Co-Authored by Tracey Arcieri and Karen LaManna

Epilogue:

"And then, he just let us go," Amanda finished explaining to Lee how Ivan let them go in the forest just a few days before. She was sitting on the edge of his hospital bed, her hand on his chest.

"And he didn't say anything, ask for anything? Money?" Lee was incredulous.

Amanda simply shook her head and replied, "No. He just said how much he hated the KGB and that Gregory wanted you dead for vengeance. That's it."

Lee rubbed his head with one hand and glanced down at the IV still inserted in the back of the other. "Well, I guess I should thank him, somehow," he said sadly. "You know, it's a little ironic," he added.

Amanda furrowed her brow as she asked, "What is?"

"Ivan and Dimitri, the Brothers Karamazov," Lee stated. "It's a novel written by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It tells the story of the moral struggle with faith, doubt, judgment and reason set in modern-day Russia."

"Ivan struggled with his brother's allegiance to the same organization that killed his parents," Amanda confirmed.

"And doubted what he was doing was right. That working with Gregory who was only bent on revenge to get back into the good graces of the KGB…" Lee trailed off.

"Do you think the Agency will go light on him, all things considered?" Amanda asked.

Lee looked at Amanda with a smile, "Yeah, Billy already told me they're working with him. Turns out he's a pretty good translator. His English is almost perfect, so they have him working with a few of the cryptologist decoding some of the documents they found in Gregory's possession. And he was able to give us the name of the assassin Gregory hired. He overheard him on the phone but never told his brother. He got picked up waiting for Gregory at the site we were supposed to be traded." He placed his hand over hers and rubbed the back of it with his thumb.

"Well, I'm glad it's over and Gregory is behind bars," Amanda said as she brushed his hair off his forehead.

"I talked to Francine today," Lee said as he reached up to capture her hand with his.

"Yeah?" Amanda asked quietly. She was still angry with Francine and how she had treated her the last few days. She even ignored her when she approached Amanda in the Emergency Room.

"She told me she owes you an apology. That and a box of DeVaronna Chocolates," Lee grinned.

"Hrmph," Amanda grunted. "That's not all she owes me. But you," she changed the subject, "you need your rest. The doctor said you should only have to be here for another day or two."

"Amanda, I hate doctors, you know that!" Lee complained.

Amanda leaned forward and kissed his forehead, "And you're not going to get better any faster if you don't get some rest."

"What am I going to do with you?" Lee smiled at her and pulled her hand to his lips.

Amanda smiled lovingly back at him as she replied, "Nothing if you don't follow the doctor's orders."

Lee simply laughed as he pulled her close and said, "Oh, Amanda!"