TRIPLE PLAY...

Friday morning… August 29th

After spending nearly four grueling months in jail, Lee Stetson was getting used to being a free man again.  Thrilled to be home, he was looking forward to spending the holiday weekend with his family.  Although it was still early in the morning, the boys and their families were expected later in the day.  After pouring himself a cup of coffee, he turned towards his wife who was sitting at the table eating her breakfast.

“I was thinking…” Lee remarked, sipping a cup of coffee and glancing out the window at the backyard.

“About the barbeque?” Amanda asked before scooping up another spoonful of her cereal.

“No, but I am looking forward to the grandkids coming here this weekend,” Lee replied as his dimpled smile washed across his face.  He took a seat at the table next to his wife and put his arm around her shoulder.  “You know, Paris can be beautiful in September.  How about we make plans for Paris and we can add a side trip to London as well?”

Looking over at her husband, she questioned, “You’re teasing, right?”

“Nope,” he replied, swallowing another gulp of his coffee before he continued excitedly with his plan.  “What do you say we take that trip we were supposed to take back in May? This time, all pleasure, no business.  In fact, why don’t we spend a couple of weeks in Europe?  You know France, Germany, England, you name it, and we’ll go.”

For a moment, she stared at him, speechless, gathering her thoughts.  “Lee, as lovely as that sounds, I don’t think it’s the right time for a vacation.”

“Of course, it is!  The timing is perfect.  The crowds will be gone, the weather will be cooler,” Lee disputed.  “Besides, what else do we have to do right now?”

“I think we both need to petition the Board of Directors at the Agency to be reinstated and get back to work!”

“Work?” Lee laughed, removing his arm that had been caressing her shoulder tenderly, and pushing back the chair.  He shook his head determinedly.  “No way in hell am I going back to the Agency!  They concocted all those lies, charged me with treason, and to top it off, fired you based on what they knew were lies.”

“Maybe you’re right.  You probably need some time off to unwind,” Amanda agreed, putting her spoon into the empty cereal bowl and pushing it away.  “Maybe we should take a week off before…”

“Amanda, a week’s vacation is not going to change my mind.  You’ve never been to Paris; it’s a beautiful city, and I want to take you there.  We can have candlelit dinners at romantic cafés overlooking the Seine, wander along the Champs Elysees.   Come on, it’ll be great, just the two of us.  When is the last time we had a long, romantic vacation together, huh?”

She smiled appreciatively, but she shook her head nonetheless.  “Lee, I’d love to go to Paris, but we have to deal with this.”

“There’s nothing to deal with.  I’m not going back to the Agency.  That is not negotiable!” he reiterated adamantly, grabbing his coffee and leaving the table and room, clearly annoyed.

“Lee, don’t get angry,” she called out, following her husband into the family room.  “Would you please listen to me?”

“No, Amanda,” he snapped, turning around and facing his wife.  “We talked about retiring before I took that promotion.  Things didn’t work out as we planned.  It’s time to retire.  Now that I’ve been acquitted of the charges, my pension is intact.  I say we start collecting our due.”

“You need to slow down and think things through,” she challenged.

“I’ve had plenty of time to think the past four months.  I realized one thing while I sat in that damned jail cell – that’s how much I missed you.  Not once did I think about going back to work.  All I could think about was spending quality time with you, the boys, and the grandkids.  That starts today!”

“You’ll be bored two weeks after we get back home from vacation, Lee.  You and I both know that.”

“Bored?  I learned what boring really is!  It’s the monotony of a jail cell.  The regiment of being told when to eat, what to eat, when to shower, that’s mind numbing.  Being home with you, or spending time with the family – that’s everything,” he challenged, running his hand through his hair in frustration.  “You have no idea what it was like sitting in that damned jail cell - day after day, week after week.  Sometimes I didn’t think the truth would ever come to light.”

“Part of that was your own doing.  In the very least, you should have told me, you were a triple agent,” she reminded him heatedly.

“That was need to know.”

“The hell with need to know!” she shouted angrily.  “I was your partner and I am your wife.  Don’t you think I had a right to know?  Damn it, Lee, you could have been given the death penalty.”

“It didn’t come to that,” he scoffed.

“No thanks to you!” she remarked sarcastically.  “You were willing to die for that secret and leave me a widow?”

“I had no tangible proof to contradict their lies,” Lee shouted back at his wife.  “When Harry died, I thought the truth had died with him.  I had no idea he wrote that letter, or that Billy knew the truth.  Hell, I would have never guessed he gave the information to Janet for safekeeping!”

