Chapter Twelve
Monday Late Afternoon, September 21st
Jamie sat in the back of the car with his arm protectively around Sydney, who appeared to be sleeping soundly, knocked out by whatever was on that cloth. He thought about pinching himself to make sure he wasn’t in the middle of some horrible nightmare. Unfortunately, he had the feeling that if he did that, it would only confirm the fact that the nightmare was real and that some strange Russian man was indeed holding them at gunpoint. For the first time in his life, he was really and truly scared. Staring out the window, he pulled Sydney closer to him, hoping to provide himself with some sense of comfort that he wasn’t alone and tried to figure out exactly what had gone wrong. One minute they were standing there talking to Aleksandr and then Sydney mentioned something about the bell about to ring and when he had turned to acknowledge her comment, he saw Mr. Romanovich with his arm around Sydney, pressing a cloth to her nose and mouth. He had run over and tried to stop Mr. Romanovich, but the second man, Ivan, had pulled a gun out and aimed it at him. The next thing he remembered was another, very large, very menacing-looking man coming in through the exterior door, and Mr. Romanovich passing Sydney to that man. Then Mr. Romanovich grabbed him by the wrist and started dragging him towards the door. He had fought as hard as he could, but when Mr. Romanovich pressed a gun into his side, he stopped fighting. He knew he’d be better off if he went willingly.
So, now here they sat in the back of a black car, with the man who had carried Sydney out driving, and Mr. Romanovich in the backseat, aiming his gun at them. Jamie desperately wanted to curl into a ball, but knew he had to be strong. He had to protect Sydney, especially since she was out cold and defenseless. To make the situation even more confusing, some guy had come running towards the car, and he could have sworn it had been Lee. But Mr. Romanovich had called the man running at them with a gun in his hand, ‘Scarecrow’, so it couldn’t have been Lee, could it? He was too far away, but the man sure did resemble his mom’s boyfriend. But what would Lee be doing with a gun?
“Romanovich, we’ve got two tails.” The driver shouted from the front of the car.
Sergei turned his head and glanced out the back window. Sure enough two unmarked cars were following them. “Well lose them. Damn! I should have known the Scarecrow would’ve been prepared.” He then turned a menacing glare in Jamie’s direction. “How did the Scarecrow know to come looking for you?”
Jamie had turned towards their captors when he had heard that they were being followed. “I…I don’t know any Scarecrow.” He answered honestly.
“Then how do you know this girl?” Sergei pointed his gun at the unconscious Sydney.
“She’s staying with us. Her father is a friend of my mom’s, and he went out of town on business.” Jamie tried not to sound as terrified as he was.
The Magician stared intently at the young boy. “Your mother, you say, is friends with Jack Bristow?”
Jamie nodded but before he could say anything, the car made a sharp turn and he hit his head against Sydney’s, where it lay resting on his shoulder.
The Magician turned around and saw that the two cars were still on their tail. “Vadorsky, turn left now. There is an alley not far ahead and a parking garage we can cut through. We should lose them.” He braced himself as the driver did as he was instructed. He then turned back towards Jamie. “What did you say your last name was?”
“It’s King, Jamie King.” Jamie tightened his arm around Sydney as he felt the car speeding up. He was glad that he had taken the time to at least put his seatbelt on, and had buckled Sydney in as well. He may not have remembered to listen to his mother’s warnings about strangers, but at least he had heeded that advice.
“Hmmm. I wonder. I had originally brought you along to keep Miss Bristow company before she went on her journey, and because you would have caused too much trouble for me if I had left you behind, especially since you heard where we plan on taking your friend. But if you are who I think you are, you may just be joining her on her trip.” A sinister smile crossed the Magician’s lips. “I thought Miss Bristow was going to do wonders for my career, but the son of the famous Scarecrow’s equally famous partner will really be a…how do you say in America…ah yes, a feather in my cap.”
Jamie didn’t know what the crazy man sitting next to him was talking about. What did his mom have to do with any of this, and what did Mr. Romanovich mean by Scarecrow’s partner? Maybe that had been Lee running towards them, and if that was so, did that mean he was the Scarecrow, and was his mom the Scarecrow’s partner? None of this was making any sense. What did these men want with Sydney? As the car squealed through the empty parking garage, their captors desperately trying to lose their pursuers, he braced himself for another sharp turn. Looking back out the side window, he silently prayed that they wouldn’t lose the cars following them, and that he and Sydney would be going home and not on some trip to who knew where.
