Lee poured himself another cup of coffee. Not because he needed it to stay awake but because he had nothing else to do. He'd been pacing back and forth since Billy and Francine had left, too wired to settle anywhere. The boys were bedded down in the tactical centre but Lee had lasted less than five minutes when he'd stretched out on the couch in Billy's office.

He couldn't believe that Amanda had been captured, again. She was mostly doing course work at the moment. Lee had been so involved with the tactical support work for Cap de Far that he hadn't been anywhere in the field for weeks. It made no sense!

The only good thing was that at least the Russians were a known entity. They were pros, just like he was, and they would play by the rules. Unlike Birol, they needed to consider more than a simple, immediate goal. They would need to consider international relations, public relations, and all that. Amanda was probably not being tortured.

He hoped she wasn't being tortured, but of course; there were ways of making people talk that weren't much better. If they thought Amanda had information they wanted, they might use drugs. The standard was sodium thiopental and Lee doubted that it had been safety tested for pregnant women. Running his hand through his hair, Lee was considering what favours he could call in when all hell broke loose. Every monitor in the room began flashing alert messages. "Sir!" Chris Wilson called, Lee hurried over and watched the red banner drift across the screen. MAJOR FIRE – SOVIET EMBASSY.

Lee swore under his breath. He didn't think it was a coincidence that the Soviet Embassy was on fire twelve hours after Amanda had been kidnapped by the KGB. Looking up, he saw Officer Harmon hurrying towards him. He remembered once telling her that Amanda was a priority code all her own. "Scarecrow, Sparkle's homing beacon was activated a few minutes ago."

"At the Soviet embassy?" Lee guessed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yes." Of course. Lee shook his head. At this time of night, with no traffic and if he ignored every speed limit, he could make it from the Agency to the Embassy in five minutes flat. On the other hand, as the senior agent present, he couldn't simply leave. Picking up the phone, he punched in Billy's home phone number.

"Hello?" Jeannie's sleepy voice greeted.

"Hi Jeannie, it's Lee. I need to speak to Billy." Lee said, making an effort to observe the niceties.

"Lee? What's going on?" Billy demanded.

"Soviet Embassy is on fire and we've just detected Amanda's beacon coming from there."

"Alright, I'm on my way. Don't do anything stupid, Lee. You can't get in there and you know it."

"I won't do anything stupid." Lee promised, hanging up and thinking, That doesn't mean I won't do anything!

"Billy will be here in a few minutes. You guys monitor the situation. I need to get changed and head over there." Pointing to one of the MPs, he waved him along. "I want you to keep an eye on my sons until I get back to relieve you." Lee told him quietly as they headed towards the A-TAC centre.

"Yes sir." Walking over to the supply room, Lee pulled a black utility suit in his size off the shelf. Ripping it out of the plastic cover, he started unbuttoning his shirt as he continued towards the room where the boys were sleeping. He supposed that he could leave them to sleep through it all and just let Amanda wake them up when they got back but he remembered too many times when he'd been a kid and woken up to find that he was alone with some soldier who'd pulled diaper duty. The boys could make up a bit of lost sleep more easily than Lee would ever make up letting them down.

"Phillip, Jamie." Lee whispered, gently shaking each boy's shoulder. As they started to wake up, he continued to change his clothes.

"What's going on, Lee?" Phillip asked as he watched his step-father drop his trousers to the floor and pull on tight-fitting black utility pants. Lee's vest, holster, and shirt quickly followed suit to be replaced by a black top. Reaching over, Lee repossessed his pistol, giving Jamie time to wake up too.

"Boys, something's happened. I think I can get to your mom, but you're going to have to wait here for us." Lee explained covering his shiny fair hair with a black cap. "I'll come back as soon as I can to tell you what's going on. For now though, I need you to stay here where I know you're safe, ok?"

The two boys looked at each other before nodding their acceptance. "It'll be okay, guys." Lee smiled at their worried expressions. He could already feel the pump of adrenaline in his veins and the calm that always came when he could put his skills to good use. He supposed it was quite a big transformation seen from the boys' point of view. Ruffling their hair, he tried to reassure them. "Trust me, I'll get your mom back." Or die trying, went left unsaid.

Running out to the Wisconsin Avenue parking lot, he pulled out at speed. He wasn't sure exactly what he'd be able to do when he got there. It was unlikely that he'd be able to just walk in to the embassy grounds. On the other hand, if he was lucky, he might be able to get into the grounds unnoticed. God, he hoped she'd made it out of the building. He was going to lose his mind if he couldn't confirm she was safe.

As Amanda reached the door, she used a string of words that she'd put up with from the boys. Lee would probably laugh if he heard her use such rude language; she'd chided him for it often enough. The lock was operated from the guard's desk, ten feet away. There was no way she could press the release button and open the door by herself.

Considering her options, she jumped when the fire alarm finally began howling. Even though it was the middle of the night, she knew there would be people streaming out into the halls any second. She tried to remember the general layout of the building from the time Lee had broken in. It was almost certain that the glass of the door and surround were bullet proof and firing would attract more interest than she needed at the moment.

She'd seen the blue prints so she knew that there were at least three other exits but there was nothing to say they were unlocked or that she'd ever get there without being apprehended again. Her best shot was to blend in with the escaping crowd. The Soviet Embassy was a big place with countless people working within its walls. There was no way that anyone would know everyone else. All she needed to do was pass for an employee or legitimate visitor until she got off the grounds.

