Chapter 23: Promising Young Men and Women

Both Lee and Amanda were back at work in the Q-Bureau on Monday morning. They were both nervous, awaiting the arrival of Billy Melrose to talk about their future. Usually, when he wanted to talk to his best team, he asked them to come to his office down in bullpen of the Field Section, but what he had to say today was best said in the privacy of the Q-Bureau.

Lee and Amanda were each at their desks, looking over the personal items and bits of memorabilia that had collected there. There were no case files on their desks. There were no cases. All they knew was that Billy wanted to talk to them. They could only guess at what he had to say.

"I don't suppose that he'll let us work together again," Amanda said.

"I don't know," Lee said.

"I don't suppose I'll be working here at all much longer," Amanda said. "If one of us has to go, it should be me."

"If you go, I go, too," Lee said.

"Do you think we're going?" Amanda's eyes were worried.

Lee got up from his desk and went over to her.

"It doesn't matter," he said, grasping her hands. "Wherever we go, we go together."

"You love the Agency," Amanda said. "It's been your life. I'd be happy to resign if it meant that you could stay."

Lee laughed, and it wasn't a bitter laugh. "Oh, Amanda," he said. "I've loved working here, but it isn't my life. You are. You and the boys, now. I always knew that I wouldn't be a field agent forever. It's a young man's game, and I'm not that young anymore."

"Oh, Lee, you're not-"

"Shh," Lee said softly, putting a finger to her lips to stop her from saying the dreaded word, 'old.'

"We both knew that things couldn't stay the same forever," Lee said. "They never do."

"I've never really welcomed change much in my life," Amanda said. "I've had plenty, but I've never really welcomed it."

"Some changes are good," Lee said. "You taught me that."

Amanda looked surprised.

"Really," Lee said. "I didn't think I could ever work with a partner again before you. I didn't want the Q-Bureau when Billy gave it to me, but you thought it sounded great, and it was. I'd almost given up on the idea of marriage and children and anything resembling a normal life before I met you, but now, I've got you and two stepsons. I used to think that settling down with a family would be boring, but you and the boys have proved to me that it's anything but!"

Amanda laughed hard, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet!" she said.

"I sure hope not!" Lee said earnestly. "I'm hoping to see a lot more. Maybe we'll have that baby Billy and everyone thought we were having."

Amanda stopped laughing and regarded Lee seriously. "Do you want to?"

"I've thought about it," he said. "I've been thinking about it a lot, but that depends on you, too. If you don't want to or if it just doesn't happen, I'll be satisfied with Philip and Jamie. And, if Billy retires us, our chances of living to see the kids grow up are much better. You know, this is a dangerous business."

Amanda nodded. "You're right. This might be for the best. I'm just surprised that you're the one convincing me of that. I thought I might have to convince you."

"You already have," Lee said. "I'm just sorry that you haven't gotten to enjoy your career for as long as I have mine. You're good, you know."

Amanda glowed with the compliment. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"What will we do now?" Amanda asked.

"That's up to Billy."

At his soft tap at the door, Amanda sat up straighter, and Lee stood with one hand resting on the back of Amanda's chair. Whatever Billy said, he was standing by his wife, both figuratively and literally.

"Good morning, people," Billy said cheerfully. "You'll be happy to know that the Petrescus are safe. We caught Vasile at the airport, trying to leave the country on a false passport. Stefan and Vasile are both wanted by the Romanian government and would probably be executed if we sent them back, but we can probably hold them both for a few years on the charge of attempted kidnapping. The Petrescus won't have anything to worry about from them, and I think Anton will be relieved that his brothers will be safe from execution, even if they have to go to prison for awhile to avoid it."

"Well, that's wonderful," Amanda said. She was very happy for them, although her happiness was somewhat subdued by her own worries.

"I understand that your boys have become friends with the girl in the family, and there's no reason why they can't maintain the friendship," Billy said.

"Jamie will be glad to hear that," Amanda said.

"Your Philip sounds like a pretty tough kid," Billy said. "Aside from his broken leg, Stefan also got a couple of cracked ribs. We think it was from when Philip sat on him."

"We can't tell him that," Lee said. "He's already puffed up, being the neighborhood hero for tackling the bad guy. He's talking again about trying out for the football team in high school."

"I'm not sure I'm ready to think about that," Amanda said.

"It might be good for him. He needs a little discipline," Lee said, "but I think he's learning how to be a team player. He just can't be as rough on the other players as he was on Stefan."

"But, on both a personal and professional note," Billy said quietly, more seriously, "you know that there are some other things that we need to talk about. And there are some changes we need to make."

"We know," Lee said seriously.

"First, the personal" Billy said. "I've already told Lee, and I want you to know, Amanda, that I'm not angry that you got married without telling me or anyone else. I understand why you did it. I told you both once that I was fine with your relationship, whatever it turned out to be, and I meant it. You've both been good friends to me for years, and you've served this Agency well, and I've wanted to see you both happy."

Amanda relaxed a little, but Lee didn't.

"I think your relationship has been good for you both in a lot of ways," Billy said. "But, there is your professional relationship to consider. According to regulation, married couples cannot work together as partners or even be in the same unit."

"I understand," Amanda said, her voice slightly choked.

"But, that doesn't mean that either of you need to leave the Agency. Things are changing around here, and I need you two to be part of it."

"Sir?" Amanda said.

Billy sighed. "You've probably noticed that things aren't normal around here. They've been oddly quiet. You know why?"

"Why?" Lee asked.