SMK a SMK a SMK
Lee ran a hand through his hair as he stood outside the door he had come through just moments before. How did it all go wrong so quickly and why hadn’t he listened to the little voice inside his head that had been trying to warn him not to let Jamie and Sydney out of his sight? He knew he should have found a way to stay outside their classroom once the Magician had arrived. He thought they’d be safe with their teacher. Who could have guessed that they’d sneak out of class early? Reaching down, he placed his hand on the doorknob and, knowing that this was an exterior door, he prayed that it hadn’t locked automatically behind him. Saying a silent prayer of thanks when the doorknob turned all the way, he yanked the door open. Scanning the room, he saw Ivan heading towards the interior door, clutching Aleksandr’s hand. Pulling out his gun from his waistband, he raised it and aimed in Ivan’s direction. “Hold it right there, Plotkovich. You’re not going anywhere.”
Ivan turned and stared Lee down. “I’ve got diplomatic immunity, Scarecrow. You can not touch me.”
Lee held Ivan’s gaze as he moved closer to the Russian. “You’re not on Embassy grounds, Plotkovich, and it appears that your associate has just kidnapped two American children. Therefore, I can arrest you as an accessory. Now, let go of the boy’s hand, and step away from the door.”
Ivan let out an evil laugh. “And if I don’t, what will the almighty Scarecrow do? Do you have the right stuffing to shoot me, right here in front of an innocent boy? Do not forget all the children out in the hallway. If you shoot me, you will bring them all in here, no?”
Lee kept advancing towards Ivan. “Step away from the boy, Plotkovich. I don’t want to hurt you, I just want some answers.” The walkie-talkie on his belt crackled and he took it off and laid it on a desk nearby. He didn’t need any distractions right now; he needed to concentrate on the current situation. Taking another step, he was now just a few feet away from Ivan.
Ivan kept his hand linked with Aleksandr’s. “I have done nothing wrong, Scarecrow. I am here to protect Aleksandr, and I will continue doing so.” He reached for his own weapon.
Lee saw Ivan going for his weapon and knew he had to act fast. He couldn’t let this become a stalemate. With his gun still aimed at Ivan, he lunged at the Russian.
Startled, Ivan quickly let go of Aleksandr’s hand and instead of drawing his own weapon, he prepared to block Scarecrow’s advance.
In one quick move, Lee grabbed Ivan by the collar, slammed him up against the wall, and pressed his gun to the Russian’s temple. “Now, do we do this the easy way, or the hard way?”
Ivan was suddenly quite afraid, but he was a Russian agent and he knew better than to show fear to the enemy. “I have done nothing wrong, Scarecrow.” He glanced to the side and saw that Aleksandr had moved away from them. Placing his hand on Lee’s wrist, he struggled to loosen the man’s grip on his shirt.
Lee ignored Ivan’s hand and tightened his grasp on the man’s collar. “Where is the Magician taking those children?” He asked through clenched teeth. He wanted desperately to beat Ivan and get some answers, especially since beating up on the worthless KGB agent would relieve some of his own guilt at letting things get so out of control.
Ivan tried again to remove Lee’s hand, the tighter the Scarecrow gripped the harder it was for him to breathe. “I…don’t…know.”
Suddenly the door to the classroom swung open. Lee tightened his hold even more, but removed his gun from Ivan’s temple, ready to aim it at the intruders if necessary. He relaxed when he saw his wife enter the room and turned his focus back on the Russian.
Amanda took a moment to take in the scene. Her stomach tightened as she realized that Jamie and Sydney were nowhere to be found. Seeing the determined look on her husband’s face as he stared at the man in his clutches, she knew something had gone terribly wrong. She was about to comment, when she saw the frightened boy, no older than her son, cowering in the corner. Her motherly instincts kicked in and she ran to the boy. “Are you Aleksandr?” The boy barely nodded. “It’s okay. No one’s going to hurt you, I promise.” She put a comforting arm around the boy.
