Chapter 9 - Muscarine Poisoning
After leaving Lee, Amanda called Delano and let him know that she would make the party after all. He seemed quite happy about that. Amanda went home and made sure the boys finished their homework, ate dinner with them and then told her Mother that some of her old friends that she had met the other night at Chuck's alumni party had decided to all go out to dinner that night. "I might be a little late Mother so don't wait up." Amanda said as she headed out for the evening. She drove to the Victoria Greenwich house and after saying hello to Frederick and Mary, she headed upstairs. She chose the blue gown this time and put on the prettiest of the jewels. It hadn't been nearly as much fun this time dressing up because now it was more real. James Delano likely was a criminal and that really upset Amanda. He had been so charming that she felt herself drawn to him a little bit and it was hard to accept that he wasn't what he seemed. She heard voices downstairs and knew that Lee had arrived to take her to the party. She slipped on her heels and grabbed the fake mink wrap and headed down the stairs. Lee smiled when he saw her and then guided her out to the limo that was parked outside. As he drove, he reminded her of her role in this whole thing. She was simply to wait until the party was in full swing, then go to the study, unlock the French Doors, flick the lights 3 times and then rejoin the party. What could possibly go wrong? She felt sad that James Delano would probably end up in jail after tonight and it was a hard lesson for her to learn why she needed to keep her emotions out of her work. Selfishly, she kept hoping that he wasn't involved and that Lee was wrong but that was all a fantasy and she knew it would soon reveal itself.
They arrived at the party and Lee helped her out of the limo. As she began to walk away, he stopped her and told her that she looked "Fabulous". Amanda couldn't believe he said it. He had never said anything so nice to her before. She couldn't help herself from checking him over too. He always looked so handsome but especially when he was in a tux or suit. His words really meant a lot to her. She entered Delano's house and he immediately came to take possession of her. As he introduced her to Hollander, she got a bad vibe from the man but she stayed close to Delano so she would feel protected. Delano soon whisked her away from the party so he could show her the view from the Terrace. He took the opportunity to give her a deep and passionate kiss and once again Amanda felt drawn to him. They both got lost in the moment but then Amanda reminded him about his guests and he reluctantly let her go. She could definitely fall for this man if only he wasn't a criminal. They went back downstairs to listen to the opera singer. After everyone seemed to be captivated by the singer, Amanda whispered to Delano that she needed to use the powder room. As she headed out, she was stopped by a worker and asked if he could help her. She asked for the location of the powder room and he pointed to a room right in front of them. Amanda entered and then came right back out and found the coast was clear. As she made her way down the hallway, she knew exactly which room was the study because Lee was able to describe it to her from the time they had come in to sweep the house. As she entered the room, she soon realized that finding a way to flick the lights was not easy and headed back to flick the light switch on the wall. At that moment, Delano, Hollander and a voice she didn't recognize entered the office area outside the study. Amanda quickly flattened herself against the wall and listened in on their conversations. She could hear them talking about Persian Missile sites and then Delano came into the study to grab a suitcase that apparently was full of money. It was all true. Delano was involved in all of this. It made it easier for Amanda to deal with helping turn him in. As soon as the voices receded out into the hallway, Amanda flicked the lights and went to the French Doors, unlocked them and then closed them again for Lee. She then headed back to the party. As she opened the door, Hollander blocked her way. He pulled out a gun and asked her to come with him as he led her up the stairs. Amanda knew that she was in trouble and that Lee would be coming in soon but wouldn't know she was in trouble. The only thing she could think to do was to leave her purse hanging off the stairs.
Hollander pulled her into a bedroom and began asking her who she was. At first Amanda tried to play dumb but he didn't buy it due to her saying the skiing was awful in Gstaad when it really was a great season. Suddenly he backhanded her across the face. Amanda had never been hit before and found it to be very painful. She was shocked that a man would hit a woman. She tried to convince him that she was just a housewife with 2 small children but he wouldn't believe her. He pulled out a vial and began filling a needle with its contents. He told her that since she wouldn't talk freely, he was going to help her remember who she was. As she watched him clear the needle of air, she got more scared and threatened to scream. He told her that no one would hear her because of the music but she still hoped that Lee might so she screamed. As Hollander began to inject the fluid into her arm, Amanda passed out from fright. Amanda never felt the needle that Hollander plunged into her arm.
SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK
Lee was blown away when he saw Amanda come down the stairs at the Greenwich house. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress that went almost to the floor. It covered her very conservatively but still showed her curves nicely. He immediately recovered from his first glance at her and smiled as she reached him. He then escorted her out to the limo and helped her inside. As he drove, he gave her last minute thoughts, advice and instructions. This assignment was a lot to ask of her especially since she had allowed herself to get attached to Delano and he needed to make sure she was going to be okay when the whole thing was over. She was a strong woman though and he knew she would bounce back from it. As they pulled up to the house, he got out and helped her out of the car. She wouldn't even look at him. He could tell how nervous she was and blamed himself for being so hard on her. He reached out as she walked by and said "You look fabulous" and flashed one of his charming smiles at her. She immediately lit up and some of her confidence quickly returned. He could tell that he had said the right thing even though it was true anyway. She headed inside while Lee stood near the car where he had a good view of the study. He hated that he couldn't see what was going on and know that Amanda was okay. Hopefully she did what he asked and stayed out of trouble. It took nearly an hour before he finally saw the study's lights flash 3 times. He quickly made his way to the French Doors and walked into the room. Lee was immediately attacked by an assailant that was pretty strong but Lee finally managed to knock him out. This attack meant only one thing, Amanda was in danger and he needed find her immediately. He walked out of the study and headed to the party where there was a woman singing opera. He began frantically looked for signs of Amanda. He looked over the crowd as they sat in chairs listening to the music and could immediately tell she wasn't there. He began frantically rubbing his fingers together like he always did when he was nervous or upset. Where was she? Then he noticed her purse hanging off the staircase. He quickly headed up the stairs and began to go through each room. Thankfully he heard Amanda scream. He bolted toward the sound and burst into a room to find Hollander sitting on the bed beside of an unconscious Amanda. Hollander reached for his gun and Lee struggled with him for control of it. After a short time, Lee was finally able to hit Hollander enough to knock him off balance and he dropped the gun. Lee grabbed it and made sure Hollander knew that he had lost. For just a moment, there was fear in Hollander's eyes but he quickly recovered and went back to a neutral face. Lee went to Amanda's side and checked her pulse and was relieved that she was still alive. He grabbed the needle off the bed and tried to see if it smelled like anything he recognized. It didn't so he demanded that Hollander tell him what was in it or else he would blow his brains all over the room. Hollander didn't miss a beat as he reminded him that they were both in the same business and knew that he would never talk. Lee wanted so badly to kill Hollander but he knew that wouldn't help Amanda so he hit him a hard blow to the neck which knocked him out. Lee went to Amanda and gently gathered her up into his arms. He carried her downstairs to where the party was and began looking for Delano. He was so upset that he could barely see straight but he knew he needed to keep it together if he was going to save Amanda. The singer stopped singing when she saw Lee holding Amanda and Delano stood up. Lee tried to keep his anger in check as he walked over to Delano while carrying Amanda. He demanded to know what Hollander had given her and Delano could only apologize. Lee was so close to tears but he was also so full of rage. It was all his fault that Amanda got hurt and he needed to fix this and if he had to hurt Delano to do so, he would do it. He told Delano that she didn't deserve this and she sure didn't. She was just a housewife who shouldn't be mixed up in this crazy business. He had let her down and now she might die. He didn't know what he would do if he lost her. It would be all his fault and he didn't know if he could live with himself. Then Delano told her that Hollander gave her 10 cc's of Muscarine. Lee cursed them both as he headed out of the party to find a phone so he could call an ambulance and let them know what she had been injected with so they could bring some antidote. As he waited for the ambulance to come, he called Billy to let him know what was happening and Billy told him to get control of himself and that he would meet him at the hospital. Billy agreed to send agents over right away to collect Hollander and Delano along with the other men who were working for them.
