A/N: I am so sorry, everyone! Between technical problems and school work exploding, it has been entirely too long since I've been able to work on this story. I also had a little bit of a dilemma about where to go with this story. I had two storylines in my head, and picking between the two was incredibly difficult. BUT - I've finally made my decision and I've finished this chapter. Now that Finals are over, I should have much more time to devote to writing. Also, I'm doing a little editing/updating to the previous chapters, so be on the lookout - nothing major, just some formatting stuff.
Disclaimer: I do not own Covert Affairs, I do not own any of the characters. This makes me insanely sad.
Confession #1: I binge-watched the first four seasons of Covert Affairs in 5 days.
"I'm sorry. If you want to take my clothes off, you definitely need to buy me dinner first."
Auggie would have laughed at Annie's flippant taunt to her captor in any other situation, but he could hear the breathless quality of her voice and it terrified him. It was faint, and probably wouldn't have been picked up by anyone else, but he wasn't just anyone else. He was her best friend, and he knew her voice better than he knew the back of his hand. So to speak. A small smirk played its way across his face as the thought crossed his mind, imagining Annie's reaction to it. He could almost feel her fingers curling around his forearm as she squeezed him in faux exasperation, and could almost hear her trying to hold back her amusement as she whispered, "Groan. Eye roll." He'd have to remember that joke for when she got back; it meant he'd get to hear her laughter which was growing quickly to be one of his favorite sounds in the world. It thrilled him to give her a moment of lightheartedness when her world was filled with so much drama that it would make for a great TV show if it wasn't all classified.
He heard her level another barb at her tormenter followed immediately by a shaky inhale and the smirk immediately left his face as he felt anger and fear boil over. How could she taunt him when he specifically asked her to not piss the man off? She was obviously hurt. All she had to do was play along for three minutes until Jai could get to her and get her out. It almost seemed like she was deliberately trying to anger the man, and get him to inflict more pain on her. He let out another heavy sigh – probably his hundredth one in the six hours since Annie had been abducted.
"Dammit, Annie. Stop it. Jai will be there in three minutes to get you out. Please don't give him any more reason to hurt you. Please."
He pinched the bridge of his nose, took a deep breath, and hit the mute button again. He could still hear her, but she couldn't hear anything going on from his end. Auggie slid his hand softly across his desk until it came in contact with hard plastic, and he gripped the receiver of his desk phone and lifted it to his ear. He instructed his computer to dial Eric Barber. Luckily for Eric's continued health, he picked up on the second ring.
"Barber? Where the hell are you?"
"I'm down in the cafeteria grabbing us snacks and coffee so we can keep going."
"You're supposed to be here coordinating with the medical team so that they are on site the minute Jai's tactical team gets Annie out of the building."
"They're all set, Auggie. I swear. I wouldn't have left if everything wasn't in place for Annie." There was a slight pause and then Barber mumbled something so quietly, Auggie was sure he wasn't supposed to have heard it. "I don't have a death wish."
"Did you tell them about the possible broken bones and collapsed lung? I can hear her voice getting worse, and I'm pretty sure I'm right about the lung. If that bastard would leave the room again, I could find out for sure, but I think it's pretty damn likely. She's probably going to have extensive bruising, cuts, maybe other internal bleeding.."
"AUGGIE! Stop. They know. Everyone knows. Of course it's all set up. She's my friend, too. I'm paying now and I'll be back in two minutes. Just in time for her miraculous saving." The audible click told Auggie that Barber had hung up on him.
He took a deep breath, exhaled, and turned back to listening in on Annie. He knew he was being unreasonable with Barber, and taking his stress of the situation out on his Tech Ops subordinate, but he couldn't help it. He was so frustrated and angry and he had no outlet for it. He couldn't abandon his post when Annie needed him, even if she wouldn't admit it.
He unmuted his comm at the same time he heard a quiet hiss of pain come across from Annie. The bastard had done something else to hurt her. He dug his fingernails into his palms in an effort to remain calm as he whispered to Annie to hold on just a little longer. Her response was to antagonize the man some more.
He checked his watch and switched over to the feed with Jai and the tactical team. They had arrived at the location pinging from the GPS in Annie's headset. He sent up a small thank you to whomever was looking out for them that the communication earbud was still functioning even after the kidnapping and subsequent torture. Jai relayed the exact location of the building and Auggie pulled up the blueprints. It was weird, but for some reason Annie's headset wasn't pinging from exactly where Jai was located. It was there, but it her GPS coordinates were not pinned down as precisely as were Jai's even though they both had the same model earbud; hers was reading the location within 200 yards, but Jai's was narrowed down to only 25 yards. Consequently, he had to rely on Jai that this was the only building in which they could be holding Annie anywhere in the vicinity. Apparently all the others were bustling with civilians, but this one was empty with a sign on the door saying it was for lease.
Auggie waited for the Jai's Tac Team to get geared up to breach the building, and when everyone had their comms in, he gave them a brief description of the layout, making sure he cited any rooms that had hidden entrances or multiple exits. Then he sat back and listened as the team developed their strategy for Annie's retrieval.
They did a thermal scan of the building and confirmed that there were multiple heat signatures inside and moving around. There were two people on each floor including the basement and the roof; the only anomaly was the third floor which displayed seven heat signatures. That had to be where they were holding Annie.
Their strategy in place, Jai informed Auggie that the team was getting ready to move. He kept his attention on this line until he heard Jai's order to the men, "Go!" Then he switched back to Annie.
"Annie, Jai is on site and the team is entering the building. It looks like you're on the third floor, so it may take a couple of minutes to get to you, but they will get to you. They're coming. Just hold on a little longer." He could almost hear the smugness in her voice when she responded to whatever question the man holding her had posed this time.
Auggie visibly flinched as Barber entered the Tech Ops room at the same time a loud smack came across Annie's comm. Anger coursed through his system, and he fisted his hands in his hair. He should be there with Jai. It should be him that gets to be Annie's rescuer, not that smarmy, smug jackass. If it weren't for his damn blindness, he would be lifting her into his arms and carrying her from the building. He would be able to see the damage that man did to his best friend. He would be able to see for himself he extent of her wounds.
He would be able to see the fear in the man's eyes as Auggie paid him back for every mark left on Annie's body.
He was so caught up in his retribution-filled daydream that he didn't hear Jai's voice come across the radio. It wasn't until Barber screamed, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S NOT THERE?!" that Auggie realized he had missed something crucial.
"We have subdued all of the people in the building, and all of the heat signatures have been accounted for. Annie is not one of them. She's not here."
The sound that erupted from Auggie was not one he had ever made before. It was the sound of desperation, anger, and terror all rolled into one. It was the sound of a man realizing he had never truly felt helpless before - not until Annie was in danger and he had no idea where she was.
A/N: *ducks* R&R please!