Francine had entered the room with Gordon right behind Amanda. Walking over to Lee, she put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Scarecrow, if you choke him,” she motioned to the man desperately gasping for breath, “we won’t get any answers out of him at all.” She then reached behind Ivan and took the Russian’s gun from its holster. Placing it in the waistband of her jeans, she shook her head. “I see in your eagerness to drain the man of all his oxygen, you neglected to disarm him. Not a wise move on your part, Scarecrow.”
Ignoring his fellow agent’s comment, Lee looked closer at the Russian and noticed that the man was actually turning blue. Loosening his grip, he looked towards Francine as he lowered his gun. “Don’t think this is over Plotkovich.” He then roughly shoved Ivan towards the blonde. “Cuff him, Francine. We’ll take him back to the Agency. He’ll answer our questions there.”
Francine fought the urge to snap to attention and salute. Lee may be the senior agent, but she didn’t appreciate him giving her orders like that. However, knowing the current state her fellow agent was in, it was better not to bait the hook. Instead, keeping one hand on Ivan’s arm, she pulled a pair of handcuffs from the back of her pants. She caught the questioning glance Lee gave her. “What? A girl has to be prepared. You’d be surprised where I can hide things.”
Lee shook his head as he watched her place the cuffs on the Russian’s wrists. Assured that Ivan was secure, he bent down and put his gun back into his ankle holster. With two other agents in the room who had their guns drawn, there was no chance Ivan was going to get away and he didn’t want to risk blowing his cover by having his own gun out. Standing up, he turned towards Gordon. “Why the hell didn’t you stay outside this room?” He stormed towards the agent. “From what I could tell you weren’t all that interested in the game. Your assignment was to watch the Magician and because you didn’t do your job, he now has Sydney Bristow and Jamie King in his possession. Do you have ANY idea what this means?”
Gordon took a step back from the advancing agent. “Now hold it right there, Stetson! Our assignment was to keep an eye on the Magician. Make note of any moves, not watch his every move. I did exactly what I was told to do and, as you’ll recall, I told you I couldn’t just ‘lurk’ outside the classroom. That would have looked damn suspicious and would have raised the eyebrows of anyone who might have been passing by. This is a school, Scarecrow.”
Amanda walked Aleksandr to the table that had the chess set. “Why don’t you keep yourself occupied? Okay?” She pointed to the board. The boy nodded and took a seat, but didn’t make a move to touch any of the pieces. She shook her head slightly and sighed. This poor boy was just an innocent bystander who didn’t understand anything that was going on around him. Turning her attention on her husband, she took a few quick steps in his direction.
Lee gritted his teeth and ran a hand through his hair. He was just about to lash out at his fellow agent some more when he felt his wife’s hand on his arm.
“Lee, Gordon’s right. The teams were only instructed to watch out for the Magician. No one knew they were supposed to watch Sydney. That was our job.” Amanda’s tone was calm, but held a hint of regret, too.
Lee turned his head and looked at his wife, pain and regret evident in his own eyes. “Amanda, I’m sorry. I didn’t get there in time. I saw the Magician push Jamie into the car, but I wasn’t in time to stop the car from getting away.”
Amanda shook her head. “Don’t. There’s no time for placing blame and feeling guilty. We have to concentrate on finding Jamie and Sydney.”
Gordon watched the interaction with extreme interest. It was truly amazing the affect that Amanda King had on her partner. Perhaps there was a lot more going on with these two than they wanted anyone to know about. Why else would the proclaimed ladies’ man have his partner and her sons’ picture in his wallet? He was about to comment on that fact when the classroom door opened and a very annoyed woman entered the room.
“What in Heaven’s name is going on in here?” Principal Dennis looked from one occupant to another. Her gaze came to rest on the substitute gym teacher, Miss Desmond, holding one of the Russians assigned to Aleksandr Molinkof handcuffed and at gunpoint. “One of my students came running to my office telling me there was something going on in here, but I had no idea exactly what. Please explain to me why you people are running around school property with guns while there are children present. What kind of example do you think you’re setting for these children?” Her gaze fell on the young boy at the desk attempting to move chess pieces around.
