Chapter Ten
Billy stared at her. "You know who Renetti is?"
She nodded painfully. "Yes sir. He was present during the interrogation."
"But you said it was dark and you couldn't see anything."
"I couldn't but just before he gave the order to kill me he lit a match to light his cigar. The light was dim but I would know his face anywhere. It's not one of those faces you can easily forget. Especially when you take into account all the times he made life really difficult for Lee and I. I mean I don't like to hate anyone, you know that sir, but I had almost let myself hate this man on so many occasions! And now that I remember that he's the one who was trying to kill me I don't think that I can..."
"Amanda!" Billy cried at last. "Enough, please. Just tell me who he is."
"Sorry sir, I know I tend to ramble. Well, I know it now anyway."
Billy smiled encouragingly. "Amanda, who is Renetti?"
"Sorry, sir," she apologized again. "It's Dr Smythe."
"What the hell?" Lee yelled as he jumped up from his seat. Francine and Jaime both jumped in their skin at the sudden outburst. Reaching for the phone he dialed a few numbers and ordered the surveillance on Austin Smythe pulled for the last four years. "He is going to pay for this," Lee ground out through his clenched teeth.
Wide-eyed Jaime looked at Francine and saw that she was just as mad as Lee was; though she was a bit calmer. "Who is Dr Smythe?"
"That bastard!" Lee yelled again. "Move, son!"
Jaime jumped up out of the seat and moved out from behind the desk as quickly as he could. He'd seen Lee mad before but never like this. He hadn't even been this mad when Phillip had scratched up and dented the corvette when he'd gotten in an accident. Looking at Francine he asked, "What's going on, Ms Desmond?"
"Smythe is a man who has put Lee and Amanda through living hell for his own kicks." Her voice was filled with venom and Jaime suddenly understood how his 'Aunt Francine' had such a good record in the interrogation room. "Lee, I'm going to go speed up those records," she announced as she stood.
Lee only grunted an acknowledgement as she left the office. Unsure of what to do Jaime sat down on the couch, silently listening to Billy confirm the details with his mother.
SMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMK
The small group was gathered in the conference room, half-empty coffee cups scattered among the empty sandwich wrappers and file folders. For the last five hours they had scoured over the files, searching for any little tidbit of proof that they could use to bring Smythe in for questioning. Frustrated and tired Billy announced that they would take a half-hour break before regrouping to start again. One by one they left the office until it was only Amanda sitting there. Peering in through the doorway Jaime watched as she stared at a picture of the man that had taken her.
"Mom?" Glancing up she smiled and motioned for him to come in. Taking a seat next to her Jaime looked at the picture she was holding. "Is that him? Dr Smythe?" Amanda nodded. "We'll get him, you'll see."
She smiled. "He's a slippery man, sweetheart. He always manages to keep his head above water."
"Lee won't let him," Jaime said firmly. "Not this time."
Amanda turned and looked at her son closely. He'd changed. Yes, he'd grown up into a handsome young man, but there was something else. Jaime had always been guarded, hiding part of himself from the rest of the world. It was one of the reason she had fought so hard for him to like and trust Lee. They were so alike in that aspect, each one keeping a part of himself hidden from the rest of the world. When Lee had finally let that part out he had flourished and Amanda had hoped he might help Jaime to do the same.
"Tell me something, Sweetheart," she said after a moment. "Why did you join the agency?"
"Because of you."
"Because I'd been killed?"
Jaime shook his head. "No, because I remembered how happy you were after you started working for them. You were doing something important and it made you happy. I wanted to feel that way too. Of course I didn't know how well I was going to learn how to keep secrets and tell half truths."
"To your grandmother," Amanda nodded.
"And Phillip too. We had gotten close after you were gone," he explained. "It was hard on him, I think. He could tell I was keeping something from him and he didn't like it. He never said anything but I don't think that he's very happy about it."
"It's hard," she replied. "I never like lying to mother or you boys."
"I know how you feel. I don't care for it either."
Standing in the doorway Lee watched mother and son for a moment before clearing his throat. "Jaime, why don't you go grab a bite to eat?" he suggested.
