Spies In The Neighborhood

Disclaimer: I do not own them, or control them in any way, however I do like to play with them from time to time. I get no money from these stories, just fun; however I do own the plot and extra characters.

Rated: G

Chapter 1 Neighborhood Watch

Summer 1982

Arlington, VA

Bob Bender stated sardonically to his wife, Maggie, "it shouldn't have happened. Not in this neighborhood."

"We need to do something," agreed Maggie looking up into her husband's face from her wheelchair.

Phyllis leaned on her cane, "we have gotten soft".

Alice held onto her husband, David's arm, "nothing bad should ever happen in the suburbs."

Sadie and Sam Hollenger nodded their agreement. Beth Smith and Heather Jamison joined the crowd of spectators. Across the street the police were cordoning off the yard of a burned out house. The fire department was packing up to go. An ambulance left taking their neighbor to the hospital. Her three children were crying in the arms of other concerned people.

Maggie observed the growing crowd of people. Older people far outnumbered the others in this area. Few men, several women and young children were there. Of course, most men were at work and the older children were at school. "What are we going to do about protecting our neighbors?"

"It looks like another job for us, protecting this part of the country," said Alice.

Sam added, "we will need some help. I just bet that there are others who will feel the same way."

A week later the fellowship hall of the Baptist church was filled with retired people. People who still had a concern for their homes and friends. Bob Bender pushed his wife's wheelchair up to the front of the room, kissed her gently and took his seat in the front row.

"Good morning. We are so glad you could join us this morning. My name is Margaret Bender, we live on Appletree Dr. in the corner house. After the horrible episode last week, I think we all agree that something must be done. Janet Evans was beaten and she and her children would have died had not several brave men entered the blazing house to get them out. It might have been avoided entirely if more of us had paid attention."

"Joy Sidney watched over the Evan's family and saw trouble coming, but to many of us, including me, didn't think it could happen in the suburbs. Unfortunately, violence can happen anywhere. While I can no longer walk I can use my eyes, my ears and my mind. We are retired so we can watch out for our neighbors. All of us know people that could be victimized."

"Young families, invalids, people who live alone. If you see something strange let others know. Sadie and Sam Hollenger's grandson is a policeman. He and others are willing to help us keep tabs on strange things in the area. I know that in the past some of us have called in to report suspicious activities and been ignored. Some young officers seem to think that we are imaging things."

"That is about to change, we will cooperate together, protect each other, help each other. There will be lists of people, places and vehicles that seem to be here but that don't belong here. If we watch out for each other we should be much safer…and I don't believe we should confine ourselves to outsiders. Remember that Harold Evans was the man who beat up his wife and tried to kill his wife and kids in that fire. Joy Sidney tried to help her neighbors. I for one applaud her efforts and intend to join her in her crusade."

October 1983

More reports were coming in to the Bender home. "Black sedan parked in front of the Jackson house after dark, leaves before dawn."

"He's Sable's boyfriend, she thinks nobody knows. That is the third time it has come in this week. We should keep an eye on him but she has the right to date whoever she wants."

"Bob Dennis was seen pushing Debbie around again and she has another black eye."

"Noted."

"Sammy keeps sneaking out after ten."

"Tonya Greene has seen two men going from door to door. They don't seem to be selling brushes so what are they doing?"

"Pam saw an old car parked at the end of the street and thought she saw a man sneaking through back yards."

"Jamison saw a twenty year old Porche parked in front of his house. It was there for about fifteen minutes.

"Karen Smith saw a man sneak down the King driveway after dark last night."

Several days later, evening

"We have a protection team on the King house. They arrived just after that RV in her driveway," said Margie.

Heather added, "we don't want to stop the team but we must watch them. Any idea how deeply Amanda is involved?"

"No."

Next morning

"Did you see the mop up crew this morning? Someone got to the protection team, They took them away in an ambulance."

Ch 2 Neighborhood Surveillance

Fall 1983

"It's back," stated the grey haired woman in the wheelchair parked by her living room window.

A balding old man seated at a small table suggested, "let's take a stroll." He winked at his wife and partner of forty years.

She smiled back, "let's do before Phyllis beats us to it."

As soon as the two were bundled up against the cold they left the house. The elderly man pushed the wheelchair down the sidewalk. A short woman with a cane exited a house across the street and joined them. From the far end of the block several more people walked tward them. The two groups met at the parked car.

The three elderly men walked around the car. "It is in fine shape." "The boy knows how to take care of it. Not a dent or ding on it." "It was waxed recently."

The six ladies were chatting on the sidewalk when Phyllis leaned more heavily on her cane, "let's go to my house to talk. It is getting colder out here and our man left his coat in the car."

