Sacker's Revenge
by rankamateur
Scarecrow and Mrs. King belong to Warner Bros and Shoot The Moon Enterprises Ltd.- who happen to be very nice about loaning them out.
Third Season - Late winter or early spring - several months after Utopia Now (written by Robert Bielak)
There is a vague reference to Double Agent ( also written by Robert Bielak)
AU
Thanks to Buffy and randibaby for their thoughts, ideas and error trapping. Any left over mistakes are mine.
You didn't know Peter Sacker had a family? Well, he did and one of them is determined to get revenge on The Agency and the two agents most responsible for Sacker's death - Lee Stetson and Amanda King.
------
Margaret Sacker awoke from her dream, wringing wet with sweat. Actually, it wasn't a dream it was a nightmare, filled with horrifying images....the same nightmare she had been having for the past several months, ever since she had learned the grim details of her father's death. Death? His destruction! By The Agency. From what Rogan, who had been forced to lead the agents to her father's location, had told some of the other men who had been captured and who were being held with him, she could picture what had happened. Her father was standing near a grove of trees, holding a Stinger rocket....that man, the agent, was across the field, firing an automatic weapon.....the explosion.... There was nothing left - no remains to bury. All that was left for her was the anger and the resolve to avenge her father's death. In her eyes, her dad had been a good man, a patriot who had only wanted what was best for his country and his countrymen, so few of whom had the wisdom to understand her father and his great plans.
She felt so alone now. Her mother had died just a few years after her parent's divorce. It didn't seem possible, but that had been more than ten years ago. That's when Margaret had gone to live with her father. Her older brother had refused to stay with their father. Instead he chose to live with their mother's brother, out in California. Tom was now a lawyer with the Justice Department in San Francisco. He believed in "The System". Hell, he *was* the System. Tom was the epitome of everything her father hated. He had come to DC for the memorial service and then headed back to the coast the next day. Tom had seemed more upset when their uncle Josh had been killed in a car accident last year, than he was now when his *own father* had been blown into a thousand pieces! Well, let him go home. That was fine. Margaret's plan for revenge was complete and ready to be put into action. She didn't need her government-loving brother around to get in the way.
She had some of her father's followers to help her. There were two, Mark and Roger, who had not been present at New Utopia that terrible day and so they were unknown to the authorities.
She would have been there herself, except she had decided to spend a week with her Grandpa Smith. She felt sorry for the old man. Joshua had outlived his wife and both his children. His daughter-in-law and two grandsons lived 3000 miles away. He didn't get along very well with his son-in-law. Margaret was really the only family that was close and so she visited with him from time to time. Actually, she didn't mind. In truth, she rather enjoyed the time she spent with her grandfather.
There were a few followers who had been present at the retreat and who had been arrested, but who were out on bail, awaiting trial on conspiracy charges. They had given her the information she needed - names like *Stetson* and *King* and *IFF*. Before Agency personnel were able to search the office and confiscate what few records Peter Sacker had kept, one of her friends, Jack Dolan, had found some business cards identifying *Lee Steadman* and *Amanda Keane* as employees of International Federal Film.
'So,' she had realized, 'IFF is a cover for The Agency and Steadman and Keane are really Stetson and King, the agents who destroyed New Utopia and murdered my father!'
Today was the day she would put her plan into motion. With any luck, Lee Stetson and Amanda King would be dead soon, possibly within the week.
------------------------
"Good morning, International Federal Film," said a cheery voice.
"Good morning," Margaret responded. "I need to speak with Lee Steadman, please. It's urgent."
"Very well. If you will hold for just a minute, I'll page him."
After a few minutes, Lee came on the line. "This is Lee Steadman, How can I help you?"
After identifying herself as *Harvey*, using a deeper voice with a decided southern accent, which she had been practicing for weeks, Margaret said, "Look, I know your name is Stetson, not Steadman, and that you're an agent. I also know that it was your people who put an end to Sacker and his crazy New Utopia."
She then spent the next five minutes carefully explaining how the remaining followers of Peter Sacker were planning to continue his work, including making an attempt on the life of the President. They were buying weapons and planned to take delivery some time in the next three or four days. The deal was to go down in an old, abandoned warehouse at 23rd and T Streets.
"I thought you might be interested in putting an end to Sacker's plans and saving the President's life."
"Yes, I am interested. I would like to talk to you about this a little more. Could we meet?"
"NO. I overheard this conversation and I don't ever want these guys to be able to figure out that the tip came from me. You've got the information. Now you do whatever you want with it. But you are *not* gonna involve me." With that Margaret slammed down the receiver. She hoped that she had created enough urgency to pique Stetson's interest. If her plan was to work, he and his partner had to handle this case themselves.
-------------
Margaret had picked this particular location, at 23rd and T streets, for two reasons - the abandoned warehouse and an all-night coffee and donut shop, Danny's Donut Emporium, just a block away.
------
Late that afternoon, two agents started staking out the warehouse. Around mid-night, Lee and Amanda took over. They had decided that Lee's car was a bit too flashy for the neighborhood, so tonight they were in Amanda's station wagon. Tomorrow night they would use one of those nondescript Agency cars.
"So, what did you tell your mother this time?"
"Oh, you know, another project that requires shooting at night - all night. I really hate telling her lies - the same old lies. I don't know if she really believes me or not. She just goes along with it, though..."
"I know it's rough. But it's just part of the job and it's for her own good."
"Yeah. I know."
"If you want to try and get some rest that's OK. I'll wake you in a couple of hours and then maybe I can doze off for a bit."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Move over a little bit so we can keep each other warm," Lee suggested, as he often did on stakeouts.
Amanda scooted closer to Lee and he put his arm around her, encouraging her to rest her head on his chest. She started thinking about the Sacker case, the night in the swamp, the almost kiss.... The next thing she knew, Lee was gently shaking her awake.
"Hey, sleepy head. It's my turn," he said with a grin.
"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry. I really didn't think I was all that tired."
"It's OK. You must have needed the rest. Now I'm gonna shut my eyes for a bit."
At about five in the morning, Lee began to stir. Amanda was very glad because she had almost gone back to sleep half a dozen times in the last hour.
"Oh Lee, I'm glad you're awake. I need some coffee to keep going."
