Part Eight
11:00 AM
"Good morning, Francine. How
are you feeling?" Lee asked in concern as Francine entered the Q-Bureau.
"I've felt better,"
Francine admitted. "Have there been any new developments on 'Operation
Beat It' since last night?"
"Francine, you look a little
pale," Amanda answered. "Why don't you sit down, and then we'll tell
you what we've learned?" Amanda's concern was evident as she led Francine
to the couch.
"What?" Francine asked as
she sat down. "What have you found out?"
"We've found out how 'Operation
Beat It' was jeopardized," Lee said.
"Really, how?"
Amanda sighed and took a deep
breath. "Francine, I don't know how to break this to you, but you were the
information source. Two members of the terrorist group work in your hair salon.
Every time you've gone in to get your hair done, they used a special shampoo
and conditioner that contained a truth serum, and when you were getting your
hair styled, you were pumped for information." Amanda sadly told her.
"I don't believe this!"
Francine exclaimed in frustration. "Who was it? Peter? That little shampoo
twerp?"
Amanda nodded. "Apparently your
stylist was in on it as well."
"Natalia? She's a
terrorist?" Francine leaned back and closed her eyes.
"Unfortunately, yes."
"Amanda, why does this always
happen to me? This makes the third time I've been drugged for information. Do I
have a sign on my back that says 'I work for the Federal Government, Drug Me
for Information?'"
"Francine, this must be hard
for you," Amanda said in sympathy.
"You have no idea how I'm
feeling right now! Being drugged the first time by Mrs. Welch was bad enough.
Being drugged by Jonathan was even worse, but being drugged by the people who
I've trusted with my hair for four years is the worst! If you can't trust your
hair stylist, who can you trust!?"
"Francine, I hate drop to
another bombshell on you, but..." Amanda sighed.
"But what?" Francine
asked.
"Natalia and Peter are
blackmailing us," Amanda told her. "They want the remaining details
on 'Operation Beat It,' and if we don't...well, they're threatening to reveal
that Lee and I are married."
"You're what? Married?"
Francine shouted, her jaw dropping to her chest in shock. When she recovered
enough to speak again, she said, "You're joking, right?" Then, as the
truth of what she had just been told hit, her shock turned into mortification.
"I'm losing my touch. I can usually smell something like this a mile away.
My two closest friends got married and I couldn't figure it out."
"Francine, don't be so hard on
yourself," Lee told her reassuringly. "Not figuring out about our
marriage doesn't mean you're losing your touch. You weren't alone."
"What do you mean by
that?" Francine wanted to know.
"No one knew," Lee
admitted.
"Francine, we never meant for
you to find out about our marriage like this. We wanted to tell you...tell all
our friends. But we wanted to tell Phillip and Jamie first." Amanda was
the one frustrated now. "Things got a little out of our control. We've
already told everyone in the Bullpen." Amanda grabbed at her necklace.
"We only told them because Billy insisted. We're sorry if we've hurt your
feelings." Amanda apologized.
Francine's humiliation slowly turned
into anger. "Let me get this straight. You are only telling me about your marriage
now because you have to, not because you want to?"
"Not exactly," Amanda
tried to make amends. "I'm really sorry, Francine."
Francine looked down at her hands
and raised her eyebrows, her lips pursed in anger. "This is how you and
Lee treat a friend?" she asked, never raising her eyes from her lap. Her
voice had taken on an edge that would unsettle the most hardened criminal.
"I thought out friendship had changed for the better. I guess I was
wrong." She looked up then, first regarding Lee, then Amanda, her voice
barely above a whisper. "I guess I was wrong."
A tense Lee stood and moved toward
the door. "Francine, we don't have much time for this right now. We have
to concentrate on getting the terrorist group behind bars. As soon as they are
in custody, you can yell at us all you want," Lee told her in an attempt
to calm down his fellow agent. "But for now, we'd better get to Conference
Room A. Billy's waiting for us. We have until one o'clock to come up with a
plan if we want to infiltrate the area around the Jefferson Memorial before three."
"Fine," Francine said in a
huff. "We'll continue this when the terrorist group is apprehended."
Francine stormed out of the office,
Lee and Amanda on her heels
**SMK**SMK**SMK**
12:45 PM
"Kelsey, you and Williamson
cover this four block radius from the Memorial," she said as she pointed
to her map. The stomach bug but a faint memory and her professionalism back
intact, Francine had taken charge. "Wilkins, you, Beeman, Fielder, and
Miller cover the perimeter. Billy and I will be in the van. I want you to act
like typical tourists. Remember: Lee
and Amanda will be carrying falsified information. As soon as the information
is in the terrorist group's hands, Wilkins' team will apprehend them. Does
everybody understand their assignments?" Francine questioned.
"Yes," Came the communal
reply.
"Good. Now, I want you all to
change into more casual clothes, so you really look like tourists."
"Francine, do you want us to
get the mini-cameras from Leatherneck?" Agent Kelsey wanted to know.
"Thank you for reminding me.
Leatherneck will equip you with what you'll need. Everybody meet back here in
an hour."
As the agents left the conference
room, Amanda said, "Francine...."
"Amanda, we'll finish
discussing it after the terrorist group is apprehended," Francine remarked
as they left the conference room.
**SMK**SMK**SMK**