bTitle:/b Down The Rabbit Hole
bFor:/b Countesscole
bWarning:/b Spoilers through the S2 Finale
bSummary:/b One phone call was all it took to send Annie down the rabbit hole. In an instant everything will change. Annie is left to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. WARNING: Character Death.
bAuthor's Notes:/b This was written for Lord Spyridon's Operation: Alpha Maiden. Sorry to those waiting for Stolen Moments – I was a bit preoccupied with this op. ;)
Oscar Wilde once said: "To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect." As the uncharacteristically arctic wind seemingly travelled under her knee-length trench coat, Annie Walker cursed her inability to expect this given the time of year. Of course, she could blame the oversight on the fact that she was walking through Langley at nearly 3am after having spent most of the evening trading shots and barbs with Jai and the boys from Tech Ops. She could also blame the oversight on the phone call she'd received at 2am from the Agency telling her that she was needed immediately back at the DPD.
The shrill sound of her iPhone chirping to her left caused Annie to shoot up as though burned. Her hand reached out blindly, slapping the small nightstand as she tried without success to find the offending piece of technology. With a groan she pulled down the powder blue satin mask, her head pounding from the after effects of the seven shots of Patron she'd consumed not more than – she stopped as she glared at the red numbers on her clock and wrapped her fingers around the sleek, black phone. Her blood chilled as she shook her head of the cobwebs that seemed to hold court just behind her eyes and tapped the screen to accept the call.
"Annie Walker," her voice sounded gravely to her own ears and cleared her throat as she waited for the person at the other end of the line to complete the sequence.
"Protocol Directive 4960. Password."
Annie frowned as she tried to access what Protocol Directive 4960 actually was, but found that her powers of recall had abandoned her at Allen's Tavern hours ago, "Clover."
"Operative Walker, you are required to report Langley within the hour. West side entrance."
The line went dead and Annie immediately threw the covers back, the adrenaline kicking in as she scrambled to find her shoes. As her eyes tried to focus she realized the futility of driving on her own and searched through her contacts for Auggie's car service. They were used to Agency calls in the dead of night and they were discrete. Not for the first time she thanked whatever Gods were watching that Danielle and Michael were out of the country. As she confirmed the car service, Annie grabbed her khaki trench coat, threw it over her shoulders, and made her way out the door.
As her breath formed white, puffy clouds in front of her, Annie Walker cursed her alcohol rattled brain. She'd only been wearing flannel pjs and a white tank top when she'd leapt out of bed to catch the car service. The grin on the driver's face had less to do with the fare he'd picked up than the fact that her goose bumps had goose bumps on every inch of her. She felt the rise of indignation as she pulled her light jacket tightly around her, the head of embarrassment as she stalked up the walkway the only thing fueling her as she inched closer and closer to her final destination.
The west side entrance to the George Bush Center for Intelligence was illuminated by rounded street lamps reminiscent of the 1920s. The glass, crescent moon entryway was devoid of the usual bevvy of activity characteristic of the facility leaving a stillness that could rival any cemetery at the witching hour. It was rare for an operative to be pulled in so late and only a skeleton crew monitored the overnight desks for actionable intel. Pulling the heavy doors to the Agency open, the rush of warm air melting her frozen limbs immediately, Annie Walker certainly never expected the sight before her.
"Annie," the even voice of Joan Campbell greeted her, though her face betrayed stress and fatigue in the older woman.
Annie blinked several times before her brain registered that her boss stood before her clad in an oversized Penn State t-shirt, a camel colored leather jacket, and what appeared to be designer blue jeans, "Joan."
Eyeing her operative warily, Joan turned on her heel and began to head down the long, deserted corridor towards the DPD, "Walk with me."
Frowning, Annie fell in step beside Joan and felt an unconscious need to wrap her coat around her body in an attempt to offer protection from whatever great mystery pulled her out of bed at this God forsaken hour, "What's the situation?"
If Annie had found herself more alert she would have noticed the slight tension in Joan's body as her head turned slightly, "Let's talk in my office."
Annie frowned as the clipped response sent warning bells ringing loudly through her sleep deprived and slightly alcohol impaired brain. She reached out quickly, wrapping her fingers around her boss' upper arm and stopped her forward progress. Looking back on this moment Annie would curse herself repeatedly and blame the alcohol for being so forward with the blonde most affectionately called the Snow White Queen. Of course, at 3am all protocol and etiquette flew out the window.
Joan's eyes slowly lowered to where Annie gripped her arm, her lips pulling in a straight line as she cocked her head to one side, "My office, Annie."
Annie blinked several times, her stomach churning, and then felt her face scrunch in confusion, "Why am I the only one here?"
