“I could use a cup myself,” Lee Stetson remarked as he sauntered into Austin Smyth’s library as the man poured himself a coffee.

“Stetson?!  How did you get in here?”  Dr. Smyth snapped as he stared up at the agent who had suddenly appeared in his house.

“Actually, it was astonishingly easy.  For a man in your position, you really should consider a security system,” Lee answered calmly as he walked over to the coffee pot.  He poured himself a cup and sipped at the hot brew.  “I should have known you’d be drinking Jamaican Blue.”

“What are you doing here?   I could have you brought up on charges of breaking and entering.”

“On the contrary, I’m following your orders to report only to you.  I assumed you’d want to debrief me personally,” Lee answered snidely.  “Besides, I’ve already told you, my entrance here was surprisingly simple.  A freshman agent wouldn’t have any trouble getting inside.  You really need a security system.”

“You’re supposed to be in Moscow.  You’re risking being written up on charges of dereliction of duty…”

“Dereliction of duty?!” Lee scoffed at Smyth with a bitter laugh.  “We both know you won’t.  You couldn’t risk an investigation.  We both know my little trip to Moscow was nothing more than a diversion, wasn’t it?”

“Diversion?  It was nothing of the sort,” Smyth retorted as he nervously reached for a cigarette on the table nearest him, lit it and inhaled deeply.

“Really?” Lee mocked the detested man in front of him.  “I name dropped the N.E.R.S. all over Moscow, flashed handfuls of rubles to quite a few sources that should have been ‘in the know’.  Hell, I even chatted with some of the Soviet Unions black market specialists,” he explained as he raised an eyebrow.  “Not a single person knew anything about it, although now they’re all pretty interested in getting their hands on it.”

“Perhaps our intelligence regarding it being compromised was flawed?” Smyth countered as he blew out a puff of smoke into his agent’s face.

“Why don’t we just cut to the chase and admit it was just plain fabricated to get me out of the country?” Lee challenged.

“It was nothing of the sort.”

Lee sat down in a large leather chair across from Dr. Smyth as he continued to drink his coffee.  “Then you wouldn’t mind if I called for an investigation into the source of the information?”

“On whose authority?”

“What difference does it make if we can identify the spurious source?”  Lee put his cup down on the table next to him, stretched out his legs and put his arms behind his head in a lounging position.  He was enjoying watching Dr. Smyth squirm.

“Scarecrow, I suggest you high tail it back to the Agency, complete your report and perhaps then I’ll forget your unwelcome detour here this morning.”

“And if I don’t, you’ll scooch me as well?” Lee challenged as he folded his arms across his chest.

“Don’t throw away your career for a housewife from the suburbs,” Dr. Smyth warned.

“My marriage means more to me than this job so unless you want me to quit, I suggest you make arrangements to have Amanda reinstated.”

“You’re not in much of a position to make demands.  Although, it probably wouldn’t be in the Agency’s best interest to terminate your employment, I have no plans to rehire Mrs. King.”

“It’s Mrs. Stetson.  Amanda Stetson!” Lee spewed back angrily as he stood up.  “And I suggest you seriously reconsider your position or we’ll be forced to take legal action.”

“I don’t like being threatened, Stetson.  Now, I’m telling you it’s time to leave my house and report your findings – or lack there of.  Have your report on my desk first thing tomorrow morning and we’ll forget this rather large indiscretion on your part.”

“What about your indiscretion?  You sent a senior field agent on a wild goose chase for a week in the Soviet Union.  I could have been arrested, or killed or worse.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Scarecrow. The Soviet’s obviously weren’t interested in you.”

“You keep preaching cost containment - wouldn’t the tax payers love to know how much my trip just cost them?  I’m sure the press would be happy to sink their teeth into that,” Lee remarked picking up his coffee again.  “Or that you fired someone solely upon their marital status.  I’m certain the ACLU or the EEOC would love to get their hands on that one.  Or maybe the National Organization for Women since you don’t intend to fire me, it’s a simple case of gender bias.”

“Enough, Scarecrow!” Dr. Smyth shouted, losing his temper.  “Perhaps you’re right; maybe I should fire you as well.  You’ve been nothing but trouble since the day we met.  I should have never rehired you after the Stemwinder incident.”

Lee smirked, pleased to ignite the ire of the Agency’s director.  He put the cup of coffee down on the table and leaned towards the older man who sat across from him.  “Reinstate Amanda, transfer her to another department if you insist on breaking up our partnership, cryptology would be thrilled to get her, or you’ll regret it.”

“Get out of my house or you’ll regret it!  Remember who you’re dealing with, Scarecrow,” Dr. Smyth countered.

Lee watched Smyth carefully.  He was pale and there was a thin bead of perspiration across his brow.  Dr. Smyth didn’t want an inquiry, official or otherwise.  His body language was telling the truth he was hoping to conceal by barking orders, but Lee wasn’t budging.  Austin Smyth was more than flustered.  He was scared.

