I Remember Munich - Now
by rankamateur
Scarecrow and Mrs. King belong to Warner Bros. and Shoot The Moon Enterprises Ltd.
I have borrowed some characters from "The Times They Are a Changing", by Mark Lisson and Bill Froelich
Strictly AU
References to "Our Man In Tegernsee", by Juanita Bartlett
References to "I Am Not Now Nor Have I Ever Been - A Spy", by Peter Lefcourt
PG-ish
Sometime in the Third Season
Reboden terrorists grab Amanda and then decide to keep her. But you know Amanda never stays put.
Thanks to randibaby for some error trapping. All remaining errors are mine.
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"Gosh, here we are, back in Munich," Amanda said excitedly, as she took in the sights through the window of their rental car.
"After your last trip, I'm a little surprised that you're so happy to be here," Lee observed, thinking of the morning he went to bail Amanda out of the Munich jail.
"Well, that's not one of my better memories. But we actually spent most of our time in that little resort town, not in Munich. Besides, this time Mr. Melrose said I had to come along as part of your cover. Mother and the boys are so jealous. They would have loved to come too, but I told them IFF wouldn't pay for all of us."
"Yeah, well, you wouldn't want them here anyway. Don't forget, we're not here to enjoy ourselves. We're here because those Reboden crazies have our man, Curt Hoffman."
"I know that, Lee. And I'm sure that you're worried about Mr. Hoffman. But don't worry. We'll find him."
"It's been ten days and the Agency people here haven't any idea where he's being held." Lee gripped the steering wheel just a little tighter. "I hope you're right, Amanda, but it doesn't look good."
Amanda smiled encouragingly and decided to change the subject. "Lee, it's very nice riding around in a Mercedes, but isn't it awfully expensive?"
"Not really. Besides, driving a dark Mercedes like this, we blend right in."
Amanda looked at the cars around them. "Ya know, you're right," she said, grinning. "They're practically all Mercedes."
Lee had to smile. He never got tired of Amanda's cheerfulness and enthusiasm. She was on her way to becoming an agent '...and a damn good one..,' he thought. He hoped she would never lose those qualities, which were so rare in this business.
"OK," Lee pointed, "there's our hotel, up there on the right."
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After registering as "Leo Steadman" and "Amanda Keene", Lee and Amanda were taken up to their rooms. Fritz, the smiling bellman, led them from the elevator and down the hallway. He stopped first at Amanda's room and took her suitcases and deposited them on the small luggage rack, which was located near the large closet. He then opened the door of the adjoining suite for Lee and took the remaining cases inside. After receiving a generous tip, he was on his way. The rooms had connecting doors. Lee unlocked his side but said nothing to Amanda about unlocking her side. He unpacked in his usual quick and efficient manner and then he stepped into the hallway and knocked on the door of Amanda's suite. After a moment, the door opened and she motioned him into the room.
"When you're finished unpacking, how about going out to eat and then we can take a little drive before heading to the Agency? Or would you prefer to take a nap. That was kind of a long flight."
"Food sounds great. I'm not really that tired. More excited than tired. Let's eat and then drive around a little."
"You got it."
After a lovely lunch in the hotel dining room, they drove around Munich, much as any ordinary tourists might. Driving down a quiet street, Lee showed Amanda a garden, actually a church yard, which, he told her, was used as a drop by US agents.
"The Church of St. Arminius. It's beautiful," Amanda said in a hushed tone.
"Yes, it is," Lee agreed.
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The Munich branch of The Agency did business behind the facade of another, ordinary business -a travel agency - *Smyth's Top O' The Line Tours*. The German intelligence authorities looked the other way, as long as the American agents did nothing to compromise their government's policies.
Lee led Amanda to a row of shelves on a slightly raised platform. "Come on, step up," he said as he held her elbow. She did so and he pressed a hidden button. The wall began to move and quickly made a full turn, so that they were now on the other side. The area resembled the Agency's DC facility, only much smaller of course. But they had communications, records, medical testing and treatment; banks of computers. Everything a well-run espionage unit would require.
Amanda was impressed. "Do they actually make travel arrangements?"
"Well, mostly for our own people. As far as the general public is concerned, our prices are not very competitive.
Lee and Amanda were filled in by Stephan Gareheardt, head of the Agency's Munich office.
"There isn't much to tell. Hoffman was last seen at Dietzel's biergarten on the outskirts of the city. He has not been seen since and the Reboden Group claims to have him. They will trade him for the release of Baron Von Eiger from prison."
"What does agent Hoffman look like?" Amanda asked
"Here, Mrs. King, here is his picture," Gareheardt said, producing a photo from his desk.
"Gosh, he doesn't look old enough to be an agent," Amanda observed. "Does he have a family?"
"No," Stephan answered. "He is, like your Mr. Stetson, single - so far."
Amanda blushed. "No, he's not my...my Mr. Stetson."
"No," Lee quickly agreed.
"Forgive me, Frau...ahh, Mrs. King. I meant *your* in the sense of the Agency's Mr. Stetson. I was using *your* in the plural sense. Please, forgive my poor use of English."
"Oh, not at all." Amanda looked rather sheepish. "Your English is excellent. Much better than my German. Of course, I don't really speak German....."
"Amanda.....please. Can we get on with this?"
"Sure." She began studying her hands.
"Have you talked with the Baron?" Lee paced the small office.
"Yes," Stephan nodded his head affirmatively, "I went to the prison myself. Of course, he denies any knowledge of the plot. He won't even admit that it is the remnants of his organization that are involved."
"So we're basically nowhere," Lee observed.
"So far, I am afraid that you are correct."
"Well, we're going back to the hotel to get some rest. Tonight we'll hit Dietzel's and see if we can come up with anything. After this length of time, I'm afraid the trail is pretty cold."
"Good luck to both of you. Goodbye Mrs. King. It was so nice to meet you." Stephan took her hand and raised it to his lips.
"Bye, Mr. Gareheardt. It's nice to meet you too."
