Chapter Fifteen
Tuesday Early Morning, September 22nd
Billy stood at the front of the conference room watching the last few agents dragging themselves into the room. Any outsider might mistake the occupants of the room for zombies from an old B horror movie rather than highly trained intelligence operatives. Most of the agents in front of him hadn’t even gone to bed yet, and those who had managed to get some sleep still looked like death warmed over. As he scanned the seated agents, his eyes fell on the pair he was most concerned with. He couldn’t help but notice Lee’s arm draped around Amanda’s shoulders. To anyone in the room, it might seem that Lee was being protective of his partner in the current situation, however, knowing the pair like he did, he knew that Lee was providing Amanda with as much comfort and support as he could. He couldn’t help the small smile that formed on his lips as he realized that the great Scarecrow no longer seemed to care who saw what when it came to the attention he was paying to his partner.
As if sensing Billy’s scrutiny of them, Amanda turned to look at him. Giving her a sympathetic smile, he couldn’t help but notice that while outwardly she was projecting a calm demeanor, when he looked into her eyes, he saw the worry she felt for her son and Sydney Bristow, and a sense of pride washed over him. Amanda King had become a very strong and independent agent; so much different than the timid and insecure housewife she was four years ago. Knowing he didn’t have time to wander down memory lane, he cleared his throat. “All right people. I want to thank everyone for coming in at the crack of dawn.”
“Crack of dawn my foot,” Francine grumbled. “It was still pitch black out when I pulled my car into the lot.”
Billy shot her his ‘can it, Francine’ look. “I wasn’t sure that I would have anything to report as far as leads at this time, but, as it turns out, I received some very interesting intel about ten minutes ago.”
Lee glanced from Francine to Billy, a look of astonishment on his face. “You got Plotkovich to talk?”
Billy shook his head. “Unfortunately, we still haven’t gotten him to say much of anything. However, I received a message from our guys at National. Since the authorities there are aware of the situation, they made sure I got this as soon as possible.” At the sound of a knock on the door, he glanced irritably over at his assistant. “Francine, I thought I told you to pass the word that we weren’t to be disturbed?”
Before Francine could reply, the conference room door opened slowly and Sandy Wheeler tentatively stepped inside the room. “I’m sorry to interrupt sir, but there’s a woman with a strong accent on the line asking for Scarecrow.” The early morning receptionist looked at Lee. “She says that she’s part of your family and has extremely urgent information for you.”
Billy caught Lee’s questing gaze and motioned towards the door with his head. “Go see what your contact has for you. Amanda can brief you on what you miss.”
Lee didn’t hesitate and, removing his arm from around his wife’s shoulders, he rose from his seat and headed out of the conference room.
Billy cleared his throat. “All right, as I was saying, we received information from National. One of the tower personnel on the graveyard shift noticed a strange interference in their communications. When he finally isolated the interference, he discovered that it was a basic SOS. It was faint but strong enough to cause interference. We know the signal is coming from somewhere near the airport.”
“Sir, you don’t really think that it could be Jamie and Sydney, do you?” Amanda hoped that she didn’t sound too hopeful, especially since she could hear the doubt in her boss’s voice as he spoke to them.
Billy shrugged. “I honestly don’t know, but there is someone out there sending an SOS, and as I said before I want to follow up on any and all leads. Now the control tower operator caught something else hidden in the SOS, at first he thought it was just SOS over and over, but as he listened to it more closely, he realized that whoever was sending the SOS was also including Glebe Road in their transmission.”
Just then the door to the conference room opened and Lee stepped back inside. “That was my contact at the Embassy, she was able to get in and talk with Aleksandr.” He sat back down in his seat next to Amanda. “It took a little handholding, but she got him to talk. Aleksandr overheard Plotkovich and Romanovich talking about some pawn shop in Arlington.”
“Sir,” Amanda’s voice couldn’t hide the excitement she felt. “Glebe Road runs right through Arlington. I’d bet money that it’s Jamie and Sydney sending out that SOS.”
Francine rolled her eyes. “Not to play the devil’s advocate, but how in the world can you believe that two twelve-year-olds can possibly be sending out an SOS. Pawnshops don’t usually have working radio transmitters lying around.”
Lee looked at his wife, his eyebrows raised in confusion. He didn’t think his phone conversation with Katrina had lasted long enough that he missed so much information. “What SOS?”
Amanda smiled, hope written all over her face. “Billy said that the tower at National picked up a faint SOS signal, and whoever is sending out the message managed to sneak Glebe Road into the transmission.” She then turned her attention towards her fellow agent. “And Francine, I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the talents of today’s youth. Jamie and Sydney are both very bright young kids. In fact, not too long ago, I tried to help Jamie put a transmitter together for his science class. We couldn’t get it to work, but I have a feeling between them, Sydney and Jamie would be able to figure out a way to put one together.”
Lee nodded in agreement as he sat back in his chair and placed his arm back around his wife’s shoulders. “I agree with Amanda. I happen to know that Jamie is at the top of his class.” He ignored the raised eyebrow of speculation from Francine, “and I’ve had a chance to witness just how smart Sydney is since she’s been staying with Amanda’s family. I wouldn’t put it past those two to put together something like a simple transmitter, especially if they are in some pawnshop. Just imagine all the gadgets and items that you could find in a place like that.”
