Chapter 8 - A Simple Assignment
Amanda was up at 5am the next morning since she went to bed so early. She made her way downstairs and washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. Then she made some breakfast since she knew it would likely be a long day. She had spent the time last night studying her scenario so she would be able to play the part of Ted Rudolph's daughter, Karen. She still wasn't thrilled about lying to the man but it was important that she convince him that she was Karen for now until the real Karen could be located. She hoped he would not be too angry when he found out that they had deceived him. She couldn't help but wonder what he was like. Her own father had been such a kind, compassionate man. Though she lost her father way too soon, she found it sad that Karen had never known her father at all. This was probably part of the reason that Lee didn't seem to want to settle down with a nice girl since the agency didn't seem to make it easy for anyone to have a family. She finished eating her pancakes and cleaned up her dish. She then headed upstairs to get ready for meeting Ted. After showering and changing, she came down the stairs and found her Mother in the kitchen making breakfast for the boys. Amanda gave her Mother a hug and said "Merry Christmas Eve, Mother."
"You too Darling. When can we expect you home?"
"I'll try to hurry as quickly as I can. I hope to be home for dinner." Amanda said.
"Okay Dear. We'll see you when you get here."
Amanda rushed out the door before there could be any more lectures and drove to the agency. She found Lee standing outside his Porsche when she arrived. He seemed pre-occupied but opened the door and helped her into the car. He jumped in and started the car up and they were off. At first they were both very quiet with their thoughts as he drove to the drop site to get the map. After they had the map, Lee made a quick call to Billy to give him directions on where the cabin was just in case he needed to come find them.
Then as they headed out of town, Amanda began rambling. She was still worried she wouldn't be home early enough that evening. It was bad enough that she wasn't going to the movies with the family but she wanted to at least be home to let the boys open their gifts and to spend Christmas Eve with them. Lee assured her again that they would be home in time though.
Amanda decided to change the subject and asked Lee how he spent Christmas. She was actually a little surprised when he opened up to her. It made her sad to think he had never had a real Christmas though. She wondered whether some day he might come to her house for Christmas and she could show him what a real Christmas was really like. She would never be able to explain it to her Family this year though so she didn't bother to ask him. It was only later that she really realized that she had gotten Lee to tell her something about his past; something that was very personal. It reminded her of when he told her about his partner dying. It wasn't easy for Lee Stetson to open up to anyone; that she was sure of. At that moment, she decided it was best to change the subject so she did.
"I'm sure your New Year's is spent in a more festive way." Amanda suggested.
"I don't know. I guess sometimes they are. Amanda, when you are a loner like me, sometimes it is easier just to work through the holidays."
"You don't ask any of your girlfriends out for the evening?" Amanda asked shocked.
"Not usually. When you ask women out during the holidays, they start thinking there is something between you. I'm just not ready to settle down yet so it is easier to just spend the night alone and toast in the New Year by myself. What about you? What do you do for New Year's?"
"Me? Oh, usually not much. Mother and I usually find some old movie on TV to watch together. Then of course we watch Dick Clark and ring in the New Year with him."
"Oh yeah; good Ole Dick Clark. He and I have rung in many new years together too. Surely Dan is planning to bring you out somewhere for a romantic night on the town to celebrate in the New Year this year though?" Lee mused.
"Dean! I have no idea what Dean's plans are as he hasn't told me. I'm not big on going out for New Year's. It is safer to stay home and watch the ball drop on tv."
"Yeah? Well I think we are here." Lee said.
Lee pulled the Porsche off the road and into the woods. As he began handing all the supplies to Amanda, she wondered why he didn't have a backpack to carry all the stuff. This man might be the best spy ever but he sure was lousy at camping and hiking. After he filled her arms with all the supplies, he took off walking and Amanda had no choice but to follow him but she knew she would never be able to carry all this stuff and keep up his pace so she finally stopped him and he agreed to take his share of the items. After about 45 minutes of him walking so fast that Amanda was all out of breathe trying to keep up with him, she finally asked him if they could stop for a minute. He gave her a hard time about being the one who wanted to be home by 5pm but he did stop. As she as standing looking at him, he suddenly threw his body at her and knocked her to the ground while landing on top of her. It wasn't quite like any of the fantasies that she had had so far about Lee but it took her by surprise enough that she couldn't help but ramble on about how they should talk about a relationship before actually having one. He quickly covered her mouth and told her to shut up as he looked around the area. She was embarrassed to learn that he was just protecting her from what appeared to be only hunters. He seemed pretty oblivious to what her thoughts had been though so she quickly let it all drop.
Lee began trying to figure out where north was and that helped to change the subject. Amanda had been a Scout Mother for enough years to know how to figure out where North was. At first Lee teased her about her "Spy" courses but then he couldn't help but tell her that she did a good job when they arrived at the cabin. She started to feel nervous as she realized that it was time to pretend to be this man's daughter.
