Chapter Three
Frankie and Simon pulled the gray cargo van to a
slow stop. Without the tuxedos, they
looked like the street thugs that they were.
Cautiously, they stepped down from the van and walked around back to
open the cargo doors. They pulled out a
brown crate marked US ARMY TOP SECRET and struggled to lower it to the ground
from the van. "Man, this thing is
heavy," Frankie, moaned. "Ain't no
wonder Augie didn't bother to show up."
"Just shut up and stop yer whining, Frankie. Real soon you're gonna be rich enough to pay
somebody to carry things for ya." With
a faraway look in his eyes, Simon impatiently wrestled his end of the box
up. "Let's get moving. I don't wanna be late."
Struggling with the heavy wooden box, they
arrived at the meeting spot and set it down as gently as possible. Frankie frowned as he looked around. Not for the first time, he noticed how
isolated it was. "Simon, I don't like
this, man. I think we'd better get
outta here."
"Don't be a fool. I want my part of that money.
If you wanna leave … nothin's keepin' ya here." Simon turned at the sound of rustling
leaves. There, standing not ten feet
away was their client. Her beauty still surprised him. This time, however, a very large man
accompanied her. He stood off to the
side, watching everything that was going on.
"Everything is just like ya wanted it." Simon said as he rocked back and
forth on his heels.
"Open the box.
I want to see the merchandise," she replied coldly. As the men turned to pry the lid off the
box, she calmly reached into her pocket, pulled out a handgun. Unnoticed, she held it hidden down at her
side.
"Everyting's here. Just like you wanted, ma'am.
I don't think they'll miss any of it for at least a couple of
days." Frankie proudly stood aside to
show her the prize.
She raised the gun and motioned with it for them
to move to the side. Reaching down to
look through the box, a satisfied smile crossed her face without quite making
it to her eyes. Finally she looked up
at the two nervous men standing in front of her. "Gentlemen, you have done a surprisingly thorough job." Handing them a brown briefcase, " I believe
that this will see you well compensated for you troubles. This is my…associate…he'll see you back to
your van. It was a pleasure doing
business with you."
A chill passed over Frankie, as they turned to
walk toward the van. Before following
them, the large man walked over and looked down at his employer. "What do you want me to do with them, boss?"
"There can be no witnesses to tie us to the
theft, Jerry." She said as she looked
down at her carefully manicured fingernails.
"Find out for sure that there was no one else involved, then make
certain no one finds them… for a very long time."
The man hiding in the tree saw and heard
everything that had just occurred. He
knew it was only a matter of time before that woman found out about him. He was in big trouble and there was only one
person he knew who could get him out of it.
He had to find Lee Stetson. 'I
just hope he's forgotten about me offering his wife a job at my mud-wrestling
bar.'
********************************SMK*************************************
Amanda lowered herself back into the desk chair
and tried without success to find a comfortable position. Her backache was getting worse. It had been an hour since Lee had left. She had finally admitted something wasn't
quite right and called the doctor. He
told her she needed to come into his office.
As she was picking up the phone to call down to the bullpen, Francine
walked through the door engrossed in a case.
"Amanda do you have that file on the Mendalsen…" Looking up for the first time since entering
the room, Francine stopped short at the scene that was playing out in front of
her. "Amanda, are you all right?"
Pale and trying to breathe through an
exceptionally painful back spasm, Amanda said breathlessly, "I don't think so …
the doctor wants me … to come into his office … right now." Rubbing her back, she continued with a
grimace, " Lee had to take the Jeep when he went to the airport and I need to
get a ride home to meet my mother.
She's said she'd take me but she's at her Garden Club meeting on the
other side of town and it'll be faster to meet her at home. Thank heavens Lee was able to convince her
to get her own car. If I can
just…"
"Amanda … whoa, just slow down … let me call
Billy." Francine picked up the
telephone receiver on Lee's desk and quickly dialed. "Billy, Amanda has to go to the Doctor's office and needs someone
to take her home to meet her mother … what … yes, I can do It … but she doesn't
look so good…" Francine glanced warily over at her as if to confirm her last
statement.
Amanda, having stood up, was gathering her things
to go home when the sudden gush of fluid stopped her progress. As she glanced down, a look of surprise
appeared on her face. Looking up, she stared helplessly over at Francine.
Pulling the phone away from her ear, Francine
turned a panicked look toward Amanda, "What???"
"Francine, we need to find Lee, now." With a look of astonishment on her face, she
continued. "The baby's coming."
"What do you mean?" Francine said with a nervous
laugh, trying very hard to ignore the obvious.
"Francine, my water just broke, the baby is
coming now and I have to get to the hospital.
I need to find Lee." With that statement made, calmness settled over her
and she started to mumble out loud. "I
need to call the doctor, then mother.
She can bring my suitcase and the boys to the hospital. I'll have to call Joe and Carrie. They're to take the boys to their house
while I'm in the hospital…I have to call Ragmop to bring me something up to
clean the floor before I leave…" Amanda turned back toward her desk and started
calmly making telephone calls.
"Francine, what is going on up there?" Billy stood up and shouted into the
telephone.
"Amanda's in labor." Turning her back to Amanda she frantically whispered, "Get up
here, Billy, NOW." Francine slammed the
receiver down, took a deep breath, and then picked it back up. Putting on what she hoped was a calm look on
her face she turned and said "Amanda,
I'm going to try to reach Lee on his car phone…" Turning back around she said
quietly to herself, "Come on Lee, pick up…pick up… shoot, no
answer." Turning back toward Amanda
with a forced smile, "I'll call the New
York office. They can have him call as
soon as he gets there."
Within minutes, the door to the Q Bureau burst
open and Billy rushed in. Walking
quickly over to Amanda, he patted her arm and said. "Don't worry Amanda. I've
had a call put in to New York and as soon as Lee arrives they are going to send
him back to the airport and the Army is going to fly him back. He can be back here in forty-five
minutes. Now, let's get you to the
hospital."