Francine shook her head and let out a reluctant sigh as she looked directly at Amanda. "Then again, he is your son and I have to admit that even the stuff you do still amazes me. I guess I really shouldn’t be so surprised that your son would figure out a way to send out an SOS.” She let her gaze fall on the location of Lee’s arm. What was with him lately, kissing Amanda good-bye yesterday morning, openly calling Amanda his girlfriend in front of tons of witnesses, and now the blatant gesture of support? She had given up on getting Amanda to listen; it was evident that the brunette was too blinded by love to think clearly. As soon as this meeting was over, she was going to corner Lee and straighten him out once and for all. She needed to make him see the error of his ways. Didn’t he realize how disastrous his relationship with his partner could be? If they ended things badly, it would definitely affect their professional partnership; and as much as she hated to admit it, Scarecrow and Mrs. King were a very effective team. Her mind was definitely made up. Lee needed a good dose of friendly intervention. If she couldn’t make him realize that it was for his and Amanda’s own good, then maybe she could at least convince him that ending any relationship with Amanda King was for the good of the Agency.
Unaware of Francine’s scrutiny, Lee glanced over at his wife and let out a chuckle at the truth of his friend’s comment. No one could deny that his wife had her own unique way of doing things, but she always managed to get the job done. When she glanced at him, he smiled at her affectionately before turning his attention back on his section chief. “Is the message still being transmitted?”
“According to the operator, there seems to be only a few moments of silence in between transmissions, but the message continues to repeat itself. So I’d say it’s safe to assume that whoever is sending the message, is sending it non-stop in hopes of it being noticed.” Billy turned to address the rest of the agents in the room. “Fielder, I want you and Gordon to start tracking down all the pawnshops located on Glebe Road. Lee, I want you and Amanda to head down and see Leatherneck. See if he has some device that’ll be able to pick up the signal, then I want you two to head out and start driving up and down Glebe Road.” He then looked over at his assistant. “Francine, I want you to get a team together to back up Scarecrow and Amanda once they find the location of the shop.” He then turned his attention back on the pair. “Once you locate the store, I want you to get in touch with Francine and then wait for backup.”
“Billy, wouldn’t it make more sense if we had more than one team searching for the store?” Francine put down her pen and stared at her boss.
Billy leaned his hands on the table as he looked at the blonde. “Any other time of day, I’d say yes. However, since it’s not even six a.m. and the streets are still deserted, I don’t want to alert the Magician. If too many cars start passing by their location, it might spook him and then we’ve lost our only lead.” He turned back towards Lee. “I mean it, Scarecrow, do not go in there without backup. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Billy, it’s understood.” Lee looked away from his boss and gazed at his wife. He knew that between the two of them, their track record for following orders was pretty much a running joke around the Agency. He knew that if the situation warranted immediate action, neither he nor his wife would be sitting idly by, besides, he hadn’t actually agreed that he wouldn’t go in without backup, he just agreed that he understood the instructions.
“Good. All right people, time’s wasting. Let’s move.” Billy waved his agents to proceed with their assignments. He watched as everyone began filing out of the room, his gaze following the pair who had the most at stake. He knew that if push came to shove, those two wouldn’t be waiting for backup, but at least he had gone on record as giving the order. “Scarecrow, hang back a minute.”
“Billy…” Lee rolled his eyes, but stayed behind as asked.
Billy shook his head as he approached his best agent. “I wanted to remind you of what’s at stake here.”
“I know what’s at stake, Billy.” Lee let out a frustrated breath as he looked out the conference room window at his wife talking with Fred Fielder in the bullpen.
“That’s not what I meant, not entirely, anyway. I don’t want you doing anything foolish.” Billy gave his agent a stern look. “If we mess this rescue operation up, and something happens to Sydney Bristow because you couldn’t wait for the backup, this may be the last time the CIA asks us for help with anything. It could very well put an end to all future interagency cooperation.”
“I have no intention of doing anything to put Sydney Bristow or Jamie King’s lives in danger.” Lee locked eyes with his boss. “Trust me.”
“All right. Now go.” Billy motioned him out the door.
Lee walked out the conference room and headed over to where Amanda was waiting for him. At her questioning look, he answered, “He wanted to make sure I knew that our relationship with the CIA was at stake and not to do anything rash.” He put his hand at the small of her back as he led her towards the hallway. The guards opened the doors for them, and as he stepped out into the hallway behind Amanda, he felt a hand on his arm. Turning, he came face to face with Francine. “Morning, Francine. You’re looking mighty grumpy this morning.”
Ignoring his attempt at humor, Francine waved his comment aside. “Whatever, I want to talk to you.”
Lee caught the look his friend was giving him, and knew exactly what she wanted to discuss. “Francine, I don’t have time for your interrogations into my personal life right now. In case you weren’t paying attention, we’re kind of on a tight schedule.”
