Chapter 1

         Amanda King stood at the base of the stairs with her hands on her hips. “Fellas if you want to get to the museum before it gets too crowded, you’d better get a move on.”

         “Yes Mom,” Phillip shouted as he stuck his head out of his room, “I’m just waiting for Jamie to finish up in the bathroom so I can get in and take my shower.”

         Amanda shook her head and chuckled.  If her eldest son hadn’t started his shower yet, she knew she had another half an hour to kill at least.  Phillip seemed to enjoy taking extremely long showers when he wasn’t rushing off to school in the mornings. Hearing the phone ringing, she turned and headed towards the kitchen and picked up the receiver on the third ring. “Hello?”

         “Morning.”

         Amanda smiled at the sound of Lee’s voice on the other end and then her expression quickly turned to a frown. “Uh oh, you’re not calling to ask me to come in are you, because I’d really hate to disappoint Phillip and Jamie, and Mother’s not home, she’s off with one of the neighbors…”

         “Amanda, relax, I’m not calling to ask you to come in to work.”

         “Oh?” Amanda suddenly felt like a school girl getting the much anticipated call from the boy she liked, “then, what could be so important that you’re calling me at seven-thirty on a Saturday morning?”

         “I knew you were heading out soon and wanted to call and catch you before you left.” Amanda could sense a bit of hesitation in Lee’s voice, and wondered whether he was nervous about something or if he was calling with bad news and was trying to break it to her gently. “I realized that since I wasn’t going to get to see you today, I wanted to invite you over to my place for dinner tonight. Nothing fancy, I was just thinking of cooking some hamburgers. I’ve got a great bottle of wine to go with them.”

         Amanda could almost see the smile on his face, hoping that he had stumped her; however, she remembered their discussion when he was hiding out at her house, while pretending to be dead.  They had talked about having hamburgers and wine, but that plan had been interrupted by the untimely return of her mother and the boys. “Like normal people?”

         “Exactly.”

         Amanda leaned back against the counter and chuckled. “What happened to the Lee of the world, the one who ordered exotic take out or went to fancy restaurants?”

         “What can I say… I’ve suddenly grown quite fond of normal these days. So how about it, are you free tonight?”

         Amanda smiled as she twirled the phone cord around her finger. “Sounds wonderful. Mother should be home by five, how about I meet you at your place around six?”

         “Better make it seven.”

         Amanda pushed off the counter and moved closer to the stairs. Not hearing any sign of the boys approaching, but hearing sounds of typing coming across the phone, she turned her attention back to her caller. “Lee, are you in the office right now? What happened to your day off?”

         “I don’t hold much stock in days off any more. Besides what I’m working on should be wrapped up by the end of the day. I just want to give myself a little extra time to get the apartment cleaned up.”

         Amanda shook her head. Even over the phone she could tell when Lee was hiding something from her. “You don’t sound very convincing.  It sounds to me like you’re going to be swamped.  Are you sure you don’t need me?”

         “Well…I wouldn’t go that far.”

         Amanda could hear the sultry tone of his voice and a warm feeling ran through her.  Even though their relationship was slowly moving towards something much more than friendship, Lee didn’t seem afraid to make little innuendos like that, nor did she mind them. “I meant at work.” She replied, laughing a bit self-consciously.

         “No, you spend the day with the boys.  It’s not every day they aren’t running around to this thing or that, or spending it with Joe.  Where are you taking them anyway?”

         “The Air and Space Museum.” Amanda leaned back against the counter. “Why? Are you making sure I won’t end up in the middle of whatever it is you’re really working on today? What exactly are doing today, Lee? It can’t be paperwork, because then you wouldn’t be afraid of being late to meet me, you’d just blow it off and leave it for me to take care of for you on Monday.”

         Lee chuckled over the phone. “You’re right, it’s not paperwork.” Then as if anticipating the fact that she would worry, knowing he was going out on a case, he added, “Don’t worry, its nothing major, just a bit of surveillance and hopefully a takedown.  I got a tip that something big is going down at Strategic Software, one of the developers working on some new software for the Army. Sounds like someone is trying to steal the information and then sell it or pass it onto a third party.”

