A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews, guys! Always appreciative!
The next morning came all too soon. After a bad night's sleep in which he wrestled with demons that he would have rather had left in the sands somewhere half a world away, Auggie had woken late and barely pulled his shirt around his shoulders when the sound of Annie's knuckles against the door sounded through his loft. At least he hoped it was Annie. That was the only person that he could place at his doorstep before five in the morning. He shuffled over to the door and tugged it back. Thankfully, a waft of Jo Malone Grapefruit hit his sensitive nose.
"Coffee, as requested." Annie greeted, offering the cup.
"Ah, the threat of Jai driving was too great for you, after all." Auggie said, carefully reaching up. He almost recoiled when his fingers brushed against her, but instead let them linger a second longer than necessary. He would chalk it up to the early hour.
She smiled and shut the door behind her. "You better hurry or you won't get shotgun, either." she teased
"You'd really put me in the back? Then you wouldn't have any good conversation the whole way."
"What makes you think that Jai's bad conversation?" Annie laughed, sipping at her own espresso-filled coffee.
"He opened his mouth," Auggie answered. "I slept through the first of my alarm, I'll be ready in just a sec."
"Do you want me to take your bag to the car?" Annie called as Auggie disappeared into the bedroom.
"No, just hang on." Annie walked around the living room, forever impressed by Auggie's ability to live the way he did. He was brilliant, perhaps the smartest man she'd ever known. Sometimes she wondered if he was more dangerous than she gave him credit for.
A few moments later Auggie returned with a bag slung over his shoulder and his out-of-the-office white cane in his hand. It was folded, as Annie and seen him move very comfortably around the open space. It was amazing to think what all he must have had to learn in a year and a half. "You ready?" she asked, identifying her location.
He stopped and half turned in the light and she caught her breath. A smile curved across his lips. "Annie. I'm always ready."
She rolled her eyes, but grinned. "Well, let's pick up our third and get back to where we once belonged."
He let out an exaggerated groan as he locked his door behind them. He then took her hand and followed her down to the car.
The relatively short trip to Langley was filled with the usual chatter and playful banter. Jai was waiting for them at the gate, dressed as always in his dark suit. He opened the back door to Annie's car and slipped in along with a small bag. "We've got the go-ahead. Joan says we have everything we need," he said as he sat down. He glanced up at the front. "Didn't sleep well last night, Auggie?"
The tech agent frowned. "What makes you say that?"
"Dark circles under your eyes."
"Damn. I must have missed a spot when I put my foundation on this morning." Auggie said, touching his fingers gingerly to the skin under his eyes.
"I'm not sure you have the right color. I'll give you the number for my Avon lady." Annie offered.
Auggie grinned and shook his head. "No, I didn't sleep well," he answered, surprisingly truthful. The inclined his head towards the back and asked disingenuously, "And you, Jai?"
"Wonderfully." He let his eyes slide to Annie. "And I had wonderful dreams."
"Well I'm glad we're all relatively well rested." Annie said, glancing between them. She suddenly felt as though the drive was going to be a lot longer than it should be.
"I'm sure you did," Auggie grumbled as he lay his head against the window and let his eyelids droop. He didn't dream about Iraq often anymore, but when he did it lingered. Sometimes only into the next day, sometimes for a week afterward. He blinked several times and reached for his coffee in the holder.
The trip itself was relatively short. They passed through security with no trouble and were shuffled off to the technical operations facility for Camp Peary. Annie had to park her car in regulated parking before all three of them stepped out into the still-warm September air. Auggie felt Annie lace her arm through his.
"So, if you're my eyes, does that make us four eyes? Or six? Do you wear contacts?" Auggie asked.
Annie shook her head. "Two heads are better than one?" She offered.
"Well, that depends on whose head you're stuck with." Auggie said, half over his shoulder.
Jai shouldered his bag. "It must be so difficult for you, tripping about with those of us with very little brains."
Auggie grinned, ignoring the sarcasm.
"August Anderson. I wouldn't have suspected them to send you out here," an approaching figure called out. He was tall, very thin, and wore very round glasses that looked slightly odd on his angular face. He stopped directly in front of the three operatives, his stance screaming that he expected respect from them, if he earned it or not. "I had heard what happened in Iraq and suspected they'd put you on medical retirement."
"Cameron Jenkins," Auggie greeted, knowing him not by his voice specifically, but by the obnoxious drawl that it held. "They couldn't get rid of me that easily." He reached a hand out in a friendly manner to shake the taller man's.
"I don't shake hands, forgive me." Jenkins said, sounding entirely as though he didn't care if they forgave him or not. "They didn't get rid of you and gave you not one, but two dogsbodys." He raked his gaze across Annie. "Obviously you know far too much about someone, but you're here for the installation? If I weren't so busy, I'd just as soon do it myself. I guess it doesn't hurt to have a an extra set of eyes...oh, bad phrase, I suppose...an extra set of hands about the place." A young trainee joined them. Jenkins nodded towards her. "This is Alyssa Larson. She'll show you where you'll be staying and then take you to the tech center where you'll be working. Any questions?"
