"Scarecrow and Mrs. King" is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. I retain rights to the plot, but not the characters. This story is meant for enjoyment purposes only. No infringement is intended.
All in the Family
Part VII
The air was unusually warm as Jamie King strolled down the D.C. streets lost in thought. He let the warm late afternoon sun hit him as his thoughts drifted to Elizabeth. When he had met her two months ago, he had thought it was all a dream. Women like Elizabeth didn't usually go for him; they were more Phillip's type. At the time he hadn't quite been able to put his finger on the difference between them, but after her admission it was abundantly clear. She was intrigue and excitement; he was term papers and final exams. Yet all that aside, Elizabeth was different, and before he even knew what was happening she had wormed her way into his heart. In fact, he had been so head-over-heels in love with her that he had even managed to ignore the inconsistencies in her stories.
He was so angry. Part of him wanted to strangle her for having lied to him. It had hurt with his mom and Lee, but at least he'd been a kid then - there was a good reason why they hid the agency from him. Shaking his head he sighed out loud. Maybe he was a fool, but he wanted to give it another try. Really, he just wanted to be with her - regardless of what she did for a living. It had worked out for his Mom and Lee, why couldn't it work with him and Elizabeth? Maybe he could learn to live with her secret the way he had learned to live with his mom's. Now, if he could just get her to return his phone calls. All of a sudden he stopped short. Squinting into the sun he could hardly believe what he saw. Not 15 feet away from him Elizabeth was coming out of a bar holding the hand of a strange looking man.
'Has she already found someone else? That would explain why she hasn't returned any of my calls,' Jamie fought the sick feeling rising in his stomach. 'I'm not giving up on us just yet,' he thought with a determination that only comes from being in love. He made his way toward her. 'If she has already replaced me, at least I have the right to know.'
"Elizabeth! Hey Lizzie!" he called out.
She spun around her eyes opening wide like a deer caught in headlights. 'Oh no,' she thought, 'anything but this.' It was to late too pretend like she didn't know him, Jamie was quickly jogging toward Assi's car - his destination clear.
"Elizabeth," he started, "I've been trying to get a hold of you. I, I'm ready to talk. That is, if the offer's still open."
Taking a deep breath Elizabeth reminded herself that what she was about to do was absolutely necessary; both for his safety and for the protection of her cover. "Look," she started, "I don't know how many times we have to go over this. It's over. Really it never even began. I was just having a little fun. I'm sorry if you thought it was something else. Please, just leave me alone."
Her heart sank as she saw the look of anguish that covered his face. "Elizabeth..."
His voice trailed off as she interrupted, "It's over, can't you hear me - OVER!" With that she got in Assi's car and slammed the door leaving him dumbfounded on the street corner.
"What was that interesting little display all about?" Assi eyed her suspiciously as she fought back the urge to cry.
"It's nothing," Elizabeth forced her voice to sound detached and uninterested, "just a one-night stand who can't take no for an answer." With all her will power she then forced herself to reach over and put her hand on his knee, "The only thing I'm interested in right now is dinner."
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Entering the house Assi excused himself to select a bottle of wine for the evening. As he reached the back room he quickly picked up the phone.
"What is it?" the man on the other end of the line demanded. "I told you not to call me."
"There may be trouble," Assi replied. "The girl and I ran into a guy outside the bar. She insisted that he was nothing to her, but I'm not convinced. Margarita was watching us. Call her. Tell her to keep a close watch on the guy. He seemed a little too involved, like he might not be able to take no for an answer. If he gets too nosy..."
"I'll find out who he is, don't worry. If he starts poking around where he doesn't belong - we'll take them out. They won't be the first. I'll keep you updated."
Assi hung up the phone and picked up a bottle of wine. "This should do nicely," he called reentering the living room.
Jamie was dumbfounded. He stood watching them driving away for what seemed like an eternity. When at last he realized that he was standing in the middle of the street, his mouth hanging open, he forced his feet to move. None of this made sense. It had been a rough couple of days, that he knew, but for her to change her mind so completely - it just didn't make sense. They had spent almost every evening together for the past two months. Over what seemed like endless dinners and midnight walks Jamie felt like he knew Elizabeth pretty well. He knew she was hurt and likely pretty angry. Yet, the 180-degree turn in her personality was definitely out of character. 'This just doesn't add up,' he thought. 'Something is wrong and I'm going to figure out what it is.'
