PART TWO
Dr. Smyth's Office, 10:00
As Billy approached the Agency Director's office, he was still trying to figure out exactly what to say. He walked in to the secretary's office and greeted Dr. Smyth's assistant. "Good morning, Barbara."
"Good morning, Mr. Melrose. Go right in. The Doctor's expecting you."
Billy looked confused at this remark. He'd only just decided to come and talk to Smyth now, yet he was expected? Billy knocked on Smyth's door and walked in, his eyes scanning the office.
Smyth could not be seen although his tall-backed executive chair was facing away from the desk towards the far wall. A wisp of smoke rose, like a smoke signal, apparently from the chair itself. "Take a seat, Mr. Melrose," instructed the chair. The seats before Smyth's desk were lower set, enabling Smyth to gain a power advantage over his visitors. As Billy sat in the chair, in front of Smyth's desk, the Doctor turned his chair around to face him. "So, what brings you here, Billy? As if I didn't know. I won't ask if you want coffee, you won't be staying long."
Taken aback by Smyth's words, Billy could only manage, "Dr. Smyth?"
"Out with it man," the Director insisted, "time is money."
"I'm here about my agents, Stetson and King," Billy began.
"Oh yes," said Smyth. "The Scarecrow and his tame little suburban housewife."
"She's an agent now, Doctor."
"Oh, I'm fully aware of that Melrose."
"Anyway, it appears they may have breached Agency policy by marrying." He was finally able to get the words out, but was very uncomfortable at the strange way this meeting was playing out.
"I don't remember anything in Agency policy to say that an Agent cannot marry, Billy. Regulation 124C section 9 specifically states that 'An operative may marry with the approval of his Section Chief, provided the prospective spouse has been cleared through security level Blue-Omega, on the understanding that work assignments will not be amended at said agents request to fulfil personal obligations,'" he quoted. "Not a regulation we like to publicize but some of our agents seem to think a personal life is important to them." Smyth drew on the cigarette in its long holder, shaking his head silently.
"No, sir, you don't understand. They've married each other," he said, emphasizing the last part.
"Ah, yes, February wasn't it?"
Billy's jaw dropped at this remark, "But… How? How did you…?"
"How did I what, Melrose?" Smyth asked, as though they were just discussing the weather.
"Well, they've only just told me about it, less than half an hour ago, and then I came straight here after our briefing." Billy pinched his fingers to the top of his nose and shook his head a little. Then he reached into his pocket, taking out the little pack of Tums he always kept there, and took one.
"Problem, Melrose?"
"Oh, no, sir. But, how long … how long have you known?" This meeting was not going how he expected.
"I've always known," Smith replied, enigmatically. "In my position it is important to be aware of all the peccadilloes of this Agency's operatives." He leaned back in his chair at these words, returning the cigarette holder to his mouth a smile of amusement across his face. "You'd be surprised what I know about the people of this Agency."
"So, why haven't you done anything about it? I mean regulation 24F section 14 specifically precludes married agents from working together," Billy was finally able to ask his boss.
"Does it? I don't remember reading that one. Anyway rules have always been made to be broken."
This completely non-plussed Billy. Here was the uptight, even anal, Director of the Agency specifically advocating rule-breaking? Billy figured he must be missing something. "Excuse me?" was all he could say.
"Well, Melrose, I considered their case and determined that if I gave them enough rope they'd hang themselves, but, barring a few minor slip-ups, their clean-up rate has actually improved since King attained full agent status. Doesn't make sense to destroy that," he said, calmly. "Besides, working with the King woman has even made Scarecrow a better agent, and he was always your best man. Although, if that gets repeated outside of this office, I'll have your entire section," he said in a neutral tone that made the threat that much more menacing.
"The needs of this Agency have always been paramount and I see no reason to lose two top agents over the existence of a triviality. However …. If I hear about any displays of emotion or affection within these walls, your two agents will be reassigned to opposite ends of the country faster than you can say annulment. You're dismissed now, Billy. I believe you have an arms dealer to catch." With that, he swivelled his chair around to face the wall, as he was when Billy walked in.
Billy stood up and turned to leave the office, feeling completely disoriented. As he left the office, he heard Smyth's secretary ask if he was all right. He didn't have the strength to answer her, so he just walked out of the office, his mind whirling.
~
Q-Bureau, 10:10
As he put down the pen he'd been writing with and tore off a page from the note pad on which he'd written an address, Lee said into the phone, "Right, I'll see you in twenty minutes, Auggie."
