There's an old adage about the obvious – "When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras" – but those people have never met Amanda King…
Lee pulled into the driveway and climbed out of the Corvette, taking a moment from habit to glance around and make sure that nothing appeared amiss on the sleepy Arlington street. His eyes narrowed as he took note of the municipal van parked halfway down the block and decided he'd check that out just as soon as he'd taken the groceries inside. He fished two paper bags and a bouquet of flowers off the passenger seat and walked to the back door.
"Anybody home?" he called out as he entered. Amanda's car hadn't been anywhere outside, but that didn't mean the house was empty. He cocked an ear, but there was no answer. "Good," he muttered and went to the dining room to find a vase for the flowers. He whistled quietly to himself as he returned to the kitchen and went to the sink to fill it with water. Between the whistling and the running water, he never heard the quiet footsteps behind him and then everything went black.
The first thing he thought when he woke up was how much his head hurt. Years of experience told him many things in rapid succession: he was tied and gagged, he was in a box and he was in a moving vehicle. He rolled slightly from side to side, confirming that the box was only big enough for one person and heaved a mental sigh of relief that no one else from the family had been taken along with him.
"Unless they're in a different box," he thought grimly. White hot rage swept through him at the thought; he took a deep breath around the gag and let it out slowly through his nose to calm himself. He needed to be on the top of his game if he was going to help anyone, including himself.
He felt the vehicle make a turn and heard the sound of gravel under the wheels. After a few seconds, the van slowed and stopped, the engine turning off and leaving him in silence.
Driveway, not road, he thought.
The back doors of the van opened and he felt the box being dragged out, then heard the grunts as the men lifted it and began carrying him somewhere. Lee braced himself against the sides as much as he could, since whoever was doing the carrying didn't seem to care much how fragile the contents were. He strained to listen, trying to give himself clues as to where he was, but could hear nothing outside of the footsteps on gravel, then the quiet as they carried him inside, which only told him that they were walking on carpet.
Finally, with another few grunts, his box was dropped onto the floor. In a few seconds, this was followed by the sound of a crowbar wrenching the top off the box.
"Well, Scarecrow, we meet again," drawled a quiet, lightly-accented voice.
Lee stared upward at the large man with the crowbar, who reached in and pulled off his gag before hauling him to his feet, turning him to face the owner of that voice.
He was a little older and a little thinner, but Lee recognized him immediately. "You!" he exclaimed.
"You!" Nikolai Zinoviev stood staring at Lee in disbelief, before his face turned red with rage.
"You idiots!" Zinoviev thundered at his dumbstruck henchmen. "What have you done? This isn't Scarecrow! Scarecrow is a woman!"
"Hi Sweetheart! I'm home!" called Amanda as she walked in the back door. She smiled as she spotted the flowers on the counter and heard the tap running. "Looks like you only just beat me home! Did you make more stops than just the grocery store?"
She walked to the kitchen, fully expecting to see Lee, stopping dead when she saw the vase in the sink, overflowing as the running tap sent a continuous stream of water into it.
"Lee?" she called again, walking forward and turning off the tap. She strained to hear anything, then moved slowly to the stairs. "Lee?" she called again.
A quick trip to check upstairs, then straight to the phone to call the Agency. "Mr. Melrose? I think we have a problem. I think Lee's been taken…. Yes Sir, his car is in the driveway and the groceries are melting on the counter, but he's nowhere in the house… Yes Sir, I think you should come right away."
"How can you still think she's Scarecrow?" asked Lee in exasperation. He'd been pushed to sit down on a chair and Zinoviev was pacing around the room. "She's just a civilian! I'm Scarecrow! I always was! You were wrong then and you're wrong now!"
"Pfft!" Zinoviev made a flicking motion with his fingers to go along with his noise of disbelief. "You Agency people, always trying to cover for each other and making up stories! You can stop trying to protect your famous partner, Mr… what did you say your name was?"
"Stetson. Lee Stetson," Lee spat out.
"Right. Mr. Stetson," repeated Zinoviev. "As I was saying, you can desist with your games – I know who Scarecrow is – I had it confirmed."
"Confirmed?" repeated Lee in confusion. "Confirmed by who?"
"Vardosk," replied Zinoviev with a satisfied smile at Lee's shocked expression.
"Leonid Vardosk?" asked Lee. "I thought he was in Siberia, banished in disgrace after we traded him back."
