The Meeting
The alarm blares at 5:30am waking Lee and Amanda up. Normally they don't get up this early, but since they both have important meetings that day, they need to start early. Lee lets Amanda shower first, knowing it will take longer for her to get ready then for him. She gets dressed quickly, a pair of dark slacks, lavender shirt for a little color, her hair tied in a small pony tail. She puts on minimal make-up, flats and goes to her office, unlocking it and grabbing some personal files. Scarecrow's file is back at NTA. She will collect it there before they take her to headquarters.
She heads downstairs to start the coffee, makes herself a bagel and cream cheese. She writes a note to Philip and Jamie, "Your father and I had to leave early, hopefully we can get home in time for a family dinner. We love you".
She hears Lee heading down the stairs and grabs a cup from the cabinet and pours his coffee. She heads outside for the paper, quickly scanning it before turning it over to him. "Morning sweetheart, I'm almost done with the paper." She walks over and gives him a kiss.
"Thank you", Lee quietly says.
Amanda says, "I hope you day ends up better than mine, but I have a bad feeling about my meeting. I hope it's just nerves, meeting the big boss, etc. I left the boys a note and if things go well, we could have a family night tonight. With both of us being so busy lately, we haven't been able to spend time together as a family. I want to hear how the boys are doing in school, their friends etc., maybe even invite mother and Curt over".
Lee looks up from his paper, take a sip of coffee and fakes a smile. "I would love that, you are right, we haven't had family night in a long time. If not tonight, then when we get back from our respective trips".
"I'm heading out sweetheart, I'll see you this evening", Amanda says. She grabs her keys and bag and gives him a quick kiss goodbye and heads out the door to her Jeep.
Lee finishes reading the paper and his coffee. He thinks to himself, "this is so unlike Amanda. She always tries to look on the bright side of things. She's calm, cool, collected, unflappable…sounds a little like this Den Mother-unflappable…go figure. But in the end, it is always Amanda who brings me back down to earth. We never truly argue, she has a way of finding the right solution for us both; but this is not one of those times". He pours out the leftover coffee, rinses his cup and puts it in the dishwasher. He grabs his keys and puts his papers from his office in a backpack which he slings over his shoulders and rides off on his bike. "Maybe if we can swing it, I should get a more sensible car to take to work. I'd never drive my Roadster in the crazy DC traffic, or have it parked at work". He thinks to himself. He speeds towards IFF, not wanting to be late for the big meeting.
Amanda arrives at NTA and heads right to her office. She takes out some files, gets a notepad, a couple of pens, some sticky notes and heads to Francine's office. "Are you ready?". She asks? "We need to find Emily and find out how we are getting there, and I need to retrieve the Scarecrow file", she adds.
"I'm right behind you. I am curious about this Scarecrow fella and how we will actually get there", Francine replies.
As they walk together, Amanda says, "I told my husband I was going to have this bear of a meeting and I had a feeling something bad will happen".
"Amanda, it can't be that bad. You just like to work alone. Sure, when you and I work together, it's great; but we've known each other for a long time. But when you are used to working alone and with someone new, not used to your ways; there's going to be an adjustment. Maybe this Scarecrow will be the exception", Francine replies.
"I hope so", Amanda says. "I guess we should head to Emily's office and get this over as soon as possible. Maybe if we can agree on a travel plan and what our mission will be, I can be home in time for family night".
As they walk towards to Emily's office, Francine asks about Amanda's boys. "How are Philip and Jamie doing? I haven't seen them since Joe's funeral".
"They are doing a lot better since L.., my husband came along. He adopted the boys and they adore him. Philip has few memories of Joe and Jamie none. They have the photos and stories, but my husband is their father now". They arrive at Emily's office; her door is open, and she waves them in.
"Francine, Amanda, a car will arrive soon to take the three of us to the main office. The windows will be blacked out and only the driver will know where we are going. Francine, it's been a long time since you've needed to use your code name, but like Amanda, we need the Agencies separate from each other. I will be known as Mrs. F., the other Agency head likes to be called Billy Blue Note, Amanda-Den Mother and Francine, do you want to use your old one, or should we open a new file for you?" Emily asks.
"What about Magda P.? You know the mission I was on before Amanda joined the Agency?" Francine asks.
"Wonderful, just wonderful, I like it." Emily says.
Everyone gathers their paperwork and wait for the car to arrive. Once it does and after everyone is settled, Amanda starts to ask Francine a question, "Fr"; Emily puts a finger to her mouth, then her eyes and then ears. Her code means to keep quiet, there may be listening devices or recordings in the back seat. Francine and Amanda give a slight nod. Amanda looks at her watch as soon as the car exits the building, she closes her eyes as curiosity overtakes her and makes a mental note to listen to the sounds and when the car turns right or left, hoping to glean some information where they are being taken. "It's a shame the windows are blackened, otherwise I could tell what direction the sun is", Amanda laments.
Soon, they arrive at a building, no markings on it and she can't see any street signs in sight. "And here I thought I was paranoid", Amanda says to herself.
The driver lets them out and then drives away. The three of them head towards the front door and a man opens the door and says, "follow me". They are shown to a large conference room with file folders and note pads next to them. There are two decanters of water on the table and glasses next to them. "Please have a seat, but don't open the folders until the rest of our guests arrive", the man with no name says.
