Scarecrow and Mrs. King are owned by Warner Brothers and Shoot The Moon. All SMK characters remain their property. The story premise and new characters created for this story are the property of the author. The author has not profited from this story.
Post Season 4 by several months, the marriage is still secret and the strain is telling on Lee and Amanda.
With the DVD release of the new James Bond movie, Casino Royale, I thought it would be fun to hop in 007's very large shoes (bet you thought I was gonna say something else, eh?) and play for a while. Besides, there is always a James Bond movie on one of the multitude of cable channels, and we're treated (or subjected to, depending upon your view) long marathons of the original suave spy, 007. I never miss them!
My thanks to Just Browsing for the beta. You're still the best! (To follow a Bond theme!)
Though SMK did this hook with "Welcome To America, Mr. Brand" (Season 3, episode 5), I decided to take a different tack.
Will This Day Ever End
The lights glistening along the Baltimore Harbor did nothing to lift the black gloom that surrounded the man hunched behind the rusted dumpster like a cloak. Nothing moved in the darkness, but it was as though the darkness breathed, had life unto itself.
Lifting his arm, the man flipped the cover from the lens of his watch. The low light illumination from the dial showed 0150, well past the expected time for the operation to complete. The man covered the watch, reached up and clicked the microphone wrapped around his throat for speech.
He stood up and peeled the black face mask from his head. Lee Stetson swore as he stalked away from his hiding place.
"Amanda? What happened?" Lee barked as he waited for his wife to drive onto the docks. The Vette came around the corner of the warehouse, stopping next to a derelict school bus leaning heavily against the rusted corrugated steal of the structure. "We were on the mark," he growled as he gave Amanda a hand out of the car.
Amanda King climbed out and patted his hand as she took the knitted hood from him. "I don't know Lee, everything was in place. Maybe something happened to your contact; there's been an awful lot of activity with that group recently." She shrugged and turned on her heels, rocking on her toes like she always did when she was nervous, looking one way then the next, trying to pull answers out of the dark.
Lights flooded the docks as activity broke out around the agents. Lee whipped his gun out, angling to protect Amanda as she scrambled back inside the Vette.
The back of the dilapidated bus opened, a greenish glow emanating from its interior. A man in a black jumpsuit jumped out and slammed the hatch behind him. "Way to go, Stetson," Efraim Beaman spat out. "Why are you always in the middle of my operations?"
Lee was visibly enraged. "What the hell are you doing here, Beaman? You busted my meeting with an important broker. Again!" He shoved the agent against the back of the bus. "Do you have a death wish? If so, I'm about to accommodate you!"
Beaman shoved back, managing to move Stetson a step or two. "This was approved by Melrose. This equipment needed a thorough testing, and you chose the wrong docks to play out your games tonight. This," with a thumb at the bus, "is a pet project of Dr. Smyth's. Leatherneck? What are the readings?"
The back of the bus opened again, showing a similarly clad Leatherneck. "Readings are good. Dr. Smyth is not gonna be happy about the interruption, boy. Stetson? Why can't you stay home nights?"
Lee slammed his hand on the side of the bus. Leatherneck grinned and jumped out, checking the bus where Lee was taking out his frustrations. "Maybe you should see Pfaff, Scarecrow. All that pent up rage can't be good for a man."
"I can't believe this," Lee shook his head, seeing Amanda reach for the car phone inside the Vette. "Why me? What have I ever done to you Leatherneck that you would screw up my meeting? This was important, I was about to get information on Naji Midani."
Both Beaman and Leatherneck grimaced; they knew that Scarecrow had been tracking down leads to the Syrian hit man Naji Midani for months.
Amanda's voice raised in pitch and volume, the men turning to pay attention to her. She hung up the telephone and sighed before climbing out of the drivers' seat. "That was Billy; he's not at all happy."
"We heard," Lee snapped back, not pleased him self with the way things had fallen apart that night.
"He said this," Amanda with a raised eyebrow toward the bus and all the agents pouring into the area, "has been planned for months. He said we should have checked the Operational Board before setting our meeting.
"Damn! He knows we don't always have a say in where we trade information! If I lose this contact because of him, I'll…." He slammed the bus hatch swearing as it flew shut. Both he and Amanda jumped at the loud 'Oomph!' and watched as a body fell from the bus and sprawled on the cement.
"Oh my gosh! Beaman!" Amanda knelt to see if the agent was alright. Blood poured from a three inch gash on his left temple and he was unconscious. Lee checked for a pulse as Amanda searched for something to stem the flow of blood from Beaman's head.
Leatherneck stuck his head out the opening, took in what had happened and reached for one of the phones among the computers and screens inside the mobile ops center. Seemingly within moments, helicopters and sirens swarmed the area, the search lights from the helicopters slashing the docks.
Medics jumped from the arriving ambulances, moving in to examine the still motionless agent. Leatherneck handed Amanda a towel to wipe the blood from her hands. Lee stood and watched, his chest heaving, the tick in his jaw moving in concert with his inhalations. "Is he gonna be alright?"
"I don't know, we're moving him to the NEST facility," was the medics' terse reply. They secured an IV line and made sure the straps fastening Beaman to the back board were tight before lifting him and placing him in one of the helicopters. As they watched it take off, another landed in its place. The door opened and Billy Melrose stepped out, closely followed by Francine Desmond.
"Tonight just went from bad to worse," Lee muttered. Amanda nodded as they both watched their boss zero in on them.
"What happened here, Stetson? Amanda?"
"Sir …."
"Beaman ruined my meeting. Again. Dammit Billy, can't you keep a leash on him?"
"Back down, Stetson. Beaman and Leatherneck had authorization to run their operational trials here. You're the loose cannon in the mix. What happened to Beaman?" Billy stared the two agents down, Amanda's gaze dropping immediately. It took the Scarecrow a few seconds longer before he cleared his throat.
"Beaman got in the way of the door."
Billy's frown deepened; a sure sign of an explosion to those who knew their boss.
"It was an accident, Billy. Lee couldn't see that Beaman was in the doorway."
"Amanda, I don't want to hear it. Stetson, I want you in my office, now. Amanda, you too…."
"It wasn't Amanda's fault, Billy. It was mine." Lee cut his boss off, not wanting Amanda to be blamed for his outburst.
"Stetson, I didn't ask for excuses. Get into my office now--before I fire the two of you!" He turned to talk to Leatherneck, looking over his shoulder when his agents didn't move. "You heard me! Move it!"
Francine shook her head at them and watched as they climbed into the Vette and left the docks before turning back to listen to the conversation between Billy and Leatherneck.
Amanda darted a quick look at Lee before gluing her eyes to the sights passing outside the passenger window. She heard him sigh and cast a cautious look in his direction.
"I didn't know he was in the doorway, Amanda. I swear I didn't."
"I know you didn't, sweetheart. But you were so angry with him…."
