Best Laid Plans…
Chapter 11
Lee snapped his report shut and looked at this watch. It had been several hours, and he
was starting to worry about Amanda. Drumming his fingers on his desk impatiently, he
lifted the phone and dialed Billy's office.
Before the section chief could answer, Lee dropped the receiver back in its cradle and
rubbed his hand over his eyes, sighing. She had said that she'd be back this afternoon,
and he just had to trust that she would. He knew it was silly, but he still couldn't get over
the pangs of jealousy he felt whenever Amanda spent time with her ex-husband. He
knew it had to do with the fact that no one was aware of their relationship, and it left him
a little on edge.
Lee rose from his chair abruptly and grabbed his completed report. Billy had wanted to
see it as soon as it was done, so he might as well get it over with.
*********
Entering Billy's office after a brief knock, Lee came face to face with his wife. A
familiar tingle of excitement shot through him, and he smiled, his pleasure tempered
slightly with relief. "Hi," he said softly.
"Hi," Amanda echoed, gazing up at him with her heart in her eyes.
Billy suddenly cleared his throat, intruding on the poignant moment. "Scarecrow," he
began, "you'll be happy to know that our team has picked up Senator Hartford at his
estate, along with that last load of weapons he was hiding." He shook his head wryly. "It
amazes me that these high society types can be caught red-handed and still refuse to
believe that they're in trouble. The guns were all there in the hayloft of one of the barns."
Lee chuckled lightly. "What about Carrie and her two thugs?" He touched a finger to his
sore lip and caught Amanda's commiserating smile.
Billy shuffled through a few papers on his desk. "Rogers and Barrett. Apparently they
were pretty small-time. We twisted Rogers' arm a little and he sang like a nightingale.
They were supposed to help Carrie, but they had another agenda. The senator hired them
on as watchdogs, to make sure she didn't slip up. She was on their hit list if things hit the
fan. Oh, and by the way," Billy beamed at Amanda, "I heard that you took Carrie out of
commission. Very nice work," he praised.
Amanda smiled shyly. "Thank you, sir." She leaned forward in her chair. "Sir, what will
happen to Rhodes?"
Lee and Billy exchanged a telling glance. "We'll give him a new identity and ship him
off somewhere," Billy replied. "Maybe it will keep him out of trouble."
Amanda switched her attention to Lee. "You said you'd tell me why Francine was so
mad about having to watch him," she said inquiringly. Her puzzlement grew when the
two men started laughing. "What?" she asked, looking from one to the other in
confusion.
Lee looked imploringly over at Billy, who shook his head and put both hands in the air in
surrender. "No way, Lee. Not me. I value my skin too much," he chuckled.
"It goes back to that case I mentioned," Lee began reluctantly. "We thought we had
Rhodes pinned down in a warehouse, and our team had surrounded the building.
Francine and I went in, and he surprised us." He touched the back of his head at the
memory. "He whacked me with something, a board I think, and knocked me out for a
minute. When I came to, he and Francine were going at each other tooth and nail. I
never saw her forget her training like that before," he grinned, smothering a laugh.
Billy stood up and came around to lean on the desk. "She was screaming like a banshee,
trying to scratch his eyes out," he said, continuing the story. "Rhodes was pulling her
hair and her blouse was half torn off. I think we would have helped her but we were all
just gawking in amazement. Francine NEVER loses control," he stated wryly.
"What happened?" Amanda asked, trying to curb a grin.
Lee continued with the anecdote. "I guess she remembered her training, because the next
thing we knew the man was flat on his back and she had her gun pointed at him. Boy,
she was a mess. Her hair was sticking up all over, one shoe was missing, her shirt torn. I
don't think she realized it at the time. Rhodes just looked up at her and started laughing,
and she snapped!" Lee shook his head in amused disbelief. "She shot him in the arm.
Then she turned around and hobbled regally out to the car, ignoring the snickering and
the stares from the other agents. Needless to say, she is very sensitive about it."
The door flew open as Lee finished his sentence. Francine entered, a bright smile on her
face. "Who's sensitive about what?" she asked curiously, looking at each of them in turn.
When no one would meet her gaze, her smile slowly slipped from her face, leaving a
formidable expression. "Billy Melrose, you didn't…" she hissed.
Billy crossed his arms over his chest. "No, I didn't, Francine," he placated with a winning
smile.
