Title: Prelude To A Case
Disclaimer: SMK and all entities thereof are property of Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Production.
Time Frame: 1st Season - following The Magic Bus
Summary: Filler of sorts...
Prelude To A Case
On a pleasant Washington evening, a woman emerged from her shower, refreshed in body if not in spirit.
"Not bad...not bad, he says. Ohh, I was more than not bad, buster," she muttered menacingly to herself as she slipped into her blue terrycloth robe. She hung her towel over the curtain rod to dry as she shook her head, hoping to rid it of this line of thought once and for all. She flipped the light switch off and headed downstairs towards the kitchen to prepare a cup of tea.
"No need to get all caught up in it," she told herself, "you'll probably never hear from him again." She stopped suddenly in the doorway to the kitchen when the ringing of the phone cut into her thoughts. Almost instantly she caught herself wondering if it might be him, what she couldn't decide, though, was if that was good or bad. Deciding to hold off on that verdict just a little longer, she quickly crossed the distance to the phone and answered, "Hello?"
"Hi there, I...well I just wanted to check on you after what happened the other day..." his voice trailed off as he waited expectantly on her answer.
"Oh, OH," she stammered as she realized who she was talking to, "Yeah, well, I'm fine. You know, uh, how are you?"
"Well, getting caught in that unexpected shower wasn't the *worst* thing that could have happened...though, I still feel terrible about all those fish...but it certainly makes me question whether meteorology is my true calling," he returned in a concerned voice.
"Oh, yeah, well, that-that's um, oh, excuse me," she said as she tried in vain to stifle her sudden yawn. 'Gosh,' she thought, 'am I really this tired or does Dean just bring it out in me?'
"Amanda? Is everything okay?" he asked, his abundant concern obvious.
"Wh-yeah, oh yeah Dean, everything's fine. Listen, um, I'm just getting ready for bed. Mother and her new friend Dr. Bain took the boys out for dinner and a movie," she informed him, playing with the telephone cord as her mind wandered, "you know, since I've had a rough couple of days and all." At his obviously puzzled silence, she immediately regretted her words.
'You can't tell him about the Vigilant and working with spies, Amanda!' She cringed as she realized she'd almost said too much, so she improvised with, "uh - you know with Jamie's fish drowning and all-"
"Ah, yes," he responded somberly.
"-and so I think maybe I should just go to bed now." 'Why am I in such a hurry to get off the phone with him,' she wondered, 'he *is* my boyfriend.'
"Oh sure, Amanda. It was silly of me to bother you. Just tell Jamie I'm sorry. I honestly had no idea the rain would affect the fish like that. After all, I'm a meteorologist, not a marine biologist, hey that rhymes...meteorologist, biologist. Maybe I can work that into my next newscast," he said laughing to himself. After indulging a moment longer in personal amusement, he continued, "Well, I hope everything works out with the second batch. I'll let you go to sleep now. Sweet dreams, twoodums."
Amanda's eyes involuntarily widened at his use of what, she assumed, he thought was a cute pet name. 'Oh Dean,' she groaned inwardly.
"Don't let the weather bugs bite," he teased.
"Oh no," she returned, "I won't, goodnight Dean."
"Goodnight, Amanda, I love you."
"Ar wuv uou ooo, oh! I'm sorry Dean," she exclaimed as she recovered from her second massive yawn of the conversation. 'What is wrong with me,' she asked herself.
"That's okay, Amanda," he laughed, "just get some sleep. I'll call you later." He hung up and Amanda couldn't remember ever feeling such peace at ending a conversation. She hung up the phone and stared at it a moment before moving on to the making of tea.
She turned the dial on the range that would set the pot boiling and was just reaching into the cupboard for a mug when a tapping along the darkened side window of her kitchen caught her attention. The sound startled her so, that she jumped, hitting her head on the door and knocking a mug from the cupboard all at the same moment.
"Ouch!" she yelled, as she whirled around, one hand on her head, the other simultaneously reaching for an object with which to defend herself.
"Hey, it's only me," came the muffled exclamation from the black void of the backyard.