Lee stretched and yawned. "What about the thermos?"
"What's left is cold. What about that little place down the block? I can go get some coffee and maybe a donut."
"I'll go. What do you want - a plain donut - a Danish?"
"Ooo, a Danish sounds wonderful."
"You got it. Back in a flash."
-----
The next two nights were pretty much of a repeat, finishing up the shift with coffee and donuts from the little stand. That's why Margaret had been conducting her *own* surveillance and why she was pleased with what she had observed. They had established a routine.
'We are creatures of habit,' she thought.
Tonight, actually early tomorrow morning, was the time. When they started their shift, Margaret and her followers would be ready.
---
On the fourth night, Lee and Amanda again arrived at the warehouse. The night passed pretty much the same way the previous three had gone. No activity in or near the building. Lee began to wonder if the tip hadn't been somebody's idea of a joke.
Around four AM, Jack Dolan and Keith Benton, dressed in black and wearing ski masks, sneaked into the back entrance of the coffee shop. They quickly overpowered the counterman and tied him up, leaving him in the back room. About a half an hour later, when Lee came to the stand for coffee, Jack happily provided him with two large cups, both of which were drugged. He returned to the car, handed Amanda her cup and they began sipping the hot liquid. After about five minutes, both agents were slumped over in the front seat of the car, unconscious.
Margaret and her small group of accomplices - Jack Dolan, Keith Benton, Roger Jacobsen and Mark Reilly, worked quickly. Both Jack and Keith were pretty much the same height and weight as Lee, Jack was in his forties, Keith in his mid-twenties, but it took both of them to carry Lee's dead weight. Roger had no trouble carrying Amanda by himself. The couple were deposited in the waiting van, where Mark injected them with Dormerium, a potent knock out drug.
"Are you sure they'll be out long enough to make the trip up to my grandpa's land?" Margaret asked.
"Don't worry," Mark answered. "They'll be out for at *least* six hours, the average is eight hours. Some of the subjects we tested the stuff on, were out for *ten* hours."
"OK. You follow us in their car."
As the van took off, Mark followed in the Agency car. After about an hour, out on a lonely stretch of the highway, they pulled off the road and Mark drove the car further on, into a stand of trees. After a few minutes, he got out of the car, and joined his friends in the van.
"Here's the woman's purse," Mark said as he tossed Amanda's handbag into the back of the van.
"Good. We've got his wallet and his gun. We'll stop ten or twenty miles further on and toss 'em. I doubt that they'll be found until the snow melts - if ever."
"Shall we keep the gun? It's a nice 9mm Glock."
"NO," she said, her tone edged with annoyance. "We don't keep anything that can tie us to these two."
Margaret smiled with satisfaction. So far everything was going according to plan.
The group continued the drive to an area in The Great North Mountains on the border between Virginia and West Virginia, where Margaret's grandfather, Joshua Smith, owned land. There had been a terrible fire years ago and everything had burned except for one building, an old stable, located off in a corner of the property. It was completely empty inside. There were two high windows, which had no glass in them, but which were barred with solid steel rods. The heavy wooden doors in front were latched with a 4"x 4", newly purchased for this occasion, set in old, somewhat rusted, but secure brackets. Primitive perhaps, but effective. This would be the prison in which Lee Stetson and Amanda King would pay for destroying Peter Sacker and his dream of New Utopia. They would pay with their lives. After unceremoniously dumping the pair on the wooden floor, Margaret and her merry band got back into the van and started their journey home.
-----------
Earlier that day - about nine in the morning, Francine had walked into Billy's office...
"Bad news."
"What?"
"When the morning crew went to relieve Lee and Amanda at the stakeout - they weren't there. The car was gone and there was no sign of them."
"Aren't they at home? Have you checked? Did you call Lee's apartment and Amanda's house?"
Francine rolled her eyes. It seemed as though Amanda was rubbing off on everybody. Now Billy was rambling! "I had Denise call Amanda's and her mother said Amanda hadn't come home and she was starting to get worried."
"Maybe they just went out for breakfast."
"For three hours? I don't think so. Billy, there is no way they would have just gone off without waiting for their replacements to show up. You know that."
"You're right, of course. Let's jump on this. Call Mrs. West and tell her Amanda had to go on a location shoot. Out of town - they left too early for her to call the house and they are someplace without a phone. Then, let's get the tape of that phone call Lee got, with the tip on this Sacker thing, and get it to the audio boys. I want them to go over it with a finetooth comb and see if there is *anything* that will help us figure this out!"
"Right, I'm on it," Francine said as she headed for the door. "Oh Billy, one more thing. The morning team, Dolan and Johnson, said that shortly after they arrived at the warehouse, there was some sort of local law enforcement activity just up the street at a donut shop."
"That's something else we may want to check out, when you have time."
"Right. Well, I might as well call Amanda's mom and get that over with. That'll be fun," she said without a smile.
----------------------------
Coming out of a deep, dark fog, Lee struggled to open his eyes. What he gradually was able to see was a large, empty room with absolutely no amenities: no tables, no chairs, no beds, no sinks, no water, no nothing! He managed to sit up and realized that Amanda was sitting behind him, with her back to him.
"Oh man," Lee groaned as he twisted around enough to be able to see Amanda. "What time is it?"
"Ah, it's about quarter to.....something."
"Could you be a little more specific?"
Amanda squeezed her eyes shut tight and then opened them as wide as she could, looking at her watch again. "Umm, quarter to four." After the arduous task of focusing long enough to tell the time, she leaned back against Lee, exhausted. "Boy, what do you think they gave us? I feel like I was hit by a *Mack* truck."
"Yea," Lee replied, "me too. You know, that tip obviously was not for real. While we were watching the warehouse, somebody was watching us. I *never* should have kept going back to that donut shop every night. We were too predictable....."
"Lee, it was the *only* place within a mile or more - in any direction."
"Well, we - I - should have brought more coffee and some food from home."
"Don't blame yourself. Did you recognize the person in the coffee shop?"
"No. But it wasn't the same guy who'd been there the last couple of nights. That should have made me suspicious. Damn!"
"Aww, com'on now........ Lee, what are we gonna do?"
"First thing is to get loose. How far can you move your hands?"
