~X~

"Amanda, can't you hurry?"

Exhaling loudly, Amanda paused, tapping the half-rake against the heavy door of the administration building.  "Joe," she began, struggling to maintain an even tone, "it doesn't work that way. It's not like using a key, you know."

Joe licked his lips as he pivoted, checking the deserted quad with a series of short, jerky motions.

"What on earth are you doing?" Amanda queried as she glanced over her shoulder.

He turned to her with a puzzled expression. "You told me to watch, so . . . I'm watching."

"You look like one of those dogs with the bobbing heads," she muttered under her breath as she fought a smile.

"Whose head?" he inquired in a loud whisper.

"Uh, nothing," she choked out, turning back to her task. "Never mind that – hold that little flashlight up so I can see."

Joe raised the light, his arm twitching slightly. Taking a deep breath, he braced his wrist with his hand. "How long is this going to take?"

"A lot longer than it should if you keep rushing me," she hissed. Narrowing her eyes, she wiggled the slim tool a fraction of an inch to the left.

"It's awfully quiet out here," she heard Joe murmur breathlessly.

"That's because it's almost midnight. All the sensible people are in bed. Where I wish I was," she added dryly. Forcing herself to concentrate, she turned her wrist just a little further. "Almost . . . almost . . ."

"Amanda . . ."

"Got it!" she exclaimed in triumph. Straightening, she stretched out her back, rolling in a small circular motion as she worked out the kinks. "Come on," she urged, slipping the half-rake carefully into the pocket of her jeans. "I think his office is this way."

They crept stealthily down the wide hall, Amanda trying to retrace her steps from earlier that day. She didn't want to risk taking a shortcut and getting lost in the cavernous administration building. Lee probably wouldn't be tied up with Phillip for too much longer, and she didn't really feel like explaining what she'd been up to with Joe.

Turning off the main hall, she motioned for Joe to stay behind her. Pausing, she tried to get her bearings. Was it left or right?  Everything looked different at night. No, it was this way; she was certain of it, and she silently beckoned to Joe.

They were halfway down the corridor when she heard the sudden noise. Startled, Amanda pressed herself against the wall, her arm quickly shooting out to push Joe back as well.

"Amanda . . ."

"Shhh," she whispered, bringing her finger to her lips. Inclining her head towards the light spilling from the office at the far end of the hall, she began to creep closer. The indistinct murmurs suddenly became louder, a female voice rising sharply.

"That's Carrie," Joe stated in surprise, the muscle in his cheek twitching ominously. Pushing her restraining arm away, he started for the door.

"Joe, wait a minute," she cried in a loud whisper. "You don't know what's . . ." Sighing in exasperation, she watched him disappear into the small office. She bent over, letting out a long breath as she braced her hands against her knees.

"Well, well. Hello, Amanda." Straightening, she saw Jim Walters himself illuminated in the doorway. He gave her a satisfied smirk as he added, "You look lonely out here. Why don't you come on in and join the other Kings?"

His voice reminded her of fingernails on a blackboard. "Uh, no thanks," she countered, automatically rubbing the goose bumps on her arms. "It's late. I think I'll just let you all discuss this in private." She began to slowly inch away.

"Oh, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist," he returned, pulling a terrified Carrie from the room. Grinning, he cocked his gun, placing it squarely on her temple.

Amanda grimaced. "Since you put it that way . . ."

"Oh, I do," he replied sanguinely. Pulling Carrie towards him, he stepped aside, motioning for Amanda to enter. "Why don't you just join your ex over there?"

Biting her lower lip, she did as he requested, moving quickly to Joe's side. They exchanged a look, and she shook her head grimly.

"Now isn't this cozy?" Walters told them smugly. "I wasn't expecting such a big party, but don't worry, I'm very good at improvisation."

Amanda eyed him warily. "And just what do you need to improvise?"

Walters grinned at her. "Why, my exit strategy, of course. I had a much more grandiose departure in mind, but when I caught wind of the dogs sniffing around me tonight, I knew I'd have to settle for a more spur of the moment plan. I was fortunate enough to run into my new friend Carrie."

She could feel Joe bristling beside her, and she put a warning hand on his arm. Carrie's lower lip was trembling uncontrollably, and her ex-husband was showing unmistakable signs of heroics. Trying to stay in command of the situation, she turned to Walters once again. "Taking an early retirement? They must pay professors here pretty well."

He smiled, revealing a row of too-perfect teeth. "As I'm sure you've guessed, *that* was only a sideline."

Amanda looked sharply at the open file spread across his desk. The technical drawings appeared to be some sort of weapons specs. What kind of game was Walters into? She took a small step closer, straining to get a better look at the blueprints.

He moved suddenly, placing himself and Carrie squarely in front of the desk to obscure her view.

"Selling something that doesn't belong to you?" she queried lightly.