"I was in Siberia also," answered Zinoviev. "After Scarecrow made me look foolish, I removed myself from Moscow's gaze and licked my wounds in the countryside. Then Vardosk arrived and he'd had his own run-in with you and your illustrious partner, hadn't he? He managed to get someone infiltrated all the way into an Agency training course, only to be thwarted by Scarecrow pretending to be a student in the class. He said she had an almost supernatural ability to avoid his attempts to kill her – assassins, bombs, ambushes – he said he had never seen an agent who was so skilled at evading threats to her life."
Lee blenched. "Vardosk got it wrong – I am Scarecrow."
"Ah, ah, ah," Zinoviev gave him a thin smile. "Enough with this ridiculous story. Vardosk gave me everything I needed to know, right down to her real name: Amanda King. It was obvious it was the same woman, the way she pretended to be incapable, just a simple housewife and mother…" Seeing Lee grit his teeth, he flashed another smile. "Do you know, I still can't believe it when those stories from American movies are true; do you know what led us to her? She is listed in the phone book! That could never happen in the Soviet Union."
"No one needs a phone book in Russia." Lee spat out. "Who needs a book when you can just turn to your neighbor who works for the KGB and ask them?"
Zinoviev shrugged lightly. "True. However, your crazy American habits led us straight to her nonetheless." He paused, eyes narrowing. "Except that it didn't, did it? It led us to you instead. Why were you there?"
Lee thought fast. "It's an Agency safehouse," he improvised. "The number in the book is just to allow people to contact the Agency, no one lives there."
"And yet you were there," mused Zinoviev.
"With flowers and groceries," grunted one of the goons guarding him, obviously trying to get back in Zinoviev's good graces.
"Well, you know how it is," said Lee with a disarming smile. "Sometimes you don't want to take a girl back to your place and I knew no one was using it…"
"Were you meeting your partner, perhaps?" asked Zinoviev.
"Amanda? No!" Lee exclaimed quickly. "She's not, we're not… we're just partners," he finished firmly.
Zinoviev stared at him with a thoughtful expression. "Just partners, hmm? She was certainly very loyal last time – I'm sure she would like to rescue you again, no?"
"No," said Lee forcefully. "She's…uh… well, we're not speaking right now because of my plans to take that other girl to the safe house. In fact," he went on, picking up steam, "she's probably reporting me to management right now and trying to get me kicked out of the Agency altogether."
Zinoviev's eyes lit up. "So, you will be looking for work?"
"No!" said Lee. "I would never work for you in a million years! The last time we met, I was almost jailed for treason!"
Zinoviev resumed his pacing, tapping his finger on his chin as he rethought his plan. "No, I think she will want you back, even if just to prove to your superiors that she is the best." He nodded, obviously pleased with himself. "I think a call to the Agency is in order, don't you?" he motioned to the guards. "Take him to the cellar. I have a Scarecrow to catch."
Francine walked into Billy's office without knocking and pointed to the phone. "Billy? Line 1. Tracers are in place."
Billy met Amanda's eyes and nodded. "Here we go." He waited until she had slipped on a pair of headphones, then picked up the handset, took a deep breath and punched the flashing button. "Melrose," he barked down the line.
"Mr. Melrose, how enchanting to speak to you again," came a velvety voice. "And once again, I have something you want."
"Since I don't know who this is, I doubt that very much," countered Billy.
"Well, perhaps you don't want him, but I'm sure your Scarecrow would have a different opinion. I'm sure they would like their partner back, no?"
Billy and Amanda exchanged confused looks. "Scarecrow's partner? What are you talking about?"
"I picked up Mr. Stetson today. I am willing to make a deal. I will call you with details in an hour."
The phone line went dead and Billy looked towards Francine's desk. She made a see-saw motion with her hand and headed back towards his office.
"We got it narrowed down to somewhere around Manassas, but nothing more specific than that," she explained. "But if we know that, we should be able to get a trace more quickly next time he calls."
"What did he mean 'Scarecrow's partner'?" asked Amanda. "Unless… oh my gosh."
Billy was nodding. "Well, at least we know who we're probably dealing with." He turned to Francine. "Pull everything you can on international arrivals and see if Nikolai Zinoviev has been spotted coming into the country."
Francine nodded and spun to leave the office again, leaving Billy and Amanda in silence.
"What do you think he'll want?" asked Amanda, only the slightest quaver in her voice. "The last time…"
"That won't happen again," said Billy quickly.