         Amanda let out an exasperated sigh. “You didn’t mention anything about it to me yesterday.”

         “The tip came in late last night.”

         Amanda nodded her head as realization dawned on her. “One of your family?”

         “Yes…”

         Amanda could tell from the hesitant tone of his voice that she knew exactly who the informant was. “Augie?”

         “Yeah, how did…”

         Amanda laughed. “I could tell by the less than enthusiastic way you answered. Maybe I should come in.”

         “Amanda…” Lee sighed into the phone, “You’re not a full-time agent, so you wouldn’t be able to go on this one with me.” She could almost detect the disappointment in his voice.  It was funny how much had changed over the last year or so. It seemed like only yesterday that he would have chosen Augie as his partner on an operation over her. “I wish you could, but…just enjoy the day with the boys, okay?”

         Amanda did her best to keep the disappointment from her voice. “Okay, but call and leave me a message when you get back. It can be hey, just checking in, or something simple, but enough to let me know that nothing went wrong. If you don’t I’ll worry, and if I worry I’ll call or drive all the way down to the Agency and pester Mr. Melrose until I know you’re okay.”

         “I promise I’ll call you.  I’ve gotta run, but I’ll see you tonight.”

         “See you tonight and be careful.” Amanda sighed as she hung up the phone.  Glancing at the clock she saw that if they wanted to get to the museum when it opened, they really needed to get moving. Heading over to the landing, she called up the stairs, “Come on fellas, let’s pick up the pace a little.”  She then turned and walked back into the kitchen and over to the sink to finish the breakfast dishes.  A bird flying past the kitchen window caught her eye and she chuckled.  How many times had Lee’s head popped up and stared back at her through this very window in the past three years?  Too many to count, and she wasn’t sure she even wanted to try counting them. Though lately he had started coming to her back door and knocking lightly, rather than just appearing in her window.

           As Amanda picked up her sponge and poured some dish soap onto it, she realized just how much things between Lee and her had changed in the last few years, especially within the last two weeks.  Ever since they had returned from retrieving the stolen detonators from California, Lee had been very attentive, wanting to spend time with her, inviting her to dinner and just finding reasons to stop by her house after work once her mother and the boys were in bed.  Grabbing one of the boys’ cereal bowls, she smiled as she began cleaning it.  Lee’s sudden interest in dating her had started almost the minute the plane had touched ground and everyone had dispersed.  She was in her little room on the plane, gathering her things when he had stopped by.

         Amanda looked up at the sound of a knock on the doorframe. “Hi, I thought you were heading back to the Agency with Mr. Melrose to give your report.”

         Lee nodded. “I told him I’d meet him there, I wanted to see how you were getting home, since Billy said that you weren’t needed at the Agency.”

         “I was just going to call a cab.” Amanda shrugged her shoulders slightly.

         “I could give you a ride.” Lee moved forward and picked up her closed suitcase.

         Amanda slipped her purse over her shoulder and glanced sincerely at Lee. “Really that’s very sweet, but I don’t want you to get into trouble with Mr. Melrose.”

         “Oh I won’t get in trouble, trust me.” Lee winked. “So how come you don’t have to come down to the Agency? After all you, if it wasn’t for you, Petrovich would have blown up the warehouse and Pam would very likely have gotten away.”

         Amanda smiled.  “I already gave him my report, typed it up last night.”

         “Anxious to get home?” Lee stepped aside to allow Amanda to leave the room ahead of him.

         “It’s not really so much being anxious as it is that I feel like I owe it to my family to spend some time with them.” Amanda commented as she walked through the small walkway towards the front of the plane.

         “In that case I insist that you let me drive you home.” Lee fell into step next to her, and placed his free hand at the small of her back.

         “Well if you insist,” Amanda smiled, “though I would have thought you’d be eager to get this case wrapped up and get home. I’m sure there are plans or something you want to make for tonight.”