Francine saw the barely noticeable shake of Lee’s head, indicating that if he said anything, his cover was blown. She was about to start explaining when Gordon opened his mouth.
“Excuse me, ma’am, but this is a government investigation, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Gordon reached into his pocket and pulled out his ID.
Principal Dennis turned her attention to the man who had just spoken. “I will not leave. I'm the Principal here, and I demand to know what's going on. Who’s in charge here?”
Gordon opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by Francine.
“I am.” Francine shot Gordon a look that said ‘don’t even think of arguing with me’.
Gordon glanced in Lee’s direction. He caught the barely noticeable shake of Scarecrow’s head and decided that it was in the best interest of his career to keep his mouth shut.
Principal Dennis turned to look at Francine. “I don’t understand. You’re our new assistant gym teacher, aren’t you?”
Francine shook her head and reached into her back pocket. Pulling out her ID, she handed it to Principal Dennis. “I’m sorry to have deceived you, but I was sent here undercover.” She then motioned towards her fellow agent. “Agent Gordon, can you please take the suspect.” As soon as Gordon had the suspect in hand, she turned her attention back on the Principal. “I’m sorry we didn’t inform you ahead of time Mrs. Dennis, but it was necessary that my presence here was kept quiet. You see, this man,” she pointed in Ivan’s direction, “is a known KGB operative. He and his associate have been under suspicion for a while. When we found out he was going to be here at the school, we had to take certain precautions. We apologize for not informing you, but we felt it was better not to alarm you.”
“Alarm me! Are you people insane? What right do you have to invade my school? I don’t care what kind of operation you’re running this is still my school; I had a right to be informed.” Principal Dennis was getting more and more frustrated by the minute. Suddenly she remembered the other occupants of the room and turned towards the woman she had always known to be quite sensible. “This whole situation is just so surreal. Mrs. King, you’re always the voice of reason. Maybe you can make sense of all of this because right now I feel like I’m swimming in a sea of insanity.” She then turned her attention on the man standing next to Mrs. King. As she looked more closely at him, an odd sense of déjà vu swept over her. Something about this whole situation gave her the feeling that she knew Mr. Stetson from somewhere, and it wasn’t from their official meeting in her office on Friday.
Amanda could sense the situation was quickly spiraling out of control. Taking a deep breath she did her best to explain. “Oh, Principal Dennis, it’s just awful. I went looking for Jamie and Sydney, they were supposed to meet us at the book sale, but after the last bell rang and they hadn’t shown up I went to their classroom. The substitute teacher, Miss Downs I think she said her name was, well she said that Sydney had an upset stomach and Jamie escorted Sydney to the nurses office. When I got there, Nurse Mead said that she hadn’t seen Jamie since last year. Well then I got concerned and decided to see if they were at the tournament. All of a sudden, these federal agents appeared,” she pointed towards Gordon, “and I got curious so I decided to follow them. I heard them talking about a kidnapping.” She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. Feeling Lee’s arm wrap around her shoulder, she opened her eyes and looked into the astonished face of Principal Dennis. “I overheard them talking about Aleksandr’s chaperones being KGB agents and not just ordinary Russian bodyguards from the Embassy like you originally thought, and, well, I followed them into this room and that’s when Lee told me that he saw one of the men, that is one of the KGB agents, force Sydney and Jamie into a car and drive off.”
Principal Dennis’ head was reeling. Maybe Mrs. King wasn’t the best person to ask. Then, as what Mrs. King said started to sink in, her eyes grew wide and she gasped. “Did I understand you correctly? Jamie and Sydney have been kidnapped?”
Amanda took a deep breath. She knew she needed to be strong. She was, after all, an agent herself but Principal Dennis didn’t know that, nor did she want to reveal that information. Nodding her head, she turned her attention towards her husband. “Oh my gosh. It just hit me. Lee, some strange Russian spy has my son.” She turned a distraught face towards her husband.
Lee wrapped his arms around his wife. He knew that she was putting on an act for the Principal, but he also knew, that underneath the façade, she was really concerned. “It’s going to be all right. I’m sure these agents will do everything they can to find Jamie and Sydney.”
Just then the walkie-talkie Lee had placed on the desk earlier, crackled. “Scarecrow, the teams lost them, do you copy?”