She leaned forward as she heard the voice, not quite believing it was who it was. She slowly lowered the...she looked at her hand to see her weapon of choice...potato, she'd picked up in defense. 'Oh that's good Amanda. Mash him to death.' She immediately regained her composure and marched over to let him in, sure in the knowledge that if she didn't, he'd just find his own way in anyhow. She unlocked the door and opened it none too graciously.
He wasn't even in when she headed back towards the broken mug and began asking, "What are you doing in my backyard? What are you doing in my backyard in the dark? You usually come to this window," she indicated the one above her sink as she continued towards the broken glass. "If you'd come to that window, I wouldn't have been so surprised, but no one's ever knocked on *that* window. I thou - ow!"
The cutting pain in her foot told her she'd unwittingly walked barefoot back into the danger zone and had not only stepped on a shard of glass, but was currently surrounded by the evil stuff.
"Oh," she groaned as she began to search for a way out of her current predicament. Her eyes calculated the distance to safety and she was about to begin an attempt to throw herself on the counter in hopes of escaping, when the sound of glass crunching momentarily distracted her. Then before she could attempt to rescue herself, she suddenly found her body being lifted easily and surely into the strongest pair of arms she'd ever had the pleasure of filling. The overwhelmingly pleasant sensation came second only to that of being held tightly in place against the most wonderful chest she'd ever had the honor of feeling. Feeling! She suddenly realized her hand was lightly caressing his chest. She yanked it away and brought both hands to the neck of her robe and held them tightly there. Thank goodness he was currently engrossed in maneuvering them to safety or she would have been mortified! He set her down as she finally felt the out-of-control blush leaving her cheeks.
"Oh man, look, I-I am really sorry about this," he began as he kneeled on the ground in front of her. Hands resting on her knees he looked, for the first time that night, directly into her eyes seeking forgiveness with his own.
She heard his words, felt his hands, and got lost in his eyes.
"Uh, Amanda?"
She heard his question, but it was moment before she could pull herself together enough to answer. "Hm? Oh...Lee, it's okay. I know it's not like you planned it. No one could have planned that. It was an accident," she said shrugging, "Accidents happen."
He smiled at her, thankful she wasn't upset and didn't blame him. "Well, I'll clean it up and then we'll get you fixed up," he said as he removed his hands from her knees to push off the ground. She immediately covered her knees with her own hands to lessen the sudden cold they felt at being abandoned.
"Oh," he groaned as he slowly rose from the ground.
"What's wrong? Did you get glass in your knee?" she asked anxiously as he stood before her.
"Hm? No," he said, "it's that dang bullet," he gestured to where he'd been hit the other day. "I know it was just a flesh wound, but it still hurts like hell if I get in the wrong position."
Her eyes traveled down from his eyes to the wound he was discussing. Once there, they continued perusing his legs and she realized, 'Oh, you were being petty Amanda, they're more than just okay.'
"-so where do you keep it?"
"What?" Amanda asked, startled that she'd been so caught up in his legs that she hadn't even heard his question.
"Your broom Amanda, that is what I'd used to clean that up right?" he asked indicating the mess of broken glass.
"Oh, yeah, broom, right." She pointed towards where he would find it and then said, "don't forget the dustpan."
He retrieved both and set to work using them, with somewhat surprising agility and speed. She was about to remark on that fact when his voice broke into her thoughts.
"Now, first aid for the injured."
"There's a kit in the that cabinet right there," she said pointing. He grabbed it and came to stand in front of her again. He pulled a chair up opposite her and sat down, picking her foot up gingerly and placing it across his legs.
'Oh, thank god I just shaved!' she thought. 'Wait a minute, why should I feel like shaving for him?' another part of her mind argued indignantly.
But as her eyes continued roving over him, engrossed in his task, she saw why. This was one handsome man. He was tall and very strong. His short brown hair was at the moment, nicely styled, not perfect, but nice and Amanda realized he must not have started running his fingers through it just yet. Continuing her silent inventory of him, she came across his eyes. Hazel and beautiful. Beautiful and nice. Oh yes, he really had nice eyes. Determined, however, not to be drawn in by them, she moved down the straight line of his nose to his lips. Lips. Mouth. Smile. Dimples.
