May I Have This Dance? Part II

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.

I posted this for the first time just before the twenty-fifth anniversary of "Do You Take This Spy?" (Yes, Lee and Amanda were celebrating their twenty-fifth anniversary). Enjoy!

Chapter One

June 2011

The three Kazakhs filed into the small kitchen of the freighter, hoping for some dinner. They spoke in hushed tones with one another. "We do get meals on this boat, don't we, Gyorgi?"

Gyorgi only frowned and shook his head. "Shut up, you imbecile," he hissed. "We get our food, eat, and leave. We are supposed to lay low." The three men nodded uncertainly at the cook as they took their food and sat down at the battered table. Bare bulbs offered the only light, and the galley looked like it had not been painted since the ship first sailed twenty years earlier.

Alexei sat down with his food, a scowl on his face. He whispered to Sergey. "I don't know if I can eat this. It is slop!"

Gyorgi scowled at Alexei once again. Alexei saw the expression and looked down. He focused on his food and began to eat. He whispered once more to Sergey. "We won't make it home fast enough. My bunk smells like fifty sweaty old men have slept there."

The ship lurched, causing Alexei to close his eyes and swallow. He pushed his food away.

"Be quiet, Alexei," Sergey hissed. "Remember the cause."

Alexei was finally silent. All this for a few lousy guns. It had better be worth it.

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Lee backed his chair away from his desk and stretched. He looked over at Amanda, who had camped out in his office with her laptop. "You look like you're falling asleep over there. We should pack it up. I think we've done all we can for today—rather, tonight."

Before Amanda could respond, Jamie appeared in Lee's doorway. "I have some interesting intel on the Russians."

"Jamie! You're still here." Lee looked at him in surprise.

"I wanted to handle this one myself. I felt badly for Granger and Enriquez."

Amanda sat up straight. "What do you have, sweetheart?"

Jamie smiled at the endearment. He was glad his mother only used it around family, but he still enjoyed hearing it from time to time. He pulled his laptop from under his arm and set it on Lee's desk. He opened it and started talking before it had powered back up. "Sergey Popovich, Alexei Volkov, and Gyorgi Pak. All three are Kazakhs—not Russians. Popovich and Volkov are of Russian descent, and Pak's family immigrated from Korea. All three are from Almaty and have clean records so far. I'm not sure what they plan to do with the limited amount of weapons you saw them purchase, but this could be just a drop in the bucket of what they are amassing."

Lee snorted. "You know those weapons are U.S. made and probably purchased on this side of the border. What a snafu that has been."

Jamie gave a derisive laugh as well. "Most likely you're right."

Lee filled him in on the latest report. "Besetti and Cartwright have already planted the tracking device. The weapons were loaded into a container that was then secured on the ship. Besetti and Cartwright had to take off suddenly, but they were able to ascertain that the ship wasn't heavily loaded. They also believe that the three Kazakhs are on board and planning to go back to Kazakhstan with their arms."

"Sounds like it's a good idea we're tracking these guys." Jamie stood up to go.

"Jamie, be sure to forward your notes to Francine. She is taking over here. I'm wrapping things up over the next couple of days."

Jamie looked at Lee in surprise. Before he could say anything, Amanda broke in. "Barclay has asked us to take a vacation. It's been a long time coming."

Jamie's eyebrows shot up. "I'd say. Finally someone talked you both into taking time off. Mom, if you don't mind me saying so, you need more rest. I'm glad."

Lee smiled to himself. Jamie had always shown a lot of concern for Amanda. As Jamie had grown older and fathered his own children, he had become bolder with his advice. "You're right, Jamie. Please pack it up, Amanda. I'm your ride, and I'm leaving. Gil is expecting an update first thing in the morning."

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Lee pulled into the driveway just as Sarah parked her car at the curb. He helped Amanda from the car, and they waited for her to join them.

Amanda put her arm around Sarah as they walked back towards her apartment. "Hello, sweetheart. Did you go to dance class tonight?"

"Hi Mom. Hi Daddy." Sarah waited a few beats, then plunged in. "Yes. I just dropped Matt off at his apartment. He came along."

