Send in the Clowns – part 4 of 5
"Where are you taking me?" Amanda couldn't keep her voice from shaking as she was forced down a narrow flight of stairs.
"You'll find out soon enough. Keep moving."
When they reached the bottom of the stairs Delong opened a door, pushed her inside and quickly closed it.
"Amanda!"
"Lee," she exclaimed in equal parts relief and disbelief as she caught sight of him.
He rushed over to her. "Are you okay?"
She choked out, "They were going to kill me. They tied me up and stuffed me in a crate."
"I know." Lee nodded as he began to work on the ropes tied around her wrists. "I am so sorry."
"They thought I was you. I tried to tell them I wasn't but they wouldn't listen to me." He could hear tears in her voice that she stubbornly refused to let fall.
Finally he managed to untie the last knot. He put his arms around Amanda, and pulled her into an embrace. "I know. I know. Take it easy. It's going to be alright." He slowly ran his hands over her back.
She snuffled a bit against his chest. "I don't know how anyone could mistake me for you; you're so much taller."
He had to smile at that. "I know. I'm sorry you had to go through that." He led her over to the wall. "Why don't you just sit down for a bit. Hopefully they won't come back for a while."
"Is there any way out of here?"
He walked over to the door and gave it a small kick. "Unfortunately not from inside. That door is the only way in or out and it's solid as a rock. It opens out and there's nothing to barricade it with anyway."
"Lee, can I ask you something?"
"Sure." He looked over to where Amanda sat on the floor, legs bent and elbows resting on her knees.
"They want the Agency to trade Rostov back for you." He nodded. "But it was such a big deal the other day when you captured him. So, would they actually make this kind of trade?"
Lee looked her in the eye. "Which answer would you rather have? The truth or the one that will make you feel better?"
She gulped. "Never mind." After a short pause she said, "Can I ask you something else?"
"Go ahead."
"Why are you wearing a towel?"
He carefully sat down beside her and grinned self-consciously. "Hey, I was in the shower when they broke in, remember. I figured that you'd probably want me to try to catch up to you and those guys rather than take time to change."
"I was so scared when they grabbed me." Despite her best efforts Lee could hear a small tremor in her voice. "I don't think I've ever been so frightened in my life."
Lee moved to close the gap between their bodies. "Hey, I was scared too," he said, putting his arms around her and drawing her closer. Amanda sighed and leaned against him. For one brief moment Lee shut out their predicament and just savored the warmth of her hands as she slid them over his bare chest.
"Lee," she said sometime between half a minute and half an hour later.
"Mmm." He tightened his hold on her.
"They said they were going to kill me if the Agency wouldn't make the trade. So I guess they're planning on killing you too." She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed.
"Probably." He pressed his lips into her hair.
"Okay. Just asking."
"Look, it's not over yet, right?" He pulled away just enough to look her in the eye. "I contacted Billy and they've got a helicopter and a team of agents in the area looking for us. We just need to keep them from taking us to another location. So we need to think of a diversion to use if they try to move us."
"What kind of a diversion?"
"I don't know – just a diversion." He gestured vaguely with one hand. "It doesn't have to be anything elaborate. Just something to catch them off guard so I can get the drop on them and you can run for the door in the confusion."
"Me? What about you?" She tightened her hand around his arm as if she had no intention of letting go.
"Don't worry about me; I'll be fine," he reassured her. "Listen, I parked the car just down the street so even if their van isn't here anymore the Agency team will know we're close by. I left the keys in the glove compartment. You just need to find the team and tell them where the house is."
"I don't know how to drive stick shift," she pointed out.
"No, it's not my Porsche; it's a lavender Lincoln Continental."
"It's a what?" she asked in disbelief.
"A lavender Lincoln Continental," he said sheepishly. "It belongs to Lydia Lowell, one of my neighbours. She works for Lovely Lady Cosmetics and won it last year in some contest. I rode up in the elevator with her the day after it was delivered and I got to hear all about it. Longest eight flights of my life."
"Back up a sec, I'm just supposed to leave you behind," she said skeptically.
"Well yeah, they tell us to say that." He smiled at her.
"Lee, I know we're in a lot of trouble here."
"That's one way to put it."
"But there's one more thing I have to say." There was determination in her voice.
"What's that?" he asked cautiously.
"That really is a fetching outfit you have on." She traced one finger along the top edge of the towel.
"Thanks." He smiled; apparently he wasn't the only one who was determined not to succumb to panic. "Maybe I'll wear it the next time I go to the opera at the Kennedy Centre."
"Now there's an idea. Green is definitely your colour. It brings out your eyes." She looked up at him. "You have the most beautiful eyes, you know."
"Spoken by the woman who has the most amazing eyes I've ever seen."
He reached up to gently caress her face. Amanda turned her head just enough to be able to brush her lips against his palm. He slid his hand down to her neck and slowly but determinedly pulled her closer. Amanda's eyelids drifted closed as Lee drew in a slow breath of anticipation, moving his lips even closer to hers, until at last . . .
The door opened abruptly and a voice called out, "Scarecrow!"
"Yeah," they both answered, pulling away from each other.
"You and your friend need to get out here. Zinoviev is back and wants to see the two of you."
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Followed closely by the two guards Lee and Amanda climbed the staircase and returned to the library where Amanda had been held earlier. Zinoviev as well as the older couple were there waiting for them.
"I might have known, Scarecrow," Zinoviev said. "A spy of your caliber - of course you would find some way to have one of your associates be able to track you. Unfortunately this means I will have to accelerate my plans somewhat."
Roscoe spoke up. "There really isn't much time left. And even if the Agency does make the trade for Rostov, I still say we should see what information we can extract from them."
"This is Scarecrow we're talking about," Zinoviev pointed out. "We could torture her for hours and she'd remain silent."
Lee took a step forward. "Don't you dare put a hand on her."
Zinoviev looked at Amanda and sighed. "Tell the big fella to keep quiet."
"Quiet, big fella," she muttered in his direction.
Zinoviev motioned to his henchmen. "Jamison, Delong, retrieve the crate from the garage. We'll have to move them to the warehouse. If the Agency turns down the trade we'll simply include the two of them with our shipment. Moscow can have the pleasure of interrogating them."
The two men moved towards the door, only to stop when Lee said authoritatively, "Take one more step and she's a dead woman."
"What?" Jamison asked, clearly confused.
"You don't think the Scarecrow would let herself be taken alive, do you?" Lee paused for effect.
Before he could say anything else Amanda reached out and grabbed Lee's towel. She yanked it off his body prompting the older woman to let out a shriek. Quickly Amanda swung the towel and caught Jamison fully in the face causing him to drop his gun. Instantly Lee tackled Delong and wrestled his weapon away from him.
Amanda grabbed the gun from the floor and pointed it towards Zinoviev. "Everybody freeze!" she yelled. "One more move from anyone and your boss is history!"
Everyone in the room immediately froze including Lee, who looked over at Amanda in disbelief.
"She means it," Zinoviev said, "Everyone knows the Scarecrow is ruthless."
"Hands in the air," Amanda commanded. "Now hold very still while my assistant disarms you." She looked over at Lee. "Assistant, you may proceed."
"Thanks so much," he said sarcastically. He picked up the towel and draped it around his waist again. "Okay everyone, up against the wall, hands above your head, nice and slow." He quickly moved down the line collecting their guns.
A sudden movement out in the front yard caught his attention. "It's about time," he said, opening one of the windows. "Francine! We're in here! We've already got things under control but it's nice of you to show up."
Amanda looked over at Zinoviev and said complacently, "I told you the place was surrounded."
TBC . . .