She's Just Saying
Chapter 29
Lee and Amanda met up with Augie, Francine and Billy at Amanda's safe-room apartment at the Agency. The topic of discussion was how to break into Asher's property in order to steal back the hidden gems. They knew the location of his new hideout, which was a beach house in Ocean City. Asher had inadvertently blurted it out to his aides in front of Lee and Amanda. But figuring out how to bypass Asher's EliteShields guards would not be easy.
"Billy, since our resources are pretty limited now," Lee proposed an idea, "any chance you might be able to spare us a few more guns or people? Going up against someone like Asher and his EliteShieldsguards will take a lot of force and power."
"Not possible," Billy grimly reminded him, "as far as the government is concern, Stanford Asher has been a loyal government servant who has served his country well. And there's nothing to point to the contrary, whereas what we have been doing is what most would consider a gray area."
Francine spoke out, "Well, I for one, don't CARE how the government sees us! We are the good guys, Billy, and it's better we get Asher before he gets us!"
"I agree with her," Augie noted, "and we better catch him soon. I don't want to think about what Asher would do to us if he catches us, 'cuz let me tell you, that dude is coming off way too weird!"
"He's the weird one?" Francine looked pointedly at Augie.
"Just remember one thing, Blondie," Augie fired back, "beauty fades, and you are proof positive of that!"
"Okay, you two, enough..." Billy lectured them, as they both looked guilty, "Could we just get back to talking about our mission, please?"
"You're right," Lee concurred, "we need a plan."
"Yeah," Augie now agreed with her, "Too bad we don't have an anonymous superhero who can help us carry out the deed!"
"Did you say 'Superhero'?" Amanda's eyes began to dance, "That's it! What we need is a 'Superhero!"
"Really? We're getting a Superhero?" Augie also looked enthusiastic, "If that's the case, can I be Superman? I've always wanted to have muscles of steel! Of course, the disadvantage of being so strong is that no one will ever ask if I'm okay."
"No, I meant a different kind of Superhero, Augie," Amanda explained, "a real one! The mention of 'Superhero', reminded me of when Jamie's class had a unit on 'Superheroes in our Community' during career week."
Lee, Billy, Francine and Augie waited.
"And?" they all asked in unison.
"And," Amanda continued, "on the first day we had a local fireman come to speak Jamie's class. You should have seen how in awe all the kids were when he spoke of his adventures!"
"AND?" they all asked in unison again.
Amanda looked as if it were obvious.
"AND," she said in response, "it got me thinking...being a fireperson is a profession where they go to locations and do their jobs and people usually leave them alone, right?"
"Makes sense," Billy considered.
"So maybe we can get into Mr. Asher's compound in the guise of being fire people!" Amanda reasoned.
"Say, that's not a bad idea at all!" Lee interjected after he gave the idea some thought, "and with the firefighters' big jackets and masks, there's a chance Asher and his men won't even recognize us!"
"Except," Francine pointed out, "why would a bunch of firefighters be out on Asher's beach residence to begin with?"
"Maybe because we are responding to a fire that WE started!" Lee excitedly suggested.
"You know, this plan may actually work," Billy was thinking.
"But we don't have firemen uniforms or equipment," Augie pointed out.
Lee stated, "Luckily, I have a plan for that, too!"
"Oh god...don't say what I think you're going to say..." Francine warned.
"In order to get the fire equipment," Lee informed everyone, "we'll just simply have to break into a fire station!"
"Another break-in of an official establishment?" Francine looked hesitant, "Please tell me you're joking."
"I'm not," Lee stated, "and the sooner we start, the sooner we can destroy Asher!"
"Then what are we waiting for?" Billy's eyes lit with excitement, "let's get the ball rolling!"
"I know this is off the subject," Augie told everyone, "but I'm actually excited to be playing a fireman because they've been on more roofs than Santa!"
