Lee pulled into the Ottawa International Hostel parking area. Philip and Jamie ran over to the stock and Philip stuck his head and arms inside, "Hey, Grandma!"

Dotty looked at her eldest grandson and smiled. Lee and Amanda went inside the old jail to register and get a parking permit for their car. Dotty took a couple of pictures of her grandsons taking turns at being a prisoner and a guard.

Inside, Lee told Amanda that he would check out their rooms and then he would be right down. The clerk at the desk asked if they would like to join a group of people that were going bar hopping in half an hour. Amanda politely declined the invitation and went outside to see what mischief that her two sons were getting into.

"Mom! Look at me!" Jamie said when he saw Amanda step out into the parking lot. Amanda looked over to see her youngest son smiling at her from the stock.

"What on earth are you doing in that, Jamie?" The boys eventually convinced her to get her picture taken in the stock. Lee came out to find his wife, mother-in-law, and stepsons laughing. He hated to interrupt them, but he and Amanda had to register for the conference at the Econolodge by seven o'clock. "Hey, who's gonna help me with the luggage. I can't carry everything up nine flights of stairs by myself."

Philip and Jamie rushed over to help him. Lee told them that there was a film crew on their level. If they were good for their grandmother while he and Amanda were at the meeting that night, some of the film crew would take them on a tour.

Francine finished watching another season of Get Smart. She found a mention of every code phrase, except Plan Y-14. She knew it was from Get Smart, but she couldn't remember what episode. She went to her kitchen and looked at her mostly bare cupboards. Taking inventory, she finally decided to try a combination of peanut butter and brown sugar to satisfy her hunger. 'I have to get to the store and soon, before I end up ordering pizza.'

As she walked back into the living room with her new entrée, she noticed an envelope lying on the floor in front of her closet. She set her food down and picked up the envelope. She opened the envelope and found four scraps of paper that had a bunch of scrambled letters on it.

Francine didn't recognize the code as any thing she'd seen before. She was about to call Billy when there was a knock on her door. She quickly put the letters back into the envelope and retrieved her gun from the closet. Looking through the peephole in her door she saw a shabbily dressed man, holding his arm tightly to his chest and bleeding from a head wound. The facial features were familiar, but she couldn't figure out why. Cautiously she opened the door.

"May I help you," she asked innocently.

"They're trying to kill me! I need a place to hide." He looked at her pleadingly. Francine was about to say no, but changed her mind when he said, "Please? I just need to clean up, then I'll be on my way." There was something in his brown eyes that told her he was telling the truth.

"Get in." Francine opened the door wider and the man entered her apartment. After she locked the door, she uncocked the gun and put it away. "Care to identify yourself?"

"Brubaker. Arlen Brubaker, professor of ancient studies." Francine looked at him, startled. This wasn't happening. This only happened in the movies or to Amanda, not her. "Is something wrong?"

"No. I…" she paused. "I was just looking into your disappearance, Doctor Brubaker. Uhm, how did you find me?"

"Oh, ah, I followed you from the Bistro this afternoon." He looked down at his feet. "Is there someplace I can clean up?"

Francine was still staring at him in wonderment when she noticed that he was still standing there, trying not to bleed on her white carpet. "Oh, yes. Of course, follow me." She led the way to her bathroom and left him after examining his arm to shower and change clothes. As it turned out, he had a mildly sprained wrist and the cut on his head was just superficial. When he came out, he had changed into a pair of khakis and a black T-shirt. He sported a bandage above his left eyebrow and had his right wrist wrapped in an ace bandage, and carried a small bag in his left hand that she hadn't noticed earlier.

"Thank you for your help, Ms.–"

"Francine Desmond," Francine filled in for him. "Please, call me Francine."

"Francine. I hope you don't mind that I raided your first aid kit. I'll replace everything that I took."

"No need. I replace the kit every month. Uh, would you like something to eat? I have peanut butter and brown sugar sandwiches." Francine couldn't remember the last time that she had felt so nervous around a man. There was something about Arlen Brubaker that just made her nervous, yet she felt as if they were fated to meet.

"No, I probably should get going." Arlen headed for the front door,

"Wait!" Francine snapped back to her senses. "You'd be safer staying here until everything gets straightened out."

"No, I should get going. I wouldn't want to jeopardize your life."