“You can’t threaten me.  Not this time.  You want to split us up in the field,” Lee shrugged, “you may have grounds, but you can’t fire Amanda or me that easily.  Try to meddle with my marriage, or interfere with our family – in any way - and you’ll be the one with the regrets.  If anything happens to me, Amanda or her family, this information will make its way around town faster than the plague.”

“I regret not firing you both last week.  You can’t prove anything,” Smyth choked out nervously.

“Are you sure?  You’re not the only one with friends in high places.  You don’t really think I’d be foolish enough to come here without proof?”

“You’re bluffing…”

Lee raised his eyebrows and smiled confidently.  He reached into his pocket, pulled out some paperwork and handed it to Smyth.  “Not this time.  I guess you could say – I’ve got you trumped!”

Smyth’s shaking hands batted the papers away.  “I’ll deny it all.  I’ll claim they’re forgeries.  It’s your word against mine.”

“Maybe, but you know the ACLU, NOW or even the press would be all over you regardless.  They’re just like you, more interested in basking in the glory of the headlines.  Even if I can’t prove all the allegations, the innuendo will ruin your career.  The President would ask for your resignation.  You’d be forced to leave Washington in disgrace.”

“Think about what’s best for National Security,” Smyth suggested in a trembling voice.

“You call it National Security when it suits your needs, but you went too far this time.  When it was just me you went after, I played your game, but when you involved my wife and family, you upped the ante.  Face it, Smyth, you’re the one who bluffed and lost.  You’ve got 24 hours to reinstate Amanda, or else I’m putting a stop to your harassment once and for all,” Lee demanded as he reached down for the paperwork, snatched it and calmly stuffed it back into his pocket.  He gave Smyth one last scathing glare and strode out of the room.

*** ***
 

Sunday afternoon:
 
 

Lee sat in his car down the street from Billy’s house, waiting for him to return from Sunday services.  Finally he watched as his supervisor’s car drove by.  Lee was pretty sure that Billy had recognized his car.  He got out of the Corvette and casually strolled down the block timing his arrival just as Jeannie and the girls went inside.

“Such a lovely day, isn’t it?” Lee called out to his supervisor.

“Yes, it is,” Billy agreed before he joined Lee at the curb.  Then his voice lowered.  “Welcome home.  How did your assignment go?”

Lee nodded to Billy to follow him as they walked back towards his car.  “We’ll get to that.  What did you know about Amanda being scooched?”

Billy stopped dead in his tracks.  “Lee, I swear to you I didn’t know a thing about it until about an hour before she did on Monday morning.  I got a call at 6:30AM from Smyth’s secretary that he wanted to see me, Priority One!  Why didn’t you tell me that you two got married?  I could have run interference.  The outcome would have been far better than it is now.”

Lee stood there on the sidewalk for a few moments as he digested the information his supervisor had shared with him.  He eyed Billy up carefully, but Lee’s gut suggested that he was telling the truth.  “I figured as much.  I expect Dr. Smyth will change his mind and reinstate her.”

Billy’s eyes opened wide and he shook his head.  “Scarecrow, I pleaded her case all week.  He won’t budge.”

“He will.  He has to,” Lee answered with certainty as he strolled back to his car.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Billy asked as he firmly reached for Lee’s arm.

“I visited him this morning and we had a little chat.  I’m pretty sure that he’ll come around.”

Billy put his hand to his stomach and grimaced as if he was in pain.  “Scarecrow, tell me you didn’t threaten Smyth.  You and Amanda will both be on the unemployment line.  He was furious on Monday morning.  He was going to recall you from Moscow and fire you.  Trust me when I tell you it wasn’t easy talking him out of it.”

Lee chuckled at the new tidbit of information.  Then he put his arm around his friend’s shoulder.  “You’re a good man, Billy, but Smyth wasn’t letting you in on the whole story.”

“The whole story?”

“Yeah, he skipped over the part where he sent a senior intelligence operative overseas in potential hostile territory on a fabricated mission just so he could separate his best team and fire the junior partner.”

“Scarecrow, even Dr. Smyth isn’t crazy enough to do that!”

“I wouldn’t be telling you this if I didn’t have proof.  I spent a week combing the back alleys of Moscow for every and any lead.  I came up with zip, zilch, zero!  That’s when I started having my doubts about the veracity of leak.  The clincher was when Amanda managed to get a message to me that she’d been terminated.”

“All right, so there was no leak.  That doesn’t mean that Smyth is involved in a vendetta against the two of you.  We get a lot of bogus intelligence, Scarecrow, you know that,” Billy reasoned.

“You’re right,” Lee conceded readily, but then he continued.  “I tried to get a flight home to DC, but the first available flight out of Moscow was to London.  I had a long layover there and decided to do a little digging.  I visited Emily Farnsworth and subsequently started an investigation of my own.  She’s as savvy as Amanda is on the computer.  With a little help from one of her friends, the truth came out. My investigation proves there was never any leak of the N.E.R.S.  It was contrived as a diversion by Dr. Smyth.”