Amanda had reached the elevator and turned to see what was keeping her husband. Reading his body language, she knew Francine had picked the wrong time to corner him. Letting out a sigh of frustration, she took a few steps back in their direction. “Francine, can what you have to discuss with Lee wait? If it’s all right with you, I’d like to find my son before he ends up living on the streets in some strange country?”
“Actually Amanda, this is case related. I promise I won’t keep Lee long.” Francine turned her attention back to Lee.
Lee let out a deep breath. “Fine.” He turned towards his wife. “Amanda, go on down and see Leatherneck. Get him to give you the best possible device he has to pick up the transmission, and I’ll meet you in the foyer in,” he looked down at his watch and then back up at her, “ten minutes.”
Amanda looked directly at Francine. “Okay, but if Lee’s not up there in ten minutes, I’m heading out on my own.” She turned and headed back over to the elevator that would take her to the Agency’s jack-of-all-trades.
Lee watched her get into the elevator before turning and giving his friend a determined stare. “All right, Francine, out with it.”
“Lee, you can relax. I’m not trying to give you the third degree.” Francine looked at her friend, her features softening. “I know how serious this situation is, and I want to make sure your head is really in the game. I know that you and Amanda are currently more than partners, and that she’s probably leaning on you a great deal during all of this. I just want to make sure that you don’t plan on breaking her heart once this whole case is over.”
“Francine, I appreciate your concern and I know Amanda does, too.” Lee ran a hand through his hair in obvious frustration. Looking up and down the hallway, he made sure that they were relatively alone, guards not withstanding. “Fine, you want the truth, I guess it’s time you got it.”
“Seriously?” Francine eyed her friend skeptically. “I’m going to get the absolute truth, no more dancing around the issue?”
“Yes, Francine, the truth.” Lee leaned up against the wall and casually crossed his arms in front of him. “The truth is that I love Amanda. She’s not some passing fancy, some notch on the ever-popular ‘Scarecrow’s flavor of the month’ card that everyone thinks I have. I love her with all my heart and soul.” He saw his friend’s mouth drop open and, not sure if it was from shock or because she was going to protest, he uncrossed his arms and put a hand up to stop any comments that might come out. “I know what you’re thinking, but you’d be wrong. Since you seem so fond of food analogies, let me put it to you this way: Amanda is my three-course meal. She’s the hors d’oeuvres, main course and dessert. I don’t want anyone else and I know for a fact that I won’t ever want anyone else. I don’t care if you believe me or not, but I know that I’ve finally found what I’d been searching for with all those other women from my past. You know the ones that everyone loves to keep throwing back in my face.”
Francine looked closer at her friend in utter disbelief. She had to admit that Lee had changed; the girls in the steno pool had confirmed that. She’d heard them whispering and complaining about the fact that none of them had seen the great Scarecrow down in their neck of the woods for at least a year. Still, she knew Lee didn’t like to get attached for very long, and no matter what he thought he felt for Amanda, she still believed that it was going to end badly for her friends. “I’m sorry, Lee, but I just don’t get it. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve grown to like Amanda. I even consider her a friend, but I also know you, or at least I thought I did. Face it, Lee, to the casual observer, she’s just not your type?”
“And what do you know of my type these days, Francine?” Lee fixed her with a determined stare.
Francine shrugged her shoulders “You like the fun, no attachment-type of woman. You know, blonde,” she started ticking off each item on her fingers, “young, care-free, girls you could lie to and give a convincing cover story to. Need I remind you of those four black books and their unique symbols?”
With a shake of his head, Lee interrupted her. “That’s where you’re wrong, Francine. That used to be my type. And I’ll have you know, I haven’t touched those black books in almost two years.” He wasn’t about to tell her what had really happened to those books. A smile crossed his face as he allowed himself to remember where those books were now. He and Amanda had been at his apartment, finally getting a chance to celebrate their engagement. She had told him, once she had been released from the hospital and the fog and effects of the drugs Birol had introduced into her system were gone, that she had had the strangest dream. In order to assure her that it wasn’t a dream, he had placed the ring on her finger in the Q-Bureau that morning.
Lee had given her the black books as an engagement present, to do with as she pleased. It was his way of telling her that he didn’t care about any of the women in his past anymore, that he was only interested in his future with the woman in front of him; the woman who was his best friend, soul mate and now owned his heart. Instead of burning them, as he was sure she was going to do, she had gotten up, gone over to his desk and got out a black magic marker. She then sat back down on the couch and patted the seat next to her. He remembered looking at her in confusion; he knew she had already seen them during the whole mess with Serdayech. Taking the seat next to her, he had asked her what she was doing, she told him that she wanted him to make sure that there was no one in them that he still needed to keep in contact with, for work reasons. So page after page, they had gone through each of the books. Anyone who wasn’t work related was efficiently blacked out, but only after he had told her the story behind each one. When they had finished going through all of them, she placed the books, whose pages now held more black marks than his Agency personnel file, in the top drawer of his desk. His Amanda was one amazing woman.
Francine cleared her throat to get his attention. “See that’s my point exactly. One mention of those black books and your mind wanders, no doubt thinking about all those women you haven’t called in ages.”