"Annie," came the deep baritone of the man she'd left at Allen's Tavern only a few hours before.
"Jai?" her eyes went wide and Annie immediately dropped her hand from Joan's arm, earning a smug smirk from the older woman, "How do you look sober? You had more to drink than I did!"
Jai eyed her warily, her inability to keep her thoughts to herself was slightly embarrassing, "You ok there Annie?"
"Come on people," Joan huffed, her blue eyes sparking with impatience as her eyebrows rose at the exchange, "We don't have all night."
Jai motioned for Annie to follow, his dark eyes following her every move as she fell in step with Joan. He felt a stab of pain in his heart as he watched the woman he'd grown to care for over the last couple of years walk down the hallway towards the office she'd called home as though she walked the plank. Of course, she had no idea that everything was about to change.
Jai looked up from the mountain of paperwork on his desk, his eyes nearly bloodshot from the tedious job that the "Director of Special Projects" had become in the past few weeks. If he had known that this opportunity included its own roll of red tape on top of red tape already layered upon Agency operations he probably would have turned his father in months ago in favor of battling through the ranks by other means. To say he had burned bridges in his rise to the top would be an underestimate of monumental proportions. So, to find the head of the DPD standing in his doorway with dark circles under her eyes and a slight slump to her normal "stick up the ass" posture meant that something big was going down.
"Joan," Jai inclined his head and motioned for her to a chair in front of him.
Joan held up her hand as she took a few steps inside and handed him a folder, "I need your help."
Opening the manila folder Jai immediately frowned and then his eyes widened in surprise, "How did—"
"On vacation," Joan replied quickly in an effort to stave off any further questions.
"And Annie—"
Joan cut him off once again, earning a glare and a growl, "I need you to keep her occupied for a few hours while we try this through official channels."
"This is Agency related?" Jai raised a single eyebrow as he leaned forward, closing the file in front of him.
Joan looked as though she were weighing her words carefully before speaking, her weight shifting slightly from one foot to the other as though uncomfortable with her response, "No."
Jai could tell that she'd assumed he would turn her down flat, but he could see her desperation and he surmised that she'd known about this for some time, "How long has—"
"Less than 6 hours," she shook her head and sighed, "The locals say it is a random kidnapping."
"Everything is a random kidnapping in that part of the world," Jai muttered sarcastically and leaned back in his chair, his fingers clasped together as he closed his eyes.
Joan shrugged her shoulders sheepishly and then folded her arms across her chest, "You'll do it?"
Jai nodded slowly and righted his chair, "It's Friday. She'll be at the Tavern all night. I'll keep her occupied."
Joan nodded curtly as she turned on her heel and made a quick exit from his office. He watched her retreating form and reflected upon what he'd seen in the file. This was going to turn ugly and quickly if the Agency wasn't able to negotiate a release. For once Jai Wilcox did not relish the opportunity to have to pick up the pieces when this turned sideways.
Annie slumped in her chair, the frustration of the evening's events getting the best of her as her eyes followed both Joan and Jai as they seemed to be having a heated argument behind the closed doors. Tapping her nail against her desk she wondered when she would be read in to the situation that pulled her out of bed at oh-dark-thirty in the morning. She'd imagined that it would be something of national importance, but immediately discarded that thought because nothing in her life ever seemed to be that exciting. Annie felt a smile tug across her face as her eyes were drawn to the darkened office on the far side of the DPD. Auggie would disagree with you. He'd say that he'd never met anyone more prone to excitement than the intrepid Annie Walker. She sighed wistfully and swiveled her chair back towards Joan's office. He'd been gone for nearly a week on vacation in Africa. It hadn't taken her super spy skills to recognize the signs and part of her wondered if there would ever be a time when they'd both be on the same page – or if she would find herself without him to get her through life's ups and downs.
Annie watched as Diego slowly made his way over to his sister. She felt her heart clench as he slowly sat down next to her, the bench creaking with his weight but his sister making no attempt to acknowledge his presence. If anyone understood the magnitude of living a lie, it was Annie Walker. Her eyes reflected the remorse she felt, the parallel to her own life with her decision to keep the secret of her work at the CIA from her sister Danielle. There were moments, like these, that the pang of guilt ripped through her with such ferocity that she felt the air rush out of her. She was drowning in her thoughts when she heard a sound that never failed to pull her from her brooding.
"Was that a sigh?" his deep voice asked quickly, how he had managed to sneak up on her every single time would be a mystery she'd never unravel, "It sounded like a sigh. Like a troubled guilty sigh."
