Chapter 14
Amanda lay cuddled up to Lee, her hand on his chest, feeling his strong heartbeat. It was a comforting feeling to have him so close.
Unable to sleep, she turned over the day's events in her mind. With only a look, she had known what he had wanted her to do. The event proved once and for all that she would never have that with any other agent. With a slow nod of her head, she knew what her decision was. Her mind made up, she relaxed in Lee's embrace.
Before she could fall asleep, she felt his body tense. He made a noise, almost a moan.
From experience, she knew he was reliving the confrontation with Sandoval. This was something she now looked for after they wrapped up a dangerous case.
He became more agitated, jerking his head back and forth. "Get away from her. Don't hurt her," he said, his voice desperate.
She caressed his cheek, then his chest. "It's okay, sweetheart. I'm safe, everyone's safe. it's over," She spoke softly trying to calm him. "It's okay. It's okay," she whispered, over and over until he calmed.
At last, he relaxed a small smile on his face. "Amanda," he whispered and held her close.
Once she was sure his dream was over, she settled back down. In a few weeks, she hoped he would have no reason for nightmares.
The next morning on the way to work, raindrops began to splatter on the windshield. "Wonderful," Lee muttered. "It'll be a cold rain, too. Amanda, we need to find a nice, warm beach somewhere."
"That's what Francine said the other day. She wanted to find a warm place with a lot of handsome men."
Lee laughed. "Sounds like Francine."
"I said I liked the idea, but that it would be with one particular handsome man."
"Oh, really? What particular handsome man would that be?"
"Well, I saw this incredibly handsome guy in Crypto the other day."
"Oh, you did?"
"Uh, huh."
"Lee, I've decided. I'm going to take the Analysis job."
He glanced over at her. "It's not because of yesterday, is it?"
"A little bit. It wasn't Sandoval shooting at me. I guess I've gotten used to that." She chuckled low. You didn't need to say a word to me to know what to do. It'll never be that way with another agent."
"Whacking him with that stick wasn't my idea. That was all you, thinking on the fly. That will definitely be in my report. You may have saved us both. And calling me Scarecrow surprised me. You don't ever call me that."
"I've called you Scarecrow a couple of times. And I wrote it on that life preserver that one time, don't forget."
"You're always teasing me when you call me that. You got my attention and made me focus. You did fantastic under a tense, high-pressure situation."
She took his hand and gently squeezed it."Thank you, you did pretty good yourself."
"Are you going to tell Nagy today?"
She nodded. "When we get to the office."
"Okay."
Amanda made her way to the Analysis department. Although several people were there, the large room was quiet, so different from the usually noisy bullpen. She found her future boss in his office, the door open. She softly knocked.
"Good morning, Agent Stetson. Come on in."
"Good morning, Mr. Nagy. I've, uh… I've thought about the position, and if you still want me, I've decided to accept your offer."
"Oh, absolutely I want you. I'm delighted to have you. Please have a seat."
Amanda sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. Once again, she noticed his politeness and a slight accent.
"Do you mind if I call you Amanda?"
"No, Sir, that will be fine."
"I heard about the case you were just on. You weren't hurt, were you?"
"No, Sir, I'm fine. I just got a bruise on my cheek. It was a little dicey for a few minutes, but everything worked out."
"Will you miss that kind of excitement?" he asked with a genial smile.
"No, I don't think I will. I'm ready for a calmer life." She had never gotten the adrenalin rush other agents got from a dangerous confrontation. Her interest had always been in solving the case, putting the jigsaw puzzle together, as she liked to put it.
"I can understand that. What does Lee think about this?"
"He's happy for me. He thinks this will be the best place for me to move forward in my career."
"I'm glad to hear he's on board with this. How's your caseload at the moment?"
"We need to file our reports on the Sandoval case, then we're clear."
"Good. If we can borrow you from Scarecrow for a few days, I'd like for you to shadow some of our analysts to familiarize yourself with the department's operations."
"That sounds great."
"Good, I'll coordinate with Billy and Lee. Have you let Billy know about this?"
"Not yet, I was going to tell him today."
"Okay, good. Once Billy knows, I'll introduce you to everyone. We're pretty informal here, a lot like Billy's group."
"I'm glad to hear that."
"Have you got any questions for me?"
"Not at the moment. I'm sure I'll have some later."
They shook hands. "Then I'll see you soon. Welcome to Analysis."
"Thank you, Mr. Nagy. I'm happy to be here."
"Can you get that for me?' Lee said, as his phone rang.
"Glad to," Amanda answered Lee's phone. "Hello. Lee Stetson's desk."
"Good morning, Amanda," Billy said.
"Hello, Sir."
"Is Lee around?"
"He's in the vault. Just a minute." She put her hand over the receiver. "Lee, it's Mr. Melrose."
"Okay, just a minute."
He came out of the vault, a file in his hand. "Morning, Billy."
