August Challenge:  Use the words "Roses, lace, erotic, taste, secret"

Title: Secrets to be told

Part 1

Amanda sat up in bed, instantly wide awake, her heart pounding, her breathing erratic.  She wasn't sure what had jolted her out of a sound sleep; a noise outside or possibly a dream.  She'd been having a lot of them lately.  Very strange, very EROTIC dreams involving her partner Lee Stetson aka the Scarecrow.  It was silly really.  They had nothing in common beyond work and she was certainly not his type.  He went more for the blonde buxom bimbo type while she was dark haired, anything but well endowed and about as far from a bimbo as anyone could imagine.  A divorced thirty-something woman with two children, a live in mother, a mortgage and a dying station wagon hardly qualified one for admittance to the Stetson stable.

Still, a girl was allowed her little fantasies and as long as no one found out-especially Lee-she'd enjoy the harmless scenarios her unconscious mind created.  So what if they left her vaguely dissatisfied with her solitary life and lonely bed?  She ran her hand over the smooth cool sheets beside her.  That side of the bed was never disturbed-not even the boys climbed in with her anymore.  There was no indent in the pillow, no one to hog the covers, no one to snuggle up to on a cold night... 

A little pang of self pity surfaced and she scolded herself for allowing it.  Her boys needed her.  She didn't have time to be running all over looking for love.  Maybe one day, when they were older... But for now, she'd be content with her lot in life.  She had two wonderful boys, a  mother that pitched in whenever needed, there was almost enough money to go around, her job was exciting, and her partner was  interesting ...

Ahh!  Back to the interesting partner.  Funny how a person's mind worked-always finding a way to return to the one topic it shouldn't  be thinking about.  Lee Stetson, with his hazel eyes and charming manners.  That smile that brightened her day and the feel of his hand on her arm or back...Well, it certainly got her blood flowing.  There had been a few occasions when he'd kissed her-for  ‘professional reasons' of course-and she'd felt the strength of his arms around her, the warmth of his lips sliding over hers.  She'd inhaled the scent of him, savoured the TASTE of him, revelled in the feel of his broad shoulders under her fingers while his body had pressed hot and hard against hers...

Oh my!  She was getting herself all hot and bothered again.  Throwing off the covers she padded to the window, drew back the LACE curtains and let the cool night air wash over her heated flesh. Leaning her head against the window pane, she observed the scene below.  The moon was bright, drenching the backyard in its silvery glow and casting an interesting pattern of shadows over the grass.  Moonlight always made the backyard look magical, mysterious... The fireflies became fairies and the shadowy outline of the tree house was now a fortress while the boys' bikes changed into fiery steeds awaiting brave knights to ride them into battle. 

She smiled ruefully, scoffing at the fanciful turn her imagination sometimes took.  ‘Reading too many historical romances again', she muttered to herself, letting the curtain fall back into place.  Turning to head back to bed, she thought she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye and paused.  Narrowing her eyes, she scanned the backyard searching the shadows for signs of ...what?  A prowler?  A cat? She wasn't sure but an uneasiness came over her and she knew something was wrong, something was...There!  She saw it again.  Near the ROSES Mother had planted by the gazebo.  It was dark, about the size of a man and moving stealthily...well, not really stealthily.  More like stumbling...Oh my gosh!  It was Lee and something was definitely wrong. 

She raced downstairs as quickly and quietly as possible and threw open the back door before skidding to a halt.  Common sense suddenly slammed into her, stopping her head strong flight.  Lee looked to be wounded and if he was, whoever had inflicted the injury could still be out there, looking for him.  Biting her lip, she peered into the back yard, listening...watching.  There was no sign of life except the faint chirp of crickets.  Daringly, she stepped into the backyard and tiptoed toward the gazebo where she'd last seen him. 

Barely five feet from the door, she felt an arm snake around her and vice like fingers clamp over her mouth.  She stiffened, preparing to bite, scream, kick-whatever it took-when a voice hissed in her ear.

"Amanda, it's me-Lee."

She nodded in understanding, relaxing her tensed body and the hands that bound her loosened.  Turning, she quickly took in the appearance of her partner and bit back a gasp.  His face was ashen, smeared with dirt and blood.  He was leaning against the wall, the grim set of his mouth letting her know that it was only by sheer will that he was still on his feet. 

"Lee!  What happened?"

He shook his head, and between gritted teeth managed to speak a few words.  "SECRET...need to know...I'm hurt, hurt bad..."  His eyes closed and she thought he was about to pass out.

"Come on, I'll take you inside."

"No...Your Mother, the boys..."

"The boys are at Joe's and Mother took some of her headache medicine.  She's out like a light."

He nodded and seemed to relax a bit, allowing her to wrap her arms around his waist as she guided him inside. Not daring to turn on the kitchen light in case whoever was after him was still around, she led him to the stairs.  "Can you make it upstairs to my room?  You can lie down there and I'll see what I can do.  I'll call Mr. Melrose-"

"No!  Don't call Billy!  Not anyone...secret..."

The idea seemed to agitate him, so she soothed and crooned, offering words of encouragement as they slowly climbed each step.  Manoeuvring him down the hall and through her door, she helped him ease down onto her bed where he fell back, his face as white as the sheets on which he rested.  That was when she finally saw it. 

Part 2

His shirt was spackled with blood.  "Lee! What happened?  You look like-"

"I was on the losing end of a fight?  Yeah, I was, sort of... ‘vette's a mess too."

"Oh my gosh!"  She hovered over him, hands suspended, not sure where to begin.  His eye was partially swollen shut and a thin laceration on his temple was the source of the blood on his face.  What remained of his shirt was ripped and spotted with blood as was his arm.  Gingerly she began to work the buttons, moving the fabric to reveal his chest.  It was peppered with minute cuts and a large bruise was already forming. Tiny shards of glass rolled and fell onto the bed as she spread the shirt open. "Were you in a car accident?"

"Yeah-that storm that rolled through an hour ago-tree came down right in front of me.  The ‘vette slammed into it.  I hit the steering wheel - think I might have busted some ribs.  Wind shield shattered... there was smoke so I dove out and then, they were behind me again so I ran."  He closed his eyes and licked his lips, drawing in short painful breaths. "Came here...think I lost them but not sure..."

"Who?  Who was chasing you?"

Lee rolled his head side to side.  "Not sure.  They just appeared-somehow they knew what I was doing-started to fight-finger dislocated but I got away..."  A weak smile passed over his face at the memory. "Jumped the fence and jarred my knee a good one.  Made it to the ‘vette and thought I was home free but somehow they managed to pick up my trail and then the storm hit..."  He sighed wearily and was silent.

Unsure if he'd passed out or was just resting, Amanda couldn't bear the thought of disturbing him to sit up so she could remove his shirt.  Instead, she grabbed scissors from her sewing kit, and cut the sleeves open.  His right forearm had a long jagged gash, and she wondered if it was the result of the accident or the fight.  Gently she probed the flesh and decided it wasn't too deep.

"That's from one of your neighbours' fences-broken board caught my arm...Not my best day." He gave a dry laugh then opened his eyes to watch her move about the room.  "How'd you know I was out there?"

She glanced over her shoulder as she gathered first aid supplies.  "I didn't.  Something woke me up-maybe a dream, or a noise-and I couldn't get back to sleep so I was just looking out the window when I thought I saw something moving in the yard.  It was you." Kneeling beside him, she slipped a couple of aspirin into his mouth and held his head so he could sip some water.

"Hmm-lucky for me, I guess.   I hadn't planned on bothering you.  Just thought I'd rest in the gazebo for awhile."

"Most likely you'd have passed out in the gazebo and Mother would have found you when she went out there with her morning cup of tea and newspaper. Looking like this she'd think you were a vagrant or a criminal."  Amanda picked up tweezers and a bottle of antiseptic.  "I'm going to try to clean these cuts.  This might sting a bit."  

Frowning in concentration, the tip of her tongue protruded a bit as she used the tweezers to pick glass from the cuts on his chest and then daubed antiseptic on the small wounds.  Heat rose from his body and she could feel the warmth of it on her face as she leaned in close to complete the delicate job.  Her hand briefly rested over his heart and it beat a quick rhythm against her palm.  His pulse seemed a trifle fast-no doubt due to his weakened state she decided.

Her own pulse was increasing too, as she reacted to his proximity and she drew in a deep steadying breath.  Immediately she regretted the action as the scent of him filled her; an intoxicating mixture of cologne, sweat and something that was uniquely Lee.  Giving her head an imperceptible shake, she continue the tedious job, going over his exposed flesh inch by inch until she was sure all of the shards had been removed.

