AN: Chapter 2! As always, I do not own Covert Affairs or any of the characters. Reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome!
Dusk til Dawn
Chapter 2 - I'll Hold You When Things Go Wrong
German countryside sped past the window of the direct train from Mainz Hauptbahnhof to Zurich Hauptbahnhof. Eyal had managed to book a private compartment on the train, mostly so they could talk freely, but also to minimize the number of people that would potentially see Annie. The pair had settled across from each other and had allowed silence to reign. The early morning hours had been spent packing the last of their things and wiping down the entire apartment to eliminate any trace of Annie.
Their route to the Hauptbahnhof was circuitous, multiple loops and several backtracks had eaten away at the remaining minutes before they entered the train station. They avoided as many visible cameras as possible, and where they were unable to completely avoid them, they managed to keep their faces hidden from view. Luck was on their side and there were no delays to the departure of their train so they were able to board immediately. Annie feigned interest in the train while Eyal handed over their tickets to the conductor and then permitted Eyal to guide her to their compartment with a hand on the small of her back.
Door fully closed and bags placed on the empty seats beside them, Eyal broke the silence, "How are you feeling?"
"I'm doing okay. Just a slight headache still and exhausted, but nothing like before." Annie assured him.
"Good. Staying another day would have been risky, but I never would have pushed if you were still dealing with the fallout from those drugs, Neshama."
"I know, Eyal. I promise I would have told you if I wasn't ready to do this." Annie replied with a smile, before resting her hand on top of his.
"I know." Eyal mirrored back at her. "Look… I haven't pried, but can you tell me anything about how you got to where you were when you called me?"
Annie took a breath to center herself before she responded, "Yeah, of course. I didn't tell you anything before because I wanted to protect you, to keep you out of this mess. But now you need to know, deserve to know, what the hell is going on." She dug into her bag and pulled out a small flash drive and handed it to Eyal. "I couldn't bring much with me, but everything Henry Wilcox gave me is on that drive."
"Does he know that?" Eyal asked.
"No, as far as he knows, all the documents have been destroyed. I can't prove that these were from him, so they are not worth much to use against him, but they are what got me involved with this."
Eyal pulled out his small laptop and inserted the drive as Annie leaned back into the bench and let her eyes close. Pages upon pages of scanned documents opened on his screen, bank statements, photographs, depositions, and case notes, all with one common theme, Arthur Campbell's name. He had questions, lots of them, for Annie, but waited until he'd gone through all the pages and read them multiple times before asking them.
"Annie, how much of this is true?"
"All of it, but there is a lot of missing information too." Annie replied without opening her eyes.
"Oh, I figured that was the case. This can't be just about Arthur Campbell though, that man has left you to hang too many times. There are a lot of aliases in here that must mean something to you."
"Auggie set up the account, his alias is on the last page. Honestly though, I'm doing this for Joan, and Jai, and… me."
Eyal let out a low whistle, understanding a little more of Annie's reasoning. "If I'm honest Annie, I expected you would have gotten together with Auggie after Amsterdam."
"He wanted that, but I didn't, and don't, reciprocate the feelings. Despite not being ready to admit my feelings for you, I knew that I didn't feel that way for him."
Several moments passed before Eyal continued the conversation, "What else is missing in this file?"
"The Puma is Teo Braga."
"Yes, that I know. Mossad has been following him for years now."
"Teo Braga is Arthur Campbell's son." Annie countered.
Eyal's head snapped up from where he was flipping through the pages in the file again, "Excuse me?"
"He's also dead now." Annie said bluntly.
"What? Okay, slow down. Take me through this."
"I found Teo in Columbia several days after meeting with Henry Wilcox. I flew down there after the things Wilcox said would happen started happening. Auggie's security clearance was put under review, and, while I was in Columbia, Arthur resigned as DCS." Annie began slowly taking Eyal through the last two months. "I also met Calder Michels there, a name that will be important later on, he saved me there."
