AN - Happy Friday! As always I do not own Covert Affairs or any of the characters I'm playing with in this story. We are starting to set up the operation that will be the back drop for the rest of the story. I'm really trying to solidify the relationship between Auggie, Joan, and Annie since that will become the launching point for Annie's growth at work. I'm also doing my best to avoid a White Knight/Damsel in Distress relationship between Eyal and Annie, despite how hard Annie seems to be leaning on Eyal. As I've mapped out the next chapters it's been really important to me to show Annie's development as an operative as well as the the evolution of Annie and Eyal's personal and professional relationships. I hope you all are enjoying reading this as much as I am enjoying writing it! Feedback and reviews are always appreciated!
Dreaming Through Regret
Chapter 6 pt 3 - Heaven Can't Help Me Now
A shattering crack of thunder woke both Eyal and Annie with a jolt. An intense stormfront seemed to be making its way through the DC Metro area that morning. Annie picked up her phone to check the time, noting that it was only 15 minutes before her alarm was set to go off anyway.
"Mmmm, shower with me?" Annie asked Eyal as she slid out of bed and headed towards the bathroom.
"Absolutely." Eyal replied with a grin.
Their shower took 20 minutes longer than it should have and left Annie on a time crunch to get dressed and out the door to head into Langley. She rushed through the apartment to grab her shoes, coffee, and handbag before dropping a quick kiss on Eyal's lips and a quick goodbye.
Annie arrived at Auggie's office just minutes before Auggie arrived himself. They walked in together discussing the best way to get the files related to the Big Dipper out of the building. In the end they decided that there was no expeditious way to get them out, resolving to keep them locked in Auggie's office until they came up with a better idea. Knowing that there was not much for them to do while they waited to hear from Joan regarding their requested equipment, Annie started going through the documents again.
About an hour into the day, Auggie received a call from Joan directly, asking them both to meet her in her office. Auggie took Annie's elbow and they both headed down to the DPD. Luck was on their side that day, there were only a couple agents in the area when they arrived. Joan had the blinds drawn in her office and her secretary let them in immediately. Joan stood and met them near the seating area in her office, where Annie noticed a small box sat on the table. Joan had managed to pull through quickly with all the equipment they would need to execute an offsite op. Annie showed Auggie where the box was and he started rifling through the equipment.
"Thank you Joan. This is beyond what I expected to get." Auggie told Joan as he felt all the tech he would need to secretly access the government databases.
"Go, now, and get started. Keep me in the loop and once we have something actionable on Simon Fischer let's get planning." Joan dismissed the two agents and they made their way quickly back up to Auggie's office to pack the equipment in their bags. Within 15 minutes they were on their way to Annie's car and off Langley proper.
The drive went faster than expected for Auggie, who had somewhat expected Annie's safehouse to be well out of the city. Annie parked on a nearby block and guided Auggie to her safehouse. As soon as they were in the apartment Annie led Auggie to the empty table and he started setting up all the equipment. Annie took the chance to get changed into something a little more comfortable before joining Auggie at the table. Annie was always impressed with Auggie's abilities with technology but she was blown away by how quickly Auggie was able to set up a backdoor into the CIA database. Not an hour after they arrived Auggie had built them a secure untraceable access point and was ready to start querying the intel stored on the database.
Auggie's first query was for any and all data on Simon Fischer and the two agents were not disappointed. Over a dozen records popped up regarding the man, a couple very current items caught Annie's eye, and they dove into those items first. The most recent item showed Simon Fischer in London and had notes detailing what was believed to be a meeting with a seller of land in Northern Africa. The other item was a pretty detailed list of financial assets the CIA believed were attached to the man. Annie and Auggie made a note to follow up on any recent land purchases in Northern Africa before moving on to the remaining records. Those records mostly focused on people believed to be in contact with Fischer and Annie noticed a disturbing trend, the women on the list were all beautiful blondes with European features.