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It was 9 pm at night when Billy, who was sitting on the driver's side of an unidentified rented car, checked his watch. They were on a quiet street, four blocks from the Arlington firehouse.
"Francine, Augie, it's time," he informed Francine on the passenger side with Augie in the back, "Lee and Amanda should be at their predetermined location by now."
Francine nodded, "Gotcha."
"You wish," Augie quipped from the back seat.
Francine turned and looked at him with disdain, "Want to know what I'm wishing for now?"
"Stop it!" Billy interrupted them both, "Don't let me regret my decision to have you two working together! Now proceed forward with the plan and hurry!"
Both Francine and Augie quietly crept out of the vehicle, closing their doors silently behind them. There were no signs of any cars or people in the dark alleyway. Covertly Augie emptied a canister of gasoline into a dumpster located behind a motel. Francine then lit a newspaper on fire, and tossed it inside.
The dumpster immediately lit up, heat and flames shooting upwards and spreading.
"Done. Let's get out of here," she informed Augie.
"Alright," Augie agreed, "It sure is hot here! I could really use a cold beer now."
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Lee and Amanda were parked on Cherrydale road, behind the fire station. They heard bells go off at the station and soon the fire trucks rolled out, their sirens wailing, as they responded to the dumpster fire.
Lee parked the van at an angle so it blocked the security cameras' view. Then while Amanda held the flashlight, he expertly picked the lock on the door and slipped inside. Passing the equipment lockers, they helped themselves to a driptorch and five sets of firefighter gear, including masks, helmets, axes and regulators. They loaded it onto a small firetruck, which had been left behind in the firehouse. Lee would drive the fire truck away with Amanda following behind in the van.
"I think we've got it all packed in," Lee said as he opened the door of the firetruck to get in.
"Lee," Amanda stopped him, "I can't believe that we are about to steal equipment and a fire truck from a fire station! How much lower can we go?"
"Much lower," Lee said, his hands on the steering wheel, "after all, we had already conned our way into an ex-Presidential official's home, escaped from a Russian Embassy, and broken into the Smithsonian! So this 'borrowing' of firehouse equipment is rather high up on ladder of legality, if you ask me."
"It's still a crime we're committing!" she pointed out.
"But a petty one, at best."
"Mother once told me-"
"Really? Your mother has a quote for this situation?"
"She once told me," Amanda repeated herself, "that a person should never do anything that one cannot discuss around the dinnertime table!"
"Then maybe she should skip dinner," Lee quipped.
"Very funny," Amanda gave him the side-eye, "It's just, I can't get over that we just broke into a fire station...I sure don't want to end up being on the list of the FBI's ten most wanted criminals someday!"
"I seriously doubt that will ever happen to you, Amanda."
"But what if it does happen?" Amanda theorized, as she began rambling, "Then I'll end up being captured by the FBI and they'll eventually remove my name from the 10 most wanted list, and when they do, does that mean that number 11 moves up? And would that be considered a kind of promotion for that person?"
"Really? THAT'S your biggest worry on being a fugitive?"
She shrugged, "I'm just saying."
"Listen, Amanda," Lee tried to sound reassuring, "don't think of what we're doing as stealing. Think of it as catching a very bad guy who steals treasured items from the good guys."
She considered his words, "Ohhhh...I suppose you're right," she murmured, looking down.
"That's my good little thief."
Her head immediately shot up, "WHAT?"
Lee laughed, "I'll meet you back at the Agency, Amanda."
They got into their separate vehicles and drove off.
They were in and out of the fire station in less than 15 minutes.
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It was late at night and Amanda was in her lonely dorm-like apartment at the Agency. She had just finished a sandwich she had ordered up from the deli down the street. She had the TV on, watching some mindless detective show.
She began yelling at the tv screen, "It wasn't the dirty dealing partner who killed Jackson!" she said out loud as she watched the two puzzled detectives, "no one killed him...he had faked his own death so he could be with Tasha!"
