Title: Tell Me
Author: Chiri Kushi
Rating: PG-13ish.
Summary: Auggie tells Annie how he lost his sight. Based on 207 Half a World Away.
Warnings: Slight Annie/Auggie undertones
Disclaimer: Covert Affairs, et. al. belong rightfully with the Matt Corman, Chris Ord, Universal Studios et al. I claim no ownership.
Author's Note #1: Dammit, not another fandom! ~sigh~
Author's Note #2: Obviously when Auggie is describing his time in Iraq he is telling the story to Annie. So look at this as a missing scene/extended scene. I tried to not let it look like a transcription of the episode, but if I failed, sorry about that.
Annie Walker and Auggie Anderson walked into the familiar bar. With Annie leading the way they headed over to "their table." Sandy, the waitress, was already setting down two beers for them. Auggie thanked Sandy as she walked away. He listened for Annie to sit down, and when she did he spoke, "So I'm guessing you want an explanation."
"No, I don't want an explanation," Annie calmly replied, "I DESERVE an explanation. I walked into an active F.B.I. Investigation lead by an agent who already hates me."
Auggie scoffed, "He doesn't hate you, he wants you in his bed."
It was Annie's turn to scoff, "Right. Maybe in handcuffs."
"Don't get kinky on me, Walker, you know I don't like blushing in public."
"You wouldn't know how to blush if your life depended on it."
Auggie smiled sarcastically, "Hardy har, that's harsh."
Annie took a swig of her beer, "So, Auggie. Explanation?"
When I was there, I was with my brothers. We found a way to make it like home. Even though it was the opposite of home. It was bleached out, and scorching. The air was full of smoke, sand, and the ringing screams of bombs. We had our own little place it in. We had each other. And, we had football.
*~* FLASHBACK *~*
Baghdad, Iraq, 2007
The football spiraled through the air and landed into Auggie's outstretched hands as he caught the ball and ran to the end zone for a touch down. His unit won. "I don't know why you guy's keep challenging us. It only ever ends one way!" He called out.
He walked to his bag and pulled out his black digital camera. Tossing it to a shirted soldier he asked, "Hey, uh, do you mind taking a picture for us?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Just try and frame out the burning oil rigs in the back, it's kind of a downer," Auggie replied as his unit posed in front of the camera, yelling and smiling effortlessly, despite their surroundings. "Good, good. Thanks, man."
As Auggie put away his camera and was getting ready to head back to his bunk, a nameless female soldier called out to him, "Captain Anderson, Sir! General Oubash wants you," she paused for a beat, "Put some clothes on, huh?"
Auggie smiled, "For his benefit, right? Not yours."
She contained the eye roll as Auggie laughed, "Whatever."
Auggie quickly threw on his shirt and headed over to the General's base. He opened the door and spoke as soon as he saw General Oubash, "You wanted to see me, sir?"
General Oubash continued to look over his reports and charts, "Have you looked at your terror deck recently? Remember the Jack of Diamonds?"
"Yes, sir."
"The CIA Paramilitaries have pinned his safe house outside Tikrit," the General paused and looked at Auggie, "You've prepped for this. Now it's a go. Understand?"
"Yes, sir."
General Oubash handed Auggie a card that looked like it came from a normal deck of cards, but this
card had a picture of a man: the target. "Then get your men together, hit the road.
"Thank you sir."
*~*END FLASHBACK*~*
"So, the Jack of Diamonds. I'm guessing that was Afran Felat Khani," Annie asked as she finished her first beer, signaling the waitress for another.
Auggie nodded, "Right you are. It was the first scumbag my unit was after in two years. War is messy, and getting to the end is a slow, painful process."
Annie nodded, even though she knew he couldn't see it. Her father was in Desert Storm, and she's heard that line before, "Right. So, you were on your way to Tikrit? What happened next?"
We were trained to believe two opposites. First, is that a man is nothing on his own. We were only and always a unit. One entity serving God and Country. The second, is that one brave individual's actions can change the shape of war. The Army can't know whether you will be brave or cowardly in crisis. No one can. Although they preferred you to be brave.
*~*FLASHBACK*~*
Halfway to Tikrit, 2007
The Humvee sped down the unpaved desert road towards Tikrit, the unit's target. Nameless music that skirted on Auggie's nerves blared through the speakers. "Billy, what the hell is this music?" Auggie asked the driver.
