. "I'm starting to feel like a broken record here, Stetson, but we really need to get on this. Isaac, what do you know about Yuri and Eva? And why is Butsayev so eager to turn them in?"
Lee and Isaac exchanged deliberate glances and both moved to sit in the wingback chairs across from their wives.
"Well, Yuri and Eva have been married longer than Nadine and I." Lee's jaw clenched and he felt his anger start to boil again. How could he have been so stupid? How could Angelo? Shouldn't an expert in ESP have known? Isaac continued, seemingly unaware of Lee's reaction to his information. "They were both very young when the KBG recruited them. Yuri was very radical from the beginning. He had strange ideas about how the KGB should run things and how Russia should be run. Eva was just a girl from Italy. No one really knows how she got involved in our country. But many were glad she did. She was a very good agent, before you put her in jail."
"She was very good at what she did," Lee bit out sarcastically. "A little too good for my liking. What are they involved in now?"
Nadine looked at Lee. "We are not quite sure. Yuri and Eva were working for Butsayev when they went after Spinelli. The KGB wanted him but Butsayev wanted him more. They were going to double cross us. After she got caught, Butsayev blamed everything on her and he and Yuri had a . . ." She stopped as she searched for the word.
"Falling out, I believe you say." Isaac offered. "Once Eva returned to the USSR, she and Yuri started to make life hard for Alexi. They sabotaged a few of his operations, staged a few things and set Alexi up for the fall; it is so childish, this feud between them. And it has nothing to do with Russia. All over Eva."
Amanda had been quiet up until this point. "What is it about her?" she asked, shaking her head. "There's really nothing special about her, is there? I just don't get it."
"Don't try." Francine interjected. "It's not worth the effort. It'll just give you a headache." She looked at Amanda knowingly. "Trust me." She turned to Isaac and asked, "So how did Mironov fit into all this? Was he an associate of Alexi's or Yuri's?"
"He is Yuri's. The whole plan was to have Alexi captured. You just made it easier. But what I don't understand is why they took the child. They know that we have Alexi. That should have been enough. Maybe there is someone else they wish to be rid of?" Isaac looked thoughtful for a moment.
"It's us," Amanda offered quietly. "She's getting back at us."
"But how did she know what we were doing here? Where did she get her information and when? It certainly hasn't been going on for a while." Lee stood and began to pace in front of the fireplace.
"I know where."
The quiet voice had taken everyone by surprise. The agents all turned to see where the voice had come from and Amanda gasped when she saw Elena.
"Oh, my." Amanda whispered. She looked first at Lee and finding nothing registering in his eyes, she glanced over at Francine. She found Francine staring right at her, the recognition in her eyes as well. "How did I miss that?" Amanda asked. Francine shook her head wordlessly.
"Miss what? Elena, come in, please. Tell us what you know, anything." Lee gestured to the chair he had just vacated. Elena walked slowly to the chair, tears in her eyes. She wouldn't meet Amanda's eyes. A chill ran down Amanda's spine and she glanced again at Lee, wondering why he had not seen what she and Francine had.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Elena sat sullenly in the chair across from Isaac. She nervously fingered the edge of her sweater without looking at anyone.
"Elena, please, I'm sure whatever happened, we can work it out." Amanda leaned forward on the couch and pleaded with her.
"Eva came to me the day after you came here. She wanted to know everything. I tried to not tell her. I tried to make her leave." She looked up at Amanda with tears in her eyes. "She can be very convincing when she wants something. Especially from me. I'm so sorry. She said she would hurt the rest of the children if I didn't tell her."
Lee stopped pacing and stood infront of Elena. "How is it that you know her?"
Elena's head dropped to her chest and she started crying openly. "She is my mother."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lee was again pacing around the sitting room, with Elena and Amanda sitting on the couch. "So, you're telling me that Eva and Yuri, your parents, left you here when you were a child?" Lee shook his head, he felt sorry for this girl; her parents had all but abandoned her for the last fifteen years. At least his parents had had no choice when they left. How could anyone do that to their own child? And more importantly, how could he have loved someone like that? He glanced at Amanda, who had her arm around Elena while she told them of her childhood and her parent's lives. Amanda was so compassionate, so in tune with others feelings, usually to the neglect of her own. He knew what she was enduring, comforting Eva's daughter while Eva and her husband had kidnapped the baby she and Lee had just adopted.