The Ambulance finally arrived and Lee carried Amanda out to it and laid her gently onto the stretcher. As they loaded the stretcher into the back of the ambulance, Lee was running his hand through his hair. He walked over and asked if he could ride with her and showed the EMT his badge. "Of course Mr. Stetson. Just please let us do our job though okay?"
"Sure, I'll stay out of the way." Lee said as he took a seat beside of the stretcher but out of the way so the EMT could work on her. Soon she had an IV inserted into her arm and the lifesaving antidote was administered. Thankfully it didn't take long for the antidote to take affect and the EMT told Lee that she was stabilized and left them alone as he made his way to the front of the ambulance for the rest of the ride. Lee got up and moved closer to Amanda. He was so full of emotion as he looked down at her sleeping so peacefully. She had no idea how close she had just come to dying and it was killing him. He couldn't help but be proud of her though because she had so bravely agreed to this whole assignment and then stood up to Hollander. He found his hand pushing her hair back from her eyes. She was just so beautiful. As he looked at her, he started talking to her. He would never have been brave enough to talk to her if she had been awake but since she was asleep, he told her what a great job she had done. He then even admitted that she might make a decent agent someday. At that moment her eyes opened and she thanked him. Lee's face turned to total panic as he realized she was awake and had heard him. Then he realized that she was out of it due to the pain meds that had been administered to her as she asked to be woken when she reached Portofino. Lee shook his head in amazement. Only Amanda could go through all she had and then come up with such a request. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry but he was sure thankful she would be okay. When did he start caring about her? He hadn't planned to ever let her into his heart but as he saw her lying on that bed and realized that he might lose her because of whatever Hollander had injected into her, he had found himself being torn apart emotionally. He knew at that moment that Amanda King had managed to work her way into a small part of his heart and that it would affect him greatly if anything should happen to her. They had already gone through a lot together even though they had only known each other for a couple of months. She was truly an amazing woman. Amanda had slipped back unconscious and Lee sat looking at her while holding her hand the rest of the ride to the hospital.
When the Ambulance arrived at the hospital, Lee stepped out of the way so they could unload the stretcher with Amanda on it and get her into the ER to make sure she was okay. He followed along behind and was pleasantly surprised that Billy had already filled out the paperwork for her.
"Lee, how is she?" Billy asked.
"She's going to be okay Billy."
"Thank God. What the hell happened?"
Lee looked pained as he told Billy about the last couple of hours. They of course would do a formal debriefing later and Amanda would need to be debriefed when she was up to it but this was just a conversation between two friends about a woman who was starting to mean a lot to both of them. Billy could tell that Lee was deeply affected by what had happened. He knew that Lee had faced death and heartache too much and as much as he wasn't ready to admit that Amanda had become important to him, Billy just knew that deep down, she had.
The Doctor came out and told them both that she would be just fine. They were going to keep her for a few hours to make sure the antidote was able to completely block out the effects of the Muscarine poisoning but at this point, it looked like Amanda was well on her way to recovery. He told them that they should be able to see her in a short time. Lee looked clearly relieved and Billy suggested that there was no reason to let Amanda's family know that she was at the hospital. Lee completely agreed. Billy went down to the lounge and found a coffee machine and purchased two cups of coffee. As he got back to the waiting room, he handed one of the cups to Lee. Lee gratefully took it as it gave himself to do with his hands since he was still pacing and rubbing his hand through his hair. Billy suggested that they both sit down and relax.
"You know Billy, I don't want you telling Amanda this but she did a hell of a job on this assignment. This was a tough one for her because she allowed her emotions to get in the way at first with Delano but then she pulled herself together and did what was needed to get the job down. When I fought with Hollander upstairs and saw the hate in his eyes, I realized just how much courage she had as she faced him. People don't learn that kind of courage. She might make a decent agent someday after all."
Billy smiled and said "Well time will tell Scarecrow. I'm glad you don't mind working with her as much these days though. Maybe your next case will be a little less dangerous."
"Well I still don't like Amanda being in the middle of all of this but I can't stop her."
"No, Amanda is definitely not someone who quits. I think it is what makes her so special."
