One Of Our Agents Is Missing
by rankamateur
Reference to "Saved By The Bells", by Joel Steiger and Stu Krissman. I took the liberty of giving their character "Rostov" a first name.
Also references to "Service Above And Beyond", written by Peter Lefcourt; "Affair At Bromfield Hall", written by Juanita Bartlett and "Ship Of Spies" written by Robert Bielak.
Scarecrow and Mrs. King belong to Warner Bros. and Shoot The Moon Enterprises Ltd.
AU
About mid Third Season.
Amanda goes out of town and Lee goes missing - without a trace...
Thanks to randibaby and Buffy for checking this over. All remaining mistakes are mine.
--
The Monday lunch crowd was noisy, as usual.
Harry Saunders and Roger Stevens were enjoying their meal of hot roast beef sandwich and ice cold beer. Harry found the atmosphere particularly pleasant, especially as compared to his recent surroundings - a cell in a Federal prison. As he took a long sip from his frosty glass, he glanced around the restaurant.
"Well, I'll be damned!" He put his glass down on the table with enough force to spill a few drops.
"What?" His companion asked.
"Be subtle about it, but look over there, across that barrier into the non-smoking section. The guy sitting there with a foxy brunette."
"Don't see who you mean," Roger said, still craning his neck to look in the general direction Harry had indicated.
"Well, I'll just tell you. It's Lee Stetson."
"Who?" Roger asked, shrugging his shoulders.
"Lee Stetson, the agent who busted Dr. Mumford's operation."
"I wasn't around for that, remember?" Roger responded between bites of his sandwich.
"It was about six, no seven years ago. Mumford was doing a little business with the Russians and making damn good money in the process. I was just low level muscle but the pay was great. Anyway, The Agency, actually Stetson, figured out what was going on and came marchin' in and arrested most of us. The good doctor managed to escape. He had enough money to live on some Caribbean island until a couple of years ago. I guess the money ran out or he figured the heat was off, or both. Anyway, he's been living in Maryland, paying for interesting bits of information which, I'm sure, he sells to the Ruskies at a nice mark-up."
"This Mumford sounds like our kind of guy. So, do you think he'd pay to know where Stetson is?"
"You know," Harry said thoughtfully, "he just might. Let's follow Stetson and the woman and see what we can find out."
Motioning to the waitress, Harry got the bill and paid it so he and Roger would be ready to leave the moment that their quarry was ready to go.
"They're getting up. Go get the car," Harry nudged Roger into action. "I'll walk out behind them. Be ready to pick me up."
Roger ran the half block to where his SUV was parked. He got in, started the engine and waited until he saw his partner motion to him. He pulled forward to the front of the restaurant. Harry got in.
"They went to the parking lot on the side of the building. There they are," Harry pointed to a car which had just pulled out of the driveway, "in that silver Corvette. Boy, I didn't know agents could afford hot cars like that. Nice to know we pay 'em such a good salary, right?"
"Yeah. At least we would if we actually paid taxes."
Roger eased into the traffic a few car lengths behind Lee and Amanda. They followed the Corvette all the way to Georgetown and to an innocuous looking building with a sign out front which read - International Federal Film.
--
Harry had Roger stop at the first phone booth he could find. He got out of the car, entered the booth and closed the door. Fishing around in his wallet, he found the piece of paper he needed. He put the requisite coins in the machine and dialed a number. "Hello, Dr. Mumford, Dr. Harold Mumford?"
"I'm afraid you have the wrong number. My name is Price, Delbert Price."
"Right, Mr. Price. This is Harry Saunders. It's been a while. I ahh, I have some information I think will interest you. It concerns a mutual friend, Lee Stetson."
There was silence on the line for several moments - then - "Harry, it's good to hear from you. Let's meet and discuss our friend."
"Anywhere you say, Doctor, err, I mean, Mr. Price."
