It's In The Mail Part 3/5
By: Nectar99
Rating: PG
See chapter 1 for Disclaimer, Timeline, and Summary.
Lee raced through the D.C. streets in record time, yet he still felt as if he was traveling in slow motion. He contacted Billy en route, filling him on the situation. He was rather surprised to find out Billy knew more about the situation than he did, but he put his anger aside, and concentrated on getting to Amanda in time. After hanging up the phone with Billy, Lee was only a few blocks from her house.
Amanda turned off the lights, trying to hinder the impeding view of whoever was lurking outside her house. She heard a rattle at the back door, and reached for the only weapon she could find. She tiptoed to the living room closet, and snuck inside with a bat in her hand. She tried to take long deep breaths, reciting in her head that Lee was on the way.
Lee called out for her several times, but received no answer. Without wasting another second, he kicked the front door in and entered the living room. He yelled out for her again in the darkness, with his gun drawn. When he kicked the slightly ajar door to the closet, Amanda let out a scream. Lee let out a sigh of relief, reaching out for her.
“Amanda! Amanda, it’s me, Lee,” he tried to reassure her. “Is someone in the house?” He asked, still scanning the darkened surroundings.
“Lee,” she cried out, falling into his arms. Her body was trembling, and her heart was racing a mile a minute. “I don’t think he’s inside, but he did something to the agents outside. I’m frightened,” she admitted.
Rubbing his hands up and down her trembling limbs, Lee whispered, “shhhh, it’s okay, Amanda. I’m right here, and I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
Hearing the sound of screeching tires, Amanda tensed in his arms. “Shhh, it’s okay, just relax. I called Billy on the way over here,” Lee informed her.
The paramedics arrived a short time later, calling the attention of several neighbors. Amanda decided to stay inside, not wanting to explain the situation to her friends.
The two agents were taken to Galilee General for observation. They obviously had been exposed to some type of gas, but were coming out of it as the paramedics arrived.
After discussing the situation with Billy, Lee suggested that he take Amanda to his apartment for the night. He told Billy he’d be able to keep a close eye on her. Noting her current condition, Billy agreed, and decided to call it a night. He didn’t feel it would do any good to question her about the evening.
“I want you to call me if anything happens, or you come up with any leads. You got that, Scarecrow?” Billy insisted, calling Lee by his codename to get his attention.
“Yea, yea, I got it,” Lee replied, taking his eyes off of Amanda for the first time since he arrived to acknowledge Billy.
After Maplewood Drive finally returned to normal, Amanda pulled away from Lee. “Look, I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you…” She spoke before he interrupted.
“I understand, Amanda. Just go get packed, and we’ll talk back at my place,” he insisted.
Lee opened the door for Amanda, and she climbed into the passenger seat of his Vette. Lee scanned the street carefully, noting the dark blue Chevy Caviler parked about 2 blocks down the street. He decided to keep it to himself, not wanting to alarm Amanda. As they traveled through Arlington, Lee kept a close eye on the Chevy that appeared to be following them.
“Were being followed aren’t we?” Amanda asked, watching Lee’s eyes dart back and forth from the road to the rear view mirror.
Lee frowned slightly, “yes, but don’t worry, I’m keeping an eye on the situation. I didn’t want to alarm you,” he confessed, reaching over to caress her hand. “Besides, this is where I lose him,” Lee grinned mischievously, placing both hands on the wheel. With careful maneuvering, Lee skillfully lost the tail, and headed back to his apartment.
As he held the door for Amanda, he continued to survey their surroundings. He grabbed her overnight bag, and led her toward the elevator. Within a few moments, they reached the elevator and reached his floor. Lee unlocked the door and held it open for her. Once inside, Amanda stood, not really sure what to do.
Lee sensed her uneasiness, and took control of the situation. “Here, give me your coat, Amanda,” he began the conversation.
“Thank you,” she replied, shimmying out of the garment.
As Lee removed the coat, he heard a very loud rumble. “Oh my God, was that your stomach?” He inquired, with a small smile.
“Oh, please excuse me, Lee. I wasn’t really hungry earlier and had a little salad,” she uttered, rather embarrassed.
Lee hung up her coat and turned back toward her. “Listen, to tell you the truth, I’m also starved. How about I order a pizza for us? I don’t have anything here worth eating,” he confessed.
“That sounds wonderful. Thank you, Lee,” Amanda replied flashing him a bright smile.
While waiting for the pizza, Amanda told Lee about her family. She explained that she needed to call her mother and let her know where she’d be staying for the next few days. Lee instructed her to give her mother a false number that would ring at his apartment. Lee promised to keep both lines separate so that they would know if Dotty called.
Amanda happily agreed, and after Lee set up the number to his apartment, she called her mother and told her she was at a hotel. After a brief conversation, Amanda was lucky to be able to get off the phone.
Not even twenty minutes after they ordered the pizza, the doorbell rang.
“Wow, you get good quick service here,” Amanda stated rather surprised.
Lee laughed while walking to the door. He looked through the peephole before opening the door for the pizza guy.
Amanda set the table, and they both sat down to enjoy the meal. Amanda munched on her pizza, beating Lee to the first taste.
As Lee lifted his pizza to his lips, a large mass of mozzarella cheese and tomatoes fell from the pizza and slid down the front of his shirt.
“Damn it,” he yelled. After putting the offending slice of pizza down, he calmed down a little bit. “See that, you can’t take me anywhere.”
Amanda laughed at his remark, to hungry to really comment on the situation. Her mouth was full and she continued to devour the pizza.
“Listen, let me go jump in the shower real quick and change. I’ll be out in ten minutes,” Lee promised.
Amanda polished off three slices while Lee showered. She stood to clean up her mess after hearing the shower turn off. When she rose to her feet, she suddenly became very woozy and held the chair for support. “Lee, do you mind if I lay down on your couch for a few minutes? I don’t feel so good,” she hollered toward his bedroom.
Lee was just finishing up in the bathroom, but heard her as he left the door slightly ajar. “Go ahead, that’s fine, Amanda. I’ll be right out,” he replied.
Amanda staggered to the couch, and carefully placed her body down. The entire room was spinning and it was making her rather nauseous. She closed her eyes, trying to keep the room from spinning.
Lee emerged from his bedroom in a white t-shirt, and a blue pair of sweat pants. He walked over to find Amanda curled up in a ball, sleeping on the couch. He smiled, assuming she was overtired from the ordeal she had been through. He walked around the couch and scooped her up in his arms, intending to let her have a good night’s rest in his bed. Instead of wrapping her arms around his neck, Amanda’s limp body didn’t move. Lee placed her gently on the bed, and looked at her face. Her normal olive complexion was white, and when he caressed her cheek, it was like touching a fire.
“Oh my God, you’re burning up,” Lee spoke out loud.
He shook her gently trying to get her to respond to him “Amanda! Amanda!” He called out shaking her until he heard a few nonsensical words escape her lips.