Chapter Four

The trip home for Efraim and Francine took all of five minutes. They were in such a hurry that they missed the silver Ford that pulled out several cars lengths behind them. Efraim's attention was on the looks his wife was giving him and her hand as she stroked his leg and inner thigh. He pulled into the space behind the townhouse and jumped out, opening Francine's door and pulling her out of the car and into his arms. They managed to get to the back door without breaking their hold on each other. Francine had Efraim's coat and jacket open, her hands were palms down on his chest, following the hard contours she found there. Efraim fumbled with his keys, trying to find the one that fit the door.

They hit the door, Efraim pulled Francine up against him, holding her tightly. She dropped her head back, her eyes heavy with passion, their breath mingling in clouds of steam about their head. Efraim kissed her neck and she moaned, he leaned into her, one arm wrapped around her, the other pushing the key into the lock. The door swung open and he lifted Francine into his arms, she laughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him. He kicked the door closed and carried his wife to the couch.

"Mozart can wait. I can't." Efraim told her as he set her down on her feet. They helped each other out of coats and shoes, falling to the couch in a tangle of limbs and hoarsely whispered words of need and love.

The Ford slowed, then passed the closed door of the town house, a tight look on the face of the passenger.

"Jeez! Did you see that? I thought they were going to implode right there on the doorstep. Amazing how oblivious newlyweds are to the world around them." The driver of the Ford said, a huge grin on his face.

"Newlyweds? When? Do you know?"

"I heard last December, about the middle of the month, just two weeks after they got back from Romania. Beaman had insisted on a Christmas wedding, and Desmond didn't argue."

"Beaman? That's Efraim Beaman?"

"Yep, Commander John Efraim Beaman, Jr. The son of the Assistant Chief of Naval Operations. Good agent, pretty straight arrow. Works a lot with The Scarecrow."

"In the Navy? Active?"

"Yeah, something to do with the Quigley case, bad blood between Smyth and Carlson. He's considered a hero, figured out the entire plan about the President, found Quigley, and between the two of them they saved the Vidraru Dam and the Fargaras Ridge. He's highly decorated, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Distinguished Service, has three rows of ribbons on his chest. Saved his wife's life out in LA last year, took a bullet meant for her head and she saved his backside in Romania. I hear it's a relationship the likes that hasn't been seen in this community since the Scarecrow and Mrs. King."

"Really. I met Beaman a few times. He's changed."

"Everyone does. I hear Beaman got better. They're partners too you know and they team with Stetson. They're damn good. Smart. Inventive as hell. I'm not sure what we're doing following them, it was luck today that we didn't get tagged."

"How's their craft?"

The driver laughed. "Are you kidding me? We'll never get a bug on this house, or their phones or cars for that matter. Forget it. Today was luck, a gift, their first day back from their honeymoon. Tomorrow is another ball game."

"Sounds like you think they're invincible." The passenger said.

"No, today proves they aren't. But they're good, and we have to be careful or we'll find ourselves looking for ghosts over our shoulders for years. If they come after us, we're not gonna like it at all."

"So. Francine Desmond and Efraim Beaman, partners, lovers, husband and wife. Desmond and Beaman." The passenger said the names, letting them settle in his gut and he didn't like the feel of it.

"No, it's Beaman and Beaman. She took his name, which came as a big surprise to a lot of people who thought she was too proud and too independent. The new name hasn't changed that aspect of her personality from what I hear, but they are a pair to be taken seriously."

"Let's get out of here." The passenger said, having heard enough.

The driver laughed as he hit the gas in the Ford. "Yeah, I could use a cold shower after that display."

Francine lifted her head from her husbands chest and glanced at the clock. Just a little less than an hour had passed since they came home. She grinned, remembering the need for each other that had driven them home in such a rush, the urgency with which they had come together.

"Did I put that smile on your face?" Her husband asked her, his arm holding her against him, his other hand stroking the curves of her body, stopping here and there to elicit a sigh or a quickly indrawn breath from her.

"Yes you did. You seem to be smiling too. Did I have anything to do with that smile?"

"You have everything to do with every smile I have." Efraim told her, pulling her on top of him, bringing her head close to his so he could kiss her. They lay together in one another's arms, letting the love they had just shared work it's magic over them. They both sighed at the same time, causing Francine to giggle.

"I guess we're both thinking the same thing." Efraim said. "We should get back to work."

"I know. I don't want to leave though, I'm happy here." His wife replied as she held him even tighter.

"I'm glad to hear that. I don't want to go either. But we do have work to do."

Francine sighed, knowing that they needed to leave the sanctuary of their bed. "I know. What Mozart piece are we looking for? I may have it with the piano."

"The Andante movement of Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola." He told her, pushing her towards the edge of the bed. Francine grabbed the sheets, pulling Efraim out of bed with her when her feet hit the floor.

He managed to jump to his feet and grabbed the sheet from her, wrapping it around her and using it to pull her up against him.

"You are a naughty woman, Francine, and I love you!" He kissed her as she laughed.

"Race you to the shower."

"I'll scrub your back?" He offered.

Francine laughed. "I don't think so, the last time you offered to scrub my back, we were in the shower for 2 hours, the water was everywhere and it was cold!"

"Have you ever been cold in my arms, Francine?" He asked her, trying to keep a straight face and a stern voice, but she was right, the bathroom had been a mess. They were more careful now.

"Never B. I have never been cold in your arms. Promise to try and keep the ceiling dry?"

"Scouts honor!" They both laughed.

"You were probably never a scout!" Francine accused, walking towards the bathroom.

"I'm wounded! Of course I was!" Efraim told her, following closely behind her.

