Letting The Cat Out Of The Bag

By Scooplet

Scarecrow and Mrs. King characters are the property of Shoot the Moon Productions and Warner Bros. Television. No copyright infringement intended. Not for commercial use.

Story is rated PG, set shortly after the end of the fourth season.

The middle-aged, mustached man lay on his prison bed, sleeping soundly. Outside his cell, a figure approached stealthfully. If the prisoner had been awake, he would have heard the thud of a body landing on the concrete floor of the hallway outside, then the sound of a key sliding surreptitiously into the lock and the scuffing noise of a body being dragged into his cell. But he was still asleep when he was roughly jostled.

"Come on, you dolt," the figure whispered roughly in his ear. The prisoner detected a slight accent in the voice—but he could barely tell the man was not a native speaker. "You didn't even hear me come in. You were supposed to fake being asleep, imbecile! You should have been up and ready to get out. Let's go!" The two men hurried out of the cell, carefully checking for guards as they worked their way to the Achilles' heel of the prison: the storm drain leading out of the recreation yard.

It seemed ridiculous to the operative on his mission that a maximum security prison would be so easy to infiltrate, but he had done it. He had gone undercover as one of the guards; his identification was flawless, created not by his intelligence organization, but by one of the most sophisticated falsification experts on the planet. It was no problem to distract the guards when he disabled the monitors for the security cameras, and those who did see him did not doubt his need to be there. It was simply a matter of opening the cell door and getting the prisoner to freedom. And they had no more than two minutes after they left the cell to get out or there was no chance of success. The keys to the cell door and the storm drain cover helped, of course.

The operative emerged from the storm drain, his charge close on his heels. Masked by shrubbery and debris from earlier floods, the opening had been hard to find. Once successful, the operative had stashed there a change of clothes, money, and new identification papers for his charge and for himself. He donned his leather jacket and slacks quickly, but the newly-freed prisoner clumsily managed the task.

"Hurry up. I don't know why our people want you so badly. You're a bumbler."

The operative led his charge through the woods, stopping short of the train station two miles away. "You're on your own from here. There will be others waiting for you. Don't hesitate to follow the instructions I gave you, or you will found, and death will not be swift." With that, the operative vanished.

Sydney Whitsett was on his own.

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"Mother, do you know where my black slip-ons are? I'm late and I can't find them anywhere." A barefoot Amanda Stetson, clad in jeans and a light sweater, dragged a small suitcase down the stairs of her home. Leaving the piece of luggage near her front door, she came into the kitchen.

"Did you check underneath the couch, dear?" Dotty looked up from the newspaper, coffee cup in hand. "I think you left them there when Lee was here the other night."

"Thanks, Mother. You're right." Amanda's brown hair, pulled into a clip, fell over the top of her head as she bent down to retrieve the shoes.

Dotty peered over her reading glasses at her daughter, who struggled to put on the shoes without sitting down. "I made you some eggs and toast. Won't you at least eat a little? You know what they say…"

"…breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Amanda looked at the plate of food and quickly turned away. "Thank you, Mother, that's really very sweet, but I just don't have time today. I'll get something on the way out of town." She did not consider telling her mother that her stomach was feeling off. Lee was due at the house any minute and she did not want to be delayed with her mother's attempts at home remedies. It was only two days at the cabin, but they had not been alone for more than one night at a time since that weekend last month, when they had celebrated putting the final touches on the interior of their little hideaway. Oh, and that celebration had been pretty special, too. Amanda forced herself to focus on the present. She went over her mental list once again, stopping herself nervously. Did I remember it this time? She sighed to herself. I don't want to forget again.

Getting up from the table, Dotty interrupted her thoughts. "I don't know why the two of you don't get married. Wouldn't it be nice to have Lee here all the time? You know I don't judge, Amanda, but I just find it hard to believe you have another weekend work assignment. It's just too convenient. Joe's been planning this fishing trip with the boys for three weeks. It sure seems like more than a coincidence that you are going away the same weekend. Not that I can blame you. As I've said before, on a scale of one to ten, Lee's an eleven."

"Mo-ther!" Raising a finger in the air at her remembrance of another item from the mental list, she went to the television and grabbed two VHS tapes from the shelf nearby.

"I'm sure those are for work, too." Dotty's sarcastic tone was not lost on Amanda.

She opened her mouth, trying valiantly to form a reply to her mother, when there was a knock on the front door. She mentally praised her husband's excellent timing and went to answer his knock.

