Scarecrow and Mrs King
Tag
"Dodging Faber"
(Set post Season 3, episode 1)
Billy opens his door and motions for Lee to join him. "Lee!" The tone is urgent.
Lee glances towards Amanda, gives her a look that says "OK, one of those days, hum?" Billy must have received bad news. He looks irritated to say the least.
"Close the door," he tells Lee.
Lee starts sitting down.
"No need for that," Billy growls.
Lee stands immediately at attention. "Look, Billy, if it's about that scratch on the Agency car, it really wasn't my fault," he starts apologizing.
Billy lifts his hand to stop him. "It's not about the car but I'm sure willing to listen to your excuses when all this is over, starting with why I wasn't informed."
Lee cringes. He should have kept his mouth shut. Obviously, Billy hadn't heard about the dent he'd made this morning parking it downtown.
"I want you to take Amanda to lunch," Billy orders him.
Lee frowns. He glances at the clock. It's barely eleven fifteen.
"And make it a long, nice lunch break," Billy goes on.
Lee shakes his head. "What's going on, Billy? I don't need to be told when to take Amanda for lunch. Anyway, we have some dossiers to work on together so I was planning on ordering food for the both of us."
"Change of plans. You take Amanda for lunch and you take her now. And don't come back for at least two hours."
Lee licks his lips and squints at him. "Billy, what's happening?"
"Congresswoman Faber is happening, that's what is happening," Billy explodes.
Lee cringes. He can't stand the woman. She makes his skin crawl whenever she opens her mouth.
"That's right," Billy adds when he sees the look on Lee's face. "Her assistant just called to say she's on her way. She's decided she hadn't irritated us enough the first time. And this time, she's asking to be handed all the personnel account expenses files for the last three months."
Lee makes a face. They've just given Amanda a raise and there's the matter of the Alan Chamberlain case that was far from textbook. "She's going to tear us down," he points out.
"Well, let's hope Desmond and I can do some damage control. She likes Francine. I hope it will deflect her anger. But I want you and Amanda out of the way."
"What is it with that woman, Billy?" Lee grunts, combing his fingers through his hair. "Francine could hit the Guinness Book of Records for her spending sprees on designer clothes and I'm the one being targeted by this lunatic?"
Billy shushes him. "OK, OK, I understand your point but it won't change the matter at hand. Except if you want to spend the rest of the afternoon explaining yourself to this woman again?" Billy lifts his eyebrows, waiting for the idea to sink in.
Lee stomps to the door, not even taking the time to answer him. He walks up to Amanda and grabs her hand. "Come on," he says urgently, "we're going to lunch." He starts pulling her to the door but she resists.
He lays his hands on her arms and looks her in the eye. "For once, Amanda King, do what I say. I'll explain later, OK?"
She bites her bottom lip and sighs then grabs her bag and coat.
He wraps his arm around her waist and guides her to the elevator. "Thank you."
Billy walks out of his office and calls after them. "Take the stairs. She's already in the elevator."
Lee turns them around and pulls her towards the stairs. "Come on," he repeats, "I don't want to come face to face with the dragon."
She looks up at him inquisitively. "Faber," he tells her.
Her mouth opens and closes. She grabs his hand and pulls him briskly towards the stairs.
They check no one is downstairs and take the stairs at a run, only stopping to hand Mrs Marsdten their IDs. They open the door. It's pouring outside.
Amanda sighs. "I left my umbrella upstairs."
"Mrs Marston?" Lee turns around and smiles at the older woman. "Would you happen to have an umbrella lying around? I'd greatly appreciate it."
She hands him one from the rack behind her. "Don't forget to bring it back this time, Scarecrow. You've lost four already this year."
Amanda giggles. "I promise to take good care of it, Mrs Marston," she tells her with a smile.
They walk briskly outside then down the street, Amanda's hand on Lee's arm. They're huddled under the big umbrella. They slow down when they reach the end of the street and see no one has followed them. They look at each other.
Lee's eyes are twinkling with mirth. "That was a close call".
"I think I haven't had so much fun in a long while," she agrees.
They both chortle.
Lee shakes his head. "Well, at least, not since I hid from your mother in your bushes."
She giggles. "Dodging my mom is fun but I have to say that dodging Representative Faber feels like playing truants in first grade."
"You did not!"
She snorts. "Oh, yeah. I wanted to go home because the teacher was not to my liking so I just did."
"You didn't walk all the way home, did you?"
"Oh yeah, I did. You should have seen the look my mom gave me. It was priceless."
They giggle.
He smiles at her fondly. "You will always amaze me, Amanda King." He looks around. "Now, where shall we go? We can hardly stay outside in that weather and we left our cars at the agency."
