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Author of 24 Stories |
"Like what?" Phillip asked.
"Well, first of all, your mother is going to be undercover, so to speak so you can't act like you know her."
"That's right." Amanda confirmed. "You have to treat me like someone you've just met. I'll be what they call 'the ringer.' I'll be posing as a trainee to get close to the other trainees and grade them."
"I see." Phillip said. "Well, won't the other recruits realize something's up since you and Lee have the same last name."
"That's why she'll be using her maiden name during the training exercises." Billy put in. "That way no one except the people in this room will know who she really is until it's over with."
"So, I'm just supposed to act like I don't know either one of you, right?" He said to Lee.
"You got it, Chief." Amanda smiled that Lee still used the nickname he'd given Phillip right after their secret wedding.
"Um...Lee......If you don't want anyone to know we're related, shouldn't you stop calling me that? I think that would be a dead giveaway." They all laughed.
"You've got a good point." Lee said.
"I hate to break this up, " Billy said, "But we do need to finish getting ready for this thing tomorrow and Phillip will have to leave now so we can do that. Amanda, you've already been briefed on your part of it, so why don't you escort Phillip up to the Q Bureau?"
"Ok." She said as they rose to leave. "See you later." she said to everyone there as she and Phillip walked out into the bullpen. Phillip studied his surroundings intently.
"Wow!" he said. "It's hard to believe I'm really here."
"I know." Amanda could understand. "I felt the same way when I first started working here. I couldn't believe that I was actually working with spies." They reached the elevator. Amanda punched the button and waited.
"It's still hard to believe you've been a spy all this time and we never knew it."
"That's the way it had to be. We were trying hard to protect you and your brother so you could have a normal life. We didn't really want the twins to know either until they were a little older but I guess that's a moot point now." They stepped into the elevator.
"This is still a little weird. All the coats in here."
"It took me a while to get used to it when I first started here too. Wait 'til you see our office. The way it looks you wouldn't believe it's anything other than the Film Library it says it is on the door." They stepped out of the elevator and Phillip followed Amanda up the stairs to the Q Bureau. She opened the door and went in. Phillip followed her. He looked around the room.
"I see what you mean." He said. He looked at both Amanda's neat-as-a-pin desk and compared it with the sloppiness of Lee's. He chuckled softly. "Let me guess, the messy desk is Lee's."
"You got it. He never straightens anything up. I'm constantly cleaning up after him. I'm amazed that he can find anything." She sat at Lee's desk and promptly started to straighten it. She noticed the files it was covered with were trainee personnel files. She found one with her own name on it and had to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Phillip wanted to know. "Oh, It's just this file they made up for me. It says I'm from California and that I'm only 32. I wish."
"Well, Mom, you don't look like you're 48 and you certainly don't act like it."
"It's just kind of they have me being only seven years older than you when I'm your mother." She looked at her son and sighed. He walked over to her and put her arms around him.
"It'll be ok, Mom." She hugged him tightly, finally letting her unshed tears fall."
"It's just that you and Jamie are so grown up now. You don't need me anymore."
"Sure, we do, Mom. Jamie's going to need all the help he can get now that he's getting ready to be a dad and I really need your help. I don't know anything about this secret agent bit and I hate to admit it, but I'm a little scared."
"So am I." Amanda said. "I just keep thinking about all the tight spots Lee and I have been in over the years and it worries me because for years we kept this secret wanting to keep you away from those kinds of things. Now you've chosen it all on your own. I just hope you've got what it takes. I want you to know that I don't want to discourage you if this is really what you want to do, but during the time at Station One, I've been instructed to watch you closely and if I don't think you're good enough I have to let you go. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Mom. I understand. Don't worry. I won't let you down. I'll get through this training program. You'll see." He hugged her. That's what I'm afraid of most, she thought.