"If he wants to trade Lee for me…" Amanda drooped a little in her chair. "He's your most valuable agent."
"Amanda, you know it doesn't work like that," said Billy, coming around the desk to rest his hand on her shoulder. "We only trade for agents when we have one of theirs – we would never trade one of ours for another one of ours."
She levelled a troubled look at him. "So then how do we get Lee back?"
"We wait and see what Zinoviev proposes – if we're right and it's him, he's got something in mind and we just need to outsmart him." He squeezed her shoulder again. "Amanda, we'll get him back – you know we will."
Amanda nodded, trying for a smile. "Yes Sir."
Lee looked up as the door to his cellar prison swung open. Zinoviev stood in the doorway, shaking his head.
"I don't know why I even bother with the bureaucracy of the American intelligence system," he remarked with a sorrowful look. "Not that I am surprised. If they had no interest in trading for Scarecrow last time, I don't know why I thought they'd be interested in trading for her subordinate."
"They said no?" asked Lee, trying to look affronted while inwardly heaving a sigh of relief.
"Rather emphatically," Zinoviev laughed dourly. "How did your Mr. Melrose phrase it? Ah yes – "I wouldn't chase after him if he was the last ice cream truck with tutti-frutti in the city." You must be as terrible a partner as you told me."
They know who has me! Lee allowed himself a small smile. "Well, I did tell you she was angry with me," he responded with a shrug.
"We'll see," Zinoviev gave him a thin smile. "Melrose seemed angry with you too, but who knows how your oh-so-loyal partner feels about it? Scarecrow returned to rescue you once before – I would be foolish to think she won't this time."
Lee worked to keep his expression neutral. Maybe Billy and Amanda had a plan, and if they did, the less he said, the better.
"Do you really think this will work?" Amanda asked, chewing slightly on her lower lip.
"I really do," nodded Billy. "We've got half the Agency working this one and you've alerted Lee's family connections to watch for our signal. I have no doubt at all that we'll get him back within the day. Now, how about you head home and get ready? I'll call you if we get any new information."
Amanda sighed and nodded. "Okay. I called Joe and he's taken the boys for the weekend, so they're safely out of the way. He told them it was a surprise trip to Busch Gardens and of course, it wasn't hard to convince Mother that I wanted a weekend alone with Lee so she should take advantage of getting to spend the weekend away with Curt… At least I don't need to worry about them getting involved in any of this, so that's good."
"Amanda, you know we'd never let anything happen to them," Billy said encouragingly. "And Lee will be home safe and sound before you know it." He reached out a hand to help her out her chair, then squeezed her hand. "Keep the faith – you know Lee knows we're coming for him."
Amanda nodded and gave him a smile. "I'm sure he does."
She headed out of the bullpen, exchanging waves and a thumbs up from Francine across the room. Everyone she passed along the way gave her encouraging smiles and words of comfort and by the time she reached the lobby, she was feeling much better. Their colleagues really were pulling together and her fears were dissipating.
Even Mrs. Marston got in on the act. "You give that rascal hell when you get him back," she remarked as Amanda handed in her pass.
"I certainly will," Amanda promised with a grin. Her heart feeling lighter than it had in hours, she strode outside, climbed into the Wagoneer, and headed for home.
The house looked eerily quiet for a Friday night as she pulled into the driveway – no lights on, no sounds of Jamie and Phillip working off energy at the basketball hoop. She took a deep breath before opening the car door and climbing out. She paused, taking a long look around the front yard and street to make sure there was nothing unusual before walking up the drive past the Corvette. She stopped to check it over, wondering if there was anything they might have missed in their original sweep, but of course, there was nothing – they already know Lee had been taken from inside the house.
She walked in the back door, flipping on the lights and stopping to listen for any signs of life, but all was quiet. She frowned, realizing the flowers Lee had brought her were still on the counter and walked forward to pick them up, lifting them to her nose to inhale their fragrance. The vase full of water was still sitting in the sink where she'd left it earlier and so she carefully unwrapped the bouquet and started to arrange the flowers.
The click of a gun cocking behind her came as no surprise. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then turned to face the inevitable.
Lee really wished he could pace. He'd amused himself for a while trying to get the ropes loose, but for all their incompetence, Zinoviev's thugs knew their way around a knot, so he continued to sit, ears strained for any sounds of his captors, toes tapping a constant rhythm of frustration as he waited.
