Disclaimer: This story is based on characters copyrighted by Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Production Company. It is meant for enjoyment purposes only, I retain the right to the plot and not the characters. All characters in this story are fictional. Do not distribute this story in part or full without the express written consent of the above author.
 
 

Francine popped her head into the Q bureau. "Amanda, Billy wants to see you in his office before you leave this afternoon."

"Me?" Amanda asked, surprised at the individual request. "What’s up?"

Francine shook her head. "Not sure; he wouldn’t say."

"Thanks, Francine," Amanda added before she closed the door.

Lee looked over to Amanda with a questioning look. "I wonder what that’s all about?"

"Well, there’s one way to find out," Amanda said as she got up.

Lee caught her before she got out of the door. "Just remember, you have plans for this weekend. Don’t let him talk you into anything; we haven’t had a weekend together in a month."

Amanda smiled; she couldn’t wait for this weekend either. They had actually arranged for a weekend alone together at the beach:  the sun, the sand, the warm ocean water. With their married life still hidden from both the office and her family, it was tough to schedule time alone. But Joe was picking up the boys Thursday, for a long weekend fishing trip before the summer was over.

She sighed. "Don’t worry; nothing short of a miracle could get me to change our plans for this weekend."

Lee winked at her. "I’ll see you later."

Amanda grinned and then headed down to Billy’s office. She was eager to find out what was going on that Billy wanted to see her alone. Rarely did he split them up; they worked well as a team and he knew that.

Billy was in the bullpen when Amanda walked in. He looked over at her and said, "Amanda, have a seat in my office, I’ll be right in."

Amanda smiled, nodded, and waited patiently for him to join her.

"You didn’t have to come right down," Billy smiled over to Amanda as he entered his office.

"I was curious as to why you wanted to see me," she paused and then added, "without Lee."

"I have an assignment for you that doesn’t involve Lee."

"Oh, I see," Amanda replied raising her eyebrow.

"You are a perfect fit for the job, Amanda; trust me. You can handle this alone."

Amanda tried to stifle a groan. In the past that meant something extremely boring, like being a maid, showing an Italian immigrant the best places to shop in town. "In other words you want me to use my ‘domestic’ talents."

Billy chuckled.  They both knew there was a time when they used Amanda exclusively for domestic tasks, but times had changed. "No, Amanda, you’re much more capable these days for something that rudimentary. When I said fit, I meant your look. We have reason to believe that Alexander Merrill, the shipping magnate’s son, is involved with selling nuclear armaments to some pretty unsavory characters. He’s in town this week, attending some charity functions. He’s also having a small party Thursday night on his father’s private yacht. We’re hoping to get someone on that yacht."

She stared at Billy, not blinking. She knew where this was going. "And you want me to be that person."

"Yes."

"But I don’t know him; I’ve never met him. I’ve read his dossier, briefly," Amanda stuttered uncomfortably.

"I realize that Amanda, but Alex is single, mid forties, about six two. He likes tall, dark haired women, who patronize the arts. He’ll be at the same event that I’ve scheduled you to attend tonight. You need to meet him and get invited to his dinner party Thursday night."

"But, I thought Lee and I were supposed to be going to that?" She questioned.

"Yes, but you’re not going as a couple. We’ve been watching Alex closely over the last few weeks, and everything points to Thursday’s meeting on his father’s yacht. We’ve got agents at all the events this week in case it happens before then. We want you to get close to him. Do whatever it takes; you know the routine. You’ve done this before. We need you on that yacht."

Amanda swallowed hard ‘whatever it takes?’ She didn’t like the sound of that and she knew Lee wouldn’t either. "Sir, I’m, ah, not really comfortable with…"

Billy cut her off, reminding her yet again, "Amanda, national security depends on getting someone on that yacht. I’m depending on you."

"Yes, sir."

He pulled out a picture of Alex Merrill from the dossier. He was tall and slim with dark wavy hair and a very tanned skin. For his age, he was quite attractive and well built. "Here’s the most recent photo of him, and the background on him. I know you’ve seen the dossier; but get familiar with him and get an invitation to that party. I want a full report tomorrow morning as to how it’s going."

"I understand."

"And, Amanda, Lee will understand; it’s business," Billy added; he knew they were ‘dating'.  He also knew Amanda had sat on the sidelines many times over the last year while Lee handled a woman suspect in the same fashion.

"That doesn’t mean he’s going to like it," Amanda mumbled under her breath as she got up and headed out the door with the dossier on Alexander Merrill.

She stood motionless in the hallway outside the Q bureau door, dreading the upcoming conversation. This was the first time since they had been married that she was in this position. Not that she liked it when Lee’s assignment was to get ‘close’ to a suspect. She thumbed through the dossier.  Billy was right; she was a perfect fit for the assignment. She slowly opened the door and smiled lamely at Lee. He knew right away that something was wrong.

"Don’t tell me you’ve got an assignment this weekend?  If you do, I swear, I’m going to kidnap you myself."

"No, this assignment should be wrapped up on Thursday night," Amanda answered meekly as she put the dossier on her desk and sat down heavily.

"So what exactly is the assignment?" Lee asked as he crossed the room and looked down at the folder on her desk. "Alexander Merrill? This is going to be an easy one; he’s going to be at the fund raiser tonight."

"Yeah, I know. He’s my assignment."

Lee leaned over and stole a quick kiss, "Amanda, he’s everyone’s assignment; they think he’s going to be handing off some info on nuclear weapons. We just need to find out who he’s selling the information to."

"Problem is getting someone into his private party on Thursday night when the information changes hands."

"What private party?" Lee asked with an agitated tone to his voice.

"The one on his yacht. My assignment is to get inside."

"What?" he protested. "No way."

Amanda tried to remain calm, trying to convince herself she could handle this. But she didn’t like this assignment herself. "It’s just an assignment.  I’ve done this before."

"But you weren’t my wife before; you were divorced and…" Lee stopped, not knowing what to say, just knowing it was all coming out wrong.

"And what? It didn’t matter to you if I slept with a suspect back then?" She snapped at him.

"No, of course not. You weren’t expected to then, anymore than Billy expects you to now."

"Yeah, right. Whatever it takes, national security. I’m not as naïve as I once was. Some days I wish I was."

He reached over the desk to try and calm her, but she pulled away. "Amanda, let me talk to Billy."

"Lee, there’s nothing that you can do. He doesn’t know we’re married, and even if he did, I’m not sure it would change anything. We’re just all pawns in this little game." With that said, she picked up the dossier and her purse and headed out the door.

End Part 1

* * *
 
 

Part 2

Lee stormed down to Billy’s office. He’d talk some sense into Billy; he had to. Amanda wasn’t just another agent; she was special. Damn it, she was his wife. How could he let Billy put her into this position?

"Billy, I’d like a word with you," Lee demanded as he marched into Billy’s office, the more he thought about the situation, the angrier he got.

"Lee, there’s nothing to talk about."

"Like hell there’s not!" he answered hotly, slamming the door behind him.

"Alexander Merrill likes tall brunettes. Amanda’s been active with several of the charity groups that he’s on the board of. You couldn’t ask for a better match."

Lee hovered over Billy’s’ desk. "I don’t give a damn about whether or not she’s a perfect match, she’s my…"

"Girl?" Billy said calmly, looking Lee in the eye.

That wasn’t quite what Lee almost said. Gritting his teeth he tried to calm down, but it certainly wasn’t easy. "Billy, Amanda’s more than just a partner to me for God sakes. You know that. I don’t feel comfortable with this assignment anymore than she does. And before you say another word, yes, it has to do with her coming on to Alexander Merrill; he’s nothing but a rich playboy. But that’s not the only reason and you know it. This party on his yacht, when did this all come about?  Why haven’t I heard about this before and what are the details?"

