Chapter 7

Tuesday Morning

The Agency hadn't picked up any new leads before the 8:00 a.m. meeting, with the exception of the lamentable fact that the National Park Service had issued permits for what was expected to be a very large 'Family Values' rally, for all day Wednesday.

Billy had doled out assignments that seemed to Lee like nothing more than busywork. He hated sitting in the office when they all knew the terrorists were probably within shouting distance, but the truth was, Billy was right. They needed to know more before they could take action. Amanda was down in the bullpen checking immigration records from INS on the computer, and he was stuck upstairs in the Q Bureau, re-reading the dossiers of several suspected members of the Lightning Flash group. After a while, his eyes began to glaze over, and he pinched the bridge of his nose and pushed away from his desk. He walked over to the window and stood there a moment, looking out at the sunlit red maple trees, when an idea struck him. His eyes brightened as he said to himself "T.P." He turned around and hurried out of the Q Bureau and down the steps, removing his ID badge and laying it on the receptionist's desk.

"Mrs. Marston, if Mr. Melrose asks for me, would you tell him I've gone over to the Library of Congress? I have a contact there who may be able to help us."

"All right, Mr. Stetson," she agreed, as the door closed behind him.

*****

Amanda's neck was starting to ache, and she felt the need to get up and stretch a bit. She took a walk down the corridor, and had just finished taking a drink at the water cooler when she saw Francine out of the corner of her eye. "Francine! Any news yet?" she asked hopefully, almost running to catch up with her.

"Nothing good," Francine replied. "I talked to some of the people in charge of the rally, but they said it was too late to postpone it. Most of the people are already on their way-busloads of them-from all across the country," she finished, with a sweep of her hand.

"Oh, Francine, that's terrible," Amanda sympathized.

As they turned to walk into the bullpen, Francine asked, "What about you? Are you up to your ears in Bauers yet?"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say that, but I've come across quite a few," Amanda answered with a wry grin. "Lee was right-it's a pretty common name. I was beginning to think I'd never find the right Mr. Bauer-I mean I couldn't see the forest for the trees, if you know what I mean." Amanda could see Francine's patience waning with each word, so she tipped her head to the side and rushed on to add, "So anyway, I called the number for the Lincoln Memorial bookstore, and they told me that Otto Bauer wasn't there today. He only works there on Mondays and Wednesdays. That's as much as they would tell me, but it gave me a place to start."

"Mm," Francine acknowledged with a quick nod, calling back over her shoulder, "Well, good luck!" as she went into Billy's office.

Amanda spent the next hour pulling cross checks on social security numbers from the INS records to follow up on employment histories for Bauers in the DC area. All of a sudden, her eyes were riveted to what she saw on the screen. She underlined the last entry for 'Otto' with her finger, before hitting the print screen button. Picking up the page from the printer, she walked back across the bullpen and rapped rhythmically on Mr. Melrose's door.

"Come in, Amanda!" he called.

As she swept into the office, Amanda nodded first to Francine, then to Billy. "Sir! I know this may not sound like much, but I just checked through Mr. Bauer's employment history, and look what I found," she started, showing the printout to both Francine and Billy. "This says that Otto Bauer worked the last ten years before he retired as a high school chemistry teacher. Wouldn't that mean he'd have access to. . ."

"Right. . ." Billy stretched out the word, understanding lighting his features, "he'd have had access to chemicals like sulphuric and nitric acids, for instance? Very good, Amanda. Why don't you see what else you can find out about this Otto Bauer."

"Yes, sir!" she said with a smile, whirling around to go back to her computer.

"Francine, take a trip over to this high school and see what they have to say about Mr. Bauer. They ought to remember him-he just retired last year."

"All right, Billy, I'm on it," Francine replied, taking the printout and heading out through the bullpen.

*****

Lee perched on the edge of a high-backed leather chair, across the book-strewn desk from his old friend and former Agency instructor, T. Percival Aquinas. "So. . .T.P., what can you tell me about the Lightning Flash group?"

"Ah yes, der Blitzstrahl, a nasty bunch of misfits, indeed," T.P. replied. He pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose and leaned forward with his elbows on the desk and his hands folded in front of him. "Their leader, Gunther Heller, is as cold and calculating as they come. . .hates the West in general, and Americans in particular. You'll note there were over 100 Americans on that unfortunate 747 at the Frankfurt airport," he pointed out, shaking his head sorrowfully.

"Yeah, I know" Lee commiserated. "You know, we ran afoul of Heller, actually one of his associates, Giesele Hofmeier, just yesterday."

"Ah. The iron maiden," T.P. mused aloud.

