Lee walked into Spencer's after spending the last hour and forty-five minutes with Leatherneck making sure no mobile phone worked in the club during Amanda's drop. He'd badgered, threatened, and cajoled, until his old friend had come up with something to disable the phones so the cameras couldn't be used. Thankfully, Leatherneck didn't ride him for his overprotectiveness or his jealous nature. 'I'll get him a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue,' Lee decided.

"Lee my boy," T.P. called out.

Smiling, Lee sauntered across the restaurant to greet his friend. "How's it going, T.P.?"

"Very well, very well, indeed. I'm surprised you made it on time, my friend. Usually, our lovely Amanda would have needed more time to overcome the male ego to make her plan work," T.P. teased.

"Forgive me for not wanting her to dance in front a bunch of drunk perverts," Lee muttered.

T.P. chuckled at his young friend's fiery defiance. 'Finally, that block of ice encasing his heart is gone,' he thought. "Now, Lee, Ms. Collins' club might not be the most expensive or exclusive in the city, but it is the safest and most strictly run. No drinks are served during performances, the few bouncers are all committed to the safety of both the ladies and the patrons, and Ms. Collins turns out anyone at the club who might solicit drugs or sex. She's had several of her own people prosecuted if they step off the straight and narrow. I'd be more worried if our Amanda was dancing at the Kennedy Center."

"Sounds like you've been there," Lee answered with a raised eyebrow.

"Me, oh no, dear boy!" T.P. laughed. "Could you imagine this old nerd in a burlesque club. I'd scare everyone. But I trust Bela's word."

"What a load of bull, T.P. if it interests you, there's no reason you shouldn't go there," Lee encouraged.

The waitress served their meals, and T.P. dug into the steak with gusto. "Now, Lee, we both know you don't want me watching Amanda dance anymore than any other man that isn't you."

"I am not that bad!" Lee objected. "She dances with the boys at school talent shows, she's danced with Billy, hell, she's even danced with Smith!"

"Eat your food, my boy," the older man chided. "Be careful with Rurik tonight. Rumor has it he's getting back in the game, and he's always been unpredictable."

Lee felt his gut tighten at the news. The former hitman had shocked him by offering to be his source after retiring years ago. Rurik had a strange code of honor allowing him to inflict gruesome torture on people for huge sums of money, yet never taking contracts that he felt weren't worthy of his brand of retribution. No, innocents and no law enforcement hits, only those capable of far worse than he was. If he was considering a comeback, it meant bad things.

"I don't have to worry about Amanda with Kolya, but I'll get on it," Lee answered before taking a portion of spinach and potatoes.

"Personally, I think he wants to try for Putin," T.P. shrugged. "Unfortunately, it would probably do very little to clean up the mess or staunch the wound."

Lee rolled his eyes. "If assassinating every megalomaniac could work, the world wouldn't be in a mess. They're like roaches, it's pointless."

"True enough," T.P. agreed. "Still, the feeling is understandable in the man's case. Now, about Amanda. Lee, try not to be too tempestuous after the drop. Despite her love of theater and performing, she's probably just as reluctant to display her multitude of charms like this as you are. Just be proud of the brilliance of her plan. She needs to know you value her as a true partner."

"I am proud of her T.P. and she knows she's my full and equal partner," Lee smiled. Then a frown broke out on his face. "But she said something strange today and it's stuck under my skin."

"Hardly the first time for that!" T.P. retorted, taking a large drink of water.

"T.P. I'm serious," Lee groaned. "I was teasing that if her mother was twenty years younger, I'd be torn between them. She actually looked straight in my eyes and said, 'I'd never be in the running; mother outclasses me, and I know it,' how could she say that? How can she possibly believe that? How could she think that if she didn't alter her skirts and wear her hair longer, she'd look like the boys?"