Laughing merrily the nine seniors crossed the street and entered a snug looking green house.

The man in the shadows rubbed his hands up and down his arms then put them inside his jacket. As soon as the last old lady entered and closed the door he sprinted for the warmth of his sports car.

Bob, the balding man asked, "what are we going to do?"

"My grandson checked the license plate for me, no wants, no warrants. The guy's clean," said Sadie, an old woman with improbably dark hair.

Alice seated herself in the chair by the window, "I talked to Harry today, He said that he doesn't know why the boy is here but he is ok."

Sadie added, "my sister, Marla was over last weekend. She said that he is a nephew."

Maggie inquired, "why didn't you know he was a relative. Is your eye sight so bad that you could not recognize him?"

Sadie just smiled and shook her head, "no, it isn't. My sister lives at Briarwood and he is a nephew."

David wiped his thick glasses with a cloth, "alright, Harry Thornton says he's ok and Marla Franks says he is a nephew. Why is he skulking around the area?"

"Harry says that Amanda King is a helper, very, very low level. She is bright, innovative. So why is he skulking around?"

Sam straightened up from his place leaning on the mantle, "let's watch him and find out. Agreed?"

"Agreed," said the others.

Ch 3 Neighborhood Protection Committee

Spring 1984

"Clyde James is back. He was looking at that silver Porche. We can't allow 'Nephew' to park there anymore." said Heather.

Beth asked, "how are we going to stop him?"

Bob thought a moment, "we could park there instead. Use the cars of the closest neighbors; we have to find a reason for them to change where they usually park."

"Why not the truth, protecting Alma James?" Sam added, "we need to keep a sharper eye on the James'."

"And the Bakers, we can't let Tom see Nephew cut through their yard," said Maggie.

David sat thoughtfully for a few moments, "since he won't park in front of Mrs. King or her immediate neighbors, where do we want him to park?"

Phyllis said, "he could park in front of any of our houses, or the Brown's. The Brown's would be good. He needs several choices; it would be too suspicious if he was boxed in."

Several members of the core group laughed as they started to plan what to tell the others and how to lead Nephew to park in a safe place, safe for the neighbors that is. Soon they were all laughing uproariously.

Alice said, " it is a shame that we can't just explain to Nephew."

"Oh, no, this is going to be a lot more fun. I wonder how long it will be until he catches on. If we do it right he may never catch on. It will be good practice," laughed Phyllis.

David Wayne asked, "any idea why he is still sneaking around Amanda King?"

"No, but her family doesn't know. Dotty was complaining about something killing her tulips. I mentioned that the Ferguson's dog had been digging up ours," said Maggie.

"Betty Hill is concerned about…"

That Night

Three older men stood next to the silver sports car talking while Lee stayed hidden in the shrubbery.

"It is a beautiful car, I had one almost like it years ago," said Bob Bender.

David agreed that it was a great car but stated, "I sure wish it was parked somewhere else. If Jason sees it, he may decide to beat up his wife again. That man is so jealous, it seems like he thinks everyone wants her and if she is black and blue, they won't."

Sam added, "if he wants to park it somewhere that he won't get sap or bird droppings on it there is that spot in front of the Brown's. They almost never park on the street."

"It really is a great car. Did I ever tell you about…" Bob said as the men continued down the sidewalk."

Scarecrow looked around at the houses wondering which one was Jason's home. Maybe he had better park somewhere else.

"Do we want to help Mrs. King find more clients for her pet and plant service? She has had someone tailing her for several days," Maggie asked the room at large.

"No, I don't think so," replied Beth considering. "She has a dozen or so now and if she has a tail she must be doing something else. Has anyone noticed the new boyfriend?"

"Yes, nice looking blond man," answered Heather. "What ever happened to that weatherman, Dean?"

Sadie considered the question, "I don't know," then she smiled, "Maybe Nephew happened."

"How safe are her clients? Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Jayden both need Amanda King's help, but if something happened none of them would have a chance," questioned Maggie.

Bob responded, "I don't believe that the clients are in any danger. I can't say about Mrs. King.