'Boy,' Lee thought. 'What is it with these Europeans? They all think they're....they're Charles Boyer or something!'
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"Amanda....," Lee called through the connecting door to her room.
"Yes?"
"Why don't you open this door and then I won't have to..." The door opened, revealing a smiling Amanda on the other side. "...yell. Ahh, how about we grab a bite of dinner and then go out to that beer garden where Hoffman was last seen?"
"Sounds good to me. I was just about to get into the shower. Umm, how about half an hour and I'll be ready?"
"See you then," he winked and closed his door.
After dinner, Lee and Amanda drove out to Dietzel's Biergarten. They saw no one they knew and none of the employees they asked could recall seeing agent Hoffman on that particular night. It was obvious that they were getting nowhere.
"Lee."
"What?"
"All of a sudden, I think I'm suffering from really bad jetlag. Could we go home, I mean go back to the hotel now?" Amanda tried to stifle a yawn, which of course caused Lee to yawn too.
"Yeah, let's go. Tomorrow is another day. Who said that?" he asked rhetorically.
The next morning, refreshed after a good nights sleep, they drove around Munich, stopping at that church with the beautiful garden, which Lee had pointed out when they were driving around the day before. There were pathways between the neatly kept rows of flowers. There was a small pool with a fountain and benches located at intervals. It was altogether a most pleasant place to spend a little time. Besides being a drop site, it was also a meeting place. They sat on a bench near the fountain and Lee showed Amanda where messages could be left.
They basically wandered around Munich that whole day, checking some of the places that were known to have been frequented by Curt Hoffman. Actually, they were *rechecking* places that had already been checked by other agents.
They stopped at a small cafe for lunch and then continued their fruitless search of Munich.
That night they went back to Dietzel's. Nothing. No leads. Amanda could tell that Lee was getting frustrated and angry.
"Why were we sent on this assignment? We're just as helpless as the local Agency people. Maybe more so. At least they know the town and they know the players, a lot better than we do."
"You're right, Lee. There doesn't seem to be a logical reason for us to be here. Except that we both know the Baron. Of course, he's in jail. If he has anything to do with kidnapping Mr. Hoffman, there isn't anything we could do about it. We can't exactly walk into that prison and force him to confess."
"Let's head back to the hotel. I'm kind a tired again - or still." Lee put the car in gear and started out in the direction of the hotel.
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Inga Staatz, who had been arrested along with the Baron and Ortiz, had been released on a technicality. After being informed, by a very reliable source, that she was being observed by Interpol agents, she kept a very low profile. She got a job as a waitress, a room in a small residential hotel and seemed to live a quiet, normal life. Except for contacting a distant cousin, she apparently had few friends and no one really close. The distant cousin was, in fact, Hans Von Eiger, cousin of Baron Von Eiger and the son of the Baron's Uncle Klaus. Hans had succeeded the Baron as the leader and financier of the Reboden Group. This Von Eiger used the alias *Hans Gruenwald*. Hans had managed to avoid open contact with those members of the Reboden group who remained at large. None of the authorities, neither police nor intelligence, had ever found sufficient grounds to question him and certainly not enough to arrest him.
The Agency did, however, maintain a file on Hans Von Eiger, a.k.a. Gruenwald. A file that had been initiated by Curt Hoffman.
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Amanda knocked on the connecting door between their rooms.
"Come on in," Lee called from the bathroom. "I'll be out in a minute."
Amanda entered and sat in the chair by the desk.
Lee emerged from the bathroom in his robe, drying his wet hair, obviously just out of the shower. "What's up?"
"Lee, we're not having any luck at all. Do you think it would be OK if I just sort of took the morning off and did a little sight-seeing, maybe a little shopping?"
"OK. Do you want me to drop you somewhere?"
"No, that's all right. I've been checking the bus schedules and I can get where I want to go on my own."
"Well, if you're sure. I'm going into the office and talk with Stephan, see if he's come up with anything new. Why don't we meet back here at say one o'clock for lunch."
"Deal," she smiled. "See you later."
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After leaving the Glockenspiel, Amanda walked for several blocks, window shopping. She finally came to a charming little coffeehouse. Entering, she sat down at a table and ordered coffee and a pastry. She decided a trip to the restroom was in order, before the coffee. She didn't notice the woman who had been following her for several blocks and who took a seat a few tables away from her. Amanda did not recognize the now dark-haired, conservatively dressed Inga Staatz, as the person who had been the Reboden Group's most deadly assassin. The terrorist who had been so eager to kill her, the last time their paths had crossed; *and* the waitress who had served her, and Lee, at lunch yesterday.
Inga followed Amanda into the ladies room of the little coffeehouse. Shoving a gun into Amanda's ribs, she ordered her out the back door of the restaurant and into the alley where a car driven by an accomplice, one Johannes Getz, was waiting.
'It was nice of The Agency to send Stetson and King to Munich,' Inga thought. What better bargaining chips could they have then the two agents responsible for sending the Baron to prison.
After driving to an unassuming neighborhood, the car carrying the two terrorists and Amanda, finally pulled into the driveway of a modest house.
"Out of the car, Frau King," Inga said, waving the pistol at Amanda.
She did as she was ordered and, with Inga pressing the gun into her back, she entered the house.
Inga and Johannes shoved Amanda into a small bedroom and locked the door. After what seemed like hours, Amanda heard someone approaching and the door was unlocked. A tall man, with dark hair, who looked vaguely familiar, stood there, motioning her to come out of the room.
"Good evening, Mrs. King. Welcome. My home is your home," the man said smiling.
Amanda thought that he looked very much like Baron Von Eiger. She had no doubt that her captors were members of the Reboden group. She now realized that the dark-haired woman was Inga, the blond who had been so eager to kill her and Lee when they were prisoners in the Baron's home.
"We need to ask you a few questions and, since we are fairly sure you will not cooperate, we have a little something to help you talk."
Even after administering several doses of truth serum, they learned very little.