"Well, having never met Mrs. West, I only can speculate," T.P. murmured. "Lee, I know you're used to being confident and in control of relationships with the fairer sex, but you're also used to the ladies you've known to have the same confidence in themselves because neither of you wanted high stakes. With Amanda it's different, right?"

Lee coughed and loosened his collar. "The stakes are higher than life and death for me," he whispered.

"Obviously, she feels the same way. Stemwinder, and the mess with Briol showed you that," T.P. reminded his young friend. "Lee, what you're feeling is natural. We men don't understand why a woman we love wouldn't see herself through our eyes. But she's been showing you yourself through her eyes."

"Yes," he breathed out. "But I don't know what I'm doing with that sort of thing!"

"Lee, you sell yourself short. She chose you after all," T.P. insisted. "There's no law against having some help if your own words fail you. Now, Amanda's expertise and passion is American Literature, but in this case, you can't go wrong with our former Rulers. I'd suggest something Byronic from the man himself." Taking out his antique fountain pen he scribbled "She Walks in Beauty" on a napkin. "Look this up. I think it will start you on the right track."

The heat in Lee's face scorched like a ripe chili and he took the napkin with an embarrassed flush. "Thanks," he coughed.

"Always glad to help, my boy. Now, I'd check on Katrina while you're picking up Francine's comfort food. She might have some links to any gaps from tonight's drop. A certain General's son was appointed attaché to the new Ambassador, it might be nothing but it's worth a look."

"I almost forgot the date," Lee sighed. "I'll be the first to admit I haven't always ended things with a lady the right way, but I'll be damned if I was a lily-livered coward like Stone!"

"Lee, you were too much of a coward to let anything get beyond six weeks until Amanda!" T.P. laughed.

Lee turned a dirty look on his dear friend. "I never, ever would have hurt anyone like that!"

"I know that, Lee, you're too honest and honorable to leave anyone after giving a promise," the older man assured. I recommend a bouquet of yellow tulips and purple irises for Francine. That with a lovely black forest mini cake will put the pep back in her step."

"Not a bad idea, T.P."

"I aim to please. The only other information I have for now is that the new Ambassador has reached into a repertoire of obscure curses for his President. I doubt it means much, but any dissent in the ranks might mean better things for eastern Europe."

"We can only hope and do our best. All I can say is that tonight's drop better be worth Amanda doing all this," Lee muttered.

"Finish your food, and stop complaining," T.P. ordered. "Really, Lee how are you going to handle going to Phillip and Jamie's school functions if you can't handle Amanda dancing for vital intelligence?"

"Hey!"

"Well, do you expect her to stop doing all the talent and charity functions she does simply because of you? Honestly, Scarecrow, don't lose your brains."

"I thought we were friends, T.P."

"We are, that's why I'm telling you to calm down. Listen, you might not like anyone else finding Amanda desirable, but they do, and she chose you. Focus on that! Believe me, if you behave now, when somebody with no morals and all bravado doesn't back off for her, she won't get mad when you put them into a wall. I'm an old man, I know what I'm talking about. Strong women like Amanda don't like the idea that the men they love don't trust them to get rid of pests. I'll never forget the time just after I proposed to my Eloise; Herman Ramsbottom, my former supervisor, proceeded to back her into the eighteenth-century poetry section during the annual staff party. As you can imagine I saw more scarlet letters than Hawthorne and provided him with a black eye and myself two cracked knuckles."

Lee barely managed to swallow his drink before bursting into raucous laughter. "You threw a punch, T.P."

"Several in fact, I believe only one hit the intended target. I assure you Eloise was not at all impressed. Her reaction still sends chills down my spine. She just gave me a cold look and asked me to escort her home. The silence of that drive…"

"But you were only trying to protect her," Lee shrugged.