Emily sits closest to the door and Amanda sits next to her, followed by Francine. After about ten minutes sitting in silence, Amanda gets up and pours herself a glass of water looking to Emily & Francine to see if they want one too. They nod and she pours a glass for each of them. Sitting down, Amanda sips her water. A few moments later, Mr. no name shows two men to the office, pointing to the other side of the table. Both men sit down, and Amanda looks up to see who they are. Her face turns bright red and she almost chokes on her water. Sitting across from her is her husband…Scarecrow? She sees him looking at her, that vein throbbing on his forehead when he gets angry. His neck turns red. All they can do is stare at each other.
Francine looks over to Amanda and whispers, "yes he is hot, but this is not like you. Why are you blushing?"
Amanda, gritting through her teeth says, "can it, Magda".
A minute later a tall man enters the office and the door is shut behind him. He sits down at the head of the table. "Good, everyone is here. You can call me Blue Leader. Only code names will be used. To the far right of me is Scarecrow, next to him is Billy Blue Note. On the other side of the table; is Magda P., Den Mother and Mrs. F. If everyone is ready, you can open your notebooks."
Amanda suddenly stands up and says, "excuse me, I'm a little dizzy, can I go and splash some cold water on my face?"
Blue Leader looks annoyed, but since they haven't officially started, nods his head and points to the door. Amanda rushes out the door, looks around trying to find the ladies room. Lee stands up and yells "Amanda! Wait.", he runs out of the office.
Francine and Emily look to each other and Francine mouths, "Amanda?"
Amanda finds the ladies room, closes it behind her, splashes some water on her face and slumps to the floor, breathing heavily. Soon she hears pounding on the door. "Amanda, open this door! I will kick it in if you don't", Lee almost shouts.
Amanda slowly stands, steadies herself and opens the door. "You are Scarecrow?", she exclaims.
"Apparently you are Den Mother." Lee angrily states. "You have been lying to me all these years?
"Me? You have no right to act all righteous on me. What about you? 15 years' experience?" Amanda almost shouts.
Blue Leader is losing his patience. He points to Francine, "Magda-you, go find our missing agents. This is very unprofessional. Mrs. F., Billy Blue Note, I thought you said these are your best people. You are starting to make me rethink using your departments for this mission". Billy and Emily are at a loss and don't know what to say. "Good, that's good, you shouldn't say anything. Stay silent until your agents return, and they provide an explanation why they both shouldn't be fired", BL almost shouts.
Francine finds the ladies room and hears very loud voices overlapping each other. She knocks on the door and Amanda and Lee both say "What?"
Francine pokes her head in and says, "whatever is going with you two, you have to return to this meeting and deal with whatever this is later".
They both follow Francine out of the ladies' room and Lee says, "we are not done talking about this".
"Far from it!" Amanda exclaims.
They follow Francine back to the boardroom. Amanda takes her seat and says, "sorry sir, that was very unprofessional of us. I am feeling better and ready to be debriefed".
BL says, "thank you and what about you Scarecrow? What do you have to say for yourself?"
Lee apologizes too, "I'm sorry, it won't happen again".
"Well, if anyone else needs to splash water on their face, do it now, otherwise let's get started", BL states. "Please open your folders and turn to the first page. Scarecrow, Den Mother you need to be ready to fly out to Dubai in three days and since it appears you might need a referee, I will appoint Magda to accompany you. Originally this was intended to be a peace summit, but recent chatter is there may be foreign agents targeting other agents at the summit from around the world. Turn to page two please", BL continues. "Here are three of about seven known pictures we have. Your job is to find the other four and either subdue or eliminate all of them. Trust no one. Some of the members may be disguised as agents from their countries. Over to page three; A plane will be waiting for you for your flight to Dubai. Page four will provide you with the rest of the information you may need. Scarecrow, Den Mother, you will be masquerading as married agents and Magda as their assistant. Anyone have a problem with that?"
Amanda swallows hard and says, "no sir".
Lee says quietly, "no problem sir".
Francine trying to defuse the tension, "I'm good to go. I'll make sure these two love birds are prepped and ready to pretend to be married and in love".
"Okay then, Scarecrow, Den Mother; don't make me regret putting you together on this assignment, after that stunt you pulled earlier", BL says. He stands up quickly and walks out of the room.
Francine whispers to Amanda, "details, I want details when we get back to the office"
Amanda whispers back, "I'm not sure I can give you want you want. I have a lot of explaining to do tonight, so maybe tomorrow?" As they head out the door, Lee grabs Amanda's arm; "not now she says, later. I have a car waiting for me. I'm sure you have one of your own".
Each one rides in their respective cars in silence. Emily's eyes are burrowing through Amanda's as if to say, "we will have a very long conversation in the morning".
Amanda quickly grabs her things and leaves the office. Knowing she can't go home, especially if the boys are there, she grabs a sandwich from a vendor near the office and drives to a park near their house. She finds a nearby bench, sits down and puts her hands and starts to cry.
"Thought I might find you here", Lee says. I've got a bottle of scotch with our names on it. We should talk".
"Yes, yes we should", Amanda sighs.