Fasili Korovchen sipped his tea and looked over at the filthy clothing and wig. Dressed as a homeless man, he hoped to remain unnoticed for his meet in the park. Everything was set. Soon the sun would be up, and the Agency would set up their "sting" on the dupe Whitsett and his philandering military contact, Colonel Marshall. Or so he hoped. Rumor had it that the great Scarecrow and his lovely partner Mrs. King had joined up with MI6's Lady Farnsworth to capture Sydney Whitsett and supposedly save yet another joint British/U.S. project from getting into enemy hands. The threesome had played along nicely with Korovchen's scheme.
His seething days were over. After two years of effort, it had become clear that the FalconWing plans had been altered. Useless. Korovchen had been humiliated and threatened with exile in Siberia if he did not produce a trophy for his superiors in the KGB. But nursing a grudge by tipping the vodka bottle or throwing things around his Moscow flat would not keep Fasili out of Siberia. Thus, he had sprouted the elaborate scheme to take down Sydney Whitsett once again, along with Stetson, King, and Farnsworth. Let them look like fools, just as I had. Once they find out that we in fact do have the plans, they will suffer their own humiliation. Fasili Korovchen checked his disguise once again before taking the last sip of his tea. Soon it would be time to leave.
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At his desk in the quiet bullpen, Efraim Beaman read over the reports one last time. It just doesn't make sense. Why would the KGB allow Whitsett to run an operation again, when he had been so easily duped the last time? Yes, the KGB thought they had the FalconWing plans when the dust had settled, but rumor had it that they had learned the truth about the whole affair. Or so Efraim's most recent research showed. Good thing I've been brushing up on my Russian. This little tidbit about Korovchen was hard to find in that pile of surveillance transcripts that Analysis finally sent over for me to translate. Now Rostov's comment to Scarecrow makes sense. I really should consider a transfer to Analysis. It's so much more fun than training the freshmen candidates.
Knowing that the people who needed this information were already in the field, Efraim decided to go to them. Billy will need to know. And since Francine is running this operation, maybe she will finally treat me with a little more respect. Oh, she is a fine-looking woman. If only…
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Billy, Lee, Amanda, and Emily Farnsworth sat quietly in the van, sipping coffee or tea and waiting while Francine completed a series of mic checks. It was still over an hour before the meet was scheduled. Francine knew everything was in order, but something was bothering her. She voiced her concerns out loud to the others in the van.
"This all seems too neat. After that comment from Rostov, I'm beginning to wonder if this isn't a set up."
Lee listened with interest, and then spoke up. "We've been wondering the same thing Billy. Did Beaman come up with anything?"
"Not yet. But if we don't stay here, Whitsett will go free once again. And if Rostov was trying to lead us away from Whitsett and Marshall, then the KGB might find another way to get those plans."
A knock sounded on the door of the van. After checking the monitors, Lee opened the door for Efraim.
"Beaman. You drove all the way over here?"
"I thought it would be best if I did, Billy. After you hear what I've found, you'll hopefully agree."
"Go ahead."
"You'll remember that Fasili Korovchen took the falsified plans for FalconWing after Whitsett's last bust?"
"Yes." Efraim not only had Billy's attention, but everyone else's.
"Well, we finally got the transcripts from our surveillance of the Russian operatives. Korovchen was identified as being among some of the people monitored. He specifically mentioned his 'humiliation' at the hands of the British and American agents two years ago. After searching through all of the transcripts last night, I pieced together his plan."
"Beaman, I'm impressed. What do you have?"
Efraim was happy to have Billy's praise, but he was more pleased to see Francine's reaction. She was obviously impressed as well.
"He has at least two moles working for him on the satellite project. This whole thing with Whitsett was merely a diversion to keep us from noticing. Apparently he's set to have his mule make the transfer in one hour at a park not far from here."
"What about the moles? Any chance of getting their identities?"
