AN: Hi Everyone! Two more chapters left! I'm really excited to share the final chapters of this story with you all and then get to working on a follow up to Love Me Now. As always, I do not own Covert Affairs or any of the characters. Reviews and constructive criticism always welcome!
Dreaming Through Regret
Chapter 16 - Burnin' It Down
"Somehow I expected that you would have more things, Neshama." Eyal quipped at Annie as they brought the last of her boxes into their, now shared, apartment.
"It helps that it's all just clothes and personal stuff. I never needed kitchen supplies and all the furniture is Danielle's." Annie responded with a smile.
"You never told me how it went with her when we got back in town." Eyal stated as he opened one of the boxes that held her books.
"It went fine, I guess. She was mostly relieved that I was actually back with time to move out, though I don't think she really paid much attention to where I was moving to."
"That seems a little out of character for her, based on what I've heard from you."
"Well, it didn't help that she was packing the kitchen up with two young girls running around yelling at each other." Annie snickered out as she remembered the scene. "Michael's new job started a couple days after I left for Tallinn so she has been solo parenting while packing for the move."
Silence fell between the pair as Annie grabbed a box of her clothes and headed into the bedroom. Eyal had made room for her in the closet and the dresser as well as in the bathroom. Shoes filled the box she had brought with her, so she started lining them up along the floor of the closet. A smile crossed her lips as she remembered the last time she'd added items to this closet. It seemed like ages ago now, despite only happening about 7 weeks prior.
The tux Eyal had worn in London, as well as all the other items he had brought with him, were already hanging in the closet as she opened a second box that contained her work clothes. Her skirt and pants suits were hung next to his suits, and her blouses and other tops next to his button downs. Soon all 5 boxes of her clothes had been stored and she turned to start unpacking her suitcase. On top was the gold dress she'd worn to the Gala, she carefully hung it next to Eyal's tux and hoped that they'd get another night like that one soon.
The spicy aroma from whatever Eyal was preparing them for dinner had invaded the bedroom and made her stomach rumble. The pair had arrived back in DC late the prior evening and, after the events in London, they both tumbled straight into bed once their cab had dropped them at the apartment. Upon waking and after a cup of coffee each, Annie had headed to her sister's place while Eyal started creating space for Annie's belongings. This would be the first time they would be able to sit and talk since departing London.
"That smells amazing, Bayit." Annie stated as she walked out to the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Eyal's waist.
"It's almost ready. Want to open a bottle of wine?" Eyal asked, nodding towards the wine rack behind him.
"Absolutely." Annie agreed quickly with a smile.
Not five minutes later they were both seated at the table, red wine poured into two glasses as they quietly ate the shish tawook Eyal had prepared.
"Is it wrong to find this odd? Sitting here eating dinner after unpacking boxes, knowing that not 48 hours ago we were being threatened at gunpoint and then watching a man get shot through the skull?" Annie asked Eyal, as she slowly ate the food in front of her.
"No, not at all. Black Ops run differently than standard ops, there is no official debrief and no acknowledgement of the actions taken during the op. Normally you'd be dealing with polygraph and writing up after action reports as well as the required sessions with a therapist. None of that happens on Black Ops." Eyal responded before he leaned back in his chair, having eaten his fill. "You seem to be processing this alright though. You'd talk to me if you needed to, right, Neshama?"
"Of course. I'm processing the events of the other night pretty well. This is just all still so new to me, and so different from what I've experienced so far, that it's throwing me a little off my game." Annie stated as she finished her meal.
"That's completely understandable. I felt quite similar on my first Mossad Op, though for opposite reasons.. I had spent years with Kiddon running Black Ops, where all the processes and procedures were ignored. It wasn't until I transferred to Mossad that all of the after action processes and procedures were followed and it threw me off. My superior was not impressed at my lack of skills when it came to writing after action reports or my reluctance to deal with hurdles that came after using my sidearm."
"At some point it got easier?" Annie queried as she took their dishes to the kitchen and placed them in the dishwasher.
"No, not easier really, I just got better at going through the motions. I figured out how to write after action reports that gave my superior what they wanted and I learned what it would take to get through the hurdles quickly." Eyal said before quietly adding, "I can't say I liked being separated from you for so long, but the Kiddon Op was like riding a bike, easy to remember and to fall back into the habits of that kind of mission."
"Do you miss it?" Annie questioned.
Eyal stood and moved to the couch before answering, "Sometimes. I miss the relative freedom that comes with Black Ops. You just experienced it yourself, Annie. Getting to run an op on your terms, or working with a small team, allows you freedom to act accordingly without needing permission."