"Yes. When I was three, Yuri and Eva were sent to Siberia for the KGB. I was left here with Sister Nadya." She looked away from Lee sadly. "I knew they would not come back when I had my eighth birthday here. She has visited me but she does not love me like a mother loves a child." Elena's eyes met Amanda's and she continued. "She does not even love me the way you love Nikolai. I am sorry I have caused this trouble."
"Elena, it's not your fault. We know what she's like. While this was unexpected, it certainly isn't surprising." Lee stopped at the couch and knelt in front of Elena and Amanda. "Can you tell us where they are? Do you know where they live? Where they work? Anything?" His voice was calm and quiet, betraying the intense churning of emotions just beneath the surface. He took a deep breath as Elena started to talk again.
"She did not tell me where they were going. I think she knows I would tell you what she did." She looked away, anger showing on her face. "Eva knows I do not agree with her or what she does. I told her that when I was ten years old. But she does not care." She hesitated for a moment then looked back up at Lee. "She has an apartment. I do not know if she would take them there. It is closer to the park from here. I will show you if you like." Lee nodded and looked at Isaac, motioning the Russian agent to follow him. The two men walked solemnly from the room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"I had heard of a child, but it was never confirmed. She and Yuri, they were good. They have gotten sloppy, though. We have been close to catching them for about three weeks. The Butsayev case was monitored thoroughly, although your involvement was not expected. When your associate contacted me it was quite a surprise. I had thought you would be on your way back home by now." Isaac leaned on the wall just outside the sitting room.
"I need to talk to you about Eva without my wife around," Lee said quietly.
Isaac nodded. "I think I understand. But I also think you underestimate your partner. She is a very good agent. Maybe it is her the KGB should be wary of more than the Scarecrow?" he commented with a grin.
Lee laughed, thankful for the light moment. It passed very quickly. "Will Eva let us have him back? Will she kill them?" His last question was barely a whisper. "I thought I knew her, once. But I'm beginning to understand just how little I knew. Is she capable of destroying my life?" He looked up at Isaac, angry with himself for the emotion he was showing to the Russian but somehow unable to stop the flood that had been released. "It almost happened once, I struggled for two years because of her."
Isaac nodded. "Da, I have seen her in action. You are not the only one, my friend."
Lee felt suddenly that he had a strong ally in Isaac Petrovitch – at least in this matter. "Then she came back, telling me she didn't really love her husband, that she'd always loved me. But she tried to kill me and almost let Amanda die as well, and I realized I was just part of an assignment. Then I just felt deceived. But with Amanda's help, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was over. I was free from everything Eva put me through." He stopped and sighed, looking up at Isaac with a pained expression. "If she so much as makes him cry, she'll pay dearly. If she breaks my wife's heart, I'll kill her." Isaac nodded with understanding, his lips pursed tightly.
"They will not get away with this, Scarecrow. I do believe she is capable of what you asked. And if she feels you are responsible for her imprisonment and is bitter about your wife, she will not hesitate to act. But, we will not allow it. You will have the full cooperation of the KGB in this matter, and Nadine and I will be with you the whole way." Isaac stuck his hand out to Lee, who accepted. After a brief shake, Isaac gripped Lee's hand even tighter. "We will bring her to justice, or death. I promise you." Releasing his hand abruptly, the Russian turned and entered the sitting room again leaving Lee to lean against the wall.
9:00PM
Bellarussia Apartments
Apartment 33
In a corner of the studio apartment, Anna sat on a couch feeding Nicky. He had been crying almost the entire time they had been there. This had only made the woman who was watching them more and more angry as the day progressed. She had yelled at Anna to shut the baby up numerous times as she paced the room. Anna had tried explaining to her that the baby wasn’t normally like this, that something had to be wrong, but she hadn’t listened and instead had left for a few hours. He had finally calmed down and was now almost asleep. Anna looked up as the woman came back into the apartment, this time with the man who had taken them from the orphanage. She watched and listened as they put away groceries and conversed quietly.