Every time they asked about The Agency, Amanda would talk about some *travel* agency. She would not admit to having a code name. She seemed to have no knowledge of Agency codes. When Hans asked her about them, she kept talking about a *Francine* and a *card* of some sort. She could tell them nothing about current Agency operations or investigations, other than the one into the disappearance of Curt Hoffman, which, of course, they already knew about.
Johannes and Inga, wanted to use Amanda as bait to catch Lee. The third henchman, Jurgen Meier, agreed.
"It makes sense Hans," Meier pointed out. "We know they have worked together for several years. They must be partners. Stetson would no doubt give himself to us in order to save the King woman."
Hans Von Eiger, however, wanted to keep her for himself. He was already interested in her, based on what his cousin, the Baron, had told him about Mrs. King.
"Listen, all of you, don't you think it would be fitting retribution for Klauses imprisonment, to have me keep Mrs. King as my.... ahh, my servant - until I get tired of her, anyway."
Sensing that it was an argument they couldn't win, the three reluctantly agreed that Hans should keep Mrs. King. For the time being.
"Very good. We will begin a series of treatments. Johannes, you know which drugs to administer so that she will lose her memory. She will know and accept only what we tell her."
Amanda was taken back to the bedroom where her hands and feet were tied. "Just in case you get any ideas," Hans explained.
Johannes gave her an injection. After about twenty minutes, he and Hans returned to the room. They told her over and over again that she was Anna Gruenwald, an American, married to a German citizen, Hans Gruenwald. They lived in the States for many years and just returned to Munich a few weeks ago. Since their return, she had been ill with a high fever, which has caused her continuing problems with her memory. She has been taking medication, which will help her memory problem.
The next morning Hans and Johannes began the memory retraining again. After a half an hour, Hans motioned to Johannes to follow him out of the room.
"I must leave now. I will be gone most of the day on business. You will continue the sessions. Keep working on this *kleine fabel* - Frau Gruenwald. I plan to leave for my country house in about a week. She should be a nice, cooperative little hausfrau by then," he laughed.
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Inga was murderously jealous of Hans' interest in Amanda. She was in love with him herself and she was not about to let another woman come between them. She didn't want Amanda in Hans' country home, even on a temporary basis. If there was to be a mistress of the Von Eiger estate, it would be her or no one.
She had begun to form a plan to kill Amanda. First she had to arrange things so that Amanda would be left alone in the house.
She decided on a ruse, a false signal calling for a meeting with some of the Reboden members in Austria who had gotten into trouble and needed to contact Hans for help.
Inga left the house and drove around for a while. She then returned and called Johannes and Jurgen to the living room.
"I met this morning with our regular courier and received a message from him. Some of our comrades in Austria are in danger from Interpol. They wish to meet with us, especially with Hans, for advice and money, in case they have to leave the area. I have arranged the meeting for the day after tomorrow in the late morning. They will wait for us, well, for you, since I *must* go to work that day, in Bad Reichenhall. It is only about twenty kilometers from Salzburg. There should be no problems."
"You will not be going with us?" Jurgen asked.
"No, I cannot take any more time away from work or they will dismiss me. I need that job. Not only for a cover, but for the money too. I need to pay my rent and eat."
"I have told you, my dear," Johannes grinned mischievously, "I will pay your bills, if you will only......'
"I will *not* only.... Just forget about that."
The third day of Amanda's captivity was spent in much the same way as the previous days. Drugs were administered and the litany of her new identity was repeated over and over.
"Herr Von Eiger," Johannes was very respectful of Hans. "I think we can start giving her the drug in pill form now. There is enough of the drug in her system through the injections that we need only give her a maintenance dose and that can be accomplished with pills. We can easily convince her to take the pills herself. She will administer her own memory loss."
The following morning Inga left the house early, saying she had some errands to do before work.
The men, Hans, Johannes and Jurgen left for Bad Reichhall. They arrived at the designated spot, a park which was nearly deserted, and waited - and waited - and waited. Hans and Johannes sat on a bench while Jurgen paced back and forth.
"They are not coming. Inga must have made a mistake. Let us go back now."
"You're right, Jurgen. Something has gone wrong. We will have to contact our courier and see what explanation he may have."
Inga waited until she was sure Hans and the others had left before returning to the house. To her shock and surprise, Amanda was gone. She was more frightened than she had ever been in her life. She was terrified that Hans might discover that she arranged the phony meeting. He must never know that she had gone to the house and discovered that Amanda wasn't there. Inga began to seriously consider a trip to the north, where she had a few distant relatives.
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Amanda awoke, dressed and, trying the door to her room, found it unlocked. She went into the living room, then the kitchen; then checked the other rooms. She seemed to be alone in the house.
'It's such a lovely day,' she thought. 'I'm going to take a little walk. I really need some fresh air.' She found her purse, or what she assumed was her purse. It contained a wallet with a little bit of money, a small bottle of little white pills and some ID. Anna Gruenwald was the name on it. It had her age, height and weight and her picture. Not a very flattering photo, but it was her. Taking the purse and a sweater, which was laying on a chair, she walked out the front door and down the block. As she reached the corner, a bus was just picking up passengers. She got on and found a seat. After traveling for a few miles, the bus passed a church with a lovely garden attached. On an impulse Amanda got off the bus and began walking in the garden.
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Lee parked the car, got out and stood for minute, undecided. Then he walked slowly toward the churchyard. He didn't know why he was here, really. Maybe because of the peace and serenity of the place. Maybe because it was one of the last places he and Amanda had been together. He was so deep in thought that he almost didn't see her. But he looked up and couldn't believe his eyes. There, just coming around the corner of the building was.........
"Amanda, Amanda, it's me..," taking her hand, he pulled her into a niche in the wall of the church, where they couldn't easily be seen.
"I'm sorry, I don't..."
"Please, it's really me, Lee..."
"Let go of me...let go of my arms..."