"I can get them around to my side. You know I was able to see my watch."
"OK. I'm going to lie down beside you...see if you can reach my collar. There's a lock pick in the right collar stay." After a moment he was able to struggle into position. "Boy, I'm glad they didn't tie our ankles too."
Amanda was able to extract the pick with a minimum of difficulty. "I've got it. Now roll over so I can work on your cuffs."
Lee did as he was told and in a few minutes Amanda had released one side of the cuffs. He sat up and brought his arms around to the front. Amanda handed him the lock pick and he made short work of the other cuff. Lee then freed Amanda from her restraints. They got to their feet and looked around. As Lee had observed initially, the room was completely empty, except for some very old, very dirty straw in one corner.
----------
Later that same afternoon, Francine walked back into Billy's office and dropped into a chair.
"Here's what we've got so far. There is no voice match with anything we've got on file. The audio guys do say the voice on the tape is definitely a woman trying to sound like a man. I checked the Inter-Agency Database for Peter Sacker and guess what?" It was a rhetorical question and she didn't wait for a response from her boss. "He was married and had two kids. Now the wife, Eleanor, divorced him and took the kids. The son, Thomas, is an attorney with the Justice Department in California. After Mrs. Sacker died, about ten years ago, the daughter, Margaret, went to live with her dad."
"So the voice on the tape could be Sacker's daughter."
"Exactly."
"Do we have an address on her?"
"No. Well, we have one, but she moved about two weeks after her father's memorial service and left no forwarding address. We do have an old newspaper photo of her standing with her father at some rally. So at least we know what she looks like."
"How old is this picture?"
"About two years."
"So, we know what she looked like two years ago. She could have changed her appearance - dyed her hair, contact lenses, put on weight...."
"True, Billy, but this picture is all we've got. It's better than nothing."
"What about other records? Her father died. Maybe there are court, ahh, Probate records."
"Nothing in probate. I checked. But I thought maybe a living trust so I started checking. Nothing for a Sacker Living Trust, but just for the heck of it I tried Utopia...."
"And..."
"Bingo. The First District Bank had an account for a Utopia Trust. Unfortunately, the successor trustee closed out the account about......" "Two weeks after Sacker's memorial," they said almost in unison.
"What about DMV records?"
"I found records in Virginia. She has let her driver's license expire and there is no vehicle registered to her at this time."
"Great. She could be using a phony name."
"True, but if that's the case we have no way to track her, at least not now."
"How about real estate?"
"I thought of that too. Did some checking with Title companies here in DC and in Virginia and Maryland. There was a house that belonged to the Utopia Trust but it was sold. Escrow closed a few weeks ago."
"So, she's got all her father's assets and she's disappeared."
"For now, yes. We'll find her Billy and if she knows where Lee and Amanda are, we'll get that out of her."
"I just hope it's in time."
"Yeah."
Just then the phone rang. "Melrose. You *what*? Great. Any prints? Oh, OK. Tell them to tow the car to our impound yard and warn the boys there not to touch it until we can get our forensics team to go over it. Thanks." Billy looked up at Francine. "You heard - they found the car. No sign of Lee and Amanda and no usable prints."
"Oh boy."
----------------
"Hey." Lee held out his arms and Amanda stepped into his embrace. "You look like you need a hug."
"Yeah, you're right. What are we gonna do?"
"The first thing we are going to do it get out of this room."
"Good thinking. How?"
"I'm sure it won't do any good, but just so we can tell people we tried - let's check the door."
As Lee predicted, the door was solid and unyielding.
"OK, now what?"
"Now we try that window up there."
"Lee, how are we ever gonna reach that? It's way too high."
"No it isn't. Not if you're standing on my shoulders."
"Oh, yeah. But then, how am I going to get through the bars?"
"Amanda, you'll make it through there easy. You may have to take off your jacket but you're slender enough to fit between those bars with no problem. You know, you'd probably make a great partner for a cat burglar."
"Thanks...I think."
"OK, look, I'll crouch down and you get on my back. Then I'll stand up right next to the wall and you can use the wall to brace yourself and climb up onto my shoulders. Ready?"
"Yup." Amanda followed Lee's directions, wincing when she heard him swearing under his breath as she put all her weight on his shoulders. "Lee, I can't reach the bar. I can just reach the edge of the sill."
"Damn!"
"Oh, wait. Give me your belt."
"What?"
"Never mind, I'll have to get down for you to take it off, but take it off and give it to me!"
"The last time you wanted me to take off my belt, it was so you could pick the lock on some handcuffs."
Amanda let herself down from Lee's shoulders and onto his back. He bent down far enough so she could reach the ground easily. "This time I think I can use it to reach the bars. I can throw the buckle end around one of them and then pull the other end through. That way I'll have something to pull myself up with and I can make those last few inches into the opening."
"Good idea. Amanda, you're......never mind. Here ya go - here's the belt. Now back up on my shoulders..."
The idea worked. Amanda was able to loop the belt around one of the bars, pull it tight and use it to haul herself that last little bit up into the opening.
"How's it look?" Lee called to her.
"Not bad. The ground is high on this side so the drop won't be more than maybe ten or twelve feet. And the snow looks ... pretty deep over here."
"Don't forget to tuck and roll."
"Say what?"
You know, like the paratroopers...tuck and roll when you hit the ground. Helps minimize the chance of injury."
"OK. I'll try." With that she squeezed her small frame through the bars - just as easily as Lee had predicted, and disappeared from his view. Tucking and rolling as she hit the ground, she bounced to her feet. 'Wow,' she thought, 'it worked. I'll have to remember that if we're ever shoved out of an airplane sometime.' She closed her eyes and shuddered at the very idea of being shoved out of a plane. 'I hope the front doors don't have some kind of huge padlock on them.'
The doors were barred with a very heavy looking piece of wood. After a bit of struggling, she managed to removed the bar from its resting place and open them wide. Lee was standing there with a big smile on his face.
"What kept you?" he asked, holding out her jacket.
"Oh, shut up." Amanda looked around....trees, of every size, in every direction, as far as the eye could see. There was an open area in front of the old building, which faced south, and though the ground was frozen solid, most of the snow was gone. There was still plenty of snow, especially in areas which were in the shade. She looked back at Lee. "Which way do we go?"
