Chapter Sixteen
Tuesday, September 22nd
Amanda cautiously made her way back up the alley following closely behind Jamie and Sydney. “I want you two to stop when you reach the sidewalk. I want to make sure everything is safe before we go any further.” She watched as both children nodded, and then did as she had asked when they reached the edge of the building. Stepping in front of them, she looked both ways to make sure that the coast was clear. Assured that everything was safe, she led the way back towards Lee’s Corvette. Tucking her gun back inside the waistband of her jeans and keeping her eyes alert, she wrapped a protective arm around each child’s shoulders. As they got closer to the silver sports car, a brown sedan sped past and began pulling into the spot in front of Lee’s car. Pulling Jamie and Sydney closer, she focused her attention on the driver’s side of the sedan, watching to see which one of her fellow agents would be emerging from the vehicle.
Francine stepped out of the sedan and immediately turned and looked at Amanda. “I see you two still don’t know how to follow orders. Just couldn’t wait for the backup to arrive, could you?” She looked around before letting her gaze fall back on the brunette. “Where is your other half, anyway?”
“He stayed behind to keep an eye on the Magician. Issac Borsky was inside as well.” Amanda, with Jamie and Sydney still on either side of her, approached the blonde agent. Removing her arms from their shoulders, she turned to look at the two youngsters. “I want you to go with Francine. She’s a colleague of mine and Lee’s.”
Jamie looked over at the blonde and then back at his mom. “Mom? Why aren’t you going to stay with us?”
Amanda placed both her hands on Jamie’s shoulders. “Because Lee’s in trouble and I’m his partner. Francine will take good care of you, I promise.” She then turned to look at he fellow agent. “Is a med unit on the way?”
“Yes, it should be here any minute along with Fielder and the rest of the backup.” Francine eyed her fellow agent suspiciously. “What’s the situation?”
“The situation is this: I’m going back in to assist Lee. I want you to look after Jamie and Sydney.” Amanda stared her friend down, daring her to argue.
Francine rolled her eyes. “Oh yes, by all means we wouldn’t want the great Scarecrow to be separated from the old ball and chain for too long. Lord only knows what might happen.”
Amanda shook her head. “Not now, Francine. Lee’s in there, alone, trying to subdue two KGB agents. I don’t have time to deal with your barbs right now. We can discuss your little revelation later.” She started to head back towards the shop, but stopped suddenly and turned her head back in Francine’s direction. “Oh, as soon as the backup arrives, can you send someone in around through the back. There’s another KGB agent, Vladimir Vadorsky, cuffed to the radiator just inside the backdoor.” Without waiting to her the blonde’s reply, she turned and ran back towards the alley.
“It’s not my fault that you and Scarecrow couldn’t wait for the backup to arrive.” Francine gritted her teeth as she realized that her comment hadn’t been heard. Looking down at the two children in front of her, she let her features soften. “Come on you two. It’ll be safer for you to wait in my car while we wait for my fellow agents to arrive. And, to pass the time, you can tell me how you two managed to send that SOS signal.” She watched their faces beam with pride and, as she led them towards the brown sedan, she turned and caught sight of Amanda rounding the corner into an alleyway next to the pawnshop.
Amanda pulled her gun from her waistband as she jogged back down the alley. As she turned the corner behind the shop, she paused and slowly, with her gun at the ready, opened the back door. Peering in, she could see Vadorsky still cuffed to the radiator and out cold. As she stepped inside she heard two gunshots come from the front of the store and her heart stopped. What if she was too late? She prayed that it wasn’t Lee; if he were hurt in anyway, she would never forgive herself for not insisting that he come with them earlier. Clutching her gun tighter, she crept down the hallway.
Borsky cried out in pain as his gun fell to the floor with a metallic clatter, moments before he, himself, crumpled to the floor. Clutching his now injured hand, he scanned the room. “Who the hell shot me?” He asked before looking down at where the second shot had hit him. Catching sight of all the blood seeping through his left pant leg, he suddenly felt faint and before he could receive an answer to his his question, he promptly passed out
Having had the same thought as Borsky, Lee had done a quick scan of the room, right before the Russian had collapsed. He knew, without a doubt that it couldn’t have been Amanda who had shot Borsky twice, because his wife would only use her gun as a last resort, she would have found something else to cause a distraction. Perhaps it was one of the backup team, but then, even his fellow agents wouldn’t just shoot someone without sufficient cause, it would mean too much paperwork to deal with. Fighting the urge to look behind him to see who had shot Borsky, he took advantage of the Magician’s momentary distraction and, lunging towards Romanovich, he reached for the hand holding the gun. The force of the impact sent them both falling and the Russian’s hand hit the corner of a nearby table, knocking the gun out of his hand and sending it spinning across the floor along with several other items that had been on display.
Romanovich pushed Lee off of him with both hands and with a flick of his wrist, a knife sprung out from his sleeve. He thrust the knife at his adversary, and with one sweeping motion, sliced into Scarecrow’s left arm.
Ignoring the searing pain in his arm, Lee lunged for the Magician again, this time reaching for the knife wielding hand.
Romanovich held tightly onto his weapon as they both tumbled to the ground. Using one of his favorite tricks, he locked his legs around Lee’s and flipped him over onto his back. He then pinned his arm under his adversary’s neck and prepared to drive his knife deep into the heart of the Scarecrow.
“Romanovich, I suggest you drop your weapon or I’ll put a bullet in your hand, just as I did Borsky’s. I’d say a man of your talent wouldn’t want to be without the use of both his hands.” A cold, menacing voice echoed through the open basement doorway.
Amanda entered the room just as the unidentified voice had issued his threat. Looking first at her husband, she trained her gun on Romanovich. She then turned her head at the newcomer. “Jack, where did you come from?”
“From the basement.” Jack motioned behind him with his head. “I’ve been following Borsky for the last week. The idiot never knew I was on his tail.”
With everyone’s attention on Jack, Lee used the distraction to remove the surprised Russian’s arm from his neck and with his uninjured arm jerked the Magician over, landing him on his back with a thud. He then quickly moved over to retrieve the gun he had dropped earlier and aimed it at the Russian’s chest. “Not that I’m not glad to see you, Jack, but it would have been nice of you to announce your presence before Romanovich got a chunk of my arm.”
Jack shrugged. “I was enjoying the show.”
Lee rolled his eyes and moved closer to the Magician. “I’ll take that knife, if you don’t mind.”
“You have not won, Scarecrow. You’re country can not keep me here.” Romanovich let a smug smile creep across his face as he handed the weapon over to Lee.
Lee took the knife and placed it on the table beside him. “Your Embassy isn’t going to welcome you back with open arms, and I doubt you plan on going back to Moscow empty-handed.” He then turned slightly and glanced at his wife. “Amanda, I don’t suppose you have anything on you to secure our friend here do you?”
Shaking her head, Amanda walked around Lee and began scanning the room for something to use. Stepping behind the counter, she found a ball of thick twine. “This should work.” Finding a pair of scissors next to it, she picked up both items and walked back towards her husband.