'Oh, come on Amanda, you're losing it,' she tried to tell herself. Oh, yeah, he was handsome alright, and when he was kind like now, well, that was it. She was gone.
Feeling her eyes on him, he looked up suspiciously. "Uh, listen Amanda. The reason I was in your backyard was....well, the truth is...ah, there's just no easy way to say this...I-we-that is, Billy, needs your help."
"Mr. Melrose?" Amanda asked confused.
"Yes, Mr. Melrose," Lee nodded, suddenly pleased with his explanation.
"Well, where is he?" she asked looking out into the darkness, "What does he need?"
"He's not here. He needs you to help me."
"Oh. *You* need me."
"No," he said firmly as he shook his head, placing the final touches on her bandage. "No, *I* don't need you, it was Billy's idea. All the way."
"Uh huh," Amanda nodded knowingly, "well, what would y-er, Mr. Melrose want me to do? If I were to say yes. You don't need a wife again do you?" she asked suspiciously.
"Nope, not a wife, secretary, caddie, or a photographer," he said ticking the occupations off on his fingers. "I need a co-worker."
"A co-worker?"
"That's right. There's an office complex not too far from here involved in a case I'm working on and *Billy* thought you and your 'skills' might help me fit in better, so what do you say?"
After a slight pause, Amanda reiterated, "This was Mr. Melroses's idea." She suddenly found herself considering the safety factor involved.
"Oh yeah," Lee confirmed, "you never even entered my mind. Not even as a last resort. And we were stuck, I mean, everyone's either on a case or sick. Francine's not even available-"
"Okay, okay," she cut him off, feeling less and less important as he went on. "I'll do it...what do I have to do?"
"Great," he said, patting the bare leg she still had laying atop his. "I knew you'd do it. Just meet me tomorrow morning at the Agency at 9:00," he called as he stood and headed for the back door. He turned and looked over his shoulder as he paused, "Oh and wear a skirt."
Then he was gone. No goodbye. No thank you. No final, 'Sorry about the foot.'
'But oh my gosh,' she thought suddenly grateful for the support the chair offered, as her mind recalled his touch on her skin, 'I could definitely get used to these backyard visits.'
****************
Amanda King arrived at the Agency at 9 sharp the next morning to find not Lee, but Mr. Melrose himself was waiting for her.
"Sir, where's Lee," she asked before she could stop herself, "I mean, I thought we had an assignment today."
"Oh, he had some business to attend to so I told him I'd brief you on the assignment. Now, you do type, correct?" he asked searching the file he held in front of him for the inormation.
"Oh yes," she nodded, "90 words a minute. If you don't count typos."
"And you are looking for work," he confirmed.
"Uh, yes," she faltered, a bit confused as to where this was leading.
"Good, good," he nodded as he read, seeming to forget she was there.
"Uh, Mr. Melrose?" she questioned, "What exactly *is* the assignment?"
"Oh, yes. Well, first Amanda, may I call you Amanda?"
"Oh, yes, yes sir."
He nodded, glad to have the formality out of the way. "You see, we need you for this assignment, and you've done so well on past assignments that I feel the need to make it...somewhat official. Your working for us," he clarified, then paused as he saw the look of wonder spread across her face into one of joy.
"You're offering me a job? Really? I didn't think Lee wanted me to work here."
"Well, that's why Scarecrow's not in charge, and I am." Billy told her. "He's a good agent, and even a good man, Amanda, but in situations that call for feelings and handling people...let's just say he could use more training."
"Ha, tell me about it," Amanda said with a snort and a roll of her eyes.
Billy looked at her with a smile on his face as he said, "I just need you to read and sign these forms. They're confidential, so handle them accordingly." He handed the folder to her and said, "I think you're going to do great things here Amanda." Holding out his hand towards the elevator he continued, "Come on now, let's get you briefed so we can get this case wrapped up."
****************
Thirty minutes later, Billy was just finishing up with Amanda when Lee joined them.
