Chapter 8 - Puzzle Pieces
**Agency Interrogation Room B Sublevel Four Saturday Night, 10:36PM**
Billy Melrose and Francine Desmond stood shoulder to shoulder and watched their prisoner through the two-way mirror. Anthony Mancini slouched down in the uncomfortable metal chair they provided, his clothing rumbled and blood-stained and his hair mused. The agent in charge of his interrogation leaned into the table and shouted something, to which Mancini only smirked. Billy reached to the side and switched on the speaker.
"We know you had an informant in the Agency. Who was it?" Agent Cauldwell shouted.
Mancini shook his head. "I told you, I don't know his name. To be honest, I didn't really give a damn what his name was. He gave me the information I needed, and I paid him well for it."
"You never saw his face? Not once?"
Mancini smirked again and didn't answer. What he didn't say spoke louder than anything he proclaimed. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't, but either way he wasn't telling.
"Damn it!" Billy cursed and turned away from the window. "This is getting us no where! I don't want this two-faced agent in this organization for another minute!"
"We can't keep him here much longer, Billy. He has to be formally booked and charged and taken to a holding cell," Francine said, regret in her voice. She wanted to beat the information out of Mancini with her own hands, and understood her Section Chief's frustration.
Billy shook his head and sighed heavily. "Have you heard anything from Scarecrow? How is Amanda doing?"
"He called about three hours ago. She's resting. I guess she's just really sore. Probably feels a lot like I did when I took on those three Moroccan body guards in '81. . ."
Billy didn't hear much more of what his assistant said. He was too annoyed, too frustrated, and too concerned to care. Mancini had someone in the Agency that helped him all along the way to set Lee up, and tried to bring both Scarecrow and Amanda down. Whoever it was, they were probably responsible for the death of Janice Bigelow, and that made them very dangerous. Junior Agent Bigelow was killed in a very gruesome, extremely brutal attack. Whomever it was, they had no conscience.
"Well, until we find who it is, maybe Lee and Amanda **are** better off not being here. Keep them out of the line of fire for awhile. Maybe once they get back from their extended vacation, we'll have this guy in the bag."
Agent Cauldwell opened the door and came into the room with a loud huff. He stripped off his jacket and tossed it on a chair. "He's not budging. Refuses to tell me anything."
"We heard," Billy mumbled. "Let's go up to my office and talk this through. Maybe we can look at the evidence again and piece this together. Maybe there's something we've missed."
Left alone again in the interrogation room, Mancini leaned forward and pushed his fingers through his tangled hair. This would take some interesting maneuvering to get out of this mess. Where did it go wrong? How did Scarecrow figure it out? He was supposed to be out of the Agency. Off the case. And on the outs with his partner. Unless, of course, his information had been wrong . . .
The door opened again, and Mancini looked up expecting to see the big agent named Cauldwell returning. When he saw who it was, he chuckled and leaned back.
"I figured you'd show up here eventually."
Before he could move, the muffled blast of a silencer-rigged gun echoed through the small room. Mancini jerked and slumped forward onto the table with a thump. His killer smirked and slipped the gun back into the holster nestled beneath his left arm, hidden by his non-descript, plain-as-dirt, off-the-rack suit jacket. He turned on his heels and walked back out of the interrogation room, stepping over the still body of the guard who had been posted outside. Bits and fragments of the destroyed surveillance camera littered the floor and crunched beneath his feet as he walked.
**One problem down . . . just two more to go.**
SMK ~~~ SMK ~~~ SMK ~~~ SMK ~~~ SMK
**4247 Maplewood Saturday Evening, 11:24PM**
The shifting of the bed mattress as Lee slipped between the sheets stirred Amanda from the edge of sleep that had begun to claim her again. Her husband curled himself against her body, so her back settled against his bare chest. She hummed softly as she settled against him, and Lee kissed the back of her neck.
"How are you feeling?" he asked as they snuggled down together into the bed.
"Mmmmmuch better," she said on a hum. "After a nice long massage from my partner, and several hours of sleep, I felt pretty good."
"Your partner? May I remind you you're a married woman?"
Feeling blissful and just a tad bit silly, she pressed her finger to her lips. "Shush," she said and chuckled. "Don't tell my partner. It's a secret."