"Sit down, Lee, and I’ll tell you what I know, which at this point, isn’t much."

Billy waited until Lee sat down. He knew this was hard on him. For the first time since he knew Lee, he was no longer a reckless playboy, or a loner. He was in a stable relationship with someone who loved him for who he really was. Billy knew that Lee was very much in love with Amanda, and that they had been in love for some time. But, as much as Billy didn’t like these kinds of assignments, she was more than qualified for it, and she was the perfect match.

"We just got a hold of this intelligence this morning. The bidding for the nuclear warhead is on and from what we know Merrill will make his decision by Thursday night. He’s throwing a private dinner cruise on his father’s yacht on Thursday. We expect the exchange will take place then. They are leaving out of Annapolis marina and cruising down the Chesapeake."

"That leaves Amanda in the middle of the bay with no backup. Where exactly are they cruising?"

"We’re not clear on that yet. We think they’re heading down to Norfolk but our informant wasn’t sure. We’ll be following the yacht, at a distant of course, and the Navy and the Coast Guard will be available to intercept if need be."

"If need be? Billy, I don’t like this. If anything goes wrong, she’ll be a sitting duck."

"Scarecrow, it’s all we have at the moment. Amanda’s a good agent; she can handle herself."

"I want to be on the team."

Billy nodded, "I’ll make sure of it. Now don’t you have someplace to be soon?"

Lee looked down at his watch, he hadn’t realized it was getting so late. He nodded, looked back at Billy as if he wanted to say more, he hesitated for only a moment before he turned away and headed out of his office.
 
 

Lee drove over to pick up Amanda. He wanted to apologize to her for his earlier comment; he hadn’t meant to insinuate that in the years past he didn’t care. He cared a great deal, more than he had ever let onto. He still hadn’t told her how long he really had been in love with her. His love for her still scared him; she could tie his stomach into knots, but their relationship had brought him more than he had ever thought was possible.

He pulled up at the curb of her house and sat in his car and looked at the white picket fence and the colorful flowers. The lights on inside the house were mere reflections of the love and warmth that house was filled with. He wished things could be different, that he could come home to be with her, like a regular person: to sit and watch TV or go to the boy’s games like a real family. Instead, they shared stolen moments now and again, her family knew very little about their true relationship.

Trying to shake the feeling of gloom, he got out of the car and headed for the front door. He rang the doorbell, and moments later Amanda came to the door. She was dressed in a simple black gown, which clung perfectly in all the ‘right’ places.

"Wow!" Lee exclaimed with a dazzling smile. "You look fantastic."

Amanda leaned over and kissed him, and straightened the tie on his tuxedo. "You look very sharp yourself, Stetson."

He placed his hand on her back and was surprised to touch her soft velvety skin. She turned to model it for him. "Do you like it?"

"What I’d like to do right now is to take you over to my apartment and peel you out of it and show you just how much I like it," Lee grinned, stunned at how beautiful she was.

She smiled as he led her to his car. He opened the door up for her and helped her get in. Before he pulled away from the curb, he apologized. "Amanda, I’m sorry for what I said earlier today. I didn’t mean it the way it came out."

She answered him softly, "I know that. We were both upset."

"I talked to Billy. If you get on that yacht, I will be on the team backing you up."

She turned and smiled at him, "Somehow I knew that too." She smiled placing her hand lovingly on his.

***

At the fund-raiser, Amanda mingled with the guests working her way discreetly over to Alexander Merrill. Lee watched her at a distance keeping an eye on both Alexander and Amanda. It wasn’t long before Alexander spotted Amanda in her dress. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. He quickly excused himself from the guests he was speaking with and headed her way. Lee watched intently, partly wishing he could be closer to hear the conversation and partly wishing he wasn’t in the room at all.

"Good evening," Alexander Merrill greeted her.

Amanda turned casually, she had watched him come towards her, but wanted to appear surprised. "Mr. Merrill, what a pleasure," she smiled.

"You must call me Alex. You have me at a disadvantage. You know my name and I don’t know yours."

"Amanda Kean," she said as she extended her hand.

He brought it up to his lips and kissed it gently, Amanda smiled coyly. ‘This is going well,’ she thought as she tried to focus on her assignment; but knowing that Lee was surely watching this exchange made her nervous.

"Would you give me the pleasure and dance with me?" he asked.

"I’d be delighted," Amanda answered as he gently guided her to the dance floor.

Lee watched intently as Alexander held his wife politely, his hand on her waist, her hand in his, as he swirled her around the dance floor. Amanda was playing her part well, too well. She was smiling and laughing at what he assumed were bad jokes and polite chatter. But if that wasn’t bad enough when the music came to a stop, Alexander Merrill gently led his wife off the dance floor and out to the nearby balcony.

As much as he tried, suddenly, he couldn’t seem to move. His feet were fixed to the floor as if they were in cement. This whole evening was starting to feel like a nightmare that was continuing in slow motion. His beautiful, attractive wife, looking more alluring then he ever remembered was assigned to lure this rich, socialite playboy. To make matters worse, he was assigned to watch, almost like a voyeur peering into the private lives of his neighbors.

Finally, he willed himself to move towards the balcony where Amanda was. What was she doing? Was she sitting out there in the warm summer evening chatting, or was this playboy making his first moves on her? Was he kissing her soft face? Where were his hands? Touching her luscious skin on her exposed back. Why did she have to wear that dress? He knew she had bought it the week before, not knowing that her assignment would suddenly go from being just one of many on the team, to being the center of it. Damn that dress anyway.

Amanda knew Lee would be watching her; she couldn’t endure seeing his face. She was standing with her back towards the reception, looking out at the sparkling lights of the DC skyline. Alex was standing next to her with his arm ever so comfortably resting across her shoulder. His hand gently caressing the exposed skin on her back and trailing his fingers ever so slightly down the thin spaghetti straps on the front. Amanda concentrated on her breathing. This would truly be a romantic moment if she were here with Lee. But she didn’t want this man’s arm around her.  She knew he would be trying to kiss her once again. His first attempt she managed to escape, but if she was to properly accomplish her assignment, she would have to allow him that much. But how far would she allow him to go this evening?

"It’s much too warm out here, my dear, Amanda; let’s go back inside. Perhaps you would care for a drink?" Alex suggested.

Amanda turned to head for the door but as she did he reached down and captured her delicate face in his warm hands. He kissed her softly, but with enough intensity that she knew he wanted more. "I’d really like that drink now," Amanda said, as she broke off the kiss none too soon for herself, yet way too soon for Alex.

He smiled as he led her back inside the reception, stopping here and there to shake hands with friends and acquaintances. They finally made it to the bar.  Alex handed her a drink with his apologies, "My dear Amanda, I am so sorry for all the interruptions, but I’ve been away for so long, I haven’t seen many of these people in ages."

"I understand, Alex. I didn’t expect to be the center of your attention all evening. You only promised me a dance," Amanda replied, hoping to reduce the focus of his attention on her.

"Oh no, Amanda, you have misinterpreted my apology. I wanted to apologize to you, I would like nothing more than to spend the entire evening with you alone. To get to know you better."

"Alex, you’re too kind.  Unfortunately, I can’t stay much longer this evening. I do have to get up early tomorrow."

Alex was clearly disappointed. "You can’t just leave without at least another dance."

"I’m certain that could be arranged," Amanda smiled falsely at Alex, but unlike Lee, he didn’t know the difference.

