"So Lee, how are you doing," Francine asked once she and Lee reached the debriefing room.
"Great, just great...This how I always wanted to spend my day off. Taking a deposition from a supposed dead former girlfriend who claims to have my daughter...You know, she has Amanda convinced that Leah is really mine."
"Are you really so sure that she's not?"
"I don't know," Lee said impatiently.
"Come on, Lee, I knew it the second I saw her and so did Amanda," Francine said. "How is Amanda holding up?"
"Why are suddenly so concerned about Amanda?"
"Well, it just might surprise you to find out that I do care. I don't want to see her hurt. Why do you think I tried to warn her about your history back in January?"
"I know how your mind works Francine. If Amanda and I split up then she would probably quit the agency and then you wouldn't have to deal with your little inferiority complex."
"I do not feel inferior to Amanda King...oh, wait, I guess it's Amanda Stetson now isn't it? Besides, I don't want her to quit . I'm used to having her around now and those brownies she makes are simply divine."
"Were you talking about me?" Candice said as she entered the room flanked by two agency guards.
"Do you make brownies?" Lee sneered.
"No, but I am divine," Candice said with a smile. "At least that's what you used to tell me."
"That was in the past," Lee replied icily.
"So can we start this little party?"Candice said.
"We're waiting on Billy and Amanda," Francine told her.
"Why is she going to be here? She has nothing to do with this case," Candice whined.
"She's my partner," Lee said simply.
"But she wasn't then," Candice pointed out with a pout.
"I want her here."
"But I don't and I refuse to say a word while she's in here!" Billy and Amanda entered the room in the middle of her tantrum. "I mean it, Lee. I don't want her here!"
"Is there some problem, Candice" Billy asked.
"I want her out of here. I won't have Lee's lover putting her own spin on everything I say"
"Wife" Amanda interjected. Lee glanced at her and then motioned toward Billy "He's known the whole time."
"I'm glad I was yet again the last to know. You'd think I was one of those rookie agents that hang out at the water cooler the way no one trusts me with a secret." Francine commented.
"Wife, lover, flavor of the week. I don't care. I won't start my story until she's gone."
"You better watch what you say about her," an angered Lee waved his finger in Candice's face. "She's a hell of a lot more to me than some flavor of the week! She's my wife! Do you hear me, Candy, she's my wife!"
"Stop calling me that! Stop calling me Candy! You know I always hated that nickname and how it made me feel like I was just another name in one of you little black books!"
"That's all you ever were to me, Candy," he said deliberately using the nickname she hated to make his point. "I'm sorry if you thought there was more to it. I once cared about you as a friend, but nothing more! I was never in love with you and I never saw any future with you! The sooner you get that through your thick head and accept that your little picture you've created in your mind of a happy family life complete with a dog and a picket fence is never going to happen, the better off all of us will be! I have that life with a woman that I actually am in love with!"
"Scarecrow, you calm down," Billy warned.
"Hey listen, it's really no big deal. I'll just wait for you in our office. When you're done you can bring me a transcript and then we'll go back to Francine's and maybe take everyone out to dinner. How does that sound, Candy," Amanda said taking great pleasure in watching the other woman's face turn bright red at the use of the nickname. She wasn't typically vicious but this woman was getting on her last nerve. "I'll see you as soon as you finish."
"Thank you, Amanda," Lee said giving her a long, lingering kiss as he linked his hands with hers. "You're amazing."
"I'll see you soon," Amanda said as she released his hands and left the room.
After Amanda left and Billy called the transcriptionist in, everyone settled into chairs around the huge table. Everyone that was except for Lee, who settled into the corner of the room leaned up against wall and folded his arms across his chest. The room was cold and impersonal. It was the perfect place for intimidation tactics. While Candice was giving her vitals and rank to the transcriptionist Lee let his mind wander.
He'd been in this room a thousand times. He was the best intimidator that the agency had, but no one could play "good cop" like Amanda. Her innate sense of fairness always took over. She played the role so well that when she did take a hard line with someone it always made him smile. Amanda might seem weak at first glance to someone like Candice but she wasn't going to take much more. Lee knew she was really starting to get under Amanda's skin. He knew because no one could push the buttons that made Amanda angry quicker than he could. It seemed like they spent the first two years that they knew each other arguing over one thing or another. He had learned to recognize that look in her eyes. Pretty soon, Candice was going to get all she could handle from Amanda.
"Sorry I'm late, Kiddies," Dr Smyth said as he breezed into the room.
"What 's he here for? " Lee sighed knowing that if Smyth were involved, this would take twice as long as it needed to.
"This is a big to-do, Scarecrow . Not every day we can team one of the agencies best teams back up, especially if it means bringing one back from the dead. I'm interested to hear where Miss Davenport has been sleeping and who with, that she could stay hidden from those nasty South Americans for so long. Not an easy feat."
