DOUBLE AGENT

Picture courtesy of Anke Lantin

Douglas Harriman is an ex-agent who has written a tell-all book called ‘Suburban Spy’, about the Agency and it’s use of members of the public as part-time agents. Amanda comes in to see Dotty avidly watching Harriman on a talk show and he mentions Operation Sandstorm where a mother of two almost blew the op and could’ve caused World War III. From Amanda’s face we know it’s her and horrified, she leaves and goes to the Agency.

Meanwhile, in Hotel Bixby, Harriman’s agent and his colleague, Brooks, are plotting to steal the book and get USSR and US into a bidding war so they can make money.

At the TV studio, Lee talks to Harriman in order to try and convince him to shelve the book. Unfortunately, Harriman is bitter about being sent to a jungle outpost after he made a mistake that cost the lives of three agents and he’s determined to reveal all the Agency’s secrets and its operatives knowing that it will cost them in terms of time and money to train new people up.

Amanda arrives at the Agency and tells Lee about the TV show and that she’s the one from Operation Sandstorm – a time that Lee obviously remembers all too clearly! They go into Billy’s office and Francine tells her that the legal department are working on an injunction. If that doesn’t work, Billy promises that she and her family will be looked after and Lee adds that worst comes to worst they’ll have to move and have new identity’s. The legal department ring and say that they couldn’t get an injunction and so Amanda asks if she can go and speak to Harriman to try and appeal to him – Lee reluctantly goes with her.

They arrive at Harriman’s hotel and go up to his room where they can her the sound of the TV turned up loud. Amanda notices that the door is ajar and pushes it open. Suddenly, a woman wrapped in a towel comes out of the room next door screaming that there’s a man with a gun in her room. Lee immediately draws his gun and goes to investigate but doesn’t find anyone. The woman outside screams again and when Lee goes out, Amanda points down the corridor telling Lee the way the man went and he sets off in pursuit.

Amanda goes into Harriman’s room and sees him sitting and watching the TV. She introduces herself, then goes on to explain about her life and how the book could damage her world but he’s unresponsive.

At the same time, Lee and the gunman exchange shots in the stairwell then Lee chases him through the hotel but eventually loses him and heads back to Amanda. When he enters the room, an unhappy Amanda explains that Harriman isn’t listening to her. Lee looks at the seated man curiously then touches him and realises that he’s dead.

Back at the Agency, Billy tells them to get in touch with their information brokers as whoever killed Harriman probably has his book. Lee takes Amanda to see August Riley Swann (Augie) at his female wrestling bar. Lee speaks to Augie alone and finds out that he’s the middle man but doesn’t know the name of the person who contacted him. As a token of goodwill, he hands over the example pages he was given to Lee. Looking for a payphone, Amanda finds the two men and after an unsuccessful attempt by Augie to persuade Amanda to work for him, the couple leave the bar.

Amanda asks if she can read the pages and Lee agrees then they get into his car. As she reads the pages, she realises that they are from one of Harriman’s fictional novels and not the manuscript they’re after.

In their hotel room, Harriman’s agent and Brooks also realise they have the wrong book but Brooks knows Harriman’s work and recognises the pages they have as part of one of his novels and has an idea of where the real book is hidden.

Back in the Porsche Amanda also recognises where the excerpt comes from and thinks that Harriman may have hidden the book in a secret compartment in his microwave. Lee immediately turns around and they head out to Harriman’s apartment in Baltimore. When they arrive, unbeknownst to them, Harriman’s agent is already in the apartment and has found the book. Lee tells Amanda to stay in the car in case they need a quick getaway and goes into the building. Brooks is hiding in some bushes nearby and upon seeing Lee, he walks up to the building and presses the apartment’s buzzer so that his colleague knows to get out.

Just as he tries to leave however, Lee enters and they trade shots before the man makes his escape down the external fire escape. Lee chases after him but Brooks is down below and shoots at Lee causing him to go back into the apartment and go out through the main entrance of the building. As he does so, he sees the two men drive by and jumps in his Porsche telling Amanda to follow them – unfortunately, she can’t drive a manual car and so the murderers get away.

That evening at home, Amanda receives a phone call from the men telling her to meet Augie at his bar. She does so and he hands her a note which states that they want to deal with only her from now on and that they want $2 million from the Agency for the book. The next day at the Agency, Billy is reluctant to send her in alone and says that it’s not Agency policy to pay ransom demands. Lee interjects that this could be the only chance to get the book and suggests they put a wire on her and also put a homing device in a bag of bogus money with him and Francine as back-up so she’ll be safe. Amanda is willing to do this and so Billy agrees.

Later, Amanda takes the bogus money to the agreed point which is a phone booth. The phone rings and when she answers it, Harriman’s agent tells her to take off her wire and also to put the money into a satchel that’s by the side of the booth. She does this then he tells her to catch a bus. Without any help, lee and Francine try and keep up the best they can but when Amanda enters a hotel and doesn’t come back out Lee gets worried. He goes in then exits out the back into an alley where he sees Amanda jump on the back of a motorcycle. He tries to stop them but almost gets run down for his trouble. Going to a nearby phone, he calls Billy and gets the address of the guy from the bike’s number plate then sets out to find him.

