There was a treasure-trove of information inside of the farm house—lists of prospective clients, cost breakdowns, multiple pictures and videos of women. The situation would take a lot time for authorities to iron out; the evidence collected implicated many high-ranking individuals and would not be pleasant to work through. It was inevitable once the media got a hold of it, it would become sensational news across the country and Lee would be happy to leave out the details of the Agency's involvement. The glory of Nicole's safe recovery would be given to the local police department and the FBI. He had no problem with that at all.
There were request lists detailing specific shapes and sizes of women. It was evident that Marcus, along with his cronies, were working together to compile a selection of women to fulfill the 'orders'. It looked as if the operation had begun more than a year ago, and had multifaceted branches beyond what had uncovered at the farmhouse. Nicole was just the latest victim of a long list who had been taken against her will. Amanda would have been the next.
Lee found that order, right at the top of a desk in a different back bedroom. It contained a set of 'requirements' with a picture of Amanda attached to the top of it with a paperclip; as if she were something being selected out of the Sears catalog. Ordered for one Uglov Salnikov Anotovich. Igorevich must have been tasked with the pickup. With gloved hands, Lee shuffled through the rest of the papers; noting that no other pictures of any other women were attached to any of the other orders.
He couldn't find any paperwork on Nicole, though, and wondered who had purchased her or what the endgame for her was supposed to be. If she were to be sold, surely her 'invoice' should have been there somewhere, but as far as he could find there wasn't anything on her. Maybe she had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Medics had wheeled her out on a stretcher as soon as she'd been cut free. It was evident that her captors had fed her over the past few days but that was about as much as Lee could say they'd done for her. She had yet to say a word about her experience but he'd seen enough to know that it had been rough. Lee hoped she wasn't so traumatized that she wouldn't be able to give details—he was grateful that it wouldn't be he who would be tasked to do that questioning. Dealing with that kind of trauma was not his specialty and he would gladly leave it to a professional.
The wrap up was his least favorite part of his job; especially because multi-agencies were involved, it meant the reporting aspect of a case would get dragged out. The sheriff had already requested that both he and Amanda stay in town for a couple of days to wrap their part all up.
If they stayed, filled out the proper reports and did what was asked of them they would not be required to come back for any of the court dates; their identities would be safe and their covers would not be blown. Since the town believed that a federal agent was involved the police department were using the FBI as Lee's cover—and his name would not be leaked. Or his picture.
But the Agency's involvement was far from over. With the discovery that Igorevich and Anotovich were involved—and once Billy was made aware—well, Lee knew it would add to their caseload, and soon. A trip overseas may be in his near future.
But for now, he and Amanda would stay in Colorado to wrap up their part of the original investigation. Which was just as well, because when he looked over to where Amanda stood, he could see the exhaustion etched on her face and knew she needed the rest—it was as good excuse as any to keep her from going back to her boys too soon. The bruises would have time to heal before the prying eyes and curious questions from her mother could manifest itself and Amanda found herself lying her way out of it.
***TAG***
An hour later, the two of them were still waiting for Sheriff Rawlins to finish up and give them a lift back into town.
"You know," Lee said as they stood together watching the officers work around them, "You did very well with your cover this time around, Amanda."
"Hmm…high praise," she said, smiling over at him slyly as if she knew he was thinking of lingerie and lots of skin. "You never knew I had it in me, did you? You know, I can do whatever's required of the job, Mr. Stetson."
He cleared his throat and straightened his jacket, heat rising to his face. "Well, yes, you can be quite the pretender when you need to be. You, uh, definitely do seem to rise to every challenge."
She elbowed him lightly. "As do you." More seriously, she admitted, "It always goes better when you're with me, you know. I was very happy you brought along that second gun."
"It's only a matter of time before someone takes the pistol from my shoulder holster. And you know, nine times out of ten the bad guys don't stop and frisk like they ought to. Good thing, too, or I would have had to come up with a different plan. That Michael is big."
She laughed. "Not everyday you meet someone that much bigger than you."
They stood in companionable silence until Amanda asked, "What's next, Lee? I overheard some of the officers talking….I heard them say a Russian name…Ivonovich?"
Lee smiled. Amanda missed nothing. "Uhh…Igorevich," he corrected. "And, yes…Russian."
"So, what does that mean for us? I mean, if the Russians are involved, then the Agency is more involved, right?"
He glanced at her. "Well, for now it means that you and I will finish up here. And then, we go home. And wait. But, you're right, the information that's gleaned from this case may be just what the Agency's needed to start back into an investigation on a group that the Igorevich name has been associated with, a group that the Agency has wanted for a very long time."
"Go home? But, Lee—"
He shook his head. "Now, Amanda, we've done all we can do until we learn more. And it's going to take some time to bring these people down. There's more to it than just a sex trafficking ring now. For the Agency, that is."
She blanched, obviously thinking of Nicole. "I still can't believe it."
He nodded. "I know. Once Billy is apprised, we'll focus on the next step. But it won't be today, or tomorrow. Hell, it won't even be next week."
