Chapter 8
As Francine hung up the phone, Lee closed his eyes and began whispering, "This is just a dream… no, it's a nightmare. A damn nightmare. This isn't really happening. I'm going to wake up, in my own bed, and Amanda's going to be sound asleep next to me. Everything is going to be fine." He snapped his eyes open and stared at the timer before him with less than an hour left.
"I'm sorry to break this to you, Lee, but this isn't one of your wild fantasies. Even though I am here with you," Francine informed him with a raised eyebrow.
"Button it, Francine," Billy stated firmly.
Lee exhaled, his face still white. "Francine," he called, his voice barely above a whisper. "Francine, I need you to do something for me." Francine moved closer to the desk and leaned closer to Lee. "I need you to go to the house. Take Amanda to the hospital. Do not tell her what is happening right now," he commanded softly.
"Lee, she's going to know something's wrong the second I pull up," Francine shook her head.
"No, lie to her… tell her I was stuck under a pile of boxes, Stanley grabbed me, Beaman locked me in his office… anything… just get her to the hospital and stay with her. You won't even have to do anything. Just hold her hand, remind her to breathe… she'll do all the work, believe me," Lee insisted.
Francine shook her head, "Scarecrow, no. I won't lie to your pregnant wife while she's in labor." She looked back at Billy for help. All he could do was raise his hands slightly, but that was enough to give Francine an idea. "Lee, let me take the box. We can change places. You know my hands are steadier than yours anyway. Then you can go get Amanda and get her to the hospital."
"No! I won't let you take my place. Dammit, Francine! I won't let you die in my… no… just make sure… make sure Amanda knows I love her… and my girls… if I don't make it out of this… make sure…" Lee's voice choked up with emotion at the thought he might never see his daughters.
"Stop thinking like that, Scarecrow. We'll get out of this. We've been in tighter spots before," Francine stated.
Lee looked up at her, his eyes glistening with tears, "Francine, please. Get Amanda to the hospital." Francine took one last look at Billy, who gave her a subtle nod. Without a word, she grabbed her purse off the edge of the desk and ran for the elevator.
"Don't worry, Lee. You're going to be there for Amanda and your girls. Just hold tight," Billy assured him. He looked over at Jerry and demanded, "Now, what? Your carelessness has given my man less than an hour before time's up."
Jerry looked around at the other men and stated, "Now we pick this apart, piece by piece."
"As long as I'm not the one ending up in pieces," Lee interjected as he blinked rapidly to clear the tears from his eyes.
Francine drove as fast as she dared to Lee and Amanda's house. She entered through the garage and found Amanda in the kitchen, leaning on the counter, exhaling slowly. "Amanda? You okay?" she asked tentatively.
"Yeah, but the contractions have started. Lee and I should probably get to the hospital," Amanda replied, her head still hanging down as the contraction faded. She looked up to see Francine alone. "Where is Lee?"
Francine smiled at Amanda, "Well, his hands were a little full, so he asked me to come check on you… you know, just in case this was another false alarm."
"Well, this definitely isn't a false alarm. I got up to go to the bathroom, and my water broke right when I got in there. Then the first contraction started a few minutes later," Amanda explained. "Um, Francine, can I ask you to do something for me?"
Francine reached out and touched Amanda's hand, "Sure, what do you need?"
"Can you get me another jumper from my closet? I'd go up and get it myself, but I'm afraid I might not make it back down the stairs," Amanda admitted.
Francine looked down at Amanda's clothes and noticed the wet material, "Jumper, sure. Any one in particular?"
"No, thank you. I'll just call Lee while you're up there and-" Amanda began.
"No, no, don't call Lee. I'll call him and let him know I'm taking you to the hospital, and he can meet us there," Francine interrupted her. "You have a phone in your room, right?" Francine didn't wait for her reply. She took the stairs, two by two, and, as soon as she entered Lee and Amanda's bedroom, she closed the door and headed for the phone. She dialed her direct extension and waited.
Billy answered on the second ring, "Francine? What's going on with Amanda?"