Hours later, after going through all the returned records on Simon Fischer as well as narrowing down the recent land sales in Northern Africa to 3 likely places, they called Joan and filled her in on what they had found. Joan asked to meet them outside Langley to discuss next steps, so they agreed to meet at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool in an hour. Rather than drive over Annie and Auggie decide to hail a taxi, both deciding that her little red VW was a little too noticeable. As they walked from the Lincoln Memorial where the taxi had dropped them off to the meeting point about midway down the pool on the right hand side, Annie's nerves seemed to jump into overdrive.
They spotted Joan sitting on a bench facing away from the pool, that way no one would be able to surprise them from behind.
"Auggie, Annie." Joan welcomed them quickly.
"Hi Joan, thanks for meeting with us today." Auggie replied as Annie's nerves made her tongue feel heavy.
"Of course. Let's run through the intel you tracked down."
Auggie brought Joan up to speed while Annie paced in front of the bench they were sitting on. She knew building out a new project was something she did not have much experience in and while she should have been more interested in the whole process she couldn't seem to focus on the words. Annie let her thoughts run wild as she kept an eye out on their surroundings, making sure no one caught their conversation.
It seemed she had been too focused on her own thoughts that she missed the first time Auggie called for her.
"Annie?... Annie?! ANNIE!"
"Oh, jeez. I'm sorry. What's up?"
"Come sit and we will walk you through the plan we've pulled together." Joan said, patting the seat next to her, concern for the younger agent evident in her eyes.
"Okay, what's the plan?" Annie asked tentatively, her typical eagerness missing, and noticed by both of the other agents.
"We are going to send you to Africa to scope out the three parcels of land that Fischer may have purchased. Find out anything you can about the buyers and hopefully you'll be able to track down Simon in the process. You certainly fit the profile for the women he's interested in."
"Okay, what exactly do you want me to do if I do track down Fischer?"
"That's up to you really, but getting close to him is of priority. I don't normally suggest relationships as a means to an end in the DPD, but in this case, it may be the only way to get access to information regarding the man."
"Oh. Okay… I'll keep that in mind."
"Annie? Anything you want to talk about?" Joan asked, concerned.
"No, it's just the first time I'll have to get a target to notice me in any way, normally we try to avoid being noticed. Just new waters."
"You'll do fine, I'm sure Annie." Joan responded, trying to be supportive, despite knowing how difficult the task would be.
Joan said that she would arrange for Annie's travel through the O.S.P. secretary and Annie asked for a couple days to allow her to get some items moved around on her calendar. Joan compromised by agreeing to have Annie's flight depart the next afternoon but wasn't willing to delay any further.
Annie walked Auggie back to Lincoln Memorial where they would each catch a cab to head to their respective homes.
"Annie? Everything okay?" Auggie asked.
"Yeah Auggie, I'm fine." Annie replied.
"You can tell me if you're not okay, if there is something that sits wrong about this mission."
"I know Auggie, I just can't pinpoint a reason yet." Annie replied, lying about not knowing the reason, but unwilling to tell Auggie the truth about her relationship with Eyal.
"Call me anytime Walker."
"I will" Annie replied as Auggie got into a cab and headed home.
Annie only had to wait a couple more minutes for her own cab to arrive and she quickly gave the driver the address of a coffee shop a few blocks away from Eyal's apartment. Annie had no idea how to bring up the mission she was about to go on with Eyal. She certainly hadn't thought that she would ever get a mission like this one, let alone get one only a few months into a new relationship. The taxi dropped her off about 30 minutes later and she thanked them before walking slowly towards the apartment.
Eyal looked up from his laptop when he heard the door to the apartment unlock. He'd spent most of his day getting read in on his next mission, a mission that would see him leaving DC much earlier than he really wanted to. This mission required partnership with his old team, Kiddon, and would make keeping his promise to Annie about always being available incredibly difficult. It was guaranteed to take at least a month, if not more, to complete and he was supposed to go completely radio silent. He would have to lean heavily on unknowing partners to keep her safe when he could not.
Eyal quietly closed the laptop and stood as Annie walked into the living room. She looked torn up about something, and he felt that even more so when she did not immediately make eye contact with him. Worried now that something had happened at work he walked over to her and pulled her in for a reassuring embrace. He dropped his chin to rest on the crown of her head, taking a minute to breathe in the scent of her hair along with her grapefruit perfume. Those moments allowed him to center himself before starting a conversation that would not likely be an easy one.