Looking up, she started to announce that she was finished but realized he really was sleeping this time.  She reached over, brushing his hair from his forehead and his face turned into her palm.  Allowing herself a small liberty she ran her finger ever so lightly over his lips, thrilling when they moved instinctively against her sensitive skin.  She would have repeated the gesture but common sense and a bit of pride took over-taking advantage of an injured man was beneath her dignity, she told herself. 

Quickly and efficiently she dealt with the cut on his temple and arm.  His finger looked nasty - swollen and discoloured, matching the growing bruises on his eye and chest.  She stood and observed him for a moment then shook her head.  It wasn't right that the man could look so damn sexy even when he was a mass of cuts and bruises.  Little wonder she was plagued with indecent thoughts about him.

Setting aside the first aid supplies she decided that she'd done all she could do for him at present.  He was only lying partially on the bed, his legs still dangling uncomfortably over the side.  Removing his shoes and socks, she eased his legs onto the bed.  He mumbled and grimaced while shifting into a more comfortable position, then quieted as sleep over took him once more.

Amanda studied his sleeping form, wondering if his knee needed tending to.  He was wearing denim and the pant legs were too narrow to be pushed up without jarring his injury further.  She could cut the pant leg but it seemed a waste since, unlike his shirt, they were undamaged.  After weighing her options, she decided to slip his pants off.  Her stomach fluttered at the very idea and her hands were less than steady as she reached for his button and then slid down the zipper of his fly.

She'd been married and even worked in the hospital as a Bedside Bluebell.  A man's body was no mystery to her, but the idea of Lee being nearly naked in her bed-even if he was injured -was doing unspeakable things to her.  Getting a grip on her rollercoaster emotions she tried to complete the job as dispassionately as possible.  Rolling him to one side and then to the other, she eased his pants past his hips, forcing her eyes to not linger on the interesting bulge outlined by the material of his underwear. Once his pants were off, she checked out his knee.  It was a bit puffy so she wet a washcloth with cold water and laid it on the afflicted joint. 

Satisfied that she'd done all she could to ease his physical discomfort, she sat on the edge of the bed wondering what her next move should be.  He'd been adamant that she didn't call Mr. Melrose, though he hadn't given her a reason, just that damnably annoying phrase ‘Need to know."  Sometimes she thought that if she heard it uttered one more time, she'd lose control and become violent. 

At times she was sure people used the phrase just to avoid explaining rather than there being a real issue of secrecy.  But was this one of those times?   Probably not. So...the next question was what to do with a nearly naked secret agent who was sleeping in your bed?  She'd bandaged him. There was little she could do for his ribs or the severe bruising on his torso.  Hopefully there were no internal injuries but she had no real way of checking. The Junior Trailblazer handbook didn't cover that.

Well then, the next move would have be waiting and watching.  Once he woke up, they'd decide together.  After ensuring that her door was locked-just in case her Mother woke up and decided to pay a visit-she covered Lee with a blanket and eased herself back on the pillows beside him, prepared to spend the night keeping vigil.

It was funny, she mused to herself; not even an hour ago she was bemoaning the empty spot in her bed. Now it was filled with the man of her dreams.  Of course, he was injured, sleeping and not up to any of the more interesting activities that she'd fantasized  about but still....She propped herself on her elbow and watched him sleep.  His lashes were darker than his hair and fanned out over his cheeks giving him a slightly vulnerable appearance.  Her eyes drifted lower to his parted lips and then to his chest.  Watching the steady rise and fall of the muscled surface, she wondered what it would be like to lay her head there and hear the strong beating of his heart, to feel his breath ruffling her hair with each breath he took, to have his arms wrapped around her, holding her close as they both drifted off to sleep... 

*****

"Amanda?  Amanda dear?"  The sound of her mother's voice and a firm insistent knocking had Amanda rolling over, preparing to swing her legs out of bed, only to encounter a warm, hard lump. "Umph!  What...?"  She opened her eyes and stifled as gasp.  A man's naked chest was pressed to her face or, more precisely, she was pressing her face to it! 

Had her dreams taken on a new level of reality? If so, she hoped she'd never wake up. The chest before her was well muscled and a tantalizing 'male' smell was filling her senses. She allowed her fingers to trail over the flesh before her, watching as it quivered in response to her touch. Hmm...In her dreams, Lee's face was always found just above such a chest.

"Amanda--are you in there?"

Of course, in a dream, her mother wouldn't be knocking on the door, calling her name and spoiling this perfect moment. As logic finally kicked in, she sat up, pushed the hair from her face and turned to find Lee staring up at her.

"Oh my gosh." she whispered, as memories of last night flooded her brain jolting her into instant alertness. Throwing back the covers, she spared one panicked glance at Lee then vaulted over him, running towards the door. She turned the lock and opened the door a crack, strategically placing her body to block the view of the room. "Yes, Mother?"

"Amanda, why is your door locked?"

"Locked?  Oh... I don't know.  I must have done it accidentally last night." Her mother raised her brows and said nothing.  Amanda smiled at her weakly.  "What can I do for you, Mother?"

"Well, it's after nine and I wondered why you weren't up yet.  We're supposed to go to that charity auction today."

"Oh!  The charity auction... Well, you know I didn't sleep that well last night and I have a bit of a headache now.   Would you mind if I didn't go? I think I'd rather just lie back down and rest a bit."

"Nadine's son, Herman, was supposed to go with us, remember?  I've been telling him all about you and he's very anxious to meet you." Her mother used that wheedling tone as if she was offering a wonderful incentive that no one in their right mind would refuse.  Amanda often questioned whether or not she was in her right mind but either way, Herman Sample wasn't that appealing.

"Gee, Mother.  I hate to miss meeting him but I really wouldn't make a very good first impression today.  Maybe next time."

"Amanda, he's a very well respected entomologist and he only comes to see his mother once a year.  You really shouldn't be passing up this chance.  Nadine says he could win a Nobel Prize one day for his research into the soybean beetle."

"I'm sure it's fascinating work but not today.  Have a good time."  She tried to shut the door but her mother put out her hand.

"Amanda?"

"Yes Mother?" Suppressing a sigh, she fixed a politely patient smile on her face, preparing to fend off yet another attempt to coax her into meeting the bug doctor.

"Why is there blood on your nightgown?"

"Blood?"  She looked down and saw spots of red standing out like beacons against the white material.   Her mind raced trying to come up with an explanation while simultaneously questioning why these things always happened to her and why her mother had to be so darn nosey.  Think, think, think...Mindful that Lee was listening in, she nixed the explanation of having her period. A cut from broken glass?  No, Mother would notice that none were missing from the cupboard and besides, there were no shards in the garbage to corroborate the story... "Umm...I accidentally gave myself a nasty paper cut while reading that new thriller you gave me and it just bled and bled but don't worry, it's fine now."

"A paper cut?"

"Yes, a paper cut.  Now Mother, I really have to lie down again.  My head is starting to throb.  Good bye." She shut the door and leaned her head against the wooden panel.  Her heart was pounding from the stress of having to think up a plausible story.  It had been a weak explanation but the best she could do on such short notice.  She shook her head and once again recalled how she hated lying.  Strange, for something that she hated to do, it certainly happened often enough!

The sound of her mother's footsteps faded and Amanda pushed herself away from the door to face the man in her bed.  Lee was watching her with a quirky smile on his battered face.  "Good cover up, Amanda."

She felt herself flush, pleased with the praise.  "I'm getting used to it, but I still don't like it."  Walking over to the bed, she sat down beside him.  "How do you feel this morning?"

"Like I was beat up by two guys and in a car accident."

"Funny-that's how you look too."  She tried to keep her voice light as her eyes skimmed down his body.   Cuts and bruised covered his chest and face. If he felt even half as bad as he looked, he must be in a lot of pain.  "Can I get you something?  More pain killers?"

"Yeah.  And help me up.  It's after nine and I've got to get moving."  He started to sit up but groaned in pain and fell back, his face ashen.

"Lee!" A wave of fear, concern and guilt washed over her.  He probably had internal injuries; she should have called Mr. Melrose or an ambulance... She reached for the phone but Lee clamped his hand over her wrist.

"No! I'll be fine.  Don't call anyone."

"But-"

"No.  Billy can't know."

"An ambulance then?  A doctor?"

"No-no one.  I'll be fine.  I just tried to move too fast."

Amanda bit her lip and felt tears prick the back of her eyes.  This was the part of the job she hated.  People getting hurt, keeping secrets, telling lies...It boggled the mind that all of these negative things could lead to an ultimate good. Knowing it was no use, she decided to ask the questions tumbling through her mind anyway.