         Lee stopped walking and gently placed a hand on Amanda’s arm. “Actually, I do have plans I want to make,” he glanced around to make sure that no one was within earshot, “it’s one of the reasons I wanted to drive you home.”

         Amanda looked at Lee suspiciously. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to ask me to help you find a dress for another girlfriend.”

         Lee grimaced. Asking Amanda about that dress for Leslie had been the stupidest thing he’d ever done, and one he was going to regret for a very long time. He shook his head. “No, I was going to ask you if you had plans for tomorrow night. Watching Petrovich and Nadia, I realized that you and I don’t spend enough time together, outside of work and thought maybe we could go to dinner.”

         Amanda felt her face begin to flush and cleared her throat. “Oh, Lee, that sounds great, but I’m afraid I can’t tomorrow night. I promised Mother that when I got home, she and I would spend some quality time together, so I was planning on having a movie night.”

         “Well, how about Saturday night then.” Lee hoped that he didn’t sound too eager when he asked.  He really hoped that Amanda would say yes, because he suddenly had a very strong desire to get to know his best friend on a more personal level.

         Amanda smiled. “Saturday would be great.” When Lee’s hand moved back to its usual spot on her back, she resumed walking. “You know, Mr. Melrose said a funny thing to me before we took off.”

         Lee glanced curiously over at Amanda. “Oh, really? What?”

         Amanda shrugged. “He told me that he was counting on me, because I knew you best, which I think is kind of strange considering the fact that we’ve only known each other for a little under three years, and he’s known you a lot longer than that, even Francine’s known you longer than I have, which if you look at it like that, they should now you better than I do.” She laughed self-consciously as she realized she’d been rambling, but Lee asking her out, rather than making a date with one of the many women in his black books, had thrown her for a tiny, albeit nice, loop.

         Lee smiled at Amanda’s typical ramble.  There had been a time when he had found that particular trait annoying, but now he found it very endearing. “Actually, Billy was right.”

         Amanda stopped walking and turned towards Lee with a perplexed expression. “He was?”

         Lee sighed and nodded. He had never been one to share his thoughts with someone else, but Amanda wasn’t just someone, she was his best friend, and if he really wanted to move towards the next level with her, now was as good a time as any to start. “Yes, Amanda, I’ve let you see sides of me that no one else has ever seen, not even Billy.”

         Amanda swallowed hard, trying to keep herself from crying happy tears. “Oh, Lee…”

         Amanda sighed happily as she remembered that conversation.  It was the first time that Lee had willingly opened up to her, and shared something very personal with her.  Of course, before she had been able to say anything further, Francine had come in to see what was keeping Lee.  Mr. Melrose, afraid that Lee would blow off his debriefing until the next day, had decided that he was going to ride over to the Agency with Lee. She found it ironic, really, that fate had brought her and Lee together that day at the train station, and it seemed that ever since then, fate seemed to be trying it’s best to keep them apart, either in the shape of her mother or Francine. It was almost like fate’s own cruel joke.

         Even their dinner date Saturday hadn’t ended up working out because her Mother had gotten a bad cold, and she had ended up having to take the boys to their separate school parties.  They did, however, end up going to dinner the following night, and had been out to dinner three times since then, each time talking about anything and everything, except work.  She chuckled to herself. They had tried to talk about anything but work, but occasionally it had cropped up into the conversation. 

         Although the dinners were very nice and very special, she treasured the evenings they had spent together that weren’t official dates, far more.  On the nights they hadn’t gone to dinner, Lee had stopped by, with the exception of the one night he had been on a stake out, just to talk or say hi and he always waited until he knew that her family was upstairs in bed.  He would knock lightly on her back door and she would slip outside so they could talk privately.  The more she thought about it, the more she realized that Lee was, in a sense, courting her, and it was very romantic.

         Last night had been the most special one of all.  He had stopped by and they had ended up in the gazebo, sitting next to each other, staring up at the stars.  Then without any pretence or warning, Lee had draped his arm around her shoulder and with his free hand, turned her head to look at him.  Before she had known what was happening, Lee’s lips were touching hers and they had shared a very intimate but tender kiss. 