"Are you saying I did this subconsciously?" he asked, anger making the tone of his words harsh.
"Lee! That's not what I said. You and Beaman rarely get along, but I don't think you'd deliberately hurt him. What happened?"
"All I could think of was the last time Beaman and I ran afoul of one another in the field."
"The Brody case."
"Yeah, the Brody case. He messed up my surveillance at the airport causing all that to go down with Francine and Stone."
Amanda shook her head. "That wasn't his fault and you know that. Besides, what happened between Francine and Jonathan Stone would have happened anyway." She sighed deeply in the darkened interior. "We should have checked the operations board when we went into the field tonight, and that makes this as much my fault as it does yours." She held up a hand when Lee started to interrupt her. "No, listen. If we had checked, we could have used this to our advantage. This is our fault for not calling in this meeting; anyone on the desk could have warned us what was happening. We aren't the only agents operating in DC."
"We're the only ones on the tail of Midani. At least we were on his tail."
Amanda reached out to touch Lee's thigh. "We'll pick him up again. Your informant needs you as much as you need him. He'll get in touch with you again."
Lee gave a curt nod and silence descended upon the pair in the Vette. The outskirts of DC quickly filled their sights as Lee steered his way to the Agency. He pulled into the underground parking area, putting the car in park and turning off the ignition. "I'm sorry, Amanda. I really am."
Amanda took his hand. "Oh Lee, I know you are." She sighed and sent him a wane smile. "Let's get this finished so we can find out how Efraim is."
"Yeah, let's go face the music."
SMK---SMK---SMK---SMK
Lee Stetson walked through the bullpen the morning after Beaman's accident, intent on finding an update about Beaman's condition. He tried not to think about the verbal smack down he had received from his boss the night before; he winced at the memory of Billy's harsh words. He and Amanda hadn't been suspended as they had feared, but it was close. They were the only two with connections and information on Naji Midani as well as the possible targets that may be in his sights. Dr. Smyth had wanted them out, but even he had to back down when it came to Midani.
Lee wasn't sure how long that was going to protect them.
Dr. Smyth had given them 72 hours to produce concrete information on the whereabouts of Midani and his target. Like the Wicked Witch of the West straight out of Oz, he had turned the hour glass over and the sand was running out fast. And all because Beaman had a soft head.
What had made it worse was leaving Amanda at her house as he drove back to his apartment. Marriage was wearing on him. At least the secret part of it was.
Lee gave his head a shake as he raised a hand to knock on Billy's door. The gruff 'enter' had him opening the door. Billy was at his desk, files open while Francine stood behind him, pointing out information their boss needed to be on top of.
"Morning Billy, Francine."
Francine rolled her eyes at him; Billy only gave him a nod before returning to the task at hand. Lee gave a mental sigh. They weren't going to make it easy on him.
"How's Beaman this morning? Is he conscious?"
"He's responding. Tests are negative, but he has one hell of a concussion to go along with the 170 stitches needed to close his head." Francine folded her arms across her chest, her tone telling Lee she was indeed annoyed with him.
"Amanda went over this morning to see him," he mumbled.
Francine shot him a look that told him what she thought about him. "What's the matter Lee, afraid to face him?"
Billy threw down the paper he had been trying to read. Pushing himself up to his feet, he smacked his hands down hard on his desk. "That's enough. I have one of my people in the hospital because my agents can't work together, I don't need the two of you in my office picking up where you left off last night. Do you have anything to report, Stetson?"
"No," was his sullen reply.
"You're wasting time, and I'm not inclined to go to bat for you if you run afoul of Smyth this time. Go do what you have to do; your career depends on it."
Francine inhaled and took a step back. Lee gave a curt nod and turned toward the door when the intruder alarm went off.
MP's took their place in front of the bullpen doors. Armed soldiers appeared in the halls, their weapons in at the ready as they headed to their assigned posts.
Billy sighed and went into the bullpen; Lee and Francine were right behind him as they watched the action outside their doors. The alarm suddenly ceased, though the lights continued to flash, signaling the situation down from a dangerous red to the caution of yellow.
A group of soldiers came down the hall, stopping in front of the counter-intelligence bullpen. The doors were opened and in marched Efraim Beaman, resplendent in a hospital gown topped off with a white bandage on his forehead. Amanda King was a few steps behind him, obviously flustered, her head deliberately turned to the side as she hurried to catch up.
Beaman marched up to Billy, Francine and Lee, and saluted. Amanda covered her eyes, eyebrows elsewhere throughout the bullpen raised along with the hemline of the examination gown.
"James Bond reporting for duty, sir."
SMKSMKSMKSMK
Silence reigned as Beaman awaited the return of his salute. Billy finally shook himself from his surprise, giving a hasty salute and sighing with relief as Beaman lowered his arm. "Amanda? What is he doing here?"
Amanda studiously maneuvered to avoid direct eye contact with Beaman and Lee. "Sir, I don't know sir. He was in his hospital bed and he asked me to get him some cold water, and when I came back, he was gone. The nurses said they didn't see him leave. The hospital is in a state of upheaval sir, they're turning out the closets looking for him."
"Amanda, how could you lose him?"
"I didn't know it was my job to keep him there, sir," Amanda was obviously upset, her voice continued on an upward pitch until it finally cracked. "I heard an older woman yelling down the hallway by the elevators, and I followed my instincts. She said that a nearly naked man took the stairs after saying Zorin would fire bomb the elevator shaft. I don't know who Zorin is sir, but there were no intruders at the hospital."
"Zorin plans to pump sea water into the Hayward fault with disastrous results. He must be stopped at all costs," Beaman, affecting a decent British accent, took a startled Francine into his arms. "Stacy, you must trust me." His motion caused everyone within ogling distance to avert their eyes upward.
"What is going on here? Melrose? Why is this agent standing in your bullpen with obvious disregard for fashionable good taste?" Smyth blew smoke into the situation as if to afford cover. It didn't. "Let's move into your office, if only for proprieties sake," Dr. Smyth announced as he walked into Billy's office.
Ushering Beaman in the office, a shocked and silent Francine still held tightly in his grip, Billy went around his desk and plopped into his chair. He motioned for his door to be closed, and pointed for the assembly to take a seat.
"I prefer to stand, sir. Mr. Prime Minister, I can assure you that Drax won't succeed with his nefarious plan. Dr. Goodhead may be CIA, but I assure you she has quite a good mind to match her…other assets. Please inform the queen she may rest easy."
Dr. Smyth grinned, his entire face lighting at being called 'prime minister'. "Interesting one, William. I shall inform the queen that her best man is on the job. Gentlemen, ladies; a prime ministers work is never done. Good day, M." With the grin still plastered on his face, Smyth left the office, a chuckle floating back on a wisp of smoke to mark his exit.
"What the hell is going on?" Lee asked the question that no one else would. His question drew Beaman's attention and ire.
"Listen old man…"
"Old man?"
