BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO - 1984

'Who's Patty?' thought Renee.

Someone in the background at Elizabeth's end of the call had called her that. Renee was confused, it was like Elizabeth was being addressed by some unknown woman at her end of the call, because Elizabeth had responded all ditzy-like - quite unlike her Falls Church personna. More like the girls at the gym who fussed with their hair.

Then it was the Elizabeth of old who spoke next, "thanks, Renee, you're a life-saver. If you can pick Henry up at school and take him downtown to the St Edwards Academy recruiter's office, you'd be saving our lives. Henry is so looking forward to next year in New Hampshire. Please apologize to him…"

Then Renee heard it again, "Patty, hurry up!" And then the line went dead.

Proactively, Renee then looked up the office number for Falls Church Highschool. Calling it, she relayed that she would be, 'picking up Henry Jennings', and that this was by permission of his mother. Renee left the license number of her 4x4.

The chaos of the school's final bell took care of any worry that the school office was keeping track of who'd picked up who. Renee had to jump out of her side and wave at him, as Henry was standing there failing to find his mom.

Settling into the passenger side, Henry quipped, "it's kind of typical of mom to jam-out. Here it is the biggest day of my life, and she's selling airplane tickets."

Taking the address in Georgetown from him, they started off. "Don't be too hard on your parents, Henry. They want the best for you." (Renee had yet to turn the note over…..)

Looking out the window opposite Renee, he said, "you wouldn't know it by their actions. Dad just yesterday started yelling that he wasn't going to pay for St Edwards. I told him that Chris's family would help. That I would get a job….."

At the silence, Henry then turned to Renee, he being all beet-red in the face. He said weakly, "speaking of Chris…."

When he didn't continue, Renee prodded, "Is Chris a friend of yours? Is he going to St Edwards?"

Henry said equally weakly, "Chris is a she. She's who I need to talk to you about."

This time, Renee let the awkward silence linger. It was obvious that the boy from across the street, Stan's best friend's son, was struggling with something. All she could do was allow him to finish his sentences…..

"Dad said you and Stan, that you're eventually going to marry. He said that Stan said that you're a little old to start having kids, but you'll get married anyway."

She said, "he did, did he!?" Renee tried to mute her shock, plus a little bit of anger that the two men would talk about her like that. Much less with Henry!

He sat silent as she waited for the red light ahead to turn green. When it turned, Henry launched into what was bugging him.

He recited rapidly, "I just want to say, Renee, that if you and Stan decide to get married, I won't stand in your way. It's why you need to know about Chris - she and I, we're not exactly dating, but I have a thing for her. It means there can be nothing between you and me."

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, it took a second for Renee to realize that the light had turned green!

What had Henry just said!? The car honking behind her was a god-send.

She finally said, "Henry, if I have given you any indication, any indication at all that you and me…. let's just forget we even talked about it. You, your job is to enjoy Chris….. er, not 'enjoy', but you know what I mean….."

Henry looked very embarrassed and somewhat ashamed. He finally said, "it's not just that her family is connected to St Edwards…. she's so cool. She knows math better than I do, and at Falls Church High I'm the guy who's Mr. Math."

They drove further in silence, and Renee wracked her brain on how Henry might have misconstrued her actions around him. Henry seemed to think that there was a 'thing', despite their age difference!

GETTING IN TOUCH WITH HER INNER-GRANNY - 1984

The few times she and Renee had got together, there was always two questions Claudia would ask. "Has Beeman said he loved you yet?" The second question was always, "have you made inroads with Henry Jennings?" Renee guessed that Henry's passenger seat confession counted as 'inroads'.

Henry in the 4x4 was now all confused, as well as mortified, so much so that Renee had started laughing. He said, still holding back tears, "Renee this is serious…. I'm breaking up with you!"

Her mind was elsewhere. She was already framing how she might leverage this with the naïve kid, how she would break the news to Claudia, that the boy across the street had confessed his love for her! He'd done it even before even the man she now had lived with for the past 2 weeks! That was worth a few yuks!

She apologized to Henry and waited for him to stop holding back tears. She then pivoted into what she'd done plenty of times back in Seattle 'for the cause', but never with someone so young.

She made it up on the fly. "Henry, I'm sure you'll agree that Stan must never know this…"

Henry spat out, "ya think!?" - the most sarcastic he'd ever been with an adult.

"Your parents," she continued, "they must never know. Paige, she must never know." Secrets, her minimal training had taught her, were the coin of the realm. She thought, then added, "so we're on the same page. Let me tell you what I've never told Stan. If he asked me to marry him, I'd say yes. There - we now have mutual secrets."

Feeling a tad sheepish that she was now 'working' a teenage boy the way she'd done in Seattle with grown men, she said, "and to keep these secrets, Henry, I'm going to be asking you to do things for me."

"Like what?" he asked.

"I dunno," she improvised. "Don't get me wrong, I love Stan, but he loves you too, Henry. It would kill him to hear what we've just discussed. There's Matthew, I know, but Stan talks with you. What I need from you - so that this secret remains safe - is that if Stan ever says anything about me, you're to tell me - privately. Okay? If he says anything about his work at the FBI, you're to pass it to me. Privately. Do we have a deal?"

Henry saw the building in Georgetown in which the St Edwards recruiter was. When Renee parked, he thanked her, said that they had a deal - she said that she had promised his mother that she would wait.