"Lee, why can't you tell Mr. Melrose you're hurt?  And what kind of a mission were you on?  And what's so important that you have to do it this morning when you obviously shouldn't even be considering getting out of bed?"

"Amanda, it's-"

"I know. I know... It's ‘need to know.'  But I think I really do need to know.  I mean, you're in my house, in my bed as a matter of fact and there could be ‘bad guys' outside this very minute, plotting on breaking in."

"I doubt that.  If they knew I was in here, they'd have broken in during the night."  He sighed and his jaw tightened.  Then, apparently having come to a decision, he started to speak.  "Amanda, this is top secret.  You can't tell anyone but... Harry Thorton contacted me for this mission.  Apparently, there's a rumour going around that Billy is passing information to the East."

"Mr. Melrose wouldn't do that! He'd never share national secrets."

"I find it hard to believe too and so does Harry but in this business you can't take any chances; no one is above suspicion."

*****

Part 4

Amanda couldn't believe that anyone would suspect her boss of shady dealings with the East.  The fact that Harry Thorton, the Agency's founder, would assign someone to investigate such a claim, made her feel slightly ill.  What kind of a business was she involved in when friends spied on friends and everyone was always being watched and investigated?  It just didn't seem right. At some point, shouldn't you simply have faith and trust your friends?  She sighed, already knowing the answer.  Not in the world of espionage. The first rule was trust no one.

"So what were you doing?  Tailing Billy?"

"No, there was an informant who supposedly knew the source of the rumours but when I got to the meeting spot, there was just a message directing me to another location this morning at ten thirty.  That's why I have to get up. I've got to see this person and hopefully get some information that will clear Billy's name."

"Okay...I can see that trying to clear Billy's name is important but you're in no condition to do this.  You don't even have a car."

"Damn!  The ‘vette,  I forgot about it.  The police will have found it by now and contacted Billy.  He'll have agents out looking for me, if I don't report in."

"Lee, don't worry.  I'll call Mr. Melrose and tell him what happened-now don't interrupt-I  won't mention you being chased.  I'll say that you were in an accident due to the storm and came here because you were only a few blocks away.  I had you spend the night since it was so late and you weren't feeling well.  It's the truth."

Lee slowly nodded his head in agreement and lay quietly on the bed while Amanda made the call.

"Yes, that's right, Sir.  He's fine, just a bit bruised and stiff.  I'm sorry to have worried you.  To tell you the truth, I overslept, what with being up in the middle of the night tending Lee and it was only just this minute that I thought of his car and telling you... Yes, I'm sure he's anxious to find out the extent of the damage... It's in the Agency's compound?  All right, I'll tell him and later on drive him over to check it out.  Umm, Mr Melrose?   I really think Lee should take the day off and rest.  He won't admit it, but I'm sure he's stiff and...All right.  I'll tell him.  Thank you,  Sir...  Yes, I'll see you on Monday. You have a nice weekend, too."  Amanda hung up the phone and looked at Lee triumphantly.  "You've got today off and tomorrow's the weekend.  By the time Monday comes, you'll be healed up a bit and more mobile.  No one will question what happened.  It will look like all your injuries are the result of the accident."

"Good.  Now if I can just get up..."  He slowly inched himself up and, despite her misgivings, Amanda put her arms around his shoulders to help.  It was slow going but he managed to sit up and swing his legs over the side.  His face was pale and he had his jaw set.  Amanda was sure it was sheer stubbornness that kept him from falling back onto the pillows.

"Lee, I don't think this is a good idea."

"Good idea or not, I have to go.  If I'm not at that meet, we'll lose contact with the informant and he might not get in touch with us again.  Just drive me home so I can take a shower and change.  Then I'll take a cab to the meet."

"Lee Stetson, that has to be one of the silliest plans you've ever come up with.  There is no way that you'll make it.  I doubt you can even stand up in the shower."  As soon as she said the words, Amanda realized she'd made a tactical mistake.  Saying ‘no' to Lee was like waving a red flag at a bull.  He'd just get angry and more determined to continue on with his hair brained scheme.  Back pedalling, she tried another tactic.  "I mean, why don't you shower here?  It will save time and if you need anything, I'm available.  I'm sure I have a man's T-shirt somewhere that you can wear and then I'll drive you to wherever you have to go."

She noted that Lee was gripping the edge of the mattress tightly as if it was a life line to remaining vertical.  He hesitated and she wondered if stubbornness would prevail but then he nodded.  "Yeah-you might be right.  I'll clean up here.  Just help me into the bathroom."

"Sure."  Thankful to have won the first round, she carefully put her arm around his waist, mindful of his ribs and the severe bruise from where he'd hit the steering wheel.  Once he was on his feet, he swayed but then began to make his way across the room.  "I'll get you out some towels and while you're washing up, I'll find that T-shirt."  As they entered the bathroom, Lee grabbed for the vanity and leaned against it weakly.  Amanda was positive he wouldn't be able to stand long enough to shower and didn't want him falling and cracking his head.  Hesitantly she suggested an alternative.  "You know, when I was a Bedside Bluebell, I found out that sponge baths can be a really great way to clean up, when someone doesn't feel up to a full shower.  Maybe, you could just use a washcloth..."

"Amanda, I'm not an invalid.  I can get cleaned up all by myself."

"Well now Lee, here's the thing.  You probably can manage but what if you slip or something?  I can't pick you up and we'd have to call for help and then there'd be questions to answer.  By that time, you'll be too late for that meeting ..."

Lee sighed heavily but she could see he was thinking.  Pressing her advantage, she quickly grabbed a washcloth and a bar of soap, set out a spare toothbrush and even a comb.  "I'll just wait in the bedroom with that T-shirt." As an afterthought, she pulled open a drawer and set out a razor.  "Sorry it's pink..." Setting it on the vanity, she left the room before he could protest. 

She stood outside the bathroom door listening.  All was quiet for a moment and then she heard the water running in the sink.  Closing her eyes, she offered up a quick prayer of thanks that he'd listened to reason.  While seeing Lee in her shower might be interesting, having him crumpled and injured on the tile floor didn't fit into any of her fantasy encounters with him.

Realizing she still needed to change, she grabbed jeans and a shirt then dressed as quickly as possible, thankful that she'd had a bath before bed last night.  By the time the bathroom door opened she was ready.

If you could ignore his pallor, Lee looked slightly better than he had ten minutes ago.  With the blood washed off, his hair combed and clean shaven, he was almost presentable.  Slowly he made his way to the bed and sat down heavily.  Amanda made no comment about his obvious fatigue and instead chatted away as if having him half-naked in her bedroom was a daily occurrence.

"Well, I'm sure you feel better now.  Getting all the blood and dirt off certainly improved your appearance.  Now here's that T-shirt-it has a little logo on the sleeve for motor oil but it's not that noticeable.  I got it last time I had my oil changed-some promotional thing I think.  Anyway, let's just get your arms in here and then we'll slip it over your head."  Keeping up a steady monologue, Amanda gave him no time to protest as she helped him dress. Picking up his feet, she got his legs into his jeans, then helped him stand and slide them on.  Next came sock, shoes and finally his belt.  She put it through the loops and left him to do up the buckle.

As she stepped back, Lee grabbed her wrist.  Startled she looked up at him.  He was staring at her with a puzzled look.  "What?"

"Nothing... I just...well...Thanks. I really appreciate your help.  I mean ...you gave up your plans for the day and everything..."

She shrugged uncomfortably.  "It's no problem, Lee.  I'm your partner and partners look out for each other, right?  Besides, I didn't really want to go with Mother to that auction.  I'd just buy something I didn't need."

Lee hadn't let go of her yet and she wondered if he realized he still had a hold of her or that his thumb was gently rubbing over her wrist.  She hoped not, because helping him dress had done really strange things to her heart rate.  Her pulse was probably thundering away.  "If I overheard right, you had to give up a date with some guy."

"Well, it wasn't actually a date. Just Mother matchmaking again but I wasn't interested."

"No?"

"No-I don't really have the time right now for a relationship.  The boys need me and this job keeps me pretty busy."

"Yeah..."  He studied her for a moment longer, then abruptly let go of her wrist.  "Speaking of jobs, we'd better get going.  I'd like to be at the meet a bit early and check out the area first."

Amanda nodded and helped him up.  As they made their way downstairs, she wondered where that little bit of conversation had come from.  Lee wasn't usually that interested in her life.  He didn't mean to be rude, he was just...Lee.