Francine and Efraim walked back into the bullpen nearly two and a half hours after they had left for lunch. Billy looked up from the report he had been reading over the shoulder of an agent, a huge grin on his face. He tapped his watch and Francine waved the bag from the music store at him. He looked at Efraim to see if he could intimidate him into an explanation or at least looking embarrassed for their hasty departure and long lunch hour, but Efraim had just returned the look with an air of innocence. Billy shook his head, smiling to himself. It would make life at the Agency interesting, and difficult. Not only would he have the Scarecrow stirring pots, but with Efraim's new confidence, he'd have Lee, Efraim, Francine and Amanda in the thick of things as well.

Billy watched as each went into their own office, not even a glance at each other. He smiled to himself as he checked his watch again and watched the open shades at the windows of each office. Each took their coat off and hung it up and 20 seconds later Francine was sitting on the edge of Efraim's desk, watching as he pulled the musical score they had picked up out of the bag. As long as they continued to produce, he'd let them play, and he was going to enjoy the show. Billy considered himself a romantic at heart and he liked to see his people happy and settled. He had a feeling that these two would make it just fine.

Efraim pulled out paper and pencil and started looking over the equation from Quigley and the musical score they had picked up on the way back to The Agency. Francine checked the computer for any updates on the bug they had gotten on Quigley. Other than humming from Quigley, a visit from the guard to bring him lunch, it was quiet on that end.

"Nothing from Quigley, B. How are you doing there?" Francine pointed at the music scattered about his desk.

"This is gonna take me a while, Francine. I don't know when I'll get it done and in the computer."

"Okay, I'm going to go work on the background on Carlson, see what I can find. I want to take a swing past the DDOD's background as well, although from the tone of the letter that Carlson sent, it was Carlson's idea and reasoning to keep Smyth off balance by putting you on active duty. Call if you need me, B. Okay?"

Efraim was already working on the music score, nodding as he answered. "Call if anything, gotcha." Francine shook her head, a soft smile playing about her lips as she left her husband's office.

Efraim kept coming up against the same wall with Quigley's equation. He'd transcribed the missing piece of the score and input it into his laptop. While the cadence was correct, it yielded nothing. He looked at the score again, covering the music itself and noticed the notations above the measures. What the heck were they? Francine played piano, she would know.

"Hey Francine? You busy hon?" He called out, liking the fact she was right there.

"Be there in a second." Francine walked into his office, stopping beside his desk, hands on her hips, toe tapping away, one eyebrow raised, her engagement and wedding band flashing in the light as she drummed her fingers on her hip. "Are you always going to bellow when you want me?"

"Sorry Francine. I got carried away." He grinned at her and she shook her head at him and laughed.

"What's up B?" She asked, sitting on the corner of his desk.

"Hon, what are these markings and notations?" He asked, pointing to the score on his desk.

"Dynamics. It tells you how to play the piece, soft, loud, fast, slow, hold, repeat. The notes are only half the story in music B, you need these for the emotion within the piece."

"Dynamics. Damn, I've been chasing the wrong thing! You, my lovely wife, are brilliant! A genius!" He jumped up from his chair, grabbing his wife and swinging her in his arms. He set her on her feet and kissed her, planning only a swift kiss until his wife went all soft, pliant and willing in his arms. He gathered her close to him, deepening the kiss.

"Well, do we have something to report, Commander and Mrs. Beaman, or are we going to play kissy face with one another all afternoon." Dr. Smyth asked them as he walked to Efraim's desk and sat down in the chair.

"Ah, sorry sir, Francine just solved a problem for me."

"Remind me never to give you an answer to a problem, Commander." Smyth said.

"Yes sir." Efraim sheepishly replied.

"Well, what is this solution that sent you into such realms of passion?" Dr. Smyth asked, twirling his empty cigarette holder between his teeth.

"I was basing my search for a clue from Quigley within the music itself. Francine explained the dynamics of music to me. It's the dynamics that are the clue to the answer. He's giving me a location with these numbers and these," Efraim tapped the Mozart score on his desk. "the dynamics within this piece of music."

"Conclusion?" Smyth asked.

"We just figured this out, I need time to run the numbers the correct way." Efraim told him, confident that they were now on the right track.

Smyth stood up, eyed the couple and walked to the door. "I'm glad I reconsidered your partnership. The two of you seem to have promise. Mrs. Beaman? Anything on Carlson?"

"Ah, nothing yet Dr. Smyth, at least nothing that we don't already know." Francine answered him, wishing he would leave.

"Dig deeper. There's an X that marks the spot to the treasure chest that holds the dirty secrets in his life. Find it." Smyth left, the door slamming behind him.

Francine and Efraim stared at the door as it slammed, each letting out a deep breath. Francine smiled at Efraim, a nervous laugh escaping. "That was close!"

"Close nothing hon, that was a confirmed kill!"

"How does he always know when to show up? Are we bugged? On video?"

Efraim shook his head. "Not in this office hon. Bad timing is all."

The door swung open after a cursory knock. Billy came in, followed by Lee. "I hear Dr. Smyth was out on his appointed rounds spreading fear and cold chills to all in his path. Any news on your end?" Billy asked, Lee grinning behind him.

"No, just that I was barking up the wrong tree. Francine pointed me in the right direction though."

"Would you like to share what direction we are now headed in?" Billy asked, wanting to keep abreast of any information and knowing that Efraim liked to play close to his chest until he had a conclusion.

"I was looking for the information to be in the music itself. It wasn't. Francine pointed out the dynamics of the piece. Mathematical dynamics could be what he is trying to tell me, and it could have to do with topography. I'm going to start running through the information now and see if I can find anything." Efraim told them, showing them the dynamics in the music and the lack of notations on Quigley's formula.

"Why can't anyone just drop a piece of paper that means exactly what it says anymore? Why does everything have to be a code, or a mathematical equation, or a recipe for that matter?" Billy grumbled, sitting down in a chair, arms folded over his chest.

His agents looked at one another and shrugged. They didn't have an answer to give him, they just worked with what they found.

