Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King and characters are the property of Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. The plot is mine but the credit is theirs. Enjoy!
Lee and Amanda's past resurfaces after Birol escapes from prison and seeks revenge. All secrets are revealed. Takes place after the series ends.
Vengeance and Valor
Chapter 6
Thirty minutes later everyone had gathered in the cabin. Billy arrived 15 minutes after Birol had cleared out and Lee had debriefed him. He told Billy everything from the broken finger to the inside leak never wavering until it was time to move on to the next task. "Amanda's mom is at the Cumberland right?" He asked quietly.
"Lee let me do that." Billy offered.
"No, I… I promised Amanda I'd tell them what happened." Billy didn't argue he knew scarecrow's mind was made up. Lee began to walk out the door. "Oh Billy?"
"Yes."
"Thanks for keeping Birol's surveillance tapes out of the original report."
Billy nodded knowingly. "There's not a whole lot of privacy with this job. As far as I was concerned those tapes had no baring on the case against Addi."
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The knock at the door made Dotty jump. She looked at the clock 4:15 am. The sick feeling at the pit of her stomach rose to her throat. She walked over and opened the door grateful that she couldn't sleep and had showered and dressed already. "Lee…" she stopped short knowing that if he was here Amanda was gone. The look in his eyes betrayed his message. "I need to sit." She said as she slid into a chair.
Lee silently closed the door not wanting to wake the boys. He was grateful it would be just Dotty first. "Dotty…" his voice cracked.
"She's not dead is she!" She asked alarmed at Lee's emotional state. Everything she knew about him told her he was a mountain of strength, and now more than ever knowing what he really did for a living.
"No! No. She's… Addi got her this morning."
"How! She was supposed to have the 'best protection'." She quoted her daughter.
"She gave herself up-"
"She what!" Dotty interrupted. This was not going well at all.
"Birol was going to kill one of our friends if he didn't find her, and Amanda left her hiding place to save her life." Lee answered calmly. He had regained his composure realizing Dotty needed him to be strong. She asked me to make sure you understood her decision."
"Well I don't." She said. "How could she do this to us? How could she just forget she has a family that needs her?" Dotty questioned.
"Amanda couldn't live with herself if she knew that her freedom had cost someone their life." He answered knowing she would understand.
Dotty nodded slowly realizing the truth of what he was saying. "Did he hurt her?" She asked.
How could he answer that? "Um… nothing serious."
"What does that mean? For you spies what's serious?"
"Mrs. West… Dotty you just need to trust me okay." He answered hoping that would be enough.
She nodded giving in. Lee leaned over giving her a hug. "Do you think he'll kill her?" She asked quietly.
He kissed the top of her head. "We're going to get her back." He answered resolutely.
"Grandma?" Phillip asked clearing the sleep from his eyes. "Lee?" Slowly he surveyed the scene. "What happened? Where's mom?"
"Phillip get you brother. We need to have a family meeting." A very determined Dotty said pulling away from Lee.
Chapter 7
Addi opened the door and shoved Amanda inside. She froze. "Do you like it? I had it built just for you." He said very pleased with himself. It was the exact room he had her in most of the time when he had last year. Amanda remembered the late night transfers but Birol always preferred that location. Now she was standing on the same white floor with the same white walls; no windows and a single lamp hanging from the ceiling. "We spent a lot of time in this room didn't we Amanda?" He asked coming up behind her pushing her in farther. "This will be your room for a while. I'll be back so don't go anywhere." He said kissing the back of her neck. She tried jerking away but he had an arm around her waist. "I'll be right back." He said again. Amanda didn't move until the door slammed shut.
Her hands were still tied behind her back and her left arm throbbed from her shoulder down to her finger. She slowly studied the room. Maybe if she could get her hands untied she could find a loose nail or board she could use to fight back. Her scan stopped high in the far corner. There were brackets of some kind mounted in the ceiling; she wasn't sure what they were for and moved on to the floor. Her gaze settled on two metal loops in the floor about five feet apart.