Lee wrapped his arm around her waist and gently turned her onto her back so she could look up at him. The moonlight that streamed through the windows, and the light in the bathroom that escaped through the cracked door, let her see his handsome face as he looked down at her.
"It's not a secret anymore," he said in his huskiest whisper, and it hummed over Amanda like a caress.
She reached up to touch his cheek, his skin smooth and cool from shaving. He pursed his lips and kissed her thumb as she brushed it across his mouth.
"Do you know how long it has been since I spent the entire night with you?" he asked, his fingers brushing her hair as he leaned into the pillows with his elbow.
She shook her head slowly, never breaking her gaze with his beautiful hazel eyes. Most men would probably not want the word beautiful to be used to describe him, but it was the most appropriate word to describe the depths and prisms and emotions that swirled and emanated from his eyes. They could make her afraid with their intensity, calm with their confidence, and warm with their passion.
"Too long."
Neither spoke as they just looked into each other's eyes. The thought of waking up with him, without worrying about being caught or who might find out, sent a warm flush over Amanda's skin and tears prickled her eyes. But she blinked them back, afraid Lee would misunderstand their meaning.
"How do you think the guys handled the announcement that I'm moving in right away?" he asked as his gaze dropped away and the fingers of his free hand toyed with the bow at the neckline of her nightgown.
Amanda saw the concern in his face, despite the dim light. They had talked a long time that afternoon, just the two of them, about what would happen and how to handle it. When everything first came out, they had thought the best approach would be to ease the family into the situation. But in the end, they decided they had been deprived of their lives for too long.
"Oh, they'll be fine. It'll take time, Lee. But it's not like they don't know you. You're not a stranger in their lives. You didn't just show up one day and announce you're their step-father."
"No, I'm just the man who . . ." he tried to say, but didn't seem to be able to finish. Lee sighed and arched his brows, a lost look in his eyes.
"The man who what, Sweetheart?" she asked gently, shifting her head on the pillow to look at him slightly sideways.
Lee laughed and smiled, the deep dimples she loved so much appearing in his cheeks. "Who taught you how to pick a lock, lose a tail, shoot a gun, and shake down a hotel room. Not exactly your normal Husband of the Year stuff."
Amanda chuckled. "You taught me everything you know, isn't that what you told your uncle?"
He settled down into the pile of pillows they relaxed on, resting his cheek near her temple. "Yeah, but Amanda, I wasn't the only teacher. I taught you the ins and outs of espionage, but you taught me so much more than that. I think you may have gotten the short end of the deal."
"No, I didn't. I got you," she said and warmed at her husband's sincere smile just before he kissed her.
Amanda moved into the warm curve of his body, her ear resting against his chest. The steady beat of his heart whispered to her. His strong hands, that she had been drawn to and admired almost from the first moment on the train station platform, rubbed her arm and back as he pressed a kiss to her temple. She chuckled softly and Lee shifted to look down at her.
"What are you laughing at?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking of all the little tricks you've taught me. Sometimes I don't even know if you realized you were doing it. I used one the other day . . ." Amanda trailed off as a realization hit her. Slowly, she sat up. "Oh, my gosh! How could I have forgotten?"
Lee sat up with her. "What is it, Amanda?"
She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and looked around the room. Where was it? Where was the sweater she had on . . .
"Amanda! What is it?"
"My sweater. I must have left it in the pocket of my sweater. The one I wore yesterday. Not to the warehouse, the one I wore to work."
"The red one?"
She twisted quickly and looked back at Lee. "Yes!"
"You left it at my apartment when we changed clothes."
Amanda hit the mattress with the side of her fist. "Shoot!"
"But I picked it up this afternoon when I went back to pick up some things," Lee amended. He stood up and headed toward the duffle bag he had brought back with him. Rummaging through it, Lee pulled out the sweater she wanted.
"This one?"
Amanda stood and walked quickly across the bedroom carpet and took the folded garment from him.
"Are you going to tell me what this is about?" he asked, the slightest hint of aggravation in his voice.
As she searched for the pockets, she explained. "I went to Fabrication yesterday morning, like you wanted, to see if we could find out anything about what Janice had been working on. Efraim keeps a logbook of all assignments that each agent has to fill out every time they have a new one, and he let me look at it. There wasn't anything unusual for Janice, except that I though maybe her last entry had been erased. You know, the ink was gone but the impression was still there?"