Billy shook his head in disbelief.  “Can you prove any of this?”

Lee reached into his pocket and removed the paperwork that Smyth had tossed aside.  “I’ve got copies with me, and I left copies with Emily – just for safekeeping.”

“Are you sure of this?  He could be terminated if this is true,” Billy pointed out.

“Pity to see him go, don’t you think?” Lee commented with a wry smile.

“Scarecrow, what do you intend to do?”

“I’ve given Smyth 24 hours to make the right choice and reinstate Amanda.  If he doesn’t there will be another leak, but this time it won’t be fabricated intelligence.  It will be about blatant abuse of power,” Lee stated decisively.

“You know that’s rather harsh.”

“Billy, not only did he fire Amanda, but he demanded that she get a divorce and cut all ties to me, her husband.  If that’s not harsh, I don’t know what is,” Lee snapped, in a tight voice.

Billy winced at the news.  “How is she taking all this?”

“I don’t know yet,” Lee admitted, running his hand through his hair.  “I’ve been pretty busy since I’ve gotten back and since her phone might be bugged, I didn’t want to call her.”

“As far as I know her phone isn’t tapped.”

“Did you know that she’s being followed?” Lee asked, but his supervisor shook his head.  “So don’t tell me I’m the one whose acting callous.”

The look on Billy’s face was that of shock.  “He could be brought up on charges if this is true.”

“It’s true and it won’t be too difficult to prove.  So the ball’s in Smyth’s court now.  I just wanted you to know of the potential firestorm if he doesn’t do the right thing.  Here’s a copy of the paperwork.  I’ve got several copies as do various people I trust.  If anything happens to either Amanda or me, or if Smyth refuses to budge, the information will be plastered all over town.”

“I’ll put this in a safe place,” Billy promised as he took the papers from Lee.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to go back to my apartment, take a shower and clean up before I surprise my wife.  If you need me, I’ll be at Amanda’s, but I intend to take the day off you owe me.” Lee said as he got back into his Corvette and drove away.
 

*** *** ***

Sunday Evening

The timer rang in the kitchen and Amanda got up from the couch and walked over to the oven.  She opened the door and grinned contently.  Her chocolate chip cookies had darkened to a crisp, light brown.  She turned off the oven, put on the oven mitts and pulled the last two trays out of the oven and placed then carefully on top of the counter.

Shedding her oven mitts, she leaned over and took in a deep breath.  “Mmm, they smell good.”

“They sure do,” Lee replied.  “Can I have one?”

She glanced up in stunned surprise to see him leaning against the kitchen door.  “LEE!” she exclaimed happily as she ran over to him.  Their lips met and they showered each other with kisses and caresses.   It was a few minutes later when they finally allowed their loving grips on each other to subside and they collected their breaths.

“When did you get back?  Why didn’t you call me from the airport?  I would have picked you up!” Amanda fired one question right after the other.

“I got back a few hours ago.  I had some things that I needed to take care of,” he answered as he stroked her face.  “Are you all right?  I missed you so much.”

“I missed you, too,” she whispered softly as she reached for his hand and squeezed it tightly.  “I’m fine now that you’re home.  I was so worried.”

“Didn’t you get the flowers?”

She nodded to the colorful arrangement in the family room.  “Yes, they’re gorgeous and you had perfect timing.  Thank you.  I didn’t expect you back so soon.  You finished things up in Moscow?”

“You could say that.” He replied in a neutral voice.

Amanda noticed the look in his eyes.  She could tell that he was hiding something.  “What happened?” she asked as she started to give him a thorough inspection, her hand frisking his body.  “You weren’t shot or anything?”

“No, relax, it’s nothing like that,” he answered.

“You did finish your assignment before you came home?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Can I have one of these?”

“Careful, they’re hot,” she warned as he carefully lifted the cookie off the baking sheet.  “Lee, is everything all right?”

“Mmmm, delicious” he garbled, with the warm cookie in his mouth.  After finishing the cookie, he slipped his arm around her waist.  “How about we both go sit down and talk about what happened last week, hmmm?”

“There’s a lot to tell you,” she warned as they walked into the family room and sat down.

“I know; I saw Emily yesterday while I had a layover in London,” he began as he reached his arm around his wife’s shoulders and drew her close.  “She filled me in on some of what happened.  She sends her love.”

“I take it her message got through?” she asked, resting her head comfortably against Lee’s shoulder.

“I got two messages, one from Emily and one from T.P.  Were there more?”

She shook her head.  “No, just the two.  I didn’t want to blow your cover, and Emily and T.P. were the only two people I knew I could trust.”

“You did the right thing.  So fill me in on the details.  What exactly went down?”

