Author's note: Sorry for the delays in posting updates on all three of my current stories. I have been on vacation in Reno, NV for the USBC Open Championship with just my laptop and hotel wifi. Now, that I'm home and still have until Saturday before I go back to work, I should be able to get caught up on all three again. I have been trying to reply to all the reviews that I've been receiving, but it's been a bit of a challenge to keep up with them between participating in the bowling tournament, sight-setting, gambling and shopping. If I missed anyone, I apologize and want everyone to know that all reviews are greatly appreciated.
On an additional note, the writers of the show made a factual error in "Do You Take this Spy" when they indicated that Marion, VA was only 12 miles away when in reality, it's over 200 miles away from DC. Just for continuity's sake and because it fits better with plans for this story, I'm sticking with the show's error rather that the actual distance.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The following morning, Lee was awakened when Amanda rushed out of bed. He protested at her side of the bed being empty. He walked into the bathroom to find her heaving over the toilet. He knelt beside her as he'd done at the house, holding her hair away from her face and rubbing her back until her nausea subsided. "Are you ok?" he asked as she leaned against him for support.
"Yeah, just one of the joys of pregnancy," she said. "I'm fine, really. Just need to get something in my stomach. That usually helps ease it."
"I'll fix you something," he said kissing her temple softly. "Are you ok to get up?"
"Yeah," she said. Lee rose from his position on the floor then extended a hand to her to help her up as well. "I'll be in there in a minute. I just want to brush my teeth to get this taste out of my mouth."
Lee walked into the kitchen to find Francine making coffee. "Good morning, Lee," she said.
"Hi," he said as he began making preparations for breakfast cracking eggs into a mixing bowl. "You hungry?"
"You're cooking?" Francine said. "Since when do you eat breakfast?"
"I don't, but Amanda does," He said. "I just figured while I was at it, I'd cook for everybody." He placed a skillet on the stove laying out strips of bacon in it to start cooking and another skillet that he poured cooking oil into.
"Where is Amanda anyway? Did you wear her out or something?" She teased.
"No, I did not wear her out," Lee said in frustration as he scrambled the eggs while waiting for the oil to heat up to cook them in. "She's just not feeling well."
"I'm fine, Lee," Amanda said as she entered the room. "Like I said, it's just a normal part of pregnancy. It'll pass." She reached into one of the cabinets and reached for the box of saltines she'd bought last night knowing that she might need them. She started slowly nibbling at a cracker while she watched Lee cooking.
"That doesn't mean I can't still worry about you. I don't want to see you end up in the hospital again."
"That's why you tried to get out of this assignment, isn't it?"Francine said.
"You know about that?"Lee asked her.
"Billy told me about it yesterday. Of course, that was before I knew that the reason is because you're gonna be a dad. Wow, that sounds so weird to say. Lee Stetson, a dad."
"Yeah, I know," Lee said with smile. "I'd have never thought it possible, but I couldn't be happier," he said as he reached over and lightly caressed Amanda's stomach before turning back to his cooking.
"When did you try to get us out of this assignment?" Amanda asked.
"The night you were admitted to the hospital. I called Billy as soon as you told me that you're pregnant. I didn't want to risk putting you or our baby in any kind of danger."
"You didn't tell Billy about the baby, did you?" Amanda asked a hint of panic in her voice.
"No, I thought it would be better if we tell him we're married first before dropping that bomb on him. I just told him that you were in the hospital, but I only told him it was due to exhaustion and malnutrition so he didn't feel that it warranted pulling you off this case."
"Actually, Lee, even her pregnancy wouldn't necessarily warrant it," Francine said. "Not unless she was considered high-risk. Being Billy's assistant, I've seen enough of those types of requests to know. Now, when she gets into her third trimester, she'd be pulled off field duty, but until then as long as she's healthy until then, there shouldn't be a problem."
"Hmm," Lee said. "I'm not sure how I feel about be pregnant wife being on active field duty."
"Lee, I'm perfectly healthy," Amanda said. "Besides, we're already making progress on this case. If I thought that being here would in any way put our baby at risk, I would back out. I promise."
"Ok," he said as he began dishing up plates of scrambled eggs and bacon and the three of them began discussing who the most likely candidates were on the suspected weapons deal.
Efraim entered the kitchen a short time later to find Francine and Amanda at the kitchen table eating breakfast while Lee leaned against the kitchen counter discussing their case.
"I'm telling you, I think that Chambers guy is in this thing up to his eyeballs," Lee was saying.
"I disagree," Amanda said. "If he really had something to hide, he'd have just said no when we asked about making a documentary. Instead, he said he would think about it."
"Maybe he only said that in order to not make us suspicious if would have said no."