“All right Romanovich, nice and slowly, move over to that chair and take a seat. Keep your hands out in front of you, where we can see them.” Lee kept his gun trained on the Russian. “Remember, I’m not the only one with my gun aimed at you.” He watched the Magician sit down on the small wooden chair, and then moved a few inches closer as his wife began tying Romanovich’s hands.
“I may not be welcome at my Embassy, but I still have diplomatic immunity. You forget I was sent here to protect Aleksandr Molinkof.” Romanovich kept his eyes locked with Lee’s.
Lee let out a small laugh. “I think your diplomatic immunity went out the window when you kidnapped Sydney Bristow and Jamie King. Face it Romanovich, right now you don’t have a leg to stand on. But just to be sure you don’t pull anymore tricks out of your sleeve,” he walked over to the captive, and using the butt of his gun, knocked the Russian out.
“Lee!” Amanda scolded. “Don’t you think that was a bit extreme? We had him tied up. With three of us to guard him, do you think he was in any shape to do anything? And just what is up with your sudden need to render the bad guys unconscious?” She let out a deep breath when her husband just shrugged in response. She then turned towards Jack, who was bending over Borsky, checking for a pulse. “Is he dead?”
Jack shook his head. “No, apparently he just passed out from the pain or the sight of the blood. Borsky may look tough, but he can’t handle torture of any kind.”
With Romanovich out of commission, Lee reholstered his gun. With both his hand’s free, he clutched his injured arm, and walked over to Jack. “Did you have to shoot him in the hand and the leg? Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate you taking Borsky out but,” he turned to look at his wife, “shooting him twice, that was a bit excessive. What I did to Romanovich was necessary. He would have found a way out of the ropes and pulled some hocus-pocus to give us the slip. Our best bet when it comes to the Magician, is to keep him unconscious until we can make sure he’s clean.”
Amanda just rolled her eyes and let out a deep sigh. “Men, why must you always use brawn instead of brains?” She gave her husband a knowing look before heading to the front door. Opening it, she stepped outside to check the status on the backup. She motioned towards Fielder, who was just stepping out of a blue sedan before turning and heading back inside. “The rest of the backup has arrived.”
Lee looked back over at Jack. “You mentioned that you’d been following Borsky. I thought, when we pulled Kholokov’s file back at the Agency last week, you said that he wasn’t someone we really needed to worry about. What made you change your mind?”
Jack picked up the ball of twine from the table Amanda had placed it on after she had finished tying up Romanovich, and moved back over to Borsky. “At the time, he wasn’t. After you dropped me off at Langley, I got all my documentation and took a trip behind the Iron Curtain. After doing quite a bit of digging there and taking care of a few loose ends, I got in touch with a contact of mine back in L.A.” He cut a nice size piece of twine and began tying the Russian’s hands together. “I was glad I did, because my contact informed me that Borsky was in town, asking all sorts of questions about me and Sydney.” He pulled the twine tightly making sure the knot was secure. “So I got on the next flight back to the States and, after arriving home, tracked Borsky down and spent the last few days following him all over Los Angeles, making sure that he didn’t find out where Sydney was.” Looking up from his work, he glared at Lee. “Imagine my surprise when I overheard his phone conversation with Romanovich, informing him that my daughter was in their possession and ready to head to the mother country.” He then turned his attention on Amanda. “By they way, where is my daughter?”
“She’s safe. My son, Jamie,” Amanda emphasized her son’s name, reminding Jack that Sydney wasn’t the only one who had been kidnapped, “and your daughter are most likely with the med team right now.” She looked at her husband. “Francine arrived right after I got them out of here. She wasn’t exactly thrilled that we went in without backup, so be prepared to hear a lecture from Mr. Melrose. I have no doubt, that after all we’ve put her through, it’ll be the first thing she puts in her report to him.” She then turned her attention back on Jack. “I don’t suppose you want to go and see Sydney?”
Jack shook his head as he began tying Borsky’s feet together. “No, I need to take Borsky back to Langley. I have a ton of questions for him. He’s the only link we have right now to our leak at the CIA.” He pulled the rope tight and tied it into a secure knot, before looking over at Amanda. “Besides, Sydney can’t know that I’m here. I wouldn’t be able to explain my presence here without blowing my cover. You may not care if your son knows what you do, but I do not want my daughter anywhere near this business.”
“I think it’s a little late for that.” Lee muttered under his breath. He then looked at the doubly bound Borsky. “He’s going to need medical attention when he finally wakes up. Is Langley equipped for that?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he gets treated for his injuries. Right now, getting information out of him is our first priority. Besides, if he’s in pain, he might be more willing to cooperate.” Jack bent down and lifted the Russian up. Just as he hefted Borsky over his shoulders, the front door to the pawnshop opened.
Fred Fielder entered, followed by two other agents, and looked at the scattered items all over the floor. “I see you seem to have everything under control as usual Scarecrow.”
Lee shrugged. “All in a days work.” He then pointed towards the Magician. “You can take Romanovich back to the Agency.” He watched as Fielder motioned for the other two agents to take care of the unconscious Russian. “Keep a very close eye on him, he’s slyer than a fox. I suggest you have someone strip search him back at the Agency.” He called after the agents as they headed for the door with their captive in tow. “There’s no telling how many tricks he has up his sleeves, literally.”
Fielder looked over at Lee as he pointed towards Jack. “What about them?”
“This man is going to be a guest of the CIA.” Jack answered before Lee could say anything. He then turned and began heading towards the basement door.
Lee pointed towards the door leading to the street. “You can use the front door, Jack, or even the back door. It’s got to be very unpleasant down there.” He motioned towards the basement.
Jack shook his head as he turned to look back in Lee’s direction. “I need to wait until all your Agency personnel have cleared out, I’ll just wait with Borsky down here. If I go outside now, there’s the very distinct possibility that Sydney might see me.” He then fixed Lee with a hard stare. “I’ll arrange transportation to the Agency once I’ve finished with Borsky, and we can discuss exactly how Romanovich ended up with my daughter.” He then turned and walked through the door.
Amanda glared at Jack’s retreating form. How dare he use that accusatory tone with them? If it hadn’t been for his insane Project Christmas experiment, Sydney wouldn’t have been in danger in the first place and her son never would have been kidnapped. She opened her mouth to say something, but caught her husband’s slight shake of the head as he mouthed ‘later’. When she looked back in the direction of the basement, she realized why. Jack Bristow had disappeared into the darkness.
Fielder looked towards the door Jack Bristow had gone through and then turned his attention on Lee. “I hope you plan on explaining what just happened to Melrose and the rest of the higher ups at the Agency because I’m not taking the wrap for letting a CIA agent walk off with a known member of the KGB.” He then turned and walked out of the shop before Lee could even reply.
Lee shook his head as he walked over and stood next to his wife. “We’ll have all the time, later, to give him a piece of our minds.”
“Yeah and he’s going to get a huge chunk of it.” Amanda turned to look at her husband. “We need to go check on Jamie and Sydney, and have the med team check out your arm.”