"Morning Scarecrow. I thought you and Amanda would like to know that an hour ago that we picked up Ruiz at National Airport. He had a bag and a plane ticket to Mexico City."
Lee exhaled. The last loose end in the Sandoval case had been tied up. "Oh, that's great to hear. I'll let Amanda know."
She looked at him, curiously. "What?" she mouthed.
He put his hand over the phone. "We got Ruiz," he whispered.
She broke into a broad smile and nodded.
His attention went back to Billy. "I hate to drag you away from your reports, I know how much you enjoy doing them, but Dr. Smyth and I would like to speak to you about a possible landing spot. How about ten this morning?"
"Okay, I'll be there. Amanda can come, right?"
"Sure."
He hung up the phone. "Hmm… Billy says they may have a landing spot for me. He wants to see us at ten."
"That's great. Since we'll both be there, I think I'll give him the good news. I'll tell Francine afterward." she said.
'Good idea. It'll be your turn to be nervous."
"True."
Using their typical procedure, they got to work. Amanda quickly typed up her report, while Lee wrote his by hand. Amanda would type it up afterwards.
Amanda checked the time. "We have ten minutes. Want to stop now?"
"Yeah, let's go."
They made their way to Billy's office, knocking on his door. "Come," Billy said.
"Well, look who's here. The Stetson family, at least some of them," Smyth said.
Lee took his spot at the window as Amanda took the seat next to Dr. Smyth.
"Scarecrow, I have a proposal for you, " Smyth said, the sarcasm gone from his voice. "The President wants the ATAC team permanently re-established. Both Billy and I think you're the man to run it."
"Dr. Smyth, you think I'm right for it?" he asked, shocked by the idea.
"I don't have any doubts, Scarecrow," Smyth said.
"The President also approved a GS-17 pay grade," Billy said, with a smile
Lee remembered that was the same pay grade as the State Department job Billy had mentioned before the Birol case went to hell.
"What do you say?" Smyth asked.
Lee thought for a minute, thinking quickly. The job would mean regular hours most of the time. More time to spend with the family. A safer, more predictable life. He badly wanted that for himself and Amanda.
He looked intently at Amanda, who smiled, her smile full of support and love. She would have a higher salary, he would get a big jump in salary. He could realistically see a new house in their future. In an instant, he knew what the answer was. "Dr, Smyth, Billy, I appreciate the offer. I'll take it."
"Good deal," Billy said with a delighted grin.
"That's excellent news," Smyth said.
"Billy, the team will still work under you, right?" Lee asked.
Billy nodded. "You'll still have me as your supervisor. But you'll have enough autonomy to run the show."
"Good." Billy had let him run the team without interference, only wanting progress reports.
"We'll get to work on where you can set up shop. Did six agents work before?"
"That was the perfect number. Everybody stayed busy, but no one was overworked."
"Then plan on six agents then."
Lee nodded. "What kind of timeframe do I have to get set up?"
"What's your caseload look like?"
"Since the Sandoval case is wrapped up, I'm open."
"How about two weeks to become operational?"
Lee thought for a second. "I can be ready by then." His thoughts already turning to the team. Once he had the roster established, he would review his reports from the original team to see if there were any changes in procedures were needed.
Billy nodded. "Okay, then, we'll plan on being operational two weeks from today."
"Any questions?" Billy asked.
"No, not right now." He exchanged a look with Amanda. "Amanda has something to announce."
She smiled at him. "I do. Mr. Melrose, Dr. Smyth, I've made a decision about my future plans. I'm going to take the position in Analysis."
"Well, well, well… Isn't this interesting? Our favorite agent team is going the way of the Dodo," Smyth said.
Billy's smile grew even broader. "You made a good choice. Have you told Erik yet?"
"I told him this morning."
"I'm sure he was pleased. Amanda, Erik's a good man to work for. You'll do well there."
"Thank you for your confidence. That means a lot to me. He seems very nice."
"How about we announce it to the bullpen?" Billy asked.
"Mr. Melrose, I'd like to tell Francine first," Amanda said. When I was deciding what to do, she was a big help to me."
"Well, now that everything is tied up in a pretty bow, I'll be off. I'll send Desmond in."
Smyth went to the door and asked Francine to come in.
Francine entered Billy's office and looked around. "Yes, Billy?"
"We're starting up the ATAC team again. permanently this time. Lee's going to head it up."
"Oh, boy, look out world. Scarecrow's in Administration now."
They all laughed. "I'm kidding," Francine said. "I'm happy for you. Lee. You worked hard for it."
"Thanks, my friend. Amanda has something to say, too."
"I just wanted to tell you that I've accepted the Analysis job."
Francine nodded and smiled. "I kind of thought you would. Congratulations, you'll do great there."
"Thank you for your advice. It helped me clear up some things in my mind."
"Let's go tell the bullpen," Billy said.
They left Billy's office. "Attention everybody, gather round. I have an announcement to make," Billy said.
