There was a limo waiting on the tarmac when Amanda's plane landed, with the insignia of Zakir emblazoned on its hood. As she and Alan descended the narrow stairs of the aircraft, the driver got out and waved at them.
"Our ride looks very official," Alan observed dryly. "I hope you weren't counting on a low-key entrance into the palace."
Amanda clutched the handle of the duffle containing Leatherneck's gadgets and began walking toward the limo. "No, I wasn't counting on it. I'm going to the palace exactly as I am - Amanda King, friend of Penny Khan. The only difference is that the Amanda King going to the palace is also a disgruntled government employee who is choosing to express her unhappiness by working with the Russians."
"'Government employee?'"
"Yes. I work for International Federal Films, remember? If anyone researches me, they'll see that IFF is a government film company."
He frowned. "That seems a little…thin."
She shrugged, feeling the heat beginning to bake her shoulders. The mid-afternoon sun in Zakir was strong. "If I had more time, I would have created a cover for myself and found a different way to meet the undersecretary. But I didn't have time - and I think this can work. Working for IFF, it's logical that I know people in other government agencies and one of those people might put me in contact with the Russians." When he continued to look skeptical, she continued, "It's the best I can do under the circumstances. The important thing is to be confident and to sell it. I've done enough work at the Agency to know that. You have to believe your own cover. And if you're planning on watching my back, Alan, you're going to have to believe it too."
He exhaled. "Right. I'll do my best."
When they reached the limo, the driver opened the door. Amanda slid into the air-conditioned, leather-scented comfort, still holding the duffle.
"Hello, Amanda."
She looked up to see Penelope grinning at her. "Penny? Oh, my goodness. I didn't expect you to come to the airport to meet us."
"I haven't seen you for seven years. You thought I was going to wait at home?"
"Well, you're a princess. I figured you'd be busy doing…princess things."
Penny laughed, then leaned forward and gave Amanda a hug. "Zakir can spare me from my princess things for a little while. I was too excited to see you and to hear your news. You look good, Amanda. You haven't changed a bit." Her gaze slid to Alan, settling himself on the seat next to Amanda. "And this is your colleague? I thought you said the Agency wasn't supporting your trip."
"Oh, Alan's not a colleague," Amanda said, then immediately regretted it. Penny was a woman who was not afraid to ask personal questions. If she thought there was something to probe at, she would probe. And now she had one eyebrow raised and was regarding Alan with curiosity.
"He's not?" she queried.
Amanda cleared her throat. "Penny, this is my friend Alan Chamberlain. Alan, this is Penelope Khan, princess of Zakir."
"Princess." Alan extended his hand.
Penny took it. "You can drop the 'princess.' I'm really Penelope Squires, born and raised in New Hampshire. I just happened to marry Rheza Khan, the crown prince of Zakir."
"I'm sure there's an interesting story there," Alan offered.
Penny shrugged. "I used to think so. And then I met Amanda. Suburban mother of two and international spy. Hard to top that one." Her eyes widened and she turned to Amanda. "He does know that you're a spy, right? I didn't just spill the beans?"
Amanda smiled. "You can relax, Penny. He knows. I originally met Alan when I was on assignment. He knows why I'm coming and he's going to watch my back."
"Hmmm." Penny eyed Alan thoughtfully. "That must have been an interesting assignment. What do you do for a living, Mr. Chamberlain?"
"Please call me Alan. And I specialize in the restoration of antique documents and artwork."
"Really? And that brought you under the scrutiny of the Agency?"
Alan glanced at Amanda. "I deal with some pretty important documents."
"I see." Penny nodded. "Well, I haven't had too much excitement lately. So, thank you both for coming. I'm expecting things to get pretty lively over the next few days."
Billy took a sip of coffee from the cup Dotty West had given him and did his best to maintain a pleasant expression. He'd had a handful of encounters with Dotty over the years - enough to know that she could be stubborn and fierce when defending someone she loved. It was a trait Amanda shared, although Amanda had the ability to temper her stubbornness with logic when necessary. Billy didn't think Dotty exercised the logic muscle nearly as often.
