Disclaimer: Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions are the rightful owners of Scarecrow and Mrs. King, its characters, and its premise. The plot for this story and any original characters remain property of the author. No copyright infringement is intended; this work is written solely for the pleasure of the author and the readers, and no profit is being made. This story, however, does belong to its author, and any reproduction or distribution is prohibited without authorization of said author.
Reckless Abandon
Reckless abandon: surrender to natural impulses without restraint or moderation
Chapter One Monday, November 13, 1989
Amanda glanced up from her desk as Francine came into the office. She’d been back at work for a week, and today they were going to formalize the expansion of the Q Bureau.
“Good morning, Amanda,” Francine said as she walked over to the coffeemaker. “What time is the meeting again? 8?”
“That’s right,” Amanda responded as she gathered several files together. “We’re meeting in Billy’s conference room in about 15 minutes. I’ve just got to gather a few things and then I’m going to head down there.”
“As soon as I drink this coffee, I’ll be down, too. Ephraim went back down to the classrooms a few minutes ago. He’s meeting with the new lead instructor to answer any last minute questions- they have a new class starting tomorrow.”
Amanda nodded. “You realize Billy’s going to want to know how it’s going with your new partnership soon.”
“I know,” Francine sighed.“So?” “So, I think it’s still too soon to tell. We haven’t really had a case to work on, so I don’t know how to answer the question. We’ve basically been going back and forth between our old and our new desks, so we haven’t really had to deal with each other on that kind of basis yet.”
Amanda nodded. She’d thought the same thing, but didn’t want Francine to feel any pressure. According to Lee, Billy was going to give the new Q Bureau a pretty big assignment at the meeting today, and Amanda thought this would be a good opportunity for Francine and Ephraim to get a real feel for how they worked together.
Just then, the phone rang. “Q Bureau,” Amanda responded. She nodded and smiled. “We’ll be right there.” She looked at Francine. “That was Lee. They’ve got everything ready, so we can head down now, if you’d like. Ephraim’s already there.”
The two ladies headed out the door and made their way to the conference room. Once they arrived, Amanda took a seat next to Lee and Francine sat on the other side of Amanda. Billy, Ephraim and a young woman sat across the table from them. Dr. Smyth followed Amanda and Francine in, and sat at the head of the table.
“OK, kiddies, tell me what you’ve worked out,” Smyth said as he took one of the folders Billy was handing out.
“Well, everyone, Amanda has outlined what types of cases the Q Bureau will now be responsible for, along with general job descriptions for each person. Why don’t we all glance over the sheet, then we’ll discuss,” Billy suggested.
Everyone opened their folders and quietly read. According to the outline, the Q Bureau would continue to deal with the questionable cases that continued to pop up, but would also now be responsible for other diplomatic missions. They would continue to be available for any problem Billy or Dr. Smyth felt needed the attention of either partner team as well. Lee would become the department head of the Q Bureau and would be responsible for department head meetings and other leadership requirements. Amanda would become a liaison of sorts with the other Agency departments along with supervising the vault and other critical files. Francine would be the liaison with other government agencies such as the CIA, FBI, and NSA and deal with any diplomatic issues that arose. Ephraim would be in charge of the Q Bureau’s computer systems as well as supervising any research projects. Billy would remain their Section Chief and would still be in charge of mission assignments for both partner teams.
Dr. Smyth nodded as he finished reading. “Everything looks copasetic, William. Carry on,” he said as he stood and walked out of the room. A collective sigh of relief could be heard by all.
“Now, that that’s out of the way,” Billy grinned. “I want to introduce you to Kelly Reed. She’s been a part of the steno pool for two years, and I am temporarily assigning her to the Q Bureau, in order to help you finish organizing the expansion and get the filing up to date.” Kelly smiled shyly and Amanda smiled back. “So, let’s look at the design of the offices and make sure you’ve got what you wanted.”
Everyone looked at the blueprints of the upper floor. The floor consisted of four office spaces down a long corridor. The first two rooms were filled with filing cabinets and miscellaneous desks and chairs- they had obviously become a kind of catchall. The next room had been cleared out for Francine and Ephraim to use and was finally organized after the last of their belongings from the basement area had been moved in. The final room was Lee and Amanda’s office, where the vault was located. According to the new plan, the first two offices were going to be converted into a conference room and a computer/library room. This would make it easier for the Q Bureau agents to meet and do any computer work without having to go down below.