Auggie managed to bite his tongue and give what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Alyssa Larson could be heard shifting until her boss left. "Mr. Anderson, did you really hack into the Farm's systems when you were in training here?" she asked, her voice betraying every bit of the excitement that seemed to wash over her.
Auggie chuckled at this. "That's... never been proven."
"Alyssa." Jenkins said sharply. "You have training exercises this afternoon, do you not? I suggest you show these...agents the way and get on with it."
"Yes, sir." she said. "This way." As she led them through the corridors she cast a look around for Jenkins. When she was satisfied that he was not in earshot she lowered her voice to a conspiratorial level. "One of my research projects is on the way you, ah, allegedly hacked not only the Farm but the time the wires got crossed for all the offices in the New York FBI office. I think it was absolutely brilliant."
Annie and Jai exchanged glances. Apparently Auggie was more well known than they had anticipated.
Auggie nearly beamed with pleasure. "Well, if I had been responsible for that, I'm sure it'd have been a blast," he assured her confidently.
Alyssa led them into what looked like the faculty housing that neither Jai nor Annie had ever set foot in. She handed a card to Annie and Jai and, when she realized her mistake, pressed Auggie's into his hand. She blushed deeply. "Ya'll's room is just down the hall on the left, and Miss Walker's is here on the right," she explained. "I really should be going." She turned, as if to leave, and then turned back again, speaking in rushed tones. "Officer Jenkins says that it's not worth following your work, because he says that you can't produce anything new, but I know you can do anything you did before," she managed to get out, the sentence run together and jumbled. Her face was bright red before she ducked out of the hallway.
Annie grinned and lightly tapped Auggie on the shoulder. "Think she has a little hero-worship going on?"
"It's about time somebody recognized me as the technical god among men." Auggie replied.
"If she's Jenkins gopher she might know things." Jai murmured.
Auggie nodded. "I'll see if I can't arrange to have her 'assist' with some of the installation."
"I'll meet you guys at the tech center." Annie said and slipped into her room.
Jai lightly rested his finger tips against the back of Auggie's arm, replacing Annie's guidance. Auggie almost told him it wasn't necessary, but he wasn't completely sure of his surroundings and it wouldn't do to walk into a wall with only Jai as a witness. When Jai shut the door to the room behind them, he surprised Auggie by saying, "Has Jenkins always been a rude and slimy or is that a new development?"
"He wasn't nearly that bad," Auggie murmured after some thought. "He was actually kind of forgettable. Bright, driven, but always falling just short enough that I didn't have to worry about him giving me too much grief in the run for the upper ranks of our graduating class. He never had the power to back up any sort of hostile attitude." He pulled away from Jai and laid his hand against the closest wall, ready to start the rounds to get a mental image of the room.
"Two beds and a bathroom. Watch out for the desk there," Jai warned as he dictated their surroundings.
Auggie tapped his cane against the desk and set his bag on it. "I'm sure you won't argue me setting up here?"
"Whatever you need to do." Jai agreed. He unbuttoned his suit jacket and placed his bag on the bed furthest away from the bathroom.
Auggie began pulling equipment out of his bag and placing it on the table. Jai watched him, impressed with his surety of movement. He wondered how long Auggie would be satisfied with occasional field assignments, parceled out to him only by way of personal involvement as with Natasha or by specialized skill set, like now. For one horrifying moment he imagined Auggie teaming up with Ben Mercer and going rogue. Now there would be a nightmare of a dream team.
"What are you staring at?" Auggie finally asked. "I can feel that, you know."
"Feel what?"
"The burning in the back of my skull."
For once, Jai stammered. He was not quite used to Auggie's somewhat new situation. It'd been less than two years since the younger man had returned from the Middle East blinded and benched, but Jai had spent the majority of the time in England. Up until he'd been recalled to handle the Mercer issue for Arthur. "How long did it take you to get situated?"
"You're going to have to be more specific," Auggie laughed.
"After you lost your sight."
Auggie let his breath out in a long, thoughtful sigh. "Well, I'm still learning in a lot of ways. I guess I always will be, but I just kind of take it as it comes."
"What made you want to come back to the CIA?" Jai asked, sitting on the bed.
Auggie drummed his fingers slowly against the top of his laptop. "It's what I was made to do. However I can do it, I will." he said quietly. The silence, the honesty, hung between them until Auggie grinned. "Besides, how else would I get all these cool gadgets and hot chicks?"
"You've got a line to hide behind for everything, don't you?" Jai asked after a moment, dark eyes narrowed at the tech agent.
Auggie shrugged. "We all have something." He turned back to his laptop and booted it up, feeling for the wires to hook up his portable Braille readout. It wasn't nearly as nice as the one that he had back at Langley, but it did the job well. Well enough to work for this mission. When he heard the sound of the computer chiming on, he turned slightly back to his new roommate. "And you, Jai? Did you really want to come to the CIA to follow in your father's footsteps? I mean, it makes a great line for the higher-ups, but those of us that have been around long enough don't buy it."
