The Bomb 8

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Back at the apartment, Francine was sitting quietly thumbing through a magazine she'd brought with her, anxiously checking her watch every so often. Lee should've returned by now and she was beginning to get concerned.

Despite protesting that she was not tired and wouldn't be able to sleep, Amanda, at Francine's insistence, was now laying on Lee's bed, fast asleep. Of course, the pain pill, Francine had slipped into her tea, hadn't hurt.

Finally deciding to try calling Lee, Francine put the magazine aside and stood to cross over to the phone when she heard a noise coming from the front door. "It's about time." She huffed. "Don't tell me you forgot your key."

With a shake of her well-coiffed head, she started towards the door, checking the peephole first. It wasn't anyone. Instantly she went on alert. Picking up her purse, Francine pulled her gun out and held it pointed at the door. Something was up.

Quietly as she could, Francine stretched up to look through the peep hole again. She still saw nothing in the hallway. For several seconds, she scanned the limited area allowed by the tiny window but it was empty. Deciding she'd been wrong, she relaxed her grip on her gun and turned back towards the living room just as the door burst open and three men entered.

Francine instantly brought her gun back up and tried to take aim at the black garbed and masked intruders. But they were too quick. Two of them swiftly grabbed her arms, and as one held her, the other brought a rag up to her face and held it to her nose and mouth. She saw the third man approach the bedroom, just as she lost consciousness.

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Lee had called as many contacts as he could think of and gone through as many files as he could find and so far, he was coming up dry. The car, he'd followed, turned out to be stolen and he could find nothing at all on Max Regal. That he was still around was no secret. But if he was up to no good, it was hard to find proof of.

After leaving prison, he'd gone into his uncle's manufacturing business and as far as anyone could tell, was keeping his nose perfectly clean. Lee could turn up absolutely nothing to tie him to the bombing. But the top operative at the Agency wasn't fooled. Regal wouldn't have ever mentioned his and Amanda's name if he wasn't somehow involved. And the part of town, he was in, was nowhere near his job at the Ajax Manufacturing plant.

No, Lee believed, Rhonda's instincts were probably right on this and Regal was mixed up in this. Sitting back in his chair, Lee wearily rubbed his neck. Sleepless nights and fruitless days of hunting for a potential killer were beginning to catch up with him.

Looking at his watch, Lee was surprised at how long he'd been gone. Guiltily, he realized he should've at least called Francine. Picking up the phone, he dialed his number to let her know he was on his way but the line was busy. Francine was probably trying to run down leads, or perhaps Amanda was on the phone with her mother. But still…

Shaking his head, he tried once more and the line was still busy. Placing the phone down, an uncomfortable feeling was starting to creep up his spine. Something was wrong. Grabbing his keys, Lee hurriedly locked up his office and took off for home.

When he got to his apartment building the doorman greeted him warmly. "Uh, Mr. Feller, have there been any strangers visiting here today?" Lee asked casually.

"Uh, no, Sir." Floyd Feller shook his head. "Not to see you at least." He smiled.

"What do you mean?" Lee asked, alarm bells ringing loudly.

"Well, there were three men here to see your neighbor, Mrs. Hudgins. Something about her life insurance benefits I believe." Floyd answered, not understanding why his, sometimes odd, tenant would want to know about visitors.

Lee's mind quickly considered the possibilities. "Did you see them when they came back down?"

Floyd paused for a moment to search his memory. "Uh, no, no I didn't Mr. Stetson but then I've not been here at my desk the entire time."

"You weren't?" Lee swallowed hard.

"No, I'm sorry, I wasn't." Floyd answered regretfully. "I was called upstairs to Mr. Allen's apartment, you know, on the floor above yours? Well anyway, I had to go up there to see him. Odd thing that was, though. He just swore he hadn't called for me but I know…"

Lee's heart raced. "Thanks, Mr. Feller." He said as he sprinted towards the elevator.

"Well, if it were any other tenant, I'd say that was odd behavior." Floyd muttered to himself.

When he reached his floor, Lee drew his gun and approached his apartment with caution. The door was closed, and didn't appear to be broken in or tampered with but he knew something was wrong. Almost hesitantly, he tried the knob. It turned easily and the door swung open to reveal Francine laying on the floor, unmoving, the phone lying on the floor beside her, off the hook.

Lee gripped his gun even tighter and quickly ran inside, with only a flicker of a glance to Francine's still form on the living room carpet, he swiftly checked out the remaining rooms.

Empty.

Amanda was gone.

Stepping back over to Francine, he checked her over, she was alive but unconscious. With a heavily fearful heart, he picked up the phone and called Billy.

"Melrose." His boss' gruff voice answered.

"Billy," Lee said grimly. "It's Amanda. She's gone and Francine's hurt. You'd better get a team over here quick."

TBC