Getting Ready
Amanda arrives at the office and sees a huge folder on her desk with a note "find Francine and meet me in my office, Emily".
Amanda grabs her folder and taps on the door to Francine's office. It's Francine's day to do the coffee run. "Emily wants us in her office, looks like it's the final countdown to tomorrow", Amanda says as she grabs herself a muffin and a latte. She and Francine make the quick walk to Emily's office.
Emily sees them approaching, calls out, "leave your food outside. I don't want any sticky pages. Amanda, Francine, Scarecrow-Lee and three other agents will be flying out of DC tomorrow on a state-of-the-art Agency plane. Everyone will be able to communicate with their superiors on the ground in the States. Francine and Amanda and Lee will be reporting to both Billy and me. There will be three arriving from California tonight, two also posing as married agents, the other as their assistant. When you arrive in Dubai, you will meet four more agents. Two from Japan and two from Italy. I don't know if they will have anyone to assist them".
Emily takes a sip of water, pausing for her best agents to let everything sink in. "Amanda, Francine and the other women will not be required to wear any traditional garb, but dress modestly. Nothing low cut or too short or anything that shows too much skin. It can get very warm this time of year, but dress appropriately. One of the reasons why you need to pose as married couples is it's considered illegal to cohabitate, though the luxury hotels who cater to foreigners are more relaxed, we don't want to arise any suspicions. The hotel you are staying in will have an adjoining suite, for Francine to use. In your folders are your cover stories, along with passports which you will need to show when you check in. Francine, your cover name is Francine Duncan. Amanda here is your passport, for the next four days to a week you will be known as Mrs. Amanda Jones".
"Jones?" Amanda asks? "Pretty unoriginal, Smith was already taken?"
Emily, ignoring Amanda's sarcasm, continues. "While Dubai has one of the worlds lowest crime rates, with this chatter, we don't know what to expect. We have other agents who will guard the plane, so you can't take any firearms with you to where you are staying. Memorize those three photos of known terrorists, then destroy them before you get on the plane. Those agents from California could easily be one or more of the other four involved in the seven".
Emily takes another sip of water and keeps talking, "Take off time is at 8 am. It will take about 11-12 hours via private plane to get there and there is an eight-hour time difference in Dubai. Eat on the plane, so when you arrive around 4 am, get settled and go to bed. In the afternoon everyone will meet for the summit". Emily turns to Francine and says, "while English is the most spoken language, there may be people speaking Arabic. Do you still speak the language?"
' Na'am'-"Yes", 'ana ata Kalam El Aarabya' "I speak Arabic", Francine replies.
"I'm impressed", Amanda says. "I have French and Spanish mastered, but still working on Russian, but Arabic? I'm glad you have that covered".
Emily says, "Amanda, before you get on the plane you need to switch out that lovely rock you have and exchange it for this simple ring and band. Any questions? No? Both of you go home, pack and meet us at the hanger by 6:30 am".
Amanda and Francine leave Emily's office, grab their things and head towards the elevator. Amanda asks Francine, "have you ever travelled this far before? And the time difference?"
"Not since you joined The Agency. Maybe a few times before that. Just get some sleep tonight and on the plane. Jet Lag's a bitch", Francine replies as they ride down to the garage. Francine gets into her car and yells out, "see you in the morning". Amanda waves at her as she drives off.
Over at IFF
Billy is giving Lee the same run down on operations Emily gave to Amanda and Francine. "Scarecrow, I know you are well versed in Arabic, so you don't need to worry if someone is communicating anything to anyone other than English. Your papers, passport and money are in the folder. I hope you like the name Lee Jones, because that is your cover for almost a week. You've been doing this for 15 years, you have all the paperwork, we don't need to go over it again unless you have questions. Don't forget to get rid of any photos, get some sleep and see in at the hanger at 6:30 am".
Lee turns to leave the office and Billy goes to the door to stop him. "Mr. Jones, you forgot your ring. Make sure you wear this one and not that one. I think Mrs. Jones will have your head if you lose the real deal".
"Thanks Billy", Lee says before grabbing his gear and heading home.
"Yes, mother. I'm pulling into the driveway right now mother. Yes, the boys know you will be there tomorrow night. Moth-er, this is a business trip. I will try calling if I can, but its International. Mrs. F. will check in with you if I can get a call through. Mother, I have Marvin's burgers and fries getting cold. I'll leave you a note. I love you too", Amanda sighs as she hangs up her cell. Philip and Jamie are playing basketball and she calls out to them, "can you help your mother with the food? I have some work in the car to bring in and I don't have enough hands".
Jamie runs to get the food and Philip holds the door while Amanda gets her files and then shuts the car door for her. "Thanks guys", she says. "Your dad should be home soon, but we can start without him". Philip holds the door to the house open for her and Jamie follows behind. "I'm going to run these upstairs but will be right down to eat with you". Amanda runs upstairs dumps everything on the bed and runs back down to sit and have a quick dinner with her sons, before she can worry about tomorrow.
The front door opens and Lee, says "burger night? I'm starving. I hope you got me a double", he smiles and gives Amanda a kiss and puts his hand on each of his son's head. He drops his files at the bottom of the stairs and joins everyone for take-out.
Everyone chatters about their day and Amanda reminds them about their trip and their grandmother staying over. "Your grandmother will be over every night around five or six and then leave once you guys get on the bus in the morning. It might be nice if you make her and Curt dinner a few times. There is food in the fridge, and I pre-made some meals to heat up in the freezer."
After clearing the table Philip and Jamie head upstairs to do their homework.
"Sweetheart", Amanda says. "We still have those strawberries in the freezer. Why don't you defrost them and bring them upstairs?"
"Amanda, darling", Lee replies, "we need to pack and turn in early. I don't think we have time for strawberries and…and".
"That's not what I was thinking about", Amanda says, "but thanks for the temptation. I just want dessert. There is a lot of things to finish before tomorrow. That was one hell of a meeting today."
Sounding a little dejected, but nodding his head, Lee says, "dessert sounds good, I'll defrost them and see you upstairs soon. We can go over any notes before turning in early".
After licking their fingers and then Lee kissing the chocolate from the corners of Amanda's mouth, they start packing and laying out clothes for the morning. Amanda looks at the photos one last time before going to her office to shred them. Lee gets out a large briefcase and places all their folders in it.
"Mrs. Jones?" Lee asks.
"Yes, Mr. Jones?" Amanda replies.
"Since we are leaving long before the boys wake up, I think we should try on our new rings and put the valuable ones in the safe", Lee explains as he takes off the gold band and diamond ring from Amanda's finger and replaces them with the simple band and ring Emily gave to her.
Amanda removes his ring and holds her hand out for the one Billy gave him. She places the new ring on his finger, takes the one she put on his finger the day they got married, gives it a kiss and holds out her hand for Lee to give her real rings. She takes them to the safe and locks them up tight.
"Goodnight Mr. Jones, I love you", Amanda says.
"I love you too Mrs. Jones", Lee says and kisses her goodnight.