As they continued to move through the sitting room and towards the bow of the boat, they found another room with a hasp but no lock. They opened the door and found another well-appointed room with neatly furled chains attached to the bed waiting for their occupant.

“Do you think…” Amanda broke the thick silence.

“Yeah, I do.” Lee answered his voice husky with emotion.

As they moved through the master bedroom, they found a richly appointed office. A pull of a closet door gave them the video feed with video tapes marked with dates and names. A search of the desk garnered some vague information about the man who owned the ship. The name on the papers was Georgos Andropov. They gathered the papers and continued to comb the office. Amanda moved to open another door and found a water tight hatch through the hull about six feet above the water line. “Lee” she called “here’s how he got out.”

“He must’ve had an escape boat. Why didn’t we see it?” Lee pounded the wall. Amanda put her hand on his shoulder and moved across his back.

“You know we had to gain control. We didn’t know what we were going to…” Amanda reasoned before a voice broke in.

“Scarecrow” came Billy’s voice over the ear piece. “Coast Guard medevac chopper is two minutes out.”

“Roger, Cho you copy that”

“Roger, Scarecrow. I see them coming.”

Lee took Amanda’s hand. “Let’s get back to Parker and help with the evacuation.

They met the Coast Guard EMTs by the cabin. Amanda helped to wrap the women in blankets and Lee helped move them to stretchers. The EMTs told them that they would take them back to Norfolk for treatment.

            Lee took Amanda’s hand again. “They look so young.” Amanda stated flatly as she walked up behind the stretchers. He wondered who they were and where they came from. They continued back to the office intent on continuing their search for information. Amanda put her head on Lee’s shoulder and he could feel small shudders through her frame. Lee thought that maybe her control began to collapse. He put his hand on the small of her back as they watched the stretchers being lifted into the helicopter. He thought she felt the strength of his touch because she managed to bring herself back under control.

            Francine’s downcast voice broke over the com. “Scarecrow, we lost him. They cut their lights and escaped. We couldn’t find him. Making our way back.”

            “No!” The single anguished cry came from Amanda. “Not again” Amanda collapsed against the bulkhead like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Lee moved quickly to her side.

            The static of a radio call burst from the previously silent device. “Nightwave, this is Andropov, do you read?”

            Lee and Amanda looked at each other. He picked up the mic. “This is the Nightwave. Go ahead.”

            The disembodied voice came over the receiver, “I assume you are the person responsible for keeping my property from me again.”

            “She’s not anybody’s property.” Lee snarled into the mic.

            “I disagree. I have paid for her, so she is mine.” The voice continued conversationally.

            “So come back here and get her.” Lee argued.

            A pleasant yet malicious laugh came clearly over the speaker. “Thank you for the invitation, but I believe that I would not get the welcome I am used to aboard my own yacht. Enjoy the use of her. She is very well appointed.  I can always buy another. Would you be willing to pass a message on to Mrs. King for me?” Lee looked at his wife now sitting on the floor with her head and arms on her knees. She looked up when she heard her name and nodded.

            “Go ahead.”

            “Please, tell her that I will be seeing her very soon. Since I am quite tired of waiting for her arrival, I will have someone else facilitate her acquisition.” The voice paused. “Oh, and my good fellow, if she is touched by anyone other than me, he and she will live to regret it.” There was no mistaking the malevolence and steel in his voice.

            Lee could feel the anger building in himself as he processed Andropov’s threat. He turned off the receiver and walked back to Amanda’s side. “He squatted down and took her in his arms. Tears ravaged her face. “I can’t believe we missed him.” She whispered. “After all we’ve been through to get and stop him. We will never find him or all the women he has abducted now.”

            ‘Leave it to my wife,’ Lee thought, ‘not a concern for herself or her safety. Only for other people. God, how I love her.’ He gave voice to thoughts. “I love you so much.”

            Amanda pulled herself up and scrubbed her face to remove any traces of her tears. “I love you, too. I’m sorry, I know you hate tears and I’m not being very professional. It’s just that I’m so frustrated.” She banged her head back against the wall. She straightened and took a deep breath. The distraught woman was put behind the agent.  “C’mon let’s see what we have caught, Partner.”

            Amanda and Lee helped the rest of the team move the cuffed crewmen to the stern of the boat to facilitate moving them off to the coast guard cutters when they arrived. Cho and Williams retrieved the crewmen who Lee and Amanda had apprehended.