Part 5

Amanda drove into the warehouse district as Lee had directed.  There was the usual hustle and bustle of a workday with trucks pulling in and out, men working, machinery clanging.  They travelled to the far end of a row of buildings where dumpsters and metal drums were piled.  It was relatively quiet and  more removed from the noise and confusion of the rest of the area.  Lee signalled for her to stop and she looked around, trying to view the scene before her through the eyes of a spy.

Escape routes were the first order of business.  Never go in someplace without knowing how to get out.  Lee had told her that once and she took those little tidbits of knowledge to heart.  She looked around noting the alley to the right and the gated fence ahead. The gate was chained shut but, if necessary, she could drive through it, though explaining the damage to her mechanic-let alone her mother-would certainly take some creative weaving of fact and fiction.  Using the rear view mirror, she noted that the way she'd come was still clear but it could easily be blocked by a forklift or a truck. The alley would be her first alternate route and the gate her last choice.

Step number two was looking for danger.  The building beside them was boarded up but some of the windows were open and could be hiding a sniper, their contact or even a street person.  Long grass and weeds grew around the perimeter-there was no evidence that it had been stepped on or pushed aside by a person walking through it. So the building could be empty or possibly someone was inside but had simply used an access point she couldn't  see. Dumpsters could also hide a person and the metal drums were stacked precariously.  They could easily be pushed over onto an unsuspecting individual. 

Satisfied she'd cover all the bases, she turned to Lee.  He was surveying the area with narrowed eyes and a grim expression.  "I don't like this Amanda.  Too many places for someone to be hiding.  After last night, I'm not sure if this is a legitimate meet with a contact or if the guys who were chasing me might have set it up. It's the middle of a work day.  The meet should have been in someplace busier with more activity to act as a cover for a quick conversation."

"Do you want me to get us out of here?"

Lee considered the situation before answering.  "No-I need to talk to this person.  Maybe he's just watched too many movies and thinks this is how it's done."  Reaching for the handle, he opened the door and slowly stepped out, groaning slightly as his body protested the movement.  Through the open window, he gave her his instructions, while his eyes continued to scan the area.  "I'm supposed to meet him over by that dumpster.  I'll walk over and you wait in the car.  At the first sign of trouble I want you to get out of here."

"Do I call for backup?"

"No-no one knows what I'm doing.  This is a solo act."  Leaving the car door open he limped towards the large blue garbage bin.  Amanda divided her attention between watching his progress and  looking  around for signs of trouble.  About half way there, Lee pulled out his gun and she wondered if it was just a precaution or if he sensed something was wrong.

A man appeared from behind the dumpster and they exchanged a few words, then he stepped forward, handed Lee an envelope and started backing away.  Lee said something; the man shook his head, shrugged giving the universal sign for "I don't know" and then disappeared between the metal bins. Obviously frustrated, Lee watched the man leave then starting walking back towards Amanda's car, while continually glancing around.  He was to the vehicle when shots rang out.  Lee dove to the side, landing in the tall grass.  Amanda ducked as low as possible behind the wheel, hit the gas and drove towards where Lee had disappeared.

Her vehicle screeched to a halt and she leaned across, throwing open the passenger door.  "Lee!  Get in!"  His head poked out of the weeds long enough to fire two shots in the general direction of his adversary then stumbled into the car.  He was barely inside when Amanda threw the car into reverse and backed away as quickly as possible.  Once they were some distance back, she shifted into drive and sped away, checking her rear view mirror for possible pursuit while glancing worriedly at her partner.

"Lee, are you okay?  Did you get hit?"

He was lying back against the seat, slumped to the side with his eyes closed.  "No-whoever that was, was a lousy shot.  They didn't even come near me. I thought I told you to leave at the first sign of trouble."

"I did.  I just took a minute to get my partner."

Lee grunted his thanks.

"Lee, I'm sorry.  Whoever was after you last night must have been outside the house and followed us this morning. I guess I didn't watch carefully enough.  I kept checking behind as we drove here but there must have been a tail that I didn't see."  She felt awful. Lee had come to her for help, for someplace safe to stay while he healed and she'd allowed some thugs to follow her, leading them right to his important meeting...

"There was no tail; No one followed us.  I was watching as you drove."

"Oh!  Well, then they must have followed your informant.  Whoever he is, they really don't want you talking to him.  It was a good thing their aim was off and you had that long grass to hide in." 

They were several blocks away from the warehouse and Amanda deemed it safe to pull over.  She parked on a tree lined street then turned to check on Lee.  He had managed to pull himself upright but strain lines were bracketing his mouth."Yeah, that little incident certainly helped my ribs feel  better."  His words were laced with sarcasm and Amanda winced imagining how it must have hurt having to dive for cover like that. She reached over and gently squeezed his arm in sympathy.

"So what happened?  Was that your informant? Was he the one shooting at you?"

"I don't know who the guy was.  He said he'd been paid a hundred bucks to give me this envelope.  I asked him  who was paying and he said he didn't know- it was just some guy in a suit.  He wasn't the shooter though.  The bullets came from the other direction.  Did you see anything?"

"No.  I was watching but I didn't see anyone.  What's in the package?"

"I haven't check yet."  Lee opened the envelope and flipped through the contents, then straightened the stack of papers and contemplated the first page. 

"Well?  What is it?  Does it prove Billy's innocent?"

Lee said nothing, just handing her the pages, his face grim.

Part 6

Amanda took the pages, not sure if she really wanted to see them or not.  After glancing at Lee's grim expression she took a deep breath and looked at the top page.  There was a picture of Mr.  Melrose handing a package to a grey haired gentleman.  "Who--?"  She didn't even get the question out before  Lee answered.

"Karl Janovik-one of the top ‘information retrieval' men for the East.  He specializes in finding government officials, locating their weak spots and blackmailing them into delivery classified information."

"So what's Mr. Melrose doing with him?"

"There's only one possible reason Billy would be with that guy.  Janovik has got to him and is blackmailing Billy into handing over information."

"Couldn't it be a chance meeting?"

"Amanda, there are no ‘chance meetings' with Janovik.  Besides, there are three other pictures in the file.  Each one shows Billy at a different location.  Each time he's handing something over."

She flipped through the file and found the photos.  Mr. Melrose was pictured with the same man in each.

"Lee-I just can't believe this.  Mr. Melrose is a loyal American. Why would he be passing secrets to the East?"

"Janovic goes for the jugular.  He researches the background of people with access to sensitive information, finds a weakness-something they don't want know or maybe someone they care about-and then uses it as leverage. "

"So you think Billy's being blackmailed?"

"Possibly.  It's a preferable alternative."

"Alternative to what?"

"That he's an outright traitor."

"Oh."  Amanda was silent for a moment as the gravity of the situation sank in.  Mr. Melrose could  be tried for treason!  "So, what are we going to do?"

Lee shook his head.  "I don't know.  I should call Harry, then report this Dr. Smyth..."

Amanda studied him carefully.  Even though you weren't supposed to develop attachments in this business, she knew Lee respected Billy and valued his friendship. Lee wouldn't casually turn in a friend.  She smiled slightly. "But you're not going to."

"Not yet.  Something doesn't seem right.  Harry said the guy I was going to meet had information that could prove the rumours were false.  This just confirms them."

"So the informant was lying?"

"Or someone wants us to believe Billy is guilty and is planting information-doctoring the photos."

"But who?  And why?"

Lee shook his head and collected the evidence from Amanda.  "I have no idea but we're going to try and find out.  These photos will have at least four sets of prints on them; yours, mine, the guy at the warehouse and whoever this ‘mystery' informant might be.  We'll take these to the Agency and have them dusted for prints."

"But won't someone question why?"

"I have some connections down in finger printing.  Zoe Smithers owes me a favour."

Despite the seriousness of their conversation, Amanda couldn't help but laugh. "Zoe?  I see you've changed letters; this one ends with an ‘e.'"

"What?"

"Zoe ends with an ‘e'.  Usually your girlfriends end in ‘i.'  You know Bambi, Cyndi, Suzi.."

Lee glared at her.  "Zoe is just a friend.  She had a flat tire and I helped her jack up the car and change it."

"Ahh...And I'm sure that's all there was to it." Just a trace of sarcasm was woven into her words.  She glanced at him, trying to keep straight face.

"Amanda..."  Lee's tone of voice let her know that he wasn't amused but she couldn't resist prodding him just a little more.

"Lee, I'll bet you coffee and a donut that when we walk into her office, she fawns all over you."

"You're on." He reached over and they shook hands.

Amanda started the car and eased onto the roadway, anticipating her upcoming snack. There hadn't been time for breakfast this morning and just the thought of a donut had her stomach growling.  She was going to head straight to the Agency but Lee asked her to make a detour .