“I don’t know how much more I can take of that baby.” Yuri shook his head. “I don’t know why Scarecrow would willingly subject himself to such torture.”
“It won’t be long. If he is still as quick tempered and passionate about things as he was before, we should expect to see them very soon.” Eva looked at Yuri with a smirk. “I’m sure he’s pacing that orphanage as we speak, trying to figure out how to get them away from us. But we’re on my turf, now. Things will be very different this time around. Very different.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
10:30PM
Orphanage
Moscow
After eating, seven agents and one attorney sat in the dining hall of the orphanage going over plans for the next morning.
Elena had taken Lee, Isaac, McCarty, and Draper to the building her parents lived in. They had parked in front of the apartments for an hour, watching the comings and goings of the tenants, hitting pay dirt when Yuri and Eva showed up and entered the building with three bags of groceries. It had taken everything Lee had to keep himself in the car and not grab Eva, demanding the return of Nicky. But he knew they had to wait. Now, as they sat finalizing the next day’s agenda, he was getting more agitated.
Lee stood, pacing behind the table. “We could do this tonight. There’s no reason to wait, you know.”
Francine sighed. “Lee, you and Amanda need to get some rest before we do this. There are KGB and US agents posted inside and out at the apartments. We have to make sure we’re completely thorough and legal here.” She had turned in her seat and was watching as Lee paced. “It’s not easy for us to sit here, either, you know.”
Nadine placed her hand on Isaac’s arm. “It is best to wait. Rushing will only make a mess.”
“They are correct, Scarecrow,” Isaac added. “There is nothing I would like more than to go there tonight and drag them out into the street.” He glanced almost sheepishly at Nadine. “But the women are more level-headed than we pretend to be, da?” He paused, looking around the table, and nodded. “We will wait until morning.”
“Then we’re all in agreement?” John looked around at the agents and then back up at Lee. He sighed as all seven agents nodded slowly. “Good. Let’s all make sure we get a good night’s sleep and meet back here at six tomorrow morning. We’ll leave from here.” Glancing at Francine, he gave her a small smile. “Can I drive you back to the hotel?”
Francine looked at Amanda. “You’ll get some sleep, right?”
Before Amanda had a chance to speak, Lee said, “I’ll make sure of it.”
“That goes for you, too, Stetson. I don’t want your butt dragging in here tomorrow half-asleep.” She pointed a finger at Lee, a stern look on her face. Standing slowly, Francine turned to John. “Thank you, John. I’d love a ride back.” She walked around the table and placed her hand on Amanda’s shoulder. “I’ll see you in the morning, Amanda. Try not to worry too much.”
Amanda placed her hand over Francine’s and smiled. “Thank you. Sleep sounds pretty inviting right now.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
11:30PM
Hotel Rossiya
Moscow
As Lee emerged from the bathroom, Amanda was just hanging up the phone. “Who was that?”
“Mother.” Amanda looked over at him. “I wanted her to know what was going in case something . . . happens. I don’t want to just spring some bad news on her and the boys . . . if . . . it’s better if they know what’s going on now.” Lee walked up behind her and she leaned into his chest with a sigh. He slid his arms around her and squeezed her waist gently.
“We’re not going to have any bad news, Amanda. This time tomorrow we’ll be on our way home with Nicky.” He kissed her temple and turned her around in his arms. “Now, you need to get into bed. We have the perfect opportunity to get a couple of hours of uninterrupted sleep, let’s take advantage of it, huh?”
Amanda took a deep breath, backed out of Lee’s embrace and took his hand. Turning toward the bed, she tugged on his hand. “Only if you get some sleep, too.” She turned back to him and sat on the bed. She raised her eyes to meet his and whispered, “I’m *not* lying down alone.”
He hesitated for only a moment. “I guess I can’t refuse that,” he responded softly as she scooted across the bed to lie down on her side. Joining her on the bed, he draped his left arm across her waist and pulled her close, shifting so her head was resting on his right shoulder.