Billy stood up. "Well, at least I know what musical dynamics are. I don't feel so old and out of it anymore. People, in my office at 5:00 PM, I want preliminaries and findings. Also, Geiger's car is in the care of Leatherneck at this moment. It seems to have developed a fondness for the impact wrenches in the Agency garage. Watch your craft, but don't let on we know. I'd rather they stay sloppy and we stay a step ahead of them. Understood?"

"We hear you Billy." They echoed after him. Billy went back to his office, Lee stayed to talk with Francine and Efraim.

"So, did we get an ID on the goons in the silver Ford?" Lee asked, looking at Efraim.

"Ah, no. I've been busy with this." Efraim replied, keeping his head down.

"Uh huh. Well, work your wonders with that laptop of yours and pull up the CIA files, I want an ID on the driver and passenger tonight. We'll ghost them for awhile, see if we can't spook the spooks, so to speak. You like playing with the computers and lines, Beaman, I like this end of it. We'll have them looking over their shoulders."

"Won't that give it away?" Efraim asked Lee, preferring his computer games to ghosting.

Francine and Lee both laughed. "Not the way Lee does it, it won't." Francine told him, still chuckling.

"Stick with me, kid, and I'll learn ya something'!" Lee told Efraim.

Efraim laughed, shaking his head at Lee. "Look, I have to get to work on this if Billy wants to see us at 5:00 PM. And Smyth wants something on Carlson, and he wants it bad."

Francine nodded and headed back to her office. Lee walked over and closed the door between the two offices. He looked at Efraim and nodded to the chair. Efraim sat down and waited. It wasn't long in coming.

"Did you notice the tail you had when you left here at lunch?" Lee asked quietly, so Francine wouldn't over hear.

"No, I didn't. You gonna tell me about it?" Efraim asked, his mouth a grim line.

"Silver Ford. Same plates that you and Geiger gave this morning."

"Dammit."

"That about sums it up. Look, it's your first day back, and you probably had your mind on other things, and I'm going to assume you didn't lead them anywhere classified. I don't want us being followed without our knowledge and willingness. I didn't like the tip I got this morning and I don't like the nibbles and hits we're getting now. And I sure as hell don't like the look Dr. Smyth has had on his face since this morning. Besides he makes me nervous when he's not smoking. I know your craft is fine Beaman, but don't let yourself get distracted."

"I understand."

"You go home for lunch?"

Beaman nodded, trying to keep the smile from breaking on his face.

"Man, I forgot what it was like to be a newlywed! Just be careful, okay?"

"I will. Thanks. I'll keep an eye out. Francine will too."

"She's good at it, Beaman. She can spot a tail like no one I've ever seen. If you have someone watching you, she'll pick them up."

Efraim smiled at the praise Lee was giving his wife. Lee shook his head and left, stopping at the door with one last reminder. "I want a name for those faces in the Ford by tonight. I'm not going to sit by and let the CIA run ops on us in our own town."

Efraim nodded, sighing as Lee left his office. He gave a mental head shake, annoyed that he had missed the tail at lunch, his mind had been on other things; like his wife rubbing his leg and him getting her home and making love to her. He put it out of his mind with the caution to himself to watch and get Francine on board ASAP. He worked the equation from Quigley again, putting it into his laptop with the dynamics this time. Turning to the Agency computer behind him, he began pulling up the files photographs of current CIA agents. He narrowed his search by placing parameters on what he was looking for by the description of the man he was looking for. He sighed when more than two hundred names and pictures were returned. He leaned on the desk and started scrolling through the files.

He was only half way through the files when Francine came in the his office. He watched her sit on the corner of his desk, her usual spot at work. She reached out and touched his cheek, smiling as she ran her finger up his cheek to his ear. He grinned at her and raised an eyebrow in question.

"What's up B?" Francine asked her husband. She could see the weariness around his eyes and in the tenseness of his mouth.

"Trying to find the guys who tailed us today. Lee told me they followed us home at lunch today."

Francine rolled her eyes and sighed. Then she laughed. "If they followed us home, we must have given them an eyeful then. I seem to remember we couldn't keep our hands off of each other long enough to even open the door!"

Efraim smiled at the memory. "True. But still, I don't like the fact that we were followed and we missed it."

"I agree. So we start watching closely and keep our mind on business until this business it is done."

"Well, not all on this business, Francine." Efraim replied, smiling at his wife.

"Absolutely," she grinned at him, knowing his mind was mostly on her right now. "It's 4:35, just wanted to give you a heads up." Francine watched as Efraim nodded and went back to looking through the files. She knew he'd find what he needed, at 5:00 PM, always at the last minute. It used to drive her crazy, him always running in breathless, waving paper in his hands. Now she knew that when he looked for something, he paid attention to every detail giving him the ability to pull things out of a hat when he needed them. She went back to her office and her own search on Carlson.

Francine decided to search through data based on where Carlson had been assigned over the years. She printed out his postings, then went to a general search through the archives for anything that may have happened in the vicinity of those postings, regardless of how seemingly insignificant the data was. Francine cross referenced with any Department of Justice cases filed, completed or dropped from anything stemming from the data or having anything to do with Carlson. Next, she accessed all field agent reports from Carlson's postings and read those.

While she came up with some interesting finds, most of the information had been dropped and the findings sealed. That piqued her interest. She needed to get into those files, but she didn't want to try a straight forward hack, and although she had the clearance to read them, she didn't want to leave any trail back to the Agency. She got up and walked to the door she shared with Efraim's office. He was still reading files, head on his hand while leaning on his desk. She chuckled, he looked bored beyond belief. Maybe a little computer wizardry would perk him up.

"Hey B."

Efraim looked up, his face mirroring his mental boredom. "Yeah?"

"I need to hide and hack. Wanna help me?"

Her husband sat up straight in his chair. "Thank goodness, something to do! I'm falling asleep here at the terminal. These CIA folks are dull!"

Francine laughed. Most agents were serious and lived low keyed lives. The quirky ones ended up working for The Agency where their particular talents and quirks were more appreciated. "They can't all be Beaman's, dear," a wide smile warming her face.