"Let's see, the sun is over there. It'll probably will be setting in an hour, maybe an hour and half. I think we should head that way, kind of southeast. Maybe we'll run into a road that leads out of here."
"How'd *they* get us up here?"
"Had to be some kind of four wheel drive vehicle. The ground's so hard there aren't any tracks, but I'm sure we were driven up here."
"Do you have any idea where we are?"
"Not a clue. Hell, I'm not sure what day it is. Whatever they gave us was sure powerful. Well, as John Wayne said in one of his movies *we're burnin' daylight*."
"Right, John. Let's go."
-------------
"It's getting too dark to keep going, Amanda. You know, I think I hear the sound of running water. Hey, look at that. There's a stream there, see - just through those trees. Now we've got water to drink and I bet that stream will lead us right down to a town!"
"Yeah! And you know what? Look at that tree- that one, right over there. I think maybe there is enough snow around it to build a little snow cave. We could line it with whatever branches we can find on the ground. Maybe it'll be enough to keep us from freezing tonight."
"Sounds good to me. I bet your Junior Trailblazer experience will really help us out here."
"Maybe. I wish I had my one waterproof match."
"Me too, except I wonder if any of this stuff would burn."
"Yeah, it's all pretty wet or green."
After about ten minutes of work, they were huddled together in the makeshift snowcave.
'Golly,' Amanda thought. 'This might be romantic, curled up this close to Lee - if only it weren't so gosh darn cold!'
--------------
The next day dawned crisp, clear and cold...... They emerged from their shelter, shivering.
"How're you holdin' up?" he asked.
"I'm...OK. I'm scared - again. Do you have a feeling of dejavu?" Amanda's voice trembled a little.
"Yeah, it's been what - a couple of months since we were doin' pretty much the same thing - freezing in the wilderness. Only that time we knew who the bad guys were.......... Sacker and his crazies!"
"Lee."
"What?"
"Don't you think this has got to be connected to Sacker and his *crazies* somehow? I mean, we were supposed to be watching for some of his followers to pick up weapons so they could continue his work and the tip was phony. It had to come from someone who wanted revenge, maybe wanted *us*. He could have a brother or a son or maybe just one of his group who wasn't caught that day. Whoever it was went to a lot of trouble to set this up so they could get us and....kill us, or just leave us to die."
"Sacker's revenge, eh? Well, the first thing we do when we get back to the Agency is analyze the tape of the phone call with that *tip* about the warehouse."
When we get back?"
"YES."
"You always look on the bright side, no matter what," Amanda smiled.
"Well, I told you, this is no business for a pessimist. Look we're out of that little prison, we're on our way down the mountain. We've got that stream for water - there might even be fish in it - and it's going to lead us right back to civilization! We'll get back. I will bet you that we come to a road, if not today, then tomorrow for sure."
"You'll bet me?"
"Yup. What....what do you say? How much do *you* want to bet that we *don't* find a road?"
"OK. You're on. I'll bet fifty cents that we don't find a highway or a road today or tomorrow."
"Fifty cents? You piker! I was thinking along the lines of dinner at Emilio's."
"Emilio's, huh."
"Yup. Is it a bet?"
"You're on. Dinner at Emilio's it is!" Amanda had to smile, in spite of everything. If she had to be in such desperate circumstances, there was nobody she would rather be in them with, than Lee.
"Come on. Let's get going. I bet we can make fifteen - twenty miles today. It's downhill, you notice, and there's hardly any snow."
"I'm right behind you."
"I'd rather have you right beside me," he said, reaching for her hand.
Walking and resting. Walking and resting. Hour after hour. Finally, the sun was getting ready to set again.
"Well, no road today. I think we'd better stop and look for some shelter for tonight. What about that tree?"
"You mean that great big one - the one that's not a pine tree? What kind is it anyway?"
"Beats me, but the branches on that thing look big enough, wide enough, that I think we could stay up in it for the night. Look at those sort of gnarled, smaller branches. We could - sort of weave some smaller pine boughs through them and that would give us a little protection. You know, being this close to water, we might have some critters joining us in the morning. Personally, I'd like to be up and out of reach, just in case."
"Critters?"
"Yeah, you know - lions and tigers and bears - oh my!"
"Aw, com' awn."
"OK. Drop the tigers. How 'bout mountain lions and maybe a bear just coming out of hibernation?"
"LEE!"
"Amanda, you know about the woods and wildlife as well as I do. If anything comes around for a drink, we'll hope it's just deer and raccoons, but......"
"Maybe you're right. Let's see what we can do with your treehouse idea, Tarzan."
"I've gone from John Wayne to Tarzan? I'm not sure I like that."
"It's OK. They were both heroes," she added softly.
The tree worked pretty well. The pine boughs they had gathered, did indeed provide a kind of windbreak. Lee sat with his back firmly against the broad main trunk. Amanda sat with her back against Lee's chest, his arms around her, holding her securely to him. They gradually drifted into an uneasy sleep.
As the sky began to lighten, Amanda shifted her weight just a little. In his sleep, Lee felt the motion and tightened his grip on Amanda to point of almost crushing her.
"LEE, please..."
"Oh, what...what's going on....Amanda?"
"It's OK. I'm not going to fall. Just loosen up a bit. I think we should both get down outta here anyway. It's starting to get light."
"You're right. We can, ahh, do what we need to do and then get moving."
They headed in opposite directions, into the rocks and shrubs along the stream. After a few minutes, they came back to the tree.
"Let's both get a drink of that nice, cold, fresh mountain water....and then move out," Lee said in his best John Wayne voice.
"Right. And that road better be there today!"
-----------
They followed the little stream in its twisting course for what must have been two or three hours. The land on the other side of the stream had gradually risen into an embankment - maybe five or six feet high. On a hunch, Lee stopped.
"Wait here a minute." He jumped the closest and narrowest part of the stream he could find and then clambered up the embankment. He turned and flashed one of his hundred-megawatt smiles at Amanda.
"Come here." He climbed back down and stood on the other side of the stream, holding out his hand. Amanda grasped it and jumped across. Then the two of them made it back up to the top and there was - A ROAD!
