Chapter 26 - Meeting Billy

Jerry looked from Amanda to Lee and then said "I thought you knew that was Dirk's son and that was why you were talking to him."

Amanda opened her purse and pulled out Rostov's picture and showed it to Jerry.

"Do you know this man?" she asked.

"Sure I do. That's Mr. Smith. He comes by quite often. He was introduced to me as a cousin of Dirk's."

"Paul told us that they hold meetings after hours here. Have you ever attended those meetings?"

"No, I was just told that they are some secret Government meeting and that they can't use the office because there are too many breaches in security there." Jerry explained.

"How did you originally meet Dirk?" Lee asked.

"A few years back I had a real problem here with some death threats being left on my front door. I contacted the police and they stopped by but told me that they really couldn't do anything until something actually happened. It continued for a few weeks and then I started finding vandalism. It was small at first, just some paint on the outside walls and messages written across my front door but then one night, they smashed out windows and came inside and smashed up the place. I was upset and ready to close the place down. Dirk happened to be in the restaurant that next day as I was telling some regulars about it. I told them that I had decided to try to sell the place and if that didn't work, I would just shut the doors. Dirk asked to talk to me privately and then revealed who he was and offered to help me. It took only a few days for all activity to stop. I asked him what I could do to repay him and he asked me to give Paul a job. He's not the best worker but it was the least I could do. A few months later, Dirk asked me if he could use the place for these secret meetings and that Paul could let them in so I wouldn't have to be inconvenienced. Is there something wrong? Should I be worried?"

Lee rushed to reassure him. "No, you haven't done anything wrong. I do have to ask you not to tell Mr. Smith or Dirk that we were asking any of these questions though. Paul doesn't know who we are and we would like to leave it that way."

"Mr. Stetson, I feel like you aren't telling me something."

"Well that is partly for your own safety. If you knew anything more, you might not act like you normally would around them. When is their next meeting?"

"I believe they intend to have one on Monday night."

"Great. What time do they normally meet?"

"We close up around 9pm so they usually arrive around that time."

"Jerry, we are going to have to ask you not to tip our hand or change anything. It is important to the safety of not only you but the whole country. Can you do that for us?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Jerry said hesitantly.

Amanda spoke up and said "Jerry, now I know this is all hard to absorb. It is really important for all of us to do as Mr. Stetson says. These are not nice men. I think that Paul is innocent but these men are not. I wish we could tell you more but it is a Need to know situation and it is best if you don't know. Do you understand" she added gently.

There was something about the way that Amanda talked to him that reassured him and he agreed to cooperate.

Lee asked one final question "Do either Dirk or Mr. Smith ever show up here other than during their meetings?"

"No, not to my knowledge but I leave Paul to run the place a lot as I have another Restaurant in DC. He's a good kid, really trustworthy, just a bit lazy."

"Okay, well we are going to go back to the agency so we can start making plans. Here's my card. Please call me if anything changes or if you feel like something isn't going as planned."

"Okay, thanks Mr. Stetson and " Jerry looked at Amanda and continued "I'm sorry, I don't know your name?"

"I'm Amanda. Just Amanda. Don't you worry, everything is going to be okay."

"Famous last words?" Jerry mumbled.

"No, Mr. Stetson is good at his job. I trust him completely because he is the best. He will take care of this if you do as he says. Okay?"

"Okay" Jerry said as he smiled at Amanda's encouragement. He then showed them out. As they were heading out the door they said their goodbyes to Paul. Paul was busy scrubbing down the tables since Jerry was there.

Lee guided Amanda to the car and helped her inside.

As he got inside himself, Amanda said "Can we keep him safe?"

"Jerry? Yeah, I think so. I'll post a couple of agents to watch the Restaurant."

"Lee, you can't do that. First off Dirk would know something was up but he also forbid you from using agency people."

Lee ran his hand through his hair. "Damn it, you are right. This man has been a thorn in my side for years. Now it all makes sense. It is only because of Billy running interference that Dirk hasn't been able to lock me up. Well we are going to get both him and Rostov."

"Yes we are" Amanda said as she gently touched Lee's arm to calm him down. Lee looked at Amanda's hand as it laid on his arm and she blushed and removed it.

"Thank you Amanda. You have been a huge help in this case. I don't think we should go to the agency though. I think we need to have Billy meet us somewhere so we can talk in private and not worry about being overheard. Wait here, I'm going to go use that phone booth and call him."