“I went into the Agency early Monday morning, Mrs. Marston told me I was to report to Dr. Smyth’s office immediately.  I went there and waited for an eternity before I was allowed to go in to see him.  The conversation started out innocent enough.  I thought he was formally approving my return to field status, but then our conversation turned and I knew he found out about our marriage,” she explained, letting out a long slow breath and closing her eyes.

“Emily told me he insisted we get a divorce.”

She nodded and buried her face in his shoulders trying to hide her tears.

“Relax, Amanda,” he reassured her as he started to stroke her back gently.  “Smyth can’t force us to divorce and I know I don’t want one.  Do you?”

Finally regaining some control over her emotions she looked up into his eyes.  The doubts that plagued her all week began to disappear.  “Of course not, but he was extremely adamant that I do as he said or he’d transfer you overseas – permanently.  He told me that he’d be watching me and if I didn’t follow his advice, well, things could go badly for me, for us...”

“Are you still being followed?”

She nodded.  “And I ran into someone on Friday that I hadn’t seen in a long time.  I’m not sure, but I think he was a plant.”

“He?!” Lee repeated with a raised eyebrow.

“You remember Dean?”

Lee nodded. “The weather guy?”

“That’s him.  We literally bumped into each other at the train station Friday morning.  Then he showed up at my door again, yesterday afternoon.”

“Did you throw him out?”

“No, you did!” she chuckled.

“Huh?”

“Dean brought me a small posy of flowers.  He tried to get me to go to his uncle’s anniversary party with him, but I kept telling him no.  I didn’t think he’d ever leave.  Then the doorbell rang,” Amanda paused for a moment and leaned over to the arrangement on the table and drank in a deep breath.  Tenderly touching the petals, she turned towards her husband and grinned happily.  Her voice softer now, she finished her explanation.  “Your beautiful bouquet of flowers arrived and rivaled his.  That’s how I knew you’d gotten my message and that you’d be back.”

“You thought I wouldn’t come home?” he asked in surprise.

“Dr. Smyth is a powerful man,” she replied evasively, pulling away from him.  “He usually gets his way.”

“Amanda, this isn’t business!  This is my personal life.”

She turned and glanced at the floor, unable to look him in the eye.  The words came hesitantly and faintly.  “It was only last Sunday that you urged me to take that job in Crypto…  You weren’t exactly… thrilled that I was returning to the field.”

“What did that bastard say to you?” he gritted out angrily.

“It doesn’t matter.  He was lying,” she hedged.

“It matters to me.”

“He said that firing me wasn’t entirely his idea…”

“Damn him!  Does he have my apartment bugged?”

Amanda’s eyes flew opened in alarm.  She shook her head.  “Oh my gosh, Lee, I never checked your apartment.  I’ve been so busy sweeping this place the thought never crossed my mind!”

“Amanda, I admit I would prefer you’d take a desk job, but I’d never force you into a job you didn’t want.  I’m afraid of losing you – you know that.  I don’t want another sniper’s bullet or anything else to hurt you or take you away from me.  But I certainly have no intention of letting that bastard separate us by firing you or shipping me overseas!”

“In my heart I know that.  It’s just our lifestyle that makes me doubt this will ever work.”

“We’re going to make it work.  We’ll start by telling your mother and the boys we’re married…”

“They already know,” she interrupted.  “Dr. Smyth was kind enough to have a courier hand deliver my personal belongings from my desk on Monday afternoon to the house.  Mother answered the door – it was addressed to Amanda Stetson.”

“That son of a bitch doesn’t miss a trick, does he?” Lee complained bitterly.

“No, he’s rather scrupulous,” Amanda admitted with disgust.

“More like unscrupulous.  You know I was sent to Moscow?”

She nodded.  “T.P. told me you were there.”

“My assignment was to buy back the plans for the National Emergency Response System at any cost and find who leaked them.  If I couldn’t find the leak, I was to form a team and scour the city until I found who stole or leaked it.  I hustled my butt all over Moscow trying to find who had it.”

“I know; that’s why it took T.P. so long to find you.  You never stayed in the same place for more than one night.”

“I chased one long shot after another.  I never had anything solid, only rumors or innuendoes.  I flashed rubles all over Moscow, but not even a bite.  I started thinking that it was bad intel.  Then I got your two messages; that’s when I finally put it together.  It wasn’t just bad intelligence – it was bogus.  The assignment was nothing more than a ruse to get me out of the country,” Lee explained as he stood up and started to pace the room.

“You don’t really think Dr. Smyth would send you to Moscow…”

“Not only do I think it, I can prove it.”

“How?”

“I told you I visited with Emily during my layover.  Did I mention that Emily has a good friend who’s a computer forensics specialist?” Lee asked, with a raised eyebrow.  “Smyth might have concocted this plan to break us up, but he left a computer trail a mile long.  I logged into the Agency network in London and within a few hours we had all the information we needed.”

“Seriously?” she gasped.