"OH MY GOSH, you did it....you did it!" Amanda cried out.
by rankamateur
Scarecrow and Mrs. King belong to Warner Bros and Shoot The Moon Enterprises Ltd.- who happen to be very nice about loaning them out.
Third Season - Late winter or early spring - several months after Utopia Now (written by Robert Bielak)
There is a vague reference to Double Agent ( also written by Robert Bielak)
AU
Thanks to Buffy and randibaby for their thoughts, ideas and error trapping. Any left over mistakes are mine.
You didn't know Peter Sacker had a family? Well, he did and one of them is determined to get revenge on The Agency and the two agents most responsible for Sacker's death - Lee Stetson and Amanda King.
------
Margaret Sacker awoke from her dream, wringing wet with sweat. Actually, it wasn't a dream it was a nightmare, filled with horrifying images....the same nightmare she had been having for the past several months, ever since she had learned the grim details of her father's death. Death? His destruction! By The Agency. From what Rogan, who had been forced to lead the agents to her father's location, had told some of the other men who had been captured and who were being held with him, she could picture what had happened. Her father was standing near a grove of trees, holding a Stinger rocket....that man, the agent, was across the field, firing an automatic weapon.....the explosion.... There was nothing left - no remains to bury. All that was left for her was the anger and the resolve to avenge her father's death. In her eyes, her dad had been a good man, a patriot who had only wanted what was best for his country and his countrymen, so few of whom had the wisdom to understand her father and his great plans.
She felt so alone now. Her mother had died just a few years after her parent's divorce. It didn't seem possible, but that had been more than ten years ago. That's when Margaret had gone to live with her father. Her older brother had refused to stay with their father. Instead he chose to live with their mother's brother, out in California. Tom was now a lawyer with the Justice Department in San Francisco. He believed in "The System". Hell, he *was* the System. Tom was the epitome of everything her father hated. He had come to DC for the memorial service and then headed back to the coast the next day. Tom had seemed more upset when their uncle Josh had been killed in a car accident last year, than he was now when his *own father* had been blown into a thousand pieces! Well, let him go home. That was fine. Margaret's plan for revenge was complete and ready to be put into action. She didn't need her government-loving brother around to get in the way.
She had some of her father's followers to help her. There were two, Mark and Roger, who had not been present at New Utopia that terrible day and so they were unknown to the authorities.
She would have been there herself, except she had decided to spend a week with her Grandpa Smith. She felt sorry for the old man. Joshua had outlived his wife and both his children. His daughter-in-law and two grandsons lived 3000 miles away. He didn't get along very well with his son-in-law. Margaret was really the only family that was close and so she visited with him from time to time. Actually, she didn't mind. In truth, she rather enjoyed the time she spent with her grandfather.
There were a few followers who had been present at the retreat and who had been arrested, but who were out on bail, awaiting trial on conspiracy charges. They had given her the information she needed - names like *Stetson* and *King* and *IFF*. Before Agency personnel were able to search the office and confiscate what few records Peter Sacker had kept, one of her friends, Jack Dolan, had found some business cards identifying *Lee Steadman* and *Amanda Keane* as employees of International Federal Film.
'So,' she had realized, 'IFF is a cover for The Agency and Steadman and Keane are really Stetson and King, the agents who destroyed New Utopia and murdered my father!'
Today was the day she would put her plan into motion. With any luck, Lee Stetson and Amanda King would be dead soon, possibly within the week.
------------------------
"Good morning, International Federal Film," said a cheery voice.
"Good morning," Margaret responded. "I need to speak with Lee Steadman, please. It's urgent."
"Very well. If you will hold for just a minute, I'll page him."
After a few minutes, Lee came on the line. "This is Lee Steadman, How can I help you?"
After identifying herself as *Harvey*, using a deeper voice with a decided southern accent, which she had been practicing for weeks, Margaret said, "Look, I know your name is Stetson, not Steadman, and that you're an agent. I also know that it was your people who put an end to Sacker and his crazy New Utopia."
She then spent the next five minutes carefully explaining how the remaining followers of Peter Sacker were planning to continue his work, including making an attempt on the life of the President. They were buying weapons and planned to take delivery some time in the next three or four days. The deal was to go down in an old, abandoned warehouse at 23rd and T Streets.
"I thought you might be interested in putting an end to Sacker's plans and saving the President's life."
"Yes, I am interested. I would like to talk to you about this a little more. Could we meet?"
"NO. I overheard this conversation and I don't ever want these guys to be able to figure out that the tip came from me. You've got the information. Now you do whatever you want with it. But you are *not* gonna involve me." With that Margaret slammed down the receiver. She hoped that she had created enough urgency to pique Stetson's interest. If her plan was to work, he and his partner had to handle this case themselves.
-------------
Margaret had picked this particular location, at 23rd and T streets, for two reasons - the abandoned warehouse and an all-night coffee and donut shop, Danny's Donut Emporium, just a block away.
------
Late that afternoon, two agents started staking out the warehouse. Around mid-night, Lee and Amanda took over. They had decided that Lee's car was a bit too flashy for the neighborhood, so tonight they were in Amanda's station wagon. Tomorrow night they would use one of those nondescript Agency cars.
"So, what did you tell your mother this time?"
"Oh, you know, another project that requires shooting at night - all night. I really hate telling her lies - the same old lies. I don't know if she really believes me or not. She just goes along with it, though..."
"I know it's rough. But it's just part of the job and it's for her own good."
"Yeah. I know."
"If you want to try and get some rest that's OK. I'll wake you in a couple of hours and then maybe I can doze off for a bit."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Move over a little bit so we can keep each other warm," Lee suggested, as he often did on stakeouts.
Amanda scooted closer to Lee and he put his arm around her, encouraging her to rest her head on his chest. She started thinking about the Sacker case, the night in the swamp, the almost kiss.... The next thing she knew, Lee was gently shaking her awake.
"Hey, sleepy head. It's my turn," he said with a grin.
"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry. I really didn't think I was all that tired."
"It's OK. You must have needed the rest. Now I'm gonna shut my eyes for a bit."
At about five in the morning, Lee began to stir. Amanda was very glad because she had almost gone back to sleep half a dozen times in the last hour.
"Oh Lee, I'm glad you're awake. I need some coffee to keep going."