"I want to stop by my apartment first and change.  I appreciate the loan of the shirt but advertising motor oil isn't exactly my style and..." He gasped slightly and held his ribs as they turned the corner and he slid a bit in the seat, "I also have some heavy duty pain killers.  The Tylenol really isn't doing the trick."

"Lee, what are you doing with strong drugs in your apartment?"

"Standard Agency issue for a field agent.  They realize we have some pretty rough encounters at all sorts of odd hours.  Every agent keeps a well stocked first aid kit and a small supply of prescription pain killers at their house.  Otherwise you'd spend half your time at the doctors."

"But that's not safe!  You shouldn't be treating yourself when you're injured."

"Amanda, every agent gets some pretty advanced first aid training and instructions on how and when to use the drugs.  After all the Agency doesn't want its employees accidentally over-dosing."

"I suppose..."

"Don't worry.  I'll only take one pill-just enough to take the edge off. "

*****

They stopped at Lee's apartment and he took a pain killer then changed his clothes.  He insisted on doing it himself claiming the drug was fast acting.  Amanda didn't believe him for a minute and wondered if he'd been as disconcerted as she'd been that morning when she helped him get his clothes on. 

Realizing it might take him awhile to change, she started tidying up his apartment.  It wasn't quite as bad as it used to be-maybe she was rubbing off on him! The longer people were together, the more alike they often became.  She wondered what would happen if they were partners long enough.  Would Lee become a ‘rambler' and family oriented?  Would she develop his appalling lack of manners or become a ‘player' with a new boyfriend every week?  Giggling at the very idea, she gathered the dirty dishes and headed for the kitchen. 

"What's so funny?" Lee stood in the doorway, wearing a fresh shirt and watching her fill the dishwasher,

"Nothing really.  I was just thinking that when people are together for a long time, they sometimes start to take on the traits of their partner.  We'd better be careful how much we work together.  You might become a regular person."

"And you might become one of the best operatives the Agency has ever produced."

They both laughed and looked at each other.  Their eyes locked and the smiles slowly faded. Both seemed to be searching the others face for something... 

It was Amanda who broke contact first. "Well..." She shut the door to the dishwasher and rinsed her hands.  "I guess we should head to the Agency and find Zoe."

Lee cleared his throat.  "Yeah, with any luck, whatever prints we find will be on file in the Agency computer.  Then we can go after whoever put this package together."

"But only after you buy me that coffee and donut." She quipped as they exited his apartment.

"Amanda..."

Part 7

Amanda happily munched on her chocolate glaze donut while Lee sipped his coffee and stared out the window at the brownstone building across the street.  It was just past noon and pedestrian traffic was light in front of the three story walk up.  Only four people had entered the building-a mother with a toddler and an elderly couple.  No one had exited.  Most of the windows had the shades pulled down though a few sported pots of sickly geraniums on their sills.  It was an unassuming building which may or may not house the man they were after.  All they could do was wait here, at the last known address listed in their quarry's criminal file

They'd learned about Mr. Young and his possible location due to the skills of a raven haired Forensics specialist named Zoe Smithers.  After leaving Lee's apartment, they had headed for the Agency and made their way to the Forensics unit in search of Zoe, the Agency's foremost fingerprinting expert   As Amanda had predicted, the woman spent some time cooing and fussing over Lee and his injuries.  Mind you, the woman was in her mid-fifties and all but patted Lee on the head as if he was a ‘good little boy' but fawning was fawning.  Once the woman had assured herself Lee would survive, she'd turned into the professional she was and began checking the envelope and the pages within for prints.  Just as Lee had surmised there were two sets in addition to their own.  The one set had had no match in the Agency computer but the other belonged to a Mr. Jeffrey Young, a small time criminal of debatable skills.

Zoe stared at the unknown set of prints thoughtfully.  "I don't know Lee...There's something about these that makes me think I've seen them before.  See this mark?  This person had a severe injury to their third finger at one point.  I'm sure we have a record of prints like this. I don't understand why the computer couldn't make a match."

Amanda stared at the enlargement of the finger prints. To her it was just a swirl of lines.  "Zoe, how can you possibly tell if you've seen a set of prints before?  It's just a bunch of wavy lines."

"Zoe's special."  Lee explained. "She has an amazing gift for analysing finger prints and recalling patterns."

"You see Amanda, fingerprints are analysed based on a system-we use one called the Henry Classification System.  First you look for the three basic patterns:  loops, whorls and arches.  Each of these is broken into subcategories.  For example there are ulnar and radial loops.  Now the ulna is the lower arm bone and an ulnar loop starts on the pinky-side of the finger, which is closer to that bone, hence the name.  Of course the ulnar loop is just one of eight common patterns..."  She paused and then laughed.  "Sorry I tend to get carried away."

Amanda smiled at the woman.  "That's all right, Zoe.  It's good to be interested in your work and it does sound fascinating.  Maybe someday, when I'm not busy helping Lee, I can come back and you can explain this to me. "

"Sure Amanda.  Anytime."

Lee gave Zoe a one armed hug.  "Thanks for your help.  You keep thinking about these mystery prints.  If you remember where you've run across them before, let me know."

"That I will, Handsome. And, of course, this is all off the record.  But remember..."  She'd trailed her fingers down Lee's arm and winked at him teasingly. "I'm available anytime for another lesson in basic car maintenance."

Lee had laughed but Amanda had stood smugly watching. It didn't matter what age they were, women always fussed over Lee.

As they headed for the elevator, she'd reminded him that she liked chocolate glaze donuts and wanted a large coffee.   Lee had glowered at her and started to protest.  "Ah, ah, ah!"  Amanda all but waved her finger at him.  "Fawning is fawning even if she is old enough to be your mother."   Lee had sighed and agreed they'd stop at the donut shop on their way to Mr. Young's house.

Amanda had been slightly surprised that Mr. Melrose hadn't sought them out while they were in the Agency and expressed this to Lee. Their boss was sure to know that they'd entered the building and she thought he would have found them and inquired after Lee's injuries.  Maybe he was busy, she'd speculated.  Lee had said he was just thankful that they hadn't had to explain why they were there in the first place when he was supposed to be home recuperating from his accident.

Just to be on the safe side, they'd stopped by the compound to check out Lee's car.  It was a good alibi as to why they were out and about.  Lee had morosely viewed the damage to his ‘baby' and discussed repairs and cost with the mechanic.  The windshield was shattered, the front bumper and hood crumpled and the engine needed several replacement parts as well as a good overhaul.  When the mechanic suggested scrapping the car, Amanda thought Lee might have a stroke.  The man assured Lee he'd just been joking but from the glower on Lee's face, everyone present could see that the humour of the remark had escaped him. 

Now they were waiting for the mysterious Mr. Young to show himself.  Amanda filled in the time by speculating.  "Do you think this person could actually be your informant and is just too scared to admit it?  I mean, his success rate as a criminal doesn't seem to be too good so he's probably really skittish and could have just pretended he'd been paid to give you the package though  I wonder how he could have even gotten his hands on sensitive information about Mr. Melrose."

"He's small time so I really doubt he's the person we want.  Most likely he was just paid to make the drop.  The stuff in the envelope came from someone associated with the intelligence community."

" Well, maybe he was robbing someone, took the file on a whim and then when he saw what it was-"

"No.  I thought of that but how would he have known to contact Harry?"

"Good point."  Amanda lapsed into silence. Time passed.  People came and went from the brownstone but no Jeff Young.  It was typical surveillance duty; lots of waiting and very little happening. 

Around one thirty Lee sighed and looked at Amanda.  "I think we should give it up for right now.  Take a break, maybe come back later."

"But--"

"You can just drop me off at my place.  I call you later."  Lee was staring out the window as he spoke and something about his manner made her suspicious. The Scarecrow didn't give up this easily.

"Lee, you're planning something, aren't you?"

"Me?  No, of course not.  I'm just tired.  That pain killer is wearing off.  I want to go home, take another one  and rest for awhile."  He used his most innocent, reasonable tone which really set Amanda's radar off.  Lee was never that calm and reasonable and the idea of him admitting he needed to rest-even though he probably should be doing just that-was foreign to everything she'd learned about the man in the past two years. She decided to operate in ‘mom' mode and folder her arms, giving him the look that always made her sons cave in and spill the beans.

Lee glanced at her, looked away and shifted in his seat.  She said nothing, just staring at him impassively.  A minute ticked by before he finally sighed loudly and cracked. "All right, but you're not going with me, understand?  There was another piece of paper in with the pictures.  I palmed it when you weren't looking.  I'm supposed to meet this fellow at the Washington Monument at two thirty.  The note said if the pictures interested me, he had more evidence to go with them."