Everyone gathered around, and the noise gradually ceased in the room.
"Lee and Amanda have decided to retire from the field."
There was an audible gasp from the assembled crowd.
"I know, I know. Who would ever think they would hang up their agent capes?"
"Scarecrow, what are you going to do?" Fred Fielder asked.
"We're re-constituting the ATAC team and making Lee the team leader. And… I'm also happy to announce Amanda will join the Analysis team."
The was applause, and well-wishers engulfed Lee and Amanda.
The crowd finally cleared out and slowly returned to their desks. There was still an excited buzz in the air.
After a few minutes, they returned to the ground floor.
"I just heard about your promotion, Mr. Stetson, and your new assignment, Mrs. Stetson," Mrs. Marston said. "Congratulations."
"Thank you, we're excited," Lee said.
Once in their office, she kissed him on his cheek. "Well, that's done," Amanda said.
"Yep. How do you feel?"
"I'm nervous, excited. A bunch of emotions are banging around my mind."
"I feel the same way. I can't believe Smyth recommended me for the job."
"Well, he recognizes quality and talent when he sees it."
Preoccupied with Sandoval, Lee had not had time to reflect on Harry's last conversation. "The last time I talked to Harry, he said that no matter what I did in the future, I'd still be a thorn in Dr. Smyth's side, that I'd never be a bureaucrat."
"Bureaucrats are afraid to break rules. You like breaking them."
"Not as much now, but you know me too well."
"You bet I do. I'm the expert in the care and feeding of Lee Stetson."
They put their foreheads together. "Harry was the first person to believe in me, before Billy, Paul Barnes, Emily, or anybody, even myself. I wish I could tell him about this. I wish I'd have thanked him more and better for everything he did for me."
"How about visiting his grave like you do with your mother and father? Let him know about the promotion."
"Hey, that's a terrific idea. I'll do that. I want to tell them, too. You know when I tell my parents what's happening with me, logically I know they can't hear me, but I still feel a connection. Maybe they can hear me."
"I feel the same way when I talk to my father at his grave. I like to think he can hear me."
"She placed her hands on his broad chest."I know you haven't given up that dream of a new house. Well, since we're both getting a salary boost, maybe we can seriously think about getting a bigger house now."
"I was thinking of the same thing in Billy's office. The exact same thing."
"Imagine that happening," she said.
"Imagine that."
They put their foreheads together again and laughed. "Since we've both decided, how about we tell the family tonight?" Lee asked.
"Sounds good. I'd like to tell Joe if that's okay with you."
"Honey, that's fine with me I think he should know. Look, I know I was ridiculously jealous of him at first, but I…well, I was really insecure about us. It was stupid—"
"No, it wasn't. I was insecure too. at first."
They hugged each other tightly. He stroked her hair. "We're a pair, aren't we? Anyway, I'm not insecure now. No matter what's happening in the world, I know I have your love."
"Me too. You know, Mother will be so relieved. She worries so much about us. Come on, let's get to work. We have reports to finish."
He sighed in mock frustration. "Slave driver."
Once finished with their reports, they returned to Billy's office. Accepting the reports, Billy looked them over. "I talked to Ms. Gonzalez. With the help of the surviving guard's identification, they busted one guy who had broken Sandoval out of jail. He's singing like a canary now. The same with Diaz, the mole in the DC Embassy staff."
"Do they think they'll get everybody this time?"
"They seemed to think so. She said that the Lambada TV networks will televise the trials all over the country."
Like a modern Nuremberg trial."
Billy nodded. "Something like that. Well, these look fine. Amanda, I want you to spend some time on Pfaff's couch." Billy noticed Lee nod in agreement.
"Mr. Melrose, I'm fine."
He saw a stern look pass between the two of them.
"No arguments, Agent Stetson. It's regulations."
Amanda exhaled. "Yes, Sir."
Billy could not miss Lee's look of triumph. They obviously had already had a conversation about this, probably in the Q bureau. He wanted to laugh but restrained himself. He was going to miss these exchanges.
"I'm taking you off the active roster for a time. Amanda, Erik would like you to shadow some of the analysts for a few days. So, tomorrow when you get in, that's where you'll go."
"I can't wait."
"Lee, I want you to work on the ATAC roster."
"Got it. I'd like to get as many agents back as I can. It was a good group." Of course, Amanda would not be a part of the group. But she also would not face another Birol.
"I don't think that'll be a problem."
"Once I've got the team chosen, I'm going to take a look back at my reports and see if some things need to be changed or adjusted."
"Good idea." He glanced at the clock; it was two-thirty. "If you don't have anything pending, then you can head out early."
"I like the sound of that," Lee said.
"Me too," Amanda said.
"Then shoo, out you go."
"Good night, Mr. Melrose," Amanda said.
"Night Billy."
On the way out, he heard them begin to argue about Amanda's orders to see Dr. Pfaff. He chuckled in amusement and began to review their reports in depth.
