"Lee? Leslie – whatever you call yourself – what are you doing here?" spluttered Amanda, almost light-headed with the sudden flash of panic, and taking a step backwards.
"I could ask you the same thing," said Leslie. "I'm here working at the conference as a translator. My skill set is highly in demand in this kind of international event, you should know that. So now that we know why I'm here, why are you here?"
"I'm working," answered Amanda unthinkingly and then inwardly cursed herself.
"Oh really? A secretary from Arlington is working at an international AIDS conference? That seems unlikely," murmured Leslie, moving closer.
Amanda willed herself not to give into the physical intimidation. Calm down, she told herself. She can't do anything to you. Lee already knows. She has nothing. We're in public.
"I'm here with the film company," she said, trying to sound firm.
"Oh!" Suddenly Leslie looked very interested and began to look around the lobby, smirking. "Did your delicious Lee bring you then? I didn't get to know him nearly as well as I would have liked before having to leave D.C."
"No, he's not here," replied Amanda, feeling some satisfaction when Leslie looked put out by that.
"That's too bad" Leslie drawled, looking her up and down. "No chance you're by yourself again, I suppose? Like you were in Munich? These things can be so lonely and it would be nice to have a friend. I could show you there's no hard feelings."
"No hard feelings?" Amanda stared at her in disbelief – she could not seriously be suggesting what it sounded like – not after what she'd done in Munich and the thinly veiled threats she'd issued last time they'd met. Then to her amazement, she felt a warm arm wrapping around her waist and a cold voice addressing Leslie.
"No, she's not here by herself, she's here with me." Francine was giving Leslie a thousand yard stare that would have frozen the blood in most people's veins. "Sorry, Darling," she was speaking to Amanda now. "I got caught up with some interviews. Have you been waiting long?" She tipped up on her toes and gave Amanda a brief kiss on the lips, barely controlling a smile at the astonished look on her face.
Francine had finished her conversation with the other agent just in time to see Amanda go white as a sheet when this woman had spoken to her; she didn't know what had evoked that reaction but she had found herself across the lobby in a heartbeat. She had arrived just in time to hear the brunette hit on her and watch Amanda recoil, her hands rising protectively; it had only taken her a few seconds to realize this had to be the woman Amanda had told her about a few months before. She hadn't seen her before but she knew the type – preying on people she saw as useful or vulnerable - and right now she had the smirk of a woman with a victim in her sights. Francine knew Amanda wasn't in physical danger from her, but she really wanted to wipe that smile off her face. She tightened her arm around Amanda and pulled her in closer, so that their hips bumped together.
Amanda looked at her like a deer in headlights for another moment before relaxing back against her arm. "No, I've hardly been waiting a minute, Dear. Francine Driscoll, this is Leslie O'Connor – we met a few years back in Germany." Francine nodded – she'd been right. "Leslie, this is my partner, Francine."
Leslie was looking back and forth between them as if she couldn't comprehend what was going on. "You two? Really?"
Francine lifted an eyebrow and drawled, "If you're surprised to meet gay people at an AIDS conference, you're in for a very long weekend, Dearie," which left Amanda biting the inside of her cheek trying not to laugh.
"Oh that's not what surprised me," said Leslie, battling back from her shock. "I just didn't think you were Amanda's type. I thought she liked them more… masculine."
"Oh I never said I didn't have a type," Amanda cut in, feeling brave again with Francine's warmth at her side. "I just said you weren't it."
Leslie bared her teeth slightly at the jab. "Maybe not, but the last time we met back in D.C., I could have sworn your type was less short and curvy and more tall and handsome." She turned to Francine, looking pleased with herself. "Or are you the lezzy rebound after Lee dumped her?"
So much for no hard feelings thought Amanda as Francine went still in a way that would have been a red flag to any Eastern Bloc agent.
"Oh no," Francine said sweetly. "Lee's still very much part of this," she motioned back and forth between her and Amanda. "Our little trio is very happy together."
"I can see why he'd like you," replied Leslie, "but I'm sure I remember Lee describing Amanda as, now what was it? Oh yes – mousy."