She could kill him for the way that he was able to force a smile from her lips when the last thing that she'd wanted to do was feel a moment of joy. There was chemistry between them that was undeniable and she felt as though she had always known him. She felt her head shake on its own accord, the wind blowing strands of hair softly around her face, as she raised her eyes to the sky before turning to face him. He wore an impish grin, standard for Auggie Anderson, as he proudly stood behind her bench in violation of Joan's direct order that he not insert himself into the field under any circumstances. Annie had to admire his tenacity and strength. Most of all, she admired his uncanny ability to know exactly when she needed him the most.
"This is the business Annie, this is what we do," he continued with a shrug of his shoulder as he seemed to angle his body towards her as though he'd known that she'd turned to face him, "Fact is, you should be feeling pretty good."
His glib comment nearly was her undoing as she felt a prickle of anger well up inside her, "Well, my shoulder is still sore. My sister can't understand how a car accident would cause me to lose a three hundred dollar carry on she gave me for my birthday. And I've got a 20-year old lothario bragging that he spent the night with me in Caracas."
He shrugged his shoulders, an impish grin on his face as his chocolate eyes twinkled in the sunlight,"Aside from that…"
"Aside from that I'm fine," she smiled widely as the humor of the situation began to overshadow the challenges of the mission and avoided looking at him for fear she would lose her composure, "And you shouldn't be here."
"Ah, Sundays I'm drawn to the sound of the thundering herd," he once again grinned, his body twisting around as though he were visually surveying the field before them, "Sue me."
Annie shook her head at his obvious disregard for the rules and wondered whether one day his bravado might come back to bite him in the ass, "Still. If Joan found out…"
He straightened his back and shifted his grip on his cane, his eyes flashing dangerously as his tone lost its humor and sarcasm, "Joan knows what it's like to jones for field work. I think she envies you."
"I heard she was pretty good," Annie remarked as her mind seemed to take on this new direction without much difficulty.
"One of the best," Auggie responded quietly with a slight nod of his head.
A wry smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she squinted in the sunlight, her body shifting so that she could face him once again, "I bet you were pretty good."
"Still am," he responded evenly and unabashedly.
Annie smiled as she watched the small lines around his eyes wrinkle as his own genuine smile tugged at his lips. He was a mystery to her and yet she felt on some level that she knew everything about him. He was her own personal Yoda at times, spewing forth philosophical nonsense and cryptic half-truths as a way to challenge her. Then there were times, like today, when he simply showed up because he knew that her experience with the Agency was so new that she would need someone to rely on and talk through whatever was going through her mind at the end of the op. He was her Handler. The best. Yet as she watched him move away from her, his stride never wavering despite his inability to see the obstacles in front of him, she couldn't help but wonder what it was that made Auggie Anderson tick and silently thanked whatever Gods that were up there that he'd been the one to show her the ropes that first day at Langley.
The shrill sound of her cell phone pulled her from her walk down memory lane and she vowed to change the damned tone the second she was more awake. Looking down at the caller ID she frowned as her brain did the math as her finger clicked the answer button.
"Michael," she droned as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "it is 4 o'clock in the morning. Shouldn't you guys be out seeing the pyramids?"
Jai froze momentarily as he caught the name of Annie's brother-in-law and held out a hand to stop Joan's forward momentum. Cocking her head to one side warily she shrugged her shoulders and motioned for him to sit down on the corner of an unused desk. Annie's face slowly drained of color as she rose from her chair, her knuckles white as she held her phone in a death grip.
"What do you mean Danielle didn't come back to the hotel last night?" Annie growled, her eyes sparking with danger as her surrounding faded away and her only focus on the conversation in ear.
Jai felt his heart skip a beat upon hearing the question ground out of Annie and he felt the need to shake his head imperceptibly in Joan's direction. For all her bravado and cold exterior, Joan Campbell was emotionally invested in every single one of her operatives. He figured that was why she railed so hard against him because he never truly saw her controlling nature for what it was – protection. There was nothing either of them could do or say for Annie in this moment so all they could do is allow this to play out.
"Michael!" Annie growled in frustration as she rolled her eyes, her free hand being thrown in the air, "I swear to God I will kill you myself! The police wear black uniforms and black hats with a badge in the center. Like a beret. A beret Michael! Black."
Annie rolled her eyes to the sky and tried to fight back tears of anger as she sank back to her chair. Her heart constricted painfully as she realized in that moment she could have used Auggie's strong shoulder to lean on. He would bump into her, say something about her work ethic being admirable since she was in before he was for a change, wrap an arm around her shoulder and then then tell her that everything was going to be ok. Of course, Auggie wasn't here, Danielle was missing, and she cursed the day she told her sister about being a covert operative for the Agency.