--
The meeting with Dr. Mumford went very well. He knew any number of people who would be willing to pay large sums of money for whatever information could be got out of Lee Stetson. He had the access codes to The Agency computers. He had knowledge of US and other Western agents all over the world. He was aware of ongoing investigations. He was certainly a prime target for interrogation.
It was decided that Harry and Roger would follow the agent for the next several days. They wanted to see if there was any pattern to his movements. At this point, the consensus was that taking him at night, from his apartment, was probably the best course.
--
Lee and Amanda sat at a quiet table in the back of what was becoming their favorite restaurant, Emilio's.
"So, you're taking off today? This afternoon?"
"Yeah. Five days in the great outdoors. I'm kinda looking forward to it," Amanda smiled. Actually, she had rather mixed emotions. She was glad to be able to spend the time with her sons and her mother, but she wasn't looking forward to all that time away from Lee.
"Well, I ahh, I guess I'll just have to do all that paper work by myself for the next four or five days," Lee grimaced.
"I'll be back in town next Wednesday afternoon and back in the office on Thursday morning. Just stall and leave as much of it as you can for me. I'll be glad to do it when I get back," she said, patting his arm.
"That's a deal."
--
Lee slammed the door shut and threw his keys on the entry hall table. He took off his jacket and dropped it on the couch. He continued undressing as he walked towards his bedroom. After a quick shower, he got comfortable in a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. He was comfortable, but bored. He headed towards the kitchen to check and see if he actually had anything edible in the refrigerator. Amanda would be gone for five days and he was bored already. 'This is ridiculous,' he told himself. 'She's going to be roughing it in the woods with her family till next Wednesday. Fine. I have four black books. There's no reason for me to be bored or lonely on a Friday night.'
He was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing. He looked through the peephole. Someone in what looked like a delivery man's outfit was standing there.
"Yes, what is it?"
"I have a package for Mr. Lee Stetson. I need you to sign for it, sir."
Lee sighed. Part of his mind was wary of an unknown person delivering an unordered package. But another part was pleased at the thought that maybe it was something from Amanda. Some kind of going away gift, maybe some kind of a gag gift. He smiled at the idea of her sending him a going away present, when she was the one who was going. Such a thoughtful gesture would be just like her.
He opened the door.
"Here you are sir. Please sign right here."
The last thing Lee remembered was struggling with a guy who was shoving a cloth over his nose and mouth, and who was built like a tackle for a pro football team.
--
Harry really enjoyed driving the silver Corvette. It handled like a dream. There weren't too many other cars on the highway on a Saturday morning. He was sorry when he arrived at the predetermined spot on Highway One, and had to pull off and park. In a few minutes, Roger pulled his Ford Bronco off the road and stopped just long enough for Harry to jump in. As soon as traffic permitted, Roger turned the Bronco around and headed back towards town.
--
It was early Monday morning. Lee Stetson had not shown up for work and there was no answer at his apartment. Billy was getting worried.
Francine Desmond sat frowning at the computer screen, until she remembered the deleterious long-term consequences of such an expression.
"Hey Billy, look at this," she called her to boss, interrupting his trip across the bullpen.
"What have you got?"
"I've been checking cars that were abandoned over the weekend, looking for the vehicle used in the Reiser case, and I found this," she said, pointing at an entry on the screen.
"That looks like it might be Lee's car."
"It is. I've already cross-checked his license number."
"Where was it found?"
"Out on Highway One, in Virginia."
"Let's talk to the local Highway Patrol. See if they'll set up road blocks in that area. Maybe we'll get really lucky and they'll stop somebody who saw something Friday night or Saturday morning."
"I'll get on the phone right away. Now, if their boss wants to talk to my boss...," she asked.
"I'll be in my office." Billy turned and headed back the way he had just come.
