8:16am Monday Day 5
Lee awoke to sunshine hitting him in the face. Amanda was still asleep in his arms. ‘I could get used to this. Waking up every morning with Amanda in my arms.’ He checked her temperature, forehead, color, pulse, breathing. She was fine, just asleep.
He checked his watch 8:16am. ‘Wow, we sure slept. Of course we were up for quite a while after her nightmare. I think whatever we watch she’ll turn into a nightmare until this drug clears her system.’
He dozed for a while until Amanda stirred. He stayed still and quiet.
“Mmmm, Lee?”
“I’m here, Amanda.”
“Why are we on the couch?”
“We fell asleep, I guess. How’re you feeling?”
She got up and stretched. “I’m a bit stiff.”
Lee stretched also, “Me too. I guess we’re a bit old for sleeping on the couch like this.”
She smiled at him, “Oh, I don’t know. It was pretty comfy for me.” She placed her hand on his cheek, “Thank you for rescuing me, Lee. Thank you for taking care of me. I don’t remember it all really well, but I do remember you were there for me once the bad men left. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Amanda. But we’re partners and partners watch out for each other.” They looked at each other for a few moments. Then mindful of the surveillance, Lee changed the subject. “Let’s shower and change and I’ll call for breakfast, OK?”
“Sure, Lee.”
Amanda ate breakfast and Lee had juice instead of the coffee he wanted. But it was worth it if he got Amanda back to her normal self.
Lee restocked the refrigerator and cupboards with supplies on the cart that had arrived with their breakfast. Once they were finished, Lee put the dirty dishes on the cart and wheeled it to the door. Dr. Pfaff motioned Lee to come out into the hallway. Lee called back to her, “Amanda, I’ll be back in a minute, OK?”
“OK, Lee.”
Out in the hallway, Dr. Pfaff greeted Lee, “Good morning, Lee. Amanda seems more calm this morning.”
“Yeah, she didn’t freak when we woke up on the couch.”
“We want to come in and examine her—nothing extensive—eyes, reflexes, draw blood. And I’d like to try to talk to her.”
“I know, I know. Let me talk to her and if it seems OK, I’ll call you.”
“All right, we’ll be waiting for your call.”
Lee went back into the suite. Amanda was playing solitaire at the table. She looked up as he came near.
“So Lee, what’s the plan for today?”
‘No time like the present.’ He took a deep breath and forged ahead. “You remember last night we talked about you getting checked out by the doctors?”
“Yeah,” she looked a bit apprehensive.
“You up for a couple of visitors?”
“You mean the doctors?”
“Yeah. They’ll check you out—nothing big—and Dr. Pfaff wants to talk to you. You up for that?”
She seemed to withdraw into herself. “Well, I guess they can check me out—and maybe I can talk to Dr. Pfaff—but no needles Lee—you gotta promise me, no needles.” She had become agitated.
Lee sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I’ll be here with you. I’ll make sure they won’t hurt you.”
“No needles—please!” she was more agitated now.
“OK, OK, no needles.” She calmed down almost immediately. He continued, “Do you want to get it over with now, or do you want to wait a bit?”
“Let’s get it over now. You’ll stay with me, right?”
“Oh yeah, I’ll be with you all the way. I’ll just call them now.”
He went into his bedroom and called out. Dr. Pfaff answered.
Lee was succinct, “She said it’s OK but no needles.”
“We heard. Maybe I can talk her into it after a while.”
“Good luck. Just promise me you won’t bring any needles in—let her agree first.”
“I understand she’s apprehensive. We’ll keep the needles out for the time being. We’ll be in in a few minutes.” Pfaff hung up.
Lee went back to the main room of the suite. Amanda had resumed her game of solitaire.
“They’ll be here in a few minutes,” he informed her.
“OK.”
A few minutes later, the door opened and Dr. Pfaff and Dr. Kelford stepped into the suite. Lee moved to stand beside Amanda. She looked up and spotted the doctors.
Dr. Kelford smiled at Amanda. “Hello, Amanda, Lee. We thought we’d come by and check you out a bit—if that’s OK with you?”
Amanda looked at Lee who nodded. She replied, “I guess so. Just—no needles, OK?”
“No needles, Amanda, I promise.” Dr. Kelford replied.
“OK.”
Dr. Kelford indicated Amanda’s bedroom, “If it’s OK with you, I’d like to examine you over here.”