“Amanda, my arm is fine. It’s just a little scratch.” Lee moved his arm to show her, and quickly regretted it. Gritting his teeth, he tried to keep his wife from seeing him wince in pain.
“Right, Stetson.” Amanda took his good arm in hers. “We’re getting that arm checked out.” She then fixed him with her best ‘mother’ stare. “And don’t even think of arguing with me.” She led him out the front door.
Lee grinned at her. “Believe me, Mrs. Stetson, I’ve learned not to argue with you when you’re right.”
Walking towards the brown med truck, Amanda glanced back towards the store. “Do you think we did the right thing letting Jack take off with Borsky, like that?”
Lee shrugged. “I’m sure we’ll get some flak for letting the CIA take him, but considering the fact that Jack did save my skin, I figured it was easier not to argue with him. Besides, with only one suspect to interrogate, we have less paperwork to deal with.”
Amanda rolled her eyes. “It always boils down to the paperwork doesn’t it?”
Lee let out a small chuckle. “Without it, what would we have to complain about? Besides, I like to think that I’m a happily married man because I had enough paperwork that needed to get done in order to keep you coming back.”
“Oh, please. Mr. Melrose was the one who gave me your paperwork to do because he figured it was easier to have me do it right the first time, rather than have someone else redo what you’d done wrong.” Amanda smiled teasingly at her husband.
“Well why do something myself when I have a partner who not only types ninety words a minute, but believes in handing in perfect work.” Lee flashed his dimpled smile in her direction and then turned his attention on the brown vehicle ahead of them. “I guess they couldn’t find anything a little less conspicuous.”
Amanda shrugged. “I think they probably figured it was better to send the fully equipped med truck since they weren’t sure what we were going to run up against. Besides, it’s still early and the truck doesn’t really stand out. Most people will think it’s just your average utility vehicle.” As they reached the door to the med truck, she stepped aside. “You first, I want to make sure you get that arm looked at.”
“You think I’m going to leave you stranded here.” Lee ignored his wife’s stare. “Even if I didn’t have an injured arm, I’d want to see how Jamie and Sydney were doing.”
Amanda smacked him playfully on his behind. “Just get in there, Stetson.”
Lee brought his hand up to his forehead and gave her a mock salute. “Yes, ma’am.” He then climbed the steps into the truck.
“Lee, what happened to your arm?” Jamie asked from the back of the truck as soon as he caught sight of the blood on the older man’s shirt. “And where’s my mom?”
“I’m right here, Jamie.” Amanda responded as she entered the truck behind her husband. Eager to head over and check on the two youngsters in the back, she turned to the man in charge of the med team. “Dr. MacJohn, Lee’s arm has a nice gash in it. Please take a look at it.” Ignoring the annoyed look her husband was giving her, she slipped past him and went over to her youngest son.
“Is it over, Mom?” Jamie pushed his glasses up on his nose. “I mean did you get the guys who had us?”
Amanda nodded. “You bet we did.” She sat down on Jamie’s cot and wrapped her arm around him. She looked at the young girl watching Dr. MacJohn inspect Lee’s arm. “I thought you two would be resting.”
Sydney turned towards Amanda and shrugged. “I think we’re both too keyed up to sleep any more. I thought once Ms. Desmond brought us in here and I knew we were safe, that I could rest but there’s just too much going on in my head right now.”
Jamie nodded. “Yeah, I tried to tell her to sleep, especially since I was sleeping when you found us. She’d already been up for an hour and neither one of us really got a good night’s sleep.” He then looked up at his mom. “I knew there was no way I was going to fall asleep, not until you came back and I knew you were okay.”
“Well I’m here now.” Amanda placed a kiss on the top of her son’s head and then looked over at Sydney. “You two were very brave and your resourcefulness helped us find you. Who came up with the idea to send the signal in the first place?”
Sydney looked at her friend. “Jamie figured out that we had enough stuff in that back room to put the transmitter together.”
“Yeah, but it was your idea to put the name of the road into the signal.” Jamie smiled at Sydney. “I only know Morse code for SOS. It was your knowledge of the entire Morse code alphabet that allowed us to add to the signal.”
“I’m still amazed that it actually worked.” Sydney smiled brightly at Jamie. “I mean, that the signal was actually picked up.”
“I, for one, am very glad that it was,” Amanda reached over and patted Sydney’s leg, “and I’m very proud of both of you.” She then turned towards Dr. MacJohn. “Are they really okay, Doctor?”
Dr. MacJohn stopped his inspection of Lee’s wound and glanced in Amanda’s direction. “Yes, they’re both fine. I checked them both out. Jamie said that they knocked Sydney out with something but that he was alert the entire time during their captivity. My guess is they used chloroform on Sydney. I checked her out a little more thoroughly given the current accommodations and she’s fine, no lingering side effects. So, aside from being a little dehydrated, my only prescription is that they go home and get a lot of T.L.C. and rest.” He then turned his attention back to Lee’s arm. “Now, Scarecrow, this is going to sting a little.” He poured some antiseptic on the wound.
Lee gritted his teeth. “A little…what the hell is that stuff? It feels as if you just set my arm on fire. You’re supposed to be fixing my arm, not destroying it.”
“Lee…” Amanda admonished, her tone taking on a motherly tone. “Dr. MacJohn is only doing what he needs to do.” She kissed Jamie on the forehead and climbed down from the cot. “Sweetheart, why don’t you lie down and close your eyes for a little bit, I need to go hold Lee’s hand.” She winked at her son as he yawned and put his head down on the pillow. She looked over at Sydney. “Why don’t you try and close your eyes, too.”
Sydney nodded and lay down, facing Jamie. She locked eyes with Jamie and smiled. They were safe, but she still didn’t think she’d be able to fall asleep. As she tucked her right hand under her pillow, she remembered her mother’s bracelet. “Amanda…”
Amanda stopped and turned towards the young girl. “Yes, Sydney?”
“Well, do you think that your people are going to take the transmitter, to study it, maybe?” Sydney sat back up on the cot. “And if they do, we used my mother’s bracelet as a conductor, and I’d really love to get it back. It’s one of the only things I have left to remember her by.”
Amanda smiled. “I promise to do what ever I can to get the bracelet back for you, okay? Now, lay down and try and get a little rest.”
“Okay, and thank you.” Sydney tried to hide a yawn as she lay back down on the cot. Closing her eyes to make the adults happy, she listened to the conversation at the front of the truck.
“Amanda, I don’t need you to hold my hand.” Lee grumbled as his wife approached him.
Amanda smiled sweetly at him and leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Lee, my love, if you behave for the good doctor and stop acting like a child, I promise you will be well rewarded for your heroics.”
Lee’s eyes grew wide and he grinned devilishly. “Really?” His grin quickly faded as he felt a pin prick in his arm. “OUCH!” He shot Dr. MacJohn an evil look before turning his attention back on his wife. “This is why I hate doctors. They have no bedside manner.”
