Disclaimer: I do not own Cover Affairs or any of the associated characters.
Joan Campbell watched her favorite handler storm into her office like hell on wheels. On more than one occasion her husband warned her about the aggressive outbursts whispered around the Agency stemming from her underling. Even with his sight, August Anderson was a force to reckon with when he lost his temper. After the bitterness of losing his eyes and being yanked from the field, his tirades took on a harder edge. Once, she had to dodge a flying pair of headphones thrown in her direction not long after she benched the former field agent. She had not noticed any streaks of aggression recently except when it came to one Annie Walker. A gentle - or sometimes not-so-gentle - touch and the lull of Annie's voice could stop even Hurricane Auggie in its tracks.
Privately, Joan appreciated the new recruit if only to serve to keep Auggie calm and in a healthy frame of mind. When the handler lost coms with his agents in the field, Joan noticed his frustration tinged with fear. It was natural for a handler to fear for his agents when he lost them in the field; her own handler James would be downright unseemly until she returned from the field when she worked field ops. Others may be suspicious of the unnaturally close relationship between agent and handler - well, unnatural for the Agency - but she not-so-secretly encouraged the two working together under supervision. Either had the potential to get into hot water but together they were incorrigible. It was easier to keep tabs on them when she knew that one would generally be on the other end of the line or, at most, at the other end of the bullpen from the other. Auggie gave Annie the confidence she needed to swim with the sharks and Annie gave Auggie the thrill of the field he needed.
More than once, she found herself explaining her rationale to Arthur. "I cannot just break them up, as you so charmingly put it," she huffed before the op Wilcox and Walker went on went to hell in a hand basket. Arthur was less than thrilled about the close relationship Annie enjoyed with her handler, although Joan was not in the loop as to why the relationship would cause a problem. She had her suspicions, what with Wilcox coming into the division and the manhunt through DPD, but she would keep them to herself until the timing was right. Joan was glad she made the decision to keep Auggie as Annie's catcher; the younger agent was too green to handle someone as stern as her handler had been. The little trio had an interesting dynamic and it centered on the blonde operative. Whether or not Annie realized Wilcox's game was another story, and that was one headache Joan did not look forward to. She suspected that the charming field agent was scamming her operative at her husband's request and not only would Annie be crushed, but Auggie would unleash righteous anger, much like he looked about to do at present.
Joan could visibly see the instant that Auggie realized Annie was in the room and knew the tongue lashing he was about to give her was on its way out the door. The change was instantaneous: the anger evaporated from his face and his posture, rigid with arms slightly bent at his sides and hands balled into fists, relaxed. He ran a hand through his hair and his pursued lips drew into a relieved grin. Even his sightless eyes softened. Joan wished he could show the CCTV footage of this very instant to Auggie months from now when he denied romantic feelings for the blonde operative. In the deep recesses of her jaded heart, she hoped the techie and the spy would realize the depth of their relationship and act on it.
With a careful eye, she watched the handler greet his operative. With what Joan would consider an invasion of personal space, the dark haired man crouched close to the blonde and welcomed her home. When Annie did not respond, she watched him lean in even closer, his lips on the shell of her ear. She was surprised at the intimacy of the action and again wondered just how many months she would have to sit on the footage after all.
A/N: Thank you for all of the reviews, I truly appreciate them as a new fanfic writer. I thrive on the feedback and sincerely hope you enjoyed this installment.