Ch 4 Neighborhood Questions

1985

Maggie spoke into the phone, "Harry, we really need to do something about our surveillance teams. They are so obvious. We have had to do quite a tap dance to keep their covers intact … What I mean is Amanda King and her family, her house are being watched frequently … Do you mean other than Nephew? … There was the man in the Bonneville parked across the street at night for two nights … There was the diaper truck the night there was a large camper in her driveway … Erin Davis called the police when one of the agency cars was parked in front of his house …Telephone linemen, street surveyors, car mechanics, water department, drycleaners vans, electric department … No, I do not have a better idea …"

"Some of us were agents, some of us are concerned citizens, some of us are just nosey … Do you have any idea how hard it is to protect Nephew. Well if we knew his name we might use it … Our watch members know him and his car. We have him parking in as safe places as we can … Of course not, I doubt very much that he knows we maneuvered him at all … We must take care of this neighborhood. After all Nephew is an agent while most of these people are civilians … Mrs. King and her family have been living here for years, since before her divorce … Whatever her relationship is with Nephew we still need to protect her … Two women with two children alone … well maybe he does want to protect her too."

"The surveillance team out there now is different … We have received calls from several people who are not part of our watchers. There are the police now.." Maggie sat in her wheelchair facing the window. "Harry, we have shots fired. Officer down." she hung up the phone then picked it back up and dialed the police department. When someone answered she said, "you have a unit on Maplewood Dr. I need an ambulance to that location. Officer down, shots fired … I am watching out my window, the suspect is gone now … I am Margaret Bender, the president of our neighborhood watch … Young lady, transfer me to Captain Davis immediately and get help out here now."

Two days later

At the Baptist church fellowship hall, the lady in her wheelchair was at the front of the room. "May I have your attention, please? I have an update on the situation from two days ago. Marsha Hank's house was being watched, apparently she and her children were in the Witness Protection Program. They have been moved again. This incident shows that our vigilance is important. Officer Dick Jones is recovering at Memorial Hospital. Due to the speedy calls to the police and the information that we provided the perpetrators were quickly apprehended. Police Captain John Davis told me that eight different people called in to report the car and a full dozen reported the shooting."

"We, the people of this neighborhood protected Marsha Hanks and her young children from harm. I am so proud of all of you. We are making a difference."

"Why is she in the Witness Protection Program?" asked Dotty West.

"They didn't tell me, and if I had inquired further, they still wouldn't. This is for her protection, Marsha and her children," replied Maggie.

Another woman asked, "does this have anything to do with Marla Frank's nephew?"

"No, Marla's nephew was not involved. He hasn't been over for a couple of weeks," stated Maggie.

"Who is Marla Franks? And who is her nephew?", whispered Dotty to Sadie Hollenger.

Sadie whispered back, "Marla is my sister. Her nephew, my nephew has friends as well as family in the neighborhood. He shows up from time to time.

Ch 5 It's A Wonderful Day In The Neighborhood

Season 4

Bender Living Room

Maggie hung up the phone and told her husband, "Nephew parked his corvette in front of the King house. Her mother let him in."

Bob nodded, "it is about time, sooner or later Dotty was bound to catch on. After all it has been about three years."

She laughed, "it has been fun watching Nephew and Amanda King."

Outside

Beth Smith was talking to Heather Jamison, "it is still a secret but Nephew has started parking in front of Amanda's house."

"Did you ever find out why it is a secret?

"She's a helper, that's all we know."

"I mean sneaking up the driveway just to talk to her."

"Or cutting through backyards, hiding in the shrubbery, parking down the block, popping up in front of the kitchen window".

"And whispered conversations to low to really hear anything. You know it is funny. He sneaks over, waits around to talk to her alone and after a few minutes he leaves."

"Well the disguises were different, why would he dress up as an exterminator? He avoided her family so much, why take that chance?"

"Or the time he delivered mail to the whole block apparently just so he could deliver hers."

"Nephew is a very strange man. He waits for Dotty and the boys to leave, he waits for them to go to bed. He talks to Amanda King then he leaves. He picks her up and drops her off down the street."

"Do you think that he believes no one knows?" both women laughed in delight at the absurd thought.

"Maybe he thinks he is a spy!"

Baptist church fellowship hall

"… and this concludes our Neighborhood Watch meeting for this month," said Margaret Bender, then rolled her wheelchair tward the back of the room.

Small groups of people stood around talking. Old men and women talked about people and places in the neighborhood but most told stories about Nephew and how much fun they had had watching him sneak around.

"Have you heard Nephew is dating her?"

"Did you see him tossing a ball with Phillip and Jamie?"

"Nephew was washing the Wagoneer in Amanda's driveway while the boys were washing the corvette."

"I have never seen a man look better in a tuxedo."

"He is so protective of Amanda."

"Nephew has always opened the car door for her."

It was a beautiful day, the park was filled with people lining two sides of the baseball diamond. Amanda stood beside Lee, her hair in a ponytail, Bomber cap on her head. Softly she said, "I am not a bomber father. I don't want to be a Bomber father."