She continued to search, and Lee stood with hands planted at his waist, nodding as she spoke. "Yeah? And?"
Amanda's fingers closed around the paper and she yanked it from the pocket, much like she once had a small bit of paper with the name Cindi 'with an i' on it. "Aha! Here it is!"
"Here **what** is, Amanda?"
Amanda quickly walked back to the bed and turned on the lamp on her side. She unfolded the hastily hidden clue and stared at it.
"I did a rubbing of the last entry. But I had to do it off the back, and Efraim came back just as I was doing it, so I didn't have a chance to read it. I just shoved it in my pocket because I didn't want to make him think anything was wrong. Then Francine caught me in the hallway with the shipping records and I guess I just got sidetracked and forgot about it.
The writing was difficult to read, as she hadn't had sufficient time to do a complete job, and the words were reversed and the letters backwards. But after years of deciphering Lee's chicken scratch, and practice at reading upside down, it didn't take long. She gasped when she read it.
"What? What does it say?" Lee asked, standing over her.
"1620PM SMK Mar Lic. Auth: Beaman. I think Mar Lic could be marriage license?" Amanda offered, looking up at him.
Lee's eyes rounded and his brows arched. "Marriage License. Janice was told to forge the marriage license."
"I think **we're** SMK." Lee's puzzled look urged her on. "Ever since the Stemwinder case, I've noticed that everyone seems to refer to us as . . .well, kind of as a unit. It's not just Stetson, or Scarecrow. It's . . ." she paused, a blush warming her cheeks, though she wasn't sure why. "It's Scarecrow and Mrs. King. SMK."
Lee smiled and nodded his head slowly. "I never realized that."
Amanda tilted her head and shrugged her shoulder. "Yeah, well, I hear a lot of things you don't."
Lee cleared his throat and took the paper from her. "So, according to this she was assigned the job of forging the marriage license around 4:20 in the afternoon last Friday."
"Just hours before she was killed," Amanda added with dread.
"And Beaman was the one who gave her the assignment."
Amanda jumped and gasped when the phone beside her rang. She glanced quickly at the alarm clock beside it. The giant red numbers read 11:36. It was nearly midnight. Who would be calling at this hour, unless it was Agency business. She looked up at her husband. Lee frowned and reached for the phone.
"Hello," he answered.
She watched his face as he listened to whomever was on the other end. Lee tilted the phone away from his mouth to tell her "It's Billy," before listening again.
"What?" Lee shouted. "How the hell did someone get past the guard?!" He paused and shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "Damn it, Billy!"
Amanda moved to her feet and stood close to Lee, hoping to hear some bit of the conversation. His arm circled her waist and pulled her close. He looked from her, to the paper still in her hand, and back to her. Lee's lips formed a thin, tight line as the pieces of information came together in his head.
"I know who it is, Billy. Who the mole is. Beaman. Efraim Beaman." Billy said something, but Amanda couldn't hear it. Lee shook his head and raked his fingers through his hair. "I'll explain later. But Amanda discovered the last piece of the puzzle."
Billy spoke again, and Lee nodded his head. "Okay, Billy. I'll be right there."
He hung up the phone and took her hand. "Billy is issuing a D1 Manhunt on Beaman. If we're right about this, he killed an MP and Anthony Mancini about an hour ago."
"Does Billy want us in office?"
Lee smiled wryly and huffed. "Not we. Me. I guess we're not on vacation quite yet, I'm afraid."
"What do you mean, not we?"
Her husband put his hands on her arms, just below the shoulder, and bent his knees just slightly so they were eye to eye. She recognized the Amanda- you're-just-going-to-have-to-trust-me-this-is-for-your-own-good look in his hazel eyes.
"Amanda, you have had a rough twenty-four hours -"
"**We** have had a rough twenty-four hours!" she interjected.
"But physically, you more than me. I want you to get some rest. Hopefully, I won't be gone long. Beaman is probably running for the hills and we'll catch him on his way out of DC. I'll be home before you know it." Lee smiled and leaned forward to kiss her forehead, speaking against her skin. "Home. That sounds great, doesn't it?"
"Lee, I'm fine."
"Amanda," he said on a sigh. "Please. Just stay here and get some more sleep. We have a vacation to start in a couple of days, and I want you in tip-top shape."