He wasn't surprised when Francine called to say Amanda had broken into Leatherneck's lab. With the news that Lee might be alive, it would have been more surprising if Amanda hadn't tried something. However, Billy couldn't begin to guess at her plan. Despite seven years at the Agency and all the standard training, Amanda's mind worked differently from other agents'. At times it was an asset since the adversary couldn't anticipate her moves. At other times - like this one - it was frustrating because she was difficult to predict. Billy hadn't even tried. When Amanda hadn't answered her cell phone, he'd come to the King house in search of her. Unfortunately, he found himself in the family room with an angry Dotty instead.
"What is it with you government people?" Dotty demanded, glaring as she drank from her own coffee cup. "I don't know why you always have to bother Amanda. The girl works hard, pays her taxes, and never gets so much as a parking ticket. Yet every year or so you come around with questions. One time it was about her ex-husband. Another time it was about Lee Stetson. What on earth do you want this time?"
Billy glanced at Francine, seated next to him on the couch. She was regarding Dotty with a look that blended exasperation with amusement.
"Mrs. West," Billy said genially, "Mrs. King isn't in any kind of trouble and we don't mean to bother her. We're just following up on one of those old cases and we need to ask her a couple of questions. It won't take long."
"This is about an old case?" Dotty's brow furrowed. "One that you talked to Amanda about earlier?"
"Yes."
"And you're following up on it."
"Yes."
"On a Sunday?"
Francine coughed. Billy had a feeling it was her way of saying, she got you on that one. He sighed. Maybe Dotty was more logical than he gave her credit for. For a moment, he wondered how she would react if he told her he was Amanda's boss and not some random government official chasing down an old case. Not well, he decided. He tossed the idea aside.
"We often conduct interviews on Sundays," he explained. "It gives us a better chance of finding people at home. During the work week, people are traveling."
"I see," Dotty replied, eyeing him skeptically. "And I'll bet it allows you to get paid overtime, too. Contributing to those bloated federal budgets we always hear about."
Billy pressed his lips together. He wasn't sure when he had lost control of the conversation. Maybe he had never had it to begin with. He sat up straighter.
"Mrs. West," he said more firmly, "I only have a couple of questions for Mrs. King. Ten minutes at the most. If you can tell me where she is, I'll ask them and then leave her in peace. She can have the rest of the day to herself and I'll stop contributing to the bloated government budget."
Dotty stared at him. Then she shrugged. "Well unfortunately, Mr. Melrose, Amanda isn't here. She left with her boyfriend yesterday for a short trip to the islands."
Billy raised his eyebrows. Amanda had gone on vacation?
"What islands?" Billy asked, at the same time that Francine said, "What boyfriend?"
Dotty smiled as she responded to Francine. "A very charming man with a terrific head of hair. An art restoration specialist. He's crazy about her. She's been seeing him for a month."
Billy turned to Francine and saw that she was thinking the same thing he was. Alan Chamberlain. Why on earth would Amanda go somewhere with Alan Chamberlain when she believed Lee was alive and held captive in Zakir? That was not like her.
"Which islands did they go to?" Billy repeated.
Dotty opened her mouth and then paused. "You know, I'm not sure. She just said, 'the islands' and I never bothered to ask. She did pack for warm weather, though. And she packed evening clothes, so she must be planning something elegant."
"And you're sure she went with her boyfriend?"
Dotty smiled again. "They left here together."
"Was she flying or taking a boat?" Francine asked.
"Oh!" Dotty raised her chin. "She flew. On a private jet. Her boyfriend has one…or borrowed one…or something like that. I didn't ask too many questions. I was so happy to see her taking time for herself and not thinking about work, that I did my best to stay out of her way."
Which must have required a herculean effort, Billy thought. Dotty West was a born interferer. He downed the rest of his coffee and held the cup out to her.
"If you wouldn't mind, Mrs. West, I would love a refill."
Dotty's smile disappeared and she gave the cup a cold stare. "Aren't we done? I told you Amanda's not here. And I'm not sure there's any coffee left."