"Eyal…"
"Annie..."
"You first Eyal." Annie said before pulling back and looking up at him, catching his gaze for the first time since she entered.
Eyal sighed heavily before walking her over to the couch to sit. He took a hand in one of his larger ones and placed his other hand on her knee before starting.
"I've been assigned my next mission, Neshama. I've spent most of the day being read in on the details. I have to leave tomorrow morning and despite wanting it otherwise, this mission requires a communication black out."
"You just got here... " was Annie's immediate reply before checking herself and starting again, "It's okay Eyal, we knew that this was part of the deal when we started our relationship. We weren't always going to be able to talk to each other, let alone see each other. How long do you think you'll be away on this op for?"
Eyal was relieved at how well Annie seemed to be taking this, but was cautious as he continued, "I'll be working with Kiddon, and the mission will likely take at least a month to complete."
Annie inhaled sharply at Eyal's words. A month was a very long time to not be able to talk to Eyal or to even know if he was alright. Tears started forming in her eyes before she forced them back.
"We will get through this, I know it Eyal. Honestly, though it sounds slightly selfish this makes what I have to tell you a bit easier."
"We are strong enough to do this Annie. A month will fly by. Now what has you turning yourself inside out?"
"We made a lot of progress on Fischer today. Joan and Auggie have put together an operation to find more information out about him."
"That's good though, right? You're making great progress on this so far. You don't seem onboard with the plan?"
"It's hard to be on board with a plan when you are the plan."
"What does that mean Annie?"
Annie took a steadying breath before uttering her response. "Fischer has a type, a type that I seem to embody pretty well. They are sending me to track down Fischer and to hopefully arrange an 'accidental' run in with him."
"Annie… that is a very roundabout way to say that they want you to infiltrate, which in this situation means get very close with this man."
Annie dropped her head into her hands. "Eyal, that's exactly what they want from me. And for once, I don't think I can do it."
Eyal came to kneel in front of Annie, gently pulling her hands away from her face. "Annie, you have all the skills needed to do this operation."
"I'm not worried about whether I have the skills to pull this off Eyal, I'm worried I don't have the heart to do it."
"Oh Neshama."
"I've never had to run an op like this before, and honestly never thought I'd have to. Joan is very opposed to these types of tactics, and now, ostensibly because it's just the three of us, these tactics are okay?"
"Annie, this is your job, mine too, to be fair. It's not going to be easy, for either of us, but you can do this. Only go as far down the path as you have to, you set the rules here, remember this is essentially as black as black ops comes."
Annie leaned forward into Eyal's embrace, seeking comfort in his arms. "Don't be surprised if you come back to a phone that's blowing up with texts from me. At least I can pretend like I'm still able to talk to you."
"I'll read every single one Annie. Promise me you'll be smart and that you won't take unreasonable risks?"
"Of course Eyal. Funnily enough both Joan and Auggie mentioned that my work seemed more planned out, less riddled with risky decisions after Stockholm. Evidently having someone to come home too makes me a better spy, or at least more desirous of getting home in one piece." Annie quipped with a light giggle.
"So, where is Fischer? Where is this one woman man hunt taking you?"
"Northern Africa. There are 3 likely places we might find him, Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt."
"We'll be so close yet so far apart. When do you leave?"
"My flight is tomorrow around 1pm. I fly into Egypt to start my search in Cairo."
"Come to Israel." Eyal said after a moment of silence.
"What?" Annie asked, perplexed by the change in topic.
"Seriously, I leave a couple hours earlier the same day you do but my mission doesn't start for a few more days. Come spend 2 days in Israel with me."
"Yes! I'd love to. I suppose that is one bonus to this being a black op, significantly less protocol and checking in with headquarters. I'll book my flight into Tel Aviv in the morning."
Both Annie and Eyal felt lighter after their conversation. They both knew that their next missions would be trying to say the least, and despite knowing that communication would be non-existent they were comforted by the fact that the other supported them unerringly. They settled in for an easy meal of Chinese delivery and spent the evening cuddled together.
