They wound their way through the streets of Washington before Annie finally pulled into the Union Station parking garage. Eyal quickly dismounted and pulled off his helmet. Annie did the same, shaking out her hair.
"Those guys from the apartment building, CIA, right?" Eyal asked.
"Yeah," she said taking the helmet from his hand setting them both on the seat of the bike. "I recognized them entering the building, but I didn't have a way to warn you so I found us a quick escape and hoped you would take care of things fast." Annie turned back to him and studied his face. "Eyal, you're bleeding."
He reached up and touched his forehead just above his right eye. He pulled his hand away and found blood coating his fingertips. "I hit my head," he explained. "I almost forgot."
Annie's lips curled up in a smile and she shook her head. She reached into her bag and pulled out the scarf she'd worn in Barcelona. She stood on her tip-toes and wiped away as much blood as she could.
"Thanks," he said, watching her stuff the scarf back in her bag. "Come on. Lets go inside. We'll get lost in the crowd for a while then decide what to do next." She nodded and started to walk when he thought of something. "Oh, wait." He laid a hand on her shoulder and dug his other in his bag producing the second SIG sauger and an extra clip. "Just in case."
She smiled up at him and slipped the weapon into her own bag. They walked through the entrance and into union station together. It was late on a Tuesday afternoon which helped to give them more crowd cover.
Across the way, Eyal noticed a small electronics store. He nodded in its direction and said to Annie, "Over there. We can pick up a couple of burner phones so we'll be able to stay in contact in case we get in another situation."
Ten minutes later, Eyal held their new phones in his hand. After programming each others number into it, he handed one to Annie. "We should slit up for a bit. Make sure neither of us have been made."
"I haven't seen anyone at all. I think we're okay for now," Annie insisted.
"Maybe," he said gazing out a the bustling shopping center. "We can't be too careful, though." He turned back to Annie and looked at her closely. Circles were beginning to form under her eyes. "Why don't you get some new clothes for both of us? We haven't been able to stop running long enough in days and I know I'd feel better with a set of fresh clothes to change into."
"Okay, okay. You have a valid point." Annie raised her hands in defeat. "I'm going. Meet back here in an hour?" He nodded, a little distracted. "Is there anything specific you want?" she asked as she slipped her new phone into her front jeans pocket.
He shook his head and she turned on her heel, disappearing into the crowd. Truthfully, he hated to let her out of his sight, but he had a couple phone calls to make and he preferred to make them away from Annie's listening ears.
An hour later, Annie returned carrying a large shopping bag in one hand. She smiled and brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. Eyal couldn't help but smile in return. Except for a hint of exhaustion on her face, the average person would never guess that 24 hours before she'd shot a man at point blank.
He was a little baffled by the woman he saw in front of him at that moment. He admired the spy that she'd become; that one day she could kill a man who deserved to die and act as if nothing had happened the next. At the same time he cringed inwardly knowing that he'd had a hand in helping to shape this Annie.
"Found us a place to lay low?" she asked dropping the bag on next to him on the bench where he'd perched, waiting for her. "I assumed that's what you wanted to be alone to do."
He looked up into her hazel eyes and grinned. "Of course. Did you recognize anyone tailing you?"
She shook her head but frown. "I didn't notice anyone at all, it makes me a little nervous being out in the open like this. We need to go to ground and regroup."
"I agree." Eyal stood, a little stiffly, and took a long breath. "Come on," he said finally after scanning the mall crowd again, searching for anyone that stood out as even slightly out of place. Over the years he'd become quite skilled at spotting tails but right now he saw nothing. "We can grab a taxi and be there in no time."
They walked side by side not saying a word. Eyal hailed a taxi and opened the door letting Annie slide in first. He gave the address for a large hotel in Georgetown and leaned back in the seat next to her and sighed. He could feel Annie's eyes on him, watching curiously.
"What?" he asked not opening his eyes.
"Something is bothering you. Talk to me."
"There are plenty of things bothering me. All of which shouldn't be discussed here." He glanced up at the driver and then back at Annie. "What I really want right now, though, is to eat, take a shower, and get some sleep in a real bed."
He caught a look of frustration on her face as she turned away to look out the window. He knew he was brooding and there were things that needed discussing, but in the cab with the driver listening wasn't the place.
It didn't take long for the taxi to pull up outside the hotel. Eyal grabbed Annie's hand and pulled her out of the cab with him. He kept her hand clasped in his as he strode into the lobby and to the elevator. "Smile," he whispered forcing a grin. "We don't want to look out of place."