"Sir I have to …" Reaching back to hold onto her
desk, she took a deep breath and slowly let it out, "Oh … oh my gosh … I forgot
… how this … felt." She carefully
inhaled and exhaled through the worsening back pain. Looking up worriedly, Amanda whispered. "Sir, It's too
soon."
Billy looked at her and calmly said, "Amanda,
this is Lee's child. Did you really
expect him or her to follow the rules?"
With an agent on each side of her, Amanda was
helped out of the office. As the door
closed behind them, they didn't hear the telephone begin to ring. There was no one there to answer the call
from the soon to be father still trapped at National Airport.
*********************************SMK************************************
Chapter Four
Tapping his fingers on his thigh, Lee slammed the
receiver into the cradle of the pay phone.
'I knew she wouldn't stay at her desk like she promised.' Lee thought as he picked up the receiver of
the pay phone again, this time to call the New York office. He had a worried frown on his face as he
looked down at his watch and sighed.
Greeting the secretary when she picked up the line on the other
end. "Hi, Melanie, Lee Stetson, my
plane is having engine problems and I'm stuck here at National. It was supposed to leave ninety minutes
ago. Last time I asked they still
didn't have any idea when we would be leaving.
It looks like I'm going to be late getting there and I've got a meeting
with Catherine Neilson."
"Yes, Scarecrow, she's expecting you. Oh, wait, there's a message here from Mr.
Melrose. The receptionist said it was
alpha one priority when she gave it to me. He called about twenty minutes
ago. Where did I put it now … oh, here
it is." The secretary read him the
note.
Running his hand through his hair, Lee yelled
through the telephone at the startled secretary. "Damn! I knew I never should have left her."
Catherine
Neilson walked out of her office.
Seeing the expression on her secretary's face she asked. "What's going on out here?"
"It's Lee Stetson, Ms. Neilson. He …" Cut off before she could explain what
was going on, Melanie turned toward her boss with a stunned expression.
"Oh, it's Scarecrow, I should have known, he's
the only agent I know who can totally disrupt my whole area by just calling on
the telephone." With a snort she added,
"Let me talk to him." Taking the phone
from the sputtering secretary, she spoke quickly into the phone. When are you due to arrive? I'll have a someone drive out to meet
you." Although she smiled, her eyes
remained cold.
"No, Catherine, I'm not coming," Lee said apologetically.
"Billy called and left a message that my wife's gone into labor, and I have to
go to the hospital immediately."
"Oh, well … that's okay, the informant, a Mr. Augie Swan,
has disappeared. I had arranged a meet
last night to bring him in to a safe house until you could get here, but he was
a no show." Catherine told Lee, but it
was obvious his thoughts were far from the case.
"Well, someone else is going to have to come up there and
sort this out. I'll have Billy get back
in touch with you. Look I've got to
go." Hanging up the phone, Lee turned
and hurried out of the terminal. He wasn't there to see the frown on the
beautiful section chief's face; he didn't hear the pencil she was holding break
in two. His mind was totally on getting
to Amanda. His Amanda. She needed him and he wasn't there. Pausing only long enough to pay the parking
attendant, he jumped in the jeep and pulled into traffic heading toward the
hospital.
At the same time inside the New York office, perfectly
manicured fingernails were tapping rhythmically on her desk. She picked up the telephone, switched on the
scrambler, and carefully punched in a phone number. "There's a problem.
Stetson's not coming to my office, he's still in D.C. You need to get down there and follow
him. Let me know if Swan makes contact
with him. If he does, they both need to
disappear. I'll meet you in D.C. as
soon as I can get away." Calmly she hung
up the phone and stared, expressionless, across the room. Then with the speed of a snake striking its
prey, her arm flew across the desk and she flung the phone against the
wall.
Fighting traffic and mad taxi drivers, Lee pulled out onto
the expressway. As the jeep headed
toward the hospital, his thoughts were with Amanda. There had been no time to talk to her. A quick call on the car phone to Galilee General had confirmed
that she had indeed been admitted to labor and delivery, but the doctor had not
been in to see her yet and Dotty had no news to give him. "Lee, darling, calm down. Amanda's been though this twice before. She did great then, she'll do great
now. Take you time and drive carefully
getting here." Dotty had said calmly.
The conversation had done little to calm Lee's already overloaded
nerves.
The rest of the trip to Galilee General was made without
incident and soon Lee was hurrying through the doors of the Labor and Delivery
unit. Running up to the nurse's
station, he cornered the first person he came upon. "My name's Stetson. My
wife was brought in here about three hours ago."
"Yes, sir, she's in labor room 5…go to the end of the hall
and turn right…it's the first door on your left."
Rushing down the corridor, he followed the nurse's
directions and ended up standing in front of the door. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then
put on his agent's face and walked into the room. What he saw nearly made him loose his nerve. Amanda was lying in a bed bathed in
sweat. There was a belt around her
belly and a washrag around the back of her neck. Dotty stood beside her and was holding her hand. "Here comes another one Amanda. Remember your breathing exercise, sweetheart
… that's right … blow through it … almost over … deep cleansing breath … done,
you did great." When Dotty looked up,
she saw her son-in-law and gave a sigh of relief. "Oh, Lee, darling, thank heavens you're here."
The relief Lee felt at finally getting to his wife was
obvious as he took a deep breath and moved quickly across the room toward
Amanda. His dimples were showing as he
wiggled his eyebrows and teasingly asked, "Hi ya toots, I got a couple of tickets to the Kennedy tonight,
are you in the mood for some Verde?" As
he looked down at his wife and caressed her forehead, the play of emotions Lee
was feeling was clearly shown on his face.
"Lee …" Amanda laughed with relief. "I'm a little busy right now, maybe I could
have a rain check?" A look of concern
passed over her face as she went on, "Oh my gosh, I don't think Francine is
ever going to be the same. She was in
the Q Bureau when everything started happening, then she called Mr. Melrose and
he came up and they both helped me out to the car. Dr. Stevens said he wants to do a sonogram. He went to get the portable." Taking a breath, Amanda reached out and
grabbed her husband's hand, "Lee, I'm worried." Biting down on her lower lip she continued. "This isn't supposed to be happening for
another three weeks."