Francine's expression lifted slightly, then she turned to Lee and took a menacing step
forward. "Lee…"
Lee grabbed Amanda's hand and pulled her to her feet. Avoiding Francine's murderous
gaze, he dragged Amanda past the irate woman and began spouting excuses. "Oh, yeah,
well, Francine, we've gotta run, see you tomorrow…" he rushed, smiling fatuously in her
general direction. They cleared the door and hurried through the bullpen, trying to hold
back their laughter.
Francine charged through the door and opened her mouth to shout after them, but stopped
abruptly when she felt dozens of eyes on her. She smiled inanely at her coworkers and
retreated into Billy's office, closing the door with a snap
*********
Lee opened the door the Q Bureau and held it open for Amanda to precede him into the
room. She turned to look at him over her shoulder, still chuckling at the story she had
just heard in Billy's office.
"I have to say, I've never seen that side of Francine before," she reflected gleefully,
leaning back against her desk with her weight on her arms.
Lee laughed ruefully as he came to stand before her. He slipped his hands around her
waist and settled her lightly against him. "I hope I never have to see it again," he said
fervently.
Amanda circled his shoulders with her arms and leaned back slightly. "Billy told me that
we have this weekend off, including Friday. "Want to try the Poconos again?" she asked.
She ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck and he shivered slightly in
reaction.
"I'll make the calls," he volunteered, giving her a quick peck on the nose. He lifted his
eyes to meet hers and cleared his throat. "How's Joe?" he asked gently, drawing his
hands more tightly around her.
"Oh, he's going to be fine," she reassured him. "He's got a nasty bump on the head, and
quite a few bruises and scrapes, but he's okay. It's a miracle, really," she continued, "he
could have been killed."
Lee drew ran his hands down her arms to her hands and pulled back slightly. "You and
the boys could have been killed, Amanda. It doesn't seem to matter whether it's Agency
business or not. I think it's time we told everyone about us," he said earnestly. "What do
you think?"
Amanda smiled softly. "You're right. Over the weekend, we can talk about how we're
going to break it to everyone. I think it's time to take the 'mystery' out of our marriage."
End Chapter 11
Epilogue
The following Friday night, in a cabin in the Poconos…
Lee sat on the floor in front of the fireplace, leaning back against the couch. As his wife
snuggled up against his side, he turned his head slightly and pressed a kiss to her temple.
She sighed contently and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. They watched lazily as
firelight painted shifting shadows along the walls.
Lee reflected on the crazy week they'd had. Wrapping up the mess from the past
weekend had occupied almost all of his time, and running an avoidance pattern on
Francine had taken most of his energy. He was definitely not one her favorite people at
the moment. He hadn't spent much time with Amanda; in fact they had just barely
missed each other at least a half dozen times. Senator Hartford was being held pending
further investigation, and his daughter, along with her cronies, was in jail for attempted
murder, as well as a host of other charges.
He had paid a visit to Ray Rhodes just before the FBI had taken him into the Witness
Protection Program, and he was still struck by the man's remarks. He smiled slightly at
the memory, reliving the conversation in his head. "So, Lee, when are you going to come
clean about you and Amanda?" Ray had needled. "I have to say, I'm not too impressed
with the caliber of agents you have working here, if no one's noticed the sparks."
Lee had looked away and cleared his throat uncomfortably before replying. "It's
complicated, Ray," he muttered, trying to excuse himself.
Ray had chuckled. "Life is complicated, Lee. The two of you should hold on to each
other for all you're worth. Two are always stronger than one," he said wisely, giving a
wave as he was escorted down the hallway and out of sight.
A shifting log in the fireplace brought Lee's attention back to the present. He turned
slightly and gazed at Amanda's profile in the flickering light, marveling at this woman
who was his wife. He strengthened his resolve to convince her that they needed to reveal
their relationship to everyone. That was something they could talk about in the morning.
He remembered her determined rescue of her sons. "I've been meaning to tell you," he
began, "that was some move you pulled on Carrie last weekend. I guess your self-
defense class is really paying off." His dimples appeared as she looked up at him in
pleased surprise. "Good thing I didn't press my luck and try to stop you from going after
the boys, or you would have used that maneuver on me."
Amanda looked up at him coyly, her eyes twinkling. "I can think of other maneuvers I'd
rather use on you, Mr. Stetson," she murmured with a smile. She pulled his head down to
hers and whispered in his ear.
"My, my, Mrs. Stetson," Lee chuckled huskily. She gasped in delighted surprise as he
shifted his weight suddenly and rolled her to her back beside the blazing fire. "You
certainly HAVE been paying attention!"