"Lee . . ."
Her husband silenced her by taking her face in his hands and kissing her soundly, snatching away her breath and blurring her cognitive abilities. His open lips worked over hers, and under their own volition, Amanda's hands came up to rest on his bare chest. Lee finally broke this kiss, came back for one more quick one, and smiled down at her.
"Amanda, I love you. I'll be home soon."
Giving in, Amanda nodded and sighed heavily. She crossed her arms over her body and watched as Lee hastily got dressed to leave. He gave her one final kiss before disappearing out the bedroom door.
SMK ~~~ SMK ~~~ SMK ~~~ SMK ~~~ SMK
Efraim Beaman pulled up to the curb and parked his car, sitting on a side street adjacent to 4247 Maplewood where he could watch the house in his mirrors. All seemed quiet, and the house was dark save one upstairs window. With his jaw clenched tight, and a heavy layer of sweat forming long droplets down his face, he pulled his gun from beneath his jacket.
His hands trembled as he removed the partially depleted clip from the gun handle and replaced it will a full one. He let go a long string of curses and swiped his fingers across his forehead, mopping away the sweat.
What was he doing? This was crazy! It was one thing to leak information out of the Agency to try and bring down the two agents he hated the most. This was something entirely different! Did he really think he could take on Scarecrow? An hour ago he had the guts to kill one unsuspecting MP and then get rid of Anthony Mancini. But no one had any idea the person on the inside was him. For all he knew, Stetson had figured it out by now. They could be hunting him down. Stetson could be waiting for him.
As he glanced in his mirror, one of his questions was answered. The front porch light flicked on and he watched Lee Stetson leave the house. Moments later, the oh-so-familiar silver corvette backed down out of the side driveway and drove off in the opposite direction.
Beaman chuckled and his adrenaline-charged heartbeat slowed. This was going to be easy. Like taking candy from a baby. He may not be an Agent anymore, but killing Lee and Amanda Stetson would be a hefty consolation prize.
A light came on downstairs, seeming to come from the back of the house as it was only a light glow. After feeling that he had waited a sufficient amount of time to avoid a hasty return of Scarecrow, he checked his gun one more time and got out of the car.
**Agency Interrogation Room B Sublevel Four Saturday Night, 10:36PM**
Billy Melrose and Francine Desmond stood shoulder to shoulder and watched their prisoner through the two-way mirror. Anthony Mancini slouched down in the uncomfortable metal chair they provided, his clothing rumbled and blood-stained and his hair mused. The agent in charge of his interrogation leaned into the table and shouted something, to which Mancini only smirked. Billy reached to the side and switched on the speaker.
"We know you had an informant in the Agency. Who was it?" Agent Cauldwell shouted.
Mancini shook his head. "I told you, I don't know his name. To be honest, I didn't really give a damn what his name was. He gave me the information I needed, and I paid him well for it."
"You never saw his face? Not once?"
Mancini smirked again and didn't answer. What he didn't say spoke louder than anything he proclaimed. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't, but either way he wasn't telling.
"Damn it!" Billy cursed and turned away from the window. "This is getting us no where! I don't want this two-faced agent in this organization for another minute!"
"We can't keep him here much longer, Billy. He has to be formally booked and charged and taken to a holding cell," Francine said, regret in her voice. She wanted to beat the information out of Mancini with her own hands, and understood her Section Chief's frustration.
Billy shook his head and sighed heavily. "Have you heard anything from Scarecrow? How is Amanda doing?"
"He called about three hours ago. She's resting. I guess she's just really sore. Probably feels a lot like I did when I took on those three Moroccan body guards in '81. . ."
Billy didn't hear much more of what his assistant said. He was too annoyed, too frustrated, and too concerned to care. Mancini had someone in the Agency that helped him all along the way to set Lee up, and tried to bring both Scarecrow and Amanda down. Whoever it was, they were probably responsible for the death of Janice Bigelow, and that made them very dangerous. Junior Agent Bigelow was killed in a very gruesome, extremely brutal attack. Whomever it was, they had no conscience.
"Well, until we find who it is, maybe Lee and Amanda **are** better off not being here. Keep them out of the line of fire for awhile. Maybe once they get back from their extended vacation, we'll have this guy in the bag."