They finished their drinks making small talk and then Alex led her out to the dance floor once again. This time he pulled her in much closer, as if he wanted to possess her. They danced without speaking, his hands roaming more freely on her exposed back, his lips softly wafting through her hair as he drank in her enchanting fragrance.

When the music ended, Amanda pulled away from him, not sure how much more she could stand. Alex was being a gentleman, but she felt like she was cheating on Lee, even though they both knew it was nothing more than an assignment. It felt wrong; she was a married woman.

"I really need to go," Amanda whispered trying desperately to control her emotions.

"Allow me to escort you to your car."

"Thank you, but that won’t be necessary," Amanda replied carefully, not wanting him to know she came with Lee and didn’t have a car. "Besides, if I remember you have quite an entourage waiting for you."

Alex turned and looked at the throngs of people and nodded to Amanda. "May I see you again?"

Amanda swallowed hard, as much as she wanted to say no, to walk out of that room and never see this man again, she opened her mouth and the words just spilled out, "I’d love to."

Alex smiled delightedly. "I’m having a dinner party on my father’s yacht on Thursday night. I realize it’s last minute, but would you care to join me? Just a small gathering."

"Thursday night, what time?" she asked softly.

"We’re leaving the dock in Annapolis at six sharp. Pack an overnight bag; we’ll dock in Norfolk the next morning and I can arrange transportation home from there, either a flight or, if you would care to join me, a limo back to DC."

Amanda hesitated, "I’m not sure."

"Amanda, my father’s yacht is quite large. The ‘Helena’ is quite comfortable."

Amanda sighed quietly, she knew Billy would be thrilled; she knew Lee wouldn’t be happy and neither was she. "I’ll see if I can make the arrangements."

"Wonderful," he gleamed as he took a business card out of his gold carrying case in his pocket, and carefully placed it in Amanda’s hand. "Give me a call tomorrow and I’ll give you the rest of the details," he kissed her one more time lingering softly on her lips until she pulled away again. "Until tomorrow…"

Amanda turned and headed towards the door never turning back. She had to get out of that room; she couldn’t take anymore.

***

Lee watched from the corner of the room as Alexander led her from the bar to the dance floor. He noticed that Alexander had pulled Amanda in closer to him, and watched as his hand caressed her back and the soft kisses in her hair. After the dance he wondered what they were talking about. Again, Alexander Merrill kissed his wife. He clenched his fists; he could feel his face redden with anger. He wanted nothing more than to deck this man. For a few moments he just stared and watched Alexander head back into the crowd. Then looking around the room he searched for Amanda, but she was gone.

End Part 2

* * *

Part 3

Lee headed out of the ballroom looking for Amanda; she couldn’t have been more than a few minutes ahead of him. But outside there was no sight of her. He glanced down the street and watched as a cab was just turning the corner. He couldn’t be sure, but there was only one person in the back seat, and it looked like a woman.

"Damn!" he yelled while he waited for the valet to bring up his car. ‘What the hell is taking him so long?’ He mumbled to himself as he paced nervously outside in the warm, humid night. Finally, his car was brought up, and Lee tipped the valet, jumped in his car and drove after her.

He pulled up to Amanda’s house to find it totally dark except for the front porch light, which was still on. He didn’t think he could have beaten the taxi here; she had a good five minutes head start on him. Amanda would have shut the porch light off, and her bedroom light would be on. He turned his headlights off and waited a few minutes, just to be sure, but there was no sign of her or the taxi. ‘Did she go back to the Agency?’ he wondered. He turned on the ignition and headed over to Georgetown, driving by his apartment on the way. Maybe she had gone there.

He opened up his apartment door to find it totally dark. "Damn!" He cursed in the darkness and he put the light on. However, as he walked into his living room he saw Amanda, sitting silently on his sofa.

"Amanda, why are you sitting in the dark? Are you all right? he asked with concern as he came to her side.

She sat holding the business card that Alex had given her. She kept shaking her head back and forth.

"Amanda, what’s wrong?" Lee asked yet again.

"I can’t do this," she whispered shakily looking at the business card, her hand trembling.

Lee put her arm around her; despite the fact that it was a warm summer night, she was cold. He pulled her close to him, "I take it you’ve been invited to dinner on the yacht."

She merely nodded, tears starting to fall from her eyes.

He had known the answer before she nodded. Hell, he knew the answer to that question when he turned on the light and saw her sitting there. He had hoped against hope that Alexander wouldn’t invite her; that they would be forced to intercept the information some other way. Why did they have to use Amanda as the bait?

"It’ll be all right," Lee encouraged in a quiet gentle tone, as his hands gently massaged the knots that had formed in her neck.

"Lee, I can’t. I don’t want to," she cried wistfully.

"I know it’s hard, but you can do this," he said softly, having trouble believing the words spilling from his own lips.

She looked at him with dread, as if he had betrayed her. "Are you telling me this doesn’t bother you? That you didn’t mind when he kissed me this evening and fondled me while we were dancing? What do you think is going to happen when we’re on his yacht Thursday night, when we’re alone together?"

Lee clenched his jaw, trying to remain calm, but it wasn’t easy. "Of course it bothers me. But there’s still a chance that he’ll exchange the information tomorrow night and this will be a moot point," Lee argued weakly, he knew there was very little chance of that.

"I can’t do this. I won’t do this; he was all over me tonight.  When I’m alone with him on the yacht…" she didn’t finish; she got up and headed towards the door.

Lee followed her and blocked her path to the door.  "You don’t have to sleep with him. We can give you something... to drug him, it’s done all the time."

"You and Billy make this seem so, so, so casual! But it isn’t. I’m a married woman.  I feel like I’m cheating on you some how and what’s worse is you’re watching. This is so surreal, it’s making me sick. And to make matters worse, you seem to be on Billy’s side and not mine," she protested in frustration.

Lee couldn’t believe she thought that. But then again, he surely wasn’t acting like the angry, jealous husband. He had watched the whole evening. She would never know the great strength it took to stand there, all evening, and watch another man drool over her.

"Amanda, I’m not on Billy’s side. I’m on yours. This night almost killed me, watching him dance with you, touch you. I saw the look in his eyes. I know when a man wants a woman, and God he wanted you tonight. I wanted to break his hands for touching you, to knock his teeth in for kissing you…" he paused, trying to keep his temper in check. "But Billy made the right call; he said Alexander would go for you, that you’re the perfect type and he was right. You weren’t in that room for ten minutes and he was all over you."

Amanda’s emotions were out of control, she continued yelling, "Is this somehow supposed to make me feel better? Because it’s not. I want no part of this game. Not anymore. The stakes have gotten too high. I’m not a high priced call girl that Billy can call into service when it suits him, and you are not my pimp who watches to make sure things go all right." She paused almost unable to go on. "You’re my husband, I don’t want to do this, this is wrong…"

He pulled her into his arms, feeling like an inadequate heel. "I’m sorry," he whispered as she sobbed in his arms.

Amanda spent the night in Lee’s arms, never leaving the sofa. Torn between her job responsibilities and her marriage vows; Billy’s words reverberated in her head, a matter of national security, whatever it takes. But what would it take? Would she have to compromise her wedding vows? How far would she allow things to go? Amanda had never fully embraced the ‘sexual revolution’ as many of her college classmates had. She had been with a couple of men in college, including Joe, and after her divorce as well. But when she was married to Joe and now being married to Lee, she had always been faithful.

