AUTHOR'S NOTE: A HUGE thank you to Finlaure13 for helping me out with this. Her encouragement is a big reason I keep writing. Thank you all for the follows, favorites, and reviews. The end of the school year is approaching, therefore, I will be VERY busy with meetings, test preparations, and so forth. Please be patient if I am not able to update. I really am trying to get ALL stories updates. If you keep reading and reviewing, I will keep writing.
Chapter 9
What Else Could you want from me?
Annie did not wake up again, to Auggie's knowledge. He stayed by her side as much as he could, keeping check that she was still breathing and had a pulse, ready to do CPR at a moment's notice if necessary.
The ambulance finally came forty-five minutes after it had been called. Amos's partner had returned to the cabin about 10 minutes after Amos was subdued. Auggie easily took him down and went back to sitting with Annie. Now Amos and his partner sat tied up waiting for backup to arrive, which was also delayed due to the weather conditions in the mountains.
Barber had kept an eye on Amos and his partner while Auggie stayed with Annie. He also searched the cabin for evidence of their plans. It was hard for Barber to look at Annie. He was not accustomed to seeing things like that in person. From time to time, violent images came across his screens, but he had never experienced anything this bloody or real in the field before.
As the paramedics loaded Annie into the back of the ambulance, Joan arrived at the cabin with the rest of the backup.
"Auggie, go with Annie. Make sure she is never alone in case she wakes up. It is imperative that we find out what she knows and if she told them anything we need to be concerned about." Joan told Auggie as soon as she arrived.
"Don't you need me back at headquarters to interview these guys?" Auggie asked hesitantly.
"No, Auggie, I need you with Annie. I will take care of getting someone to get these guys to headquarters and to interview them. I will come to the hospital to check on Annie myself, but for now, don't let her be alone." Joan instructed. "Oh, and call her sister."
"Okay," was his only reply as he got into the back of the ambulance next to the frail woman he had been watching for the last forty-five minutes. The paramedics closed the doors just as Auggie saw more cars approaching which he knew to be a CIA sweep team. They would collect all the evidence they needed and clean the cabin of all fingerprints and blood. When they were finished it would be as if none of this had happened. If only it could be that easy for Annie, he thought to himself as he watched the paramedics work tirelessly over her, checking her vitals.
"Bleeding seems to be under control, breathing is shallow, pulse is weak, blood pressure is low, temperature is low, and pupils are responsive." He heard one paramedic say.
"She's blind." Auggie told them matter-of-factly.
"What do you mean she's blind? Do you mean, blinded from this event or before this? He asked.
"She was blind before this." Auggie answered.
"Why would someone do this to a blind woman? How long has she been blind?" The paramedic asked as he continued to assess Annie.
"I don't know." Auggie confessed. He really didn't know much of anything about her. But there was something inside him that wanted to know everything he could about her.
"Heart rate is dropping. She's flat-lined. We're losing her! Get the paddles." The second paramedic shouted to his partner.
"No! You have to save her. She can't die." Auggie suddenly found his mind going into panic mode as he grabbed Annie's swollen hand as if it would suddenly revive her.
"Sir, you have to move, she won't die, not on our watch, we've never lost a patient in this ambulance and I don't intend to start tonight." He stated as he pushed Auggie out of the way and prepared Annie for electro shock.
Two shocks to the chest later, the monitor told them that she was back, her chest raising and falling steadily with the help of the oxygen they attached to her. Auggie began to relax a little as he watched her breathing steady off slightly.
At the hospital, Annie was immediately given a sedative, hooked to IV fluids, and given a full check. The doctors had many questions for Auggie about how she'd acquired her injuries. Auggie was limited in what he could reveal to the doctor, but he told him everything he needed to tend to Annie. She had deep lacerations on her wrists from where she had been handcuffed, she had bruising on 80% of her body, some of it quite deep, and the doctor suspected several broken bones. He was also very concerned about the blindness. When Auggie told him that she had been blind before now, the doctor seemed skeptical to believe him.
"Why would I lie?" Auggie asked.
"I don't know. There is evidence of cranial swelling, but the wound on her head doesn't seem bad enough to cause this level of swelling. I will do an MRI to confirm. How many times has this women suffered this kind of injury?"
