December 5, 1987
The weather couldn't decide what kind of day it wanted to be. The morning had brought bright sun poking through a partly cloudy sky, but that quickly changed to an overcast afternoon with a cold, misty rain falling. The air felt chilly but not cold. Amanda pulled on her light blue cardigan that had been provided last month when she asked if the heat could be turned up in her room. The answer was no, as it was to most of her questions. She had not been in this house, or whatever place this was for much more than a month. She had been moved at least 6 times in the last year that she had been separated from Lee and her family. She honestly had no idea where she was. She could have been in the United States, Canada, or even Europe. Every time she was moved, she was drugged. She would fall asleep and wake up many hours, sometimes days later in a new location.
Every day, without fail, Amanda would check each window and door to look for a way out. On the odd chance that she would get to walk around the house, she would look for clues as to where she was or look for a way to escape or get a message out. She almost got out when they were in the last house. A fork had fallen off her tray when her dinner dishes were being taken away. It remained unnoticed by anyone but Amanda. She quickly grabbed it and stashed it away. Each night, she would use the fork to work at the caulking around her window. The windows were very high off the ground and contained very small panes. The caulking came off relatively easy, but the wooden frame was more challenging. She would pick away at the window with the fork. It was a slow and arduous task but worth the effort. One night, a large chunk of the frame broke away. The opening was still too small, but Amanda was convinced that if she broke the pane next to the opening and smashed the wooden frame, she could get out. She knew that sound would draw attention and she would only have one chance to escape. Amanda wrapped her hand in a towel and smashed out the remaining glass. She quickly squeezed through the opening and clung to the drainpipe next to the window. She had cut her hand and the blood was making her grip on the drainpipe rather slippery. Hand over hand, she worked her way down to the ground and began sprinting for the woods, about 100 yards away. She could hear voices yelling after her from the house. Amanda knew that she had to get to those woods and hide until it was once again safe to make a break for it. She was about 20 yards away when she was knocked to the ground by the guard dogs that roamed the property. As she rolled over, all she saw were two snarling German shepherds standing over her, their teeth bared and ready to bite.
She laid there trying to force the tears of frustration from falling. She had been so close to getting away. It had been over a year since she was taken by Addi Birol. What were her mother and the boys told? Did they think she was dead? Were they told that she was a spy? And what about Lee? Did Lee forget about her? She thought he would have found her by now. Did he think she was dead, or did he just give up trying to find her? Amanda lay there on the cold ground, her hand bleeding, and her eyes squeezed shut so tightly as to command the tears not to fall. She was lifted off the ground by a very tall, large man dressed all in black. He squeezed her upper arm as they walked back towards the house. Amanda looked around the yard trying to get a clue as to where they were. There was a black town car in the driveway. It was too far away to read but it looked like it had an American Diplomatic license plate. Her heart thumped a bit harder with the thought that she was still in the United States. If she could escape, it would be easy to find help. And it would be even easier if she could just get to a phone. She could call the agency and they could trace the call. Amanda was thrown into an empty room-no furniture, no window coverings, just empty. That night, Amanda was drugged, and they moved houses yet again. Her hopes of being somewhere in the United States were now in doubt since she once again had no idea where they were.
Her captor was yet to make himself or herself known after all this time. She had been held by Addi Birol. He grilled her for information on Nightcrawler and the agency. Amanda did her best to not reveal anything. Birol grew very frustrated with her and threatened to kill her many times. On the last day she was his prisoner, she thought that it was her last day on this earth. He brought her into a room with another woman that he referred to as Mara. Amanda was ordered to watch as Birol shot Mara point blank. She was told that Mara had been Lee's source, Nightcrawler. Amanda knew she was next. Birol stood very close to Amanda and began to stroke her cheek. Amanda flinched and tried to pull away.
"It is a pity that we no longer can be together. You are very beautiful, Amanda. You would have made a very good lover for me, especially since I am need of a new one" he said as he gestured to Mara now lifeless on the floor.
Birol held Amanda's head as he forcefully kissed her. She struggled and pulled back from his embrace, her eyes wide in anger and fear.
"Yes, a very good lover indeed. But alas….it is not to be."
He held up his gun and pointed it at her. Amanda froze in fear. Her life began to flash in front of her eyes. She knew being lost in the line of duty was always a possibility, but she never really believed it would happen. He squeezed the trigger, but nothing happened. Birol began to laugh as he saw Amanda's bewildered look on her face. She slowly let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding.
"No, I'm not going to kill you. You are much too valuable. Did you know that once the word got out that I had Scarecrow's Mrs. King in my possession, that the offers began pouring in?"
"What?" Amanda said in a confused tone.
"Yes, as I said, you are valuable. And, I have decided to sell you to the highest bidder."
"Sell me?" she said with alarm.
" $2 million American dollars is a lot of money and will go very far to furthering my cause. You will be going to your new owner in about 20 minutes."
"Who are you selling me to? My new owner?"
Birol just smiled and refused to answer.
"Come, Amanda. Let's get you out of this room. We don't want to get any blood on your clothes." Birol began to push Amanda out of the room. "Oh, I forgot one thing."
Birol turned to Amanda and snatched her heart pendant necklace from her neck. Amanda tried to grab it back but to no avail.
"You won't be needing it where you are going."
Next thing Amanda knew, she had a cloth being held over her mouth and nose and she woke up in a strange house. She never saw Birol again.
Amanda continued to stare out the bar-covered window at the falling drizzle. Wrapping her cardigan tightly around her, she imagined that it was Lee that has holding her tight and keeping her warm. It wasn't often these days that she let herself think about Lee or about her mother and children. Memories of them were too painful. She focused all her energy on trying to devise an escape plan. She needed to get break out of this house and get back to her life.