Amanda looked at him disapprovingly.  She'd known something was up and somehow she wasn't surprised that he was attempting to go solo and leave her behind again.  Would he ever learn?  Inhaling deeply, she began to talk, knowing a combination of logic and sheer verbosity would eventually wear him down and have him seeing things her way. 

"Another meeting?  Lee that doesn't make any sense.  Why is he setting up all these meetings and only giving you pieces of the information?  Why not everything all at once?  Do you think he's even going to be there this time or will it be another ‘no show?' And, there's no question about it, I am going with you. Both times someone's been waiting for you at the meet.  They've tried to shoot you and beat you up and don't forget the ‘vette.  Now, of course the tree coming down was caused by the storm but if they hadn't been chasing you in the first place, you wouldn't have had that accident!  Who knows what they have planned for you next? I'm your partner.  We watch each other's backs.  I'm going along."  She started the car, giving Lee no time to respond and began to pull out into traffic, only to slam on the breaks. 

Lee's body jerked forward against the shoulder strap of the seatbelt and he grunted pain.  "Amanda-you've made your point.  You don't need to break the rest of my ribs.  Why'd  you stop?"

"Lee-look.  It's the man from the warehouse-Jeff Young.  He's leaving the building!"

"Yeah, it is.  Let's follow him."

"What about your meeting at the Washington Monument?"

"It's still an hour away.  We can follow this guy for awhile and still make the meet. Unless, that's where this fellow is going."

"He isn't carrying anything."

"No he isn't but maybe he's on his way to pick up another package to give me or maybe it's just a small piece of paper, folded up in his pocket."

Amanda nodded in agreement as she slowly manoeuvred the car through traffic, keeping their quarry in sight.  After walking several blocks, he entered a corner store.  Through the window, they could just make out that he was talking to someone.  "Lee, can you see who he's talking to?"

"No- too much glare and too many things in the window.  All I can tell is that the guy is of average height, has grey hair and is wearing a suit. Damn I wish I'd thought to bring binoculars."

"He's leaving now and he has a package.  Do we follow him or check out who's in the store?"                    

Part 8

After but a moment's hesitation, Lee announced his decision.  "I'm going into the store.  Whoever is in there is the source of the information.  You wait in the car-and I mean it this time!"

Lee gave her no time to respond, stepping out as quickly as his injuries would allow.  He crossed the parking lot and went inside.  Through the store window, Amanda could just barely make out his profile.  He seemed to look around and then headed determinedly down one of the aisles.  Less than a minute later, an alarm went off.  Amanda sat bolt upright and looked around, unsure what the alarm meant.  People began pouring out of the store and the distant wail of fire engines could be heard. Could the store be on fire?  Anxiously, she scanned the crowd for Lee but couldn't locate him.  She was just opening her door having decided to go searching, when he finally appeared coming around from the back of the building.  He made his way to her car and flopped down inside, a thoroughly disgusted look on his face.

"Lee, what happened?"

"That fellow is a slippery bugger, that's what happened.  I caught sight of him-at least I think it was him-grey hair, suit... Anyway, I was headed his way when someone cut in front of me with a grocery cart and knocked down a display of cans. The noise must have tipped him off because by the time I got to the end of the aisle, the fire alarm was going off and everyone was heading to the front doors trying to get out of the store.  Since I wanted to get to the back, I was like a salmon trying to swim upstream-I could barely make any headway.  Finally the other shoppers were gone but when I got to the back of the building, he was gone.  He must have pulled the alarm as a diversion and slipped out an emergency exit.  There was no sign of him anywhere."

"So that's the end of that lead."

"Yeah, except...There was something vaguely familiar about the guy.  His build, the way he walked...I don't know.  It just tweaked something in my memory."  Lee was silent for a moment, obviously trying to make a connection between the man he'd seen and some distant memory but after a moment he shook his head.  "Nope-I can't place him."

"So what do we do now?"

"I guess we head to the Washington Monument and see what our man has for us."

*****

Amanda pulled into a parking space and turned off the car.  She looked at Lee and started talking even as he opened his mouth.  "I know, I know.  You don't have to say it.  You want me to stay in the car but I really don't think it's safe for you to be alone at this meet."

"Amanda,  I appreciate your concern but I've gone to lots of meets by myself.  I have my gun.  I'll be perfectly fine."

"That's what you always say."

"And I'm still here which proves my point, doesn't it?  I can do this on my own. Wait here."

Amanda sighed is resignation and folded her arms.  "Someday I'm going to tell you to wait in the car and see how you like it."

"Amanda-"

"Hey!"  She interrupted suddenly sitting forward and staring out the windshield.  "That's the fellow you're supposed to meet,  Jeffrey Young!  Isn't that him, right over there?"  She pointed to a spot about fifty feet away.

"You're right, it is.  I wonder why he's coming looking for me.  I'm not late."  Lee checked his watch just to be sure.

"Maybe he's just anxious to get this exchange over with."

"Possibly...  I'll go see what he has for us."

Amanda watched as once again Lee met with the man.  An envelope was exchanged.  Lee spoke, then grabbed the man's arm, obviously trying to get some more information but he pulled away and ran off.  Lee took a few strides, as if planning on chasing him but then stopped and rubbed his knee.  Looking thoroughly disgruntled about his physical condition, Lee hobbled back to the car, all the while looking around for any signs of danger.  Amanda also watched carefully, scanning the other parked cars; she didn't want a repeat of what happened at the warehouse district.  Lee was just climbing into the vehicle, when she saw something that made her gasp.

 A grey haired man was on the other side of the parking lot and he was talking to...No, it couldn't be! She closed her eyes and looked again but by then both men were gone.

"Lee!"  Amanda turned anxiously to Lee.

"Hmm?"  He was busily opening the envelope.

"Over there-on the other side of the parking lot, near that grey van.  I'm sure I saw-"She didn't get a chance to finish.  Shots rang out.  Lee put his hand on her head and pushed her down, the car rocked then tilted to the side as a bullet hit the front tire and it went flat.

All was quiet.  Amanda could feel her heart pounding, the weight of Lee's hand on her head, the seatbelt biting into her waist.  She inhaled deeply, trying to calm down and process what had just happened. Someone had shot at them and hit her car.  Luckily neither of them was injured, but her car!  She hoped she could get it fixed before her mother saw it.  Lee removed his hand.  Cautiously she raised her head and peeked over the dash.  Lee was doing the same thing, scanning the parking lot for signs of danger.

"Oh my gosh!" Once again, she couldn't believe her eyes.

"What?"

"Over there-that looks like Mr. Melrose.  He's running around that van and he has his gun drawn!"  She felt the colour drain from her face.  "Lee, I think Mr. Melrose was shooting at us!"

Lee narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw.  "Yeah, that was Billy.  What the hell is he doing here?  There are no operations going down here today.  I saw his schedule on his desk just yesterday.  He's supposed to be in meetings all day."

Amanda looked at Lee, her eyes wide.  "Lee, just before the shooting started, I thought I saw Mr. Melrose talking to a grey haired man.  It looked like the same person that he was with in those photos-Karl Janovik."

"Damn, this doesn't look good."

"Maybe it wasn't Mr. Melrose who was shooting.  Maybe it was the other man...though I didn't see a gun." She tried to rationalize what had just happened, refusing to accept that her boss could possibly turn on them like that.  "Lee, there has to be an explanation.  Is there anything in that envelope that will explain all of this?"

"After the last one, I'm almost afraid to look."  Lee opened the package and slowly withdrew the contents.  He scanned them quickly, then made a fist, crumpling the edges of the papers.  Running his hand through his hair, he handed them over for Amanda to see.  "Do you know what that is?  It's a list of gambling debts.  Billy owes a small fortune.  There's also a list of his credit cards-all maxed out.  Apparently Billy has a gambling problem and is in debt up to his ears and back. And the people he owes?  They're not nice.  If you don't pay them, you start losing body parts and your family has nasty little accidents."

"Jeannie and the girls!"

"Yeah-you know I wondered why Billy had them go on vacation without him this year.  He must be trying to protect them and is desperate enough for money to turn on his own country."

Amanda studied the papers, hoping there was some mistake but it was right in front of her, in black and white.  A perfect motive for Billy to be selling secrets to the East.  He needed money desperately to pay off his debts and keep both his family and himself safe.  She could almost hear the prison door clanging shut on her boss.

