A vacant-eyed Scarecrow sat in Harry's office not really hearing what was being said. He had hoped that the required debriefing after this mission would not include having to face Dr. Smyth, nor so soon. His hopes were dashed when he saw Smyth was already there when he and The Wizard arrived. Lee had been sitting in misery at his desk, in a daze, waiting for Barnes to be debriefed before he too, had to face his superiors. When he was finally called in, he sat silently while the two men discussed his role in the mission. Although the warheads had not changed hands, many were destroyed when Lee threw the grenade. The resulting explosion provided cover allowing Serdeych to escape.

"I want to know what you're going to do about it, Harry? They both need to be suspended for cooking up this hare-brained scheme. They should never have tried to take the Russkies in such an unprotected area allowing their escape, while leaving our agents vulnerable," Dr. Smyth stated emphatically.

"If anyone is responsible for Dorothy's death, it's me. I'm the one who introduced Sarah to this business. She died doing what she loved. As for Tin Man, he was an Army Ranger and used to these tight spots. If there was any other way to prevent the weapons from changing hands, I believe he'd have suggested it." Harry countered.

Dr. Smyth's seeming concern for the results of the mission as opposed to the death of the agents, one of whom was his daughter, finally broke through the fog Lee was enveloped in. "A leopard doesn't change its spots." Lee said, almost to himself.

"What's that?" Dr. Smyth queried.

"A leopard doesn't change its spots. That's what Sarah said when I told her you may have changed. I guess she was right after all."

"A leopard may not change its spots, but a chameleon can adapt to its environment. Look around you. I've been adapting for the last six months. You have been too, Scarecrow. I don't doubt you do what you believe is best for this agency, even if I don't always approve of your methods. Don't doubt me. Not all of us can be caped crusaders. Some of us need to be the Bruce Waynes of the world using our connections for the greater good. Although, I suppose I have you to thank for encouraging her to seek me out to reconcile our differences. We came to an understanding of one another, and I was able to tell her I accepted the choice she made. That being said, this conversation never happened."

"Don't worry. No one would believe me anyway. But it does explain to my why I didn't think the past was weighing on her mind any when I spoke to her last before we…" He couldn't finish the sentence. "It seems she had something else on her mind, though. She said she wanted to warn me about something, but Barnes interrupted us, telling us to move out."

"Do you have any idea about what?" Smyth questioned.

"No, but she looked pretty shaken up. Maybe that's what caused her to run out in the open the way she did."

Lee's anguish was reaching the tipping point. Realizing Lee was in no shape to be interrogated right then, Harry intervened, placing his hand on his shoulders. "Lee, my boy, take the rest of the day off to get your head together. We'll debrief once you get yourself under control. I'll have plenty enough from Paul Barnes to get a rough draft prepared for the brass. I'll expect you in my office first thing in the morning. Your final report will be due by the end of the day. Then I want you to take a couple days to decompress. You'll be expected to be back on the job Monday morning ready for your next assignment."

"Coddling an agent isn't good form, Harry. This job isn't for the faint of heart." Dr. Smyth was back to being the administrator, Lee couldn't help but notice. It was as though Dorothy…, no, Sarah, never meant anything to him.

With his eyes blazing, glaring at Smyth, Lee stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind him. Knowing it would be dangerous for him to get behind the wheel of his car; he made his way down to the shooting range to blow off steam. Leatherneck returned from his Entry and Escape course to find him loading up for the third target station, sweat pouring off him. Looking at the targets in the two closer stations, he understood why. Everyone at The Agency had heard about the shootout at the Silver Springs airport, and that Dorothy had been killed and there was no sign of Tin Man after Lee had thrown the grenade toward the Russians.

"What are you trying to do? Run me out of ammo and targets?" Leatherneck said half jokingly. He was concerned for his friend. Lee was taking Dorothy's death hard. Lee either didn't hear him, as he had ear protectors on, or he chose not to. After shearing the head off of the third target, and before he could head for the fourth, Leatherneck finally intervened. "Hey, Ace! Give it a rest. Shooting all the targets we have will not bring her back."