Looking confident and self-assured while feeling scared
spitless was something Lee had mastered over the years of being an agent. As he looked down at his wife, he squeezed
her hand and looked deeply into her eyes.
"Amanda…I love you so much …" A look of amazement passed over his face.
"We're having a baby," He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. Looking up, he glanced over at the monitor,
a puzzled expression passing over his face as he asked, "Amanda, what does it mean when the monitor
starts drawing little mountains?
Amanda?"
"Here comes another one."
Dotty answered for her daughter.
"What?" The sudden
death grip on Lee's hand turned his fingers white. "Oh, ooh, breathe … 'Amanda
… slow deep breaths … breathe in … let it out … breathe in … let it out … it's
almost over … almost over … done, deep cleansing breath. Great, you did great." As Lee was shaking his hand to try to
restore the circulation, he was thanking God for Lamaze classes.
"Lee, now that you're here, I'm going to go let the boys
and Joe know what's going on." Dotty
turned and walked over to the door.
"Oh, excuse me." She murmured as
the door opened and an orderly walked in carrying a cup of ice. "Thank heavens you finally brought that
ice. My daughter has only been waiting
twenty minutes. I am going to have to write someone about this." With that remark she turned and left the
room.
The orderly noisily walked up next to Lee and said, "Uh … here's your ice chips, ma'am."
Recognizing the voice, Lee looked up and groaned, "Augie,
what are you doing here?
"Lee, I've gotta talk to you. I'm in big trouble and I need your help." The words rushed out of Augie Swan's mouth.
Throwing up his hands, Lee started to push Augie toward
the door. "I don't have time for
this. Get out of here, Augie. Can't you see that my wife is in labor? I can't help you now." Lee all but yelled the last sentence.
"But Lee, if she finds me, I'm as good as dead. Oh, hi ya, Mrs. Stetson! Marriage really agrees with you. You look great, even pregnant."
"Oh, Augie … thanks."
She shook her head as she turned to look at her husband with a weak
smile. "It's okay, Lee, go ahead and
listen to what he has to say. Oh, wait
… here comes another one. Lee …"
As Lee helped her breathe through the contraction, Augie
moved discreetly out of the way. As
soon as Amanda was comfortable again, Lee looked over at him and
threatened. "This had better be good."
"Well, I helped out these two guys who were friends of a
friend. It was supposed to be easy
money. The limousine business has been
a little slow lately, ya know." Augie
shrugged his shoulders and continued.
"They were looking for information on an old friend of yours, Austin
Smyth. It was something to do with an
old Army incident. They asked for old
files that were stored in the Federal Army Intelligence building in New York
City. So I hooked them up with a friend
of a friend. Only they couldn't pay
until after the delivery, so I tagged along and hid in a tree to make sure they
didn't run off with the money. No one
saw me, I'm sure of it." Augie shook
his head and continued. "This woman and
her gorilla showed up and took the merchandise. I thought it was going pretty well until I heard the lady tell
the big guy, Jerry was his name, that she didn't want any witnesses. I got scared and left messages for you
everywhere. Well, the next thing I know the New York branch of the Agency is contacting
me to meet you at this old secluded warehouse.
It just didn't feel right. So, I
got there first and hid out and who should show up? It was the same woman and her pal, Frankenstein. I knew I'd been set up. As soon as it was safe to leave the warehouse,
I hustled it back to D.C. and found out you were here." Finally running out of breath, Augie fell
back against the wall with a thump.
"Could you identify this woman? I can have Francine take you downtown to look at some mug shots,"
Lee asked with a frown on his face.
Augie stiffened and pulled away from the wall. "Lee, I think that lady is Agency. That's the only way she could have known
about the meet. Besides Frankie and
Simon, no one else knew I was involved.
It wasn't until I tried to contact you that she came after me on the
guise of a meet with the Agency," Augie said, rocking back and forth nervously.
"All right, all right.
We'll keep this quiet. I'll get
Francine to bring the books here." Lee
said as he turned toward Amanda.
"Lee, another one's coming." Amanda reached out her hand to her husband as he rushed across
the room. After the contraction was
over, Lee reached over and grabbed the telephone.
"Augie, I'll call and have someone down here within the
next twenty minutes." Picking up the
telephone beside Amanda's bed, he quickly dialed the Agency's number. "Billy … Scarecrow, can you and Francine
come down to the hospital … no, Amanda's fine, it's about the New York
situation … uh, we'll need at least two teams here, too … Yeah, thanks. I'll tell her. Bye now." Lee hung up the
phone and looked over at Augie. "Okay,
there's someone on the way that I trust.
Be back here in twenty-five minutes."
"Cool! You're a
pal, Lee. See ya later, Mrs. Stetson."
Augie said as he turned to leave.
With an exasperated look on her face Amanda replied, "Good
bye Augie. Lee, do you think we'll ever
do anything uninterrupted the way normal people do?"
As Augie was slipping out the door, Lee opened his mouth
to answer her when in rolled the portable ultrasound machine and Dr. Stevens.
"Mr. Stetson, glad you could join us. I want to do a quick sonogram. There's something unusual I need to
investigate." The doctor said as he set
up the ultrasound apparatus, squeezed the cold gel on Amanda's belly and
started to move the wand around.
"Is there a problem, Doctor? Are my wife and the baby all right?" Lee questioned, frantically running his fingers through his hair.
"Let's see here … uh … well, well, well … there's the
reason why your labor started early. Do
you see that Mr. Stetson?"
Lee leaned closer to the ultrasound monitor. "Is that a third arm? Are you telling me my child has three arms?"
Lee turned a stunned look at the doctor.
"No, it's not an arm, but it is an extra leg and if you
look a little closer … right … there, I believe you'll see it goes along with
that second head sneaking a peek from behind that leg there," The doctor
announced matter-of-factly.
