Chapter Seven                                                                                                                     Saturday, November 18, 1989, nighttime

Lee and Amanda stood in the entrance of the embassy ballroom, waiting to speak with Béla Szabó, the head of the delegation. As the Hungarian walked up to the couple, he exclaimed, “Mrs. Stetson, you look…szép…how do you say…ah, beautiful tonight!”

“Thank you,” Amanda replied. She was wearing her favorite evening gown, the black gown she’d made for that New Year’s Eve party so long ago. Lee glanced at his wife appreciatively, remembering that evening almost 5 years ago when he’d realized that Amanda was truly a beautiful woman. Amanda looked at Lee and smiled. This dress had been the catalyst to the changing of their relationship from friendship to love.

“Mr. Szabó, I’ve checked the room and all of my agents are in place. They’ve been told to watch for Kun as well as any other unusual activity. Hopefully, tonight will run as smoothly as the meetings did,” Lee related to the diplomat. “My wife and I will be circulating throughout the room, as will Mr. Beaman and Ms. Desmond. They should be…ah, there they are now!”

The three turned to see Ephraim leading Francine into the entryway with his arm around her waist. Amanda’s face lit up with a smile when she saw how closely they were walking together.

“Sorry we’re a little late…traffic was a nightmare,” Ephraim apologized.

“It is no problem,” Béla assured them. “I was just bringing Mr. Szabó up to speed on our plans,” Lee told the couple.

Soon, diplomats from various countries began filtering in. Amanda and Lee stationed themselves in view of the Ambassador’s balcony while Ephraim and Francine remained in the entryway, watching for any sign of trouble.

Not long after their arrival, Francine noticed Magda Petrak and her sister, Mara, enter the embassy. Francine smiled at Magda as she walked over to greet her.

“Good evening, Magda, you look magnificent in that dress,” Francine said. Ephraim clasped her hand in welcome then turned and did the same to Mara.

“It is good to see you again, Francine,” Mara whispered, darting glances around the room.

“Is everything all right?” Francine questioned.

“Everything is fine,” Magda answered for her sister. “Mara is just a little…nervous…being back in the Embassy. It has been a long time for both of us.”

“I understand,” Ephraim reassured the ladies. “I can’t imagine what it must be like for your country to suddenly change.”

“It has been our dream,” Magda replied. “However, the reality takes a little getting used to. If you will excuse us?” Mara gave them a small smile as she walked off with her sister.

Francine nodded and watched as the sisters entered the ballroom. “I think this is going to be a long night, Ephraim,” she whispered as she watched more dignitaries walk through the reception line.

“I think you’re right,” he agreed. “I’m glad, though, that we’re in this together. It’s not much fun doing security alone.” He pulled her a little closer and placed his hand on her waist.

Francine looked up at him and smiled. Maybe the evening wouldn’t be so bad after all, she thought to herself.

SMK SMK

Several hours later, Lee noticed a movement behind the curtains of the Ambassador’s balcony door. “Amanda, do you see something up there?”

Amanda turned to look and saw the curtains flutter. “Yeah…want to check it out?”“I’m going to head up there,” Lee muttered, keeping his eye on the balcony. “You let Francine know where we’re headed, then follow me.”

Amanda nodded and headed to the other side of the room where Francine and Ephraim had stationed themselves. Francine saw Amanda, and walked up to her.

“Something’s up,” Francine stated as Amanda came closer.

“We think there’s something funny going on in the Ambassador’s office. You two stay here and see if you notice anything. I’m going to follow Lee upstairs.”

“We’ll take care of it,” Ephraim agreed. “Be careful, Amanda.”

“Thanks, Ephraim,” Amanda replied. “Hopefully, it will turn out to be nothing.”

Amanda made her way back through the dancing throng and headed up the stairway. As she reached the second floor, she saw Lee standing in the doorway of the office, gun in hand.

She rushed up to him and positioned herself against the wall.

“Whoever was here is gone now,” Lee muttered. “Let’s see if we can figure out where he went.” After checking out the room and finding nothing, Lee headed towards the door, keeping Amanda close behind.