Agent Cauldwell opened the door and came into the room with a loud huff. He stripped off his jacket and tossed it on a chair. "He's not budging. Refuses to tell me anything."
"We heard," Billy mumbled. "Let's go up to my office and talk this through. Maybe we can look at the evidence again and piece this together. Maybe there's something we've missed."
Left alone again in the interrogation room, Mancini leaned forward and pushed his fingers through his tangled hair. This would take some interesting maneuvering to get out of this mess. Where did it go wrong? How did Scarecrow figure it out? He was supposed to be out of the Agency. Off the case. And on the outs with his partner. Unless, of course, his information had been wrong . . .
The door opened again, and Mancini looked up expecting to see the big agent named Cauldwell returning. When he saw who it was, he chuckled and leaned back.
"I figured you'd show up here eventually."
Before he could move, the muffled blast of a silencer-rigged gun echoed through the small room. Mancini jerked and slumped forward onto the table with a thump. His killer smirked and slipped the gun back into the holster nestled beneath his left arm, hidden by his non-descript, plain-as-dirt, off-the-rack suit jacket. He turned on his heels and walked back out of the interrogation room, stepping over the still body of the guard who had been posted outside. Bits and fragments of the destroyed surveillance camera littered the floor and crunched beneath his feet as he walked.
**One problem down . . . just two more to go.**
SMK ~~~ SMK ~~~ SMK ~~~ SMK ~~~ SMK
**4247 Maplewood Saturday Evening, 11:24PM**
The shifting of the bed mattress as Lee slipped between the sheets stirred Amanda from the edge of sleep that had begun to claim her again. Her husband curled himself against her body, so her back settled against his bare chest. She hummed softly as she settled against him, and Lee kissed the back of her neck.
"How are you feeling?" he asked as they snuggled down together into the bed.
"Mmmmmuch better," she said on a hum. "After a nice long massage from my partner, and several hours of sleep, I felt pretty good."
"Your partner? May I remind you you're a married woman?"
Feeling blissful and just a tad bit silly, she pressed her finger to her lips. "Shush," she said and chuckled. "Don't tell my partner. It's a secret."
Lee wrapped his arm around her waist and gently turned her onto her back so she could look up at him. The moonlight that streamed through the windows, and the light in the bathroom that escaped through the cracked door, let her see his handsome face as he looked down at her.
"It's not a secret anymore," he said in his huskiest whisper, and it hummed over Amanda like a caress.
She reached up to touch his cheek, his skin smooth and cool from shaving. He pursed his lips and kissed her thumb as she brushed it across his mouth.
"Do you know how long it has been since I spent the entire night with you?" he asked, his fingers brushing her hair as he leaned into the pillows with his elbow.
She shook her head slowly, never breaking her gaze with his beautiful hazel eyes. Most men would probably not want the word beautiful to be used to describe him, but it was the most appropriate word to describe the depths and prisms and emotions that swirled and emanated from his eyes. They could make her afraid with their intensity, calm with their confidence, and warm with their passion.
"Too long."
Neither spoke as they just looked into each other's eyes. The thought of waking up with him, without worrying about being caught or who might find out, sent a warm flush over Amanda's skin and tears prickled her eyes. But she blinked them back, afraid Lee would misunderstand their meaning.
"How do you think the guys handled the announcement that I'm moving in right away?" he asked as his gaze dropped away and the fingers of his free hand toyed with the bow at the neckline of her nightgown.
Amanda saw the concern in his face, despite the dim light. They had talked a long time that afternoon, just the two of them, about what would happen and how to handle it. When everything first came out, they had thought the best approach would be to ease the family into the situation. But in the end, they decided they had been deprived of their lives for too long.
"Oh, they'll be fine. It'll take time, Lee. But it's not like they don't know you. You're not a stranger in their lives. You didn't just show up one day and announce you're their step-father."
"No, I'm just the man who . . ." he tried to say, but didn't seem to be able to finish. Lee sighed and arched his brows, a lost look in his eyes.
"The man who what, Sweetheart?" she asked gently, shifting her head on the pillow to look at him slightly sideways.
Lee laughed and smiled, the deep dimples she loved so much appearing in his cheeks. "Who taught you how to pick a lock, lose a tail, shoot a gun, and shake down a hotel room. Not exactly your normal Husband of the Year stuff."
