May I Have This Dance?

Written by Susan

Concept by Cheryl and Susan

Scarecrow and Mrs. King characters are the property of Shoot the Moon Productions and Warner Bros. Television. No copyright infringement intended. Not for commercial use.

Chapter One

The Ford sedan came to a stop along the curb in the darkness between streetlights. Thunder rumbled as lightning from an early summer storm briefly illuminated the three men emerging from the car on a deserted street in Washington, D.C. They whispered fervently in Russian to one another.

"Nyet! ...No, I don't like this arrangement at all. Haven't you heard the stories of what these people do to their own countrymen, let alone the Americans?"

"We have no other way to get what we need, Sergey. If we do deals with anyone else, the secret police will find out. We don't have the money to pay them off. Besides, these people are in the mood to sell, and we are in the mood to buy."

Sergey took out a handkerchief and wiped his brow. The steamy air was suffocating, the heat unbearable. "At least at home it is not so infernally hot, Alexei."

"Let's hope we can finish this meet before the rain comes." Gyorgi spoke gruffly. "Quit whining, Sergey."

All three men jumped as they heard an automatic weapon being cocked. A small man approached, but he was not alone. Sergey and his friends could hear others behind him. Lightning flashed again. There were at least six. They were outnumbered.

"Good. I see you know how to be on time and follow instructions." The small man's accent was thick.

At least we all speak English, Sergey thought. "Please tell us your terms, so we can tell our people how to act."

The small man sneered. "Not so fast. This meeting was a test. We wanted to know if we could trust you. We meet tomorrow. There is a bar just around the corner. You will give the usual greeting at the bar, and someone will show you to the back room. No tricks, or we will send a message with you as our example."

One of the guards pressed a gun to Alexei's side. Sergey spoke quickly. "We will be there. No tricks." The guard pulled the trigger.

Time seemed to slow down as fat drops of rain began to fall from the sky. Forcing himself to stay standing, Alexei felt the world spin. There was no pain, no loud report.

The gun had been empty.

SMKSMKSMKSMKSMK

Lee Stetson was edgy. He ran his finger under his collar and fiddled with his tie. He had never liked meetings, and this one was no different. The pile of paperwork on his desk wasn't getting any shorter, and his stomach, empty of anything except his usual morning coffee, was growling. He felt a hand gently rest on his arm, and he relaxed a bit. Amanda Stetson had always known how to read Lee. Surreptitiously, he placed his large hand over her smaller one and focused on Efraim Beaman's update. In just a few more minutes, the meeting would be over.

At the same table, Matt Granger stole a glance at the clock. The freshman agent was anxious to be gone. It was Tuesday, and he didn't want to miss his usual lunch date. He almost smiled. Usual lunch date. It was a nice thought, but it was only the fourth time. Four times in four weeks—every Tuesday…

The shuffling papers and moving chairs startled Matt out of his reverie; he quickly gathered his things and headed to his desk in the bullpen.

Manny Gonzales and Ryan Johnson grinned at each other and hung back, watching Granger leave the room. "He's got some girl. I know it," said Gonzales. "This kid has almost no friends, and then he starts this regular Tuesday thing. Always rushes out of these meetings."

Johnson snickered. "Let's tail him. The guy is so oblivious to us watching him, he's an embarrassment to the Agency. He has no clue we are on to him. He'll never know."

Rene Enriquez leaned back against the wall near Gonzales and Johnson. "Yeah, and you two clowns aren't so smart, either." The two younger agents swung around and looked at Enriquez. "I've seen you watching Granger. He's not hiding anything. He just knows you could never tail him once he left here. He's not as green as you think he is. I've seen him track down someone running avoidance patterns in the middle of a crowd on the Mall. Don't forget he was recruited from Army Intelligence."

"Sheesh, Enriquez. What do those clowns in Army Intelligence know about anything? Don't elevate the guy. He's lovestruck. He wasn't even listening the last few minutes." Johnson looked through the windows of the conference room to the hallway. He didn't want to miss Granger leaving.

Enriquez laughed like he was going along with the other two agents. "You may be right, but you two goons will never be able to tail him, I'm telling you. Let me do it. I'm pretty much his partner, anyway."

Johnson looked at Gonzales and shrugged. "Okay, but you had better let us know what this is all about, or we will tail the guy next week."

"If there is a next week. I had better get back to my desk so I can be around when he leaves."

SMKSMKSMKSMKSMK

Amanda followed Lee to his office. He held the door for her, and then shut it behind them. In the corner there with the door closed it was hard to see through the windows into the office. Lee took Amanda's arm and drew her to him for a kiss. He pulled away a little and looked her up and down. She was wearing his favorite dress and had styled her dark hair around her shoulders. "You know I love to see you in that black dress. It fits in all the right places and shows off those great legs—"

Amanda placed a hand on Lee's chest. "Oh Lee, stop."

Hazel eyes twinkling, Lee chuckled and offered her a dimpled grin, but didn't move away. "I'm working through lunch, then meeting with Barclay—"

"I thought you had planned to eat with Sarah today. Now you are working through lunch?"