Rudolph quickly bought the story that she was Karen and they went inside the cabin to talk. Amanda sat at the table with him and told him things that would make him believe her. She was doing pretty good until she almost blew it by saying she didn't know what it felt like to be lonely at Christmas. She caught herself quickly though and Rudolph was so involved in feeling sorry for himself that he didn't seem to notice. Lee suggested that they should be getting back but as they prepared to get up, Lee spotted the two men from the woods with AKM Automatic weapons. It seemed that the KGB had followed them right to Rudolph. Amanda could only gulp as she realized what a tight spot they were in.
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Lee's Point of View
Lee had arrived that morning at the agency and actually seemed to have a weird sense of relief that Amanda would be doing this mission with him. He couldn't put his hand on it but somehow it seemed meant to be for her to be there. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts about it that he didn't hear Amanda pull up beside of him. He shook his head to clear his mind and they got into the car and were on the way. Janus had left the map where he said he would and Lee quickly headed out to where they would find the cabin.
They chatted as they rode along and at first it was normal Amanda type conversation. She was worried about getting home to her family for Christmas Eve. Lee had never had to worry about that and though he appreciated those who did feel that need; he had no real knowledge of what it actually felt like. Then somehow the conversation got more personal. Why did he let her pull private things out of him that he didn't let anyone else? It took him a few years to trust Billy enough to tell him some of his personal past but the next thing he knew, he was sharing with Amanda what it was like at Christmas time with the Colonial. He could tell that she felt bad for him but life hadn't been all bad and hey; he had turned out okay. Who needed Christmas anyway? Just another day and one that was way too hyped up in his opinion.
So of course then the conversation turned to New Year's. In his mind, he would take a beautiful woman out on New Year's Eve and wine and dine her. They would have a lovely dinner and then go to a party where they would dance the night away and toast each other at midnight. After the party, they would find their way back to his place and ring in the New Year in the best way possible. The problem with that scenario was that women expected more the next day. Lee wasn't ready to give anything more. He wasn't sure if he ever would be.
He was glad that they had arrived at their destination so he could stop thinking. They got out of the car and he began gathering the items that Leatherneck had given to him. He still wished that he had gone back for a backpack but for now, he handed everything to Amanda and she found a spot of all of it. Lee was not into the whole hiking hobby like Amanda so he just wanted this to be over with. He began fast walking through the woods with little thought that Amanda might not be able to keep up. He just knew that if he walked fast then they wouldn't be able to discuss any more of his personal life. They had been walking for a quite a while when she asked for a break. As they stood there catching their breaths, he suddenly spotted two men with rifles heading their way. Without thinking he threw his body on top of Amanda's to protect her if they began shooting. She began rambling about how sudden it was and how this would change their whole professional relationship and he covered her mouth and told her to shut up. When he looked again the men were gone so he got up and helped her to her feet. It was only at that moment that he realized that she thought he was making moves on her. Well that was just silly, why would he make moves on Amanda? He took a moment to be amused by her but managed to keep a straight face about it. They really needed to get moving though so they began walking again. He began to worry that they weren't going in the right direction but Amanda stepped in and taught him all about Moss according to the Scouts. He shook his rudely as she explained it but then was amazed when she found the cabin. Before he could think it out, he told her what a great job she had done. She smiled and seemed pleased that he acknowledged her work so he decided maybe it wasn't such a bad gesture by him after all. It was Christmas Eve so he did a nice deed for the holiday.
Amanda quickly convinced Janus that she was his daughter and he invited them inside so they could all talk. Amanda even managed to deal with Rudolph's bad smoking problem. Thankfully it was cigarettes and not cigars. Lee cringed when Amanda said that she didn't know what it was like to be alone at the holidays but was impressed that she corrected herself quickly and he bought it. He chuckled as she used the story of how he spent Christmas as an example of how Karen spent it. By this time, they had bonded well so it was time to start the long walk back. Rudolph had explained that a taxi had dropped him off at the edge of the woods with strict orders to return by 4pm that afternoon to pick him up. Lee realized that it was a good thing that he was thinking ahead since he stupidly had brought the Porsche instead of using Amanda's car. There was no way Janus was going to fit in the car with them.
Lee started to head for the door and at that moment, two men came out of the woods with AKM Automatic weapons. Lee was so mad at himself for thinking they were just hunters. Now they were trapped in this cabin with no real escape route. Neither Rudolph nor Lee had brought any good weapons with them. Lee decided that the only way they were getting out of this was for him to take out one of the men and confiscate his rifle. The plan worked perfectly until the Russian threw his gun away instead of giving it to Lee. The second Russian opened fire on Lee as he ran for cover. Lee had been shot before many times but not from an automatic rifle so close up. The pain was immediate and excruciating but he managed to make it back inside the cabin. As he leaned against the fireplace, Amanda realized he had been hit and ran to his aid. Thankfully her Bluebelle training came to mind and she made him sit down before he passed out. Then she tried to find out if the cabin had any emergency medical supplies. Lee could barely concentrate on what she was asking because it hurt so badly. Then his whole world went black as Lee Stetson passed out.
TBC