         Touching her lips, she smiled as she remembered that, once again they had been interrupted, this time it had been by her mother who had opened the back door looking for her and effectively broken the moment.

         “Mom, we’re ready.” Jamie called out as he bounded into the kitchen with Phillip following behind him.

         Amanda chuckled at the ironic timing of her sons’ arrival.  Placing the last dish in the drain board, she turned and wiped her hands on a dishtowel.  “Did you boys straighten up your rooms?”

         “Yes Mom,” Jamie nodded. “Everything is put away…now can we go?”

         “Typical, you take forever to get ready and then you want everyone else to rush out the door the minute you’re ready.” Amanda smiled as she grabbed her purse. 

         “Aw, Mom, you know we like to sleep in if we don’t have to get up early.” Phillip shrugged his shoulders as he headed for the door.

         “Yes, sweetheart, I’m fully aware of that. Now scoot your butts out to the car.” Amanda just shook her head and laughed as she watched both her boys racing each other out the door.  It had been a long time since she’d spent any quality time with her boys, and she was planning on enjoying every minute of today.

*****  *****

         Francine opened the door to Billy’s office and storming inside, glared at her boss. “This had better be good, Billy.  I didn’t get home until really late last night, and I was looking forward to sleeping in today, since it is supposed to be the start of my weekend.”

         Billy put up a hand to ward off any further complaints from the blonde. “Francine, I’m just as unhappy about this as you are.  I have a wife at home who was hoping that I’d help with some chores around the house that have been put off for way too long.  So unless you can come up with a better reason than having to shell out hundreds of dollars just to hire someone else to do my housework than I don’t want to hear it.”

         “Fine,” Francine plopped, very unladylike, into one of the seats in front of Billy’s desk, “then can you at least tell me why exactly we’re both here, giving up our Saturdays?”

         “Because a tip from one of Lee’s family, Augie Swann, came in, informing us that the software for the targeting system on the Army’s new ballistic missile that Strategic Software just developed is expected on the black market tonight.”

         “This sounds like a case for Lee, not me.” Francine sat up a little straighter in her chair. “So how come I’m here and he’s not?”

         “Lee’s already been here and gone.  He assembled a team and is on his way over to Strategic Software to set up surveillance.  We’re hoping to catch the thief, or thieves, before they have a chance to get a copy of the software out of the building.” Billy rubbed his temples to ward off a growing headache. Having his wife give him grief about not being home enough, and his assistant constantly complaining, he was going to lose his cool, very soon. “And you’re here because you’re my assistant and I said so.”

         “Sorry, Billy.” Francine sighed as she glanced apologetically at her boss. “I realize this isn’t a cake-walk for you either.  How do we know the software hasn’t already been stolen?”

         “In order to set up surveillance, we had to contact the CEO of Strategic Software to gain access to the building.” Billy picked up a folder from his desk and handed it to his assistant. “He informed us that the software was only completed after midnight last night, and that if anyone wanted to get in and make a copy, not that he hoped any of his employees would do such a thing, but it would most likely have to happen this morning or tomorrow.  They plan on giving the software to the Army on Monday and there was a team of ten engineers working on the code until about midnight last night, so none of them would have had the opportunity to do anything with so many of their colleagues watching. He was more than happy to let us go in and make sure that the software never leaves the premises. He promised to make sure the security staff is fully informed and will stay out of our way.”

         Francine opened the file and quickly scanned the contents. “So, what do you need me to do? Get a backup team together?”

         Billy shook his head. “No, I need you to do some research.  There’s a list of potential buyers in that folder,” he pointed to the manila file in the blonde’s hands, “I want you to look it over and find out how many organizations have known players in town. And, if there are any new names, let’s find out everything we can about them.  I don’t want any surprises on this one.”

         Francine nodded and rose from her seat. “I’ll get right on it.” She sighed and headed for the door.

         Billy leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.  He had a feeling that, despite Lee’s assurances earlier that this was an open and shut case, this was going to be anything but.  Any tip that came from Augie usually ended up turning into a full scale scramble.