"I said, old man, the good doctor and I are in place and will stop the nerve agent from entering the atmosphere."
"He thinks he's James Bond," Amanda mumbled the obvious, "he's quoting from the movies."
"Moonraker," Francine said, managing to free herself from Efraim's grasp. "That was a reference from the movie, Moonraker."
"Who's he calling an 'old man'?" Lee asked again, annoyance in each word.
"You. Get over it Lee. He must have amnesia. Francine? Get the NEST staff on the phone, and someone find some clothes for 007 here? Stetson? Escort Bond to Doc McJohn's until NEST can get a unit here to pick him up."
"Aw Billy! Why me?"
"That should be obvious. Now Stetson."
Lee sighed loudly. "Right this way, Mr. Bond."
Efraim smartly saluted. Billy rolled his eyes as he quickly returned the gesture. Amanda fled before them, Lee bringing up the rear.
Francine followed them to Billy's door, watching as the threesome left the bullpen. She turned to Billy as he rubbed his eyes.
"There are just some things a boss just should not know about his employees," Billy muttered while he pulled a file in front of him.
"Oh, I don't know Billy. That's something to tuck away for future reference."
Billy's head popped up at the interested tone in his assistants' voice. "Wipe the smirk off your face, Desmond, and get back to work."
"Yes sir!"
SMK--SMK--SMK--SMK
Amanda had managed to procure a suit from the Scenario department, one she hoped that Beaman would approve of. Rushing down to the infirmary, she opened the door and handed in the suit. Once it was taken from her hands, she waited outside until Lee opened the door.
"Is he dressed?" she asked, not wanting to go in unless Beaman was properly clad.
"Yes, Mr. Bond approves of the suit. Most people do approve of Armani."
"Shoot, I was hoping it was an English maker."
Lee pulled Amanda into the room. Beaman was seated on the exam table with Dr. McJohn checking him out. Pfaff had wandered in upon hearing the commotion, and decided to stay and observe. They watched in silence until Beaman decided he had enough of the good doctor's ministrations.
"Look Q, I'm sure I can easily manage your equipment with care. Why don't you just show me what you have for this assignment?"
Pfaff turned to Lee and Amanda. "Fascinating! I wonder what caused him to enter into this personality?"
"That would be the bang on the head, Doc," Lee sarcastically reminded them.
"Yes, yes, I know. Is NEST calling this amnesia? The obvious frontal lobe trauma would cause a classic amnesiac state, but some other trauma is causing the fantasy of being James Bond," Pfaff took a large bite out of his creamcicle, his eyes shining with delight at the situation.
"We don't know what NEST concluded. Beaman skipped the hospital and arrived here."
"Amazing!"
Beaman jumped off the examine table. "I must see M about this case. When you finally get yourself together Q, you can reach me through the lovely Miss Moneypenny here," he offered his arm to Amanda and walked to the door. "And Q, you really should have your assistant here clean up, you're rather dusty in the corners."
Dr. McJohn grinned ear to ear. "He's referring to you as my assistant, Pfaff."
"Amazing!" was Pfaff's delighted reply.
Lee hurried after Amanda and Beaman. "Amanda? We're supposed to keep him with McJohn until the NEST team shows up."
"What would you have me do? Hit him over the head?"
The look Lee shot her told her exactly what he thought of her suggestion. "Look, just take him up to the Q Bureau; I have some things on Midani to look into. I have to get a message to my informant, set up a new meeting. We're running out of time."
"Try the Old Ebbitt Grill, old man. Midani has a standing reservation in the Cabinet Room," Beaman pointed out as they reached the Q Bureau.
Lee looked at Amanda and sighed. "If he calls me old man one more time…. He's right; it's on his list of haunts."
"How did Efraim know?" Amanda gave Beaman a strange look.
"Dear Moneypenny, if there is a subject of which I am something of an expert; it's the dining habits of the KGB."
Lee sighed again.
Amanda shook her head at her husband. "I don't know about this, Lee. I don't think he knows what he's talking about. "
"I seem to remember this is how you were after you ate my chicken salad sandwich? Remember? Retzig?"
"Don't remind me. I was drugged; Beaman has a lump the size of a watermelon on his head."
"Close enough. You thought you were James Bond too. And John Wayne."
"Lee! You said nothing happened that I should be embarrassed about."
"I lied," he stopped and looked around. "Where's Beaman? He was just here!"
"Not again! Oh Lee," Amanda grimaced as she headed to the door."
"Yeah, I know, let's just find him."
Lee and Amanda hurried down to the bullpen, hoping to find Beaman in Billy's office. One look from Billy, and the two agents knew that Beaman had slipped the noose and was out on the streets. They hurried to the Vette, quickly climbing in and pulling away from the Agency.
"I have no idea where to look for him."
"Lee, I do. Go to the Old Ebbitt Grill, he said that Midani has a standing reservation there."
"I hope not. Midani would rather kill him as look at him."
With worried looks at one another, Amanda said the unnecessary. "Hurry."
"I'm hurrying. Call Francine and tell her to meet us there, Beaman responds to her. And if all else fails, she can shake his martini for him."
"Lee!"
"I'm sorry, but I'm under a lot of pressure here, Amanda."
Amanda nodded and pointed at the turn leading to the Old Ebbitt Grill. Pulling in front and handing the keys over to the valet, Amanda took Lee's hand as they went into the restaurant. After Lee grudgingly handed fifty dollars to the matre'd to allow them to wander about freely, they headed to the Cabinet Room to look for Beaman.
And Naji Midani.
Amanda stopped short upon entering the room. "Over there, look!" she whispered furiously. She pushed Lee back out into the hall, causing him to hit the wall with a thud.
"A-MAN-dah!"
"Shhh, shhhh, shhhh, I know. It's Beaman, and he's at a table with a man."
"Move, let me see," Lee tried to maneuver around his wife, but was stopped by her hand.
"There's no place for you to hide, it's all open inside. They'll see you."
Lee rolled his eyes and casually stepped into the room, looking easily about the room. He saw a waiter uncork and pour champagne for Beaman and the man seated with him, set the bottle back in the ice bucket and leave the room.
Walking back into the hallway, he pulled Amanda along behind him. "He doesn't fit the description of Midani. Come on, let's see where that waiter went, maybe we can get some information from him."
A hand on Amanda's shoulder caused her to squeak. Lee spun to confront whatever had frightened his wife. Beaman stood there, looking amused.
"Old man, you really must learn to be less conspicuous."
"Is that Midani?"
"Of course not. Midani would never allow himself to be seen in public. There is, after all, an art to assassination."
"One I'm willing to learn…." Lee mumbled, earning himself a nudge from Amanda. "Look, you're going to blow all my work if you continue with this. Go with Amanda, she'll take you back to the Agency where you'll be safe."
Amanda reached out her hand, hoping Beaman would take it and follow her.