"That's what I told her when we reached her apartment. She then informed me that I had been quote: 'the biggest horse's buttocks I have ever seen!' She turned all her quite formidable knowledge of the human psyche on me saying that if I thought she couldn't or wouldn't deal with the men that showed interest in her then she had to rethink our engagement. She demanded that if she had placed her faith in me to share her life that I return the courtesy by respecting her honor, and her ability to defend it. Oh, she was brilliantly furious. In a single moment of untamed male aggression, I had made her feel that I didn't trust her to not stray, and that I saw her as too weak to handle it herself," T.P. sighed his eyes glazed over with memories.

"But it wasn't Eloise it was Ramsbottom!" Lee exclaimed.

"Absolutely correct, but to Eloise he was her problem to deal with. His propositions were for her to reject and debunk, not mine. In her mind, when things like that happened it was up to her to show her loyalty to me, not me to come and mark my territory," T.P. explained. "When I did that, I took away her dignity, by not letting her say get lost."

"Oh, because men like that always listen," Lee scowled.

"Men like us assume they won't, but the women like Eloise, Amanda, and Francine, need the right to try. Their honor demands it. It's a fundamental part of giving love."

Lee took the last bites of his meal carefully thinking about his friend's advice. "I have a feeling it will take me a long time to get used to the idea."

"Of course, it will, my boy, but the restraint is worth it."

"I doubt it," Lee objected with a sour look.

"Eloise took me to Paris the next year after Ramsbottom tried to cop a feel and she broke a champagne bottle over his head. We never left the bed the whole time," T.P. grinned.

"That's a hell of a Lady," Lee grinned, as the two men laughed together.

"She was," T.P. agreed. "Eloise and Amanda would've gotten on like a house on fire."

"And we'd be in trouble right, T.P.?" Lee comforted with a hand on the older man's shoulder.

"Oh, most certainly!" T.P. smiled. "Most delightful trouble."

After finishing the informative and delicious lunch, Lee dropped T.P. at his favorite chess spot at Rock Creek Park and headed to his favorite German Bakery near the Russian Embassy. 'Whoever put the Russian Embassy on the same block as the German Embassy was a Godsend,' he thought happily. The weather felt amazing, and the tension in his gut about the drop fizzled out. After sending Katrina a quick text to see if she could slip away for a meet, he entered the bakery.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Stetson. It is so early for you to visit, young man," the elderly owner greeted.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Greenburg, I'm not here for myself today. A dear friend of mine is sad today, so I came in search of something to cheer them up. As far as I know there's no better Black Forest cake in the district."

"Ha! I've been in this business more than sixty years, that's since 1941 if you can't do your math. No other bakery in this town makes their own kirsch," he growled. "I'd like to see anyone make a better Black Forest cake in this country."

"Mr. Greenburg, I'm certain that no professional bakery can top your Black Forest cake. But I know a young mother in Arlington who just might give you a run for your money," Lee winked, as he pointed out the cake he wanted.

The proud septuagenarian smiled. "Does she make her own kirsch?"

"She has two kids, a mortgage, a mother, and she's my work partner," Lee chuckled.

"She has no time for kirsch," Greenburg sighed. "You probably work the poor lady to death, no wonder she needs my cake."

"Excuse me, the cake is for my friend. Some idiot left her at the actual alter five years ago today," Lee corrected. "No, it wasn't me. I've pulled some major screw-ups in my time, but not that."

"Good boy. I will give the wounded heart extra cherries. Young people today, no respect, no decency, and no honor," he sighed. "My Brigitta and I, oh we had troubles, so many troubles, but we never thought of running away." He handed the younger man a beautifully wrapped box. "So, your young mother from Arlington, what does she say about you giving cake to your friend?"

Lee smiled. "Let's just say she won't be baking me any of her scratch made brownies if I forgot it."

The old man threw his head back and laughed. "Does she toast the nuts?"

"You bet!"

"She should stop working with you and come work with me! "I will pay her better," Mr. Greenburg demanded playfully shaking his fist.

"Not a chance!" Lee scowled.

"If I was forty years younger," Greenburg threatened.

