A new direction for me - a story not linked to canon episodes and that takes place in the summer between season 3 and 4. A huge thank you to my beta who plowed through this and to fellow writer, Khell, who very kindly let me bug her for factual information about her city and her language and gave me a free lesson in German and Austrian surnames to boot. Any errors in transcription from German are entirely my fault.

Most of this story is based on geographical and historical fact - my own travels through these cities in the last twenty years and the conference referenced did indeed take place in early June 1986.

All characters remain the property of their original creators. No copyright infringement is intended.

Lee stared at the telex Billy had just handed him, reading it over and over again in disbelief.

"You have got to be kidding me! They just let him walk out of prison?" He didn't bother to hide his fury, starting to pace back and forth in front of Billy's desk.

Billy nodded with a scowl. "Apparently he pleaded down on some of the charges – got away with pleading guilty to some kind of aiding and abetting, sold out his accomplices and ended up only getting 18 months because he hadn't been actively involved in any of the manufacture or distribution."

"He tried to get me killed! And when he thought he had, he tried to get Amanda as well! That didn't count for anything?"

Billy could understand Lee's rage; he wasn't any happier and it hadn't even been personal for him. He pointed to the telex still in Lee's hand. "It seems not. And despite the fact that he was supposed to be shipped back to the US to face our corruption charges against him, we only got that because we got a tip off he was out and asked the Berlin office to check into it! Turns out they hadn't kept tabs on him because it was considered a domestic problem!" He looked up to meet Lee's glare. "Oh yeah, heads are going to roll, believe me! But in the meantime, the only reason we had any idea was because your pal Volkenauer from Interpol contacted us to make sure we knew! He seemed to be concerned it would affect Amanda."

He studied Lee to see what reaction that would get, but to his surprise, other than an eyeroll and a huff of exasperation, Lee didn't rise to the bait.

"Well, Volkenauer liked her – and thank God he did!" Lee paused in his pacing, staring down at the paper gripped in his fingers. "So Harry Hollinger is just in the wind, somewhere in Europe? No one kept track of him after the German authorities released him?"

"Not even a trace of him. He didn't check in with the Embassy, which he should have done immediately, and by the time we found out about it, he'd vanished. He could be anywhere on the Continent. Including Eastern Europe," he added grimly.

Lee sank into a chair, rubbing his hand over his face. "Oh God, he could have defected and he has inside knowledge of all our European operations. We're going to have to pull in every embedded agent over there if the Soviets get hold of him. It'll make my Barnstorm list look like amateur hour. "

"Exactly, and that's why it's imperative we get hold of him before they do. I want you on a plane to Munich tonight, Scarecrow, so get home and get packing."

"Yes Sir." Lee got to his feet and headed for the door before suddenly stopping and spinning on his heel and looking at Billy with an unreadable expression. "Is this zero contact or not?"

Oh my, that's a first, thought Billy. He made an effort not to smile. "Zero contact isn't necessary for this one, I think, but keep it at least need to know. No point in alerting anyone on the other side that we've lost him in case they're not looking so the fewer people who know, the better. But you can tell Amanda, of course, since she was involved in the original case." Might as well give him permission, he thought. He's obviously going to figure out a way to tell her anyway. "In fact, do you want her along with you as extra manpower? I know it's difficult for her to get away with her family obligations, but…"

To his confusion, Lee actually flinched at the suggestion. "No!" he said vehemently. "We don't tell her where I am or why unless it becomes necessary."

Billy studied him for a moment, noticing instantly the telltale tic in Lee's cheek. "Anything I need to know, Scarecrow?" he asked shrewdly. "You're usually only this insistent when there's danger involved – so what's different here?"

"Nothing," answered Lee immediately, aware he'd overreacted and trying to make his voice light. "It's just that with the way Harry went after her when he was trying to escape, he might try again if he's feeling cornered. And besides, Munich was a case with a lot of bad memories for her – you know, getting tossed in jail and all. I can handle this on my own."