Lee tensed momentarily as he fought the urge to go over and pickup the hand-held himself. Instead, he tightened his arm around his wife’s shoulders. This whole situation was turning into one giant nightmare.
“Scarecrow, I repeat. We’ve lost the sedan. Do you copy?”
Francine quickly ran over to desk and grabbed the walkie-talkie. Pressing the button on the side, she spoke into the device. “Fielder, we copy.”
“Desmond? Where’s Scarecrow?”
Francine rolled her eyes. “He went looking for his partner. We have Plotkovich. Be ready to transport. We’ll meet you out front in ten minutes.”
“Roger that, see you in ten.”
Francine clipped the walkie-talkie to the waistband of her sweats and turned towards Ivan. “Looks like your partner gave us the slip, so you might as well face the fact that you’re going to be with us for a very long time.” She smiled threateningly at the Russian.
Principal Dennis looked towards the young boy and then over towards the blonde agent. “Agent Desmond, what’s going to happen now? I mean what about Aleksandr?”
Francine looked over at the young boy, realizing for the first time that he was in the room. “Well, we’ll be taking Mr. Plotkovich with us, for questioning.” She then turned towards her fellow agents. “Mrs. King, Mr. Stetson, since you were witnesses, you’ll have to come with us as well, to give your statements.” She then turned her attention on Principal Dennis. “As for the boy, since his other escort has disappeared, and he is a Russian citizen, I’ll have to arrange for one of our agents to return him to the Russian Embassy. I’m afraid you’re going to have to cancel the rest of the tournament.”
“What about me, I have diplomatic immunity.” Ivan opened his mouth for the first time since the other agents had entered the room. He turned his gaze towards Lee, menace in his eyes.
“You are an accomplice, pure and simple. We’ll discuss your rights down at the Agency.” Francine cut him off before he had a chance to blow Lee’s cover. She then turned back towards Principal Dennis. “I’ll have one of my fellow agents, an Agent Fielder, come find you and fill you in on what will happen here since we’ll have to send in a forensics team. They’ll need access to any of the places that our suspects and the children in question would have gone.” She then walked over towards Aleksandr.
Amanda watched in amazement as Francine, who would normally run screaming from anyone under the age of fifteen, bent down and spoke to Aleksandr in Russian, showing no hint of any discomfort.
“You will need to come with me. I promise you that we intend you no harm. We’ll arrange for you to be taken back to the Embassy. Okay?” Francine watched the boy nod his head and then rise from his seat. She let out a small gasp of surprise when the boy placed his hand in hers. Quickly, she gathered her composure, squared her shoulders, and with Aleksandr in tow, headed towards the door. She then motioned for Gordon to bring Ivan and headed towards the door to the hallway. Turning her head, before she leaving the room, she looked over at Principal Dennis. “I hope we can count on your cooperation.”
Principal Dennis nodded. “Yes, I understand completely and I promise to cooperate in any way that I can.” She then turned towards Mrs. King and placed a comforting hand on her arm. “Don’t give up hope, Mrs. King. Jamie and Sydney will be just fine, especially if these agents are already on the case.”
Amanda gave her a weak smile. “Thank you, Principal Dennis. I only hope you’re right.” She then turned towards her husband and locked eyes with him as they followed Francine and their suspect out the door. They had a lot to do to ensure that Jamie and Sydney did, indeed, come back safely. They had just reached the door when she stopped. “Oh my gosh, Phillip. He needs to be picked up from practice, and mother, what am I going to tell mother?”
Lee pulled her tighter to him. “Look, why don’t I go with Agent Desmond. You can head over and get Phillip. It’ll take your mind off of things for now.”
Amanda shook her head. “No, I’m coming with you. I want to be there to get the answers first hand. I’ll call Joe from the car. He should have gotten back from his business trip this morning. I’ll ask him to bring Phillip home and stay for dinner. I’ll invite Carrie, too.” She looked over at her husband. “I know what you’re thinking, but Joe needs to be told. I can’t keep this from him.”
Lee removed his arm from around his wife’s shoulders and, placing his hand at the small of her back, he led her out of the classroom and into the hallway. “I agree with you. We can’t keep Joe in the dark. That would probably make things a lot worse.” He wrapped his arm around her waist, and pulled her closer to him.
