Globe Trotting – Cape Town P8
Annie woke from their morning nap to Auggie's fingers ghosting over her body.
"Did you sleep?" she asked as she turned in his arms.
"Very well, much better with you here instead of in some random guy's hotel room," he admitted.
"For the record, all the world class bath tubs in the world can't compare to being with you," she smiled and reached up to kiss him.
"When this mission is over we are spending an entire day in bed," he informed but pulled back from her lips and flung his legs over the side of the bed.
"I'd like that," she agreed.
"Oh, you will more than like that, trust me," he smirked.
"Back to work?" she asked with a frown as she saw they had only really slept for 2 hours.
"We are burning day light. Or, at least, I assume there is day light since it is day time," he sighed.
***555***
Annie made coffee while Auggie pulled up all the intel she had gathered and reviewed the phone history of the 2 hours they slept. While she was translating some of the hand written notes on the documents she photographed a call came in to Yuri's cell, Auggie put the clone phone on speaker.
Yuri's voice was fast and angry, Annie listened with increasing concern as the conversation went on.
"What's up?" Auggie asked when the call ended.
Annie was quiet, she wasn't even breathing.
"Annie I barely speak Russian, but anyone could tell that was not a friendly chat and he mentioned you by name."
Busted. Auggie was too smart for his own good sometimes.
"He was interrogating Dimitri on where I came from, who I really was and where Olya went."
"You're burned Annie, I am calling Calder right…"
Annie stilled his movement towards the phone with a tight grip of his forearm.
"No."
"What do you mean, no? Your mark knows you are CIA."
"If he thought I was CIA I would be dead right now," Annie said harshly and saw the color drain out of Auggie's face.
"Sorry, but it is true, he would have killed me and not left me alone in his hotel room. He may be suspicious, but not of what I really am," she shook her head, released his arm and stood.
Annie paced the small room in the thin tee shirt and shorts she had put on after they slept. She worried at her thumb nail with her teeth and ran her other hand through her hair trying to figure out what was going on.
"Annie, protocol dictates that if an agent is burned…."
"He made no indication that he thought I was CIA, he is an important man, he is just being cautious."
"I may not have level 5 Russian, but he was more than curious and less than civil about it," Auggie indicated the tone and the few words he could make out.
"Admit it Anderson, you only know the curse words in Russian," she laughed.
"And all the words for alcohol," he admitted.
"Well you are half way there then, I'll teach you the 14 ways to express extreme cold and you will practically be a native speaker."
"You are deflecting, we have to abort this mission."
"If we run he'll know I am CIA…" Annie made her case.
"Annie…"
"Auggie…I've run enough the past year, we can still get this win."
"You are being foolish."
"Excuse me?" she narrowed her eyes at him.
"We have protocols for this type of thing for a reason, your life is not worth risking when there are other options."
"We are so close to this, if I run it becomes about me not about the intel. Yuri could go underground we could lose our window," she rationalized.
"And if you stay in play he could shoot you or expose you to this bioweapon."
"If he wanted me dead I would be dead, I think there is something else going on here. I don't think he thinks I am CIA, I think he thinks I am a competitor."
"What?"
"The way he talked to Dimitri it was desperate and nervous, but not like he was about to be caught more like he was about to be scooped. There must be another player in the game we don't know about."
"That is a big assumption," Auggie blew out a breath.
"Well if there is and he thinks I work for the competition he isn't going to kill me until he finds out what I know."
"We are not using you as human bait," Auggie stood quickly.
"Babe, I know you are worried about me as my husband as well as my handler and trust me, it is sexy, but this is what I do, I can play this game."
"How about we ask Calder?" Auggie compromised.
***555***
"I am going to have to add marriage counselor to my long list of impressive credentials I see," Calder sighed after he listened to both sides of the argument.
"We don't need a marriage counselor, we need an objective professional opinion," Annie said as she squeezed Auggie's knee.
"You need a tie breaker," Calder laughed.
"That too," Auggie nodded.
"I have a team in Cape Town right now, let's keep Annie in play with back up at the ready."
Auggie grimaced at the decision.
"But Walker, the first whiff of trouble you bolt and the team goes in. This intel is worth taking a chance on, but not a lethal chance," Calder clarified.
"Absolutely," she agreed.
Annie knew both Auggie and Calder were worried about her focus with Henry. She had made decisions in the dark that put her life in jeopardy, she had to show them this was different, that she was still able to make tough calls without seeming suicidal about it, this case was a good start.
"Stay in the cover, Yuri's records have him back early next week. In the meantime see if any of the other guys have anything interesting to contribute," Calder hung up.
Annie turned to Auggie and forced his face in her direction with her hand on his chin.
"I can do this," she reassured and leaned forward to kiss him soundly.
Auggie didn't respond verbally, he reached for her and pressed her back against the arm of the tiny sofa they were sitting on, pressed the full weight of his body against hers as he kissed the breath right out of her.
"We have work to do," she managed to gasp out between searing kisses.
"Trust me, this won't take long," he arched an eyebrow in invitation and Annie cradled his body between her thighs, inviting him closer.
This case had really put a damper on their honeymoon phase and apparently the sexual tension, combined with the adrenaline of the latest development in their case was enough to escalate their passion pretty quickly.
"Now Auggie," she encouraged her voice in his ear as she used her feet to push at his shorts.
The litany of witty remarks that were usually front and center in his mind were rapidly replaced by a fog of desire as she rocked against him, he nodded in agreement and kissed her again.
TBC…