"Poor souls," he mumbled as he walked past her into her office. He sat at her terminal and looked over the information she had been digging in to.

"This looks interesting." Efraim said as he tapped at the sealed files notice. "You want me to hack it, or teach you?"

"Teach me. I can do it, but no one ever finds your hits."

"They did in LA," he reminded her, referring to the lines he had tagged at the DOJ in Los Angeles.

"You wanted them to find that tag, B. You know that. You wanted to twist tails and that's exactly what you did. Don't try to tell me anything different, I know you too well!"

He just grinned and winked at her. "Okay my love, watch and learn!"

"Wait!" Francine said. "What about the uniform?"

"I'll just have to make sure we don't get caught. Go close the doors and blinds."

"Efraim?" Francine questioned him, not wanting him to get into trouble with the military.

"Awww hon, I'm bored looking at CIA agents. Come on, let me have a little bit of fun. Let me teach you how to twist the kiddies. Okay? Come on," he whined at her, like one of his nephews. She grinned, trying to make it a grimace, but she ended up laughing at him.

"Okay. Don't get caught though or you'll have me to deal with!"

He raised his eyebrows at her, flexed his fingers and hit her keyboard. She rushed over to see what he was doing, following along. Amazed, she watched the speed with which he accessed and covered files and broke through fire walls.

"How do you do that? How do you know what codes to use?" Francine asked, shaking her head as she watched him work.

"I'm getting to the Department of Justice files now. Say I know what system they use for their security, okay? All of these systems have basic commands, and I happen to know who wrote this program and why it's easy to crack. This guy uses a pattern. A good writer won't, but, this guy isn't a good writer. I just exploit the weakness he programmed into the system."

"Do you know all the programmers?"

He shook his head. "No, but I've been around computers since the beginning of the Internet and worked some cases for NIS when I was in the Navy. Having been around for a long time gives me an advantage. Familiarity."

"I think you like doing this, B. Gives you an outlet for your evil twin."

Efraim laughed. "No, you have me confused with someone else. I'm fully integrated, babe!" He hit the enter key and sat back in Francine's chair and watched the screen. The files she wanted opened and printed. He gave her a smile and stood up, holding her chair for her. There was a knock at the Francine's door and Efraim opened it.

"What's going on in here?" Billy asked, eye's narrowed as he looked first at Efraim then at Francine.

"Francine is accessing some sensitive files and didn't want prying eyes. She needed some help getting past a few impediments, so I helped her."

"You sure?" Billy asked, not sure he wanted to know what these two on their own could get into behind closed doors.

"I'm sure. Show him Francine."

Francine was reading what they had printed out from the DOJ files. She looked up at the two men standing at her desk. "I think we may have found something that will give Dr. Smyth his happy thought for the day."

"Good, get it copied and get in my office. Beaman? You have an ID yet on your tail?"

"Not yet Billy, I have several more files to go through." Efraim said on a sigh.

"Get to it then. You have five minutes." Billy left, closing the door behind him. The door opened, Billy stepped in and looked at Efraim. "Move it, Beaman! You haven't got all day!" And with that, he left, leaving the door open.

Efraim rolled his eyes at Francine and went into his office, blowing her a kiss from their shared door. She smiled at him and went back to work. Efraim sighed and sat back down at his desk and began to look at the agents again. With twenty files left, he finally found who he was looking for. He printed out the information and started a search on the passenger as far as partners, past and present went. None matched the description from Geiger, and Efraim never got a good look at the passenger in the Ford to make an identification. He took what information he had, his laptop was still running numbers, accessing maps of the East Coast, and went to make copies for the meeting in Billy's office.

Efraim walked in to find everyone waiting there: Billy, Lee, Geiger, Amanda and Dr. Smyth. Francine bumped into Efraim as she rushed in, papers in hand.

"Come in people." Billy said to Efraim and Francine. "What do you have for us?"

Efraim handed out the print-out of the CIA agent who was driving the silver Ford that followed them. "This is Tom Leonard. He's the driver of the Ford that tailed us today. Been with the CIA for eleven years, was Air Force before that, special services. Has a clean record, has some citations for exemplary service, four of them to be exact. All his personal records check clean, no problems at home, no discrepancies between his taxes and his bank accounts. He coaches his daughters soccer team."

"That's who I came up with as well, Beaman." Dave Geiger chimed in. "I know him, he's a decent fellow. He's probably wondering why he was following us."

"I know him too." Lee added. "He must have wanted you to spot the tail or you wouldn't have known he was there. He's a damn good agent."

"So what do we have on the passenger?" Billy asked, looking at Efraim and Geiger.

Efraim shrugged. "I didn't see his face, nothing from me."

I didn't get a good look at him, but nothing in the files came close. This guy had a particular look about him, you'd recognize him again." Geiger said.

"So we have an unknown in town. Did we access old files?" Dr. Smyth looked at his empty cigarette holder before settling his pale blue stare on Beaman.

"Ah, no, I only had time to go through the active files. As I said, I didn't see him." Efraim said.

"I didn't get a good look at him either, just generalities. We'll have to lead them around some, or follow Leonard to see where he goes and with whom." Geiger added.

"Get on it then Geiger." Dr. Smyth said, seemingly surprised that Geiger was not already out on the tail of this CIA agent. "And don't let him tag you. I want to be able to flaunt our superiority when this is over, so don't disappoint me. Commander? Your task complete?"

Geiger hot tailed it out of Billy's office. Efraim sighed. "No, the computer is correlating the equation to map coordinates. It was accessing East Coast maps when I left my office."

"Beaman, do you think he's going to give us the location of his complete research?" Lee asked, his voice hopeful.

"No." Efraim answered.

"Do you want to hazard a guess, Commander?" Smyth asked, lighting a cigarette and blowing smoke in Efraim's direction.

Efraim cleared his throat and ignored Smyth's small, nasty smile. "Not really, but if forced, I would say he's going to give us the information in drips and drabs. I think the research is somewhere on the East Coast. Period. Until I get more information from him and run an analysis on it, we have to sit tight."