"They should be a perfect fit." Addi told her. She hadn't heard the door open, then it dawned on her what he was talking about. He meant to tie her hands to the bolts in the floor. She quietly looked at him. He hand a chair in one hand, a metal one like he had the last time. He also had a video camera tucked under his other arm. Her heart sank. He didn't need to bring Lee here; he'd send a tape to Lee. Birol quietly stood on the chair and positioned the camera on the brackets she had just been considering. He switched it on and crawled down. He stared at her. "You know, I've done some research on you." He started evenly. "The whole time I had you, you were an agent. I hear you and Stetson are the best. It may be fun trying to get information from you." He paused. "But I already have a source I can trust. No, from you I want revenge."
"Why?" She finally spoke her first words since leaving the safe house.
"You and Stetson put me away." He replied stepping closer backing her against the wall. "Prisons where I come from are nothing like your American prisons. Would you like to guess how many broken ribs I had this past year?"
"You killed hundreds of people and expect me to feel sorry about a couple broken ribs?" She asked incredulously.
He slapped her with such force she was knocked to the ground. "Twelve broken ribs and yes I do expect you to care." He hissed. "Let's play a game shall we. I'm going to try and make you care. How many ribs can I break with one kick?" Amanda tried to squirm free but he had her pinned. He stood quickly and brought his foot down forcefully. She heard the bones break. He stooped back down smiling, extremely pleased with himself. "Let's count them." He said as he fingered each break. She bit her lip trying not to cry out. She knew Birol was taping the whole thing. "Well that one broke twice, I'll count that as two just to show you I can be a good guy. Unfortunately there are only nine brakes." He replied calmly and suddenly punched her side. The pain was too much to bare and her world became dark.
Chapter 8
Lee was sitting in a meeting with all the agents involved in the night before when a courier came in.
"I ordered no interruptions!" Billy protested.
"Sir it's from Birol." The man replied meekly handing Billy the package.
"Everyone's dismissed for lunch. Lee, Francine…" Billy ordered heading toward his office. Billy opened the box to reveal videotape and nothing else. Lee took the tape and headed for the VCR.
"Lee you don't have to. Let me watch it." Francine pleaded.
He silenced her with a look. "I need to." He answered quietly and put the tape in. As he listened to their conversation he silently took in the room. Birol had recreated it making Lee wonder how long Birol had been planning revenge. He was suddenly jolted from his thoughts by the slap. He had heard what Amanda had said, he knew she was right, but wished she'd just remain quiet like the manual said. He almost smiled in spite of himself. Amanda tended to rewrite the manual a lot, which made him love her even more.
"…twelve broken ribs…" He heard Addi explain and he realized what Birol was about to do.
"No." He breathed. Francine glanced at him. Then they saw him pin her to the ground and heard the sickening crack of ribs breaking. Lee sat down not realizing that the worst horror was yet to come. He could see the pain in her face as she bit her lip trying not to scream while Birol fingered each rib counting to see if he had broken his quota of twelve. The room was getting dark for Lee. "… only nine…" He heard in the haze and watched helplessly as Birol punched her in the side. His wife cried in pain and went limp. Lee heard Francine gasp and Billy shut off the video. He walked by Lee and placed a hand on his shoulder. He shuttered slightly.
"He will pay for this." Billy promised evenly and quietly left the office giving him some space.
Francine was still staring at the blank screen. "Lee, do you want to tal-"
"No," he cut her off.
She nodded and slowly got up her knees were still shaky, "I'm going to start questioning everyone present last night."
"I'll be there in a minute." He answered waiting for the door to close. Lee wanted to destroy something; anything to make up for the fact that he couldn't rip Birol's face off that very moment. He needed to focus this anger and use it to help Amanda. His first goal was to find the leak and make them regret they ever changed sides. He opened the door and purposefully headed toward the interrogation rooms.
Chapter 9
Amanda wasn't sure how long she had been lying there. Every movement hurt. She tried holding her breath to have some momentary relief of pain but the following breath was too painful. So she settled on slow breaths. That was better but the pain was still intense. She knew that she was lucky that her lung hadn't been punctured, but that could change with sudden movement. She tried to slowly sit but stars exploded and she felt the darkness over coming her again. She lay back down, squeezed her eyes shut as tears rolled out. Hearing the door open she determined to show him no weakness. He walked up to her with a knife; she froze. He grabbed her left arm took the knife and with one swift move cut the rope her hands were still bound with. Amanda closed her eyes composing herself from the fear that rose up after seeing the blade. She tried moving her hands quickly remembering her broken finger. The pain in her ribs had caused her to forget what seemed to be a minor injury now. The pain intensified through out her body as he drug her to the middle of the floor. She was tied down before she had time to react. Then the fear rose up again knowing what he intended to do.