“And you, Scarecrow, are why we all draw straws when it comes to working any case that you’re involved in.” Dr. MacJohn kept his eyes on his work. “Now, I’ve cleaned the wound and that prick you just felt was me beginning to stitch it up, it’s a pretty deep gash.” He looked at Amanda. “Mrs. King, you’re more than welcome to hold his hand, if you want to, it might make my job a lot easier.”
Lee rolled his eyes. “Give me a break. I’m not that bad.” As he saw the raised eyebrows of his wife and Dr. MacJohn, he let out groan. “Fine, I’m not the easiest patient.”
“That’s an understatement.” Three pairs of eyes turned to look at Francine as she climbed into the truck. “I thought I’d come in here and see how things were going. Fielder followed the car carrying Romanovich back to the Agency.” She looked pointedly at Lee. “He told me that you let Jack…” She caught the wide eyes of her fellow agents as they looked at the sleeping girl on the cot. “…son, that Jackson took Borsky? I’m not even going to get into the dozens of regulations you broke with that one.” She turned her attention towards Dr. MacJohn. “How long do you think you’ll be, Doctor?”
Dr. MacJohn tied off the final suture. “Just finished.” He reached behind him and picked up a roll of gauze. “I just have to cover the wound and he’s all yours.”
Francine looked over at Amanda. “Once the doctor is done in here, we can head back to the Agency. We need to get their statements,” she looked over at Jamie and Sydney, “and you two need to be debriefed.”
Lee followed her gaze and watched the even breathing of the two youngsters lying on the cots and, turning his attention on Francine, he shook his head. “Sorry, Francine, but there will be no statements today. Those two have been through enough.” With his arm now fully bandaged, he jumped off the cot he’d been sitting on. “We’re taking them home. Tell Billy we’ll bring them both back tomorrow morning, bright and early, and he’ll get their statements…and ours, then.”
Amanda gave her husband a loving smile, which quickly turned to a look of confusion. “Lee, how are we going to get them home? We can’t all fit in the ’Vette.”
Lee turned towards Francine. “Do you think we can use your sedan and you can ride back to the Agency with MacJohn?”
“Scarecrow, if you expect me to just hand you the keys to my Agency issued car and then face Billy all by myself…” Francine put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at her friend. “You definitely are brainless.”
Amanda walked over to her fellow agent. “Francine, please. I realize we’re asking a lot of you, but Lee’s right, Jamie and Sydney have been through so much and I just want to get them home. I promise we’ll find a way to make it up to you.” She leaned in closer. “There might even be a box of Godiva chocolates in it for you.”
Francine glared at Amanda. “If you think that’s going to come close to cutting it, you’re sadly mistaken, Mrs. Scarecrow.” She then fished the keys to the sedan out of her pocket and handed them to Lee. “Here, but trust me when I say you two are going to owe me big time.”
Amanda placed a gentle hand on Francine’s shoulder. “Thank you.” She then walked over to the cots to rouse her son and Sydney. She smiled as she realized that both youngsters were, in fact, fast asleep. She knew they had been tired and was glad they had gotten even a few minutes of rest and felt slightly guilty having to wake them up so soon. “Come on you two, it’s time to go home.”
“Yes, Francine, thank you, and I promise, we will make this up to you.” Lee watched as the two youngsters sat up and began rubbing the sleep from their eyes.
“Darn right you will.” Francine just shook her head as she stepped down out of the truck. “Lee Stetson, family man. I just don’t get it.”
Lee let out a small chuckle at his friend’s comment. He felt bad that she would have to face their section chief alone, especially since he knew that Billy was going to be very upset with him for breaking yet another Agency rule, but he didn’t care. From the look of both kids, they needed a little love and understanding right now. They could be questioned tomorrow after a good nights rest. “You guys ready.” Jamie and Sydney nodded, and as he followed the two youngsters and his wife out of the truck, he knew he was making the right decision. He had a feeling that once Billy calmed down, he would understand and agree that family was more important than any of the Agency’s regulations. Francine had been absolutely right, though, he really was a family man now. He smiled as he thought about how right it felt to feel this way. His job was a part of him but it would never, ever be more important to him than his family.
SMK a SMK a SMK
“I’m sure Dr. Smyth isn’t happy, Billy, but you have to agree, Jamie and Sydney needed to be home with the family after the ordeal they just went through. I think Dr. Smyth gets so caught up in quoting the rules that he forgets that there are things more important than wrapping things up in nice neat little packages … Considering everything they’ve been through, they seem to be doing okay … Yeah, I know that a lot of people have delayed reactions to traumatic experiences that’s why Amanda and I plan on keeping a very close watch on Jamie … That’s good to hear, I’ll let Amanda know.” Lee pointed to his head at his wife’s curious look. When she didn’t get the hint, he pointed to the freezer and then mimicked licking a Popsicle. He nodded and smiled when Amanda mouthed ‘Dr. Pfaff.’ He then turned his attention back on his boss on the other end of the phone. “I agree now that Jamie knows about the Agency it make sense for him to see Pfaff rather than someone who doesn’t have a security clearance. I just hope we can convince Jack to do the same for Sydney.”
Lee rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. “Yes, I promise we’ll bring both Jamie and Sydney in by nine a.m. so that they can give their statements. I promise we’ll be there … I apologize that I didn’t touch base with you before now but we had a lot of things to deal with here … Just add it to the huge list of rules that I’ve broken today … Was there anything else?” His eyes grew wide and he gritted his teeth. “You’ve got to be kidding me … Believe me Billy, he seemed sincere when he told me that the CIA wanted Borsky … No, I really had no idea that he had no intention of turning him over … You’ve met the man, he’s not the easiest person to read.” He sighed and shook his head. “I promise that Amanda and I will have our report ready and we’ll hand it over to you after we’re debriefed tomorrow … Bye, Billy.”
Amanda looked at her husband curiously. “That didn’t sound good. What happened?”
“Billy just informed me that Jack never handed Borsky over to the CIA. He called over to Langley as a courtesy, to give them a preliminary report and see if Borsky was giving them any good information. Jack’s superior said that he knows nothing about Borsky being in CIA custody.” Lee leaned back against the counter and folded his arms. “I don’t know why I didn’t insist that Borsky come with us.”
Amanda placed a hand on his uninjured arm. “Because Jack had just helped to save your life. Neither one of us thought that he was being anything but truthful with us. Did Mr. Melrose say if Jack even checked in with Langley?”
Lee nodded. “According to Billy, Jack had just called in and told them that Sydney was fine and that he was on his way in to give his report to Langley.” A small smile crept on his face. “I have a feeling Billy just ratted Jack out. That makes me feel a little better, knowing that we’re not the only ones who are going to get in trouble for not bringing Borsky into custody. Oh, and I promised Billy we’d have our report typed up and ready to give him tomorrow after our debriefs.”