“OK, Billy, I think we’ve covered everything with the expansion,” Lee interjected. “Now, let’s get on with it. What’s this big project you told me about?”
Billy laughed. “Chomping at the bit, Scarecrow? I think someone’s been stuck behind a desk too long.”
Everyone started laughing and Lee shook his head.“OK, people, here goes. As you know, last month, Hungary transitioned from a communist regime to a democratic country. They did this peacefully, without any bloodshed. Dr. Smyth has been in meetings with the President, who has been in talks with Hungary’s provisional president, Mátyás Szűrös. They are sending a delegation and would like for us to provide security for it. President Szűrös is also concerned that there may be some radical elements developing in his country…those who may not like the idea of democracy, and is worried that some in the delegation may not be what they appear to be. So, Dr. Smyth and I would like background information on all members of the delegation, just to be on the safe side.”
“Sounds like we’ve got our work cut out for us,” Francine said. “How long are they going to be here?”
“At least three days, according to Dr. Smyth,” Bill answered. “They arrive on Thursday. That gives us three days to figure out locations for their meetings with the various Cabinet and Congressional members as well as any dinners they wish to host, design a security plan, and complete the background checks. The Hungarian embassy has agreed to provide housing for the members, so we’ll need to coordinate with them.”
SMK SMK
The morning flew by. Francine supervised the men moving the old desk equipment out of the first two offices as well as the new furniture coming in, while Ephraim went over the computer schematics with the technology chief. Lee was in a department head meeting with Billy, while Amanda showed Kelly around the vault and showed her how the filing would be done. Once the computer room was set up, Kelly would help in filing the various manuals and binders that would now be kept in the Q Bureau.
After lunch, the four of them met in the new conference room. Lee handed out folders with the information he’d received at his meeting.
“OK,” Lee began, “here is the list of probable delegation members along with a tentative schedule of their meetings and any dinners or parties they’ll be attending. Amanda and I will go over the security plans with the head of the delegation, a Béla Szabó, when he arrives. Ephraim, I would like for you and Francine to begin background checks on the names on this list. I’d like for us to know as much about these people as possible before they get here.”
“Sounds good,” Ephraim responded. “Any ideas of what we’re looking for?”
“Not at this point. Hungary is pretty peaceful considering they’ve just done a 180 on their government. It’s pretty remarkable, though it’s not hard to imagine there are some unhappy communists still lurking around,” Lee continued.
“Lee, I’m going to try to finish up the vault today, then get Kelly started on the library tomorrow. I think we should have everything ready to go by the end of the week,” Amanda added.
“Francine, you’ve been pretty quiet. Do you have anything to add?” Lee asked.
“Um, no…Lee, I was wondering…what about running some of these names by Magda? I mean, she did defect from Hungary and she might recognize any names we don’t,” Francine answered.
“That’s a great idea,” Amanda responded. “If you’d like, I could go with you tomorrow to see her.” Francine nodded with a smile.
“Great,” Lee said. “I think this covers everything for today. Ephraim, why don’t you show me what we have left to do with the computers.”Everyone got up and left to finish their work for the day. Amanda watched everyone go about their business and smiled to herself. ‘This is really going to work out,’ she thought to herself.
SMK SMK
Later that night, after dinner, Phillip asked Lee to shoot some hoops with him. “I really want to make the basketball team,” Phillip pleaded. “Think you can help me out? The tryouts are after school tomorrow.” Lee laughed, then grabbed the keys to the ‘Vette.
“Guess we’ll be back later,” he told Amanda. “Jamie, want to come?”
“Uh, sure,” Jamie responded. “Give me just a minute.” He raced up the stairs. Amanda shook her head.
“You realize he’s probably calling Rachel…” she mentioned. Lately, Jamie and Rachel Montez had been calling each other all the time. Phillip gave him a hard time about it, but Jamie didn’t seem to mind. Apparently, Jamie and Rachel had started “dating” after the Halloween party.
Jamie raced back down the stairs. “Well, are we going or not? Come on!” he said as he grabbed Lee by the arm, pulling him out the door. Lee barely had time to kiss Amanda before he was gone.
Dotty asked, “Amanda? There’s a Cary Grant movie coming on in a few minutes…wanna watch it?”