Principal Dennis rubbed her forehead hoping to rid herself of the headache that was forming. There was a reason everyone hated Mondays, and the events of today were definitely an indication as to why. Stepping out of the room, she glanced down the hallway and observed how well Mrs. King and Mr. Stetson seemed to fit together; although she still had the nagging feeling that she was missing something, something big about the pair. She couldn’t seem to shake the sense that there was just something very familiar about Mr. Stetson. Trying to ignore those thoughts, she let her thoughts wander to the two children who were now in danger. Suddenly her memory flashed back to the school gym, and Jamie and Phillip King being ushered over to their parents, while another man, who she learned later was a government agent, was fighting with the man who had told her that he was a private investigator. Mrs. King had told her, later, once everything had calmed down, that her ex-husband had been in trouble, framed for a murder in Estoccia, and the people who had really been responsible had tried to kidnap the boys.
Shaking her head from the memory, she wondered if the reason that Mr. Stetson looked so familiar was because he had been that government agent. If that were true, than that would mean…no, she shook her head again. The idea of Mrs. King being involved with government agents was ridiculous, wasn’t it? Pushing such thoughts from her mind as she watched the pair round the corner, she hoped, instead, that in the days to come, Mrs. King would be able to find the strength she’d need until her boy was returned to her. She turned towards her office to wait for the agent Miss Desmond had mentioned and prayed that Jamie King and Sydney Bristow would be found safe and unharmed.
SMK a SMK a SMK
Amanda leaned her head against the headrest and closed her eyes as she spoke into the car phone. “I promise Joe, I’ll tell you everything that I can at the house … No I don’t know when we’ll be getting home … Phillip’s practice ends at four-thirty … Just tell my mother that, well…tell her that I only asked you to pick up Phillip and that we stayed behind at the chess tournament with Jamie and Sydney … Thank you, Joe … We’ll see you and Carrie at the house…yes I think it’s important that she be there too, after all she’s family … Bye, Joe.” She let out a frustrated sigh as she placed the phone in its base.
“Joe didn’t give you a hard time, did he?” Lee asked as he watched his wife out of the corner of his eye.
Amanda shook her head slightly. “No, he didn’t. He’s worried, but he didn’t seem mad. Although after he has time to let the information sink in, that might change. However, he has faith in me…in us…and he knows that we’ll do everything we can to find Jamie.”
Lee could tell by the tone of her voice that she was hiding something from him. “Amanda, Joe did give you a hard time, didn’t he?”
Amanda shook her head and glanced over at her husband. “No, Lee, he really didn’t. It’s just…” she let out an exasperated breath, “I just asked Joe to lie to my mother for me. We promised her no more lies and... not twenty-four hours later here we are lying to her again. Will the deceit ever end?”
“Would you rather your mother spend the next few hours pacing and worrying? Isn’t it better to wait until we have more information to give her rather than almost nothing at all?” Lee glanced briefly at his wife, locking eyes with her momentarily before turning his attention back on the road. “However, I think we need to face the fact that we’re always going to have to tell some kind of half-truth. We may be able to tell your mother where we’re really going, but we won’t ever be able to tell her exactly why.”
“I know and the fact that she knows the truth about our jobs makes it a little easier for her to except the half-truths.” Amanda let out a sigh of frustration. “What are we going to tell the family, I mean about why Sydney and Jamie were kidnapped? Do we tell them a modified version of the truth and risk Phillip or my mother accidentally letting something slip in front of Sydney, and then she finds out the truth about her dad, or do we lie to protect Jack’s cover?”
“I hate to say this, but in this case, I think we’re going to have to tell them something that doesn’t paint Jack as a member of the intelligence community.” Lee drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Once we get back to the Agency, we’ll talk to Billy and see what he can come up with. Maybe we can come up with a story that has at least a few elements of truth.” Seeing the light in front of them change to red, he let out a groan of frustration as he stopped behind the Agency van carrying Plotkovich. “That is if we ever get there. This is taking forever. I knew I should have taken the lead, we’d be there by now.”
