AN - Happy Saturday! As always I do not own Covert Affairs or any of the characters I'm playing with in this story. Sorry that this is a day later than normal. I live in Austin, TX and was without power/water/internet for most of the last week. Power/Water/Internet is finally back online and pretty stable, so I'm getting this out ASAP. This is the last chapter I have completely written, I was hoping that I would be able to get more done this last week but 6inches of snow and a 1/2 inch of ice has put me a bit behind. This chapter is all about Annie and her path to being a badass covert operative. I hope you all enjoy.

Dreaming Through Regret

Chapter 7 - Say You'll See Me Again

Leaving Tel Aviv behind was a lesson in will power and heartache for Annie. Although she knew that Eyal would not be there long after she departed herself, she found herself wishing that she could have stayed until the absolute last moment. Rather than spend the entirety of her flight from Tel Aviv into Cairo dwelling on what she couldn't change she pulled out the file on the plots of land that she and Auggie believed could be tied back to Simon Fischer as well as the file on Fischer himself. Annie noted an interesting similarity in the plots of land purchased, they were all in either historically notable areas or near National Parks and not the typical urban areas. She pulled out her work laptop and started looking at other land purchases in similar areas in Northern Africa. All the purchases in the last 5 years tied back to either a private purchase or to the International Land Conservation Network. Annie had found her cover.

After she landed in Cairo and had made her way through customs and immigration she headed for her rental car. Taking advantage of the budget that O.S.P. was allotted, she made sure to get herself a sturdy vehicle for the long drive ahead of her. She headed out from the airport in her silver Land Rover and after she had cleared the city limit to the east she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Auggie.

"Hey, Walker! Enjoying the heat in Egypt?" Auggie quipped as he answered his phone.

"It's glorious." Annie deadpanned back.

"What's happenin'?"

"I need your help building a cover out."

"A cover? I thought you were going in with just your NOC?"

"I found an interesting connection between all the recent land purchases in Northern Africa outside of urban areas that I think will get me in with Fischer quicker than just playing the blonde beauty."

"Explain."

"I was looking into the 3 land purchases we identified a little more closely and found that all purchases in the last 5 years similar to these were either made by private purchasers or by the International Land Conservation Network."

"Interesting. So you want to get a cover established with this Conservation Network?"

"Yes. I think it's going to give me a credible reason for looking into the purchases in the area if I'm looking to find land for the Network to purchase in the same area."

"Smart, Annie. This is great work."

"Thanks. I honestly was looking for a reason to not have to play the stereotypical dumb blonde." Annie replied.

"Where are you?"

"Just east of Cairo, headed out to the Sinai Peninsula to check out the purchase near Mount Sinai."

"You planning to go through Suez?"

"I hadn't planned on it, but I can make that happen if needed."

"I have a contact there that I'll send all the docs you'll need to, I need a couple hours."

"Okay, According to GPS I'm about 90 minutes from Suez, but once there it'll take me some time to find your contact."

"Sending you the location now. Stay safe Walker."

"Thanks, Auggie."

Annie hung up the phone and rolled down all the windows in the car as she continued to head east. The wind blowing through her hair took her back to two nights prior and driving through Israel with Eyal. That night and the next were branded into her memories, and she knew that those memories would be what got her through the coming weeks of separation from the man she loved. Smiling to herself, she recalled their goodbye at Ben Gurion Airport.

"Stay safe, Neshama." Eyal declared as he tucked a strand of Annie's blonde hair behind her ear.

"You as well, Bayit." Annie replied before leaning up for one last kiss before pulling out of Eyal's embrace.

"Ani ohev otach. I'll see you again soon." Eyal whispered to her as her hand slowly pulled out of his.

"Ani ohevet ot'h'a." Annie whispered back before gathering all her will power to turn and walk away.

"I expect you to text me!" Eyal called out as Annie stood in the short line for security.

"I'll send you a novel!" Annie quipped back sincerely, before walking through the metal detectors.

She owed Eyal a text once she got to Suez. Annie knew that it was likely to be the only text he would be able to respond to before he left on his own mission that night. She had made it a point not to dwell on the mission Eyal was about to head out on but not knowing anything about it was driving her insane. Despite knowing that NOT knowing was safer for her and for Eyal, she couldn't help but wonder just what he was going to be doing the next several weeks.