"What about that little Italian restaurant? The one down that street. I've been dying to go there."
He takes her hand in his and kisses it playfully, winking at her. "Your wish is my command, my lady."
She blushes. It's not the first time he does this but it's quite new. And very much to her liking.
She coughs to hide her embarrassment at getting caught.
He gives her a dazzling smile then wraps his arm around her waist to draw her closer to him, the rain growing even stronger. "Come on, it's just a couple blocks away."
Flavio settles them at a small round table near the window with a candle in the middle.
Amanda leans towards Lee. "This place looks exactly like in The Lady and the Tramp," she giggles then realizes what she's just implied and clams up.
He chuckles, his finger on his lips. He lets her squirm a little. "Wanna share pasta, Amanda?" He teases her.
She slaps his forearm. "Enjoying yourself much, are you?"
He chuckles some more. "Oh yeah. I love that you have no filter. It's refreshing in my line of business."
She's saved from answering. The owner is coming back with a bottle of sparkling water and a pizza he sets between them. "Wine, Lee?"
"How come I'm not surprised you know this place?" Amanda remarks.
Lee smiles at Flavio. "No, thanks. We're working today."
Flavio hands them the menus. "I'll be right back then."
"Take your time," Lee tells him. "We're in no hurry."
He looks at Amanda as he pours some water for her. "We might finally have time to enjoy a whole meal without being interrupted."
"See, he tells her an hour later over dessert and coffee, we did share pasta." His eyes are twinkling with mischief.
She shakes her head at him. "Yes, we did. And it was really good."
"I wish we did that more often," he tells her. He points at her with his spoon. "Tell you what? Name your evening and I'll take you here again and we can have that chianti Flavio gets from his cousin in Italy."
She smiles at him. "You don't have to take me to dinner, Lee."
"I don't have to but I want to. Come on. He pushes the plate they're sharing towards her. You hardly touched any."
She smiles and shakes her head. "I think I'm full. I've had enough calories for a week."
He shakes his head at her in disbelief. "Am I gonna have to feed you, woman?" He takes a spoonful from the plate and holds it for her. "Come on, you know you want it," he says enticingly.
She giggles but relents. "You're a charmer, Lee Stetson," she tells him.
He blinds her with a smile.
Flavio calls him, holding up the phone. "Your office, Stetson."
Lee's smile disappears. He shakes his head. "Guess our lunch time is over. I'll be right back."
Amanda pouts. She downs her coffee and stands as he walks back to her.
"Sit down," he tells her. "Mrs Marston called. Faber is still at IFF. Billy is asking us to play dead until further notice."
Amanda sighs. "Why is she staying so long?" She looks at the clock. They left the agency almost two hours ago.
"Mrs Marston didn't say but we can imagine why, can we?" He pouts.
"What worries you?" She lays a hand on his forearm.
He pats her hand and keeps his hand on hers. He winces.
"What?" She insists.
He relents. "I don't mind her chewing at me. I'm a senior agent. I'm worried about you. Your name appears on most of my recent cases and we raised your salary after you handed your resignation. I don't want her to take a dislike to you." He starts playing with her fingers absentmindedly. She lets him.
She tilts her head at him. "Hey, don't worry. I'm an adult. I can't take care of myself. You don't have to baby me."
He stops playing with her fingers and covers her hand with his. "I feel responsible for you, Amanda. You're my partner. And you've done enough for the agency to get a vote of confidence."
"As do you," she remarks. "You are their top agent, Lee. She should get that."
He motions to Flavio to get them two more espressos. "I guess we're here for a while," he sighs, glancing towards the street. The rain is still pelting on the windows.
She shivers.
"Are you cold?" He worries and gets up to put his raincoat on her shoulder.
She shakes her head. "Don't, I'm fine. I just hate those situations. It's not fair. And yes, before you tell me that I shouldn't expect fair, I still do."
He sits back and takes her hand in his again. He tilts his head at her. "And I do admire you for that."
They both sigh and lean back in their chairs in companionable silence.
"I called Billy. She's gotten tired of waiting. Billy told her we were on an assignment outside and won't be coming back any time soon."
The restaurant is almost deserted. She checks her watch. Almost two.
"Is it safe to go back there now? We still have tons of stuff to do today."
He helps her into her raincoat. "I think so."
"Is she still mad at you?"
"I guess so. We'll see what Francine has to say."
They say their goodbyes to Flavio and head for the door.
"You know, I don't understand that woman," he tells her. He opens the door for her. The rain is now a drizzle. He opens the umbrella and wraps his arm around her shoulders, drawing her to him. "Let's not get wet on top of everything."