"Well, you'll have to buy it. I'm not selling any other lines." Jai said. He stood. "As soon as you're done there we should meet Annie in the tech center. She's probably waiting."
Auggie nodded, closing down the computer. He pulled his usual leather satchel from its folded place in the bag and put the laptop into it. He gently added the extra equipment behind it and pulled the strap over his head. He grabbed for his cane again and started towards the door.
"They not let you bring that nifty little laser with you?"
"I'm not actually supposed to leave Langley with it," Auggie admitted as they walked down the way.
It was a very short distance over to the tech center and Annie was trying to avoid several of the young trainees that she wasn't available that weekend for any sort of dinner, movie, or whatever else they had in mind.
Auggie sauntered towards the sound of her voice, whacking the trainees that didn't get out of the way fast enough gently in the shins. She turned just as he reached her and he linked their arms together. "Sorry, people. She's with me." He took no small pleasure at the mild mutterings and shuffling of feet as the worker bees returned to their lines in the hive. "Miss me?" he asked.
"Excessively. I thought geeks were supposed to be shy."
Auggie scoffed. "Have you learned nothing by watching me?"
"I've learned that you, August, are one of a kind." she said.
He grinned happily. "As are you, Anne."
"Anderson?" an unfamiliar voice asked and Auggie stepped forward, signaling that it was him. The voice's owner seemed to be young, probably newly graduated and had never seen the actual field. Auggie had originally been in that position and, looking back on it, thought it all seemed rather pointless. If one was going to have a place of power over students trying to learn how to work in the CIA, then one should at least have the experience to impart to them. This young man did not sound like he'd been out of training for more than a couple of months. "I'm Tanner Sullivan, Officer Jenkins' personal assistant. I'll be showing you around." There was a pause as the young man looked Auggie up and down.
"Technically, you'll be showing her around. I'll just take your word for it." Auggie said.
Tanner managed to look chagrined, and indicated to Annie that she should follow him. "This is our main hub. We have nine stations here. Since we are a training facility, most of what happens here are test scenarios for our students. Occasionally we get live feeds if something comes by us that the big shots want a new recruit on, or if something directly impacts our facility."
"What would that be?" Annie asked.
"Believe it or not, we do get threats against this place, or the trainees. It's rare, but it happens. People are crazy."
Tanner paused, shooting a nervous glance in Auggie's direction. "If I might ask...?"
"I've got all the necessary equipment to do my job," Auggie assured him as he patted his bag at his side.
"All right," he answered and ushered them into the appropriate room. It was small with computers glaring all around in the darkness. He asked if they required anything else and offered that he'd be just down the hall if they needed him before he left.
Auggie let his breath out in the form of a sigh when the footsteps faded and he found a chair that he could clear space enough for his laptop.
"Now what?" Jai asked, eyes scanning the area for anything abnormal.
"By putting us in here they've given me a nice gateway into the systems. It makes getting to where I need to go that much easier."
"It's kind of...small." Annie said, glancing around the office. It hummed with the sound of high functioning computers and the smell of warm electronics lingered in the air.
"Luckily I'm not claustrophobic." Auggie said cheerfully.
"There aren't any cameras." Jai said, glancing around for indicators of CCTV or recording devices.
Annie pulled a pen out of her pocket and clicked it. She walked around the room slowly. "I've been tagged for some retroactive training already. I guess my fieldwork doesn't let me test out of it." She said. When she'd made a full circle around the room she clicked it shut and placed it back in her pocket. She shook her head to Jai to indicate there were no bugs detectable.
"Looks like you're good to go, Auggie."
"I love the Farm," he murmured as he started to pull his equipment from his bag and set up. "Most people haven't had enough time in the field to become paranoid yet."
Annie choked back a laugh as she watched him move quickly and his computer chimed to life. She'd had basic training on the technical side of everything, but her talents certainly didn't land her in that department. "I'm going to meet Sullivan for my training details. I should be back in a little bit. Try not to kill each other or corrupt the youth while I'm gone." Annie said. She patted Auggie on the shoulder to let him know she was leaving, smiled at Jay, and headed back into the fray of wide eyes and bright minds.
"I never promised anything, did you?" Auggie murmured, not turning his face away from the computer.
Jai chuckled. "I think Alyssa may have a bit of a crush on you. You geeks do run in herds, huh?"
The tech agent gave a wide grin but didn't respond as he pulled his headsets firmly over his ears. His fingers danced across the keys with such a speed that Jai could barely keep up. Codes lit up the laptop screen and he watched passwords and bits of information being inputted with relative ease. Finally Auggie slipped on side of the headsets off. "We're in," he murmured lowly.
A/N: Please, reviews make our day. Please let us know how it's going!