DISCLAIMER: Lee Stetson, Amanda King, and any other prominent character related to the television series Scarecrow and Mrs. King do not belong to me. I only wish I could create such chemistry on my own – and try every day. The concept of the story is mine, but I make no profit (except for the personal one) by writing it. References are made to other episodes including “Burn Out”, “I am not now, nor have I ever been . . a spy”, “Utopia Now”, “Service Above and Beyond”, “Saved By the Bells”, “We’re Off to See the Wizard”, and “Affair In Bromfield Hall”. AUTHOR: Gail Delaney RATING: PG-13 SUMMARY: Lee’s worst fears come true, but in the end he and Amanda are closer than ever. GENRE: Alternative Universe (just a little) TIMELINE: After Three Little Spies but before All the World’s a Stage. This is an alternative to ATWAS. NOTES: I always felt ATWAS was a weak plot line to bring them together after all the sexy, sensual build up in prior episodes. It seemed contrived and thrown together. I always felt it should have been more dramatic – hence – my version. FEEDBACK: Absolutely! More than welcome! ARCHIVE: Feel more than welcome to archive to list archives, and any other site, just let me know it’s there. SPECIAL THANKS: To my buddy Theresa who posed me with the pretense for this story this past week. After several minutes of “Oh, what about this” and “Oh, maybe they’d do that” and a story was well on it’s way to creation. FATAL FLAW Friday afternoon Amanda looked around as Lee pulled the ‘Vette up to the curb and stopped. They were near the harbor, and a variety of warehouses lined the street, the metal siding and roofs of many of them showing rust and corrosion from years of weather attacking them. The car was parked beside several dumpsters with cardboard boxes stacked high around them. “Why would Jimmy the Snitch want to meet you down here?” Amanda asked, making a clicking sound in her cheek as she shook her head. “Why can’t we ever meet someone at a nice restaurant, or in the park? Why does it always have to be a warehouse or a bar or some seedy hotel?” She looked at Lee across the small space of the car and waved toward the building. “Doesn’t any of them realize how stereotypical it is to call you and say ‘meet me at the abandoned warehouse by the river’?” Lee laughed and shook his head. “I don’t think they care, Amanda. Abandoned warehouses and seedy places are just the nature of the business.” Amanda sighed again. “If all Jimmy needs you for is to pass on some information, he could have told you over the phone.” Lee pulled his gun from the shoulder holster beneath his jacket and checked the magazine with a slide and a click. As he reholstered it, he looked around and Amanda watched him. Her pulse quickened at her throat, and despite three years of watching him do the same exact thing, fear chilled her. “I want you to stay here, Amanda.” “Lee ---“ “This should be quick and painless.” “So why do I need to stay here?” Lee looked over at her, one eyebrow arched. “Because I’m asking you to. And I mean it, Amanda. Stay here.” “Lee, you need me.” The subtle change in Lee’s expression made Amanda’s breath catch. One moment his eyes had been hardset – ready to focus on the job at hand. But when he looked at her, the fine lines at the corners of his eyes relaxed, and his eyelids slid down a fraction as two of the most beautiful hazel eyes she had ever seen seemed to focus on her face. Specifically her lips. One “Yes, Amanda, I do need you.” He paused for a split second before continuing. “I need you to stay here.” Amanda nodded and folded his hand in her lap. Lee reached across the space between them and covered her hands with his own larger one. His palm was warm, and Amanda turned her hand to lace her fingers with his. Holding Lee’s hand was now as natural as smiling or breathing, but it still created small shivers over her skin. “How about this. When I come out we’ll go have something to eat. Maybe Emilio’s?” “Okay,” she conceded. “Just be careful.” “Amanda, it’s a milk run at best. Just an information drop.” She chuckled. “At least Jimmy the Snitch isn’t slipping it in a bad of chili dogs.” They both smiled at the memory of one of their earlier cases together. Unfortunately, while it brought a laugh, Amanda recognized in Lee’s eyes he understood her subtle meaning. Even the most anodyne assignment can take on an unexpected twist. With one final squeeze of her hands, Lee opened the car door and slid out. Amanda tried to quell the panicky jitter in her chest as he made his way to the warehouse’s side door. A sense of foreboding had hung over her since early that morning. She never liked it when she had a hunch about something going wrong, and a bad feeling was a bad feeling. Until the day was done, she knew she would hold her breath. When she knew everyone was safe, and nothing could go wrong, she would relax. To calm her nerves, she tried to think of more pleasant things, such as earlier that day in the Q Bureau. When she told him Jamie’s science fair had been rescheduled, so she didn’t have to leave early (a fact she was more pleased than disappointed about, because now she could keep an eye on him), he seemed happy to have her with him. And for one moment she thought he had other things on his mind than meeting Jimmy the Snitch. Lee had stepped close to her, his large hands resting briefly on her waist, and she had held her breath. The two or three all-too-brief kisses they had shared always left her longing for more, and she wondered if it was the same for Lee. Her