The click of the lock turning over had him straightening in anticipation, his face falling at the sight of an ashamed-looking Amanda being shoved into the room, followed by Zinoviev.
"Oh my God," he blurted out. "How did this happen?"
Amanda gave him an apologetic look and a small shrug.
"I told you she was predictably loyal," smirked Zinoviev. "We simply waited at the same spot we took you and waited for her to come looking for clues. It was like – what is that violent American phrase? Oh yes, like shooting fish in a barrel."
"You were at the house?" Lee asked Amanda.
She nodded. "I know, I know – I shouldn't have been there alone," she wailed, adding just enough emphasis to the last word to let Lee know the family was safe.
"So now you see? I have Scarecrow and her partner," said Zinoviev gleefully. "My career will not end in disgrace after all – I will be able to hold up my head in Moscow and enjoy a comfortable retirement."
"Retirement?" asked Amanda. "People like you retire?"
"I am getting past the age for these activities," Zinoviev replied with a suave smile. "I was the best for many years until our little contretemps ruined my reputation. I had a beautiful apartment in Moscow, a large retirement fund in a Swiss bank and the respect of everyone in the Politburo. Then you came along and caused me a few years of disgrace and banishment from my rightful place. But now? Now I have a gift for the Kremlin that will make everyone forget that you succeeded against me once."
"Oh, I don't think the Kremlin will be that interested in me," said Amanda, somehow managing to sound both brave and uncertain. "I'm still just a housewife with two young boys and a mortgage."
"Scarecrow," said Zinoviev in that kindly voice he seemed to reserve just for her. "You must know I will never believe such nonsense. I could never have been deceived by a simple housewife. No, no, no, I believe you are everything the rumours have always said about you – resourceful, quick-witted, and absolutely pitiless."
Amanda sunk down into a chair beside Lee. "Oh, then I don't suppose you'd believe me if I said the place is surrounded, would you?" she asked, tentatively. "And that you should probably just let us go?"
"A-man-da!" Lee dropped his head on his chest, unable to silence his groan of disbelief.
Zinoviev gave off a chuckle of sheer delight. "Ah Scarecrow, I had forgotten that you were as amusing as you are lovely!" He clicked his heels together and gave her a small bow. "But if you will excuse me, I must go contact my representatives in Moscow and arrange to have you shipped there. You may use the time alone to decide if you would like separate boxes or if you would prefer to share one."
As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, Amanda was on her feet and behind Lee's chair, undoing the ropes.
"The place is surrounded?" he said plaintively. "Amanda, when has that ever worked?"
"Oh hush," said Amanda as the ropes slipped free. "Someday one of them will believe it. That's just the law of averages." She grabbed him as he leapt up from the chair, spinning him to face her, and ran her hands over him. "Now just hold still a minute. I've been worried about you all this time and I want to make sure you're okay." Satisfied that he was uninjured, she drew him in a for a long kiss.
"And I wanted to say thank you for the flowers, they were beautiful," she said when they stopped to draw breath.
"That's very nice," said Lee, smiling as he dropped another kiss on the tip of her nose. "And I've been worried about you too, but I think we have more important things to discuss right now – like how we're going to get out of here."
He paced over to the small window near the ceiling and peered up at it as she watched. "If we break this, do you think you could wriggle out?"
Amanda shook her head. "No – that's way too small. And besides, I'm not leaving you here."
Lee grimaced in frustration. "Did you see anything on the way in? Anything that might tell us where we are?"
"No, I was blindfolded," she said. "We definitely spent time on a highway and we turned off onto a gravel road so it's rural. Even if we got out, it could be miles to anywhere we could get help."
"Yeah, that's the impression I got too." Lee was now running his hands along the door. "Hinges on the outside, so no help there." He glanced over at her. "I don't suppose you have any lock picks on you? They took mine."
Amanda shook her head. "No such luck." She looked around the room and sighed. "I guess we'll have to wait and see if they want to trade for us."
Lee stared at her, slack-jawed. "How can you be so calm? He isn't interested in trading us for anyone! You heard him - he wants to take you back to Moscow and show you off like a prize! Now we need to figure out how we're going to get out of here before he comes back or else we'll be picking out his-and-hers caskets for our ride to Russia."
Amanda tilted her head and smiled. "No, I don't think we will." She walked over and put her arms around him, pulling him in for a kiss, but Lee held back.