It had always been the family joke that Phillip would be the one to join the family business. Yet, in reality, Phillip talked a good talk but was really much more like Joe. He loved the stable and dependable lifestyle that the law firm afforded him, but Jamie had always been his mother's son - in more ways than one. He was just as stubborn as Amanda was, and nothing was going to chase him away until he was sure Elizabeth had meant what she said today. Finally reaching his car he got in and headed toward Arlington. It was time he found some answers, and his mom and Lee were the only place he knew to start.
Pulling away from the curb Jamie didn't notice as the black haired woman pulled her own car onto the road and began to follow him at a safe distance. 'Damn Assi and all his women,' she thought. 'He gets all the action and I get stuck tailing the jilted boyfriends.'
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With Dotty at the theater and Jenny spending the night at a friend's house Lee and Amanda were enjoying a rare, quiet evening alone. Having promised to leave all "shop talk" out of the evening they had grilled steaks and enjoyed a very pleasant dinner. Finishing dinner they moved over to the sofa, wine glasses in hand and snuggled together. They sat for a while, enjoying the companionable silence that only comes with years of marriage. Amanda thought of how nice it was to simply sit in her husband's arms. She desperately wanted this kind of happiness for her children. She remembered back to a time before she knew Lee, when she could feel right down to her very core that longing for excitement and adventure. At first she had thought it was the agency filling that void, yet as the years passed it quickly became clear that as much as she loved her job, the filling of that void had much more to do with Lee than with anything the agency could offer. She knew with a certainty that only a mother could have that Jamie had that same longing. That special instinct that Lee always kidded her about told her that Elizabeth was just what Jamie needed, and vice versa. She was sure of it. Now all she had to do was convince them.
"Mmmmm Amanda!" Lee mumbled into her ear shaking her out of her thoughts as he tried to disengage himself from his wife's embrace with the least possible movement. "Stay right there, and close your eyes. I have the perfect thing for this evening."
She moaned slightly as he pulled away from her, but smiled knowingly as the smell of popcorn filled the house. Still smiling she closed her eyes obediently and waited for him to return. Soon she heard him come back into the room and set the bowl on the coffee table. As she heard him rummaging around in the video cabinet she was sure she knew what was coming.
Lee fished a tape out of the cabinet and loaded it into the VCR. Picking up the remote Lee settled himself back into Amanda's waiting arms. "OK," he whispered kissing her cheek, "open your eyes."
Amanda laughed as she saw the dinosaurs playing on the screen and reached for some popcorn, "It's nice that some things never change. You always were a closet romantic."
"We haven't done this in a while," Lee grinned. "Do you remember when I used to sneak in the back door after everyone had gone to bed just so I could hold you in my arms and learn all about dinosaurs?"
"Like it was yesterday," Amanda replied pulling him closer and slipping her hand inside his shirt so she could caress his chest. "Although, as I remember it you learned very little about dinosaurs, and half the time we were interrupted by something or another."
As if on cue the doorbell rang. Lee groaned, "You had to push our luck didn't you?"
"At least this time I'm not going to shove you out the back door," Amanda laughed.
"Mom? Lee?" Jamie called letting himself in the house. "Anybody home? The front door's unlocked."
"We're in here, Jamie!" Amanda called back straightening Lee's clothes.
Jamie entered the family room giving Lee and Amanda a funny look as he saw the video playing on the TV. "Hey, is that my old dinosaur video?" he asked with a puzzled hint in his voice, the reason behind his visit momentarily forgotten.
"Uh, yeah," Lee replied without explanation as he jumped up and shut the television off. "What can we do for you?" he asked quickly changing the subject.
"Well," Jamie began sitting down in a chair opposite the couch, "I think it's about time I get a few answers..."
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Parked in front of 4247 Maplewood Drive Margarita could hardly believe her eyes. Birol was not going to like this. Without hesitation she reached for her phone and dialed a number she only used in the most dire of all emergencies.
"Birol," the voice on the other end barked.
"We've got big trouble," she stated without bothering to identify herself. "The guy that Assi ran into today. He's definitely agency. Want to take a guess at whose house he just walked into?" Although Margarita knew this little development was bad news, she could not help but taking secret delight that she was the one who had uncovered it. Her love for Assi Birol had brought her into his organization. Yet, save for a few one-night encounters when no one else was available he had never given her much personal thought. All Assi Birol saw when he looked at her was a minion to do his dirty work. However, this time the dirty work had led her to something big, and she was going to make sure that the credit was all hers.
"Margarita, I haven't the time for this nonsense. Tell me what you know," the man on the other end demanded with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
She would show him. "I believe he just entered the house of some old friends of yours, Scarecrow and Mrs. King? Only I hear now they go by Mr. and Mrs. Stetson."
