A Caring Deception – Chapter 2
The second helicopter landed near a cabin. Police vehicles were everywhere. Billy searched for his agents, and ran to them as soon as he was able to open the door.
Francine was standing near Lee who was nursing a fat lip, and breathing heavily. Without hearing the words, Melrose could tell by his body language Lee was arguing with the blonde.
"…Amanda! Come on Francine," he was yelling.
Billy walked up to the pair, glancing at his hands one last time, making sure the blood was gone. "Lee—" was all he was able to get out before he was the brunt of Scarecrow's hostility.
"She won't tell me anything about Amanda. Where is she?" he yelled, clearly loosing his last remnants of control.
"Take it easy Scarecrow. She's on her way to the hospital to be treated for some bumps and bruises," the older man explained, noting how pale his agent became the instant he said hospital.
"So she's ok? The bullet missed her? I tried to aim away from her, but they were standing right there. If I had blown my cover, they would have killed her for sure," he rambled.
Billy processed his words, and the pieces were starting to fall in place. "You had to pretend to shoot her," his words more a statement than a question.
The younger man nodded, "Yeah. She did a hell of a job too Billy. So good, I thought it was possible I hadn't missed."
"Well you can relax a little Lee," he began explaining, hoping she didn't die or Lee would never forgive his deception.
"I need to see her," Lee announced.
Shaking his head, Melrose looked toward Francine, "Not yet Scarecrow. You need to be debriefed at the agency. Francine will go to the hospital to debrief Mrs. King."
Francine nodded, but remained quiet.
"Lee, go get in the helicopter. I need to give Francine Amanda's room information, and I will be right there," he said, and was glad there was no further protest.
Once Lee was out of earshot, Billy turned grimly toward Francine.
"What's wrong Billy? Why is there blood on your shirt?" she asked.
Looking down, he was glad Lee had been too preoccupied to notice the smears on his cuffs. A good sign his best agent was overly emotional at the moment. "It's Amanda's. The bullet didn't miss," he explained and looked over to find Lee watching them from the chopper. "Get out your notebook; make it look like you are writing down information."
She nodded and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen while her boss continued.
"The bullet went right through her, but she lost a lot of blood. She was lying there for at least an hour. She begged me not to tell Lee," he explained.
Looking up from the paper, her eyes met his. They both understood why. Lee had shot her. "We won't be able to keep this a secret for long," she commented in disbelief.
"We have to. Look how emotional he was not knowing what happened. This could push him over the edge," he said. "You need to get to the hospital. She's at George Washington. Stay there until I get there, and keep me updated on her condition."
"If she dies…" Francine couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.
"Let's hope we don't have to plan for that scenario," Melrose told her, and they walked toward their awaiting helicopters.
--/--
Amanda blinked her eyes rapidly. The pain the light caused was enough to make her want to retreat to the darkness again.
"Amanda? You with me?" Francine's voice drifted to her consciousness.
'Francine?' she thought, unable to ask the question. She turned her head toward the voice, and felt a tug at the corner of her mouth.
"Don't try to talk yet. Let me get the nurse," she said stepping to the door.
Amanda watched the blonde motion toward someone as she stood in the doorway. She was clearly unwilling to leave the room. Amanda took the moment to assess her injuries. She was sore all over, her left arm was in a sling, her shoulder hurt when she moved her head, and her side and back hurt like nothing she had ever experienced.
Suddenly, a kind faced man holding a clipboard was looking down at her. "Amanda, I'm Dr. Felton. I was your surgeon when you came in last night. We can take that tube out if you're ready?" he explained softly.
Offering a small nod, the doctor set down his clip board, and handed a cup to the blonde looking on with concern.
"Ok, on three, try to blow out, but not too hard," he instructed.
Obeying, she coughed once her throat was clear. The action caused the pain in her side to become a tangible object.
Francine was immediately at her side offering ice chips to her.
Tear filled her eyes. She closed them hoping to focus on something other than the pain. Her thoughts naturally shifted to Lee and her eyes flew open. "Lee?" she croaked out.
"Shh. He's ok, he's still at the agency and thinks you're here for some minor injuries sustain from the tumble down the hill," Francine explained softly.
"You were very lucky Amanda. Another hour and I don't think you would be lying her today," Dr. Felton told her. "The bullet didn't hit anything major, but you lost a lot of blood."
"How?" was all she could muster, hopeful the agent next to her would understand the question.
"Lee was able to get a message to Billy. They found you next to a river, and you gave Billy the information we needed to save Lee," Francine told her, keeping the answer brief.
Dr. Felton jotted some notes on his patient's chart, and returned it to the foot of her bed. "The nurse will be right in with some pain medication, and I'll be back later to check your incisions," he told her. "Is there anything you need?"
"How long?" she asked, amazed that talking was exhausting.
"Until you can leave?" he asked for clarification, but continued to talk before she could answer. "I think you'll be our guest for at least a week."
With that he was gone, leaving the agents alone. "Thanks for being here," Amanda whispered to the woman next to her.
"I'm here as long as you need me," she said, uncharacteristically caring. Glancing at the phone, she changed topics. "Amanda, do you want your family informed?"
