Chapter 7 - The Rest of the Story
Amanda and Alexi were brought along to meet up with Ricky Joe and just as Amanda thought, Lee was pretty upset when he realized she had been captured and had let Alexi be captured too. They were brought back to the Mall Arcade and Amanda and Lee were tied up in the closet while Alexi went to work for the bad guys so they wouldn't kill his parents. He told them that he needed to go to the bathroom and went out to check on Lee and Amanda. Lee begged Alexi to help with the knots but he refused so Amanda tried to convince him that it was the best thing to do because Lee was one of the top agents in the country so Alexi could trust him. Alexi's comeback left them both speechless staring at each other when he asked "If he is so hot, what's he doing tied up in a closet?" The kid was too smart and Amanda realized she had gone too far with bragging up Lee's credentials. So as Alexi went back to stall Wilson and Becker, Lee and Amanda continued working on the knots. Lee told Amanda to grab on to one rope end with her mouth so he could use his mouth to work on the knot. She warned him several times not to bite her but being that close made it impossible for him to work on the knot and avoid touching her. Several times as his mouth worked on the knot, he found that he was close to her lips and he had to keep his mind on what he was doing. He couldn't help but notice how she had really nice lips. Thankfully he was able to keep on task without her noticing his slight distraction and got them free just as Alexi came to free them before Wilson and Becker arrived to shoot them. As Lee took care of the third bad guy who had arrived, Amanda and Alexi tried to delay the other two from getting free of the office. Amanda gave the keys to Alexi so he could go free his parents. While Lee was fighting with Becker, Wilson was able to grab Amanda and made her go with him in the car so he could make his escape. Lee soon gave chase on a motorcycle that he borrowed from inside the arcade. Alexi got to see the whole thing and was so impressed with his new friend. After Lee finally had Wilson under control, Amanda began to praise Lee again in front of Alexi and Lee told her not to but then changed his mind and told her to go ahead. With a slight smile, Amanda acted like he had no idea what Lee was talking about. Alexi watched the exchange between the two of them and couldn't help but wonder if they realized yet that they made a great couple. He really liked both of them a lot.
Alexi's parents had both come out and Alexi introduced them to his new friends who had saved all their lives. His father kept telling Lee that he would find a way to pay him back and Lee kept assuring him that having them all safe was his job and all the payback he needed. They used a payphone to call Billy who sent a team of agents out to round everyone up. Lee drove Alexi back to his apartment while his parents followed behind in an agency car. Alexi showed them where he had been staying and the neat Atari that Lee had bought for him. Lee told him that it was his to keep along with the Baseball game. Alexi gave Lee a big hug and thanked him for doing so much for him and for putting up with him all that time. As he was leaving with his parents, he told them to go ahead of him. He walked over to the Panda Bear and told Lee that he thought there was someone who might enjoy the bear more than him. Lee looked at Alexi and told him that he was probably right and he had already decided that on his own. They shared a knowing smile between the two of them and Alexi gave him a final hug and then ran out the door after his parents.
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Amanda was so glad that everything had worked out for Alexi and his parents. Billy told her that they would be sent to a new, safe place with new identities and that his dad would be given a job working for a good company there. Alexi's life should be much better and he wouldn't need to be scared anymore. Amanda was really going to miss that kid. He was a good kid. In fact, she couldn't help but wonder if he wasn't a lot like Lee when he was that age. He seemed to like to break the rules, take matters into his own hands, had a tough guy attitude but deep down was just a big teddy bear. She thought that if Lee ever had a son, he would probably be a lot like Alexi.
When she arrived home, she remembered that Dean was coming over for dinner and then they had plans to go see a movie. Her mother had put the chicken in the oven so it was nearly done when Amanda got there and she just had to mix together a salad. Dean soon arrived and she sent him upstairs to spend time with the boys while the chicken finished roasting. Later, they all sat down for a nice meal and Dean went on and on about how stressful of a day he had so Amanda promised to give him a massage after dinner and before they had to leave to catch the movie. She asked him if he knew what they were going go see and he told her that it was a surprise. After dinner, Amanda had Dean lay down on the couch while she worked on his tense muscles. He asked her if she had heard about this whole spy ring working out of the Mall Arcade. Amanda claimed to not know anything about it due to being so busy with the boys. Dean rolled over to make a confession that Jamie had won against him in a dice game and would be going to the movies with them. It seemed that her littlest boy had learned well from Alexi. She just hoped it would be a passing fad.
Suddenly the doorbell rang and Amanda went to answer it. There was no one there but she happened to look down and saw a big stuffed Panda Bear sitting on her step. She couldn't help but smile at the sweet gesture of Lee giving her the bear and then she heard his car start up and realized that he had hung around to see her reaction. The man never ceased to amaze her. Dean asked who it was and Amanda said that the person had a wrong address. She grabbed the bear, went inside, shut the door and told Dean she would be right back. She carried the bear up to her room and put him in the chair in the corner. She couldn't stop smiling and remembering how she had told him that he could buy her affection with this beautiful bear. He didn't totally understand how special this gift was to her because he didn't know about her nickname but somehow he sensed how much it would mean to her for him to give it to her. All the frustrations she had with him seemed to melt away for the moment. Dean yelled up the stairs asking if she and Jamie were ready or else they would be late so she went and knocked on the boys' door and collected Jamie and they went down the stairs together.
The three of them headed out to the movie and once they arrived, Dean went up to buy the tickets. Amanda couldn't help but smile when she realized that Dean had gotten tickets to the new James Bond movie "Never Say Never Again." Nothing could have been more perfect to end this case and day with except Amanda couldn't help wondering what it would be like to have Lee as her escort instead of Dean. She knew in her heart that it would never happen because she wasn't Lee's type but she couldn't help but daydream about it. After all, he sure did know how to pull her heart strings.
They all enjoyed the movie and Jamie talked about it the whole way home. The last movie he had seen had been Wargames and for months afterward, he talked about becoming a Video Game creator. Now, once again, he was excited to model himself after the hero in a movie and wanted to be a spy. Amanda knew his fantasy would pass but she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if both she and Jamie ended up being spies and working together one day. The thought made her smile and she had to swallow the chuckle that tried to surface. When they reached her house, Dean reached over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek and said goodnight to both of them. As he drove away, he still wondered how spies could have been in the suburbs. Nothing seemed crazier than that. Well at least Amanda was a normal person. Now if only he could get her to say yes and marry him.
TBC