“You knew Harry well enough to know he would have done something with that information.  In the very least, you should have told Jacob.  He would have issued a subpoena for Harry’s files…”

“It wouldn’t have changed how long I sat in that jail cell staring at the cracks in the ceiling.  If anything, it would have taken longer to read through all of Harry’s files until somebody finally got to the ‘I’s’.  Damn it, Amanda, it was luck that you figured out where to look,” Lee ranted at his wife.

“It wasn’t luck, Lee, it was intuition; you remember intuition, don’t you Lee?  That little feeling or itch you get when you know you’re right on target!  That’s something that you’ve used your entire career.”

“Fine, it was intuition,” Lee snapped back, his anger over the last four months finally boiling over.  Although he was not upset with his wife, she was receiving the brunt of his wrath.  “It doesn’t change the fact that someone at the Agency has been using those funds for years now for European Ops.  Some bastard at the Agency had to approve the use of those funds for whatever covert operations they had going on.  Back in May, it would have been very simple and easy to send a memo before this hit the press, but did they?  NO!  Amanda, I’m done with the Agency.  The only thing I want now from the government is my pension check.”

Before Amanda could say anything else, Lee headed out the front door, and slammed it behind him.

****

Amanda waited for Lee to return.  She vacuumed the rugs, did a load of wash, and put clean towels in the bathroom.  It was almost noon, and she was in the kitchen, working on the grocery list for the weekend barbeque when she heard the front door open.

“Lee, is that you?” she called out, knowing it was too early in the day for either of her sons to be arriving for the weekend.

“Yeah, it’s me,” he called back to her.

“I was starting to worry about you.”

He followed her voice into the kitchen, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.  “I didn’t mean to make you worry.  I’m fine.  I um, I needed to walk off some of my frustration.  I’m sorry that I blew up at you,” he answered in a contrite voice.

“It’s all right,” she answered, “I understand.”

“It doesn’t make my behavior acceptable.”  Leaning against the kitchen counter, Lee Stetson shrugged his shoulders.  A look of remorse filled his weary face and he began an admission of his own.  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was a triple agent.  You were right.  You had every right to know.  Sometimes my Agency training of keeping secrets goes too far.  I should have confided in you after Harry died.  We could have found the proof years ago and avoided this whole mess.”

She could tell from the look in his eyes that he was truly regretful.  “Who would have thought this would ever happen?”

“I don’t know whose toes I stepped on, or whether the promotion set all this in motion, but I should have seen it coming.  I really am sorry.”

“Apology accepted,” she answered, putting the grocery list down on the counter, and moving right next to him.  “I’m worried about you.”

“Don’t be.  I’m fine.”

Amanda sighed, not wanting to start another argument, but needing to get to the crux of the problem.  Putting her hand on his arm, she shook her head.  “No you’re not, sweetheart, you’re angry and you have every right to be.  I truly believe, at some point, you’re going to want answers – real answers.  You’ll want to find the truth.”

“I doubt anyone will bother to look for the real answers,” Lee commented gloomily, his fist pounding anxiously on the counter.  “The chance for the truth to come out was back in May or even June.  Whoever knows the truth won’t risk coming forward now.  They’ve already done what was necessary to cover their asses.”

“Which is why we should go back to the Agency and dig for the truth,” Amanda reiterated.  “You know what Francine said to me the night she offered her support and help?”

Lee took a deep breath, before answering.  “No, but I suppose you’re going to tell me.”

“You’re right, I am,” Amanda answered determinedly, crossing her arms across her chest and looking at her husband pointedly.  “Francine said, ‘if they could pin this on Lee Stetson they could pin it on anyone.’  We both know she’s right.  Its blatant abuse of power, Lee, do you really want to walk away and forget the whole incident happened?”

“Amanda, I’ll never forget what happened.  I’ve wasted four months of my life sitting in that damned jail cell.  I won’t forget, but it’s not worth the risk to you, me, or our family.  My name was cleared, that was the important thing.”

“I agree that was the most important thing, sweetheart, but there’s more to this story and we both know it.  Why don’t we go after Yushenko?”

“We can’t.  He’s home, somewhere in Russia,” Lee reminded his wife.  “Now that the trial is over, he won’t set foot back in the U.S.  It’s too dangerous for him.  Besides, I’m sure he’s catching hell now that the Russians found out I was actually a triple agent.”

“All right, but what about that Swiss bank account?  Someone has control of money with your name on it.  How do we know they’re using the funds for business purposes?  Are they using the money for illegitimate uses?” she asked.

“We don’t,” Lee shrugged, “but besides you, who’s going to help me?”