Lee hung up the phone and got up from his chair, heading towards the door of the Q-Bureau. Without looking up Amanda's eyes followed his progress, but she didn't say anything. When he reached the door, he turned to her. "Amanda," he began, obviously a little unsure of how to say what he wanted to say.
"Yes, Lee?" she responded innocently.
"Perhaps you should stay here and check the Agency computers?" Phew. He had managed to say that coolly, as though there was no ulterior motive, but he knew he just wanted to protect his Amanda, not to mention keep her out of the seedy bar to which he was headed.
As she answered, he knew she'd seen through his little ploy – she always did – so he resigned himself to the outcome he knew was coming. He wasn't going to make it easy on her, though.
"Lee," Amanda said firmly. When she looked up at him with those chocolate brown eyes, he knew he was sunk. "Are we, or are we not partners?" she asked, emphasising the last word.
"We are."
"And do partners, or do they not," she continued, her eyes twinkling up at him, "watch each others backs?"
"They do, yes," he said quietly.
"So?"
Lee just gesticulated towards the door, wordlessly inviting her to accompany him, while holding up his car keys in his left hand. "Do you want to drive, or shall I?"
As she stood up from her desk, she placed her purse over her shoulder. Then she headed towards the door and replied, "Oh, that's all right, Lee." She paused to smile at him. She walked through the doorway where he was holding the door open for her and turned her head back over her shoulder to look at him again. "We junior agents have to leave something for the seasoned professionals to do!" She laughed and looked away as she headed off down the corridor to the staircase that led to the Georgetown foyer.
Able to visualize her expression even though he couldn't see it, Lee just shook his head as he locked the Q-Bureau door, then caught up with her, placing his hand at its usual position in the small of her back as they walked.
~
The Diesel Bar, 10:30
As Amanda preceded him into the bar, Lee knew he should never have brought her. Although it was only ten-thirty in the morning, the bar was cloudy with cigarette smoke and already had a number of burly types, each one of which could make two of Lee Stetson.
"Well, what have we here then?" Lee heard one of them call out from across the bar.
Instinctively, Amanda slowed her pace such that Lee was right behind her, offering her what protection he could. He couldn't stop now, though; he was on a mission, and they were undercover. He put on his best 'dim but charming' grin and walked with Amanda up to the waitress behind the bar, nodding at a couple of particularly muscular guys sitting at a table they passed.
When they got to the bar, Lee went for his best Ricky Joe accent. "Howya doin', darlin?"
The waitress looked extremely bored and not in the least to thrilled to see another friendly customer.
Lee made the appearance of being affronted by her lack of response. "Well hello there…" he leaned forward to read the name on her badge, "Sugar. I'm Ricky Joe. How's about a beer for me and the lady?"
By this time, several regulars had surrounded them at the bar in an intimidating fashion. Lee didn't appear to be riled. "Hey there guys, nice place you've got here." He gestured towards the bar. It wasn't working. Ricky Joe was not connecting and Amanda wasn't saying a word, just standing with a fixed small smile on her face, trying not to look too nervous.
"So, what do we have here?" asked one of them. He was six foot tall and nearly twice across the shoulders as Lee. His mechanic's shirt announced this was Jimmy, and he was leering at Amanda. "Don't'cha talk, then? What's your name?"
Amanda nodded. "Amanda," she croaked out, glancing across to Lee.
"Oh, you don't want to worry about him, little lady." He pushed in front of Lee and placed his arm across Amanda's shoulder then turned her around and motioned her to the table he had left just a few minutes before. Over his shoulder he called, "Another round of beers for me and Ike, Sugar…and a Shirley Temple for the lady." He guided Amanda into a chair.
As he did, Lee took a step to follow but found a firm hand on his shoulder. "Not so fast, Ricky Joe," a voice said menacingly. "Why don't we have a drink?" The hand swiveled Ricky Joe around on the spot, pointing him to the bar.
"Why sure…" Lee paused, hoping for a name but getting nothing. "I'm always ready to buy a drink for a friend." He smiled.
As the drinks arrived, Lee took his opportunity to talk to the waitress. "Hey, Sugar, do you know where I can find Auggie?"
"Auggie?" she replied, her expression still bored, but a little less vacant – Lee thought he caught recognition in her eyes.
"Auggie Swan," Lee continued. "We have a little deal going down and he said I could find him here."