"Doctor, I can't answer these questions. We have been out of touch lately. She wasn't blind when I was in town last, we had met up a few days ago to "catch up" and she was blind and then all this happened. I can promise to get you the answers you need though, once she wakes up. Can we just focus on the injuries she has right now."
"Yes, I need her in X-ray, stat." He told a near-by nurse who was cleaning one of Annie's many wounds.
"Yes, sir" the nurse said without looking away from her task.
Auggie couldn't help but marvel at the number of cuts, abrasions, and bruises on Annie's body as they cleaned her up. Some of the injuries were clearly older than others. The amount of swelling to her face since he saw her earlier was significant, which told him that was one of the recent injuries. Her eyes looked like they wouldn't be able to open if she tried. Hooked up to an IV, surrounded by machines, and an oxygen mask over her face, this did not look like the same woman he had met a few days ago. Now he had the unpleasant task of calling her sister.
Danielle had insisted on Auggie taking her contact information when he had come looking for her, what seemed now like a lifetime ago. He had called to update her a few times a day since then and had assured her that the police did not need to be involved in the case. He had had to read her in that he was CIA. She was not happy with him that her little sister had been exposed to the world he chose to live in. It had bothered Danielle even more when Auggie had told her that Annie did not know who he really worked for.
Danielle answered the phone on the first ring despite the late hour.
"Auggie? Did you find her?" Danielle asked immediately.
"Yes, Danielle. I found her. We are at the hospital now." He said. Pausing he continued, "Danielle, she is beat up pretty bad. The men that kidnapped her did quite a number on her. You might not want to see her like this."
"No! Are you kidding me? I will be there as soon as I can. Where are you?"
Auggie sighed, but gave her the name and address of the hospital. Since they were still in the mountains, it would take Danielle a few hours to get there, but still, Auggie wasn't sure how to prepare himself for Danielle's questions and more importantly to the badly injured sister she was about to see.
Auggie anxiously waited in Annie's room as the nurses took her to radiology. The doctors had insisted that he was not allowed to come with her for the tests, but assured him that she would not be waking up while there.
As Annie was brought into the room, a nurse alerted Auggie that someone was there to see Annie. He knew immediately that it had to be Joan, Danielle would not have had time to get here yet, especially given the current weather conditions. After watching the nurse put Annie into the bed and get everything hooked to her, he sat for a few minutes beside her. Despite the cuts, bruises, and swelling, he still marveled at her. This woman had been through so much. It still flabbergasted him that a blind woman could translate documents from multiple different languages, but now, even more amazingly, she had survived being kidnapped and beat by international arms dealers.
What else can this woman do? he thought to himself. As he went to the hallway to meet Joan, he promised himself that he would get to know Annie better.
"How is she?" Joan said in way of greeting as Auggie approached her.
"The doctor has not come to tell me the x-ray results yet, but they suspect several broken bones. They have her sedated right now. We lost her on the way here, but the paramedics got her back. I don't know if she told her captors anything yet. But, if she didn't, she's better than most civilians, heck, better than some CIA-trained operatives. It looks like they beat her quite extensively. She was definitely tied to a chair or something; she has marks on her wrists from being restrained. She also has a lot of cuts and bruising. Her face is quite swollen too."
"She's stronger than she looks. I can't go into details, but this is not the first time she has been through something like this. But we still need to know whether they got any information from her, she knows more than even she realizes she knows. We will read her in as soon as we can. I know you read her sister in. Are you sure that was a good idea?"
"What do you mean this is not the first time she has been through something like this?" Auggie inquired without answering Joan's question.
"Like I said, I can't go into details. It's classified." Joan answered surprising Auggie. There were not a lot of things Joan didn't tell him.
Deciding to ignore the topic of Annie's past, Auggie answered Joan's question about Danielle. "I didn't really have a choice, Joan. She was going to call the police. She wanted Annie to be found. Danielle is apparently extremely protective of Annie. Did you really want a police investigation into all of this?"
"You're right. I just hope Danielle doesn't prevent her sister from joining us when the time comes to ask her."
"Joan, do you really think that after all of this, she will join the CIA? Or want anything to do with us?"
"Yes, I do." Joan stated simply. "For now, we will wait for the doctor to update us on her condition. Shall we wait in her room?"