"It was both terrifying and liberating at the same time." Annie said as she joined him on the couch. "I would not say no to another one if it came my way. Though it was better once you joined me."
"I haven't had quite such an easy time with another partner on a mission before, Neshama. I would enjoy getting to partner with you again." Eyal voiced as he wrapped an arm around Annie's shoulders and pulled her closer into his side. "So what do you think Joan will do now that she definitely knows about us, Annie."
"I hope Joan will do what she can to keep me at the agency. That said, I have no idea what she will come up with." Annie replied slowly. "I hope it's as simple as completing a close and continuing form and having Arthur fast track it through the process. Somehow, though, I don't think it will be that easy."
"I suppose we see where the river takes us, Neshama. As you said in London, we are more important than the job at this point."
Annie was sitting at the massive conference table in Auggie's office the next day, drinking coffee and reviewing the chatter coming out of London on the lookout for anything regarding Fischer's death when Joan walked in.
"Good Morning, Annie."
"Morning, Joan."
"Where's Auggie?"
"Meeting with Arthur about another op, he should be back in the next hour or so."
"Oh, that's good. I wanted to speak with you alone anyway."
Annie sat up a little straighter and pushed aside the papers on the table in front of her. "Oh, of course. Is this about what we spoke about in London?"
Joan sat down in the chair next to Annie instead of her typical seat across the table before answering, "Yes, Annie, but don't worry, I think I have a good proposal for you and Eyal."
Annie's head swung around, worried that someone would overhear them despite being inside the OSP offices. "Should we be discussing this here? I don't want this to get out if I can avoid it."
"I think this proposal should alleviate your concerns." Joan responded as she slid a sheet of paper in front of the younger agent.
Annie reached over to pick up the paper and glanced down at it. After a moment her eyes went wide. "Joan…, is this a job offer for Eyal?"
"Yes, that is exactly what it is. An offer for a job here at the CIA in the OSP, where you would also remain, both of you working under Auggie." Joan said with a smile.
"I don't know what to say, honestly Joan, this is so far beyond what either Eyal or I expected. We've not even discussed an option remotely close to this." Annie stammered out, shocked at the length Joan was willing to go for her.
"Annie, the work you and Eyal have done on the Fischer op show just how stellar of a team the two of you can be. This offer makes that partnership official. No more surreptitiously backing each other up, which I know you have both done for the other. No more hiding a large part of your lives from others, which I know from experience is incredibly stressful. You and Eyal have the potential to become the best pair of operatives at the agency if you keep working together the way you have been." Joan posited.
"I need to talk to Eyal, I won't make this decision for him."
"Of course, take the rest of the day. Go talk to him." Joan assured Annie.
Eyal was typing away on his computer when the front door opened. Confused, he checked the time, and saw that it was only 2 in the afternoon, and well before he expected Annie to return from Langley. He stood up, reaching for his sidearm, as Annie walked into the living room.
"Neshama? Everything okay?" Eyal asked, concerned.
"Hey, yeah, everything's fine." Annie answered distractedly.
"You sure? You're home awfully early for a Monday."
Annie caught Eyal's eyes before answering, "I spoke with Joan about an hour ago."
"Ah." Eyal sighed out. "How'd that go?"
"You tell me." Annie responded as she handed Eyal the sheet with his job offer on it.
Eyal's eyes went wide as he sat back down on the sofa. "Is this real?" he asked, feeling quite out of his depth.
"Joan swears it is. I can't imagine her playing us with something like this. Especially after the way she spoke with me in London."
"This is beyond what I expected. I figured they'd force through a close and continuing form and then let us be."
"Me too, Joan surprised the heck out of me with this. What do you think? I told her you would have to make the decision, not me, despite how happy this would make me."
Eyal looked over at Annie, relief evident in his eyes, "Annie, I was prepared to continue working for Mossad as long as I could before being cornered into burning my life in Israel to the ground to stay with you. Basically becoming a rogue operative with no ties to any one agency. This gives me a way to stay with you, while not burning every connection I have in Israel and not putting either of us in any more risk than we already face everyday. Tell Joan that I accept her offer."
Happiness flooded Annie's eyes as Eyal placed the offer on the coffee table before wrapping her up in his arms.
The next morning saw Annie head to the DPD offices after entering Langley rather than heading to the 7th floor OSP offices. Her heels tapped out a rapid beat as she approached the glass doors that had once led to her home at Langley. It was early enough that only Joan and a couple of tech guys populated the DPD. Annie saw Joan's head lift to look out the windows of her office as the door opened and was happy to see that a smile crossed her lips.
