Part 3

Washington, D.C., The Agency

October 19, 1998

Amanda walked through the bullpen, acknowledged the agents at their desks with a smile and a nod, grabbed a cup of coffee, then entered her office. She had just lowered herself into her desk chair, when she noticed the manila envelope sitting in the middle of her desk, marked 'EYES ONLY' along with her codename in block letters.

"That's odd," she thought. Agency materials were always addressed to A. Stetson, not Sovereign. Alert now, and just a little nervous, she opened the envelope and pulled out a photo. After one glance, she dropped it to her desk as if she had just suffered an electric shock. She quickly dialed Lee's extension. At his greeting, she managed to choke out, "Lee, get here fast." Catching her breath, she gazed at the windows that looked out over the bullpen. If she broke down, she didn't need any witnesses, so she got up and quickly closed the blinds. She whirled around when she heard her husband's voice behind her, "Amanda, what's wrong?"

She stared at him with tear-filled eyes, her features rigid.

The look on her face worried him. He repeated, "Amanda, tell me what's wrong!"

With a trembling hand, Amanda pointed to the photo that had fallen face down on her desk. Lee picked it up and gasped in shock. The photo was of Jamie. He was sprawled out on an old cot, his hands bound behind his back. Both eyes were blackened and swollen shut. His bottom lip was split open and blood trickled from his nose.

Lee immediately crossed over to Amanda and enfolded her in a tender embrace. Amanda groaned as if in physical pain, "Lee, he's dead, isn't he? They've killed my baby." She began to cry.

Lee softly stroked her back to soothe her, "Shhh, Amanda, you can't know he's dead. He could just be unconscious. Come on, let's sit down." He led her over to the couch and gently lowered her down, then sat next to her. She wrapped her arms around him and continued to cry into his shoulder. When her weeping slowed, Lee pulled back slightly and looked into her red-rimmed eyes. Knowing he could only get through this if he kept his objectivity, with difficulty he shifted from husband mode to agent mode. "Amanda, did the photo come with any kind of demand?"

Amanda gulped in a large quantity of air and tried to calm herself. "I don't know. As soon as I saw the photo. I called you. The envelope it came in is on my desk."

"Will you be all right if I go get it?"

"Yeah," she sniffed.

Lee got up and retrieved the envelope from the desk and then sat down again on the couch. He looked into the packet and pulled out a single sheet of paper. He read it aloud:



The boy is alive. He will remain so as long as our

demands are met. We will trade him for the twelve

brothers of the Foundation that you have arrested.

Do not fail us, unless you want to see him die. He will

not be able to help you this time. We will be in contact

with the details.

Angrily, Lee threw the paper down, "I don't like this. Why would they kidnap Jamie? It just doesn't make any sense. He doesn't even live with us anymore." He looked over at Amanda, his heart torn by the tears in her eyes, "Don't worry. We will get him back. You can bet on it."

Amanda thought for a while about the terrorist's message, "Wait a minute, Lee. He mentioned Jamie's helping us. Could they know about his photo? Nobody outside the Agency could be aware of his involvement."

Lee's eyes narrowed, "Amanda, you realize what that means?" She nodded as he continued, "There's a mole in the Agency."

After a few short moments, Amanda asked, "Who can we trust, Lee? We're going to need help, but the mole could be anyone."

Lee disagreed, "I don't think the mole can be just anyone. There are certain people we can trust, like Beaman and Leatherneck. And T. P. of course."

"You're right. Lee, how about Francine? Do you think she would come down from New York to help?"

"I'm sure she would. I'll get a coded message to her. Amanda, we have a lot of work to do. Do you think you'll be up to it?"

Amanda went into agent mode as well, "Lee, they have our son. You know I'll do whatever it takes to get him back safe and sound."