"Have you ever considered she might have a thing for you?" She wonders.
He snorts and looks down at her. "Really?"
"Really," she says seriously. "She spent a whole day with you picking at every little detail in your expense account when there are more pressing matters for a woman of her importance. So, either she's decided to bully someone and has picked you or she wanted to meet you from the start because she knew who you were and that review was the perfect alibi to do just that."
He frowns at her. "You're serious," he realizes.
"I am. And if I'm right, she's not going to stop at that."
He sighs. "And will probably drag you into this if she thinks you are important to me. Which you are," he adds seeing her eyebrows shoot to her hairline. He rubs her arm. "You're my partner. You matter to me. But Amanda, this is preposterous. Really. I think she's just chosen to make a crusade out of reducing agency costs."
Amanda shakes her head. "You don't seem to understand the effect you have on women, Lee."
He stops walking and turns her towards him. "What do you mean?"
"Women like you a lot, Lee, and you know it. Don't play dumb with me. I don't see why Congresswoman Faber would be any different."
He pouts. "What about…?" He starts saying then changes his mind.
"What about what, Lee?"
He shakes his head. "No, nothing. I was just thinking out loud. Let's go back to the agency."
They've almost reached the front door when they see an official car exit the underground garage. Lee draws Amanda to him and tilts the umbrella so they are no so visible. Unfortunately, it's the transparent kind.
"Trust me?" He whispers.
She doesn't have the time to ask. He kisses her the way he had that first time at that football camp, his free hand on the back of her head.
She melts against him instantly. She feels warmth creep up inside her and heat rise to her cheeks. She moans when his lips release hers for a second to glance at the receding car.
He lays his forehead against her and closes his eyes. "Let's give it a minute or so, just to be on the safe side," he whispers.
She closes her eyes and breathes out.
"I'm sorry," he says, taking it for irritation. "I had no time to warn you."
He releases her completely, almost setting her off balance, and seeing it's not raining anymore, folds the umbrella. He motions for her to follow him and stomps to the door. "Come on, let's see what Billy has for us."
Mrs Marston sees the look of annoyance on Amanda's face when she enters the lobby.
Lee seems oblivious of it and hands her back the umbrella, thanking her. He turns to Amanda to pin her guest pass on her sweater only to have his hand pushed away impatiently.
"I can take care of it myself, thank you very much," she tells him sharply then stomps to the stairs. "Amanda, Amanda!" He calls after her.
She doesn't look back and disappears into the corridor upstairs.
He flays his arms, irritated. "What is it with this woman!" He growls. "Argh!"
He turns to Mrs Marston who's observing the scene with a look of wisdom and patience that irritates him even more. "Hum?" He lifts his eyebrows at her.
She pouts. "Dear, if you don't know, I'd say you'd better find out soon or you're in big trouble." She shakes her head at him disapprovingly. The phone rings. She answers it. "Yes, Mr Melrose. He's here. You have Mrs King with you and you're both waiting for him. Hum, hum. I'm letting him know." She ends the call and motions for him to take the elevator. "Mr Melrose wanted to know why you were not with Mrs King," she tells him sweetly.
He huffs and combs his hand through his hair in annoyance. He gives her a tense smile. "Thank you, Mrs Marston. And thank you for the advice. How am I supposed to do so is another matter."
"Amanda," he calls after her as she's reaching her car. "Amanda!" He hisses. "Can you please stop and listen to me."
She plasters a smile on her face, her hand already on the door handle. She turns around slowly and breathes in. "Yes, Lee. What else can I do for you?" She asks sweetly.
He opens his mouth. "Oh, I see. You're mad I didn't give you a head start." He nods a couple of times. He walks up to her and takes her hands in his.
She shakes him off. "I ain't mad. You did that already. I'm used to your little tricks by now."
He lifts his arms in surrender. "Then what? What did I do that triggered your anger?"
"I'm not angry," she counters, pouting. She falls silent.
"Yes, you are. I know you." He lifts his finger at her triumphantly.
She looks away.
"Look at me, Amanda King." He hooks a finger under her chin and bends a little to look her in the eye. "What's wrong? Tell me." She tries to look away. He doesn't let her. "What did I do wrong?" He insists.
"If you don't know by now, Stetson, I don't see that telling you would make a difference."
He turns on his heels, ready to flee. He hates when women do that. He changes his mind and turns back to her, looking murderous. "I wish you would just steam at me, you know. Tell me what I did wrong so we can make up and go on and next time I know what not to do to push your buttons," he growls, his hands clutching her arms, shaking her a little.
She huffs but relents. "You hurt me, Lee." She looks away.
