IFF - Washington D. C.

April 6, 1987

“Amanda King! Get back here! We are not done talking about this.” Lee Stetson shouted out into the Bullpen from the Section Chief’s Office. Amanda raced through the bullpen ignoring the looks from the other agents.  “Amanda, where do you think you are going?” He asked as he caught her viciously pounding the elevator button to the Georgetown Foyer.

            “I’m going home.” She replied heedless of the audience in the hall as she felt her temper beginning to build. “I’ve been suspended in case you weren’t listening in there. How could you just stand there, my partner, and not defend me?” She pointed back to Billy’s office. “How anyone could think that I would steal money…” Amanda trailed off.

            “Look, Amanda, we’re going to get it cleared up. No one who knows you would imagine you could or would do anything of the sort. But that money did disappear under your ID.” Lee responded. He wanted to take her in his arms but couldn’t in the busy Agency corridor.

            Amanda was about to let Lee have it when the elevator opened and she shoved the coats aside and stepped in. When he made a move to join her, she pushed him back. “You need to go back in that meeting before you are falsely accused of doing something as well.” The sarcasm dripped off her words, Lee flinched.  Brown eyes held hazel ones for a moment before the door slid closed leaving Lee alone.

Amanda left the elevator and walked up the stairs to the Q Bureau to get her purse. She wrapped her arms around herself and leaned against the door for a moment to gather her thoughts. She looked around their office and wished she hadn’t pushed Lee away. She really needed his arms around her right now. She needed his assurance that he loved her and would help her get through this. ‘I better get this started’ she thought morosely. She left a note for Lee and walked out of the Q Bureau closing and locking the door firmly behind her.

She met a security guard on the steps from the Q. “Mrs. King,” he said. “Dr. Symth’s orders ma’am. I am here to ensure that you do not remove any materials from the building.”

“I have nothing but my purse.” She replied calmly refusing to give in to her anger. “But of course you may search it if you need to.”

“Thank you ma’am.” Replied the relieved guard. Once the search was complete he escorted Amanda out of the building. “I’m sorry ma’am,” were his final words to her as the door closed behind her.

Amanda was on her own. It was a lovely spring day. The air was mild and there was a slight breeze ruffling her dark hair. She felt that Mother Nature was mocking her at this moment. ‘Well,” Amanda thought ‘I’ve wanted to spend more time with Mother and the boys’.  She headed to the car. She was aware that she was being observed as she opened the door the Wagoneer.  She just wasn’t certain by whom.

Amanda drove home with her mind so full of confused images and thoughts that she didn’t even realize that she had pulled into the driveway. ‘Oh nice, Amanda.’ She scolded herself as she began to walk up to the door. ‘You don’t even know how you got home. Or who came with you.’

“Hi Amanda!” Came a call from behind her. It was Alexandra Montgomery, Amanda’s new neighbor.

“Hi Alex.” Amanda’s response was automatic. She really didn’t want to talk to her new neighbor right now. She needed to get in the house and start some serious brooding.

Alex’s bright, curious face looked at her with some compassion. She brushed the brown shoulder length hair off her face and shaded her eyes.  “Wow. It looks like you are having a rotten day.”

“You don’t know the half of it. Will you excuse me, Alex? I have a killer headache and really just want to lie down.” Amanda explained wearily.

Alex walked up the front walk. “Sure. I understand.” She commiserated. “We’ve all had those days. Can I help at all?” She shrugged a blue cotton clad shoulder “I have a pretty good shoulder to cry on.”

Amanda smiled. “Thanks, but I think I just want to lie down.”

Dotty met her at the door. “Amanda, darling, what are you doing home at this hour?”

“They didn’t need me, Mother, so I decided to come home a little early.”

“How nice. I was just about make myself a cup of tea. Would you like one?”

“Yes, Mother. That would be nice.” Amanda hoped that the normalcy of a cup of tea would help put her wrecked professional life back together. She sighed ‘That was probably too much to hope from a cup of tea.’

