At the End of the Last Episode: Joan offering Annie a position at the CIA.
Recap: Annie resigned after getting suspended. She was on McQuaid's payroll.
"We have a lot of breaches to examine after Chicago, the motorcade bombing, and the hit on Auggie and James that nearly took place right here in our offices," said Joan explaining one of the top priorities of the new task force she was given charge to head.
"What about Haley Price and the NCTC? Isn't that what they were all about?"
"There will be some overlap between our projects and you may be called to work with Ms. Price, but we will be mostly self-contained and we won't be subject to the same constraints as in the past. We'll be given considerable slack to cover the ground we need to cover."
"That sounds refreshing. . ."
"To be clear Annie, I will fight for you to remain in the field, but you need to work with me. We can't have any more secrets between us if we're going to move forward as a team. I hope you know that you can always come to me for help, in fact, I will require it of you."
"The trust goes both ways Joan. I need to know you'll always have my back, give me the benefit of the doubt and not jump to any conclusions."
"Fair enough. We could both stand to work on our weaknesses."
"Can I have a few days to think about it? I have some other issues to resolve and it's been non-stop since Chicago. I could use a few days to figure things out."
Joan gave Annie a surprised, yet impressed look.
"What? You need a decision right this minute?"
"No, not at all, the old Annie Walker wouldn't have asked for days off, I like Annie Version 2.0, time off to recharge and recuperate is a good thing, a sign of maturity. I want you to be sure this is the right path for you and you know you technically don't work for me, so I'm not the one to ask about time off."
Annie and Joan shared a laugh, "I guess you're right!"
"Auggie's observation was on point, you are a different operative now, a much more seasoned one." Joan didn't know how much those words meant to Annie after years of trying to impress her boss.
"Thanks Joan. I'll call you by Monday, if not sooner."
"Enjoy your time off. You certainly earned it. And Annie, good luck resolving your other issue," said Joan.
/ ~ /
Annie walked through the open desk area of the DPD and into Auggie's office. He wasn't there. Barber is with a box of doughnuts at Auggie's desk , he sees Annie and says with a full mouth, "Auggie's taken a few days off."
"Hello Eric."
"Oh, sorry, hi Annie! Want a doughnut?"
Annie smiled, "It's good to see you Eric."
"The doughnuts were way better at McQuaid Securities, they splurged for the artisanal ones," said Barber causing Annie to let out a giggle.
"They do know how to keep their employees happy and inside the office instead of trekking out for junk food. . ." said Annie.
"I want to say thank you for saving Auggie in Grozny, he's not just my boss, he's my friend."
"He's my friend too and he would have done the same for us," said Annie with a smile.
"See you around Barber," said Annie as she left.
"Oh Annie," Eric called after her.
"Yep?"
"Uh, don't tell Auggie I was eating at his desk, I'll clean up the crumbs before he gets back, he'll never know. . ." asked Eric sheepishly.
"You got it," said Annie knowing that Auggie would know that Barber was at his desk as soon as he sat down. The two of them reminded Annie of Oscar and Felix, the Odd Couple. One was a huge slob and the other was a complete neat freak.
Working with them again would be a lot of fun and a lot of refereeing.