"Sure, but I'll warn you, Annie looks really bad. Don't be alarmed when you see her." Auggie cautioned.
"I've seen torture victims before Auggie. I've even been one." Joan stated.
"Okay, suit yourself, but I did warn you."
As they entered the dimly lit room, Joan entered after Auggie. Auggie heard Joan's breath catch in a small gasp as her eyes rested on Annie's severely damaged body.
Joan surveyed the cuts on her face, bruises on her arms, extremely swollen face, and bandages on her wrists. She looked over the woman's raised leg and bandaged arm. Concern fell over her as she realized the difficult recovery Annie had in her future. This was not the same woman she had met six months ago.
Thirty minutes later, Annie's doctor came into the room. "Good evenin', folks." he said with a southern accent. "I'm Doctor Hilton, are you family?"
"Yes, I am her Aunt Joanie. This is her cousin, Auggie. Her sister, Danielle, is also on her way." Joan lied smoothly.
"From what I understand, Annie, has been through quite an ordeal. She has four broken ribs, but luckily it doesn't look like any of them are in danger of puncturing a lung, but we will need to keep an eye out of that. Her right wrist, right collarbone, and left leg are broken as well. Surprisingly, there is no internal bleeding. She has a mild concussion, so we are hopeful she will wake up despite being unconscious upon arrival. She is severely dehydrated and has not eaten for many days. We are hydrating and nourishing her now so that her body can begin the healing process. The MRI showed us some insight into a suspected cause of her blindness. It looks like sometime in the last couple years she suffered a traumatic brain injury that cut off oxygen supply to her optic nerve. We think this has shut off connection between her eyes and brain. It seems her eyes see just fine, but her brain does not receive any visual input. The swelling in her brain has gone down from the original injury, however, the damage to the nerve might be irreversible. Of course, we will know more about this when she wakes up and see if there is anything we can do to restore any of her sight."
"How long will she have to stay here doctor?" Joan asked.
"It is hard to say. She will need to be here for at least a couple days. She will be in a cast for 9 to 12 weeks for the leg and probably a sling and brace for the arm the same amount of time. I don't know enough about her daily life yet to know whether she will be able to get around on her own. I understand she is from the D.C. area, so whether she goes to a hospital, rehab or daily care center while she heals, will be up to her. I am not sure how she can get around on in her condition. The blindness also adds to tis challenge quite a bit. Does she use a cane proficiently? Has she been through rehab for her blindness?"
"Yes. She is comfortable using a cane and has a guide dog as well. She can cook for herself, mastered Braille in six months, and lives almost completely independent. I am not sure how she will get around with a broken arm and leg, but I am sure she will figure it out. She is quite independent despite her blindness. She is a professor at Georgetown University. I am certain she will not want to be in any kind of rehab or daily living center. We can make sure someone helps her if that is what is needed. She lives in her sister's guest house, but her cousin and I can also help her out whenever necessary." Joan answered surprising Auggie with her knowledge of Annie and her volunteering him to help Annie. He was uncertain if this was something that was expected of him or if it was just for the doctor's benefit.
"We have stopped administering the sedative, so she should be waking up in the next few hours. When she does, a nurse has been instructed to call me. If she is not awake in the next several hours, we will try to wake her. Our concern is that if she doesn't wake on her own it could indicate more brain damage than we originally thought. It is difficult to tell what is the new injury and what is the old injury that caused her blindness. I am anxious to talk with her about how her blindness occurred and what, if anything, she might see."
"To my knowledge, she sees nothing." Auggie stated matter-of-factly.
"Okay, I will be back to check in on her in a few hours. A nurse will be in soon to put a brace on her shoulder, wrist, and a soft cast on her leg. We will put hard casts on later when the swelling has gone down. Please let the nurse know if you need anything."
"Thank you, Doctor." Joan and Auggie replied in unison.
Two hours later, Annie began to come out of the drug-induced slumber. She immediately knew that she was no longer in the cabin she had been held in the past four days. She cautiously assessed herself without moving. As she slowly opened her eyes, she mentally prepared herself for the void that would meet them. She heard the rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor beside her, the low hum of a light above her, and the hushed whispers of someone in the room with her.
"Hello?" She muttered softly turning her head toward where she thought the whispers came from.
"You're awake!" Joan said more cheerfully than Auggie thought he had ever heard her. "How do you feel?" she inquired.
