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Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King and its characters are the property of Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. The plot is mine; you may copy at any whim you so choose however please leave credit where credit is due.

Okay, so thanks for all the questions. I must confess I hadn't thought too thoroughly about the details and I was just a little excited to see what everyone would think of the plot. I appreciate the constructive criticism. Thanks for keeping me honest! I'll try harder next time to answer all the questions. As for the bolt cutters I thought that "Bad Timing" had established that Lee's watch was tamper proof causing the watch to inject him if anyone tried to remove it without the keys I could be wrong so I've incorporated this aspect into the plot. Thanks again for all your comments.

Look for the conclusion for Vengeance and Valor on Tuesday!

A Race Against Time and the KGB

Lee steered Amanda down the stairs, but surprised her with a detour toward the elevator instead of the door. "Where are we going?" She questioned.

"You are going to go see Doc Kelpert." He answered calmly as he pushed the down button.

"No. I'm going with you remember." She stated through her teeth.

The doors parted and Lee stepped in. "Fine you can come with me to see the doctor." He gave her his most charming grin.

She smiled in spite of everything and joined him. "Why? Does your head hurt?"

"No, but yours is bleeding." He brought his hand up and wiped some blood that had seeped through her bandage. "Badly. You may need stitches." He spoke with concern.

She nodded and took his hand. Leaving the elevator they walked in silence to the Kelpert's office. Opening the door they were met by the smiling face of the agency's doctor. Amanda was convinced he should have gone into pediatrics; he certainly had the bedside manner for it.

"It looks like someone got a bad ouchie." He observed leading Amanda to the exam table.

"I don't have an ouchie." Amanda said smiling remembering Lee have a similar conversation the year before with the doctor. He lifted the bandage from her wound, "Ouch!"

"See." Lee replied but was silenced by a look from Amanda.

"You need some stitches," he started. "Are you hurt anywhere I can't see?" He questioned.

Lee answered for her, "You might want to work with Doc McJohn. She's got a dead man's watch on that injects her with something at random intervals."

Amanda gave him an exasperated look, "You set me up."

"No. They'll take some blood and look you over. I'm going to meet with Rhonda and will come back to pick you up before I talk with T.P." Lee defended himself.

"Stetson how about you? You don't look so hot either." Kelpert asked.

Lee held up his hands. "No ouchies here. I'll survive, just take care of my partner." He finished seriously. His eyes met Amanda's. "I'm going to call Leatherneck from my car and get him working on a way out of that watch just in case." Amanda lowered her head, but Lee lifted her chin up gently. "I'll be back in an hour, alright? I'm not going to ditch you on this I promise."

"Alright." She answered quietly.

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Lee and Amanda rode silently to there meeting with T.P. Dr. McJohn had informed them that they would know within the hour what Amanda was being given. Lee couldn't help but worry. Leatherneck promised his men would be working around the clock to devise a way out of the watch, but the whole thing was too iffy. Leatherneck had commented on how complex the watches were and he was afraid by tampering with it in any way would cause an instant overdose. In fact every option they had was a long shot. If they found Dimitri how could they trust a killer to keep his word and free her? As Lee pulled into the park he heard the watch beep.

"Oh. Lee?"

"I'm here Amanda." He answered.

"My chest hurts." She announced as her face turned pale.

"Amanda, are you okay?"

She didn't say anything.

"Amanda?" Lee was panicking.

"Hurts to breathe." She spoke out of breath.

"Amanda we need to get you to a doctor."

"No, give me a minute."

"Amanda if you stop breathing…" Lee warned not sure what he'd do.

"I just need a minute. Go find T.P." She told him with tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere until you talk to me. What's happening?"

She was silent for a minute, which seemed like hours to Lee. "It's getting better." She said managing a smile and reached for the door handle. Lee grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving. "Lee, I'm alright. Let's go see T.P." She answered unable to meet his eyes.

"No. You're not." Lee returned and lifted her head to look into her eyes. Lee saw the pain.

Amanda jerked her head away from him. "Alright I'm not okay. It hurts. Is that what you want to hear?"

"Amanda," Lee began quietly. "I just want you to talk to me that's all." Lee continued.

Amanda nodded, "You're right. I'm sorry. It's just hard."

"What is?"

"I've worked so hard to get to where I'm at. Even though I've proved to everyone and myself that I'm a good agent, but I feel like I'll always be a housewife from Arlington. If I admit that there's something stopping me from doing my job it's like surrendering to everyone's expectations of me." She blurted out.

Lee was stunned. She had never shared these feelings with him before. He hadn't had a clue. Thinking back to her "official" training, now in light of what she had just confessed, everything made sense. She studied until she had the highest marks and practiced until she had the best aim. She was an incredible agent, but the reason wasn't merely because she had great instincts. She felt like she had to be better than the best to even be accepted by her colleagues. "Amanda…"

"Let's go meet with T.P." She whispered leaving the car.

Lee hurried to follow her, "This conversation is not over." He told her placing a comforting hand on her back.