"Oh, I can wait while you make some," Billy offered. "I don't mind."
Dotty transferred the icy stare to Billy. When he didn't flinch, she gave an exaggerated sigh and took the cup from his hand. "Very well," she murmured. "But I think it's time I had a word with my congressman." Then she headed to the kitchen.
"So, what do you think?" Billy asked Francine quietly. "Can you make sense of any of this?"
Francine shrugged. "I have a hard time imagining Amanda on vacation now, not when she's waiting for news about Lee, and not after she paid a visit to Leatherneck's lab."
"I agree."
"So where did she go? And what does Alan Chamberlain have to do with it?"
Billy frowned. "I don't know. But she chose well with the private jet because it certainly slows us down. We'll have to look at the flight plans that were filed out of the Virginia/DC area and figure out which plane she's on. And she's got a twelve hour jump on us." He paused and reconsidered. "Of course, if she's going after Lee, we can make a pretty damn good guess at where she's gone."
Francine nodded. "Zakir."
"Yup."
"You really think she'd go on her own?"
"You think she wouldn't?"
"Oh," Francine rolled her eyes. "She'd definitely go. The question is, what will she do when she gets there? She must think she has a way of finding Lee - although how she believes she can do better than the agents stationed in the area is beyond me. Maybe he knows something," she added, tilting her chin in the direction of the stairs. "He's been sitting around the corner for the last ten minutes."
Billy followed Francine's gesture just in time to see the boy push his backside up the stairs, away from the opening to the family room. He wondered how much the boy had heard. He rose from the couch and walked over.
"Jamie," he said, before the kid could disappear into the second floor. At least he was pretty sure it was Jamie. Amanda kept current photos of both sons on her desk.
The kid stopped moving and stared at him.
"Do you know where your mother has gone?" Billy asked. "We need to get in touch with her. It's important."
The boy continued to stare, saying nothing. His cheeks were flushed and he looked uncomfortable. He does know something, Billy thought. Either that, or he's being a teenager. Teenagers always look uncomfortable.
"Jamie?" Billy said again, softening his voice.
Jamie's eyes blinked behind the lenses of his glasses but his gaze never wavered from Billy. "You're my mom's boss, aren't you?" he eventually said.
It was Billy's turn to blink. "What makes you say that?"
"You know my name. And I finally figured out what Mom does for a living and it's not making films. I was here when she got the call from the Barnstorm lady about Mr. Stetson. You wouldn't be so anxious to find her on a Sunday if it didn't have something to do with that call."
So, the kid knew, but the mother didn't. Billy glanced toward Francine. She was rising to intercept Dotty in the kitchen before the woman could see what was going on and charge over in defense of her grandson.
"You know," Billy replied to the boy, "you're a pretty smart kid. Yes, I'm your mother's boss. And it's very important that I speak with her. Do you know where she is?"
"She's worried you're not doing enough to get Mr. Stetson back," Jamie continued, ignoring the question.
"I know that."
"So why aren't you doing more? Isn't he one of your agents, too?"
Billy nodded. "One of the best."
"So?"
Billy pressed his lips together. "We're following standard agency protocols to recover him."
"Mom doesn't think they're enough."
Billy rubbed the back of his neck, trying to contain his impatience. "Yes, she made that clear to me, too. So, what did she decide to do? I'm guessing you know something." When the kid didn't reply, Billy continued, "This is serious business, Jamie. Your mom could be in danger."
Jamie looked down at his hands, twisting the fingers together. Billy could almost guess the kid's thoughts. Did he tempt the wrath of the authority figure in front of him? Or did he disappoint his mother? Apparently, Amanda commanded a great deal of respect from her kids because he shook his head. "She didn't tell me her whole plan. And what I know - well, I'm not sure I should tell you. She'll be mad at me if you stop her."
Billy was tempted to bellow at the kid the same way he would have bellowed at one of his agents - but choked it down. This situation called for a different approach. The kid is smart, he thought. Appeal to his intellect.