After several minutes rabbit holing on the topic and getting nowhere, Annie shook her head and made herself focus on building out a plan of attack for her own mission. She had started this mission caught between wanting an established plan from Auggie and Joan and being excited about really getting to figure it out on her own. Annie realized as she was diving into the land purchases and coming up with a plan that she had under-sold herself to herself. She knew she had been given all the skills she needed at the farm but receiving training in those skills and actively applying them in the field was drastically different. She was starting to have faith in herself and her skills and know that she had that she refused to make it on sheer luck anymore.

She was booked into a hotel on the Gulf of Aqaba, which was another 5 to 6 hours of driving from Suez, she hoped that finding this contact of Auggie's would be easy and that they would be ready for her when she got there. Annie pulled into a parking lot at Suez University, Auggie's message told her to meet his contact at the mosque on campus. She pulled her hair into a messy bun and wrapped her head in a scarf in an attempt to fit in a bit better. Before exiting her vehicle she pulled out her encrypted phone and sent Eyal a text.

'In Egypt safe. Stopping in Suez for docs, then heading out to the Sinai Peninsula. Miss you already Bayit. Stay safe and come back to me as soon as you can. Love you.'

She dropped the phone to the bottom of her oversized satchel and headed towards the center of campus, looking for the small mosque there. Several minutes later she was standing outside the building she had been searching for, frustrated at the fact that it was closed for the day. Getting ready to reach for her CIA phone, her head snapped up as she heard a voice cautiously say her name.

"Ms. Walker?"

"Yes?" Annie replied, surprised to find a slight college aged woman standing in front of her.

"Oh, wonderful. Auggie did not do you justice with his description. I have a package for you."

"Thank you for doing this so quickly."

"All the documents you need are in there, but it will be another couple hours before all the backup is in place. Website updates, contact redirection, email inbox, and a believable trail of prior purchases in the area."

"I've still got a 6 hour drive ahead of me, so that won't be a problem."

"It's all under your real name since that is the name you entered the country under. Makes a more solid paper trail when they can find you entering the country."

"Works for me. Thank you again… I didn't catch your name."

"It's better that way. Take care Ms. Walker." the woman said with a smile as she turned to blend back in with the multitude of other college students on campus.

Annie pondered Auggie's network of contacts, which constantly seemed to surprise her. She felt the buzzing of a phone in her bag, but resolved to wait until she was in the relative privacy of her car before reading it. She walked as quickly as she dared to, cognizant of trying to blend it, back to the parking lot she'd left the car in. She unlocked it and climbed in, only pausing to take off the scarf around her head before digging into her bag for her phones. She was slightly disappointed to find that it had been her CIA phone that had received a text and not her encrypted one.

'Pleased with the docs?'

Annie huffed a little in annoyance. Auggie had an uncanny ability to know everything as it happened. She pulled out the oversized manila envelope and poured the contents out into her lap. Everything she could think of plus more was there. Business cards, filled out planner with all the locations she was looking into plus more from all the earlier months of the year, a slim MacBook and a smartphone, as well as a wallet full of documentation that linked her back to the International Land Conservation Network.

'Your contact does good work. Everything I need is in here. Thank you.' Annie texted back to Auggie.

Annie moved to place all the items into her bag, rolling her eyes at the 3 phones she was now carrying around when her encrypted phone buzzed with an incoming text.

'Stay safe Neshama. Listen to your instincts, they are your best tool out there and will keep you safe when nothing else can. I am already looking forward to the day I see you again. Ani ohev otach.'

Annie smiled at the text, knowing that she would return to read it many times in the coming weeks. After reading Eyal's text one more time, her phone found its place next to the others in her bag. Annie took a deep breath before turning on the car and the realization that there were no scheduled check ins or established communication protocols for this mission hit her hard. Rather than let that realization frighten her into a panicked state, she decided to grab this mission by the horns and show not only Joan, Auggie, and the whole CIA she was a good operative, she was going to show herself.