"Hi!" As Lee offered her his dimpled grin, Amanda wondered briefly if she would ever not get that tingly feeling in her stomach when he looked at her that way. He stepped inside and put his arms around his wife after she shut the door.

"Hi, yourself." Amanda hugged him back.

From the way Lee kissed her, Amanda knew he was looking forward to the weekend as much as she was.

He smiled at her again and went to the kitchen to greet his mother-in-law, who was looking over the gardening section of the newspaper one last time before taking it to the laundry room. Dressed in an old blouse and slacks, with her blonde hair in a bandana, it was obvious that Dotty had a project planned.

"Hello, Lee. Amanda tells me you two have another weekend work assignment."

"Hello, Dotty." The intelligence operative who had stared down many a KGB operative squirmed under Dotty's gaze.

She pulled off her glasses. "Well, I hope the weather is nice. We have had a lovely June so far—and July will be here in only ten days. I know today will be perfect for planting flowers…where did you say you were going?"

"Ah…" Lee fumbled for an answer. He could not remember the story he and Amanda had cooked up for this weekend. He was grateful to his wife when she rescued him.

"We're going to be near Harper's Ferry. We'll be back late tomorrow evening." Amanda went over to kiss Dotty. "Goodbye, Mother. Enjoy your gardening. And your date with Captain Curt later."

Dotty followed her daughter and Lee to the front door, where Lee picked up Amanda's bag. Amanda grabbed her purse and the tote bag where she had placed the VHS tapes and a few other things for the cabin.

"Thank you, dear. You two have a nice time…working." Neither Lee nor Amanda missed the skeptical look on Dotty's face as they walked out of the house.

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"At least we didn't lie to her. The cabin is on the way to Harper's Ferry." As Lee turned the Corvette onto the highway leading to their retreat in the woods, he looked over at his wife. He picked up her hand and kissed it, then played with the wedding set Amanda had slipped on after they left her house. "Leatherneck said he finished wiring the cameras last weekend."

"You've done a great job creating our little hideaway, Lee. I'm glad Harry gave you the idea."

"Well, it isn't the house in Rockville, but it has your touch, too, Amanda. And it's our first home together." Amanda did not miss the wistful expression on Lee's face. She squeezed his hand.

"And Leatherneck is the only other person on the planet besides Harry Thornton who knows about it. I wonder what Leatherneck thinks, you taking me there. He doesn't know we're married. Only Harry does. It's as bad as what Mother is thinking."

Lee glanced over at his wife. "I know it stinks, having a secret marriage. But Leatherneck thinks a lot of you, Amanda. And the only reason Harry knows we're married is because…well, he's Harry. We're lucky to have found each other."

Amanda reached up and caressed Lee's shoulder. "More than lucky, Scarecrow."

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Rostov tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the British man to appear. He was irritated with the office in Moscow. They had insisted that Sydney Whitsett was the man for the job. Yet somehow they managed to overlook the fact that he had been duped before and landed in a British jail, thanks to MI6's Emily Farnsworth and the Agency's Scarecrow. Then there was that interesting brunette—Mrs. King—that never seemed to leave Scarecrow's side. He definitely worked with a partner now. If any of those three find out that Whitsett is organizing another attempt to steal military secrets, we're done for. The man's a bumbler.

Sighing, Rostov looked about the park one last time. At last he could see Whitsett walking hurriedly towards him, glancing nervously about. Worried that his contact's obvious behavior might alert a tail or a surveillance team, the seasoned KGB operative rose from the bench and began walking along a path that led through a stand of trees. Whitsett would easily be able to catch up with him, hopefully out of sight of spying eyes.

"I'm sorry for being late…"

Rostov cut him off. "Save the apologies. Tell me what you have learned, and be done. You have half the Washington intelligence community following you, no doubt."

Whitsett looked around. "I tried to be careful."

Waving his hand impatiently, Rostov did not hide his annoyance. Let someone else teach the fool how to keep out of trouble. "What do you have for me?"

"Plans for a joint British and American spy satellite."

Rostov raised his eyebrows. He had heard rumors of such a project, and here this bumbler had gotten the plans—or at least an opportunity to get them. He was not one to hold back praise when it was due, although he usually gave it grudgingly.

"I must say I am impressed. Where are these plans? Do you have a microfiche? Photos?" Rostov looked at Whitsett expectantly.

"Well, I don't have them, yet. But I am working on it."