He releases his grip but doesn't let her go. He waits.
She sighs. "You knew what you were doing but I did not and that took me by surprise. You're used to doing that. That's what you do. You've done it a hundred times I'm sure. Thing is, I'm not like you."
He looks nonplussed. "I apologized for not letting you on it before it was done."
"And you acted like it didn't happen afterwards," she replies.
"Oh," he just says.
She gives him a fake smile. "Oh, indeed." She fumbles for her keys in her purse. "Look, I'm gonna go now. I see you at the Embassy tonight for that assignment, OK?"
He takes her hands in his. "Amanda." He looks her in the eye. "It's not raining anymore and I don't have the umbrella but let's do a second take on that one, alright?"
She frowns. "What?"
He snakes one arm around her and draws her to him with his other hand at the back of her head.
She pales. "What are you doing?"
"Finishing this properly." He lays his forehead against her. "Let's pretend that Faber's car has just left, shall we?" He whispers to her. "Now, I'm going to release you very gently and give you a peck on the lips and say thank you, this one was a close call. Thank goodness, partner, you're always there for me." He does just that.
He takes her hand in his and drops a kiss on it. "Shall we say eight?" He kisses her hand again. "We might even have time to dance tonight, partner."
He winks at her and opens the car door for her. "How did I do this time?"
She shakes her head in disbelief and chuckles. "You did just fine."
He grins.
"But you're walking on thin ice, mister," she warns him. "Don't you dare do that to me again."
"You look fabulous," he tells her as he takes her coat from her in the lobby of the embassy.
"Smooth," she mocks him.
He gives a sedate look. "I'm serious."
She strokes the lapel of his tuxedo. "You look good too."
She hooks her arm in his. He lays his other hand on hers. "Now, can you tell me what you want me to do tonight? Am I window dressing again?"
"No, you're not. I want you to stay alert. We've had intel that someone from this party is going to be approached tonight but we don't know who."
"What for?"
They walk slowly to the doors leading to the ballroom so they have the time to discuss it.
"It's that time of year when alliances are formed. Businessmen and Congress, you know."
She nods. "You scratch my back and I scratch yours."
He approves. "Well, yeah, sort of. Representatives and Senators have their own opinion when they arrive in Congress but they can be curbed by many things."
She lowers her voice. "Bribery, blackmail."
"Or simply common interests," he adds. "We're not trying to influence anything. What must be, will be. As long as it's legal and consensual, that is."
"You want to make sure they don't make decisions for the wrong reasons."
He looks into her eyes. I see you're a fast learner. Now, we're going to mingle and dance and have a bite or two. We have informants in the room as well so you just relax and see if you can spot anyone who might be too pushy with one of the guest.
She nods. They stop at the entrance to the ballroom. "Are we allowed to dance while we observe the guests?"
He takes her hand in his and walks up to the dance floor. "You bet we are."
"Lee, she hisses at him when he doesn't hear her the first time."
He's talking to one of his informants about the latter's business. He looks at her.
She points towards the lobby. "Congresswoman Faber."
He glances in that direction and rolls his eyes. "Damn! We had been told she'd declined the invitation."
"Well, obviously she's changed her mind. Any chance she learned we were on the roster?"
"Amanda, she probably doesn't know. We still have a chance to elude her."
They step to the side of the room.
Lee's friend snorts. "I see you've had a run in with her too. That woman is a pain in the neck. Pardon my French," he adds for Amanda's sake.
She chuckles. "That she is."
"You can't do business with her. All she cares about is how to cut expenses. You could think the money comes straight out of her pockets." He rolls his eyes. "And she's on a warpath against men, I'm telling you." He nods a few times. "I avoid her like the plague. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to call it a night. Seeing her has just ruined my evening."
He shakes hands with Amanda. "It was nice meeting you, dear." He slaps Lee's arm. "Don't be a stranger."
Amanda grabs Lee's arm and pulls him out of sight. "Lee, she whispers, what are we gonna do?"
"Suffer through it, I guess," he pouts as he sees Faber has spotted him.
Amanda grinds her teeth. "We were having a nice uninterrupted evening for once," she remarks. "I swear, Lee…" She plasters a smile on her face when Faber reaches their side.
"Better kill her with kindness," Lee tells her under his breath doing the same as her. "The woman is a pain but the agency needs the funding and if we get more cuts, we'll have to let people go."
"Congresswoman Faber, how good to see you," he says, kissing her hand.
"Well, well, agent Stetson," she says sweetly, locking eyes with him, ignoring Amanda who cringes. With just one word, this woman is blowing their cover. "This is a surprise. I was under the impression you were on an assignment and couldn't join us."