Part 9

"Amanda, are you sure it was Janovik that you saw with Billy? Lee's voice held a touch of desperation as if he was hoping against hope that there was some logical explanation of what was going on with the man he called both his boss and his friend.

"I'm pretty sure, but they were far away and I've only seen Janovik in those photos."  She tried to be non-committal, wanting to offer Lee something to hold onto.  "There are lots of grey haired men in DC-even the fellow that our Mr. Young is getting his envelopes from. "

"That's right... The guy in the store looked vaguely familiar from the back-he could have been Janovik, but I'm not sure."

"I didn't get a good look at the fellow in the store either-I only saw him through the window but  I suppose they could be the same person."

"All right," Lee nodded and the total despair that had filled his eyes, seemed to lighten.  "Let's look at this logically.  All along I've had a funny feeling about this whole business-something just doesn't seem right.... Amanda, head back to my apartment.  I need to take another pain pill and we can grab something to eat while we try to figure this whole thing out."

"Okay but first we need to call the auto club.  Someone shot my tire, remember?"  Amanda grabbed her purse and headed for a payphone, leaving Lee to study this newest evidence against Billy. As she put a coin in the slot she tried to look on the bright side.  She needed new tires anyway.  At least now she only had to buy three.  Lee could find a way to put this one through on his expense account.

*****

Back at Lee's apartment, they sat on the sofa, eating pizza and studying the photos and pages of debts.  Lee had a magnifying glass and was examining the pictures carefully.  "If these are fakes, I can't tell.  All the shadows match, the bricks in the background...everything looks perfect.  If I had to make a guess, I'd say these photos really show Billy handing something off to Janovik."

"Could it be a double?  Someone who looks like Billy?"

"Maybe but that's really grasping at straws.  Some people do have doubles but it doesn't happen that often.  Plastic surgery is a possibility but it's a long drawn out process and expensive.  The Russians would have to be after something really big to go to all that effort and expense."

"Is there anything that big out there that they'd want?"

"Oh, there are always big secrets but it would have to be one that Billy has access to, and off the top of my head, I can't think of any current projects that would fit the bill."

"Okay.  So let's assume that really is Mr. Melrose in the pictures.  How do we know he's giving the package away? Maybe he's receiving it."

Lee thought for a moment and smiled.  "That's good Amanda, real good.  These photos could be interpreted either way.  So let's run with that idea.  Janovik is a collector of information not a distributor..."

"But maybe he wants to defect and he's proving his loyalty by supplying Billy with information!"

"Yes, that would work.  But then..." Lee picked up the list of gambling debts.  "How do these fit into that picture?"

Amanda contemplated the pages glumly.  The little bubble of hope that had been building inside of her was starting to deflate.  "Are they real?"

"I don't know.  I'd have to get into the Agency computer, then tap into the credit companies records.  That would tell us about the credit card debts but the gambling debts...Well, these people don't keep records that are easily accessible to Federal agents-we tend to be on opposite teams."

"So how do we find out if Billy really does have a gambling problem?  Does anyone in your ‘family' have access to these people or maybe you could ask one of your snitches?"

"Possibly but I'd rather not get more rumours out on the street about Billy, if I don't have to.  If I start asking questions, then everyone's going to prick their ears.  If Billy is innocent, I don't want his name smeared on the streets. If he's guilty...well, that will happen soon enough.  I think what we need to do is tail him."

"Tail Mr. Melrose!"

"Yeah and it won't be easy.  Billy was-IS-a good agent.  And if he's up to something he'll be even more aware of his surroundings than usual.  First step will be to get a different vehicle.  He knows yours.  We'll get a rental, and then see where he goes. It's four o'clock.  Assuming he went back to work after today's little incident, we can follow and see where he goes after work.  If Billy does have a gambling problem, he'll likely stop off somewhere on his way home or go out again after supper."

*****

They sat outside Billy Melrose's house, in the fancy car Lee had rented.  He'd justified his choice by saying that the ‘vette was going to be in for repairs for an extended period of time and he needed something to drive anyway.  Amanda took in the plush bucket leather seats, the car phone and the stereo then rolled her eyes.  ‘Boys and their toys' she thought to herself.  She would have chosen a sedan or a wagon with vinyl seats that could withstand sticky little boys. Chuckling at the variance in their lifestyles, she settled back waiting for something to happen. 

Mr. Melrose had left work, gone to the grocery store, stopped at the dry cleaners and then driven home.  That was three hours ago.  Except for lights being switched on and off in the house as he moved about, there was nothing happening.  Occasionally a car would drive by, illuminating the interior of the car.  At those times, Lee and Amanda would lean closer together, assuming the roles of lovers having a tryst on the side of the road.  In between time, they discussed the case, trying to put the events into some logical order that would lead to Billy's innocence.

"So, Harry tells you that there are rumours Mr. Melrose is a traitor.  He sends you to investigate because, like you, he doesn't believe the charges and wants to clear Billy's name."  Amanda summarized what had happened in the past twenty four hours.

"Right-well, almost.  Harry had already put out some feelers and found this mystery informant who knew the rumours were wrong and could supposedly prove it."

"So Harry sent you to find this guy and bring back evidence that would save Billy from being charged with treason.  Except instead of disproving the charges, the evidence seems to be proving it."

"Which is what doesn't make sense.  Harry's sources are usually solid." Lee thumped his fist against the dash, then winced and rubbed his hand as the finger he'd dislocated during the first fight, protested his actions.

"Unless the informant is doing a double cross."

"That could be it.  Someone who wants his job or maybe an agent with a grudge-possibly Billy fired someone or landed somebody in jail and they're carrying a grudge."

"All right-so we have a mystery informant who has mislead Harry.  The informant-someone with a grudge-is actually trying to make Mr. Melrose look bad by taking photos that can be misinterpreted-we thought  he was giving away information but Mr. Melrose could be receiving it. Then the informant creates false incriminating evidence like gambling debts, trying to create a motive.  That's pretty solid reasoning, I think." Amanda was pleased that they'd made some sense out of what was happening.

Lee shifted in his seat, leaning against the door and stretching out his knee.  "But, we still have the guys who were after me at the first meet and the fact that I've been shot at twice today."

Amanda sighed.  Lee was right.  They still had to figure out who was trying to keep them from getting the information. "So, who would be trying to stop us from getting evidence against Mr. Melrose?"

"Well, Billy of course-he wouldn't want that kind of information being spread around.  But he would have approached us directly if it was false."

"Maybe he didn't think we'd believe him."

"After all the times he's gone to bat for me, Billy should know I'd stand by him."

"I agree but who else is there?"

Lee was silent.  Amanda wracked her brain trying to think of another person who would benefit from them not getting those pictures and the list of gambling debts.  A very unpleasant thought kept coming to mind. She hesitated to even voice the idea. "Lee...what if Mr. Melrose really is guilty?  I know-"She held up her hand to keep him from interrupting.  "I don't like the idea either but just suppose for the sake of argument he is; the Russians wouldn't want us getting wind of this.  It would cut off their source of information."

"Yeah-I was having the same nasty thoughts myself."  They lapsed into silence again, pondering the unpalatable possibility.

Finally, around nine o'clock, the lights went out in the house.  At first Amanda thought their boss had gone to bed early but then she observed someone in the driveway, heading towards the car. "Lee!"  She nudged her dosing partner.  He really should be home resting she thought in passing.  "Lee-wake up.  Mr. Melrose is going somewhere."

Lee grunted and groaned, levering himself up in the seat.  They watched the car pull out of the driveway, then followed it at a discreet distance.  They drove through town at a moderate pace, stopping for lights, turning here and there before finally coming to a stop outside what appeared to be a nightclub.

"Oh, this is just great." Lee muttered.

"Why?  What is this place?"

"On the surface it's a night club but the back room-which is only open to a very select clientele-is an illegal gambling joint.  Even if we were dressed the part, there's no way I could get us in there."  Lee scowled at the building.  "All we can do is wait until he leaves and then see what happens."

Amanda shifted uncomfortably not enjoying the prospect of sitting in the car for several more hours.  She was sure her rear end was already asleep.  Leaning her head against the window, she tried to amuse herself by thinking of a logical explanation that she could use with her mother this time.  A club meeting?  A sick friend?  An old college friend unexpectedly in town...They'd all been used so many times.

Suddenly Lee grabbed her arm.  "Amanda he's leaving-or being escorted out, to be precise."  Sure enough, two rather large men all but pushed Mr. Melrose down the steps and onto the sidewalk.  He shouted something at them; they laughed and went back inside.