Francine glanced at Amanda who was biting her lip, relieved when Amanda looked back, eyes alight with humor.
"I can see that," she turned back to answer Leslie. "Lee's deathly afraid of mice. That's why he behaves so well for us."
Amanda couldn't hold in the snort of laughter at that point, as Leslie's jaw dropped open. "We'll see you later, Leslie, I'm sure. Come on, Darling, we need to go get ready for our dinner date with our friends."
She steered Francine toward the elevator, trying to move her quickly through the crowd but unable to prevent her from calling back over her shoulder, "We'd invite you along, but five's a crowd even for us!"
The elevator door closed behind them and there was silence for a long moment and then both of them started to whoop with laughter.
"Oh my gosh, it is so much fun to watch you do that to someone else!" spluttered Amanda.
"That woman is a total bitch!" snarled Francine. "How on earth did you get to be friends with her in the first place?"
"Oh, she's charming when she wants to be and you don't know what she is – you just have the advantage of seeing her without the rose-colored glasses" said Amanda wiping her eyes. "Thank you for riding to my rescue. I was just so shocked to see her, I kind of lost it for a moment, you know?" She looked up, asking "How did you know?"
"I didn't at first – I just saw you go white and came to see what was wrong. And then when I heard her..." she shrugged. "It just made sense."
"And that was your best idea? Pretending to be my partner?" Amanda sounded tired but still amused.
"Well, I couldn't just start beating the crap out of her in the middle of the lobby, could I?" said Francine. "And she seemed like the type who'd be annoyed that someone had something she couldn't have." She paused as if struck by something. "And how the hell does she know Lee? I thought you said she left Munich before he got there to bail you out?"
"She did," sighed Amanda. "And then she came to Washington with her work and started dating him. Remember when he had 'insomnia' last fall? Well, that was her. If you thought I went white today, I can only imagine what I looked like the night she showed up in his apartment."
"Oh. My. God." Amanda looked up to meet Francine's shocked expression. "Does he know about… everything… yet?"
"Yes. I took your advice." She left it at that; Francine didn't need to know the details of that conversation. "I mean, not everything - I didn't tell him it was her – he was already feeling guilty enough without finding out he'd accidentally re-introduced us."
"God, no." Another long pause. "Will you tell him about this?"
"About you suggesting we're in a three-way relationship and he's our sub, you mean?" They both began to laugh helplessly again. "I think I'll leave that part out but I'll tell him the dragon was slayed, thanks to you." She took a deep breath as the elevator reached their floor and they stepped off. "You know, we'll probably have to keep that up all weekend – Leslie will be just looking for a way to get some kind of revenge and outing us as straight…" She paused while she tried to think how to phrase that better, then shrugged.
"I guess maybe I should have thought that through," admitted Francine as they went into their room. "But it's only for one weekend, right? And it was so worth it." She chanced a look at Amanda. "Think you can do it? Pretend to like me for a whole weekend?"
"I've managed up until now," quipped Amanda, then rushed on when she saw the look on Francine's face. "Francine, of course I like you! You know I do!"
"I haven't made it easy for you," came the morose response.
"Oh, and Lee did?" said Amanda. "Now come on – I know you don't think of me as a 'real' agent, and I'm not, at least not the way you are. I'm never going to be someone who can shoot a gun and take down a bad guy from a hundred yards like you can. I'm never going to be able to go undercover and charm someone into spilling state secrets like you can. But you don't still think I don't belong here, do you?"
"Well I can hardly say yes when you've saved my ass at least twice with your weird voodoo way of thinking, can I?" grumbled Francine, but Amanda could tell she wasn't as upset anymore. "So – dinner? You made friendly with the Marlers?"
"Yes, we're meeting them at seven." Amanda's laugh bubbled up again. "And I've just realized that Mrs. Marler already thinks we're a couple because I said you were my partner."
"Good, that'll simplify things. You said seven? Okay, that gives me an hour to call Billy and figure out what lesbians eat."