"Oh, you know, the assignment was just right here in Washington."
"Well, that's good. At least, you won't have extravagant travel expenses for that one," she quips. Her voice is dripping with sarcasm. Amanda feels tempted to roll her eyes but doesn't when she sees Lee's warning look.
Amanda sees a woman in a blue silk jumpsuit hovering not far from them, obviously intent on joining them. She acts fast. "Representative Faber, would you mind joining me in the powder room," she says to the other woman, lowering her voice. She hooks her arm with hers. "I need to talk to you. It's quite urgent."
Faber glares at her, very unhappy to have been so rudely interrupted.
"I insist," Amanda hisses. "It's a matter of national security."
Faber winces but relents. She points at Lee. "You stay here, Mr Stetson. I still need to talk to you."
Amanda nods at Lee to carry on.
"Mrs King," Faber tells her as soon as they close the door, "I must protest against your rude behavior. This is not the way in our circles as Mr Stetson should have told you. But of course, you're only a civilian."
Amanda shushes her and gets a device from her purse then, while she switches it on, pushes the doors to each booth to check no one is there.
"What are you doing?" Faber demands, looking majorly annoyed.
"Checking for bugs," Amanda replies curtly. Once she's satisfied, she puts the device back into her purse and turns to the other woman.
"So," the other woman demands, "what is it you wanted to talk about?"
Amanda purses her lips. "Your attitude towards Lee has probably blown our covers." She sees it dawn on the other woman's face. "Yeah. We painstakingly put this operation together. And I had to let my mother take my two little boys to their teacher's farewell party instead of taking them myself because this was important. And what do you do? You blow it just because Lee wasn't at the agency today?" She's fuming.
The other woman purses her lips too. "Well, I didn't know you were working. I surmised you two were here for pleasure."
"Pleasure, really?" Amanda mocks her. "Do you really think we have the time for that? Agent Stetson and I haven't had a weekend to ourselves in months. And what do you do? You nitpick about his expenses."
Faber watches her. "You're pretty defensive when you come to Lee Stetson," she remarks.
"And you're pretty offensive," Amanda counters. She folds her arms over her chest. "What is with Agent Stetson that pushes your buttons?"
"Well, let me think." Faber pouts. "His lifestyle, for one. His unconventional way of solving cases too. Add to that his choice of women and I guess even you could agree that he's pretty hard to defend."
Amanda sets her jaw. Exactly what she thought. She tilts her head. "His lifestyle allows his to enter circles most could never approach. His unconventional way of solving cases has helped him do just that. He always delivers. As for his choice of women, I would be hard pressed to complain about it."
Faber opens and closes her mouth. "You… You're…" she stutters.
"That's right, lady," Amanda says uncrossing her arms from her chest. She points at Faber. "He's mine. Now, with all due respect, if you ever feel the need to pressure him again, keep in mind that I will give you hell for that. Got it?" She looks down on her. "A grown woman like you pining for a man like him, really. You should be ashamed of yourself, Ma'am." She turns on her heels and leaves her.
"You did what?" Lee exclaims after she's joined him and asked him to step outside on the terrace.
She grins. "I did what I had to do. It's just business, Agent Stetson. I claimed you. She won't come near you again, I can assure you."
He bites his bottom lip and shakes his head in disbelief. "You…"
"I implied that we were involved and she was stepping on my flowerbeds, that's all."
He snorts at her choice of words.
"Besides, I wasn't lying. You're mine. It's true. You're my partner." She tilts her head at him, daring him to say the contrary.
He wraps her in his arms and gives her a bear hug. "You never cease to amaze me, Amanda King." He chuckles. "You claimed me. Damn! What am I gonna do with you?"
"You could start by asking me to dance," she offers, entangling herself from his embrace. "And maybe taking me out to Flavio's tomorrow night? I have nothing on my social calendar for now. Don't miss your shot," she adds, waggling her eyebrows playfully.
"You know, people, you did really well the other night. Turns out Congresswoman Faber was the one to be approached," Billy tells them. "Good thing Amanda remembered that conversation with your friend, Lee. Seems someone slipped her information about a couple more agents from governmental agencies and suggested it was time to redirected funds to more worthy causes.
We nailed those who did it. I don't know why but it seems she decided it wasn't worth the fight anymore and contacted Francine to tell her about the tips she'd received."
Lee winks at Amanda. "You did good, kiddo," he compliments her.
She blushes.
Billy nods in approval.
"You did really good, Mrs King. I wonder what made her change her mind."
"Ah, you know," she replies offhandedly, "I think she finally realized she was acting like a schoolgirl and should grow up a little."
THE END