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Lee could hear his car phone ringing as he and Amanda approached the Vette. Sprinting to pick up the phone before they caller hung up, Lee noted that Amanda continued her slow pace to the car. Lee was getting very worried about her. She was pale a quiet and seemed to be exhausted. "Hello." He answered.

"Lee, it's Billy. I need you and Amanda back here on the double." He ordered.

"What's going on?" Lee asked concerned at the tone in his superior's voice. As he spoke Amanda finally reached the car and sat sideways on the seat with her feet still on the ground and her head in her hands, clearly struggling for breath. "Amanda. Are you okay?"

"What's wrong Lee?" Billy questioned.

"I'm not sure. I gotta go. We'll be there as soon as we can. We spoke with T.P. It's a set up Billy." Lee finished revealing the outcome of their conversation. His was mind was still reeling from the turn their investigation had taken. He barely heard Billy confirm he found the same information as they hung up. Lee dashed around to the passenger side kneeling down to be eye level with her. He grabbed both hands. "Amanda?"

She shook her head. "I'm just tired." She met his gaze and could tell he wasn't buying it. "Lee honest… I have no energy." She finally said in resignation.

Lee hugged her tightly and helped her get her feet into the car. After buckling her in he shut the door and climbed in the drivers seat. "We're going to find him and the keys Amanda." Lee promised.

Amanda merely nodded never opening her eyes.

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Billy watched from his office as Amanda and Lee entered the foyer. Lee was clearly the only reason Amanda was still standing. He set her down gently on a chair while he signed them in and retrieved their badges. Continuing to watch Billy ordered a passenger car to meet them when the doors opened. Without missing a beat he placed a call to Dr. Kelpert. Amanda was now leaning very heavily on the wall and Lee. When they emerged Amanda was relieved to see the white cart and looked directly into the surveillance camera almost making eye contact with Billy. Pulling up to Billy's office Lee helped Amanda stand and guided her to the couch facing their superior's desk.

"Amanda." Billy spoke with concern.

"I'm just a little weak right now. It'll pass." She spoke trying to sound convincing.

Billy shook his head, "Actually it won't pass."

"What do you mean Billy?" Lee asked urgently.

Dr. Kelpert chose that moment to make his arrival hearing the last part of their conversation. "Amanda is being given bisoprolol. It decreases the heart rate and O2 consumption. I think we can treat the symptoms, but we need to stop the injections. Amanda, how are you feeling?" He asked kneeling down and placing an overstuffed medical bag on the couch next to her. He checked her pulse while he waited for an answer.

"Weak," she spoke softly.

"You're heart rate is 52 Amanda!" He exclaimed and began digging in his bag producing a large needle and vial.

"Wait a minute," Amanda protested. "What is that?"

"Atrophine. We need to get your heart rate up." He answered calmly sterilizing a small patch on her forearm. The needle slide in. Amanda grimaced and the doctor continued. "What other symptoms are you experiencing?"

Amanda hesitated but realized it was just Billy and Lee. She could lie to neither, "Um, dizzy, cold, nauseous, and it's hard to breath." She admitted.

Kelpert nodded grimly. "I'm going to prescribe some diuretics and a digitals. Unfortunately that's not going to get rid of the cause. Bisoprolol isn't a drug that can be discontinued abruptly either. My only other thought is to wait until all of the drug is dispensed and continue treating your symptoms."

"That's too risky." Lee interjected. "They wouldn't make it that easy. The last injection is probably a fatal one."

Billy nodded taking everything in. "Amanda, how are you feeling now?"

"Better. I can breath easier, but I'm still tired."

The doctor scribbled something on his pad and looked up at her seriously. "I want this prescription filled within the hour and I want you to check in with me often." He put up his hand to silence her protest that he saw coming. "Even if that means all you can do is call I'll be satisfied. Alright?" She nodded. "And if you manage to get the watch off I need to know. We'll have to do some emergency rearranging of those drugs. Now, I'll let you spies crack this case."

"Thanks Doc." Amanda called as he left the office. Lee left his seat to take one next to Amanda.

"What did you turn up?" Billy asked.

"T.P. says Alexi works for the KGB, and Rhonda informed me that the KGB has had a hit out on Dimitri for months now. They're setting us up and making us do their dirty work." Lee said angrily.

"Francine found out about the hit, but Alexi working for the KGB? Why would he want his brother dead?" Billy questioned.

"Who knows what those agents motives are. They're not god enough to find Dimitri so they've 'enlisted' us." Lee continued as Amanda listened quietly. She was angry when T.P. informed them of Alexi's alliances, but she was too tired to get worked up about it.

Francine burst through the door. "Have you heard of knocking? We're a little on edge." Lee remarked.

The blonde rolled her eyes but continued, "We've got a lead!" She announced.

"Where? On who?" Billy asked.

"Dimitri. I have a source that says he entered Washington State two days ago from the Canadian boarder." She finished.

"Let's go." Amanda stood on shaky legs.

"You don't look so hot." Francine noted.

"She's right. You're not going anywhere." Lee said protectively.

Amanda glared. "I'm going. Let me fill these prescriptions and pack." She shot back heading for the dispensary not waiting for a reply from anyone.

To be continued…