Billy was silent for a moment. He could see that although Lee was trying to pass it off in a jokey fashion, the smile wasn't reaching his eyes. On the other hand, he had to agree – Munich had been a very tense case for Amanda; he still remembered how unnaturally subdued she'd been when they'd come home and he'd had to debrief her. She'd seemed preoccupied and constantly rushing to claim blame for getting tangled up in not just a counterfeiting scam, but then a tabloid-driven sex scandal to boot, worried that somehow it might reflect badly on Lee. He'd had to reassure her several times that he wasn't upset and that he knew neither event was her fault but she'd seemed to take it personally in a way that more hardened agents didn't.

That was why he'd sent her to Station One directly after all that - as a way of showing his faith in her progress and her future but he often wondered if he'd made a misstep, tossing Amanda into it too soon after their return to the States when she'd still seemed off-kilter. Yes, Lee was right; perhaps it was best if she didn't know that the man who'd tried to kill them both was free.

"Fine," he said finally. "As far as I'm concerned she only needs to know you're in Europe and that it's above her pay grade to know why. She can be your contact for your check-ins though. Let's keep this to a tight circle until we have him back in our custody."

Lee looked more relieved than he should have at Billy's response, and Billy still had an uneasy feeling that there was something he wasn't being told, despite Lee's protestations.

"Thanks, Billy." Lee swung out the door and headed across the bullpen, rolling his head on his shoulders in an effort to ease the tension. He wasn't looking forward to telling Amanda he was leaving so soon after they'd finally come together to the same page at the same time, but he sure as hell wasn't going to drag her back emotionally to the fiasco that had been supposed to be a simple courier run. If he never saw her as withdrawn again as she'd been in the jail cell that day, it would be too soon. He winced inwardly as, not for the first time, he recalled how badly he'd treated her that day. No, Munich wouldn't be on any sightseeing list for them any time soon.

Billy watched him go, suddenly wondering if Lee was the best person to send, what with his history with Hollinger – especially as it pertained to his partner. It was hard to know how angry Lee was about how Harry had betrayed him, but it was never a good thing when that anger involved someone who'd tried to harm a hair on Amanda King's head.

"How long do you think you'll be gone?" Amanda's voice was small and sad, but resigned. Lee felt a kind of perverse pride in her acceptance – she had really come a long way in understanding this business that she hadn't questioned that he'd be leaving on so little notice.

For now though, she was wrapped in his arms in the Q Bureau – in the vault to be exact, where they'd be hidden from any prying eyes or unexpected visitors.

"I'm not sure, not long I hope."

"Where are you going? Can you even tell me?"

"Not the specifics; those are need to know." He smiled into her hair at the small noise of annoyance that answer provoked. "But I can tell you it's Europe, it's not dangerous and it's not zero contact, so…" he paused to kiss her forehead, "Billy said you can be my main contact for check-ins or if I need to call home for any reason."

Amanda relaxed slightly in his arms and whispered, "Any reason? That could be a lot of calls." To his relief, he could hear the smile in her voice.

"It sure could," he agreed with a chuckle. "Look, I don't want you to worry – this is just a missing persons case really. It won't be dangerous, we've just mislaid someone we wanted to keep track of."

"Well, if it's that simple, couldn't I come with you?" she asked in a hopeful tone.

I should have known she'd ask he thought ruefully. "Not this time. This one I need to do alone." His arms tightened around her. "But it won't be for long – after all I have an incentive to get this done quickly and come home, right?"

She lifted her head to let him drop a light kiss on her lips before grumbling, "Well, it would be a lot easier to get to know each other better if we were in the same country."

"I know, I know." He pressed another kiss on her temple. "But for now, I have a plane to catch. And the sooner I get there, the sooner I'll be back, okay?"

"Okay" But she didn't sound convinced and he tried to ignore that sinking feeling that her gut was usually right.