“We can work on that tonight once everyone’s in bed.” Amanda sighed at the sound of the doorbell ringing. “No rest for the wicked. At least we know it’s not Mr. Melrose coming over to personally escort us into the office.” She said over her shoulder as she headed into the foyer. Opening the door, she greeted their guest. “Jack, we were just talking about you.” She stepped aside. “Come on in. You just missed dinner, are you hungry? I’d be more than happy to warm something up for you.”
“That’s okay, I stopped and ate something on my way over here.” Jack entered the foyer and watched as Amanda closed the door.
Lee stepped into view of the foyer from the kitchen, his arms still folded across his chest. “Jack, I didn’t expect to see you tonight.”
Jack moved past the stairs and met Lee in the den. “Well I stopped by the Agency, but they told me you two hadn’t been in all day. Since I told you I wanted to find out what happened, I decided to come over here.”
Amanda joined the two men. “May I suggest we move this conversation outside? There are too many ears inside.” She walked past them and headed for the back door. Opening the door, she held it open and waited for both men to step out onto the patio. She was just about to follow her husband and Jack outside when her mother came entered the room.
“Who was at the door?” Dotty scanned the foyer and den before looking at her daughter.
Amanda closed the back door and looked at her mother. “Jack.”
“Oh.” Dotty turned to head back up the stairs. “I’ll just go let Sydney know her father’s here.”
“Mother, wait.” Amanda shook her head. “I don’t think he’s ready to see her yet.” She put up a hand to stop her mother’s comments. “Trust me, I know what you’re thinking and believe me, I’m pretty sure it’s the same thing that I am. His daughter has just gone through a terrifying experience, and his first order of business is not to see her but to talk shop.” She turned her gaze towards the stairs. “Is Phillip working on his homework?”
Dotty nodded. “Yes, albeit begrudgingly. He doesn’t think it’s fair that on the day of his brother’s rescue he should have to do schoolwork.” Glancing out the window, she shook her head. “I was thinking about asking Jack if I could warm something up for him but I don’t think I feel all that hospitable towards him at the moment.” She walked over to the sink to finish the dinner dishes.
“That’s okay, I asked him if he wanted anything to eat when he first arrived, and he said he’d already eaten.” Amanda commented as she followed her mother into the kitchen and picked up a dishtowel. “You know, you really didn’t have to leave the room while Lee was on the phone.”
Dotty shrugged. “I figured it was easier for him to talk with ease without prying ears around. Besides, I had to dig out your box of old books for Sydney to go through. Since I cleaned the attic the last time, I knew exactly where they were.” She turned the water on. “It was nice of you to let Sydney go through them. I think Jamie’s finding a few that he’s interested in reading as well.” Placing a dish in the drain board, she looked at her daughter. “You can go out there you know, I can finish these by myself.”
“That’s okay. I’ll help you and then go outside. I don’t feel like dealing with Jack at the moment, anyway. I’ll let Lee do that.” Amanda picked up the dish and, as she dried it, she turned her gaze towards the patio.
Lee led Jack towards the gazebo. “There’s more privacy back here.” He explained as he took a seat on the bench.
“Perhaps.” Jack looked around at the cozy backyard. Stepping up into the gazebo, he stood and stared at Lee. “Now that we’re secluded from the rest of the house, would you like to tell me how my daughter ended up in the hands of the very people that you were supposed to be protecting her from?”
Lee leaned back against the gazebo and clasped his hands behind his head; he refused to let Jack provoke him. “Let me assure you that we did everything possible to keep that from happening. We found out that the Magician was going to be at Jamie’s school as a bodyguard for some visiting chess prodigy. So rather than pull Sydney out of school and raise all sorts of questions, we put extra men at the school and arranged for Sydney and Jamie to stay away from the tournament. We even went so far as to follow them to and from their classes yesterday.” He leaned forward and looked at Jack. “Unfortunately, Jamie and Sydney had other ideas. They really wanted to check out the chess tournament and since we couldn’t come out and say ‘you can’t go to the tournament because there’s going to be a KGB agent there who might recognize Sydney and want to bring her back to Russia’, they didn’t know about the potential danger waiting for them inside the auditorium.”
“You just said you had extra men at the school.” Jack found Lee’s attitude slightly irritating. “Didn’t you have any of your agents covering the tournament?”
Lee took a deep breath. “Yes, we did, but since we couldn’t tell anyone that Sydney was the target,” he looked pointedly at Jack, “our agents were only instructed to watch Romanovich. It’s not our fault that the Magician recognized Sydney.”
“Well your agents obviously didn’t watch him closely enough.” Jack didn’t raise his voice, but his tone indicated just how annoyed he was.
“No, they didn’t and the agent who had been assigned to Romanovich has already been properly dealt with.” Lee stood and came face-to-face with Jack. “And before you start accusing the people who helped to get your daughter and Jamie King back, how about we discuss the fact that you never turned Borsky over to the CIA.” Realizing that he was invading the other man’s personal space, he took a small step backwards in order to avoid a physical confrontation, but kept his eyes locked with Jack’s. “CIA interrogation my ass. Do you realize the position you put Amanda and myself in? We let you walk out of there with Borsky and for what? Some personal vendetta?” He eyed the other man suspiciously. “Where is he now?”
“On his way back to Russia.” Jack replied nonchalantly as he shrugged and sat down on the bench opposite the one Lee had just vacated.
“You let him go? Are you insane?” Lee began pacing the length of the gazebo. “You are insane. Jamie King and your daughter were kidnapped because men who work for Kholokov wanted to bring your daughter to Russia.” He stopped pacing and stared at Jack. “Can you at least tell me why we went through all the trouble of protecting Sydney and putting this family at risk,” he pointed towards the house, “when Sydney’s in just as much danger as she was a week ago?”
“I did what I did to ensure Sydney’s safety.” Jack leaned back against the back of the gazebo. “Borsky is on his way back to Kholokov with a message.” He put up a hand to stop any questions Lee might have. “The message is none of your business, but the end result is that Kholokov won’t come near Sydney again, and you can rest assured that Amanda’s family is safe as well.”
Lee stood there and watched Jack intently. “How can you be so sure? And, while you were giving your message to Borsky, did you manage to uncover the leak inside the CIA?”
Jack rolled his eyes. “I’m quite capable of doing my job, Stetson. Since you obviously won’t let this drop, Borsky gave up the name of the mole and I’ve already seen to it that the parasite has been expunged from our organization.”
Remembering Jack’s earlier concern that all his trusted colleagues had been sent on missions around the same time that he had been assigned to investigate the CIA’s leak therefore making Sydney’s safety an issue, Lee’s curiosity got the better of him, and in a more relaxed tone, he asked, “Was it someone pretty high up, or just someone who gave out the assignments?”
Jack let out an aggravated sigh. “Stetson, I’ve seen to it that the CIA is cleaning up its own mess, and who our mole is, and what position he held, is of absolutely no concern to you or the Agency. As far as Borsky is concerned, I got what I needed from him and secured Sydney’s safety in the process. End of discussion.”
