Lizaveta
By: Pam (mailto:pmarquard@triad.rr.com)
Disclaimer: The SMK characters in this story are the
property of Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. Balanchev, Beau, Big Ernie, and Korvinski belong
to me, as does the plot of this little excursion. Nothing here is intended to infringe on anyone or anything.
Timeframe: March of 1986.
Summary: A routine assignment gives Lee and Amanda a
chance to explore their feelings for each other, but when things go wrong, more
than their relationship is tested.
Rating: PG 13, for some violence and suggestive
situations
Feedback: Absolutely! I want to know what you liked and what didn't work for you.
Archive: Only if you ask beforehand, please.
Author's notes: Although it's not the first piece I've
posted, this was my first attempt at fanfiction. My thanks to all of the authors whose wonderful stories provided
me with unknowing encouragement. My
hope is that my contribution enhances the SMK fanfic world. Thanks for reading!
Special thanks to Merel and my
other beta readers and to Emily Ann for helping me with the Russian folklore
and translations.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prologue
Friday, March 14th - Mid-evening - Somewhere in the
mountains of Virginia
She woke up slowly, wondering
why she was having trouble clearing her head. She was disoriented, ached all over and felt as though the world had
been turned upside down. There was a
painful pressure across her hips, and her right shoulder and chest felt like
someone had hit her with a baseball bat. All of the exposed skin on the right side of her face and on her right
arm felt raw and bruised. Her head was
throbbing. She forced her heavy eyelids
open and looked around. What little she
could see caused her breath to catch in her throat.
She was in a truck that she
didn't immediately recognize. The
vehicle was lying on its left side, and she realized that she was, indeed,
hanging nearly upside down. The
pressure she felt across her pelvis and lower abdomen was from the seatbelt,
the only thing keeping her in her seat on the passenger side.
Suddenly, she remembered. Not all of it, but bits and pieces that came
flying into her brain like pictures from a late-night TV movie.
She remembered him driving down
a narrow dirt road like a bat out of hell, the trees that lined the sides of
the road melting into a blur as they sped through the twilight.
A pickup truck behind them and
closing fast.
The sound of gunshots.
Their truck veering suddenly to the left.
The sickening feeling as they
plunged down the steep, tree-covered slope, bouncing like a pinball off large
trees and flattening small ones in the wild descent.
The dizzy sensation of going
airborne for a moment as they careened over the edge of another, much smaller
embankment.
And last of all, the
bone-jarring impact of their final stop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter One
Tuesday, March 11th -
Late morning -The Agency
Lee walked into the Q bureau,
grinning as he saw Amanda, hard at work at his desk. "Come on, Amanda. Billy wants to see us in his office."
"Sure, Lee. Give me just a minute." He waited while she finished the last page
of the report she was working on.
Moments later, she lifted her
eyes to him with a satisfied smile. "I can't believe I finally got caught up," she said. "It looked like I'd be up to my neck in
paperwork for the rest of the month." Standing, she rounded the desk and joined him.
"Don't remind me," he
returned, placing his right hand on the small of her back to guide her toward
Billy's door. "I've been stuck in
this office for too long."
Amanda smiled to herself as they
entered Billy's office. Scarecrow
hadn't been in the field for over two weeks, and the lack of action didn't sit
well with him.
They sank into the chairs across
from Billy's desk and looked at him expectantly. He finished signing a small stack of expense vouchers before
looking up. "I'm glad you two are
available," he said. "Scarecrow, I have an assignment for you. There's a meet planned for this weekend, and you are to be the
contact."
Lee smiled. At last - a chance to get out of the office
for a while. "Sure thing,
Billy. Just tell me when and
where."
"It's a very special
circumstance, Scarecrow," Billy answered. "We got word earlier this morning that Antonin Balanchev is in the
States, wanting to pass some information to us."
"Balanchev?" Lee asked
with surprise. He straightened in his
chair, then leaned forward. "He
went missing nearly three years ago. No
one's heard from him since that botched drop in Poland. I thought he was out of the picture."
"So did everyone else in
the intelligence community," Billy said. "But he got word to one of our informants last week, saying that he
wants to meet. He's insisting that you
are the only one he'll talk with."
"Of course I'll go,"
responded Lee quietly. "Where am I
supposed to meet him? And why did you
want to see Amanda?"
"Amanda will be part of
your cover," Billy chuckled. "The meet is to take place near the Wolf Gap Recreation Area, in a
rugged section of the George Washington National Forest up near the West
Virginia border. We've arranged for you
and Amanda to attend a couples-only camping retreat."
"We're going camping?"
Lee repeated, remembering the last night they had spent in the "great
outdoors". They had been huddled
together in a swamp, chained together, hoping that somehow they'd be able to
elude Sacker's gang. They'd clung to
each other, for warmth and for comfort, and then . . . The sound of Billy's voice brought his mind
back to the present.