He nodded and sat back down next to her.  “Smyth didn’t realize that the delete key is a misnomer.  The information’s still there, just more difficult to find.  I stopped by his estate this morning and I told him to restore your Agency status within 24 hours, or I’d go public with the information.”

“You went to Dr. Smyth’s house?” Amanda’s eyes were wide in astonishment.  “What…what did he do?”

“After he threatened to have me arrested and write me up on dereliction of duty charges, he denied everything.  You should have seen the look on the old man’s face.  He was white as a ghost,” Lee boasted.  “He might still be able to split up our partnership, but he knows he can’t fire you.  He’s aware that I’ve got friends in the press, Bernie would love to sink his teeth into this thing or there’s always the ACLU or NOW.  Amanda, this is going to be a done deal.  You’ll be back to work no later than Tuesday!”

“I don’t know, Lee, Dr. Smyth has friends in high places…” she fretted.

“And so do I,” he took her hands into his.  “And he knows it.  I’ve taken precautions.  Our safety – yours, mine, and our family is Priority One.  I called Harry Thornton before I left London and filled him in on what happened.  Emily has copies of everything and has instructions to send copies to Harry if anything happens.  So does Billy.  Trust me?”

“I’ve always trusted you,” she whispered solemnly as she leaned her head into his chest again.

“It’s going to be all right.”  Lee lifted her chin and kissed her lips tenderly.

She kissed him back and relaxed in his strong arms.  His hands started to explore her body and the sparks of love ignited as their kisses because more passionate. His caresses became stronger and his kisses more insistent.  He smiled at her before carefully reclining her on the couch his hand gently gliding across her soft skin.

“Lee,” she gasped out between kisses, “wouldn’t we be more comfortable upstairs in my bedroom?”

“I promise after tonight we’ll know for sure,” he vowed as he looked down at her for just a moment with a contented grin on his face before he continued his kisses and enjoyed the delicate sensation of her lips on his…

End Part Eight
 
 

Scooched
 

Part Nine:  Monday morning
 
 

“Good morning,” Lee greeted his wife cheerfully as he poured himself a cup of coffee in the kitchen and sat down at the table with her as she ate breakfast.

“Are you sure you don’t want anything to eat?” she asked.

“I might have a cookie,” he teased with a devilish grin.  Then his face turned serious.  “You never did tell me how things went with your mother once she found out we were married.”

“Mother was more hurt than angry,” she answered.  “She said she would have liked to have been there when we got married.”

“So things are all right between the two of you?” he asked curiously as he watched his wife play with the cereal in her bowl.

“I think so.  She did make a suggestion though.”

“What was that?” he asked curiously and waited while she sipped her coffee.

“She wants us to get married again, this time in church.  You know, a small ceremony with just family.”

Lee shrugged his shoulders.  “I could live with that.  Is that what you want?”

“I guess maybe I do,” she nodded.  “It would be easier to do that, then to explain to the neighbors that I eloped months ago and kept my marriage a secret.”

“That probably would raise more red flags than we’d like,” he agreed as he reached his hand across the small table and took her hand in his.  “As long as we do it soon and keep it small.”

“We should call your uncle and invite him.”

“How about we send him an announcement instead?” he proposed.  “I don’t even know where he’s stationed at the moment and I don’t want to wait until he can make arrangements to get here.”

“How long would it take you to find where he’s stationed?  Twenty minutes, a half hour?  Lee, wouldn’t you like someone from your family to be there?”

“How about we invite T.P. and Billy?  They’re my family,” he reminded her.

“This is your wedding, too.  If you don’t want to invite your uncle, we won’t.”

“I’m glad we have that settled.  So, the next question is when?” he pressed.

“I could call mother after breakfast and tell her you’re home.  She’ll be relieved to hear that.   I’m sure Aunt Lillian will want to come down.  I’ll call Reverend Mills this morning as well.  If he’s available, maybe we can have the ceremony on Friday night.”

“I’ll pencil you in on Friday night then,” Lee winked and squeezed her hand.  “I think it would be good for the boys to see us get married.  What did you tell them about our jobs?”

“I told them the truth about the Agency.  Jamie knew right away why we kept it a secret.  Philip wasn’t all that pleased that he had to keep the news a secret, but in the end I think he understood.”

“Good,” he answered as he glanced around the kitchen.  “I’ll get started designing a security system for the house.  Philip and Jamie can help me install it.  I want them to understand that our jobs can be dangerous.”

“I think I should send the boys to karate classes…”

Lee noticed the concerned look on his wife’s face as she pushed the half eaten bowl of cereal away.  “Hey, don’t get worried about all this.  I can teach them everything they need to know about self defense.  We can practice out in the back yard.  It’ll be fun.”

“Yeah, Philip would like that,” she answered in a shaky voice.