Billy smiled, "Jazz, baby. Played with Dave Holland and Elvin Jones. Get into it."
Auggie shook his head while turning off the music, "Not convincing me, Billy."
"You know the only reason I let you get away with that is 'cause you outrank me, right?'
"You are a smart man, William. What's our E.T.A?"
Billy looked down at the miles they've driven so far, "Halfway there."
From the backseat a soldier, Jason spoke, "I've waited two years for a mission like this, Captain. You gotta let me take him out."
Auggie looked back towards the soldier, "You're going to kill the Jack of Diamonds, huh, Jason?"
"That's right. Who else?"
Billy replied, "I'll bet you a week's pay."
Chris, the soldier sitting behind Auggie smirked, "I'll take that action."
The Iraqi Soldier sitting between Jason and Chris suddenly called out to the car, "Stop. Stop."
Auggie looked around towards the soldier, "What the hell? Nasir, what do you see?"
Nasir continued to stare out towards road, "There's something in the road. Up ahead."
Auggie looked closely at what Nasir was talking about, "That looks like a dead dog. All right, Nasir come with me."
Nasir and Auggie got out of the Humvee, keeping track of their surroundings. Chris followed suite, staying close to the Humvee, but keeping an eye on the desert around them.
Nasir walked up to an Iraqi sheep herder, pointing to the Iraqi flag adorning his uniform. They spoke for a second, in a language that Auggie didn't understand, but knew was Arabian. Suddenly Nasir handed the herder money, and called out to Auggie, "Auggie. Captain Anderson, please, don't take another step."
Auggie held his ground, keeping an eye on the dead dog, "What did he say?"
Nasir pulled trained his rifle onto the dog in the distance, firing a couple of shots. The bullets hit the target and suddenly hidden land mines exploded. Nasir responded tightly, "It was not just a dead dog."
Auggie slowly and carefully walked back towards the Humvee, "Looks like we are taking a different route to Tikrit," he made a motion with his hand signaling to the other members of the unit, "Let's go!"
*~*END FLASHBACK*~*
"So, wait. It really wasn't a dead dog that blinded you?" Annie asked.
Auggie shook his head no, "No, not really. But it's easier to blame that damn thing then to explain what happened."
Annie leaned onto the table, whispering softly, "Which I'm kind of noticing you dancing around the subject a little bit tonight."
"Oh, I'm not dancing, I'm just drawing out the story. Letting you get a feel of my unit. Billy was the guy who got me into jazz, though I would have never admitted it to his face," sadness overwhelmed Auggie's eyes as he told a little bit about his unit. He cleared his throat and continued, "Jason was green to the unit, anxious to see action and do what we are trained to do. Chris reminded me a little bit of me, when I was at his rank. He would have done great things."
Annie took another sip of her second beer, "And Nasir? You mentioned him?"
At the mention of Nasir's name Auggie's eyes hardened and his jaw tightened, "Nasir was a part of the Iraqi Army."
I read somewhere that wars are not fought to kill people. They are fought to affect political change, to move resources and borders. Maybe that would be true if you were looking in from a thousand miles and a hundred years away. To us, it was mostly about killing. Maybe because we had been sent there to kill.
*~*FLASHBACK*~*
Tikrit, 2007
Billy drove through Tikrit, honking his horn at the kids who wouldn't get out of the way. They pulled up slowly to a building, Khani's safe house. Auggie became serious, "Alright. Here is the plan. Billy, you cover the front. I want a four man stack up to the breach." A woman in traditional Muslim clothing glared at Auggie through the windshield. She looked away and continued to get away. Auggie continued, "Small moves, guys. I'm on point. Chris and Jason break off and lock up the rear. Let's go."
Suddenly the sound of a gun firing fills the air and a crack to the windshield forces the units guards up higher. Auggie looked over at Billy, realizing he was hit, "Billy?" Suddenly more gun fire filled the air, and Auggie shouted, "Sniper!"
The unit moved quickly, ascertaining the location of the sniper and firing back. Another bullet sneaked past there defenses and hit Chris. Jason looked over, "Chris! Damn!" He fired more rounds while rounding the Humvee to get to the fallen soldier.
Auggie reached Chris first, "Hey, look at me, look at me. You stay strong, you're gonna be fine. Nasir, you're with Chris," Auggie looked at Jason, "Jason, you're my cover. Let's go."