Joan stood as Annie walked up the steps to her office and met her as she entered the office.
"Good morning, Annie."
"Good morning, Joan."
"Come, let's sit." Joan stated as she guided Annie to the sofa just inside her office.
Joan waited a moment to see if the younger agent would speak first, but when Annie seemed at a loss as to how to start she asked, "So?"
Annie started a little before letting out a short laugh. "He said yes."
Joan was slightly surprised at the direct answer. "Just like that? No questions? Concerns?"
"Oh, we have a few, but Eyal was quite clear that his answer to your offer was a firm yes."
"Well then, what questions do you have?"
"I think the most important one is how will this work? How do we approach this with Mossad?"
"That depends on what Mossad knows."
"Nothing. Mossad has no idea about any of this."
"None? At all?"
"According to Eyal, as of his departure to Tallinn Mossad had no idea about our relationship. Only one operative inside Mossad had even heard that Eyal had ties to me beyond the operations we'd already run into each other on."
"That will make this a little more interesting. When I presented this to Arthur we both assumed that Mossad likely knew about the pair of you and would also be looking for a solution. We may want to take a slightly different approach now."
"What kind of approach?"
"I'm not sure yet. Maybe we should loop in Auggie and Arthur and see what we can come up with."
"Would Eyal's perspective be useful?"
"Absolutely. What do you say we read Auggie in and then we see about getting Eyal to Langley."
"Yeah, okay."
The two women stood up from the sofa together and made their way up to the 7th floor. Joan headed to Arthur's office while Annie headed straight to the OSP office to find Auggie already at his desk.
"You're a little late today Walker." Auggie said with a grin on his face.
"Not so, boss." Annie retorted, "I've been down in the DPD this morning."
"Abandoning me already?" Auggie parried.
Annie went to reply when Auggie's phone rang, "Arthur Campbell… Arthur Campbell."
"Anderson"
"Sure, we'll be right there."
Auggie hung up before looking at where he thought Annie was standing, "Arthur wants us in his office. Any idea why?"
"Yes, but I can't talk about it here."
"Alright then, lead on." Auggie acquiesced as he reached for Annie's elbow.
Annie led Auggie to a seat at the table in Arthur's office, placing his hand on the back of the chair, before taking her own seat next to his.
Joan spoke first after everyone was settled, "Annie, do you want to tell Auggie what's going on."
"Of course, thanks for letting me." Annie replied to Joan before taking a breath and turning towards Auggie. "I'm sure you already know this, but Eyal Lavin has been assisting me on this mission."
"I had a good idea that was the case, but that's not enough of a reason for Joan and Arthur to be involved beyond a telling off."
"No, that's not all. Eyal Lavin and I have been in a relationship, a serious one, since Eyal was shot here in DC."
Auggie let out a low whistle, "I had a good idea that the two of you were in deep with each other, but I didn't think it started that early. I guessed you might have crossed paths in Africa when you were there, but here in DC?"
"Yeah, he was on his own mission for all of my time in Africa, he only joined me once I was in Tallinn."
"So what happens now?" Auggie directed all the occupants of the room.
"We've offered Eyal a position here at Langley. Specifically with you in the OSP, where we would also permanently reassign Annie." Joan announced.
"What?" Auggie said, taken completely off guard. "That is unheard of. Eyal works for Mossad."
"Yes, and when we made the offer we assumed that Mossad had as much knowledge about the two of them as we did and would be looking for a solution to the situation as well." Arthur expounded.
"Wait, you're telling me that Mossad has no idea about Annie and Eyal? How is that even possible?"
"They have had no reason to look for it. Hell, we didn't even start looking for it until Annie called you from Tallinn, Auggie." Joan stated. "Eyal has ostensibly been in recovery after being shot on his last operation. He even alerted Mossad to his departure to Tallinn before he left. Every stop he's made since then would make sense to them. Eyal has safe houses in both London and DC."
"So why are we here?" Auggie said a few minutes later.
"We need a new way to explain this to Mossad." Joan stated.
Just as Auggie was about to ask another question, Arthur's secretary entered the office. "This was just sent up and marked urgent, Mr. Campbell."
Arthur took the paper from his secretary and after a minute placed it on the table for Joan and Annie to see.
"That's Lena Smith." Annie said, more for Auggie's awareness than anything else. "This says it was taken at JFK not two hours ago."
"That's correct, it seems our mole is heading back to Langley."