Six hours later Annie pulled into the parking lot of her hotel in Dahab, grateful to be done driving for the day. She stretched as she exited her car and walked to check into the hotel. Night had fallen an hour or so earlier and the air was noticeably cooler than it had been when she stopped in Suez. Her room was on the second floor and looked out onto an open courtyard and pool below. She could hear the waves crashing on the beach just beyond the hotel in a soothing rhythm. Annie dropped onto the bed and pulled out her encrypted phone to send Eyal a good night text.

'Laylah tov, Bayit. I love you.'

The next day dawned in a beautiful sunrise that Annie watched from the beach outside her hotel. She took a photo of the sun just cresting above the horizon with her phone and sent it to Eyal before finishing her coffee and heading back up to her room. Her computer sat waiting for her on the desk in her room, waiting for her to start working for the day. Her cover was her own to give life to. Auggie's contact had given her a solid beginning but there were so many details she had to create and back story to learn. Today would be filled with that task before she even started looking at the purchased parcel of land or asking questions around the area about the buyer.

Annie built out her personal relationships, including a recent engagement, in the hopes of being able to avoid the possibility of an intimate relationship becoming an option for Fischer. She wanted to limit their interaction to a mutually beneficial professional relationship, given the intersection of Fischer's philanthropic conservation interests and the global work of the International Land Conservation Network. She was relieved to read that she was listed as an EMEA expert on her ILCN paperwork as she had pretty extensive knowledge of Europe and portions of the Middle East, so she was only going to have to really brush up on her knowledge of Africa. Annie decided to use her own education as a starting point for her knowledge of EMEA and started tweaking bits of her personal travel experience to include a focus on an interest in the geography and landscapes of all the places she had visited.

Her employment at ILCN was listed as starting less than a year ago, which allowed her to be a little unsure in her dealings, as technically she was still learning the ropes. Her planner for the year only showed 2 large projects so far, one in the Ukraine and one in Germany. This mission would effectively be her first foray into Northern Africa, thus the whirlwind of locations planned. Since she was traveling on her own passport, she would also be able to pass off her brief stop in Israel as part of her learning more about the region.

Before she realized it the hours had flown by, and her stomach was telling her that she needed to get something to eat. She walked down to the desk at the front of the hotel and asked for a recommendation of where to get some great local food. The owner of the hotel was happy to assist her, suggesting a small Egyptian restaurant not far from the hotel. The owner struck up a conversation with Annie, and she used the opportunity to start laying out her cover.

"What brings you to the area, Ms. Walker?" the hotel owner asked.

"I work with the International Land Conservation Network. They are interested in finding areas where they can either purchase land for conservation or assist in finding private buyers interested in land conservation. We noticed that there were a couple parcels of land near Mount Sinai and that one was recently purchased. We wanted to see if there was a way to partner with the buyer in purchasing the other parcel."

"Land Conservation? We don't typically get people interested in land purchases in these areas."

"Do you have any suggestions about where someone would start those types of discussions in the area?"

"Probably the Monastery out near Mount Sinai. If anyone was interested in land in that area, they would start talking with the people there."

"That's a great suggestion, thank you very much!"

Annie then headed out for her solo dinner, carrying a book in her bag alongside all three of her phones. Annie ordered her dinner quickly and settled in to eat the delicious local fare. It turned out that the book was totally unneeded, as the food was quick to order, quick to arrive, and quickly eaten. Annie decided to head back to the hotel by way of the beach this time. Twilight was just descending and the walk along the beach reminded her of her walk with Eyal just days ago. She once again walked barefoot along the surf, slowly heading towards her hotel, the feel of the waves on her feet refreshing after the heat of the day. She smiled at both the current moment and the memory of walking with Eyal, and spontaneously decided to send him a snap of the waves crashing over her toes.

The week spent in Egypt was eye opening for Annie, despite ending up empty handed in regards to Fischer. Annie had been able to determine that Fischer was not the purchaser pretty early on in her time at the Monastery. It had been a local individual who was interested in preserving the historical site. Rather than walk away at the disappointing news, Annie continued to build her cover out, requesting a meeting with this individual. Annie was surprised to find that the buyer was a widowed woman whose husband had left her a small fortune too. The woman was from Portugal and had met her husband while traveling for school where she had studied Religious Anthropology. They had no children, so she had decided to use the money they'd acquired together to insure that future generations would be able to see such a historic religious site. There was no opportunity for partnership, but the woman expressed a heartfelt hope that another group might be able to conserve even more of the area for the future.