"Yes," smiled
Billy. " The idea is for couples
to spend a long weekend relaxing together and learning how to 'get back to
nature'. The campsite is remote and
isolated so that the couples don't have to worry about any unwelcome
interruptions." He paused for a
moment. Anyone could see the growing
bond between his favorite pair of agents, and this assignment would throw them
closer together than normal. Suppressing a smile at the thought of how they would handle the
situation, he continued. "It's a
perfect set-up for a meet. You'll be
roughing it; no cabins, no soft beds, just tents, sleeping bags, and Mother
Nature. We've sent Balanchev all the
information he needs, and he'll find you when he's ready to meet. Now you two get with Leatherneck. I want you here tomorrow morning, ready to
leave. The retreat doesn't begin until
Thursday at noon, but you'll need some time to scout out the area."
Lee took the files from Billy's
outstretched hand and escorted Amanda out of the office.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tuesday, March 11th - Early
afternoon - Agency Conference Room
After lunch, Lee watched as Amanda
studied the pictures of Balanchev and read an overview of the Russian's
association with the Agency. When she
had finished, he fleshed out the sketchy portrait the documents had painted and
explained his relationship with the Russian.
On one of Lee's early assignments
with the Agency, he had found himself in trouble deep within the Soviet
Union. When Balanchev had trapped him
in an isolated cabin near Novomoskovsk, he'd been sure his life was over. To his great surprise, however, the KGB
agent had only disarmed him and then had begun to talk, giving him information
about a planned break-in at the American Embassy. Promising that he'd be in touch from time to time, Balanchev had
then helped Scarecrow find his way back into Moscow in time to prevent the attack. It was the first contact between Balanchev
and the Agency, and it was one of the establishing moments of Lee's career.
Balanchev had loved Mother
Russia but was frustrated with the direction the Soviet Union had been taking,
especially after the construction of the Berlin Wall had divided Germany and
brought the Cold War to a head. His
contacts with Lee were infrequent, but the valuable information he passed along
once or twice each year had helped avert more than one East-West crisis along
the mostly invisible barrier of the Iron Curtain.
"No wonder Billy needed you
for this," Amanda said thoughtfully. "You're the only American agent Balanchev has ever really
trusted." She looked at Lee with
admiration.
"Yeah, and he's the only
KGB agent I've ever learned to respect," admitted Lee. He'd revealed more of himself than he was
really comfortable with, but she deserved to know as much about Balanchev as
possible. "I guess we'd better go
see Leatherneck and get our gear for the weekend."
"Well there's one good
thing about this overnight assignment," Amanda quipped as they headed for
the elevator.
"What's that?" asked
Lee, pushing the call button.
"We won't have to worry
about who's going to get the bed," she laughed. "We'll both be stuck in sleeping bags on the cold, hard
ground!"
The doors opened and Lee
escorted her into the elevator. 'True
enough,' he thought. 'We won't be
sharing a bed. But a two-man tent can
get pretty cozy. . .'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tuesday, March 11th - Late evening - 4247 Maplewood Drive
Lee stood in the shadows outside
Amanda's house, watching through the kitchen window as she pulled the last of
the chocolate chip cookies from the oven. She poured a glass of milk, put two of the freshly baked cookies on a
dessert plate, and disappeared up the stairs.
He picked the lock and let
himself in, then poured his own glass of milk and leaned back on the kitchen
counter, munching on one of the warm cookies while he waited for her to return.
He picked the lock and let
himself in, then poured his own glass of milk and leaned back on the kitchen
counter, munching on one of the warm cookies while he waited for her to return.
He could hear her talking to
herself as she came down the stairs. "Okay, I'm all packed . . . my camping gear is in the back of
the station wagon . . .all I need to do is finish the trail mix and I'll be all
ready to . . ." She gasped as she
rounded the corner into the kitchen and nearly ran into Lee. "I wish you'd quit doing that!"
she exclaimed.
"I just wanted to check and
be sure that you're ready to leave in the morning. Where's your mother?"
"She's
upstairs, so keep your voice down," she answered, still breathless from
being startled. "And yes, I'm
nearly ready to leave. I just want to
put some trail mix together for the trip."
Lee watched her discomfiture with amusement. "You don't have to go to that much trouble, Amanda. The club is furnishing all the food. All we're expected to do is show up for
meals and spend the rest of the time away from the group, pretending to be a
couple. It's the perfect cover for
Balanchev to contact me." A
fanciful feeling fought its way up from his subconscious mind as his thoughts
turned to the weekend, to spending time alone with Amanda in the isolated
setting. He shook his head to banish
the idea.
"Oh, I'm not packing enough
to feed us for the whole weekend, Lee," she answered. "But I always fix a batch of trail mix
when I'm going camping. You can get pretty
hungry while you're out hiking and doing outdoorsy stuff."
"Amanda, we're not going to
be doing that much 'outdoorsy stuff', as you put it. We just have to meet Balanchev!"
"That's true," Amanda
replied reasonably, "but part of the cover is to look and act the part, so
we'll have to get out some, and I'm just trying to be ready."
"It'll be fine. We'll be fine." Lee smiled down at Amanda. He still couldn't believe how she approached
every situation with such enthusiasm. "What did you tell your mother?"