Amanda shot a quick look at Lee—he stepped forward, “Maybe we should just all stay in here.”
Dr. Kelford was matter-of-fact, “Whatever you feel comfortable with is fine with me.”
She opened her bag and took out her instruments. She checked Amanda’s pulse and blood pressure. She used her stethoscope and listened to her heart and breathing. She checked her throat, eyes and ears. Then she checked reflexes and nerve responses. She wrote each result down on a clipboard.
Next, she looked closely at Amanda’s face. The swelling around her eye had gone down and the bruises were healing. “That’s healing nicely. Can you lift your shirt so I can see your side?”
Amanda lifted her shirt a few inches to reveal her right side—the bruising there was also healing well. Dr. Kelford poked and prodded a bit. Amanda seemed tense but not fearful.
“No internal damage, but we figured that out earlier.” She said almost to herself.
“Is that it?” Amanda asked.
Dr. Kelford produced a plastic cup. “Can you give me a sample for analysis? Just leave it in the pass-through drawer in your bathroom.”
Amanda blushed, “Uh—OK, I guess.” She took the cup and went into her bedroom, closing the door after her.
Dr. Kelford was cheerful, “It’s not a blood sample, but it’s better than nothing and it’s non-invasive.”
“Yeah,” agreed Lee.
Amanda returned, “OK, I left it in there. Now are we done?”
“With the exam, yes,” replied Dr. Pfaff. “But I’d like to talk to you if you’re up to it.”
“I’ll just be going then, goodbye, Amanda and thank you.” Dr. Kelford left.
Dr. Pfaff sat at the table across from Amanda. “Can you tell me what happened?”
“Um, yeah.” She looked at Lee who sat next to her and nodded encouragingly.
She took a breath. “I got to the park and went to the bench by the cannon. I didn’t see Lee or TP. I sat on the bench and a man came up to me and asked me the time. I told him and another man sat down next to me and grabbed my arm. I tried to pull away and the first man grabbed my other arm and I felt a sting—like a bee sting—and then I felt dizzy and sick. The one man said ‘That was easy.’ And the other man said ‘You’re sure this is Scarecrow?’ and the first man said ‘Of course I’m sure—nobody else came near this place and this is where the meet was scheduled. It’s not the old man, so it has to be Scarecrow.’”
“They took me to their car and pushed me into the back seat. One man drove and the other man got in the back seat with me. He tied my hands, and blindfolded me. Then he put a cloth over my face and I don’t remember anything else.”
Dr. Pfaff was encouraging, “That’s good—you’re remembering a lot of detail. That’s very helpful. What do you remember next?”
“Um, it’s fuzzy—I remember being tied up in a chair. I was thirsty—I hurt—my head was pounding—the doctor—well the man who gave me the shots—I thought of him as the doctor—the other man called him doc…”
“Yes, I understand,” Pfaff prompted her.
“He checked my eyes and my pulse. He said I was ready. It was afternoon because they had finished their lunch. The mean man was throwing trash away. I wasn’t hungry—my stomach felt sick.”
She got quiet and stared at her hands folded in front of her on the table.
Lee spoke gently, “Amanda, what do you remember next?”
She spoke quietly, “The doctor pulled up my sleeve and gave me a shot. It hurt. I could feel something burning in my arm. Then I got dizzy again.”
She was quiet.
“Tell us what happened then,” Lee asked.
“It’s really hazy. The mean man asked me over and over ‘Tell me all of Scarecrow’s secrets,’ over and over. I kept telling him I didn’t know Scarecrow’s secrets. I asked them to let me go, to let me go home to mother and the boys. The doctor checked me out a couple of times. The mean man just asked questions and yelled a lot … I was tired and my head hurt. His yelling made my head hurt more. My hip and side really hurt where he kicked me.”
“When did he kick you?” Lee asked sharply. Dr. Pfaff winced at Lee’s tone.
“Um—when I got out of the car. I had loosened the ropes on my hands. I got away and ran down the road—they chased me and they caught me. The mean man hit me and threw me to the ground and kicked me in the side a couple times. It really hurt. Then the doctor put that cloth on my face again.”
She was crying now. “I want to stop talking about this, please.”
Dr. Pfaff was gentle but firm, “If you talk about it—it can be painful at first but it will help you get better.”
“Leeee please! I want to stop now!” she looked at him with tearful eyes.
