Chapter 7

AN: It has been a long while since I've spent time writing. These are not my characters, they belong to CA writers.

Annie settled herself into her business class seat on a commercial flight to Heathrow. She was luckily upgraded at the gate, it would be nice to get some rest on the seven and a half hour flight. She traveled under one of her aliases she picked up in the years since she joined the agency. She had numerous agency assigned credentials, but also her own private collection she amassed over the last few years. Annie was always careful whether she was living her "real" life or on the job, she watched her back and practiced surveillance and evasion techniques. It was fully ingrained in her psyche, so much so that Ryan made fun of her in the early days of their relationship when she would take a longer and very circuitous route to Whole Foods or drive to a gas station miles away. Ryan came to understand where she was coming from as they grew closer. Spies and soldiers approach missions entirely differently, but she had some soldier in her as he had learned the finesse of spies when he entered the business side of soldiering. When they met Annie was still fresh from taking down Henry Wilcox, evading friends and foes, and then unraveling Belenko's Machiavellian revenge plot while hiding her heart condition. He pretended he was playing along at first when she was so careful, but after the betrayal he endured at the hands of his long time friend and colleague, he found himself being extremely cautious as well. They complimented each other and made each other better at their respective jobs and better as people.

Annie set out to avoid triggering any bells once she arrived in London and that planning started even before she set foot in the UK. With a couple of new phones, e-mail addresses, and a few gift Visa cards she made hotel reservations. She had a slim dossier on Duncan Lewis she studied already. She declined the wine and champagne when offered. Instead, she requested water and orange juice to stay hydrated. On all her missions she saved the alcohol for the trip back and this trip was no different than a mission, she needed to stay focused and treat the trip just like any day at work, but somehow this felt different and she couldn't shake that feeling.

How her weekend plans changed thought on a dime thought Annie as she remembered her plans with Joan and Mac. They were going to take Mac to the zoo on the next day. Annie reached for her phone to text Joan before the flight attendants demanding turning devices to airplane mode.

Annie: Hi! So sorry, I need to cancel. Tell Mac, I'll make it up to him.

She intentionally left it vague, hoping Joan would not ask any questions, but no such luck. She saw the three little dots appear immediately, showing that Joan was responding.

Joan: Mac will be disappointed, but he'll get over it. Everything okay?

Annie contemplated how to respond.

Annie: Something came up, I'll fill you in at the office.

On the other end Joan raised an eyebrow. She wondered what was going on with Annie, her intuition and the close relationship she developed with Annie told her that "something" was not insignificant.

Joan: Let me know if you need anything.

Annie: Thanks! Give Mac a hug from me and tell him to say hello to the pandas for me.

A small twinge of guilt came over Annie. She and Joan had a great working relationship and above all else, they became friends over the last couple of years. She felt bad keeping things from her, but until she knew what she was really dealing with, Annie decided to keep everything to herself. Part of her considered that Joan may know more than she revealed to Annie years ago. They weren't in the best place after she returned from Russia, so it was a possibility, but for now she needed to gather her own information.

Annie would eventually have to explain to her boss and the agency that she kept her contact with Simon's sister hidden. Inevitably it would result in being asked to detail each and every correspondence and contact. Using Eyal Levin as their go-between would be frowned upon too. She could be terminated for all of it, but coming clean wasn't something she felt necessary yet. In her defense, no one at Langley asked or spoke of Simon after she barely made it out of Russia alive, her time in the prison left her scarred to some extent despite her training. There were no polygraphs or endless hours of debriefs, despite a brief stint at the Blue Bonnet once she returned home. Annie took it all as appreciation for the work she did and the hell she endured in the aftermath of serving justice to Lena Smith. She felt a sense of immunity from doubt or given her many personal sacrifices and big kills the higher ups felt she had proven herself in the last couple of years. Still a part of her always knew a career for someone like her had an end point eventually, but she wanted that to happen on her terms and her terms only.

Langley had no idea Annie even met Zarya and Annie saw it as her duty to keep Zarya's whereabouts guarded all these years, the threat made against her rang in her ears and she knew what Russians were capable of doing to her if they felt they could get information from her. Eyal and Auggie were the only ones who knew she had contact with Simon's sister. Annie was thrown into another assignment with Eyal upon her return. Her life seemed to fast-forward from then onward, but now in light of what she learned from Zarya, it made sense. The CIA and MI-6 didn't ask any further questions because perhaps they wanted to bury everything there was about Simon Fischer and stick with the narrative that he was a Russian spy to protect whatever in roads they had made through Simon.

Annie wanted the truth, she needed the truth to set her free. The guilt she held onto over Simon's death stayed with her, the whispers that he deserved to die as a Russian spy never sat well with her. He killed his handler to save her. Good and evil was never murkier than it had been in that moment she peeked through the door in the store room of the cigar factory and saw Simon calmly slit Hector's throat. They spoke not a word about it afterwards. The surreal moments of that car ride to the airstrip returned to her. What she felt despite watching him kill a man wasn't fear. She felt safe and safer still when he handed her that postcard and her passport. All those emotions led her to packing her things and agreeing to run off to the Maldives with him. She let out a small chuckle and shook her head. What would have happened had she convinced her to go to Langley before Lena showed up guns ablazing? Would he be alive? Would they have managed to be together? Would it have lasted?

Annie was wiser and more experienced at the present to know that letting those thoughts fester would do no good. It wasn't productive. Ryan taught her to look forward not backwards. He always focused on using the past as a tool, to learn from it, to thank it, but never to let it grab a tight hold so as to not let you move. His outlook on life is how he became successful and others with his same pedigree became overtaken with PTSD or a tendency towards brute force as a solution to all problems.