"I was close to solving that, but time was running low. I was mostly concerned about stopping the mule this morning. I can get back to the Agency and start going through the transcripts—it shouldn't take more than an hour to figure out who they are. The moles work in Marshall's department, that I know."
"Any information on that mule? Wait, scratch that. Let's scramble a team to get to that park—Francine, we'll leave four agents here to go after Whitsett and Marshall, and bring the van and surveillance people to the park. Let's move. We don't have much time. Beaman, ride with me so you can fill me in on the details."
"Billy, how about Amanda and I stay with Emily to nab Whitsett and bring in the colonel? The colonel will be coming voluntarily anyway just for the debriefing, right?"
Billy thought for a moment. "Whitsett will know Amanda is an operative if you do that. And Lady Farnsworth's Tatiana Federova Romacheva cover will be blown as well. But I think Whitsett already may have already figured out it wasn't really Romacheva."
Emily perked up. "Oh, but Mr. Melrose, I can put Amanda in a disguise. Whitsett will never know it's the same woman from the hotel."
"Amanda?"
"Sounds like a plan, Sir."
Billy grinned. "Well fine, then. I'll leave Chang and Swanson here with you as backup, in case you have more company. Bring the colonel to interrogation, and put Whitsett in a holding cell. We'll see you back at the Agency."
After they had left, the three went to Amanda's Jeep. "Just what exactly did you have in mind, Emily?"
Lee put a hand out. "Wait a minute. Amanda, are you sure you're up for this?" He offered her a meaningful look.
"I'm feeling much better today. Just a little off, but I was able to eat some oatmeal this morning."
Seeming satisfied, Lee nodded. "Yeah, Emily, what's the plan?"
"Well, whenever I go into these situations, I always bring a few props. So if you could help me get that bag, Lee…"
Lee leaned into the back of the Jeep and produced a satchel.
"Amanda, let's go to that restroom just over there. We need to hurry. He could be early."
A few minutes later, Emily emerged from the restroom building and brought the satchel back to the Jeep. As Lee placed inside and locked the door, Emily spoke quietly to him. "Let's just go to our arranged spot. Amanda will catch up with us soon enough."
Lee hesitated.
"She'll be fine, Lee."
Lee parked himself at the picnic table near the meet area. He pretended to read a newspaper as he watched Colonel Marshall do the same at another table not far away. Emily sat nearby and worked at her knitting.
A homeless woman ambled slowly around the picnic area, poking around in trash cans here and there. She sat down under a tree about thirty feet away from Lee. He glanced over at her several times. Something about her was vaguely familiar. But he was more concerned about his partner. Where is Amanda?
Emily glanced over at Lee, then smiled and nodded as if to greet a stranger. Well, at least she's insisting all is well. Lee checked his earpiece surreptitiously. He could hear Emily's whispered confirmation, then the colonel's. Then Amanda's. Where the hell is she?
After several more minutes, Lee was forced to focus on the middle-aged, moustached man who approached the picnic area. Whitsett glanced over his shoulder several times and looked furtively around. He's definitely not learned a thing about intelligence work.
As he drew nearer, Marshall stood and left his newspaper folded on the table. He walked down a path towards a grove of trees where Chang and Sampson waited. Whitsett took a seat at the table. After a moment he picked up the newspaper, then eventually stood to leave, taking the newspaper with him.
Emily, who had been snapping photos with the small camera hidden by her yarn, waited a beat while Lee rose to intercept Whitsett. She watched as the homeless woman also got up and walked towards Lee and Whitsett.
Lee noticed the woman, too, and grew nervous. Until he saw her eyes. Momentarily distracted, he almost missed his chance to block Whitsett's path, but he caught himself in time. The homeless woman came up behind the hapless Englishman and pushed the muzzle of her revolver into his back.
Whitsett felt the revolver and knew that he was in trouble. There would be no running away from this mess. A raspy voice came from over his shoulder. "Come with us, Mr. Whitsett."
Emily joined them. "A fine job, Agent Stetson." But she wasn't looking at Lee. One of the homeless woman's brown eyes winked, and Lee almost laughed as he handcuffed Whitsett.