‘I’ll just lay here until she falls asleep. I have too much to do . . . ’ Lee’s thoughts were interrupted as he slipped into a mercifully peaceful slumber.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The shrill ringing of the phone startled Lee from his sleep. He slid his arm out from underneath Amanda and leaned up to reach over her. “Yeah, Stetson,” he snapped into the phone. “Okay, thank you.” Fumbling with the receiver, he finally dropped it back onto the base with a hollow clunk.
“Who was that?” Amanda’s groggy voice came from next to him.
“Wake up call.” Lee rubbed his eyes and sighed. “Time to get moving.” He couldn’t believe he had fallen asleep so quickly and slept so soundly. “It’s 4:30. We need to meet Francine downstairs in an hour.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Thursday, August 6th
6:30AM
Bellarussia Apartments
John Devin sat in a small, open-air café kitty-corner from the Butsayev’s apartment building, reading the morning edition of yesterday’s New York Times. Glancing at his watch, he folded the newspaper and laid it on the table. Reaching for his coffee, he took a sip, scanned the street before him and noted the cab to his right. Draper was seated in the front of the vehicle, Francine in the back. John flipped open the paper again and shook his head. That woman was one he wouldn’t forget for a long time. Definitely not his type, but incredibly intriguing, to say the least. A crackling in his ear interrupted his thoughts.
“Stingray one. We’re in position.” Lee’s voice came over John’s earpiece.
‘This is it,’ he thought. “Stingray two, I’m set. All clear here.” A smirk crossed his face as he listened to the remaining agents check in. He felt like a character in a spy movie. It was rather exciting, although he was slightly uneasy, being in the middle of all these Intelligence Operatives. In his experience at the Embassy, they were normally a reckless bunch. And these were far from normal circumstances. He rolled his eyes and chastised himself. ‘I’m an attorney, for heaven’s sake.’ Devin cleared his throat and motioned to the waitress for a refill.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After meeting with the agents who had been on surveillance through out the night, McCarty and Scarecrow realized the KGB were as anxious to get Yuri and Eva in custody as the Americans were to get Nikolas back. Yuri and Eva hadn’t left their apartment all night. If they were going to move, it had to be now. But he wasn’t about to hand this one over to the KGB. This was theirs, they had earned it the last few days. Lee checked his gun and placed it back in his holster. Then he checked the other gun hidden in his waistband. Eva wouldn’t get the better of him this time. He looked over at Amanda. At her nod of agreement, he took her hand in his and they entered the apartment building together.
“Stingray one moving in.” He glanced at Amanda and squeezed her hand. “We’re almost there.” He sighed and his eyebrows knit together. “I wish you’d take a gun.”
“That’s not an option in this case, Lee. I don’t plan on needing it. My focus is Nikolas. You and Isaac can take care of Yuri and Eva.” She smiled at him. “Although I wouldn’t mind taking care of Eva myself. She still bugs me. And, given the chance, I’d still like to smack her.” Lee opened his mouth to respond but Amanda cut him off. “Don’t worry, Stetson . . . I’ll make sure you’re there to watch.”
“This is a side of you I’ve not had the pleasure of getting to know, Mrs. Stetson. Where’ve you been hiding her?” He squeezed her hand again and led her out of the elevator. “Now, we’re going around the corner and down three doors. Isaac and Nadine are across the hall in 32. Once we’re in, they’ll join us. You ready?” He shot her a look.
“Of course I’m ready.” Creeping slowly down the hall, Amanda smiled at him again. She took her position on the opposite side of the door from him and he caught her eye as he quietly counted.
“One . . . two . . . THREE!” Lee raised his leg and kicked in the door, his gun drawn. Luckily, it was a small studio apartment and he had all four people in view immediately. Yuri had grabbed a gun and dove behind the couch. Unfortunately for Lee, Anna was lying on the couch, holding the sleeping baby. Glancing left and right, he noted ample coverage for Isaac and Nadine when they were ready to enter. Hopefully he and Amanda would be enough of a distraction to Eva to get the Petrovitches in unnoticed. He felt Amanda’s hand on his back, grabbing his shirt. “Don’t move.” He whispered to her over his shoulder. Still pointing his gun toward where Yuri had hidden, he took a deep breath and called out, “Give it up, Yuri. You’ve got no way out. It’s over.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw Eva inching closer to the couch. Swinging his gun toward her he confronted her. “Don’t try it Eva.” To his surprise, he felt the extra gun slide out of his waistband. He smothered a grin and met Eva’s glare. “So, they let you out, huh, Eva? Why? Good behavior? You convince some guard you loved him?”
