Leaving Miami flying to Atlanta with a connecting flight on Delta to Reagan Washington National, Annie was feeling apprehensive about returning to Langley. She had no idea what to expect and she would surely be on the hot seat again. She was beginning to feel like she was the enemy and she had done nothing wrong but run for her life. This time Eyal would be with her, her strength to see what ever thru to the end. Annie reached over and touch Eyal's arm as he was half snoozing, listening to music on headphones. He put his hand on top of her hand with a sweet squeeze, turning his head with those seductive brown eyes and beautiful smile as if to say, 'I'm here with you thru it all.'
"I know what you are thinking Neshema and before you walk back into Langley we need to find out what the mood is like. Sweetheart I know what it is like to try and face something alone but you are not alone." Eyal taking off his head set.
"You think we should call Auggie, find out what going on at Langley?"
"Maybe but I want to talk to Christine first - she has a high level contact, see what she can find out. The less we get Auggie involved the safer he is, remember he was being tail and I'm not sure if all the moles have been found." What Eyal was not saying, any contact Auggie would have with Annie could put him at risk of being accused of treason, Annie is now classified as a fugitive on the run.
"You right Eyal, I'm just wishing this whole damn mess will come to an end soon. Maybe Mr. and Mrs. George Yiokas should just move to Cyprus and retire."
"And we would be living a very boring life. No Annie, we need to clean up this mess and clear you name." Eyal giving her the encouragement she needed to keep fighting.
It was later afternoon when the flight from Atlanta landed in Washington. Standing outside of the terminal, waiting for the next cab, Eyal's phone buzzed. Annie stepped forward to an approaching cab pulling up as Eyal looked at the caller ID, quickly grabbing Annie by the arm and pulled her back, letting someone else take the cab.
"Lavin." Eyal answered his phone, "Good and you... I might, tell me what is going on... Hmmm... How did that happen... I shall, Tuesday will be fine... I can find it. Shalom."
Annie looking at Eyal, seeing the expression on his face, knowing what ever that call was about it was not good. "Neshema, you will be staying with me at my apartment, please don't ask any questions right now, I'll explain what just happened at the apartment."
The ride to the apartment was silent, neither one speaking and Annie could see all the playfulness and happiness had drain from Eyal. He was very good at acting, not showing his inner feelings, his deception could be at its peak but not now, everything he was thinking was showing on his face. Annie was bracing herself for the worse.
Upon reaching the apartment, Eyal found a bottle of wine and two large glasses, both sitting on stools at the kitchen counter, he starts to explain. "That was Deputy Director, Austin Keese on the phone. Christine had told him that I might know where you are hiding." He took Annie hand, "He told me to keep you in hiding and safe, they were having trouble squashing the treason arrest warrant."
"Oh my god, no. It's not over yet."
"Makar Gorshkov aka Michael Greenburg has been arrested and interrogated. He is maintaining you are a Russian agent with the rouge group, turned by Simon Fischer and what's worse - he is passing the polygraphs. His story about you going to Russia was to seek revenge on the woman who killed your lover and they believe him."
Annie holding her head back, looking at the ceiling, he eyes rolled back, "When will this ever end, and why, the only thing I did was to fall in love with my mission's target."
He taking her hands in his, those large strong hands with graceful long fingers, "We will get to the bottom of this and clear you name, I'm with you and still have some pull around the world. Annie, please listen to me and don't go and try to fix this on your own. Let me take the lead and you remain here, under the radar so to speak."
"I wouldn't know where to start anyway. What is your next move."
"First, dismantle your phone, I had fixed it several months back to block any trace movement but now we need to make sure. I'll pick you up a burn phone later this evening so we can stay in touch. Next, I need to make a few calls, start putting some building blocks together."
"Is there anything I can do?"
"When the intel starts to come in, you can build the files to clear you name. Oh yeah I forget, I meeting with Austin Keese tomorrow for lunch."
"Don't walk into a trap."
"I have walked into worse - I'll be fine, we need to catalog the intel from Simon." Eyal pulling out of his luggage several folders and opening his laptop. All the information from Ivan Romanoff's briefcase is here - under file name Bye Ivan, this is the password, amehsen."
"Cute, Neshema backwards."
"That so a smart chick like you could figure it out. Okay let us get to work, you start working on the intel we have so far and I will make a few phone calls."
Eyal taking Annie's phone and dismantling it and place into a metal box. After he finished, "I'm going to get my car from Dulles, than buy us some food and you a burn phone. Don't eat anything in the refrigerator, it's got to be rotten by now." He was out the door with a long list of things on his mind he needed to do to help Annie.
Auggie, taking a break from his office, seating out on a park bench, "I can't believe I'm acting like a 90 year man, setting here feeding furry little creatures." He stopped to listen for anyone to answer or being near. "Nope I guess I'm all alone." He dial a number on his burn phone and waiting, hoping it would not go to voice mail.
"Hi Auggie." It was Eyal on the other end.
"We have a little sticky predicament here stateside."
"So I've heard, tell me what you know."
"A document has surface, signed by Annie pledging her allegiance to a rouge Russian cell called Black Dolphin the same cell that Lena Smith and Simon belong to."
"It's got to be a forgery, can't the CIA forensics team figure that out?"
"That's another problem, CIA is intelligence gathering not policing. We are very lacking in the forensics department and too paranoid to send the document to an outside lab."