Lee stretched and yawned. "What about the thermos?"
"What's left is cold. What about that little place down the block? I can go get some coffee and maybe a donut."
"I'll go. What do you want - a plain donut - a Danish?"
"Ooo, a Danish sounds wonderful."
"You got it. Back in a flash."
-----
The next two nights were pretty much of a repeat, finishing up the shift with coffee and donuts from the little stand. That's why Margaret had been conducting her *own* surveillance and why she was pleased with what she had observed. They had established a routine.
'We are creatures of habit,' she thought.
Tonight, actually early tomorrow morning, was the time. When they started their shift, Margaret and her followers would be ready.
---
On the fourth night, Lee and Amanda again arrived at the warehouse. The night passed pretty much the same way the previous three had gone. No activity in or near the building. Lee began to wonder if the tip hadn't been somebody's idea of a joke.
Around four AM, Jack Dolan and Keith Benton, dressed in black and wearing ski masks, sneaked into the back entrance of the coffee shop. They quickly overpowered the counterman and tied him up, leaving him in the back room. About a half an hour later, when Lee came to the stand for coffee, Jack happily provided him with two large cups, both of which were drugged. He returned to the car, handed Amanda her cup and they began sipping the hot liquid. After about five minutes, both agents were slumped over in the front seat of the car, unconscious.
Margaret and her small group of accomplices - Jack Dolan, Keith Benton, Roger Jacobsen and Mark Reilly, worked quickly. Both Jack and Keith were pretty much the same height and weight as Lee, Jack was in his forties, Keith in his mid-twenties, but it took both of them to carry Lee's dead weight. Roger had no trouble carrying Amanda by himself. The couple were deposited in the waiting van, where Mark injected them with Dormerium, a potent knock out drug.
"Are you sure they'll be out long enough to make the trip up to my grandpa's land?" Margaret asked.
"Don't worry," Mark answered. "They'll be out for at *least* six hours, the average is eight hours. Some of the subjects we tested the stuff on, were out for *ten* hours."
"OK. You follow us in their car."
As the van took off, Mark followed in the Agency car. After about an hour, out on a lonely stretch of the highway, they pulled off the road and Mark drove the car further on, into a stand of trees. After a few minutes, he got out of the car, and joined his friends in the van.
"Here's the woman's purse," Mark said as he tossed Amanda's handbag into the back of the van.
"Good. We've got his wallet and his gun. We'll stop ten or twenty miles further on and toss 'em. I doubt that they'll be found until the snow melts - if ever."
"Shall we keep the gun? It's a nice 9mm Glock."
"NO," she said, her tone edged with annoyance. "We don't keep anything that can tie us to these two."
Margaret smiled with satisfaction. So far everything was going according to plan.
The group continued the drive to an area in The Great North Mountains on the border between Virginia and West Virginia, where Margaret's grandfather, Joshua Smith, owned land. There had been a terrible fire years ago and everything had burned except for one building, an old stable, located off in a corner of the property. It was completely empty inside. There were two high windows, which had no glass in them, but which were barred with solid steel rods. The heavy wooden doors in front were latched with a 4"x 4", newly purchased for this occasion, set in old, somewhat rusted, but secure brackets. Primitive perhaps, but effective. This would be the prison in which Lee Stetson and Amanda King would pay for destroying Peter Sacker and his dream of New Utopia. They would pay with their lives. After unceremoniously dumping the pair on the wooden floor, Margaret and her merry band got back into the van and started their journey home.
-----------
Earlier that day - about nine in the morning, Francine had walked into Billy's office...
"Bad news."
"What?"
"When the morning crew went to relieve Lee and Amanda at the stakeout - they weren't there. The car was gone and there was no sign of them."
"Aren't they at home? Have you checked? Did you call Lee's apartment and Amanda's house?"
Francine rolled her eyes. It seemed as though Amanda was rubbing off on everybody. Now Billy was rambling! "I had Denise call Amanda's and her mother said Amanda hadn't come home and she was starting to get worried."
"Maybe they just went out for breakfast."
"For three hours? I don't think so. Billy, there is no way they would have just gone off without waiting for their replacements to show up. You know that."
"You're right, of course. Let's jump on this. Call Mrs. West and tell her Amanda had to go on a location shoot. Out of town - they left too early for her to call the house and they are someplace without a phone. Then, let's get the tape of that phone call Lee got, with the tip on this Sacker thing, and get it to the audio boys. I want them to go over it with a finetooth comb and see if there is *anything* that will help us figure this out!"
"Right, I'm on it," Francine said as she headed for the door. "Oh Billy, one more thing. The morning team, Dolan and Johnson, said that shortly after they arrived at the warehouse, there was some sort of local law enforcement activity just up the street at a donut shop."
"That's something else we may want to check out, when you have time."
"Right. Well, I might as well call Amanda's mom and get that over with. That'll be fun," she said without a smile.
----------------------------
Coming out of a deep, dark fog, Lee struggled to open his eyes. What he gradually was able to see was a large, empty room with absolutely no amenities: no tables, no chairs, no beds, no sinks, no water, no nothing! He managed to sit up and realized that Amanda was sitting behind him, with her back to him.
"Oh man," Lee groaned as he twisted around enough to be able to see Amanda. "What time is it?"
"Ah, it's about quarter to.....something."
"Could you be a little more specific?"
Amanda squeezed her eyes shut tight and then opened them as wide as she could, looking at her watch again. "Umm, quarter to four." After the arduous task of focusing long enough to tell the time, she leaned back against Lee, exhausted. "Boy, what do you think they gave us? I feel like I was hit by a *Mack* truck."
"Yea," Lee replied, "me too. You know, that tip obviously was not for real. While we were watching the warehouse, somebody was watching us. I *never* should have kept going back to that donut shop every night. We were too predictable....."
"Lee, it was the *only* place within a mile or more - in any direction."
"Well, we - I - should have brought more coffee and some food from home."
"Don't blame yourself. Did you recognize the person in the coffee shop?"
"No. But it wasn't the same guy who'd been there the last couple of nights. That should have made me suspicious. Damn!"
"Aww, com'on now........ Lee, what are we gonna do?"
"First thing is to get loose. How far can you move your hands?"