Amanda heard her mother talking about going to the store and now that Amanda was home she would go now and take the car unless Amanda needed to leave right away again. Amanda shook her head and sipped her tea. Dotty went on about what they needed to buy for dinner, that the boys were growing out of their shoes again, how they had soccer practice and how nice it was to have Lee around. Amanda just nodded as her mother rambled on about this and that. Finally, her mother grabbed her purse and the car keys and left. Amanda stared at the bracelet on her wrist which Lee had recently given her and played with the catch.

A few minutes later, a light tattoo sounded on the back door and Amanda tensed. She looked around and saw a familiar figure outside and heard the creak of her door. She decided it was time to start some laundry. She moved into the laundry room and felt arms encircling her waist. Lee placed a finger across her lips and motioned for her to start the machine. She put the laundry and soap in and started the machine.

Lee took her in his arms and held her tightly. She returned the embrace with all the strength she could muster. Their lips met as if it had been weeks since they had seen each other rather than minutes. “That was quite the scene in the Bullpen.” Lee commented as he tightened his arms around her.

“Did you like that? I almost believed it myself. How did the bracelet work? Did the signal come through okay?”

“Yes, you came in loud and clear. Williams picked up the signal in the van. He would have checked in but I had just gotten there.”

“Lee, what are we going to do if nothing happens?”

“Amanda, don’t worry. Someone is trying their best to isolate you for some purpose. We’re just letting them. I somehow doubt that they’re going to go to all the trouble and not do anything.”

“You’re probably right.” She conceded.

“Besides you still have the best Agency protection, me.” He smirked as he began trail kisses down her neck.

“Mmmmmmm…” she responded, her hands running through his hair. A thought came to her as she pulled away and dropped her arms from his neck. “What are you going to when you have to isolate me as well?”

“We need see what he or she will do to try to break us up. Don’t worry, my love. I’ll always be here. Keep the bracelet with you. That’s our connection.” He took her hands in his and looked deep into the brown pools of her eyes. “Do you think you’re going to be able to get the boys and your mother away this weekend?”

Amanda sighed and leaned up against the washing machine. “Phillip and Jamie are going to be with Joe. I called him from the office before the meeting to tell him that something came up and see could he take them this weekend plus a few additional days if necessary. Joe knows enough about the Agency not to ask too many questions. So other than his usual complaints, he agreed.  I think Mother decided to use the time to go with Captain Curt on a trip.”

Lee put his arm around her shoulders. “Really? Should I be asking his intentions towards my mother-in-law?”

Amanda smiled and gave a small guffaw “I think he’s interested asking the same to you.  According to Mother, we’ve been ‘dating’ too long. I think she must have talked the poor man’s ear off about our permanent commitment.” They smiled at each other as Amanda rested her head on his shoulder.

Unfortunately, the moment had to end. “Amanda, I can’t stay much longer.” Lee said solemnly. “I need to get back and monitor what is going on and feed the gossip about your suspension.”

Amanda looked at him sideways. “And whose side are you going to come down on, Scarecrow?”

“I think I need to be noncommittally on your side.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“No one will believe it if I disavow you completely,” Lee explained, “I have to support you, just not wholeheartedly.”

“Do you really think it was necessary to do this through the Agency? Did my disgrace have to be so public?” Amanda inquired coming to the crux of her recent humiliation.  “Do you know that Dr. Symth had me searched before I left?”

“Playing his part, huh?” Lee replied disgustedly. “Unfortunately, until we know who is behind this, yes, you do need to be ostracized publicly. Don’t worry. We’ll have everything cleaned up soon.” He leaned in to kiss her again.

She placed a finger across his lips and replied, “We better.”

            Once Lee left with suitable kisses and promises, Amanda took her teacup and sat down on the couch in the den. She needed to think. She needed some chocolate. She got up to grab a couple of her freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. She needed to figure out who was at the bottom of this. Why had they targeted her? She supposed the best place to start was at the beginning.