Her revelation certainly received the desired affect. For a long while there was nothing but silence on the other end of the phone. Finally the man hissed out, "Are you absolutely certain?"
"Yes," she replied, not even bothering to hide the satisfaction in her tone.
"Keep an eye on the man. It's very curious that a trained agent would go to the home of his supervisors at this time of the night," he demanded.
"There must be something else at play," he continued to himself as he paced around the room shaking his fist in the air, and momentarily forgetting the woman on the other end of the phone. "Perhaps there is more to his relationship with the girl just as there was to Scarecrow's relationship with Mrs. King. I guess he will have to pay for his lapse in judgement, as will the girl. Maybe he will be her downfall just as Mrs. King was almost the downfall of Scarecrow."
Turning his attention back to the phone he continued his instructions, "Don't let him out of your sight, but don't make a move until you hear from me. I have to pay a visit to my foolish son and his new lady love."
With that the line went dead. Margarita swore under her breath. 'Don't make a move Margarita, stay where you are Margarita. Would anything ever change?' All right, if that's the way they wanted it, she would stay put, at least for now.
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Addi Birol swung his arm across his desk sending papers flying around the room and his lamp crashing to the floor. This could not be happening. Fifteen years ago Scarecrow and Mrs. King had ruined all of his plans and sent him to prison. He had only been out for six months and he was not going to let them destroy his new plans. Under heavy disguise he had slipped into the country 3 months ago and began setting up a base of operations. When Assi had joined him things were starting to come together. Within the week he expected the whole world to fear the name of Addi Birol once again. Damn his foolish son! Assi had been a mere boy when he had gone to prison, but Assi knew the story. He knew how Magda and her sister had betrayed him to the Americans. He had cautioned his son about the pretty young agent. Yet Assi swore he knew what he was doing. The fool! There was no way he would let Scarecrow set him up for a second time. 'No,' Addi thought, 'this is my party Stetson. You and your pretty little wife are going to pay for this. At least this time I have the advantage. Assi's foolishness may have brought him under surveillance, but you'll never be expecting me - my friends in the Middle East are seeing to that. As far as you're concerned I'm still rotting in that prison hole you sent me to 15 years ago. I'm almost glad you're involved,' Addi balled his hand into a fist and struck the wall. 'Because this time it is I who has the upper hand.'
All in the Family
Part VII
The air was unusually warm as Jamie King strolled down the D.C. streets lost in thought. He let the warm late afternoon sun hit him as his thoughts drifted to Elizabeth. When he had met her two months ago, he had thought it was all a dream. Women like Elizabeth didn't usually go for him; they were more Phillip's type. At the time he hadn't quite been able to put his finger on the difference between them, but after her admission it was abundantly clear. She was intrigue and excitement; he was term papers and final exams. Yet all that aside, Elizabeth was different, and before he even knew what was happening she had wormed her way into his heart. In fact, he had been so head-over-heels in love with her that he had even managed to ignore the inconsistencies in her stories.
He was so angry. Part of him wanted to strangle her for having lied to him. It had hurt with his mom and Lee, but at least he'd been a kid then - there was a good reason why they hid the agency from him. Shaking his head he sighed out loud. Maybe he was a fool, but he wanted to give it another try. Really, he just wanted to be with her - regardless of what she did for a living. It had worked out for his Mom and Lee, why couldn't it work with him and Elizabeth? Maybe he could learn to live with her secret the way he had learned to live with his mom's. Now, if he could just get her to return his phone calls. All of a sudden he stopped short. Squinting into the sun he could hardly believe what he saw. Not 15 feet away from him Elizabeth was coming out of a bar holding the hand of a strange looking man.
'Has she already found someone else? That would explain why she hasn't returned any of my calls,' Jamie fought the sick feeling rising in his stomach. 'I'm not giving up on us just yet,' he thought with a determination that only comes from being in love. He made his way toward her. 'If she has already replaced me, at least I have the right to know.'
"Elizabeth! Hey Lizzie!" he called out.
She spun around her eyes opening wide like a deer caught in headlights. 'Oh no,' she thought, 'anything but this.' It was to late too pretend like she didn't know him, Jamie was quickly jogging toward Assi's car - his destination clear.
"Elizabeth," he started, "I've been trying to get a hold of you. I, I'm ready to talk. That is, if the offer's still open."
Taking a deep breath Elizabeth reminded herself that what she was about to do was absolutely necessary; both for his safety and for the protection of her cover. "Look," she started, "I don't know how many times we have to go over this. It's over. Really it never even began. I was just having a little fun. I'm sorry if you thought it was something else. Please, just leave me alone."