"I can get them around to my side. You know I was able to see my watch."
"OK. I'm going to lie down beside you...see if you can reach my collar. There's a lock pick in the right collar stay." After a moment he was able to struggle into position. "Boy, I'm glad they didn't tie our ankles too."
Amanda was able to extract the pick with a minimum of difficulty. "I've got it. Now roll over so I can work on your cuffs."
Lee did as he was told and in a few minutes Amanda had released one side of the cuffs. He sat up and brought his arms around to the front. Amanda handed him the lock pick and he made short work of the other cuff. Lee then freed Amanda from her restraints. They got to their feet and looked around. As Lee had observed initially, the room was completely empty, except for some very old, very dirty straw in one corner.
----------
Later that same afternoon, Francine walked back into Billy's office and dropped into a chair.
"Here's what we've got so far. There is no voice match with anything we've got on file. The audio guys do say the voice on the tape is definitely a woman trying to sound like a man. I checked the Inter-Agency Database for Peter Sacker and guess what?" It was a rhetorical question and she didn't wait for a response from her boss. "He was married and had two kids. Now the wife, Eleanor, divorced him and took the kids. The son, Thomas, is an attorney with the Justice Department in California. After Mrs. Sacker died, about ten years ago, the daughter, Margaret, went to live with her dad."
"So the voice on the tape could be Sacker's daughter."
"Exactly."
"Do we have an address on her?"
"No. Well, we have one, but she moved about two weeks after her father's memorial service and left no forwarding address. We do have an old newspaper photo of her standing with her father at some rally. So at least we know what she looks like."
"How old is this picture?"
"About two years."
"So, we know what she looked like two years ago. She could have changed her appearance - dyed her hair, contact lenses, put on weight...."
"True, Billy, but this picture is all we've got. It's better than nothing."
"What about other records? Her father died. Maybe there are court, ahh, Probate records."
"Nothing in probate. I checked. But I thought maybe a living trust so I started checking. Nothing for a Sacker Living Trust, but just for the heck of it I tried Utopia...."
"And..."
"Bingo. The First District Bank had an account for a Utopia Trust. Unfortunately, the successor trustee closed out the account about......" "Two weeks after Sacker's memorial," they said almost in unison.
"What about DMV records?"
"I found records in Virginia. She has let her driver's license expire and there is no vehicle registered to her at this time."
"Great. She could be using a phony name."
"True, but if that's the case we have no way to track her, at least not now."
"How about real estate?"
"I thought of that too. Did some checking with Title companies here in DC and in Virginia and Maryland. There was a house that belonged to the Utopia Trust but it was sold. Escrow closed a few weeks ago."
"So, she's got all her father's assets and she's disappeared."
"For now, yes. We'll find her Billy and if she knows where Lee and Amanda are, we'll get that out of her."
"I just hope it's in time."
"Yeah."
Just then the phone rang. "Melrose. You *what*? Great. Any prints? Oh, OK. Tell them to tow the car to our impound yard and warn the boys there not to touch it until we can get our forensics team to go over it. Thanks." Billy looked up at Francine. "You heard - they found the car. No sign of Lee and Amanda and no usable prints."
"Oh boy."
----------------
"Hey." Lee held out his arms and Amanda stepped into his embrace. "You look like you need a hug."
"Yeah, you're right. What are we gonna do?"
"The first thing we are going to do it get out of this room."
"Good thinking. How?"
"I'm sure it won't do any good, but just so we can tell people we tried - let's check the door."
As Lee predicted, the door was solid and unyielding.
"OK, now what?"
"Now we try that window up there."
"Lee, how are we ever gonna reach that? It's way too high."
"No it isn't. Not if you're standing on my shoulders."
"Oh, yeah. But then, how am I going to get through the bars?"
"Amanda, you'll make it through there easy. You may have to take off your jacket but you're slender enough to fit between those bars with no problem. You know, you'd probably make a great partner for a cat burglar."
"Thanks...I think."
"OK, look, I'll crouch down and you get on my back. Then I'll stand up right next to the wall and you can use the wall to brace yourself and climb up onto my shoulders. Ready?"
"Yup." Amanda followed Lee's directions, wincing when she heard him swearing under his breath as she put all her weight on his shoulders. "Lee, I can't reach the bar. I can just reach the edge of the sill."
"Damn!"
"Oh, wait. Give me your belt."
"What?"
"Never mind, I'll have to get down for you to take it off, but take it off and give it to me!"
"The last time you wanted me to take off my belt, it was so you could pick the lock on some handcuffs."
Amanda let herself down from Lee's shoulders and onto his back. He bent down far enough so she could reach the ground easily. "This time I think I can use it to reach the bars. I can throw the buckle end around one of them and then pull the other end through. That way I'll have something to pull myself up with and I can make those last few inches into the opening."
"Good idea. Amanda, you're......never mind. Here ya go - here's the belt. Now back up on my shoulders..."
The idea worked. Amanda was able to loop the belt around one of the bars, pull it tight and use it to haul herself that last little bit up into the opening.
"How's it look?" Lee called to her.
"Not bad. The ground is high on this side so the drop won't be more than maybe ten or twelve feet. And the snow looks ... pretty deep over here."
"Don't forget to tuck and roll."
"Say what?"
You know, like the paratroopers...tuck and roll when you hit the ground. Helps minimize the chance of injury."
"OK. I'll try." With that she squeezed her small frame through the bars - just as easily as Lee had predicted, and disappeared from his view. Tucking and rolling as she hit the ground, she bounced to her feet. 'Wow,' she thought, 'it worked. I'll have to remember that if we're ever shoved out of an airplane sometime.' She closed her eyes and shuddered at the very idea of being shoved out of a plane. 'I hope the front doors don't have some kind of huge padlock on them.'
The doors were barred with a very heavy looking piece of wood. After a bit of struggling, she managed to removed the bar from its resting place and open them wide. Lee was standing there with a big smile on his face.
"What kept you?" he asked, holding out her jacket.
"Oh, shut up." Amanda looked around....trees, of every size, in every direction, as far as the eye could see. There was an open area in front of the old building, which faced south, and though the ground was frozen solid, most of the snow was gone. There was still plenty of snow, especially in areas which were in the shade. She looked back at Lee. "Which way do we go?"