"As much as I would love to escort you to the opera, Moneypenny, I'm afraid I have other plans this evening. A word of caution, Leiter here is CIA. Guard yourself carefully, he's not to be trusted with affairs of the heart."
Amanda just stared while Lee looked around the corner. The table Beaman had met the mystery man at was now empty.
"He's gone. Dammit, Beaman, you let him get away," Lee dragged his hand through his hair, a telltale sign of his annoyance. Before he could explode, Francine appeared.
"The NEST team is waiting for our friend to visit with them," she announced as she joined them. "What's happening?"
"I have to follow that man, if I can find him." Lee took off at a run, leaving Amanda to try to disengage from Beaman and explain to Francine what was happening.
Beaman took one look at Francine and dropped Amanda's hand, pinning Francine to the wall in one swift move. "Tracy, my love…" as he dipped his head to kiss her, oblivious to Francine's struggles, he suddenly stopped and backed up. He gave both Francine and Amanda a strange look, then shook his head as if to clear it.
"Efraim? Are you alright?" Amanda reached out to steady him, concern etched on her features. "We have to get him back to the Agency. Francine, you have to help me with him."
Ignoring Francine's eye roll and exasperated sigh, Amanda hurried ahead, keeping one eye out for Lee and the other on Efraim and Francine. There was no sign of Lee or the man that Efraim had met with in the Cabinet Room. Francine handed over her valet ticket, and the three waited for her car to be brought around.
"How did he get out of the Agency? You were supposed to watch him. Surely after all these years, you can keep track of one agent."
"Francine, I'm not in the mood for it right now. Lee's out there alone, chasing goodness knows who. Beaman is not exactly himself, and it's our fault he's this way. And we have less than three days to bring down Midani. Could you deride me tomorrow? Please?"
"I'm sorry, Amanda. Bond here…."
"Bond! Bond! Give us a kiss! Give us a kiss!" he squawked.
Both women closed their eyes and sighed. Francine tried to continue, "…is more than a little trying at the moment. And that accent…."
Amanda nodded, stopped and looked around. "Oh no, Francine? He did it again. Where is Beaman?"
Francine turned a hard eye on the parking attendant. He gulped and pointed down the road. "He jumped in and left. He gave me this." The attendant handed them a ticket as all eyes turned at the sound of clutch and gears grinding. They were just in time to watch Francine's car lurch around the corner.
Francine tossed the ticket back at the attendant. "Bring me this car, fast," she stared down the street, wincing at the retreating horn blasts from traffic. "You won't have to feel guilty about Beaman for long, Amanda, because when I get my hands on him I'm gonna kill him."
The attendant pulled up to the curb in Beaman's avocado green Buick. Francine shot him a lethal look as she climbed behind the steering wheel. Amanda got in the passenger seat and locked the seatbelt, all the while starring straight ahead.
"Amanda?"
Amanda turned to Francine. "Yes?"
"What movie was that from?"
Amanda knew she meant the squawking Bond that Beaman had left them with. "The parrot in 'For Your Eyes Only'."
Francine nodded. "I remember now. He called me Tracy before; that one I know. Bond's wife, from 'On His Majesty's Secret Service'. She dies at the end," Francine chewed on her bottom lip, something Amanda knew she did when she was upset.
"You sound worried."
Francine shrugged. "Worried? Me?"
"Yeah, me too, Francine. I'm worried about him too."
"Let's hope he's headed back to the Agency, because I have no idea where to look for him, and Billy is not going to be happy about this."
"Neither is Lee."
The two women looked at one another.
"Chocolate?" Francine asked hopefully.
"I have a hidden stash of the good stuff in the Q Bureau."
"Perfect."
SMK--SMK--SMK--SMK
Billy continued to rant and rave at the two women seated in his office before him. Coming up for air, he stopped and leaned on his desk. "Are you listening to me?"
"Every word, Billy. But honestly, you told Lee to keep and eye on Beaman. Amanda and I got dumped by them both. And let me remind you, he's out there in my car, and the man can not drive a stick."
"Your car is the least of your worries, Francine," Billy replied, finally sitting in his chair, spent from his ranting.
"Yes, I realize that. One of our agents is out there and I do mean out there."
"And he met face to face with a contact in the booth reserved for Naji Midani," Amanda added, ducking her head at the looks from both Francine and Billy. "I probably shouldn't have brought that up, should I?"
Billy's phone rang, saving Amanda from another of Billy's lectures. Listening, he gave a grunt and hung up the phone. "Beaman is at the Georgetown entrance. You may want to go collect him."
Francine was up the minute the words were out of their boss's mouth. Billy nodded to Amanda. "You might as well help her. Or him."
"Yes sir."
Amanda hurried from the bullpen, taking the elevator to the Georgetown entrance. As she opened the closet door, she could hear Francine's voice, loud and angry. Amanda nodded and gave a quick smile to Mrs. Marsten, who returned Amanda's look with a suffering stare of her own. Rushing out of the door, she ran into Francine who stood stalk still on the walkway.
Francine was staring at Beaman, who was leaning upon the hood of a rather fancy car and it wasn't the one he had left the restaurant driving. "Where's my car? What did you do with my car?" She turned to Amanda. "That's not my car!" Francine was rapidly loosing the remaining strands of her composure.
Amanda nodded and stepped toward Beaman. "Efraim? What did you do with Francine's car? And what is this?"
Beaman lovingly ran his hand over the deep blue, glossy hood of the car. "This, " with a flourish of said hand. "is the 1987 Aston Martin Volante. I picked this up from Q. He just had her spiffed up with a new coat of paint and a few special extras. A beauty, isn't she?"
"Do you think he means Leatherneck? Maybe your car is in the Agency garage, Francine," Amanda turned to the blonde who was still in a state of shock.
"That is not my car! And it's a Jag, not an Aston Martin whatever!"
"I know, Francine. But this isn't helping the situation. Let's get Efraim inside," she reached out and grabbed his arm as he started to move away. "And we can call Leatherneck to see if he has your car. Francine? I need your help here."
Francine roused herself from her state of shock and followed Amanda and Beaman into the Agency. Her eyes tossed daggers in Beaman's direction and her heavy sighs let everyone know that she wasn't happy, at all. Mrs. Marsten handed them their badges, and waved them through without the code word; she wasn't about to subject herself to Mr. Beaman's British accent nor Francine Desmond's verbal eruption. She'd been around long enough to know the blonde was at the end of her rope, and she wasn't about to share any of her own. The elevator doors closed on the three agents and Mrs. Marsten sighed; peace reigned in the Georgetown foyer once again, just as she liked it.
SMK--SMK--SMK--SMK
The ride down to the bullpen was spent in silence. The doors opened and Amanda and Francine emerged, Francine reaching back into the elevator car quickly and pulled Efraim out by his tie. "No you don't, not this time! Amanda? I think restraints may be in order." Francine didn't let go of the tie, but dragged Efraim to the bullpen, Amanda bringing up the rear.