"So why don't you tell old Charlie here what's the deal there Ricky Joe?" asked the guy, pointing his thumb to his chest.
"Well," Lee began, "I don't want to break a confidence, but maybe I can bring you in on the deal with Auggie. O'course, I'd need to speak to him first…" his voice trailed off.
Charlie looked at Sugar and nodded to a door to the side of the bar. "You'd better tell him he's got a visitor."
Lee expected Sugar to head for the door and couldn't help cringing when she yelled out - in a voice which must have breached noise safety regulations - "Auggie! Visitor!"
The door opened and out came Auggie, dressed in shirtsleeves, with bands around his upper arms, and he was wearing a visor. He looked like he'd come straight out of the movie The Sting.
"Did somebody call?"
Sugar nodded towards Lee.
"Hey, L-" he started to say when Lee jumped up and interrupted.
"Auggie! It's Ricky Joe, your old friend, how's it goin?"
Auggie just rolled with it. "Ricky Joe, as I live and breathe, you're actually here in DC?"
"I thought we had a deal, Auggie?" Ricky said pointedly. "We need to sort out the details, right?"
"Ah, yes, our deal. Let's go into my office and iron out those details …"
They turned to return to Auggie's office, and Charlie stood up. Lee was once again obstructed from his goal. "Don't forget we have a little deal of our own," he said as Lee stepped around him and followed Auggie. Lee crossed the bar and took a glance at Amanda and her two friends. His eyes met hers. She understood. His eyes were saying just wait there, don't blow our cover, meanwhile, hers were saying, nervously, okay I'll do it, but you owe me Stetson.
As the door closed behind Lee and Auggie, Charlie and several others approached Amanda's table. "Now then, little lady," said Charlie, "why don't we let's go and have us a game of pool?" Amanda rose as Charlie placed his hand under her arm and she let herself be guided to the pool table.
Ike and Jimmy followed with the remaining customers right behind them. In front of the table, Jimmy placed a cue in Amanda's hand. "Ever played pool, Amanda?"
She nodded, "A little, with my boys," she began. "Jamie's twelve and Philip's fourteen" she said, showing them the height of her boys with her hand. "They don't want to play with me now of course, at least they don't have time now what with their friends and homework and basketball practice. It's getting so I have to make an appointment to get to spend time with my own boys, you know-"
"Whoa, there, little lady," Charlie interceded. "Take a breath, why don't ya?"
"Sorry," Amanda apologized. "I talk when I'm nervous."
"Oh there's no need to be nervous," Charlie assured her, putting his fat arm around her shoulder. She wasn't assured. "We're a friendly bunch here." He squeezed her shoulder.
His comment was accompanied by a number of leering, "Yeah's" and "I'll say's" from the guys in the bar.
"Now, why don't you break?" Charlie turned to Jimmy. "I've got fifty against the lady."
The other guys tried to muscle in on the action.
"Me too."
"Twenty for me."
"Can anyone spot me ten bucks?"
Amanda took a deep breath, lined up the cue and struck the cue ball. She immediately sunk one striped and one solid off the break, then moved to line up her next shot. Taking her time, she sunk one ball after another, producing a round of surprised gasps when she sunk a combination bank shot that put two balls in opposite corners. When she sunk the last ball, there was nothing but silence, and Amanda couldn't help but allow a tiny, but secretive grin to form on her lips.
~
Auggie's Office, 10:45
As they entered Auggie's office Lee felt compelled to ask, "Who are you supposed to be?"
Auggie looked down at his outfit, then stepped behind his desk and sat down. "What, this?" Lee nodded. "Well, I have a reputation to maintain. The guys here think I'm a big-time player and I don't want to disillusion them. Besides, don't you think Newman was awesome in that movie?"
"Auggie," Lee thought he must have been learning rambling from Amanda, "you've got some information for me?"
"Now wait a minute, Lee. Shouldn't friends exchange a few pleasantries before getting down to business?"
"Auggie, we're not friends, we're barely business associates. You sell information, I buy it, that's all. So, what have you got?"
"Lee, Lee," he said condescendingly, "you'll never win friends and influence people with an attitude like that. You need to have finesse." As he said that, he waved his arms in an expansive gesture, knocking over a cup of coffee which spilt it's contents all over the desk.
As Auggie tried to minimize the damage, Lee was getting more frustrated. "Aug-gie," he growled.