Lee laughed, kissed her cheek and replied, "I did say something like that, didn't I?" He watched the game, Bombers against the Aztecs. Phillip was on third base while Jamie was batting next. "Slam it into the fence."

"That sounded like a father to me," Amanda mentioned as she set a Bomber baseball cap on his head.

"Soon, they will have to know soon," Stetson said with a big grin.

Later on as Lee and Amanda strolled hand and hand, following the boys to the car, a woman hurried up, "it is so nice to see you again, Mr. Samson."

Jamie stopped in his tracks, "his name isn't Samson, its Stetson, Lee Stetson."

"I was sure your name was Samson. We were introduced at the 'Mothers for A Safe Environment' meeting," Molly Maybell said.

Amanda spoke, "it is so good to see you, Molly. I haven't seen you in months. How is Henry? And the children? Why haven't you been to the games? Marvin is still on the team, isn't he? I don't …"

Lee was still amazed at how quickly Amanda could take over a conversation.

"So this was a normal day; lunch, baseball game, dinner, tv," noted Lee.

Amanda amended his statement, "this was a normal spring Saturday. How was it?"

"It was a wonderful day … in your neighborhood."

Ch 6 Neighborhood Games

King/Stetson driveway

Lee took the picnic basket from Jamie and put it in the back of the station wagon. Phillip placed a quilt beside it. Dotty called to them from the back door, "have you got it all?"

"It's all loaded, Dotty. You ready?" ask Lee.

"Coming," she replied.

Standing beside the front passenger door he opened it to hand Dotty in as the boys watched. Lee closed the door gently after she was settled. He walked around the hood to open the driver's door.

Amanda hurried to the car in time to hear Jamie ask, "why do you do it? Grandma can open her own door, so can Mama."

"He does it because he is a gentleman," his mother interjected. "He's a protector of the weak, …"

"Are you and Grandma weak, Mama?" asked Jamie.

Laughter from the man still holding the car door, giving his best John Wayne impression he said, "not hardly. … in you go."

The lady kissed him before getting into the driver's seat and letting him close the door.

"Jamie, why don't you get in the corvette and ride with me? Phillip, you can ride home in it." With a big smile, he leaned in the window for another kiss before walking to his sports car.

Stetson drove following the wagon to the park. He glanced at the young man beside him waiting for the questions Jamie had for him.

"Lee, can I ask you something? Something important?"

"Sure, sport, anything."

"Really? You'll tell me the truth?"

Lee looked sharply at him before replying, "anything I can."

"How long have you been a fed?"

"What makes you think I'm a fed? … about sixteen years, since I got out of the Army. I was in intelligence in 'Nam'. So was my father during World War II. How did you know?"

Jamie grinned back, "we figured it out; lots of clues and Grandma's books."

"We?"

"Phillip and I. Grandma reads about secret agents, so did Mama. Mama doesn't read spy stuff as much any more, she studies it, she's learning Russian. You call and she runs to meet you with some of the dumbest stories. You have been around for a few years but you tried to stay out of sight. First time we saw you, you were dressed as a pirate trying to get Mama to talk to you. We never told Grandma that you kept stomping on her flowers. Popping up at the kitchen window, showing up in Germany. We didn't know that you were a fed until you fought that guy in the school gym. … Is Mama a fed, too?"

Lee nodded, "the first time I ever saw your mother she was at the train station. She tried to do a favor for me but it didn't work. She is smart, she's got guts, and she's stubborn. She only became a freshman agent after we were cleared of treason."

"Treason? They thought that Mama committed treason?… She said that some people were coming to talk to us. They thought you had given away some secrets. You work for IFF, IFF works for the government, the government has secrets."

"It still has secrets," stated Lee firmly. "We can all talk about it together later. "Who are you going to be with in the potato sack race?"

"Mom … Phillip won the toss to get you," Jamie replied with a huge grin. "We are going to trade off."

"Don't sell your mother short." Lee parked his silver corvette behind the station wagon. "Let's help unload so we can get to those games."

Phillip was unloading the station wagon when Lee and Jamie joined him. Phillip whispered, "well?"

Jamie whispered back, "yeah."

"Fellas, lets get that stuff over to your grandmother. The games start in a little while" called Amanda to her men.

Ch 7 Neighborhood Nephew

Still in the park

The neighborhood park was decorated with balloons, banners, stands, and booths. Children ran about while parents tried to keep track of them. Adults of all ages walked around, talking, stopping at various booths. Sadie smoothed her dark hair back from her slightly wrinkled face, turning to Beth she asked, "have you seen them?"