Smyth nodded and turned his gaze on Francine. "And finally Mrs. Beaman, what have you found on our friend Carlson. Please tell me you have something other than that he helps little old ladies across the street and can name all the state capitals."

Francine sighed and cast a quick glance at Efraim. "Actually, I cross-referenced his postings with incidents in the area, then checked those against DOJ cases, active, sealed and dropped. I found some interesting information. It seems that the offspring of some of our erstwhile lawmakers are less than the poster children for clean and healthy living, if you follow my drift. At least that is the information that was filed in reports by Carlson. The funny thing is, the evidence seems to have been misplaced or stolen in these cases, causing them to be dropped. The CIA agent investigating in several foreign countries? Carlson. The sealed cases? Vehement denials by the children and congressmen, preliminary investigations by DOJ, then nothing. Sealed at the request of the filing agent. Care to guess who the filing agent was in all instances?"

"Carlson. That's all you found, Beaman?" Smyth asked, watching as Francine's head jerked up when he called her Beaman.

"Yes sir, it is. These files were buried deep and I did not want to access them with my clearance, so we found a back door in, and left no trail." She said with a small smile.

"Excellent. Mrs. Scarecrow, anyone looking into our business?"

"No sir, not at this point. I am watching all requests and monitoring all calls coming from CIA and DOJ."

"And we have the bug in with Quigley, though that's been negative so far." Efraim added.

Smyth nodded and looked around the room. He stood up and clamped his teeth down on his cigarette holder. "Commander. Is there anything in your squeaky clean background that Carlson could pin on you? Anything at all? Did you hide Aunt Edna's teeth while she was attached to them? Did you peek in the girls bathhouse at Camp Gitchiegoomie?"

Efraim shook his head. "No, what you see is what you get. There was no Camp Gitchiegoomie. It was Camp Anaconda."

Billy rolled his eyes, Amanda and Francine put their heads down to keep from smiling. Lee just grinned away. Dr. Smyth walked up to Efraim, toe to toe with him. Smyth blew smoke at Efraim and grinned. "Camp Anaconda you say? Fond memories of that camp myself, Commander. An easy shinny up the tree outside the girls bathhouse." Dr. Smyth looked at the agents assembled before him, their jaws slack, eyes wide at his statement. With those last words, he left the office.

Efraim turned and looked at everyone and grinned. "I think Dr. Smyth found his happy thought at last!"

"Alright people, let's call it a day. Anyone followed tonight, I want positive ID on my desk first thing in the morning, understood?" The agents all nodded. "Scarecrow, I want you to start looking around, check your sources for anything that may have slipped past. Shake the trees and get me some information."

"Will do, Billy." Lee said, offering his hand to Amanda. Efraim opened the door for Lee and Amanda.

"Hang on there a moment, Beaman." Billy called out. Efraim closed the door and sat down next to Francine who had taken Amanda's seat. "It seems that Carlson gets a leg up by stepping on those he by-passes. Are you sure there is nothing in your background he can use against you?"

"Billy! This is . . ." Francine started, exasperated with where Billy was headed with this conversation.

"Francine, I need to know." Billy told her, his eyes never leaving Efraim's. Francine sat back in her chair, arms folded across her chest, her mouth set in a straight line, her eyes flashing blue fire. "Beaman?" Billy asked again.

Efraim shook his head. "About the worst thing I've ever done is have two or three drinks too much at an office Christmas party and chase the bosses assistant around with mistletoe trying to corner her. I think I may have gotten a pinch in once or twice."

"You did not!" Francine look shot daggers at her husband.

"People, please. Efraim, I'm serious."

"So am I, Billy. Look, I didn't even drink on leave on my first cruise. Billy, there just isn't anything in my background to worry about. The worst thing I've done is to be fast and furious with the computer. I've never been caught, you wouldn't know I was even doing the stuff I do for background on our cases if I didn't tell you"

"Okay. I had to ask. Look, if you remember something, let me know as soon as possible. Stay out of trouble. Stay out of any situations that may collapse on you."

"Maybe I should get a job at Marvelous Marvin's if that's what we're worried about. Billy, I'm able to take care of myself. I'm able to take care of my wife. I'm not incompetent." Efraim was annoyed and he didn't mind letting it show. He stood up, Francine jumped up beside him, still angry and waiting for an opportunity to put her two cents worth into the conversation.

"That's not what I'm saying and you know it, Beaman. Sit down." Billy shouted, including Francine with a look as well. Francine sat down, Billy had to raise an eyebrow at Efraim to get him to sit back in the chair across from his desk. "You have proven yourself time and again, Beaman. I just don't want you going after anyone without backup and without me knowing about it. Anytime Smyth gets involved, it's bad news and I don't want my people caught up in it!" He ended in a near roar. "Is that clear?"

Both Francine and Efraim nodded their heads. Billy reached inside his open desk drawer for a bottle of antacid. He unscrewed the lid and took a swallow. "Go! Go home, enjoy your evening. Just remember what I said." He sat down in his chair, knowing he had several hours ahead of him before he could go home. He watched his two agents leave his office, their heads down. He needed to make them understand that this was not a game to play with the CIA. He knew Lee was already starting his spook games, he didn't need Efraim getting involved as well. He needed to keep a lid on this and his agents. He pulled the antacid out of his desk drawer again and took another drink from the bottle. He'd need to be a magician to keep a lid on this group of agents and last time he checked, he didn't have a hat he could pull tricks out of.

Efraim followed Francine into her office closing the door behind them. Francine dropped into her chair and spun it around a couple of times. Efraim grinned at her, knowing she did that when she was annoyed. She always said it was a great substitute for screaming. "Well, that was interesting, wouldn't you say?" Efraim watched as Francine spun in her chair a few more times. "Francine? I think I'd rather have you yell at me than ignore me."