Annie slowly made her way through the back garden and tentatively climbed the single, granite stair into Danielle's kitchen. Her sister was whirling her way through the kitchen as she would any normal morning, but Annie could tell by her body language that Danielle was wound as tight as a coil just ready to be sprung. The moment Annie's heel touched the floor Danielle turned around with a pursed lips and a look of annoyance clearly across her face as she placed her hands flat against the edge of her cooktop. Annie crossed the room quickly, sliding her bag off her shoulder as Danielle bristled.
"Oh I got your message," Danielle began flippantly as Annie set her bag down on the counter, "That it was ok to come back to my house. What was going on last night?"
Annie looked like a deer caught in headlights struggling with the need to tell her sister the truth, but the realization that once the cat was out of the proverbial bag nothing would be the same for them. Squaring her shoulders, pursing her lips, and making the decision to come clean, Annie Walker finally told her sister the truth.
"It was a precautionary measure radiation sweep by an ops team," she recited clinically as though she was giving her debrief to Joan, "I'm a covert officer for the Central Intelligence Agency."
Danielle placed a hand on her hip, her eyes wide in disbelief as she let out a long sigh. She had heard some tall tales from her sister in the past to get out of tight situations but to blatantly tell her something this incredibly farfetched was enough to make her wonder just how far their relationship had fallen.
"I have been for two years," Annie pressed as she watched Danielle pull away from her.
Danielle shook her head and seemingly rolled her eyes, "You're not serious."
Annie's eyes sparked with determination as she continued "Think about it."
Eyes watering slightly and face flushed, Danielle seemed to consider Annie's comment and then felt a surge of defiance, "Prove it."
It was in that moment that Annie knew their relationship had shifted and no matter what was to come it would take a long time before they could find themselves back to where they were before this fiasco. It was the right thing to do. Auggie survived it with his brother. She and Danielle would get through this too.
Annie gasped as the cold air hit her lungs, the pale pink glow on the horizon signaling the start of the new morning, as she burst through the west side entrance doors of the Agency. Her skin crawled with adrenaline and it took every ounce of restraint not to claw, scream, and curse everyone and everything inside that building. She sank to her knees on the concrete pathway and felt the lump in her throat grow larger as the acid from her stomach seemed to creep upward. She swallowed hard, the hot sting of tears causing her to blink as she heard the door behind her open once again. Jai. Annie shook her head in disbelief, her mouth opening to say something as her cell phone once again stopped her short. She pulled the offending object from her pocket and nearly threw it against the wall until she recognized a number that she'd memorized long ago.
"It was not random," the slightly accented voice pierced her consciousness, random and succinct as she knew him to be.
"Explain," she demanded as she held her hand up to Jai to stop his forward momentum.
"Chamud, there is no time. Union Station. Gate A. Locker 176. It is open. Take the contents. Follow the instructions."
Annie frowned as a tear slipped down her cheek, "Why?"
A pause and then, "Because we take care of our own."
"But—"
"No time, chamud," he told her and quickly ended the call.
Annie lifted her chin and met the chocolate gaze of Jai Wilcox, her eyes devoid of emotion as she slowly slipped her cell phone back in her pocket, "Don't say a word."
Jai reached out quickly and grabbed her upper arm, turning her to face him, "Annie, I'm not the bad guy here."
"No?" she raised her eyes to his and felt her lip quiver, "I sure as hell didn't see you do anything to jeopardize your nice, cushy 7th floor job in there."
"Annie—"
Annie pulled her arm from his grasp and backed away slowly, "This Agency looks after itself! After everything—"
Jai ran a hand through his hair in exasperation, "Damn it Annie! It doesn't work like that! There are protocols—"
Annie shook her head in disappointment, her shoulders slumping as she waved a hand in dismissal, "Save it. Save it for someone who gives a damn."
Annie closed her eyes for a moment, steadying her emotions, and then she turned on her heel leaving Jai powerless to stop her. As she made her way towards the car service pick up point, the cold reality of the situation mixed with the cold bite of the air whipping around her. In the span of a few hours her entire life had been turned upside down. How can they expect me to sit by while- Annie broke off her thoughts and shook her head vigorously. She would have time to dwell later. Right now, she needed to be in control.
She had felt her mortality the moment Bebe pulled the trigger, the bullet whizzing by her ear leaving a hot trail in its wake. Perhaps it had been the strain of several missions going awry or the product of her near paranoia in the wake of Danielle's cold shoulder, but the request for specialized weapons training fell from her lips on their own accord. For over a year now she had managed to go through mission after mission without a weapon, hand-to-hand combat led by her intrepid instructor, and best friend, Auggie Anderson, her only tool in this ever increasing spy game. Any surprise Joan may have felt at the request was clearly schooled by years of deception training and Annie found the weight of the world slowly lifted from her shoulders upon approval. She felt vulnerable. Out of control. Helpless. It was a state of being that Annie Walker had no business being in and it was high time that she reclaimed that modicum of control. As she squeezed the trigger of her SIG Sauer P228 a feeling of power welled from deep within her chest. The explosion of the bullet as it sailed through the air to land in the center of the target once, twice, three, four, five, and finally six times made her feel as though she were doing something. She was in control.