“Francine would in an instant.  So would Leatherneck…”

“Amanda, think about it.  Whoever it is, they’re a lot higher up than you, Francine, Leatherneck, or me.  Unless we have help from upper management, we don’t stand a chance in hell.  That’s not going to happen anytime soon.  Nobody at the Agency wants to dig deeper to find the answers.  They’re going to lay low until this whole thing blows over.  It could be months or even years before that account becomes active again.”

“If we got someone in ‘upper management’ to help us, would you run the investigation?” she pressed.

“I don’t’ know, hell, Amanda, they’d never offer it to me…” he answered, running his hand through his hair.  “Seriously, there’s no reason to discuss this any further.  I mean, what’s the chance of that ever happening?  The Agency hates bad press and they’ve gotten enough of that over the last four months.  I sincerely doubt they’re going to want me, or anyone else for that matter digging up old dirt.”

“Maybe you’re right,” she sighed, shaking her head in defeat.  “Will you at least keep an open mind if things change?”

Lee huffed, furrowing his eyebrows and giving her a stern glare.  “Not if it means risking what I finally got back.  I won’t jeopardize the safety of this family.  At any rate, I wouldn’t count on something changing anytime soon.  The Agency wants this to fade away, the D.A.’s office wants this to disappear, and the news media has already moved on and will soon find someone else to harass.”

Amanda knew he was right, and quickly changed the subject to a more pleasant topic. “All right, I better get to the grocery store.  Do you want to add anything to my list?” she asked, picking up the paper from the counter and handing it to him for his perusal.  “I’ll get some steaks for the adults, hamburgers, and hot dogs for the kids, corn on the cob, watermelon...”

“Ice cream, I really missed ice cream,” he replied, patting his flat stomach before searching for the pen.  “You know the kind that has all three flavors, chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.  The kids will like that.”

Amanda smiled, knowing he’d like it almost as much as the grandkids would.  While he was busy adding that to the list, the phone rang.

“I’ll get that; add anything else that I forgot or you have a craving for,” Amanda remarked when she reached for the phone.

“How about a few bottles of wine and a case of beer,” Lee suggested with a grin.

Amanda smiled, nodded and picked up the phone, “Hello?...  Who is this?...  What?...  We have no comment.”

Lee asked with a raised eyebrow.   “What was that all about?”

“It was a reporter,” she began, shaking her head as she hung up the phone.  “They wanted a statement from you or me regarding Quentin Broderick.”

“I thought the press had finally moved on,” Lee grumbled irately.  “Not to mention they couldn’t print anything I have to say about that son of a bitch!”

“I guess someone’s trying to find yet another angle on the story,” she shuddered at the thought. “Must be a slow news day.”

“I can run to the liquor store and pick up the wine and beer if you hit the grocery store?” Lee suggested.

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“Naw, let me grab my wallet…” then the doorbell rang.

Lee and Amanda glanced at each other. “What now?” she groaned.

“I’ll get it,” Lee said, as he handed her back the list, and walked out of the room.

Amanda checked the cupboard one last time.  Soon, she heard Lee’s voice, it was angry and he was yelling.  She hurried towards the front door to see what the commotion was.

“The only comment I have on Broderick wouldn’t be fit to print!” Lee raged angrily.  “Now get the hell off my property or I’ll call the police.”  The front door slammed loudly, and Lee shouted to her, not realizing she was behind him.  “Amanda, something’s obviously going down.  Put on the television.”

“Gotcha,” she nodded, and together, they hurried into the family room.  She grabbed the television remote, and began clicking from one channel to another.  “Who was at the front door?”

“Another damned reporter,” Lee grumbled, now agitated again, “They’ve got their truck in front of the house again.  Try the local news…”

“I’ll try channel four… Oh my gosh!” Amanda gasped, staring at the television set.  “That’s Broderick…”

“Yeah, but its file footage, turn up the sound,” Lee encouraged, as both he and Amanda dropped into the sofa next to each other, now glued to the action on the television screen.

“Are they arresting him?” Amanda wondered aloud.

“I could save the taxpayers a lot of money if they’d let me shoot him instead,” Lee wisecracked.

“Shhh, listen…” Amanda warned, raising the volume as the reporter began to speak…

“This morning, an unnamed source at the Justice Department confirmed that District Attorney, Quentin Broderick was questioned by investigators regarding a recent high profile case.  The source indicated that possible charges of obstruction of justice and evidence tampering would soon be leveled against the District Attorney.  Broderick is expected to hold a news conference later today.  An anonymous source inside the District Attorney’s office suggested that Quentin Broderick plans to resign…”

“Oh my gosh!”  Amanda repeated.  “They must have found Charlie Jefferson!  Lee, you realize what this means…”

“I know, I know,” he replied, shaking his head in disbelief.  “This changes everything…”

 End Part Nine

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