Amanda chuckled. "You taught me everything you know, isn't that what you told your uncle?"
He settled down into the pile of pillows they relaxed on, resting his cheek near her temple. "Yeah, but Amanda, I wasn't the only teacher. I taught you the ins and outs of espionage, but you taught me so much more than that. I think you may have gotten the short end of the deal."
"No, I didn't. I got you," she said and warmed at her husband's sincere smile just before he kissed her.
Amanda moved into the warm curve of his body, her ear resting against his chest. The steady beat of his heart whispered to her. His strong hands, that she had been drawn to and admired almost from the first moment on the train station platform, rubbed her arm and back as he pressed a kiss to her temple. She chuckled softly and Lee shifted to look down at her.
"What are you laughing at?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking of all the little tricks you've taught me. Sometimes I don't even know if you realized you were doing it. I used one the other day . . ." Amanda trailed off as a realization hit her. Slowly, she sat up. "Oh, my gosh! How could I have forgotten?"
Lee sat up with her. "What is it, Amanda?"
She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and looked around the room. Where was it? Where was the sweater she had on . . .
"Amanda! What is it?"
"My sweater. I must have left it in the pocket of my sweater. The one I wore yesterday. Not to the warehouse, the one I wore to work."
"The red one?"
She twisted quickly and looked back at Lee. "Yes!"
"You left it at my apartment when we changed clothes."
Amanda hit the mattress with the side of her fist. "Shoot!"
"But I picked it up this afternoon when I went back to pick up some things," Lee amended. He stood up and headed toward the duffle bag he had brought back with him. Rummaging through it, Lee pulled out the sweater she wanted.
"This one?"
Amanda stood and walked quickly across the bedroom carpet and took the folded garment from him.
"Are you going to tell me what this is about?" he asked, the slightest hint of aggravation in his voice.
As she searched for the pockets, she explained. "I went to Fabrication yesterday morning, like you wanted, to see if we could find out anything about what Janice had been working on. Efraim keeps a logbook of all assignments that each agent has to fill out every time they have a new one, and he let me look at it. There wasn't anything unusual for Janice, except that I though maybe her last entry had been erased. You know, the ink was gone but the impression was still there?"
She continued to search, and Lee stood with hands planted at his waist, nodding as she spoke. "Yeah? And?"
Amanda's fingers closed around the paper and she yanked it from the pocket, much like she once had a small bit of paper with the name Cindi 'with an i' on it. "Aha! Here it is!"
"Here **what** is, Amanda?"
Amanda quickly walked back to the bed and turned on the lamp on her side. She unfolded the hastily hidden clue and stared at it.
"I did a rubbing of the last entry. But I had to do it off the back, and Efraim came back just as I was doing it, so I didn't have a chance to read it. I just shoved it in my pocket because I didn't want to make him think anything was wrong. Then Francine caught me in the hallway with the shipping records and I guess I just got sidetracked and forgot about it.
The writing was difficult to read, as she hadn't had sufficient time to do a complete job, and the words were reversed and the letters backwards. But after years of deciphering Lee's chicken scratch, and practice at reading upside down, it didn't take long. She gasped when she read it.
"What? What does it say?" Lee asked, standing over her.
"1620PM SMK Mar Lic. Auth: Beaman. I think Mar Lic could be marriage license?" Amanda offered, looking up at him.
Lee's eyes rounded and his brows arched. "Marriage License. Janice was told to forge the marriage license."
"I think **we're** SMK." Lee's puzzled look urged her on. "Ever since the Stemwinder case, I've noticed that everyone seems to refer to us as . . .well, kind of as a unit. It's not just Stetson, or Scarecrow. It's . . ." she paused, a blush warming her cheeks, though she wasn't sure why. "It's Scarecrow and Mrs. King. SMK."
Lee smiled and nodded his head slowly. "I never realized that."
Amanda tilted her head and shrugged her shoulder. "Yeah, well, I hear a lot of things you don't."
Lee cleared his throat and took the paper from her. "So, according to this she was assigned the job of forging the marriage license around 4:20 in the afternoon last Friday."
"Just hours before she was killed," Amanda added with dread.
"And Beaman was the one who gave her the assignment."
Amanda jumped and gasped when the phone beside her rang. She glanced quickly at the alarm clock beside it. The giant red numbers read 11:36. It was nearly midnight. Who would be calling at this hour, unless it was Agency business. She looked up at her husband. Lee frowned and reached for the phone.
