Chapter 3

Lee and Amanda arrived at Billy's office at 6:58am. Both Billy and Dr. Smyth were already in conference waiting for them. Both Lee and Amanda didn't like being called to meetings where no information was given to them as to what the assignment was or the reason the meeting was called. Today was no exception. Lee lightly wrapped on Billy's office door.

"Come", Billy yelled.

Lee and Amanda entered.

"Good morning, Sir", Amanda said to Billy. "Good morning, Dr. Smyth".

"And a fine how do you do to you as well Mrs.", Dr. Smyth paused as he took a drag on his cigarette. "King. And to you, Scarecrow."

Amanda was always on guard when it came to Dr. Smyth. Even though he was impressed by her skills during the Stem Winder case, she never forgot that he issued a D-1 manhunt for Lee, and she was sure he would have killed them both had he been given the opportunity.

"Lee, Amanda", Billy said to them in greeting. "Why don't you take a seat, and we can get down to why we are all here this morning."

Billy handed Lee and Amanda each a dossier containing the information that they would need for the case. Each of them opened the file and began to read.

"Before you, you will find information on Lorelai Richter", Dr. Smyth began as he paced around the office.

Lee looked up from his reading with a puzzled expression and asked, "Lorelai Richter? Isn't she a spy from East Berlin?"

"Score one for the Scarecrow", Dr. Smyth replied. "She is indeed."

"Is she one of ours spying in East Berlin?" Amanda asked.

"No, no Mrs. King. She is definitely one of theirs", Dr. Smyth answered.

"Amanda, she is a Communist spy that has caused a lot of trouble over the years. She has stolen many secrets, been part of assassinations….you name it she's probably been involved with it", Billy added.

Amanda nodded slowly trying to comprehend the information that she was given.

"So, what is she up to now?", Lee asked.

Dr. Smyth and Billy looked at each other for a moment before Billy began to speak.

"She wants to come over to the other side", Billy stated flatly.

Amanda's eyes grew wide upon hearing this. "Defect? She wants to defect to our side?"

"Right-o, Mrs. King", Dr. Smyth stated as she extinguished his cigarette.

"But why would we want someone like her who has done so much damage to our side?" Amanda asked.

"Secrets of course. With her, we get not only one of the best spies working for the enemy but a whole bunch of their secrets as well", Dr. Smyth said in a demeaning tone.

"How do we know that this is a legitimate defection and not just a plan to infiltrate our secrets?" Lee asked pointedly.

"I'm afraid that answer is on a need to know only, Lee and well….." Billy began.

"And Amanda and I don't need to know?"

"Nope. Not for this assignment. Besides, I'm sure you have enough secrets running around your brains these days that you don't need one more", Dr. Smyth replied as he lit up another cigarette. Amanda began to wave the smoke away from her face as Lee looked at Dr. Smyth trying to read his face as to what he meant by that remark. As usual, all Dr. Smyth showed was his blank poker face.

"Sorry, Lee. There's nothing else I can tell you right now." Billy replied in a much more friendly tone. "Why don't we talk through the assignment."

"Yeah", Lee said as he opened the folder once more.

"You both should have a picture of Lorelai Richter in your folder. This picture was taken a few weeks ago and is our most current", Billy explained. "She is about 5'9", brown hair and brown eyes, slim build. We are not sure of her exact age but estimate it to be around 40."

Lee was slightly taken aback at her resemblance to Amanda. From a distance, it would be easy to mistake one for the other.

"She doesn't look that much different from the last time I saw her about 5 years ago in Luxembourg." Lee stated.

"Does she know who you are?" Amanda asked.

"She might. I never met her face to face. Only from a distance. We were both after the same bit of information. I got to it first and only caught a glimpse of her as I was running away."

Amanda nodded with wide eyes.

"Lorelai will be coming into the U.S. today…in about 3 hours to be precise. We need you two to meet her at the airport and get her here to the agency in one piece", Dr. Smyth stated as he took a seat on the corner of Billy's desk.

Lee looked at his watch.

"3-Hours? That's doesn't give us much time to come up with a plan", he said.

"Nope, it doesn't. We decided it needed to be this way, so nothing got out to anyone about her arrival and defection", Billy explained. "You and Amanda will meet her at the airport in Richmond. Pick her up and drive like hell back here to the agency."

"Richmond? Why not fly her right into Dulles?"

"I thought you were smarter than that, Scarecrow. Too many eyes at Dulles. Spies spying on spies. This is a better plan." Dr. Smyth said.

"What about back-up? Seems she's pretty important. Will we have any back-up?" Amanda asked.

"Not this time", Billy stated. "The fewer people that know about her coming into this country the better. We want you two to pose as a married couple getting ready to travel on your honeymoon."

Lee and Amanda slightly squirmed at this cover that was hitting very close to home.

"I trust this will not be an issue?" Dr. Smyth said with what Amanda perceived to be a slight smile on his face.

"No, Sir. It should not." She replied.

"Good, because I can't stress enough how important this mission is. Lorelai Richter is a huge leap forward in tipping the scales in our favor in this whole Cold War. You cannot fail at this one. The amount of information that we have already gotten from her is more than we discovered all last year. A lot is riding on delivering her safely.", Billy said as he leaned forward, his arms anchored to his desk.

"You could say that your very jobs depend on the outcome of this mission, Scarecrow and Mrs. King. Make sure you get the job done, not matter the cost. Capeesh?"

Lee and Amanda looked at Billy and Dr. Smyth staring at them both and nodded.

"Yeah, we get it." Lee said.

"We won't let you down", Amanda added.

"See that you don't. More than you realize relies on your success. Now get going. Tick tock…time is a wasting", Dr. Smyth said as he ushered them out of the office.

Billy and Dr. Smyth watched Lee and Amanda walk out of the office and through the Bull Pen. Billy let out a heavy sigh as he sat down in his office chair. Dr. Smyth turned to look at him and slowly blew out a long stream of smoke in Billy's direction.

"They better not let me down on this one, Billy, or there will be hell to pay not just for Scarecrow and Mrs. King, but for you, too."

"Enough with the threats, Austin. They won't let us down. They will do what needs to be done. I'd bet my life on it."