"How'd it go, Scarecrow?" Billy asked as he looked towards the open door.
"There's nothing concrete Billy. Looks like we're gonna have to go out there after all." He looked over and noticed Amanda sitting on the couch and at her confused expression explained, "We thought we might have had a break in the case last night, but..." he shrugged as his voice trailed off.
She nodded in understanding as she stood up, "Well, I guess we should probably get going then, sir."
Lee looked somewhat surprised at her gung-ho attitude.
"We've been going over the case so far while we waited for you and Amanda's got some theories I think you should check out." Billy offered in explanation.
"Oh really," Lee said somewhat sarcastically, "*she's* got some theories. Two months of surveillance and no leads...and she reads over the file and in thirty minutes, has some theories."
"Lee," Billy said warningly.
Lee just gave him a disbelieving look out of the corner of his eye and said, "Well, come on Amanda. I guess we should get out there and start checking on those 'theories' of yours." He turned and began steering her out of the office only to be halted by a blonde with a message pad.
"Stetson, I am *not* your personal message service! And don't you ever date women whose names don't end in a 'y' or 'i'?" she asked in an exasperated tone as she pressed several pink slips into his chest.
He raised his hand to keep the papers from falling as she removed her hand and said, "Hmm, Francine ends with an...'e', doesn't it?"
"Children, please," their boss broke in, "could you save these discussions for play time. We have work to do now people."
Francine took note of Amanda for the first time at that comment and her eyes widened. "Work? You're becoming quite a little fixture around here, aren't you?" Then stepping closer to Lee and running her hand seductively up and down his arm she finished, "Although, I suppose I should have guessed you wouldn't be paying us a 'pleasure' visit."
Amanda just rolled her eyes and looked away as Lee coughed and Billy yelled, "Francine!"
"Come on Amanda," Lee murmured as he steered her towards the glass doors with his free hand, "let's get out of here."
Francine watched them leave and thought, 'Watch out Lee, something tells me we're going to be seeing much more of that woman than any of us bargained on.'
****************
End of Prelude
Disclaimer: SMK and all entities thereof are property of Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Production.
Time Frame: 1st Season - following The Magic Bus
Summary: Filler of sorts...
Prelude To A Case
On a pleasant Washington evening, a woman emerged from her shower, refreshed in body if not in spirit.
"Not bad...not bad, he says. Ohh, I was more than not bad, buster," she muttered menacingly to herself as she slipped into her blue terrycloth robe. She hung her towel over the curtain rod to dry as she shook her head, hoping to rid it of this line of thought once and for all. She flipped the light switch off and headed downstairs towards the kitchen to prepare a cup of tea.
"No need to get all caught up in it," she told herself, "you'll probably never hear from him again." She stopped suddenly in the doorway to the kitchen when the ringing of the phone cut into her thoughts. Almost instantly she caught herself wondering if it might be him, what she couldn't decide, though, was if that was good or bad. Deciding to hold off on that verdict just a little longer, she quickly crossed the distance to the phone and answered, "Hello?"
"Hi there, I...well I just wanted to check on you after what happened the other day..." his voice trailed off as he waited expectantly on her answer.
"Oh, OH," she stammered as she realized who she was talking to, "Yeah, well, I'm fine. You know, uh, how are you?"
"Well, getting caught in that unexpected shower wasn't the *worst* thing that could have happened...though, I still feel terrible about all those fish...but it certainly makes me question whether meteorology is my true calling," he returned in a concerned voice.
"Oh, yeah, well, that-that's um, oh, excuse me," she said as she tried in vain to stifle her sudden yawn. 'Gosh,' she thought, 'am I really this tired or does Dean just bring it out in me?'
"Amanda? Is everything okay?" he asked, his abundant concern obvious.
"Wh-yeah, oh yeah Dean, everything's fine. Listen, um, I'm just getting ready for bed. Mother and her new friend Dr. Bain took the boys out for dinner and a movie," she informed him, playing with the telephone cord as her mind wandered, "you know, since I've had a rough couple of days and all." At his obviously puzzled silence, she immediately regretted her words.