Looking up Jaime smiled and, squeezing Amanda's hand for a moment, he stood and left to do as he'd been told. Stopping him for a moment Lee squeezed his son's shoulders, an encouraging smile before he let the young man pass. When they were alone Lee took the seat Jaime had occupied and took Amanda's hand in his own, bringing it to his lips gently.
"He's so grown up," she said softly to him, her eyes moist.
"Yes," Lee agreed. "Jaime's quite a young man. He reminds me an awful lot of his mother."
"Oh?"
"Mhmm. Always seems to have the knack of getting in and out of trouble. Never lets anybody see how scared he is until it's all over. And somehow he seems to have the same knack for picking up the spy business that his mother does."
"It runs in the family," she smiled. Her heart was warmed with the knowledge that her son had found a place in the world. She was afraid for him, the 'spy business' was a dangerous place as she knew only too well, but she was still glad that he had found something that he was passionate about.
Lee smiled at her. She couldn't hide her emotions from him and he knew she was both happy and afraid. "He's good, Amanda," he assured her. "Really good. Beaman's fit to be tied." At that she laughed and Lee grinned. Mission accomplished. "What say we get out of here, get some fresh air?"
Nodding she let him lead her out of the conference room and up to the main floor. Handing their badges to Mrs. Martsen they opened the front door and stepped out into the world. Hand in hand they walked down the lamp lit street silent as they took the time needed to clear their heads.
"You know what I remember?"
"What?"
"The first time we did this. Walked down the street during a really hard case."
Lee smiled. "I remember. You were about ready to scream at me for pacing the room."
"The pacing wasn't so bad. It was the way you would kick whatever you were passing. It was go for a walk or lock you in the vault."
Laughing she raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Then I am very glad you chose the walk."
Amanda smiled. "Me too."
"You know what I remember?"
"What?"
Lee stopped and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight. "I remember how much I love you. Your nose, your laugh, the way you get really quiet just before you come up with some brilliant plan that is going to solve the case. I remember the way your rambling makes me feel safe, because I knew that you're okay. Nervous, probably a little scared, but okay enough to ramble. When you stopped rambling, that was when I got scared. I remember..."
"Lee," Amanda said softly, stopping him before he could say anything else. "It's been three years. Do you think you might just stop talking and kiss me?"
"I think I remember how to do that," he smiled.
SMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMK
They were sitting around the table again, files open, eyes scanning for pertinent information. Sighing Lee closed his eyes for a moment and tried to massage the tiredness out of them. Opening them again he looked at Amanda. Their kiss still tingled on his lips and Lee couldn't remember a single time when it had been sweeter or more emotional for him to kiss his wife. A smile tugged at his lips but fell away when he saw her cringe.
"'Manda?" he whispered. "What's wrong?"
Waving her hand in a motion he knew meant to wait Lee watched her carefully. Something was bothering her and he wondered what it was. Suddenly her eyes widened and she stood up from her chair. Without a word she left the conference room and sat down at the nearest computer terminal. Following her, concerned, Lee watched as she signed into the computer, making friends with it again.
"Amanda?"
"Where is he?" she asked, not bothering to face him.
"What do you mean? Where's who?"
"Smythe. Where is he right now?"
"According to our information he's in Germany for the Summit. He's an unofficial observer of the convention."
"So if he's not there it wouldn't raise any suspicion," she said. Scanning the information before her Amanda suddenly exclaimed, "There it is!"
"Amanda what are you looking for?"
"Look," she pointed to the screen. Lee bent over for a closer look. "Two days after he arrived in Germany an A. Smith boarded a flight for Italy. The plane landed that day after I was taken."
"It's not enough."
"Normally no, but look at these surveillance photo's taken from the airport in Italy."
Several photos flashed up onto the screen. The captioning at the bottom was in Italian but the picture was as plain as Lee's disgust for this man. "Smythe."
"There's no record that he ever left Italy, Lee. For all we know he's still at that compound."
"Can you remember how to get there?"
Amanda nodded. "Yes."
Turning Lee looked into the doorway on the conference room and saw Billy approaching. "We've got him, Billy. We've got that sick son of a bitch."
"Then lets go get him."
SMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMK
Sitting in the car as it drove down the highway Francine wondered how this could possibly work. Glancing into the back seat she resisted the impulse to laugh at the sight of Amanda lying down staring out the window at the trees passing over head. It was the only way she knew to get a feel for where they were, both time she had escaped it was the only view she'd had. Amanda would call out what to look for and Lee would keep an eye out for it, telling the driver when and where to turn.
So far they'd only made one turn.
Personally she thought it was a wild goose chase, but at the moment it was all they had to go on. Turning to face front again she grabbed the drivers arm for a moment and ordered him to pull off the road. "There," she said, pointing to a building a little ways away. "There's a guard on the roof over there, that's got to be it."
Sitting up Amanda looked to where Francine was pointing. Reaching for the binoculars she took a closer look at the guard. A chill snaked down her back when she saw his face. "That's one of them. He was one of the guards."
Picking up his two-way radio Lee called out the command to surround the building, their Italian friends helping with manpower. When the signal was given the complex was surrounded and everyone moved in. Refusing to stay behind Amanda went with Lee as the teams invaded the complex. She could hear the gunfire and soon an all clear was announced over the radio.
"This way," she said, pulling Lee down one of the hallways. Opening one of the doors they saw a blackout curtain hanging in front of them. Finding a light switch Lee flipped it on and then moved the curtain out of the way. Before them they saw a gurney, and IV stand standing next to it. "This was where they held me," Amanda realized.
Looking around she saw a camera, the red light blinking to warn that it was in use. Pointing it out to Lee she flinched when he shot it with his gun, the sound of the bullet and the shattering echoing in the room. Leaving the room they walked down several more hallways before Amanda suddenly stopped. Sniffing the air she recognized the scent of cigar smoke. "Lee," she whispered. "He's still here."
Following the scent as it got stronger Lee opened a door at the end of the hallway and the saw an ornate office on the other side. A large wooden desk sat directly in front of them, monitors lining the wall to the left of the desk. Behind the desk was a large leather chair, its back to them. In the ashtray near the corner of the desk, sat a still smoldering cigar, the room filled with the pungent aroma of the smoke.
"Smythe," Lee called out. "Turn around and face us, you bastard."
"Sigh... ladies... men... blithe..."
Lee's attention was caught by the sound of Amanda's pain filled voice to his left. Looking at the monitors he saw her, nearly naked and tied to a chair, her face bloody and beaten, bruises and contusions all over her body. His stomach turned at the sight and Lee felt as though he was going to throw up. Next to him Amanda closed her eyes, her own memories of that event too much to handle without seeing them played out all over again. Stepping away from Lee she moved toward the chair, turning it around to make Smythe face them and answer why he had done this to her. Reaching out she stopped still at the sight that waited for her, gasping at the horror of it.
"Lee," she called out, her voice trembling.
Her voice pulled his attention away from the screen and Lee hurried to her side. Stopping still at the sight of Dr Smythe, a gun in his limp hands and blood pouring from his temple. Pulling Amanda away from it he held her, her face pressed against his chest. Lee stared at the sight of the dead man sitting in the chair, his only thought was that he had gotten off too easily for what he had done.
SMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMK
Sitting in the car, sipping at the coffee someone had handed to her, Amanda numbly watched the men and women as the worked to bring everything back into order. Lee, standing a little ways away, was handing out some orders to the younger agents. She watched as Billy came up to him, a folder in his hands, and handed it to Lee. With a frown he opened the folder and looked at its contents, his face growing darker with every passing second. Wondering what was in the folder she didn't have to wonder for long, Lee turning towards her.
"Six years," he said, his tone iced over with anger. "For six years he's been operating as Renetti. When we were getting to close he staged the bomb to separate us and get us off the case. He ordered them to grab you to make sure I was distracted from the case."
Amanda closed her eyes. "Why didn't they find me when I escaped the first time?" she asked.
"They did. You had amnesia and the US government had already listed you as dead. He didn't consider you a threat to his operation anymore."
Taking a deep breath to steady herself Amanda opened her eyes and looked up at her husband. "Is it finally over?"
Kneeling down before her Lee took her hands in his and waited for her to meet his eyes. "It's over, Amanda. It's really over."
SMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMK
Billy stared at her. "You know who Renetti is?"
She nodded painfully. "Yes sir. He was present during the interrogation."
"But you said it was dark and you couldn't see anything."
"I couldn't but just before he gave the order to kill me he lit a match to light his cigar. The light was dim but I would know his face anywhere. It's not one of those faces you can easily forget. Especially when you take into account all the times he made life really difficult for Lee and I. I mean I don't like to hate anyone, you know that sir, but I had almost let myself hate this man on so many occasions! And now that I remember that he's the one who was trying to kill me I don't think that I can..."
"Amanda!" Billy cried at last. "Enough, please. Just tell me who he is."
"Sorry sir, I know I tend to ramble. Well, I know it now anyway."
Billy smiled encouragingly. "Amanda, who is Renetti?"
"Sorry, sir," she apologized again. "It's Dr Smythe."
"What the hell?" Lee yelled as he jumped up from his seat. Francine and Jaime both jumped in their skin at the sudden outburst. Reaching for the phone he dialed a few numbers and ordered the surveillance on Austin Smythe pulled for the last four years. "He is going to pay for this," Lee ground out through his clenched teeth.
Wide-eyed Jaime looked at Francine and saw that she was just as mad as Lee was; though she was a bit calmer. "Who is Dr Smythe?"
"That bastard!" Lee yelled again. "Move, son!"
Jaime jumped up out of the seat and moved out from behind the desk as quickly as he could. He'd seen Lee mad before but never like this. He hadn't even been this mad when Phillip had scratched up and dented the corvette when he'd gotten in an accident. Looking at Francine he asked, "What's going on, Ms Desmond?"
"Smythe is a man who has put Lee and Amanda through living hell for his own kicks." Her voice was filled with venom and Jaime suddenly understood how his 'Aunt Francine' had such a good record in the interrogation room. "Lee, I'm going to go speed up those records," she announced as she stood.
Lee only grunted an acknowledgement as she left the office. Unsure of what to do Jaime sat down on the couch, silently listening to Billy confirm the details with his mother.
SMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMK
The small group was gathered in the conference room, half-empty coffee cups scattered among the empty sandwich wrappers and file folders. For the last five hours they had scoured over the files, searching for any little tidbit of proof that they could use to bring Smythe in for questioning. Frustrated and tired Billy announced that they would take a half-hour break before regrouping to start again. One by one they left the office until it was only Amanda sitting there. Peering in through the doorway Jaime watched as she stared at a picture of the man that had taken her.
"Mom?" Glancing up she smiled and motioned for him to come in. Taking a seat next to her Jaime looked at the picture she was holding. "Is that him? Dr Smythe?" Amanda nodded. "We'll get him, you'll see."
She smiled. "He's a slippery man, sweetheart. He always manages to keep his head above water."
"Lee won't let him," Jaime said firmly. "Not this time."
Amanda turned and looked at her son closely. He'd changed. Yes, he'd grown up into a handsome young man, but there was something else. Jaime had always been guarded, hiding part of himself from the rest of the world. It was one of the reason she had fought so hard for him to like and trust Lee. They were so alike in that aspect, each one keeping a part of himself hidden from the rest of the world. When Lee had finally let that part out he had flourished and Amanda had hoped he might help Jaime to do the same.
"Tell me something, Sweetheart," she said after a moment. "Why did you join the agency?"
"Because of you."
"Because I'd been killed?"
Jaime shook his head. "No, because I remembered how happy you were after you started working for them. You were doing something important and it made you happy. I wanted to feel that way too. Of course I didn't know how well I was going to learn how to keep secrets and tell half truths."
"To your grandmother," Amanda nodded.
"And Phillip too. We had gotten close after you were gone," he explained. "It was hard on him, I think. He could tell I was keeping something from him and he didn't like it. He never said anything but I don't think that he's very happy about it."
"It's hard," she replied. "I never like lying to mother or you boys."
"I know how you feel. I don't care for it either."
Standing in the doorway Lee watched mother and son for a moment before clearing his throat. "Jaime, why don't you go grab a bite to eat?" he suggested.