"Oh, that part was easy
this time," Amanda said. "Next week is spring break, and Mother is taking the boys to visit
Aunt Lillian. They'll leave Friday
afternoon, and they'll be gone for the whole week. I'll just be leaving a couple of days earlier than they do. I told Mother I had to go away to scout a
location, and that I wouldn't be back until the middle of next week. I'm just so glad that the timing worked out
- I still hate lying to her." She
looked up at him, and, as always under her gaze, he felt the barrier he'd so
carefully placed around his heart threaten to erode.
"That's good,
Amanda." He smiled down at
her. This assignment was important, and
he did like the idea that Amanda would be with him. Maybe this time she wouldn't find a way to
get herself into trouble. After all, no
one knew that Balanchev would be near, and they wouldn't have much interaction
with the other campers. 'Besides . . .'
another unbidden thought drifted upward into his awareness, 'it might be
interesting to be out there with Amanda. She'll be looking to you to take care of her, and . . .'
'STOP IT,' his conscious
mind screamed when it realized where the thought was heading. 'This is Amanda! She's just my partner . . . All right, she's a lot more than
that,' he had to admit to himself. 'She's a very good friend.' His
subconscious got in one more observation before sinking back into
obscurity. 'Yeah, right. Just keep telling yourself that,
Stetson. Someday you might even start
to believe it . . .'
Amanda had been watching Lee
curiously. He had become quiet for a
few moments as he looked down at her, and a succession of emotions crossed his
face before the mask he presented to the world returned. She wasn't sure what she had witnessed, but
an electric tingle ran down her spine.
"Lee . . ." Her voice was soft and questioning.
Lee forcibly cut off the
unwanted thoughts. "Uh, yeah, I
was going to get, uh, an early start tomorrow," he stammered. "I'd better be going." He finished the milk and grabbed another
cookie, heading for the back door. "Guess I'd better get out of here," he repeated. "I'll see you in the morning."
"Sure thing," she
said. 'What just happened?' she
wondered. 'I've never seen him look at
me like that before.'
Lee settled into the driver's
seat of the 'Vette and watched as she turned out the lights before going
upstairs. 'What happens to me when I
look into her eyes?' he asked himself. He saw the light come on in her bedroom and waited a few minutes until
it went back out, telling him that she was settled for the night. He wasn't sure why he'd come by; she didn't
need him to check up on her, and starting tomorrow morning they'd be together
constantly for six days. He'd thought
that, since they'd been spending more time together over the past few months,
he'd be able to forego his habit of checking on her from a distance. But it hadn't worked that way; if anything,
his need to make sure she was safe had grown stronger. He didn't even pretend to understand it; he
just knew that it was so.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Two
Wednesday, March 12th -
Late morning - The mountains along the West Virginia border
They pulled into the little town
of Columbia Furnace, where the group of campers would meet the next day. "Okay if we check in before we get some
lunch?" Lee asked Amanda. He
needed to stretch his legs and clear his mind. He'd been trying to focus on the upcoming meet by remembering details of
his past encounters with Balanchev, but thoughts of Amanda had hovered just
beneath the surface the whole morning.
"Sure," she said
gratefully. Lee had been pensive all
morning. She had tried to get him to
talk, but he had cut her off, making the drive somewhat strained. She hoped that he'd be able to relax, at
least until Balanchev contacted him, but it didn't seem like that was going to
be the case.
Lee pulled into the parking lot
of the motel. After checking in, he
moved the Bronco to the back of the building and parked just outside room 134.
After he got out of the truck,
Amanda drew a deep breath. Playing
husband and wife had always been hard for her, but lately she'd realized that
the reasons for the difficulties had been changing. Over the past two and a half years she'd gone from worrying about
how things might look and about how Lee might act to being concerned about how
she might respond to any action on his part. She didn't want to rush into anything, but recently, as they'd begun to
explore their relationship outside the confines of their professional lives, it
was becoming harder for her to ignore the physical attraction that drew her to
him with every touch, every look. She
wasn't quite sure what working and living so closely together for the next few
days would do to her resolve, and she was more than a little apprehensive about
finding out.
"Are you coming,
Amanda?" Lee was standing at her
door, holding it open for her to get out, but she hadn't moved.
She gave herself a mental shake
and returned to the present. "I'm
sorry," she said to him with a smile, "I guess I wasn't paying
attention."
Able to guess what she'd been
thinking about, he gave her an understanding smile as they went to the
vehicle's back door to retrieve their bags. He handed her the daypack, her duffle bag, and her jacket, then grabbed
his own things and led her to the door, unlocking it and pushing it open for
her to enter their room. He watched
with some amusement as she struggled to keep relief from flooding her features
when she saw the two double beds inside.
"The motel
only has double rooms, Amanda," he explained with an almost-regretful
smile. "We won't have to worry
about the senior agent taking the only bed. But you'd better enjoy what privacy there is tonight," he
added. The tent we'll be in starting
tomorrow will hardly be larger than just one of these beds."