"What exactly are we supposed to do with him, Francine?" she asked as she stepped up beside with the irate blonde.
Francine turned, the tie now untied and hanging limp in her hand; the two women turned quickly and watched as the guards caught Beaman under the arms and carried him into the bullpen, setting him on his feet by the two annoyed agents.
Francine grabbed Beaman's arm, pulling him along to Billy's office. "I don't know Amanda, but dungeons and chains are beginning to sound appealing to me." Francine pushed Beaman into Billy's office, forgoing a knock.
"Not here, not now, Desmond."
Francine pointed to a chair, "Sit!" she commanded, surprising both Amanda and herself when Beaman complied. "Listen Billy, he thinks you're 'M'; talk to him about some cases, about anything. If he believes he's James Bond, he'll stay and listen to his boss." Francine leaned up against the door barring anyone from leaving, her arms crossed over her chest, frustration pulsating from her rigid posture.
"Sir, Francine and I really need to find out how Efraim knew about Midani. If he's stumbled onto something, he could be in danger. Worse, Midani could change his time table and target."
Billy sighed and closed the file he had been reading until he was interrupted. "All right, post the guards outside my door, Beaman is not to leave here under any circumstances."
"I'll tell them to shoot to kill," Francine replied, her features lifting with the first hint of optimism either woman had offered that day.
Darting a glance at the agent seated before him, Billy raised weary eyes to the women standing at his door. "That idea is beginning to sound better and better to me as the day goes on. Get onto it then, and don't take all day; I don't have all the time in the world to play secret agent with 007 here. Understand?"
"Yes sir!" Amanda replied for them both as she hurried to catch up with Francine. "Where do we start?"
"His desk, maybe he stumbled onto something."
Amanda nodded, making a beeline towards Beaman's desk. Francine took his chair and giving it a spin to raise the seat, sat down and swiped her security badge. Amanda began opening drawers and looking for notes while Francine starting accessing computer files.
Amanda found a log book and sat on the edge of the desk as she looked through the pages. Sighing as she stood again, she began looking through the drawers for anything to stand out. Nothing did. Efraim was neat as a pin, everything in order and in place.
Amanda put her hand into the drawer to see if anything had gotten stuck. A frown puckered her brow as she felt around the recesses of the desk. "Francine? I think there's a separate compartment at the back of this drawer…can you help me with this?"
Francine reached in and started pulling the contents of the drawer out and dropping them on the desk; giving Amanda some maneuvering room. She watched as Amanda concentrated on the task and grinned along with her as she pulled out her hand, a small black book held in her fingertips.
Francine grabbed the book, ignoring Amanda's shocked gasp. She flipped through the several of the pages, and stopped. "Ha!" She held the book tightly to her chest when Amanda reached for it.
"Francine? What is it? Let me see that, please?" She reached once again for the book only to have Francine jump up from the desk and head toward her own. "Francine!"
"It's nothing to worry about, Amanda. Just some observations that Beaman's made; nothing about Midani." Francine sat at her desk, opened her own drawer, tossed in the book and locked her desk. She sat back in her seat with a satisfied sigh.
"We're supposed to be working together on this, Francine. And I'm the one who found the book; I should be able to at least read it."
"Oh don't worry; I'll let you read it after this is all over. I promise."
Amanda didn't like the look on Francine's face at all: too much like the cat who had found the cream. She sighed. "None of this is helping us at the moment. Did you find anything in his computer records?"
Shaking her head, Francine leaned back in her chair and studied Amanda, a quizzical look arching her brow. Pulling herself from her thoughts, she smiled at Amanda and stood. "Come on, let's go see Leatherneck. We can at least find out what they were working on together as there was nothing in his desk of importance to this case."
"We could just ask Billy." Amanda reminded the blonde. When Francine pointed to Beaman sitting across from their boss, Amanda quickly nodded and headed for the door. Neither of them wanted a confrontation with their boss. Or with Beaman.
SMK--SMK--SMK--SMK
Wiping the grease from his hands on a rag that he stuffed in his back pocket, Leatherneck leaned back against the fender of the dilapidated looking bus he and Beaman had been testing on the docks the night before. He watched as Amanda and Francine walked towards him. Well, one walked the other stalked. He gave a mental chuckle; Francine Desmond looked anything but happy.
"I was wondering when you'd get around to coming over to see me, Francine, Mrs. King." He nodded at Mrs. King's soft greeting, but waited for Francine to take the next step.
He didn't have to wait long.
"Where is it, Leatherneck. If you've done anything to my car…." Francine paused as Leatherneck held up a greasy hand.
"Whoa there, Francine. I sent it out to be washed and waxed. Least I could do for you. I wasn't here when Beaman came in and swapped it out for the Jag, my assistant over there was." He pointed to a young man in the mechanics overall who tried fiercely to climb in the engine compartment of the vehicle he was working on rather than face his boss or Francine. "But I knew you'd get around to coming over to seeing me."
"Actually, we're here to ask about the project you were working on at the docks last night, but I'm glad to know you have my car. And there better not be one scratch on it," Francine said with a glower toward the young assistant.
"Don't worry about it; I'll take care of any scratches. I'll have a look at the clutch while I'm at it; it was soundin' a little nasty when Beaman drove it in."
"Nasty? My car sounded 'nasty'?" Francine nearly choked, the color draining from her face.
"Francine, we'll worry about your car later. Leatherneck? We need to know what you and Beaman are working on. Could it have something to do with Naji Midani?"
"Naji Midani? We were just testing out this ole bus. Looks good, don't she? You and Scarecrow never noticed a thing when you were sittin' out there last night! And thing is, we could hear everything you two were saying." Leatherneck gave the beaten down looking exterior of the bus an affectionate pat.
"Really? Everything?" Amanda didn't think her voice could get any higher. Everything, she thought, oh no, not everything. She felt Francine's hand on her shoulder, her voice finally getting through her troubled thoughts.
"…about that later, Amanda. No one cares about the musings of Scarecrow and Mrs. King. What exactly does your bus do, Leatherneck? I remember another bus three or four years ago that didn't work out so well. I guess the political types forgot that lesson."
Amanda sighed as Leatherneck showed them the interior of the bus. He was right, it really was a marvel. The electronics alone were mind-boggling; but what those electronics could do stopped both agents in their tracks. As beat up as the outside of the vehicle was, the inside was a vastly different story. Panel after panel of electronics flashed, satellite uplinks, closed circuit screens cycled image after image.
"Are you telling us that this, this thing can 'hear' multiple conversations up to blocks away?"
"That's what I'm telling' ya, Desmond. And by multiple, I mean multiple!"
"How 'multiple', Leatherneck? How many can this thing pick up?"
"Let me put it to you this way, Mrs. King. We can tune into 50 or 60 simultaneous conversations at a time in a 2 or 3 block radius. Now that's just voice conversations. The real distance comes with us snooping on phone conversations. Using a cordless telephone? We gotcha! We can park this baby next to a switching station, we got everybody."