"If I interpret this correctly, Billy is no longer a welcome member of the gambling club.  He's probably over extended his line of credit and needs to come up with some cash." Lee leaned forward, eyes narrowed, giving a play by play of the unfolding action.  "Now he's straightening his suit and looking around to see if anyone is watching.  He's heading to the payphone and placing a call...talking...checking his watch...nodding...He's hanging up and heading for his car.  Okay let's follow him and see what happens next."

They followed him to the Agency and watched as he entered the building, then exited ten minutes later carrying a large envelope.  He got back in his car and drove off.  Keeping a discreet distance they followed him, each silent as they mentally speculated what was going on.  The silence in the vehicle was broken by the ringing of the car phone.

Impatiently Lee grabbed the phone, "Stetson!  Oh, hi  Zoe...you did?  Good. Who owns the prints? ...  What?  Are you sure?... Yeah...Okay...Thanks."  He hung up the phone.  "Amanda you aren't going to believe this.  Those unknown prints?  They are in the computer files but in a classified section that doesn't come up with a regular search.   Zoe was sure she knew them so she went digging and came up with a name:  Harry Thorton!"

Part 10

"Harry!"  Amanda was so surprised she jerked the wheel and an oncoming car blared its horn at her.  Concentrating on the road, she began to pepper Lee with questions and comments.  "Lee, that makes no sense.  That would mean Harry is the informant! How can he be the informant?  And why would he be trying to discredit Mr. Melrose?  Why did he send you to investigate when he already has the information?"

"Amanda, calm down!  I agree.  It makes no sense.  There's no logical reason-Watch out!  Billy's slowing down.  Pull up by the curb here and see what he does. "

Their surprise over Harry's fingerprints was momentarily set aside as they watched their boss stop his car in front of an abandoned movie theatre.  He exited his vehicle and disappeared down the alley.  Without a word, Lee got out and started to follow, drawing his gun as he went.  Amanda was close behind.  For once, Lee hadn't told her to wait in the car.  It was probably an oversight on his part but she wasn't going to mention it since she had no intention of being left behind anyway.

Silently they moved down the dark alley, carefully avoiding the debris on the ground so as to not give away their presence.  At the back corner of the building they paused and listened.  Voices were coming from around the corner.  One belonged to Billy Melrose; the other had a distinctive Russian accent.

"You have something for me, Melrose?"

"If you have the money, Janovik."

"Oh indeed I do.  I'm willing to pay you quite well for this last part.  The initial information you have given us has been of high quality.  With this last piece we will have a fully functioning program, capable of deciphering the American`s secret satellite transmissions."

"I hate doing this-"

"But you also hate the thought of all the ‘accidents' that could happen to your family, if you don't start paying off some of those gambling debts."

"You're gloating!"

"Is it my fault, you had such a string of bad luck?"  Sarcasm was dripping from the Soviet's voice.  "Enough if this, hand over the package."

Amanda felt Lee tense beside her, then he stepped out and levelled his gun at the men before him.  "That's enough.  Neither of you move!"

"Lee!"  Billy called out in surprise.

"I thought you said you would take care of the agents who were following you?"  Janovik snarled.

Just then, there was a shout behind them.  Lee quickly turned toward this new possible danger.  Janovik shoved Billy and ran through a partially open door that led into the old theatre.  Lee swore and stepped forward to give chase but froze as he heard the click of a gun.

"Don't go after him Lee."  Billy had his gun out and was pointing it at Lee and Amanda. "Drop your weapon."

"Billy, I can't believe-"

"I said to drop your weapon.  God man, can't you ever follow orders?"

A new voice spoke from behind them.  "Sometimes he follows them, Billy. But mostly he's a maverick which make him a pain in the rear but it also makes him a damn good agent.  Drop your gun, son."

Lee and Amanda turned to see Harry Thorton behind them, also with a gun pointed their way.  Lee lowered his weapon to the ground and kicked it away.  His eyes reflected his inner confusion.  Amanda squeezed his arm in sympathy.  She`d trusted both of these men implicitly.  "Harry?  Not you too?"

"Ah yes, I'm afraid I'm in on it too but not the way you think."  Harry lowered his gun as did Billy and both men started laughing.  "Lee you did an admirable job. You followed the trail just like I knew you would.  If you promise not to shoot us, you can pick your gun back up.  You looked rather intense there for a moment and I didn't want you shooting someone and then regretting it later."

"What?"  Amanda and Lee spoke simultaneously, looking at each other with equally puzzled expressions.

"Come on you two, there's an all night diner around the corner.  We'll go have some coffee, maybe a donut  and I`ll try to explain everything."  Billy walked up to his two best agents and put his arms around them, guiding them down the alley.

*****

Once they were seated with warm cups of coffee to sooth frayed nerves, Harry began to explain. "You see Lee, Billy and I had our own little operation going here.  Together we devised a plan to get Janovik to do our dirty work for us.  We set Billy up as a perfect target:  a man with access to sensitive government documents and an apparent weakness-gambling and a large debt.  When Janovik approached him, Billy of course refused at first but then a supposed string of bad luck had him seeking Janovik out and offering pieces of the "Valiant" project in exchange for cash."

"What's the Valiant project?"  Amanda asked.

"A program that deciphers coded satellite messages.  If the Soviets could get their hands on it, they'd be able to read all of our transmissions."

"Then why did Mr. Melrose give it to them? Oh!  I know-it's a fake."

"No Amanda, Valiant isn't a fake. It does decode messages but more importantly there's a sub program in it that will also decode and send Soviet messages back to us.  By installing it, the Russians are in effect compromising their own transmissions."  Billy smiled widely and rubbed his hands together obviously pleased with the clever deception.

"And the messages they receive from our satellites?"  Lee queried.

"Oh, we've made sure that nothing vital will be transmitted using codes that Valiant has been programmed for.  We'll send messages of course-supposedly secret-but these secrets are meant to be told. They'll have just enough truth in them to be believable."

"Okay this is all starting to make sense but why did you draw Amanda and me into the plot?" Lee was still looking confused.

Harry patted Amanda's hand.  "No offense my dear but you were never supposed to be a part of this.  It was just Lee.  We wanted it to look like someone was getting suspicious and investigating Billy-it added an extra touch of realism to the whole scenario.  Janovik is clever.  If everything had just fallen into place he might have been suspicious.  But now he thinks he's gotten away with Valiant and since Billy has been ‘caught' their relationship is severed.  Janovik will head back to Russia and with any luck they won`t be any the wiser for quite some time."

"But if Mr. Melrose was caught committing treason, won't the Russians become suspicious when there's no trial?"  Amanda frowned, still trying to make sense of it all.

"I'm off for an extended vacation.  I'm finally cashing in all of my overtime and I'm meeting Jeannie and the girls in Mexico.  We haven't had a family vacation in years.  The Russians will assume I'm in prison awaiting trial and by time I get back and circulating again, we'll have gained enough information through Valiant that even if the Russians become suspicious, it won't matter."

"So all the false evidence...?" Lee asked.

"I paid Mr. Young to be a courier and deliver it-you almost caught me this afternoon.  The information was just to keep you interested and on the trail. We both knew that no matter how bad it looked, you wouldn't immediately turn Billy over to Smyth.  You'd keep investigating, sniffing around. It lulled Janovik into a sense of security about Billy's veracity. The Agency wouldn't be investigating one of its own unless that person really was up to something.

"And shooting my car?"  Amanda still couldn't figure that out.

"Well, we wanted Janovik to think Billy was trying to keep Lee from finding out his secret.  We hired to actors to rough his up a little the first night.  Sorry, my boy, you were never supposed to be seriously hurt. The storm and the tree on your car wasn't part of the plan." Harry looked apologetic.

"At the warehouse, I purposely fired into the dirt at least six feet away from you, Lee.  And Amanda, I am sorry about your tire but it was on purpose.  It looked good and kept you from following me. You were never in any danger." Billy looked sincerely at his two friends.

"Oh that's all right, Sir.  I needed new tires anyway."  Amanda shrugged.  What else could she say?

"Well, does that explain everything to your satisfaction?" Harry asked, pushing away from the table as if to leave.

"I guess," Amanda looked at Lee.  He nodded thoughtfully.

"It all makes sense now.  There's just one thing though..." Lee paused and looked at Billy expectantly.  "Technically, I was out during that storm doing Agency business, right?  If it hadn't been for this case, I probably would have been home watching a movie."

"So...?"  Billy raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"So, who pays for the repairs to my ‘vette?"

Billy and Harry looked at each other wincing.  Lee folded his arms and set his chin.  Amanda just shook her head, leaned back and sipped her coffee waiting to be entertained by the upcoming fireworks.