Lee was truly tempted to question Jack further on exactly what he had done to Borsky but then decided maybe he was better off not knowing. He did, however, still have serious doubts about whether or not Sydney was really safe. Shaking his head, he looked skeptically at Jack. “This discussion is far from over, Jack. I want to know how can you be so sure that Kholokov is going to be dissuaded by some threat? I have yet to come across any member of the KGB who lets a threat stop them from achieving their goal. I have serious doubts that Kholokov isn’t going to stop until he gets his hands on something tangible with regards to Project Christmas.”
Jack leaned forward and let out a deep groan. “You’re not going to start on that again are you?”
Lee looked Jack in the eye. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. I want to know how any sane man could do that to his own daughter.” He smiled to himself at the obvious shock that had just appeared on Jack’s face. “Your top secret project isn’t as top secret as you think. I have a few rocks I was able to turn over and what I found out was disturbing to say the least. If I weren’t so indebted to you for saving my life earlier, I’d beat you senseless. How could you use Sydney like that?”
“Yes, Jack, I’d love to hear the answer to that question myself.” Amanda stepped up into the gazebo and stood next to her husband.
Jack kept his expression neutral as he looked from Lee’s angry face to Amanda’s stern one. He wasn’t someone who confessed just because someone was trying to intimidate him, and he never justified his reasons for doing anything, especially when it came to his daughter. He briefly toyed with the idea of telling the couple that it was none of their business, however, considering everything the pair in front of him had done for Sydney, and the fact that Jamie King had gotten caught in the middle of the mess he was responsible for, he realized that he owed them the truth. Leaning forward, he let out a deep sigh. “As you probably both know, after my wife died, it came out that she was really a KGB operative sent here to get information on Project Christmas. I only found out the truth after I was arrested for being in league with her. While my supervisor, and friend, Arvin Sloane worked to clear my name, I did a lot of thinking during my six months in solitary confinement. After I got over the pain and hurt of being betrayed by the only woman I ever loved, I realized that I only had one thing that really mattered to me anymore, Sydney.”
Amanda sat down on the bench opposite Jack. “Well if she means so much to you, why did you take away her choices in life?”
Jack looked directly at Amanda. “I don’t think I took anything away from her. I gave her a chance to survive, and not end up being anybody’s pawn.”
Lee walked over and sat down next to his wife. Crossing his arms, he glared at Jack. “You programmed her to be a spy. You can’t seriously believe that the CIA won’t try and recruit her ten years from now?”
“They won’t because I already made arrangements with the CIA that they will never recruit Sydney.” Jack stood up and walked to the edge of the gazebo. Turning around, he leaned against the side. “You may not believe me but I did what I did to protect Sydney. When I was finally released, I went home and really started paying close attention to my daughter. I noticed things about her; things that made her stand out from the rest of the children her age. She was able to do complex puzzles without even trying, and I’m not talking about jigsaw puzzles either. I realized that she fit the profile of what we were looking for in our studies for Project Christmas.” He looked directly at Amanda. “I didn’t want my daughter to be a victim, like I was. I wanted her to be able to protect herself so I decided to test my theories on her. I want her to grow up to be as strong as she can be. I wanted to teach her to be able to think strategically in a world where one mistake can cost you your life.”
“And you believe that by giving her all of these new skills and then wiping away her memory of them, that you’re protecting her?” Amanda stood up and walked over to Jack. “I know you thought you were doing the right thing but you couldn’t have been more wrong.” She softened her tone as she leaned back against the opposite post from Jack. “Sydney didn’t need to be programmed to protect herself, she needs you to do that for her. She needs a father who will love and guide her, Jack, not someone to plan her future for her.”
Jack looked towards the house. “I did what I had to do. This world is too dangerous for her not to be prepared.”
Amanda shook her head. “You were blinded by betrayal, Jack, and you forgot that Sydney is first and foremost your daughter. Instead of thinking about what might happen, you should have been focusing on being a parent to Sydney.”
Jack took a deep breath and looked at Amanda. “That’s what I have been doing. For the last six years I’ve been Sydney’s only parent. It’s not easy trying to be both a father and mother to your child.”
“I know better than most what that’s like.” Amanda pushed herself away from the gazebo and moved a little closer to Jack. “Phillip and Jamie’s father moved to Estoccia around the same time that your wife died. Joe didn’t make it back to the States very often and, when he did, he was only around for a few days. So I know exactly what it’s like to be both a father and mother to my children.”
“That’s not the same thing at all. Your husband didn’t pass away.” Jack began pacing the small space inside the gazebo. “He’s still a part of your sons’ lives.”
Amanda placed her hand on his arm as he came near her. “Joe may still be a part of their lives, but it takes a lot more to be a parent than to just call yourself a father.” She looked over at her husband and gave him a gentle smile.
Lee returned her smile and winked. He had been tempted to get off the bench and join the conversation but decided it was better to let his wife handle this conversation. Parenting was Amanda’s expertise; he was just a novice in that area. If Jack started to get confrontational, then he would jump in and defend his wife but, for now, he was more than happy to sit this one out.
Amanda let go of Jack’s arm and fixed him with a gentle gaze. “There’s more to being a parent than just looking out for your child’s welfare. You have to be there for them; show them that you care. Parenting is about giving and taking. The parent gives love, understanding and attention to the child, and the child not only takes but gives it all back to you.” She glanced towards the house. “What your children give back to you is double what you give them. You get not only their love, but their trust, too.” Turning her attention back to Jack, she sighed. “Do you know what it takes to gain your child’s love and trust? It’s taking an interest in your daughter’s life, talking to her, showing her you care. It’s being home and eating dinner with your daughter; letting her eat alone or with the nanny isn’t good enough for someone as bright and loving as Sydney.”
Jack looked at Amanda, a hint of sadness in his eyes. “I don’t know if I’m capable of doing any of those things anymore. There was a time, when Laura was alive…” He closed his eyes and sighed. He wasn’t accustomed to sharing his feelings with anyone, but for some reason Amanda King had the ability to see right through him. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and looked at the woman he had entrusted his daughter’s well being to. “Let’s just say it’s very hard for me to be around Sydney knowing that everything she thought she knew when her mother was alive, was a lie and in many ways it’s my fault. I keep myself at a distance because I think she’s better off without me.”
“Jack, I think you’re really afraid of getting emotionally attached to anyone again, including your own daughter and that’s a mistake.” Amanda placed a gentle hand on Jack’s arm. “The longer you push your daughter away the harder it’ll be when she grows up and decides to move on with her life without you. If I were you, I’d try and amend your relationship with her now, before it’s too late. I’m not saying you have to go in with guns blazing.” She smiled and chuckled. “Okay, bad choice of words. What I’m trying to say is that you should start with something small, like calling her when you’re away on business, just to say hi and see how’s she’s doing.” She looked back towards the house. “And, as they say, there’s no time like the present to make a fresh start. There’s a young girl in there who’s feeling very abandoned and, after the ordeal she just went through, I think it would mean a lot to her if you showed her just how much you care.” She glanced briefly at Jack and then stepped down from the gazebo.