"Leatherneck! That has to be illegal!" Amanda nodded her agreement to Francine's shocked statement.
"Now ladies, I said that's what we can do, I didn't say that's what we're doing. Besides, with Beaman around…that boy is rather by the book." He shook his head, thinking about what could be, but wasn't.
"Oh, I don't know about that. There's certainly more to Beaman than what meets the eye."
Amanda smacked Francine on the shoulder for her comment then directed the conversation back to Naji Midani. "We were supposed to meet with one of Lee's informants on that dock last night. Lee was hoping he'd have information about Naji Midani's latest target. He never showed up. We were leaving when all everything went crazy."
"Yeah, it was pretty wild there for a while last night. That Lee, he sure has a short fuse when it comes to these big cases."
Francine rolled her eyes; that wasn't news as far as she was concerned. That was standard operating procedure for Lee Stetson.
"I know, Leatherneck. Do you think you overheard anything last night that might explain what happened to Lee's informant?"
"Don't know right off the bat. Anything that was heard was recorded by ole Big Bertha here. Come to think of it, Beaman had been scanning when everything went down."
"Is there anyway to know what he was listening to?" Eyeing the bus, Amanda could only hope that the answers to the questions that she and Lee had been asking would be found in the data banks of the bus.
Leatherneck patted the control panel with a fondness that men seemed to have for all things electric. "If it was said on and around those docks last night, we have it right here. I was waiting for Beaman to come to his senses before I got into this." he held up a hand as Amanda started to interrupt him, "but seeing as its important; let's see what we can find in this baby." With a gentle pat on the control panel, Leatherneck sat down and cracked his knuckles before getting started.
Amanda sat in the seat beside Leatherneck before Francine could grab it. If the information about Midani was in the data base, she wanted it. If any of her and Lee's early evening conversation was there, she wanted to be the one who heard that too.
Leatherneck set the computer to replay the tapes from when the unit began the evening's operations. Amanda listened to the last of the dock workers leaving the warehouses across the river. Her eyebrows rose at some of the colorful language, and she rolled her eyes and tisked at some of the plans that had been discussed for the weekend.
"I hear Lee and I arrive at the dock, the sound of the Corvette is unmistakable…." She noted the location on the tape and continued listening.
"What is it? Anything? Not that I'd want to hear the domestic trivialities of suburbia, but just exactly what do you and Lee talk about, Amanda?" The tone of Francine's questions lacked their usual amusement, this time they were filled with a probing sharpness that Amanda had never had directed at her before. The urge to look at Francine was overwhelming, but Amanda kept her head down, giving the impression of ignoring the barb.
"Just Lee setting up--time checks. The usual."
"I'll just bet"
"Wait! Replay that, Leatherneck."
"How far back on the meter, Amanda?"
"Make it twenty or thirty back, Leatherneck. I thought I heard one side of a conversation…."
"You talking, Lee ignoring you?" came the blonde's snappy retort.
"That's enough, Francine," Amanda eyed the agent, knowing deep down that Francine had some idea of what was between Lee and herself. "You can badger me later. Right now, help me listen to this." She flipped the audio switch, the bus filling with the sound of a man speaking.
"…I didn't know. Really man, how was I to know he was Agency? He wasn't wearing a sticker or anything…I'm sorry. No…no…I didn't. He does? Where? When? Tomorrow night? Right, the Crab Shack, right. I got it. I'll meet you for lunch then Old Ebbitt Grill…right, the Cabinet Room, good then…yeah right." The man sighed then said a few choice words as his signal began to fade.
"Well, now we know how Beaman knew to go to the Cabinet Room, it's stuck inside his scrambled brain. If Lee hadn't knocked him senseless…."
"He didn't knock him senseless, Francine, it was an accident!"
"An accident that knocked him senseless…."
"Ladies! Please! Enough. We know that Lee had been made and now it seems to me that we're wasting valuable time here. If there is going to be a meeting between Lee's informant and Midani tonight at the Crab Shack, I need to get this vehicle in place. We can observe the entire meeting, go in when it's all been laid out, all wrapped up with a big bow for Smyth!" Leatherneck began yelling orders as he jumped out of the bus.
Amanda and Francine glared at one another, each woman not wanting to give in. Francine's shoulders dropped a notch as Amanda sighed.
"I'm sorry, Amanda. We have to…"
"Tell Lee."
"And Billy."
Amanda nodded as the two of them climbed down from the bus. Amanda looked back inside the vehicle before turning to Francine. "I don't know what you think you heard, or what you think you know, but now isn't the time to talk about it."
"No, the time was before my friends made decisions not to talk to friends about things."
"Francine…"
"I know. Later."
"Later." Amanda didn't like the sound of that, and she knew that Lee would like it even less. She didn't know how Francine had figured things out, but the cat was about to be let out of the bag, and Francine Desmond was holding the bag strings.
She didn't think she and Lee could beat around the bush on this subject. Not anymore.
She just hoped they were able to get Naji Midani first.
SMK--SMK--SMK--SMK
Lee beat a path to the Crab Shack after Amanda's phone call. What a break! He knew they would not only have the opportunity to grab Midani, but if they were lucky, find out the intended target as well. If that bus of Leatherneck's was as good as Amanda claimed it was, maybe they could wrap this up and do the serious talking they both knew was needed.
Bad guys around the world all seemed to love to conduct their business in the seamiest parts of town. Lee knew from experience that no one would pay attention to what was happening, and if they did, their memories were very short to non-existent.
Parking the 'Vette in a drug store parking lot, Lee walked the short alley to the location Leatherneck told him he'd be with the bus. Standing in the lot across from the Crab Shack, Lee leaned up against an ancient telephone pole, carefully avoiding the nail heads and multitude of staples piercing the wood.
A hand grabbed his shoulder, causing Lee to jump.
"Shhhh! It's me!" Amanda whispered as she took a cautious step back, missing the eye roll Lee gave her. "We're over here,' she pointed toward a dilapidated 18 wheeler on less than its last legs at the back of the lot.
"Where's the bus?"
"That's it; they can drive it into different shells." Amanda knocked on the panel as they walked by; the side of the trailer swinging opening in response.
"Watch your head," Francine cheerfully told Lee as he climbed in.
Shooting her a dark look, Lee took in the electronics of the vehicle. "Didn't they learn their lesson with the Patriot?" referring to the time the Agency put battle field weapons in a Winnebago.
"Everybody asks me that--not exactly the same thing, Stetson," Leatherneck told him happily. "This here toy is for listenin', not blowing things up."
"Ah. Thanks for the clarification. What has it produced so far?"
"Shhhhh! I hear someone with a Middle Eastern accent."
Lee took the headset from Amanda to listen. "I don't hear it."
"Be quiet, Lee," Francine scolded. "Wait for it."