“Sorry, Francine, but that’s not what I was thinking about at all.” Lee’s smile faded and he let out a sigh of frustration. “How many times do I have to tell you that my care-free bachelor days are over?”
Francine rolled her eyes. “Fine, you’ve given up your care-free days and you may not have dated any of your old girlfriends in two years, but regardless of what ‘type’ of woman you prefer these days Amanda King isn’t the type who wants to be in a relationship with no future. You may not think I pay much attention to her, but I do, and I know for a fact that she’s someone who expects a long-term commitment from you. Are you sure you can give her that?”
Lee flashed her his famous Stetson smile. “I already have, Francine, I already have.” Giving her an exaggerated wink, he turned and headed for the elevators. Reaching the doors, he pushed the ‘up’ button, and then, not able to contain his curiosity, he turned his attention back in the direction he had just come. Sure enough, Francine stood exactly where he had left her. She appeared frozen in place, most likely from shock, and her mouth was hanging open. When the elevator doors opened, he stepped inside and couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. That had been a lot of fun, especially since it wasn’t often that he got the best of Francine, particularly not this early in the morning.
As the doors closed, and the elevator began its ascent, Lee couldn’t help but wonder if Francine had fainted in the middle of the hallway, or if she was contemplating how to get even with him for leaving her standing there without a proper explanation. Figuring it was the latter, he decided he’d have to fill Amanda in on what had happened, so that she would be prepared. He knew she wouldn’t be mad that he had inadvertently told Francine the truth, after all, they were planning on coming clean once the case was wrapped up, so Francine would have found out eventually. This way was just more fun. When the elevator reached the main level, he took a deep breath and got his mind back in the game. They had a lot to do in the next few hours, and he needed to put all his energy into finding his stepson and Sydney.
SMK a SMK a SMK
Amanda sat in the passenger seat of the Corvette, nodding and jotting down the addresses that Fred Fielder was dictating to her over the phone. “Thanks, Fred. This will certainly help us narrow things down a bit.” Letting out a small chuckle, she glanced over at her husband. “I promise to ask him, Fred … Okay, we’ll be in touch once we find the right shop. Right … Thanks we can use all the luck we can get, bye.”
As soon as his wife had hung up the phone, Lee briefly looked over in her direction. “You’ll ask me what?”
“Fred wanted to know what you said to Francine.” Amanda saw the edge of a smile on her husband’s face. “Apparently she’s been a bit distracted, and keeps muttering things under her breath. Your name occasionally comes up in the coherent parts of her grumbling.” She let out a small laugh as she recalled what Lee had told her about his encounter with Francine after they had met up in the foyer. “You do realize that she is going to find a way to get back at you, and maybe even me…then again, I’m not the one who left her standing in the middle of the hallway.”
Lee gave a small shrug of his shoulders. “Yeah, but it was worth it. Any time I can one up Francine, is something to brag about. Look on the bright side, at least she’ll stop making snide comments and trying to advise us on the dangers of the two of us being in a relationship together.” Glancing down at the list in his wife’s lap, he widened his eyes at the number of addresses. “How many addresses did Fielder give you?”
“He gave me about a dozen addresses. He said that only a few of them are actual pawnshops, the others are more consignment shops. He figured it was better to be safe rather than sorry, just in case one of the pawnshops was categorized incorrectly.” Glancing out the window, Amanda realized that they were not too far from Glebe Road, and bent down to pick up the device Leatherneck had given them from where it lay safely by her feet. “I sure hope this thing is able to pick up the SOS.” She turned her attention out the window. “And I hope that it really is Jamie and Sydney sending it and not someone else.” Her voice was just above a whisper.
Lee reached over and, taking her hand in his, gave it a gentle, loving squeeze. “Something tells me it’s them. Call it a gut feeling, something I must have picked up from my lovely partner.” When his wife returned her attention back on him, he could see the almost bashful look on her face. “We should probably turn that thing on. I’m almost at the part of Glebe Road that’s closest to the airport. I figured we’d start at this end and work our way out.” Giving her hand another quick squeeze, he removed his hand and placed it back on the steering wheel. “Once we get on Glebe, we can find an address on one of the buildings and then use the information Fielder gave us to start locating possible stores.”
Turning the device on, it produced a quiet hum and Amanda watched as the monitor displayed a straight line. “Leatherneck said that he recalibrated this to recognize radio signals and that as soon as we get close to the source, the line will start peaking. He described it like a heart monitor at the hospital.”
“You know that thing looks a heck of a lot like the device we had to use to track down that doomsday proximity bomb that Jake Williamson stole from Static Aerospace.” As Lee maneuvered the car off of Jefferson Davis Highway and onto Glebe Road, the melodic hum emanating from the device changed to a beep. “Did Leatherneck alter that thing so that we won’t pick up your basic radio tower signals?”
Amanda watched the monitor as the line started making intermittent spikes, albeit small ones. “I have no idea, Lee. I told Leatherneck what we needed it for, and I saw him making all sorts of adjustments to it, so I can only assume that he made it so we only pickup low level radio signals.” She glanced out the window and caught a street number on one of the buildings. Looking down at the paper in her lap, she found the closest number to the one she’d just seen. “Okay the first shop is just ahead.” Her eyes fell back on the monitor of the signal reader. “Though I doubt this one would be the one, the signal isn’t very strong.”