“Amanda, they’ve been at risk for a long time now.  We both know that.  My moving in here isn’t going to increase the risk.  It should decrease it.  Now there will be two of us to keep an eye on them and notice a problem before it happens.  We’ll talk to the boys together about what they can and can’t say and do with their friends.  We’ll set up guidelines and explain why we need to enforce them.  They’re smart, responsible kids.  We should have done this from the beginning instead of this damn mystery marriage.  We were only kidding ourselves from the start that we could protect them by disassociation.”

“I know,” she agreed, but her voice sounded rather unconvinced.  “Maybe I shouldn’t go back into the field.  Maybe you’re right to want to keep me behind a desk.  It would be safer.”

Focusing his eyes on the woman he loved sitting so close to him, he contemplated what she said for a few moments.  He stood up and walked towards the window staring out into the yard.  Finally turning, he faced her and spoke from his heart.  “If you want to leave the field, I won’t argue with you, but do it because you want to work another position.  Don’t hide behind a desk, Amanda.  You’re a damn good agent and the best partner I’ve ever had.  Don’t sell yourself short now or you’ll regret it later.”

Amanda’s eyes opened wide.  “I can’t believe you’re trying to talk me out of leaving the field.”

Lee swallowed hard.  “Yeah, I can’t believe I said it either, but I should have been more supportive the last few months.  You’re good at what you do; you’re a natural.  You have instincts and insights that you can’t learn from a book.  I know some agents think you’re just lucky, hell for the first few months I worked with you I thought so, too.  But after a while, when Billy would tell me to call you to help, I didn’t argue as long or as loud because deep down, I wanted you with me.  You notice things that everyone else overlooks and it has saved my life more than once.  I’m proud of you, Amanda.  I’m glad you’re my partner, both personally and professionally.”

“I learned from the best, you know,” she croaked out with tears in her eyes.  “T.P. mentioned the other day that I reminded him of you.  Obviously a lot of you rubbed off on me.”

“Let’s hope mostly the good stuff,” Lee teased.  “So no rash decisions, all right?”

“You’re rather confident that Smyth will change his mind.”

“He will.  He went too far this time.”  Before they could continue their conversation, they were interrupted by the doorbell.  “Are you expecting anyone?”

“It’s probably Jamie’s friend, Timmy.  He got a new bike on Saturday and he’s wants to show it off,” Amanda chuckled.

“Finish your breakfast.  I think I can handle Timmy,” Lee said as he rose from the table and started for the door.

“I’ve had enough to eat.  I’ll put this stuff away then make that phone call to mother.”

Lee opened the door, but it wasn’t Jamie’s friend on the doorstep.  “Billy!” he answered with surprise.  “Is our phone out of order?”

“I didn’t want to call until the tap is removed.  That might not be until noon,” his supervisor explained.

“So Smyth did tap the phone!”

“Yeah, both here and your apartment,” he concurred.

“That bastard,” Lee grumbled as he gritted his teeth trying to keep his temper in check.  “I guess I need to sweep my place for bugs as well.”

Billy nodded.  “Can I come in?”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Lee replied as he stepped back allowing his supervisor to enter the house, but he noticed that his supervisor’s appearance was rather dour and he looked extremely tired.  “Is there a problem?”

“It’s been a long day.”

“It’s only nine in the morning!” Lee commented, uneasy about the unannounced visit.

“I stand corrected; it’s been a long morning.  Where’s Amanda?  I need to talk to the both of you?”

“She’s in the kitchen,” Lee answered, but paused before leading the way.  “Is this about Smyth?  Is he still refusing to budge?”

“Scarecrow, I’m really exhausted and I’m pressed for time.  I need to talk to you both.”

He nodded silently and led his boss to the kitchen.  “Amanda, Billy’s here.”

“Good morning, Sir,” she greeted.  “It looks like you could use a cup of coffee.”

“Thanks, Amanda, I really could.”

Amanda poured a cup of coffee and handed it to their supervisor. Her eyes darted over to Lee momentarily.

Lee saw the furtive look that his wife gave him, but he shrugged.  “So, Billy, cut to the chase.  What’s going on?”

Billy sipped at his coffee before he spoke.  “It’s Smyth, he’s in the hospital, in intensive care…”

“Lee!” Amanda glanced at him with alarm.

“I never touched the man yesterday, Billy, I swear to you,” Lee asserted loudly, putting his hands up defensively staring at Amanda at first, then Billy.  “I wanted to strangle him, but I swear I didn’t touch him!”

“Relax, Lee, nobody’s blaming you.  Yesterday afternoon while he was having drinks at his club, he collapsed.  He’s had a massive stroke,” Billy explained.

“Oh my gosh!” Amanda gasped.

Lee squared his jaw, but showed little emotion.  “Do they expect him to recover?”

“It was touch and go for a while, but he made it through the night.  According to the NEST team, the damage is rather extensive.  Their preliminary assessment is that he won’t be able to return to work anytime soon, if at all.”

Lee and Amanda leaned against the kitchen counter.  He put one arm around his wife and rubbed his temples with his other hand.  “So what now?”