When she allowed herself to let Lena's voice enter her thoughts, she was right. Annie had a type. Ben, Auggie, Simon and Ryan fit pieces of that mold. She took what she could from Lena so that hatred for her would not eat her up. She became the operative she was in large part to both Joan and Lena. If Lena taught her anything, it was to anticipate and prepare to be steps ahead and she had done just that for this trip.

Before boarding completed, Annie texted Ryan to tell him that she had to take a short trip. She told him she would likely be back after his return. There were no details and Ryan knew not to ask questions. He had to go through a series of workshops on the inner workings of the CIA, how to support a covert operative and how to assist in maintaining cover for a spouse, how to lie basically, and so on. It didn't matter who he was or the nature of his work, it was required and he participated fully for her sake. He had to admit he learned a few things at those workshops.

The couple had an understanding about their respective jobs and the sensitive nature of their work. The CIA encouraged its people to marry within the agency, but truthfully marriages within the CIA weren't any more successful than those who chose to marry outside the agency. Somehow Ryan and Annie discussed their future and felt they were going to make it against all odds as long as they never lied to each other. That was their pact, they might not be able to tell each other all the details of their work, but they agreed to silence and smiles over lies and it had worked thus far.

On his end, Ryan didn't think anything of the news that Annie had to take a trip. In fact, he thought it would be better for Annie to work than focus on another unsuccessful month of trying to start a family. He knew his wife, he knew her drive to serve her country and neutralize threats. He loved so much that she give her all to her country, it was admirable. It was consuming at times, but it gave her purpose and she needed it as much as the Agency needed her. To Ryan, Annie was one of the toughest people he knew and he had no cause to worry about her or put her in a box even though his very nature wanted to protect her, he checked his worry every time she was on an assignment.

/

It was hard for Annie's mind to shut down for sleep once the flight attendants dimmed the lights, she kept going over Zarya showing up and then the unexpected information she shared. Questions kept swimming around in her head as she replayed every moment she shared with Simon through a new perspective. She reviewed her plans of approach, it took about an hour, but Annie eventually fell asleep until woken up with coffee and breakfast service before landing. Annie freshened up after landing and ditched her personal belongings in a locker inside the terminal.

/

Kenneth Martin, met Annie outside baggage claim when she arrived at Heathrow. They hadn't seen each other in years. He greeted her with a warm hug.

"I was ever so delighted to hear from you Annie Walker!"

"It's been too long, Kenneth!" said Annie smiling.

"I suppose this is business?"

"I'm afraid so," said Annie looking down for a moment before meeting Kenneth's eyes. "I needed a favor and I thought you could help."

"I owe you a huge debt and even if I didn't, I would help a fellow spy," winked Kenneth.

Annie smiled. "I was hoping you'd be game, so thank you. . . " They engaged in a bit of small talk about each other's lives before Annie filled him in as much as needed and asked Kenneth to do a few things for her.

"I know you've worked the Middle East, but I'm looking to find information MI-6 has on a British National by the name of Simon Fischer."

"Fischer? The venture capitalist who was killed in a mugging in D.C.? It was all over the news a few years ago, " said Kenneth.

The two gave each other a knowing look and as spies, they knew. Simon wasn't who he said he was.

"What are you looking for exactly?"

"Anything that your instinct tells you is out of place, but really enough to attract attention."

As they drove into London, Annie also told Kenneth she may be on a wild goose chase, but she was looking for a man linked to Simon Fischer, she knew nothing of this man, not a name, address or any personal details other than a sketch.

Kenneth looked over with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I like a good challenge, let's have a look."

Annie, showed him the photo of the sketch Zarya gave her while they were at a light.

"He doesn't look familiar, but he does look old…" said Kenneth giving Annie a queer look.

"I think he's in his seventies. My hunch is Russian desk, cold war era and very hight up, but I'm not sure he'll come out to play, so. . . "

Kenneth shook his head as he drove. "This is who I'm to trigger with my inquiries?"

Annie nodded and told him that Simon Fischer died on American soil, but was a British National accused of being a Russian Spy. Everything surrounding his death isn't available to her at the CIA.

"I'll see what I can do, there's been a lot going on as far as the Russians are concerned. I haven't had the pleasure, but know a couple of chaps who may be of help," said Kenneth.

"Just have them keep it discreet , please, CIA doesn't know I'm here," said Annie with a wink.

Kenneth parked at the place Annie directed him to drop her off and looked around, "I figured that much, there's quite a bit within walking distance if you get peckish."

"I'll check in and prep things. I'll meet up with you in a few hours?"

"Sounds good, there in the glove compartment, take it," said Kenneth.

Annie smiled after opening up the glove compartment. "Thank you," said Annie when she saw the gun. She shoved it into her purse without missing a beat.

"Here's my address should you need a safe spot, though this place is a tad fancier," said Kenneth as he wrote on a notepad and ripped it off. Key is under the mat.

"Thanks. I'll leave the key for you with the concierge. I'm next door. You know the plan," said Annie.

"We've shared a trunk together remember?"

Annie did remember. It seemed so long ago.

"However brief, it left an impression, I think we're going to be in for a go of it aren't we?" asked Kenneth.

"Are you still in, your job might be at stake…" said Annie.

"Keen as ever," said Kenneth with a wink. "I wouldn't have my job if it weren't for you."

Annie smiled and whispered, "Thank you," before leaving Kenneth.