The jarring of the cabin as the wheels met the tarmac roused Annie from a deep sleep sending her heart into her throat and her hands gripping the arm rest of her seat. Beside her an older woman chuckled knowingly as she reached out with her cold, bony hand to pat the top of Annie's gently.
"Bari veShalem ," the old woman smiled, her dark chocolate eyes sparkling as she squeezed Annie's hand, "Safe and sound."
Annie smiled softly as the plane slowly came to a stop signaling the end of an extremely long journey, "Todah Rabbah. Thank you."
Slowly rising from her seat the old woman straightened her sweater and sighed, "Have you been away long?"
Annie frowned as she unbuckled her seat belt and reached for her purse lying on the dingy blue carpet under her feet, "Away?"
"From Israel, my dear," the old woman chuckled and nodded to the square document in Annie's hand.
Annie's eyes followed hers to the dark blue passport in her hand and she felt the heat rise to her cheeks, "Yes, too long it seems."
The old woman laughed as the throng of passengers began to push forward, "Shalom uv'racha."
"To you as well," Annie nodded as she once again ran a hand through her hair, marveling at how the, now, dark chocolate locks looked so incredibly foreign to her.
Annie slid into the aisle and stood on her toes to see over the people in front of her. She'd lost nearly 14 hours on this plane and she'd be damned if she lost more time because of inconsiderate travelers who brought more than their allotted carry-ons for an international flight. The moment the wheels hit the runway she'd felt the clock start to tick. It had been 24 hours since she'd received the call from the Agency demanding she report to the DPD and time was running out. There had been no demands made formally or informally. It set her teeth on edge because she knew this was no random kidnapping. It didn't matter what she'd been told by the people she trusted the most or the man who lived to be a permanent pain in her backside.
"Neshomeleh!" Annie heard mere seconds before strong arms wrapped around her from behind and soft lips brushed her ear lobe, "There are eyes everywhere."
Annie turned around slowly, a wide smile gracing her face as she wrapped her arms around his solid body, "It's been too long since we last spoke, Eyal."
"Well, I have been busy securing a special present for you," he told her, his eyes sparking dangerously as he reached for her hand and raised it to his lips.
"Ha'omnam'?" Annie reached her hand up to gently cup his face, her eyes searching the terminal for anyone who may be showing more interest in their reunion than necessary, "Really?"
"As I said," he told her as he took his arm in hers and began to lead her out of the terminal, "We take care of our own."
"But I'm not—"
He stopped her by placing a finger on her lips and looking at her with such intensity that Annie thought that she might spontaneously combust, "When you came for me. You became one of us. It is not something we take lightly. Now, let us go somewhere more private where we can be reacquainted."
Annie's lips twitched for a moment as she gently slapped him on the arm, "Well, you did say you enjoyed how I treat my men."
It was Eyal's turn to laugh deeply as his eyes twinkled in mirth, "Come. There is not much time."
As she held on to the strong bicep of the man she'd come to know in the field, she couldn't help but feel the pain of regret. Being here, now, in Tel Aviv was a direct slap in the face to the orders given to her by Joan before running into the cold blistering morning. She had felt betrayed. Her blood boiled. Her skin crawled. The Agency would do nothing. He wasn't there. Danielle wasn't there. No one was there. Jai straddled the line between becoming his father and being the good man that Annie knew he was, but in the end he sold her out to the Agency. What she wouldn't give to redo those final moments with Auggie again before he got on that plane to whatever African nation he'd planned to visit and whatever woman had captured his heart. She was jealous. She was angry. She was hurt. It had been them for so long, but she had felt him putting distance between them after Shen. She was too wrapped up in her own drama to notice the changes until it was too late.
Annie smiled warmly as she watched Auggie slowly pull the sheet off of his prized possession. She hadn't realized how much she had missed him until that very moment. He looked as though he was deep in thought, but her presence roused him as it always did.
"Hey! Where can a girl get a fichus around here?" she grinned as she made her way over to him.
He placed his hands flat on the car, his eyes closing tightly as he let out a sigh of exasperation, "About the fichus."
Annie shook her head as she came to stand opposite him, her eyes dancing as she knew exactly what had happened to her plant in that moment, "What?"