"Jeopardize my life? You're the one that's been missing for a week. Colleen Hampshire gave me the coded message that you left on her machine." Arlen looked at her startled. "I figured out everything but Plan Y-14. The KGB believes that you have or know something, right?"

Arlen slowly nodded his head, but didn't say anything more.

"Look, I can help you. I work for the government." Arlen raised his right eyebrow questioningly. "I'm one of the good guys." Francine reached into her purse and pulled out her ID. Arlen took the ID and carefully examined it, then sighed.

"All right, I'll stay."

"Good. Now why don't you join me in the living room and tell me why the KGB are after you." Arlen followed her to the living room and began to tell his tale.

"Where did we say that we would meet Dotty and the boys?" Lee asked as they joined the queue.

"The Blue Cactus Bar and Grill in Byward Market," Amanda replied. She smiled at her husband and he smiled back at her.

"Suivant! Next!" the young lady whose nametag read "Paige" interrupted their silent conversation.

"Lee and Amanda Stetson," Amanda said as she handed the registration forms to her.

"Stetson… ah, here you are. The first conference is at eight tomorrow morning."

"Amanda looked at the nametags that she was handed and at the nearly empty table. Gesturing to the crowd of people in the lobby she said, "I guess we are one of the last people to register, huh?"

"Oh, no. The conference didn't have many advanced registrations. We'll be very busy right before the conference starts. The rest of the crowd is here for a chess tournament that is taking place at one of the larger hotels this weekend." Paige explained.

"Ah. Thanks for the information. Have a good evening." Amanda and Lee left the lobby and hurried to join the rest of the family for dinner.

Francine pointed to the notes on her coffee table that he had placed in her pocket earlier that day. "What do these say?"

"These give the location of the new base of operations for the KGB in France and identify a new weapon system that they have.

"There are several rumors in Europe that the Berlin Wall is coming down and with it the Cold War will start to decline. My guess is that the weapon system is their last chance to prolong the Cold War between the super powers."

Francine took in what Arlen said. This was bigger than what she had thought at first; it went from being a simple missing person case to a major intelligence operation in less than twenty-four hours. She needed to get the notes deciphered and put Arlen into protective custody. She walked over to the telephone and started to call Billy at home.

"Hello?" a groggy voice answered.

"Billy, we have a situation."

"What's up?" Billy was more alert when he heard the urgency in Francine's voice.

"I found Arlen Brubaker."

"That's good, but what-"

"Billy, he found out about a KGB operation, that's why he went missing."

"I'll be right there." Francine hung up the telephone and looked at her guest.

"What's going to happen now?" he asked.

"My boss is coming over. I want you to tell him the same thing you told me about the Fuchsia Fox. After that, I don't know."

When Billy arrived at her apartment forty minutes later, Arlen told his story again. Billy decided to take the notes with him to the Agency and that it would be safer if Arlen would to remain under Francine's protection.

Lee stopped in front of the open gate to Parliament Hill. The Centennial Flame and the clock face of the Peace Tower beckoned them inside the gate. There was a couple standing near the flame and another couple was walking across the lawn toward the West Block.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Amanda asked quietly as she leaned into her husband. Lee tensed slightly at the unexpected sound of Amanda's voice, but relaxed quickly.

"Yeah, it is. But not nearly as beautiful as you." He kissed her cheek gently. "Come on, let's walk around." Lee and Amanda took a private tour of the grounds. When they came to the backside of the Centre Block, it began to rain. Lee grabbed Amanda's hand and twirled her around. They swayed to the faint music of nature and a small concert in the Sparks Street Mall area until the rain became heavy. They raced for the shelter of the Pavilion, laughing. Lee had a far away look in his eyes when Amanda looked at his face.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he answered. She could tell that he was tense, but didn't know why.

"Really? You've been on the alert ever since dinner, Lee."

Lee smiled and looked at her. She raised her left eyebrow silently asking her question again. "I guess I'm nerv-. No, not nervous, paranoid is more like it. Every time we've tried to get alone or have a vacation with our family, something happens. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"Ah, well, let's enjoy the moment, shall we? If something happens, we can handle it. Until then, let's enjoy the respite." She held out her hand to invite him to dance with her. Lee looked at her. She's right; if something happens, we'll deal with it, he thought. They danced for a several moments. A constable walked passed them as he patrolled the grounds and thought, 'Ah, there's a couple in love.'