"I'm sorry, Lee. I just don't see it," Amanda said. "He seemed too cooperative."
"Well, then how do you explain that he basically ignored his wife? He's clearly not worried about the marriage aspect of this gig. He spent all night looking at you. Trust me, with what you and I have been through the past few days, I can tell you if the guy really cared about taking care of his marriage, he'd be paying more attention to his own wife instead of mine."
"Are you sure that you're not just looking to make him the bad guy because he was leering at Amanda all night," Francine said.
"Ok, I admit that I don't like that the bastard spent the majority of the evening undressing my wife with his eyes, but that's not the only thing. This guy is the leader of this group. He's the one who organizes it, plans all the events, rents the space for these retreats…"
"Actually, he's not," Efraim said. "Candace is. I noticed that same thing that you did last night. That Chambers was paying more attention to Amanda than her and it wasn't just Amanda either. He was acting that way toward several of the women although he seemed to be paying the most attention to Amanda. So the first chance I got, I cornered his wife."
"You cornered her? Don't you think that was dangerous? You could have put her on the defensive and made her suspicious of us," Francine said.
"No, I don't think it was dangerous at all," Efraim said. "Because you gave me the perfect excuse last night with the insults you were slinging at me. All I had to do was pretend to commiserate with her about being in an unhappy marriage where your spouse doesn't know you're alive and she couldn't wait to tell me all about her husband and the group."
"Efraim, if you're hungry, there's still scrambled eggs and bacon on the stove," Amanda said. "You should eat while you tell us what you found out."
"Please, tell me you cooked it and not Francine," he said warily.
"Neither, actually," Lee answered. "I cooked. Amanda wasn't feeling well this morning, you weren't up yet, and we all know how hopeless Francine is in the kitchen so breakfast fell to me."
"Hey!"Francine said.
"You cooked," Efraim said skeptically.
"Yes, Efraim, he did," Amanda said. "I was surprised the first time that I learned he could cook too."
"If you don't trust my cooking, fine, don't eat it," Lee said. "Just think about this. I've had to feed myself for damn near twenty years before Amanda and I got married."
"Besides that, he's not much of a breakfast eater anyway. I've been trying since the day we said "I do" to change that and nothing has worked so far."
"I get the feeling that you mother is jumping on that bandwagon too," Lee said with a chuckle. Lee turned to the stove and dished up a plate for Efraim.
"Can you two just give up on the marriage facade once and for all. I know you're both getting a big kick out of it because it gives you an excuse to sleep together, but enough is enough!"
Francine couldn't hold her tongue any longer when confronted with his endless stubbornness. "You're right, Efraim. Enough is enough," She snapped. "They're telling you the truth. They really are married. I've seen the proof of it myself. Now, can we move on and you finish telling us what you found out from Candace Chambers?"
"Here," Lee said as he handed Efraim his plate.
"Thanks," Efraim said as he sat next to Francine. "You've seen proof?" He said to her.
"Yeah, Right here in Marion. Their marriage license is on file at the county courthouse, over four months ago." Lee and Amanda both gave him looks to triumph.
Efraim turned to them incredulously. "You're really married?"
"Yes, we are," Lee said as he placed a hand on Amanda's shoulder and kissed the top of her head.
"Hey, you can do better than that," Amanda said as she leaned her head back. Lee obliged and kissed her softly. "So, Efraim, you were saying..." Amanda prompted him to continue.
"Oh, right. Well, apparently, Chambers has had a wandering eye for years. She's caught him cheating at least twice and she has a pre-nup that gives her a massive payoff if she can prove infidelity."
"Interesting," Francine said. "So, if she's already got the proof that he's been unfaithful, why doesn't she just cut her losses?"
"She's crazy in love with the bastard even though he treats her like crap. She's the one who started this group the first time she caught him cheating along with the Pattersons, the Murdochs and the Kleins as a way to try to get her husband's attention. They were all friends at the same country club and all had marital issues of one kind or another. It expanded over the years to the size that it is now. From what she was saying, he likes to play the big shot and is endlessly consumed with his image. Even though he plays around, he still wants her to be his trophy wife and doting mother to his children. He doesn't want it known that they have less than a perfect marriage so she lets him take the credit for running this thing with the understanding that if he tries to divorce her or publicly flaunts his affairs, she'll expose him for the fraud he is and take him to the cleaners."
"Wow, that's just so sad for her, to be in love with a man who couldn't care less," Amanda said with a hint of sadness in her voice.
Lee immediately caught on to the reason for Amanda's tone. He sat next to her, squeezed her hand said, "Hey, you don't have to worry about that. You're not married to Joe anymore."
