Screen Captures Courtesy of Swoopes For personal use and select distribution only © April 2002 by Amber Stockton Double Agent - tagalogueWritten by Robert Bielak (excerpts from the episode belong to him)
"Lee?" "What?" "What am I going to say to her?" Amanda was very nervous as she watched Arlene Francis on the set of her talk show. "To Arlene?" "Yes!" She turned to face Lee, and knew her anxiety was clearly displayed on her face. He clasps his hands casually behind his back as they waited. "Well, what do you usually say to someone new?" "She's not someone new, she's famous. She's a celebrity! I don't know how to talk to a celebrity." Lee softened his voice. "Just talk to her the way you would anyone else." He shrugged his shoulders. "The way I would ... sure! Fine." Amanda nodded and a smiled. "Here she comes!" She watched Arlene walk towards them. "Oh, Arlene! I'd like you to meet a friend of mine, Amanda King." He lightly touched Amanda's elbow. "Amanda, this is Arlene Francis." Arlene held out her hand, which Amanda took. "Oh, I'm so pleased to meet you!" "So, pleas..." Amanda stuttered. "I'm so ... pleas ... so ... it's ... woo." No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get her mouth to cooperate with her brain. All she managed were slurred bits of what she wanted to say. At the odd looks from both Lee and Arlene, she touched her hand to her neck and cleared her throat, laughing nervously. "Are you all right?" Arlene asked, sounding concerned. "Oh yes, I'm fine...I just...well, I guess I'm a little nervous about meeting you." She heard Lee's relieved laugh. At the understanding smile from Arlene, she finally found her voice and continued. "I mean I knew that I was very excited about meeting you. I didn't know that I would be so nervous that I couldn't talk. That never happens to me. I can talk in any situation. My mother always says to me, 'Amanda! You never have to worry about your gift of gab. You've got it!'" She gestured with her hands in an outward sweeping motion. "And..." She stopped when she realized she was rambling. Arlene was clearly amused, but Amanda was very embarrassed. "Well, I guess I've really made myself look kind of silly, now." She glanced away from Arlene then back at her. Arlene smiled. "No, I was just amazed that you were able to say all of that in one breath!" Lee and Amanda both released nervous laughs, and when she turned towards him, the knowing look on his face and raised eyebrows told her that he knew exactly how Arlene was feeling. "Does this happen often?" Arlene wanted to know. "No." "Yes." Amanda and Lee spoke simultaneously, and at Arlene's glance between the two of them, Amanda smiled. "Mostly when I'm nervous." "Mostly when she's nervous." Again, they spoke at the same time, and Arlene smiled. "Well, I'm glad to hear that everything has worked out for all involved regarding Harriman's incriminating book. I'm really sorry about any bad publicity for the Agency and those of you working with them." "Arlene, it's really not a big deal, now. The book has been destroyed and Harriman is no longer a threat." There was a tinge of remorse in his voice for the loss of the ex-agent's life. "Nothing was said on your show to implicate anyone, so it's best if we put it all behind us." He unclasped his hands from behind his back and made a quick outward gesture with his hand, palm face-down to illustrate his point. "I agree!" Amanda chimed in. "Yes, you're right. I'm very glad to know that no long-lasting harm was caused. I do appreciate you both stopping for a visit." She paused. "Mrs. King, it was a pleasure meeting you. Please, do try and not be so nervous when meeting people who may seem to be important. We are all on equal footing. Some of us just happen to be more in the public eye than others. Just talk to us like you would anyone else." Amanda glanced at Lee's "I told you so" look, then took Arlene's outstretched hand and smiled, finally relaxed. "Thank you Ms. Francis. It really was nice meeting you." "Mr. Stetson." Arlene turned and extended her hand towards Lee, who grasped it. "It was very nice seeing you again." Lee dipped his head. "Same goes for me." "And now, I must return to my work. I believe we're going to do some prepping for tomorrow's show." She started to leave, but turned back around. "Oh, and Mrs. King? Please remember to take extra breaths whenever you get nervous," she added, then left and returned to the set. Lee turned and extended his left arm out, and Amanda turned to walk with him towards the exit. "You know, I've wondered the same thing more than once about you." "Wondered what?" "How *do* you manage to say so much in one breath?" Amanda laughed. "I guess I don't take the time to think about breathing, and the words tumble out of my mouth. I get so nervous that I try to fit it all in one breath, thinking I may not get it all out if I don't." "Sometimes, that works to your advantage. Other times...well..." he left off. Amanda glanced up at him as they continued to walk and saw his teasing grin. She stepped in front of him when he held open one of the doors for her, then waited for him to open the second one that led them outside. "Yes, but you and I both know that I could always use my gift of gab to confuse the opposition." She grinned as they began walking towards his Porsche. "No doubt about that. I believe I said that anytime I need a blackbelt confuser, I know who to call," he teased in return. "You know, I really think it's a good thing those pages of that book have been destroyed. Who knows what was said about us in there? Harriman had the inside scoop on us for years before he became an ex-agent. There's no telling what he could have divulged about us." They reached the car, and Lee opened the door for Amanda. She started to get in, but paused. "Actually, not all of those pages were burned." "What do you mean?" Lee's eyes narrowed. "Amanda..." His voice contained a partial warning mixed with a little impatience. "Oh no! You get in and drive, and I'll think about whether or not I'm going to tell you," she said with a smile as she got into the car and pulled the door out of his grasp to close it. She turned her head to face forward and didn't look at him again, even though she knew he continued to stand outside and look at her through the window. Finally, she saw him move out of the corner of her eye. A moment later, he got in on the driver's side of the car. Her lips remained closed. She heard him release a frustrated sigh as he started the car, put it in gear, and left the parking lot of the studio. When they were out on the road, and after driving several minutes in silence, he'd obviously had enough. "All right, spill it! What did you mean when you said not all of the pages were destroyed?" "Well, I happened to run into Auggie earlier