He sighed and handed her a tissue. “Whadda you say doc? Maybe we can take a break and try again after lunch.”
“Is that what you want, Amanda?” Dr. Pfaff asked.
“Please, I want to stop now. Please just leave us alone.” She leaned into Lee.
“OK, Amanda—I’ll go for now and maybe we can try again after lunch.”
“Just please go now,” she said in a small voice.
Dr. Pfaff got up and left.
Out in the hallway, Dr. Pfaff used the phone at the nurses’ station to call Billy Melrose.
“Melrose here.”
“Billy, I just left Mrs. King and Scarecrow.”
“How’s it going, Pfaff?”
“She still won’t allow a blood sample—no needles. We got a urine sample—but that’s not enough. We need to get a blood sample to see how the drug breaks down within her system.”
“Anything else?”
“She did talk a bit—her memory of the actual kidnapping is quite good—apparently she was chloroformed—twice—and that may also be contributing to her disorientation. She’s doing pretty well, but we really need that blood sample. We got one when she was admitted, and we need one today to compare.”
“What do you suggest?”
“I need Scarecrow’s cooperation. He’s shielding her—and if we can get him to press her to allow the blood sample—she may agree. I need you to back me on this.”
“OK, I do. You can tell him that.”
“No, I need you here, in person. He’s shielding her and it will take both of us to convince him.”
Billy chuckled, “You mean he trusts me and he doesn’t trust you.”
“That’s it.” Dr. Pfaff conceded.
“Can I try to debrief her?”
“You can review the tape from my interview—it’s a good start. But if you want to try more—I don’t see why not.”
“OK, I’ll also review the transcripts of the tapes Scarecrow brought in and his debriefing. When is their lunch going to be ready?”
“They had a late breakfast, so we thought about 1.”
“That’s good. I can do what I need to here and be by at 1. We can talk to Scarecrow then.”
“OK, see you at 1.” Pfaff hung up.
Back in the suite, Amanda wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “Can we play cards again, Lee?” She asked softly.
“Sure—let’s sit on the couch.”
They spent the rest of the morning playing cards. Amanda was more subdued than before.
1:02pm Monday Day 5
The phone rang and Lee answered it.
It was Dr. Pfaff again, “Lee, we have your lunch—can you come out and get it? I want to talk to you.”
“OK, I’ll be out.” He turned to Amanda, “I’m going to go out and get our lunch. It might take a few minutes.”
“Sure Lee.”
Out in the hallway, Dr. Pfaff and Billy were waiting.
Dr. Pfaff spoke, “Lee, we want to try again after lunch to talk to Amanda.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Billy stepped forward, “This time we need to push her a bit. We need you to encourage her to keep going.”
“Billy—she’s still shaky.”
“Lee,” Dr. Pfaff stepped in. “We need to talk to her—debrief her and also assess her true mental state.”
“What happened to letting the drug flush out of her system?”
“It may be mostly gone. Of course without a blood sample we can’t be sure. Maybe we can try to start with a blood sample.”
Lee ran his hand through his hair, “You guys don’t want much, do you?”
Billy put his hand on Lee’s arm, “Scarecrow, we want your partner back in the field with you. But we need to talk to her—debrief her and get that blood sample. The doctors can’t treat her properly if they don’t know how she’s really doing with that drug in her system. Only a blood sample will show that. We need your help with this.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know.” He paced back and forth. “OK, I’ll help you—but if she freaks again…”
“Hopefully it won’t come to that,” Billy said.
Pfaff spoke up, “We could try a mild sedative.”
Lee’s head shot up, “What the hell?!? You said no other drugs.”
“That’s our second choice—but we really need that blood sample.” Dr. Pfaff was insistent.
“Couldn’t you hypnotize her?”
“With the drug the results aren’t predictable,” Dr. Pfaff was apologetic.
“Fine, just fine.” Lee paced some more. Then he stopped and took a calming breath. “OK, I’ll try it your way. Let us eat and relax a bit afterward. Then I’ll call you in. OK?”
Billy nodded, “We’ll be waiting out here.”
Lee wheeled the cart into the isolation suite. Amanda was playing solitaire again.
“Lee, you took forever. Is anything wrong?”
“No—I was talking to Dr. Pfaff and Billy.”
“Oh. What’s for lunch?”
They ate and Lee sent the cart out. Amanda chose a book and read for a bit. Lee pretended to read also—but waited for 30 minutes to pass.