"Ahh, don't give a live plant to a blind guy," he responded drolly as they both grabbed the ends of the sheet and began to roll it off the car, "Sorry."
She smirked, her eyes rolling as she gathered the sheet in her hands, "It's ok. You ok?"
"Eh. Rough couple days, you?" he responded cryptically and with very little emotion as he took the sheet from her.
Her face fell as she regarded him, the distance she felt suddenly feeling like the Grand Canyon, "Rough couple days."
He nodded, "I heard."
She watched him dump the sheet in the passenger seat and frowned momentarily as she sat down on the truck, her limbs feeling as though they weighed a ton. She had never taken a life before and the scene replayed itself over and over in her mind. She knew that she'd had to pull the trigger in order to save her sister, but that didn't make the aftermath any easier to handle. Her emotions were raw. Neither of them was in the right place to comfort the other at the moment and that could only spell disaster.
"I'm sorry Annie," he began evenly as he sat down next to her, "But your life's going to change. Inside the Agency and out."
Annie nodded her head slowly, a part of her stinging from his blasé comment and the other stinging because she knew he was right, "I still feel the recoil of the gun. The acrid smell of the bullet. The echo. Time stops."
His voice was deep, gravelly when he responded, "You know, you don't have to go through this alone. The Agency has people you can talk to."
Annie reached down and grabbed his hand, her vulnerability showing through, "The person I wanna talk to is you."
He let out a puff of air, a laugh, and a tight smile as he turned his head away from her, "Well, how fortuitous! Because I have something I wanted to talk to you about too."
Annie was shocked when he handed her the yellow envelope and even more shocked when she realized that he was giving her his car. In the years she'd known Auggie she had never seen him misread a single emotion, thought, or physical tell about her but in the moment he told her about going to Africa it was clear to Annie that he had somehow misread everything about her. It was mechanical between them now. She blinked several times before getting in the car. She needed to get away. Far away. In that moment he wasn't even her best friend anymore. He was just the guy that talked her though her missions. He was Auggie Anderson. The man who ran off interns. He was Auggie Anderson, the man in love with someone who wasn't her and she'd stake her career on it. She'd been such a fool to think that the flirtations, the innuendos, the tender moments, and the emotional attachment they felt for one another were anything other than what was needed for a good Handler/Operative relationship. As she tore out of the parking garage, the feel of the muscle car beneath her, Annie Walker wanted nothing more than to put physical miles between them to accompany the emotional ones laid just moments ago. She wanted to disappear and so she would – back into the job. After all, Auggie was right. When the job gets too much, sometimes it's best to throw yourself back into the job.
Annie wiped the perspiration from her brow as she followed Eyal into a free standing warehouse located several miles outside of Tel Aviv. She would never understand the chain of events that brought them here and even though he'd calmly explained that the kidnapping was direct retaliation for the death of The Cardinal in Washington so many months ago, Annie still didn't understand how she was involved.
"You must prepare yourself, Annie," Eyal told her calmly, realizing that the woman next to him was not functioning at her most rational given the situation.
Annie nodded sharply, her hand squeezing the handle of the Beretta Model 70 handgun issued by her friends at Mossad, "There is no preparing for this, Eyal. Let's go."
Eyal sighed and motioned toward the door, "Our sources say this is where—"
Annie pushed past him as her impatience and overwhelming need to bring this nightmare to a close overcame her better judgment. She twisted the handle of the door and slowly pushed it open. Immediately the stench of blood filled her nostrils and she had to bring her hand to cover her nose as the door widened. Steeling herself against the inevitable, Annie stepped inside as she raised her weapon in preparation for what she might find. Her eyes scanned the room; crimson stained the dirt floor and walls, and was horrified to see instruments caked with blood and flesh lining one of the tables. Her blood boiled at the inhumanity of the situation. She felt a strong hand squeeze her shoulder as the first sting of tears burned her vision. There would be time for that later. First she had to find—
"Auggie!" she whispered in horror as her eyes fell upon the battered, bloodied body of her only rock in the Agency.
His head slumped forward, a deep gash in his forehead oozed dark, crimson liquid that trickled down the side of his face over a bruise under his right eye and several cuts that lined his strong jaw. His wrists were bound to the arm of the chair that held him and several fingers on his left hand appeared to be at awkward angles. There were deep pools of blood on his thighs and several entry wounds in his side, abdomen, and chest. His once white t-shirt now stained pink with his own blood and tattered from at least four stab wounds. Her mind screamed in horror as her eyes drank in the sight of him. Her feet wouldn't respond to the urgent commands of her mind. She was rooted in one spot. Blood frozen. Her weapon fell to the ground with a loud clang, echoing through the room and earning a weak grunt from the man bound to the chair.