'You can't tell him about the Vigilant and working with spies, Amanda!' She cringed as she realized she'd almost said too much, so she improvised with, "uh - you know with Jamie's fish drowning and all-"
"Ah, yes," he responded somberly.
"-and so I think maybe I should just go to bed now." 'Why am I in such a hurry to get off the phone with him,' she wondered, 'he *is* my boyfriend.'
"Oh sure, Amanda. It was silly of me to bother you. Just tell Jamie I'm sorry. I honestly had no idea the rain would affect the fish like that. After all, I'm a meteorologist, not a marine biologist, hey that rhymes...meteorologist, biologist. Maybe I can work that into my next newscast," he said laughing to himself. After indulging a moment longer in personal amusement, he continued, "Well, I hope everything works out with the second batch. I'll let you go to sleep now. Sweet dreams, twoodums."
Amanda's eyes involuntarily widened at his use of what, she assumed, he thought was a cute pet name. 'Oh Dean,' she groaned inwardly.
"Don't let the weather bugs bite," he teased.
"Oh no," she returned, "I won't, goodnight Dean."
"Goodnight, Amanda, I love you."
"Ar wuv uou ooo, oh! I'm sorry Dean," she exclaimed as she recovered from her second massive yawn of the conversation. 'What is wrong with me,' she asked herself.
"That's okay, Amanda," he laughed, "just get some sleep. I'll call you later." He hung up and Amanda couldn't remember ever feeling such peace at ending a conversation. She hung up the phone and stared at it a moment before moving on to the making of tea.
She turned the dial on the range that would set the pot boiling and was just reaching into the cupboard for a mug when a tapping along the darkened side window of her kitchen caught her attention. The sound startled her so, that she jumped, hitting her head on the door and knocking a mug from the cupboard all at the same moment.
"Ouch!" she yelled, as she whirled around, one hand on her head, the other simultaneously reaching for an object with which to defend herself.
"Hey, it's only me," came the muffled exclamation from the black void of the backyard.
She leaned forward as she heard the voice, not quite believing it was who it was. She slowly lowered the...she looked at her hand to see her weapon of choice...potato, she'd picked up in defense. 'Oh that's good Amanda. Mash him to death.' She immediately regained her composure and marched over to let him in, sure in the knowledge that if she didn't, he'd just find his own way in anyhow. She unlocked the door and opened it none too graciously.
He wasn't even in when she headed back towards the broken mug and began asking, "What are you doing in my backyard? What are you doing in my backyard in the dark? You usually come to this window," she indicated the one above her sink as she continued towards the broken glass. "If you'd come to that window, I wouldn't have been so surprised, but no one's ever knocked on *that* window. I thou - ow!"
The cutting pain in her foot told her she'd unwittingly walked barefoot back into the danger zone and had not only stepped on a shard of glass, but was currently surrounded by the evil stuff.
"Oh," she groaned as she began to search for a way out of her current predicament. Her eyes calculated the distance to safety and she was about to begin an attempt to throw herself on the counter in hopes of escaping, when the sound of glass crunching momentarily distracted her. Then before she could attempt to rescue herself, she suddenly found her body being lifted easily and surely into the strongest pair of arms she'd ever had the pleasure of filling. The overwhelmingly pleasant sensation came second only to that of being held tightly in place against the most wonderful chest she'd ever had the honor of feeling. Feeling! She suddenly realized her hand was lightly caressing his chest. She yanked it away and brought both hands to the neck of her robe and held them tightly there. Thank goodness he was currently engrossed in maneuvering them to safety or she would have been mortified! He set her down as she finally felt the out-of-control blush leaving her cheeks.
"Oh man, look, I-I am really sorry about this," he began as he kneeled on the ground in front of her. Hands resting on her knees he looked, for the first time that night, directly into her eyes seeking forgiveness with his own.
She heard his words, felt his hands, and got lost in his eyes.
"Uh, Amanda?"
She heard his question, but it was moment before she could pull herself together enough to answer. "Hm? Oh...Lee, it's okay. I know it's not like you planned it. No one could have planned that. It was an accident," she said shrugging, "Accidents happen."