"Oh, I never told you. I called her yesterday, since I always seem to get home too late to talk to her. She already had plans. We are getting together tomorrow."

"Lee, you know it's a bit strange to have to go to lunch with your daughter in order to see her, when she lives above your garage."

"Yeah." Lee sighed and ran his hand through his silver hair. Then his expression changed. "You know, I have a gut feeling. I think she's seeing a guy, and it's not Jeff."

Amanda started. "Really? Why do you say that?"

"Well, she normally tells me who she's having lunch with, and this time she was really hedging. You know, like she used to do when she would be seeing someone new and didn't want me to know yet."

"Lee, do you suppose she's back with Jeff? They never really broke it off."

"I don't know what to think. You'd think two spies would know what their daughter was doing."

"Intelligence operatives." Amanda's eyes narrowed. "Lee, don't get any ideas about spying on your own daughter."

"I wouldn't think of it." Lee crossed his fingers behind his back. "Listen, you'll be late for your lunch date with Jamie. I won't be here when you get back—but I will be home for dinner tonight." He paused for a beat. "Please tell me you will leave early." Lee looked into Amanda's eyes to gauge her reaction.

"Yes, Sir, Chief Stetson." She put on her most agreeable face. Amanda knew better than to argue. She was not sleeping well, and she knew he was aware of it. Other than the few days off after her abduction, they had not had a break for months. Amanda was exhausted.

Lee hesitated, and then plunged ahead. "Amanda, I'd like you to take a session with Kirby before you go home. You had another dream last night—"

"Lee, you asked me to go to Dr. Nagy and I went. I've only been working part time, as she recommended. It's just a bad dream here and there. I'm fine. I really don't want to see Dr. Kirby. He's worse than Pfaff was—he's like a mind reader."

"I'm afraid it's an order, Agent Stetson." Amanda grimaced and Lee's expression softened. "Amanda, I'm also asking as your husband. You aren't sleeping well, and you're tired all the time. This is a demanding job and you can't run yourself down. Besides, you just aren't your usual self." Lee finally pulled away and ran his hand through his hair.

Amanda watched him. She could see her husband was on edge, too. "I'll go if you go. You've been wound up like a clock lately."

Lee started to pace. "Amanda, I went through hell all over again when Birol took you. But I'm fine. You're safe now and he's not going to bother us ever again. I'm just overloaded with work." He looked at Amanda. Her mouth was set and her arms were crossed. She was going to hold her ground. "Okay, okay. I'll go and talk with Kirby, if it will get you to go, too. It will have to be after my meeting with Barclay. And then I'm coming home to have dinner and a pleasant evening with my wife."

"I'm looking forward to that, Mr. Stetson." Amanda smiled. "I'll go give Kirby's office a quick call before I leave for lunch and let them know we are both coming." She walked up to Lee and put her arms around him. "Thank you, Lee, for worrying about me."

"You have my back, and I have yours—like always." He leaned down to kiss her, and then looked in her eyes. "Thank you for not fighting me."

Amanda grinned up at him. "I have learned to follow at least some of your orders over the years, Stetson." She left quickly, wanting to avoid a comeback.

Lee knew he didn't need Kirby—he needed a break. And not just one "normal" evening with his wife. That was one thing on his agenda for this weekly meeting with the Agency director.

He took off his suit jacket and hung it up on the hanger he always left on the back of his office door. He started to sit down at his desk and stopped himself. Instead, he grabbed his lunch and a folder and ambled over to his couch. From there, with the door open, he could hear some of the chatter in the bull pen. He opened up his bag and settled onto the leather couch. Johnson and Gonzales were having an animated discussion. He strained to hear them.

"Do you think Enriquez is even going to tell us the truth? He's not going to let us in on it if he finds out anything. He's just trying to get us off Granger's back." Johnson is almost whining, like a kid who had been tricked out of his ice cream cone.

Lee smiled as he looked at the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich his wife had made. There were two—she had thought Sarah would be eating one of them. Man, these things are always so good. Just a touch of mayo. Crispy bacon—Amanda only gives me bacon for special occasions. Lee sighed happily. I guess I'll just have to eat the second one so it won't spoil… He looked down at the report and frowned. At least I have something tasty to distract me from this drudgery.

His ears pricked up. Johnson was still talking. "…he's not going to tell us if…some chick. We're idiots. We should have..." Lee strained to listen, but could not hear all the words.

As Gonzales stood up, his voice carried into Lee's office. "If that guy lights out of here again next Tuesday like he did today, we will follow him. It's too late to worry about it today, Johnson. Let's go grab a bite."

Lee looked down at his two sandwiches. Granger. Lunch every Tuesday. Right after the staff meeting…" After considering for a moment, he shook his head. "Nah, she's got a boyfriend. She's not going to fall for some guy she met at the side of a road on a rainy night…I hope. Lee wished he could have heard more. He took a bite of the first sandwich and focused on the report. If I want to get home in time for dinner, I'd better finish these reports before my meeting.