Rostov sighed. "You will need to move more quickly than this. We can't protect you forever here. If you are caught by the Americans or the British, we will deny having anything to do with you. And I doubt the British will show you any mercy, since you have escaped prison—where you were serving time for treason."

"Give me three days. I will have them for you by Tuesday."

"Or you will be left here to fend for yourself." Rostov nodded at Whitsett and walked off.

Running his hand through his hair, Whitsett remembered to choose a different path out of the park and headed down the trail.

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Lee watched while Amanda polished off the last of her sandwich, an amused expression on his face.

"What's so funny?"

"You. Normally I can hardly get you to eat half a meal, but here you are, eating your entire sandwich. And I think you ate an apple earlier, didn't you?"

"Well, I skipped breakfast, so I was hungry. You should be happy. You've been after me to put on the last of that weight I lost."

Lee's face clouded over briefly. He recovered quickly and tried to think of some kind of comeback. It was painful to have even the slightest reminder of the shooting in California that had nearly claimed his wife's life. "Do you want me to go back to the cabin and make you another sandwich?"

"Very funny. No thank you. Relax and enjoy the view. That's why we're here."

Lee stretched out his legs and looked out across the small valley to the tree-lined ridge beyond. He imagined the view would be incredible in October, when the autumn leaves would be at their peak. They had found this spot, a large rock outcropping near the trail on the edge of their property, the first weekend they had stayed at the cabin. It was an easy scramble to climb up, and the views more than rewarded the effort. Even if they came out to the cabin for only a day, Lee and Amanda almost always visited their rock.

Amanda laid down beside Lee and put her head on his lap, facing out towards the ridge. "It's so peaceful here."

Lee did not answer. He caressed her arm and thought to himself. When we're sitting out here like this, that stupid secret marriage idea of mine doesn't seem so bad. But it can't be like this all the time.

Amanda reached for Lee's hand, now resting on her shoulder, and ran her finger over his wedding ring.

He looked down at his wife. But it is nice now.

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Crouched in the shadows amid the shipping crates, Emily Farnsworth finished snapping photos. She tried to ignore the cramps in her legs as she crept back to her rental car two blocks away. You are not getting any younger, Emily. Why on earth did they ask me to follow him myself? I suppose they expected me to enlist the help of Lee and Amanda for this step. It's not like I didn't try. Having watched Lee carry Amanda's suitcase to his Corvette, she was pretty certain that they had weekend plans. Alone. Emily stifled the chuckle that threatened to escape. She remembered the first time she had worked with the seemingly oddly-matched couple. Lee, an old friend of Emily's, was still the arrogant operative, and his playboy days had not ended. The charming Amanda, still very green, but smart and full of enthusiasm, had helped solve the case. Since then, Lee had gone from having a grudging respect, if one could even call it that, to what might be considered adoration for the former housewife.

While neither one of them would have admitted it at the time, Emily had not failed to see the attraction they had had for one another. Now she was eager to find out if her theory was true. The infamous Scarecrow, who had vowed more than once that he would never be tied down, was married.

Emily slipped behind a dumpster and quickly shed her homeless costume and wig, stuffing them in the zippered satchel she had stowed there. Glancing carefully about, she continued to her rental car and drove back to the British Embassy.

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Phillip pulled lazily on his pole, leaning back against the tree trunk that rose from the creek bank. Nearby, Jamie perched on a rock, slowly dragging his lure to and fro. He was certain he had seen the glint of silver scales in the water below, and he was determined to catch a fish for their dinner. Phillip broke the silence with his hoarse whisper.

"Do you like Carrie, Jamie?"

Jamie made more of an attempt than Phillip did to speak as quietly as possible. "Sure. But we shouldn't talk about her right now. She and Dad might hear us."

"Nah. They walked off alone together. Newlyweds. Yuck."

"You're one to talk. You're always flirting with some girl. Was it Cindy last time? Or Samantha? Or both?"

Phillip squirmed and did not answer directly. It was both, but he wasn't going to tell Jamie. "Shut up, Wormbrain. At least I'm not off hiking in the woods with one of them."

"Whatever." Jamie was quiet for a few minutes, concentrating on his lure. "What do you think of Lee?"

"He's a cool dude. You know I like him. I wish he'd marry Mom." Phillip looked over at Jamie. "You've been a lot nicer to him lately."

"Yeah. Lee kind of grows on you. But don't you wish Mom and Dad had married each other again?"