"Oh, Amanda, I was so worried, I was going crazy...."
Nothing the woman said was registering with Lee. He didn't even seem to realize that she was pushing against him, trying to free herself from his embrace. All he knew was that Amanda was there, in his arms and the guilt, worry and fear melted into relief and happiness. He leaned forward and kissed her. He was vaguely aware that she was still trying to say something and that she was pushing against his chest, but he didn't care. All he cared about at that moment was that she was there, safe and in his arms. When he finally broke the kiss, he looked into her eyes. He could see confusion and some fear too, but something about her expression, her posture told him that she would listen to him. He tried to say something..."Amanda, I...I was so afraid that I'd lost you...for good..." He knew he should say something more, that he should try and find out why she seemed to be resisting him but nothing came to mind and even if it had, his voice didn't seem to be working all that well, so he simply kissed her again. This time, although she wasn't exactly cooperating, she wasn't struggling either.
Amanda thought this was wrong. This man she had never seen before in her life shouldn't be holding her like this and kissing her and telling her how afraid he had been and how worried he was about her. She didn't know him - and yet - there was something, something so deep in her mind - but there was something familiar about him. About the way his arms felt around her, about his voice, about the way he kissed her, she even thought the scent of his aftershave was familiar. When he finally ended the second kiss and stepped back just a bit, she looked at him.
"Look, sir," she said as she reached up and gently wiped away a solitary tear that was making it's way down his cheek, "I can see that whoever this Amanda is, you care a great deal about her and you've been very worried about her, and I'm.....I'm sorry, but I'm not her. My name is Anna Gruenwald. I'm an American, married to a German national. We lived in the U.S. for many years and only recently returned to Munich. I've been ill with a very high fever since we got back and I have had some problems with my memory. I'm on medication for that."
'She sounds like a recorded message,' Lee thought. "Look, sweethea...ahh, Amanda. Your name is Amanda King. You live in Arlington, Virginia with your mother, Dotty West, and your two sons, Philip and Jamie. Your EX-husband is Joe King. Umm, about two and half years ago, I was at the railroad station, trying to meet my contact, but I couldn't get to him. You came along.. I asked you to get on the train and give a package to the man in the red hat. You agreed to help me, but when you got on the train, ALL the men in the car had on red hats. Well, to make a long story short. You didn't deliver the package, but I found you and you helped solve the case. In fact, you saved my life. After that we started working together and we've worked together ever since."
"What are you - some kind of detective?"
"No. Well in way, I guess. I'm an intelligence operative for the U.S. government."
"You're a spy?" she asked incredulously.
"If you prefer that term, yes, I'm a spy and you're an agent too and a darn good one. And we had this conversation once before when you had amnesia."
"If I'm such a good agent, how come I'm standing in a place I don't recognize with a man I don't remember, convinced that my name is Anna and I'm married to some German man? What do you mean we had this conversation before?"
"That's my fault. I didn't keep my eye on you. I let you go off on your own. Obviously the bad guys were watching and they grabbed you. The *other* time was when you were grabbed by another bunch of terrorists and you got away from them but then you had a car accident. You hit your head and lost your memory for a few days. You didn't even remember me. I was really hurt."
"How did the bad guys know who I was? I mean this time."
"We were here in Munich back in '84. We captured Baron Von Eiger and several of his henchmen, and helped break up his terrorist organization."
"Off hand, I'd say some of them got away."
"You're right. Look, Amanda, please, come back with me the office and I'll prove to you that you are Amanda King and that you do know me. OK?" He took her hands in his and gave her a look he reserved only for her. "Please, trust me."
His expression, the pleading look in his eyes, that phrase *trust me*, it was all too familiar, even if she had no conscious memory of him. "All right. Let's go to your office."
"Good. Come on." He grabbed her hand and all but ran for his car.
"Take it easy," Amanda was having a hard time keeping up. What's the hurry?"
"Look, as soon as those scumbags find out you're gone, they're gonna start looking for you. And they may know about this *drop*. I want to get you out of here and back to the office."
They arrived at the car and Lee helped Amanda into the passenger side, then ran around and got in the driver's seat. Soon they were on their way back to the agency - the travel agency.
"I thought secret agents were supposed to be kind of low profile and, well, secret."
"They are."
"So how come you're driving a Mercedes Benz?"
"For just that reason. I don't want to be conspicuous. We talked about this before. In this car we blend right in with the locals."
"Oh," Amanda said, not recalling the conversation at all.
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Arriving at the office, Lee led her to the revolving wall and into the inner sanctum of the Agency. Nothing was familiar to her.
"This is Stephan Gareheardt, the head of our Munich branch. You met him a few days ago. Do you remember him?" Lee asked hopefully.
"No. I'm really sorry but I don't remember Mr. Gareheardt or this place or anybody else I see in here. I've told you who I am. I am Anna Gruenwald, an American. I'm married to a German national. Hans Gruenwald. We only recently returned to Germany after many years of living in the States. I've been ill and I have problems with my memory, but I have medication for that." Finishing her recitation, Amanda opened her purse and took out a small bottle. She started to open it, intending to take one of the pills when Lee stopped her.
"Wait, please. Let's have this stuff checked out before you take any more it. OK? Please, Amanda..."
"But, I need...."
"Amanda, please. For my peace of mind?"
"Oh, all right. Go ahead and have it analyzed or whatever."
Stephan gave the bottle of pills to one of his lab people. It didn't take too long to discover that the pills were a fairly new memory inhibitor.
Marcus, the lab technician, came into Stephan's office without knocking. He explained just what the drug was and that it would probably be forty-eight to seventy- two hours before it was out of her system completely. This drug was something not available to the general public. The Reboden group obviously had connections in the pharmaceutical industry. Amanda was surprised and alarmed.
"Amanda," Stephan began gently, "would you permit us to draw some blood. We would like to know just how much of this drug and what, if any, other drugs you may have in your system."