She set her overnight case on
the far bed and turned back to Lee, forcing herself to smile. "You're right, Lee. We'll just have to deal with that tomorrow,
though, won't we? Let's go get
lunch."
Lee smiled, opened the door, and
bowed slightly, gesturing her outside. With his hand at her back, he guided her across the street and into the
only restaurant in town. They sat at a
table in the back, looking over the soups and sandwiches listed on the typewritten
menu. After the waitress had taken
their orders, Amanda turned to Lee.
"Are you all right,
Lee?" she asked gently. "You
seem a little preoccupied."
"I've been thinking about
Balanchev all morning," he replied. It was the truth; even the attempts by his subconscious to force him to
think of Amanda hadn't deterred him from reviewing in great detail his history
with the KGB agent. "I'm sorry,
Amanda. I guess I haven't been very
good company."
"It's okay, Lee,"
Amanda answered softly. "It must
have been hard for you when you didn't hear from Balanchev for such a long
time."
"The man has always been a
mystery, Amanda," he sighed. "This is the first time I've ever met with him outside of the
Soviet Union or its puppet states, and I'm concerned about what could have made
him take the chance to come to the States."
"Are you worried that he's
setting you up for something?" she asked.
"No," Lee replied with
conviction. "Since I first met
him, he's had plenty of chances to bring me down in one way or another. I trust him more than you can trust most
people in this business. But I always
have to keep my eyes open for anything that could go wrong."
They finished lunch and spent
the afternoon driving in the national forest, stopping here and there to leave
the road and explore on foot. On one of
their hikes, they had visited the Agency cabin near the recreation area, a sort
of a rustic "safe house".
"No one from the Agency has
had to use the cabin for some time, Amanda," he explained as they left the
established trail and began the rough ascent over unmarked terrain. "It's kept stocked with supplies,
though, in case of an emergency, and Billy asked me to look in on it while we
were in the area."
The cabin was set far back into
the woods, out of sight from any of the marked trails. "How could anyone ever find their way
here?" Amanda asked Lee as they topped a small rise and saw the cabin,
sitting back in the woods. "Anyone
who didn't know it was here would just hike right past it."
"That's the whole
point," Lee explained with a grin. "We're not likely to need it this time - it's a good six or seven
miles from where we'll be camping, but it's one of the reasons the meet was set
up for this area."
Amanda was exhausted by the time
they arrived back in the small town and went back to the restaurant for
dinner. The afternoon with Lee had been
pleasant, with no further discussion of Balanchev or the assignment, and dinner
conversation was nothing more than comfortable, if uninspired, small talk.
She was looking at Lee, who was
seated next to her at the small table. He had turned to face her and had her left hand in his right, absently
playing with her rings as he explained to her what to look for when choosing
just the right wine to go with Beef Wellington. Unexpectedly, he flashed a brilliant smile her way and encircled
her shoulders with his strong left arm. "We're going to have a great weekend together, aren't we,
sweetheart?" he asked as he pulled her close.
Amanda hesitated for only a
moment before she, too, caught sight of the men approaching their table and
relaxed into his embrace. "You bet
we are, honey," she crooned, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
Lee pulled back when the
strangers stopped and stood near the table. The larger of the two, an immense man, easily four or five inches taller
than Lee and nearly twice his weight, was wearing an army green t-shirt under a
blue and green plaid flannel shirt. The
bottoms of his well-worn jeans covered the tops of his hiking boots, which had
obviously seen many miles of use. The
giant kept back, not saying a word. His
companion, a wiry man about Amanda's height, was similar in dress but
completely different in manner.
"Hi, folks," he
said. "I saw you unload your gear
this morning, and I'm taking a chance that you're going to be part of our 'Into
the Woods' experience. Am I
right?"
"That you are," said
Lee as he stood and extended his right hand. "Lee Steadman, and this is my wife, Amanda. Nice to meet you, Mr. . . ."
"Beau Hewlett, at your
service, folks." He shook Lee's
hand and touched the brim of his camouflage baseball cap as he nodded to
Amanda. He gestured towards his
companion. "Big Ernie and I will
be your guides for the weekend."
"Oh, well, we're really
looking forward to it," Amanda smiled at him. "I've been telling Lee for a long time that he works too
hard. I'm so excited that he arranged
for us to get away this weekend. He
really needs to relax some."
"And I thought it'd be a
good chance for the two of us to spend some time together," Lee continued. "With our hectic schedules, it seems
that we hardly get to see each other."
"Well, we'll sure be able
to provide you with time away from your day-to-day routine," laughed
Beau. "And once we get things set
up at the campsite, you'll have plenty of time to spend with each
other." He let his eyes linger on
Amanda a bit longer than necessary, thinking how he would spend his free time
if he were Lee . . .
Big Ernie nudged his partner,
who reluctantly drew his eyes away from Amanda. Lee's arm had tightened around her shoulders, and the look
Scarecrow was giving Beau made him take a half step backwards.
"Uh . . . why don't we um .