“I guess you’re right. I should go see her and let her know how glad I am that she’s okay.” Jack looked over at Lee. “I have one more question. I know my daughter, at least well enough to know that she had questions about what happened and why. What did you tell her?”
Lee stood up and walked over to Jack. “Well we knew that we couldn’t tell her the truth without revealing what you really do for a living so we told her the same thing we told Amanda’s family…a very big white lie.” He tried to read the other man’s expression to see if he was happy about that or annoyed, but found that Jack was way too good at hiding his feelings. “We told her that a deal you made with Romanovich’s associates went bad and that because the men were members of the KGB and very dangerous, you asked the government to place her in protective custody while you helped the CIA to capture them.”
Amanda approached the two men. “Since you had told her that you and Lee were old friends, we told her that when Lee found out that it was your daughter in trouble, he jumped at the chance to help. We didn’t want her to think that she was just an assignment, and wanted to make sure that she knew that she really was welcome here. We then told her that Romanovich recognized her and was going to use her to get you to stop helping the government capture his associates.”
“Amanda and I figured that, just in case Jamie and Sydney overheard things that might raise a few questions, it was the best possible scenario.” Lee gave Jack a half-smile. “Turns out we made the right choice. Jamie said that Romanovich did mention your name.”
“Sounds like you came up with a pretty convincing story.” Jack let out a slow breath. “I’m glad I asked, though. I’d hate to think what might have happened if she had asked me anything, and our stories didn’t quite match.”
Amanda nodded and started heading back towards the house. As she reached the back door, she stopped and turned to look at Jack. Fixing him with an intense glare, she pointed a finger at him. “And don’t even think of resetting her memory this time. I plan on checking up on her and I expect her to know who I am.” She then turned back and, opening the back door, walked into her house.
Jack leaned over towards Lee. “Why do I suddenly feel like I’m ten years old and was just told to go to my room without supper by my mother?”
Lee grinned as he followed his wife inside. “Because you were just scolded by a mother. Trust me when I tell you that when Amanda uses her mothers-know-best voice, it’s best not to argue with her. You’ll never win.”
Jack shook his head and, as he entered the house, he looked up to see his daughter stepping down from the foyer into the den. Their eyes met and he nodded at her. “Hi, Syd.”
Sydney fought the urge to run and give her father a hug. After being held in the back room of a pawnshop, she wanted reassurance that she was no long in danger, but knew that that wasn’t something her father was truly capable of. She had gotten support from Amanda and Dotty once they got home this morning, but it wasn’t the same. What she really wanted was for him to come to her and wrap his arms around her; she was tired of always being the one to make the first move. “Hi, Daddy. When did you get here?”
Jack took a few steps closer to his daughter. “Not too long ago. Lee and Amanda were just filling me in on what happened.” He looked over at Amanda and saw her head tilt subtly towards Sydney. Swallowing his pride, he closed the distance between him and his daughter and pulled her into a loose embrace. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
Sydney was very surprised that her wish had come true. Quickly overcoming her shock, she wrapped her arms around her father and buried her head against his chest. “I am too.” Pulling back, she looked at him. “Did Amanda or Lee tell you that the men who took us were planning on sending us to Russia? But they didn’t get a chance because Lee and Amanda got there in time.” She pulled her father into another hug. “I’m glad you’re okay, too, Daddy.” She leaned back and looked at her father, a hint of pride on her face. “They told me that you were helping the government catch the men who were working with the man who kidnapped us. I’m very proud of you.” She then let go of her father and, stepping back a few inches, put her hands on her hips. “But you could have told me.”
Jack had to bite his tongue to keep from smiling at his daughter trying to be strict with him. “I believed you were better off not knowing. I didn’t want you to worry about me, and I wanted you to have a good time while you were here. I also believed you were safer if you didn’t know where I was.”
Sydney rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You were wrong, Daddy. If I had known the truth, then maybe I would have listened to that little voice inside my head telling me that we shouldn’t have gone with Mr. Romanovich.”
“I guess I have to face the fact that you aren’t a little girl anymore.” Jack reached over and placed a hand gently on his daughter’s shoulder. “Amanda and Lee told me about the transmitter you and Jamie built. That was very brave and smart of you to come up with a way to call for help.” He looked briefly back towards the couple and subtly shrugged his shoulders. The truth was, that he had read about the transmitter in the faxed report Mr. Melrose had sent over to Langley. Turning his attention back on his daughter, he saw the shy smile on her face, an obvious response to his compliment. Suddenly remembering that they weren’t alone and that he and Sydney were actually having a father-daughter moment, he began to feel very uncomfortable. He wasn’t used to showing this much affection for his daughter, nor was he used to having such personal conversations in front of others. Clearing his throat, he put back on his mask of indifference. “How long will it take you to pack?”
“Pack? Are we going home, Daddy?” Sydney looked at him with wide-eyed excitement.
Lee cleared his throat. “Jack, you can’t take Sydney home tonight. She has to come into the office with us tomorrow to give her account of what happened.”
Jack took a deep breath and turned to look at Lee. “I thought you feds called it a debriefing.”
“Normally we do but since Sydney and Jamie are both under eighteen, the Agency doesn’t conduct the questioning like an interrogation.” Lee crossed his arms and leaned back against the counter. “We don’t treat children like suspects.” He narrowed his eyes slightly letting Jack know that he still hadn’t let him off the hook for what he’d done to Sydney.
Sydney turned towards her father. “So if we’re not going home tonight, why do I have to pack now?”
“Because I got a room at the Hyatt down the road.” Jack looked at his daughter. “I thought maybe you and I could spend some time together, and perhaps…talk.”
“Oh.” Sydney looked down at her feet. Although her father’s gesture was kind of sweet, the thought of spending any time with him in a small room wasn’t very appealing. She looked back up and over at Amanda. “Can’t I just stay here, especially since it’s going to be my last night with the Kings?”
Dotty, who had been sitting in the den watching the entire exchange, stood up and walked towards Jack, never taking her eyes off of Sydney. “It’s all right with us if she wants to stay. We love having her here, and I know we’re going to miss her terribly, so having her stay here with us for one more night would be a wonderful treat.”
Amanda had been watching Jack while Sydney had been talking and had noticed a subtle slump of the man's shoulders, obviously a sign of his disappointment at his daughter's request. She moved over and placed a hand on the young girl’s shoulder. “Sydney, I would love for you to stay here tonight, but I think your dad really wants you to stay with him. Especially since you two haven’t seen each other in a week. Besides, I know he’s worried about you, and probably wants to be there for you in case you want to discuss the ordeal you just went through.” She glanced over at Jack, who nodded slightly.
“I think Amanda’s right. You should spend tonight with your dad.” Lee turned towards Jack. “We can pick you both up in the morning. Amanda was going to sit in with her when she gave her statement since you’d given her temporary guardianship, but since you’re back in town it makes more sense for you to be there.”
Sydney sighed reluctantly. “Just give me a little while to pack my things.”
Amanda tenderly ran her hand down Sydney’s hair. “Would you like some help?”