“Hopefully we’ll find it soon, I really don’t want to be trying to navigate along this road once rush hour starts.” Lee glanced in his rearview mirror, making sure that there was no one behind him. He wasn’t worried about a tail, he just didn’t feel like dealing with any road rage this early in the morning. Turning his attention back on the road in front of him, his brow creased. “Well that’s interesting.”
Amanda glanced over at her husband and then followed his gaze. “You’re right. None of the stores are open this early. Then again, it could be someone just returning home, it’s not that unlikely that they would arrive in a cab.”
“You could be right, but just out of curiosity, what’s the address of the next shop on Fielder’s list?” Lee kept his eyes on the cab as it pulled up in front of a store just a block in front of them.
Amanda was about to check the paper again when the lines on the signal device suddenly spiked. She let out a small gasp. “Lee, if this thing is working right, it’s picking up something. These spikes are pretty strong and consistent.”
Lee slowed his car slightly as they watched a well-built, dark-haired man step out of the yellow cab and head towards the building. “Amanda, that’s Issac Borsky.” He watched the man knock on the door of the shop and then step inside. “I’d bet a million dollars that if you double check your list for the address of that shop, you’re going to find a match.” Without increasing or decreasing his speed, he kept his eyes forward as he passed by the shop Borsky had just entered. Finding a parking spot a block ahead, he pulled the Corvette into it.
“This is almost too good to be true,” Amanda tried to keep the excitement out of her voice. “Issac Borsky just happens to arrive in front of that pawnshop as we’re driving by, and the signal device Leatherneck gave us seems to pointing to the same store, and the address does match one of the ones Fred gave me.”
“Maybe luck really is on our side for once.” Lee pulled his gun out and checked the clip. Assured that it was fully loaded, he re-holstered the firearm, and then looked at his wife. “You’re thinking this is all a little too coincidental, aren’t you?”
Amanda shrugged. “To be honest, I think I’m trying to talk myself out of getting my hopes up too high.”
Lee reached over and placed his hand over hers. “Amanda, my gut is telling me that the kids are in that shop.” He motioned behind them with his head. “I think our best bet is to check out the situation inside the shop from the outside. Once we know that the Magician is in that store, we can pretty much assume the kids are, too. Then you can come back here and call for backup.”
Amanda removed her hand from his and glared at her husband. “The next words out of your mouth had better not be ‘and I want you to wait in the car until the backup arrives’.”
Lee shook his head and gave his wife his most charming Stetson smile. “Actually, partner, I wasn’t going to say anything of the sort.”
“What?” Amanda looked at her husband quizzically, unsure that she had heard him correctly. “You weren’t going to tell me to wait in the car?”
“No,” Lee let out a small chuckle at his wife’s stunned expression as he opened his car door and began to get out. “I wasn’t.”
Amanda placed the device on the floor of the car and then took her handgun and federal ID out of her purse. Leaving her purse on the floor, she reached over and took the keys out of the ignition. She then climbed out of the vehicle and walked over to where her husband was standing on the sidewalk. “Okay, who are you and what have you done with the real Lee Stetson? You know, my overprotective partner?” Putting her ID in her back pocket, she then checked her handgun to make sure the safety was on before tucking it in the waistband of her jeans.
“I’m not that bad.” Lee caught the ‘oh really’ look his wife was giving him and shrugged his shoulders. “All right so maybe I do try and keep you out of harm’s way a lot, but it’s only because I want to protect the ones I love, you can’t blame me for that.” He placed his hand at the small of her back as he led her in the direction of the shop. “Despite what you may believe, I know you can handle yourself, and although I would like nothing better than to ask you to wait in the car, that wouldn’t be fair to you, nor would it make any sense. We have no idea what’s going on in there, or how many men besides Borsky there are.”
As they approached the shop, Amanda took note of the drawn shades and the closed sign on the front. “This place doesn’t look like they’ve done any real business in a while. There’s a lot of clutter in the display window, your typical pawnshop décor, but the windows don’t appear to have been washed in ages.”
Lee kept his voice low as he spoke. “Well, since we won’t be able to see anything through those windows, let’s sneak around the side and see if there’s another way to get a peek inside.” He led her down the side alley. Looking up, he saw a small window about halfway up the side of the building. He then spotted a few crates further down the alley, and motioned for Amanda to help him. Together they quietly piled two crates on top of each other just below the window, and then he climbed on top of the makeshift ladder. Peering inside, he saw all he needed to see to confirm their suspicions. He bent down and was now eye level with his wife. “This is definitely the place. I want you to go call in the backup, I’ll keep an eye on things.” He put a hand up to stop any protests. Keeping his voice low, he continued. “Then I want you to come back. While you’re making the phone call, I’m going to check out the rest of the building, see if there’s a back entrance. If there is, that may be our best way in if we want to use the element of surprise.”
“Lee, we aren’t thinking of going in before the backup arrives, are we?” Amanda eyed her husband skeptically.
Lee shrugged. “If it looks like they’re getting ready to move, we may have to.” His voice was hushed, but sincere.