. . get out of here now and let y'all enjoy your evenin'?" Beau stammered. "We'll be meetin' tomorrow at the front of the motel to
caravan out to the trailhead." Deciding to cut his losses and run, Beau started out of the restaurant.
With slight shrug of his massive
shoulders, Ernie nodded towards Amanda. He met Lee's eyes evenly as the two men shook hands, then turned and
followed his partner.
"I don't like that little
man," Amanda said in a low voice.
"The guy's a jerk,"
Lee replied tersely. "We'll keep
our distance from him." He looked
down at Amanda, the hardness of a few moments ago now replaced by concern. "You stick close to me this weekend,
understand? I don't want to give him a
chance to catch you alone."
Amanda nodded and snuggled
closer into his protective embrace.
Outside, Beau and Ernie joined a
third man, who had been waiting impatiently for them. "Did you talk with him?" he asked irritably.
"Yeah, Mr. Korvinski,"
Beau answered. "He and his wife
were just eatin' dinner." He
looked at the Russian with a puzzled frown. "What's so special about this guy?" he asked. "He looks just like any of the bozos
who come up here for a weekend, 'cept most of them don't find a honey like that
wife of his to keep their sleepin' bags warm."
"That is not your
concern," the third man hissed, his accent growing with his
exasperation. "You just keep your
eyes on them and tell me anything you see. Don't let them out of your sight, or you won't be getting the other half
of your money. And be sure to keep your
eye out for the other one."
Beau just shrugged and
nodded. It wasn't like the guy was
asking them to do anything illegal, and if he wanted to pay them the equivalent
of two month's wages to keep an eye on the couple and watch for this other
fellow or for 'anything strange', whatever that meant, then he and Big Ernie
were glad to oblige.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thursday, March 13th -
Early morning - The Trail's End Motel
The night passed more quickly
than Amanda had thought possible. She
was tired enough to sleep soundly, despite Lee's unsettling presence only a few
feet from her in the other bed. She
awoke about 7:30 to the sound of the shower. Her half-awake mind leapt to an image of him standing under the falling
water, his shoulder muscles flexing as he reached up to rinse the shampoo from
his hair. In her imagination, her eyes
traveled down his naked torso to his waistline and . . .
She sat up suddenly, blushing at
the mental picture. Unsettled, she
grabbed her robe from the foot of the bed and, pulling it on, crossed to the
front of the room. She pulled back the
curtain and looked out at the scenery.
The beauty of the view helped
her focus her thoughts on safer topics. The motel backed up to a small valley, with a rocky stream running down
its center. The eastern sky was beginning
to lighten, and the mist gave the air a shimmering quality, as though she were
viewing it through a sheer curtain.
She loved being out like this;
the mountains always seemed to bring her a special serenity. She chuckled to herself. She'd be sharing the weekend with Lee, and
even though it was 'strictly business', she wasn't sure that 'serene' would be
the proper word to describe this weekend. Yet, despite her misgivings, she was certain that the mountains
would have time to work their magic on her during the five days and four nights
they'd be at the remote campsite.
She didn't notice that the
shower had stopped. She didn't hear the
soft sound when the bathroom door opened and Lee stepped out, covered only by
the towel slung low around his hips.
He stopped for a moment,
transfixed by the figure at the window. The morning light cast a halo around Amanda's hair, still tousled from
sleep. She leaned her head against the
window frame and sighed gently. Before
he was aware that he had moved, he found himself standing behind her, one hand
reaching out.
She didn't jump when she felt
his hand on her shoulder; somehow the touch meshed seamlessly into her
thoughts. But when she turned to wish
him a good morning, she was disconcerted by the intensity of the look he gave
her. She blushed and, with effort,
broke from his gaze. She looked down at
her hands, her gaze passing over an expanse of still-damp, muscled chest and
abdomen, only inches from her. She
squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head, unable to speak.
"I, uh, just wanted to let
you know that the shower is all yours, Amanda," he said. He paused for a moment before
continuing. "I didn't mean to
startle you."
"Thanks, Lee," she
said, moving away from him. "I'll
be ready in just a few minutes." She didn't look back as she entered the small bathroom, but when she
closed the door behind her, she leaned back against it for a moment to regain
her composure. 'It's going to be a long
weekend,' she thought.
Lee didn't relax until the door
closed. 'I let it happen again,' he
thought, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. 'No,' he
corrected himself, 'that's not quite right. I have no control over it. It's
been happening more and more often, and there doesn't seem to be anything I can
do about it.' He let out a heavy sigh. 'It's going to be a long weekend.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Three
Thursday, March 13th -
Mid-afternoon - On the way to the main campsite
They had met the other five
couples participating in the weekend retreat in the motel parking lot. It was a mixed crew, for sure. The youngest pair in the group were true
newlyweds, married only a month before, on Valentine's Day. They scarcely seemed to notice that they
weren't the only people in the universe. Two couples were, like Lee and Amanda, in their mid-30's and were on
their first venture with the camping club, not quite sure what they had gotten
themselves into. Another couple
consisted of a 50-something woman and a much younger man. It embarrassed Amanda to see them carrying
on. The woman seemed to be working her
way through some sort of a mid-life crisis, and the way she openly pawed at her
male companion made Amanda's stomach turn. The last members of the group, however, warmed her to the core. The older couple had been camping together
in the area for over 40 years and claimed that the fresh mountain air was God's
own aphrodisiac. Their affection for
one another was obvious in every word, glance, and touch that passed between
them.