"But those girls…"
Her expression conveyed how he was feeling as well and he sighed. "I know what you're thinking, Amanda, but it isn't our case anymore. It's officially a kidnapping now. The FBI is on it. Our hands are tied—our part in this can't even be deemed an Agency case as it is. Igorevich was just a buyer and not the ringleader—so the Russian aspect of it is just a by-product of the whole mess. Besides, this case should never have been ours in the first place. It…was a favor to Alicia."
"Ah, Alicia." Amanda closed her eyes and nodded tightly. "Of course."
He studied her for a moment. "Of course, what?"
But she was tight-lipped, merely shaking her head stubbornly. "Nothing."
He pursed his lips, wishing she would say more. "You don't like her, do you?"
"Who, Alicia?"
He merely raised his eyebrows.
She shrugged and folded her arms across her chest. "Alicia's great, Lee. She runs a tight ship, she's successful, she's beautiful….smart. What's not to like?"
"Uh-huh."
Amanda looked at him. "What?"
He mirrored her earlier actions, shrugging and folding his arms across his chest. "Nothing."
Before he could stop himself, he said, "So, I, uh…I saw you really hitting it off with that Peter guy back at the photo shoot."
Obviously surprised at his change of subject, she cocked her head to the side and shrugged. "What about him? He's a nice guy."
"Oh?" Lee said sharply. "How nice?"
Amanda squinted her eyes up at him and said with a slow smile, "He's good at his job and was kind enough to show me the ropes. Why?"
"Oh," Lee shrugged and turned away, feigning interest in a deputy fumbling with a fingerprint kit. "No reason. Just wondering if we'd be seeing more of him, you know, in Arlington. Wasn't sure if you'd be inviting him to come out and, uh, you know, see you."
"Are you asking if I'll be mixing business with pleasure, Scarecrow?" When he didn't reply, Amanda quipped, "Isn't that something we generally see from you? I mean, I could ask the same of you. Is, uh, well, will we be seeing Alicia in the future?"
Lee barely glanced at her before looking quickly away. "Alicia? Uh. No. That's long over."
The silence between the two of them was palpable as they both stared ahead, neither one looking at the other.
Finally, Amanda turned to him and said softly, "Well, rest assured, I won't be taking any business home with me."
Lee tightened his arms across his chest and rocked back and forth a bit, ignoring her scrutinizing stare. "Well, I'm glad to hear it."
"And why's that?"
He slid his eyes to look at her. "Oh, you know. I wouldn't want you to get…distracted."
Her eyes locked on his and they stared at each other for a long moment. "Uh-huh. Well…," Amanda said and Lee's heartbeat ratcheted up a notch when she licked her lips and smiled her Cheshire smile at him, her brown eyes sparkling as if she held a secret. "Believe me, I am not distracted."
"Well…good. Distractions can be very…costly."
She pressed her lips together as if in thought before saying almost breathlessly, "Yes, costly. We definitely wouldn't want that. That wouldn't be…professional."
"Definitely not professional, no," Lee agreed.
Amanda suddenly shot him a smile that he knew was just for him. It said more than words could convey and more than he needed to hear at that moment. Feeling lighter than he had in days, Lee returned her smile, glad for the first time that they were there together.
"You know, the reports and interviews shouldn't go all that late tomorrow," he said quickly before he could change his mind. "We're not that far from Rocky Mountain National Park. What would you say to heading that way tomorrow afternoon, maybe take a break from all this—" he searched for the word but finished with, "business. Have you ever been there?"
She shook her head. "No, I haven't ever been. You think we would have time?"
"Well, if you'd like to go, we can make the time."
"With you?"
He lifted his hands and grinned. "Who else?"
She met his smile and nodded shyly. "I'd love to."
They stood there together, each thinking of the other and how much they were looking forward to going on a road trip together, even for just a few hours. It would be time to not think about work, the Russians, Nicole. It was time they could spend talking about everything and anything.
"Then it's a da—," he caught himself, "a plan."
Her smile widened. "It's a plan. I can't wait."
Lee took her hand and squeezed it. "Me, neither."
****FADE TO BLACK***
***END TAG***
THE END
A/N: Thank you for reading. Reviews of what you think are welcomed and enjoyed on my side.I hope that those of you hoping for a very romantic ending aren't too disappointed. This fits CANON.
A/N: About 3 weeks ago, strent23 asked me if there would be a Part 2 to this story. My answer was a pretty wavering "no." But it got me going through this story and realizing that, YES, there could be a Part 2-and AU. I feel that this story -ending where it is ending-goes along with canon and could stand somewhere in the series in late Season 2/early Season 3.
That said-I am starting a second part of this story that will deal with the Russian spin I added in these last 2 chapters. This will go compeletely AU and may have our favorite couple see ups and downs. It will be completely organic as I go along-wish me luck! Let me know if this is something you would be interested in reading and I will work hard...to get it posted. Right now its going in a pretty angsty/emo direction...not as heavy on the case at least so far...
THANK YOU AGAIN!
BTW-the next story is pretty angsty-emotional highs and lows. I don't know if that's a good thing or bad...but it is what it is.