Billy’s Case Files part 5
by Ermintrude
See part one for disclaimers
During Remembrance of Things Past January 9, 1984
Billy Melrose, Agency section chief, sat at his desk with all the requisite paperwork. This was the bureaucratic task he hated the most: filling out the paperwork when an agent died in the line of duty. Thank heavens it was a ruse this time. Still, the news had been a big shock for the rest of the unit. Lee Stetson, Scarecrow, was a somewhat larger-than-life personality at the Agency. For everyone to be told he had died at the hands of an unknown assassin, someone who was killing all the young, dashing, single agents in Washington, was depressing. Billy knew Lee was the sole survivor of the assassin’s attacks, but for the rest…
As Billy made the arrangements for Lee’s ‘funeral’, a simple graveside ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, with a 21 gun salute, which he was entitled to as a veteran, he planned his next task. Someone had to go to Mrs. King’s house, to give her the news. He longed to pass this off on another agent, but he knew as section chief, and Lee’s friend, this task fell to him alone. He would wait until lunch time. That was when Amanda’s boys would still be at school, and her mother would be out lunching with friends. So she would be alone, and have some time to absorb the news and hopefully recover a bit before her family returned.
It was what was going to happen, three days in the future that Billy was worried about. Lee would show up at Amanda’s house after the funeral. He and Lee had agreed the assassin was someone inside the Agency—hence the mock funeral—and Lee needed to be somewhere nobody there would suspect. And where better, than at the house of his ‘unofficial’ partner? But in the interests of security, only Billy and Lee knew he had not been killed by the attack the previous evening, but only wounded. So poor Amanda would spend the next three days thinking Lee was really dead. And Billy knew it would be hard on the woman. She had been working with Scarecrow for three months, and she had become something of a fixture around the office in that short time. Her cookies and warm caring concern for everyone had made the place a bit more—human. But her caring concern was something of a liability in these situations, when necessary deceit demanded detachment. She would truly grieve for Lee. And Billy knew the woman held more than a merely professional regard for her partner. She cared deeply for the man. Maybe even loved him—whatever it was that wasn’t Billy’s business.
He knew she would be overjoyed to find out Lee was alive, and perhaps also be angry that she had not been let into the plan. But would she recover fully? This sort of deceit and emotional flip-flop wore on the soul. Usually it took longer for an agent to be tested in this way. For poor Amanda it had come relatively quickly. Billy knew from personal experience how wearing it could be. Eventually, you learned to keep a protective emotional distance at work, and just never opened up fully anymore to colleagues. As long as a person had close family ties, it could be managed. But for someone like Amanda, who wore her heart on her sleeve, would she want to continue in the business? Could she come back, knowing that next time it could be real—that Scarecrow would really be dead? Or that it was her death which might be reported, either falsely or for real?
She couldn’t share her world at the Agency with her family. They had no idea she worked there. Maybe Billy could see to making her an ‘official’ employee of IFF, International Federal Film, the Agency’s cover business. She had minored in photojournalism, so it wouldn’t look that odd. So far, she had disguised her Agency activities behind the screen of clubs and most recently a walking and watering service. But that wouldn’t last forever. And it looked like this unlikely partnership would last for the foreseeable future. In a way, this was probably the final exam for Mrs. King. If she weathered this assignment with all its emotional ups and downs, and she and Scarecrow managed to solve the case yet again, and she still wanted to do the work, she was probably a lifer.
Even if Scarecrow had died, there would be a place for Amanda King in Billy’s unit. At least as long as he was section chief, he wanted the woman around. Not only was she an asset in working with Stetson, but she was a whiz at transcribing and the other paperwork minutiae that abounded in the world of espionage. Nobody could make sense of expense reports like she could. And she had some challenges in figuring it out from the scattered notes and receipts given her by her partner. So Billy would do what he could to keep her around. But the question this time was; would she want to stay? Only time would tell. And so he finished up the last of his immediate task, made a few necessary phone calls, and headed out to meet with Mrs. King and give her the sad news in person. Hopefully she would be able to forgive him, when the case was over.
Before Lost and Found January 16, 1984
Billy Melrose, section chief, read the report out of Moscow. Dr. Angelo Spinelli—rescued from a psychiatric hospital—currently in transit to the US. The plan was to place him in witness relocation after the Agency debriefed him. Which could take a month or more—considering the amount of knowledge he had and his psychological condition—which was shaky.
A safe house had been set up, and furnished for long-term occupancy. The debriefing team had yet to be determined—but one thing Billy was sure of—he would not allow Scarecrow on that team. Lee’s involvement with the Spinellis—correction—now only Angelo Spinelli—could impair his objectivity. Even though Lee had never said anything about his relationship with Eva, Billy knew the signs of love. And Lee had definitely been in love with Eva Fortuna, Dr. Spinelli’s lab assistant. Unfortunately for Lee, she had married Dr. Spinelli.
Billy knew he shouldn’t be emotionally biased when it came to the people in his unit—but he’d always had a soft spot for Scarecrow. And he had suffered along with Lee when the man returned from Italy, alone. The man had the stuffing knocked out of him. He still did the job—went through the motions—but is heart wasn’t in it. Billy had paired Lee with Eric Jarvis—and slowly Scarecrow came back to life. He and Eric had become friends—Lee had even become ‘Uncle Lee’ to Bethy—Eric’s young daughter.
Billy sighed. ‘That’s water under the bridge. Eric’s gone, and now Eva, too. Damn the KGB!’ Now Billy had to make arrangements to help Dr. Spinelli build a new life for himself. Billy knew exactly who would be the most helpful—someone who excelled at making people feel comfortable and at ease. Someone with a warm and human touch. Amanda King would be perfect—she could help Dr. Spinelli set up housekeeping and also gently and carefully ease him into a more normal life. She’d probably get friendly and she could—unofficially—start the debriefing just by being her normal, friendly, curious, helpful self.
Billy checked the duty roster again. Scarecrow was in Sri Lanka making contact with several operatives and debriefing them. He should be there for another three or four days at least. A couple of the people were in remote locations and travel was difficult and time-consuming.
Billy had sent Lee out of the country to help him decompress from his recent ‘death’ and the close contact with Amanda King. They worked well together—but Lee had confided to Billy that living at Amanda’s house was just a bit too much ‘normal life’ for him. They had closed the case—found the killer—and so as a reward Billy sent Lee overseas for an easy assignment as a sort of ‘down time’ from his partner. It was a delicate balance—between letting Scarecrow work solo and having Mrs. King work with him. So far, all his overseas assignments were solo—but Billy knew that could easily change. If a case came up that required Amanda’s unique skills—she’d be on a plane as soon as she could get packed. Billy had arranged for a passport for her as soon as it became clear she was going to be working with Scarecrow on a more-or-less permanent basis. So far, only Billy ‘officially’ knew they were partnered—but the rest of the unit had figured it out. Only Lee had yet to realize he was permanently partnered with Amanda. Or maybe he was still hoping she’d get bored or scared off or find another job elsewhere…
But this time Billy needed Amanda without Lee. So as Lee was conveniently out of the country, he’d call Mrs. King and enlist her help with Dr. Spinelli.
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