THE END
Chapter 11
Lee snapped his report shut and looked at this watch. It had been several hours, and he
was starting to worry about Amanda. Drumming his fingers on his desk impatiently, he
lifted the phone and dialed Billy's office.
Before the section chief could answer, Lee dropped the receiver back in its cradle and
rubbed his hand over his eyes, sighing. She had said that she'd be back this afternoon,
and he just had to trust that she would. He knew it was silly, but he still couldn't get over
the pangs of jealousy he felt whenever Amanda spent time with her ex-husband. He
knew it had to do with the fact that no one was aware of their relationship, and it left him
a little on edge.
Lee rose from his chair abruptly and grabbed his completed report. Billy had wanted to
see it as soon as it was done, so he might as well get it over with.
*********
Entering Billy's office after a brief knock, Lee came face to face with his wife. A
familiar tingle of excitement shot through him, and he smiled, his pleasure tempered
slightly with relief. "Hi," he said softly.
"Hi," Amanda echoed, gazing up at him with her heart in her eyes.
Billy suddenly cleared his throat, intruding on the poignant moment. "Scarecrow," he
began, "you'll be happy to know that our team has picked up Senator Hartford at his
estate, along with that last load of weapons he was hiding." He shook his head wryly. "It
amazes me that these high society types can be caught red-handed and still refuse to
believe that they're in trouble. The guns were all there in the hayloft of one of the barns."
Lee chuckled lightly. "What about Carrie and her two thugs?" He touched a finger to his
sore lip and caught Amanda's commiserating smile.
Billy shuffled through a few papers on his desk. "Rogers and Barrett. Apparently they
were pretty small-time. We twisted Rogers' arm a little and he sang like a nightingale.
They were supposed to help Carrie, but they had another agenda. The senator hired them
on as watchdogs, to make sure she didn't slip up. She was on their hit list if things hit the
fan. Oh, and by the way," Billy beamed at Amanda, "I heard that you took Carrie out of
commission. Very nice work," he praised.
Amanda smiled shyly. "Thank you, sir." She leaned forward in her chair. "Sir, what will
happen to Rhodes?"
Lee and Billy exchanged a telling glance. "We'll give him a new identity and ship him
off somewhere," Billy replied. "Maybe it will keep him out of trouble."
Amanda switched her attention to Lee. "You said you'd tell me why Francine was so
mad about having to watch him," she said inquiringly. Her puzzlement grew when the
two men started laughing. "What?" she asked, looking from one to the other in
confusion.
Lee looked imploringly over at Billy, who shook his head and put both hands in the air in
surrender. "No way, Lee. Not me. I value my skin too much," he chuckled.
"It goes back to that case I mentioned," Lee began reluctantly. "We thought we had
Rhodes pinned down in a warehouse, and our team had surrounded the building.
Francine and I went in, and he surprised us." He touched the back of his head at the
memory. "He whacked me with something, a board I think, and knocked me out for a
minute. When I came to, he and Francine were going at each other tooth and nail. I
never saw her forget her training like that before," he grinned, smothering a laugh.
Billy stood up and came around to lean on the desk. "She was screaming like a banshee,
trying to scratch his eyes out," he said, continuing the story. "Rhodes was pulling her
hair and her blouse was half torn off. I think we would have helped her but we were all
just gawking in amazement. Francine NEVER loses control," he stated wryly.
"What happened?" Amanda asked, trying to curb a grin.
Lee continued with the anecdote. "I guess she remembered her training, because the next
thing we knew the man was flat on his back and she had her gun pointed at him. Boy,
she was a mess. Her hair was sticking up all over, one shoe was missing, her shirt torn. I
don't think she realized it at the time. Rhodes just looked up at her and started laughing,
and she snapped!" Lee shook his head in amused disbelief. "She shot him in the arm.
Then she turned around and hobbled regally out to the car, ignoring the snickering and
the stares from the other agents. Needless to say, she is very sensitive about it."
The door flew open as Lee finished his sentence. Francine entered, a bright smile on her
face. "Who's sensitive about what?" she asked curiously, looking at each of them in turn.
When no one would meet her gaze, her smile slowly slipped from her face, leaving a
formidable expression. "Billy Melrose, you didn't…" she hissed.
Billy crossed his arms over his chest. "No, I didn't, Francine," he placated with a winning
smile.
