Chapter Text
When Lee didn't show up at IFF on Monday, Amanda was disappointed. She was eager to pick things up where they left off after their dance at her reunion. Not that they could do that at work, but they couldn't do anything without seeing each other. And he wasn't there.
When Lee didn't show up at IFF on Tuesday, Amanda kept her ear to the ground in the bullpen. Something had to be up. He didn't take many assignments without her anymore, but when he did, she usually knew about it. Either she'd be involved in the background on research duty (not every assignment wrapped her up in a web of danger and intrigue after innocuous beginnings), or he'd at least mention it in passing. And sometimes he was just out - sick, or taking a long weekend with Randy or Candy or Sandy. Amanda couldn't believe he would do that now. Well, sick maybe - not likely. But certainly not a hot date. He wouldn't. Would he? So Amanda listened. Somebody would know something, and they would say something. It was amazing how little a room full of spies thought to mind what they said, as long as she was the one listening.
When Lee didn't show up at IFF on Wednesday, Amanda began to worry. She forgot about Randy, Candy, and Sandy, and wondered about smugglers, drug runners, and international hit men. She inserted herself into conversations, listened around corners, and used Fred Fielder's misplaced credentials to check the computer. Nothing. Even if Amanda wasn't being kept in the dark on purpose - which was possible - that much silence on Lee's whereabouts could only be deliberate. Something big was happening. Big meant dangerous. That night, she waited in her kitchen an hour after the dishes were done and even her mother was asleep. She hoped for a phone call, or a late night visit at the back door. Nothing.
When Lee didn't show up at IFF on Thursday, Amanda gave in and asked Billy directly. She thought she might get some indication of how much danger Lee was in; she didn't expect to be sent right out to pick him up from the airport. She felt like she hit the jackpot, but she didn't know about the danger that was waiting for him on the tarmac.