AN: As always, I do not own Covert Affairs or any of the characters. This chapter follows the Season 2 Finale Letters Never Sent quite closely. All the italics are pulled verbatim from the show. This will be the likely be one of the last chapters to follow canon so closely. I will loosely follow the Lena plot from Season 3 but much more will be my own ideas of how I'd hoped the season would go. Reviews and constructive criticism always welcome!
Dreaming Through Regret
Chapter 4 - Follow You Around
"Auggie…"
"Hey! We ready for some Aquavit?"
"I failed to liaise with my contact."
"They didn't show?"
"Not exactly. Danielle was at the event and the contact mistook her for me."
"Wait, what was your sister doing there?"
"I'm on vacation! I thought I was…"
"Where's your contact now?"
"Off radar. What's the protocol?"
"For this, there is no protocol."
"What do I do with the package?"
"It's Return to Sender."
Annie hung up her phone, frustrated at the whole situation. Making a judgement call and a quick time zone calculation in her head, pleased that Israel was only one hour ahead of her, she pulled out the encrypted phone that had been delivered to her safe house only 2 days after Eyal had departed for Tel Aviv. She dialed the only number stored on the phone and waited while it rang.
"Annie, how are you? I didn't expect a call from you for a few days. Aren't you on vacation in Stockholm?" came the warm welcome from Eyal.
"I am in Stockholm, but my vacation has been commandeered. I need your help."
"Always. What's happened?"
"I brought Danielle with me, she'd just found out her husband was cheating on her, and I was supposed to be on vacation. Not minutes after landing Auggie called asking me to run an intel exchange. It was supposed to be easy, meet a contact, swap envelopes, and move on with my vacation."
"I take it that is not how this played out, is it?"
"No damn it, my contact mistook Danielle for me and now they're in the wind and I have to return the package to sender."
"Annie, follow your protocol, but be careful, something doesn't feel right about this."
"Always, Eyal. I'll call you when I'm back at my hotel."
"Tov, Neshama."
Calmer now, Annie made her way back to Old Town and Petr, and was surprised to find no one manning the desk out front. She found Petr's office unlocked and entered not knowing what she would come across. She stumbled upon the secretary and Petr both dead in the office. Her CIA phone rang startling her.
"Auggie?"
"Annie, a janitor at the Waterfront Congress Hotel just found your contact dead in a stairwell. What's your 20?"
"Um, I'm at Petr's, he's dead too. Killed."
"Tell me what you see."
"Uh, looks like he was going for his emergency sidearm, his secretary is dragged in here too."
"You need to leave."
"This place is trashed. There's still guns and cash in the safe. Whoever was here was looking for something specific."
"Most likely your envelope. Listen to me, Stockholm is too hot, you're gonna need to leave."
"What about Danielle?"
"Where is she?"
"I don't know, we had an argument."
"Annie, if she had any contact with the killer, she's in danger too."
"Okay, I gotta go find her."
"I'm going to text you your exit strategy. Go!"
Before she left Petr's office she grabbed his gun and stored it in her clutch. Annie quickly made her way back to the hotel she and her sister were staying at. She called for Danielle as she entered their room and received no response, so she grabbed her phone and called her. Annie, much to her dismay, heard the phone ringing from inside the hotel room. Nearing a panicked state, she yet again pulled out her encrypted phone and dialed Eyal.
"Neshama, everything alright?"
"No Eyal, my CIA contact is dead, his place trashed, and I can't find Danielle. How did my vacation go south so quickly?"
"Annie, breathe. You are going to figure this out. You are an immensely capable operative. You will find Danielle and get you both safely home."
Annie took a deep breath before replying, "Thank you Eyal. I needed to hear that. Now I need to track down…"
The door to her room opened just then and in walked Danielle. "Found her. Call you soon."
Eyal, more concerned than he let on, booked himself on the next flight to Stockholm. He would not leave Annie to handle this alone. Not because he didn't think she could handle it, but because they were a partnership, they watched each other's backs. His flight departed in just over an hour and half, so he walked down the hall at King Saul Blvd and asked to take the next couple of days off. Luckily his go pack was always ready in the trunk of his car, so he was on his way to Ben Gurion airport within 15 minutes. He would touch down in Stockholm just before 1am the next morning.
Annie, after a bit of convincing, managed to get Danielle to agree to leave with her. She had never wanted to drag her sister into this life, she may have chosen it for herself, but she would never inflict it on someone who did not want it. Danielle was palpably nervous, scared of what was going on, of what she didn't understand. Determined to keep her sister safe, Annie kept them focused as they made their way to the train station.
Choosing caution, Annie punched in the code Eyal had sent with the encrypted phone, *404*. Eyal told her to use that code if she ever found herself in a tricky situation and it would activate the GPS tracking on her phone. GPS tracking that could only be accessed by his phone. Eyal was surprised to feel the alert come through on his phone as he was settling into his assigned seat. Obviously things were taking a turn for the worse in Stockholm. Though he knew that he was already doing all he could to get to her, Eyal couldn't fight the impatience that crept through his veins.
Annie was incredibly pleased that she had activated that code before entering the train station, as not 10 minutes later they were made by the man who had killed her contact. She knew then that there was no way to leave via the train station. She called Auggie to figure out a new plan, fighting against her urge to call Eyal. She had to follow protocol, and she refused to possibly expose their relationship to the scrutiny of the CIA. She knew Eyal would be able to find her if it came to that, or he would know that she was safe. Auggie pulled through with another exit route, but she needed Danielle to get Magnus to help in spite of not telling him she was married.