A few minutes later Lee got back in the car. "Okay, he's going to meet us downtown in 30 minutes. You don't need to get home right now do you?"

"No, let's go meet Billy."

They arrived early at the cafe where Lee had set up the meet. He ordered them both coffee and they sat down at a booth in the corner which was well away from the other patrons. Billy arrived a few minutes later. After Billy ordered a cup of coffee, Lee quickly filled him in on what they had found out.

"I can't believe it. I am going to have Francine do a quiet investigation on Dirk to see what we can find out about his background. I wonder how he managed to stay under the radar all this time. I should have done that as soon as we realized he was working for the Russians but I guess I kept hoping that he had converted and that was why he was working for the agency. I'm so stupid!" Billy exclaimed.

"Don't blame yourself sir. You were not the only one fooled by him. I think that the important thing is that we stop him and Rostov, wouldn't you agree Sir?"

Billy agreed and then stared at Mrs. King. She was truly a remarkable woman. Her gift of being able to calm down anyone was amazing. She was truly a treasure. He knew that Lee was nervous about her staying at the agency but with the right amount of training, Billy was convinced that Amanda could be one of the best agents ever. His original plan had been to just use her as a civilian because he didn't need another agent but he was going to have to rethink that. Maybe he would quietly begin training her as an agent without anyone realizing that he was doing it. He definitely didn't want Lee to know it. She brought out the best in him. He could already see the differences in him. It was meant to be for her to be at that train station that day and for Lee to pick her out of the crowd.

Billy snapped his focus back to the present and said "So what do you intend to do now"

"Well Billy, I think it would be best if I tailed Dirk. I would like to get a better idea about his daily routine before Monday. I need him to be involved in the whole operation on Tuesday so we can make sure the charges stick but it wouldn't hurt to have a better idea about who Dirk really is."

"Good idea. Can I do anything to help?"

"I'm glad you asked. I want to borrow a different car. Leatherneck gave me some little VW Bug as a joke but I need a car that won't stick out and I need one that both Amanda and I will fit into."

"Go see Leatherneck and find out what he has down in the garage. You two need to stop trying to outdo each other. Tell him I said that too if he gives you any grief. Meanwhile, it is getting late. I need to go back to the office and get Francine working on Dirk and I think you both should call it a day."

Amanda looked at her watch and realized that Phillip would be coming home from school soon. She agreed that she really should be getting home. They all said their goodbyes and Lee drove Amanda back to her house. He pulled over by the VW so that Amanda could drive her car into the driveway.

"Last chance Amanda. Are you sure you want me to come pick you up tomorrow?"

"Sure, I am your backup remember?"

"Yeah, I know but I can tail Dirk alone. You could stay home and stay safe tomorrow if you wanted."

"No Lee, I will see this thing through. Please come back and pick me up early tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah. I'll watch to make sure you get inside the house okay."

Amanda smiled and said "Thanks Lee. I'll see you tomorrow."

She quickly walked the distance to her house just as the bus pulled up outside and let Phillip out. She hugged him and they walked in together as Phillip began telling her about his day.

The man had been dozing when he heard the car pull up. She had been gone all day again. He should be following her instead of staying in this stupid tree house. He hated that the boss had gotten word to him that he was not to follow her anymore. What good was he doing here just watching an empty house. The old lady inside sure wasn't any fun to watch. Besides, he didn't like that she hung out with that man that was her partner either. He couldn't wait to take him out. He sure didn't need this partner of hers interfering with the fun he envisioned with her. Soon she would be his. He could barely control the excitement of it except now he had to wait. It was going to be another long night knowing that she was just inside and he was out sitting in this cold tree house. The wait would be worth it though. He was sure of it. He would have to get rid of those bratty kids first. He sure didn't need them ruining his fun. He had never killed kids before. The thought didn't excite him but he knew it needed to be done. He was sure he would be able to handle it. After all, once they were out of the way, Scarecrow would be all his. Every day that he had to wait to touch her flesh made him more anxious for this to be over. Maybe he should just go take her tonight. No one needed to know that he took her early. He knew that wasn't true though. They would find out and he knew it. The big boss would find out and then he would be in trouble. He had to wait. She would be his. No one was going to stop him from enjoying her. He just had to be patient a little longer.

TBC