Before he opened his door to go in he said, "dad's probably not going to pay for this. They've got great math teachers there - plus an elite varsity hockey program."

Renee said, insisting that he was going to have to get out of the car, "Henry, you help me like we discussed, and I'll help you."

ONE-TIME PADS

Henry jumped out, then ran into the building.

Unfolding the address slip even more, Renee had her second shock of the day - both elicited by Henry Jennings.

In her hand she was holding the Georgetown address written on the blank side, but overleaf was what amounted to an intelligence service's 'One Time Pad', which was a method of encrypting and decrypting secret messages. What was Henry doing with it? Where'd he get it from?

Renee now was actually looking forward to her next meeting with Granny. Maybe even Stan will tell her he loves her before that happened, and Renee would be two-for-two.

MEETING WITH GRANNY - 1984

Renee: You've not told me everything, Claudia. Okay, I 'get' I'm on a need to know basis… I've done your dirty work before. I've moved in with Stan - not an entirely undesirable development, I might add. I've not yet said it to him, but I may be falling for him - genuinely.

Claudia: Has he said he loves you?

Renee: No, and neither have I to him. But I will, soon.

Claudia: You have to wait for him to say it. - pause - You're not saying that you're now compromised, are you?

Renee: No…. but listen, you haven't exactly been forthcoming with what my mission is? I've now got an 'in' with FBI Counterintelligence, I now sleep with them, for heaven's sake! But I may need you to be more specific. What, exactly, am I looking for - especially with Henry, so as to pass on 'for the cause'?

Claudia: I've told you, you'll know it when you see it.

Renee (reaching into her coat pocket and handing Claudia the folded paper from the One Time Pad): You mean, like this?

Claudia (opening it, pausing): Where did you get this?

Renee: I did what you asked, I've 'developed' Henry Jennings, the boy. I've never asked you why I would want to do that…. but you've said, that I'll know it when I see it.

Claudia: Do you know what this is?

Renee (with a guffaw): Of course I know what it is. It's from an encryption pad, for receiving and sending coded messages. It's used in countries' intelligence services. I saw plenty of them in Seattle. - pause - I got it from Henry, the boy. - pause - He'd written an address on the blank side…..

- Claudia remained silent -

Renee: So do you want to admit to a further reason that I'm to sleep with Special Agent Stan Beeman? Are you thinking that he spends his time 'developing' his neighbours as FBI assets? That Stan is 'schooling them', on tradecraft? That Stan gave Henry this? And I'm to find out if he's doing that….. and report that to you?

Claudia: Okay. We want you to be aware of anyone who Stan Beeman develops as FBI assets. His neighbours, they have perfect covers. But there are plenty of other people in Falls Church - the important thing…. what relationship do they have with Stan Beeman? You're to find all that out. Don't do anything, just keep your eyes and ears open.

Renee: - silence - Claudia - if Stan was a deep cover KGB asset, you would tell me wouldn't you?

FBI INTERVIEW PART 2 FBI BUILDING WASHINGTON D.C. - JANUARY 1988

Agent: To your knowledge, Mrs. Beeman, did Elizabeth Jennings have any friends?

Renee: Well, like I say, there was me. Janine Aderholt and her got on well, but I don't think either ever actually sought the other out. Elizabeth was friendly with people…. but 'friends'? That's a tough one. She worked so hard at their agency….

Agent: ….. as well as with her 'night job'…..

Renee: Like I say, you're the one who knows about that.

Agent: And Henry Jennings? Agent Beeman said that you'd got into a bit of a dust-up with the Jennings about Henry's school in New Hampshire.

Renee: I overstepped, and I'd apologized. Three years ago, I'd asked them to reconsider about St. Edwards once Philip had angrily denied him. I didn't let it alone. I actually gave some money to St Edwards, which I asked their Billings Officer to tell Philip was an 'anonymous bursary', awarded by the school to Henry, not specially earmarked. I hadn't even told Stan I'd done that. Stan was not in favour of me interfering any more than Philip was.

Agent: But why you? Why befriend Henry like that?

Renee: Stan loved that boy. My bet is that he ends up in our house, permanently, I mean. I now don't know what's going to happen with St Edwards Academy.

Agent: Forgive me, Mrs. Beeman. That's not what I asked.

Renee: I don't know any other way to answer. Stan and Henry, they came as a package. When Stan and I first hooked up four years ago, it was clear that Henry was in his life. Like white on rice.

Agent: Did Henry ever let on about his parents?

Renee: I don't know what to say? I mean, he may have, but before all this broke, I wouldn't have known what to listen for! - pause - Okay, if truth be told, Philip Jennings got after me for interfering with his son. Stan did too - that was our only friction. Me, I apologized.

- silence -

Agent: Agent Beeman told us that before he'd gone up to St Edwards - in the days either before or following the Jennings' escape to Russia - that you had telephoned Henry, called him in New Hampshire…

Renee: Yes, Elizabeth Jennings had asked me to. That was after the disastrous Thanksgiving…

Agent: …. when they'd walked out on their own kids for a KGB operation in Chicago….

Renee: …. I don't know what you want from me. Elizabeth asked me to call her son. I did.

Agent: Here's the question, though. Did you call before or after you knew that Mrs. Jennings was KGB?

(to be continued…..)