"Well, from the looks and sound of things, she's definitely in labor. I'm taking her to the hospital now. What's going on with Lee?" Francine asked.
Billy glanced over at the group now surrounding Lee. They'd managed to slice the sides of the cardboard box open enough that three of the techs were meticulously tracking each wire. Sweat ran down the sides of Lee's face as he sat, holding the lid up. "They're still working on it. But they better figure out something fast. They've only got another twenty minutes to go," he stated in a low tone.
"Well then, I guess Amanda and I are off to the hospital," Francine sighed. She dropped the phone onto the cradle and quickly found the requested jumper. She jogged back down the steps with a smile plastered on her face. "Here you go, Amanda. I hope this one is okay." She handed Amanda the hanger.
"It'll be perfect," Amanda assured her. "I'm just going to get changed, and then we should go." She started her slow waddle back toward the bathroom and stopped. "Francine, my bag is already in my Jeep, so would you mind driving that? To be honest, I don't know if I'll be able to get into your car either," Amanda laughed.
Francine blinked several times before she asked, "You want me to drive your Jeep? The Wagoneer?" Amanda nodded her reply. "Today just keeps getting better and better," she smiled. Amanda disappeared through the doorway, only to reappear several minutes later. She was breathing shallowly, exhaling on each step. "Amanda?" Francine froze.
Amanda held her hand up and inhaled deeply before she exhaled loudly. "I'm okay now. Just another contraction. At this rate, these girls are going to be here before you know it," Amanda stated.
"Well, let's get you to the hospital then," Francine did her best to guide Amanda toward the garage.
"Can you tell Lee to meet us there?" Amanda questioned.
Francine gave her a weak smile and stated, "Already done."
Back at the agency, Lee was staring at the numbers on the timer still ticking down. They had less than three minutes left. The bomb techs finally isolated all but three wires - a red one, a yellow one, and a blue one. They were contemplating their options when Lee asked, "What's the hold-up?"
"Well, sir, we're not confident which one is the correct wire. All three tuck underneath the timer, and we don't have a visual on which one leads to the main power supply," one tech explained.
Lee pressed his lips together and looked at Billy. A memory of he and Amanda kneeling side by side in a cemetery, a nuclear bomb before them, flashed through his mind. "It's the blue one, right, Billy?" he nodded.
Billy narrowed his eyes, tilted his head, and said, "Scarecrow, I'm not sure you're the one qualified to make that decision."
Lee relaxed slightly and smiled, "I'm going with Amanda on this one. It's the blue wire." The techs studied the three wires as the timer continued to count down.
"Lee, just because you want to get to the hospital doesn't mean you should make any rash choice," Billy stated.
Lee looked at the techs and nodded his head with confidence, "Cut the blue wire. I know it's the blue one. Amanda knew… so I'm going with her gut."
The techs looked around the room, confused. "Sir, no one here is named Amanda," one of them replied tentatively.
"Just cut the damn blue wire!" Lee instructed. He exhaled loudly as the timer continued to tick down. "What the hell are you waiting for?" he demanded.
One tech held up a pair of wire cutters and looked at Jerry. Jerry shrugged his shoulders first, then waved his hand, "Everyone get down. If Scarecrow's wrong… well… you all better brace for impact." Everyone in the room scattered to the areas furthest away from the desk Lee was sitting at, leaving Lee and one tech together.
"Just cut it," Lee commanded. The tech raised the cutters and carefully lowered the sharp blades into the box. "Cut it!" Lee repeated. The tech made eye contact with Lee, who insisted again, "Cut the blue wire!" Slowly the tech began to tighten the handles closed as Lee continuously repeated, "Cut the wire. Just cut the blue wire. The blue wire. Cut the blue wire." Lee squeezed his eyes shut as the timer ticked down to twenty seconds. Sweat ran down the sides of his face before it pooled against the collar of his dress shirt. "Cut the damn wire!" Lee stated between clenched teeth. He only vaguely heard the gently click of the blades as the tech snipped the blue wire.