“My, my, are we still bitter, Lee? Does it still bother you that much? I thought you had gotten over me long ago. How touching.” Eva was still inching closer to the couch. “Mandy! How good to see you again.” She said with feigned enthusiasm.
A voice that sounded more confident than Lee expected came from behind him. “Wish I could say the same, Eva. And it’s Amanda. Amanda Stetson.” She stepped out from behind Lee and he glanced at her.
“Amanda . . . ” He started to worry. “Stay here, Yuri has a gun.”
“So do I.” Came a whispered reply as she continued toward Eva. “Let me have Nikolas, Eva. He has nothing to do with this. He’s an innocent baby. Let him go and I’ll stay. That’s what you want, right?”
Eva looked to Lee then back at Amanda. A smile spread across her face as she contemplated the offer. “Tempting offer. Very tempting. But I don’t think so. You see, you ruined my life and now it is my turn to repay the favor.” Eva seemingly forgot about Nikolas and took one step toward Amanda. Lee edged closer to the couch, his eyes on Eva as she confronted his wife. From behind, he heard a slight shuffle while in his other ear Isaac’s voice crackled.
“We’re in Scarecrow. I’ll cover you, Nadine will stay with Amanda.” Lee nodded almost imperceptibly and continued his slow course toward Yuri’s hiding place.
Lee ducked his head and whispered into the microphone in his collar. “Tell Nadine that Amanda took my gun. Just so there’s no surprises here.” He shook his head. This was getting interesting. He wasn’t quite worried yet, Amanda could hold her own, and she had his gun tucked in the back of her jeans, but he also knew Eva. As he approached the back of the couch, Nikolas caught sight of him and let out a squeal. The momentary distraction caught both Lee and Amanda off guard. Yuri bolted from behind the couch and knocked Lee off balance as he shoved past. Cursing, he rolled over to fire, only to see Isaac knock him out with one punch to the face.
“Coward,” Isaac spat out as he rubbed his hand.
At the same time, Eva had turned and aimed a gun at Nikolas and Anna. Knowing Amanda and Nadine were both armed; Lee tossed his gun across the floor and sat up, his hands in the air. Nikolas was wiggling and squealing at him like he had in the orphanage.
“Wise decision, Lee. You *know* I won’t hesitate. And this time the gun is loaded.” Her eyes penetrated his and held for a moment. Finally, she looked back at Amanda with a smile. “I may not get out of here with my life, Mandy, but I will take someone you love with me when I go. You make the choice.”
Amanda’s eyes grew wide, but that was the only reaction she had. Lee noticed his gun was now ticked in the front of her jeans. She must have switched it in the scuffle. A feeling of pride swelled in Lee as he watched her, sure her mind was working to figure out what to do. “You know, Eva, this vendetta you have against me really isn’t healthy. I haven’t done anything to you.” Amanda said softly.
Eva motioned toward Lee. “Anna, let the baby go,” she said in Russian. As Anna put Nicky down, Lee held out his arms. The little boy scooted across the floor on his belly, giggling the whole way. It seemed forever until the baby was in his arms.
“Hey buddy. I sure have missed you.” Lee cuddled the boy on his shoulder and turned to look at Amanda. She wasn’t looking at them but rather straight at Eva. “We’ll be out of here in no time, I promise.” Lee whispered to Nicky with a grin. Eva glanced over at them and raised her eyebrows.
“How touching. Something I had never pictured happening. But I guess some people do change. Or do they?” She looked back at Amanda, who was still staring directly at her. “Are you sure you are the one Lee wants, Mandy?” Lee grimaced at her use of the annoying nickname yet again. If Eva wasn’t careful, she was going to pay for that.
Amanda grinned at Eva, who returned her look. “I’m very sure, Eva. I was the one he fought to save. I was there when he discovered you had used him. I’m the one he asked for help in acknowledging that he was over you. And I’m the one he asked to be his wife. You, he stuffed in the trunk of a car and sent to prison.”