Lee's mouth dropped open, momentarily speechless. "Wha …" Lee cleared his throat and finally
made his mouth move. "What are you
saying?" He stammered as he slumped
against Amanda's hospital bed.
"Sweetheart, please, calm down and let Dr. Stevens
talk. Are you saying what I think
you're saying?" Amanda asked, looking bewildered.
"Mr. and Mrs. Stetson, you are about to be the parents of
twins. Now one of the babies is in the
breech position." Lee reached for
Amanda hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
"That means he is headed out in the wrong direction. If it was just one we could wait and see if
it turned around but it looks like it's headed down toward the birth canal
first. I would feel better if we
delivered you by c-section and right now.
I'll have my nurse come in to prep you for the surgery, Amanda. Mr. Stetson, come with me and I'll show
where you can change your clothes."
The doctor pulled Lee out in the hallway. "I won't lie to you, Mr. Stetson. I am as surprised as you are to find two
babies in there and I'm a little worried about the breech baby. Every time your wife has a contraction, the
baby's heart rate is dropping. We'll do
everything we can. Now go down to the
nurse's station and they'll get you some scrubs." With that the doctor turned and hurried away, leaving a dazed Lee
to stare after him.
It was a minute before he realized that he wasn't alone
and that Dotty was standing beside him, worriedly asking questions.
"It's two babies; that's why she's so early and that's why
she's had all the back labor. One
baby's heart rate is dropping each time she has a contraction so they're going
to do an emergency c-section." Lee
stared ahead with panic in his eyes.
"Two babies?
Twins? Oh my …" A look of
concern passed over Dotty's face before she erased it away. Reaching up, she took Lee's face between her
two hands and firmly said, "Lee, look
at me. Amanda and the babies going to
be fine."
Taking a deep breath, "You're right." Lee gave himself a small shake as he looked
down at his mother-in-law and asked.
"Where are Philip and Jamie? I'd
like to be the one to tell them about this."
"They're in the waiting room with Joe. You get changed and I'll bring them to
Amanda's room. Now hurry." Dotty headed off toward the waiting room
muttering to her self as Lee was handed a set of surgical scrubs and shown
where to change.
"When you're done changing, just go back to Mrs. Stetson's
room and we'll come get you as soon as it's time," the nurse told him with a
smile.
"Thanks." Only a
couple of minutes later, Lee was sitting in front of the boys telling them they
would be getting two siblings instead of just one. As he started to say more, the nurse stuck her head in the room
and told him it was time. "I'll come
let you all know something as soon as I can." Lee said as he turned to hurry
after the nurse.
"Lee?" Phillip
grabbed his arm to stop him.
"Yeah, chief?"
"Tell Mom … we love her and the babies."
He pulled both boys into a quick embrace and quickly left
the room. As he walked toward the
operating room a lone tear slid down his face.
He reached up and wiped it off then took a deep breath and walked into
the storm.
************************************SMK*********************************
Chapter Five
The man and woman were deeply engrossed in conversation as
they sat in a dark corner of the out of the way Italian restaurant in D.
C. "It's a brilliant plan, Ms.
Nielson. The Agency will never know
what hit them and when it's finished Dr. Smyth's career will be over. Plus he'll be in jail for life on treason
charges." Jerry shook his head as he
drank deeply from a frosted mug of beer and leaned across the table toward her.
'It's amazing how easy some things are,' Catherine
thought with a satisfied smile. 'Oh, Austin, did you really think you could
keep this buried forever?' "I think
when the ladies and gentlemen on Capitol Hill find out that the current head of
the Agency was involved in a plot to sell arms to the North Vietnamese during
the war … tsk, tsk, tsk…" With a shake of her head and a deep sigh she
continued. "Too bad all the evidence to
prove his innocence is no longer …
available." 'Poor Austin,
that will teach him to make enemies so freely.
No one makes a fool out of Catherine Nielson and gets away with it.'
"Ms. Nielson, Anonymous telephone interviews can be set up
with the Intruder and the USA Crier.
You can use the scrambler and the calls will never be traced back." Jerry raised his eyebrows and slyly grinned,
digging into the plate of spaghetti in front of him.
"Good! But we need
to be patient." Satisfied that her plan was foolproof, Catherine daintily
picked at her plate of lasagna as she continued. "I want him to know what's missing and I want him to know he's
going down and can't stop it."
Catherine sneered. "One
anonymous tip and the break in will be discovered tomorrow morning. I made the pay off for the theft from one of
Smyth's own accounts. The altered
documents will be located in a dumpster two blocks from his house and the trap
will be set. It will look like he
wanted the documents destroyed and paid to have them stolen. By the end of the week, Dr. Smyth will be
finished." She snickered as she reached
for her wine glass and took a sip.
"Of course, Ms. Nielson, your branch will head the
investigation and discover the … 'cover up'.
The plot and Dr. Smyth's involvement will be uncovered. You'll be a hero." Taking a bite off his plate Jerry proudly continued. "Imagine, the head of the Agency, a man with
the ear of the President, charged with selling arms to the enemy in Nam,
covering it up and then trying to destroy the evidence…I spent fifteen years in
jail because of that arms deal and that double crossing rhyme spouter." Jerry pushed his food away as he shoved his
chair back from the table, no longer hungry.
"Have you found Stetson yet?" Seeing the affirmative shake of his head she continued. "It's a good chance you'll find Swan
then." Reaching a hand over to touch
the big man's arm, Catherine said quietly, "Patience my friend … soon Dr.
Smyth's good name will be a memory.
When I get done with him…all the king's horses and all the king's men
won't be able to put Dr. Smyth back together again." A small laugh started and continued until it overtook her and
tears ran down her face.
*********************************SMK***************SMK*****************
Chapter 6
The next thirty-five minutes in the Stetsons' life was a
blur of activity. Lee was placed on a
stool by Amanda's head. He held his
face down next to Amanda's and looked into her eyes. Very gently, he tucked an errant piece of hair back under the
light blue surgical cap. His fingers
gently caressed her face. No words were
needed as they looked into each other's eyes.