Lee cleared his throat and tried not to think about what the 'iron maiden' might have done to Amanda if she'd had the time. He ran his finger down the binding of a 17th century volume of Milton's Paradise Lost, then lifted his eyes as he asked, "T.P.? Do you know anything about an Erich Bauer?"

"Oh yes, Lee. Erich Bauer is-was-a promising young chemistry major at the university in Dresden until last spring. He was inches away from completing his degree program when Heller recruited him. Although I'm not sure if one should call it recruitment when it's done at gunpoint, so to speak. You see, young Mr. Bauer has a few relatives who emigrated to the U.S. at the end of World War II, before the Soviets closed the door on such activities. One of those relatives, Uncle Otto, was a chemistry teacher for years, and would have been able to put his hands on numerous bomb-making essentials. It would be just like our Mr. Heller to threaten Erich and his dear old uncle to enlist their help."

"Yes, I'll bet it would," Lee agreed with a rueful smile. He stood and reached across the desk to shake his friend's hand. "Thanks, T.P. If you hear anything else, you can reach me at this number. See you later," he said, laying his business card on the desk and turning to leave.

*****

Tuesday afternoon

Lee rapped on Billy Melrose's door and proceeded to enter. He was somewhat surprised that what appeared to be a meeting had already started without him. Francine and Amanda occupied the two chairs that faced Billy's desk, and Dieter Volkenauer stood behind Amanda, leaning his arm against the bookshelf.

Francine had started to tell Billy about her conversations with the principal and some of the teachers and students at Hamilton High School in Alexandria, when Lee started through the door. "Billy, I. . .oh. I'm sorry," he said, with a sheepish grin. Vaguely circling his hand in the air, he questioned, "Am I interrupting something here?"

"No, no, it's all right, Lee. I'm glad you're here," Billy assured him. He turned his attention to his blonde assistant, saying, "All right, Francine, you were saying?"

"Well, Billy, if the faculty and students at Hamilton High are to be believed, Mr. Otto Bauer should be on the short list for Man of the Year," she said with a smirk. "He seems to have been well liked and respected by students and teachers alike. None of the people I talked to could imagine him being involved in any kind of illegal activity."

Amanda nodded and looked from Francine to Billy as she chimed in, "That squares with what I found out, too, sir. Mr. Bauer emigrated to the States right after the war, and became a U.S. citizen in 1953. He's been an active supporter of charities and disaster relief organizations, collecting food and clothing for poor people and giving his time to teach young children to read. I just don't see how a man like that. . ."

"How a man like that could get involved in something like this?" Lee asked. "I have a pretty good idea, Amanda. My friend T. P. Aquinas just told me that Erich Bauer didn't exactly volunteer to be a member of the Lightning Flash. You might say he was 'drafted' to help with Heller's DC mission. And good old Uncle Otto could have been pressured into. . ."

Dieter had watched the other agents' interaction and listened to their comments with increasing interest. "Pardon me," he cut in, holding up his hand and looking directly at Lee before turning his eyes to Billy. "But from what we know about Erich and his Uncle Otto, it would seem that we might find one or both of them helpful as well, that is, if we can find a way to communicate with them."

Billy nodded slowly, as he started to process Dieter's suggestion. "All right, but how can we get to either of the Bauers without Heller and company finding out?"

Amanda piped up, "Well, he doesn't work on Tuesdays, but there's a big craft sale going on in the Hamilton High gym after school today, to raise money for a new homeless shelter." At everyone's quizzical looks, she waved her hand through the air and said, "I saw it in the paper this morning, okay? Anyway, I'll just bet Otto Bauer will be there."

He looked as though he thought it was little more than a shot in the dark, but Billy sighed and said, "Well, I suppose it's worth a try. All right, Lee. Take Amanda over there with you and see if you can talk with Uncle Otto. Find out what they're holding over him and his nephew, and see if he knows anything about Heller's plans."

Lee looked a bit like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car, but he nodded and said, "Okay, Billy." He held out his hand to Amanda, but she made it quite clear she could manage to get out of the chair without his aid, so he withdrew his hand, turned and headed out of the office.

Amanda nodded to Billy, then to Dieter and Francine in turn, as she said softly, "Sir. . .see you all later." She hurried out to catch up with Lee in the hallway. She touched his sleeve but didn't turn to face him as she started to speak. "Lee? Maybe it'd be a good idea if we take my car, you know, since we're going to a neighborhood craft sale."

"Yeah," Lee agreed, without looking in her direction either. The truth was, he didn't know what to say to her, not after last night. He'd tried to apologize, but somehow, he'd only succeeded in hurting her, the last thing he wanted to do. He felt like he was treading on eggshells, afraid to say anything for fear of making things even worse between them. On the way to the school, both of them said very little, confining their conversation to the case and the pleasantly mild autumn weather.

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