Annie paused for a moment before continuing, "Actually, a lot happened, and I'm still processing through most of it, but in the end what matters is that Auggie never truly backed me on any of this, he only spoon fed me what he thought he had to, Arthur used me as a pawn to try and save his son, and Joan, well Joan is my only ally in that building beyond Calder Michels now. She has helped me at every turn, even when I hadn't read her in. I was so mad at her when I was in Frankfurt, but I realized this morning that there was no way she could have helped me, she had no idea where I was or what I was doing."
"Okay. Someday I'd like to hear everything… actually, I'd love to help you process through it all, Neshama." Eyal said before asking another question, "What was the plan then?"
"Calder Michels and I only had a plan through my death in Frankfurt, though he knew nothing about your involvement, and the goal we shared was to eliminate the risk Henry Wilcox posed. We're completely on our own here, Eyal."
"So only this Calder Michels knows you aren't dead?"
"As of right now, yes."
"Do you want it to stay that way?"
"For now, yes. But at some point I think we will need Joan."
"Okay. And is your goal still to mitigate the risk Henry Wilcox poses?"
"Eyal, I want him completely off the fucking game board. Permanently. He killed Teo, he set me up to take the blame for Copenhagen, and, for as much as I no longer trust Auggie and Arthur, I will do everything I can to keep Joan safe." Annie declared, fire in her eyes.
Two hours into the four and a half hour trip Eyal had shifted to sit in the seat next to Annie rather than remaining in the seat across from her. He could see the fatigue as it settled back in, and pulled her into his arms to allow her to rest her head on his shoulder and sleep. At this point more rest was all she needed to be back at 100%, and they would have time for her to get that rest once they were in Zurich. He would physically tail Sana while allowing Annie to follow her electronically, which would allow her to stay out of the public eye as well as rest when she needed to.
Zurich was a place filled with memories for both of them, both good and bad. It's where they first met and it's where they came back together after he broke her trust during the Ansari mission. It's where he admitted to himself that he was completely and utterly in love with the blonde operative. He had sacrificed himself there to allow Annie to escape. He had decided that that safe house would be their base of operations while in Zurich given how familiar they both were with the location and the fact that neither CIA or Mossad still utilized it as an active safehouse, despite maintaining the property.
While he still didn't have the full story about Teo, the Campbell's, Auggie, and Copenhagen, he knew enough, and he knew Annie. He knew her empathy and her morals would continue to drive her to complete this operation, with or without backing from her agency. Her answers to his questions had alleviated a majority of his concerns about this being only about retribution. Annie was here to protect the people she cared about, even the ones who had proven they didn't deserve her care. His priority was to make sure Annie stayed Annie and did not become a broken shadow of herself.
Dark locks fell across her face, emphasizing the fairness of her skin and highlighting the shadows under her eyes. As he gently tucked the errant strands behind her ear, he couldn't help but study her face. He did not frequently get the chance to observe Annie while she slept, and the stress and tension had drained from her visage, leaving just peace. Her lips were slightly parted as she slowly breathed in and out and her dark lashes lay softly on her cheeks. Eyal had not pressed or pushed for anything from Annie in regard to their relationship, just the knowledge that she shared and returned his feelings was enough for now, but he would concede, if only to himself, that he longed for more from her, more with her.
The train slowing as it entered Zurich roused Annie from her sleep. Eyal had, at some point, pulled out the file they had on Sana Wilcox and was reviewing it again despite both of them knowing it front to back. She sat up in the seat and stretched her arms above her head before she turned to Eyal.
"Thank you." Annie murmured.
"For what, Neshama?" Eyal asked, confused.
"Watching over me. No one has done that for me in a very long time, but it just comes so naturally to you."
"I love you. Of course I would watch over you." Eyal asserted, looking straight into Annie's eyes.
"I love you too." Annie professed, before leaning in to place a kiss on his cheek.
Focus shifted to packing up the last of their possessions into their bags before standing to exit the train. Eyal pulled Annie into his side and wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they steadily walked towards the exit of the station. Without pausing Eyal led them away from the station and towards their safe house. Annie knew exactly where they were headed, it was where she would have chosen to go as well.
