CAR WARS

Picture courtesy of Anke Lantin

At the Canadian border a man in a vintage Stratford arrives and hands his passport over to the border police. They query his name and nationality as it says he’s Mr. Gustavson from Sweden and it’s obvious he’s American. As the policeman takes his passport to make a more thorough check, Gustavson drives straight through the barrier. The police give chase and before long he’s caught by a road block and taken into custody.

A little way down the road, two men, Petronis and Benedict have seen what’s happened and comment that Mr. Falcone isn’t going to like this. They then go and see Falcone and explain what they saw happen to Gustavson or Mario as is his proper name. Falcone isn’t happy and says that a lot of time has been put in to set the whole thing up and it’s not going to be ruined by a waster like Mario. Petronis tells him that because it’s a Federal wrap, Mario and the car have been brought back to Washington. Falcone declares that he doesn’t care about Mario and orders them to find the car which they leave to do.

At the Agency, Billy calls all his people together in the bullpen and says he has a special guest who’d like to speak to them. He opens his office door and a man comes out who Billy introduces as Mr. La Rue from Internal Finances. La Rue informs then that costs are too high and that from today there will be a sixty day audit during which he expects all costs to come down. He leaves then Billy walks over and asks Lee what work he has on.

Lee explains that he’s just finished a report (on time) and that he’s got to round up some declassified files and take them over to the Federal Records Centre. Billy says that’s a good example of a waste of Field Agent time and hands him a report from the Latin American Bureau on Bolivian terrorists, Los Lobos. Lee reads that they have found strong evidence linking Los Lobos with Nick Falcone, the head of an American crime syndicate.

Billy says that they suspect that Los Lobos supplies drugs to Falcone who sells them for a price and then sends the rest of the profits back to the terrorists. Lee says he’ll get straight on it but what about the files. Billy tells him to use a civilian to do it. Lee asks who he can get at such short notice in the middle of the morning and Billy just smiles in response.

Later, Lee and Amanda are in Lee’s Corvette and he asks what happened to her car. She explains that Jamie dropped a toy in the window and she got it jammed. Lee says that she needs a car and decides to find her one to use. They go the Central Government Impound Yard and Lee asks Geno, the boss, for a spare car. Geno says that there’s no Agency one’s left and that Lee will have to rent. Lee explains about La Rue and Geno says he’s got the same problem. Lee asks for a car that Geno hasn’t logged in yet but Geno is adamant that Lee should rent. Lee walks away and begins telling Amanda about the time he helped Geno out of an embarrassing situation in Baltimore. Amanda plays along and Geno caves, offering Amanda an MG. Amanda says it’s too small for her family plus she doesn’t know how to use a stick shift.

When it appears Geno is beginning to drag his feet over offering another car, lee brings up Baltimore again and Geno says that if he promises never to mention that night again, he can have the Stratford. Lee and Amanda are impressed although Amanda isn’t sure she can drive it as it’s so big but Lee tells her she has to. Geno then tells Lee that the car is immaculate and it better be brought back that way otherwise Lee will pay dearly and have his butt kicked. Lee understands and goes to tell Amanda who says she heard. They then leave and go their separate ways not noticing Petronis and Benedict who are waiting outside the gates.

They can’t believe their luck that the car is back on the road again and Petronis says that they’ll get the car and if Amanda gets in the way then they’ll kill her. They get in the car and go after her then cut her up causing her to smash into their rear end. Amanda immediately pulls out her insurance details and they walk over and take the card and haul her out of the car. Luckily a policeman is nearby and he blows his whistle and comes running over. Petronis goes to get out a gun but Benedict stops him saying it's too open and they get back in their car then drive away.

The policeman joins Amanda and when she notices that the two men have gone, he tells her that they'd just pulled a scam on her in order to get money from her insurance. Amanda is upset, especially when she sees the damage to the grill which is broken and dented. She then asks if the policeman could take her to a phone so that she can call a friend.

Back at Falcone's, he's not happy. He says that from now on they're going to be more subtle and use less muscle. He asks Petronis where Mario hid the dope but he doesn't know but he can guess.

At the scene of the accident, Lee arrives and is understandably upset at the state of the car. They decide to get it fixed before taking it back to Geno and hope he won't notice.

Later, Lee and Amanda are at Nedlinger's going over estimate's for the repairs. Lee tells Amanda to pick one as he's very busy. Amanda finds one that is the cheapest and can fix the car that day. They leave the bar only to find that the car is up on blocks and had all its wheels stolen. So…they get those replaced then Lee asks Amanda about her car. She tells him that it won't be fixed until the next day. Lee say that she should keep the Stratford for the rest of the day then in the morning they'll get the hood fixed and take it back to Geno then get her car back so that she could deal with the files.