“Amanda.”
“Hmmm?” she did not look up from her book.
“Amanda, Dr. Pfaff and Billy want to come in and talk to you. You up for that?”
“Oh.” She looked up from her book, “Do they have to come in here?”
“You need to talk to them. The quicker you get it over with—the quicker we can get back to relaxing.”
She put down the book. “OK, let’s do it then.”
“Amanda, there’s one more thing.”
She looked wary, “What’s that?”
“Look, you were given that experimental drug plus another drug plus chloroform—twice. That’s a lot in a short time.”
“Yeah, you said that’s why things get fuzzy sometimes.”
“That’s right. But for the doctors to be able to help you, they really need a blood sample to track the drugs in your system.”
“But that’s a needle, Lee!” she backed up.
“Amanda,” He stepped toward her and she retreated to the corner. He stopped, and spoke slowly and deliberately. “I know you were hurt—but we all want you to get better. We care about you—I care about you—I want the doctors to do their best for you. They can’t give you anything else until they know how the drug is doing in your system. And for that they need a blood sample—with a needle. I’ll be there—I’ll hold you—you don’t have to watch—but it has to be done.”
She whimpered and wrapped her arms around herself. “Please Lee ….” She whispered.
“Hey, I won’t let them hurt you. It’s not a big deal. They’re not pumping anything into you—no drugs pumped in—they’re just taking out a little blood. It’s not the same at all.”
“Oh.” She dropped her arms and looked thoughtful. “Nothing in—just blood out.” She sounded like she was explaining it to herself.
“Uh huh.” He slowly moved toward her—she seemed to be thinking about what he said—he cautiously put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and he smiled at her—he opened his arms—and she stepped into his embrace. He pulled her close. ‘At least she still trusts me.’ He was relieved.
“You’ve kept me safe so far—so OK. I’ll do it. Just so they only take blood out—no shots or drugs.”
“Absolutely—that’s just what’s gonna go down. Blood sample only. I promise.”
They stood there for a few minutes. Then Lee stepped back and drew Amanda back to the couch. “Why don’t you sit here and I’ll go get Billy and the doctors, OK?”
“OK Lee.” She looked up at him beseechingly, “You’ll stay with me, right?”
“Absolutely.”
Lee went out into the hall. Billy, Dr. Pfaff and Dr. Kelford were there.
“Good job, Scarecrow,” Billy said. “We’ll let Dr. Kelford get the blood sample first—then Dr. Pfaff and I will be in afterward.”
“That’s probably best. Not too many people at once.”
Dr. Kelford motioned toward the door, “Let’s go.”
Lee and Dr. Kelford entered the suite.
“Hello, Amanda, “Dr. Kelford greeted her. “I hear you’re doing better.”
“Hello doctor, yes a bit.” She looked uncomfortable, but resolved.
“Do you want to sit on the couch?”
“I want Lee to hold me.”
Lee sat on the couch. “Why don’t you sit on my lap here?” She climbed on his lap and turned her head into his shoulder. She held her arm out.
“OK, I’m ready—just please get it over with.”
Lee held her close. “Just relax, Amanda—I’ll make sure it’s just a blood sample.”
She nodded against his shoulder.
Dr. Kelford rolled up Amanda’s sleeve and tied off her arm, raised a vein and quickly scrubbed it with alcohol. “OK. Amanda, I’m going to take some blood—that’s all.”
“Hurry, please.” Her voice was shaky.
Dr. Kelford inserted the needle with the attached rubber tubing. She drew several vials of blood, and quickly removed the needle while placing cotton on the wound. “Just hold that, please.” She indicated to Lee—who pressed the cotton into Amanda’s arm. The doctor took the vials and needles and packed them away, then placed a bandage over the cotton. “All finished. Well done, Amanda! Thank you, this will help a lot.”
Amanda was trembling. Lee said, “Give us a couple of minutes, doc. Let Billy know it might be a bit.”
“OK, will do. Get well, Amanda.” Dr. Kelford left the suite.
“It’s all over, Amanda. She just took blood—that’s all. You’re OK, you’re safe.”
She was shaking and crying. “I know it’s OK, but I’m still so scared, Lee.”
“You’re getting better. Really you are. You were really great letting Dr. Kelford take that blood sample. That took guts. Just—just relax. I’m here, you’re safe.”