He smiled at her, thankful she wasn't upset and didn't blame him. "Well, I'll clean it up and then we'll get you fixed up," he said as he removed his hands from her knees to push off the ground. She immediately covered her knees with her own hands to lessen the sudden cold they felt at being abandoned.
"Oh," he groaned as he slowly rose from the ground.
"What's wrong? Did you get glass in your knee?" she asked anxiously as he stood before her.
"Hm? No," he said, "it's that dang bullet," he gestured to where he'd been hit the other day. "I know it was just a flesh wound, but it still hurts like hell if I get in the wrong position."
Her eyes traveled down from his eyes to the wound he was discussing. Once there, they continued perusing his legs and she realized, 'Oh, you were being petty Amanda, they're more than just okay.'
"-so where do you keep it?"
"What?" Amanda asked, startled that she'd been so caught up in his legs that she hadn't even heard his question.
"Your broom Amanda, that is what I'd used to clean that up right?" he asked indicating the mess of broken glass.
"Oh, yeah, broom, right." She pointed towards where he would find it and then said, "don't forget the dustpan."
He retrieved both and set to work using them, with somewhat surprising agility and speed. She was about to remark on that fact when his voice broke into her thoughts.
"Now, first aid for the injured."
"There's a kit in the that cabinet right there," she said pointing. He grabbed it and came to stand in front of her again. He pulled a chair up opposite her and sat down, picking her foot up gingerly and placing it across his legs.
'Oh, thank god I just shaved!' she thought. 'Wait a minute, why should I feel like shaving for him?' another part of her mind argued indignantly.
But as her eyes continued roving over him, engrossed in his task, she saw why. This was one handsome man. He was tall and very strong. His short brown hair was at the moment, nicely styled, not perfect, but nice and Amanda realized he must not have started running his fingers through it just yet. Continuing her silent inventory of him, she came across his eyes. Hazel and beautiful. Beautiful and nice. Oh yes, he really had nice eyes. Determined, however, not to be drawn in by them, she moved down the straight line of his nose to his lips. Lips. Mouth. Smile. Dimples.
'Oh, come on Amanda, you're losing it,' she tried to tell herself. Oh, yeah, he was handsome alright, and when he was kind like now, well, that was it. She was gone.
Feeling her eyes on him, he looked up suspiciously. "Uh, listen Amanda. The reason I was in your backyard was....well, the truth is...ah, there's just no easy way to say this...I-we-that is, Billy, needs your help."
"Mr. Melrose?" Amanda asked confused.
"Yes, Mr. Melrose," Lee nodded, suddenly pleased with his explanation.
"Well, where is he?" she asked looking out into the darkness, "What does he need?"
"He's not here. He needs you to help me."
"Oh. *You* need me."
"No," he said firmly as he shook his head, placing the final touches on her bandage. "No, *I* don't need you, it was Billy's idea. All the way."
"Uh huh," Amanda nodded knowingly, "well, what would y-er, Mr. Melrose want me to do? If I were to say yes. You don't need a wife again do you?" she asked suspiciously.
"Nope, not a wife, secretary, caddie, or a photographer," he said ticking the occupations off on his fingers. "I need a co-worker."
"A co-worker?"
"That's right. There's an office complex not too far from here involved in a case I'm working on and *Billy* thought you and your 'skills' might help me fit in better, so what do you say?"
After a slight pause, Amanda reiterated, "This was Mr. Melroses's idea." She suddenly found herself considering the safety factor involved.
"Oh yeah," Lee confirmed, "you never even entered my mind. Not even as a last resort. And we were stuck, I mean, everyone's either on a case or sick. Francine's not even available-"
"Okay, okay," she cut him off, feeling less and less important as he went on. "I'll do it...what do I have to do?"
"Great," he said, patting the bare leg she still had laying atop his. "I knew you'd do it. Just meet me tomorrow morning at the Agency at 9:00," he called as he stood and headed for the back door. He turned and looked over his shoulder as he paused, "Oh and wear a skirt."