Lee and Amanda exchanged glances behind Sarah's head. Amanda could not hide the concern in her voice. "Was he feeling all right?"

"Not really. I guess he had some kind of altercation with someone today. He didn't say why exactly or what happened, but he was really sore at the end of class. I felt awful, but he insisted upon going." Sarah paused for a moment. "Truth be told, we had a good time. He really wants to talk with you both on Saturday night."

Amanda knew that Sarah's "good time" meant they had clicked as a couple. She had learned to read between the lines with her daughter, who was not normally given to West rambles. She looked at Lee, who was waiting for her to respond. She knew he was eager to talk with them. "How about six o'clock? We'll barbecue some steaks. I'd do more, but it's summer and your father and I are leaving the next morning."

"That would be perfect, Mom. I know it will be nice. Thanks." Sarah gave Amanda a kiss on the cheek before turning to Lee and repeating the gesture. "Good night!"

"Good night! We may be scarce the next couple of days…"

"I understand. Love you both!"

Lee and Amanda spoke at the same time. "Love you, too." They gave each other knowing looks as they turned to go inside the house.

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"Look at who came into work. I'm surprised to see you, Granger." Johnson grinned over at Matt.

"I wasn't about to stay home and go out of my mind." Matt grimaced at the thought. "Hey, I owe you a thank you for yesterday."

Johnson grew serious. "I'm just sorry I didn't shoot sooner."

"It all happened pretty quickly. You know, Rene will be in tomorrow."

"Glad the guy wore his vest."

"Yeah." Matt's voice trailed off as he turned on his computer and settled in to work on his report.

Inside Lee's closed office, he was meeting with Amanda and Francine. Amanda was finishing her update from the previous night's research . "So, we know from the manifest that the shipment is designated for a port on the Black Sea. From there we can't be certain where it will go, but it is likely to go by train to a port in Azerbaijan on the Caspian Sea. If we're right, its final destination is Atyrau on the Kazakh side of the Caspian Sea, where it will be delivered to an oil refinery."

Francine was studying a map of the route on her laptop. She looked up. "Who's doing the research here on the three Russians and the reason for purchasing the arms?"

"I'd like to put Granger on the arms shipment. Have him follow it, see if he can find any connections among the three men who bought the arms. We have their names in that report. They are Kazakh citizens of Russian and Korean heritage. No known priors. In fact, they work rather run-of-the-mill jobs in Almaty."

"So, we just need to find out for certain why they want automatic weapons. And where the weapons will go after they get to Atyrau. That's clear across the country from Almaty."

Amanda's eyes met Lee's and he nodded slightly, urging her on. "Lee and I are considering following up on this ourselves."

"What? You are supposed to be going on vacation, and then retiring. Why the sudden turnaround? And why the heck do you want to be going out in the field again?"

Lee stood up and walked around the desk. "Take it easy, Francine. These guys may be buying arms, but they have no training or apparent experience in using them. We think they're trying to help a cause. They may have some connections with a new political movement. Since Putin has been making noise about the old union, the former republics are antsy."

Amanda broke in. "Normally we'd think that only ethnic Kazakhs would take up this cause, but there are ethnic Russians and others, like the Korean, perhaps, who don't want to live under communism again, either."

Francine was doubtful. "These are all theories. And these people could be wackos. Let someone in the Asian office handle it."

Lee spoke. "None of those kids know a thing about the Cold War. We're going to see if anyone has popped back up on the radar. Besides, we'd just be feeling things out at the refinery and in Almaty. We'd just act like investors taking a look-see—or whatever we have to do to get the information."

"And, we're bringing a bodyguard."

Francine raised her eyebrows. "Now that's not a bad idea. Who are you thinking of?"

Lee looked at Amanda, then back at Francine. "Granger. We plan to wait a couple of weeks while the shipment makes its way there, then fly to Kazakhstan. Granger should be recovered by then—and have had the time to do some research for us—prep our covers. All while he is checking out the Kazakhs."