Lee held her and slowly her trembling subsided. She moved off his lap to sit next to him on the couch. She sighed and looked up. “Do you have a tissue?”
He got the box of tissues and handed one to her. “Sure, here.”
While she wiped her eyes and blew her nose, Lee got her a glass of juice. “Here, have a drink. It’ll help.”
“Thanks, Lee.” She drank the juice and sat back on the couch with her eyes closed. “Boy, I’m pooped.”
Just then the door to the hallway opened and Billy and Dr. Pfaff came into the suite.
Billy was cheerful, “Hello, Lee, Amanda.”
“Hi guys,” Lee said warily, “I thought you were going to wait…”
Dr. Pfaff spoke up, “We’re here to talk to Amanda. You’ll talk to us now?” The last was addressed to Amanda—still on the couch with her eyes closed.
“Gosh, I’m kinda tired Dr. Pfaff. Can’t it wait until later?”
“You did agree to talk to us after lunch, Amanda,” Billy said authoritatively.
“Yes sir, I did,” she said resignedly. “OK, let’s get it over with.”
Billy pulled a chair from the dining area to the couch and sat across from Amanda. Dr. Pfaff followed suit. Lee moved to sit next to Amanda, but Billy waved him away. “Scarecrow, why don’t you sit over there.” He indicated one of the easy chairs across the room.
“Sir, I’d feel better if Lee was beside me.” Amanda said.
Dr. Pfaff spoke up, “He’s just over there—you can see him.”
Amanda looked from Dr. Pfaff to Billy to Lee, “But—well—OK.”
Lee tried to look encouragingly at her but inwardly he was seething. ‘What the hell are these two doing anyway?’ He sat on the edge of the easy chair, his feet on the floor his elbows on his knees, leaning toward Amanda. “I’m just over here, OK?”
Billy started “Now Amanda—you told Dr. Pfaff about how you were kidnapped and you got up to the man asking you questions. Do you remember that?”
“Yeah—I remember.” She shrank into the couch and wrapped her arms around herself.
“Good. Can you take it from there?” Billy asked. “What did he ask you—what did you say to him?”
“It’s all really fuzzy. I don’t remember it all. He asked me over and over ‘Tell me all of Scarecrow’s secrets—you know all of Scarecrow’s secrets—tell them to me.’ He yelled a lot when I said I didn’t know Scarecrow’s secrets—he said ‘Tell me all your secrets or I will kill you.’ I was really scared. I knew I couldn’t let him know I wasn’t Lee—I knew I had to keep talking so Lee would have time to find me and rescue me.” She fell silent.
“What did you do then?” Billy asked.
“I knew I couldn’t say anything about Lee or the Agency—but he kept yelling—my head hurt—my side hurt—my stomach was sick—he yelled and yelled and I told him my secret ingredients for my poppy seed cake.” She gulped. “He hit me in the face—really hard and yelled a lot after that—he yelled at the doctor and he yelled at me—it was dark by then and I was so tired. The mean man hit me again and the doctor shouted at him to leave me alone—that he would try the new drug in the morning—but to leave me alone and let me sleep it off.”
She took a deep breath. “They left me alone for a while after that. Later it was dark and the mean man woke me up—he shook me and said I should just tell him now because the experimental drug would just kill me anyhow. And if I cooperated he wouldn’t kill me. And I said I didn’t know anything and he slapped me—he said that I was tough but he was tougher. He said ‘You can make it easy on yourself—if you cooperate—I might not kill you after all—what do you think of that?’ Then he kissed me…” She was crying but she continued.
“I was tied up but I tried to stop him—he grabbed my face and he kissed me—hard—it was awful. Then he—um…” She sobbed.
“I know it’s hard, Amanda, but if you talk about it you can eventually get past it.” Dr. Pfaff spoke soothingly.
“I know.” She gathered her composure and used a tissue. “OK, he touched my—my breast—he asked me if I liked that—I told him to leave me alone—I just wanted to go home to mother and the boys. He touched me again—he said ‘I can make sure you like it—you’ll feel good—wouldn’t you like that better than being tied up? Don’t you want me? Just tell me what I want and I’ll show you a good time and I’ll even let you go afterward.’ He—he touched me some more and then kissed me again. It was awful, I tried to get away but I was all tied up—I still hurt—it was awful. When he was done I told him I didn’t know anything and I just wanted to go home. He got angry and he slapped me again and said he’d let the doctor give me the experimental drug and I’d just die—he really didn’t want me anyhow. Then he left me alone. It was dark and I was so scared. I knew Lee was on his way so I just had to hold out until he got there.”