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Lee found Amanda in the hallway outside the holding cells at the Agency after leaving Sydney Whitsett for the interrogation team. He fingered her stringy hair and pulled at her shirt, stained with tea so it would look filthy. "I guess you got me back for that time in the convenience store."
"Thanks to Emily." She blew a kiss to her husband, but he involuntarily drew back. Laughing, she finally pulled off the wig. Leaning in close, she whispered, "I guess you only are in for the better, not the worse, Stetson?"
"Hey! This isn't what that means."
"Relax. I'm only kidding. But I would like to get out of these clothes. Where's Emily?"
"I think she's waiting for you outside of Marshall's debriefing room. He is still facing a court martial or other action, but the charges were reduced because of his help with the case. He brought in a lawyer, so she wanted to see how it was going."
"I noticed that Rostov stayed away from the park."
"Yeah. He operates that way. He gave us the tip to get even with Korovchen for making him look foolish. And, he's still in power, even though Moscow doesn't have our satellite plans. They didn't expect him to get them, so he's not humiliated, as Korovchen has been."
"I guess he trusts us not to let on that he helped us figure things out?"
"He never told us it was Korovchen. So he's clean."
"Speaking of the devil, how did it go with Korovchen?"
"Caught him and the mule. And Beaman figured out who the moles are. There's a team heading over to arrest them right now."
"So all's well that ends well."
"Yeah. Once we get you in your own clothes again. And to the doctor. Two o'clock, right? Lunch first?"
"Yes on both counts, Scarecrow." Amanda blew Lee another kiss and went off to find Emily.
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Lee and Amanda were seated side by side, sharing a salad at Emelio's, when Lee grabbed Amanda's arm. "Try not to be too obvious, but check out who just walked in."
Amanda looked towards the door as surreptitiously as she could. Her eyes went big and she almost choked on her bite. She swallowed and croaked out, "Francine and Beaman! Alone!"
"Yeah. Let's try not to look. The poor guy has been after her for years."
"I know. Maybe she's rethinking things after the whole mess with Jonathan. I felt sorry for her when she came home early from their vacation. I guess it just didn't work out."
"It's only lunch." Lee gestured to the salad. "We'd better finish up here. The entrée will be here soon, and we need to make your appointment."
"Thanks for coming with me, Lee."
"Of course I'm coming."
"I just hope Billy won't be upset…"
"It helps that he already knows we're married."
"I guess we'll have to tell people at the Agency."
"Let's cross that bridge when we come to it, Amanda. Here's the rest of our lunch."
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After helping Amanda into the Jeep and getting behind the wheel, Lee put the keys in the ignition and just sat there. Amanda watched him with an amused smile. Ever since he'd heard the sound, he had been in a daze. Since the doctor's office was a few doors down from a bookstore, they had walked over after the appointment and purchased a book on pregnancy and child care. Or rather, Amanda had chosen the book and paid for it. Lee's mind was elsewhere.
Seeing if she could rouse him before he started driving, she spoke. "So, February 20, huh? Almost the same time as our first anniversary."
"Yeah." Lee rested his hand on the steering wheel and stared across the parking lot. Suddenly he turned to Amanda. "You know, it really didn't seem real until I heard our baby's heartbeat."
"Nice and strong. Our baby seems healthy, Lee. And I'm happy. No restrictions for me. Nothing unusual, anyway."
"Yeah. I'm glad you're doing well."
"Lee, do you want me to drive?"
"No, I'll be fine. Amanda, do you realize that we're having a baby? His little heart was beating. It was incredible."
"Maybe the baby is a girl."
"Maybe." Lee started the engine. Finally able to focus on the road, Lee's mind was still not fully on his driving. On the way back to the Agency, Amanda had to remind him several times to go when the stoplights changed.
"Let me call Mother. It really was nice of her to invite Emily for dinner tonight. I don't know what you said to her, but she's really simmered down. I should make sure everything is still on."
