Lee threw the car in park and yanked the backseat door open. Grabbing Lorelai's arm, he quickly dragged her into the agency's front door where he was greeted by Mrs. Marston.
"Quick, call Dr. Smyth or Billy. Tell them I have a package to deliver", Lee said in a tone that told Mrs. Marston he was about to lose it.
"I need the password", she calmly replied.
"Damn it! I don't remember the password. Get them up here now! Amanda's been kidnapped and I need to get back out there to find her. I don't have time to waste!"
"Mr. Stetson, you know that isn't protocol."
"The hell with your protocol!"
"Now, now…is that anyway to treat Mrs. Marston?"
Lee whipped around and saw Dr. Smyth standing near the elevator door. A steady stream of cigarette smoke jetted out of his mouth as he looked at Lee with an icy glare.
"Good job, Scarecrow. Where is your pretend Mrs.?"
Lee immediately tensed and ran his hand through his hair.
"She traded herself for Lorelai so we could get away from the ambush that happened about 5 miles from here. I need to get back out there and find her!"
Dr. Smyth looked at Lee's bloodied arm and Lorelai's nervous demeanor.
"You will do no such thing. We need to debrief first and then we will find Mrs. King. Glad to see you have arrived in one piece, Miss Richter."
"Thank you", she said. "Can we please get out of this lobby with all the windows and to somewhere safe?
Lorelai began to nervously wring her hands and she scanned the Georgetown lobby.
"Yes, we will all go downstairs right now", Dr. Smyth said as he began to guide her towards the closet door.
Lee became very agitated and argumentative.
"No! I'm not going downstairs. I'm going out now to get Amanda."
The closet door opened to the elevator and out stepped Billy accompanied by another agent.
"Nice to see you, Miss Richter. I am glad you have arrived safely", Billy said as he extended his hand to Lorelai. "This is Agent Canty. He will be taking you down to our debriefing room. We will all join you momentarily."
She looked at Dr. Smyth and Billy with a nervous and questioning expression.
"I promise you that you are quite safe and will be well taken care of from this point on", Billy said reassuringly.
Agent Canty led Lorelai to the elevator and shut the door. Lee took this opportunity to try and walk away from Dr. Smyth and Billy. He quickly turned around and headed for the door.
"SCARECROW! FREEZE!", Billy shouted. "What the hell do you think you are doing? And where is Amanda? And what happened to your arm?"
Lee whipped around, his eyes ablaze with white-hot anger.
"I'm going to find her! She traded herself for Lorelai! We were ambushed about 5 miles from here. It was a no-win situation. They shot me and said they would kill us all unless we handed over Lorelai. Before I knew it, Amanda had traded clothes with her and turned herself over to them pretending to be Lorelai."
"Who were they?"
Lee's entire body tensed.
"I DON'T KNOW! That's why I need to go NOW!"
Dr. Smyth stood back and observed the situation and listened to the story unravel.
"Lee, let's go downstairs and see if we've had any ransom demands or can figure out any more information on who these people were."
Lee started furiously shaking his head no.
"That's an order, Scarecrow", Dr. Smyth chimed in as he called for the elevator.
"Lee, do it now. I promise we will find her, but we need to go downstairs first", Billy said in his best calm yet authoritative voice. He guided Lee to the elevator where he angrily pushed the coats out of the way and ducked under the bar.
"I'm proud of you and Mrs. King for getting the job done. I honestly had my doubts. I didn't think she had it in her", Dr. Smyth said.
Lee shot Dr. Smyth a deadly look that made him take notice and even a step away from the agent.
"Yeah, we got the job done. We did what was best for the agency and for our country, and now we need to go back out and look for Amanda before it's too late", Lee replied in a very angry tone, the pitch of his voice rising in decibels.
"Calm down, Lee. I promise you it will be alright. She will show up", Billy tried to assure Lee.
The elevator stopped and opened its doors in front of the bullpen. Lee and Billy quickly exited followed by Dr. Smyth. The guards opened the glass doors for the trio and allowed them passage into the bullpen.
"Hurry up! Let's get this over with!" Lee exclaimed as blazed a trail through the busy office, practically pushing people out of his way. He ripped the door to Billy's office open. "We need to go find….."
Lee stopped dead in his tracks as he entered the room and saw they were not alone. There in front of him was none other than the one he was so desperate to find.
"Amanda!" he cried out at he rushed to her side. He wanted to throw his arms around her and let her know how happy he was that she was safe, but he knew eyes were watching.
"Lee! Your arm….how bad is it? Where is Lorelai?" Amanda asked as she reached out to touch him.
Lee flinched when she hit the tender spot but tried to play it off like it wasn't painful.
"It's fine, it's fine. She's around here somewhere. How did you get here?"
Amanda looked at Lee, and then shifted her gaze to Billy and Dr. Smyth.
"Honestly, Lee, I'm not sure. I was blindfolded and my hands were tied once I got in the car. When we stopped, I was led into a building and brought into a room. Turns out it was this room. I was released from the ropes and blindfold about 2 minutes before you came in here. Sirs, what is going on?"