Amanda is reluctant to take the car but eventually agrees and goes to pick up Dotty and the boys. When they get home, she turns into the drive and accidentally runs over Jamie's bike breaking the muffler. She takes the car to get repaired straight away and when they ask if she wants the old one back she says no and leaves.

Meanwhile, in an old warehouse, Falcone is angry because Benedict has checked the tyres and found nothing in them. Petronis calls and says he's lost Amanda and Falcone orders Benedict to go and meet his partner, find the car and bring it back to him in an hour.

After changing the muffler, Amanda goes to pick up her dry cleaning and comes out to see Benedict trying to break into the car. As she walks over, Petronis appears and holds a knife to her. They then take the car keys and drive off leaving Amanda to call Lee.

Lee arrives and Amanda says that the men were from the accident and that the car is nothing but trouble. Lee agrees and says it's about time they find out more about it. They go to the impound and quiz Geno on the background of the car saying that the information could tie in with a case Lee's working on. Geno gets the information but is suspicious that something has happened to the car. They deny anything's wrong and Lee reads the file before handing it back and leaving to go and see Mario.

At the warehouse, the car has been taken apart but they can't find the drugs. Falcone thinks that either Mario hid it or Amanda has taken it. He decides the most likely option is Amanda, as Mario wouldn't be so stupid, and tells Petronis and Benedict to put the car back together and take it back to Amanda.

Meanwhile, Lee interrogates Mario but he's not talking.

At home, Amanda tries to mend Jamie's bike when there's a knock at the door. She looks out the window and sees the car parked outside her house. She calls Lee who tells her to stay put and he'll come over. He then tells Mario that they have the car back and he's going to check it thoroughly and if he finds anything then Mario is going down.

Amanda goes outside and makes sure it's the same car then gets in the drivers seat. Seconds later, Petronis and Benedict appear from the back seat holding guns. By the time Lee arrives the car and Amanda are gone. He goes back to the Agency and tells Billy who's not happy with the fact that Lee used an impounded car in the first place. Francine then walks in with information that Mario works for Falcone. Lee then realises what's in the car and knows that Amanda is in big trouble. Billy is angry and tells Lee to break Mario and orders Francine to find the car.

Meanwhile, Falcone has Amanda and asks her where the cocaine is. Naturally she doesn't know what he's talking about and Falcone pressures her saying that it was in the car until she got it. Amanda explains that the car's the same except for the dented hood, new tyres and new muffler. Falcone suddenly realises where the dope must be and demands to know what shop she went to but Amanda says she can't remember so he threatens her family.

As the same time, Lee goes back to interrogating Mario. Lee tells him that he doesn't care about the car because now it's personal as a good friend of his has been kidnapped along with the vehicle. Mario is unconcerned until Lee threatens to get every agent after him if he goes free promising that Mario won't go back to jail when he's caught. The threat does the trick and Mario admits that there's dope in the muffler. Lee immediately runs out and tells Francine to get Billy and meet him at McLeans Muffler shop before leaving himself.

At McLean's, Amanda, Falcone, Petronis and Benedict have arrived after the threat to Amanda's family helped her remember that she'd visited there for the new muffler. They grab one of the workers and close the shutters to give them privacy as they search for the old muffler. Petronis finds it and they're just about to leave with Amanda when Lee arrives pretending he's come for his car. Benedict tries to send him away but Lee knocks him out. Falcone tries to grab Amanda but she breaks away from his grip and hides. Lee then shoots Petronis and doesn't notice when Benedict stands up behind him. Amanda does, however, and she yanks the hose he's standing on out from under his feet, knocking him to the ground.

Realising he's losing, Falcone gets into the Stratford and drives through the closed shutters and away down the street. Francine and Billy turn up just as Lee and Amanda come out and Lee tells them that the other two are still inside. He and Amanda then give chase to Falcone and Lee gets more and more upset as Falcone keeps smacking into parked cars hence smashing up the Stratford. Falcone finally swerves into a junkyard and crashes the classic but good. Lee gets out of his car and begins fighting with Falcone while Amanda desperately tries to stop the Stratford from going into the crusher. Lee eventually knocks Falcone out and turns just in time to see the Stratford being crushed.