"OK. *I'd* like to know what else is in my system."
by rankamateur
Scarecrow and Mrs. King belong to Warner Bros. and Shoot The Moon Enterprises Ltd.
I have borrowed some characters from "The Times They Are a Changing", by Mark Lisson and Bill Froelich
Strictly AU
References to "Our Man In Tegernsee", by Juanita Bartlett
References to "I Am Not Now Nor Have I Ever Been - A Spy", by Peter Lefcourt
PG-ish
Sometime in the Third Season
Reboden terrorists grab Amanda and then decide to keep her. But you know Amanda never stays put.
Thanks to randibaby for some error trapping. All remaining errors are mine.
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"Gosh, here we are, back in Munich," Amanda said excitedly, as she took in the sights through the window of their rental car.
"After your last trip, I'm a little surprised that you're so happy to be here," Lee observed, thinking of the morning he went to bail Amanda out of the Munich jail.
"Well, that's not one of my better memories. But we actually spent most of our time in that little resort town, not in Munich. Besides, this time Mr. Melrose said I had to come along as part of your cover. Mother and the boys are so jealous. They would have loved to come too, but I told them IFF wouldn't pay for all of us."
"Yeah, well, you wouldn't want them here anyway. Don't forget, we're not here to enjoy ourselves. We're here because those Reboden crazies have our man, Curt Hoffman."
"I know that, Lee. And I'm sure that you're worried about Mr. Hoffman. But don't worry. We'll find him."
"It's been ten days and the Agency people here haven't any idea where he's being held." Lee gripped the steering wheel just a little tighter. "I hope you're right, Amanda, but it doesn't look good."
Amanda smiled encouragingly and decided to change the subject. "Lee, it's very nice riding around in a Mercedes, but isn't it awfully expensive?"
"Not really. Besides, driving a dark Mercedes like this, we blend right in."
Amanda looked at the cars around them. "Ya know, you're right," she said, grinning. "They're practically all Mercedes."
Lee had to smile. He never got tired of Amanda's cheerfulness and enthusiasm. She was on her way to becoming an agent '...and a damn good one..,' he thought. He hoped she would never lose those qualities, which were so rare in this business.
"OK," Lee pointed, "there's our hotel, up there on the right."
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After registering as "Leo Steadman" and "Amanda Keene", Lee and Amanda were taken up to their rooms. Fritz, the smiling bellman, led them from the elevator and down the hallway. He stopped first at Amanda's room and took her suitcases and deposited them on the small luggage rack, which was located near the large closet. He then opened the door of the adjoining suite for Lee and took the remaining cases inside. After receiving a generous tip, he was on his way. The rooms had connecting doors. Lee unlocked his side but said nothing to Amanda about unlocking her side. He unpacked in his usual quick and efficient manner and then he stepped into the hallway and knocked on the door of Amanda's suite. After a moment, the door opened and she motioned him into the room.
"When you're finished unpacking, how about going out to eat and then we can take a little drive before heading to the Agency? Or would you prefer to take a nap. That was kind of a long flight."
"Food sounds great. I'm not really that tired. More excited than tired. Let's eat and then drive around a little."
"You got it."
After a lovely lunch in the hotel dining room, they drove around Munich, much as any ordinary tourists might. Driving down a quiet street, Lee showed Amanda a garden, actually a church yard, which, he told her, was used as a drop by US agents.
"The Church of St. Arminius. It's beautiful," Amanda said in a hushed tone.
"Yes, it is," Lee agreed.
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The Munich branch of The Agency did business behind the facade of another, ordinary business -a travel agency - *Smyth's Top O' The Line Tours*. The German intelligence authorities looked the other way, as long as the American agents did nothing to compromise their government's policies.
Lee led Amanda to a row of shelves on a slightly raised platform. "Come on, step up," he said as he held her elbow. She did so and he pressed a hidden button. The wall began to move and quickly made a full turn, so that they were now on the other side. The area resembled the Agency's DC facility, only much smaller of course. But they had communications, records, medical testing and treatment; banks of computers. Everything a well-run espionage unit would require.
Amanda was impressed. "Do they actually make travel arrangements?"
"Well, mostly for our own people. As far as the general public is concerned, our prices are not very competitive.
Lee and Amanda were filled in by Stephan Gareheardt, head of the Agency's Munich office.
"There isn't much to tell. Hoffman was last seen at Dietzel's biergarten on the outskirts of the city. He has not been seen since and the Reboden Group claims to have him. They will trade him for the release of Baron Von Eiger from prison."
"What does agent Hoffman look like?" Amanda asked
"Here, Mrs. King, here is his picture," Gareheardt said, producing a photo from his desk.
"Gosh, he doesn't look old enough to be an agent," Amanda observed. "Does he have a family?"
"No," Stephan answered. "He is, like your Mr. Stetson, single - so far."
Amanda blushed. "No, he's not my...my Mr. Stetson."
"No," Lee quickly agreed.
"Forgive me, Frau...ahh, Mrs. King. I meant *your* in the sense of the Agency's Mr. Stetson. I was using *your* in the plural sense. Please, forgive my poor use of English."
"Oh, not at all." Amanda looked rather sheepish. "Your English is excellent. Much better than my German. Of course, I don't really speak German....."
"Amanda.....please. Can we get on with this?"
"Sure." She began studying her hands.
"Have you talked with the Baron?" Lee paced the small office.
"Yes," Stephan nodded his head affirmatively, "I went to the prison myself. Of course, he denies any knowledge of the plot. He won't even admit that it is the remnants of his organization that are involved."
"So we're basically nowhere," Lee observed.
"So far, I am afraid that you are correct."
"Well, we're going back to the hotel to get some rest. Tonight we'll hit Dietzel's and see if we can come up with anything. After this length of time, I'm afraid the trail is pretty cold."
"Good luck to both of you. Goodbye Mrs. King. It was so nice to meet you." Stephan took her hand and raised it to his lips.
"Bye, Mr. Gareheardt. It's nice to meet you too."