Then he was gone. No goodbye. No thank you. No final, 'Sorry about the foot.'
'But oh my gosh,' she thought suddenly grateful for the support the chair offered, as her mind recalled his touch on her skin, 'I could definitely get used to these backyard visits.'
****************
Amanda King arrived at the Agency at 9 sharp the next morning to find not Lee, but Mr. Melrose himself was waiting for her.
"Sir, where's Lee," she asked before she could stop herself, "I mean, I thought we had an assignment today."
"Oh, he had some business to attend to so I told him I'd brief you on the assignment. Now, you do type, correct?" he asked searching the file he held in front of him for the inormation.
"Oh yes," she nodded, "90 words a minute. If you don't count typos."
"And you are looking for work," he confirmed.
"Uh, yes," she faltered, a bit confused as to where this was leading.
"Good, good," he nodded as he read, seeming to forget she was there.
"Uh, Mr. Melrose?" she questioned, "What exactly *is* the assignment?"
"Oh, yes. Well, first Amanda, may I call you Amanda?"
"Oh, yes, yes sir."
He nodded, glad to have the formality out of the way. "You see, we need you for this assignment, and you've done so well on past assignments that I feel the need to make it...somewhat official. Your working for us," he clarified, then paused as he saw the look of wonder spread across her face into one of joy.
"You're offering me a job? Really? I didn't think Lee wanted me to work here."
"Well, that's why Scarecrow's not in charge, and I am." Billy told her. "He's a good agent, and even a good man, Amanda, but in situations that call for feelings and handling people...let's just say he could use more training."
"Ha, tell me about it," Amanda said with a snort and a roll of her eyes.
Billy looked at her with a smile on his face as he said, "I just need you to read and sign these forms. They're confidential, so handle them accordingly." He handed the folder to her and said, "I think you're going to do great things here Amanda." Holding out his hand towards the elevator he continued, "Come on now, let's get you briefed so we can get this case wrapped up."
****************
Thirty minutes later, Billy was just finishing up with Amanda when Lee joined them.
"How'd it go, Scarecrow?" Billy asked as he looked towards the open door.
"There's nothing concrete Billy. Looks like we're gonna have to go out there after all." He looked over and noticed Amanda sitting on the couch and at her confused expression explained, "We thought we might have had a break in the case last night, but..." he shrugged as his voice trailed off.
She nodded in understanding as she stood up, "Well, I guess we should probably get going then, sir."
Lee looked somewhat surprised at her gung-ho attitude.
"We've been going over the case so far while we waited for you and Amanda's got some theories I think you should check out." Billy offered in explanation.
"Oh really," Lee said somewhat sarcastically, "*she's* got some theories. Two months of surveillance and no leads...and she reads over the file and in thirty minutes, has some theories."
"Lee," Billy said warningly.
Lee just gave him a disbelieving look out of the corner of his eye and said, "Well, come on Amanda. I guess we should get out there and start checking on those 'theories' of yours." He turned and began steering her out of the office only to be halted by a blonde with a message pad.
"Stetson, I am *not* your personal message service! And don't you ever date women whose names don't end in a 'y' or 'i'?" she asked in an exasperated tone as she pressed several pink slips into his chest.
He raised his hand to keep the papers from falling as she removed her hand and said, "Hmm, Francine ends with an...'e', doesn't it?"
"Children, please," their boss broke in, "could you save these discussions for play time. We have work to do now people."
Francine took note of Amanda for the first time at that comment and her eyes widened. "Work? You're becoming quite a little fixture around here, aren't you?" Then stepping closer to Lee and running her hand seductively up and down his arm she finished, "Although, I suppose I should have guessed you wouldn't be paying us a 'pleasure' visit."
Amanda just rolled her eyes and looked away as Lee coughed and Billy yelled, "Francine!"
"Come on Amanda," Lee murmured as he steered her towards the glass doors with his free hand, "let's get out of here."
Francine watched them leave and thought, 'Watch out Lee, something tells me we're going to be seeing much more of that woman than any of us bargained on.'
****************
End of Prelude