The next day, they get Amanda's station wagon back and drive to the impound yard. Geno asks where the Stratford is and Lee says that it's out front and one of the boys should be bringing in at any minute. Almost immediately, a forklift truck comes through the gates carrying the cubed remains of the once immaculate Stratford.

SCENE’S TO WATCH OUT FOR:

When in Falcone’s office you hear background music of the mafia variety that adds to the ambience of the scene – when Petronis and Benedict leave, Falcone picks up a remote and switches it off! He had a tape playing and it’s not the show’s background music as first appears. I thought it was a nice comic touch.

After she crashes, Amanda gets her purse out and a whole string of cards fall out in a long plastic cover.

Amanda dropping her dry cleaning and Lee having to keep picking it up.

Amanda trying to men Jamie's bike.

The second time Lee interrogates Mario.

Tag.

ROMANCE:

There's a very nice moment between Lee and Amanda when she calls him after the car is stolen. Both holding pieces of dry cleaning, Amanda says how the car is nothing but trouble and Lee takes her hand saying that he knows it's been a problem but the main thing is that she's okay. They look at each other for a second and then Lee seems to realise that he's holding her hand and checks himself. He laughs awkwardly and she clears her throat nervously both unsure how to react to the tender moment. I always like seeing Lee looking out of his depth when it comes to Amanda - makes his feelings more real and believable when he's not turning on the charm for a reason. He honestly likes Amanda and it shows.

I also liked the way he interrogated Mario for the second time. The depth of his feelings for Amanda are evident when he tells Mario that it's 'personal' now. And he threatens that Mario will be hounded if anything happens to Amanda. There's just so much anger and passion with a tiny hint of desperation mixed in when he talks that really gets to me. True, Billy did say to 'break' Mario but I don't think Lee needed much persuasion - he was terrified for Amanda and wanted to find her and I believe his threats to Mario weren't all for show…he definitely meant them. It was a great moment that gave us a glimpse into how much he cares about her now.

QUOTES:

WHEN LA RUE ENTERS

FRANCINE: I knew things were going too well today.

LEE: He’s a fun guy.

FRANCINE: Oh yeah, right up there with root canal work.

LEE: Okay, so what happened to your car?

AMANDA: The weirdest thing. I drove the boys to school this morning, you know because of those showers that we had, and Jamie has this little space creature toy and he was playing with it and he dropped it down the window on the passenger side.

LEE: Yeah, so?

AMANDA: So, after I dropped them off at school, it started to rattle, so I put the window down and tried to get it out and the window jammed…

LEE: And the rest is Amanda King history.

LEE: Look Amanda, you’re the only civilian worker I could get a hold of and since the job calls for a car, how about I round you up one?

AMANDA: Oh Lee! Thank you so much, that’s really very nice of you.

LEE: Forget it. Anybody could’ve gotten a tiny little space creature jammed in their window.

AMANDA: Besides that, I don’t know how to drive a stick shift.

LEE: Take it from me, she doesn’t know how to drive a stick shift.

AFTER SEEING THE DAMAGE TO THE STRATFORD

LEE: Oh my God. Oh my God, look at this.

AMANDA: Are you upset?

LEE: Am I upset? Geno is gonna' kill me for this.

LEE: Couldn't you stop? I mean you rear-ended a guy.

AMANDA: Lee before that nasty little phrase 'woman driver' crops into this conversation, could we please just drop it and get this car repaired.

AMANDA: (seeing the cost of the tyres) Oh my gosh! $200 a piece?

MECHANIC: Hey lady, you think rubber grows on trees?

LEE: Did you get a good look at these two guys?

AMANDA: Yes, I did.

LEE: And you're sure they're the same two guys from the accident?

AMANDA: Yes, I'm absolutely positive. One was short and stocky and the other one was tall and skinny.

LEE: That hardly narrows it down. 

LEE: Hi Geno, how's it going?

GENO: Something about that smile makes me very nervous Stetson.

BILLY: Scarecrow, you tell that pig Mario he's gonna' fry if anything happens to Amanda.

LEE: You bet I will.

LEE: It's not business anymore Mario it's personal, you understand me? Personal. Now, they took a lady with that car.

MARIO: So?

LEE: So, that lady happens to be a very, very good friend of mine.

MARIO: Hey look, I don’t' know anything about a lady being kidnapped and you ain't got nothing on me and I'm out of here in a couple of days.

LEE: Let me tell you reality pal. Anything happens to her, anything at all - I hope you do get out. Because I'm gonna' let every agent on this planet know who you are and sooner or later my friend Mario, sooner or later they are gonna' find you and guess what? You will not be coming back to jail.

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