Auggie's Absence

Annie vigorously tapped her fingers on the desk. It had been three days since the op involving the notorious Natasha Petrovna, had been successfully closed. And no one had seen height nor hair of Auggie since then. Annie knew from the first moment it started, that it would bring back very painful memories for Auggie. His wounds were still unhealed and the sudden reunion with his old flame had no doubt brought up many conflicting emotions on his part. Annie knew her best friend was confident, tough, intelligent and capable of taking care of himself but… three days? This wasn't Auggie at all; something was wrong and waiting around in the DPD, checking her cell phone every five minutes for any calls or text messages, calling his house and leaving endless voicemails on his machine; it was driving her to near insanity. She crossed and uncrossed her legs, checking the wall clock then comparing it to her watch; 5PM. That was it. She bit her lip nervously, then shook her head. She was done with this waiting; whether Auggie liked it or not, she was going to his place straight from work to check on him. She didn't care if he wasn't up for company; his odd behavior was worrying her out of her mind and she had to make sure for herself that he was ok. Grabbing up her jacket from the back of her chair, she switched off her MAC computer screen, locked up her case files, turned out the lights and locked the door. On her way out, she passed by Stu's office and poking her head in she asked, "Hey Stu…has Auggie called you at all today?"

Stu looked up briefly. "No….he hasn't left any messages either…is everything ok?"

Pushing aside the unsettling feeling that everything was definitely not, she forced her expression to brighten. "Oh I'm sure it is, I was just wondering if you'd heard from him at all… I'm sure he's fine, just tired you know?"

Stu smiled and nodded but a slight glimmer in his eyes told Annie that he too was concerned about the well-being of his mentor. Annie laid a comforting hand on his shoulder and smiled encouragingly. "Have a great weekend, Stu, see you Monday!" and with that, Annie exited the DPD and CIA headquarters. Her black kitten heeled stilettos echoed on the asphalt parking lot as she headed towards her candy apple red Volkswagen. Pulling her keys from her jacket pocket, she fumbled with the lock when she was startled by a noise behind her. Jerking around suddenly, she gasped…then sighed in relief to see Jai's smiling eyes looking at her. "Hey Annie, jumpy much?"

She rolled her eyes, but laughed. "You know better than to sneak up on a covert operative without announcing yourself, Jai…I could have hurt you."

"Oh that's alright, I figured if you were startled to that point, I could probably handle you pretty well."

She rolled her eyes again and turned back to her car, unlocking the door.

"So you off to Allen's?"

"No not tonight, I've got some things at home I need to take care of."

"Wow, Annie…that's not like you to turn down a night at Allen's Tavern after a hard day's work…you feeling alright?"

She looked up at him. She knew Jai was subtly fishing for information as to why she was turning down a night at Allen's with him. Jai had been trying to take her out ever since they first met but he'd known her past in relationships and was careful not to be too direct…she figured though it was probably his more cunning skills as a coercive operative that influenced his subtle advances. Jai was a nice guy; intelligent, charming, handsome and fun. But there was something else about him that always made her hesitate even in the moments when she was on the brink of taking him up on his offer. She couldn't pinpoint it but with her natural keen intuitiveness and her previous experiences with men, Annie had learned to trust her instincts and stick to her defensive guns. Looking at Jai now, eyes sparkling and smiling down at her, she nodded inwardly as if reaffirming her instincts and just smiled back. "Thanks really but I do need to get home…"

"You sure there's not something else you're in a hurry to rush home to?…or maybe someone else?"

Annie's hand paused at the ignition. Her light brown eyes met Jai's and already she could sense the change in his demeanor. It was that stiff poised civility he emanated whenever Auggie was around; he was always edgy and curt…and when Annie was in the same room with them both, there was an icy edge of dominance and friction between the two of them. It always caused a sickening uncomfortable twist in the pit of her stomach; why couldn't Auggie and Jai just get along? "I'm worried about him, Jai…He hasn't been to work in three days, hasn't called, texted, won't answer his phone…nothing!"

"Annie, He's been in this job longer than you have; he's dealt with a lot of shit and beyond that, he's a man and a former Army special ops; he's fine…he deals with these things in his own way and I really think you should just leave him be and let him figure it out."

Annie shook her head; Jai may have worked with Auggie longer than she had but he didn't know Auggie…not like she did. "I know he's capable of taking care of himself but even Auggie needs someone to be there for him; everyone around here thinks that just because he's flawless at his job, cracks blind jokes all the time and puts off this constant charismatic bad-ass air that he's perfectly content and accepted his blindness. Auggie's an amazing, amazing person…one of the most amazing people I've ever known and the fact that he's blind never made me think less of him, especially since he deals with it so well…but that doesn't make me deny that he's still human; its tougher for him than any of us realizes and I'm not just gonna turn a blind eye…no pun intended…just because he always puts on a brave face and wants everyone to think he's ok… he's my best friend and I'm going to be there for him…whether he likes it or not and frankly, I don't care what you think, what Joan or Arthur thinks or what anyone else at the DPD thinks."

Jai eyed her levelly. "I don't deny that Auggie is the best at what he does…but I also don't deny that he's not the same as what he was…and quite frankly, ever since you came here, I think he's starting to depend on you too much…Annie, the guy needs to be able to stand on his own two feet, you've said it yourself he's always proving day in and day out how he can be the best of the best just like the rest of us…but you and Auggie are getting too close and it could compromise how you both do your jobs…that's not healthy for you, him and more importantly, it's not healthy for the rest of DPD and what we do. Our job is dangerous. Every day we take people's lives into our hands and put our own lives into people's hands…any slip, compromise or bias no matter how minute can jeopardize an entire mission…and people can end up killed."

Annie looked down…she knew that part of what Jai was saying was right but she also knew he wouldn't be so forceful if it wasn't for the fact that he was just plain jealous. He didn't want her and Auggie to be so close because he wanted his chance to get to her and she knew despite all the confident, boastful arrogance and charm that Jai put off, everyone knew as well as he did that Auggie was ten times the kick-ass agent that he was. He'd been in the field from the beginning where as Jai-from a privileged life and born into a wealthy family-started out behind the scenes, calling shots from behind a desk with every advantage that his wealthy heritage could offer. His life as an agent had begun in a cushy, easy environment. It was only in the last three years that Jai had started to get his hands dirty and do more field work and even though he was precise, methodical and damn good at what he did, it couldn't compare to Auggie…Jai was intimidated by Auggie's seniority in experience and his ability to adjust to his desk job and perform it just as flawlessly and passionately as he'd pursued his field work. This thought only made Annie smile for she couldn't help but feel smug pride at her best friend's ability to, even with his blindness, outshine, outshoot, outsmart and downright out-kick ass any and all the fancy-suit white-collar agents at the DPD. Auggie was without a doubt the best of the best. "Look, I appreciate your concern…even if it is fueled by your jealousy and intimidation of Auggie…"

"What? Ok I never said I was intimidated, this has nothing to do with how my skills as a covert operative compare with Auggie's…"

Annie snorted softly. "Well alright then, I believe you… so. I'm going to go check on Auggie and I will see you Monday…and take your tail out from between your legs, pathetic whipped puppy doesn't suit you…you don't have the eyes for it." She patted his cheek with a smug teasing expression tugging at the corners of her mouth. Turning, she slid back into the driver's seat, turned the key in the ignition and peeled out of the front gate, leaving a very pride and ego wounded Jai standing alone in the parking lot.