DISCLAIMER: The AGENCY and all the usual suspects of it and of the King-Stetson family aren't mine; I borrowed them with love from Warner Brothers and from Shoot the Moon and thank them kindly for the years of enjoyment I've received from them. Everything else is a product of my overactive imagination; please don't use the ideas or characters without asking me first.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have followed the thought that Lee was recruited into the Agency in or about 1975 after a tour in Military Intelligence in Vietnam in setting up what follows...



Washington, D.C. * January 21, 1989 * 1:35 a.m. EST (GMT-5)

Amanda managed to forget about Joanna and Francine's comments about Lee for the rest of the evening. She and Lee danced for a solid hour after the President left the ball, and during that time she steeled herself against taking him off into some dark, secluded corner to have her way with him. Although they had been married for nearly two years, the passion burned more brightly (speaking of inconceivable events) now than it had even on their wedding day. She might even have forgotten entirely, except for Francine's comment to her on their way to the parking lot at 1:30 the next morning.

Well, I can see that you give our Miss Joanna a run for her money in the seduction department – at least when it comes to Lee Stetson. She got into Larry's car, presumably to go back to his apartment.

Eyes welling with tears, Amanda stood with her faux fur coat wrapped around herself tightly and watched the little black sedan drive off. Damn her, she muttered, surprising herself with the strength of her words. Why should it matter what happened before she and Lee met? She knew about Dorothy and about Eva, the women most likely to have been threats had the first been alive or the second someone other than a KGB agent. She even knew about Leslie, but Lee had admitted to her long since that Leslie was his failed attempt to find her in another woman with less power over him.

Lee knew as he watched the exchange from a few yards away that Francine had said something nasty just by the sagging of his wife's beautiful form. There were times when he wished Francine hadn't saved his life a few times too many for him to feel like he could beat the stuffing out of her on the general principle that bullies should have to endure what they put others through. In the next breath, he had to admit that were it not for Amanda, he'd be very much a male version of Francine. He couldn't fault his erstwhile friend for what was missing in her life. Maybe just a good verbal backhand would do it.

Lee went to Amanda and ushered her wordlessly into the precious silver Corvette. He drove them down to the Tidal Basin, to the Jefferson Memorial, where he parked and ushered her out of the car, all in silence save the small hiccups Amanda couldn't hold in as she wept. They walked up to the statue's platform, where Lee carefully held her up until he could make sure that she could sit in his lap as he leaned against a freezing granite pillar.

Sweetheart, what's wrong? What did Francine say to you? he asked in as tender a voice as he could muster.

The torrent started with a sniffle. Look, I know you think it's silly that I still worry about the women in your past and what they might have meant to you, and I know that nobody's gonna take you away from me without an awfully big fight, but Lee, she's gorgeous and Francine hates her and I know you and Francine were involved and I could tell by the way you acted that you feel guilty about something so I just want to know now before I find out from someone else that you shot someone in a jealous rage over this woman or -

Lee laughed. He knew he shouldn't have, but he couldn't help it. He pulled her more closely into his arms and laid a warm kiss on her forehead, then on her lips to still the outburst he knew she was going to let loose on him about laughing. Amanda, honey, I've never shot anybody in a jealous rage over a woman. I thought about it a hundred dozen times before I even knew why I wanted to shoot any man who looked at you twice... He saw her lips tug upwards in a smile and kept going. Francine, in case you haven't noticed, is very competitive. Simply put, Francine's dislike of Joanna comes because Joanna is better than she is at EVERYTHING one needs to be able to do to be a successful field agent. And the worst part for Francine is that Joanna is a lot younger than you might think she is.

Sniffling again but intrigued by her husband's words, Amanda answered the unspoken question. I figured her for Francine's age, a couple of years younger than us.

Lee smiled his devastatingly handsome smile at his wife. Eleven years ago, Joanna celebrated her 19th birthday during her interagency training.

Amanda replied, putting more meaning into the single syllable than most people can in a sentence. She sat up a little bit, just enough to make eye contact with her husband. So not only did Francine lose out to someone, she lost out to a kid.

Lee nodded, thinking that perhaps he's get out of this without explaining what was, in the end, an innocent prank. But then he remembered who had the bit between her teeth and why it was there, so he just sighed and waited for the next – admittedly logical – question from his wife.