“The President was advised last night of Smyth’s medical prognosis.  He’s appointed a temporary replacement for Smyth until a permanent replacement can be named.”

“That’s just great!” Lee railed in frustration.  “The President probably appointed one of his cronies, Smyth eludes justice and Amanda’s termination ends up permanent!”

“Lee, the man’s just had a stroke.  He’ll be a prisoner in his own body.  Show a little compassion,” Amanda chastised harshly.

“He had little compassion for you the last week.  Besides, he did it to himself; he was a chain smoking son of a bitch!” Lee snapped.

“Lee, Amanda, will you two stop?” Billy interrupted brusquely and glanced at his watch.  “I’m due back at the Agency shortly.  I stopped here as a courtesy to the two of you, but if you’d prefer to hear this from the grapevine, I can leave!”

“Sorry, Sir,” Amanda mumbled.

“Yeah, sorry, Billy, what were you saying?”

“The President asked Harry Thornton to come out of retirement for the next few weeks until a new director can be named,” Billy Melrose informed them.

“Harry!” Lee cheered, then noticed his supervisor’s glare and shut his mouth quickly.

“Yes, I thought you’d be pleased.  I spoke with Harry this morning at the hospital.  I intended to brief him on the issue with Amanda being scooched.  Apparently, he already knew about her being terminated and about Smyth’s little transgression…”

“Harry founded the Agency and I trust him.  I called him from London before my flight home; he had a right to know what Smyth was doing,” Lee explained with no regrets.

“Lee, I don’t begrudge you calling Harry; I just wished you would have called me first.”

“My orders were to report to Smyth, not you, Billy.  I didn’t want to get you caught up in the middle of this mess unless I knew my hunch was correct.  Once I had the proof, you were the first person I saw after I confronted Smyth.  I didn’t even see Amanda until after I spoke with you,” Lee reminded his supervisor.

“So you did,” Billy nodded as he glanced back at his watch.  “I’m meeting with Harry at the Agency at ten this morning.  He’s going to be tied up with meetings most of the day.  He asked for the two of you to report to him first thing tomorrow morning.”

“So we’re still partners?” Lee surmised.

“I can’t speak for Harry, but we all know he holds you both in the highest regard.  At the very least, Amanda’s termination will be withdrawn and any reference removed from her personnel file.”

Lee and Amanda looked at each other with bright smiles.  They knew with Harry at the helm of the Agency they had a chance to remain partners.  “We’ll be there,” Lee answered.

“It’ll be good to have you both back,” Billy remarked.

“It will be good to be back,” Amanda replied.

“Amanda, about last week… I wanted to call you.  I tried in vain to get Smyth to reconsider…”

“Sir, I understand policy.  When an agent is scooched, contact is forbidden by other Agency personnel.”  Amanda quoted the Agency manual from memory.

“I want to congratulate you both on your marriage.  I hope now that everything is out in the open, you can try to have a normal life.  You two do make the perfect couple.”  Billy put his coffee mug back on the counter.  “Thanks for the coffee, but I have to get back to the office.”

“Anytime,” Amanda smiled as Billy headed for the door.

“See you tomorrow, Billy,” Lee said as he walked him to the door and watched him get back into his car and drive off.

Lee came back into the kitchen and stared at his wife.  “I can’t believe what just happened.  I never thought I’d see the day that Harry Thornton would be back in control.”

“Temporarily,” Amanda reminded him.

“Even so, it’s our best chance to remain a team.  I guess that’s one more name I better add to my guest list for the wedding.”

“Yeah, I think that would be a good idea.  I better call mother and Reverend Mills and get the wedding plans firmed up,” Amanda remarked.  “I know mother will be happy to hear you’re home.”

“Yeah, but more importantly, I want you to be happy.”

“I’m happy as long as I’ve got you by my side, Mr. Stetson.”

Lee pulled his wife to him and kissed her gently on the lips.  “I can assure you, Mrs. Stetson, now that the truth is out in the open, I’m not going anywhere without you...”

End Part Nine
 
 

Scooched
 

Conclusion:   The Agency, Several weeks later…
 
 

“Good morning, Francine,” Amanda greeted the blonde agent in the hallway outside the bullpen.

“Is it still morning?” Francine questioned, trying to glance at her watch as she juggled two stacks of files in her arms.

“It’s 11:30.  Can I help you with those?” Amanda asked, steadying a few at the top as they started to fall to the floor.

“No, I’ve got them, but I really need to chat with you!”

Amanda glanced at her warily.  “You wanted to chat with me?  Why?”

“You’ve got to talk to Lee for me.”

“About what?” Amanda asked curiously.

“The Q Bureau, of course!”

“How do you like it upstairs?” Amanda questioned with a faint smile.

“I can’t believe Lee assigned it to me!” Francine scowled.

“Why not?  You’re the most qualified person for the job.  You’ve got an excellent network around town and you know how to get things done.  I would think you’d be happy up there.”

