My ending wasn't relaly my ending. It was a peek into the future. I just can't get enough of this, so there's more.
Two Months Later
Annie had a new handler and she was pissed. Joan left no room for her to argue though.
The handler had proposed her an escape route that she thought was ridiculous. She wanted her to take the highway out to a designated pickup location.
Annie knew from experience that wouldn't work, there was no way agents wouldn't be there waiting for her.
The handler was new, about 2 years into working as a handler and this was her first case to handle a Russian mission. Annie had proposed something else, but the handler, Leah, said no way.
Even if the mission was successful the Russians never gave up they would look everywhere for her, and she didn't want to chance them finding out her true identity; she was already burned here.
She really didn't know what to do, this was her first mission back for the CIA, and she really wanted to follow the orders this time. She couldn't though, she would get caught.
What did she do? She honestly didn't know. Without Mcquaids resources she didn't have anyone to help extract her.
There was only one choice.
-/-/-/-/_\_/-
Auggie and Tash had been fighting, more like bickering. They cared for each other obviously, but she still wasn't good at taking care of him as a blind person. She often forgot about leading him and she left things all over the floor, she had even rearranged the furniture without telling him.
"How about we go to Bogata or somewhere in Colombia it's a beautiful place, and the beach is nice," She said on the laptop.
Auggie tried not to grimace too many bad memories there, "I wanna go to Europe, maybe one of the places we haven't been like Czech Republic?"
"But Auggie we've been to Europe twice, and we haven't been anywhere I wanna go," She whined...,"how about out somewhere like far away, the sea and a new environment; Dahab or Sharm?"
Auggie still didn't like it, he had gotten captured by pirates near the Red Sea a few years ago. He wanted to go somewhere with no emotional attachments. He just muttered a quick, "Whatever."
Tash wasn't satisfied, "look I just wanna see something different. Obviously your not into that though, is it because you can't change, your blind, and change is difficult I understand but, " she said challengingly.
He was unsure of how to really respond, so he just said the first thing that came to mind, " this has nothing to do with me being blind. If that was such a problem why stay with me. I want to go somewhere that doesn't have memories. Somewhere I won't remember the bad stuff that happened there."
Tash sighed, "it's really hard to be in a relationship with you, but I love you regardless."
Auggie appeared confident in many things, but he truly would never be confident. He was a burden is so many ways. He grit his teeth and didn't reply, instead grabbing his cane and sulking out of the door as he had more than once this week.
About the time he was going to round the corner his phone began ringing.
The number was unfamiliar.
"Hello" he answered.
"Can you help me" Annie said on the other end. She needed to be out of there before dark, so in an hour.
"How can I, is everything okay?" he found a bench and sat.
"I'm in Russia I can't leave the way my handler wants me to I need an escape route that won't get me caught."
Auggie sighed he knew Russia pretty well. "Where you you?" He asked hoping he could help her without a computer. That's the way him and Annie were. He would drop everything for her when she was in trouble and she would do the same for him.
Twenty minutes later the two had scraped up a decent enough plan to not have any resources. Annie was to take a tourist boat to a nearby location on the border of Finland in thirty minutes. Find an airport and come home. She could at least be out of Russia before dark, and home by the next day.
"Auggie thank you so much. Will you be in DC when I get back?" She asked eagerly.
"From the looks of it probably," He answered gruffly.
She held back her curiosity. "Thank you so much, I've really missed you coming to work isn't the same, it's not as fun anymore."
He smiled, "I promise we'll talk now you need to get going. Call if you need anything."
"Of course," She said lightly, " bye Aug."
"Bye Annie," He smiled. Tash and him could wait he really wanted to see Annie.
...-...-...-...
Annie arrived home and Joan was mad, actually that was an understatement, Joan was pretty pissed like really really pissed. She calmed down once Annie explained her reasoning.
"Look I know it's difficult to follow the orders sometimes and I understand that you could have been captured now it is really important that you consult me before you do things like this."
Annie sighs "You're right I know I should talk to you first but it's me what can you expect. Wait scratch that I shouldn't have said that. It's just it's not that I didn't want to obey the orders and it's really not that I would've got captured and I just" taking a deep breath she decided she doesn't know how to explain her actions.