Together, they snuck down the hallway to another office, where the door was slightly opened. Lee saw some movement and motioned for Amanda to arm herself. He held up his fingers in a counting motion and, on three, they moved silently into the room.

There in a chair, Béla Szabó was tied up with a scarf stuffed into his mouth. Amanda rushed over and pulled the scarf out, saying, “Are you all right?”

“Hála istennek! The president…there is man with gun! Find him, kérem!” the man begged.

Amanda untied the man, reassuring him that they would take care of the situation, then followed Lee as they headed back out the door. “Which way, Lee?” Amanda asked.

“This way leads to the back stairs. If they were trying to get out of here, that would be the way to go,” Lee answered as he pulled her with him.

SMK SMK

Back in the ballroom, Ephraim saw János Balázs, surreptitiously looking around the room as he made his way to the back entryway. “Look, Francine, let’s follow him.”

“Good idea,” Francine agreed and they hurried to pursue Balázs. Once they reached the back, they saw him dart through a back door. They increased their speed and made it to the door in time to see him reach a gated area.

“Stop right there!” Ephraim demanded. Balázs froze, then turned around.

“Can I help you?” he sneered.

“Put your hands where I can see them,” Ephraim continued.

“You have no authority here. I am on Magyarország land,” Balázs continued as he started slowly stepping back towards the Embassy. Francine moved sideways, trying to get on the opposite side of Ephraim while keeping her eyes peeled on the man.

“Mátyás Szűrös gave us the authority. Now, stop where you are and put your hands where I can see them,” Ephraim ordered. He kept his eyes on the man while Francine moved closer, trying to get in position. Balázs glanced at Ephraim, then at Francine.

As Francine took another step, Balázs withdrew a gun and, grabbing Francine by the neck, shoved it into Francine’s side. “Hülye amerikai, you think you are so tough? You kapitalista think you are so much better than us? No, we are much intelligensebb. You cannot keep us from returning to People’s Republic. Szűrös is disznó. With him dead, Magyarország will be in chaos. Communists will take back what is ours!”

As he said this, he pulled Francine back with him. Francine stared at Ephraim and mouthed, “Take him out!” Ephraim stared back, trying to see if he had a good shot. He shook his head once to tell her that he didn’t have a clean shot. Francine looked Ephraim dead in the eye, then glanced to her captor’s knee. She looked back up and winked. Ephraim nodded and Francine pounced. In one swift motion, she shifted her body, blocked the gun from her side and dug her heel into his knee, then threw herself deftly to the ground.

As Balázs howled in pain, he quickly pulled the trigger on his gun. Ephraim was faster, and took the man down with a shot to the heart. Francine glanced up and saw both men lying on the cold pavement, motionless.

SMK SMK

Amanda and Lee raced down the stairs, trying to find the gunman. In the distance, they heard two gunshots from the outer courtyard. Amanda glanced at Lee, who muttered, “We need to find the president…now!” He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the ballroom, where they saw the Hungarian president and ambassador headed to the dais. They scanned the ballroom, looking for Ephraim and Francine but didn’t see them anywhere. As they scanned, Amanda caught a glimpse of the man she’d seen a few days earlier at the meetings. “Lee,” she whispered urgently, “there’s Kun! Right over there!” She pointed to the far corner where a bank of trees had been positioned.

“I got him,” Lee answered. “You head up to the dais and warn the president. I’ll take Kun out.” Amanda nodded and ran to the stage in front of them. She ran to the stairs and motioned to the agent, codename Firefly, behind the president, who calmly walked in front of the president, blocking the man from the audience, and began to whisper, pointing towards Amanda. The president nodded and stood calmly. Amanda glanced over to the trees, desperate to find her husband.

Lee ran to the trees and pulled them out of the way. Mátyás Kun spun around towards the disturbance, then threw a plant at Lee, running out the back doorway. Lee swore, then raced after the gunman.

Amanda saw the escape and rushed to catch up to Lee. As she went out the door, she turned, trying to see which way they went, but couldn’t distinguish anything. Finally she chose to head towards the courtyard, coming to a halt when she saw Francine kneeling next to a body, hands covered in blood.

“Oh my gosh, Francine!” Amanda cried. “What’s going on?”

