Chapter 10: Spying in the Suburbs
Since Billy insisted that Lee take some time away from the Agency anyway, Lee decided to take the boys shopping for some supplies for their haunted house on Friday afternoon. He had already checked in with the security team watching the Petrescu house, and there wasn't much else to do anyway. Amanda was feeling a lot better, but Lee still insisted that she rest up one more day.
The first thing Lee did when he got to the King house was to quietly tell Amanda what Billy had told him the day before. Both of them were nervous about the prospect of either revealing their marriage or announcing their engagement, but they both agreed that things couldn't stay the way they were, especially not with the talk at the Agency.
"I think you're right that an engagement would be best," Amanda told Lee before the boys got home from school. "Mother would feel betrayed that we didn't tell her that we got married, and the boys would be shocked. But, what about the Agency? What are we going to tell them about that?"
"Nothing for now," Lee said. "I don't know what Billy is cooking up with Dr. Smyth or what kind of an offer they might make us. I'm not sure if I really want to be involved with any project that Dr. Smyth thinks is great. He's always been a bit slimy. Of course, there are worse people in the intelligence business. It does go with the territory."
"You once suggested that someday we might want to leave the Agency," Amanda reminded him. "If that happens, what do you think we should do?"
"Usually, agents retiring from the field find jobs in other government departments," Lee said. "Maybe something in the State Department, although those guys are usually a bunch of boring stiffs. Possibly as consultants with security companies like the one your old friend Jordan ran. There are possibilities." He tried to sound enthusiastic.
"But none of them quite like the Agency," Amanda said, echoing his thoughts.
"No," Lee said. "Neither of us really likes change, do we? Life has too many changes. And, when you've got something good, you don't want to let go."
"I know," Amanda said. "I felt that way when Joe and I divorced. It was really over long before either of us said it, but neither of us wanted to say it."
Lee squeezed her hand and said, "I'm not leaving you. Whatever happens, and wherever we're going, we're going together."
"I love you."
"Then, will you marry me? Again?"
Amanda laughed. "Of course, I will!"
They were in mid-kiss when Dotty returned from picking up the groceries and the kids.
"Later," Lee mumbled as they got up from the couch to greet the family.
The boys chattered away about their plans for the haunted house and all of the stuff they would need.
"Can we go to the hardware store and get some stuff, Mom?" Philip asked. "Everyone's coming over tomorrow to help put the haunted house together."
"Your mother should rest a little more," Dotty reminded them. "Remember, she's been sick."
"I'll take the kids shopping," Lee offered.
"Really?" Jamie asked.
"Sure," Lee said. "I have the afternoon free."
"Can we go to the electronics shop, too?" Jamie asked. "I need black lights for the Dark Forest."
"That's the room where we're putting the witch and Skinwalker," Philip added helpfully.
"It's okay with me," Lee said, looking at Amanda.
"Want me to come with you?" Amanda asked. Lee knew that she was getting bored of just being at home.
"No, you rest," Lee said. "The boys and I can handle it."
"Okay. Just be careful not to spend too much!"
"We won't!" the boys chorused. Lee saw them grin at each other.
He determined right there and then that he would show them that their stepdad (or stepdad-to-be) wasn't going to be a pushover. He could say "no" to them as well as their mother or grandmother.
Except that the hardware store and electronics store did have a lot of cool toys.
The main thing they needed from the hardware store was wood.
"We have to have a table for the monster to lay on in the mad scientist's lab," Philip explained. "We were going to borrow Andy's mom's coffee table, but she wouldn't lend it to us, and besides, it is kind of low. We want everyone to see Andy when they come into the room. It should be about this high." Philip gestured at a level somewhere around his belly button.
"We want it high enough so that people can see him, but no too high for him to get up and scare people," Jamie added helpfully.
"We can't find a table like that," Philip said, "so we're going to have to make one."
"That sounds like a lot of trouble to go to," Lee said.
"Not really," said Philip. "It doesn't have to be a real table exactly. All we need are some boards and something to set them on. Then, we throw a table cloth over them, and no one will know the difference."
"Okay," Lee said.
"We're also going to need to set up some kind of equipment that looks like something a mad scientist would have in his laboratory," Jamie said. "Tom got us some test tubes and stuff from his aunt's theater, but I really wish that we could put together something like a Jacob's Ladder. You know, one of those big spark gaps like you see in Frankenstein movies."
"Those things are pretty high voltage, aren't they?" Lee asked. "It would be dangerous, and I don't think your mother will agree to that."
"No," Jamie said regretfully. "But, I wish we could do it, or something like it."
"Cheer up," Lee said. "We might find something else that will work."