It took nearly an hour and a
half for the campers and their guides to make the fifteen-mile journey to the
remote campsite, climbing further into the mountains on what passed for roads
but looked more like accidents of nature, clinging to the side of the mountain. Thank goodness the Ford Bronco from the
Agency motor pool had 4-wheel drive. Potholes and rocks were scattered along the steep, sharply curving road,
and several remaining patches of ice made the way nearly impassible.
They left the vehicles in a
clearing just off of the 'road'. Beau
and Big Ernie took their time as they hiked in to the main campsite; it took
nearly an hour to make the trip. Amanda
was glad that they weren't truly backpacking. They carried only their personal gear and equipment; the tents and other
large pieces provided by the camping club awaited them at the end of the rugged
trail. She managed quite well, with her
sleeping bag and a small duffle bag strapped to her backpack.
Lee had been on the alert as
they hiked, assessing the terrain and wondering when, where, and how Balanchev
would contact him. Walking behind
Amanda because of the narrow trail, he smiled to himself. The view ahead of him could match the
breathtaking mountain vistas any day. Her jeans fit her like a glove, clinging to all of the right places; he
could see the play of every muscle as she made the strenuous climb with seeming
ease.
'Thank goodness for TV exercise
programs,' she thought as she worked her way up the trail. Lee had made such a big deal of how silly she was, thinking that her experience with the Junior
Trailblazers had prepared her for this trip. Maybe he was right. In any case,
she didn't want to embarrass herself. She made a vow to match him stride for stride on this assignment, no
matter what it took!
Finally they arrived at the main
campsite, where a cooking pit and a fire ring would provide the group with a
gathering place for their evening meals and for relaxing around the fire
afterwards. Their tents were far enough
from the main site that they weren't visible from the fire ring. In addition, the woods were thick enough and
the tents scattered over a sufficiently large area that the campers would
neither see nor hear each other from their individual campsites. They would have nearly complete privacy.
They grabbed the box lunches
that were waiting for them and walked up to their 'home' for the next four
nights. Lee had managed to secure the
tent farthest from the main site and the road, hoping that it would give
Balanchev an even better chance of contacting him without being observed.
Amanda put down her pack and
walked to a clearing a short distance away from the tent while Lee went to roll
out his sleeping bag. As he had
predicted, the area was, indeed, no bigger than a double bed.
"Oh, Lee, it's beautiful
out here." Amanda looked down the length of the valley, occasionally
catching a reflection of sunlight from the mirror of a car driving through the
trees far below them; otherwise, there was no evidence of human presence.
He exited the small tent,
speculating on what it would be like to try to sleep with Amanda so near. His subconscious thoughts surfaced again, as
unexpected and unsought as ever. 'It
could be more than you've bargained for, Stetson.' He squashed the thought before his conscious mind had time to
dwell on it.
"It is beautiful,
isn't it?" he agreed, coming to stand close behind her and putting a hand
on each of her shoulders. He almost
hoped that Balanchev would wait a couple of days before contacting him so that
he could enjoy the time with Amanda before the next phase of their assignment
began. "Come on, let's get settled
in." He turned her gently and put
his right arm across her shoulders before walking her slowly back to the tent.
It was her turn to find space for
her things in the small space. The two
sleeping bags filled nearly the entire floor, leaving only a small space at the
far end for their packs and other gear. Their quarters would indeed be close for the next couple of nights. She felt the goosebumps rise on her arms at
the thought. It had been hard enough
thinking about sharing the relatively spacious motel room with Lee last
night. How was she going to handle the
next four nights?
When she emerged from the tent,
Lee was waiting for her. "Amanda,
we don't have to rejoin the rest of the group until dinnertime. That gives us a good three or four
hours. Would you like to take a walk
with me?"
She smiled up at him. "I can't think of anything I'd rather
do," she said. "You grab the
box lunches the guides gave us, and I'll get the rest of the stuff we'll
need."
He looked at her, confused. "The rest of what stuff?"
"You know, the map they
gave us, the compass, my whistle and Swiss Army knife, some of the trail mix,
our jackets, the canteens . . . I filled them at the motel before we left this
morning."
"Amanda, you don't need to
pack for an expedition. I just want to
look around a little."
She continued her inventory of
the items in her pack. Everything
seemed to be in place. She strapped the
small pack around her waist, tucking her jacket under the strap to avoid
carrying it while they walked.
"I'm not taking that
much. It all fits in my daypack. We'll be hiking through unfamiliar
territory. Don't you think we need to
have a few things in case we get lost?" she asked him logically.
