Billy’s Case Files
By Ermintrude
See part 1 for disclaimers
Part 30
Unfinished Business October 3, 1986 (3 years from the day…)
“Enter.” Billy responded to the knock on the door. He looked up to see Dr. Charles Anderson—the pharmacist in charge of the Agency dispensary. This couldn’t be good. “Dr. Anderson—what brings you into my office?”
“I think two of your people may have removed a controlled substance from my dispensary.”
“That’s a serious charge. What makes you think this?”
“At first I didn’t make the connection—but yesterday Mrs. King dropped by and asked about how aspirin works to relieve a headache. She seemed very interested, and I was happy to answer her question. She said she’d be back to ask more—but she didn’t return. I thought nothing of it—but I just checked the locked cabinet looking for something else—and a vial of promazepam is missing.”
Billy’s heart sank. “Was she anywhere near that cabinet?”
“No—not at all.”
“Then why do you suspect her?”
“Her partner is more than capable of getting in there—and her visit seemed just too convenient.”
“Did you see him?”
“No.”
“Then you only have a suspicion—no proof.”
“No. No proof.” Dr. Anderson wilted a bit.
“Thank you for coming to me with this. Have you told anyone else yet?”
“No—I came right to you.”
“I’ll handle this. You just note the discrepancy and I’ll deflect any heat if it comes down on you.”
“Thanks. I’ve got to get back to my dispensary.” The pharmacist left.
Billy sat back. ‘I’ll put money down that Amanda was running a diversion for Scarecrow. Her explanation was too pat. And McRary from Langley has been calling Scarecrow. Promazepam—that’s a deep recall drug. This has to have some connection with those documents he’s been getting from the CIA. And right after he got the latest batch of files the drug disappears—because now he knows his mother was with British Intelligence. That has to be a big revelation for him. So far he’s kept it quiet. And after Stemwinder—I was hoping things could calm down a bit.’
‘What do I do? Do I let him know that I know what he’s up to? I tell him McRary has been calling and then they go to Blackthorne’s estate and ask about his parents. He doesn’t know I have the full substance of that visit. And now he’ll probably try the drug as I’ve forbidden them to go back there.’
‘Let’s be fair—I sent them away hoping he’d work it out on his own. I know the man won’t rest until he gets to the bottom of this. And yelling at Amanda too will ensure they’ll stay away unless he gets some solid proof against Blackthorne. We don’t want Sinclair staying there—we need him in a secure facility where we can keep an eye on him at all times—and if Scarecrow uncovers something shady about Blackthorne—it will be the perfect excuse to move Sinclair out of there. I just hope Lee finds some answers about his parents and resolves some of those old issues for himself—he won’t see a shrink—so Amanda is all he has. The fact he included her in his little fishing expedition means she’s in on it, so he’s opened up to her at least on that front. Good for you, Amanda—you may be the savior of Scarecrow yet.’
‘I hope I haven’t made a critical mistake. I would have handled it differently if I knew they had that drug. But all I can do now is wait—and hope it all works out OK.’
After Unfinished Business October 3, 1986
Billy was in his office after the debriefings of Scarecrow and Amanda. ‘Blackthorne sold US supplies to the Russians during the war. Scarecrow managed to uncover the link, and stop the assassination of Rene Sinclair. Unfortunately Blackthorne ended up dead—because he might have given us a few more links. Black market operations over 40 years ago and we’re still suffering the repercussions.’
‘Hopefully this will end Lee’s obsession with his parents. He managed to clear their names—Blackthorne was making false reports to deflect suspicion onto them. And Blackthorne engineered their deaths. Fortunately Lee found their evidence. The homeowners are being cooperative and allowing us to repair the damage and clear out the hidden cellar in the process. Can’t leave anything down there that someone might stumble on in the future.’
‘And Amanda was there to save Lee from Blackthorne. I’ll give him a couple days off. He needs it to process what went down. And let that drug get through his system. He’s damned lucky he’s mostly OK. A few flashbacks—but that’s normal for a couple of days. That man leads a charmed life—first that nerve gas—now the promazepam. And his parents can now rest in peace with no stain on their memories. Maybe he can finally move on. It’s a big breakthrough for him. He’s never mentioned details about his parents—ever. Now he’s managed to use their research to break an important case. He’s very lucky to have Amanda with him. She may be adopting some of his less-than-orthodox ways, but she still manages to still keep him in line.’
No Thanks for the Memory October 10, 1986
“May I have my office back, please?” Billy asked. Lee and Beaman gave each other a look and left. Lee looked smug—Beaman annoyed.