"Okay Mrs. Stetson, we're going to get those babies out,"
Dr Stevens said as he went to work. It
wasn't long before the first baby was delivered and a loud wail could be heard
throughout the delivery suite.
"Congratulations. It's a …
girl." As the doctor held her up for a
second before passing her on to the neonatal team standing by, he said, "Her color looks good. She sure does have a good set of
lungs." As the doctor turned back to
deliver the next baby, Lee looked down at Amanda and kissed her forehead.
A nurse walked over holding a squirming bundle up for the
new parent to see and said with a smile, "Here she is, baby A is five pounds
exactly and is nineteen inches long."
"Here comes the next one…it's a…girl too." This time, however, there was only a faint
whimper. She was passed immediately to
the second neonatal team who began to work quickly. Within moments a second loud cry was heard and everyone in the
room breathed a sigh of relief.
Another nurse walked over holding the second new
Stetson. "Here you go mom and dad, Baby
B is four pounds twelve ounces and is eighteen and half inches long. Her color has really improved and right now
as you both can see, she's trying to scream louder than her sister."
With a look of awe on his face, Lee stared down at
Amanda. "Thank you. I don't know how to say what I'm feeling …
What's wrong?"
Tears slowly ran down her face as Amanda looked up and
with trepidation in her eyes. "Oh my
gosh, Lee," she sniffled. "I'm just so
happy and I don't know anything about raising girls."
"Oh, Amanda … I guess that will make us even. We'll learn together," Lee said with a smile
of relief.
"Okay folks, we're almost done." Dr Stevens was talking as he was finished the operation. "You did fine, Mrs. Stetson. You'll be in recovery for an hour and then
someone will take you back to your room.
Because of the type of anesthesia we used, you'll need to lay flat for
the next ten hours. But I expect you to
be up and around very soon. We're going
to take the babies down to the NICU, just as a precaution. If all goes well, and I don't see a reason
why it shouldn't, they'll bring the babies out to you in the morning. Do you have any questions?" Dr Stevens exchanged glances with both new
parents.
"The second baby, she didn't cry well at first. Will she be okay?" Amanda asked.
"She had her cord around her neck. That's why the heart rate was dropping with
your contractions. She has pinked up
and seems to be responding very nicely.
Her second apgar score was a nine and that's good."
As the doctor finished his work, the happy new parents
talked quietly making plans, and discussing the future. Soon it was time for Amanda to be moved to
the recovery room. "Thank you, Dr. Stevens," a grateful Lee said a smile
growing on his face. "Amanda, while
you're in the recovery room, I'm going to go out and tell your Mother and the
boys." Lee promised to be back as
soon as they let him and headed down the hall toward the waiting room.
As he rounded the corner and stood, unobserved, watching
his family, he felt a sense of rightness in the world. Taking a deep breath he walked into the room
and the multitude of questions that awaited him. Jamie was the first person to notice Lee standing in the
doorway. He looked at his stepfather
hesitantly until he noticed the smile break out on Lee's face. Not waiting to be invited he flew across the
waiting room and into Lee's waiting arms.
"Hey, sport." Lee
said with a tired smile.
Looking up, Jamie shot questions at him one right after
the other. "How's Mom? How're the babies? When can we see Mom and the babies? Lee, are you all right?
You're looking kinda bad."
Taking a breath, Jamie looked over at his brother and grandmother who
had both come to stand beside him.
"Yeah, Lee, is everything okay?" Phillip asked. "Worm brain's right, you look
terrible."
Without thinking Lee responded, "Philip, don't call your
brother worm brain." Realizing what he
had just said, Lee chuckled, "Yeah chief, everything's fine…Well fellas, you
now have two very tiny… sisters. Your
Mom's in the recovery room and they said they would come get us as soon as they
move her back to her room. She's tired
but doing great." Pausing only a second
to take a breath, Lee looked up and smiled.
"Dotty, I only got to see them for a second but they're beautiful. They look just like Amanda."
Joe walked up and put his arms on the boys'
shoulders. "How are you holding up,
Lee?"
"I tell you Joe, I've had an easier time chasing down the
KG….um…filming the cagey….oh hell…I don't know how I am." Lee said
exasperatedly.
Dotty slipped her arm around Lee and gave him a motherly
hug. "Darling, maybe you should sit
down before you fall down. When's the
last time you ate something?"
"I'm really not hungry, but I sure could use a cup of
coffee." Lee said as he sunk into the
uncomfortable waiting room couch and put his head in his hands.
Dotty looked over at Joe; and both knew that Lee needed
some time alone. "Boys," Joe called,
"let's go down to the cafeteria and grab Lee some coffee and a sandwich. How do you drink your coffee, Lee?
"Just cream, Dad, Lee doesn't like sugar in it," Philip
spoke up.
"Okay, let's go."
Joe said with a thoughtful look toward Lee, as he turned and guided the
boys out of the small waiting room.
Dotty sat down next to Lee and looked at him with
concern. "Lee, are you okay?" She
reached over gently and rubbed his back.
"Amanda and the babies are just fine."
"I know. It's just
… well; it brought back a lot of memories of California. Things I've been trying hard to forget," Lee
said as he stood up and walked over to the window, staring blindly out at the
parking lot below. Closing his eyes, he
rested his head against the cool glass.
An hour later, Dotty and the boys passed Lee as they left
Amanda's room. Walking over to his
wife's hospital bed, he felt like he was walking on air. He had just spent the last twenty minutes
holding his new daughters. He couldn't
wait to tell her how gorgeous they were.
"Amanda, I was just in the Nursery and the babies are doing fine. They have ten fingers and ten toes each …
they're beautiful … they look just like their you." Lee looked at her with amazement. "They said that soon I'd be able to take your mother and the boys
in … Amanda?"
"Yes, sweetheart."
Amanda gave him a tired smile, barely able to keep her eyes open.