"Hello," he answered.
She watched his face as he listened to whomever was on the other end. Lee tilted the phone away from his mouth to tell her "It's Billy," before listening again.
"What?" Lee shouted. "How the hell did someone get past the guard?!" He paused and shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "Damn it, Billy!"
Amanda moved to her feet and stood close to Lee, hoping to hear some bit of the conversation. His arm circled her waist and pulled her close. He looked from her, to the paper still in her hand, and back to her. Lee's lips formed a thin, tight line as the pieces of information came together in his head.
"I know who it is, Billy. Who the mole is. Beaman. Efraim Beaman." Billy said something, but Amanda couldn't hear it. Lee shook his head and raked his fingers through his hair. "I'll explain later. But Amanda discovered the last piece of the puzzle."
Billy spoke again, and Lee nodded his head. "Okay, Billy. I'll be right there."
He hung up the phone and took her hand. "Billy is issuing a D1 Manhunt on Beaman. If we're right about this, he killed an MP and Anthony Mancini about an hour ago."
"Does Billy want us in office?"
Lee smiled wryly and huffed. "Not we. Me. I guess we're not on vacation quite yet, I'm afraid."
"What do you mean, not we?"
Her husband put his hands on her arms, just below the shoulder, and bent his knees just slightly so they were eye to eye. She recognized the Amanda- you're-just-going-to-have-to-trust-me-this-is-for-your-own-good look in his hazel eyes.
"Amanda, you have had a rough twenty-four hours -"
"**We** have had a rough twenty-four hours!" she interjected.
"But physically, you more than me. I want you to get some rest. Hopefully, I won't be gone long. Beaman is probably running for the hills and we'll catch him on his way out of DC. I'll be home before you know it." Lee smiled and leaned forward to kiss her forehead, speaking against her skin. "Home. That sounds great, doesn't it?"
"Lee, I'm fine."
"Amanda," he said on a sigh. "Please. Just stay here and get some more sleep. We have a vacation to start in a couple of days, and I want you in tip-top shape."
"Lee . . ."
Her husband silenced her by taking her face in his hands and kissing her soundly, snatching away her breath and blurring her cognitive abilities. His open lips worked over hers, and under their own volition, Amanda's hands came up to rest on his bare chest. Lee finally broke this kiss, came back for one more quick one, and smiled down at her.
"Amanda, I love you. I'll be home soon."
Giving in, Amanda nodded and sighed heavily. She crossed her arms over her body and watched as Lee hastily got dressed to leave. He gave her one final kiss before disappearing out the bedroom door.
SMK ~~~ SMK ~~~ SMK ~~~ SMK ~~~ SMK
Efraim Beaman pulled up to the curb and parked his car, sitting on a side street adjacent to 4247 Maplewood where he could watch the house in his mirrors. All seemed quiet, and the house was dark save one upstairs window. With his jaw clenched tight, and a heavy layer of sweat forming long droplets down his face, he pulled his gun from beneath his jacket.
His hands trembled as he removed the partially depleted clip from the gun handle and replaced it will a full one. He let go a long string of curses and swiped his fingers across his forehead, mopping away the sweat.
What was he doing? This was crazy! It was one thing to leak information out of the Agency to try and bring down the two agents he hated the most. This was something entirely different! Did he really think he could take on Scarecrow? An hour ago he had the guts to kill one unsuspecting MP and then get rid of Anthony Mancini. But no one had any idea the person on the inside was him. For all he knew, Stetson had figured it out by now. They could be hunting him down. Stetson could be waiting for him.
As he glanced in his mirror, one of his questions was answered. The front porch light flicked on and he watched Lee Stetson leave the house. Moments later, the oh-so-familiar silver corvette backed down out of the side driveway and drove off in the opposite direction.
Beaman chuckled and his adrenaline-charged heartbeat slowed. This was going to be easy. Like taking candy from a baby. He may not be an Agent anymore, but killing Lee and Amanda Stetson would be a hefty consolation prize.
A light came on downstairs, seeming to come from the back of the house as it was only a light glow. After feeling that he had waited a sufficient amount of time to avoid a hasty return of Scarecrow, he checked his gun one more time and got out of the car.