Chapter 7

The next morning, Philip and Jamie raced down the stairs and into the kitchen as Philip yelled, "Mom, have you seen my shoes? I can't find them anywhere."

Both boys slid to a stop and exclaimed, "Pops! You're here!"

Lee smiled at the boy's excitement and responded, "Of course I'm here. It's the first day of school. Where else would I be?"

"We thought since you went home last night, you wouldn't be here," Jamie explained.

"Just because I didn't spend the night doesn't mean I can't be here in the morning. I didn't want to miss this." They all grinned at each other as the boys took their seats at the table while Lee placed the huge serving of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of them.

Amanda set their glasses of milk on the table, stating, "Philip, your shoes are in the hall closet. You left them in the family room last night, so I just set them in there so I wouldn't wake you. Although, I probably should've woken you for leaving them out."

"Sorry, Mom. It won't happen again," Philip responded.

"Sure it will. You're almost a teenager. Just don't make a habit of it."

Lee joined the boys at the table with the morning paper. As he opened it up, he glanced at his surroundings and just beamed. Amanda placed his coffee cup in front of him as she kissed the top of his head.

Lee still couldn't believe how his life turned out. He was in love with a wonderful woman who loved him in return. He had a soon-to-be mother-in-law he adored, as well as two fabulous sons. Yeah, technically, they were his stepsons, but that didn't matter. In his heart, they were his.

Just over a year ago, he was a bachelor with no thoughts of settling down until that glorious day at the train station. His life changed instantly when he grabbed Amanda, although he didn't know it at the time. But he wouldn't change a thing, and he couldn't be happier. Lee was pulled from his thoughts when Dotty entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, my lovely family. What a beautiful day." Dotty noticed Lee at the table and continued, "Lee, I didn't know you were going to be here. What a pleasant surprise."

"Good morning, Mom. I thought I would surprise the boys," Lee informed Dotty.

Just then, a horn from the school bus interrupted as Amanda announced, "Oh my gosh. Jamie go out and hold the bus. Philip, you need to get your shoes on and get going."

The boys both scrambled to gather their things as they yelled out, "Goodbye, Mom. Goodbye, Pops. Goodbye, Grandma."

Jamie opened the door, waved at the bus driver, and then ran back to the table and hugged Lee. "Thanks for being here this morning, Pops." He was gone as quick as he came, leaving Lee with a stunned look on his face.

After the boys left, Lee studied his watch and advised, "Honey, we need to get going as well."

"Okay, let me grab my purse, and I'll be ready to go. Mother, sorry to leave this mess, but would you mind?"

"Say no more, dear. You two get going. I wouldn't want to interfere with the two of you saving the world."

Dotty's comment caused them to freeze in their tracks with wide eyes. After their initial shock wore off, they walked silently to the 'Vette. Lee helped Amanda in, strolled around the car, and slid into the driver's seat. As Lee reached to turn the key, he questioned Amanda. "How are we going to handle that?"

"I don't know, sweetheart. I don't know. Let's just get to work, and we can worry about it later. I'm not sure what she's up to, but she is definitely up to something."

The week flew by for everyone. The boys made it through their first week of school and were excited about the long weekend. Work was extremely slow, which made things easier for Lee and Amanda to get everything set up with John regarding the house.

As they were leaving work on Friday, all excited about the long weekend, Billy caught them before they could walk out the door.

"Scarecrow. Mrs. King. My office," he barked across the bullpen. They cautiously strolled into his office. "Shut the door, please. I just wanted to let you both know I need you in my office early on Tuesday. Something has come up, and I need to talk to you before our staff meeting."

"Why not just tell us now, Billy?"

"It can wait until after the holiday. Don't worry about it. I just want to get it out of the way first thing. Enjoy your long weekend with the family."

On their way home, Amanda mentioned, "What do you think Billy wants?"

"I don't know but I'm not going to let it interfere with our weekend plans. The boys are looking forward to the barbeque we're having on Monday." He slanted a cheesy grin at Amanda. "Oh, before I forget, John wants to meet with us again on Tuesday about the house." She nodded her acknowledgment.

Tuesday morning came sooner than anyone wanted it to. Lee and Amanda arrived at Billy's office a bit tired after a very active few days with the family. His door was open, and Billy was sitting in the chair next to the couch, examining some paperwork. Lee knocked on the doorframe. "Billy, you wanted to see us."