"Let's see, the sun is over there. It'll probably will be setting in an hour, maybe an hour and half. I think we should head that way, kind of southeast. Maybe we'll run into a road that leads out of here."
"How'd *they* get us up here?"
"Had to be some kind of four wheel drive vehicle. The ground's so hard there aren't any tracks, but I'm sure we were driven up here."
"Do you have any idea where we are?"
"Not a clue. Hell, I'm not sure what day it is. Whatever they gave us was sure powerful. Well, as John Wayne said in one of his movies *we're burnin' daylight*."
"Right, John. Let's go."
-------------
"It's getting too dark to keep going, Amanda. You know, I think I hear the sound of running water. Hey, look at that. There's a stream there, see - just through those trees. Now we've got water to drink and I bet that stream will lead us right down to a town!"
"Yeah! And you know what? Look at that tree- that one, right over there. I think maybe there is enough snow around it to build a little snow cave. We could line it with whatever branches we can find on the ground. Maybe it'll be enough to keep us from freezing tonight."
"Sounds good to me. I bet your Junior Trailblazer experience will really help us out here."
"Maybe. I wish I had my one waterproof match."
"Me too, except I wonder if any of this stuff would burn."
"Yeah, it's all pretty wet or green."
After about ten minutes of work, they were huddled together in the makeshift snowcave.
'Golly,' Amanda thought. 'This might be romantic, curled up this close to Lee - if only it weren't so gosh darn cold!'
--------------
The next day dawned crisp, clear and cold...... They emerged from their shelter, shivering.
"How're you holdin' up?" he asked.
"I'm...OK. I'm scared - again. Do you have a feeling of dejavu?" Amanda's voice trembled a little.
"Yeah, it's been what - a couple of months since we were doin' pretty much the same thing - freezing in the wilderness. Only that time we knew who the bad guys were.......... Sacker and his crazies!"
"Lee."
"What?"
"Don't you think this has got to be connected to Sacker and his *crazies* somehow? I mean, we were supposed to be watching for some of his followers to pick up weapons so they could continue his work and the tip was phony. It had to come from someone who wanted revenge, maybe wanted *us*. He could have a brother or a son or maybe just one of his group who wasn't caught that day. Whoever it was went to a lot of trouble to set this up so they could get us and....kill us, or just leave us to die."
"Sacker's revenge, eh? Well, the first thing we do when we get back to the Agency is analyze the tape of the phone call with that *tip* about the warehouse."
When we get back?"
"YES."
"You always look on the bright side, no matter what," Amanda smiled.
"Well, I told you, this is no business for a pessimist. Look we're out of that little prison, we're on our way down the mountain. We've got that stream for water - there might even be fish in it - and it's going to lead us right back to civilization! We'll get back. I will bet you that we come to a road, if not today, then tomorrow for sure."
"You'll bet me?"
"Yup. What....what do you say? How much do *you* want to bet that we *don't* find a road?"
"OK. You're on. I'll bet fifty cents that we don't find a highway or a road today or tomorrow."
"Fifty cents? You piker! I was thinking along the lines of dinner at Emilio's."
"Emilio's, huh."
"Yup. Is it a bet?"
"You're on. Dinner at Emilio's it is!" Amanda had to smile, in spite of everything. If she had to be in such desperate circumstances, there was nobody she would rather be in them with, than Lee.
"Come on. Let's get going. I bet we can make fifteen - twenty miles today. It's downhill, you notice, and there's hardly any snow."
"I'm right behind you."
"I'd rather have you right beside me," he said, reaching for her hand.
Walking and resting. Walking and resting. Hour after hour. Finally, the sun was getting ready to set again.
"Well, no road today. I think we'd better stop and look for some shelter for tonight. What about that tree?"
"You mean that great big one - the one that's not a pine tree? What kind is it anyway?"
"Beats me, but the branches on that thing look big enough, wide enough, that I think we could stay up in it for the night. Look at those sort of gnarled, smaller branches. We could - sort of weave some smaller pine boughs through them and that would give us a little protection. You know, being this close to water, we might have some critters joining us in the morning. Personally, I'd like to be up and out of reach, just in case."
"Critters?"
"Yeah, you know - lions and tigers and bears - oh my!"
"Aw, com' awn."
"OK. Drop the tigers. How 'bout mountain lions and maybe a bear just coming out of hibernation?"
"LEE!"
"Amanda, you know about the woods and wildlife as well as I do. If anything comes around for a drink, we'll hope it's just deer and raccoons, but......"
"Maybe you're right. Let's see what we can do with your treehouse idea, Tarzan."
"I've gone from John Wayne to Tarzan? I'm not sure I like that."
"It's OK. They were both heroes," she added softly.
The tree worked pretty well. The pine boughs they had gathered, did indeed provide a kind of windbreak. Lee sat with his back firmly against the broad main trunk. Amanda sat with her back against Lee's chest, his arms around her, holding her securely to him. They gradually drifted into an uneasy sleep.
As the sky began to lighten, Amanda shifted her weight just a little. In his sleep, Lee felt the motion and tightened his grip on Amanda to point of almost crushing her.
"LEE, please..."
"Oh, what...what's going on....Amanda?"
"It's OK. I'm not going to fall. Just loosen up a bit. I think we should both get down outta here anyway. It's starting to get light."
"You're right. We can, ahh, do what we need to do and then get moving."
They headed in opposite directions, into the rocks and shrubs along the stream. After a few minutes, they came back to the tree.
"Let's both get a drink of that nice, cold, fresh mountain water....and then move out," Lee said in his best John Wayne voice.
"Right. And that road better be there today!"
-----------
They followed the little stream in its twisting course for what must have been two or three hours. The land on the other side of the stream had gradually risen into an embankment - maybe five or six feet high. On a hunch, Lee stopped.
"Wait here a minute." He jumped the closest and narrowest part of the stream he could find and then clambered up the embankment. He turned and flashed one of his hundred-megawatt smiles at Amanda.
"Come here." He climbed back down and stood on the other side of the stream, holding out his hand. Amanda grasped it and jumped across. Then the two of them made it back up to the top and there was - A ROAD!
"OH MY GOSH, you did it....you did it!" Amanda cried out.