Chapter 16

"Lee, do you think we'll be able to watch the meteor shower tonight?" Jamie asked. They had just dropped Philip off at school and were heading in the direction of Jamie's school.

Lee smiled at his stepson in the rearview mirror. "You're pretty excited now that the fort is done, aren't you?" he asked the reflection.

Jamie smiled back, pushed his glasses up with one finger and replied, "Well, I mean, it's not every day you can see two meteor showers at the same time. I was reading in the encyclopedia that the Leonis Minorids and the Orionid Meteor Shower are most visible this week. And I found in the newspaper last night that the sky should be clear until just about midnight, but it's going to rain Tuesday into Wednesday so this might be our only chance to see it." He took a deep breath, hoping Lee understood his excitement as well as his urgency.

"Jamie, it is a school night so what time does this meteor shower begin?" Amanda asked. She turned in her seat to see his face clearly as Lee continued to drive.

"Well," Jamie dragged out, "The encyclopedia said after midnight."

"After midnight? Are you crazy? On a school night?" Amanda questioned her son.

"But," Jamie added quickly, " I did read that you can sometimes see them after nine when the constellation rises in the sky."

"Nine o'clock is a much more reasonable time on a school night, Chief. I agree with your mother on this, midnight on a school night is too late," Lee interjected.

Amanda nodded and agreed, "Thank you, Lee. Yes, nine o'clock is much better but it is still close to bedtime so we'll have to think about this."

Jamie sat back in his seat and stared out of the window. He turned back to face Amanda. "Please, Mom? I promise I'll come right home, I'll get my homework done and I'll even help Philip with his if I have to," Jamie pleaded.

Lee took Amanda's hand in his and squeezed it gently as he stated, "You don't have to do Philip's homework, bud. We'll figure something out."

Amanda squeezed his hand back and said, "We'll talk about this during dinner." Lee pulled the car over in front of the school. Jamie opened the car door, his shoulders drooping. "Have a good day, Sweetheart."

"Thanks, Mom," Jamie groaned. "Bye, Lee." He trudged off sullenly toward the doors as Lee drove away slowly.

"Amanda, I don't understand why it's such a big deal for him to stay up a little later and watch the meteor shower tonight?" Lee stated.

Amanda shook her head, "Because sleep is very important. And if he doesn't get enough sleep then he's a bear in the morning and now that they don't take the bus to school, he needs to be up and ready a few minutes earlier." She folded her arms defiantly. She didn't want to fight with Lee over allowing Jamie to stay up late so she was prepared to stand her ground.

Lee sighed, "I get that, but really, how many more meteor showers is he going to be able to see this year? And he's excited over the idea he can finally use the telescope to see something other than the moon."

Amanda groaned, "That's not the point."

"Then what is the point?" Lee demanded as he banged his hand on the steering wheel in frustration. Amanda shot him a stern look but refused to answer. Amanda pressed her lips together tightly and looked away at the fast-moving scenery out the window.

"I know my boys and keeping them up later never pays off the next day," Amanda stated firmly without looking at him.

Lee continued driving, watching the road but took once last look at Amanda before he spoke again. "Look, I'm sorry," Lee conceded. "You're right, you do know the boys better than I do, so I shouldn't question when you make a decision." Amanda glanced back at him once more before she sighed loudly.

They rode the remaining few minutes to the Agency in an uncomfortable silence. When they entered the building, Mrs. Marston could sense the tension between them but didn't comment. She simply stated, "Francine is waiting for you in the Q."

"Thank you, Mrs. Marston," Amanda replied politely as she took their badges and headed up the stairs. Mrs. Marston raised one eyebrow in Lee's direction, but all he could do was raise his hands in a quick gesture and follow Amanda up the stairs.

In the Q Bureau, Francine was sitting on the couch when Amanda opened the door. "Good morning, Francine," she clipped before she dropped her purse into the bottom drawer of her desk and sat down.

Lee opened the door seconds later and looked quickly from Amanda to Francine to gauge the tension. Deciding he was good, he asked, "Were you able to find out anything about HiCo?"

Francine handed him a file folder, "Small company, eight full-time employees, three part-time. They've been around for the last sixteen years, started as a father and son shop, the father died three years ago and the son took over, slowly grew from there. Their main office is located down on Washington. The owner's name is Mike Sullivan."

"Thanks, Francine," Lee acknowledged as he opened the file and began skimming the pages.

Francine looked at Amanda who was flipping through pages in her organizer then to Lee. "If, um, you two don't need anything else from me, I'm going to head back downstairs and see if Billy needs anything," she said slowly before she crossed the office and opened the door.

"Could you tell him we will be out most of the day? I want to see if we can find Harborne and hopefully wrap this thing up," Lee stated.

"Will do," Francine replied and closed the door behind her with one last glance at a very quiet Amanda.

Amanda put the organizer away and folded her hands on her desk. She sat and stared at Lee, just blinking her eyes. She finally asked, "Lee, are we still fighting?"

Lee sat back on the edge of his desk and closed the file. "Are we?" he asked gruffly.

Amanda took a breath and as she exhaled, she confirmed, "We are." Lee folded his arms and clenched his jaw, the muscle in his cheek twitching wildly. "I know you don't understand why I'm so hesitant to change their routine," she began. Lee's only response was to purse his lips tighter. "But if we allow too many changes, then they will try to take advantage of everything. Give them an inch…" she tried to explain.

"I said I was sorry," Lee snapped.

Amanda took a deep breath again and replied, "I know you did, but I don't think you fully understand-"

"Oh, I understand. It's just like when I was a kid and my uncle made me remake my bed until I got it right. Follow the rules, and everything is fine. Try to bend them just a little bit, the apocalypse will come," Lee snapped again. He pushed off the desk and stormed to the door. "We have work to do so are you coming with me or are you going to stay here?"

Amanda contemplated staying at the Agency, but she knew Lee might need her help so she hesitantly removed her purse from the drawer and stood up. "I'm a professional and we need to solve this case. Our personal differences will have to be dealt with later."

Together they left the Q Bureau and descended the stairs where they heard Mrs. Marston stating quietly, "I'll let them know," before she hung up the phone. The older woman raised her head when they stepped off the staircase and said, "Scarecrow, that was Mr. Melrose. He just wanted to me to tell you two to be careful. He'll be expecting an update in two hours."

"Thanks," Lee muttered, handing back his badge.

"Oh, and Scarecrow?" Mrs. Marston stopped him. When they made eye contact, she finished, "Stop fighting. It's not very conducive to a healthy relationship."

Lee threw his hands in the air and asked, "Who says we're fighting?" Neither Amanda nor Mrs. Marston replied before he stomped outside saying, "I'll be in the car." Amanda handed her badge and followed him without a word.