--
Sergeant Mulvany was a happy man. The twenty-seventh car he had stopped was driven by one Simon Baxter. Mr. Baxter drove this same route at about the same time every morning except Sunday, on his way to work. On Saturday, he had seen a beautiful silver Corvette pull off the road and park. He had also seen another vehicle, a Ford Bronco, dark green in color, with Virginia plates, pull off and pick up the man who had been driving the Corvette. The next time he looked in his mirror, the Ford was gone. He assumed that it had turned around and headed back towards DC.
--
"Here's the report on Lee's car, Billy," Francine said, dropping the paper on the desk. "No prints, nothing, wiped clean."
"What about the rearview mirror?"
Francine shook her head. "These guys know their business. It was clean too."
"Oh, brother," Billy said, reaching in his desk drawer for the bottle of Tums.
--
Lee was taken from the small room where he had been held, to another room, his hands still tied. He was placed on a bed and given an injection. As his captors fired question after question, he said his mantra - over and over and over again. Finally, he passed out.
"Amanda, Amanda," Lee called out softly. She was gone. Where? She had been there just a moment ago. She was wearing a beautiful, long white gown. He had on a white dinner jacket. They were dancing and he held her close, very close... It was a dream he realized as he finally opened his eyes. As things gradually came into focus, he could see that he was back in the same small room. He was lying on the bed with his hands and feet bound with ropes. A little bit of light filtered in through the transom at the top of the door. Where was he and how did he get here? No answer came at that moment. And where had that dream come from? Ahh, he and Amanda had been dressed like that for their fake wedding on San Angelo. But there had been no reception - no dancing. Where had that come from?
--
"So far the drugs haven't worked. Smackin' him around hasn't worked. He just keeps mumblin' something that I can't understand," Roger complained.
"His mantra," Mumford supplied.
"His what?" Roger was unfamiliar with the term.
"Mantra." The doctor began to explain to Roger, as patiently as he could. "It's something agents are trained or train themselves, to say over and over again. They sort of hypnotize themselves so they aren't aware of what's going on around them or with them, and they can't or won't, answer questions."
"Great."
"You know that answering machine tape you picked up from his apartment?"
"Of course," Roger answered.
"Well, I've listened to it. There are five messages. Four are from women whose names all seem to end in Y or I. They all seem to be trying to sound sexy and they all made some sort of indecent proposal to Stetson. The last call was from Mrs. King - Amanda."
"Yeah," Harry interjected, "I heard her talkin' to Stetson at lunch one day. Her voice sounds sexy without her even tryin'."
"Forget that!" The doctor was clearly annoyed. "The point is - when you were following him - they were always together. You tailed him at night and where did he go? Over to her house. Whose name has he called as he was coming out from under the effects of the drug? Hers. She is the key to breaking Stetson. We need to grab her..."
"She's not home. I told you that. we've been by her house several times. The car's gone and there's nobody around and it looks like the lights and maybe a radio, are on a timer."
"All right, we have to make him think that we've got her and that she is in danger. I have a friend who works for the KGB. Her name is Sonja. She is trained in voice impersonations. I'll play the tape of Mrs. King and have her record a few provocative sequences for us." The doctor smiled, pleased with his scheme.
"You really think that if he has to choose between his job - national security - and Amanda King, he'll pick..."
"Mrs. King," Dr. Mumford interrupted. "Well, I'm not positive of course, but nothing else has worked. If we can't get anything out of him using the King woman, then we might as well terminate him."
"You're right," Harry agreed. "Boy, it sounded so easy - grabbing him and druggin' him and then pumpin' him for information. Who knew he'd be this hard to get anything out of."
Dr. Mumford nodded.
"He's the Agency's best," Roger said solemnly.
"Yeah," Harry agreed.
"You were caught by their best," Roger continued. "Does that make you feel any better?"
"NO," Harry and the doctor said in unison.
--
Lee was vaguely aware of being dragged off to that other room again. More injections. More drugs. This time, he heard a voice. It sounded like Amanda's voice - a little bit. But the longer he listened, the more sure he was that it wasn't Amanda... 'Good. She's safe,' he thought. Then more of his mantra - which seemed to work - '...better than their drugs,' he thought.