"Depends on how you look at it, I guess. I wouldn't, if I were you," he advised, raising the gun to Carrie's head again as Amanda edged towards him again. "You're much too clever for your own good . . . Mrs., uh, King. I believe you still go by that name professionally." He looked at Carrie in mock horror. "Now this must be really confusing. How do you all keep it straight? It's too much for me," he added with an artificial grin. "Maybe I should just call you Mrs. Scarecrow."

She narrowed her eyes, curling one side of her lip as she leveled him in her gaze.

"Stay right where you are," he warned again, brandishing his pistol. Frowning, he glanced at his watch.  Pulling Carrie roughly towards him, he slid open the top drawer of the desk, pulling out some lengths of rope and two pairs of handcuffs.

"Joe, you've been awfully quiet. Why don't you make yourself useful and pull those two chairs together? Back to back . . . there's a good fellow." He squeezed Carrie's arm until she made a small, mewing sound.

"You bastard!" Joe spat, his eyes flashing menacingly.

Walters pulled Carrie closer. "Come on, no false heroics. I'd hate to see you become a widower. Okay, now you and the ex sit down. Interlock your arms behind your back, that's it." He turned to Carrie, handing her the cuffs. "Okay, your turn to be helpful. Thread this through the back of Amanda's chair, then cuff Joe. That's good; now do the same for the lovely Mrs. Scarecrow there."

"I'm sorry," Carrie whispered breathlessly, fastening the cuffs with trembling hands. "I ran into him on the quad, and he'd been so nice earlier . . . he . . . he offered to call me a cab, so I came back here with him."

"It's okay," Amanda said. "You had no idea."  Looking towards Walters, she added, "None of us did."

Carrie drew a shaky breath. "Joe, I . . ."

He looked at her tenderly. "Don't worry, Sweetheart, it'll be okay."

Walters laughed. "Of course it will, 'Sweetheart'.  Once I make my final sale and get the hell out of here." Quickly collecting the scattered papers, he placed them carefully in his jacket pocket. Tossing Carrie four short lengths of rope, he ordered brusquely, "Now tie their ankles to the legs of the chairs."

Amanda craned her neck, fixing her eye on Walters. "You won't get away with this. Lee is probably looking for me right now."

"I don't think so. I happen to know Scarecrow is occupied at the moment. Carrie and I saw him headed for the Huddle with Phillip, didn't we, Carrie?"

She nodded mutely, and Amanda bit her lip.

"I'm meeting my business contact in a few minutes, then it's hasta la vista. I'll be long gone before Scarecrow even realizes you're not where you're supposed to be," Walters continued in a mocking tone. "I'd be grateful for that, if I were you. I don't like to think of myself as a murderer, but if my hand is forced . . ." He chuckled softly, his eyes resting ominously on Carrie.

"I always knew I'd have to pull up stakes here sooner or later," he continued matter-of-factly, "but I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when I saw Phillip King's name on my advisee list. And then the timing of this Parents' Weekend  . . . well, it couldn't have been worse. When I saw that all of you were coming, I was afraid the formidable Scarecrow might recognize the man I'm meeting tonight. I tried to get rid of you by canceling your reservations at the Campus Inn, but then my helpful assistant remembered we had one room on emergency reserve. I thought then if I just kept an eye on you, things might still work. Of course, when someone started poking into my credentials today, I knew my luck had finally run out."

He laughed, a cackling sound that made Amanda's skin crawl. "It didn't take a genius to figure out who was behind it," he went on, smiling as Carrie finished securing the last rope. "Scarecrow's stepson. . . of all the luck. Oh, don't feel left out, Mrs. King," he added as he saw Amanda's eyes harden. "Your name is pretty well known in certain circles, too. That's what put me onto you two in the first place."

Reaching out, he pulled Carrie to him, twisting her arm behind her back. She cried out softly, whimpering Joe's name.

"If you hurt her . . ." he began ominously.

"You'll what? I think you'll sit right where you are, at least for the time being."

"Come on, Walters," Amanda coaxed, "you don't need her. She'll just slow you down. Tie her up and leave her with us."

He pretended to consider her offer, then grinned. "I don't think so. She's my insurance policy. Just in case those bloodhounds Scarecrow let loose get a little too close."

Amanda glanced at Carrie's terrified face. "Then why not take me instead?" she offered. "That is, if it's really Scarecrow you're worried about . . ."

"An interesting offer, but I think *this* Mrs. King will be a lot more amenable. Won't you, my dear?" Turning to Amanda and Joe once again, he added with a short laugh, "Now don't worry; if you two are very good and don't make any noise, I promise I'll release her once I get where I'm going." He leered softly at Carrie, running his hand up and down her arm. "No worse for wear."

Smirking, he gave them a final salute. Then, switching off the light, he left, dragging a sobbing Carrie King behind him.

TBC