Lee held her in his arms; he too was fighting this moral dilemma. If Billy knew they were married, he wouldn’t have sent her on the assignment.  Lee was convinced of that, but being a single woman, she was fair game. He should have told Billy last night, before she met Alexander. He almost did, but he stopped: twice. What would the Agency do if he told Billy they were married? In the very least they would get an official reprimand, at worse they would be separated, no longer allowed to be partners. But wouldn’t that still be better than allowing your wife to be seduced by a womanizing socialite who might be dabbling in selling national secrets for spare cash?

Neither of then slept much, if they did at all. They sat together on his sofa and watched the morning light slowly steal into the room. Each knew that the days ahead would be very difficult personally and professionally. Their emotions were still quite raw and tormenting, the assignment ahead was dangerous, and personally the stakes were high.

"Amanda," Lee whispered.

"Hmmm," she answered cautiously.

"If we tell Billy the truth, I mean about us being married…"

"He’d throw the book at us considering the circumstances," she said ruefully.

"It’s still better that sending you into that lion’s den."

Amanda sat up, and slowly started to stretch the kinks out of her back and neck. She looked down at the dress she bought just a week ago that she had thought was so beautiful. Now it brought up memories of a night she’d rather forget."National security remember?" she said sarcastically as she walked into his kitchen to start a pot of coffee. She was going to need a strong cup this morning.

"The hell with national security. Amanda, you were right, this whole thing is wrong," Lee argued, following her into his kitchen.

Amanda had finally begun to regain control of her frazzled emotions. She knew she had little choice; coming clean to Billy now could be disastrous, not only for them personally, but it would affect this highly sensitive case. As much as she hated it, Billy was counting on her. "Lee, when this is all over with, we’re going to have to do some serious thinking. Right now, I’m too tired to think rationally. The one thing I do know is that I don’t have much choice."

"We have a choice," he reminded her.

"No, we can’t tell Billy. Not right now anyway. But I want to know every last detail of this plan and backup plan. I don’t want one thing to go wrong," Amanda answered determinedly as she poured the freshly brewed coffee.

Lee nodded. He wanted every last detail for Thursday night himself.

***

Little more than an hour later they were both sitting in Billy’s office. He didn’t fail to notice that they had both looked exhausted; that neither of them had looked like they had slept. ‘How long did the reception go on?’ he wondered.

"So how did things go last night, Amanda?" Billy finally asked with interest.

She answered directly. "Alexander Merrill invited me to join him for dinner on his yacht Thursday night. We’re leaving from Annapolis at six sharp, and cruising down to Norfolk. I’m to call him today to confirm and get the details."

"Good work, Amanda, I knew you’d come through for us," Billy smiled delightedly.

"Sir, I’m still not entirely comfortable with this assignment, or the potential problems that may arise tomorrow evening. I want to know the details of who and where my backup is going to be before I call Alex and confirm," she requested.

"I second that, Billy. Like I said to you yesterday, she’s a sitting duck out there if anything goes wrong. So what’s the plan?" Lee demanded.

"And what’s our backup plan?" Amanda added nervously.

Billy took a deep breath, not sure that either of them would ever be satisfied with the plan. "We will have two boats in the water, one following the yacht and one in front of it. I think putting a wire on you will be difficult, I assume Mr. Merrill was quite enamored with you."

"Billy, the guy was all over her," Lee gritted out angrily as he sat anxiously in his seat.

Amanda just closed her eyes, trying to force the images of last night out of her mind: his mouth on hers, the taste of whiskey on his breath, the pungent odor of smoke from what she guessed was a cigar. She shuddered noticeably, took a deep breath and joined back in the discussion."He would definitely find a wire," Amanda conceded.

"We can have you plant a few ‘bugs’ instead," Billy suggested.

"I want a panic button on her," Lee ordered sharply.

"Not a problem, we’ll get you a panic button if things start to go wrong…"

"A panic button?" she asked with worry in her voice.

"For a woman agent we usually use a ring, with a pearl in it. If you need us to come in immediately, you simply turn the stone and it sends out a distress signal."

"And exactly how wrong, is wrong?" she asked anxiously.

"You’ll know when it happens," Billy said casually.

"Great," Amanda murmured. "What about something to um," she hesitated, not even wanting to think about being alone with Alex in his stateroom, but she needed to be prepared.

"She’s going to need some knockout drops for Alexander," Lee looked over at Amanda and put his hand on hers. "We’ll take care of it, I promise."

"Amanda, I’ll see to it that you have everything you need before you leave. As for the backup team, Lee, you’re heading it, pick whomever you want."

"Thanks, Billy…."

End Part 3
 
 

* * *

Part 4

Thursday afternoon came all too quickly. It was a dreary, overcast day, which matched both their moods. They had gone over the plan time and time again. There would be two boats, one in front and one behind, monitoring everything. She was to plant the bugs so they could listen in. The first sign of trouble, she was to hit her panic button and the calvary would charge.

The limo stopped at the marina. Lee gave her one last kiss before she headed out the door."It’s going to be fine. I’ll be watching your back," he reminded her.

"I’ll see you in the morning," she smiled as she headed out the door.

Lee mumbled quietly as the door closed behind her, "I hope I see you before that."

He watched her walk down to the yacht. Alexander greeted her as she walked on board.

"You look beautiful, Amanda. Thank you so much for coming." He quickly reached for her hand to help her aboard. Once on deck, he brought it to his lips, and kissed it tenderly.

"This is quite impressive," Amanda admitted honestly.

"Thank you. My father had it built for my mother, ‘Helena’. Let me show you around; you’re the first one here," he reached for her hand and headed down the stairway to the main level. "She’s 126 feet long and has four levels, sleeps twelve, plus the crew. We’re only having four guests tonight, not including you; I much prefer an intimate get together."

She merely nodded at his last comment, too nervous to speak at the moment. She assumed that some of the guests were most likely bidding on the nuclear secrets that he had managed to get a hold of.

Amanda was making mental notes during the tour; the boardroom and the sitting room were the highest on her priority list to plant her bugs.

They finished the tour on the lower level, where the staterooms were. He opened the last door and smiled as he gently guided her into the room. This room was much larger than the other staterooms, quite elegant indeed. Alexander looked at Amanda longingly.

"So what do you think?" he asked.

"It’s lovely," she answered quietly.

He discreetly pushed the door closed and then pulled her into his arms. He kissed her deeply. She forced herself to respond; the kiss seemed to be never ending. His hands groping her, fumbling under the jacket of her dress, reaching for her breasts. It wasn’t until a buzzer from the intercom went off that he reluctantly pulled away from her.

"What is it?" he barked as he pressed the intercom button, obviously perturbed by the intrusion.

"Your other guests have arrived," the deep voice stated.

"Very well, we’ll be right up," he turned back to Amanda. "I promise you my undivided attention later on. I’ve got some business to conduct after dinner, and then…"

Amanda forced a smile. Her heart was already pounding; she nervously fingered the pearl on her ring, desperately wanting to end this evening now.

He kissed her again, quickly this time and then reached out for her hand, she quickly adjusted her dress and jacket. She then placed her hand in his, and headed upstairs to his awaiting guests.

Upstairs they greeted the four guests waiting for them in the large sitting room.

"Amanda, these are my good friends, Josh and Tamara Norris, from Baltimore. Josh is planning to retire from the Army next year, right, Tamara?" Alex joked.

"He’d better!" Tamara complained. "It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Amanda."

"Likewise," Amanda said as Alex continued his introductions.

"This is Saki Chen, an old family friend."

Saki reached out for Amanda’s hand and kissed it gently. "I’m not sure how Alex always finds such beautiful companions."

"Just lucky I guess," Alex answered quickly moving down to the last gentleman, who was waiting to be introduced to her.

"Jeffrey Corlene," Jeff started, not waiting for Alex’s introduction. "I must agree with Saki: you are most captivating, Amanda. Please call me Jeff."

