On arrival at the airport, Amanda glanced around the concourse at the flux of arriving passengers. None fit the description or picture she had from the file. She glanced at her watch and the Arrivals board. He should be here anytime now. She stood on tiptoe and craned her head to look over the people in front of her. "Oh my Gosh," she whispered. The pictures hadn't conveyed the man.
Ian Fraser strode down the concourse with all the patience of a tightly leashed lion. Eight hour plane flights with cramped seating didn't agree with his frame or his temper. He sighed and raked his gaze over the people waiting on the arrivals. He hoped his contact would make his move soon. As he paused, he felt a slight figure collide with him and his garment bag slipped off his shoulder and onto the ground.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I just wasn't looking where I was going. You know, my mother always says "Amanda, God put eyes in the front of your head for a reason!" Maybe I should start listening to her, but you know at my age it's hard to keep listening to your mother for every little thing. Oh, are you OK? I didn't hurt you did I? Well, what a way to welcome someone to Washington. You know, you may just want to turn around and go and get back on your plane...I hear the traffic is unbearable today." Amanda paused for breath and looked up into the face of her erstwhile contact handing his garment bag back to him.
It couldn't be. This delicate chatterbox with a cloud of curly dark hair framing a face dominated by almond shaped brown eyes - she could not be his Agency contact. Yet, she looked up at him with such urgency...
"Come lass, dinna fret. A wee thing like yerself couldn't hurt me. And as for the traffic, you know what they say. It can be unbearable, but only for those who mind it." He carefully assessed her face as he grasped her elbow to stabilize her.
Amanda closed her eyes in relief. She had made contact. Opening her eyes, she afforded him a blinding smile. "Well, the least I can do is help you find your way...Have you been to Washington before?" She asked him and inclined her head toward the exit.
She moved a rapid clip on long, graceful legs - one of the few women he had met who could keep up with his stride. As they exited, she kept up an incessant chatter all the way to the parking lot. He climbed into the car, and turned to gaze bemused at this unconventional agent.
"I'm sorry...I always talk more when I'm nervous. I was afraid I would miss you...I mean, I don't know how I could miss you - they gave me your picture and all...," Amanda blushed as she realized that what she just said could have been taken amiss. She let out a short forced breath and held out her hand. "I'm Amanda King with the Agency. Mr. Melrose is having us work together. How do you do?" Oh, why did this have to feel so very awkward, she wondered.
"My pleasure, Amanda. I'm Ian. Thank you for meeting me." His mouth quirked up in a wry one-sided smile as his hand engulfed hers in a handshake.
"Shall we go to your hotel?" Amanda asked before hastily correcting herself, "I mean... you know... would you like me to take you there so you can check in...by yourself...and go to bed...I mean get some sleep ...or rest...you know...," She could feel the blush crawling up her cheeks.
"No, lass, but thank you...we can head straight to the Agency." Ian's low voice rumbled with well-meant laughter.
"OK, then...well let's go...," Amanda pulled her wagon out of the airport into traffic and lapsed into silence. How much more could she have embarrassed herself, she wondered. She would have happily had the seat swallow her up entirely. There was something about Ian Fraser that just plain rattled her. She took furtive glances at him as she drove. He was a lanky man, with a well-built frame. Black tousled hair brushed his collar and swept over his brow. His face was comprised of angles with high cheekbones and a strong chin. Dark, intent eyes roved the streets, but his thoughts were far away.
He pulled his thoughts back in and glanced over at his pretty companion. "I don't recall meeting you the last time I was here...Are you new to the Agency?" His burr made the cadence of his speech fascinating.
"Yes, well...I've just been there part-time...just about two years now." she responded, glancing in her rearview mirror ...anywhere but at the man who sat next to her.
"And how did a fair lass like you end up in a business like this?" He inquired.
She laughed quietly at the memory..."Well this agent caught me at the train station and begged me to give a package to a man on a train with a red hat...," and she related the rest of the story of how she became involved in agency business. He was an attentive listener and she gradually found herself beginning to relax in his presence.
"I might have known it would be Lee who found you...he's always had an eye for the ladies," Ian smiled.
"Do you know Lee, then?" Amanda asked.
"Aye...it's been a few years though. My wife Fiona was good friends with his Dorothy. Fiona was an agent, too." Ian clenched his hands once and glanced out the window.
"Your wife...?" Amanda began.
"Died two years ago...On a mission I assigned to her. She was a fine agent, and a better wife." Ian's face tightened into a drawn mask.
"I'm so sorry...I can't imagine...," Amanda responded quietly.
"She did what she loved to do. I knew that...and I knew that loving her meant understanding that...After all, it's what we are and what we do, right?" he turned to Amanda at a traffic light.
Her eyes were caught by the raw pain in his and she laid her right hand over his. "I know...but that doesn't make it any easier." Her voice cracked as she felt a wave of empathy for the brawny agent next to her.
They shifted to more prosaic topics and completed the drive to the Agency. She shared stories her life following her divorce, raising her two sons and her mother's interference with her love life with rueful humor. By the time they pulled into the Agency parking lot, she felt a deeper connection with this stranger than some of the people she had worked with for two years. Perhaps she could manage with a new partner, after all, she thought with surprise.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
"Are you sure your information source is accurate?" Lee asked Ian leaning over the schematic draped over Billy's desk. He was more abrupt than he meant to be. Lee was uncomfortable with Amanda's partnering the Scottish MI 5 agent, but reluctant to admit it even to himself. He felt the tension as they all were cramped in Billy's office.
"One of my best agents died getting it to me, Lee. I would stake my life on what he said," Ian replied bleakly. He leaned against the closed door, fatigue finally taking its toll. "Alastair was confident that Scarlet Omen was going to steal the new HCRT-3-9 explosive to blow up the oil rigs off the north coast of Scotland. It is the only explosive which will bond under water in the frigid temperatures up there. It will disrupt the oil supply, cause an environmental nightmare, and make us completely dependent on foreign oil."
