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Billy’s Case Files

by Ermintrude

See part one for disclaimers

Part 23

J. Edgar’s Ghost November 18, 1985

‘Amanda King trolling the gin mills on E street.’ Billy shook his head at the image. ‘The woman won’t have any trouble attracting men. She’s beautiful and her sweet disarming nature just attracts them. But she’s uncomfortable about it. That’s OK—she needs to start operating in places she’s not familiar with. God knows—we spend way too much of our surveillance time in the dives, sleazy motels and strip joints. She has little experience with those places. All in all—E street is fairly benign compared to some of the places the scum we battle hang out.’

‘Scarecrow is totally at home on E street. He’s a regular—correction—he used to be a regular. I’ve read the reports and listened to the gossip. The man has stopped running around. He hasn’t dated anyone in the Agency—which is for the best—for a while now. The steno pool talks about him like a long-past legend—not a current player. He also has been absent on the social scene except in relation to assignments—and then mostly accompanied by his partner.’

Billy thought for a few moments. ‘Could the man finally be coming to his senses? Could he finally have taken off the blinders and seen what has been under his nose for over two years now? If Francine can praise Amanda in an official report—miracles still happen. Stetson needs stability and people he can count on—and not just connected to the job. Agents with strong family ties tend to stay alive longer. Agents with partners live longer, and married agents also live longer. I’m not expecting the man to marry his partner—though I’d do whatever I could to help them if they did marry—but I would hope he could get to know her family and perhaps decide to take them into his heart—as he has already done with his partner.’

‘They may never do anything about it. But they are a solid team—great friends—and maybe they can find love together. I’m not supposed to condone it—but who am I to stop fate? And it was fate that made him give her that package back then. So far, everyone has come out ahead—and I’m doing my best to insure things stay positive.’



Flight to Freedom November 25, 1985

Billy read the report on the Tac team cleaning up the Triton Club. “Civilian Auxiliary Amanda King was present, standing over a subdued suspect—guarding him with a weapon.” Billy felt like cheering. ‘Finally! Amanda finally was able to effectively use a weapon to help subdue a suspect. She didn’t have to shoot anyone—nobody ended up dead—but she managed to wrap the guy in a net—and then stood over him aiming a weapon at him. And he was quiet and compliant because she used the weapon. Hopefully she learned a valuable lesson.’

Billy sat back and let out a long-held breath. ‘I’ve been holding my breath about this from the beginning. I know she’s reluctant to use a weapon. She fired off that automatic weapon during the Sacker case—but she admitted that was a mistake. She shot that pulley during the Save the Bay case—and that was good shooting—but she didn’t want to use the weapon on a person. This time—she took the weapon—didn’t quibble or argue—and after subduing the suspect—she pointed it at him and used the threat to keep him quiet and compliant. Hopefully she will be able to do it again. I think she’s finally passed that hurdle. God forbid the woman will ever have to shoot a suspect or—even worse—kill someone.’

‘But she’s Scarecrow’s partner—and he uses his weapon more often than most agents. He’s careful—he doesn’t pull the weapon or use it unless it’s necessary. He certainly doesn’t go looking for opportunities to shoot or kill—and we’ve had more than a few of those around here so I’m an expert in the type. But he’s aggressive, and he gets into these situations where he has to shoot more often than the average agent. So his partner had better be comfortable with weapons herself. She seemed to not have any problem with Stetson carrying or using his weapon. She just wasn’t going to carry or shoot one herself.’

Billy felt a great wave of relief wash over him. ‘She’s done it once, and I know she’ll be able to do it again. That’s a big worry off my shoulders. I’ll make sure she is scheduled for regular sessions on the range. Maybe I can get Scarecrow to help her—that would certainly help with her compliance. If he asks for the job—she’ll do whatever it is. And eventually—we can issue her a weapon. We’ll have to do something about storage—she won’t allow a weapon at home—and I understand she wants to protect her boys. So I’ll think about something else—but there’s time. Right now—I’m just happy she was able to use a weapon to help subdue a suspect. She’ll be a full agent yet—I’m doing my best to make it happen and this was a big step on the way for her.’



The Wrong Way Home December 2, 1985

Billy and his agents were gathered in the bullpen as he spoke to the Agency’s man in Estoccia. After they had determined the name of the suspect and Lee had confirmed he was Amanda’s ex-husband—Billy felt the need to remind Lee of his priorities in the case.

“No playing favorites on this one Scarecrow—if you have to use Amanda to find him—use her.” He watched his agent’s face closely as the man nodded. ‘He’s a bit overwhelmed at all the implications of this one. And there are way too many to allow anyone BUT him to deal with it. He knows Amanda best—and she will need all the support she can get. And Lee will also need support—so they can help each other deal with all of this—however it turns out.’

‘I just hope the man is innocent and Scarecrow can prove it. Because if he’s guilty—it would take a whole lot for me to be able to get Amanda into any agent training program. Hell—it would be difficult to keep her working as a Civilian Auxiliary. And I need her here—she’s half of my best team and the best tape transcriber I have. Plus she’s a good person and a genuine joy to have around. The place is a bit brighter on the days she’s working.’



After The Wrong Way Home December 2, 1985

Billy was wrapping up the paperwork on the Byron Foster-EAO fraud case. ‘It was close—Foster’s man took Amanda’s boys as hostages. At their school. I wonder if we need to have more security there? What am I saying?—I could never justify the expense for a Civilian Auxiliary.’

‘Ironically—all this time she’s been with us it took a threat from something her ex did to get their boys involved and in danger. People know she’s connected—and she’s been used to get to Scarecrow and the Agency—but her family has been left out of the equation up to now. Hopefully this will be the only time they are in danger like that. Dotty was in the hair salon that was trashed 18 months ago—but she never saw a thing. Thank God for hair dryers.’

‘Now her ex is back in the states for the foreseeable future—he’s vital to unraveling the fraud in EAO and he’s a material witness in the Foster case—I wonder how that will change the dynamic between her and Scarecrow? I thought they might be moving closer—but with Joe King around—I think Stetson will back off. I hope not—she’s not going to get back with the man—she’s changed too much and gotten too far here to give all of it up.’

‘Stetson looked so lost when he discovered the suspect was Joe King—Amanda’s ex. Obviously he hasn’t thought much about the man. And I would guess Amanda’s not talked about him very much. It’s almost like Stetson is insecure about where he stands with Amanda. That’s a change! If he’s so unsure about her—maybe he is in love with the woman. Because that’s totally unlike the man and the way he’s dealt with women in the past. ‘Love ‘em and leave ‘em Lee’—that’s what the steno pool called him. But he’s acting like he cares a lot about how Amanda responds to him—which means he’s thinking—even subconsciously—about a long-term relationship. He hasn’t contemplated that since he was assigned to Angelo Spinelli in Milan. And that ended badly for him. She married someone else. I know he was in love with the woman—I could see it. And he was so closed-off and shut down when he returned to DC. It was sad, but there was nothing I could do—so I just watched and waited.’

‘Being paired with Eric seemed to snap him out of it—and getting to know Lois and Bethy also helped. But then Eric was killed and he withdrew again. Thank God he finally picked Amanda King out of the crowd that October day. He’s come a long way in the past two years—now he has to keep going. But that’s not up to me—so once again I watch and wait and hope.’
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