Lee discreetly watched his wife he knew she needed time and a place to breathe but this was not the time to relax. They could see boats in the distance making their way to their location. Amanda looked at her two kidnappers and knelt down before Alexandra “Montgomery”. “Lee,” she called “this is Alexandra Scott.”

            “Scott, the retrieval agent?” Lee looked at her.

            “I overheard them in the cabin during the trip. Apparently, I was the unique item to be retrieved. Andropov was going to pay $250,000 to her for getting me. By the way, Marks really is a cop. They fabricated the entire case against me. She tapped into the outside lines at IFF to access the computer to move the money. The first few times were test runs to see if it would work. We will need to secure the lines better at the office.”

            Alex looked back steadily. “An assistant director, huh?”

            “Yep, just an assistant director with some very good connections.” Amanda confirmed.

            Marks looked at Lee in his tactical uniform. “A friend and her boss?”

            “Yep, also a former marine with very good connections.

            Amanda brought her face very close to Alex’s. “Where’s he running, Alex?”

            Alex turned. “Who?”

            “Andropov, Alex” Amanda’s voice had an odd quality to it. One that Lee couldn’t define. “Where would he run?”

            “I don’t know. My memory isn’t good right now.” Alex smirked.

            All the agents brought their weapons up when an air horn sounded from the approaching boats. Radio confirmation was given that it was the Coast Guard with people aboard to take the ships and the prisoners back to dock.  The Hannah would return with Cho, Parker, Francine, Duffy, Charles and Spenser and some cargo. The cargo on the Hannah included Scott and Marks. Lee didn’t want those prisoners out of Agency control. The helicopter would return to pick up Amanda, Lee and Williams and take them straight back to the Agency for debriefing.

            Amanda refused to leave the prisoners until they were safely confined aboard the Hannah. Lee went to the pilothouse to make one last check in with Billy and inform him of the escape. He carefully examined several charts and notes. Running his finger down a column he recognized map coordinates. He turned to look at Amanda through the windows and knew what had to happen. It was his job to protect her. Andropov had made a threat to both of them. Lee was deathly afraid that Andropov would follow through with his next attempt to get Amanda.  He carefully folded the chart and the notes and tucked them both into his uniform’s inner zipped pocket. The only outward sign of his resolve was a slight pulsing muscle in his jaw.

            Williams’ voice came over the com. “Scarecrow, helicopter is 2 minutes out.”

            “Roger. I’m on way.”

            Once the helicopter was on the way back to the Agency, Lee put an arm around Amanda and pulled her close. He covered the mic of his headset and signaled for her to do the same. His hand covered hers and he could feel the shaking beginning. “You’re coming off an adrenaline jag. You’ll be sleepy soon” He rested her head of his chest and his chin on the top of her head and realized he didn’t give a damn what anyone thought. 

The Agency –

April 8, 1987   

            The debriefing was long and tedious. Dr. Smyth decided to sit in on the debriefing.

            “So despite, all the resources you were given,” he sneered, “you were still unable to capture the man.”

            Amanda looked at him. “Sir, as we have said. He had an escape route. We did, however, capture a world class thief and a corrupted cop. Not to mention rescuing two young women from a life of sexual slavery.”

            Smyth took a drag off his cigarette. “Perhaps you are not quite ready for field work, King.”

            Lee felt his anger growing “Amanda is more than ready. She has put in more field time than half the agents in this building.”

            Lee now became the target of Smyth wrath, “If you hadn’t been so concerned with rescuing your partner, you may have caught the man, Scarecrow. Going soft?”

            Lee felt Amanda’s hand on his leg and he visibly relaxed. “No sir, the primary element of this mission was to find out who had been setting up my partner. We found out and as she pointed out we did make some arrests as well as confiscations.”

            Well, fiddledeedee, we’ll see what comes out of that soup.” Smyth replied. With that he got up and walked out of the conference room.

            “Let’s go see what’s happening with Scott’s interrogation.” Lee suggested. Then I want to get you home and to bed. You have been running on nervous energy for a week. You need to sleep. You look like you’re about to collapse.

            “What I need is some food, a little wine and a lot of TLC from my loving husband.” Amanda stated as they stood and opened the door.

“Scarecrow, Amanda, finally calling it a night or a morning?” Billy said with a smile.

            “Yes sir.” Amanda wearily replied.

            “Go get some sleep. Oh and Amanda, I took the liberty of having your mother told you had an emergency shoot and would be gone for a few days, since we didn’t really know the status of the mission. You can always call her with more specific details.”

            “Thank you, sir.”

            Billy cleared his voice. “It would seem that no one told her where you were going and she kept calling the Film Library looking for you.”