They fired more bullets at the sniper on top of the safe house as they neared the entrance. Once Auggie was inside, Jason ran back to the Humvee to check on his fallen friend.
Auggie entered the building, slowly moving, knowing the sniper wasn't alone. He rounded a corner towards the stairs, only to see another gunman waiting for him, he turned back as the gun fired quickly, waiting for a moment to move. The gunman paused, and that's when Auggie rounded the corner again and quickly put two bullets into the gunman.
Auggie walked carefully up the stairs, eyes alert. As he continued up the stairs another gunman ran around the corner and into Auggie's line of sight. Another bullet was shot, and another gunman was dead.
He made it to the rooftop, towards the sniper. He was prepared to take him out, like his training had taught him. What he wasn't expecting was for the sniper to be Khani himself. As Khani turned around to shoot Auggie, Auggie shoots two bullets into Khani's chest. He moved closer to Khani, to make sure he was dead. He was, "All clear."
*~*END FLASHBACK *~*
"So you successfully hit you're target," Annie said, signaling for the third round of beers to be delivered.
"Or so I thought," Auggie replied, knowing that Khani was in fact alive, but now in F.B.I. custody.
"Or so you thought," she echoed.
*~*FLASHBACK*~*
Auggie stared at Kahni, waiting for any signs that he was faking death, when a familiar voice crackled through the nearby radio. Speaking in Arabian Auggie didn't know what was being said, but curiously he looked over the edge of the building. He watched what he realized was Nasir throwing a bomb under the Humvee and running furiously away.
"Nasir?" He asked himself, in disbelief, he looked back at the Humvee, realizing Chris and Jason were still there, "Hey! You gotta get outta there, there's a bomb!" He furiously ran down the stairs, trying to get Jason's or Chris' attention so they could get out of harms way, "Chris! Jason!"
Suddenly the air was knocked out of him as a blinding light rushed his face and threw debris in and around Auggie, pushing him backwards and knocking him unconscious.
*~*END FLASHBACK*~*
The Purple Heart is the only award the Army gives out for which you are not recommended, but entitled. For being injured. I didn't think I was entitled at all. So I didn't tell anyone about it. Until now.
"I can't imagine how hard that must have been for you. But you did the right thing about Khani," Annie said.
"When you're blind you forget things like color, faces. But I still remember that picture and ever face and every color in it. I guess that's why I still carry it around with me. Which, probably sounds strange since I can't see it. But I can. Crisp and vivid every day," Auggie pulled the picture out of his wallet and handed it over to Annie. "It's the only thing I have from the War that seems pure. Almost like it's from a time of peace instead. So, now you know what happened to my unit,"
Annie stared at the picture, at how happy Auggie seemed in it. He smiles, sure, but not like that. She handed the photo back to Auggie, "Thanks for telling me."
"Thanks for helping me. You up for another round?"
Annie smiled, "Yeah!" She signaled the passing waitress for another round.
Auggie smirked, "I have a question for you."
"Yeah?"
"How'd you get Franka's cell number?"
At the mention of the flight attendants name, Annie's stomach rolled. She was slightly jealous of the flight attendant. Not only for being intimate with Auggie but for helping Auggie with having some closure to his past. "A girl's gotta have her secrets," she replied.
"Oh, that's nice," he laughed, "She thought you were my wife, but she never questioned how you got her number."
"I'm sure you would have come up with something, you always do," She smiled at the thought of being Auggie's wife, "So, are you going to see her again?"
Auggie shook his head no, "I told her I would, but. Do you really think Joan's going to let me out of her sight anytime soon? I'm lucky I don't have a tail on me 24/7 for the next month."
Annie smiled when Auggie smoothly changed the subject, "What do you think I am?"
Auggie laughed, "She told you to keep an eye on me, huh?"
"Nah, but I am anyway," She paused for a minute, bringing seriousness back to the conversation, "Will you be okay?"
"No. But I'm better and I'll glad I can finally close that book and never have to open it again."
"Just," Annie sighed, "Just be sure you're only closing the book, and not closing me and everyone else out. But especially me."
Auggie smiled, "I could never close you out, Annie Walker. Never."
So, I'm not sure if I like it or not. I'm VERY rusty when it comes to writing, and I can't help but to feel that this is more of a transcription than an actual story, though I am quite proud of the extended parts that I added in.
I liked Auggie's voice over in the episode and I thought I'd play with that, eh.
I might add more, but for now this story is COMPLETE.