"I could have done something!" Lee shouted, pain clearly etched in his eyes. "Maybe if I'd taken a moment to stop and listen to her before we moved out… I should have been able to keep her safe."

"Don't do this to yourself. You were ordered to move out. Besides, what guarantee did you have that what she had to say would have made any difference in the outcome? From what I understand, she was out in the open. She knew the risks. There was nothing you could have done. If you keep this up, you'll find yourself benched. You need to get some help."

"A shrink isn't going to make it all better," Lee snorted. "Dorothy will still be dead. And I'll still be alive."

"Exactly! And you're going to need to make peace with that fact if you are planning on continuing in this line of work. People we care about die. If you can't live with that, then you need to walk out of here right now and not look back. Is that going to honor her memory? You know you'd want her to seek counseling if the situation were reversed. Take my advice. Go talk to Dr. Pfaff before you are ordered to do so."

"Maybe you're right." Lee agreed solemnly. As he hadn't changed from his fatigues, he decided to get a shower in the agency locker room, stopping to call for an appointment. As it turned out, Dr. Pfaff had suspected he may be needed and had stayed to complete paperwork in anticipation of a call.

Lee entered the office unsure as to how to proceed. This had been the first time he had ever seen someone killed in that fashion. The fact that it was Dorothy hit him all the harder.

"Come in, Lee," Dr. Pfaff greeted him, his trademark ice cream in his hand. "How can I help you?"

"I don't know where to start." Lee admitted.

"Why don't you start by telling me what's on your mind right now?"

"Why Dorothy? Why not me? Or The Wizard? We were just as exposed. Why only her?"

"I can't answer that. Are you sure this is about losing Dorothy?"

"What else can it be? She died. No one else did."

"Could you have prevented it?"

"No…yes… oh, I don't know!" Lee was pacing around the room, running his hand through his hair.

Pfaff had finished his ice cream and reached in the freezer in his office for another, "Want one?" he offered.

"No, I don't want one! Damn it, Doc, I want this never to have happened! Lee nearly shouted.

"You're not sure you couldn't have prevented it? You were all under fire."

"She wanted to tell me something. I should have stopped and listened to her. I've never dismissed her before."

"Are we still talking about Dorothy?" Everyone in the agency knew how close Lee and Sarah were. "Or Sarah?"

Lee, who was still pacing, stopped and whirled around to face the doctor. Anger blazed in his eyes at the suggestion, which was quickly replaced with pain and guilt. All fight left him as he sank wearily into a chair. He placed his head in his hands and choked out, "She trusted me and I wasn't there for her. I let her down."

'You couldn't have known what would happen."

"I should have known! I should have paid closer attention to what she was saying! All I can see when I close my eyes is her lying dead on the tarmac surrounded by roses." The mere thought of that sent bile rushing up his throat. He reached frantically for the wastebasket, losing the contents of his stomach. "I tried; I really tried to save her!" The tears he had held in check would no longer be held back.

Dr. Pfaff handed him tissues, giving him time to compose himself, as he headed for the outer office. He dialed Harry's office. Dr. Smyth had already left to do damage control on Capitol Hill. "How is he, Pfaff?" Even though Harry was grieving as well, he was truly concerned for the young man he thought of as a son.

"Not well, I'm afraid. He holds himself personally responsible for Sarah's death. I recommend he be reassigned. Preferably, not anywhere near here. I'll make it a medical order if necessary. If he doesn't pull out of it, I'll have to pull his badge."

"Thank you, Dr. Pfaff, that won't be necessary. After he debriefs and files his final report, I'll transfer him to the London office. I have a friend with MI-5 that may be able to bring him back. I'll deal with Dr. Smyth."

Three days later, Lee was on a plane headed for England.