            Lee looked guilty “Oh My Gosh, I forgot. I told her I didn’t know where you went.”

            Amanda looked up at him and smiled. “Well it seems, Scarecrow, you have some explaining to do to her.”

            Having dealt with Amanda’s formidable mother before, Lee knew that Billy did not envy Lee’s position. Lee could just hear Billy’s chuckle as they walked down hall to the elevators.

            Later in Lee’s apartment after showers had been taken, food consumed and wine quaffed, they lay together in bed. Spooned together, Lee held tightly to Amanda as she slept. He was worried about her. He had heard her sobbing in the shower and she cried again before she fell asleep. He knew she was devastated that Andropov had gotten away. He didn’t think she would take it so personally. His embrace tightened as he thought of Andropov’s promise to acquire her as soon as possible.

            “Sweetheart,” came Amanda’s soft voice in the dark, “I can’t breathe if you hold me that closely.”

            Lee loosened his grip slightly and turned onto his back and brought her with him. She placed her head on his shoulder and her arm across his chest. “You know how you told me that Andropov wanted you untouched?”

Amanda stiffened at the mention of the man’s name. “Yes.”

“If we were married publicly, do you think he will still go after you?

“I don’t know. Maybe not.” She admitted

Lee was glad she started talking again. She had been so quiet tonight, but he knew she had to process her thoughts. “What are you thinking?” he ventured cautiously.

            “I’m not sure I can live with this one, Lee.” She said simply. “This one is personal.”

            “Don’t worry, Honey. We’ll get him.” Lee assured her bringing her closer and rubbing a hand down her bare back. “I don’t want to upset you, but I may have to go on a solo mission for a few days. Are you going to be okay if I go?”

            She lifted her head and looked in his eyes. “Where do you have to go?”

            “I can’t tell you. It’s above your clearance.” Lee told her.

            “I suppose I can start the the reports and clean up on my own. You have to do the tac team reports. I wasn’t there.” Amanda pointed out.

            “I’ll get them done. Why don’t you try to get some sleep now?” He pulled her head to his shoulder and tightened his grip once more.

            She sighed and began to relax. “Why is it I get the feeling you’re not telling me everything, Scarecrow?” She whispered as her eyes began to close.

Coordinates 23.059516,-73.78418

April 12, 1987

            Scarecrow pulled a small dingy to shore on the private island of Georgos Andropov. He pulled a dart gun out of the holster and headed for the main house. His contacts in the islands told him that the house was completely self-contained but there was security present in and around the house.

            He moved stealthily around avoiding the cameras placed around the compound. He made his way to the white stucco Planter style house and eased himself to the door. Quick work with the lock pick gained him entrance to the hall. He looked around for servants or guards. It was late enough that most servants were asleep now and the guards had a distraction on the other side of the island. Scarecrow smiled at the decoy boat he had left just off the beach.

            He walked down the hallway his feet quiet on the parquet floor noting the original paintings and sculptures. He reached to a room with a light on under the door. He traded the dart gun for his 9mm with a silencer. Lee’s gloved hand tried the doorknob, quietly opened the door and looked in. As he was promised, this was Andropov’s office. A man was sitting at the desk looking at a picture in a frame.

            Lee spoke. “Andropov?”

            The man looked up and made a movement with his hand to the side of his desk. Lee brought his gun up. The silencer caught the light and Andropov’s eye. “Don’t do it.”

            Lee noticed that Andropov what not what he expected. He was no older than thirty five and fit. His clear blue eyes looked at Lee and a smile crossed his features. “I recognize your voice. Did you bring my property with you? You know, I am willing to pay you handsomely for her acquisition, say five hundred thousand dollars. I have a special place for her very close to me.” He indicated with a hand a large pillow on the floor. “You found the two women, I assume. They were to be her first trainees.”

            Lee walked closer and said “You’ll never get her, Andropov. She’s my wife.”

            Andropov laughed. “And you are here to tell me that so I will leave her alone. As if that would make a difference to me. I will simply kill you and take her. I am a gentleman, sir, so I will simply ask if your will is updated and if she has any particular color preferences for her collar.” Andropov pulled a gun and fired a shot.

            Lee predicted the move and ducked behind a wingback chair. He could feel the bullet graze his shoulder. He fired one shot at Andropov. Lee walked to the desk and pulled his wife’s picture out of Andropov’s limp manicured hand. Lee turned and walked out of the room shutting the door behind him.

            The Buyer sat at his desk. A single bead of blood was all that came out of the perfectly round hole in his head.