Dr. Pfaff asked, “How did you know Lee was on his way?”
“I just knew.” She looked over at Lee and gave him a small smile.
Dr. Pfaff and Billy exchanged a look.
It took all Lee’s resolve and training to keep him in the chair and not jump up to comfort Amanda. ‘That sick bastard… My poor Amanda… She really had it bad. That should have been me—they wanted me—I’ve been trained—I could deal with it. She hasn’t been trained. Oh God—she has to be able to recover—but she has so much to deal with. I don’t deserve her, but I sure need my partner back.’
Billy spoke, “OK, Amanda, what happened after that?”
“Um … then it was almost light outside—I guess I must have slept or something—the men ate some food and then the doctor got a big needle and gave me another shot. It burned inside my veins—I could feel it move up my arm and into my heart—it burned and I felt dizzy and then I felt the burning all over. I thought I’d burn up and die—I was worried I couldn’t hold out until Lee got there—and I was so scared.” The last was said in a whisper and she began crying again. “So scared.” She was shaking and the tears were running down her face. Her eyes were unfocused and staring off into nowhere.
Billy spoke quietly but firmly, “Amanda, please focus—can you tell us what happened after that?”
“So scared—I’m so scared,” she whispered. She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. “Please just let me go—I want to go home to mother and the boys—I don’t know anything—please just let me go.”
“Amanda, you’re out of there,” Dr. Pfaff spoke and placed his hand on her shoulder, “you’re-“
She screamed and moved away from the touch. “Leave me alone—don’t touch me!”
Lee was up like a shot, “Doc, let her go—just go—please!”
Amanda looked around, “Lee, is that you? Please help me—the mean man hurt me—Lee?”
She focused on Lee and reached out to him. He pushed Dr. Pfaff aside and sat next to her on the couch—she wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into his chest.
Dr. Pfaff and Billy exchanged shrugs. Billy spoke, “OK, that’s all for now. We’ll try again later.”
Lee was angry, “Make it tomorrow, huh? She’s a wreck. Let her rest.” Lee glared at them as they left the suite.
Billy and Dr. Pfaff talked in the corridor after exiting the suite.
Dr. Pfaff took the optimistic view, “We did get quite a bit of information before she shut down, Melrose.”
Billy was terse. “I hate that kind of debriefing. Mrs. King isn’t a trained agent and we’re pushing her like she was a seasoned professional and not a civilian auxiliary.”
“Actually, in a way, she is a seasoned professional. She’s been with Scarecrow for almost three years now. She has more experience than quite a few full-time agents. This is a bad one—but it has little to do with her status—anyone would have a tough time with a powerful hallucinogenic and its one we’ve never dealt with so we can’t help her. She just got unlucky.”
“It’s just not fair to her.”
“She was never promised fair, Melrose. And she did choose this. She’s fought hard to keep working with Stetson.”
“I had a lot to do with that, also,” Billy said glumly.
“Don’t you go getting remorse too—Stetson has enough for all of us.”
Billy shifted gears, “How’s he doing through all of this?”
Pfaff paused to think. “He’s taking care of her quite diligently. I’m still concerned about the emotional element for him. He’s not used to deep emotional ties—and there are definitely strong deep ties between those two.”
Billy scowled and raised his hand.
Dr. Pfaff continued quickly, “I know, I know—hands off for me—but I am making the observation and noting it for further study.”
“Do you have any idea if he’s going to be able to work effectively with her without being over-protective or compromising the job?”
“He’s got some work to do. Actually, helping her is also helping him. Seeing her improve—helping her achieve goals is going to give him confidence that things will get better for her. He’s a professional and will get back to the job, and still be effective. She may end up a better agent—knowing she’s gotten through this and if she recovers fully—it should help bolster her confidence in her abilities. And Scarecrow’s confidence in his partner should increase also. He may realize she is neither as fragile nor innocent as he seems to see her.”
Billy nodded, “She’s a lot tougher than any of us give her credit for. I hope we don’t get any more unpleasant surprises like that little revelation back there.”
“She obviously repressed it.”
Billy was surprised, “I thought the drug was mostly out of her system—why did she flash back?”