Francine stopped spinning by bringing both hands palms down on the top of her desk. The slap resounded in the room, startling Efraim. He sighed and walked over to her, reaching for her hands. She folded her arms across her chest, hiding her hands under her arms. Efraim felt the corner of his mouth lift, his wife was angry but he thought she was so damn cute when she was upset.

"Why are you smiling? There is nothing to smile about! I can't believe that Billy spoke to you that way! How could he question you, your integrity like that?"

"Hon, he had to ask, it's his job. You said yourself that it looks like Carlson exploits weaknesses or indiscretions. Francine, don't worry, there's nothing in my past that would make me vulnerable to Carlson."

"I'm not worried, I'm mad as hell that they could question you like that. Don't they know you? You are an honorable man, a good man. And it makes me furious that they would even think you had something in your past that Carlson could exploit."

"Let's go home."

"I'm going to go right back over to Billy's office and give him a piece of my mind, then I'm going to track down every nasty thing Carlson has ever thought and done and have a dossier on Smyth's desk tomorrow that will make 'War And Peace' look like haiku." She jumped up from her chair and stalked towards the door. Efraim caught her by the arm and pulled her into his arms.

"We're going home, Francine. It's been a long day, and I want to go home with my wife and relax and enjoy what's left of the day. Come on, I'll make us dinner, open a bottle of wine, put on some music, and chase you around the couch." He ran his knuckles down his wife's cheek, smiling as she closed her eyes and sighed, leaning into his touch. He reached for her coat on the back of her office door and held it for her to put on. Francine smiled and slipped her arms into her coat. Tip toeing, she gave him a quick, light kiss and went to shut down her computer and pick up her purse and briefcase.

"Well B, if we're going home, go get your stuff and I'll meet you at the elevators."

"No, come with me."

"Don't trust me?"

"I know you, it's not a matter of trust, it's a matter of knowing you well enough to know the minute I leave you to get my coat you'll be over in Billy's office giving him hell."

Francine pouted, looking up at her husband from under her lashes. "It's not fair, you know me too well!"

"Yeah, I do."

"You don't have to sound so smug Efraim, it's not attractive."

"Yes ma'am! Come on, walk with me." Francine followed Efraim into his office. He grabbed his overcoat and hat, checked his laptop and shook his head, he'd deal with it tomorrow he told himself. He locked down his computers, put his coat and hat on, grabbed his briefcase and his wife's arm and left his office.

Billy was standing by his office window, looking over the bullpen. He nodded to Efraim and Francine as they walked past, Francine glared back causing a grin and burst of laughter from Billy. Efraim smiled and shook his head, he knew his wife would get a parting shot in. They reached the elevators, walked in and pressed the button for the garage. Francine was quiet, deep in thought. Efraim watched her, knowing she was annoyed on his behalf. It suddenly hit him that she was loyal to him. Her anger at Billy and Smyth's questioning of him offended her sense of loyalty and she was sticking up for him. He grinned, liking the feeling of having the unquestioning loyalty of his wife. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close against his side.

"We're in this together Francine, don't worry."

"I'm not worried B, I'm mad."

"I know you are, hon. Thanks." He kissed the top of her head, whatever she had been going to say, she decided to be quiet. She slipped her arm around him and squeezed. The elevator opened and they walked to Efraim's Explorer which was parked in Francine's space. He opened the door for Francine, giving her a hand up. He threw her briefcase along with his on the backseat and climbed in the drivers seat and started the car, backing out of the space.

"I'm not going to sit idly by while the CIA tries to find a way to ruin the reputation of my husband and my father-in-law. I'm warning you, I won't."

"I know that Francine, but make sure you're directing your focus where it deserves to be focused, not on Billy and Dr. Smyth. Believe me when I tell you that they are on our side, no matter how they questioned me. It's better to know what you may be dealing with than to get a surprise halfway into a campaign. I'm not going to be in the bleachers on this either. None of us are." He pulled out into the evening traffic, keeping an eye out for any tails.

"You watch ahead, I'll take care of anyone tailing us." Francine told her husband, checking the side view mirror. Efraim nodded and drove at a leisurely pace, not wanting to give anyone who might be tailing them the idea that he was on to them. They rode in silence, Francine intent on watching and Efraim thinking about the day they were bringing to a close.

They were almost home when Francine casually turned to her husband. "It's not a silver Ford, its a maroon Chrysler three cars behind us. It's been there since 31st Street."

"I have it." At the sharpness in his tone, Francine's head came up quickly. Efraim reached over and took her hand. "Let's take a walk in the shops, alright? See what we can pickup."

"We're supposed to go home, remember?" She replied, her answer tinged with a touch of sarcasm.

"We are going home. After a walk through the shops."

"Efraim . . ."

"I love you, Francine." He told her, his voice soft and deep.

"I love you too, B, but it doesn't change the fact that we're supposed to go home and not fool around with any tails."

"I'm not fooling around. I'm playing with the kiddies. Don't you want to know who it is that thinks they can follow us?" He thought if he teased her a little, she'd play along.

"Since we have already gone out of our way, I suppose the only way to keep them from knowing we're on to them is to go to the shops."

Efraim squeezed his wife's hand and shot a quick look at her, blowing her a kiss. She responded with a shake of her head and a small smile playing on her lips.

"You get to tell Billy we didn't go straight home and that it was your idea B. He'll have me filing permits for the next ten years if he thinks this was my idea."

"Not a problem, I have to pick up another CD to take to Quigley. I'm not going to sit on my hands on this one. I want the location of that research of his, and I want it fast."

"Okay B. As long as you aren't planning to play any of those games that Lee likes to play on these guys."

"No games, Francine. I promise you, I won't be playing games." He was serious, he wasn't going to be playing games. Efraim could feel his wife's eyes on his face. He had probably said too much, but he wasn't going to sit by and watch someone like Carlson pull strings that were attached to his father's career, or his for that matter. He pulled into the shops in Georgetown, and drove up and down several aisles in the parking garage before choosing a space close to the entrance.