"I know that," she said with a smile at him as she kissed him lightly. "It's just that this whole undercover assignment on top of Joe dropping the kids off with no warning, then the fight we had with him at the hospital...it's...well, it's brought up some painful memories."
"I suppose it doesn't help that you practically had to threaten him to get him to take the boys for the rest of the week like he was supposed to."
"It worked out for the best, though. You got to spend some time with the boys and in spite of me being hospitalized over it, some good did come out of it," she said. "I mean, look at how you bonded with Phillip."
"Yeah," he said with a smile as he reflected no Phillip's statement with a smile. He had to admit, he'd liked hearing it, but was also worried that that sentiment would change as soon as they dropped the bomb on the kids that they were married. "But Joe wasn't too happy about that one."
"It's his own fault for acting the way he has. He wants to be around for the fun stuff with the boys, but not the serious stuff. He does the weekend Dad stuff, taking the camping or fishing or to amusement parks, but he's not there for the day-to-day stuff like when they get sick or get a bad report card or get in a fight with another kid at school. You, on the other hand, are there for that stuff."
"Is this about what your son said when I was at the house the other night?"Francine inquired. "About wanting Lee to be his dad?"
"You were there for that part?"Amanda said.
"Yeah," she said with a nod. "Lee was having a hell of a time getting him to eat, but he never gave up until he got his way. Then your mother made a crack about your ex not being around."
"I'm going to have to have a talk with my mother regarding what she says about Joe in front of the boys," Amanda said.
"I don't think it matters anymore, Amanda," Lee said. "Phillip already thinks he doesn't give a crap the way he dumped them on you when they were sick. Jamie probably feels the same way and just hasn't said anything. You know how Jamie is. He holds a lot of stuff inside."
"Lind of like someone else I know," Amanda said with a mischievous smile at her husband.
"Not to interrupt this warm and fuzzy moment here, but we really should get back to discussing the case," Efraim said though in the last few minutes he felt a little comforted knowing that there was more to the relationship between Lee and Amanda than he'd thought. He'd been concerned given Lee's reputation that his trainee would become just another notch on his bedpost, but that seemed to be as far from the truth as possible if he'd actually married her and was taking time to bond with her kids.
"Yeah, You're right. With the intel you gathered, that gives us some more info to go on," He rose from his seat long enough to fetch the file they'd been looking through last night. "You said the Murdoch and that Kleins helped start up this group?"
"Yeah," Efraim said. "Ten years ago."
"Something on your mind, Sweetheart?" Amanda said. She had worked with him long enough that she could practically see the wheels turning in his head.
"Yeah," he said thumbing through the file. "Remember I told you when I was in West Germany in '77 I ran into some of these Eastern Freedom Brigade wackos?"
"I remember," Amanda said..
"I'd been sent there because there were rumors that there was going to be a major assault on the political officials during the International Association of Athletics Federation's World Cup was held there that year. Since it was in DĂĽsseldorf, not Berlin, The Brigade had planned to make their move while the majority of security would be focused on the stadium. We managed to stop three assassination attempts and capture about half a dozen guys involved, but we never could get them to fully disclose who they were working for. We only got a couple of names. "Those names I had Billy check on from this list..." he paused as he pointed out names in the file, "Robert Murdoch..." he paused again as he found the other name he was looking for, "...Stephen Klein. I'm pretty sure both of them were there in '77 when I was there or at least were involved."
"You think these are the same guys?"Francine asked.
"Might be worth investigating," Lee said. "I don't think it's coincidence that the attempted assassinations happened around the same time this group was started."
"Hmmm," Efraim said thoughtfully. "I wonder if this is isn't somehow connected to the Le Belle Discotheque bombing last year by the Libyans."
"Oh, right, They sent you over there for that last April," Lee said. "You think they might be working with the Libyans?"
"Not only that, but I wonder if it's connected to the 1972 incident at the Olympics. None of us were working for The Agency then, but I've read the case report on it."
"Yeah, but didn't they figure out that it was orchestrated by the Palestinian group Black September?" Amanda said. "I read the case report too and it seems it's a bit of a stretch to connect all of those events when the '72 hostage crises were about the ongoing feud between the Palestinians and the Israelis."
"I'm with Amanda on this one," Francine said. "I don't think the Olympic disaster is in any way related, although, I can see the connection between the disco bombing and what we've got going on now since we already have an idea that last year's bombing was organized by someone within the Libyan Embassy in East Germany."
"Yeah, Makes me wonder if they didn't have some inside help," Lee said glancing at his watch. "If there is a connection, then The Brigade has stepped up their game more than we knew about. We've got a little over two hours before today's events get started and we have to start playing our covers again. I'd like to check in with Billy again before then."