Phillip hesitated. "Yeah, kind of. But I've never seen Mom look at Dad the way she looks at Lee. Don't ever tell anyone I told you this, or I'll make you pay for the rest of your life."

"I'm not going to say anything, Dufus."

Phillip knew his secret was safe with Jamie. But he would never admit that to him or anyone else. "I guess I'd rather see Mom happy and in love. You don't remember how unhappy she was before."

"But she likes Dad pretty well. Calls him Sweetheart."

"'Likes' just isn't the same as 'love.' I think she was lonely with Dad gone all the time. I heard Grandma say something to Aunt Lillian more than once."

"What if she married Lee and was unhappy again?"

"Sheesh, Dorkface, they're in love. She wouldn't be unhappy."

"Yeah, but things can change. We don't know Lee very well. Do you really think he's a director? He likes to help me with my camera, but I know more about it than he does now."

"Oh, come on. You're just a know-it-all."

"Seriously. I think we should know more about Lee. Carrie is a schoolteacher. We've met her parents. But what do we know about Lee, really? He and Mom spend a lot of time together. I heard Grandma talking to Mom about them going away this weekend again."

Phillip played with his fishing pole. "Well, they do work together, Wormbrain. But you have a point." He dipped the line in and out of the water. "Okay. Let's find out. It's summer. We can ride the bus into Georgetown and watch his place. See if he has any girlfriends. We could watch IFF, too."

"That won't tell us a lot."

Phillip snapped his fingers.

Jamie gave him a dirty look. "Keep it down, Dufus. You're going to scare the fish."

"Sorry. I have an idea. What if I ask Samantha to get her brother to drive us around? I have some extra money. I could offer to pay for gas, ice cream, something."

"Right. Like he'll want to drive us around. You need to give him a good reason."

"Maybe Kevin will want to spy on a filmmaker?"

"That might work… Hey! I caught one!" Jamie began reeling in his line, while Phillip reached for the net.

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Billy listened to the phone ring several times before frowning and hanging up. He had guessed that Lee had gone off for the weekend with Amanda, but Lee usually brought his car phone with him. As much as he wanted to be frustrated with Scarecrow for having fun while he was in the office, tracking him down, Billy could not fault the couple for taking a little time alone. He turned to the agent sitting across from his desk. "I'm sorry, Lady Farnsworth, but Lee is still not answering his car phone."

"I suspected as much." She smiled knowingly at Billy.

Billy was not sure what Emily Farnsworth knew about his best pair of agents, but he imagined she had guessed they were seeing one another. He wondered if she knew about the marriage license as well. He had been able to keep that tidbit from Dr. Smyth for the time being, but he could not hide that information forever. Billy had hoped that Lee and Amanda would confide in him before Smyth had to be told.

"In the meantime, I'll have my agents on duty keep an eye on Whitsett. You've already done most of the legwork, such as finding his hotel."

"Mr. Melrose, the man may be a bumbler in some ways, but he is very good at hiring nasty people to do his work. I hope you have experienced agents working on this until Lee and Amanda are back in town."

"I'm doing my best, Lady Farnsworth."

Emily rose from her chair. Billy stood quickly out of politeness and made his way around the desk so he could see her out the door. "I will leave a message for you as soon as I hear from them. In the meantime, I have my men on it."

Just then the phone rang. Seeing Billy's raised hand, Emily waited. Billy hustled to his desk and picked up the receiver.

"Melrose here."

"Billy. It's Lee. I just got your messages. What's up?"

"I need you and Amanda in my office right away. Lady Farnsworth is waiting for you."

"Wow! Really? Emily is there? Uh, geez, Billy. I'm not in town, and it's already seven o'clock. Can it wait until tomorrow?" On his end of the call, Lee held his breath. He would do just about anything for Emily, but Amanda was inside the cabin, putting the finishing touches on their dinner. And he was looking forward to dessert.

Billy looked over at Emily Farnsworth. Seeming to have guessed Lee's response, she waved her hand and mouthed, "Tomorrow is fine," to Billy.

"Can you two be in my office by tomorrow morning at ten?"

Lee was grinning from ear to ear. Their weekend was ruined but their Saturday night was not. "Sure, Billy. I'll swing by Amanda's and pick her up on the way in."

Billy coughed and smirked. "Sure, Lee. See you then."