“Promise me, that no matter what, you’ll wait for me to get back.” Amanda watched him nod and she gave him a look, doubt written all over her face. “I’m not going to call for backup until I hear you promise me.”
“I promise that I will wait till you get back before I do anything, okay. Besides, I want to make sure that you’re watching my back before I do anything.” He looked behind her towards the still deserted street. “Now go before we do run out of time, and I’m forced to break my promise to you.”
“Okay, but be careful.” Amanda whispered before turning and jogging out of the alley.
Lee waited till Amanda had rounded the corner before standing back up and peering in through the window. The Magician and Borsky were still deep in conversation. He really wished that the window had been open so he could at least hear what they were saying. As it was, he was having a hard time seeing anything through the dirty window, and he couldn’t risk clearing any of the dirt away, it would give his position away to the Russians inside. He glanced back down the alley, hoping Amanda would return soon. Climbing down off the crates, he made his way down towards the back of the alley, looking for a rear entrance. Although on one hand, he was thankful for the early morning light of dawn that had begun to appear, illuminating the darkened alley; he also realized that their window of opportunity was slowly dwindling. Soon the streets would be busy with morning activity and shops preparing to open.
Lee stopped half way down the now partially lit alley when he reached the back corner of the building. He then turned right into a small passageway created by the back of the pawnshop and its neighbor behind, and silently wished he had a flashlight on him. Fortunately a little light shone into the narrow alleyway from a barred window up ahead. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he noticed two possible entrances. The first was a door, most likely the back entrance, only a few feet from the corner of the building. Approaching the door, he tentatively tried the doorknob and, as he had suspected, it was locked. Looking beyond the window, he saw what appeared to be steps leading down. Moving past the window, he proceeded to the dark opening and, looking down, saw another door at the base of the steps. He wondered if Jamie and Sydney were being held in the basement of the building but quickly shook his head. There was no way that a makeshift radio would be able to transmit from a basement level. No, the street level back door would be their best bet.
As he turned to head back out of the small alley, he stopped in front of the window and decided to take a peek inside. A frown formed on his face; between the bars and layers of dirt on the window, it was impossible for him to see anything clearly. He was just about to turn and head back out of the little alley when he noticed movement through the window. Through the grime on the glass, he was able to make out the silhouette of a young girl. It had to be Sydney. He couldn’t make out anyone else in the room, but that didn’t mean Jamie wasn’t in there as well. Turning around, he gauged the distance from the back door to this window. Once they got inside, they would know exactly where they needed to go. With a renewed sense of urgency, he quickly turned and headed back towards the main alley. He wanted to get back to his crates and check on the Magician and his associates.
Lee had just climbed back up to his post, when Amanda turned the corner and quickly approached him. “Backup on the way?” He whispered as he crouched down to make eye contact with her.
Amanda nodded. “They figure they’ll be here in fifteen, twenty minutes tops. However, I wouldn’t count on them making it here that quickly. It’s almost six-thirty and rush hour is starting, so there are bound to be a few more cars on the streets now. I have a feeling it may be more like thirty minutes before we see any backup. What’s the status inside?”
Lee stood back up and peered inside. “There’s someone else in there talking to the Magician and Borsky. I bet that’s Vladimir Vadorsky, Katrina mentioned him to me when she called earlier. She said he’d been hanging around with Romanovich at the embassy and hasn’t been seen since early yesterday. It looks like Romanovich is motioning towards the back. Vadorsky just headed towards the back and now Romanovich is picking up the phone. I have a bad feeling about this.” He climbed down the crates. “Look, while you were gone, I found a back way in and I think I found the room Jamie and Sydney are in.”
Amanda looked down at her watch and then at her husband. She was extremely anxious to have her son and Sydney back and didn’t know if she could wait for the backup. When his words finally registered, she narrowed her eyes at him, and put her hands on her hips. “What do you mean you found the room? You didn’t actually go inside, did you? Lee, you promised me.”
Lee shook his head. “No I didn’t go inside. I didn’t have to.” He started walking towards the back. “Come on, just trust me, okay? I really was true to my word.” He watched his wife relax her features slightly before following behind him. He stopped at the corner and pointed to the barred window. “It’s impossible to make out anything clearly, but I’m pretty sure I spotted Sydney inside.”
Amanda quickly closed the distance from the end of the main alley through the narrow lane. Stopping in front of the window, she peered inside, but couldn’t see anything. “I’ll have to take your word for it.” She turned back to look at her husband. “So are we waiting for backup?”
Lee shook his head. “No, I don’t want to take the chance that the Magician’s getting ready to move. I think our best option is to head inside and assess things. At least inside we can hear what they’re saying rather than guess.” He turned towards his wife. “Once we’re inside and figure out which room that window belongs to, I want you to concentrate on getting Jamie and Sydney out of there safely. I’ll work on taking care of Borsky and the Magician.”
“I don’t know if I’m entirely comfortable with you confronting two KGB agents by yourself, Lee.” Amanda looked at her husband, concern written on her face. “If I’m busy getting Sydney and Jamie to safety, I won’t be there to watch your back. Maybe we should just wait for the backup.”