The boards were easy to get. They got a couple of boards that were about 6 feet long and were nice and thick. To support them, they bought a couple of sawhorses that were on sale. The sawhorses still cost a bit, but they were sturdy and could support enough weight to accommodate several full-grown adults. A boy Andy's size wouldn't be any problem at all. Lee agreed that the boards and sawhorses would make a safer table for him to lie on than a regular coffee table that might not be able to hold him.
The boys admired some of the tools in the hardware store, too, while they talked over other possibilities for the haunted house. It had been a long time since Lee had taken shop classes on the bases where his uncle had served, but those were good memories. Maybe he and the boys could build something later, just for fun. What was it Philip made for Amanda last Christmas? A spice rack?
"Maybe I could build something that looks like a large computer," Jamie said. "It wouldn't have to be a real one. Maybe a big cardboard box that I could poke some Christmas lights through so that we can have the kind of blinking lights that you'd expect in a mad scientist's lab."
"That sounds a lot safer than a Jacob's Ladder," Lee commented.
Then, he saw something that made him freeze. It was the same two men from the drug store! What were they doing, buying hardware?
"Well, you'd have to paint the cardboard box, too," Philip said. "It would look to cheesy to just have regular cardboard showing."
"We'll have to check out the paint selection," Jamie said. "I'm thinking that it should be gray, so it looks like metal."
"You mean silver," Philip said. "Metal is silver-colored not gray because it's shiny."
The men were looking at the tools. One of them picked up a hammer, and the other was examining a set of screw drivers. Then, they turned and started to head toward Lee and the boys. Had they seen him? Had they recognized him? Lee turned so that the men couldn't see his face.
"The Christmas lights are easy," Jamie was saying. "And we could just buy a can of spray paint. That wouldn't cost too much, would it, Lee?"
"No," Lee said quickly. He glanced toward the two men. They were looking at some toolboxes, not paying any attention to him and the boys.
"So, we just need a big cardboard box," Philip said.
Lee wished that he'd let Amanda come with him. She could have taken the two boys away somewhere safe so that he could investigate these strange men. Any moment now, they could look over and spot him. One of them might not know who he was, but the one Anton bumped into at the airport would probably recognize him. He couldn't take the chance with Philip and Jamie.
"They probably have some around here," Lee said to Philip and Jamie. "Let's ask." He started leading them away in search of a sales assistant.
Oblivious to the two men, the kids followed Lee, still talking about possibilities for the haunted house. Then, Jamie bumped into a display of flashlights, sending them clattering all over the floor.
"Look what you did, Wormbrain!" Philip said angrily to Jamie.
"It was just an accident!"
"Philip, don't call your brother Wormbrain!" Lee said automatically.
"Are you alright?" a salesman asked, hurrying over.
Lee glanced at the two men. They were looking straight at him. Immediately, Lee stooped down and started picking up flashlights.
"Oh, that's alright, sir. We'll take care of that," the salesman said.
"I'll pay for any that are broken," Lee said, still keeping his head down.
Another sales assistant hurried over and started to help clean up the mess.
The two men were coming in their direction. Lee pretended to study a flashlight he'd picked up, keeping his face averted.
As the men passed by, one of them said, loud enough for Lee to hear, "Some people just don't watch their children."
Then, they were gone. Lee breathed a sigh of relief.
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The flashlights turned out to be heavy duty ones, so there was no need for Lee to pay for any breakages. He bought two of them anyway, along with the other stuff they needed for the haunted house. He thought it would help pay for the inconvenience the sales staff had picking them up, and besides, the boys might find them useful for their project. Jamie was especially grateful that Lee wasn't mad at him for making a mess.
"Don't worry about it," Lee reassured him. "It could have happened to anyone."
The staff at the hardware store were very nice about the whole thing and even let the boys have a couple of large cardboard boxes out of their back room for free.
"They're just boxes that merchandise came in," a salesman said. "We'd have to throw them away anyway."
Lee paid for everything, and the boys helped him load it all into their mother's Wagoneer. With two kids and a bunch of stuff to carry, Lee couldn't have brought his 'Vette along on this expedition. He was beginning to appreciate this 'mom' car.
The reappearance of the two men troubled him. If he hadn't had the boys to consider, he might have tried to tail them. But, they still hadn't done anything that was actually illegal. Going to the hardware store wasn't any more of a crime than going to the drug store for sleeping pills.
Lee wasn't sure when or if the men might pop up again, but as it turned out, he didn't have long to wait. When he entered the electronics shop with the boys, there they were again!