Joan raised her eyebrows this is one of the few times she actually saw Annie at a loss of words.
"To be honest Joan I think that my reasoning behind that was really stupid. I just wanted to work with Auggie again" she shrugged sheepishly.
Joan was intrigued Annie had never admitted something like this to her before was she gaining her trust or did Annie just want to justify her actions in Joan's eyes.
"Thank you for telling me I miss him too all the time but I am going to overlook what you just said because that would've been naïve and I want to believe that your reasoning behind this was more intellectual."
"I don't really know why I even said that I just want someone beside Barber to relate to my emotion for Auggie. Thank you very much Joan for being so understanding," Annie still struggled trying to find the right words realizing this with her boss and how awkward of a conversation she had just started.
"Take tomorrow off," Joan said to Annie as she walked off to tend to other matters.
.../.../
As soon as Annie walked into Augies apartment she noticed the differences. "Umm why do you rearrange everything."
He instantly seemed annoyed "it wasn't my idea" came out shortly , "Can I get you something to drink. If it hasn't moved also," he barked after short pause.
"I'm sorry is everything okay with you and you know?" Annie asked not answering as he got her a beer.
" it's a long story when I got home last night she wasn't here but her stuff is here so I'm not sure what's going on," Annie knew if there was one thing Auggie hated it was being in the dark.
"Can I help?" She asked immediately.
He shrugged almost tripping over the edge of the new coffee table, " just distract me."
For the next three hours they did just that. Annie explained her new job at task force and how it was all coming together. She told him that Ryan and her were not working out very well either. She explained how he had just been something new distract her. How all the people that she had dated she met within weeks and fell in love with.
How that was an idea her new therapist had proposed, maybe whenever bad things happen she just looked for new people and kept moving. The therapist had suggested that this was because as a child she was used to moving around a lot. Maybe her various love interests had been a result in problems that she had. The psychiatrist suggested she subconsciously thought that to keep moving as she had when she was a child was the best way to survive. Maybe by moving on and on and on she never really solved the problem just piled them all up.
"That's what the therapist thinks but I'm not really sure if I agree," Annie had said.
"Are you and Danielle talking again" Auggie asked at some point.
The answer was short but eventually he convinced her to elaborate. He learned that they had been emailing and that she had called. Danielle refused to meet her at the moment but she hoped they were making some kind of progress.
Auggie shared his adventure to, although most of them ended badly. He mentioned how hard leaving the agency still was for him.
"We miss you a lot" She admitted, "It feels wrong not having you there. When I first came back I would forget sometimes and get two coffees. Barber was really happy though, he thought it was for him."
"I've considered coming back," He said not seriously, and Annie saw that.
As they wrapped the night up Annie got emotional leaving him, but tried not to let him know. As long as she acted normal he would never know tears where streaming down her face.
Auggie stood to began unfurling his cane when her small hand touched him. He grinned, he would always miss this. These instincts seemed to come to her naturally. Even now crying and all she didn't think as she lead him to the door.
"I'll see you around," She said quietly so her voice wouldn't break.
"See you soon," He replied. He turned to go back in as he heard her slowly walk away. He almost had his door shut when her footsteps stopped and he heard sniffles.
There was no way he could sneak up on her so he called her back saying, "Annie are you still there? I forgot something."
She turned back and took a moment to gather herself, "Yes?" She asked him in a slightly rough voice once she reached touching distance.
He didn't answer but reached out and hugged her. She realized he must've known as he wiped the last few tears out of her eyes.
"I know you hate crying, but I really wish you would've told me," This was only one in the hundreds of times this week his disability made him easier to manipulate and affect.
"I'm" Annie paused trying to get herself together, "I'm so sorry," She said and pulled him back tighter than she had before.
For the first time in forever he felt totally relaxed to know that he had his best friend in his arms, confiding in him of all people, the person that she just cried over.
"I like this, us, together as friends again." She stated.
"Why don't we do it again? Next Friday?" He asked.
She smiled against his arm so he could feel it, "Of course," She said pulling back from the hug.
Maybe this could work, maybe there was a hope after all.