Before Lee could respond his phone buzzed with his 'family' alert. "Back to work for me, Mr. Greenburg," he sighed.

Francine stood in the foyer waiting for Amanda to come down. She'd changed from her designer suit into a pair of faded Levi's and a Maroon 5 t-shirt from her last decent weekend in longer than she cared to think about. Her tennis shoes were delectably comfortable and for once, dressing down on the job felt good. She tossed on the cropped red leather jacket Lee had gotten her during their first assignment together and watched Mrs. Marsten take out her lunch.

"Your cucumber and salmon sandwich looks delicious, Mrs. Marsten," she complimented.

"Thank you, dear, I just wish I had extra to share with you," the older lady answered with what looked to Francine with pity in her eyes.

"Yes, well, I don't have much of an appetite anyway," ice creeping into her voice.

"I can cure that" Lee's jovial slightly smug voice rang out.

With her most epic eyeroll Francine turned to face him. "Please, after wading through all four of your black books you kill any appetite I have," she sneered.

Lee just shrugged. "Oh, then I suppose you don't want this little treat I so kindly went out of my way to bring you," he taunted, revealing the pink and white cake box. "That's fine you're not the only chocoholic in the building, and I could use some more goodwill from Stamps. Although she prefers truffles, I can make it work."

Amanda watched from the top of the stairs as Francine's eyes went wide, her pupils dilating at the sight of the cake box. She bit her lip to keep from laughing. 'They're worse than Phillip and Jamie, and equally adorable,' she thought.

"Lee," Francine hissed. "You don't want to tease me not today."

"Whose teasing?" Lee smirked. "I did go and get this cake for you, but you just said I kill your appetite. I guess you don't want it," he threw a wink at Mrs. Marsten just to infuriate his friend further.

"So, help me God, I will shoot you where you stand!" Francine shrieked as she lunged for the box.

Lee laughed, dodging and holding the box above his head. "So, I didn't kill your appetite," he prodded.

"Scarecrow!" the blond whimpered, as the tears she'd been fighting all day filled her pale blue eyes.

Lee stopped and immediately handed her the box. "It's all yours," he whispered, throwing one arm around her and pecking her forehead. "Shake it off, pal," he encouraged.

"If you both are finished roughhousing in my office," Mrs. Marsten sniffed with exaggerated disdain. "Some of us have work to do," a gentle smile destroyed her harsh words.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Marsten, Francine's been waiting for me!" Amanda called out. "I'm sorry, Francine, I was just on my way when mother called in a fury because Captain Kurt canceled their date. I got her to promise never to call me at work unless it had something to do with her health, the boys, or the house falling. And I recorded it for when she decides to forget she made it," she rambled, trotting down the stairs.

"It's fine, I'd be ticked off too, but at least he called right?" Francine sighed. "Do I pass as the BFF for a suburban housewife moonlighting as a burlesque queen?"

"You look great!" Amanda smiled. "Love the jacket."

"Lee got it for me in Amsterdam after I stopped a knife going after his family jewels, if you know what I mean," Francine bragged, fluttering her eyelashes. "You never forget your first, do you Scarecrow?"

"Button it, blabbermouth!" Lee snapped.

"Now, Lee, you should be nice. After all that's a pretty big deal, and all you did to say thank you, was buy a jacket," Amanda scolded. "Seems to me you could have sprung for some diamonds; I mean she saved yours."

Francine giggled at Lee's open mouth. "It was my first assignment, and I was still wet behind the ears. I learned fast to get what I deserve. That's why I told you to not have him replace your Mon Amour perfume, Amanda!"

"I'm learning, Francine, I promise. We should get going now."

"I'm still free to back you up," Lee interjected.

"Scram, Scarecrow, it's ladies' day, you'll have your fun tonight," Francine snapped, leading Amanda out the door.

"Some fun," Lee sighed, bounding up the stairs to a now lonely office. 'But I have time to look up that poem.'