"My pleasure to meet you all," Amanda said blushing, heavily.

"How about a bottle of champagne to get things started?" Alex said as he nodded to his bartender to pop open the bottle that was chilling.

***

Lee watched as the yacht pulled away from the dock. He radioed the lead powerboat down the bay to get underway. He paced nervously waiting for one of the two bugs to come live. She had an hour to get one activated. It had been almost thirty minutes already. What was taking so long? He wanted to know what was going on; he wanted to know she was all right.

***

Amanda wandered about the room casually as they chatted before dinner. Looking out the window she hadn’t even noticed that they had pulled away from the dock. She sat down next to Tamara and chatted with her for a few moments until Josh called her away. That gave Amanda the opportunity to place the first bug discreetly on the coffee table in the planter. She knew Lee would be waiting for them to be placed so he and his team could monitor their progress.

"Amanda, how did you and Alex meet?" Jeff asked as he sat down next to her.

"We met at a charity fund raiser."

"Ah, forever the philanthropist. Now I understand why he spends so much of his time at those things. He has the most incredible luck. All I ever get when I go to those things is an empty wallet."

"But isn’t that the whole idea of a fund raiser?" Amanda queried pleasantly.

"Touché," Jeff smiled at her placing his hand on her knee.

Amanda carefully took Jeff’s hand and put it back on his own knee.

Alex was watching from across the room and admonished his guest. "Now, Jeff, you wouldn’t be trying to ‘distract’ my guest now, would you?"

"Heavens, no. We were just getting better acquainted," Jeff replied.

Alex walked over and reached down for Amanda’s hand. "Perhaps I better keep a closer eye on you tonight."

Amanda groaned inwardly, that was all she needed. She still needed to place one more bug. She got up and Alex reached around her waist, almost to prove to Jeff that Amanda was indeed his and not available.

***

As the dessert dishes were being removed from the table, Amanda excused herself to freshen up. She headed for the boardroom, assuming that the business to be conducted would most likely be handled in there. There was a white board for erasable markers in the front of the room. Amanda carefully placed the second bug on the side of it, easily out of view.

"I’m OK, Lee," she whispered into the bug knowing Lee would be listening. Then she quickly headed out of the boardroom without being observed and headed to the bathroom to freshen up.

Lee, of course, had been listening and smiled at Billy, who was on the speedboat with him.

"You feel better now?" Billy teased.

"I’ll feel a lot better when she’s back on dry land. I still don’t like this. Jeff Corlene is just as much of a playboy as Alex is, and that’s his good side. I still don’t understand how he beat that last rap; caught red handed with the plans to the D9 missile and all he got was a slap on the wrist," Lee complained loudly.

"Lee, relax. We’ve narrowed it down to two players from the original five. Mr. Merrill has made a wise decision too. Neither Jeff nor Saki play it rough, they keep it clean. I’m betting on Saki."

***

Amanda paused before heading back into the sitting room. She looked out to the west, and watched the last rays of sunshine try to break through the storm clouds. The sky had an eerie gray, orange glow to it.

"Beautiful isn’t it?" Alex commented softly as he walked up behind her.

Amanda jumped.

"I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to startle you. I was just concerned as to where you disappeared to for so long. I was afraid you might have fallen overboard," he teased, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"I was just admiring the sunset. Looks like the rain won’t hold off much longer."

"Afraid not, and I was so looking forward to dancing on the deck with you this evening," he said quietly as he turned her face towards him, and kissed her softly.

Amanda closed her eyes, trying to think of Lee kissing her, not Alex. But Alex’s kisses were not as sensitive as Lee’s. They were more forceful, and penetrating as if he was to possess her simply with his kiss.

"Would you like a quick walk on the deck. I wish I could provide you with moonlight and stars, but I’m afraid I can’t accomplish that this evening."

"A walk would be nice," Amanda said glad for the distraction.

They walked out onto the patio. A stiff summer wind was blowing.

"Looks like we’re going to have quite a storm," Amanda commented.

Alex wrapped his arms around her as if to protect her from it. "You won’t even notice it a bit; I promise you. I’ll keep you safe and warm," he whispered seductively into her ear, as his kisses trailed down her neck.

Alex’s persistent advances made her shiver with disgust.

"I’m sorry, I didn’t realize how cool it is out here tonight; that wind has quite a nip to it. We better go back inside," he said with disappointment in his voice.

Amanda nodded and took Alex’s hand and headed back inside.

They chatted over coffee in the sitting room again. Amanda was thinking that Lee must be going crazy with boredom over the small talk. It was incessant. How could these people talk so much about nothing?

Finally, Alex looked at his watch. "Ladies, if you will excuse us for a while, we need to discuss some business."

Amanda and Tamara nodded as the men headed towards the boardroom. Amanda smiled in relief, knowing that her bug had been strategically placed in the right place.

***

Lee called to Billy, who was half asleep waiting for something to happen. "This is it, Billy. The men have gone into the other room." He tuned the radio frequency on the second bug and turned down the volume on the first one.

Both men listened intently to the conversation in the boardroom. It was clear that both Saki and Jeff wanted the information, and we’re willing to pay top dollar for it. But it was becoming clearer that Josh was somehow involved.

"Billy, do we have anything on this Josh Norris? I think we may have found a leak in the plumbing; we just need to find out where the plumbing is."

"I’m working on it. Francine’s running him through the computer right now," Billy answered, a phone in one hand while he was straining to listen to the conversation in the boardroom.

"They’re up to a half million dollars," Lee said with disbelief.

"You’re sure, Francine?" Billy said into the phone. "OK, well looks like we got ourselves a thief."

"What is it?" Lee asked.

"Seems that Josh Norris is a career man in the Army. Working on the same base as the nuclear armament lab. His security clearance is high enough to get him in anywhere without anyone batting an eye."

"Well that’s just great," Lee snapped.

"Just be thankful that Alexander chopped the real ‘crazies’ off the list. Saki and Jeff are pretty tame characters."

"Well let’s hope they stay true to form," Lee replied and turned his back on Billy. He hadn’t liked this assignment from the start, and as the night wore on, he liked it even less.
 
 

End Part 4
 
 

* * *
 
 

Part 5

The wind kicked up and rain started pelting the windows of the yacht shortly after the gentlemen left the sitting room. Amanda was trying to chat politely with Tamara, but her mind was on other things.

"Relax, Amanda, they’ll be out in a while. Alex won’t keep you waiting for long, I’m sure. He seems to be quite smitten with you," Tamara cooed.

"I’m sorry, Tamara, I’m not being very good company."

"Don’t worry about me; I can entertain myself. I was merely making a comment. If you would excuse me, I think I’ll go freshen up."

Amanda nodded as Tamara left the sitting room. She decided it would be a great opportunity to search Alex’s cabin. Perhaps the information was on a disk in his stateroom. She wanted to get off the yacht, if she had the information, she could call for backup. She stealthily headed down to the lower deck. The door to Alex’s cabin was unlocked; she opened it cautiously and went in, careful to close the door quietly behind her.

She quickly rifled through the dresser, not quite sure what she was looking for. Most likely the information would be on a microdot or a computer disk. Unable to find anything, she turned her attention to his desk, it was locked. She smiled to herself, pulled a lock pick from her purse and easily opened the desk drawer. She shook her head at the ease she now had with picking locks, searching rooms; things a few years ago she never thought she could do. However, her search through the desk proved fruitless. She looked around the room, wondering where it might be hidden.