"They're still with us." Francine told him as she pulled her gloves on to get out of the car. Efraim opened her door and helped her out, putting her arm in his and walking with her to the entrance. The wind was blowing hard, and Efraim stopped and turned to Francine, pulling her collar up on her coat. It also gave him a view of the aisle behind them and he saw the Chrysler pull into a parking space not far from his car. He grinned as he turned around and started walking to the mall once again.

"What's so funny?" Francine asked, having seen his smile.

"I readjusted the sensitivity on the car alarm and upped the volume on the horn. They try to bug my car and they'll be lucky if they hear anything for a week."

"Too bad you can't run an electric current through it, I wouldn't mind them getting zapped for their efforts." Francine said, feeling rather blood thirsty.

Efraim laughed at that, putting his arm around Francine's shoulders and hugging her to him. "I can do that, hon, it's just that I thought you didn't want me playing games!"

"I'm changing my mind B. You can zap them if you want."

"Come on, let's get what we need and go home. I'm getting hungry, I'll whip up some omelets and salad, how's that sound?"

"Like heaven." She replied, thinking about a nice glass of wine with dinner and quiet music and talking with her husband.

"Nah, that's later, hon!" They both laughed as they walked through the entrance of the mall, stepping to the side to see if they were being followed in. They decided that the tail must be better than the one Efraim had earlier as they didn't see them walking in behind them. They went to a music store and bought several CD's, one for Quigley and several for themselves. Francine wanted to look for new linens for the guest room, so they browsed the mall until she found something that caught her eye. They made their purchases and headed back to the parking lot.

"You see anyone?" Francine asked as they walked through the mall.

"No, either they didn't come in or they're very good. I'm afraid it may be the latter, especially if we can't smoke them out." Efraim answered her, casually looking around the mall.

They stepped out of the doors and into the night. The drizzle and ice that had fallen on them all day had turned to snow. They hurried to the car, Efraim hit his switches for the alarm, and it looked as though no one had played with his car while they were in the mall. The maroon Chrysler was still parked across the aisle and a few spaces down from them. He helped Francine into the car and climbed in himself.

"Hungry?" Efraim asked his wife, watching as she brushed the snow from her eyelashes. She nodded and he pulled out, heading towards the exit.

"Wait a minute B, lets pull out here and double back down the road, okay? I want to see if we can get a look at them, after all we're here and they went to so much trouble to be here too, we wouldn't want to disappoint them, would we?"

"That we wouldn't!" Efraim pulled out and drove down the street away until he came upon an entrance to the mall and he pulled in. He stayed to the back of the parking lot, driving slowly towards the aisle they had parked in earlier. Efraim stopped the Explorer as another car turned into the aisle ahead of them, catching the two men that had followed them running towards their car. The two men stopped to stare at the car that was in front of their car, then they hurriedly turned away from the glare of the headlights. Efraim drove on, hoping that they had been blinded by the headlights of the car that had turned down the aisle.

Francine laughed. "I know who they are, let's go home."

"Yeah, but now we may have to contend with two more who might be better than these two." Her husband told her, chuckling in spite of himself at the deer in the headlight looks he had gotten from the two CIA agents.

"Oh Efraim, now you're sounding like I did earlier. Where's the man I know who plays tag with the FBI and the DOJ?"

"He's trying to understand why all this is happening and on his first day back to work from his honeymoon." He looked at Francine, his eyebrow raised in question, his voice sarcastic.

"Yeah, I've been wondering that myself. Maybe they think you know the whereabouts of Quigley's research." Francine mused, her lips pursed together in though.

"That a possibility, but if that was the case, the DOD would have it and they would know that."

"Not if they think you're holding out. If Carlson is trying to bring you down, he could probably get away with saying anything in this climate." Francine speculated, her brows furrowed with worry.

"Hey, that's not going to happen. We have records of everything and we'll make sure that people who can be trusted know what is going on."

"You trust Dr. Smyth?" The tone of Francine's voice told him that she certainly didn't trust Smyth.

"In this instance I do. I think Smyth is out to get Carlson once and for all. He'll turn things to suit his own agenda, but I don't think he'll leave me out there swinging in the wind. It would look bad for him."

Francine nodded, thinking over what Efraim had said. "I guess. I just don't like the idea of depending on Smyth for anything though. I've seen too many witch hunts under his tenure."

"I remember Stemwinder too," Efraim told her, thinking back to how Smyth had turned on Lee and Amanda.

"I remember that you worked on the code that Lee called in that night. How was it that you didn't crack that string and have Smyth there waiting?" His wife asked him.

"Who said I didn't crack it?" He said, straight faced.

"Efraim! You could have been fired if Smyth had found out."

"Francine, why do you think I've done some of the worst jobs around the Agency? Smyth does know that I purposely botched the decipher of that string."

"Does Lee know?"

"I doubt it. I never said anything about it. It was my own choice to stall Smyth. He was wrong in his judgment about Lee and Amanda, and I figured what Lee was up to when you took the plans for the stadium. Smyth needed to be tied up, I was the rope, that's all."

"Just when I think I know you, Efraim Beaman, something like this pops up."

"Well, just let it un-pop, will ya? I don't like the gleam Smyth gets in his eye when someone mentions Stemwinder."

"Not a word from me, I promise. B?"

"Yeah hon?" He glanced over at Francine, her voice had been soft and low.

"I love you."

He smiled at his wife's words, feeling them fill his heart.

They drove the remainder of the way home in silence. Efraim parked and they went inside their home. They changed, Efraim throwing on sweats and Francine a pair of jeans and one of Efraim's sweatshirts. Efraim started a fire in the fireplace and Francine went to the kitchen to start dinner. She was chopping mushrooms when Efraim came in the kitchen. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her bare shoulder where his sweatshirt had slipped. Francine leaned her head back and sighed.

"If you keep this up B, I'll never get dinner finished."