He opened his mouth to respond,
then hesitated. She was going way
overboard, but was it really worth getting into a 'discussion' about it? 'Probably not,' he thought. 'Let's just keep this relaxed. If she wants to carry all that extra gear
every time we leave the area, it couldn't really hurt anything.'
She fastened her canteen to her
belt, then handed him his jacket and canteen with a cheerful grin. "Lead on, Scarecrow. Where do you want to go?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They returned to the tent three
hours later, after having paid a clandestine visit to each of the other
couples' campsites.
"I really don't see why we
had to sneak around to all of the other campsites, Lee," she said
again. "No one's supposed to know
why we're here, or even who Balanchev is, so it's not as though we have to
suspect them of anything."
"Amanda," he replied
with a wry smile, "I don't have to be suspicious of the people around me
before I want to know something more about them. This whole setup to meet Balanchev has me jumpy. I just feel better having located the other
tents. It's a good thing that we're so
far out from the rest of the group. The
seclusion will make it easier for Balanchev to make his move without being
noticed."
"We really are a long way
from all of the others," she said. "They won't have a hint of anything that happens here."
"Yeah, and I'd just as soon
keep it that way." He was a little
more relaxed now that he'd familiarized himself with their surroundings and
their neighbors. "Do you have any
more of those cookies?" he asked hopefully.
"Sure, but I wanted to save
enough to share at dinner tonight," she said, ducking into the tent to
retrieve the airtight canister of treats. Opening the lid, she offered the container to him.
"Amanda," he sighed,
"I don't want to do anything that will draw any extra attention to
us. As far as the rest of the group is
concerned, we're just a couple looking for a good place to be alone
together." He took a large bite
from the cookie in his hand. "Besides, I can't think of a single reason why we need to share any
of these with anyone else." He
popped the remainder of the cookie into his mouth and grabbed another one. "I'm going to stretch out for a few
minutes before we go down for dinner." With that, he grabbed a poncho, spread it out in the shade of a large
tree, and lowered his long form to the ground. He looked back at Amanda. 'Can't
hurt to try,' he thought. Patting the
space beside him, he looked up at her. "Want to join me?"
"I . . . uh . . . maybe in
a few minutes . . ." she faltered, turning to put the cookie tin back into
the tent. "I have a couple of
things I need to do first."
"Have it your way," he
replied. "But remember, it's a
healthy walk down to the main campsite." The activities of the afternoon, paired with the paltry amount of rest
he'd managed the night before, got the best of him and he drifted off to sleep.
Amanda busied herself in the
tent. The area was so compact that she
wasn't sure how she would maintain her modesty, but she was going to try her
darnedest. She sorted out her
clothes. She'd known better than to try
to bring any of her regular clothes to such a rugged place, so her wardrobe consisted
of a couple of pairs of jeans, worn enough to feel soft as they hugged her
legs, some old T-shirts, and four plaid flannel shirts to go on top of
them. Long underwear, several pairs of
wool socks and a heavy jacket rounded out her "closet".
She pulled out a change of
clothes and underwear, her shampoo, soap, and towel and headed for the
makeshift shower at the edge of their campsite. If she had to sleep in her clothes, at least she and they could
be clean, and she'd rather get her shower in now, while the mountain air was
still reasonably warm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She pulled the rope to let a bit
more of the clean water run over her hair and down her body, shivering slightly
in the cool water as she rinsed away the remainder of the lather. Squeezing the excess water from her hair,
she dried off and got dressed. She'd
been right - the clean clothes felt wonderful. Looking back to be sure she'd picked up all of her things, she froze as
she heard the sound of furtive footsteps not far away.
She risked a peek around the
edge of the tarp that formed the shower "stall". 'This isn't good,' she thought to herself as
she spied Lee, still asleep under the tree. 'If he's not making the sounds, then who is?'
The sound of whispers reinforced
her feeling that things weren't right. She watched with dismay as one shadow and then another crossed the tent
and headed away from their site, the sounds fading as the shadows receded. She waited a few more minutes before quickly
crossing the area and kneeling down beside Lee on the poncho.
"Lee, wake up!" she
whispered. She gently shook his
shoulder as she called to him again. "Lee, someone was here!"
His opened his eyes and looked
at her, not quite awake. "What are
you talking about, Amanda? Who was
here?" He caught his breath at the
sight of the damp tendrils of hair that surrounded her face in disarray.
"I don't know who it
was," she replied breathlessly. "I went to take a shower because I needed to get into some clean
clothes, and since it's still afternoon and the sun it still up, it seemed like
a good time, because the water would still be kinda warm and besides, you were
asleep over here and you wouldn't have . . ."
"Amanda!" He interrupted her. "Get to the point."
"Oh, sorry," she
muttered. "Well, anyway, I was
just finished and was getting ready to come back to the tent when I heard
something. I peeked out and saw you, so
I knew it had to be someone else . . . "
"Maybe it was
Balanchev," Lee interjected.
"I don't think so,"
she said, shaking her head. "Because next I saw two shadows, and I heard voices. Lee, if it had been Balanchev, wouldn't he
have been alone?"
"That's what I would have
expected," he agreed. "Did
you get a look at either one of them?"
"No, only at their
shadows," she replied. "But
I'm pretty sure it was Beau and Ernie. Come with me. I can show you
where they were when I saw them."
He followed her over to the
shower. "I was standing right
here," she said, pointing to the spot. "I didn't want to stick my head out too far, but I snuck a look
around the edge of the tarp. That's
when I saw their shadows."
"Lee, what do you think
they were doing here?" she asked with a worried look.
"I don't know, but I don't
think they'll be back." He glanced
at his watch. "Will you be all
right if I grab a shower before we go down to dinner? You can call me if anything happens."
"I'll be fine," she
said. "As long as I stay out in
the open, I'll know if anyone tries come back. Just don't be too long, okay?"
"You've got a deal,"
Lee said with a wink. "I'll be
ready in a few minutes."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was getting dark when
they arrived at the main campsite and sat down with the others to eat around
the fire. Tonight, he could let himself
relax a little. There was nothing he
could do about the assignment until Balanchev contacted him. He'd keep an eye on their guides, especially
Beau, but he couldn't really check them out until daylight.
'So - no distractions,
no company . . . You have Amanda to yourself. Now what are you going to do about it?' The now-familiar thoughts floated into his awareness. What would he do? Maybe it was time to investigate the trail
down which his subconscious had been trying to lead him.
The night sky was clear,
and the air had chilled dramatically with the setting of the sun. Dinner was finished, and the other campers
were moving to sit around the campfire. This was his chance. He wanted
her close to him, and their cover story had little to do with it. He led the way to a large log and sat on the
ground, leaning back against it, pulling Amanda to sit with him. He positioned her in front of him, between
his outstretched legs, and loosely draped his arms around her waist.
She rested against his
chest, the contours of her body relaxing soft and warm against him with a
comforting presence, and he knew that it was right. Whenever he'd had the opportunity to hold her close like this, whether
as part of a cover or just because he couldn't stand not to, he was overwhelmed
by how a woman who seemed so delicate in his arms could be as strong inside as
he knew her to be. At moments like
this, he felt as though he'd found his home - a home he hadn't realized he'd
been searching for.
They listened to the
others talk for a while before he helped her up for the walk back to their own
campsite. There was no more than a sky
full of stars and a sliver of moon to light their way, so Lee took her hand in
his and guided her over the trail with the help of his flashlight. His mind was on Amanda, thinking how right
it had felt to sit with her in his arms, snuggled up against his chest.
He continued past their
tent and into the clearing where they had admired the view earlier in the
day. Shutting off the light and
putting it into his pocket, he watched as she looked out over the dark velvet
valley.
"The view is even
better at night," she said quietly. Scattered pinpoints of light showed where
homes and other structures dotted the valley floor.
"It's
beautiful," he agreed. "A
little more moonlight would make it just perfect."
Feeling a chill run down
her spine, she looked up at him. His
eyes were only for her; he was oblivious to the natural vista spread out at
their feet. The urgency of his look
drew her in. Without thinking, she
turned to face him, bringing both her hands inside the open front of his jacket
to rest on his chest. He put his own
hands inside her jacket, first encircling her waist and then moving them higher
up her back, pulling her a bit closer than was his custom. His lips were parted slightly, and his
eyelids looked heavy.
'Oh, my gosh,' she thought,
'He's going to kiss me.' The shiver
that had traversed her spine moments ago gathered strength and returned. With a sharp intake of breath, she looked
down and away from his intense scrutiny. She trembled in his arms, craving the kiss but at the same time fearing
its consequences. She'd spent a long
time holding back her ever-changing feelings towards Lee, and she'd become
almost as adept as Scarecrow at hiding her feelings. She was afraid that, if she began to let them out, she wouldn't
be able to control her emotions, and the last thing she wanted was to risk the
relationship that they now shared. Here, alone with him in the woods, together in that tiny tent, how
would she ever be able to stop with just a kiss?
"Are you cold,
Amanda?" His voice rose from deep
in his chest. She didn't dare look up
at him, afraid that her resolve would melt in the intensity of his gaze.
"Maybe a little
bit," she admitted quietly, eyes still turned to the ground. "I think I'd better turn in for the
night."
He drew a deep, ragged
breath. "Yeah, that's probably a
good idea," he agreed reluctantly. "You go ahead and get settled; I'll be along in a few
minutes."
"Yeah, a good
idea," she repeated, the struggle between what she wanted and what she should
do still raging inside her. She
couldn't just leave him. She moved her
hands down and around to encircle his strong chest and hugged him closely for
several moments before releasing him and heading for the tent.
'How could I say I was
cold?' she wondered. 'Every nerve
ending in my body is on fire.' She
turned her head back slightly, still not looking at him. "Good night, Lee."
"Good night,
Amanda." His reply was a hoarse
whisper.
His eyes followed her to
the tent and lingered there as the soft glow from her flashlight cast a faint
silhouette. Soon, the light went out
and left him alone in the darkness.