Billy had to chuckle. ‘I knew Amanda’s training would be somewhat unorthodox—but calling a flash alert after being assigned a class C interrogation… Only Amanda. Still it was entirely appropriate. And she does have three years of solid field experience. It’s gratifying to see how much she has actually learned during those three years.’
‘Poor Beaman is going to have his hands full. He’s trying so hard to treat her like another recruit—but she isn’t a normal recruit in any way. He says he gives her a lot of slack—but he still tries to keep her within the narrow bounds of a raw recruit—and she’s anything but. It’s a good experience for the both of them. Mrs. King is finally getting the formal training she’s needed these past years and filling in the gaps in her espionage education. Beaman is learning how to improvise and handle a not-so-normal recruit. So far Amanda is doing better than Beaman. But Beaman is a good man—and he has potential well beyond the tasks he’s been assigned in the past few years. Maybe he’ll end up being a field agent as well. He has the credentials—he just needs some seasoning and work on his ability to think outside the box and adapt to fluid situations.’
After No Thanks for the Memory October 10, 1986
Billy was very pleased with the latest case of Scarecrow and Mrs. King. ‘Amanda’s Class C interrogation assignment turned into a major coup for our side. We captured Colonel Alexis Tolst red-handed and he won’t be getting out of prison ever. And with luck—he’ll eventually cooperate and we’ll get more valuable information. The man has operated with impunity for too long—and now he’s out of commission permanently. That makes our week. Hell—maybe the whole month!’
‘I’d give a lot to have pictures of Lee debriefing Zmed in Amanda’s treehouse. That may be one of the most unorthodox sites for a defection debriefing in the history of this Agency. Amanda does manage to bring a certain air of unconventionality to all her work. And she drags Scarecrow along with her. Does the man good to get out of his rut once in a while. Maybe if I give Amanda a camera for future cases—just in case…’
‘And Zmed Dorloff may end up being a valuable asset as well. He will relocate—but I think we might manage to relocate him somewhere his unique abilities will be available for us to use. He certainly is willing to help. Amanda’s handling of his situation guaranteed that. She does get personally involved. That may come to haunt her in the future—but she has Scarecrow to offset that for her. They are such a great team.’
‘Amanda is such a natural for Class C interrogations. Maybe I should have someone analyze her ‘technique’ and incorporate it into our training program. She gets results that nobody else can. When I think about her interrogation of Barnhill in London… Only Amanda. Like Lee said, she has a style all her own.’
It’s in the Water October 17, 1986
Billy was reviewing the Omega Triad case. ‘In a way Carmine Davis did us a great favor. He managed to exploit a big hole in the water purification system, in a manner that caused no loss of life. He’s damned lucky he managed to come out of it unscathed. Hopefully he’ll not do much time—and we’ve arranged for him to receive his PhD from Georgetown. His chemistry skills are unparalleled and we need good minds like his. Maybe we can work out something with the judge for him to do his time working in a secure facility.’ He made a note to himself to have a talk with legal and see what kind of briefs could be filed on his behalf.
‘Amanda’s previous case—the Fletcher case recovering the C-12 crystals—tied directly into this one. She met Carmine then when he helped them set up their chapter of Mothers for a Safe Environment. We’re very lucky there because her swift identification of Carmine Davis helped us close this case quickly. We could have spent weeks trying to identify the man. And we managed to get Franklin Miller—so that’s another scumbag terrorist-for-hire off the streets. His death saved the taxpayers the cost of a trial and incarceration. I should be sorry for it—but I’m not. Those terrorists-for-hire are the worst. I can almost sympathize with the idealists—but the ones who do it just for the money—the ones who don’t care who they’re working for or what they have to do or how many they kill—they’re the worst of the worst. Unfortunately there are always more where he came from. Still—one less out there is good for our side.’
‘I went out on a limb—counting on Scarecrow and Amanda’s ability to make sure the poison didn’t get into the system. But shutting down DC’s water supply on a ‘what if’ was a risk I wasn’t going to take. It would be a signal to terrorists all over the world that we’re vulnerable and also too cautious. That is a posture we can’t afford to take. Good thing they managed to prevent the second half of the chemical from getting into the stream on time. Once the 20 minute window had passed we were safe—the rain will wash the chemicals into the water and it will pass harmlessly through the system. So that threat’s been thoroughly neutralized.’
‘Miller was a sneaky bastard—wiring the house with explosives. Amanda almost walked right into that one. She’s got to learn to be more careful. But that’s what the classes are for. And experienced agents have made similar mistakes. That’s why she has a partner. They’re my best team.’
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