SMK Chapter 25 - Day 15

Pain rippled through her body in wave after wave of agony. She could feel the blood dripping from her arm, but couldn't tell how much of it she was losing. Her heart was beating a heavy staccato rhythm, and she needed to try to lower its tempo. But he was here. Lee was here.

She still didn't know how many days it had been since she'd first woken up in this hellhole, but she'd known she couldn't last much longer without going insane. She'd about given up hope. But then she'd thought of Lee again – and of their baby.

She had stayed sane by cataloguing her 'firsts' with Lee. The first time they'd met at the train station, the first time they'd pretended to be married, their first kiss playing their cover on the job when Lee went undercover as a football player, the first time she'd thought he might have feelings for her when he'd climbed into her bedroom window to warn her about an Italian terrorist, the first time he'd kissed her because he wanted to after the American terrorist, Steven Sallee, was killed in the Hotel Monroe, the first time he'd told her he loved her on the phone before they went on the run from the Agency…the first time they'd made love.

But she didn't want just 'firsts' with Lee. She wanted 'seconds' and 'thirds' – she wanted forever. She'd also known that in order to have that forever, she was going to have to wait. Wait and survive.

She had just begun waking up again when his voice had floated down the stairs to her ears. She'd known it was him the moment she'd heard it, but there was someone else with him – a woman. Ah, yes. She knew that voice, too. June.

As the voices came closer, she was able to distinguish words. Enough to know that Lee was walking into a trap. And she knew the moment he realized she was here because he called out her name. Everything happened quickly after that. Fred's voice appeared out of the darkness, and the cage door opened. She hadn't expected the tug on her blindfold that made it fall away from her eyes. She'd turned her head toward Lee's voice, and there he was. She'd known it was him, even though her eyes were struggling to adjust to the light. Hope blossomed in her heart; he was good at what he did for a living – he was going to get them out of here.

Then had come the swift, unexpected, searing pain. She'd nearly passed out. It had taken all her effort to stop herself from throwing up, but with the gag over her mouth, she didn't dare; she'd end up choking on her own vomit. She'd closed her eyes in an effort to swallow the pain and control her breathing; but, desperate to see her husband, she'd opened them again…and had seen something move in the shadows…

Amanda's eyes were rivetted on him, but then her glance flickered toward the stairs before coming back to him again. That was his girl! The team must be standing by – or at least part of it. They knew to wait for his signal, but he had to get Fred talking first so they could bring down Davy, too.

He decided to try a different tactic. "June, listen to me." Again, he didn't take his eyes off Fred. "Do you really think Fred is going to let either of us out of here alive?" He spared a quick glance at her.

"Don't listen to him June," Fred interrupted in a tight voice. "He knows we've got him beat, and he's trying to manipulate you."

"Who's the one trying to manipulate you, June?" Lee kept his tone relaxed, but he knew time was running out. He had to get one of them talking. "June, you're smart; think about what's happening here. He's not on your side."

That got her attention. "What do you mean, 'he's not on my side'?"

"He's not going to allow either one of us to live long enough to be witnesses, June. He's just using you to do his dirty work." Lee glanced over at Fred. The gun was still pointed directly at Amanda. "I figure you're paying him for his help, right, June? Shouldn't you be the one calling the shots?" Lee winced inwardly at his poor choice of words. "It sure looks like Fred thinks he's the one in control here."

"You're not playing the game properly, Scarecrow." Fred cocked the hammer back on the pistol. "You're going to end up killing her."

Lee's focus zeroed in on Fred. In that moment, everything about Lee – his voice, his body language, his facial expressions – emitted confident and lethal danger. "If she dies, Fred, you die. Do you understand me?"

"You're hardly in a position to threaten me," Fred spat out.

"It's not a threat, Fielder." Lee's voice dripped with tightly controlled venom. "I'm just stating a fact. You kill her, and I've got nothing to lose. It will not be pleasant, and there's not a thing that will save you, you got me?" Doubt flashed through Fred's eyes.

"Who got you into this, Fred?" Lee asked. "Surely it wasn't just June." Lee shifted his stance to face Fred and narrowed his eyes. "In fact, I think you're using her rather than the other way around, aren't you."

"June," Fred's eyes never strayed from Lee's face. "I think we're done here." Fred shifted the gun in Lee's direction and walked toward him. "I'll take care of Scarecrow here. You finish off Mrs. King."

"We know Davy's in on this with you, Fred." It was a calculated risk, but things were spiraling out of control.

Fred's gaze flickered. "Take your piece out of your ankle holster, Stetson." He waited for Lee to obey. "Now, turn around and walk toward the cage."

Lee ignored the command. "Do you think he's going to take the fall for you, Fred?"

"Finish it, June!" Fred's shout echoed around the room.

Lee glanced over to see June's face frozen with fear, but the pistol she'd had earlier was back in her hand and aimed point blank at Amanda. "June!" It took all of Lee's self-control to not shout. "Don't you understand what's going on here?" She jerked her gaze up to Lee. "He's going to let you kill Amanda, knowing that I'm going to try to stop you, and that you're going to have to kill me, too. Then he's going to shoot you and tell everyone else he was trying to stop you from shooting me, but you were too quick.

"Have I got that right, Fred?" He glanced quickly back toward Fred. "This isn't about what you want, June. He and David Benson are using you to take the fall for their revenge."