“Check Ephraim, Amanda, please…he’s been shot!” Francine sobbed.Amanda raced over to Ephraim, who was slumped on the ground in front of Francine. As Amanda leaned over to check him, she heard a low moan coming from him. “Ephraim,” Amanda called out, “can you hear me?”

“Ah…Francine…is she…ah…” Ephraim moaned. Amanda looked over at Francine, seeing the look of stark fear on the other woman’s face. Amanda gave her a small smile and Francine gave a sigh of relief.

“Ephraim, don’t move. Francine is all right, but you’ve been shot. I don’t want you to move,” Amanda reassured. “Francine, can you get over here? I’ve got to find Lee and I’m going to get Fielder to call an ambulance. Is Balázs dead?”

“Yes,” Francine responded vacantly. “Where’s Lee?”

“Kun tried to assassinate Szűrös. We’ve got the president covered, but Kun escaped,” Amanda answered. “Lee took off after him.”

Francine nodded and Amanda went to find Fielder. She thought to herself, ‘Please, Lee, don’t do anything reckless!’

SMK SMK

Lee hurtled past a fenced area as he saw Kun dart back into the Embassy. He glanced around, noticing the startled glances of waiters. As he ran through the kitchen area, he saw a black jacket flutter as it turned a corner. Lee smiled as he realized the man was heading to the back stairs.

Increasing his speed, he came to the bottom of the stairs as Kun reached the landing. “Freeze!” Lee yelled, pointing his gun at the man.

Kun started laughing and made a lunge for the next staircase. Lee fired a round, knocking the man down. Lee raced up the stairs and leveled the gun at the man, who was grasping his right leg and cursing in Hungarian.

“I told you to freeze,” Lee insisted, then fished in his pocket for his walkie talkie. “Firefly, this is Scarecrow.”

“Firefly here,” scratched the walkie talkie.

“I’ve got Kun in the back staircase.”“On our way,” Firefly answered. “We’ve got a bird in the nest.”

“Copy,” Lee responded. He suddenly remembered the earlier gunshots, hoping that one of theirs hadn’t been killed. He glanced up to see Amanda racing out the kitchen door.

Amanda looked up and saw Lee standing over Kun and smiled with relief. “You OK?” she asked as she ran up the stairs.

“Yeah,” Lee grinned. “I was wondering when you’d get here.”

“Ephraim took out Balázs,” Amanda informed him. “Lee, Ephraim’s been shot. I don’t know where he was hit, but we’ve got an ambulance on the way.”

“How bad is it?”

“I really don’t know…there was a lot of blood. Francine was covered in it,” she whispered. “We need to get to the hospital.”

SMK SMK

Francine paced in the ER waiting area as Amanda and Lee walked in. Amanda rushed up to Francine and asked, “Are you all right?”

Francine nodded, then exclaimed, “They won’t tell me anything! He’s been in there for an hour! I’ve asked everyone and nobody will tell me if he’s alive or dead!”

Lee said, “Francine, they’re doing everything they can. Where was he shot?”

“Somewhere in the abdomen was all they told me,” Francine muttered. She shuddered as she turned away from them. She couldn’t believe this was happening! Why had she allowed herself to get close to Ephraim? She should’ve known that he would leave her, one way or another. Everyone always did…

Amanda glanced at Lee, who said, “Hey, I’m going to call the house and let them know where we are.” He walked over to the bank of phones as Amanda put her hand on Francine’s shoulder.

“Hey,” Amanda whispered. “Everything’s going to be OK. Why don’t we sit down over here? You’re not helping anyone by pacing.”

Francine nodded and let her friend walk her over to the chairs. She slumped down into the chairs and whispered, “I can’t handle this, Amanda.”

“Yes you can, Francine,” Amanda responded. “You are a strong woman…the strongest I’ve ever known. Ephraim is going to be fine.”

“What if he’s not?” Francine questioned. “This is why I always swore to never get too involved with anyone. They just end up hurting you, one way or another.”

Amanda smiled at her friend. “Francine, I know how hard it is. It’s hard knowing that someone you care about is putting themselves in danger, but that’s just a part of this business. You know that. Ephraim is a good agent and a good partner for you. He’s going to pull through this just fine.”