"No it wasn't," Candice said.
"You haven't missed much yet, Sir...just personal stats...age...given name..." Francine rambled.
"Thank you I think I know what personal stats consist of, Desmond. So, she just plunked down on your doorstep last night and you bought her story and led her to us. What if she isn't who she says she is. Goldilocks might just have brought the fox to the henhouse.
"I took all the necessary precautions, Sir."
"Can we please get on with this?" Lee said, getting antsier by the minute.
"What's your hurry Scarecrow? The gangs not all here yet. Wouldn't want to start this little soiree without the court jester."
"What in the hell are you talking about?"
"Surprised you didn't think of it yourself... Is that a little straw I see hanging out of your ears Scarecrow. I ordered a poly. We'll soon know if the prodigal has returned or if she sent Judas in her place."
As if on cue, Pfaff entered the room wheeling the polygraph machine with one hand and carrying an ice cream bar in the other.
"Well it seems the Good Humor man has arrived" Dr. Smyth said.
"Sorry I'm late, had an interesting case from internal affairs this morning. Won't take but a minute to get this thing set up," He wheeled the cart over to where Candice was sitting and in the process of hooking her up, his ice cream dripped on Candice. "Oh , gee, I'm sorry ...Here let me get something to clean that up."
"Don't bother, you clumsy idiot." Candice said disgusted, shaking the ice cream in Pfaff's direction.
"Well, I can already see we don't need this machine. Only the real Candice would get that worked up over a little ice cream."
"Good." She said, staring to undo his work.
"Not so fast." Dr. Smyth said. "Everyone else may be convinced that she's the genuine article, but I'm not."
"Neither am I." Lee said, glaring at Candice. She smiled sweetly, trying to soften his gaze, but he only gave her a look of contempt. "Look, Amanda and I have plans for the day, so can we just get started?"
"So, does that mean the rumors I hear about you and King are true then, Scarecrow?" Smyth asked.
"That depends on what you hear."
"I heard through the grapevine that you traded in your little black book for domestic tranquility."
"I guess that's one way of putting it, but Amanda and I have done our best to keep our personal and our professional lives separate."
Candice snorted clearly annoyed. "Can't we just get this over with. I have a little girl I'd like to get back to."
"Yeah, let's start with the night you disappeared."
"I remember that night vividly. We had been trailing Jonas all week long and we were sure that this was going to be the night he would lead us to whoever was aiding Carrerra in embezzling the funds from the money the government was sending South America to fight the war on Coca Farmers. Not that the government or people down there were thrilled to be getting this money. We all know now that they thought the way to fight it was to curb America's appetite for cocaine. Therefore, it wasn't hard for him to find a sympathetic supporter on the South American side but we also knew that he had to find a chain of people on the American end of the deal to pull off his scheme. When Francine and I followed Jonas that night we split up, I took the back, she covered the front, and we called Lee and Beaman in for backup. Before I knew what happened Jonas had sprung out of a corner and grabbed me from behind. I heard gunfire and saw Beaman go down."
"You didn't check all the nooks and crannies. Not very wise of you I must say" Smyth interjected.
"Lee and I had had a terrible argument that evening and I was also suffering from a tremendous bout of what I would soon find out was morning sickness. I guess I wasn't thinking very clearly."
"Morning sickness ?" Lee asked. Morning sickness? He thought. Maybe that's what's wrong with Amanda. No, if she were pregnant, she would have told me...Maybe not. He argued with himself. Maybe she thinks that would be just one more thing for you to worry about...I bet that's what she wanted to tell me this morning. He smiled at the thought of Amanda having his baby. Candice mistook his smile as being directed at her.
"Yes, Lee, it's a symptom of pregnancy," Candice said in an attempt to remind him that while he may be married to Amanda, he was still the father of her child. Lee's smile disappeared abruptly.
"Candice, please continue with your story."Billy said, trying to keep world war three from breaking out in the debriefing room.
"He grabbed me and shoved me in this van. Everything happened very fast. Someone wearing a mask knocked Jonas out and hit me with a face full of chloroform. I guess he dragged me out the front of the van just as it was about to explode. When I woke up, I was in an airport holding room in France. In my pocket, there was this note, "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay hidden. Carrerra thinks that you are dead. I saved your life once but I won't do it again. No one was supposed to die and if you are smart, the casualties will end here."
"Do you have any idea who the masked man was?"Billy asked.
"Not a clue. He never spoke."
"Why didn't you just come back to the agency?"