"Yes…what indeed", Dr. Smyth answered. "Mrs. King, why don't you have a seat, and we will send Scarecrow here to the infirmary to get his arm looked at, then we can all sit down for a nice family chat. Sound good?"
Lee stood protectively close to Amanda.
"No! It does NOT sound good, damn it! Now tell us what is going on! I can go get my arm looked at later!"
"Suit yourself, Scarecrow", Dr. Smyth replied as he flicked his cigarette ash into the plant on the corner of Billy's desk. Dr. Smyth nodded to Billy and took a seat.
"Lee, Amanda", Billy began and motioned to the couch, "Please take a seat."
Amanda looked at Lee and saw that his face had the same confused expression that she wore on her own. As they sat waiting to be told what this was all about, Amanda began to rub her wrists where the ropes had recently been tied. She was nervous, and she could tell by Lee's breathing and body language, he was agitated to say the least.
'Well, first of all, a big congratulations to Scarecrow and Mrs. King. You managed to get Lorelai Richter here in once piece", Dr. Smyth began.
"Thank you, Sir", Amanda answered.
"And you, Mrs. King….trading yourself over to the other side claiming to be Lorelai, that was a brave and good move on your part. I really wasn't sure you had it in you."
Amanda was both flattered and taken aback at the same time.
"Sir? You said that there was more than we realized riding on the success of the mission. I did what had to be done to get her delivered here safely. Wasn't that the job?"
Amanda could see Lee's temple muscles dancing as he clenched his jaw. She was afraid at any moment he would leap off the couch and throttle Dr. Smyth.
"Oh, it was indeed. I just wasn't sure the two of you had it in you to ensure it was a success."
Lee agitation rose to the surface.
"And what the hell does that mean? You keep saying that you doubted we had what it took to get the job done. So why assign it to us?"
"Lee…." Billy began as he made a gesture indicating Lee to calm down.
"No, Billy. I will NOT clam down", Lee said as he sprung to his feet. "We bust our tails out there every day on every assignment. And I think we have a pretty damn good record. I don't know what makes this assignment any different from any others. We put our lives on the line, we defeat the bad guys, and we serve our country. Just what are you trying to say, Dr. Smyth. Stop playing games and just say it!"
Lee ran his hands through his hair and paced on the opposite side of the office from Dr. Smyth. Amanda could feel his anger radiating off her husband and she felt helpless to help him.
"Alright…..let's get to the meat and potatoes of the subject, shall we?" Dr. Smyth said as he stood and grabbed a folder off Billy's desk. "You're not wrong. The two of you have a very good record of getting the job done.
Lee stopped pacing and looked at Dr. Smyth as he spoke.
"You manage to get the bad guy and keep each other safe, as good partners need to do."
"Ok, yeah…" Lee began. Amanda reached up and touched his arm indicating for him to let Dr. Smyth speak.
"But I wondered if the same could be said if the partners happened to be…..husband and wife."
Lee and Amanda both felt the blood drain from their face. Lee sat down next to Amanda. Both of their heads were swimming. Was this the end of their working relationship? Lee swallowed hard and tried to contain his composure. He didn't dare look at Amanda for fear the expression on her face would cause him to crack and bring the whole mystery marriage into the light.
"What do you mean, husband and wife?" Lee said in his best authoritative voice he could muster given the circumstances.
"I mean this", Dr. Smyth said as he tossed the folder onto the coffee table in front of Amanda.
She reached down and opened it. There before them both was a copy of their marriage certificate dated Feb. 13, 1987. They both read it over and over, trying to make sense of what they were seeing and what the repercussions would be now that their relationship was out in the open. Dr. Smyth lit up another cigarette, took a puff, and held is cigarette poised between the fingers on his right hand. Lee and Amanda could feel him staring them down as well as Billy, a man they both so respected.
"For two people as smart as you are, it was pretty stupid to think that an official government document on two of our agents wouldn't eventually make it across my desk. Imagine my surprise when I got this little nugget of information last week."
Lee and Amanda shifted uncomfortably on the couch. They knew the jig was up.
"I didn't believe it that the two of you chose to not reveal your relationship, not to mention that you were married! I had Olivia double and triple check to see if this information was accurate. And what do you know….."
"Sir, we.."
"uh-huh Mrs…..Stetson. You broke the rules. Neither Billy nor I was informed of these nuptials."
Lee and Amanda looked at Billy abashedly. They never wanted to hurt Billy or break the rules. They just wanted to stay together.
"So now what?" Lee said flatly.
"Oh, we're not to now yet. I came down here and spoke to Billy a few days about this little discovery. My first thought was to break you up. Assign Mrs. King…..Stetson, to another department or agency all together."
Amanda put her head in her hands as he spoke. This was the very thing they were both so afraid of. Lee could feel his stomach twist into one massive knot.
"But then Billy asked me not to do that."