“Is that what you really want to do?” Lee asked, his voice indicating that he already knew the answer.
Amanda sighed. “No, I don’t want to wait any longer, either. I just want to make sure my son and Sydney are safe and out of harm’s way.”
Lee took his half-rake out of his pocket and gave her a knowing smile. “I knew you’d see it my way.”
“What can I say, your bad habits are rubbing off on me.” Amanda pulled out a small flashlight from her back pocket. At her husband’s raised eyebrows, she shrugged. “I dug it out of my purse while I was calling for backup. These alleys aren’t lit very well, I figured it might come in handy.” She grinned as she watched her husband move towards the back door. Turning on the flashlight, she walked over to the door just as Lee bent down and began picking the lock.
Amanda stood over him, shining the flashlight over the doorknob. “I hope they’re both okay.” She whispered more to herself than to her husband.
“I’m sure they are, remember Romanovich wants to hand Sydney over to Kholokov, and I’m sure they are under strict orders to bring her to Russia unharmed.” Lee maneuvered the metal pick in the lock and smiled when he heard a click. “There, I got it.” Standing up, he put his half-rake away and pulled his gun out of its holster. He then turned towards his wife. “You ready?” He watched her nod as she pulled her own gun out of the waistband of her jeans. “Okay, stay close.” Slowly he turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. He cringed when the door creaked and held his breath as he pushed the door the rest of the way. With his gun at the ready, he stepped inside the small entranceway and listened for any sounds that would alert them to the fact that they weren’t alone.
Not hearing anything, Lee took a step up and moved towards the light coming from the hallway up ahead on the right. Creeping stealthily forward, he waited until he heard the back door close before peering around the corner. Expecting to see an empty corridor, he was taken slightly off guard when he came face to face with the barrel of a gun.
“I suggest you hand me your weapon, Scarecrow. You American agents need to work on your stealth.” Vadorsky grinned. “Of course maybe your skills aren’t so bad, perhaps it was just the rusty door you chose to come through, no?”
“You Russians always think we Americans work alone.” Lee motioned with his head and Amanda stepped around him, her gun trained on the Russian. Raising his own gun, he aimed for the Russian’s heart. “Now Vadorsky, I believe it’s you who will be handing your weapon over to me, nice and slowly.” The Russian did as instructed. “Now, would you be so kind as to tell us which room you’re holding the two American children in?” He could see Vadorsky hesitating. “Believe me, it’d be a lot easier if you tell us. I’d really hate to have to force the information out of you.”
Vadorsky looked back towards the door at the end of the hallway. He could very easily call for help and bring the Magician or Borsky to his aide. “I do not have to tell you anything. Romanovich is just on the other side of that door. You won’t shoot me, because it would bring him running.”
Lee gritted his teeth. “Okay, so we do this the painful way.” Raising his gun, he brought the butt of it down and hit the Russian on the temple. It had the desired affect, and Vadorsky slumped to the ground.
“Lee,” Amanda whispered, “do you think that was really necessary?”
“Yes, Amanda, I do. He was right, one loud noise back here and Romanovich or Borsky would be coming through that door, and then we’d be in trouble. I’d rather have the element of surprise on our side.” Lee dragged the Russian over to the back corner and, taking out a pair of handcuffs from his back pocket, he cuffed the bulky man to the radiator. He then did a quick search, and came across a set of keys in the Russian’s pocket. “Besides, I doubt he would have given these to us willingly.”
Amanda looked at the three doors in the hallway. She quickly ruled out the one on the right. If Lee was correct, and he had seen Sydney through the window, then one of the rooms on the left would have to be the one. She moved towards the first door on the left. “Based on the location of the window, then this has to be the room.” She kept her voice low as she turned towards her husband.
Lee handed her the keys. “I’ll let you do the honors. I want to stand guard, just in case Romanovich or Borsky decide our friend over there is taking too long doing whatever it was he was supposed to be doing back here. My guess is he was just going to check on the kids, but we can’t be too certain.”
Amanda put her gun back in the waistband of her jeans. She then took a close look at the keys and, choosing one of the three likely candidates, she put it in the keyhole. When the lock didn’t turn, she tried the next key. She suppressed the urge to shout with delight when the key turned. She would wait until she saw her son and Sydney before letting herself get carried away with joy. “Okay, I’m going in.”
Lee nodded. “I’ll wait out here. If there’s someone else in there with them, the element of surprise is our best defense.”
“Right.” Amanda turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door. The first thing she noticed was the amount of junk piled on shelves all around the room. Stepping inside, she quickly spotted the objects of their search. Lying on a bench in the back of the room was a sleeping Jamie. Standing next to the sleeping figure, was Sydney.
“Amanda?” Sydney whispered as she pushed away from the wall and walked tentatively towards the woman.
Amanda nodded. “Yes, Sydney it’s me.” She opened her arms and embraced the young girl. Stepping back a little, she gave Sydney a good once over. “Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you did they?”
Sydney shook her head. “No. I’m just a little tired…and hungry.”
Lee poked his head into the room. “Amanda, everything okay?”