But what did Francine mean about

Where to start? First, he pulled Amanda back against his chest and spent a moment nibbling her earlobe, carefully avoiding the diamond studs that were his first anniversary gift to her. She shifted slightly, obviously enjoying the attention, but he could tell that she opened her mouth to prompt him, so he began with, Amanda, you know that you really can't trust Francine when it comes to her take on my past concerning women. This is no exception.

Flashback * Yorktown, Virginia * Winter/Spring, 1978



The Interagency Training Center adjoins the infamous CIA in Yorktown, Virginia. Recruits from nearly all of the truly secret Intelligence agencies of the government spend six weeks together learning the basics of the trade before moving on to more specific training with their own agencies. Francine passed her Station One pre-screening with marks better than all but two agents in its history. She had been out of college for two years working as a language analyst and interpreter for the National Security Agency when she impressed Billy with her innate abilities on a cross-agency assignment. JoJo, at 18 already in possession of a Masters in psychology and working toward a doctorate, was the whiz kid sought out by the CIA, the Agency, and the Special Protective Services Agency for her ability to profile and predict the behavior of others. She was at the center as the lone recruit of the SPSA because her father, a theoretical physicist, had been guarded since before her birth by SPSA men – the SPSA was for all intents and purposes part of her family.

During the first week, the two women – the only women in a class of 27 – took top honors in the competitive academic sections. No allowances were made in the physical fitness sections for gender differences; it was thus shocking to the class to have the two women leading there, too. Francine, miffed at being second best by quite a wide margin, showed just how immature she could be when during the second week she took to taunting the young Miss Marley.

Despite the fact that she bested them by a tidy point spread in every exercise and scenario, the men in the class without exception truly liked JoJo. Several of them, in fact, harbored fantasies about her, which made Francine the outcast of the class. Francine, in spite, set her cap for the instructors, specifically Lee and the lead instructor, a field agent with the SPSA named John Randolph.

The only flaws in Francine's theory were that Lee wasn't interested in either of the women because he was heavily involved with two others at the time and that John was enthralled with JoJo.



And looking back on it, he never denied his feelings about her – not once. Do you know, Amanda, he watched her for five minutes on the first day, turned to me, and said, Lee, someday, I'm going to marry that young woman.'

Well, did he?

I don't honestly know. Should we go home to finish this story?

Wrapped in her warm faux fur and snuggled in her man's lap, Amanda was cozy and satisfied to sit and listen. But if you're cold...

Lee shook his head and bent down for a lingering kiss before he resumed his story.

John and I had been friends since we served together in Vietnam, so I was thrilled to hear him say he'd found the woman he planned to marry. I was even more impressed that he managed not to let on to her or, that I could see, to anyone else – until very the end of the session.



Francine had been on a rampage with her sniping at JoJo. Finally at her breaking point, on the last day of the fifth week, JoJo came in tears to the instructor office, where Billy, John, Lee, and a CIA rep were preparing the final challenges for the next week. JoJo's turmoil spilled out in a rush, telling the leaders of pranks and dirty tricks that had been played on her over the course of the training. None of them, she said in defense of her antagonist, was that bad by itself, but the constant picking was more than she could stand. I just want to get back at her in a way that won't hurt her chances with the Agency, JoJo finished, because she's really very good at this stuff.

The CIA man, a field operative with incredibly good instincts, echoed JoJo's assessment, then left for the Farm and an advanced class he needed to observe. I still think the SPSA offered her more money, he quipped to Billy with a nod to JoJo. What we could do...

Billy laughed at the thought, then turned to JoJo and grilled her for several minutes, concerned that Francine's obsessive personality really did make her unfit for work with the Agency.

On the contrary, Mr. Melrose, JoJo assured him. That trait will be a great strength IF it can be channeled. Trust me, I've had lots of time to analyze this.

Billy said with a laugh. If you can find it in your heart to say she's not mentally disqualified for the job after everything she's said to you, said about you, and done to you, then I guess we'll just have to keep her. Under VERY close observation, right, Scarecrow?

I think you'll regret it, but sure. Just don't make her my partner. That woman is all hands.

As in all hands on...', John amended. He and Lee shared a deviously innocent look.

Billy caught the lifted eyebrows and nodded almost imperceptibly at the two younger men, holding a smile back with obvious effort. He quickly excused himself, saying to the men clearly, I'm leaving. I stayed for the debrief and now I need to ponder the consequences of what I heard. He got to the door, turned, and looked right at the now calmer JoJo. I trust that there will be a little bird who gets told what happens after I leave so that little bird can tell me. He flashed a huge grin and walked out, closing the door tightly behind him.