She sat down on the bed, ‘perhaps he already has the information on him’ she said to herself, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves. She knew she shouldn’t spend much more time in his stateroom. She looked for a clock to see what time it was, but despite the ticking she heard, she couldn’t seem to locate one.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed out loud, her heart starting to pound. She slowly got up off the bed, and bent down to look underneath it. She breathed a sigh of relief; there was nothing there. ‘It must just be my imagination,’ she thought. But as she turned to get up she saw two wires: one red, one black, dangling underneath the nightstand. She swallowed hard, she knew it was a bomb. It was ticking rhythmically, not loudly. If two people had been in the room talking, you wouldn’t have noticed it. But alone, in the silence of the night, it was unmistakable.

She moved closer to get a better look. The bomb consisted of a half dozen sticks of dynamite taped to a small timer. Amanda squinted and squirmed to get a good look at the timer. The timer was counting down 4:38, 4:37, 4:36… At first, she was thinking hours, still time to get to safety. But then she realized, it wasn’t hours they were counting down so quickly, it was seconds. She had just over four minutes to get off the yacht.

She quickly tried to stand up, banging her head sharply on the drawer above. "Ow!" she snarled, then encouraged herself. "Relax, Amanda, think clearly. You need to warn Alex and the rest of the guests."

As she hurried out of the stateroom, she looked down at the ring – her panic button. Billy was right; she would know when it was time to call for backup. She needed them now. Turning the stone, she hoped that help would soon be on the way. "Please, God, let this work," she prayed aloud as she headed upstairs to warn Alex.

She barged into the boardroom. The meeting was still in progress.

"Amanda, I’m sorry this is taking so long, but we’ll be finished in just a few minutes," he snapped somewhat annoyed at the intrusion.

"Alex, we have to get off this ship right now. There’s a bomb in your stateroom!" she clamored.

"What are you talking about? A bomb, don’t be ridiculous."

"I don’t have time to argue with you; we’ve only got a couple of minutes to get off this ship before it explodes."

"Amanda, listen to yourself; you’re hysterical. Now just calm down, I have a very sophisticated stereo system in my stateroom; you probably just saw some of the wires from that."

"Alex, you’re wasting precious time, your stereo system doesn’t have a timer on it, does it? Now are you all getting off this ship or not?" she asked impatiently, knowing they were running out of time.

None of the men moved, more interested in their ‘negotiations’ than saving their own precious lives. She didn’t say another word, but turned and quickly headed out of the room.

***
 

Lee heard her clearly. Until then, he hadn’t known why she had hit her panic button. His face grew pale, his palms started to sweat, and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. All this time they had been thankful that Alex had removed the more violent people from his dinner party. They should have expected that one of those removed from the list would have tried something like this.

Lee radioed the other speedboat. "We’ve got a Mayday! There’s a bomb on board the ‘Helena’, repeat, there’s a bomb on board."

Billy yelled up to the captain, "Move this thing, we need to get closer to pick up the passengers."

"In this weather? I’m already moving faster than I should be. Unless that yacht slows down or stops, there’s no way I can overtake it," the captain yelled back down.

Lee looked out the window at the storm. It was raining fiercely and the water had quite a chop to it. They could barely make out the lights from the ‘Helena.’ He knew that the lead boat was in a better position to intercept.

"Amanda, get off that boat now!" Lee said out loud.

"We’ll get her, Lee," Billy tried to comfort him.

Lee didn’t turn; his gaze was on the dim lights of the yacht, far ahead. Moments later, the dark night sky was illuminated as brightly as if by lightening. Only it wasn’t lightening. It came from the water; more specifically, it came from the yacht. The fireball shot up in the sky like a firecracker, tearing the ship apart, and then slowly falling back down into the water, in pieces, large and small.

He shut his eyes, unable to watch the horror in front of him. Both of the bugs were now humming silently, he flipped the switches to turn them off. He looked over at Billy with a look of devastation in his eyes.

"She got off that ship, Lee. She knew it was going to blow. She’s in the water. We’ll find her." Billy said with strong conviction. In truth, he knew that if she was in the water, with the storm raging, it would be difficult to find her.

End Part 5
 
 

* * *

Part 6

The lead boat made it to the wreckage of the ship first, looking for survivors. It was an arduous task in the choppy waters of the bay. The rain didn’t help things either. When Lee’s boat arrived at the scene, there had been two crewmen already plucked from the water. It gave him hope that Amanda did get off the boat, and was still somewhere, in the murky waters of the Chesapeake.

But even with two Q beam spotlights searching the waters, the search was difficult at best. The pelting rain made it almost impossible to see more than a few feet. The wreckage of the boat made it difficult and dangerous to maneuver, and the white caps from the bay made every wave look like a signal for help.

Lee squinted through the driving rain, trying to find her; he called out to her, "Amanda!" But if there was a response, he couldn’t hear her. Where was she? He knew she couldn’t have gotten far. Finally, the other boat spotted someone in the water. Lee struggled to see who it was. ‘Please, God let it be her,’ he prayed as he waited to get confirmation on the radio as to who the survivor was.

He asked over and over again, "Is it Amanda?"

Finally the reply came over, one that he didn’t want to hear, "It’s Tamara Norris."

He clicked off the microphone and cursed out loud. Dropping down, his head falling into his hands in despair. ‘Please, God, don’t take her from me. Not like this. I need her,’ he begged silently.

Billy came over putting a consoling hand on his shoulder; he knew this was tearing Lee apart. But the minutes continued to tick on by. He grabbed the Q beam spotlight from Lee and reminded him. "She’s still out there. Don’t give up on her yet."

Lee took a deep breath. He knew Billy was right. But he felt so helpless; he had for the last three days. When he got her back, things would be different.

The radio crackled another report. Lee grabbed it again asking them to repeat what they said last. It was garbled, but he understood enough of the message, it came straight from Tamara Norris: Amanda had jumped from the yacht before it blew up.

Billy patted Lee on the back. "She’s out there, and we’re going to find her."

"You bet we are," Lee concurred.

It seemed like an hour had gone by. Lee, Billy and the crew on the other boat were soaked to the bone and shivering in the cold rain. But finally the storm seemed to yield. The wind had slowed first. Then, the rain slackened to a mist. The chop in the water appeared to be less violent than it had only minutes before. The Q beams were penetrating farther into the dark night.

Lee called out to her again, "Amanda!"

At first he thought he was hearing things, but he called again, this time more urgently.

"Amanda!"

This time he realized there was a response from the port side of the boat. He grabbed the Q beam from Billy and focused it towards the left side of the boat. Squinting he called to her again, "Amanda, where are you?"

He could hear her coughing, trying to respond. Finally he saw a small head, bobbing in the water. He steadied the light on it. It was several seconds before he was sure it was her.

"Billy," he yelled and pointed, "THERE!"

Lee shoved the Q beam into Billy’s hand and quickly dove into the water without as much as removing his shoes. He swam in her direction. Billy started to protest, but he realized it was too late. He steadied the Q beam as best he could in the rocking boat and watched as Lee closed the distance to her. The captain carefully maneuvered the boat towards them and minutes later Lee had Amanda on board the boat.

She was coughing and shivering, but she was alive. Lee carried her to the warm safety of the cabin below. Billy brought in towels and blankets and then, silently, backed out of the room. Lee dried her quickly, extricating her of her wet clothes and wrapped her tightly in blankets, using the corner of it to delicately blot dry her bruised face. His hands touched her face; his lips brushed her forehead gently, her skin was so cold. He continued to rub her as he cradled her tightly in his arms, trying desperately to comfort her cold, exhausted body.