"Where are we going?" Annie asked once the elevator doors closed.
Eyal let go of her hand and leaned up against the wall. "Ninth floor."
They rode in silence until the doors opened to the ninth floor. He smiled when he saw the small table across from the elevator. On it sat a small brown envelope. Eyal picked it up and slid a simple key card onto his hand with the number 912 written on it.
Annie followed him as they walked down the hall to their room. He inserted the key and turned the handle gingerly.
Inside, the room was dark, the drapes of the window pulled tightly closed. He flipped on the light, and breathed a small sigh of relief. The room was like any other hotel room he'd been in. Dresser, desk, table and chairs, sofa, king size bed.
"Nice room," Annie commented from behind him. She walked over to the sofa and dropped the bag of clothes. He watched as she shrugged off her coat and tossed it over one of the chairs.
"Are you hungry?" Eyal asked. "I know the manager here. He said he'd send something up when I let him know I'm here." He pulled his phone from his pocket and sent a quick message before turning back to her.
"There's something bothering you," Annie said simply.
He sighed sliding off his own wool coat and added it to the holding Annie's. "Those guys at the apartment. It's bothering me. The CIA doesn't operate on US soil. You told me that ages ago."
Annie thought for a moment before answering. "That's...mostly true. If they were who I thought they were, they're from special projects. Special projects doesn't exactly play by the rules all the time."
Eyal frowned. Coming to Washington had been a more dangerous decision than he had thought. If they weren't careful, they'd both get killed trying to clear Annie's name.
"I'm worried about you," he admitted. "You killed a man point blank yesterday, Annie. That's not like you."
Annie stood next to the sofa, eying him as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "It's part of the job. And you haven't been around me over these last three years. I've changed. Wasn't it always you that told me to put my feelings and empathy aside and do my job?" She crossed her arms over her chest.
"I'm just worried about who you're becoming." He rested his elbows on his knees and his chin on his clasped hands. "I don't want you to end up like me."
"So, I've evolved, Eyal. I've changed in ways that make me better at my job. We all change and evolve." She began to pace in front of him. "You're certainly not the same man I met in Zurich seven years ago."
He reached out and wrapped his fingers around her arm, stopping her in mid-stride. "I get it. Yes, we all change. It's true. I just don't want you to loose all the things about you that I-" he cut himself off in mid-sentence. He couldn't bring himself to say that he'd fallen in love with her, at least not since that night three years ago. "That make you the incredible person I've known these last seven years."
Annie looked at him for a long time until a knock sounded at the door.
Silently, Eyal stood and let go of her arm. He strode to the door, peered through the peephole before opening it, and taking a large tray as well as a bottle of wine. He closed the door and smiled at Annie. "Dinner?"
They sat at the table eating and drinking wine. They talked, but mostly about nothing. However, a cloud of tension loomed over their heads waiting for them to talk about what they needed to do next.
He was pouring himself a second glass of wine when she finally spoke. "I need to kill Jonathan Atwater."
Eyal raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Need to? Are you sure?"
"Of course."
He didn't speak for a moment. "Annie he's your countryman. I'm sure your CIA would look past killing the likes of Marco Rubio, but they won't if you kill one of your own."
"I'm already done. This is my unfinished business."
"Annie, what are you talking about?"
"Eyal, you know exactly what this is about. I've given everything for my country and now I'm being thrown under a bus because I'm the easiest one to point fingers at. You of all people should understand."
"No, I don't."
"Eyal, Mossad did the same thing to you for their own gain."
"Don't pretend to understand something you know nothing about," Eyal rubbed the spot on the back of his neck where one of the men had taken a swing at him earlier. He was aching, inside and out.
"No. You can't use that line on me anymore. I'm not a rookie agent. I know what happened. I was there."
He could almost physically see the anger and frustration building in her face. "Leave it alone, Annie. I don't want to talk about it." He stood and turned away, avoiding her eyes.
"If I'm wrong, then set me right." She followed him from the table, gripped his forearm and tugged at him.
"I said drop it," he answered, shaking her off.
"No I won't. Just tell me whatever it is, then maybe I will."
Finally, he turned to her. "You really want to know why I left Mossad? Well, here it is.". Eyal crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. "Yes, I did take the fall for them, but that's not why I quit. I crossed a line and ended up hurting someone I cared too much about. I hated myself for what they asked me to do. It was the last straw."
"I don't understand, Eyal."