Francine was still doubtful. "Granger may look like a bodyguard and he certainly has proven his skill at the job, but I still don't know…"

"This will be a good test of Gil's consulting idea. In fact, when I briefed him today, he thought it sounded great. He wants to see how it works. It's no coincidence that he mentioned Kazakhstan with me the other day. Other agencies have been watching it as well. Now we have a good reason, too."

"You'll be thirty-six hours away from help. Gil Barclay has never been in the field. With all due respect to our director…"

Lee was dismissive of Francine's concerns. "We'll be only about eight hours by air from our German office. We won't let it get that far, anyway." Lee got up to pace. "Francine, Gil wants to pull our men off the search for the cartel members. He says it's not our business, but ATF's or Homeland's."

Amanda started at this news. Francine was livid. She stood and began pacing. "But they shot one of our men and attacked another! This is personal!"

"I know, I know. Our hands are tied. As far as I am concerned, ATF is just covering their butts, since they sold the arms to the cartel in the first place. Homeland at least is sympathetic. Until now, the threat from the cartel has been limited to border states. Homeland wants to nip this in the bud."

Stopping to face Lee and Amanda, Francine persisted, "But we all know the continued threat to our team is real. They don't want federal agents messing in their activities. They won't stop until they've made sure at least one of our men is dead—they may have shot Enriquez, but will that be enough for them?"

Amanda was on the edge of her seat now. "I agree with Francine, Lee. They like to make sure their message is loud and clear. Johnson shot one of their men, so they will be doubly angry."

Lee was grim. "You don't have to tell me that we may have a powder keg there. The only information I could get is that this was a splinter group. Hopefully it's limited in scope and size. Francine, you can talk to Gil—he wants the three of us to meet this afternoon. He wants me passing the baton to you by tonight. I can come in and clean up my desk tomorrow."

"That was fast. Talk on Tuesday. Done on Thursday."

"Francine, he's right. I'll be here for a day while you get acclimated. And about this splinter group. Do you really want your men chasing cartel members? Let someone else do it."

Lee could see that he hadn't convinced Francine—or Amanda for that matter. Hell, I'm not convinced either. I just hope they haven't marked Granger. "We'll need to think about how to reintroduce Enriquez to the field. See if the other investigators still want to use him as bait."

"Well, that can wait, anyway. He'll be parked at a desk for at least four weeks, if not longer." Francine sighed. "I guess you had better brief me on the other cases I do have to supervise."

Amanda took her cue and got up. Lee stopped his pacing by her chair and grasped her elbow as he gave her a peck on the cheek. "Lunch in your office?"

"If you have time. You and Francine may take longer than you think. I'm going to give Granger his assignment now. I'll see you both later." Amanda gave Lee a kiss and left.

On her way through the bullpen, Amanda detoured past Matt's desk. "Can I please see you in my office?"

Matt looked at her questioningly and she smiled. He relaxed a little and followed her. She shut the door behind him and sat down at her desk. "Please sit down. I'm sure your back is bothering you." Amanda put on a pair of reading glasses and looked over them at Matt before pretending to look at something on her desk. "Especially since you went dancing last night."

Matt cleared his throat. "I was glad to get out of my apartment, and it was a pleasure to be with Sarah."

Amanda's expression softened from an amused grin to a sympathetic smile. "How are you doing? Maybe a visit to Dr. Kirby would be in order."

"I'm doing better today…"

"Matt, that really wasn't a suggestion." At Matt's nod of assent, Amanda continued. "Mr. Stetson and I have an assignment for you."

Matt straightened in his chair. "I've been working on manifests for the other cargo on the ship and I'm looking into any information we can find on the Kazakhs."

"That's great, and you should continue that research. But I want you to leave on an op in two weeks. You would spend that time preparing for the mission while you recover from your injuries."

Matt pulled out his phone to take notes.

"You'll be posing as a bodyguard for Mr. Stetson and me." Matt's eyebrows went up, but he kept his eyes on his phone as he kept typing.