He bent down and slowly kissed her forehead. "I've waited a long time for this." He whispered.
She glanced up at the video camera and saw the red light on. "Please," she pleaded. "I'll do what ever you want, just please don't record this."
He studied her and suddenly, to her surprise his face softened. He walked up to the camera and shut it off. He regarded her for a few minutes and walked out the door leaving her tied to the floor very puzzled and very relieved.
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Birol walked out of the room and saw Fred Connor's questioning look. "I couldn't do it." He confessed. "She loves Stetson so much she was willing to give herself to me to spare him pain." He paused. "I had a love like that when I was young and too foolish to realize what I had."
"So now what are you going to do?" Fred asked sarcastically. "They put you away. They destroyed your life."
"Save it. You'll get your money either way. Phyllis died in prison. They will pay. Amanda King will die, but Scarecrow will be here to watch it happen." Birol finished gaining his resolve back. He had shown weakness in front of Amanda and that had to be remedied.
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An hour later Birol slipped into the room with a whip in hand. He noticed Amanda was either asleep or passed out. That would change. He thought with a sneer. Birol turned the camera on. He untied Amanda and turned her over. The movement revived her. She struggled slightly but was too weak to resist him. He tied her hands back down once on her stomach. She waited quietly not aware of what he had carried into the room. Snap! Between the horrid sound and the searing pain Amanda cried out. Birol poured two more strikes down on her. Each one more painful than the other. With all his might he struck her one last time. By this time there was no controlling the tears. Birol walked over to the camera and with a sick smile turned it off taking the tape out.
"It's time to give that husband of yours another update." He said any compassion now gone and he left the room hearing the soft cries as the door shut. He did have respect for her though. Many men he had tortured would have been groveling long ago.
Chapter 10
The phone rang in the Q-bureau. The sound made Lee jump. "Yeah," he answered.
"Lee it's Billy. We got another tape."
"I'll be right down." He announced and rushed from the office.
Lee walked past Francine's desk. "Billy got another tape." He said quietly.
"I heard." She answered.
"Are you coming?"
"I wasn't sure if you wanted me to."
"I think… I think I need you to." He choked out.
They both entered Billy's office and sat down. Lee watched quietly as the tape began and Birol walked into the room with a knife. Lee grabbed Francine's hand. Relief flowed over him as Birol used the blade to cut the ropes binding her hands. The pain in his wife's face as Addi moved her touch his soul. He wanted to jump through the screen and kill him. He watched as Addi tied her to the floor and he knew what he intended to do he closed his eyes not wanting to watch but knowing he had to. His eyes flew open as he heard his wife beg Birol not to tape it; that she'd do whatever he wanted. His heart burned with love for this woman who in spite of everything was thinking only of Lee. There was something in Addi's eyes as he walked up to turn the tape off. Was it compassion?
The tape was silent for a few seconds and started again. Birol turned Amanda over she was clearly fighting him but had no strength. He tied her down on her stomach then Lee saw the whip and heard the crack. Amanda had cried out obviously not expecting that. Four times Lee was forced to watch his wife wiped, her back bleeding badly. Birol left the room but Lee didn't take his eyes off Amanda's.
"Francine," Billy began quietly. "I want you to take these tapes to a quiet room and see if you can get any clues about Amanda's location."
Francine merely nodded and Billy noted that Lee had no argument. He had no desire to watch any of that again. She gave Lee's hands a squeeze, took the tapes from her boss, and left the room dreading her task.
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Francine ran over the tapes several times and was about to give up. Now that the initial shock of what she was watching wore off the realization that Amanda was lying somewhere bleeding set in. All the medical complications ran through her mind and she cursed the agency for teaching her those things. It was in the beginning of the second tape, as Birol entered the room with the knife, that Francine caught a glimpse of something on the other side if the door. She ran it back and slowed the tape. She gasped as a face came into view. Taking the tapes she ran back to Billy's office.
To be continued…