Her heart sank as she saw the look of anguish that covered his face. "Elizabeth..."
His voice trailed off as she interrupted, "It's over, can't you hear me - OVER!" With that she got in Assi's car and slammed the door leaving him dumbfounded on the street corner.
"What was that interesting little display all about?" Assi eyed her suspiciously as she fought back the urge to cry.
"It's nothing," Elizabeth forced her voice to sound detached and uninterested, "just a one-night stand who can't take no for an answer." With all her will power she then forced herself to reach over and put her hand on his knee, "The only thing I'm interested in right now is dinner."
************************************************************************
Entering the house Assi excused himself to select a bottle of wine for the evening. As he reached the back room he quickly picked up the phone.
"What is it?" the man on the other end of the line demanded. "I told you not to call me."
"There may be trouble," Assi replied. "The girl and I ran into a guy outside the bar. She insisted that he was nothing to her, but I'm not convinced. Margarita was watching us. Call her. Tell her to keep a close watch on the guy. He seemed a little too involved, like he might not be able to take no for an answer. If he gets too nosy..."
"I'll find out who he is, don't worry. If he starts poking around where he doesn't belong - we'll take them out. They won't be the first. I'll keep you updated."
Assi hung up the phone and picked up a bottle of wine. "This should do nicely," he called reentering the living room.
Jamie was dumbfounded. He stood watching them driving away for what seemed like an eternity. When at last he realized that he was standing in the middle of the street, his mouth hanging open, he forced his feet to move. None of this made sense. It had been a rough couple of days, that he knew, but for her to change her mind so completely - it just didn't make sense. They had spent almost every evening together for the past two months. Over what seemed like endless dinners and midnight walks Jamie felt like he knew Elizabeth pretty well. He knew she was hurt and likely pretty angry. Yet, the 180-degree turn in her personality was definitely out of character. 'This just doesn't add up,' he thought. 'Something is wrong and I'm going to figure out what it is.'
It had always been the family joke that Phillip would be the one to join the family business. Yet, in reality, Phillip talked a good talk but was really much more like Joe. He loved the stable and dependable lifestyle that the law firm afforded him, but Jamie had always been his mother's son - in more ways than one. He was just as stubborn as Amanda was, and nothing was going to chase him away until he was sure Elizabeth had meant what she said today. Finally reaching his car he got in and headed toward Arlington. It was time he found some answers, and his mom and Lee were the only place he knew to start.
Pulling away from the curb Jamie didn't notice as the black haired woman pulled her own car onto the road and began to follow him at a safe distance. 'Damn Assi and all his women,' she thought. 'He gets all the action and I get stuck tailing the jilted boyfriends.'
************************************************************************
With Dotty at the theater and Jenny spending the night at a friend's house Lee and Amanda were enjoying a rare, quiet evening alone. Having promised to leave all "shop talk" out of the evening they had grilled steaks and enjoyed a very pleasant dinner. Finishing dinner they moved over to the sofa, wine glasses in hand and snuggled together. They sat for a while, enjoying the companionable silence that only comes with years of marriage. Amanda thought of how nice it was to simply sit in her husband's arms. She desperately wanted this kind of happiness for her children. She remembered back to a time before she knew Lee, when she could feel right down to her very core that longing for excitement and adventure. At first she had thought it was the agency filling that void, yet as the years passed it quickly became clear that as much as she loved her job, the filling of that void had much more to do with Lee than with anything the agency could offer. She knew with a certainty that only a mother could have that Jamie had that same longing. That special instinct that Lee always kidded her about told her that Elizabeth was just what Jamie needed, and vice versa. She was sure of it. Now all she had to do was convince them.
"Mmmmm Amanda!" Lee mumbled into her ear shaking her out of her thoughts as he tried to disengage himself from his wife's embrace with the least possible movement. "Stay right there, and close your eyes. I have the perfect thing for this evening."
She moaned slightly as he pulled away from her, but smiled knowingly as the smell of popcorn filled the house. Still smiling she closed her eyes obediently and waited for him to return. Soon she heard him come back into the room and set the bowl on the coffee table. As she heard him rummaging around in the video cabinet she was sure she knew what was coming.
Lee fished a tape out of the cabinet and loaded it into the VCR. Picking up the remote Lee settled himself back into Amanda's waiting arms. "OK," he whispered kissing her cheek, "open your eyes."
Amanda laughed as she saw the dinosaurs playing on the screen and reached for some popcorn, "It's nice that some things never change. You always were a closet romantic."