Lee wanted to push the boys out the door again, but Jamie was in his favorite store in all the world. Before Lee could even say anything, Jamie ran over to a section of the shop with novelty lights and lamps. There were lava lamps and spinning globes with different-colored lights.
"Whoa! This is excellent!" Jamie said. "Can you imagine some of this stuff in the haunted house?"
Philip was less excited, but he did notice one thing in particular. "Hey, look at that!"
It was a plasma globe. Little bolts of lightning shot out of the ball at the center of a clear plastic globe. When Philip ran his hand across the globe, the lightning followed him.
"Awesome!" Jamie said.
Lee looked over at the two men at the back of the shop. Neither had noticed him yet. They were talking with a sales clerk.
"Lee," Jamie said, "this would be awesome in the mad scientist's laboratory! I could use it instead of a Jacob's Ladder."
"Yeah!" Philip said. "Do you think we can get it, Lee?"
Lee checked the price tag. "It's a little expensive," he said.
"We'll pay you back," Philip promised. "We can pay you in installments out of our allowance."
"Wasn't part of the idea of the haunted house to make money?" Lee asked. "If you spend it all right away, you won't come out ahead."
"Come on, Lee! It's just too perfect!"
Lee glanced at the men again. Still at the back of the store. What were they buying?
"I'll think about it," Lee said. "What else did you want to look at?"
Jamie produced a list and eagerly began amassing items for his lighting system. He also picked up a package of blank cassette tapes and a small, inexpensive set of portable speakers. Lee would have asked a lot more questions about what he was going to do with them if he hadn't spent so much time watching the two men.
Philip wasn't too interested in what Jamie was getting. He was more interested in the remote controlled cars and airplanes. He was wandering closer to where the men were talking.
Oh, no, Lee thought. Would they recognize him from the hardware store? Was there a way he could get to Philip without them recognizing him?
The men concluded their business with the sales clerk. One of them, the one Lee had seen at the airport, went to the checkout with their purchases. The other stayed where he was, just looking at something on a shelf.
Philip took one of the remote control cars off a display stand and started playing with it. The man turned to look at him. Then, he looked at Lee.
Lee forced himself to stay calm. He simply smiled at the man and walked over to Philip.
"Hey, Philip, could you give us a hand over here?" he asked.
Jamie didn't really need a hand. He needed a basket. His arms were loaded with random electronic bits and pieces, and there was something else he was still looking at.
"Sure," Philip said, still looking down at the car. "Hey, look what I can make it do!"
The little car spun around and zipped across the floor, toward the mysterious stranger, who jumped out of the way. He glared at Philip and Lee.
"You! You cannot control your children even when you're watching them!"
He stormed away to join his friend at the cash register.
"Gees, what a grump!" Philip said. "It was just a toy car!"
"Don't worry about it," Lee said. "Just try to be a little more careful when you're trying out those things, huh?"
Lee watched uneasily as the two men talked at the register. Then, the man who had been at the airport turned . . . and locked eyes with Lee. There was a flash of recognition.
"He knows," Lee thought. His first impulse was to run over and confront them. But about what? Bumping into a guy at the airport? His next thought was to grab the boys and run. The look the man was giving him wasn't friendly.
The man said something to his partner, and the two of them hurried out of the store. Lee followed, leaving the boys behind and saw them get into the same gray car and speed away.
"Lee?" Philip asked, running out of the store after him. "Is something wrong?"
Looking into Philip's concerned eyes, Lee said, "No. I don't think so."
Seeing that that wasn't good enough, he fell back on Anton's excuse, "I thought I knew them at first. But, I guess not. They acted kind of strange."
Philip nodded. "Yeah. The one guy dropped his list, too."
"List?" Lee asked.
"His shopping list," Philip said. "I picked it up off the floor just after he complained about the toy car. I would have given it back if he hadn't run away. Were they that mad about the car?"
"I don't know," Lee said. "But maybe you'd better give me the list for safe keeping."
Philip handed it over, still giving Lee a puzzled look.
"Thanks," Lee said. "Come on, let's go check on your brother and make sure he's not buying half the store."
"Yeah, right," Philip said, laughing.
"But, I've decided to buy you guys that plasma globe," Lee said. "I think your haunted house is a good investment."
"Alright!" Philip cheered.
As they went back inside and Lee thought about what he would say when he told Amanda about the reappearance of the mysterious men, Lee suddenly realized something. For once, he would be the one to come running to his partner with a story about the mysterious men he saw while he was out shopping who were probably spies. For years, he'd joked about Amanda's ability to find dangerous people lurking around the suburbs. He'd believed that it was just because Amanda seemed to attract trouble or was just plain nosy. Now, he was seriously considering that the suburbs might hold more secrets than Georgetown.