"Your mother could be in danger," he repeated to Jamie. "She's good at what she does but she doesn't go out in the field very often. She's mainly an analyst. If she's got an idea for finding Mr. Stetson, we won't stop it. And we could give her the people to execute it - capable people."
The kid resumed twisting his fingers.
"You mean that?" he finally asked.
"Yes."
Jamie sighed. "She went to Zakir."
"We figured that much out on our own. What is she going to do when she gets there?"
"She's going to try to find Mr. Stetson."
"How?"
The kid shrugged. "I'm not sure, but I know she got in touch with some guy who speaks Russian. She said no one would believe her if she tried to speak it."
Billy pondered that one. A Russian speaker. Why would Amanda want a Russian speaker? She was going to Zakir, not Moscow. Then he recalled that the Barnstorm contact thought the plan was to turn Lee over to the Russians for a healthy sum. Oh hell, he realized. She's going to pretend to be a buyer. She's hoping to use that to get them to take her to Lee.
"Do you know the name of the Russian speaker?" he asked.
Jamie shook his head. "No. But I do know that she went to Falls Church to meet with him."
Local, Billy thought, which meant it was most likely someone she'd met through the Agency. That was good, because if the Russian speaker was in one of the company's databases he could be identified...if the right search parameters were fed into the blasted computer. He studied Jamie's expression - half guilt, half hope - and didn't think he was going to get anything more from the boy.
"Thank you," he said. "We'll see what we can do about helping your mom. I promise you."
The guilt eased from Jamie's face but didn't disappear completely. "You really think you can help?"
"We'll do our best." That was the truth.
The boy nodded.
Billy turned toward the kitchen and saw that Dotty was trying to get around Francine, clearly unhappy that he was talking her grandson. Francine was deftly blocking the woman. He wondered whether she'd learned the move at the Agency or at Nordstrom's during a sale.
"Francine," he said.
"Yes?" she replied sweetly, as if she and Dotty were sharing tips for coffee brewing rather than jockeying for position.
"Let's go. It's clear Mrs. King isn't returning any time soon and we've got other things we can follow up on today."
"Very well." Francine stepped out of Dotty's way and Dotty immediately strode over to the stairs.
"Are you all right?" she asked Jamie.
"Fine, Grandma. I was just asking Mr. Melrose about his work. I thought he might be willing to come to school on career day."
It was a good cover. And the boy really did sound fine. His voice had steadied and his cheeks were less flushed. He had inherited his mother's gift for inventiveness.
Dotty appeared relieved, but that didn't stop her from giving Billy and Francine another icy stare. "I assume you can find your own way out."
Billy nodded. "Certainly." And he and Francine walked to the door.
When they were in the car, he told Francine about the Russian speaker and his suspicions about Amanda's plan.
"You know," he said, "it's not an altogether bad plan. Assuming she gets the undersecretary's attention, it will be faster than having our people put out feelers. She's going straight to the source."
Francine shrugged. "Maybe. But how does Amanda think she's going to make contact with Zakir's undersecretary of defense? It's not as if she can waltz into his office."
"True."
"And if by some miracle she does manage to contact him, the undersecretary will want to see proof that she has funds. How is she going to swing that? Make up an account number in the Caymans and hope for the best?"
Billy sighed. "Also true. I wish to God we could get in touch with her."
"Try her cell phone again."
Billy pulled his own phone out of his pocket and dialed. "Nothing," he said after a minute. "Damn it."
"So, what do we do now?" Francine asked.
"We try to find her Russian speaker."
Amanda threaded the hanger through the thin straps of her evening dress, then hung the dress in a closet that was the size of her entire bedroom back home. She was relieved to see the delicate fabric hadn't picked up any creases during the journey. Of course, if it had, she suspected it would be easy to get the garment pressed at the palace. The staff was very helpful. They'd even offered to unpack for her but she'd declined. Giving them access her suitcase was okay, but she didn't want to have to explain the contents in the duffel.
"The dress is lovely, Amanda," Penny said, watching from her seat on the bed.
"It's appropriate?" Amanda asked. "I wasn't sure what you're supposed to wear to an impromptu celebration of a princess's wedding anniversary that includes high-ranking government officials. I was afraid it might be too formal."