Francine's expression lifted slightly, then she turned to Lee and took a menacing step
forward. "Lee…"
Lee grabbed Amanda's hand and pulled her to her feet. Avoiding Francine's murderous
gaze, he dragged Amanda past the irate woman and began spouting excuses. "Oh, yeah,
well, Francine, we've gotta run, see you tomorrow…" he rushed, smiling fatuously in her
general direction. They cleared the door and hurried through the bullpen, trying to hold
back their laughter.
Francine charged through the door and opened her mouth to shout after them, but stopped
abruptly when she felt dozens of eyes on her. She smiled inanely at her coworkers and
retreated into Billy's office, closing the door with a snap
*********
Lee opened the door the Q Bureau and held it open for Amanda to precede him into the
room. She turned to look at him over her shoulder, still chuckling at the story she had
just heard in Billy's office.
"I have to say, I've never seen that side of Francine before," she reflected gleefully,
leaning back against her desk with her weight on her arms.
Lee laughed ruefully as he came to stand before her. He slipped his hands around her
waist and settled her lightly against him. "I hope I never have to see it again," he said
fervently.
Amanda circled his shoulders with her arms and leaned back slightly. "Billy told me that
we have this weekend off, including Friday. "Want to try the Poconos again?" she asked.
She ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck and he shivered slightly in
reaction.
"I'll make the calls," he volunteered, giving her a quick peck on the nose. He lifted his
eyes to meet hers and cleared his throat. "How's Joe?" he asked gently, drawing his
hands more tightly around her.
"Oh, he's going to be fine," she reassured him. "He's got a nasty bump on the head, and
quite a few bruises and scrapes, but he's okay. It's a miracle, really," she continued, "he
could have been killed."
Lee drew ran his hands down her arms to her hands and pulled back slightly. "You and
the boys could have been killed, Amanda. It doesn't seem to matter whether it's Agency
business or not. I think it's time we told everyone about us," he said earnestly. "What do
you think?"
Amanda smiled softly. "You're right. Over the weekend, we can talk about how we're
going to break it to everyone. I think it's time to take the 'mystery' out of our marriage."
End Chapter 11
Epilogue
The following Friday night, in a cabin in the Poconos…
Lee sat on the floor in front of the fireplace, leaning back against the couch. As his wife
snuggled up against his side, he turned his head slightly and pressed a kiss to her temple.
She sighed contently and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. They watched lazily as
firelight painted shifting shadows along the walls.
Lee reflected on the crazy week they'd had. Wrapping up the mess from the past
weekend had occupied almost all of his time, and running an avoidance pattern on
Francine had taken most of his energy. He was definitely not one her favorite people at
the moment. He hadn't spent much time with Amanda; in fact they had just barely
missed each other at least a half dozen times. Senator Hartford was being held pending
further investigation, and his daughter, along with her cronies, was in jail for attempted
murder, as well as a host of other charges.
He had paid a visit to Ray Rhodes just before the FBI had taken him into the Witness
Protection Program, and he was still struck by the man's remarks. He smiled slightly at
the memory, reliving the conversation in his head. "So, Lee, when are you going to come
clean about you and Amanda?" Ray had needled. "I have to say, I'm not too impressed
with the caliber of agents you have working here, if no one's noticed the sparks."
Lee had looked away and cleared his throat uncomfortably before replying. "It's
complicated, Ray," he muttered, trying to excuse himself.
Ray had chuckled. "Life is complicated, Lee. The two of you should hold on to each
other for all you're worth. Two are always stronger than one," he said wisely, giving a
wave as he was escorted down the hallway and out of sight.
A shifting log in the fireplace brought Lee's attention back to the present. He turned
slightly and gazed at Amanda's profile in the flickering light, marveling at this woman
who was his wife. He strengthened his resolve to convince her that they needed to reveal
their relationship to everyone. That was something they could talk about in the morning.
He remembered her determined rescue of her sons. "I've been meaning to tell you," he
began, "that was some move you pulled on Carrie last weekend. I guess your self-
defense class is really paying off." His dimples appeared as she looked up at him in
pleased surprise. "Good thing I didn't press my luck and try to stop you from going after
the boys, or you would have used that maneuver on me."
Amanda looked up at him coyly, her eyes twinkling. "I can think of other maneuvers I'd
rather use on you, Mr. Stetson," she murmured with a smile. She pulled his head down to
hers and whispered in his ear.
"My, my, Mrs. Stetson," Lee chuckled huskily. She gasped in delighted surprise as he
shifted his weight suddenly and rolled her to her back beside the blazing fire. "You
certainly HAVE been paying attention!"
THE END