"Go ahead."
"I promise I'll come over tomorrow night. Joe said he is taking the boys to the game and keeping them at his house."
Lee finally stopped dreaming about the baby. He put his hand on Amanda's. "We could have a little celebration tomorrow night." He brought her hand to his lips.
Amanda smiled at him as she waited for Dotty to pick up. "Hello, Mother? I'm just making sure you are still okay with having a guest… Yes, Mother. We just have one more meeting, and then we should be coming home… Yes, I'll tell Lee, Mother." Amanda ended the call and put away the phone.
"Tell Lee what?"
"She said she and the boys already started cleaning out the garage attic, whatever that means."
"I think she likes my idea to turn the attic into an apartment."
"Ah. Are you sure you don't want to buy another, larger house?"
"The boys are only a few years away from college. They won't be home much longer. I hated moving all the time when I was a kid, and I don't want to do that to the boys. They would probably have to change schools or something. Besides, with your mother moving into the apartment, we can use her room for the baby."
Amanda decided to let Lee and Dotty work out the living situation. She was happy that they got along so well—and that Dotty did not seem to be mad at Lee. Now, if only she would forgive me…
Lee heard a sigh. "What's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing. I think it's nice that you and Mother have made up already."
"But you and she haven't."
"Yeah. I know. It will take time."
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As the meeting concluding the Whitsett/Korovchen case wrapped up in the conference room, Amanda could not help notice that Beaman followed Francine out the door. She watched as he followed her to her desk and waited for Francine to get her purse. They walked out of the bullpen together.
A voice spoke in her ear. "Spying again, Mrs. Stetson?"
Amanda turned towards Lee. "I learned from the best. Did you see that?"
"Yeah. Beaman told me before the meeting that he and Francine were having dinner together tonight. Looks like lunch was a success."
They grinned at one another.
Emily Farnsworth turned from her conversation with Billy. "Would you two mind waiting while I made a phone call or two? I shouldn't be long."
"No problem, Emily. Amanda and I have to meet with Billy for a few minutes before we go home."
"Let's go to my office, Scarecrow." Billy led the way out of the conference room.
Lee closed the door to Billy's office before joining Amanda and Billy at the desk.
"What's up, Scarecrow? You miffed that Beaman got the real culprit?"
"Not at all, Billy. To be honest, I've been pretty distracted with some personal matters this week. And it looks like it worked out just fine for Beaman."
Billy guffawed at Lee's crack. "Who'd have thought?"
Lee grew defensive. "Some have said that about me. People can change."
"Oh, you fell for Amanda from the start. You were just too thick-headed to see it for years." Billy sat back in his seat. "So, what did you need? If you're worried about Smyth, I'm still working that out. But I wouldn't worry. The rumor mills have you two together anyway, and he hasn't assigned you to new partners. I don't see any changes coming once he finds out you're married."
"Uh, Billy. That's just it."
Amanda saw Lee hedging and jumped in. "Sir, I'm pregnant."
"What?" Stunned, he remained in his seat as the news registered. Staring at first Amanda, then Lee, it was a moment before a grin spread across his face. Billy jumped out of his seat and went over to pump Lee's hand. "Well, congratulations, Man! Have you been keeping this a secret, too?"
"No. We just confirmed it at the doctor's office today. Amanda is not very far along. She's due in February."
"But we didn't want to keep you in the dark again…"
"Well, I do appreciate that." Billy went to sit down again. "Imagine. Lee Stetson is going to be a father." Billy chuckled to himself, and then stared at Lee again for a moment.
Lee ran a finger under his collar, but chose not to defend himself. At some point Billy's going to learn that I'm ready to be a parent.
Billy turned to the two agents seated across from him. "You know, Amanda, after a few months you will have to leave the field. And I can only assign you light cases from now on. At least until the baby comes, that is. After you return from maternity leave, it will be up to you whether you want to return to the field."
"I understand, Sir. I would like to continue working with Lee for as long as possible."