“If I remember correctly, Lee wasn’t too thrilled to get the Q Bureau when Billy pawned it off on him years ago either.”

“Just be glad you got it in the condition you did.  When we got it, the vault was a disaster, files weren’t even alphabetized.  They were stacked floor to ceiling...” Amanda started to reminisce, but Francine held up her hand.

“But there were two of you.  There’s only one of me and your husband seems to have forgotten that!” she huffed, obviously annoyed.

“Give Lee some time to get the feel of his new job as section chief.  Besides, I’m sure he knows how hard you’re working,” Amanda responded with empathy.

“Speak to him, please.  That’s all I’m asking,” she pleaded.

“All right, I promised to mention it to him.  Is he in?  We were supposed to meet for lunch,” Amanda asked as she nodded to the closed door which used to be Billy Melrose’s office before he was promoted to Agency Director.

“Lunch?  I remember going to lunch: Tosca’s, Rasika’s, even Chef Geoff’s.  It would be nice to go to lunch.  I’m so swamped I’ve had lunch brought in the last two weeks!”

“I said ‘supposed’ to meet him,” Amanda corrected her. “I’ve got to cancel.”

“I know the feeling,” Francine started to walk away, but paused for a moment.  “Hey, I forgot to ask you, how do you like your new job as a Profiler?”

“I was a little worried at first.  The training was tough, but now I really like it,” Amanda answered as she stood just outside Lee’s office door.  “It’s a good fit.  I’m not stuck behind a desk all day, and I don’t get shot at anymore either!”

“Glad to hear one of us is happy,” she mentioned then whispered.  “Talk to him.”

Amanda nodded and watched while Francine hurried towards the conference room.  Then she knocked softly on Lee’s office door.

“Come in,” she heard him call out.

Amanda opened the door and nodded to her husband who was on the phone.  Lee hadn’t redecorated Billy’s old office.  It looked pretty much the same except for their wedding picture and other family photos were now strategically located on his desk and on the shelves.  She sat down in the leather chair opposite his desk and waited for him to finish his call.

“Hello, Mrs. Stetson,” he greeted her with a smile after he hung up the phone.  He walked around his desk and leaned over and kissed his wife.  “You’re a little early!”

“Hello, Mr. Stetson.  Actually, I need to cancel our lunch date.  I’ve got to drive down to Quantico this afternoon.”

“More training?” he questioned, curiously.

“Not exactly.  They’re demonstrating a new software program this afternoon.  I’d really like to see it.”

“Will you be home for dinner?”

“Yes, I should be back in time,” she responded as she glanced at the work load on his desk.  “The question is will you be home for dinner or am I eating alone?”

“Alone?  I know your mother has plans.  Where are the boys?”

“Jamie called me early this morning asking if they could go up to Bear Creek Lake with Timmy and his family.  They won’t be home until late.”

“In that case, I’ll make it a point to be home early,” he answered with a charming smile.

Amanda chuckled and grinned.  “Well if you beat me home, you’re welcome to start dinner.”

“What time will that be?”

“The meeting starts at one and should be over by three.  Depending upon questions and how bad traffic is coming north, I’m guessing by five.”

“I wouldn’t count on me getting home earlier than that.  I never knew how much Billy did around here until now.  I’m swamped, but I refuse to let this place overwhelm me.”

“Funny you mentioned being swamped.  Francine just told me the same thing.”

Lee nodded, leaning back against his desk as he ran his hand through his hair.  “I know she is.  The Q Bureau is too big of a job anymore for just one person.  We could barely keep our heads above water and there were two of us.”

“Yeah, she looked rather frazzled for Francine,” Amanda commented sympathetically as they both glanced out his office window to the busy bullpen.

“I’ve talked to Billy about the problem.  We’re thinking about assigning one of the freshman graduates to her.  You know most of them pretty well.  Any suggestions as to who might be able to handle the challenge?”

“Shouldn’t you be asking Beaman that question?” Amanda asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Eventually I will, but I think you’re more qualified to answer.  You’ve spent two years in the Q Bureau, you’ve worked with Francine and with the other freshman.  Beaman hasn’t done all that!”

“True,” she nodded, then tapped her finger to here temple.  After a few moments reflection she answered.  “I’d suggest Allen.”

“Isn’t he the agent who was assigned to tail you the day at the mall and lost you?”

“You didn’t say I had to make it easy on her, Scarecrow!” Amanda replied trying to keep a straight face.  Lee burst out laughing and finally Amanda started to laugh as well.

“Do you have any idea how much I love you, Mrs. Stetson?” Lee asked reaching out for her hands and holding them in his.

“I’m hoping that you’ll show me how much this evening, Mr. Stetson,” she answered seductively with a cunning smile.  She stood up and gave Lee a tempting kiss.  “I’ve got to go.  Love you.”

“You can plan on that,” Lee whispered huskily as he licked his lips.  “I love you, too.”

The end
 

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