Auggie looked up. "What?" He recognized the barely concealed anger in Lee's voice. "Oh, yeah, the photos." He started to pull out various drawers in the desk, searching for something.
When he pulled open the top drawer for a third time, again coming up empty, Lee stood up and grabbed Auggie by the collar. "So help me, Auggie, if you don't tell me what I want to hear in the next five seconds-"
Auggie calmly returned Lee's stare. "Lee. There's no need to get so worked up. How about I put you in touch with Inga, she's my masseuse. She's from Sweden."
"I don't want a massage, Auggie, I just want the information."
"Lee, I remember a time, oh, when was it? '81? The twins? Oh, you remember Lee, Bobbi and Billi wasn't it? You seemed to like their massages…."
Lee let go of Auggie and, clearing his throat nervously, sat back down, suddenly glad Amanda was still out in the bar. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration, but said nothing as Auggie began another search of his desk.
"Ah, here it is." Auggie held up a manila envelope and waved it at Lee. Lee made a grab for it but Auggie held it just out of his reach. "Ah-ah-ah, now Lee, what's in it for me?"
"Well how about, as a start, I don't shoot you?"
"Yes, that would be a good start but I need some kind of compensation for my efforts. You know what I had to go through to get these pictures?"
"I probably don't want to know." Lee admitted.
"Let's just say it involved a Congressman, a woman named Darlene and fifty gallons of Jell-O."
Lee couldn't help himself as he chuckled at this statement. Smiling, he said, "Auggie, you sure know some interesting people." He took out his wallet and offered Auggie a hundred dollar bill.
"Lee, I'm insulted. Hell, the Jell-O alone cost more than that.…"
Lee offered him a second note. Auggie said nothing. Sighing, Lee offered him another note. "That's three hundred dollars, Auggie. For that I want the photos and everything you know."
This time, Auggie responded. "Because we're friends, Lee, I'm gonna cut you a break," he said, reaching for the cash.
"Okay, talk and don't call us friends again."
Auggie sat back in his chair and placed his hands to his heart, expressing the pain of a deep emotional wound. Lee could see that beneath Auggie's over-acting, he did seem a little chagrined at Lee's attitude. He also saw Auggie wasn't talking. Lee put on his most charming smile, then said, "Auggie, look. I'm sorry. I'm a little stressed out today and I need that information." He continued in his most ingratiating manner, "So if you could please tell me what you know, I'd really appreciate it. Huh, pal?" I must be going soft. That's Amanda's influence. He smiled as he thought of his wife.
Auggie seemed assuaged. He smiled back at Lee and leaned forward onto the desk as he began, "You see, there's these two Cubans…"
~
The Diesel Bar, 11:25
Forty minutes after he went into Auggie's office, Lee finally emerged and was greeted by the unexpected sound of cheering. Amanda was surrounded by about ten men sporting a variety of tattoos, scars and broken noses, and they were smiling, shaking Amanda's hand. Lee looked totally confused.
Charlie spotted Lee and walked over to him, hand outstretched. Lee shook his hand as Charlie said, "That's some woman you've got yourself there, Ricky Joe. She totally cleaned us out." Lee wasn't sure how to take this last remark, then Charlie smiled. "She's a doll!"
Lee looked across at Amanda who was just standing amidst the men, smiling sheepishly, with a pool cue in one hand and a handful of cash in the other. "Apparently," she beamed at him, "I remember how to play." She then looked at her new found friends. "Sorry, boys, but it looks like I've got to be going."
There were several cries of "oh!" and "shame," but she was insistent.
Giving the cue back to Charlie, she said, "thanks for the game." As Lee stepped to take her arm, she leaned across to Jimmy, conspiratorially. "Don't forget, rub a little club soda on it and the stain will come right out." She patted his shoulder, turned and headed out of the bar. "'Bye, boys," she called.
"'Bye, Amanda," they all called in unison.
"Come back soon won't'cha?"
"I'll try boys," she called out, waving her hand but without turning around. Quietly to her husband, she said, "will you get me out of here?" Lee was speechless.
As they reached the car, he helped her into it. His voice finally returned to him as he bent towards her and asked, "How the hell did you do that?" He was unable to keep the amazement and admiration from his voice.
"Oh, I ran games night for the PTA, three years in a row," she replied, and smiled broadly at her husband. As he stood up and walked around to his side of the car, he shook his head and smiled too. His wife would never cease to amaze him.
~