Lee and Amanda looked at Billy, both wide-eyed at the possibility that this wasn't the end of Scarecrow and Mrs. King. Billy cleared his throat and began to speak.
"I told Dr. Smyth that you were a damn good team, and I still stand behind that. You got married in February, which was 7 months ago, and your work hasn't been affected. If anything, I think you have made a more efficient team. So, I suggested that we put you two to a test."
"A test?" Lee spat out indignantly.
"Yes, Scarecrow. A test. One that would put you in a situation where you might have to sacrifice one of you to get the job done. Would you save your assignment, or your spouse?"
"A test? A TEST?" Lee said as he once again jumped off the couch and began showing his anger. "Haven't I proved myself enough to this agency?"
Amanda stood and placed her hand on Lee's uninjured arm in an effort to calm him.
"So, this assignment today was a test? Is that what you are saying? You put us in this dangerous situation to see if we would both survive or if we would sacrifice Lorelai for our own safety?"
Amanda began to feel anger rise in her as well.
"What kind of agents do you think we are?" she said.
Dr. Smyth picked up the phone and instructed the person on the other end to "send her in". In a matter of seconds, the door opened and in walked Lorelai.
"Lee, Amanda", she greeted them. This time with no German accent.
Lee and Amanda both looked at each other and then at her.
"What happened to your accent", Amanda asked.
"May I introduce you to Laura Blackstone. American agent. I had her flown in for this special assignment."
"American agent? Flown in?" Lee questioned. "Do you mean to say that there was never a Lorelai Richter? And that you put our lives in danger for nothing?"
"No. There is a Lorelai Richter. She flew into Dulles early this morning. We have got her safely stashed away and are learning all kinds of delicious secrets. Laura here provided us with a great decoy. She looks a great deal like Lorelai and you, too Mrs. King."
"Stetson", Amanda firmly corrected Dr. Smyth. As long as it was out in the open and she was in danger of losing her job, she was going to go down fighting.
Dr. Smyth took a puff and slightly smirked at Amanda correcting him. He then gestured to Laura that she should leave. Billy began to speak again.
"We created a situation where one of you might have to leave the other behind in order to get Lorelai safely to the agency. We weren't expecting Amanda to turn herself over to the other side, but it worked perfectly, and even strengthened the faith that I already had in the two of you being able to work together at husband and wife."
"So, you put us in danger, had us driving like a bat outta hell, running us off the road…"
"You were never in any danger. The people doing those things were our agents." Dr. Smyth smugly replied.
"I got shot!" Lee shouted as he indicated the blood-stained sleeve.
Dr. Smyth paused for a moment and looked at the red stain on the yellow shirt. "Well, not in too much danger", he said as he puffed the cigarette.
Lee once again ran his hand through his hair in frustration. Amanda took a deep breath and tried to center herself.
"So, what now?" she finally said, trying to focus all her anxiety into one place by squeezing her hand into a fist.
"Now..", Dr. Smyth began.
"Now, you announce your marriage and let your friends throw you a party. We will probably still call you Mrs. King out in the field. It's easier that way and keeps some anonymity as to your relationship."
Lee and Amanda were stunned. They looked at each other with wide eyes and dropped jaws.
"So, we passed. We get to continue working together?" Lee asked as quickly as the thought came to his mind.
"Yes. Yes, you can." Billy exclaimed.
"But why…"Lee spat in a very angry tone.
"It was necessary to put you to the test and prove that you could still be an efficient team. I may not always be here, and it was important to show that given dire circumstances, Scarecrow and Mrs. Scarecrow could still make the right choices for the agency. This way, if anyone doubts your working together, they can read my report and see that you were already put to the test", Dr. Smyth said as he walked to the door. "And don't make me regret it" he said over his shoulder as he exited and shut the door.
Lee and Amanda let out a laugh that bubbled from deep within their guts. They embraced each other as they smiled ear to ear.
"Ouch, Amanda! My Arm!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, Sweetheart. Let's get you to the infirmary."
Billy cleared his throat getting their attention.
"Now wait just a minute!", he began. "I still have something to say in this matter."
Lee and Amanda froze and looked at their boss like two deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck. They braced themselves for the dressing down from Billy that was sure to come.
"I just want you two to know…that I am so damn happy for you both. I wish you had come to me about this."
"Billy…..we", Lee began.
"BUT", he interrupted. "I understand why you didn't. Congratulations!"
Billy stepped around his desk and offered both Lee and Amanda big hugs full of happiness.
"Thank you so much, Sir", Amanda said with tears in her eyes. "I don't think we really ever thought this day would come."
"Thanks, Billy", Lee said to his friend.
Billy slapped Lee on the arm in congratulations.
"Ah! Careful! That's where I got shot!"
Billy and Amanda tried to stifle a chuckle.
"Sorry, Lee. Why don't you and Amanda head down to the infirmary and then head home. Take tomorrow off and have a nice long weekend. You're going to have a lot of questions to answer on Monday. Just wait until Francine finds out!"
"Oh boy!" Amanda said as they all began to laugh.