"Amanda! This is serious! We need to-"
He stopped as Amanda held up a finger and gazed at the ceiling, a smile on her lips. Suddenly he realized he could hear the sounds of running feet – lots of them – followed by shouting and a few thuds that couldn't be deciphered through the walls.
"Amanda? Lee?" A familiar voice could be heard outside the room calling them from upstairs.
"Down here, Francine!" Amanda raised her voice to answer, then grinned at Lee's look of stupefaction. "Guess he should have believed me when I told him the place was surrounded," she said contentedly.
"What the- how?" Lee asked, starting to laugh.
"We traced his calls to somewhere near here, but not down to the exact house," she answered, giving him a squeeze. "So, we blanketed the area with agents and then I went back to the house and waited for them to come get me too. And then they all just followed me to you."
"You were bait?" asked Lee, appalled. "What if you'd been wrong about where I was?"
"Oh, we had people all over Arlington too," she said soothingly. "And there's a tracking device in my shoe – they've been right behind me the whole time."
She stepped away from him as they heard the welcome sound of locks being turned and the door swung open, revealing Billy and Francine, both grinning from ear to ear.
"Good to see you Scarecrow," said Billy. "Or should I say, Scarecrows?"
"That was fun," said Francine, flexing the fingers on her right hand. "I don't get to punch guys nearly as much these days."
"Zinoviev?" said Lee.
"All trussed up and ready to go," grinned Billy.
"Let me go find a nice small box to ship him home, will ya?" said Lee with a vengeful glint in his eye.
"You know, I almost feel sorry for him," said Amanda. "He was so close to a happy retirement and now he's ruined it all for revenge against someone who isn't even the person he thinks I am."
"Well, don't feel too sorry for him," said Lee. "That bank account in Switzerland will probably keep him warm at night – once he's back out of Lubyanka prison, that is."
"Oh dear," said Amanda. "He was always so charming to me."
"Amanda, he was going to ship you to Russia in a box!" exclaimed Lee in disbelief.
"Oh, I know," Amanda nodded. "But when I think about all our friends over at Birchwood and how happy they are, well, it just makes me feel sorry for him, not having the retirement he hoped for."
Lee rolled his eyes. "Only you would think that way. I suppose you think we should ship him over there and let Lois and Glynis fatten him up with banana bread?"
"Oh my gosh," said Amanda, laughing at the mental image. "Can you imagine the ruckus that would cause? Although they would keep him too busy for this sort of thing."
"Well, neither of you will get your wish," interrupted Francine. "Turns out, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Zinoviev's son is not only a very rich businessman, he's also a very close friend of Gorbachev's – and they'd like to get him back with minimum fuss and embarrassment all around."
"So, he won't end up in prison?"
"No, just tucked away where he can't do any more harm," said Billy.
"Good riddance," muttered Lee.
"Well, children, this has been fun, but it's late on a Friday night, so how about we get back to the agency and get the paperwork done on this so we can all enjoy our weekend in peace?" said Billy, ushering Francine back out of the room.
"That does sound like a good idea," said Amanda.
"But why do I have to do paperwork?" complained Lee. "I was just minding my own business and got dragged into this!"
"Just like me on that train platform," grinned Amanda. "Look, the longer you complain, the longer until we can go home."
"But-" Lee stopped as Amanda rested a finger against his lips. She leaned in for another kiss. "You know, all of this means we have the house to ourselves this weekend. I asked Joe to take the boys somewhere safe and they've all gone to Williamsburg and Mother went away with Curt."
Lee's eyes lit up and his cheeks dimpled. "Well, all that peace and quiet sounds like a perfect time for me to catch up on some reading, maybe a little housework at the apartment…" He waggled his eyebrows at her. "And I've been promising Leatherneck we could take the Corvette up to the test track… you wouldn't mind, would you? You could come along and be our flag girl."
Amanda pulled him closer, huffing out a quiet laugh. "Quiet, Big Fella."
Author's Note: So here we are at the letter Z. I published the first of these on April 15, 2020, thinking it would keep me busy for a bit - I never thought it would last a whole year. 365 days ago we were just starting out first lockdown, learning to social distance, working from home and hoping for the best. Now we're entering our third major lockdown, still working from home and I get my first vaccine shot this weekend. Thank you all for accompanying me on this journey, and so much thanks to my betas Cindy and Lanie and the women of the SP who kept me sane and laughing throughout. And now, back to regular programming!