"Hi Joan. I feel like I've been ran over by a semi-truck. What are you doing here? And where is here?
"You're in the hospital. I came to check on you."
"I know I'm at the hospital, but what hospital? Is August here too?" she asked, already knowing the answer. She could smell his cologne over even the antibiotic smell of the hospital.
"You're at Blue Ridge Medical Center. It was the closest hospital to where you were being held. We will have you transferred closer to home as soon as you are well enough to travel." Joan said.
"And yes, August is here too." Auggie said emphasizing August hoping to show that he didn't like being called this formal name.
"What are my injuries?" Annie asked tentatively, not wanting to ask, but also fearing injuring herself trying to discover on her own.
"Severe bruising and swelling, many cuts and abrasions, broken collar bone, ribs, wrist, and leg and a concussion. No internal bleeding." Joan told her as she held Annie's left hand, being careful not to aggravate the IV in the back of her hand.
Annie just sighed as she lay seemingly staring at the ceiling. Auggie couldn't believe that she had been able to open her eyes at all. Her face was still quite swollen.
"Is there anything we can get you?" Auggie asked.
"Yeah, how about a new life." Annie stated bitterly.
"Oh, ummm. I'm sorry this happened Annie." Auggie said looking at the floor as he spoke. He still blamed himself for allowing Amos and his partner to catch him listening to them and follow him. It truly was his fault that Annie had been kidnapped. He would have to make it up to her, somehow.
Annie knew that Auggie and Joan were just trying to help, but for Annie, this was the second time something like this had happened to her. Both times she had been helping other people when the unthinkable happened. "I'm sorry guys, I just need to be alone right now. I'm very tired." Annie said weakly hoping they would just leave.
"Annie, we won't leave." Joan replied surprising Annie. "But if there is anything you need to talk about, we are here. Danielle will be here soon as well. Auggie called her when you got here. The weather conditions are preventing her from getting here any faster, but she told him she would be here as soon as she could."
"Why are you here? I'm just a translator for you." Annie asked more out of spite than out of curiosity.
This time, it was Auggie to answer. "Annie, you were kidnapped because of the translation I asked you to do."
"I know that dumbass. I know it's your fault this happened to me." Annie snapped back coldly. "So, again, August, why are you here?"
"Ummm, I-I'm, ummm." Auggie stammered, but he didn't know how to answer her. Joan motioned him out of the room.
"Annie, he is here because I instructed him to be here. I've told him to leave for now so we can just talk alone woman to woman. We need to know what you told the men who kidnapped you." Joan said suddenly very business-like and intimidating.
"Nothing. I told them nothing. Why would I tell them anything? I was able to get information about their plans before they beat me unconscious. They didn't know I speak German." Annie said, still appearing to stare at the ceiling. Annie had to admit she was more comfortable with Joan than with August.
"Nothing? Are you certain?" Joan asked skeptically.
"Yes. I told them August was a student needing help with a paper. They didn't believe me, but that's the only answer I gave them." Annie stately straightforwardly. "Joan, I'm not comfortable with him being here. Don't leave me alone with him." Annie asked pleading.
"Annie, he is going to be here. It is his job to make sure you are okay and to help you as you need it. I know you're not comfortable with men, but I can promise you, Auggie will not hurt you." Joan answered.
"I'm fine with men. I just don't like him. He's arrogant, condescending, and-" Annie tried to argue feebly.
"Annie, I know about Africa." Joan revealed interrupting Annie causing her to painfully sit up to turn her head in the direction Joan sat in.
"Ohh, Ow!" Annie shouted as she brought her hand up to brace her now aching ribs. Joan was by her side the same second.
"Annie, you're quite badly injured. Remember you have several broken bones, please refrain from any sudden movements. The doctor should be in soon. I'm sure he can give you some more pain medicine.
Still rubbing her side Annie breathed out through the pain, "I don't need medicine, I need to go home. And I need you to leave."
"You're not leaving here until the doctor says you can, and I'm not leaving either." Joan said firmly.
"Joan what do you want from me? I was kidnapped for four days, starved, and nearly beat to death for you. What more could you possibly want from me?" Annie asked struggling to get herself in a comfortable sitting position. She leaned back into the pillows and sighed.