"We haven't done this in a while," Lee grinned. "Do you remember when I used to sneak in the back door after everyone had gone to bed just so I could hold you in my arms and learn all about dinosaurs?"
"Like it was yesterday," Amanda replied pulling him closer and slipping her hand inside his shirt so she could caress his chest. "Although, as I remember it you learned very little about dinosaurs, and half the time we were interrupted by something or another."
As if on cue the doorbell rang. Lee groaned, "You had to push our luck didn't you?"
"At least this time I'm not going to shove you out the back door," Amanda laughed.
"Mom? Lee?" Jamie called letting himself in the house. "Anybody home? The front door's unlocked."
"We're in here, Jamie!" Amanda called back straightening Lee's clothes.
Jamie entered the family room giving Lee and Amanda a funny look as he saw the video playing on the TV. "Hey, is that my old dinosaur video?" he asked with a puzzled hint in his voice, the reason behind his visit momentarily forgotten.
"Uh, yeah," Lee replied without explanation as he jumped up and shut the television off. "What can we do for you?" he asked quickly changing the subject.
"Well," Jamie began sitting down in a chair opposite the couch, "I think it's about time I get a few answers..."
************************************************************************
Parked in front of 4247 Maplewood Drive Margarita could hardly believe her eyes. Birol was not going to like this. Without hesitation she reached for her phone and dialed a number she only used in the most dire of all emergencies.
"Birol," the voice on the other end barked.
"We've got big trouble," she stated without bothering to identify herself. "The guy that Assi ran into today. He's definitely agency. Want to take a guess at whose house he just walked into?" Although Margarita knew this little development was bad news, she could not help but taking secret delight that she was the one who had uncovered it. Her love for Assi Birol had brought her into his organization. Yet, save for a few one-night encounters when no one else was available he had never given her much personal thought. All Assi Birol saw when he looked at her was a minion to do his dirty work. However, this time the dirty work had led her to something big, and she was going to make sure that the credit was all hers.
"Margarita, I haven't the time for this nonsense. Tell me what you know," the man on the other end demanded with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
She would show him. "I believe he just entered the house of some old friends of yours, Scarecrow and Mrs. King? Only I hear now they go by Mr. and Mrs. Stetson."
Her revelation certainly received the desired affect. For a long while there was nothing but silence on the other end of the phone. Finally the man hissed out, "Are you absolutely certain?"
"Yes," she replied, not even bothering to hide the satisfaction in her tone.
"Keep an eye on the man. It's very curious that a trained agent would go to the home of his supervisors at this time of the night," he demanded.
"There must be something else at play," he continued to himself as he paced around the room shaking his fist in the air, and momentarily forgetting the woman on the other end of the phone. "Perhaps there is more to his relationship with the girl just as there was to Scarecrow's relationship with Mrs. King. I guess he will have to pay for his lapse in judgement, as will the girl. Maybe he will be her downfall just as Mrs. King was almost the downfall of Scarecrow."
Turning his attention back to the phone he continued his instructions, "Don't let him out of your sight, but don't make a move until you hear from me. I have to pay a visit to my foolish son and his new lady love."
With that the line went dead. Margarita swore under her breath. 'Don't make a move Margarita, stay where you are Margarita. Would anything ever change?' All right, if that's the way they wanted it, she would stay put, at least for now.
************************************************************************
Addi Birol swung his arm across his desk sending papers flying around the room and his lamp crashing to the floor. This could not be happening. Fifteen years ago Scarecrow and Mrs. King had ruined all of his plans and sent him to prison. He had only been out for six months and he was not going to let them destroy his new plans. Under heavy disguise he had slipped into the country 3 months ago and began setting up a base of operations. When Assi had joined him things were starting to come together. Within the week he expected the whole world to fear the name of Addi Birol once again. Damn his foolish son! Assi had been a mere boy when he had gone to prison, but Assi knew the story. He knew how Magda and her sister had betrayed him to the Americans. He had cautioned his son about the pretty young agent. Yet Assi swore he knew what he was doing. The fool! There was no way he would let Scarecrow set him up for a second time. 'No,' Addi thought, 'this is my party Stetson. You and your pretty little wife are going to pay for this. At least this time I have the advantage. Assi's foolishness may have brought him under surveillance, but you'll never be expecting me - my friends in the Middle East are seeing to that. As far as you're concerned I'm still rotting in that prison hole you sent me to 15 years ago. I'm almost glad you're involved,' Addi balled his hand into a fist and struck the wall. 'Because this time it is I who has the upper hand.'