He whispered soothingly, "Try to relax; everything’s going to be all right, just relax, breathe slowly, easy does it. It’s over. Never again, I promise…"

***

Billy waited with Lee in the emergency room while Amanda was being treated. Lee was unusually quiet, he seemed both angry and upset.

"Relax, Lee, she’s going to be fine," Billy tried to lighten his dark mood.

"She could have drowned out there tonight," Lee scoffed, his anger evident.

"There’s a lot of ‘ifs’ in this business. The important thing is that she’s all right," Billy reminded him. But he was sensing that there was more to Lee’s feelings.

Lee just turned away. Now was not the time to get into an argument. He wanted to see Amanda. She seemed so cold when they brought her in. Shivering uncontrollably, her lips and fingers were blue. Her incessant cough; the only thing that kept her conscious on the hasty trip back to shore. It reminded him how close he had been to losing her.

"She almost drowned. If the storm hadn’t stopped when it had, she very well could have."

"Lee, everything worked out," Billy tried to get through to him.

"Worked out? You call this operation a success?" he yelled. "Seven people are missing and probably dead. Four other people are in the hospital, nearly drowned. Damn it, Billy, Amanda could have just as easily been killed. God knows how she found that bomb."

"But she did find it, and she’s OK."

"So the crew members who haven’t been found, they deserved to die because of the likes of Alexander Merrill?"

"No, of course not. It’s a terrible tragedy, but it could have been worse. Because of Amanda, there are four people alive tonight. Not to mention the nuclear secrets went up with that ship. Alex had them in his grubby little hand when that ship blew. Because of Amanda, those secrets won’t end up in the wrong hands. We also know who leaked the information.  I call that a success. She did a good job," Billy lectured.

Lee took a deep breath. Billy was right. Amanda did a good job, but he was still scared, scared of what might have happened. "Yeah, but…"

"Lee, she did her job, no ‘buts’ about it. I know neither of you liked the assignment. Do you think I like sending my agents out on assignments like this one?" Billy asked harshly.

Lee was taking his frustrations out on Billy, he knew that wasn’t fair. He answered quietly. "No, I know you don’t."

"Everything doesn’t always go as planned," Billy said somberly, he was well aware of the cost in lives this evening had rendered.

There was a long silence, before Lee finally spoke, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"If Amanda were married, would you still have asked her to handle this assignment?" Lee asked; he had to know. It had been gnawing at him for days.

Billy sat quietly in the chair next to Lee’s. The waiting room was empty except for the two of them. He quietly answered. "No, I wouldn’t put a married woman into that position unless she’d volunteered."

Lee nodded. He was pretty sure of Billy’s answer.  "Can I ask you another question? Off the record?" Lee asked in a hushed voice.

"Certainly," Billy answered, not quite sure where this line of questioning was going.

Lee paused; still not sure he could ask this question. He looked at his supervisor’s face, then slowly, deliberately, asked a very important question. "If Amanda and I were to marry, how would the Agency deal with us, as a married couple? Would you break up our partnership?"

Billy looked at Lee, not quite startled by the question. He contemplated it deliberately. He sighed before he finally answered, "I don’t know. Certainly you two work very well together, but most likely the decision wouldn’t be entirely mine. But, I would hope that if your feelings for Amanda, run that deep, you wouldn’t let your job come between you two."

Lee only nodded.

"Lee, I’ve known you for a long time now. I think Amanda has been the best thing that has ever happened to you. I will do everything in my power to keep you two together, professionally, if you decide to marry."

"Thanks, Billy. That really means a lot to me."

"Lee, being married to Jeannie has been the best part of my life. Don’t cheat yourself of that."

"I’ll keep that in mind," Lee answered.

A few minutes later, the doctor came out of the treatment room. "Mr. Stetson?"

Lee stood up, "How is she?"

"She’s doing remarkably well considering the circumstances. We’ll keep her overnight for observation. We’ve started her on some antibiotics as a precaution; pneumonia can be a threat in these cases. As for the cuts and abrasions, most of them were minor; we stitched up a small gash in her arm and gave her a tetanus shot. She’ll need to take it easy for a few days, bed rest. But unless there’s an infection, it looks like she’ll make a full recovery."

Billy patted Lee on the back in support. "That’s good news."

"Thanks, Doctor. Can I see her?"

"For just a few minutes. She needs to rest, and from the looks of you, I think you should, too."

Lee headed in to see Amanda. She was sitting up now, chatting quietly with the nurse. A warm smile coming to her face as he entered the room.

"Do you have any idea how glad I am to see your smile?"

"I’m OK," she reminded him.

He kissed her on her forehead, looked her over from head to toe. He reached for her hand, it was no longer cold and blue. It was, again warm to the touch. "I was afraid I was going to lose you."

"Did they find Alex and the rest of the passengers?" Amanda asked.

Lee couldn’t look her in the eye. He knew Alex and the other men had little chance of surviving the explosion. "We pulled out three other people before the Coast Guard arrived. I haven’t heard who else they might have picked up."

"I tried to warn them, really I did…" she said uncomfortably. "There wasn’t enough time."

"Amanda, I know you did. I heard you. You did your job. You did the best you could do and helped three other people get off that boat alive."

"But Alex and…"

Lee cut her off, "Amanda, don’t do this to yourself. You’re alive. That’s all that matters right now."

She tried to smile, but the night had taken its toll on her emotionally. Her eyes became glassy with tears.

The nurse came in. "I’m sorry, sir, we’re moving her to a room upstairs. You’ll have to leave now."

He leaned over and kissed her, his hand holding hers tightly. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"I’ll see you in the morning," he winked.

She nodded, sleepily. "First thing?"

"You bet," Lee replied as they wheeled her out of the room.

End Part 6
 
 

***
 
 

Part 7

Late the next morning, Lee opened the door to the Q bureau after what was a reasonably short debriefing by Billy and followed his wife inside.

"Amanda, can I ask you one question?" he asked as he closed the door behind them.

"Sure, what is it?" she asked quietly as she turned to face him.

He had a puzzled, uncomfortably look on his face. He asked the question with much trepidation, "Why did you go into Alex’s cabin? Don’t get me wrong, thank God you did, but I mean, if he had come in…"

Amanda dropped down onto the couch, still very much exhausted. In a weary voice, she tried to explain. "Lee, I wanted off that ship. I knew it was just a matter of time before Alex got me alone and we’d end up in his cabin. He had made that very clear earlier in the evening. But if I could find the information, I figured I could hit that panic button and I wouldn’t have to…"

Lee interrupted her as he sat down next to her. "Amanda, I promise, I’ll never let anyone put you into that position again."

"I wish that were true, but we both know…"

"No, it won’t," Lee declared with authority. "I talked to Billy last night about whether or not he would have given you that assignment if you were married. He wouldn’t have."

"So are you suggesting we go downstairs and tell him that we’ve been lying to him for the last six months? I still don’t think that would go over very well. Not to mention, we still don’t know whether they’d let us continue to work together," Amanda responded with a resigned tone.

"Billy would go to bat for us," Lee replied confidently.

"You sound pretty sure of yourself."

"We talked last night in the hospital. I think I made it pretty clear how I felt about you. He gave me a fatherly lecture that I should marry you. He even said he would do everything in his power to keep us together as a team."

"Yeah, but will he feel the same way if he finds out we’ve lied to him for so long?" Amanda knew Billy; she trusted him. But she also felt certain that he would be hurt by their deceit.

"I don’t know. But there’s no reason why we can’t just do it again, I mean, get married. It would be easier all around," Lee reasoned. He knew she had a valid argument. If they just openly announced they had been married, Billy would not be the only one hurt in the process. Phillip and Jamie would be as well.