JoJo looked at the remaining instructors from where she stood across from John and stopped them in mid-plot, reminding them yet again why it was that she had a Master's degree at such a young age. I hate to tell you this, but what Francine needs is not a good healthy dose of physical slapstick humor.

John and Lee looked at her quizzically.

Well, you were plotting something truly evil and tortuous in a Three Stooges kind of way, weren't you. Not a question, a statement.

John asked, his amethyst eyes twinkling with laughter. Sweet, innocent, lovable little ol' us? We couldn't harm anyone, even a snake like Francine.

Spiced auburn eyebrow raised, JoJo studied them carefully for a moment. I'll concede the lovable, in a Peter Pan I'm never gonna grow up' kind of way.

Hey, John, she thinks we're lovable, Lee repeated, punching the other man in the shoulder lightly.

Well, I am, anyway. You, I'm not -

Listen to me very carefully, gentlemen. The two turned and were startled to see their companion slouched in the chair across from John's desk, feet up on the desk and thoroughly in command.

Assured after a few seconds that she had their undivided attention, she continued with her analysis of what Francine did need. She needs to be bested – again and again and again – at everything she does, but shown friendship and respect as a person despite her so-called failures. The look on her face kept the guys from laughing at the idea of showing Francine respect – never mind friendship. That's why I've tried so hard to be nice to her in the midst of all this. See, Francine's only image of herself as a lovable person is as a perfect person. She beats herself up inside whenever she isn't the best at whatever it is she's doing. Her only way of coping with all that she perceives as failure – which is everything she's done in the past five weeks, thanks to me – is to let out what she can't internalize. I'm the convenient and easy target because it's my fault. And since I haven't retaliated, she's besting me and thus regaining some sense of herself.

And she thinks that I won't retaliate, so she thinks she's got a safe anchor. The grin playing across JoJo's face was neither innocent nor pleasant. I've got news for her.

John and Lee gaped at her for several moments. John happened to find his voice first. But the tears, the complaints, the hurt...


All very real, I assure you. I usually have my nightly cry just after lights out before Francine sneaks back into the room from wherever she thought she would find some action. Showing those feelings to Mr. Melrose served its purpose, believe me. For him and for me.

We've been had, John, Lee said, not knowing whether to be angry or amused.

Funny you should put it that way, Mr. Stetson...

JoJo outlined her plan to them in swift, sure strokes. She knew from studying her classmates and the other instructors that their buy-in would be easy to get with the simple question, How would you like to teach Francine a lesson?

Final Week consisted of a series of 2-3-person team exercises designed to test the agent candidates' abilities under a variety of circumstances. Anyone who looked closely at the rotation schedule would see that every man in the class had two separate exercises during which he was paired with JoJo – one with another man and one alone. And after the first day, the ten men who had been in their trio exercise with her raved about the experience. Seduction 101, some called it. One wag said and the name stuck. Even the instructors who proctored these exercises – and each male instructor got the opportunity at least 4 times over the week, talked about the hot time in the cold room JoJo was providing to the class.

Francine steamed about it. No one would say anything more than the broadest hints to her face, but they made plenty sure that they talked loudly enough for her to overhear the stories. JoJo could make them understand just how to touch a woman to have her melt into compliance with any request, and she was willing to let them practice. When I get married someday, my wife is going to really appreciate her tutelage, and other such homage was regularly paid for the the first half of the week.

Just after lunch on Wednesday, Francine walked into the lunchroom, where the men sat speculating wildly about the solo sections upcoming, and announced loudly, That little girl wouldn't know pleasure if it reached out and sucked her into itself. I can show you how a real woman likes it. And I can return the favor, too.

Lee couldn't resist. But after JoJo, it would be such a let down.

The room exploded into riotous laughter. Francine turned and fled from the building in real tears, reappearing only because she had to participate in the class exercise that afternoon.

At dinner that night, Francine watched helplessly as the instructors showered the younger woman with attention. Lee Stetson appeared particularly enthralled, hovering over and around her like a bee to a newly opened flower. JoJo's calculation on that score had been right on target – after he brushed Francine off so callously early on in the session, for Francine to see him catering to JoJo's every whim pushed her over the edge.

Marching up to the table where JoJo sat with her male harem, Francine reached out and grabbed the other woman by a fist full of hair. She pulled her up and dragged her to the front of the dining hall, silencing the room with one withering glare.