"Looks like a lot of nails are being driven into Annie's coffin." Eyal was getting frustrated. "How easy is it for you to check some intel that should have come in."
"Easy."
"The death of Ivan Romanoff."
"That hasn't come in, you know for a fact he is dead."
"As dead and dead can be. I'll be back with you and hope there isn't another mole in your ranks." Eyal disconnected.
"Well shit!" Auggie stood, listen before he walked back to his office and a late night work project.
After talking to Auggie, Eyal just sat in his car trying to calm down his growing frustrations over the recent developments when his phone buzzed again. It was Christine, so what else could go wrong. "Hi beautiful blue eyes." trying to sound upbeat.
"Eyal I don't want you to answer, I hope you have Annie safe. There has been hit contract placed on her head by the Russian mob that covers most of Europe - mainly around the Mediterranean and Egypt. She is in deep trouble and we are the only ones that can pull her out." Christine voice was that of concerned business but Eyal also noted an anxious tone too.
"She is safe right now. Did you find out who the third man's ID that was in Romanoff's villa?"
"A Frenchman by the name of Jacques Brun, a small time crook from Paris and probably Lucien Galbraith's body guard. Another piece of news. Romanoff's girlfriend's name is Era Shala, she is Albanian and once she found out Ivan was dead, she turned to Interpol for protection. She is afraid for her life as the Russian group will have a hit on her all because she shared a bed with Ivan Romanoff she may know about their actives. I don't have to tell you, much like the circumstances with Annie and Simon.
"Yeah, damn it. We going to have to take out that whole damn group. We need to find out what we can on the Russian cell call 'Black Dolphin'. That is the name of Ivan's group. Christine, I'm going to ask our little expert ghost Mark for help tracking down some intel, people movement and more. Need to find out what Era Shala told Interpol also. Do you think he will be on board to help?"
"I know he will, what do you need."
"I've some intel to sort out first and will be back with a shopping list. This is one major mess for Annie and going to take our whole ghost operation to pull this mission off."
"Our little ghost spies can get it done. We are in the battle with you, good luck and take care."
Eyal's next call was to his friend Shlomi Vered, Mossad Intelligence Officer based in Tel Aviv. They had served in military together, Shlomi was one of the ghostly eight that joined Mossad once his tour of duty was up. A horrible automobile accident had left him with two prosthetic legs, left arm and a desk job.
Speaking in Hebrew, "Shlomi this is Eyal and how have you been?"
"Still at it my friend. Good to hear your voice Eyal - was thinking you had dropped off the face of the earth."
The chatted at bit before Eyal asked the needed favor, "I need a favor Shlomi, all the intel you have on a Russian rouge cell named 'Black Dolphin'."
"Give me a second, I've heard about that group." Shlomi was typing at his keyboard. After a minute, "Eyal what in the hell are you getting into. This is one bad group of Russians and some Romanians. Let me tell what we know..."
"Thanks Shlomi. Promise the next time I'm in Tel Aviv we have a few cool ones and thanks again, Shalom."
Now armed with additional information, Eyal was headed to buy food and back to his apartment. A forbidden love affair can turn so deadly and their love affair is also a forbidden one. As long as Annie was involved with the CIA, their relationship had to keep a secret, what a hell of an atmosphere to work in, Mossad may have been paranoid but not anywhere close to that of the CIA.
Returning home with an arm filled with groceries, he had to knock at the door, Annie peeking out the tiny spy hole in the door, let Eyal into the apartment. "You wouldn't believe how much information was in the briefcase of Romanoff's."
"Oh yes I would, but I'm not sure where that intel has gone, something I need to check out tomorrow. And oh hi sweetheart." Giving Annie a swift kiss and moving on to the kitchen. "Have enough here for a few days and two more bags out in the car. I'll be back and then we can talk." He headed back down the hall to collect the remaining bags of food. Once the groceries were put away, some sandwiches and soup made and soft drinks open, they were down to business.
"You ever heard of Black Dolphin?" Eyal was asking Annie.
"Yeah, it is mention in the documents from Ivan's files. I skipped over it not sure what it was."
"The name of the rouge cell Romanoff was head of, name after a hard ass prison in Russia. The cell is a small part of Solntsevskaya Bratva, one of the largest organized Russian Mafia groups in the world." Eyal was devoting his sandwich like he hadn't eaten in days. "I'm telling you Annie, when you find trouble you sure want to do it big time."
"Great, now I have the Russian Mafia after me."
"No, just members of the Black Dolphin, you not that big of a fish to fry."
"Gee, thanks for the compliment."
"However, you do have a price on your head."
"Oh now that made me fell a lot better, who."
"The Russian mob in Europe."
"Well crap. Anything else?" Annie was trying to make to best of a truly bad predicament.
"Right here, you are safe and once word is out that Romanoff is dead, the contract may be cancelled because they might think it would be uncollectable. Money is a powerful force. We just need to get the word out of Ivan's demise and then go after the Black Dolphin group. So what else did you find." Eyal was trying to put Annie's mind at ease but knowing the entire Black Dolphin cell had to be destroyed before she was actually safe. They spend the rest of the evening going over the intel from Ivan's briefcase and Simon's locker.
It was late that night when, "We have put together right much information for my meeting with Austin tomorrow, let's call a night." leading Annie to the bedroom, "I have something in mind that will relax both of us."
"Yeah, what's that Mr. Lavin."