Looking up Jaime smiled and, squeezing Amanda's hand for a moment, he stood and left to do as he'd been told. Stopping him for a moment Lee squeezed his son's shoulders, an encouraging smile before he let the young man pass. When they were alone Lee took the seat Jaime had occupied and took Amanda's hand in his own, bringing it to his lips gently.
"He's so grown up," she said softly to him, her eyes moist.
"Yes," Lee agreed. "Jaime's quite a young man. He reminds me an awful lot of his mother."
"Oh?"
"Mhmm. Always seems to have the knack of getting in and out of trouble. Never lets anybody see how scared he is until it's all over. And somehow he seems to have the same knack for picking up the spy business that his mother does."
"It runs in the family," she smiled. Her heart was warmed with the knowledge that her son had found a place in the world. She was afraid for him, the 'spy business' was a dangerous place as she knew only too well, but she was still glad that he had found something that he was passionate about.
Lee smiled at her. She couldn't hide her emotions from him and he knew she was both happy and afraid. "He's good, Amanda," he assured her. "Really good. Beaman's fit to be tied." At that she laughed and Lee grinned. Mission accomplished. "What say we get out of here, get some fresh air?"
Nodding she let him lead her out of the conference room and up to the main floor. Handing their badges to Mrs. Martsen they opened the front door and stepped out into the world. Hand in hand they walked down the lamp lit street silent as they took the time needed to clear their heads.
"You know what I remember?"
"What?"
"The first time we did this. Walked down the street during a really hard case."
Lee smiled. "I remember. You were about ready to scream at me for pacing the room."
"The pacing wasn't so bad. It was the way you would kick whatever you were passing. It was go for a walk or lock you in the vault."
Laughing she raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Then I am very glad you chose the walk."
Amanda smiled. "Me too."
"You know what I remember?"
"What?"
Lee stopped and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight. "I remember how much I love you. Your nose, your laugh, the way you get really quiet just before you come up with some brilliant plan that is going to solve the case. I remember the way your rambling makes me feel safe, because I knew that you're okay. Nervous, probably a little scared, but okay enough to ramble. When you stopped rambling, that was when I got scared. I remember..."
"Lee," Amanda said softly, stopping him before he could say anything else. "It's been three years. Do you think you might just stop talking and kiss me?"
"I think I remember how to do that," he smiled.
SMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMK
They were sitting around the table again, files open, eyes scanning for pertinent information. Sighing Lee closed his eyes for a moment and tried to massage the tiredness out of them. Opening them again he looked at Amanda. Their kiss still tingled on his lips and Lee couldn't remember a single time when it had been sweeter or more emotional for him to kiss his wife. A smile tugged at his lips but fell away when he saw her cringe.
"'Manda?" he whispered. "What's wrong?"
Waving her hand in a motion he knew meant to wait Lee watched her carefully. Something was bothering her and he wondered what it was. Suddenly her eyes widened and she stood up from her chair. Without a word she left the conference room and sat down at the nearest computer terminal. Following her, concerned, Lee watched as she signed into the computer, making friends with it again.
"Amanda?"
"Where is he?" she asked, not bothering to face him.
"What do you mean? Where's who?"
"Smythe. Where is he right now?"
"According to our information he's in Germany for the Summit. He's an unofficial observer of the convention."
"So if he's not there it wouldn't raise any suspicion," she said. Scanning the information before her Amanda suddenly exclaimed, "There it is!"
"Amanda what are you looking for?"
"Look," she pointed to the screen. Lee bent over for a closer look. "Two days after he arrived in Germany an A. Smith boarded a flight for Italy. The plane landed that day after I was taken."
"It's not enough."
"Normally no, but look at these surveillance photo's taken from the airport in Italy."
Several photos flashed up onto the screen. The captioning at the bottom was in Italian but the picture was as plain as Lee's disgust for this man. "Smythe."
"There's no record that he ever left Italy, Lee. For all we know he's still at that compound."
"Can you remember how to get there?"
Amanda nodded. "Yes."
Turning Lee looked into the doorway on the conference room and saw Billy approaching. "We've got him, Billy. We've got that sick son of a bitch."
"Then lets go get him."
SMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMK
Sitting in the car as it drove down the highway Francine wondered how this could possibly work. Glancing into the back seat she resisted the impulse to laugh at the sight of Amanda lying down staring out the window at the trees passing over head. It was the only way she knew to get a feel for where they were, both time she had escaped it was the only view she'd had. Amanda would call out what to look for and Lee would keep an eye out for it, telling the driver when and where to turn.
So far they'd only made one turn.
Personally she thought it was a wild goose chase, but at the moment it was all they had to go on. Turning to face front again she grabbed the drivers arm for a moment and ordered him to pull off the road. "There," she said, pointing to a building a little ways away. "There's a guard on the roof over there, that's got to be it."
Sitting up Amanda looked to where Francine was pointing. Reaching for the binoculars she took a closer look at the guard. A chill snaked down her back when she saw his face. "That's one of them. He was one of the guards."
Picking up his two-way radio Lee called out the command to surround the building, their Italian friends helping with manpower. When the signal was given the complex was surrounded and everyone moved in. Refusing to stay behind Amanda went with Lee as the teams invaded the complex. She could hear the gunfire and soon an all clear was announced over the radio.
"This way," she said, pulling Lee down one of the hallways. Opening one of the doors they saw a blackout curtain hanging in front of them. Finding a light switch Lee flipped it on and then moved the curtain out of the way. Before them they saw a gurney, and IV stand standing next to it. "This was where they held me," Amanda realized.
Looking around she saw a camera, the red light blinking to warn that it was in use. Pointing it out to Lee she flinched when he shot it with his gun, the sound of the bullet and the shattering echoing in the room. Leaving the room they walked down several more hallways before Amanda suddenly stopped. Sniffing the air she recognized the scent of cigar smoke. "Lee," she whispered. "He's still here."
Following the scent as it got stronger Lee opened a door at the end of the hallway and the saw an ornate office on the other side. A large wooden desk sat directly in front of them, monitors lining the wall to the left of the desk. Behind the desk was a large leather chair, its back to them. In the ashtray near the corner of the desk, sat a still smoldering cigar, the room filled with the pungent aroma of the smoke.
"Smythe," Lee called out. "Turn around and face us, you bastard."
"Sigh... ladies... men... blithe..."
Lee's attention was caught by the sound of Amanda's pain filled voice to his left. Looking at the monitors he saw her, nearly naked and tied to a chair, her face bloody and beaten, bruises and contusions all over her body. His stomach turned at the sight and Lee felt as though he was going to throw up. Next to him Amanda closed her eyes, her own memories of that event too much to handle without seeing them played out all over again. Stepping away from Lee she moved toward the chair, turning it around to make Smythe face them and answer why he had done this to her. Reaching out she stopped still at the sight that waited for her, gasping at the horror of it.
"Lee," she called out, her voice trembling.
Her voice pulled his attention away from the screen and Lee hurried to her side. Stopping still at the sight of Dr Smythe, a gun in his limp hands and blood pouring from his temple. Pulling Amanda away from it he held her, her face pressed against his chest. Lee stared at the sight of the dead man sitting in the chair, his only thought was that he had gotten off too easily for what he had done.
SMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMK
Sitting in the car, sipping at the coffee someone had handed to her, Amanda numbly watched the men and women as the worked to bring everything back into order. Lee, standing a little ways away, was handing out some orders to the younger agents. She watched as Billy came up to him, a folder in his hands, and handed it to Lee. With a frown he opened the folder and looked at its contents, his face growing darker with every passing second. Wondering what was in the folder she didn't have to wonder for long, Lee turning towards her.
"Six years," he said, his tone iced over with anger. "For six years he's been operating as Renetti. When we were getting to close he staged the bomb to separate us and get us off the case. He ordered them to grab you to make sure I was distracted from the case."
Amanda closed her eyes. "Why didn't they find me when I escaped the first time?" she asked.
"They did. You had amnesia and the US government had already listed you as dead. He didn't consider you a threat to his operation anymore."
Taking a deep breath to steady herself Amanda opened her eyes and looked up at her husband. "Is it finally over?"
Kneeling down before her Lee took her hands in his and waited for her to meet his eyes. "It's over, Amanda. It's really over."
SMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMKSMK