Note: This part is not as long as I wanted it to be, I can blame my cousin getting married over the weekend for not getting enough time to write. I will try to get more up asap. Thanks for your patience.

Collide T Minus 843 Days – January 2008

Auggie sat in his car outside Kincaid's; every ounce of his being was preventing him from going inside. She must be so angry with him; he was over an hour and a half late. The ring of his civilian cell phone startled him and he looked down at the screen. It was Natasha again; she had been calling him every 15 minutes for the last hour. He gathered all his power not to answer the damn phone. He knew he couldn't go in and warn her; it would go against everything that he trained for since he was 24 years old. The decision was made; he reached for the key and turned it in the ignition.

Collide T Minus 841 Days – January 2008

The snow as softly falling as Natasha walked down the street in Georgetown. The beauty of the snow that reminded her of Russia did nothing for her mood. Her cell phone rang and she grabbed it out of her pocket. She looked at it with hope in her eyes and then despair when she realized the call wasn't from Auggie. He wasn't answering his phone; she could go over to his place, but why? He dumped her.

"Almost there…" She told the person on the other end of the line and put the phone back in her pocket and took out the flash drive. It really was an amazing piece of code. Pirate Bureau would be thrilled and they could use it to further their cause against government.

"You got it?" A messy looking man in a torn wool coat and stocking cap asked her.

"Yes.' Natasha answered as they entered a small restaurant.

Jai watched Natasha enter the building from his car across the street. His FBI contact nodded at him before going inside the restaurant. It was going down. Now. He reached for his cell phone.

"You were sitting outside Kincaid's for nearly two hours." Joan tossed a photo at Auggie.

Auggie caught the photo in midair and looked at it. "You were spying on me? Really?" He threw it on her desk.

"What did you expect?" Joan answered, scooping up the photo and putting it in a file folder.

" I expect you to trust me."

Joan's cell phone rang, she picked it up. "It's Jai."

Jai watched as Natasha was being led out the restaurant in handcuffs. His contact followed her outside, giving Jai the thumbs up. "The FBI just took Natasha into custody." He told Joan.

"Thanks." Joan said before setting the phone down. "Natasha is in FBI custody."

"That's just great" Auggie said sarcastically. "I'm sure Jai is happy now." He finished and stormed out of the office.

Ken Jacobs wondered why Henry ever gave him the title of Director of Middle East Operations. Henry had his nose in everything that happened in that dusty hellhole and today was no exception.

"I'm not happy with what's going on in Iraq." Henry told Ken as they sat at the conference table in Henry's office. "We need to get more control of the situation, the insurgents are having a field day with our boys."

"We're working every lead, our Special Ops team is going as fast as they can." Ken explained, knowing that no matter what he said, Henry would have other ideas.

"We need to have more of our guys on the ground, taking out the bastards faster than they can get us."

"I agree, but we're spread pretty thin over there."

"I'm pulling one of your teams from Afghanistan and sending them in." Henry told him in a tone that would leave no room for questioning.

"But I'm already down a guy on Hallet's team, we haven't replaced Ellis yet….." Ken tried to explain.

"I'll find you someone, just tell Hallet and Johnson that they're moving after the first of the month. I have a few special projects for them." Henry leaned back in his chair. His special projects were black ops and Jacobs knew it.

Auggie spotted Jai the minute he entered the hallway leading to the DPD. Jai tried to walk faster and catch the elevator, but Auggie got to him before the doors opened.

"You happy now?" Auggie caught Jai, pushing him against the wall, his forearm against Jai's neck.

"Happy about what?" Jai gasped for air.

"If you let me bring Natasha in we would have an asset, but instead you ratted her out to your buddies at the FBI." Auggie loosened his hold on Jai, but still wouldn't let him go.

"Auggie, this isn't the time or place…."

"I'm sure you're just trying to score interagency brownie points. Play nice with the FBI in case you or daddy need them. All at Natasha's expense."

"The FBI was going to get her regardless and they were going to win over us, they have jurisdiction."

"That's bullshit and you know it. " Auggie let Jai go and walked down the hallway with purpose.

Annie stood in the middle of Saint Peter's Square. Rome was such an amazing city; she couldn't believe the beauty and history in every square mile. Being here, near Vatican City made it unbelievable. She wished that she had saved more time to completely explore the city. She could come back, maybe after India and Sri Lanka. A young couple that were obvious tourists stopped her and asked in English were the Coliseum was. Annie smiled sweetly at them and answered them in Italian, pretending that she didn't know English.

"We're so sorry…." The husband told her. "We thought you were American…" And they walked away to ask someone else.

Annie laughed to herself. It was fun to take on new roles and pretend she was a local. It was something that she had done since she was a child, trying to fit in to what ever Army base her father had just moved them to. She'd just fooled that poor couple; at least she hasn't lost her touch.

"Joan, that's it. I'm done!" Auggie stormed into Joan's office. "I'm sick of this place, I'm sick of the nepotism, I'm sick of the interagency pissing matches. I'm sick of the secrets. I'm done."

"Auggie, I know you're angry…" Joan said getting up and going to him. She put her hand on his arm and gave it a squeeze. "Give it a few days, think about it. I don't want you making a decision out of anger.

"I'm just sick and tired." Auggie said, emotion catching in his voice.

"Well, Mr. Anderson. I think I might just have the job for you."

Auggie and Joan turned around and saw Henry standing in the doorway.

Ken knocked on the door jam of Arthur's office. "Got a minute?" He asked.

"Sure," Arthur motioned to the chairs in front of his desk. "Have a seat." Ken entered the office and closed the door behind him.

"How do you do it?" Ken was exasperated as he sank into one of the chairs.

"Do what?"

"Work for Henry. I don't even know why I'm a director."

"He's meddling again I take it." Arthur knew full well what that was like. Henry just stuck his nose into his business with Mercer a few days ago.

"He's moving some of my guys from Afghanistan to Iraq for 'special projects'"

" Damn, he just can't get enough can he?" Arthur took off his glasses and leaned back in the chair. "Just hang on…."

"Easy for you to say."

"Don't repeat this, I've heard some rumbling that the President is looking to make a change in the DNI office." Arthur smiled; he just shared a secret that could have a lasting effect on the entire CIA.

"Henry, I don't think Auggie is prepared to make any decisions right now." Joan tried to stop Henry, but she knew in her heart it was futile.

"I disagree Joan." Henry said closing the door. " I think Auggie is in the right place at the right time."

"What do you have in mind?" Auggie was intrigued, his anger subsiding somewhat.

" I'm moving Hallet and Johnson to Iraq and I need someone to replace Ellis. I know you haven't done anything in Special Ops for a few years…."

"Not since before Brussels…" Auggie thought aloud.

"It's like riding a bike." Henry put his arm around Auggie's shoulders. "I need someone like you to take charge of the situation over there."

I hope you enjoyed this part, thanks for reading.

-M