Francine glanced up at Amanda. Amanda was surprised to see tears glistening in the other agent’s eyes. Amanda put her arm around Francine’s shoulder, and pulled her into a hug. “Francine, I’m here for you no matter what, you know that,” Amanda whispered. “Ephraim is not leaving you. Why should he? He’s finally getting what he’s wanted…a chance to be with you.” Francine looked at her friend, then bowed her head down, trying desperately not to let the tears fall.

Lee returned a few minutes later, coffee in hand. As he sat down, Amanda glanced at the nurses’ station and recognized the nurse behind the counter. “I’ll be right back,” Amanda said as she headed over to see Sherry.

“Francine, you OK?” Lee asked gently. Francine refused to lift her head, but nodded. Lee placed his hand on her back and whispered softly, “It’s OK to be upset. Amanda and I are here for you.” Francine looked up at her oldest friend, who wrapped his arm around her shoulder in comfort.

As Amanda approached the station, Sherry Taylor glanced up in recognition. “Amanda?” she questioned.

“Hi, Sherry,” Amanda greeted. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine, but I have to say I’m surprised to see you here. Is your family OK?” Sherry responded. Sherry had been the nurse on duty the night Joe and Carrie King had passed away.

“Yes, we’re fine, but a friend of ours was brought in a little while ago…Ephraim Beaman?” Amanda explained. “He’s part of our team.”

“Oh, yes the GSW. I understand the NEST team is working on him. Let me see what I can find out for you,” Sherry smiled. “Is that his wife?” she said, glancing over at Francine.

“Partner,” Amanda clarified, smiling. Sherry glanced back over at the waiting area and then smiled.

“Seems to be more than just a partner,” Sherry said with a wink. Amanda smiled at the nurse, then walked back over to Lee and Francine. Just then, she saw Billy walk in from the parking lot.

“I just spoke to Sherry and she’s going to see what she can find out about Ephraim for me,” Amanda explained to everyone.

“Good,” Billy responded. “We’ve got Kun locked up and President Szűrös is safe. He shared with Smyth his appreciation for all of your diligence and his concern for Beaman. So, Francine, I need you to tell me what happened. How did Ephraim get shot?”

Francine took a deep breath and shared with everyone how they’d followed Balázs out to the courtyard and the resulting melee. “Ephraim saved my life,” Francine whispered as she finished.

Billy raised his eyebrows at Amanda and Lee, then responded, “Well, I think that covers everything. Are you OK, Francine?” Francine nodded her head and Billy patted her on the shoulder.

Amanda looked up and saw Sherry walking towards them. “Amanda, the doctor will be out in just a moment. But, it looks like everything went perfectly and your friend is going to be OK.”

“Thanks so much, Sherry,” Amanda gushed. “I really appreciate it!”

“No problem at all, Amanda,” Sherry grinned. Francine glanced up at Amanda, “She said he’s going to be OK?”

“Yep,” Lee responded. Francine gave a sigh of relief and slumped back into her chair.

Billy gave an interested look to Amanda, then whispered, “I expect you to fill me in on what’s going on with Francine and Beaman later!” Amanda grinned back and gave him a wink.

Soon, Dr. Kelford walked out and met with the agents. “Well, Billy, it looks like we’ve got Beaman sewn up. The bullet went through his right side, breaking a few ribs, but missed his vital organs. We were a little worried about the bleeding, but it’s under control. There’s no sign of internal bleeding. We’re going to keep him for a couple of  days for observation, but he should be out of here by Thanksgiving.”

“Thanks, Doc,” Billy responded with a grin. “Is he up for visitors?”

“I think that can be arranged,” Dr. Kelford laughed, then showed the way up to Ephraim’s hospital room.

Amanda glanced over at Francine, who was visibly relieved, then at her husband. Lee gave her a little grin and squeezed her hand. The night hadn’t turned out quite the way they’d hoped, but their mission had been successful and they were all safe. With the delegation leaving tomorrow, they’d be able to have a happy Thanksgiving after all.

Translations:

Szép means beautiful

Hála istennek means thank God

Kérem means please

Hülye amerikai means stupid American

Disznó means pig