Lee could feel the weight in his arms. He looked down. It was Amanda. She was wearing a lovely blue evening dress. He carried her down some stairs and into a room and laid her gently on the bed. No...it wasn't a bed. It was a gurney and the medial attendants pushed him aside so they could work on her, help her, stabilize her. 'Amanda, are you all right?' He woke suddenly and realized that Amanda wasn't there. Of course she wasn't there! He was remembering the Delano case.
--
"We've had this guy for days and no luck. He hasn't told us a thing, Having your friend from the KGB imitate his partner hasn't helped at all." Roger said in a disgusted tone of voice. "Maybe we should start breaking a few of his bones."
"No," Dr. Mumford responded thoughtfully. "We need to try one more thing. We need to obtain the genuine article."
"What? What do you mean?" Roger asked.
"We need to pick up Mrs. King and bring her here - show her to Stetson and do whatever we have to do to her, in order to get him to talk. If that doesn't work, then we get rid of both of them. I want you to check out her house again tonight. Where ever she went, she may be back by now."
"We'll go by late this evening," Harry said.
--
Once again Lee was taken to the room. The routine was the same - injections, drugs, questions, his mantra and finally he was taken back and dumped on the bed. He looked forward to the end of these unpleasant sessions and to the dreams they seemed to produce. This time he and Amanda, who was wearing another lovely gown, this one black with gray accents, were walking in a lovely garden. No, wait. It wasn't a garden. It was a...a maze. And there was a dead man. As he gradually came to, he remembered - the maze at Bromfield Hall...
--
Francine walked into Billy's office without waiting for the usual formalities.
"Any news?" She didn't need to say news about what or who. Billy knew what she meant.
"No. Nothing. No clues. It's like the earth swallowed him up."
"What about that car, the Ford Bronco?"
"Nothing on it either. There are so many of them. We have people checking out the registrations for all similar vehicles, but, no luck yet. Nobody suspicious. Francine, when is Mrs. King due back in town?"
"Ahh, today I think...today is Wednesday. Yeah, late this afternoon. Why?"
"I want you to organize surveillance teams. I want her house watched and I want people following her every minute that she is out of this building."
"Why? Do you think whoever has Lee will try and take Amanda too? What for, Billy?"
"Look, these characters may very well have been watching Lee for some time before they grabbed him. If so, they would have seen him and Amanda together. If they think she is his partner, they might think they can use her to get to him. Got it?"
"They may, they might. That's pretty thin, Billy. You usually want more to go on."
"I know. But in this case, there isn't anything more to go on. May and might are all we have."
"I suppose they might think that they can use her. But you don't think Lee would give away secrets just because they have Amanda - do you?"
"Francine, you remember a few years back, when Lee walked out of here with Alexander Rostov in order to trade him for Amanda? He was charged with treason for that little caper and he had only worked with her for a few months. Now he's worked with her for over two years."
"OK. I'll start setting up the teams right now." Francine stood looking at Billy for a long moment. Whatever was on her mind, she decided to keep it to herself, for now anyway. She turned and left the office.
--
Amanda pulled the station wagon up the driveway and parked.
"Oh," Dotty said, stretching. "I am so glad to be home."
"Yeah, me too mother. But, it was nice for the four of us to get out there, back to nature, and sort of...reconnect with each other."
"Yes, well, right now I can't wait to reconnect with a real bed and food that was cooked in an oven!"
"Mo-ther... Hey, fellas," Amanda called when sounds from the tv set in the family suddenly filled the air. "You come right back here and give us a hand. Take your gear into the house."
"Oh, mom," Philip moaned, as he appeared in the door-way.
"Now, just because we're home doesn't mean we stop helping each other and doing our share of the work," she said cheerfully.
"Right, mom," Philip said.
"Right, mom," Jamie echoed.
The boys had learned that, in most cases, the quicker they agreed with the grownups, the shorter the lecture.