Eva’s grin faded. “But how do you know for certain he is truly over me. You had no idea he still cared for me the last time we met. How do you know this time is any different?” She was grasping now and they all knew it.
Amanda rolled her eyes at Eva. “Ask Lee what he had for breakfast the last time we were at home.” Amanda glanced in Lee’s direction and he winked at her. With all the weapons pointed in Eva’s direction right now, he wasn’t worried.
Eva sighed. “Very well. Lee, darling, what did you have for breakfast the last time you were at home?” She said the last word with disdain, rolled her eyes and turned toward Lee for his answer. As she did so, she seemed to forget about Amanda and her gun lowered. Seeing an opportunity, Nadine came from behind Amanda and lunged at Eva, knocking the gun out of her hand and sending it spinning across the floor. Lee grabbed it and handed Nikolas back to Anna, gesturing toward the other side of the apartment.
“Go! Stay down!” He commanded.
She took the baby and ran to the bathroom, closing the door. Nadine struggled with Eva for a few moments trying to pin her down but Eva slipped from her grasp. Turning, she ran right into Amanda, who still had Lee’s gun tucked into the front of her jeans.
“Well, well. The little housewife who does not like guns. This should be quite . . . ” Eva grabbed for the gun but was abruptly cut off as Amanda’s open palm connected with her face. She looked at her attacker in shock and brought her hand up to her cheek.
“I’ve been waiting for years to do that.” Amanda said very quietly. “How dare you kidnap my son.” She moved forward so that she was nose to nose with Eva. “You are a sad excuse for a mother, Eva. You abandoned your own child, only using her when it suited you, and you stole mine. You endangered the lives of every child in that orphanage, and pointed a loaded gun at a thirteen-year-old girl and a baby. Not to mention how you used Lee and Angelo.” Eva jumped as Lee came up behind her and slid hand cuffs around her wrists. Amanda leaned in even closer. “I’d work on my people skills if I were you; you’ll have plenty of time. Goodbye Eva.” Amanda slowly backed away, then stopped. “Oh, one more thing.” She stepped back to stand face to face with Eva once again. “If they ever let you out of prison, stay away from my family. You’re right, people do change. I’m not the same inexperienced civilian you met five years ago.” As she turned, searching for Nicky, she gingerly took the gun out of her waistband and handed it to Nadine.
Lee leaned in and laughed at Eva. “She’s got a point, Eva. Actually, a few good points. You know, once I realized I was in love with Amanda it made everything much more clear, put it all in perspective. I had never been *in love* with you, Eva. I was infatuated with the thrill of the chase, the romance of Venice. The ‘thought’ of being in love. Nothing more.” He turned her around so that she was facing him and shook his head. “Amanda was mistaken about one thing though.” He paused and gave her a huge smile. “You are a sad excuse for a woman. Especially compared to my wife. I’m embarrassed to admit I ever thought about marrying you.” Lee shoved Eva toward McCarty, who had just walked in the door. “I need to be with my wife.” McCarty nodded, taking his prisoner and pulling her roughly alongside him out of the apartment.
“Amanda?” Lee headed for the bathroom to find her sitting on the toilet seat, Nikolas in her arms. Smiling, he knelt down next to her and put his arms around both of them. “See, I told you everything would be fine,” he whispered to her. “And you even got a little action out of it!” He chuckled and drew back just enough to see her face.
“Thank you.” Amanda turned her face to him.
“For what?”
“For letting me have my chance with Eva. As much as I hate violence, especially when it can be avoided . . . ” She looked down a bit sheepishly and smiled. “I really enjoyed that.”
Lee leaned his forehead on hers and laughed out loud.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
1:30 PM
Sheremetevo Airport
Moscow
Nadine gave Nikolas one last squeeze, kissed him on the cheek and handed him to Amanda. She smiled and gave both of them a hug. “Amanda, it was so good to see you again. I do hope that one day we will again be able to work together. I have found a true friend in you.” Grabbing Amanda’s hand, she paused for a moment. “You will be a wonderful mother for Nikolas. And I am so happy to see Scarecrow as his father. It is nice to know there are others like us.” She laughed and glanced at Isaac and Lee. “They are more alike than either one would ever admit.”