stomach tumbled at the memories. Just as quickly, it tied into knots. Seven men, armed with automatic rifles, ran across the street one-hundred-fifty feet ahead of her and headed toward the warehouse Lee had entered just five minutes before. They were dressed in black sweatshirts with the hoods pulled up over their heads, over dark baseball caps that hid their faces. “Oh my gosh,” Amanda mumbled as they went through the same door Lee had. Without considering any other alternative, Amanda got out of the ‘Vette and hugged the outside wall of the warehouse, sliding along with glances to each side. With her heart in her throat, she reached the door and pressed her ear to the crack, hoping to hear something inside. All was silent. Perhaps whoever they were hadn’t made a move against Lee yet, and she still had time to warn him. With a wince at the audible click, Amanda eased the door open and glanced into the cavernous darkness of the warehouse’s interior. Before she could slip inside, gunshots rang out and echoed thunderously through the empty building. Several shouts quickly followed. “You set me up, Jimmy!” Lee’s voice carried through the warehouse. Amanda’s heart quickened. He was still okay. She slipped into the darkness, closing the door behind her, and looked around for something that could help her help Lee. “Sorry, Lee. Nothing personal,” came an unknown voice near Amanda, a simpering panic lying beneath its whiny surface. “It was you or me.” Amanda crouched behind some wooden crates as Jimmy the Snitch rushed past him toward the exit door, watching back over his shoulder as he went. As he went by, Amanda grabbed a wooden dowel on the floor and shoved it out between his legs. He stumbled and fell to floor with a loud grunt. Amanda stood and brought the thick dowel up over her head, preparing to hit him with it and hopefully keep him down until Lee could come for him. “What the ---“ he shouted before grabbing the dowel mid-air and yanking Amanda off balance. “What was that?” asked another male voice from the darkness. Before Amanda could shout out anything, Jimmy the Snitch was on his feet and yanked Amanda back against his chest, his arm wrapped around her throat and a hand firmly over her mouth. She struggled against him, her scream muted against his rough palm, as he yanked her into the shadows. Shots rang out again. “He got Dan!” someone whispered loudly. “Damn it! There are seven of us and one of him. Scarecrow should be dead by now!” Amanda saw the speaker as Jimmy dragged her to where one of the hooded men crouched behind a stack of tires. “Hey, boss man,” Jimmy whispered. “Lookie what I found.” A dark face turned to her, hidden by the bill of his hat, all but the whites of his eyes. “Who is she?” “Don’t know her name, but she’s always with Scarecrow. Musta followed him in here.” The disguised man stood, towering over Amanda, and his white teeth flashed when he smiled menacingly. Amanda’s heart pounded against her chest, and she felt lightheaded from lack of oxygen. Jimmy’s large hand covered her nose and mouth. She stared at the unknown enemy. Shots rang out again and she heard Lee’s voice, warning that another man had been taken out. His deep timbre warned they should just give up or he’d take them out one by one. Fear chilled her as she realized her partner had no idea she was in here. “What’re you goin’ to do, Ant’ny?” Jimmy asked. “Shut up, you idiot! Now she knows my name!” “Oh, geez. Sorry Mr. Mancini.” A low growl rumbled from the man Amanda now knew to be named Anthony Mancini and he grabbed her arm, yanking her from Jimmy’s hold. He twisted her around so quickly, her scream was immediately stifled behind his leather-gloved hand. He raised his gun, and without a split second of hesitation, shot Jimmy between the eyes. Amanda screamed again, her voice resulting gore from the shot. “Of course, you know you now have to die as well. I can’t have any lose ends,” he whispered near her ear. Gunshots again ricocheted through the warehouse and Amanda jumped. Tears burned her eyes, and she pressed her lids closed against them. “Another one down!” Lee’s voice echoed. “How many more is it going to take before you give up?” “Just one,” he whispered against Amanda’s cheek, his breath hot on her skin. “But I’m not giving up.” He crouched down again, pulling Amanda down painfully to her knees, his hand still over her mouth. With his free hand, he retrieved a small handheld radio and held it close to his mouth. “We’re getting out of here now,” he instructed. “You’ll know when. Kyle, distract him.” Shots rang out again and Mancini stood again, pulling her along with him until they stood at the end of a row of boxes. As he peered around the haphazardly stacked tower of wood, Amanda could see Lee ahead of them by perhaps thirty feet. He scanned the warehouse ahead of him, gun in hand, unaware that he was being watched. She needed to find a way to warn him! “Thanks for all your help, whoever you are,” Mancini said before shouting “Stetson!” Time moved at lightening speed, yet seemed to stand still at the same time. As he shouted Lee’s name, he shoved Amanda away from him with brutal strength. She stumbled out into the open space as Lee spun around – gun poised and ready. His name ripped through her throat as the explosive sound of his shot devoured it in the air. The impact of the bullet threw her back, and Amanda felt her head slam into the concrete floor before everything went black. *** SMK *** SMK *** SMK ***
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