"Annie!" Eyal called to her with urgency as he grabbed her shoulder, swinging her around as his chocolate eyes bore into hers, "We have to move now!"
Annie felt the rage slowly well up inside her as she violently shrugged off the hand he'd placed on her shoulder and slowly sank to the ground beside the prone form of the man whom had been her rock from the moment that she set foot inside the walls of Langley. Of their own accord her hands began to frantically press against his abdomen, dark pools of blood oozing from the wound sliding through her fingers with the consistency of maple syrup. A sob tore through her as she began to chant his name over and over again, begging and pleading to whatever God might be listening to allow her this one small win in a series of so many disappointing failures. Her eyes raked his body in an attempt to survey the damage but her mind seemed to explain away the unnatural bend at his right elbow, the long gash from his ear to his chin, the deep wound pooling blood at his knee caps, and the dried blood that stuck his unruly brown curls to the side of his face. It isn't that bad. It's not that bad. The sound of weeping made her want to lash out at the weak-willed woman who dared break her concentration but found the firm hand on her shoulder was more than enough to bring reality crashing down upon her.
"Tuchal La'azor Li?" her voice sounded small and far away in her ears as she tilted her head skyward towards Eyal, her mind telling her that he looked incredibly tall from this angle in an attempt to distract her from what she refused to believe.
"Help you?" Eyal frowned as he crouched beside her, his hands grabbing her upper arms roughly as he shook her in an attempt to recover some of the sanity that slipped away with each passing moment, "We need to leave—"
"No!" she growled in anger as her eyes sparked dangerously, her hands pushing against his chest in an attempt to free herself from him, "We have to help him!"
"He is already dead!" Eyal snapped as he wrenched her to her feet.
A loud crack echoed through the room as Annie's hand connected with Eyal's cheek, "Don't you dare! I did not come half way around the world to have it end here. You take care of your own? Then take care of me. Take care of him. Help me, Eyal!"
Eyal rubbed his cheek, his eyes sparking dangerously as he leaned forward in an attempt to hold her gaze, "Untie him. Do what you can for his wounds. Be alert. They could be back at any time."
Annie nodded sharply and fell back to her knees, pulling at the bindings that held Auggie in the chair. A quick inhale of breath and an angry swipe at the tears that ran down her cheeks set Annie to rights. She looked upon his battered face and felt a pang of regret as she reached out toward his neck to feel for a pulse. Until that moment she'd been too afraid to know whether the man she'd grown to rely on, to trust, and to love was still among the living. A faint pulse had her mind cheering in victory and it caused her to redouble her efforts. She was so focused on freeing him that she didn't hear the subtle shuffle of feet against the dirt signaling the arrival of someone else in the room.
"Annie," a barely there whisper caused her fingers to freeze where they were on his body, "Behind you."
Annie's eyes went wide as she heard the telltale click of a gun directly behind her. Time stopped again. Annie reached for her fallen Beretta, cocking the hammer as she rolled to her left and then up on her knees. A squeeze of the trigger. The recoil from the gun. The acrid smell from the bullet. The sickening sound of the bullet ripping through the head of the woman intent on killing her. The splatter of blood on the wall. The thud as her body fell unceremoniously to the ground without even firing off a round. Men in black swarmed the room. A loud scream pierced her mind and it took her moments to register that it was her own as she was hoisted to her feet by strong arms. She thrashed against them, biting and scratching like a banshee as she watched three men swarm Auggie. She reached for him. Cried out for him. Her mind completely shattered as she was pulled further and further away from him.
"God damn it, Annie!" a man growled next to her as he shoved her forcefully away from him.
Annie felt herself falling and winced as her hand connected with the sand beneath her feet, her head snapping towards the sound of the voice, "Jai?"
Jai rubbed his hands gingerly, a frown marring his features as he glared at her, "In the flesh. Or what's left of it."
Annie scrambled to her feet and tried to rush past him, her emotions on overload, but his arms circled around her waist. Time stood still once again as she watched in horror as several people pulled Auggie from the decaying building. She picked out snippets of Hebrew being shouted over the howling wind. Annie's eyes darted around the scene looking for Eyal before black spots danced in front of her face and her body fell limp in Jai's arms.