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Lee followed the two women up the stairs to the Q Bureau, a slight frown on his face. Last night was… The frown changed to a brief grin that faded again. But this morning Amanda said she was feeling under the weather. Now that we're here, she's all bright and cheerful for Emily. Quit being a jerk, Stetson. She did skip breakfast for the second day in a row. You know that's not like her.

"…right, Lee?"

Lee was startled out of his thoughts by the direct question—that he had not heard. "Uh, sorry, Amanda. What was that?" He stepped ahead of the women to unlock the door and hold it open for them.

"I was just saying how we were hoping for an excuse to go to England to see Emily. But now she's come to see us."

"Yeah. That's right." Lee tried to sound enthusiastic. He was not sure if it was okay to use the word "us" around Emily. But she did think of them as partners. He held out a chair for Emily while Amanda went to the refrigerator. He walked around to his desk chair and sat down.

"Emily, would you like anything? I could make you some tea. And we have a little food here."

"No thank you, my dear. I had some tea when I met with Mr. Melrose downstairs earlier."

Lee watched Amanda as she pulled the peanut butter jar and some bread off the top of the refrigerator, then started making a sandwich.

"Unfortunately, as Mr. Melrose told you, we are after our friend Whitsett again."

"Just as long as I don't have to 'hook up' with him at an embassy dinner again." Amanda made a face, then laughed a little. She poured herself a glass of milk, then took it with the sandwich to her desk and sat down.

Lee was quick to answer her. "No, Amanda. He has seen you and will associate you with being taken by the Russians." And I'm not letting my wife "hook up" with anyone.

A gleam came into Emily's eye. "Lee, my boy! You're a genius! It's perfect! Whitsett won't associate Amanda with MI6 or the Agency because he thinks she was used to reel him in for the Russian interrogation."

"Emily, what are you talking about?" Lee was about ready to get up and pace.

"Whitsett has had two Agency operatives watching him. We know his haunts and habits of the last few days. We can have Amanda show up at the bar or restaurant where he is a regular and have her approach him. He'll think Rostov sent her. Or he may simply remember that she was his mule and see if she's interested in replaying her role. Amanda can charm him into giving us details of what he plans to do."

"I'm not sure about charming him, but I'm willing to give it a try."

"I'm not." Lee stood up and started to pace. He ran his hand through his hair.

"Lee, the two of you can wear a couple of disguises and be there to back me up. You can put a wire on me and have Francine monitor me in a van with a couple of other agents if you're really worried."

"Great idea, Amanda." Emily turned to where Lee was pacing. "It's foolproof, Lee."

Lee stopped. He could see that he had no argument against the two women. He sighed in frustration. Then he had a sudden inspiration. "What if we get T.P. to do some snooping first? Why take a risk when we may just need to ask a few questions?" He turned to Emily. "I'm not sure you know T. Percival Aquinas. He is a genius at finding out information."

Emily looked over at Amanda, who raised her eyebrows, then said, "I'm game. Our goal is to see what Whitsett is after."

Lee picked up the phone and dialed. He waited a few moments, and then smiled as the call was answered. "T.P. Hi, it's Lee. Hey, I hate to interrupt your Sunday, but…" He was cut off before he could finish. He looked over at Amanda. "Yes, she's just fine. Thanks." Lee spoke quickly. Telephone pleasantries were not one of his strongpoints. "Listen, we need your help. We're trying to find out what a Sydney Whitsett is up to." He paused and nodded. "Yeah, that's the one. He recently escaped from prison in Britain, and he's in the U.S. We're fairly certain he's back to selling secrets to the Russians." Lee listened for a moment. "Yeah, I figured. But you'll let us know as soon as you find out anything?" Lee nodded again. "Great, thanks." Lee hung up the phone, grinning. Now my wife doesn't have to go anywhere near that sleazeball.

He looked at Amanda and Emily. "T.P. said that today is our lucky day. Normally we would probably have to wait until Monday for the information, but he is on his way to a meeting of his bird watcher's club. It just so happens that at least one of the other members should have some information."

Emily was pleased. "Your friend sounds quite helpful." She grew serious. "However, while you were on the phone, I was thinking that we still need to find out who is working with Whitsett. We only know it's the KGB. We need a name. If Whitsett is caught, they will only try again."

Lee sat back in his chair, the smile gone from his face.

Amanda had the opposite reaction. She sat forward, moving her empty plate and glass aside. "Then I guess we'll have to move forward and map out a plan."

Sighing in resignation, Lee sat forward again. "All right. Let's get the latest report on his surveillance. With any luck, we can get started tonight."