“I think so.” Amanda looked over Sydney’s shoulder at her son. “Is Jamie okay?”
“Yes, he’s just sleeping. We’ve been taking turns sleeping and sending out an SOS signal.” Sydney glanced over towards Lee. “How did you find us?”
“We followed your SOS, among other leads.” Amanda let go of Sydney and headed over towards her son. She bent down and gently nudged him. “Jamie, sweetheart, time to wake up.”
Jamie moaned and rubbed his eyes. “Is it my turn already.” He yawned as he opened his eyes. Expecting to see Sydney, he let out a small gasp of surprise to see his mother leaning over him. “Mom!”
“Yes, sweetheart.” Amanda helped him sit up and then wrapped her arms around him. “I was so worried about you.”
“Amanda, you need to get the kids out of here…now.” Lee moved into the doorway, but kept his eyes focused on the door at the end of the hallway.
Amanda looked at Jamie. “Are you awake enough to walk?”
Jamie nodded. “I’d run out of here if you wanted me to.” He covered his mouth to hide another yawn. He then looked over towards Lee and, noticing the gun in the man’s hand, turned back towards Sydney. “Guess we were right.”
Amanda raised her eyebrows as she stood and began ushering her son and Sydney towards the door. “Right about what?”
“I thought I saw Lee back at the school, and we kind of put a few things together.” Jamie looked at his mom. “Are you really a federal agent, mom?”
Amanda nodded. “Yes, but we’ll discuss all of that when we get you guys home, okay?” She followed Lee out into the hallway.
Lee pointed in the direction of the back door once Jamie and Sydney had joined them in the hallway. “I’ll keep guard until you three are safely out the back door.”
“Lee, please come with us.” Amanda turned towards her husband. “You can come back in here once we know the backup has arrived. I doubt the Magician and Borsky are going anywhere in the next few minutes.”
Lee shook his head. “You don’t know the Magician, Amanda but I do, and believe me when I tell you that he’s got more tricks up his sleeve than the number of nursery rhymes that Dr. Smyth seems to know. For all we know, he has a secret passageway out of here and if I don’t go after him now, he’ll get away and come back another day. He doesn’t like to lose.”
“All right, but be careful.” Amanda turned towards Jamie and Sydney. “Come on, you two. Let’s get you out of here.” She pulled her gun out of her waistband and led the way towards the back door.
Lee watched as they rounded the corner and waited to hear the creak of the back door before heading down the other end of the hallway. With his gun at the ready, he opened the door and slowly stepped into the store. After a quick glance around the room, he saw that only one of the Russians appeared to be in the room. Standing behind the store counter, hanging up the phone was Sergei Romanovich. Ignoring the nagging feeling that he should have gone with his wife, he raised his gun and aimed it at the Magician.
Sergei smiled devilishly as he turned to face Lee. “Ah, Scarecrow. It is so nice to see you again. I’m afraid, though, that the store isn’t open for business right now. May I suggest you come back in about two hours and I will be more than happy to help you with anything you wish to purchase.” His arms made a sweeping motion around the room.
“That won’t be necessary, Romanovich. You see I’ve already found what I came here for.” Lee kept his features neutral as he took a few steps closer to the counter.
Sergei looked behind Lee towards the hallway he had just come from. “Would you be referring to me or your partner’s son and Miss Bristow?”
“All of the above, actually.” Lee allowed a small smirk to cross his face. “Now, if you’d be so kind as to keep your hands where I can see them and step out from behind the counter. I’d like to invite you to join me on a little trip.”
“As nice as that sounds, I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere with you.” With a wide grin on his face, Sergei looked behind Lee again.
Lee had been so busy watching the Magician that he hadn’t heard the door open behind him. Turning, he noticed for the first time a door on the other side of the entrance to the hallway he had come from. Stepping out of the darkness was Borsky, his gun trained on Lee.
“Scarecrow, it would be wise for you to drop your gun.” Borsky looked past Lee and towards Romanovich, giving him a subtle nod.
Lee looked back in the direction of the Magician. With the distraction Borsky had provided, the Magician had enough time to pull out his own weapon. Lee silently cursed himself for not taking more time to check the room fully; that was a rookie mistake. Judging from the smell of mildew coming from the door Borsky had just come from, the Russian had been in the basement; another mistake. Maybe he should have gone back out and checked the basement first. Why had he insisted on going in alone to face the Magician and Borsky? It wasn’t like he had anything to prove or some vendetta against the Magician, even if they had faced off a time or two in the past.
“I believe, as they say in the game, this is checkmate.” Romanovich stepped out from behind the counter, his gun still trained on Lee. “I think that you will be joining me on a little trip. I may no longer have Sydney Bristow to bring me fame and fortune, but you will be a much bigger catch. Yes, if we return to Moscow with you, the infamous Scarecrow, I can live out my life a very rich man.”
Lee let his gun drop to the floor and silently berated himself for not listening to Amanda. He should have waited and let the backup team come in and get these two. At least, with Borsky and the Magician here with him, he knew that Amanda, Jamie and Sydney were safe. He only hoped the backup teams would arrive soon. He really wasn’t looking forward to a trip behind the Iron Curtain.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.