"The first thing I did in France was get checked out by a doctor because long after the effects of the chloroform wore off, I was still feeling sick. Right after I learned that I was pregnant, a package was delivered to my door. In it was another note telling me that if I came out of hiding or tried to do any more digging on this case, my baby would never be born. In the package, were also a fake ID and credit cards. I knew whoever was the mastermind behind my disappearance was deadly serious. He had enough connections in our government to make me disappear. There was no way to guarantee I could make it safely home. I wasn't about to risk my baby. I used the fake ID's and credit cards long enough to get on my feet. I knew that as long as he was footing the bill for everything, he was able to track my every move. I eventually got a job and saved enough money to get out from under his nose. It wasn't easy though. I had to move around a lot. I became very paranoid.. The only thing that helped me get through that was knowing that Leah needed me and the dream that I would someday be able to return home to the life...and love... I left behind "She looked at Lee adoringly.
Lee only glared at her and said, "I suppose you have a list of addresses and contacts that can confirm your story?"
"Of course. I've kept very careful records of everything. When I came back to DC, few days ago, I rented a safety deposit box to keep it all in until I was sure I could be brought back inside."
"Well, I guess this gives us enough information to get started," Billy said.
"Desmond, I assume she'll be staying with you..." Dr. Smyth said."...Or will she be at your place, Scarecrow?" When Lee simply glared at him, he said, "I guess not. Your not-so-blushing bride wouldn't' approve of that, I suppose."
"Sir, I've offered to let both Candice and Leah stay at my apartment," Francine interjected as was fed up with the arguments today and sensed Lee was about to start one with Dr. Smyth.
"Miss Davenport, if you don't mind I'd like for you to wait outside. We need to wrap some things up before I can release you tonight. It shouldn't take too long and then Desmond can take you home. I realize that this is all very difficult for you."
"You have no idea" Candice lamented gazing at Lee longingly.
"Not so fast," Lee said who's mostly remained silent through the entire session. "I have a few questions of my own. Aside, from that, I'm not about to let you leave this building until those lab results come back." He glared challengingly at Dr. Smyth as if daring him to contradict him.
Dr. Smyth simply held up his hands in surrender and said, "By all means, Scarecrow."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jonathan Stone stood in the Georgetown foyer of the agency, with Leah holding his hand. Mrs. Marston looked at him.
"Can I help you" she asked.
"Yes, I need to see Candice Davenport." He replied.
"She's in a meeting right now along with Mr. Stetson and Miss Desmond and I'm under strict orders that they are not to be disturbed."
"Well, how about Amanda?" He asked, not knowing what to do.
"I can call and ask her." She picked up the phone and dialed the Q Bureau. She spent just a minute talking to Amanda and she was down the stairs in an instant looking at Jonathan.
"What's going on? Hello, Leah." The child's bright eyes beamed with recognition.
"I 'member you, you're the nice lady who is my auntie's best friend and my daddy's wife."
"That's right, Sweetie. Have you had a good time with Jonathan today" Amanda inquired.
The little girl pulled on Amanda's arm and encouraged her to bend down so she could whisper in her ear. "He really doesn't have very many things for a little girl to play with...and his house is really messy but he did let me eat lots of chocolate."
"I bet that's your Auntie Francine's secret stash," Amanda whispered conspiratorially to Leah knowing Francine's secret love of chocolate, especially when she was scared or stressed out.
"Oh no..She won't be mad at me will she?" Leah asked self-consciously.
"Sweetheart, Francine could never be mad at you. Besides I won't tell anyone if you don't." Amanda whispered back. Amanda stroked the little girl's hair as she turned to Jonathan.
"So, what's up?"
"Francine called and said that they were ordering a paternity test on Leah to determine if she's actually Lee's child. I was told to bring her here but I don't have any clue where that is."
Just as Amanda was about to offer to take him there, Efraim Beaman stepped out of the elevator."Efraim, are you busy?" she asked. She was torn. Part of her really wanted to go with Leah. Having tests run might be traumatic for her. On the other hand, if she went it would be sure to ruffle Candice's feathers and she didn't need that. She also didn't really want to quit researching past files for info about Candice. Besides, she reasoned Leah had been with Jonathan all afternoon while she barely knew her.
"Not really. Why?"
"Could you show Jonathan to the lab. He needs to take Candice's little girl there."
"Candice?" he asked a little startled.
"Yes. Candice Davenport. Do you remember her?"
"Yes,...It's just that I...I thought she was dead." He stammered. Damn! What's she doing back here? he thought.
"So, can you take them down to the lab?"
"Sure. No problem." It'll give me the opportunity to get some info about Candice.
"Great! Thanks, Efraim. I'm in the middle of doing some research on an old case and I didn't want to leave it. Leah, I have some ice cream in the freezer upstairs in my office. After you're done, have your uncle Jonathan bring you up to your daddy's office and we'll make you the best ice cream sundae you've ever had."
"With chocolate sprinkles and everything?"
"Anything you want. Efraim, take good care of them, please," Amanda said.
"Yeah," He said, distracted. He had a million different thoughts running through his head. First on his agenda was to find out how long Candice had been in town and what she'd told Francine.