Lee took Amanda's hand and held it between the chairs.
"There will be the occasional case that Lee must take on his own, but I can try to give him assignments where you can work together. You are my best team. And, quite honestly, you just don't work as effectively apart." Billy looked at Amanda. "Is everything okay with the pregnancy?"
"I'm fine, Sir. I had a little nausea this week, but I think I can manage that. The doctor gave me something in case it becomes a problem again."
"Very good." Billy smiled and gazed at some point on the far wall. "You know, I was on pins and needles when Jeannie was pregnant." He regarded Lee.
"I'm just glad it turned out to be what it did. Amanda had me worried there for a few days."
"Just wait, Lee. You're only at the beginning." Billy chuckled. "And by the way. After you two finish your report tomorrow, why don't you take the rest of the week off? Hopefully it will make up for me calling you on Saturday night and ruining your weekend."
Noting that Lee looked rather jubilant as he escorted Amanda and Emily out of the building, Emily pulled Amanda to the side. "Amanda, what is Lee so happy about, if I may ask?"
Lee overhead the question. "We have the rest of the week off. And something else. You might as well tell Emily, Amanda."
"We're pregnant. Our baby is due in February."
Emily stopped for a moment to give Amanda a hug. "Oh, that is happy news! No wonder you are walking on cloud nine, Lee."
"I am. Although I must admit I'm a little nervous, too."
"How far along are you, Amanda?"
"Going on seven weeks."
"Oh well. You still have a ways to go. Lee, you must be enjoying this."
"I guess it's a lot to think about. Amanda bought a book for me to read."
"What an excellent idea." Emily smiled over at Amanda. "Have you told your family anything yet?"
"Well, they know we are married. We're waiting until the dust settles to tell them I'm pregnant." Amanda put her hand on Emily's arm as they reached the car. "I'm sure you understand that we should probably not talk about the marriage unless my mother brings it up. She is a bit touchy about that. She's forgiven Lee, but I'm still on shaky ground for keeping secrets."
"Perhaps news of the baby will help?"
"I don't know. But it will be nice to have you for dinner. Mother is looking forward to it. The boys helped her cook it as a way of making up for lying to her the other day." Amanda frowned. "Not sure how I'll make up for all of my lying."
"This is a tough business in that way, Amanda. You are a good daughter and a good mother." Emily reached up and patted Amanda's shoulder. "It will be nice to take you and Dotty to the tea house next week before I leave."
Emily sat back in her seat again. "You know, this case did not go quite as planned, but at least the satellite is safe. And I have to say it was a delight to work with you both again."
Lee took his eyes off the road to glance back at Emily. "The feeling is mutual, Emily. Although I'm not sure I care to see my wife dressed as a homeless woman again anytime soon."
"I had fun. It was my turn. And I could tell you didn't recognize me until I looked you in the eye, Scarecrow."
Lee was a little defensive. "It was the baggy clothes. I know what my wife looks like."
Emily raised her eyebrows at Amanda when she looked back. "It was a good disguise, Emily. And Whitsett still doesn't know I'm an agent. Although I hope I never see him again."
Lee spoke quietly to himself. "I hope he never sees you again, either."
Amanda reached over and patted his arm, and turned back to Emily. "I hope we can visit with you again soon under other circumstances, Emily."
Lee was quick to respond. "Maybe a little vacation to England is due, Amanda. Joe might be willing to take the boys. We could go before you get too close to your due date."
"Oh, I've always wanted to go back."
"Then you must plan it." Emily gave Amanda's shoulder a light pat. "Lee, let me know if you need any hotel or bed and breakfast ideas. Or, if you like, you can stay with me at the house. There are plenty of rooms and the place fairly echoes with only me and the servants there."
"Oh, I don't know, Emily. We don't want to impose."
"Nonsense. The Farnsworth home stands empty so much of the time. It would be nice for the servants to have someone to care for besides me for once."
Lee looked at Amanda and gave her an encouraging smile. She replied, "Well, in that case…we'd be honored."