Billy raised his head to acknowledge them. "Lee, Amanda, thank you for coming in early this morning. Please, come sit down." He gestured to the couch.

With a swing of his arm, Lee motioned Amanda to enter first. Amanda sat closest to Billy, with Lee right beside her. They exchanged glances, both still wondering about the need for this meeting. Billy smiled towards them as he started the conversation. "Well, I bet you're both curious as to why I asked you here so early."

"The thought did cross our minds, Billy. Why all the secrecy?" Lee questioned.

"I have an assignment for the two of you."

"We kind of figured as much, Billy. But, why couldn't you just tell us about it during our regular staff meeting?"

"There was a special request made, and I wanted you both to know about it before I announced it to the entire team. And, I have a few concerns that need to be answered in private. The request first came across my desk asking for assistance from Amanda, actually."

Lee and Amanda's heads shifted, wondering what Billy was talking about. "Sir, who would be asking for me? I'm just a civilian auxiliary."

Billy smirked and proudly responded, "The Princess of Zakir."

"Penny! What would Penny need from me that would need to go through the Agency?"

"I wondered that myself. It was my understanding, she didn't think you were part of the agency. Has something changed I need to know about?"

Amanda lowered her eyes, studying the carpet in front of her. "Yes, sir. It has. Penny knows I work for the Agency with Lee."

"When did this happen?" Lee interrupted.

"It was right before we left for Paris. I told you how Penny and I connected during the whole Bo Johnson incident." They both nodded. "Well, after she went back to Zakir, we wrote to one another. You know, talking about nothing really. I'd tell her about the boys, and she'd tell me what was going on in her life. I never mentioned it to you because we never talked about anything Agency related."

Amanda played with her hands before continuing, "The last letter I received from her, she mentioned she knew I worked for the Agency. She said that Rheza mentioned he heard Scarecrow had a new partner. And everyone was calling them Scarecrow and Mrs. King. He wanted to know if it was me. It was then that she informed me she'd asked around and found out it was me. Then she questioned why I kept it from her."

After scanning back and forth from Lee to Billy, she added, "When I read it, I thought I'd lost a friend. She didn't say it upset her, she was just disappointed I hadn't told her. Then the letter just ended. And shortly afterwards, you asked me to go to Paris, and I got preoccupied with... everything…" She smirked at Lee. "And I didn't have time to reply to her."

"It seems as if she has forgiven you. Why else would she ask for your help?" Billy clarified.

"Well, I did finally write her back. It was when Lee was on his last mission. I needed a friend to keep my mind off of things, and it was good to get some things off my chest. Even if it was in the form of a letter. I mentioned nothing that would compromise the Agency. I explained how I helped as a civilian auxiliary and mostly did paperwork and filing, but occasionally, I helped Lee when he needed it. I haven't heard anything since."

"Amanda, you should've checked with me before you sent that letter," Billy acknowledged. "We can't have anything about the Agency on paper."

"Oh, no, sir. I didn't mention the Agency or anything specific. I wrote it so only she would understand, and I didn't use any actual names," Amanda confirmed.

Billy and Lee both exhaled. "Well, it seems like we don't have anything to worry about. Billy, what exactly is the assignment," Lee questioned.

"They are on their way to New York for the week. It seems the Princess has convinced the Prince to pull back on the security detail when they travel to the States. However, they do still need security while on US soil. They will stay in the Royal Suite at The Plaza and want it to look as casual as possible. So, you two are heading to New York first thing in the morning."

"Tomorrow!" Lee exclaimed. "Billy, that doesn't give us much time to get things squared away with our family."

Billy proudly smiled at Lee's statement about our family. "I just found out this morning. They wanted you this afternoon. I bought you twenty-four hours to get things taken care of. Is there any reason why you can't be ready by then?"

"No, sir. We can make it work. We have a few meetings today, but nothing else," Amanda answered.

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to finish preparing for our morning meeting. You'll get all the information you need when I hand out the weekly assignments." Billy raised from the chair, proceeded to his desk, and twisted back, "Does the Princess know about you and Lee?"

"No, sir. I didn't think it was something I should tell her in a letter," Amanda responded.

Billy nodded with a knowing look, reached back towards his desk, picked up his coffee cup, and walked out the door.

Lee winked at Amanda and stated, "I guess we better go start making arrangements before our meeting. Divide and conquer? You call Mom, and I'll call John."