Amanda reached over and placed a hand on his arm. “Lee, if we drove the way you want to, we’d either lose the caravan, or end up in an accident, which is one thing we don’t need right now.”
Lee took a deep breath. “I know you’re right, I just hate this. Plotkovich knows where the Magician took Jamie and Sydney, Amanda, and I probably would have gotten the answers out of him if it hadn’t gotten so chaotic back there.” He pressed the accelerator lightly as the caravan moved forward once again. “Of course if Fielder’s teams hadn’t lost the Magician’s car in the first place then we wouldn’t have to worry about trying to get Plotkovich to talk. Realistically, the team shouldn’t have been spotted at all. I think it’s time the Agency revisits it’s ‘how to tail a suspect without being seen’ course.”
Removing her hand from his arm, Amanda let out a small chuckle. “Considering the fact that the Agency now passes out audio cassettes on how to tail a suspect instead of setting up real scenarios, it’s no wonder.”
Lee gave a small laugh before turning serious again. “Yeah, but being spotted is a rookie mistake, Amanda. Hell, you’ve followed more than your share of suspects and you weren’t even a full-time agent. I’d love nothing more then to give the drivers of those pursuit cars a piece of my mind.”
“Which is exactly why Fielder refused to tell you who they were.” Amanda leaned her head back against the headrest. “Look, we need to concentrate on finding Jamie and Sydney, and you taking out your frustrations on everyone around you, isn’t going to help.”
“Amanda, I am not taking my frustrations out on everyone.” Lee gripped the steering wheel tighter.
Amanda rolled her eyes. “Yes, you are. Did you even think about Aleksandr when you were trying to strangle Ivan Plotkovich? That boy was scared to death; he had no idea who you were or why you were aiming a gun at his bodyguard.”
“What would you have had me do, let Plotkovich leave? Then we’d be even worse off than we are now. We’d have no way to get any answers at all. Besides, I would never have hurt the boy, you know that.” Lee glanced briefly at his wife, a mixture of hurt, anger and worry evident in his eyes, before turning his focus back on the road in front of him.
Amanda put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently. “I know that, Lee, but sometimes you let your emotions take over and you lose sight of the bigger picture.”
“Now you sound like Billy.” Lee rolled his eyes and let out a groan. “One minute I need to have more compassion and feelings, and the next everyone’s telling me not to let my emotions get in the way.”
“That’s not what I meant, Lee.” Amanda removed her hand from his shoulder and placed it in her lap. “You need emotion, it’s what makes you a better agent, I’ve heard Billy say that a number of times. He said the agent you were before I came along was too brash, too uncaring, and way too willing to take risks. You’ve changed a lot in the last four years. I’m sorry I made the comment about Aleksandr. I just keep seeing the frightened look on his face when I first came into the room and then it turns into Jamie’s and…”
Lee let out a frustrated sigh. “Ah, hell Amanda, I’m sorry.”
Amanda turned and looked at him, confusion written on her face. “Why are you sorry? None of this is your fault, Lee.”
Lee slammed his hand against the steering wheel. “Yes, Amanda, it is. I let the Agency put our family in danger. I should have put up more of a fight when we were given this assignment, but I didn’t because I was being selfish. I knew what the potential danger was but I ignored it because I was looking forward to being a part of the family.” He let out a deep breath. “Damn it, Amanda. I should have listened to that little voice telling me not to let Jamie and Sydney out of my sight. I should have gone back and hung around outside their classroom the minute we knew the Magician was on the premises.”
“Is taking the blame making you feel better?” Amanda watched her husband slowly shake his head. “Then stop trying to take all the blame. Look, even if you had said no to this assignment, I would still have accepted it. You know that there was no way I was going to turn my back on Sydney.” She reached out and touched his shoulder again. “Secondly, there’s nothing we could have done differently. How would you have explained your presence outside their classroom? Admit it, you would’ve looked mighty suspicious hanging around. Besides, I was the one who was supposed to walk them to their last class, but because I was busy with a customer, you had to go. Had I gone, I would have known that they had a substitute and it might have dawned on me that they’d try and sneak out to go to the tournament, but then again it might not have.” She rubbed his shoulder gently, trying to ease some of the tension she felt there. “Do you realize that because of everything, I haven’t taken the time to get mad at my son for sneaking out of class? He knows better than that and he knows better than to talk to strangers.”