"I know I've told you this before but, Amanda Stetson,
you're the best, the bravest, the smartest, most beautiful woman I've ever
known." Lee reached down and took hold
of her hand. Leaning down, he placed a
soft kiss on her lips and said, "There aren't words to describe how I'm feeling
at this moment."
With a smile, Amanda squeezed his hand. "I know.
Let's enjoy this quiet while we can.
We're not going to be alone again for a long time." With a yawn Amanda looked over at Lee, "I'm
really tired. Can you sit with me for a while?"
"Forever …" Lee whispered as he settled into the chair
next to her bed, stifling a yawn of his own.
The last thing Amanda heard before she drifted off to sleep was, "I love
you Mrs. Stetson."
**************************************SMK*******************************
Chapter 7
"That's her. I'd
know her anywhere by those cold eyes."
Augie said as he pointed to a picture of Catherine Nielson and looked up
as Lee entered the room.
It had taken two hours for Augie to pick out the male
accomplice and less than ten minutes to pick out Catherine Neilson. Sitting at the table in the nurse's break
room, Billy asked with a deepening frown as he pushed the pictures back across
the table, "Are you sure, Mr. Swan?
Please take another look just to be certain."
Pushing back from the table Augie looked at Billy. "Look,
Mr. Melrose, I'm sure it's her and that man there is the one she calls
Jerry. Lee…?"
"Augie, it's important you're one hundred percent
positive." Lee said distractedly as he
walked over to the table and pulled out a chair and sat down. "Do you have any idea what was in those
files?"
"When I was hiding in the warehouse, I heard 'em talking
about the Vietnam War and some kind of an arms deal gone bad. That guy Jerry sure hates Dr. Smyth." As Augie watched, Lee jumped up and started
to pace the room again. Squirming in
his chair and starting to feel very nervous, he looked back to the table and
questioned. "Hey, can't a guy get a cup
of coffee around here?"
Billy rubbed his hand over his face and took a deep breath
as he stood up. "I have to leave for a
while. This is Ms. Desmond; she will
stay here with you. Lee, your family is
waiting for you."
As Billy and Lee were leaving the room they heard Augie
say to Francine. "Hey babe, I got an
opening at my bar. Ever mud-wrestled
before?"
Standing outside the door, both Lee and Billy were
speechless. Catherine Nielson was a
respected agent with twenty years of service; she was a section head, just like
Billy. They had both known her for
years. Now here was an informant
telling them she was stealing government files and killing people. Also that she had somehow become involved
with a known weapons dealer named Jerry Grant.
It just didn't make sense.
"Lee, I need to put in a call to Dr. Smyth. Hopefully, he can shed some light on what's
going on." Billy looked up and
frowned. "I don't like this. I don't like this at all."
"It's going to be touchy.
Dr. Smyth isn't going to react well to being threatened. Plus, we need to get Augie into a safe
house. The fewer people who know he's
here the better," Lee said.
"I'll send Mayfield up to the Federal Building in New York
right away. No one there knows
him. Then…" Billy paused as Dotty approached.
"Lee, someone from the nursery just came to the waiting
room and said that the babies are doing great and we can all go see them
now. I thought you would want to know
right away. Darling, the boys want you
to go with us." Dotty went on with
barely contained excitement. "I just
can't wait to see those babies. I was
just in to check on Amanda and she's finally sleeping."
"I know, I stayed with her until I was sure she was
asleep, Dotty." Looking over toward his
boss, he grinned and handed him a cigar.
"Billy, I'll have to catch up with you later." Lee said as he put his arm around his mother in law.
Twirling the cigar between his fingers Billy smiled and
said, "go…if I need you, I know where you are." He didn't have to tell Lee twice before he turned headed to the waiting
room and the rest of his family.
No one paid any attention to the large priest standing by
the men's room. A smile broke out on
his face as whispered, "Gottcha!"
Augie was nervously roaming the nurse's break room. All the while he was wondering why that lady
agent was so mad at him. She hadn't
spoken to him once, just kept looking at him like he had a contagious
disease. As he passed the door that
opened into the nurse's station, a movement caught his eye. He quickly stepped back and pressed himself
against the wall. 'Oh, man, that
priest is Frankenstein. I gotta get out
of here and warn Lee'. "Ms.
Desmond, I need to use the can. I'll be
right back."
"There's one on the other side of the back door in the
doctor's dictating room. Don't be long." Francine ordered with a look of barely
contained distaste on her face.
Easing around the corner, he bypassed the men's room and
headed toward Mrs. Stetson's room.
Sneaking into a supply closet, he reappeared minutes later in a set of
surgical scrubs with a blue surgical cap over his hair and a mask covering his
lower face. Keeping his eyes open, he
nonchalantly walked down the hallway and slipped unnoticed into Amanda's room. He pulled down the surgical mask and looked
down at Mrs. Stetson. She appeared to
be sleeping soundly and he hated to wake her up but this was life or death he
reasoned.
"Pssst." Augie
whispered as he got down on his knees and hid next to the bed. "Psssst, Mrs. Stetson. It's me, Augie."
"Lee? Who?" Amanda asked half asleep.
"It's me, Augie. I
saw that big guy out in the hallway snooping around the nurse's station. He's dressed up like a priest. It was only a matter of time before he found
me there. Can you get Lee for me?" Augie pleaded.
"Augie, do you realize that I just recently came out of
surgery where I gave birth to not one but TWO babies? And the worst part of the whole thing is that I have seen more of
you than my babies." Amanda said with
exasperation.
"Look, Mrs. Stetson, I wouldn't ask you, but it's a matter
of life and death. Please, call Lee …
please."
With a sigh, Amanda reached for the call button. "I never could say no to a man in
trouble. Make sure that door's closed
and stay out of sight. Can you fit in
that closet over there?"
"You bet," Augie replied as he quickly closed the door to
Amanda's room and then wedged himself into the clothes closet and shut its
door.
"Yes, Mrs. Stetson," the nurse said as she peeked her head
into the room, "what can we do for you?"