The two men shared knowing looks as a Nurse came out to tell them that they could see her now.
Lee went ahead as the two men followed the nurse to the ER room where Amanda was recovering. She looked up as they both entered and said "What are you both doing here?" she said in her raspy voice.
"Mrs. King, do you remember what happened to you?" Billy asked.
"Yes Sir" Amanda Said. "That man Hollander found me after I flicked the lights to let Lee know that the doors were unlocked for him and he made me go upstairs with him. Lee had told me that he wasn't a nice man and the first time I met him, I knew he had been right. Well as we were going up the stairs, I knew Lee would need to know where I was if he was going to be able to save me so I decided to leave my purse on the stairs. I expected Hollander to realize what I was doing but he was so intent on getting me out of view that he didn't pay attention to what I did and hurried me into a bedroom. Then he began asking me all kinds of questions like who I work for and what had I heard in the study? I of course played dumb to all of it but he didn't believe me. Well it seems he had set me up with a Gstaad question about the skiing being awful and I had agreed with him. Lee didn't tell me if the skiing was good or not last season in Gstaad and I guess it was the best ever so he knew I was lying. I wouldn't tell him anything though especially since I really didn't know anything so he threatened to give me this drug if I didn't talk. He then started telling me that I would begin experiencing blurred vision and increased salivation with excessive sweating along with abdominal cramping and diarrhea. If I wasn't given the antidote, the muscarine would reach my brain and I would experience convulsions and low blood pressure and then I would go into cardiac arrest." Amanda finally stopped and took a breath.
"So what happened next?" Billy gently urged her to continue.
"Well sir, after he told me all that, I got scared and tried to tell him that I was just a housewife with two small boys at home but he didn't believe me. As I watched him ready the needle I screamed and then passed out just as he began to give me the injection. I'm afraid I don't remember much else until I woke up here in the hospital."
"That must have been really scary. How do you feel now?" Billy asked.
"Oh I feel fine. Sir, does my family know I'm here?"
Lee interrupted and said "No, Amanda. We didn't think it was necessary to tell them since you were going to be okay."
"Oh good. Thanks. Can I get out of here soon?"
Right at that moment the doctor walked in and announced that she could in fact go home. Since Lee had ridden with her in the ambulance, Billy suggested that he take them both with him and he could drop off Mrs. King first and then drop Lee off to get his car at the Greenwich house.
"Were Hollander and Delano captured?" Amanda asked.
"Yes Amanda. Lee had knocked Hollander out when he found him with you. When our agents arrived, Delano turned himself in and offered to testify against Hollander. We will work with him and get him a reduced sentence. He was so determined to save Quickie Chickie from Bankruptcy that he made a deal with the devil and I think after Hollander tried to kill you, Delano really regretted his choice." Billy told her.
Amanda smiled and said "I guess his fantasies didn't come true for him either."
Lee cleared his throat and said "Okay, well Billy and I will go out into the hallway so you can get dressed. We'll see you in a few minutes."
Later after Amanda was home, her Mother asked her how her evening with her old friends was. Amanda smiled and said "It was alright."
"Well dear, you are back pretty late. The evening must have been better than alright."
"No Mother. It was just alright. I just needed some time to realize that sometimes it is better to live in real life than in your fantasy life."
"Darling, I could have told you that lesson without you having to go out to learn it. Did I ever tell you about the time your father thought it would be a romantic idea to go skydiving together? He went to one of those skydiving outfits and paid a ridiculous amount of money for us to both jump out of a plane together and land in the middle of this big heart that had been drawn on the ground. I told him that I didn't want to do it but you father had some crazy romantic notion that I would look all sexy free falling from a plane. Let me tell you something Amanda, no one looks sexy when they are free falling from a plane with the wind whipping through their hair while being scared to death that their chute won't open. We both missed the heart target and landed in the middle of a farm, inside a huge pig pen; face first in the middle of a pile of mud and manure. I told that father of yours that the next time he daydreamed up some fantasy, to do it without me."
Amanda laughed and her mother joined in. Amanda hugged her Mother and told her she was going to bed. It had truly been a long day.
TBC