Jai Wilcox pinched the bridge of his nose as he paced the length of Annie Walker's room. He has spent the last twenty minutes on the phone with her sister Danielle, whom had returned to her hotel room after taking an optional excursion to Giza that managed to get caught in a sandstorm overnight, in a vain attempt to try to discern her next move. When he saw her look at him with such utter betrayal, it was more than he could stand and he vowed to do something to help her. It was Auggie. It would always be Auggie. He disagreed with the assessment that this kidnapping was random and related to the unrest in Eritrea. He knew that Auggie was on the move and all signs pointed to the Middle East. Chatter over on the Mid East desk signaled retaliation for The Cardinal which means that Annie's friendly Mossad Agent was undoubtedly knee deep in this. He looked to the ceiling for some sort of divine intervention as he heard the shrill ring of his cell phone.
"Wilcox," Jai answered gruffly, not recognizing the number on the caller ID.
"Have you lost something, Mr. Wilcox?" a smug, smarmy voice drawled through the phone making Jai immediately want to throttle the man.
"Levine," Jai growled as his lip curled in a sneer.
"She is on a flight to Tel Aviv under the name Rebecca Levine—"
"Wishful thinking?" Jai raised an eyebrow at the audacity of the man.
The deep laugh of the Israeli boomed through phone and Jai had to move it away, "We both know that she is meant for another."
"Have you found him then?" Jai rolled his eyes and made his way over to Annie's bed, slowly sinking to the firm mattress.
"Yes. Have a team ready. He may not survive."
Jai rose to his feet and quickly made his way out of her room and into the driveway, "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because we take care of our own," he replied cryptically and cut the call leaving Jai gob smacked in the middle of Georgetown.
It was in that moment that he understood exactly what Annie had been trying to tell him earlier about the Agency not taking care of its own. She was his. He was hers. Levine and Auggie fit the same bill. She was Annie Walker. She managed to get through everyone's defenses and made you want to protect her and to be better. It wasn't Mossad taking care of her as she had taken care of one of them. This was much deeper than that. This was Levine taking care of Annie. Annie who took care of Auggie. Auggie who took care of Annie. Some strange square – so much more complex than a triangle – that seemed to have all of them working together for the same end. As Jai sped down the highway towards Dulles, he knew exactly what he needed to do.
Annie leaned her head against the strong shoulder of Jai Wilcox, her hand resting on his chest as tears streamed freely down her cheek and closed her eyes as the sea of black before her suddenly became too much. Wrapping an arm around her, Jai pulled her close in an attempt to offer what little comfort he could under the circumstances. His eyes followed the six tall, broad shouldered men who carried the mahogany casket containing the body of the man he had grown to respect. He heard the sharp intake of breath as they lowered it on top of the metal pulley and he found himself looking down at Annie Walker.
"This is my fault," Annie whispered as she raised her head from Jai's shoulder and swallowed the lump in her throat.
"You dishonor my son's memory by saying so," a sharp voice from behind them caused her to jump in shock.
Annie's eyes grew wide as she recognized the older woman as her seat companion on the flight from Washington to Tel Aviv so many days before, "But—"
Her eyes softened as she reached out for Annie, "My son spoke highly of you, Annie Walker. He told me of your bravery when faced with the Cardinal and his men. Eyal would have done anything to protect you and his Mossad brothers will do the same long after his dead."
"I am so sorry—"
"Eyal was a man of principle. Once he learned that your friend had been taken it was only right that he see you reunited. He knew too well what violence in this part of the world can do to family, to friends, and to loved ones. Vengeance is a code lived by many here. The Cardinal's followers sought vengeance on him…through you," she told Annie softly as she tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
Annie felt a light touch on the back of her hand and she lowered her gaze to the man seated in the wheel chair next to her. He was adamant that he join her in honor of Eyal's memory. If the Mossad agent had not left her to attend to him and seek help it would be him in the casket right now. He owned the smarmy bastard his life and he owed him his eternal thanks. How he had coordinated with Jai would be a mystery best left unsolved under fear of Joan and Arthur Campbell's wrath. What he'd learned since he woke up in the hospital nearly a week ago was that the Agency had done its best to distance itself from his kidnapping in Africa and subsequent torture in Israel. He swallowed hard as he remembered the feeling of cold steel in his temple, the gun shot that killed his guide and the subsequent blows to the head and body in an attempt to subdue him. The rest was a blur. It was probably better that way.
"Auggie?" Annie asked quizzically as she caught the various emotions pass over his face.
Auggie shook his head and brushed a finger against her hand once again, signaling in a language that only they could decipher that he was all right. Now wasn't the time to bring up Africa, Parker, the feeling of dread he felt when he was tied up in a chair thinking he was going to die, or the fact that his heart stopped when he heard someone come into that room. There would be time for all of that after the funeral and after the long flight back to DC. Maybe they didn't have to talk about it at all. Maybe the journey down the rabbit hole made them strong enough to know the magnitude of what had happened and given them the wisdom to understand that in the end they take care of their own no matter what the costs.