Francine traced a finger over shipping lines on the chart as she hummed thoughtfully to herself. "They could probably get close just from one of these shipping barges," she thought aloud.
"Aye," Ian replied, "there's no way to completely secure the rigs - we can only secure the explosive. My intelligence said there would be an attempt here at your labs where it was developed."
Lee looked up with an intent gaze, "Trust us, Ian, we won't let it happen - not here."
Ian nodded, but looked down as he thrust his hands in his pockets. Amanda bit her lip as she watched him worry.
Billy wound up a conversation on the phone with his superiors before turning to the group.
"We'll give you all the support you need, Cyclone. You have priority A1 status." Billy scanned the group. "Francine, see if we have any chatter on this HCRT-3-9 explosive. Cross-index with other agencies, see if they've heard of this Scarlet Omen faction and if there are any known players."
He turned to Lee "Cover the lab in Bethesda and make sure their security measures are tight. We don't need to replay any of our history there."
He faced Amanda seated in the corner..."And Amanda, get this man back to his hotel. He's asleep on his feet. I'll need you back here bright and early tomorrow." He pinned Ian with a glare "You get that rest, man. You're no good to us without a good night's sleep. We need you on the top of your game. All right people...Move!" and pointed to the door.
Ian held open the door as Francine darted through "Nice to see you, Frankie..," He grinned as she glared back at him. He could always get a rise out of her. It was one of his great pleasures in life.
Amanda passed quickly by Lee without making eye contact. She quietly began fussing about Ian, urging him to pack up to head back to the hotel. Lee watched her rest her hand on Ian's shoulder as she urged him to look at her. With minor complaints, the tall man allowed her to maneuver him to the elevator. Lee felt a sharp stab of surprised regret as Amanda devoted her attention to the towering agent. He shook it off. He had his own work to do, and after all, he preferred to do it alone.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Amanda finished up the dishes in her kitchen as she listened to the habitual patter of her sons squabbling as they went upstairs. "OK - Fellas - get a move on...It's already 10 minutes past your bed time," she called over her shoulder.
Dotty sighed, "I'll follow them and make sure they don't get lost up there." She kissed her daughters cheek, "I have a date with a soft mattress and a good mystery," as she held up a racy potboiler and headed for the stairs.
Amanda laughed, "G'night Mother!" she called out. She gasped aloud as she turned around to see Lee through her kitchen windows. Her heart picked up its beat. What on earth was he doing here, she wondered? She dried her hands and headed for the back door.
"Lee?" she whispered as she headed out back, "is everything alright?"
Lee gazed at her and fully saw her for the first time in quite a long while. At the end of the day, she still looked fresh and pressed in a white shirt tucked into blue jeans. Her manner was no different than it had been each other time he had come to her back door. For once, his urbanity fled and he wasn't sure if he knew the right thing to say.
"I guess that's why I'm here...to see if everything is alright," he glanced at her, hesitating, before looking away.
"What do you mean, Lee?" Amanda asked as she slid into place at her picnic table. Lee gazed at her and shifted uncomfortably. He began to pace.
He faltered as he began his apology, "Look, well, I know I was hard on you yesterday...I may have overreacted, a little." He spun around to face her, "but you could have really gotten hurt if I had been an enemy agent! Amanda...I was worried about you!"
"I know that, Lee," she sighed looking down. Why could she never stay mad at this man? What did he want from her anyway?
Lee slid into the seat facing her. "Then why did you ask for a new partner?" his voice was raspy as his hazel eyes stayed intent on her face.
"I didn't!" she exclaimed, looking up at him in surprise. "Mr. Melrose insisted...I assumed he told you. After yesterday, I rather think he was respecting your wishes," she looked away. "Maybe it's for the best, Scarecrow. I think it's time I learned to work with other agents. Ian and I seem to be getting along...," her voice trailed off.
"Yes, well I certainly saw that!" Lee bit off, looking up and away. "You couldn't do enough for him, could you?"
"I beg your pardon?" Amanda responded with rising inflection.
"He's not your type, Amanda." Lee stated with authority, "And honestly, if you think otherwise, he's probably just trying to make a point to compete with me. Cyclone has always loved attention from the ladies."
"I see, well, isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?" Amanda looked at him with a crooked smile that didn't reach her eyes. "First of all, Ian is simply my temporary partner. But you're saying that if a man pays attention to me, then it could never be based on my own charms, but only because he has a score to settle with you." Her voice cracked, "I don't know what to say, Lee. Either you have a mighty high opinion of yourself or a very low one of me. You might be surprised to find some men do find me attractive," her voice had an ironic twist of wounded pride he had never heard before. Amanda placed her hands flat on the table and pushed herself up into a standing position. "I think you've said enough for one evening, Scarecrow. You know your way out." She went inside.
Lee watched in startled surprise as Amanda shut the door firmly behind her and turned off the kitchen light. He rubbed his face with both hands as he tried to assess just where he started to go wrong with Amanda tonight. He had only meant to set things right and apologize. He needed to know that even if they weren't working together, that she was okay...that she would...forgive him.
His mental dialogue continued as he walked to the silver Corvette and slung himself in the drivers seat. Where did she get off with that crack about whether or not she was attractive? He damn well knew she was attractive; she did things to his pulse without even trying that any woman would envy. And he did not have a 'mighty high opinion of himself' either, he was just giving her a friendly warning, he reasoned. He started the ignition and hit the gas pedal a little too hard. Ah hell, he knew better. He didn't want Amanda within twenty feet of Ian Fraser. He just didn't want to analyze why.
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