“I think that’s a good thing.” Amanda followed Nadine’s gaze to the two men. They were deep in conversation. “It certainly doesn’t make life easy, but it’s worth every minute of frustration.”
Nadine nodded in agreement. “It’s an interesting life we live. And it is a relief to share it with someone who knows what I go through. I will miss you, Amanda Stetson.”
“And we will miss you, too, Nadine. Thank you. For everything.” Amanda said with a smile.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“I don’t know how to thank you, Isaac. You didn’t have to help us.” Lee shook his head. “Wonders never cease, eh?”
“Da, it is not something I would have expected to do.” Isaac grinned a bit sheepishly. “Nadine made my decision easy, though.” Both men laughed heartily.
“We both have a pretty good thing going. How’d we get so lucky?” Lee glanced over his shoulder and caught the two women watching them.
“I’m not sure, but it took long enough to realize it. I am not going to question it too much.” Isaac grinned. “You know, I never will understand how they end up being the rational ones every time. At least they are not, ah, rubbing our noses in it?” He laughed again, shaking his head. “I can honestly say, Scarecrow, I am very glad this worked out for you, and that we were a part of it.” He clapped Lee on the shoulder and met his gaze slowly. “Every man should have a son to carry his heritage. Congratulations, Lee.” He pulled his arm back abruptly as the women moved to stand next to their husbands.
“Until we meet again?” Lee stuck out his hand to the Russian.
“Da. Dasvidaniya, shchislivii.” Isaac offered, shaking Lee’s hand powerfully.
Nadine leaned in to whisper to Amanda “That is goodbye and good luck. I wish you the same, Amanda.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
9:12PM EST
Dulles Airport
Washington DC
As the Boeing 767 taxied toward the terminal building, Amanda gathered Nikolas's things. Packing everything back up into the diaper bag, she glanced around and under their seats. Satisfied that she hadn't missed anything, she sank back in her seat and sighed. It had been an emotional two weeks, the plane ride home being no less chaotic. Fifteen minutes into the trip, they had discovered that the baby did not like to fly. It had been a long eleven hours. Thank God Francine had stayed behind to finish some paperwork for them, although Amanda didn't believe for a second that that was the reason.
Lee and Nicky had managed to fall asleep about three hours ago but Amanda had been kept awake by her excitement and anticipation of their homecoming. She glanced at the seat next to her, her heart skipping a beat as her gaze rested on her husband and son.
"We're home, guys." She placed a hand on Lee's arm and squeezed. His eyes fluttered open and he squinted, looking around. Nikolas was asleep in his carrier in the seat next to him, with a death grip on his finger. Carefully extracting it from his son's hand, Lee rubbed his hands over his face.
"Wow. I slept through the landing? That's never happened before." Glancing over at his son, he smiled. "So did he! That's great. Did you get any sleep, Amanda?" His eyes narrowed as she looked away. "Amanda."
"I tried, Lee. You know how I am on the way home from anywhere. This was ten times more intense. I'll get some sleep later." She knew what was going to happen once they got home. He'd *make* her go to bed. `Oh well, can't hurt to let Mother get to know him right away.' She smiled at the thought.
"What?" Lee asked.
"Nothing, really. I was just picturing Mother and Nikolas together."
Lee smiled also. "Well, you won't have to wait much longer. They just opened the door. Come on." He grabbed the diaper bag from the floor and reached above his seat for their carry-on. "Can you carry Nicky?"
"Of course." She unbuckled the carrier from the seat and lifted it to her hip. "You know, when I had the boys, you didn't need a seat, or carrier. We just held them. I think I like this much better. He didn't even wake up when I unbuckled him. And I can put him down and not disturb him. And it's supposed to be safer in the car, too. I hear they're thinking of requiring them." By now they had reached the door of the plane.
"Amanda," Lee quietly reminded her. "You're rambling."
"I'm nervous, Lee." She looked over her shoulder at him. "When I get this nervous I slip. I'm sorry."
He smiled. "Don't be."
