Part Six
Wednesday Morning 9:30 A.M.
It was later then they had planned,
and the boys were long gone by the time Lee and Amanda returned to her house
the next morning. They were greeted by Dotty, and she gave them a quick rundown
of the morning's activities. When she finished, she gave her daughter a
questioning look. "So, how much are you going to tell Phillip and
Jamie?"
"We're going to tell them
everything," Amanda answered, "right after they get home from
school."
Dotty shook her head. "You
can't tell them after school. Angela's coming over to work with Jamie on their
Language Arts assignment."
"Well, then, we'll tell them as
soon as Angela goes home," Amanda countered.
"I hate to interrupt, but
Amanda, you'd better go get ready. We need to be at work in thirty
minutes," Lee reminded her.
"I'll go watch my soap operas
now. Let me know when you're ready to leave," Dotty said as she went into
the family room. A couple of seconds later the phone rang.
"King residence," Amanda
answered after picking up the receiver.
"Really, Mrs. Stetson? Still
going by the ex's name?" Natalia said. "Get your pretty boy husband
on the phone, my partner and I want to talk to both of you."
"Lee," Amanda called as
she placed the receiver on her chest, "come over here. I think this is
really important."
"What is it?" Lee asked as
he went to where Amanda was standing.
"The lady on the phone called
me Mrs. Stetson. She and her partner want to talk to us."
Lee took the receiver from Amanda
and demanded, "Who are you and what do you want?"
"Really, Stetson, weren't you
taught any manners? Aren't you going to ask us how we are?" Peter asked.
"What kind of game are you
playing?" Lee asked as Amanda positioned her head close to his, so she
could hear.
"Do the words 'Operation Beat
It' mean anything to you? They do to us. We know that it was designed to put an end to our wonderful organization,"
Natalia said.
"How did you find out about the
operation?" Amanda asked.
"We drugged Francine
Desmond," Peter bragged. "It was very easy."
"How?" Amanda wanted to
know.
"Natalia and I have been
working at Francine's hair salon since 1984," Peter said with a laugh.
"We're her favorite shampoo boy and hair stylist. Every time I washed her
hair, I used a special shampoo and conditioner that contained a truth serum
that quickly seeped into the brain. By the time she was ready for her hair to
be styled, she was also ready to give us whatever information we wanted."
'Poor Francine,' Amanda thought,
shaking her head.
"If you don't mind, I think
we'll get back to the subject of this call," Natalia said, trying to
return to her objective. "We want you to give us the remaining details on
'Operation Beat It,' or else your marriage will be known by all."
"How are you going to do that?
You don't have any proof," Lee told them, confident that T.P.'s burial of
the marriage certificate was deep and complete.
"What do you take us for, a
couple of idiots? Did you honestly think we would blackmail you without any
proof?" Peter asked. "Right now, in front of me, is a copy of your
marriage license. You thought no one could find it, didn't you? But we did find
it."
Natalia interrupted Peter's
gloating. "Now, this is what you are going to do. You are going to get us
the remaining details on 'Operation Beat It.' At three thirty, you will meet us
in front of the Jefferson Memorial. It should be crowded enough that you won't
be able to try anything heroic. You will give us the information, and then
we'll disappear. If you don't do as we say, your marriage will be leaked to the
media, and by the time the ten o'clock news is on, everyone will know. Do you
understand what I'm saying?"
"Yes," both Lee and Amanda
answered.
"Good. We'll see you at three
thirty." With that, Natalia ended the call.
Lee turned to Amanda. "We'd
better get to the Agency. Maybe Billy and Francine can help us?"
Amanda sighed. "So much for
grabbing a quick shower this morning. Give me five minutes to change my
clothes, okay?"
Six minutes later, Amanda came down
the stairs. Lee was waiting with her coat. "How are we going to tell
Francine that she's been drugged again?" Amanda worried as Lee helped her
with the coat. Not getting an answer from him beyond a slight grimace, she
spoke loudly into the living room. "Mother, we're leaving now
"Okay, Amanda," Dotty,
involved in her daytime dramas, answered absently as the front door closed.
**SMK**SMK**SMK**
Mathers sat at the window of the
house across the street, watching for any action. Keeping an eye on Amanda's
Cape Cod, and witnessed Lee and Amanda rushing out the door. He had been
instructed to contact his employers as soon as he saw Stetson and his partner
leave.
"They just left," Mathers
said into his hand held radio. "They really seemed to be in a hurry."
"Good." Natalia said with
a smile. "They're taking us seriously. We'll meet you at the Jefferson Memorial at three."
"Over." Mathers answered.
**SMK**SMK**SMK**