'Boy,' Lee thought. 'What is it with these Europeans? They all think they're....they're Charles Boyer or something!'
-----------
"Amanda....," Lee called through the connecting door to her room.
"Yes?"
"Why don't you open this door and then I won't have to..." The door opened, revealing a smiling Amanda on the other side. "...yell. Ahh, how about we grab a bite of dinner and then go out to that beer garden where Hoffman was last seen?"
"Sounds good to me. I was just about to get into the shower. Umm, how about half an hour and I'll be ready?"
"See you then," he winked and closed his door.
After dinner, Lee and Amanda drove out to Dietzel's Biergarten. They saw no one they knew and none of the employees they asked could recall seeing agent Hoffman on that particular night. It was obvious that they were getting nowhere.
"Lee."
"What?"
"All of a sudden, I think I'm suffering from really bad jetlag. Could we go home, I mean go back to the hotel now?" Amanda tried to stifle a yawn, which of course caused Lee to yawn too.
"Yeah, let's go. Tomorrow is another day. Who said that?" he asked rhetorically.
The next morning, refreshed after a good nights sleep, they drove around Munich, stopping at that church with the beautiful garden, which Lee had pointed out when they were driving around the day before. There were pathways between the neatly kept rows of flowers. There was a small pool with a fountain and benches located at intervals. It was altogether a most pleasant place to spend a little time. Besides being a drop site, it was also a meeting place. They sat on a bench near the fountain and Lee showed Amanda where messages could be left.
They basically wandered around Munich that whole day, checking some of the places that were known to have been frequented by Curt Hoffman. Actually, they were *rechecking* places that had already been checked by other agents.
They stopped at a small cafe for lunch and then continued their fruitless search of Munich.
That night they went back to Dietzel's. Nothing. No leads. Amanda could tell that Lee was getting frustrated and angry.
"Why were we sent on this assignment? We're just as helpless as the local Agency people. Maybe more so. At least they know the town and they know the players, a lot better than we do."
"You're right, Lee. There doesn't seem to be a logical reason for us to be here. Except that we both know the Baron. Of course, he's in jail. If he has anything to do with kidnapping Mr. Hoffman, there isn't anything we could do about it. We can't exactly walk into that prison and force him to confess."
"Let's head back to the hotel. I'm kind a tired again - or still." Lee put the car in gear and started out in the direction of the hotel.
--------------
Inga Staatz, who had been arrested along with the Baron and Ortiz, had been released on a technicality. After being informed, by a very reliable source, that she was being observed by Interpol agents, she kept a very low profile. She got a job as a waitress, a room in a small residential hotel and seemed to live a quiet, normal life. Except for contacting a distant cousin, she apparently had few friends and no one really close. The distant cousin was, in fact, Hans Von Eiger, cousin of Baron Von Eiger and the son of the Baron's Uncle Klaus. Hans had succeeded the Baron as the leader and financier of the Reboden Group. This Von Eiger used the alias *Hans Gruenwald*. Hans had managed to avoid open contact with those members of the Reboden group who remained at large. None of the authorities, neither police nor intelligence, had ever found sufficient grounds to question him and certainly not enough to arrest him.
The Agency did, however, maintain a file on Hans Von Eiger, a.k.a. Gruenwald. A file that had been initiated by Curt Hoffman.
------------------
Amanda knocked on the connecting door between their rooms.
"Come on in," Lee called from the bathroom. "I'll be out in a minute."
Amanda entered and sat in the chair by the desk.
Lee emerged from the bathroom in his robe, drying his wet hair, obviously just out of the shower. "What's up?"
"Lee, we're not having any luck at all. Do you think it would be OK if I just sort of took the morning off and did a little sight-seeing, maybe a little shopping?"
"OK. Do you want me to drop you somewhere?"
"No, that's all right. I've been checking the bus schedules and I can get where I want to go on my own."
"Well, if you're sure. I'm going into the office and talk with Stephan, see if he's come up with anything new. Why don't we meet back here at say one o'clock for lunch."
"Deal," she smiled. "See you later."
---------------
After leaving the Glockenspiel, Amanda walked for several blocks, window shopping. She finally came to a charming little coffeehouse. Entering, she sat down at a table and ordered coffee and a pastry. She decided a trip to the restroom was in order, before the coffee. She didn't notice the woman who had been following her for several blocks and who took a seat a few tables away from her. Amanda did not recognize the now dark-haired, conservatively dressed Inga Staatz, as the person who had been the Reboden Group's most deadly assassin. The terrorist who had been so eager to kill her, the last time their paths had crossed; *and* the waitress who had served her, and Lee, at lunch yesterday.
Inga followed Amanda into the ladies room of the little coffeehouse. Shoving a gun into Amanda's ribs, she ordered her out the back door of the restaurant and into the alley where a car driven by an accomplice, one Johannes Getz, was waiting.
'It was nice of The Agency to send Stetson and King to Munich,' Inga thought. What better bargaining chips could they have then the two agents responsible for sending the Baron to prison.
After driving to an unassuming neighborhood, the car carrying the two terrorists and Amanda, finally pulled into the driveway of a modest house.
"Out of the car, Frau King," Inga said, waving the pistol at Amanda.
She did as she was ordered and, with Inga pressing the gun into her back, she entered the house.
Inga and Johannes shoved Amanda into a small bedroom and locked the door. After what seemed like hours, Amanda heard someone approaching and the door was unlocked. A tall man, with dark hair, who looked vaguely familiar, stood there, motioning her to come out of the room.
"Good evening, Mrs. King. Welcome. My home is your home," the man said smiling.
Amanda thought that he looked very much like Baron Von Eiger. She had no doubt that her captors were members of the Reboden group. She now realized that the dark-haired woman was Inga, the blond who had been so eager to kill her and Lee when they were prisoners in the Baron's home.
"We need to ask you a few questions and, since we are fairly sure you will not cooperate, we have a little something to help you talk."
Even after administering several doses of truth serum, they learned very little.