“Sounds good, Mother. Let me just get this load of the girls’ laundry going,” she answered as she headed to the laundry area. Dotty closed the baby gate on the stairs and headed to the den, where Katie and Sarah were playing on a blanket.
A few minutes later, Amanda sat down on the couch with her mother and they began to watch Indiscreet. As they were watching, Sarah stood up and toddled over to Amanda.
“Up,” she demanded, reaching for Amanda. Amanda reached down and pulled her close.“Do you want to watch the movie, too, Sarah?” Amanda cooed. Sarah snuggled closer. As they cuddled, the doorbell rang.
Dotty stood and said, “I’ll get it.” She walked to the front door and opened it to Francine. “Well, hello there,” Dotty greeted. “Come in! We’re in here, watching Indiscreet.”
Francine followed Dotty into the den and kind of waved at Amanda.
“Hey, Francine,” Amanda welcomed. “What’s up? Need a baby fix?”
“Uh, no, nothing…” Francine stammered. She wandered over to the couch and sat down. Amanda stared at her, trying to figure out what was going on. Francine was definitely not herself. Dotty looked at her daughter, then shrugged.
“Francine, can I get you something to drink? Eat? We have some leftover meatloaf from dinner…” Dotty offered.
“Sure, Dotty, whatever you say,” Francine answered automatically. Dotty looked at Amanda, who looked at Sarah in her lap. Amanda nodded.
“Sarah, darling, why don’t you come with Grandma and Katie up to my apartment? I think I’ll get the girls out of your hair, Amanda, and you and Francine can relax,” Dotty said as she gathered the girls into her arms and swept out of the house.
Amanda turned to her friend and said, “OK, Francine, spill it. Something’s got you rattled and I want to know what it is.”
Francine looked down, then pushed her purse over to Amanda. “It’s in there,” she whispered.
Amanda opened the purse and pulled out a creamy white envelope addressed to “Miss Francine Desmond”. Amanda held it up and Francine nodded, then looked away. Amanda opened the envelope and pulled out a wedding announcement.
Mr. and Mrs. Clare
request the honor of your presence
at the Nuptial Mass at which their daughter
Eloise Clare
and Mr. Jonathan Stone
will be united
in the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony
on the twentieth of December 1989
at five o'clock in the evening
Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle
Washington, DC
“Oh, Francine,” Amanda sighed. “Did this arrive today?” Francine nodded. Amanda looked at her friend. Francine looked worn down, fragile. Amanda placed her hand on her arm. “Are you OK?”
“Amanda…you know, I just don’t know what to think. I mean, I’m totally over him. He is a complete jerk and treated me terribly. I can’t believe I ever loved him. I haven’t even spoken to him in over a year. So, why does this hurt so much? Why did he even have to send me an invitation?” Francine rambled, then shook her head as she tried to avoid crying.
“He is a jerk, and you are well rid of him,” Amanda insisted. “Now, let me ask you something. Are you upset that Jonathan is getting married? Do you still love him?” Francine shook her head vehemently. “All right, then let me ask you this…are you jealous? Not of the poor girl who’s marrying him, but about the fact that he’s getting married…and you aren’t?”
Francine stared at Amanda, then bowed her head. Amanda wisely said no more, realizing that Francine still needed to sort through the many emotions she had to be experiencing. Amanda went to the kitchen and pulled out the bottle of Beaujolais Lee had opened the night before. She poured them both a glass, then headed back into the living room. Francine accepted the glass and both women sat together in silence for awhile, glancing at the movie still playing.
Eventually, Francine looked at Amanda and whispered, “You’re a really good friend, Amanda. Actually, you’re the best girl friend I’ve ever had.”
“I could say the same about you, Francine. You’ve been there for me so much lately, it’s time I returned the favor,” Amanda shared. “Who would have thought 6 years ago that we would be this close?”
“Not me, that’s for sure!” Francine laughed. “I really resented you back then…some civilian jumping in and working with Scarecrow, thinking she could save the world. But, you proved to me over and over again that I had misjudged you. I’m really grateful you’ve never held any of that against me.”
“Well,” Amanda grinned. “I did get you back a few times…besides, I misjudged you, too. You’ve become my closest friend and I will never forget how much you helped my family when we needed you the most.”
Both friends smiled and turned back to the television. Eventually, Lee and the boys returned home, and Francine went back to her lonely apartment, still thinking about what her life was missing.