She knew by his tone that he was serious, that he wanted to end the life of secrecy and lies they had been living for so long. "Are you sure you’re ready for all this? This is going to be quite an adjustment for you."

"I’ve never been more ready in my life. I’m ready and willing, I’m just waiting for you to agree," Lee said anxiously.

She kissed him. "We keep it small: family and just a few friends."

"How does next Friday sound?" Lee asked eagerly with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Lee!" she looked at him skeptically. "Next Friday? Do you have any idea what’s involved in putting together a wedding?"

"I, ah, checked with Norman, down at Emelio’s; they can handle everything. Their back room is available; we could have an evening ceremony, just the way you want it: the family and a few friends. I’d like to ask Billy to be my best man. What do you say?" he asked enthusiastically, his eyes were pleading with her for her approval.

"Sounds like you’ve already worked out the details."

"I didn’t sleep much last night. I don’t like sleeping alone and I don’t want to do it anymore. Regardless of what happens here at the office, I want us to be together, as a family."

"I guess we better check with your best man; see if he’s available next Friday." Amanda smiled her consent.

Lee hugged her tightly, then lifting her chin carefully he kissed her lips softly. "You’ve just made me the happiest man in the world. Come on, let’s go ask Billy," he urged excitedly.

They entered the bullpen, Billy was surprised to see them. Lee knocked on his opened door. "Can we talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure, but I thought you two would have been out of here by now."

Lee closed the door behind him.

"Is everything all right?" Billy asked uneasily, feeling certain that something was going on.

Lee and Amanda smiled, Amanda answered, "Yes, sir. Everything is fine."

"Billy, are you and Jeannie available next Friday night for dinner?" Lee asked calmly.

Billy relaxed a bit, thumbed through his calendar. "Looks clear to me, but I’ll need to check with Jeannie, just to be sure. Just tell me where and when."

"How’s seven o’clock at Emelio’s?"

"Sounds great. You know we don’t go out and socialize enough. We only go out when there are embassy parties, state dinners, you know, special occasions," Billy reasoned logically.

"Ah, well, this is going to be a very special occasion," Lee replied, trying not to burst with excitement.

Billy looked at him, then over at Amanda. "What’s the occasion?"

"We’re getting married. I’d like you to be my best man."

The grin on Billy’s face spoke volumes; he hugged Amanda, shook Lee’s hand, then pulled him into a bear hug as well. "We’ll be there. Nothing in this world could stop me from being there."

"Thanks, Billy," Lee beamed.

"Billy, do you know where Francine is?" Amanda asked softly.

"She downstairs, finishing up Tamara Norris’s debriefing."

"I think we better give her a personal invitation." Amanda replied, she knew Francine wouldn’t believe it if she heard it from anyone else.

"Oh, this I’ve got to see," Lee answered.

"Lee!" Amanda admonished.

"Sorry, Amanda, I wouldn’t miss this for the world either," Billy laughed.

Amanda headed down to the debriefing room, Lee and Billy following closely. When they got there, Tamara was just being escorted out of the room and Francine was inside straightening her notes.

"Tamara, I’m really sorry about your husband," Amanda said as she met her at the door.

"Thank you, Amanda. All this time I was worried that he was having an affair." Tamara shook her head; her face was tear stained, she too had endured quite a harrowing night. "He was selling national secrets. I can’t believe he would do that."

Amanda hugged Tamara. "I’m really sorry. I tried to warn them about the bomb when I found it. But Alex didn’t believe me; none of them believed me," Amanda explained with regret.

"I owe you my life. I didn’t believe you either; not until I saw you jump into the water. He was a damned fool. He wanted to buy me expensive things, but all I ever wanted was him. I would trade it all to have him back," she said shaking her head sadly.

"If there’s anything I can do," Amanda said softly.

Tamara nodded, and walked away.
 
 

Amanda headed into the debriefing room, closing the door for privacy, then she laughed at herself, knowing she had an audience.

"Amanda, I thought you’d be out of here by now. You had quite a night."

"I’ll be leaving in just a few minutes. I wanted to ask you a favor."

"Sure, what is it?" Francine asked without looking up, as she organized the papers on the desk in front of her.

"I was wondering if you’d be available for dinner next Friday night?"

"I’d have to check with Jonathan, but I’m sure I could make it? Girls night out?" she asked with interest, then added, "I could tell you some juicy stories about Lee."

Amanda started blushing, "Francine, stop! Not another word!" she demanded, not only for her own sake, but for Francine’s as well. She knew for sure that both Billy and Lee were outside of the interrogation room listening in.

"Jonathan is welcome to join us. Billy and Jeannie will be there as well."

Francine looked at Amanda cautiously, "What’s the occasion?"

"Lee and I are getting married," Amanda said as calmly as she could manage.

"Oh good lord! What kind of assignment did Billy give you two now? So you two have to play the happy married couple again. I’ll tell you, I think Billy gets his kicks putting you two together," she answered righteously, rolling her eyes at the thought.

Amanda’s face was getting red with anger and annoyance. "Francine, this isn’t an assignment. We’re really getting married…"

"You’re serious?" Francine clamored in disbelief. Her eyes were wide and staring up at Amanda. She tried to say something, anything, but no words seem to come to her lips as her mouth hung open, widely. The papers she was holding in her hands falling back onto the table.

"Quite serious. We’d both like you to be there," Amanda coaxed, hoping for some kind of reply. But she continued her silent staring.

Finally, Lee opened the door to the room. "You ready to go?" he asked Amanda, ignoring Francine’s bewildered look.

Amanda smiled at Lee but turned to Francine, "Francine, are you OK?"

She nodded and Lee pulled Amanda towards the door.

"Lee, maybe we shouldn’t leave her like that." Amanda nodded towards Francine, who was sitting in the interrogation room, just staring in a daze.

"Go, get out of here. She’ll be fine," Billy laughed. "By the way, I assume you two will want time off for your honeymoon."

Lee looked over at Amanda, smiled and winked at her. "Yeah, Billy, that is customary."

"I’ll take you both off of the active duty log; I hope one week will due?"

"Thanks, Billy, we appreciate that." He quickly hurried Amanda out of the room before Billy changed his mind.

As they were walking down the corridor Amanda asked, "Honeymoon huh? If Billy ever finds out that were already married…"

"Will you be quiet," Lee warned as he guided her gently towards the parking garage. "I personally wouldn’t mind another chance at a honeymoon."

She giggled. "So where are you planning on taking me?"

"Anywhere you’d like to go. We have plenty of time to discuss it this weekend," he whispered as he helped her into his car.

"What I’d really like to do is spend the weekend in bed," Amanda replied resting her head lazily against the car’s headrest and closing her heavy, tired eyes.

"Well, that was my plan," Lee grinned brightly, his eyebrows accentuating his last comment.

"That’s not exactly what I meant, but in all honesty I really don’t have any plans to go near the ocean any time soon," Amanda confessed wearily.

Lee’s face grimaced. "Amanda, I never thought about that. Are you sure you still want to go? We can change our plans, we don’t have to go to the beach."

"Nothing can stop me from spending the weekend alone with you. Besides, I’m pretty sure we can keep each other occupied without going near the water," she said lovingly.

"Yeah, the doctor did order bed rest for you. I think I’ll keep you secreted away in the hotel room all weekend," he grinned and winked as he drove out of the parking lot.

"I’m starting to like your plan more and more," she responded placing her hand on his.

Lee caressed her hand tenderly, "I think I like my plan for next Friday the best. I’m going to put a ring on this finger once and for all; for all the world to see."

"I love you, Lee Stetson, now and forever."

"And I’ll always love you, Mrs. Stetson…"

The end
 

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