Looking down the hall, she could see that the young guard who had brought her downstairs was running back towards his fallen comrade. His inexperience showed again and he focused on dragging the other guard away from the fire rather than evaluating his surroundings. If he had, he might have noticed Amanda standing right there. Amanda seized the moment and sidled out of the guard's sight and into the hall that led along the North wall of the embassy.

Trying each door as she passed it, she slowly made her way farther and farther from the door, hoping to find a hiding place until she could slip out with a crowd. She tried each handle, finding each locked. One door at the end of the hall opened and people began streaming out, suggesting that was the stairwell. Amanda paused for a moment and pretended to lock the door she was standing in front of then blended into the advancing crowd. Just as she turned, she spotted Alexis and Gregory joining the line of people heading for the exit. That left Doneck and Ilyana unaccounted for.

With the revolver concealed in the folds of her skirt, Amanda continued along with the crowd of people. Most were beginning to cough as the smoke thickened, eliminating the possibility of conversation. As the cloud of black smoke rolled along the hall, it obscured the lights and stung their eyes. Amanda pulled her blouse over her nose, knowing that she was perhaps twenty seconds from freedom but that she'd only have a single chance once they were out to complete her escape.

The crowd was beginning to panic and jostle. Knowing the scale of the fire, Amanda knew that they had time to get out, but she could hardly start announcing that fact. It took her two tries once she reached the entrance to get out into the fresh air. Immediately, she was guided towards a gathering point in the parking area. When she tried to break away, a guard yelled at her in Russian, pointing back to the rest of the escapees.

Moving around the edge, she headed to the back of the group, hoping to make a quiet escape. She'd barely gone a dozen feet when she felt the barrel of a pistol in the small of her back. "Leaving so soon, Mrs. Scarecrow?" Alexis Makarov asked softly. Amanda froze.

"No, keep walking, I believe that we will continue our conversation in private." Nodding, Amanda continued her path. "Ilyana has her orders, but vengeance is a dish that is best when it is not shared." Alexis continued conversationally. They moved towards a grove of trees. In a moment, they into the deepest shadows. "Stop. Turn around." Amanda obeyed. "Drop the gun." Alexis ordered, having spotted it as she turned. Rather than toss it near him, Amanda simply let it drop at her feet. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the fire was now pouring out of several windows and lighting the entire west façade of the embassy. "A brilliant escape, Mrs. Stetson. You have ensured that no matter the outcome of our little plan, none of us will ever be welcome at the Kremlin again. A failure of this magnitude will not be tolerated. But you see, that also means that we no longer have anything to lose. I will savour the pleasure of knowing I killed the Scarecrow's helpmate for the many long years that I will spend in the Gulag."

"No you won't." Gregory said, as he calmly reached around Alexis and slit his throat. Amanda was shocked as she felt the spray of warm blood splash across her. They faced each other in silence, the dying man twitching at their feet with a miserable gurgle. Her empty stomach that had been silenced by the adrenaline of her escape now made itself known. Dropping to her knees, Amanda threw up into the underbrush. Gregory watched her with something that could easily be mistaken for sympathy.

"He was right, you know. There is no life for any of us now in the USSR. The unimaginable humiliation will be seen as the worst kind of treason." Sitting back on her heels, Amanda looked up at the dignified Russian she'd known since he'd tried to discredit Harry V. Thornton. Surely he wasn't saying what she thought he was saying. "I need to defect. What better way than to save you?"

"That would do it." Amanda heard Lee agree as he stepped into sight.

"Come on, both of you." Lee said, reaching down to Amanda. Later, she would always wonder how she'd remembered to pick up the revolver that Alexis had told her to drop. She was just getting up when Doneck appeared with a revolver in his hand, aimed at Lee's chest. Without a thought, Amanda swung her weapon up and fired three rounds, hitting Doneck right in the chest before he could even aim properly at Lee. "Let's go!" Lee ordered, shepherding them both towards the gate.

With the sound of fire engines, the roar of the fire itself, and the crowd of people; no one had seemed to notice the drama that was playing out on the edge of the Embassy grounds. Lee did not plan to give them time to change that. Leading them through the gates, he hurried to his car. Reaching for the car phone, he dialled the agency. "This is Scarecrow; I need a pickup for a new friend." He told the person at the other end. Amanda recognised the coded phrase that would immediately trigger the protocol for dealing with a high level defection. There was no way they could take Gregory back to the Agency until he'd been debriefed but they also couldn't just put him in a hotel. The KGB would find him quickly when they realised he was missing. Lee gave the operator the address and hung up. "They'll take you to a safehouse for now, Gregory. You'll start being debriefed tomorrow." Gregory nodded calmly.

Amanda wondered how he could be so calm. In the last fifteen minutes, he'd escaped a burning building, committed murder, and defected.

"Perhaps you will satisfy my curiosity about one thing?"

"Maybe."

"How was Mrs. Scarecrow recruited?" Lee chuckled.

"By accident." Gregory smiled.

"The KGB would give anything to be able to duplicate your partnership."

"It's one of a kind." Lee said.

Within a few minutes, Billy pulled up in a brown sedan from the Agency motor pool. Getting out, he considered the tableau. Seeing Amanda, he smiled at her. "How are you, Sparkle?"

"Fine sir." Amanda said too quickly. Billy and Lee exchanged a quick look and Billy nodded.

"Come on, Gregory." Billy ordered. The two men climbed into the car and drove away. Opening the car door, Lee guided Amanda into the car, eager to get her as far away from the Russians as he could.