Title: The Work of Hunters
Author: Julie C.
Rating: PG
Category: Action/Adventure
Summary: Lee and Amanda journey to Berlin on a case involving a double agent and an escape past the Berlin Wall, bringing back memories for Lee and making him wonder if history is repeating itself. Two stories for the price of one!

Disclaimer: Any re-publication, re-transmission, re-broadcast, or other use of the pictures and accounts of this game without the express written consent of Major League Baseball -- whoops, wrong disclaimer. The characters of Lee Stetson, Amanda King, and Billy Melrose are the property of Shoot the Moon Productions and Warner Brothers and are only being used for fun. Other characters are mine, all mine!

Feedback: Please! Pretty please! Good or bad, to jlcidell at yahoo.com.

Author's Notes: This puppy has been eighteen months in the making, and that means I have a lot of people to thank. First, Miriam for her always superb beta-ing, and her support and enthusiasm. The reason to have betas is as much for editing/proofreading as it is having someone to tell you they want to know what happens next! Second, big thanks to Vikki the Plot Doctor for prescribing and assisting in major surgery, as well as follow-up care. Also, thank you to Kim for early editing, and to Pam for correcting me on various aspects of life in Berlin in the 1980s. Finally, thanks to my "sister" Heike for telling me stories about growing up in West Berlin and for taking me home with her. Berlin is an amazing city, truly like no other in the world. It was great fun setting a story there, and I' d love to go back someday.

This story is dedicated to the hundreds who died trying to cross the Berlin Wall, to the hundreds of others who managed to escape, and to everyone who tried to give assistance in whatever way they could.

* * * *

Prologue

The work of hunters is another thing:
I have come after them and made repair
Where they would have left not one stone on a stone,
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
To please the yelping dogs.
--Robert Frost, "Mending Wall"

Thursday, November 9, 1989
5:20 P.M.
Washington, DC
Agency headquarters

"This is Christiane Amanpour, live with CNN in West Berlin. As you can see behind me, the celebrations continue here at the border between East and West Germany." The camera pulled back to show thousands of people milling in the streets, some dancing and hugging on top of an enormous concrete wall, others hacking away with hammers and chisels at that same wall. "It was approximately three hours ago that travel restrictions between East and West Berlin were lifted, and now the East Germans are beginning to tear down the Wall they once put so much effort into maintaining."

The live footage showed a giant drill extending through the wall from the eastern side. The drill stopped, and two East German soldiers poked their heads through to the roars of the crowd. Smiling, they shook a few hands before withdrawing and then inserting the drill again a few meters away.

Christiane's voice resumed, "People continue to pour in from all over the city to join in this remarkable celebration. Many of these people hoped and dreamed this day would come, but few of them believed it would happen in their lifetimes. There are families reuniting who haven't seen each other more than a handful of times, if at all, in the 28 years the Wall has stood. I understand the East Germans are loosening border controls elsewhere as well, and they are preparing for an influx of West Germans and other Europeans who want to see this incredible sight with their own eyes. Berlin, of course, is located entirely within East Germany, despite being partially controlled by the former Allied powers, so it will be several hours before those other celebrants can make their way here to join in. After a word from our European political analysts, we'll be back live from not West, not East, but at least for tonight, just Berlin."

Lee Stetson looked towards his boss as the latter flicked the mute button on the remote control. Both men broke into huge smiles, and Billy Melrose let out a chuckle. "God, this is incredible! The Berlin Wall is *down*, man, it's down!"

"Unbelievable." Lee shook his head and leaned back in his chair, across the desk from his section chief. "How many times have we sat around and debated whether this would actually happen? A couple dozen?"

"A couple hundred, more likely. Do you have any idea the implications this has for Eastern Europe, and for the Soviet Union? For the entire balance of world power? Our jobs just got a lot more complicated, my friend."

"Don't remind me." Lee jerked his head towards the file cabinets in the corner of Billy's office. "How many of those files are now out of date?"

"You know, they're already talking about reunification happening within a year." When Lee raised his eyebrows, Billy went on, "Well, at least CNN is. But I wouldn't be surprised. Once things start changing like this, they can move at speeds you wouldn't believe. I remember that thing going up," he gestured at the picture on the TV, "when I was just a rookie. The concept of building a wall right down the middle of a city was so strange, we couldn't believe the intelligence we were getting. Then, boom! West Berlin was a little island in the middle of East Germany, the Americans and the British and the French all controlling their little pieces of it. And the Soviets running the rest."

"Well, not any more." Lee nodded at the screen. The live coverage had resumed, and Billy quickly turned the sound back on. The reporter was narrating while the screen showed close-ups of the area comprising "The Wall": the actual concrete wall topped with a smooth metal pipe to make it more difficult to climb over; a no-man's land a block wide full of mines and snares; fences lined with barbed wire; and towers with armed guards overlooking the whole thing. A list of names began to scroll across the screen while the reporter noted this was only a fraction of those who died over the years trying to cross the wall from East to West Berlin.

Lee's throat tightened, and he could feel Billy looking at him. "Don't say it," Lee said softly as his gaze dropped to the floor.

But Billy spoke anyway. "It wasn't your fault, Scarecrow."

He raised his head to meet his boss's gaze. "Yes, it was. I screwed up. I cost the lives of two men and the lives of God knows how many others. And if I'd been doing my job, that never would have happened."

Billy started to say something, but there was a knock at the door and Amanda stuck her head inside. "Hello, sir! Hello, Lee! There's a little party going on out in the bullpen if you'd care to join us. It's not every day that five o'clock rolls around and no one wants to go home!" Apparently noticing the lack of enthusiastic response, she went on, "Is something wrong?"

Lee shook his head, trying to clear it of his gloomy thoughts. "No, we're fine. It's just . . . " He sighed. "A lot of people have made sacrifices to make this day happen. I guess we were just remembering some of them."

She nodded in understanding. "I'm sure a lot of people have been doing that." She came forward to rest a hand on Lee's shoulder. "You know, I was about Jamie's age when the Wall went up, and I remember my father being so upset, watching it on TV. I didn't really understand why anyone would want to build a wall right through a city like that, and how we could let it happen. It was probably the first time I can remember realizing the good guys don't always win. But now it's coming down, and the boys probably won't even remember what it was like, and that's," she paused to take a breath, "I guess that's kind of why we're all working here, isn't it?"

Lee and Billy exchanged a look, and Lee felt a smile spread over his face in spite of himself. Amanda might ramble, but she always had something meaningful to say.

"You know," Billy said, rising to his feet, "I hadn't really thought of it that way, but I suppose you're right. I knew there was a reason I hadn't retired yet!" The three of them shared a laugh, and Billy motioned towards the door. "Why don't we all join the party? Amanda's right, this is a time to celebrate!" He patted Lee on the back and ushered them out of his office.

On the screen, the camera lingered on a street split down the middle by a concrete wall topped with barbed wire. On one side, houses faced the concrete, which was covered with bright graffiti protesting the Wall's existence. On the other side stood a no-man's land of cleared ground. The caption at the bottom of the screen read, "Bernauer Strasse." If Lee had still been in the room, his eyes would have narrowed at the sight. The reporter continued, "This particular street was the site of more escape attempts than any other, both successful and unsuccessful. It is unlikely we shall ever know the names of all those who died in the attempt to cross this wall, whether by scaling it or tunneling underneath it." The camera remained on the wall a moment longer, panning across the expanse of concrete, before fading to black.