"Who's David Benson, Fred?" June demanded softly. "What's Mr. Stetson talking about?"

"Don't you worry about Davy, June. He's got nothing to do with this."

"Oh, come on, Fred," Lee chided. "We all know that Davy's the real brains behind all this. Hell, I've worked with you too long to think you could pull off something like this all by yourself."

"He didn't, Mr. Stetson," June interjected. "I paid him to help me."

"You sure about that, June?" Lee glanced at her. The gun was still pointed at Amanda, but at least June's attention was directed away. He quickly took a look at his wife. Her eyes were wide with fear, but there was a steely determination in them that bolstered his confidence.

"See, June, I think that Fred and Davy picked you because they thought you were naïve and easily manipulated. Think about who is in control right now, June. Is it you? You don't really think that if you put down that gun down and tell Fred you're done with this little game, that he'll follow your lead, do you?"

"Don't listen to him, June," Fred snapped. "He's trying to trick you."

"Am I, June? Let's give it a try, shall we?" He saw her eyes go back and forth between himself and Fred. "Put the gun down on the table and come out of there, June." Lee stretched his arm out toward her and beckoned her with his hand. "Come on," he said softly. "You can probably still get out of this without life in prison. He manipulated you, June. David manipulated Fred, and Fred manipulated you."

"I am not going down for this, Scarecrow!" Fred shouted and something in his gaze shifted. Lee knew it was now or never.

"Now!" With his shout, Lee executed a diving tackle for Fred's knees. In the same moment, the room was flooded with agents – guns drawn.

"Down! Down! Down!"

"On your knees!"

"Hands over your head, Sister!"

"Back away from Mrs. King, right now!"

Chaos momentarily ensued as shouts reverberated and tumbled around each other throughout the room. Lee straddled Fred's back as he less than gently whipped Fred's arms behind his back and cuffed him. He looked up to find someone to take over for him; all he wanted was to get to his wife. "Francine!" He shouted to get her attention.

"Lee!" She trotted toward him. "Are you okay?"

"Please, just take over here." He'd barely finished his sentence when he ran toward the cage. "Call the ambulances!"

"Already done; they're almost here."

Lee rushed into the cage just as Frank was bringing June out. She reached for him, but he brushed past her to get to Amanda. "Get her out of here, Frank, but check her for razorblades!"

June started a low moan that quickly escalated to a manic caterwaul that made his skin crawl.

Frank tried to shout over din. "Hey, I think we're going to need a straightjacket over here!"

"Amanda!" Lee reached her side and immediately worked to untie the binding tied around her mouth. "Turn your head, Sweetheart," he crooned. As he worked the knot, he looked around the room. "Where's the ambulance?" he shouted.

"We're here, we're here!" Two sets of paramedics ran into the room. One pair rushed toward June who was still wailing uncontrollably. They would probably need to forcefully sedate her. The other pair rushed toward Amanda. "Mr. Stetson," one young man gently placed his hand on Lee's shoulder, but Lee was still trying to get all the ropes untied to free his wife. "Let us help her, Sir."

"She's been here for days," Lee glanced at the paramedic. "I don't know if they've fed her, how much water they've given her…I know they drugged her and beat her and sliced her arm up with a razor blade."

"Okay, Sir. Let us take a look." The paramedic gently pushed Lee to the side. Amanda's eyes went frantic when he disappeared from her line of vision. "It's okay, Mrs. King…"

"Her name's Mrs. Stetson," Lee interjected. He moved around to the head of the gurney and placed his hands on either side of her face. He leaned over just far enough so she could see him. "I'm here, Amanda," he whispered. "You're going to be okay."

He stroked her slightly stringy hair away from her face and looked back up at the paramedic. "There's something you need to know." Lee's hands paused on her head as he spoke. "She's pregnant."

The paramedic paused and looked over at his partner who was working on an IV. "Alright, Brad, make sure the hospital knows we need an OB-GYN on site." He turned back to Lee. "How far along is she, Sir?"

"About two months, I think," Lee replied.

"Alright, Sir." He put an oxygen mask on Amanda as his partner finished cleaning her wounds. "We good to go, Brad?"

"Yeah, Jamal. Her blood pressure is on the low side, but the bleeding on her arm is under control." He looked up at Lee. "I need you to let go of her now, Sir. We need to get her out of here."

"I'm not leaving her." Lee looked over at Francine. "Francine, I'm going with Amanda. You guys got things covered here?"

"Yeah, Lee," she smiled at him, then looked up to see Billy coming down the stairs. "You go on. Amanda needs you. Frank and Billy and I will finish up here. No worries."

"I'm not going down for this alone, Stetson!" Fred's voice shouted out across the room as Billy grabbed his arm and escorted him up the stairs. "Davy and June both manipulated me! Threatened me!" He tried frantically to turn his head toward his co-workers. "I'm not going down for this, you hear me?"

Lee looked toward Fred and something inside him snapped. Rage boiled up in his blood. "Get him out of here, Billy, or so help me, I'm gonna kill 'im with my bare hands."

"Maybe I oughta let you." Billy got the attention of another agent, and together they man-handled him up the stairs and out toward an agency vehicle.

"Alright, Mrs. Stetson," Brad said softly. "Let's get you out of here, shall we?"

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