Annie's texts to Eyal during her week in Egypt were typically snapshots of the beautiful area she was exploring, wanting to share as much of it as she could. She had thought that she would use those texts as a kind of brainstorming option, knowing how much better she worked if she could write things out, but so far it had turned out that she used it far more often to feel connected with Eyal. As she pulled into Cairo International Airport to return her rental, she sent him one last text from Egypt.

'No Fischer in Egypt. But did get the experience of a lifetime here. Next time we will have to come here together. Heading to Algiers next Bayit. Ani ohevet ot'h'a.'

Before boarding her flight to Algiers, Annie pulled out her CIA phone and shot a single line to Auggie.

'Fischer not our buyer in Egypt, heading to our next stop.'

Annie was thriving on this operation, her instincts becoming better everyday and her belief in her own ability growing leaps and bounds. She was learning that she could rely on her own skill to turn assets, that she could and SHOULD listen to her gut, and that more often than not she was her own best asset. Her life experiences would help her, her belief in people would help her, and now her belief in herself would help her.

The flight to Algiers was just over 4 hours long, and Annie was amazed at the varied geography she saw below her. Egypt had been various shades of tan and earthy greens, edged by the blues of the Mediterranean and Red Seas but as she neared Algiers that palette slowly faded into a mix of the lush greens of forested land interspersed with the sandy tans of the desert and the blues of the lakes in the area as well as the Mediterranean Sea. Getting into Algeria was tricky to say the least, even with the backing of the Agency, it took two tries for her visa to be approved.

As Annie walked off the plane she was welcomed by slightly cooler weather than she had experienced in Egypt, something she was grateful for. Egypt had been a wonderful, if hot, experience, but the change in scenery and weather was a relief for Annie. She headed straight to immigration and with only a little trouble, due to her time in Egypt, she was on her way to pick up her car. With only a 2 hour drive in the plans for later in the week she opted for a smaller sedan instead of the hulking Land Rover from Egypt, and once she saw the parking options at the hotel she was pleased she had.

Her hotel was located right next to the beautiful Botanical Garden El-Hamma Jardin d'Essai and she planned to spend as much time as possible exploring there. Her stay in Algiers started with a stop at the offices of the selling agency that had brokered the purchase in the Tikjda National Park that she was interested in. The agent she met with was surprised at Annie's request,

"Land in the Tikjda National Park? How odd that we just recently brokered a purchase for a similar ask!"

"Is it that odd?" Annie replied, feigning confusion at the agent's statement.

"Quite odd, actually, for a couple of reasons. First, parcels of land in that area are few and far between and second, interest in land purchases in Algeria is typically directed at the more urban areas."

"How many parcels of land are available?" Annie queried, pushing the discussion forward.

"Let's see…" the agent said as they rifled through the papers in front of them, "three now, as we sold the fourth just a month or so ago."

"Might I see them?"

"Of course, here are the three available parcels."

Annie accepted the small pile of paper and started reviewing the details.

"These are all relatively close to each other, it seems. Was the fourth parcel in the same area?" Annie posed curiously to the agent.

"I believe so. We should still have the listing details for that purchase in our files." The agent stated before walking over to the filing cabinet on the opposite wall.

"These all look promising, would it be possible to see them before making a decision?"

"All of them? Are you considering purchasing all of them?!" the agent choked out, looking up from the row of files in front of her.

"Oh no, not at all, not unless we could find a partner for the purchase. As much as the ILCN would love to be able to do that we haven't the funding for that. I would like to get a feel for which parcel we would be most interested in, and as silly as it seems, seeing them helps me decide."

"Well, we can certainly give you the coordinates of the parcels, but we don't typically travel out as far as Tikjda National Park."

"Oh that's plenty, I'm more than happy to drive out myself."

The agent said nothing in response for a few more moments and Annie occupied herself scanning through the listings. "Ah, here it is!" the agent cried out in triumph.

Annie took the listing for the fourth parcel from the agent and flipped through the paperwork. She lucked into the name of the purchaser on the last page of the packet. 'Hmmm, not obviously Fischer, but I'll have to look into the details of this trust before moving on.'