"Uh…can you find my husband, I need to get a message to
him right away." Quickly trying to come
up with a clue that would let Lee know why she wanted him, she said the first
thing that came to her mind. "Tell
him…tell him that my mud wrestling injury is acting up and I need him to call
my chiropractor." Using the back of her
menu, she wrote a short note, folded it,
and handed to the nurse." Here's
his phone number." Amanda's face turned beet red as she thought. 'I can't believe I just said that. What these nurses must think of me.'
"Uh … sure ma'am."
The nurse said quietly as she took the note and headed for the door.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Stetson/King family was in the
nursery dressed in yellow paper gowns oohing over the new additions. Philip and Jamie each held a baby as a proud
Lee peered over their shoulders.
"Lee, I think this one looks like Aunt Lillian after she's
drank half the pitcher of Gramma's eggnog last Christmas. We have to make this one Jennifer
Lillian." Philip said seriously as he
stared at his tiny new sister.
"I do believe you're right chief." Lee shook his head in agreement. "We'll have to make sure it's all right with
your Mom first, though. How about the
one you're holding, sport?"
"I think this one looks like you the time Philip adjusted
the fuel injector on the Vette." Jamie
laughed as he squished up his face and did a credible impression of Lee having
a hissy fit. "If we use our name on
that one, what are we gonna call this one?
It took all nine months for us to come up with Jennifer Lillian."
"I still like the name Madonna Stetson." Philip offered. "We could hang my poster up over her bed, then everyone wouldn't
have to ask her name."
"We already discussed that name Philip, your Mom said it
just didn't flow right with Stetson," Lee said with a smile as he thought of
all the dinner conversations they had had trying to come up with names for the
new addition. "Maybe we could just call
her baby B for a while …"
"Mr. Stetson, your wife asked me to give you this. She said something about a…mud-wrestling
injury bothering her? She said that you
should call her chiropractor. Here's
the note with his phone number," the nurse said with a funny look on her face.
With a puzzled expression on his face, Lee looked down and
read the note:
L,
Frankenstein in bldg. Seen by nurse's
station dressed like priest. A.S. safe
in my closet. Get help and come right
away, I AM TIRED. Be careful Love, A
"Uh…boys, I've got to go check on your Mom. Why don't you all stay here and visit with the
girls, I shouldn't be too long." Lee
said as he turned and walked out of the nursery door. 'Augie, if you woke her up, I'll hand you over to the killers
myself.'
***********************************SMK**********************************
Chapter 8
At a pay phone by the elevators, Jerry quickly called
Catherine. "I got him. I can take care of that creep Swan and meet
you back in New York by tomorrow morning."
"Be careful.
Scarecrow is one of the best the Agency has. You need to keep a sharp eye on him."
"He's so distracted by his wife having her baby that he's
walked right past me twice. I'm not
worried about him at all. Now go on
back home. I'll take care of everything
here." He said again with
confidence. He heard the click on the
line of his boss hanging up right before he felt the tip of the gun push into
his back.
"I guess the third time really is a charm. Now hands up on the wall and spread your
legs.
You're under arrest."
Lee said as he patted him down and put the handcuffs on him. As Lee reached up to grab his arm, Jerry
threw a quick elbow jab into Lee's stomach and turned to flee, only to find
himself surrounded by two teams of agents, all with guns drawn. "I want a lawyer." Jerry said defiantly.
"I guess you do."
Lee said holding his side.
"Francine, isn't there a pole in the doctors dictating room? Let's take our new friend there and see that
he enjoys our hospitality. Then I'll
call Billy and get him back down here."
Lee said as he pulled a struggling Jerry along with him.
Within twenty minutes, Billy was back at the
hospital. This time, however, he wasn't
alone.
"Excuse me, sir."
The nurse called to the tall, older man with the cigarette in his
mouth. "This is a non-smoking
floor. I am afraid you'll have to put
that out or leave."
"Madam, I'm only here for a short jaunt, please don't rain
on my parade."
"Rules are rules sir.
The cigarette or the door." She
said sternly.
Putting the cigarette out but keeping the holder in his
mouth, Dr Smyth followed Billy into the doctors dictating room where the
assailant was being held. Bending down
he looked at the man closely as recognition sprang in his eyes.
"Ah, Jerry Grant, my dear old friend from Vietnam. I had heard that your days as a jailbird
were over. I also understand you have
some things that belong to me. What
trying to make me the latest coffee and croissant gossip? Tsk, tsk, tsk, didn't you learn anything
from 'Nam?" Dr Smyth questioned.
Straightening up and turning toward his agents, Dr. Smyth
gestured with his head for Billy, Lee and Francine to follow him out of the
room.
"In 1973, I took a little trip to 'Nam. One of the bases was having a supply
problem; guns, hand grenades, things like that missing. They had an idea who the culprits were and
needed someone to go in and join the fun.
I was chosen. Your friend,
Jerry, was the supply sergeant and leader of the pack. Went in, did my job, got out. No namby, pamby stuff. No involvement." Dr Smyth said as he turned disdainful eyes back toward the doctor's
dictation room. "It was important back
then to not blow my cover, so I was arrested and taken in with the rest of the
gang members. "
Lee looked up with a look of understanding on his
face. "Billy, with the right documents,
they could make it look like Dr. Smyth was a real member of that gang. Imagine what the ramifications would be, the
head of the Agency accused of treason."
"Francine, what have you gotten out of him about Catherine
Nielson?" Billy asked as he leaned
against the wall.
"Catherine Nielson is involved in this?" The cigarette holder fell out of Dr. Smyth's
mouth as he turned around quickly toward Lee and Billy. "Melrose, you didn't mention that she was
involved. That woman hates me like
Hatfields hate McCoys. A couple of years
ago, we were…. involved…lady got possessive…I moved on. Nuff said."
"This is all starting to make sense. A spurned woman hooks up with a prisoner
just out of jail, both with a vendetta against the same man … I've got an
idea." Lee walked over to Billy and
quietly asked, "What if our friend Jerry thought we had Catherine in custody
and that she was trying to make a deal to plea bargain by putting the blame for
everything on him? It could loosen his
lips."