Amanda was startled by a sharp knock and the door bursting open.
"Here", the big man said, "Put this on. Be ready in 20 minutes."
He threw a garment bag on her bed and left, pulling, and locking the door behind him.
Amanda unzipped the garment bag. Inside she found a sleeveless, long black dress with spaghetti straps, a pair of black heels, a hairbrush, and make-up.
"What on Earth could this be for?" she said out loud.
Pondering if she should do as told or refuse, Amanda began to surmise that if she was to get dressed up, they were perhaps going somewhere and with that, a possibility of escape. She decided to do what she was told hoping that it would be a means to getting out of this hellish situation and back with her family.
Amanda undressed and took the black dress out of the garment bag. It was very similar to one she made a few years ago, minus the pearl buttons. She had worn that dress to the Russian Embassy New Year's Eve Party with Lee. They had a wonderful time dancing and laughing. How Amanda longed to be back in his arms right now.
"Oh, Lee" she said aloud in a husky whisper.
She quickly brushed away the tears that had begun to form at the thought of him. Somewhere deep inside she knew that tonight was the night that she needed to make a break for it. Tonight, was the night she would get out. She swallowed down her tears and found a new inner strength and determination. She slipped the dress on over her head and looked at herself in the mirror. It was a bit too big in places. Amanda had lost weight over the last year. She had not had much of an appetite. Her collar bones and ribs were more visible than they had ever been. Her cheeks looked hollow as well, but she wasn't going to let that distract her now. She ran the hairbrush through her now long dark brown hair. She hadn't had a haircut in over a year. The layers were uneven, and it wouldn't lay like she wanted it to but since she wasn't sure what she was even getting dressed up for, she didn't worry about it. She piled her hair on top of her head the best she could given that she was only provided with 2 bobby pins and a ponytail elastic in her supplies for the evening.
She was just finishing up her make-up as the door flung open and her warden from earlier entered her room.
"Let's go!" he barked.
"Give me one more minute. I just need to buckle my shoe."
"Now!" he said as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her up from the chair.
Amanda yanked her arm back from his grasp.
"I said I need one more minute. I'm not going to be able to move very fast with one shoe, now am I?"
She squatted back down to fasten her shoe. As she did this, she took inventory of the man and what looked like a pistol under his jacket. She doubted that she could grab it fast enough from him. She definitely couldn't physically overpower him. She would just have to wait and see where he took her. Amanda stood up and smoothed her dress.
"There, now I am ready to go."
The man guided Amanda through the door and into the hallway.
"Take a left" he said gruffly.
"You know, you've never told me your name."
"It doesn't matter what my name is" he replied.
"Well, I just think it would be a lot easier to call you by your name instead of 'hey you' or something else like that."
The man remained silent and guided her through the kitchen and stopped at the door in front of them. He reached into his jacket and pulled out his gun. Amanda's eyes grew wide.
"Open it" he said gesturing to the door.
Amanda opened the door and saw that on the other side was a garage with a black town car. Beside the car stood another intimidating looking man who opened the door to the back seat.
"Get in" the man with the gun said.
Amanda did as she was told and the man with the gun slid in next to her. The door was shut, and Amanda was handed a blindfold.
"Put this on" he said.
Amanda took the blindfold and held it in her hand.
"But I just did my hair and make-up. If I put this on, it's going to smudge, and I don't have anything with me to fix it" she said trying to keep from having to put on the blindfold.
"You can put it on, or I can knock you out. Your choice."
Amanda smiled a small, crooked smile and nodded. She carefully pulled the blindfold over her hair and gently placed the cloth over her eyes, trying not to smudge the eyeliner and mascara.
"Ok, it's on"
"Good" the man replied. He reached over, grabbed her wrists, and put a pair of handcuffs on her. This was not a new procedure to Amanda. She made no comment. The two sat in silence for about 5 minutes before she began to speak.
"Where are we going?"
There was no reply.
"I know you probably can't tell me exactly where we are going, but maybe just a general idea? Like how long it will take to get there? Who is going to be there? Why I had to get dressed up?"
Once again, there was no reply.
"You certainly are a man of few words" she said after a long pregnant pause.
"Just sit there and be quiet" he finally said.
Amanda did as she was told. The blindfold had indeed blocked out everything from her field of vision, but she still had her ears. She sat there and tried to listen to the various sounds happening around her. The traffic sounds were becoming more prevalent the longer they drove. She assumed that they were driving into a more heavily populated area. Before long, they entered into what Amanda assumed to be stop and go traffic. The car would only move for a minute or two before coming to a complete stop. She could hear horns beeping, occasionally, she heard people shouting. She was sure that she heard someone yell "taxi!" right outside her window. This made her heart beat faster. Perhaps they were still in the United States and in a metropolitan area.
They had been driving for what Amanda guessed to be about 20 minutes before they came to a full stop. She could hear the driver's window being rolled down and the driver began to speak to someone outside the car. She strained her ears to try and hear what they were saying. Suddenly she realized that they were speaking Russian! This was not at all what Amanda had expected. Her heart now leapt into her throat. Where were they and why were the people speaking Russian? Amanda heard a clanking sound outside of the car and then a high-pitched squeak of what sounded like a hinge.
"A gate!" she said to herself. "We stopped to wait for someone to open a gate."
The car began to move forward once again, this time moving slowly. The driver then parked the car and turned off the motor. The car door next to Amanda opened and let in the cold night air. Amanda shivered.
"My apologies, Mrs. King for the cold air" a new voice said to her. The voice wasn't unfamiliar but not immediately recognizable. She knew she had heard his voice somewhere before. His hand helped guide her out of the car and onto her feet. "Let's get you inside. You are after all, the guest of honor."