Amanda glanced at the clock...the show was only halfway over and she already figured out the so-called murder. She sighed. It was all too predictable. During commercial, she glanced around the room. She had already spoken to the boys and her mother on the phone. They were fine.
She missed the noises of her busy life. It was too quiet here. She was slightly tempted to go over to Augie's place, just to hear a real human voice. Almost. After all, it would be Augie's voice she would have to listen to.
Knock! Knock!
A door knock interrupted her thought.
"Augie, is that you?" she asked, as she got up and went to answer it.
"Guess again," answered the voice through the door.
Lee!
Amanda almost flew the rest of the way to the door.
She flung opened the door. The sight of him was unexpectedly startling. Wearing a green pullover sweater and slacks, he looked boyishly handsome out of his suit. His green eyes were only focused on her.
"Amanda, I hope I'm not disturbing you."
"No, no, Lee," she assured smile as she held open the door for him, "Come in!"
He walked past her and took a seat on the small sofa.
"Do you care for a drink? Something to snack on?" she asked, ever the gracious hostess.
"It's pretty late," he told her, "you've got some decaf?"
"Sure," she nodded and left for the tiny kitchenette. Before he knew it, she came back out with not only two mugs of coffee, but a plate of makeshift appetizers, salty crackers topped with a thin layer of all-natural peanut butter spread, banana slices and topped with slivers of chocolate fudge sauce.
Lee wasn't even hungry, but it just looked too tempting as he helped himself to a few of Amanda's cracker creations.
"Say, Amanda, this is really delicious," he complimented, inbetween bites.
She also tried one, "Well, thank you. It's Jamie's favorite. Believe me, whenever I promise to make him this, he'll do whatever chore I request!"
She said it lightly, but Lee could tell there was a hint of wistfulness when she said her son's name.
"You really miss your family, don't you?"
Amanda sighed. There was no use hiding her feelings. She rarely did with Lee. As she watched him, she couldn't stop the prickling sensation she experienced at the nearness of him.
"Of course I do," she admitted, "it'll be nice to get back to the routine of things. I... I miss being a mother."
"I don't have many memories of my mother," Lee said in a rare moment of candidness, which slightly surprised Amanda, "but there is something so unique about what mothers do. They sacrifice so much to make sure the kids grow up safe with a good education."
"The reason we do that is because we're hoping that when our kids grow up and are successful, we can move right in and live off them!" Amanda said, a playful glint in her eyes.
Lee laughed.
He thought it was amazing that despite being homesick, Amanda still maintained her sense of humor. His heart lurched slightly at how lovely she looked.
For Amanda, she couldn't believe that just twenty minutes earlier she had been feeling utterly miserable. Intended or not, Lee managed to sooth away the empty ache she had previously been feeling.
"You know, Lee," she told him, "I know you worry about me; you often do. But I've also made it clear that I can certainly take care of myself! However..." she let out a small smile, "I really do appreciate your concern."
She noted how his intent gaze fastened on her flushed cheeks and she became lost in his eyes.
"Well, I do worry about your well being, Amanda and I certainly appreciate your sacrifice to do what's right for m-...uh, for the country," he slightly reddened at his mistake.
To not feel so self conscious, he quickly took a sip of his coffee and ate another cracker, impressed with her ability for whipping up something so quickly.
"Maybe we should use these snacks as part as out interrogation technique," Lee teased, holding out his next cracker, "It seems to cause 'loose lips'; we'll have the enemy talking a mile a minute after tasting one of these!"
Amanda smiled, "We'll be sure to try out the Snack Interrogation Technique on Asher. Once we catch him, that is."
"Oh, we'll capture him, alright. Of that, I have no doubt." He held out his mug in a gesture of a toast, "so...here's to getting Asher."
Amanda happily lifted her mug, "And also to us!"
Lee's stomach did a flip at the word 'us'. But when he looked her way, she didn't give any indication that 'us' implied anything but working on the mission together.
"Definitely to us," he conceded, as their mugs clanked.
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