He dropped his arms and looked at Annie for a long minute. She didn't see it; she had never seen it. "You do, Annie. Just think about it for a moment." He ran a hand nervously through his messed hair and turned to the bathroom. "I-I need to shower," I said as he closed the door.
He leaned over the sink and took a deep breath wondering if giving up that small truth had been for to best. Eyal studied himself in the mirror. The bruises were beginning to show and the wound on his forehead had begun to bleed again. He picked up on of the washcloths and dampened it under cool water. As he cleaned it, he vaguely wondered if he could find some first aid supplies to clean it properly.
After wiping away the already drying blood, Eyal stripped out of his shirt and jeans. He turned on the shower and stepped inside, closing the sliding glass door behind him.
The water was calming; something he needed right at that moment. He loved Annie, he was finally able to really admit it to himself, but she could be so blinded by her own thoughts. He closed his eyes and let the falling water run down his face.
Suddenly the shower door slid open and Eyal blinked. "Shit, Annie. What are you doing?"
She stood in front of him, her eyes pools of gold and flecks of green, wearing only her t-shirt and underwear. "I-I never knew," she said softly, barely audible over the sound of the water. She took a step forward, pressing her hands against his chest and pushing him up against the cold tile.
The water from the shower cascaded over her quickly soaking what little clothing she was wearing.
"Annie," he whispered softly bringing his hands to her face, searching her with his eyes. "If this is pity, I don't need pity."
"This is hardly pity," she said, a smile on her lips and fire smoldering in her eyes.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Just the one word would have been enough to throw him over the edge. He leaned down and kissed her, lightly at first until she parted her lips and her tongue probed his. His hands found their way to her face, cupping her cheeks.
They parted, just for a moment, and tugged off the rest of her clothes tossing them in a soggy pile in the corner of the shower.
His hands grazed her skin. He wanted to touch every inch of her, memorize her body. A moan escaped her lips as his hands fluttered over her. His lips traced her jaw and the line of her neck as she arched her back, reaching up to meet him. The desire built in his body with every kiss of her lips and every touch of her skin.
Her hands explored too, from his chest and abdomen then trailing up his back. Her fingers were light and agile, fluttering across his skin in a way he hadn't felt in ages. She dug her short fingernails into him and moaned as his teeth grazed her earlobe. "Annie," he whispered between ragged breaths.
"Eyal, please," she begged hooking one of her legs around him.
His breath quickened and his heart raced. His lips met hers again and he kissed her deeply, overflowing with the longing he'd felt for the last three years. He laced Annie's fingers with his and pulled her around so her back was against the tile wall. She laughed at the sudden movement, looking up at Eyal with tiny droplets forming on her eyelashes.
"Yes?" he asked, his forehead pressing against hers.
"Yes," she answered defiantly, reaching up to kiss him again.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and moaned softly as he lifted her onto him. They moved together to the pace of the beating of their hearts. Her back arched and her fingers dug into his back. And, with the whisper of a single word, neshama, they both found their release.
Still holding Annie tightly, they both slid to the floor of the shower. This was not what he had expected. As an afterthought, he reached up and turned the water off. He brushed a tangled strand of blonde hair out of her eyes and cupped her cheek in his hand tilting her face so he could look directly in her eyes. "Hey, I-"
"You don't need to say anything," she interrupted.
"Okay." He wasn't sure what he could say anyway. It's not like this was their first time. But this was different. This hadn't been driven by lust or need or spy-craft.
He held her in his arms until the steam of the shower settled on their skin and chilled them both. "It's late," he whispered, nuzzling her hair.
They stood, knees shaky, reaching for the soft white towels just beyond the shower door. Eyal pulled one down and wrapped it around Annie's body drying her in the process.
He leaned down and kissed her softly, one hand slipping into her tangled, wet hair. In a blur Annie and Eyal tumbled from the bathroom and onto the bed, her towel and soggy clothes long forgotten. He made love to her again, forgetting about everything that had happened over the last few days.
Hours later, he lay beside her, tangled in the sheets and watching her as she lay on her stomach breathing lightly. His hand ran lightly over her shoulder blades. He felt more relaxed than he'd felt in a while. He yawned lightly, let his eyelids fall, and slipped away to sleep.
His eyes opened groggily, a single beam of sunlight slipped past the drapes and shined directly across his chest. Eyal blinked, trying to decipher what had pulled him from his sleep, then he heard it, a soft buzzing from the nightstand on the opposite side of the bed.
He sat up quickly and realized Annie was no longer lying next to him. "Annie?"