Lee closed his eyes and allowed himself a mental sigh. He'd been chasing ghosts and phantoms all day as well as an incapacitated secret agent who thought he was James Bond. It didn't help Lee's disposition that his cover had been blown, or that he had caused Beaman's current mental lapse. Patience wasn't exactly flowing like milk and honey through his veins at the moment.
"There!" a triumphant Francine whispered with a flick of her fingers. "Hear that?"
The other agents listened, willing the voices coming through the headsets to register and say something that would identify themselves. Leatherneck typed away on a computer terminal that sent lights flashing on the monitors stacked all around them.
The background noise diminished and Leatherneck gave a self satisfied nod. The voices all increased in volume and Lee shook his head.
"Let's try to isolate the conversations. Does this thing do that?"
"Have some faith, Scarecrow," Leatherneck chided.
With a sigh that said faith was low on his list, Lee held the headset tighter against his ear, willing the information he needed to hear to come through the lines.
The agents all froze as they heard the outer door to the Crab Shack open. The tension was palpable in the bus as they waited for something, anything to happen.
None of them were exactly surprised with what happened next.
SMK--SMK--SMK--SMK
"So sorry I'm late, gentlemen. I was rather tied up earlier or I would have been here on time. Bad manners that."
The occupants of the Agency bus groaned. Lee swore. Leatherneck grinned.
"Lee…"
"I hear him, Amanda. What do you want me to do? Let's see how this thing plays out."
"We have to get him out of there, Efraim is in way over his head," Francine reminded him.
"He was never in his right mind as it was," Lee muttered, not caring about the dressing down he would receive from his wife. At Amanda's glare, he sighed. "If we go in there now, we'll lose Midani and possibly Beaman as well."
The three agents nodded their agreement, if it was a bit reluctantly given, Stetson didn't comment on it. He did however want to know how Beaman was a step ahead of him on a case he had been working for months.
"Do we know how 007 there know where to show up?"
"Feeling threatened, Stetson?"
Lee bristled at the needles Francine shot at him, but before he could respond, Amanda jumped in.
"He heard Midani while he was in the van last night--it's on the tapes and somehow it's all playing out in Efraim's head because of his injury. I'm not telling either of you again. Enough of this!"
"Tell em' Mrs. King; I think ya all should be listenin' to what's happening inside that Crab Shack. Our boy is given' em what for!"
"…as I was saying, I have the information you want. The question is; do you have what I want in return? Say a number of British pound notes, deposited in an off-shore account?"
"The number of notes would depend upon the quality of the information you are willing to trade."
"You will want travel plans, routes, security numbers and compliment. And to show you how sincere I am; I am willing to accompany your men to the target."
"Oh, you will accompany us. But you will accompany me. This target, this target I will deal with myself. And it must be this evening. So my friend, the location of the secret meetings with the Saudi prince….."
In the van, all four heads started at the mention of the Saudi prince. Francine and Leatherneck grabbed phones and started making calls. Lee shook his head, not believing that the information of the meeting between the Saudi, Egyptian and Israeli governments had been leaked.
"It was tight as a drum; I did the security briefings and backgrounds myself! How could anyone have found out about this?"
"You know if there's a secret Lee, someone is willing to share it. Does Efraim have the information Midani is looking for?"
Lee looked at Amanda in the eye, knowing she would understand the impact of his answer to her question. "No. He couldn't possibly know. Only the State department, Billy, Dr. Smyth and me know that information."
"Don't forget the Saudi's, Egyptians and Israeli's all know as well," Francine reminded them as she picked up the headphones and listened to the conversation in the Crab Shack.
"She's right Lee, anyone could have tipped Midani off. What do we do to get Efraim out of there?"
"Well, we may think we're guarding secrets, but it sure sounds to me as if Efraim knows what he's talking about."
Francine sighed, "He's doing what any of us would do in this situation; he's taking a little bit of information and playing it for what it's worth. He has yet to make any statements about what is happening. Now, how do we help him since your informant knows you're Agency?"
"It doesn't matter if Midani is in there; he's who I want."
"Can we be sure he doesn't have any contingencies as back-up? We don't want to get him only to lose the target," Amanda asked as Lee headed toward the hatch.
Shaking his head, Lee shrugged. "No. But it's not his style. Especially if he plans on doing this hit himself. His ego won't allow him to make back up plans."
"Sounds like someone else I know…." was Francine's mumbled comment.
Both Lee and Amanda shot her withering looks.
"Lissen, let's start payin' attention to what's happenin' under our noses before this hit's the skids. Seems to me that Lee is known to this informant and Midani. How 'bout me and Francine here goin' in and givin' the boy some back up. Scarecrow, you and Mrs. King git ready to pounce."
Amanda picked up the telephone she had used to call Lee earlier to put a call through to Billy to tell him the target was indeed the Saudi prince and the attack was imminent. Billy promised back up as well as a warning not to loose Midani.
Turning in the seat, Amanda found herself alone in the vehicle. Her shoulders dropped as she sighed, she should have known Lee wouldn't stay behind with Midani so close at hand.
The conversation from the Crab Shack was still echoing in the bus. Amanda heard the door to the bar open and close, killing all talk inside the joint. It must be Francine and Leatherneck, as the noise level slowly rose as the patrons decided that the new arrivals offered no threat.
Amanda debated following Lee, but decided against it. The best thing to do would be to stay put until the opportune moment.
The Middle Eastern voice drew her back from her troubled thoughts. "…that woman is staring at us. Do you know her?"
The unmistakable screech of chairs dragging on old linoleum greeted the question. "No," Beaman replied with cavalier disinterest, "probably a working woman. Shall we move to more amenable quarters, gentlemen?"
"We must make our arrangements now, before the target slips from the noose. The prince will arrive in the early hours of tomorrow morning; not even the US State Department knows of this change. I must have these weapons…. I do not like that woman in this place; Hisham, remove her from my sight."
A chair fell and then Amanda heard Francine followed by Leatherneck as they objected to Hisham as he ordered Francine to leave.
"Leave the woman be, she's not worth the effort," Beaman said, his tone still friendly, but with the hint of underlying steel. "We have other, more important things to discuss then that of a local hooker."
"Take your hands off me, you buffoon!" A skirmish broke out and Amanda knew that Lee would not be able to resist this chance to take down Midani. She didn't have to wait long.
"Hold it right there, Midani! You're not going anywhere! I said hold it!"
Amanda heard the door swing open and knew that Midani had left the bar and that Lee would be right behind him.
She ran to the door of the bus, hand on the hatch when the thud of a body being thrown against the door on the other side of her hand caused her to jump back. Sirens wailed in the distance, Billy and the cavalry, Amanda thought, just in time.
The firing of a gun right outside the vehicle cause Amanda to throw open the hatch. It bounced back at her with an accompanying 'oomph'.