“I’d like that, thank you.” Sydney smiled affectionately at the older woman. As much as she missed being home, she was going to miss Amanda even more. It had been nice having someone mother her for a little while.
Amanda wrapped her arm around Sydney’s shoulders and they walked up the stairs together. “Why don’t you get started and I’ll meet you in your room in a minute. I’m going to let Phillip and Jamie know that you’re leaving so they can be downstairs to say goodbye, okay?”
Sydney nodded and moved on into Jamie’s room. Picking up her suitcase, she put it on the bed and opened it. Instead of heading over to the dresser to remove her clothes, she slumped down on the bed next to her luggage and let out a disheartened sigh.
Amanda entered the room and her heart broke at the sight of Sydney looking so down. She walked over to the bed and sitting down put her arm comfortingly around the young girl. “You really don’t want to go with your dad, do you?”
Sydney shrugged and leaned her head on Amanda’s shoulder. “It’s not that I don’t want to spend time with my dad, it’s just that I’ve never had to share a room with him before. We never go anywhere together. Usually there are walls or rooms that separate us. If the silence at home gets too uncomfortable, we always have another room to escape to. What are we going to talk about?”
Amanda leaned her head against Sydney’s. “I’m sure he’s just as nervous about this as you are. I’m sure there’s a lot that you two will find to talk about. You can tell him about what you learned at school, or what we did over the weekend. You can tell him about the movie we saw Friday night and about the fair we went to on Saturday.”
“I can tell him about teaming up with Lee and beating Phillip and Jamie at basketball.” Sydney shifted slightly so she could look at Amanda. Her earlier melancholy was replaced with excitement as she thought about all the things she could tell her dad. “I can even tell him that I beat Phillip in that one-on-one on Sunday.”
“See, it won’t be so bad.” Amanda removed her arm and stood up. Walking over to Jamie’s dresser, she turned towards Sydney. “I’m really going to miss you, you know.”
“I’m going to miss you, too.” Sydney rose and, moving over to Amanda, wrapped her arms around the older woman in a loving hug.
Amanda returned the embrace. “I know I’ll see you tomorrow, but I just wanted to tell you that you can call me anytime, day or night.” She then stepped out of the embrace and pointed towards the Nancy Drew books on Jamie’s desk. “You can keep the books, or you can send each one back to me as you finish, along with a letter.”
“That sounds like a great plan.” Sydney stepped over to Jamie’s dresser and opened the drawer that she was keeping her clothes in. “I guess I should start packing. My dad’s been acting…nice, I guess is the best way to put it, and I’d hate to ruin his mood by making him wait too long.”
Amanda let out a good-natured little laugh. She knew that Jack was making a real effort and it would be a shame to ruin the mood. She had caught the look her husband had given Jack when they were talking about the Agency’s debriefings, and was extremely glad that her mother was still downstairs. With some kind of adult supervision, the two men were guaranteed to act civilly towards each other. As she helped Sydney pack her clothes, she took note of the dolls that lined the bed.
Sydney followed Amanda’s gaze as she placed the last item from the drawer into the suitcase. “I bet Jamie’s going to be glad to get his room back.” She walked over to the desk and gathered up the books she’d chosen from Amanda’s collection upstairs.
“Actually, I think he’s just looking forward to the dolls and girlie items going back up to the attic.” Amanda smiled and helped Sydney pack the books she was carrying. “Is that everything?”
Sydney looked around the room and nodded. “Yep.” She closed the lid on her suitcase and sighed. “I can’t thank you enough for everything you did for me. You really made me feel welcome, and made sure I felt like a part of your family.”
“It was my pleasure. Anyway, let’s not say goodbye right now.” Amanda picked up the suitcase from the bed. “We’re still going to see you tomorrow so we’ll save our goodbyes for the airport, okay?”
Sydney nodded and headed out into the hallway. “You know, my mom said to me once that you should never say ‘goodbye’ to someone. Goodbye was too final.”
Amanda followed the young girl out into the hallway. “That was very wise advice and I like that. So we we’ll only say ‘bye’.” As they descended the stairs, she could hear Phillip discussing the Orioles. Reaching the bottom step, she placed Sydney’s suitcase by the front door and then headed into the den right behind the young girl.
“Oh, man, you mean we had home plate seats to the game yesterday.” Phillip turned and gently pushed his brother. “We missed out on a great game because someone had to go watch some boring chess match.”
“Phillip, let’s not go there.” Amanda looked at her eldest son sternly. “How about you say ‘bye’ to Sydney.” She looked over at the young girl and smiled. “We all have an early day tomorrow and I’m sure everyone wants to get a good night’s rest.”
Phillip sighed. “Yes, Mom.” He then walked over to Sydney. “Next time you’re in town, I expect a rematch. And you better be sure I’ll have been practicing. I don’t plan on losing again.” He winked and then pulled his friend into a hug.
Sydney returned the hug and then quickly stepped back. “You’re on.” She then turned towards Dotty who was now standing next to them. “Thanks so much for making me feel so welcome.”
Dotty wiped a tear from her eye. “I’m going to miss having you around. It was nice having a girl to dote on.” She pulled Sydney into an embrace and smiled slyly at her daughter.
Lee caught the look and, glancing over at his wife, winked at her when she looked in his direction. “Like Amanda pointed out, it is getting late. Since you don’t have your own car, I’ll drive you over to your hotel in Amanda’s Jeep. And, if any of us hope to get a good night’s sleep, we should probably head out now.” He looked over at Jack. “We need to drop Phillip off at school and then we’ll swing by and pick you and Sydney up around eight-thirty.” He was sure that his eldest stepson would rather get back to riding the bus to school, but until the Magician and Vadorsky were fully interrogated, and they knew for sure that the threat was gone, he felt better escorting Phillip to school.
Jack nodded and headed towards the front door. He paused at the base of the landing and looked at Dotty. “Thank you so much for looking after my daughter for me.”
Dotty smiled. “Don’t mention it. Now get going, or we’ll be here for another hour exchanging pleasantries.”
Sydney started to follow her father but stopped and looked over at Jamie. Her friend had been quietly leaning up against the back of the couch while everyone was saying goodbye. Changing direction, she walked over to him. “You okay?”
Jamie shrugged. “Yeah, it just hit me that you’re leaving. I got used to having someone around that had the same interests as me.”
“I’m going to miss you, too, Jamie.” Sydney moved closer to her friend and then nudged him with her elbow. “Hey, we’ll see each other tomorrow. And once I’m back in L.A, I’m only a phone call away.”
“That’s true.” Jamie pushed off from the couch and offered Sydney his arm. “May I escort you to the door, my lady?”
Sydney giggled and slipped her arm through his. “Gladly.” As they headed towards the front door, she remembered something else that her mother had once told her. It was about true friends and kindred spirits. Her mother had said that when you found a kindred spirit, that you had found a friend for life. Despite the fact that they lived three thousand miles away, she knew that Amanda and Jamie King were two friends who would never forget her, nor would she ever forget them.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Please note that any dialogue in italics is indicating that the speaker is speaking in Russian…