"Good idea, Scarecrow.
You and Francine, do it." Billy
said as he pushed himself away from the wall and headed for the telephone. " In the meantime, I'll put a APB out on Ms.
Nielson and suspend her ISP. Dr. Smyth,
why don't you go back to your office and let us handle things from here? If we don't find her soon, we will have to
make it a Dl." Pausing and turning
around, Billy looked at Lee. "By the
way, where did you say that witness was?"
"Oh, man! He's
hiding in the closet in Amanda's room.
As soon as we're done with Mr. Grant, I'll go get him out." Lee said with a grimace. "Amanda's never going to let me forget this
one."
After an argument on who was going get to be the bad cop,
Lee and Francine walked into the room.
Francine looked at the handcuffed man and said, "I hope you've enjoyed
your time out of jail because now that your partner is in custody it only a
matter of time until you move back into your old cell." She walked over and slammed her hand on the
pole by his head making the sullen man jump.
"Francine, calm down, just because Ms. Nielson is trying
to plea bargain doesn't mean she would sell out her partner here." Lee said sympathetically.
"Oh, come on. You
know Catherine; she's never taken the blame for anything she's done. Always passes the buck down to one of her subordinates. That's why no one ever stays in that office
long. I hear that she's ready to spill
her guts about old Jerry there, that he was threatening to kill her family if
she didn't help him get him the information he wanted. This is your one and only chance to come
clean, if you don't, then we just have to believe whatever Ms. Nielson tells
us."
Jerry's head snapped up at Francine's last statement. "Now wait just a minute, that's not how it
happened. She's been behind it
all. She hates Smyth because he dumped
her. She somehow found out about the
incident in Nam when they were seeing each other. When he stopped seeing her, she got angry and had the files
pulled. That's how she found me. She
contacted me right after I got out of jail.
She said we could destroy his reputation and get him throw in jail for
life on treason charges. Look, I'm not
taking the fall for this. Do you
hear?" Jerry said as he laid his head
on the pole in front of him.
Lee looked over at Francine with a satisfied look on his
face. "Someone will be in to take your
statement shortly. Come on Francine,
let's go share this information with Billy."
Walking out of the room Lee spied Billy standing over by
the pay phones. As they approached him
both agents had satisfied smiles on their faces. Francine was the first to speak.
"He caved. Told us the entire
story. We need to get someone in there
to take his statement."
"Good. I just got
a call; they picked Catherine Nielson up at the turnpike tollbooth going
between Maryland and Delaware. Good
work people. Francine, get in there and
help with that statement." Billy turned
toward Lee with a smile and held out his hand.
"In all of this mess, I never got to tell you congratulations. How are Amanda and the babies doing?"
"They're doing great.
Imagine two tiny, beautiful girls that look just like their
mother." A proud Lee beamed.
"You deserve the happiness man. I hope that now you'll give some consideration to that job offer
from state. You have a wife and four
kids now." Billy said.
"Yeah, I know what you're talking about. I've been meaning to talk to you about it
for the last couple of weeks; Amanda and I have already been discussing
it. Amanda…Oh no, Augie is still in her
closet. Excuse me I need to go get him
out. I'll send him out to meet you at
the nurse's station … Billy … Thanks for getting Amanda here to the
hospital."
"Lee, Amanda is a special woman. I saw it the first time I met her. Now go spend time with you new family, they don't stay little long." Billy pushed him toward Amanda's room. As he watched his friend eagerly walk away
he was congratulating himself on a job well done.
*************************************SMK********************************
TAG
It was finally quiet in Amanda's hospital room. It had taken three people to get Augie out
of the closet. As he left the room, he
was trying to make a deal with Billy for the Agency to use his limousine service. Dotty and the boys had stayed until Amanda
started yawning again. They had been
gone about an hour. After the day's
events, Lee had decided to stay the night with his wife; the fear still
lingered after the day's events. He was
sitting next to her bed with their hands intertwined.
"Amanda, did you want to shoot those Shriners today? I mean if it weren't for them you wouldn't
have had to go through this whole fiasco today. You would probably be married to Dan the weatherman now and
having his baby wouldn't have involved a threat to national security." Lee said as he stood up, never letting go of
her hand, and gazed down at his wife with a sheepish look on his face.
"Oh, sweetheart, if it wasn't for all those men in red
hats, I would have missed the ride of my life.
Because of them I met you and that's something I will never
regret." Reaching out to put her other
hand on his cheek, she went on. "The
Augies, Sackers, and Birols of the world will never change that." Smiling reassuringly, "I love you, Lee Stetson."
"When Dr. Stevens said he was going to do an emergency c-section
… all I could think about was 'Here we go again'. Once more I've put her in danger." Lee said with a shudder.
"Lee, stop it. I
wanted these babies as much as you. I seem to remember the night they came
about." With a sly grin on her face
Amanda wiggled her eyebrows and went on.
"I was the one who bought that special bottle of wine and little outfit
from Rebecca's Fantasies. Do you
remember it? Black lace, a couple of
strategically placed flowers…"
"All right, all right.
You've made your point." With a
smile Lee leaned down to place a lingering kiss on her lips. When he raised his head both of them were
flushed. Smiling down at her, he gently
brushed the hair away from her eyes.
"We still need to come up with a name for the other baby. Philip wants Madonna and Jamie; he thinks it
should be after that rock singer with the purple hair.
Amanda smiled up at her husband as she said. "While the boys' suggestions have been
interesting, I've sort of been thinking.
How about Emily Dorothea?"
"Emily Dorothea…Jen and Em…I like it. I think that's a great name, though I was
kind of getting used to calling her B."
Looking at Lee with a grin, Amanda asked quietly. "Lee…do you think we'll ever do anything
like a normal family?"
Lee leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose before
answering. "Not a chance, Mrs.
Stetson. Not a chance!"
.