Lee let go of the steering wheel and placed his hand over hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. “You’re truly amazing, you know that. I should be trying to comfort you but instead you’re focusing all your energy on trying to keep me sane.”
Amanda shrugged. “If I worry about someone else, then I won’t have to think about what’s really going on. If I’m strong for someone else, then I can keep my own emotions at bay.”
Lee glanced over at his wife. “But you shouldn’t have to do that, Amanda. You’re allowed to let your emotions show. That’s one of the reasons I love you, because you’re not afraid to let people see how you feel.”
Amanda removed her hand from under his. “Yes, but normally one of my sons isn’t the one in danger. If I let my emotions flow freely, then I won’t be very effective and I need to be effective, Lee, I need to be strong. I know that we have a job to do and if I let my emotions take over, well, then I won’t be able to do my job. I know that my…our son is in the hands of the KGB and three years ago, I would have been a blubbering mess, but I’m a trained professional now and I know that it wouldn’t do any good to let my emotions get in the way. It’s hard enough to admit that we failed Sydney, and that we let the KGB get her.”
“I know. I guess I am focusing my frustrations elsewhere, because if I admit that we failed Sydney, than I admit that I screwed up and that won’t help us find them.” Lee reached over and placed his hand on Amanda’s thigh. “We will find them, I promise you that.”
Amanda placed her hand over his and sighed. “You know, there’s one thing I really don’t understand. The KGB was after Sydney. Why did they take Jamie, too?”
Lee shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe because Jamie saw the whole thing and they didn’t want any witnesses, or maybe he went willingly because he didn’t want to leave Sydney’s side. Face it, Amanda, he is your son, and you never do what’s logical. He probably tried to help Sydney and ended up getting captured as well.”
Amanda smiled knowingly at her husband, and let out a small nervous laugh. “Maybe you’re right. I just hope we find them before they send Sydney to Russia. They won’t need to keep him around after they ship Sydney out.” Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath to calm the queasiness that she suddenly felt as she realized just how much danger her son was in. “Oh God, Lee, what will they do to him?”
“Well the Magician is a smart man, and he’ll probably figure out that Jamie is your son, which might actually work in his favor.” Lee saw his wife watching him. “What I mean is, that once they find out he’s your son, they won’t kill him, they’ll try and use him instead.” He glanced briefly over at his wife. “Face it Amanda, you’re almost as well known as me in Russian circles, and if nothing else, they know you’re my partner.” Squeezing her hand lovingly, he reluctantly let go and put his hand back on the steering wheel. “Look, it won’t do any good to think about the ‘what ifs’.”
Amanda nodded. “You’re right. Besides, Jamie and Sydney are both smart kids, and they have each other.”
“Exactly.” Lee pulled into the Agency garage behind the van carrying Ivan. “Let’s concentrate our energy on getting Plotkovich to talk.” He maneuvered the ’Vette around the van and pulled into his parking spot. Turning off the engine, he climbed out of the vehicle and walked around the passenger side to help his wife out. “Come on, it’s time to get some answers.” With his hand at the small of his wife’s back, he guided her over to the van, and followed Francine and the other agents as they led Ivan into the back entrance of the Agency.
Lee kept his eyes trained on Ivan. He knew that it was only a matter of time before Plotkovich cracked, he just hoped it was sooner rather than later. He didn’t like the idea of someone taking his son out of the country or using him as bait. He was pretty sure the KGB wanted Sydney unharmed, but he also knew the Magician’s reputation. The man was slippery and ruthless. Mentally shaking his head, he cleared his mind of those thoughts. They were going to get Jamie and Sydney back, and Amanda was right, Jamie and Sydney were smart and they did have each other, and together…well he just hoped they wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize their safety. No matter what, Jamie was his mother’s son, and there was something in the West gene that could make any situation worse, but then again it had also helped his wife get out of some pretty hairy situations, too. He looked over at his wife and silently prayed that, for his son and Sydney’s sake, the West good luck was on their side.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Please note that any dialogue in italics is indicating that the speaker is speaking in Russian…