Silence filled the room while she considered the thought.
"Are you sure you don't want Lee to know?" the blonde asked.
"Yes. He can't know. I don't want him to know," she was adamant.
Nodding, Francine worked on the plan out loud, "Ok. Well we'll have to tell him you needed some time away. Do you think he'll buy that?"
Thinking through the previous few days, the slap entered her mind unbidden. She hated the idea of using that against him, but realized she needed to choose the lesser of two evils. Ironically, that was why he had slapped her in the first place. "Yeah. He umm, he slapped me at Nedlingers. He didn't mean to, but he needed to keep me away from him. He'll think that's why I needed to get away," she explained, tears filling her eyes, but not falling.
Offering a sympathetic nod, Francine continued to think, "He'll try to find you."
"I'll call mother, tell her I'm heading out of town for a week on business," she reasoned.
"Amanda, I don't think you'll be able to keep your recovery a secret once they discharge you," Francine noted.
"I'll cross that bridge in a week," she told the blonde. "Thanks for helping me…and keeping this from Lee."
Smiling wickedly, she took the injured woman's hand and leaned in conspiratorially, "Amanda it's my pleasure. He kept me in the dark on this operation, and it's always entertaining plotting against him."
--/--
Billy wheeled Amanda toward the exit of the hospital. He had many reservations, and wasn't sure which one to voice first. "I don't like putting you in a cab Amanda King," he told her exasperated.
"Well, if Lee sees you giving me a ride home, he'll give you the third degree," she stated logically. "And you said yourself he's working on paperwork. When has that ever kept him in one place?"
Knowing she was right, didn't make the situation any more acceptable. She had spent a week and a half recovering from the bullet wound, and Billy felt the overwhelming need to take care of her. "And you're going to try to keep this from your family?"
"Well, I'll just tell mother I'm very sick. That will buy me a couple of days sleeping, and I can already get around without much pain," she said with confidence. "The boys have camp next week, and I'll try to convince Mother to go visit her sister."
"Ah-hum, and Lee?" Melrose asked knowingly.
"You'll tell him I took a leave of absence, and I'll call him and tell him I need some space," she told him, but as she spoke, she knew there was no way that part of the plan would work.
"And so he'll just stay away from you?" he asked incredulously as he helped her into the awaiting taxi.
Sighing, she shook her head, "No, but Francine offered to let me stay with her for a while, so maybe once I get home, I'll call her."
Ensuring she was securely in the car, Billy closed the door. The window was open, and he reached in to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "I understand why you want to do this, but you should reconsider."
"Sir, how would you feel if you accidentally shot Jeanie?" she asked, seeing the disturbed expression that crossed his face she continued. "Now reverse the rolls. Wouldn't you do anything to keep her from feeling the way you just did?"
Swallowing the lump in his throat he nodded, "Call me if you need anything." Watching her drive away, he unconsciously looked down at his hands. He would always remember what it felt like to have them covered with her blood.
--/--
Amanda looked around her street for the familiar corvette. Slightly surprised and disappointed to not see it parked, staking out her street, she tried to pay the driver. "No can do Mrs. King. Mr. Melrose rented the car, and I'm on the payroll," the familiar man turned to offer her a small smile.
"Fred?" she asked. She hadn't recognized him with the beard, and dingy wig.
"At your service. And don't worry, Billy already explained exactly what he would do to me if I ever told Lee what was going on," Agent Fielder explained with a tone of seriousness.
Nodding her gratitude, he smiled, popped the trunk, and walked around to open her door.
Amanda watched as he pulled out a suitcase that looked suspiciously familiar.
"We wanted to make sure this all looked right, just incase. We had your mother pack your bag, and had an independent courier service pick it up," he explained, and helped her to the front door.
Amanda felt so grateful Billy and Francine had gone to such great lengths. Fred opened the door, and placed her suitcase inside. The house was unusually quiet. "I think they're all gone for now," she announced. "Can you do me one last favor?"
"You name it," he offered.
"Can you carry that upstairs for me? I can't lift anything yet," she asked.
Once the final task was completed the agent turned to her, "We have the taxi for a week, and it's parked in a safe spot. You call me if you need that lift to Francine's," he told her and was out the door before she could reply.
The solitude felt anti-climatic. She had been psyching herself up for all the stories she thought she was going to need when she walked through the door. Walking into the kitchen she saw a note on the blackboard, 'IFF sent us tickets to the fair they're sponsoring. Be back tonight. Love you.' Shaking her head in disbelief, she made her way to the phone. Fingering the receiver, she started to shake at the thought of calling Lee. She didn't think she could talk to him just yet.
Taking out a pad of paper, she began writing her mother a note. 'Feeling sick. Sleeping upstairs. Love you. A' Suddenly wishing the lie she needed to tell Lee would be half as easy, she made her way to the stairs. She would call him later.
--/--
Amanda woke to the rumble of feet, followed by the disapproving voice of her mother.
"Boys! Your mother is sick and trying to sleep," the hushed yelling made Amanda smile. She hadn't realized how much she had missed her family.
Hearing the retreating foot steps, she shifted gingerly from her back to her good side, and came face to face with Lee.
TBC