"I thought I was cooking tonight."

"A women's prerogative."

"I'll get some wine. Want a glass now?" She nodded and he opened the wine cooler and pulled out a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau. He uncorked it, pouring each of them a glass. The wine was nicely chilled, letting the fruitiness come through. Francine sipped and smiled.

"Very nice," she said while popping a piece of cheese in her mouth and holding one up for Efraim as well. Efraim went into the living room and sat on the couch in front of the fireplace. He stared at the flames snapping and popping at the wood, twirling the wine glass in his hand by the stem. He watched the fire through the bowl of the glass, the color of the wine dancing with the flames.

"B? You okay?" Francine asked, standing in the kitchen door holding two plates.

Efraim put his glass down and got up, taking the plates from her and setting them on the coffee table. Francine brought out their silverware and napkins, Efraim grabbed the bottle of wine and Francine's glass then sat next to his wife on the couch, refilling each of their glasses.

"Efraim? Are you alright?" Francine asked again, laying her hand on his arm to catch his attention.

"Yeah, I'm sorry hon, just thinking," he told her with a self conscious shrug of his shoulders. He took a bite of the frittata Francine made, closing his eyes and sighing. Francine hit him on the shoulder. "Hey! Why did you do that?"

"You're teasing me about my cooking abilities!" she accused, only half teasing.

"I am not! It's good! Taste it!" He rubbed his shoulder, watching as she brought a dainty bite to her lips. He knew he had it bad when he got turned on just watching his wife eat dinner. He smiled and shook his head, looking at his bare feet. He looked back at Francine who was now eating her dinner. He smiled at her and raised his eyebrow.

"Okay, it's good." She grudgingly admitted.

"Told you."

They ate in silence, sipping their wine, lost in their own thoughts. When they had finished, Efraim took the plates and quickly washed them, putting things to rights in the kitchen. He went back into the living room, Francine had tucked her feet up underneath her, her favorite way to sit at home and relax. Efraim poured the remainder of the wine into their glasses and sat down next to his wife, his arm along the back of the couch behind her. Francine shifted and snuggled into the nook of her husband's arm and he brought his arm down to lightly hold her.

"So I think it was a good first day back at work, don't you Francine?"

Francine laughed, putting her head back along Efraim's arm. "Oh B, only you would say it was!"

Efraim took her wine glass from her and set both hers and his on the coffee table. He pulled Francine back into his arms, chuckling as she continued to laugh.

"Are you sorry you married me, Francine? It hasn't been easy, has it?"

She turned in his arms to look into his eyes, the laughter gone and in it's place intense sincerity. "I'm your wife, and I love you. I'm not sorry I married you. Don't ever think that. Promise me, okay?"

Efraim kissed her lightly on the nose. They both smiled. "I promise you Francine." He pulled her up against his chest, hugging her tightly against him, thankful for whatever quirk of fate had put them together. "Hey, I forgot to tell you, Lee finagled an invite for Saturday night, so there's two more. He wants to see Dave and his blind date."

"It's not a blind date, Efraim. And my little dinner party has now grown to eight!"

"I'll help," he offered, knowing that she still was ribbed about her cooking abilities.

"Yes, you will help. A lot of help!" She told him with her finger firmly planted on his chest.

"Yeah, I'll help a lot. What are you making?"

"Me? I don't cook, remember?" He could feel her silent laughter, he knew she was giving him a hard time.

"That's not what I remember."

"I thought something simple."

"Simple is good, Francine. What do you consider simple?"

Francine bit her bottom lip, shaking her head. "I don't know. When it was Mike and Lucy, I was going to make fajitas. But now it's Lucy's friend and Dave as well as Lee and Amanda. It has to be special."

"Anything will be fine."

"Anything is not special B."

He could see she was worrying about this. "How about if I call everyone and cancel?"

"What? You don't think I can do this?"

"Francine, that's not what I think at all. I just think you're worrying about something you shouldn't worry about. I've promised to help, we'll find something tomorrow. We have the rest of the week, it will be fine."

"It's our first time to have guests for dinner since we were married and I want it to be perfect."

"It will be." He shifted on the couch, laying down, his head on the arm. He opened his arms for Francine to lay down with him. She snuggled beside him, her head on his arm, both of them watching the fire. Efraim sighed, loving the feel of Francine laying beside him and in his arms. He closed his eyes, feeling his body relax after a long day back at work. He felt Francine's breathing deepen and slow, he realized she had fallen asleep. He craned his neck to look at the Grandfather clock against the wall. The evening had passed quickly and he sighed. He carefully sat up so as not to wake up Francine. He gently laid her on the couch while he did his final checks through the house. He banked the fire, making sure the embers were out and the screen secured.

Lifting Francine carefully in his arms, he climbed the stairs to their bedroom.

"B?" His wife's voice was soft and deep, tinged with sleep.

"Hmm?"

"What time is it?"

"It's just after 10:00." Efraim sat her down on the bed, pulling down the blankets. Francine got up and walked to the bathroom, grabbing her nightgown as she walked past the closet. Efraim pulled his sweatshirt off, tossing it in the hamper. He checked out the windows, it was still snowing, the streets were covered and the snow enveloped the area in a welcomed silence. He felt Francine's hands caress his bare back. Efraim smiled as she laid her cheek on his back.

"Tired hon?" He asked her, turning to pull her into his arms.

She nodded and snuggled into his arms, letting his heat warm her. They walked to the bed, Francine climbed in, pulling the blankets up, Efraim shed the remainder of his clothes and climbed in, pulling Francine into his arms. He tugged on her nightgown and tossed it to the end of the bed. She giggled and pulled the blankets up over his shoulder and sighed.

Efraim kissed her head. "Goodnight my love." He told her. He felt her smile, then he groaned as she wiggled closer to him.

"Goodnight B," a touch of laughter danced in her voice.

Efraim held her close and sighed, closing his eyes. He fell asleep thinking about the woman in his arms.