"We think the Cold War is winding down."

Both Lee and Amanda were surprised.

"What do you mean?" Lee asked.

"Dr. Smyth and I have been discussing the situation with representatives of the CIA and the NSA. European agencies have also been noticing changes in the way the Russians are doing things. There's been some foreign intelligence activity, especially activity related to gathering information about technological advances. But, there isn't even quite as much as there was last year. The conclusion is that many of their agents who were active abroad have been called home to deal with internal crises. The Eastern Bloc countries have grown more unstable. There's political unrest, and the Soviet Union seems unable to stop it. There are indications that the Soviet economy has grown weak, even weaker than we previously thought. It's possible that the Soviet Union isn't going to last much longer."

Lee and Amanda were stunned. They were both born after World War II. For them, the Soviet Union and the Cold War had always existed. It wasn't a good thing, living with the constant threat of nuclear war, the technological race, and the authoritarianism that kept Eastern Europe under Soviet rule, but that was the world they had always known. Without them, what would the world be like?

"I think you both understand the old saying that nature abhors a vacuum," Billy went on. "If the Soviet Union collapses and the resistance movements that have been gaining power in the Eastern Bloc countries succeed, the world is going to be a very different place. New people are going to take control in those countries, and we don't know yet who they are or what they're going to be like. That's where you come in."

"Is this Dr. Smyth's project?" Lee asked.

"Yes," Billy said. "He wants to form a special department within Field Section to gather intelligence about these emerging nations, or perhaps I should say re-emerging nations. We want to know who and what we're likely to be dealing with, and we'll need someone to coordinate that in cooperation with the CIA, NSA, and our allies in Europe. Lee, we've chosen you."

Lee was stunned. "I'm a trained field operative," Lee said. "I'm not management, and an operation of this size-"

"You won't be working alone," Billy said, "and your field skills are precisely why we want you to do this. You've been to most of the countries involved, and you know what it's like in the field and what your people are likely to be facing. You've been managing the Q-Bureau well, even though it's only been you and your partner. The strange cases you've handled here show that you know how to handle yourself in unusual situations. It's made you more flexible, more adaptable than some of your colleagues. Even though your new role will be largely as a coordinator, not in the field, you can anticipate the types of unusual problems your people will have to handle. You're what we need for this job."

Lee felt a little overwhelmed, and he glanced at Amanda. At her smile and encouraging nod, Lee said, "It's an honor to be offered this job. I accept."

"I thought you would," Billy said with smile.

He was still struggling to wrap his mind around the image of a future with no Soviet Union, but Billy was right. He had learned that, welcome or not, change was a constant in life, and this change might be one that everyone would truly welcome. He didn't know exactly what the future held, but he was eager to find out.

"You will have a staff of advisors who have studied the Eastern Bloc nations, both before and after the Second World War," Billy said. "They can advise you about the different ethnic groups in each region and how they are likely to react to the shifts in power. You'll also have a team of field agents of your own, promising young men and women who will carry out your intelligence-gathering missions. You and your department will still report to me as part of the Field Section, but the missions themselves will be your responsibility, conceived by you and executed by your people."

"What about the Q-Bureau?" Lee asked. And Amanda, he wondered silently.

"The Q-Bureau will be in good hands," Billy said. "I'm giving it to the only other current employee, Amanda."

Amanda looked surprised, and Lee said, "Amanda is an excellent agent, but I have to admit that I don't like the idea of her going into the field without me. We're partners, and I want to be the one watching her back."

"You won't have to worry about that," Billy said. "I'm not giving Amanda another partner, and she won't be going out into the field. Like you, I'm changing her role to that of a supervisor. I have a team of new recruits who can handle the field work that I'll be throwing her way and possibly help her close some of the old, unsolved cases. There's no conflict of personal interest for you here because you'll each be working in different units of Field Section, although it's possible that, once in awhile, some of Amanda's cases may tie in with your new assignment. Do you think that the two of you can work together from time to time in spite of your personal relationship?"

"Yes!" they both answered.

Billy laughed. "I know this is all going to be a big adjustment for everyone. It will take some time for each of you to put your units together and adjust to your new roles. By the way, how are things on the personal side? Have you talked to Dotty and the kids? And, do I announce your wedding or engagement to the department?"

"You can announce our engagement," Amanda said, "but you can tell them that it isn't necessary to have a baby shower. At least, not yet."

"We talked to Dotty and the boys yesterday," Lee said, "and they all approve. We've also set a date for our wedding. Our second wedding, that is. They still don't know about the first."

"Great, when it is?" Billy asked.

"We're getting married on the same day we did the first time," Amanda said.

"Amanda figured that I'd have an easier time if I didn't have to remember two anniversary dates," Lee said. Amanda poked him in the side.

"Am I invited?" Billy asked slyly.

"Yes," Lee said.

"We're breaking the news about the Agency to the family slowly," Amanda said. "So far, Jamie is the only one who knows what we really do. He's coping with it pretty well. I think Philip will probably think it's cool. Mother will have a hard time accepting it, and we might not be able to tell her the full truth right away, but I think we can tell her enough so that she'll understand that we work together, so you and Jeannie can come to the wedding."

"It's just going to be a small wedding in Amanda's backyard," Lee said.

"Our backyard," Amanda emphasized.

"I'm happy for you both," Billy said, "and I'll be glad to come."

Lee and Amanda smiled at each other. Their lives were changing. The whole world was changing. But, in some ways, it was all changing for the better. The best part was that they would be facing these changes together.