"Amanda? You okay?" Amanda sighed with relief at Lee's question. Climbing down, she found Lee with a knee in the back of a man she suspected was Naji Midani while he slapped handcuffs on him.
Francine picked up the gun that lay beside the unconscious hit man. "Another shot too close for comfort?"
"Something like that," Lee stood and looked at Amanda with a small smile to let her know he was all right.
With a nod, Amanda noted that Leatherneck had Midani's associate in custody. Beaman was next to Francine, hands folded across his chest as he watched the scene closely.
The first of the Agency cars arrived, Billy Melrose climbing from the drivers' seat. "All right, Stetson, what do we have."
"Midani and company. Were you able to notify the Saudi's and the State Department?"
Billy nodded. "Good work, people." He watched along with his agents as Midani was lifted and deposited in the back of a car, Hisham in another and taken to the Agency for interrogations. "How's Bond here?"
Everyone turned toward Beaman who responded with a raised eyebrow. Francine's eyes narrowed as she moved in on Beaman, Midani's handgun loose in her hand. "What exactly did you mean by calling me a 'local hooker', Beaman? Local? I certainly think not!"
Amanda quickly grabbed the gun from Francine's hand. She knew Efraim was in no real danger from Francine, but one never knew with Desmond when she was frazzled and Francine Desmond had certainly been frazzled that day.
"Ah Tracy, I shall take you home, feed you by my own hand while lying beside a roaring fire and ply you with champagne before retiring with you for an evenings frivolities…."
Billy burst into laughter at the look on Francine's face. Leatherneck patted Beaman on the back as he climbed into his electronics masterpiece, mumbling about frequencies and radioing for his team to pick him and big Ole Bertha up and take them back to the garage for the night.
"Amanda, Lee, take Bond back to the hospital for the night; Desmond, come with me. Though perhaps I should ask…."
"Don't. Just don't, Billy!" came the agent's sarcastic reply.
SMK--SMK--SMK--SMK
A rather subdued Scarecrow and Mrs. King entered the Agency the next morning. Settling into the Q Bureau, Amanda sighed as she glanced over at her husband. "Lee?"
"Yeah, I know."
"We should get this done now, before Francine…."
"I know."
"You know, this will all work out. We talked about this and maybe this is what we really wanted all along; a chance for a normal life."
At Lee's half-hearted nod, Amanda continued. "But maybe we're not ready to give this up? I think I can still make a difference. Maybe you feel that way too?"
Lee dragged his hand through his hair and sighed. "I don't know Amanda. I knew I was going to have to make changes; that we were going to have to make changes. And believe me, I want to, but I don't know what comes next."
"And that scares you?"
"No," he shot back with a disgusted look at Amanda. "I'm not afraid of change, Amanda. I'm just not sure that I want to come in from the streets. I agree with you that I can still make a difference. We made a difference yesterday. But this secret marriage is not what I expected."
"The marriage or the secret part?" she asked him quietly.
Getting up, Lee moved to perch on the edge of Amanda's desk. "The secret end of all of this. I'm tired of sneaking minutes with my wife. I'm tired of leaving you at home to come back to my empty apartment. I want us to be a family--you, me, the boys and Dotty."
"Lee, we made the decision because we thought we could protect my family better this way."
"Our family."
"Our family. Maybe we didn't' think it through. Maybe we went overboard when Khai ran into trouble with Diem."
"Maybe."
Both stared at the telephone as it rang, intruding on their discussion. Amanda straightened her shoulders and lifted the receiver.
"Good morning! Q Bureau. Yes sir, Lee's here. Both of us? Right away sir." Amanda replaced the receiver and looked up at Lee. "Well…."
"Well…." he echoed.
"Billy wants to see both of us in his office. Right away. And Lee, we need to tell him before Francine does; I really think she knows."
Lee nodded, stood and put out his hand to Amanda. "Let's go tell him then."
SMK--SMK--SMK--SMK
Lee closed the door of Billy's office as he and Amanda left. He smiled as she raised her eyebrows at him, a silent question as to how he was. He sighed and nodded; telling Billy had been easier than they thought. How either of them had ever forgotten that their boss had earned his way to his position, well, their discussion about their marriage and jobs reminded them that Billy was still an intelligence operative on top of the game.
They headed back to the Q Bureau by unspoken agreement; only to come face to face with Francine as they left the bullpen.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Such a happy looking couple--I wonder what that's from?"
"Can it Francine. We've already talked to Billy."
"And?" probed the blonde, her eyes narrowing.
"And nothing, Francine. Billy knew. Well, he suspected," Amanda added. "What I want to know is why you didn't tell him when you found out. And how did you find out?"
"That little book you found in Beaman's desk confirmed it for me. It seems he had written in that book from conversations he had overheard while working with Leatherneck on their project."
"Why that…."
"Hold on, Scarecrow. Believe it or not, he wrote in the book that he wanted a record if anything happened to you or Amanda, Amanda's family would be taken care of." Francine nodded at their disbelieving looks. "I know, I didn't expect it from him either, but that's what he wrote. Seems your friends, those of us you work with have proven that they can respect and protect the decisions you have made. And I didn't tell Billy because it wasn't my place to tell him--it was yours."
"That and you wanted to see what you could wrest from us."
At that, Francine smiled. "You'll never know now, will you Scarecrow?" She turned to walk into the bullpen and was stopped by yelling down the hall. All three agents turned to see Beaman wrapped in a raincoat and barelegged, running down the hall towards them.
Francine groaned along with Lee and Amanda. "Oh no!" they chimed together.
"Scarecrow, thank goodness I've found you," Beaman began, breathless and without the British accent. Midani, the Camp David talks, the Saudi prince…he's the target. We've got to find him, the talks start in a few hours!" He looked from agent to agent, surprise and then confusion crossing his features as they began to laugh.
"Is it really you, Efraim? Not James Bond?"
"What? What are you talking about Amanda? We have to move on this now. The Old Ebbitt Grill, the Crab Shack, come on, let's go."
Lee put a hand on the flustered agents shoulder. "It's alright Beaman. You told us yesterday, we got them last night, thanks to you."
Poor Beaman only looked more confused. "Thanks to me? I don't understand," he looked pleadingly at Amanda and Francine.
Francine slipped her arm through Beaman's and with a wink at Lee and Amanda, led the underdressed agent back down the hall he had just run through. "I'll tell him all about it, I'm sure you two have things to discuss. Now Efraim, you don't remember anything? And just what are you wearing under this coat? Ah, another hospital gown. We never talk, do we Efraim…." Francine's voice faded as they rounded the corner.
Amanda looked at Lee and they both began to laugh. "Oh Lee, I feel sorry for Efraim, he doesn't know what's about to hit him!"
"At least it's not another door. Don't feel too sorry for him, maybe he'll finally realize his hearts desire--Francine!"
"I don't know, Lee…."
With a wink, Lee blew her a quick kiss. "Hey, if it happened to me, anything's possible!"
The End