"The buyer certainly seems to have gotten a great piece of property here. Which of the remaining parcels is closest to this location? I'll start with that one tomorrow."

Annie chatted with the agent for a few more minutes before heading back to her hotel with the coordinates of all three pieces of land. She wrote down the name of the Trust that had made the purchase that had piqued her and Auggie's interest so that she could research it later. She had considered pulling Auggie in to dig into for her, but decided that she needed the practice anyway.

It was a beautiful day in Algiers so Annie packed up her laptop and headed over to the Botanical Gardens to work under the shade of the palm trees. She took her time walking through the Gardens, breathing in the natural beauty surrounding her. Annie eventually settled down in the corner of the garden that was closest to the hotel, since luck would have it that the Wi-Fi from the hotel reached into the Gardens. Before booting up her laptop Annie pulled out her encrypted phone and sent Eyal a snap of the gardens.

'Missing you Bayit. Safe in Algiers though it seems to be yet another dead end. I hope you are safe as well wherever the wind has taken you today. My desire to see you grows each day and I am waiting as patiently as I can for the day we meet again.'

Annie scrolled back through the week of texts she had sent to Eyal, pleased to see that they had never strayed far into the details of her op. She wasn't concerned about him knowing the intricacies of the op, she was just gratified with the knowledge that she had managed this op almost completely on her own. No Eyal, no Auggie, except for the cover docs, no Joan, no handler, no protocols, just her and her own abilities and skills to rely on.

She spent the next few hours digging into the Trust that had purchased the land in Tikjda National Park. On her own she was able to narrow the search down to France, which made sense given the ties between Algeria and France. The Trust had a history of purchasing land in Algeria and then entrusting it back to the people of Algeria, seemingly in an effort to atone for the invasion and colonization of the country. There was no specific individual that could be identified as the head of the trust, but given that Fischer was Russian, she was pretty sure that it wasn't him.

Undeterred by the discovery, Annie was still looking forward to exploring the 3 land parcels in the Tikjda National forest over the next couple of days. Two of the plots abutted each other so she would be able to explore both in one day, but the third was in the far southeast quadrant of the park and would have to be a second excursion. Annie packed up her laptop and headed back to the hotel to prepare her bag for the next day. She hasn't packed a lot by way of clothing options, knowing that being able to make a quick exit was more important than being stylish, but she had thought enough ahead to bring a pair of sturdy hiking boots. Those, paired with a long sleeved shirt and jeans would be her outfit of choice for the next two days.

Annie was astounded by the breadth of landscape diversity she encountered on her two days of exploration as well as the days spent in Algiers. She knew that Africa had this breadth of natural beauty, but seeing it for herself was a thousand times more impactful. She hoped that Auggie had set up a legitimate way for her cover to communicate back to the ILCN about all the places she had been able to inspect in Algeria and Egypt. All of them were worth the time it had taken her to view them and hoped that her research would lead to the ILCN purchasing some of the areas.

On her last day in Algiers, she sent a lengthy email to Auggie detailing what she had found in both Egypt and Algeria, which was not a lot of anything actionable for their operation, but left her hopeful and anxious for Morocco. She knew that her ability to weave a believable story had improved immensely since she'd landed in Cairo, but she also knew that none of the people she'd had to weave those stories for were spies. Morocco would likely test her skills more than any other place had so far in her career.

She finished packing her bag, prepared for an early morning departure that would route her through Charles de Gaulle Airport on her way to Marrakech. When she'd finished packing she pulled out her encrypted phone and started filling Eyal in on everything she hadn't found in Egypt or Algiers.

'So far I've come up empty handed in the search for Fischer, Bayit. I have, however, found a plethora of places that I would love to someday visit with you. I had always known that there was a depth of history and a breadth of natural beauty in Northern Africa, but experiencing it for myself has been wonderful. I am both eager and hesitant about what awaits me in Marrakech. I worry that even though my skills are honed and solid at this point, that I won't be able to convincingly deceive Fischer. I wish you were here with me, if only to tell me I'm underestimating myself yet again. Stay safe, ani ohevet ot'h'a.'