The biker drops Amanda off outside a factory warehouse and tells her to wait inside. She does so then Harriman’s agent appears and checks the money. Amanda tries to leave but he grabs her and places handcuffs on one wrist then leads her over to a piece of tall machinery and fastens the other cuff to the metal. Just as he walks away, Lee appears and gets him to drop his gun. He orders the other man to release Amanda but is caught off guard when Brooks appears behind him! Brooks makes him drop his gun then throws his colleague another set of handcuffs. He cuffs one of Lee’s hands, then leads him over to the machine Amanda’s cuffed to and feeds the handcuffs through a gap and cuffs his other hand.

As he bends down to pick up the money, Brooks comes over and knocks his colleague out, taking the money for himself. Before he leaves, he shoots a hole in an oil drum and sets fire to it, leaving them to burn to death. Brooks then runs upstairs and goes into an office where they’ve placed the book in a safe.

Downstairs, Lee and Amanda race against time to try and release themselves from the handcuffs before they’re burned. Amanda suddenly has the idea to use Lee’s belt buckle and so he leans towards her so that she can pull it off. That done she uses the prong to undo her cuff then releases Lee. He drags Harriman’s agent and follows Amanda as she makes a path through the fire using a fire extinguisher.

Once outside, Lee waits for Brooks to come downstairs and they get into a fight. Brooks makes a run for it and Lee chases him then jumps on the fire engine that’s turned up and is trying to put out the blaze. He aims the water hose at Brooks and opens it up, the force of the spray knocking the murderer clean off his feet. Lee then joins Amanda by the bag of bogus money.

Next day, Lee takes Amanda to meet talk show host, Arlene Francis. She’s nervous but Lee says she has nothing to worry about as both men are in jail and the only copy of the book was burned up. Arlene comes over and Lee introduces her to Amanda who finds she suddenly can’t get any words out! Lee is understandably surprised but then Amanda suddenly gets her voice back and launches into a long explanation about how nervous she is and finishes looking slightly embarrassed at Arlene and Lee’s amazed expressions.

SCENE’S TO WATCH OUT FOR:

Amanda and Lee sitting in the car outside of Harriman’s hotel talking about the possibility of relocation.

Amanda getting splattered with mud whilst watching mud wrestling while Lee sits beside her without a spot on him.

Augie trying to get Amanda to work for him as a mud wrestler.

Amanda and Lee cuffed to the machinery and Amanda trying to get his belt off J

Tag.

ROMANCE:

This is an episode where they face the possibility of never seeing each other again. Amanda seems to realise this a darn sight quicker than Lee however and when she tries to broach the subject while sitting outside Harriman’s hotel, she’s awkward and unsure about how to approach it. When she does finally speak, you get the feeling there’s more she’d like to say to him but holds herself back. Lee doesn’t help matters by not understanding what she’s trying to say until the end but when he does, he seems visibly taken aback at the thought and even stares at her for a moment or two, perhaps imagining what life would be like without her. So, a nice, touching scene in a lot of ways and one that shows Amanda’s affection a little more than Lee’s I’d say.

QUOTES:

DOTTY: What’s the matter?

AMANDA: I just have a little headache.

DOTTY: Well it’s all that typing and watching television.

AMANDA: It probably is the television, let’s turn it off.

DOTTY: No, no, just a minute. It’ll all be over in a few minutes.

AMANDA: That’s what I’m afraid of.

LEE: Amanda, if worst comes to worst, we’ll give you a new identity and move you to another part of the country.

AMANDA: Oh no, not in the middle of a school year.

FRANCINE: There are worse catastrophes.

AMANDA: Lee, I was thinking.

LEE: Now what?

AMANDA: Well you’re probably in that book too aren’t you?

LEE: Yeah, I suppose.

AMANDA: Well, if you are they would probably have to give you a new identity and relocate you too wouldn’t they?

LEE: Yeah, probably. So?

AMANDA: Well we wouldn’t get to see each other again I guess.

LEE: Yeah, I guess not. Why?

AMANDA: Just thinking.

HARRIMAN’S AGENT: You take direction very well, Mrs. King.

AMANDA: Thank you.

HARRIMAN’S AGENT: Actually, you got here a little sooner than I had expected.

AMANDA: Well that man on the motorcycle drove real fast.

HARRIMAN’S AGENT: I’ll bet.

AMANDA: Lee, I want you to know that I’m not at all worried because I know you’re a highly trained professional agent and that I’m sure you have some kind of a plan to get us out of this, don’t you?

LEE: Not at the moment.

AMANDA: Give me your belt.

LEE: What?

AMANDA: Take your belt off. Take your belt off. Take off your belt. Take your belt off!

LEE: I’m not sure I want to hear this. Why…?

AMANDA: Please don’t make me ask you again. Just take your belt off.

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