"Certainly, I have. Three teams so far, not counting Nephew and Mrs. King. I thought I saw Jeannie Melrose earlier, too," retorted the red head.

"I suppose it is too much to hope that they are just here to have a good time," commented Sadie.

Beth nodded, "probably."

As other members of the neighborhood watch reported in more information was gathered, plans were made and the oldsters scattered among the crowd.

Retired agents mingled keeping their eyes open for trouble. Younger agents mingled and watched their assigned areas. Occasionally they spoke briefly, renewing friendships.

Andy Jones, a black man in his late forties said to his young blond partner, "Delia, I haven't seen this many retired agents in one place since the party for Senator Kellogg."

Delia replied, "I heard that there were over a hundred retired agents there for Harry Thornton's retirement party."

"There probably were but I was in China."

Scarecrow wiped his face with a towel as he surveyed the immediate area. "It looks like all of your neighbors are here. Very friendly bunch, some of them act like they've know me for years, like I'm family."

"I told you they were nice people," Amanda reminded him. "Has Browning shown up yet?"

"Why don't we take a walk?" he asked reaching for her hand.

Amanda placed her hand in his, "I'd love to."

As they ambled around, Amanda introduced Lee to her friends and neighbors. "Lee, this is Bob Bender and his wife, Maggie. They helped establish our neighborhood watch."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Bender," Lee said shaking hands. "Amanda, let me introduce you to Sliderule and his partner, Math."

"What?"

"They worked for Harry," he told her.

"Harry … Harry V.." she began.

"Thornton," everyone said at once.

"If you pay attention you may see other friends. Mind your manners, Stetson," Bob informed them. Soon others joined them surrounding them and the introductions continued.

As the Stetsons walked away, Lee said, "your neighborhood watch captain is a retired agent. All nine of the inner circle were Agency. I don't believe this. Why didn't you tell me?"

"You know very well that I didn't know."

"I am glad he's here, I want to meet Nephew," said Edna Gladstone.

Dotty looked puzzled, "Who's nephew?"

Edna replied, "Marla Frank's and Sadie Mark's nephew, although from the way they talk you would think he's the nephew of our neighborhood watch."

"Where is he?" asked Dotty.

Edna pointed across the green grass to a group of people cheering the children trying to carry an egg on a spoon to the finish line. "He is standing with Amanda."

Suddenly a commotion broke out near the tented booths, several young men in their late teens or early twenties ran through the crowd tward the far gate. One seemed to trip over a cane, his ankle caught in the hook end. Another was hit by a walker. Crutches took down the third. The last young man after having avoided falling over his companions, come to an abrupt halt when faced with the muzzle of a pistol held steady by an old woman.

Dotty and Edna avidly watched the young men being taken into custody. Races and games, shouts and laughter continued all over the park as most people were unaware of the excitement in that small area.

"Get him, Nephew!"

"You can catch him!"

Dotty turned to see people running the wrong way on the track. Many people blocked her view so she ran to the fence to find out what was going on.

Stetson yelled to the competitors, "get down." He ran after his suspects followed closely by Amanda. Other men and women raced after them, some carrying drawn pistols.

"Run, Nephew, run!" "Run, Nephew, run!" "Run, Nephew, Run." It sounded like a chant that grew louder as new voices added to the chorus.

Scarecrow closed in on the man wearing a red baseball cap. He turned the suspect and threw his right fist into the man's stomach.

"Sonja, stop right there," commanded Amanda pulling her pistol from the hidden compartment in her fanny pack. She fired one round into the ground and called again, "Sonja!"

The woman, Sonja stopped and turned to face the agent holding the gun.

In stunned silence, Dotty watched as her daughter went from professional back to housewife. Others took custody of the woman. Soon the fight was over and Lee's man was being lead off as well. Amanda was quickly by his side holding a gauze pad taken from her fanny pack to his split lip.

"Good work, Nephew!"

"We're proud of you, Nephew!"

"Good boy!"

The crowd cheered and praised him. Lee looked at the crowd then at his wife. They started walking back to the other end of the park. People shook his hand or patted his arm or shoulder as he passed. Several older women drew him down to kiss his cheek.

Phillip and Jamie stood beside Dotty. "It is ok, Grandma. He's a fed."

Amanda's smile grew bigger as enlightenment dawned. Lee asked, "what is going on?"

You are the nephew … the one we have been hearing about for years. Marla Frank's nephew. Sadie Mark's nephew. Our neighborhood watches nephew. To the watchers of this neighborhood you are not Lee Stetson, not the great Scarecrow. Sweetheart, you are the neighborhoods ' 'Nephew'."