"It's perfect."
"Good."
"I'm impressed and a little jealous that you can wear anything approaching a sheath," Penny continued, "especially with a son headed to college. I've been avoiding dresses that are too clingy. Once I had my second child, it seemed like I couldn't get the weight off."
"Penny, you look wonderful."
"You're kind. I've put on at least fifteen pounds while you've stayed as slim as the day I met you. Fortunately, Rheza likes me as I am. He says I'm more beautiful than when we first met."
"It sounds like the two of you are as much in love as ever."
Penny smiled. "We are. But I don't want to talk about me. I want to talk about you. You promised me the whole story and I want to hear it. We've got time now."
Amanda frowned. "What story?"
"Your marriage to Mr. Stetson - remember? When we spoke on the phone you said you didn't have time but would tell me about it later. Well, it's later."
Amanda shrugged. "There isn't that much to tell. We didn't start seeing each other romantically until a couple of years after your visit to the States. When we did begin dating, we kept it a secret because we were afraid the Agency wouldn't let us work together. And when we got married, it seemed best to continue keeping it a secret. That's all there is, really."
Penny shook her head. "Oh no, you don't get off that easy. There's more to it than that."
Amanda pressed her lips together. "Not much."
"Of course, there is. To start with, why did it take the two of you so long to start dating? It was clear to me when I saw the two of you that he was attracted to you."
Amanda laughed. "Maybe it was clear to you, but it wasn't clear to him…or to me either, for that matter. We had very different backgrounds and lifestyles and he wasn't very happy about working with a novice. But after a year or so he didn't mind so much, and eventually he began to admit that we made a good team. Somehow, being a good team at work transitioned to being a good team in life. I'm still not sure how it happened, but I'll always be glad that it did."
"A 'team?'" Penny repeated. "That's nice, but I imagined a little more intrigue and romance. You're both agents, after all. And your husband is an attractive man - I hope you don't mind me saying so."
"Oh, there was romance. Lee is a romantic guy at heart - flowers, wine, foot massages - you name it. But maybe because things built slowly, we're friends as well as lovers. We just...enjoy spending time together. I've missed him terribly. He's the first person I want to tell things to."
Penny nodded. "I can understand that. I feel the same about Rheza." She paused. "But why all the secrecy after your marriage? Surely, you could have worked out something with the Agency?"
Amanda looked down at her suitcase and absentmindedly sifted through the items. "Maybe. But Lee has a certain…reputation…in the espionage community. He was afraid if it became known he had a wife and family, we could be at risk - be taken and used as leverage. We agreed it was safer to keep it quiet."
"And not even tell your mother?"
Amanda smiled. "I'm not sure how well you remember my mother, but she tends to blab when she's nervous or angry. It didn't seem like a good idea to tell her. She still doesn't know that I work for the Agency."
"I see. I guess that makes sense. It must be challenging, though, leading a secret life."
Amanda shrugged. "I've had seven years' practice making up stories about what I do at work and I've gotten pretty good at it. And with Lee gone for the last two years, I've mainly been behind a desk working regular hours. There hasn't been a lot to explain."
Penny exhaled. "Yeah. You know, I meant to say something about that. I'm worried, Amanda. You're here on your own. You say you've been behind a desk the last couple of years. What if trying to rescue Lee get dangerous?"
"First of all, this is about deception, not force. And second, I'm not completely on my own. Alan is going to look out for me."
"Ah, yes." Penny raised her eyebrows. "Alan Chamberlain. Attractive man. Lovely blue eyes."
Amanda folded her arms across her chest. "He's just a friend, Penny."
"He must be a very good friend to come all this way."
Amanda pressed her lips together and decided to leave that one alone. She'd done enough explaining for the day. Instead, she asked, "When's your party?"
Penny sobered. "Tomorrow evening. The undersecretary accepted the invitation. I hope that leaves you enough time."
Amanda nodded. "It's going to have to be."
A/N: Sorry about the wait. Hoping to pick up the pace.