Annie was immensely relieved when Magnus agreed to take them out of the city and to his cottage where he had a boat docked. It was the only way she could come up with that would allow them to get to the American trawler in the Baltic. During the drive Danielle came to the realization that they were actually in danger and she didn't know how to handle that. Annie tried to calm her down but her own nerves and lack of knowledge about what they were facing made it more difficult than she'd hoped.
They arrived at the cabin well after nightfall and with a storm descending on them, there was no way to leave immediately. Deciding to wait out the storm she and Danielle turned in for the night. Annie took a brief moment to text Auggie her updated location and then settled in for a few hours of restless sleep.
Auggie took the time to get Joan up to speed, knowing their boss was more invested in Annie than she wanted either of them to know. They both knew that this extraction was their last chance to get their operative and her sister out, if it failed, well it couldn't fail. Now they just had to wait and hope.
Eyal's flight landed in Stockholm only 30 minutes behind schedule, and, after clearing customs, he made a beeline for the rental counter. 15 minutes later he was on the road south tracking Annie's GPS signal, reduced to having to follow her around the country. He was in for a long drive, the GPS signal showed a 6 hour drive, he'd get there just after sunrise.
Dawn broke and the remains of the storm were scattered by the first sunbeams of the day. Annie and Danielle were finishing the last of their tea while Magnus prepped the boat for their departure into the Baltic. Annie was filling Danielle in on the extraction plan when she heard tires crunching on the drive. Annie knew then that the man who had killed her contact had traced them to the cottage. Focusing on getting her sister to safety, back to her nieces, she got Danielle out the back door and running towards the boat. Annie pulled out the gun and was ready to protect herself and her sister, when the man ran towards the back and shot at her sister. Danielle did as she was told and ran straight towards the boat and did not look back.
Annie ran to head off the shooter and suddenly heard shots ring out from a new gun. Frightened for her sister she picked up the pace. As she exited the back door she saw the man from the train station dead in the yard. She looked up and to the right and saw him, her guardian angel. Eyal stood there, gun still trained on the man laying on the ground, and she ran towards him.
"Eyal!" Annie cried out before she threw herself into his arms.
Eyal caught her in a tight embrace, burying his face into her hair. Relief filled him, knowing that he made it in time. He had heard the shots being fired as he pulled up to the location on the GPS and then the flash of a red coat. He ran, following the sound of running and shooting, falling back quickly into his training. It took him no time at all to find the shooter, train his weapon on him and fire.
"You're okay, Annie. You're okay." Eyal spoke soothingly, feeling her tremble slightly, he knew it was from the adrenaline starting to wear off. He pulled back and scanned her, checking for any injuries, finding none.
"You came for me."
"I will always come for you." Eyal replied in a low voice, before catching Annie's lips with his.
Danielle, stood from where she had fallen to the ground and started frantically looking for her sister. She made her way back towards the house and was surprised to see her sister in the arms of a man she had never seen before. She then caught sight of the man on the ground and called out to her sister.
"Annie, what happened?"
Annie pulled away from Eyal reluctantly, "I suppose we weren't going to be able to keep this a secret forever." She said with a sigh.
"Neshama, it's alright, it's not like your sister can do anything to stop us from being together."
"It's alright Danielle. It's over, we're safe now."
"Who is this Annie?" Danielle asked, taking in the handsome Israeli agent.
"Danielle, this is Eyal, my boyfriend. Eyal, this is Danielle, my sister."
"I see Annie's good looks run in the family." Eyal said with his charming smile.
Magnus popped out from beneath the deck of the boat and called out to the sisters. Within the next 10 minutes they all were underway, delayed only by Eyal pulling his rental into the garage at the cottage. Annie called a sweep team in and they disposed of the man before anyone might accidentally trip over him, as unlikely as that was.
Annie sat safely ensconced in Eyal's arms, happy to be with him for the first time in 5 weeks. Danielle had only peppered them with questions for the first 15 minutes of the trip and then left them alone.
"Thank you for coming, Eyal. Not just to the cottage, but now, on this boat, with me."
"You are important to me, I will never leave you to fight alone."
They kissed again, Eyal holding Annie tightly to him. Annie realized then that he had full mobility back to his shoulder and was thrilled that he had made such a speedy recovery. They spent the next few hours basking in the joy of being together, until they were able to see Hammerora Island which meant that the trawler was nearby.
Annie and Eyal both knew that to keep their relationship a secret no one could know that Eyal was there. Knowing that the time had come to part once again, Eyal stood and pulled Annie up with him and into his arms. They met for one last lingering, emotion filled kiss and then, without saying a word, Eyal headed below deck.
"Danielle, no one can know that Eyal was here. I will fill you in on everything you want to know when we get home, but please, promise me you won't say anything."
"Annie, I don't understand what is going on, but I do know two things, I will keep Eyal's being here to myself and that I want you to move back into the guest house. But I expect to get all the details when we get home."
"Of course Danielle. Thank you." Annie replied pulling Danielle into a hug.
After Annie and Danielle had been transferred to the trawler and well underway, Magnus let Eyal know that he was in the clear to come back above deck. Looking out over the Baltic, Eyal caught the outline of the trawler in the distance.
"Stay safe, my Neshama."