Dr. Pfaff gave Billy a reproving look, “People flash back for psychological reasons too, Melrose. This wasn’t the drug—just a reaction to the revelation of the repressed memories. Now it’s out, things should get easier for her.”
“Can we expect any more revelations?”
“We seem to have accounted for all the time up to Scarecrow’s arrival. We have his account of what happened then and we know he didn’t harm her—so I would say that was the end of it.” Dr. Pfaff looked eager. “It will be interesting to hear her version of what happened during that day. It will give us a good profile of the drug’s effects to get her account of what happened.”
Billy shook his head. Sometimes these shrinks scared him with their skewed interests and priorities. “I’ve got a field unit to run. I’ll meet you back here tomorrow at 10. We’ll try to finish the debriefing then.”
“I’ll keep monitoring them here, Anything happens and I’ll let you know.”
Lee and Amanda sat on the couch for a while as she calmed down and relaxed. She soon stopped crying and just rested against Lee.
“Hey, you feeling better, now?” he asked gently.
She wiped her eyes with a tissue. “I guess so.”
“That was a tough one, but you’re doing great. You didn’t give anything away—you did better than a lot of fully-trained agents would have.”
They sat quietly for a few minutes.
Amanda spoke softly, “Lee, does it ever get easier?”
“It depends.” She looked questioningly at him, and he replied, “You went through a lot this time. These ones are always tough, the drugs usually mess you up a lot and then it takes time to get back to normal.”
“So most of this is because of the drugs?”
“I think so. And you were the guinea pig for that hallucinogenic—so nobody knows what to expect—how you will react or what it takes to recover quickly. I’m sorry Amanda, that should have been me. I can deal with all of that better ... “
“Lee, I’d be really worried if our positions were reversed. And I can’t hold you down like you held me those times in the cabin. So you might not even have survived…”
“Hey, let’s not play “what if” OK?”
“You started it, Stetson.”
“Yeah,” he brushed the hair out of her eyes. “You want to play some cards?”
“That sounds good.”
They played cards until dinner.
6:25pm Monday Day 5
The phone rang and Lee answered it.
It was Dr. Pfaff, “We have your dinner and a few more movies to choose from.”
“OK, I’ll be out. Amanda, our dinner is ready.”
“OK, Lee. I’ll get the table ready.”
Out in the hallway, Lee got the cart. On the lower shelf was another dozen VCR tapes.
Dr. Pfaff spoke, “Why don’t you put the tapes you’ve watched or don’t want back there. We can get you different books or magazines if you want them.”
“I’ll ask Amanda. You guys are going to leave us alone this evening, right?”
“Yes, we’ll be back tomorrow at 9. We’ll do another checkup and blood sample then Billy and I will try to finish debriefing her. If she’ll agree, Dr. Kelford wants to do a more thorough examination in private—in her bedroom.”
Lee sighed, “I’ll run it by her. I think we’re going to be OK with another blood sample.”
“That was very good, making the distinction between taking blood out and not injecting anything. That seems to have swayed her.”
“Hey, I’m just improvising here. But yeah—I guessed she was more worried about having more drugs pumped into her than the needle itself. She never had a problem with needles before.”
“Well, being her partner, you know her best so it’s good you are here to help.”
“Like I’ve said all along—I’m here for my partner—whatever it takes—I want her back in the field with me.”
“Yes, we all want that. Go on, your dinner is getting cold.” Dr. Pfaff waved Lee back into the suite.
Lee re-entered the suite. Amanda had placed glasses with milk by their places and also napkins.
“Here’s our dinner, and a bunch more movies.”
“Oh, more movies? Lemme see!”
He stopped her, “Hey! Let’s eat first—then you can go through the new movies.”
“OK, Lee. Are we going to have ice cream again? That was fun.”
“I’ll ask after dinner.”
They sat and ate. After dinner they cleared the dishes onto the cart and Amanda took charge of the movies. She put the tapes she didn’t want or had watched already onto the cart and then spread their viewing choices out on the shelf.
“They said we could get different books and magazines also, if you want.” Lee said, watching her from the table.
“No thanks. I’m OK with what we have here.”
“I’ll take the cart out and ask about ice cream.”
“OK.”
In the hallway, Dr. Pfaff was still there, waiting for Lee. “We’ll have ice cream ready later for you.”
“OK, thanks. How’s she doing, doc? What did the blood tests show?”