"Until we find out otherwise, we'll start out posing as rich investors looking into Kazakh oil interests. We'll be flying into Almaty and traveling to Atyrau from there." Amanda stopped and spelled the name of the city for Matt. "Perhaps we can look around a few neighborhoods while we're in Almaty—play tourists and look for our gun-running friends. We can be flexible as we gain more intel. The Chief is also planning to obtain a translator with unique contacts. He will be the fourth member of our team—he's someone we've worked with before."

"Shall I develop our covers? What exactly do you want me to do while we're there?"

"As our bodyguard, you would have to stay near us to maintain our cover, so we'll just work together. Knowing the chief, you'll be expected to innovate, too." Amanda smirked a little.

Matt hesitated, and then asked the question he really wanted answered. "I hope this doesn't sound impertinent, but I thought you and the chief were no longer in the field…"

Amanda smiled. "I expected you to wonder about that, Matt. I should tell you that the director personally ordered Mr. Stetson and me on this mission, and we thought of you immediately. At our, ahem, age, we won't want to be on our own dodging bullets like we did years ago."

Remembering Lee's story from the day before, Matt suddenly visualized Amanda being shot. He quickly looked down.

"Is there something that concerns you?"

"What will we do if we need back up?"

"The German office is about eight hours away, so we are hoping not to have to call them. This is supposed to be a light assignment. We'll stick together and keep ourselves out of trouble." I sure hope I don't live to regret saying that. The messes Lee and I got into… Amanda consulted her notes. "Use your time over these next two weeks to familiarize yourself with Kazakh history and culture so you won't stick out too much. It will be like your work in Afghanistan with Army Intelligence. You can't hide being American, but you can blend in better if you look at ease and understand the culture. Make sure our covers will be authentic. Also, I'd like you to work with Leatherneck and Phillip to procure us some satellite phones, wires, and whatever other gadgets we'll need. You will also want to ask for a report from Jamie on the latest State Dept. and CIA intel. Although he is able to speak and understand some Russian, Mr. Stetson will have us use our Kazakh translator for our tourist expeditions. Russian is used for business, but Kazakh is the street language."

"Will do." Matt fought the urge to smile to himself. He could ask Sarah to help him with some of his research. Matt hesitated a moment, then plunged in. "Did Sarah talk with you last night?"

Amanda looked up from her notes and pulled off her glasses. She grew animated. "Yes. We saw her when we got home. We'd like you to come for some steaks on Saturday—it will be at six o'clock." Amanda could see that Matt was uncomfortable. "Matt, it's okay. The Chief is glad to be doing this. Don't let him intimidate you." Amanda smiled in reassurance.

"Thank you for the invitation. Can I bring anything?"

"Just yourself. We're all looking forward to having you over." Amanda smiled again and hoped Matt knew she was being sincere.

Matt started to get up, and then stopped. Amanda looked at him questioningly. "What is it?"

"Why exactly did you choose me for this assignment? I have no experience in that part of Central Asia…"

"Because we trust you, you have good instincts, and there is no time like the present to learn more about the former Soviet republics. If I may say so, the Chief is quite an expert on intelligence work in the former Soviet states. We both had our share of cases, actually."

"If I may be so bold, is that all?" Matt couldn't believe he had the nerve to ask. He just felt at ease with Amanda.

Amanda's eyes twinkled. "I think you might be able to guess that the Chief wants to get to know you better. Take it as a good sign." Amanda hesitated, and then continued. "Also, it's probably a good idea for you to have light duty for a while. Make sure you are fully recovered."

"It's only some bruises."

Amanda's eyebrow went up. "I'm not talking about the physical part. There's more to getting over a shooting than that. I've been through it, too. Make sure you see Kirby today."

Matt breathed out a sigh as he rose from his chair. "I will. Thank you, Mrs. Stetson. I'm honored to go on this assignment with you both. It's quite an opportunity for a freshman agent."

"You have earned the privilege, Matt. You saved both of our lives."

Matt ducked his head briefly. "It was all in the line of duty. I was glad to do it. I guess I'd better get back to my desk."

Amanda watched him thoughtfully as Matt walked stiffly to his desk.