Anger seething through every pore, Francine said her piece. If you all are so whipped up by your testosterone that you can't recognize her for what she is, then you deserve her. She's nothing but a slut looking to be loved because she can't get it any other way. She huffed self-righteously. And don't anyone come crawling back to me when you tire of her. I don't do leftovers. She looked down at JoJo, snarled into her face. You got anything to say, whore?

JoJo smiled benignly. Only that it takes one to know one. Are you one? I wouldn't know. Then she braced herself for the slap she knew was coming.

Holding her burning cheek a moment later, JoJo whispered under her breath as she watched Francine storm out, Brava, darling. Now hold onto that until you can get the next piece figured out.

Talk about the solo session grew even more lurid than that of the previous sessions had been. Francine tried hard to avoid hearing it, sitting by herself at meals and generally staying as far away from everyone as she could. She had no way of knowing that the sessions were quite serious training for the realities of sex and seduction in the espionage world – or, for that matter, that the sessions were planned the moment JoJo, whose masters' thesis had been about the psychology of seduction, was accepted to training. Far from the steamy sexual encounters the men talked about for the sake of teaching Francine a lesson, JoJo actually spent the time in frank, clinical discussion with each man. The first part of the week she taught them about the risks of promiscuity and ways to protect themselves (AIDS hadn't yet been identified, but safe sex was still a good idea). The second part dealt with the actual art of seduction – but there was NO practice involved.

JoJo didn't have total control of the plan, however. Lee and John plotted with the rest of the single instructors and the students to give Francine two little last gasps of pain at the final banquet on Saturday night. The all-male review John could take or leave, but that had been Lee's idea and he didn't feel the need to participate as Lee did. The other John anticipated with both dread and joy: it seemed only fair that the instructor give a head of the class award to the best student – one for students, one for the staff who had willingly been her students, too. With this particular prod at Francine, Lee noted wryly to John as they readied for lights out on Friday night, JoJo would get to kiss every available man in the center in the process. Including you. Think you can keep your feelings under control?

I don't know, the man answered honestly. He paced the small room in two strides, his defensive end sized bulk restlessly bounding as if seeking a quarterback to sack. I will tell you this, though. I'd better be last in this little escapade, because I don't think I'll be able to stand watching her kiss anyone else after I've had my turn.

Even Francine admitted – much later – that the all-male review had been cleverly and humorously done. As for the kissing contest, well...

JoJo looked stricken when John and Lee announced their plan. After such incredible instruction in the finest art of lovemaking, it was, they declared, only fair that instructor of the course pick an official head of the class for the students and for the staff.



She got us back for that one on the spot, Lee said to his wife on the cold steps of the Jefferson Memorial.

What did she do? Amanda asked, genuinely curious at the prospect of her husband being bested by a woman at that time in his life – and a very young one, at that. It happened all the time, now, of course.

She declared a winner for the students, a very shy man who needed a confidence boost. Then she went through the instructor staff. There were 8 of us. She narrowed it to 4, then to two -

You and John...

Uh, yeah. Had he not been so comfortable sitting with his arms wrapped around his wife as she sat in his lap, he would have run his hand through his hair nervously just then. By the time John had kissed her three times, he was oblivious to everything else. Until I met you, I couldn't even begin to understand how that worked, by the way. Anyway, after that third kiss, Joanna declared that she needed another expert opinion.

Mmm hmm. I will never forget the look on Joanna's face as she dared us silently to protest – I'd rather face Dr. Smyth in a rage than that expression ever again. Joanna took Francine off for a few minutes, then they came out and JoJo made us kiss her.

Amanda watched her husband's ruggedly handsome face as he squirmed a bit, obviously trying to find a way to say what he needed to say without causing her more pain and indignity. Finally, with a resigned sigh, Lee finished the story. There were sparks when I reluctantly kissed Francine. Not, please understand, at all like any of the times I kissed you even before I knew what I was feeling. But enough at the time for me to feel like I should at least try a relationship with her. Francine always said, though, that she felt like I was with her because I lost Joanna to John. She felt like she was second best – again.

Amanda turned gently in his arms to look up at him, chestnut eyes sparkling. No wonder she hated me at first. JoJo, Eva, then me – and let's not forget Dorothy before all of us.

Well, Joanna was a passing thought of about 35 seconds before John said he was going to marry her, let's be clear on that. But yeah, poor Francine. I just hope someday she finds someone to do for her what you've done for me.

And what would that be?

Help me heal and help me become a whole person. He kissed the tip of her cute nose playfully. And exercise with me in the most enjoyable ways...