As they walked down the jetway, Amanda could feel her heartbeat quicken. At the end of the corridor, her whole family stood, awaiting their arrival. Nikolas's arrival. She knew her mother would love him, but what about the boys. Jamie had sounded excited on the phone but that was entirely different than having a baby actually living in your house. Phillip she wasn't as worried about, he was hardly home anymore and he really was easy going.
"Well, here we go." As they walked out into the concourse, she took a deep breath and looked around.
"Wow." Came Lee's deep voice from behind her. He leaned forward and looked at Amanda, who had stopped in the middle of the hall. "You okay?"
Amanda just nodded, as she shifted the carrier to her opposite hip. There was her mother, the boys, Billy and Jeannie, and Captain Curt. Phillip and Jamie held a posterboard sign between them that read `Welcome Home Nicky'. The realization that they were finally home safely with Nikolas brought tears to her eyes.
All of a sudden their family surrounded them. Through the hugs and handshakes, kisses and congratulations, Lee caught and squeezed Amanda's hand. Once again Amanda had changed his life dramatically, and he couldn't have been happier about it.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When I first heard this song, it reminded me of Lee's life. But as I listened again and read the Chapman's adoption story, a need to use the song the way it was written overtook me. Maybe someday I'll write the other one but not right now :o)
When Love Takes You In
1 John 3:1; John 14:18; Psalm 68:5-6
Written and sung by Steven Curtis Chapman
Sparrow Song/Peach Hill Songs 2001
I know you've heard the stories
But they all sound too good to be true
You've heard about a place called home
But there doesn't seem to be one for you
So one more night you cry yourself to sleep
And drift off to a distant dream
Where love takes you in and everything changes
A miracle starts with a beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in
And somewhere while you're sleeping
Someone else is dreaming, too
Counting down the days until they hold you close and say I love you
And like the rain that falls into the sea
In a moment what has been is lost in what will be
When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
And this love will never let you go
There is nothing that could ever cause this love to lose its hold
When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in it takes you in for good
When love takes you in
I found so many stories and articles on the subject of adoption in
Russia. Some were heartbreaking, some made me so happy I cried. Here
are just a few.
Story Notes:
Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King and all it’s recognizable characters belong to Warner Bros. and Shoot The Moon Enterprises Ltd. I’m just borrowing them, since THEY won’t do anything with them anymore, for my pleasure and hopefully yours. The story and new characters are completely my own. Any resemblance to any other fanfic, or one of the episodes is entirely unintentional. A few names may pop up in this story that you recognize. I intend no infringement on any rights and am just borrowing them. Russian names are quite hard to *make up*, and they just aren’t the same without their buddies. If you recognize them, enjoy their presence and laugh at them with me.
References to Service Above and Beyond, written by Peter Lefcourt; Saved by the Bells, written by Chris Cluess, Dean Hargrove, Stu Kreisman, & Joel Steiger; Lost and Found, written by Brad Buckner & Eugenie Ross-Lemming; Utopia Now, written by Robert Bielak; Three Little Spies and Rumors of My Death, written by Tom Chehak; and Nightcrawler, written by George Geiger. Also the Lost and Found Tagalogue, written by T. A. Miller.
When Love Takes You In, Written and sung by Steven Curtis Chapman;
Sparrow Song / Peach Hill Songs 2001. Found on his new CD, Declaration
John 14:18; Psalm 27:10; Psalm 68:5-6
Timeline: August 3, 1989 – Everyone knows everything – or as much as you can in a *need to know* world.
References to Service Above and Beyond, written by Peter Lefcourt; Saved by the Bells, written by Chris Cluess, Dean Hargrove, Stu Kreisman, & Joel Steiger; Lost and Found, written by Brad Buckner & Eugenie Ross-Lemming; Utopia Now, written by Robert Bielak; Three Little Spies and Rumors of My Death, written by Tom Chehak; and Nightcrawler, written by George Geiger. Also the Lost and Found Tagalogue, written by T. A. Miller.
When Love Takes You In, Written and sung by Steven Curtis Chapman;
Sparrow Song / Peach Hill Songs 2001. Found on his new CD, Declaration
John 14:18; Psalm 27:10; Psalm 68:5-6
Timeline: August 3, 1989 – Everyone knows everything – or as much as you can in a *need to know* world.