Thirty minutes later they were entering flat 503 and memories flooded them both. Replaying the last time she was in this place sent Annie's heart racing, recalling how close she had come to losing the man she now knew she loved was overwhelming. She struggled to slow her heart rate, it took longer than she expected, but she managed eventually and filed that tidbit of information in the back of her mind. Her even steps into the apartment echoed against the walls as she strode further in to find Eyal.
Eyal stood frozen at the juncture of the hallway into the small dining area. "I'm glad we have healed the scar between us, Neshama."
"I am as well, Eyal. Though I cannot say I ever expected to see this place again, not with all the memories these walls contain."
"Neither did I. I am glad my fears that last night we were here did not come true. I would have done anything to keep you safe."
"I was furious with you that night, for locking me on the balcony. No matter how betrayed I felt, I never wanted you to sacrifice yourself like that. Despite my asking if I could use you, I never expected that would be the end result."
"I wasn't thinking really, when I did it. I just knew that I couldn't let them take you. Not after Russia and not with how raw those wounds still were, Neshama. I knew you would come for me, somehow, despite everything that had happened between us."
The pair let those words hang between them for a few moments before Eyal reached for Annie and pulled her into his arms. They stood, embracing each other, for several minutes allowing the emotions that had resurfaced to run their course and settle. Both knew that they had shoved the events to the side before truly getting to process them and that working through them would allow them to focus on the mission at hand.
Night had fallen and only the streetlights provided any kind of illumination in the small flat. Orange hued shafts of light pierced the room and accentuated two figures in the bed. One lying on their back with the other draped across them. Soft mutterings cut through the silence as the second figure began shifting in their sleep.
"No… stop it… no…" Annie muttered into the night as she fell into a nightmare.
She rolled out of Eyal's arms and onto her back, head swinging back and forth as she continued dreaming. "Please, don't… stop… no!" Annie's words came faster and increased in volume. "Not him… no, stop!"
Eyal woke at the sound of Annie's pleas, confused at first, but then he realized what was happening. He sat up and leaned over Annie, catching her hand as her arm flew out as if to stop something. "Annie." he called out, "Annie, it's alright. You're dreaming, you're safe."
Still trapped in her nightmare, Annie continued to mutter, "No, please… stop!"
Eyal reached out a hand and began combing it through her now sweat dampened hair, continuing to comfort her, "Annie, it's okay. You need to wake up, Neshama."
His last words seemed to cut through the nightmare she was trapped in and her eyes flew open with one last gasped word, "Teo!"
Harsh breathing filled the room for the next several minutes as Annie oriented herself and tried to catch her breath. She was dismayed to find that, once again, she struggled to regulate it, forced to continue gasping for air much longer than she had needed to a month ago. Panic crept to the edges of her awareness, ready to overtake her senses, when she finally focused on the face hovering above hers.
"Annie, try to match my breath, in… then out… again, in… out…. There, good, focus on me, you're safe, just breathe, in… and out." Eyal patiently coached, masking his disquiet behind a façade of calmness.
After a dozen coached breaths Annie was able to steady her breathing into a pattern that almost resembled normal. Her awareness expanded beyond herself and Eyal and she was able to recognize where she was. Tension fled her body and she sank fully into the embrace of the mattress beneath her and Eyal's arms.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. You haven't had time to process yet. I'm pleased that you feel safe enough to do so here."
"I couldn't save him. I tried… I tried to get him out of there, I got him to Schweinfurt Base, but it wasn't enough."
"You did everything in your power, Neshama. Sometimes, even that is not enough." Eyal assured her.
Tears streamed from Annie's eyes, eyes that were clenched shut as the memories of that day played in her mind. It was the first time she had paused long enough to play them through again. Finding Teo on the roof of the Copenhagen Convention Center next to the stinger missile, the realization that even though they'd gotten away from there it hadn't come without a price. The smell of blood saturated the sedan they were escaping in, her field dressing only slowing the flow, not stopping it completely. The look on Arthur Campbell's face as they arrived at the military hospital. All those scenes played on repeat in her head.
Eyal knew that he was about to lose her to her mind. He'd experienced this exact situation too many times to count as both the one losing themselves and the one watching from the outside. He wouldn't lose Annie to this, not tonight, not on his watch. So he did the only thing he could think of…
He kissed her.