"You know, we've actually got enough time to drive back to the office and talk to him in person," Amanda said.
Lee looked at her noticing the pensive expression on her face. "What's on your mind?"
"I'd like to do a little digging on the computer on these two guys."
"I don't know if that's a good idea," Efraim said. "We shouldn't be seen leaving here too much or it will look suspicious."
"All four of us don't have to go, Efraim," Francine said. "They can go while you and I try to dig up more dirt from this end through interviews of the people who've been around this retreat for a while. Besides, no one's better with The Agency's computer system than Amanda."
"Thanks, Francine," Amanda said.
Lee handed Francine the file and said, "Here, you may need this. It has a list of all the participants and how many years each of the couples have participated. Might give you a better shovel if you start with the ones who've been doing this the longest."
"Exactly my thought," Francine said. "Ready to get your game face on?" she said to Efraim as she rose from her seat.
"Sure am," he said as he rose from his seat and slipped an arm around Francine's waist.
"Save it until we get out there," Francine said.
"Aw, but Honey..." he pouted.
"Would you stop that already? I do have a boyfriend, remember?"
"Who, that Stone guy? You're still seeing him?"
"Not that it's any of your business, but yes," she snarled. "Why?"
"I just find it hard to believe that you'd give him another chance after he broke your heart leaving you standing at the altar."
"Like I said, it's none of your business," Francine snapped.
"Listen, we should get going, if we're going to have time to get to the office and back. You two kids behave yourselves," he said with a chuckle. He couldn't help but see a little bit of the same jealousy in Efraim that he used to feel himself with Amanda when she was dating other people.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Lee had called Billy from the car on the drive back to Georgetown to update him on the plan and let him know that they'd be arriving soon. Once they got to The Agency, Lee and Amanda went their separate ways, Amanda to start work at the computer in the Q Bureau while Lee downstairs to Billy's office. When he stepped into the bullpen, he noticed that the chatter in the room had suddenly stopped indicating that his co-workers were still gossiping about his and Amanda's very public argument. "Somebody have something to say?" he said with a glare as he continued toward Billy's office.
Billy, having her Lee's bellow poked his head out the door of his office and said, "Come on it, Scarecrow." When Lee entered, he then shouted to the bullpen, "The rest of you quit gawking and get back to work!"
"I'm guessing they're still talking about us?" Lee said.
"What did you really expect, Lee? The two of you made quite the spectacle of yourselves. This is hottest gossip floating around the bullpen since Francine got back together with the guy who jilted her at the altar. How are the two of you doing by the way?"
"We're fine," he said absently fiddling with the wedding band on his left hand. This action didn't go unnoticed by Billy.
"So, I take it the two of you are ok with playing husband and wife?"Billy said hopefully. He had longed to see the two of them settle down together ever since he realized that they were an item. Of course, he'd known long before they'd started seeing each other that the two of them were painfully in love, but were both to stubborn to admit it for a long time. He'd been hoping that by assigning them to this case and pretending to be married, that it would get them closer to getting married for real.
"Yeah," he said with a smile.
"I don't want you to think I'm prying, but you and I have been friends for a long time. Do you mind telling me what the fight was really about?"
Lee sighed and said, "I'd love to tell you. In fact, Amanda and I have some news that we'd like to share with you, but I'd rather not do it without her here."
"News?" Billy said inquisitively. "Does this have anything to do with the diamond ring that Amanda chucked at you the other day?"
"Diamond ring?" Lee said nervously.
"Relax, Lee. I think I'm the only one who caught it. Nobody else was close enough to see what was on that chain."
"Look, Billy, I really don't feel comfortable discussing this with you without Amanda," Lee said.
"It's ok, Lee," Amanda said from the doorway having just entered the room. She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. "It's time that Billy knew the truth. We should have confided in him from the start. Maybe if we had, these last few months wouldn't have been so hard." She sat in the chair next to her husband.
"Are you sure that you're ready?" Lee said placing a hand on her arm.
She nodded as she linked her fingers with his. "It's time," she said firmly. "Besides, with everything else that's going on, it's not like we can hide any longer."
Billy looked at both of them, nodded toward their linked hands where Amanda's rings were plainly visible and said, "Does this have anything to do with the diamond ring Amanda's wearing. It's very clearly not one that came from fabrications."
"You're right, it's not," Lee answered. He looked at Amanda who signaled with her eyes for him to continue. He took a deep breath and plunged on. "Neither is her wedding band or mine."
Billy looked at them both in surprise. "Does that mean what I think it means? That all this time that I've been dropping hints that you two should get married I was wasting my breath?"
"Yes, Sir," Amanda said. "Lee and I got married four months ago."