“The drug is clearing her system nicely. There are still traces—but those may last for at least a week or more.”
“I see.” Lee thought a moment. “Can we have some coffee with breakfast?”
Dr. Pfaff feigned surprise, “Why Scarecrow—I thought you’d do whatever it takes for your partner?”
“Hey, I’m here for her 24/7—I’m just asking—can we have coffee tomorrow?”
“I’ll ask Dr. Kelford—that’s her call. Now go watch your movie.”
Lee went back into the suite. Amanda was still looking at the movies.
“Lee, do you like dancing?”
“Sure, I like to dance. Do you want to see if they can get us some music?”
She smiled at him, “Oh, that’s sweet but I didn’t mean we should dance—though it’s always nice, dancing with you—I meant do you like to watch dancing?”
“Amanda, you choose what you want to watch. I’ll watch it with you.”
“OK, Fred and Ginger it is.”
They settled on the couch. The credits rolled and Lee was surprised—it was Swing Time. “I don’t think I’ve seen this one, Amanda.”
“I like this one better than Top Hat.”
“I’m sure it will be good.”
Lee put his arm around Amanda, and they watched the movie.
When it was over they stretched and the phone rang. Lee answered.
It was Dr. Pfaff, “We have your ice cream.”
“OK. Amanda, we have ice cream again—I’ll go get it.”
Out in the hallway, the cart was loaded with ice creams and toppings.
Dr. Pfaff spoke to Lee, “Bad news. Dr. Kelford says no coffee until after the blood sample tomorrow.”
“Oh well, I tried.”
He brought the cart back into the suite.
“Oh my Gosh, Lee. If we have that much ice cream every night I’m gonna need new clothes!”
“You just choose what you want. And you look fine to me, Amanda. You don’t need to worry.”
“Thank you, Lee.”
They each had a small sundae. Lee restocked the small refrigerator with milk and juices and returned the cart when they were finished.
They read for a bit and then they went to bed in their respective rooms. They kept the doors open so Lee could hear Amanda if she had a nightmare.
1:17am Tuesday morning late Day 5
Lee was sleeping badly. He kept waking up and straining to hear if Amanda was having a nightmare. Then he got up and walked across to check on her. She was sleeping peacefully. He went back to his bed and slept.
3:42am Tuesday morning later Day 5
Lee sat up. Did he hear something? There was only silence. He got up and went to Amanda’s room to check on her. He saw she was still sleeping, and he sat in the easy chair in her bedroom—just watching her sleep.
‘She’s sleeping OK. That’s good. I guess that means the drug is mostly out of her system. I hope she’ll be better tomorrow than she was today. That was really rough. I’m glad I killed that bastard—but after she told me what he did to her—Hell, I’d love to kill him all over again—slowly—with great prejudice. That sick piece of shit…’
‘Maybe Pfaff’s right—she talked about it and now she’s not having nightmares. But it was so tough watching her talk about it. I just wanted to hold her and kiss her tears away… Don’t go there. She’s been through so much. The kidnapping—drugs—interrogation—being beat up—shock—all of this stuff here—how does she do it? She’s been through a hell of a lot—yet here she is sleeping peacefully while I’m here awake, worrying about her.’
‘But she’s made it this far, she’s going to recover, I know it. She surprised me. I would never have guessed she could be drugged, beaten and interrogated and not let anything slip. That goes way beyond just instincts. She keeps telling me she’s learned a lot working with me—but how could she learn to resist drugs and interrogation? She is certainly a lot tougher than I’ve ever given her credit for. She just seems so delicate, so fragile. But I guess her looks are deceiving.’
‘Funny, I’ve never thought of Francine as fragile, and she’s roughly the same size as Amanda. But Francine’s different—she’s an agent. Well—Amanda is too, really. Maybe not official or full-time, but she’s my partner.’
‘My partner, my best friend, my Amanda…’
‘This is getting serious. I haven’t dated anyone since Leslie. I work with Amanda every day. I watch her from her backyard a couple nights a week. I dream about her most every night. Stetson, you’ve got it bad. For your partner.’ He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. ‘I’m in trouble here. I do … love … Amanda. And I know she cares for me—as a friend—best friends—but as more than friends? We’ve saved each others’ butts so many times—could she love me?’
Lee drifted off to sleep in the easy chair across from Amanda’s bed.
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.