Every time they asked about The Agency, Amanda would talk about some *travel* agency. She would not admit to having a code name. She seemed to have no knowledge of Agency codes. When Hans asked her about them, she kept talking about a *Francine* and a *card* of some sort. She could tell them nothing about current Agency operations or investigations, other than the one into the disappearance of Curt Hoffman, which, of course, they already knew about.
Johannes and Inga, wanted to use Amanda as bait to catch Lee. The third henchman, Jurgen Meier, agreed.
"It makes sense Hans," Meier pointed out. "We know they have worked together for several years. They must be partners. Stetson would no doubt give himself to us in order to save the King woman."
Hans Von Eiger, however, wanted to keep her for himself. He was already interested in her, based on what his cousin, the Baron, had told him about Mrs. King.
"Listen, all of you, don't you think it would be fitting retribution for Klauses imprisonment, to have me keep Mrs. King as my.... ahh, my servant - until I get tired of her, anyway."
Sensing that it was an argument they couldn't win, the three reluctantly agreed that Hans should keep Mrs. King. For the time being.
"Very good. We will begin a series of treatments. Johannes, you know which drugs to administer so that she will lose her memory. She will know and accept only what we tell her."
Amanda was taken back to the bedroom where her hands and feet were tied. "Just in case you get any ideas," Hans explained.
Johannes gave her an injection. After about twenty minutes, he and Hans returned to the room. They told her over and over again that she was Anna Gruenwald, an American, married to a German citizen, Hans Gruenwald. They lived in the States for many years and just returned to Munich a few weeks ago. Since their return, she had been ill with a high fever, which has caused her continuing problems with her memory. She has been taking medication, which will help her memory problem.
The next morning Hans and Johannes began the memory retraining again. After a half an hour, Hans motioned to Johannes to follow him out of the room.
"I must leave now. I will be gone most of the day on business. You will continue the sessions. Keep working on this *kleine fabel* - Frau Gruenwald. I plan to leave for my country house in about a week. She should be a nice, cooperative little hausfrau by then," he laughed.
-------------------------------
Inga was murderously jealous of Hans' interest in Amanda. She was in love with him herself and she was not about to let another woman come between them. She didn't want Amanda in Hans' country home, even on a temporary basis. If there was to be a mistress of the Von Eiger estate, it would be her or no one.
She had begun to form a plan to kill Amanda. First she had to arrange things so that Amanda would be left alone in the house.
She decided on a ruse, a false signal calling for a meeting with some of the Reboden members in Austria who had gotten into trouble and needed to contact Hans for help.
Inga left the house and drove around for a while. She then returned and called Johannes and Jurgen to the living room.
"I met this morning with our regular courier and received a message from him. Some of our comrades in Austria are in danger from Interpol. They wish to meet with us, especially with Hans, for advice and money, in case they have to leave the area. I have arranged the meeting for the day after tomorrow in the late morning. They will wait for us, well, for you, since I *must* go to work that day, in Bad Reichenhall. It is only about twenty kilometers from Salzburg. There should be no problems."
"You will not be going with us?" Jurgen asked.
"No, I cannot take any more time away from work or they will dismiss me. I need that job. Not only for a cover, but for the money too. I need to pay my rent and eat."
"I have told you, my dear," Johannes grinned mischievously, "I will pay your bills, if you will only......'
"I will *not* only.... Just forget about that."
The third day of Amanda's captivity was spent in much the same way as the previous days. Drugs were administered and the litany of her new identity was repeated over and over.
"Herr Von Eiger," Johannes was very respectful of Hans. "I think we can start giving her the drug in pill form now. There is enough of the drug in her system through the injections that we need only give her a maintenance dose and that can be accomplished with pills. We can easily convince her to take the pills herself. She will administer her own memory loss."
The following morning Inga left the house early, saying she had some errands to do before work.
The men, Hans, Johannes and Jurgen left for Bad Reichhall. They arrived at the designated spot, a park which was nearly deserted, and waited - and waited - and waited. Hans and Johannes sat on a bench while Jurgen paced back and forth.
"They are not coming. Inga must have made a mistake. Let us go back now."
"You're right, Jurgen. Something has gone wrong. We will have to contact our courier and see what explanation he may have."
Inga waited until she was sure Hans and the others had left before returning to the house. To her shock and surprise, Amanda was gone. She was more frightened than she had ever been in her life. She was terrified that Hans might discover that she arranged the phony meeting. He must never know that she had gone to the house and discovered that Amanda wasn't there. Inga began to seriously consider a trip to the north, where she had a few distant relatives.
-------------
Amanda awoke, dressed and, trying the door to her room, found it unlocked. She went into the living room, then the kitchen; then checked the other rooms. She seemed to be alone in the house.
'It's such a lovely day,' she thought. 'I'm going to take a little walk. I really need some fresh air.' She found her purse, or what she assumed was her purse. It contained a wallet with a little bit of money, a small bottle of little white pills and some ID. Anna Gruenwald was the name on it. It had her age, height and weight and her picture. Not a very flattering photo, but it was her. Taking the purse and a sweater, which was laying on a chair, she walked out the front door and down the block. As she reached the corner, a bus was just picking up passengers. She got on and found a seat. After traveling for a few miles, the bus passed a church with a lovely garden attached. On an impulse Amanda got off the bus and began walking in the garden.
---------------------------
Lee parked the car, got out and stood for minute, undecided. Then he walked slowly toward the churchyard. He didn't know why he was here, really. Maybe because of the peace and serenity of the place. Maybe because it was one of the last places he and Amanda had been together. He was so deep in thought that he almost didn't see her. But he looked up and couldn't believe his eyes. There, just coming around the corner of the building was.........
"Amanda, Amanda, it's me..," taking her hand, he pulled her into a niche in the wall of the church, where they couldn't easily be seen.
"I'm sorry, I don't..."
"Please, it's really me, Lee..."
"Let go of me...let go of my arms..."