this morning, and he handed me an envelope and told me I might want to see what's inside." "Yeah? And what was inside?" She saw him briefly glance over at her before he turned his eyes back to the road, and she reached down for her purse on the floor. Opening it, she withdrew two sheets of paper, unfolded them and began reading. "Then, there's Lee Stetson, a Senior Agent who uses very unorthodox methods but always seems to stay one step ahead of the game. Very good with the ladies, is it any wonder he is the one they call when the fairer sex is involved? There was one time when twins were involved and..." "All right, that's enough of that!" He growled out before she could finish. He tried to grab the pages she held, but she was too quick and held them out of his reach. The look on his face was one of dread at what else was on the pages mixed with a smug grin that his reputation preceded him. "Ah-ah, Stetson! You keep your eyes on the road. Besides, I think I may keep these for future reference. They could prove to be very useful to me." She grinned, pleased that she had the upper hand in this instance, or so she thought. She was a little surprised to see him acting so nonchalantly about it. Lee shrugged. "It's not like there's anything in there that's not in the report on that case, anyway. Besides, that's nothing compared to the knowledge that you actually read Harriman's spy novels! No wonder why you fantasize about secret agents and are so interested in this business! What do you see in those books, anyway?" "They're interesting! Of course, they don't compare to the adventures I've experienced since coming to work for the Agency, but I still enjoy them." "Are you saying that working for us is better than the way Harriman wrote it?" Amanda turned and saw the grin on Lee's face, and she smiled in return. "To be honest, yes, it is." They stopped at a red light, and Lee turned to face her. She could see the green in his hazel eyes shining bright as it reflected off the sunlight outside, and she felt her heartbeat increase its rhythm. "A lot of times the reality is worse than the fantasy, but in this instance..." She paused as she tried to catch her breath and quell the butterflies in her stomach at his soft gaze. "The reality is..." Her mind drew a complete blank as she met his eyes, and she couldn't continue. How had he turned everything around so quickly from her teasing him to now putting her on the defensive? A quick honk of a horn behind them signaled that the light had changed, and they should go. Amanda released a quiet sigh when Lee turned his gaze away from her and focused back on the road. They continued their drive in silence, but Amanda's thoughts were far from quiet. She allowed herself a glance over at his profile, and there was no denying how attractive he was. The reality of working with the government and with secret agents was certainly better than her wildest imaginations had ever been. If someone had told her one year ago that she would be working with a handsome operative who could turn her insides to mush with just a look and an Agency who assigned her to cases that took her all over the world and had her second-guessing and outsmarting the best in the spy business, she would never have believed it. This line of work had certainly allowed her to see a side of herself she never knew existed. She was a simple housewife with no particular skills, but some of what she did on a daily basis actually came in handy on more than one occasion. Even with this most recent case, her knowledge of using the prong on a belt buckle to pick loose handcuffs had enabled her to get Lee and herself free from where they had been hooked to the pipes. Thinking of that caused thoughts of an entirely different nature to enter her mind, and she felt the heat rise into her face. A quick glance again at Lee to be certain he wasn't watching her and noticing her discomfort reassured her, but she turned to face the window just in case. It was still embarassing to think about how she had asked him to take off his belt. She had said it several times and was surprised at how demanding she had been, but the look on his face was worse. He looked as if she was asking him to do something improper, and she was the one who had to remove the belt! That was bad enough without having to endure his urges for her to hurry up. First, she was embarrassed at even having to perform the task, let alone trying to undo his belt with her left hand. Then, when she had tugged a little too hard on the belt, the look on his face had almost mortified her. She had apologized, but the implications of her actions refused to go away. Finally, she had successfully managed to remove his belt and free them from the handcuffs, and the urgency of getting out of the warehouse before everything exploded forced all thoughts of their situation from her mind. Until now. She didn't even realize they had stopped until her door opened and she looked up in surprise to find Lee standing there and offering her his hand. Still embarrassed at the path her thoughts had taken but determined not to let it show, she placed her hand in his and stepped from the car. For a moment, he didn't release her hand, and they stood there facing each other, their eyes locked. Amanda knew one of them had better say something, and fast, so she cleared her throat and withdrew her hand, then stepped away. "Thank you, Lee, for the ride, and for taking me to meet Arlene Francis. Mother is never going to believe this, and she's going to be so jealous." She forced a smile to her face as she continued. "I'd better get inside. I can't wait to tell her all about it." She turned to leave, but stopped at his voice. "Amanda? I..." "Yes?" She turned back around. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Never mind. I'll ... uh ... see you at work tomorrow." "All right." She nodded and turned to go again, but stopped. "Oh, Lee?" "Yeah?" "I believe this belongs to you." She reached into her purse to pull out an object and toss it to him. He caught it, and she watched as he looked down at his belt, unraveled from the coil it had been in, the same one she had removed yesterday to free them. "How did you...?" "I grabbed it on my way out of the building after you went in search of the other guy." She paused then grinned. "Can't have you going without a belt, now can we?" She turned and walked down the sidewalk, ducking through the hedge as she made her way to the backyard. She stopped and turned back around to watch him through the shrubs. He shook his head and grinned, then closed the passenger door and walked around to the driver's side. Amanda ducked back when Lee cast one look in the direction of the house. As he drove away, she smiled. The reality certainly was much better than the fantasy. (THE END) |