"Oh, Amanda, I was so worried, I was going crazy...."
Nothing the woman said was registering with Lee. He didn't even seem to realize that she was pushing against him, trying to free herself from his embrace. All he knew was that Amanda was there, in his arms and the guilt, worry and fear melted into relief and happiness. He leaned forward and kissed her. He was vaguely aware that she was still trying to say something and that she was pushing against his chest, but he didn't care. All he cared about at that moment was that she was there, safe and in his arms. When he finally broke the kiss, he looked into her eyes. He could see confusion and some fear too, but something about her expression, her posture told him that she would listen to him. He tried to say something..."Amanda, I...I was so afraid that I'd lost you...for good..." He knew he should say something more, that he should try and find out why she seemed to be resisting him but nothing came to mind and even if it had, his voice didn't seem to be working all that well, so he simply kissed her again. This time, although she wasn't exactly cooperating, she wasn't struggling either.
Amanda thought this was wrong. This man she had never seen before in her life shouldn't be holding her like this and kissing her and telling her how afraid he had been and how worried he was about her. She didn't know him - and yet - there was something, something so deep in her mind - but there was something familiar about him. About the way his arms felt around her, about his voice, about the way he kissed her, she even thought the scent of his aftershave was familiar. When he finally ended the second kiss and stepped back just a bit, she looked at him.
"Look, sir," she said as she reached up and gently wiped away a solitary tear that was making it's way down his cheek, "I can see that whoever this Amanda is, you care a great deal about her and you've been very worried about her, and I'm.....I'm sorry, but I'm not her. My name is Anna Gruenwald. I'm an American, married to a German national. We lived in the U.S. for many years and only recently returned to Munich. I've been ill with a very high fever since we got back and I have had some problems with my memory. I'm on medication for that."
'She sounds like a recorded message,' Lee thought. "Look, sweethea...ahh, Amanda. Your name is Amanda King. You live in Arlington, Virginia with your mother, Dotty West, and your two sons, Philip and Jamie. Your EX-husband is Joe King. Umm, about two and half years ago, I was at the railroad station, trying to meet my contact, but I couldn't get to him. You came along.. I asked you to get on the train and give a package to the man in the red hat. You agreed to help me, but when you got on the train, ALL the men in the car had on red hats. Well, to make a long story short. You didn't deliver the package, but I found you and you helped solve the case. In fact, you saved my life. After that we started working together and we've worked together ever since."
"What are you - some kind of detective?"
"No. Well in way, I guess. I'm an intelligence operative for the U.S. government."
"You're a spy?" she asked incredulously.
"If you prefer that term, yes, I'm a spy and you're an agent too and a darn good one. And we had this conversation once before when you had amnesia."
"If I'm such a good agent, how come I'm standing in a place I don't recognize with a man I don't remember, convinced that my name is Anna and I'm married to some German man? What do you mean we had this conversation before?"
"That's my fault. I didn't keep my eye on you. I let you go off on your own. Obviously the bad guys were watching and they grabbed you. The *other* time was when you were grabbed by another bunch of terrorists and you got away from them but then you had a car accident. You hit your head and lost your memory for a few days. You didn't even remember me. I was really hurt."
"How did the bad guys know who I was? I mean this time."
"We were here in Munich back in '84. We captured Baron Von Eiger and several of his henchmen, and helped break up his terrorist organization."
"Off hand, I'd say some of them got away."
"You're right. Look, Amanda, please, come back with me the office and I'll prove to you that you are Amanda King and that you do know me. OK?" He took her hands in his and gave her a look he reserved only for her. "Please, trust me."
His expression, the pleading look in his eyes, that phrase *trust me*, it was all too familiar, even if she had no conscious memory of him. "All right. Let's go to your office."
"Good. Come on." He grabbed her hand and all but ran for his car.
"Take it easy," Amanda was having a hard time keeping up. What's the hurry?"
"Look, as soon as those scumbags find out you're gone, they're gonna start looking for you. And they may know about this *drop*. I want to get you out of here and back to the office."
They arrived at the car and Lee helped Amanda into the passenger side, then ran around and got in the driver's seat. Soon they were on their way back to the agency - the travel agency.
"I thought secret agents were supposed to be kind of low profile and, well, secret."
"They are."
"So how come you're driving a Mercedes Benz?"
"For just that reason. I don't want to be conspicuous. We talked about this before. In this car we blend right in with the locals."
"Oh," Amanda said, not recalling the conversation at all.
-----------
Arriving at the office, Lee led her to the revolving wall and into the inner sanctum of the Agency. Nothing was familiar to her.
"This is Stephan Gareheardt, the head of our Munich branch. You met him a few days ago. Do you remember him?" Lee asked hopefully.
"No. I'm really sorry but I don't remember Mr. Gareheardt or this place or anybody else I see in here. I've told you who I am. I am Anna Gruenwald, an American. I'm married to a German national. Hans Gruenwald. We only recently returned to Germany after many years of living in the States. I've been ill and I have problems with my memory, but I have medication for that." Finishing her recitation, Amanda opened her purse and took out a small bottle. She started to open it, intending to take one of the pills when Lee stopped her.
"Wait, please. Let's have this stuff checked out before you take any more it. OK? Please, Amanda..."
"But, I need...."
"Amanda, please. For my peace of mind?"
"Oh, all right. Go ahead and have it analyzed or whatever."
Stephan gave the bottle of pills to one of his lab people. It didn't take too long to discover that the pills were a fairly new memory inhibitor.
Marcus, the lab technician, came into Stephan's office without knocking. He explained just what the drug was and that it would probably be forty-eight to seventy- two hours before it was out of her system completely. This drug was something not available to the general public. The Reboden group obviously had connections in the pharmaceutical industry. Amanda was surprised and alarmed.
"Amanda," Stephan began gently, "would you permit us to draw some blood. We would like to know just how much of this drug and what, if any, other drugs you may have in your system."
"OK. *I'd* like to know what else is in my system."