Chapter 3

Uninvited Visitor

Auggie was quite annoyed that he had been sent on this errand. Of course, he had been the one to record the information, but he was a CIA field operative, not an errand boy. Besides, who was this Anne Walker and why couldn't she come to Langley to do the translation. He knew they sometimes used civilians to do translations for them when they didn't have someone readily available, but why was he, of all people, going to deliver it in this awful weather.

Ringing the doorbell at the address Joan had given him, he was impressed to see that the sidewalk was already cleared at this home. It was 7:30 in the morning after a massive winter storm had dumped almost a foot of snow in the area. The area had no power, so everyone was staying inside. Nonetheless, for some reason this household insisted on having a clear path around their home. At least he didn't have to struggle to get to their doorway, he thought to himself.

Only seconds after ringing the doorbell the door swung open. A woman in her early thirties with long blonde hair and striking blue eyes opened the door looking around Auggie as she did.

"Annie, why are you- Oh, sorry, I was expecting someone else. How can I help you?" The clearly distracted women asked, still looking past him. Danielle had been expecting Annie to come through the door any minute. But this was a surprise. Never in her life had he seen such a handsome man. He commanded her respect with his poised posture that she had to assume as meant he was military trained.

"I am here to see Anne Walker. I have something that needs her expertise." Auggie stated vaguely. Joan had told him to be as nonspecific as he could, saying something about the civilian not needing any details about where the information came from, who it was for, or why he was there.

"What business do you have with Annie?" the woman stated suddenly defensive.

"Unless, you are Anne that is none of your business." Auggie countered calmly, putting on his most endearing smile. He knew how to charm the ladies to get what he needed.

"She lives in the guest house, right over there" she states cautiously pointing to another portion of the yard where he could clearly see another building. "Give me a moment to put shoes on and I will take you over there."

"That will not be necessary, miss. It is quite cold out here, no point in us both braving the weather. I won't be long." Auggie was really laying it on thick, but he didn't want this random person suspecting anything.

"Well, okay, but I will check on Annie in fifteen minutes. And please tell her Danielle says breakfast is at 8:00 sharp."

"Thank you for your help Danielle." Auggie said flashing her his famous lopsided smile.

As he made his way over to the guest house that had been indicated by Danielle, he briefly wondered if they indeed had a full fifteen minutes before she would come knocking. Twenty five minutes was pushing it for him to make sure Anne, or Annie as this Danielle had called her, knew what he needed. He hoped his charms would work as well on her as they did every other woman he knew. As he arrived at her doorstep, he rang the doorbell confidently.

"I have thirty more minutes Danielle." Shouted an annoyed voice from inside. Well, someone is not a morning person, Auggie thought to himself.

Auggie knocked on the door again, slowly losing patience.

Realizing that Danielle would never actually ring the doorbell or knock, Annie attentively walked to the door, unlocked the deadbolt, then the lower lock, but reached up to make sure the chain lock was securely attached before opening the door the full six inches allowed by the chain lock. "Who is it?" Annie asked cautiously making sure she pretended to look out the door at the person. This was something she had insisted that Danielle help her with as much as possible. In this instance, Annie knew that if she let her head lay slightly on the doorframe at a specific angle, it would look as if she were indeed looking out the door. She never wanted strangers to immediately know about her disability when they met her.

"Anne Walker? My name is August Anderson, Joan sent me." Auggie said confidently putting forth his best smile and most charismatic voice. Joan had told him that he just needed to mention her and Miss Walker would help him.

Much to Auggie's surprise, the woman, he had only got a glimpse of from the door, had just forcefully closed the door in his face and by the sounds of it relocked the door.

Annie, felt her heart pounding in her chest, her palms were sweating and her breathing suddenly became shallow and labored. Silke was immediately by her side offering comfort as Annie's mind raced. Joan never communicated with her in any way other than email. Annie had never even given Joan her address. How was this guy here right now? As she tried to regain control of her breathing she considered what was happening. Either he was telling the truth or he was lying. It was that simple. He had not sounded like he had bad intentions, in fact his deep baritone voice had been inviting.

Auggie tried one last time knocking on the door. Joan would not be happy if he came back with this file. This time he tried a different approach. "Ms. Walker, it is quite cold out here, can I please come in for a moment. I just have to give you the file to translate and I will be on my way."

She began slowly regaining control of her breathing as she sat with her back on the door crouched down. With Silke lying beside her, she found herself absentmindedly stroking her back. He truly sounded sincere and how else would a random man know that she translated information for Joan. Of course, it would be her luck that the file would not be in a format that she could not access right now. With the power out none of her scanners, printers, or computers would be operational to put anything in Braille or digital form.

Slowly she rose from the floor and opened the door, this time unlocking all three of the locks. As she opened the door, she immediately turned back toward the living area and positioned herself in front of the couch, listening carefully as her visitor's boots indicated his placement in the room. "It is nice to meet you August, I am Anne Walker, but please call me Annie." Annie started as she held out her hand in his general direction, she hoped. She had been told that she was good at making eye contact and sensing where people were because she had already experienced these social customs as a sighted person. "Nice to meet you, Annie." Auggie replied coolly as he grasped her hand in a firm handshake, once again put on his most charming smile, but Auggie noticed that she did not look directly at him. Great another painfully shy one he thought to himself.

"Have a seat" she continued a little more harshly than she intended, pointing to the armchair perpendicular to the couch she sat in. She realized that social graces dictate that she be a little more accommodating to a guest, even if he was uninvited. "Please" She added a little softer and looked in the direction he sat and hoped she was at least looking at him. Not knowing anything about this man made it more difficult for her to pretend to make eye contact with him. All she knew was he had a strong, firm handshake, wore boots-probably because of the weather, and smelled of coffee and expensive cologne.

After a long pause, Auggie cleared his throat, "So, Ms. Walker, I have some documents that Joan needs translated as quickly as possible." He took the recorder she had given to him out of his pocket and offered it to her. But she didn't move to take it. Suddenly realization came over him. He blinked a couple times and shook his head slightly, he couldn't believe it, was she-? He couldn't even bring the word to his mind He moved his hands in front of her and whispered, "Annie, are you-" Once, again he couldn't say the word. He felt completely dumbfounded. Why couldn't Joan have warned him?

Annie sighed. She could sense the change in the environment immediately. His attitude and demeanor had completely changed in the last couple seconds.

"Yes. I'm blind. You can say it. It doesn't make you an asshole to say the word." She stated matter-of-factly. "Do you have a problem with that?" she asked coldly. There were few people in her life that did not accept her unconditionally. She was considered a necessary member of her job and her family loved her without question. Whoever this guy was, she would not put up with his discrimination.

"Umm, well, n no." he stammered. "I don't have a problem with it. I just tried handing you the information we need translated, but you weren't accepting. You could have just been up front with it." Auggie stated calmly trying to hide his confused and panicked feelings, but desperately needing to defuse the situation. How in the world is he supposed to act around her? He had never been around any disabled people. He momentarily tried to think about how life would be if he couldn't see, the thoughts terrified him.

"Fine, give me the file and I will get it back to you when I can. But I should warn you with the power out, I have limited ability to access my usual technology." Annie told him reluctantly. She didn't want this random man to know about her limitations.

"We need it today if possible. It is an audio file if that helps." Auggie stated with as much confidence as he conjure. The fact that the woman sitting next to him was blind and not looking at him as he spoke to her really bothered him. He knew it wasn't her fault. But he had always naturally commanded respect from woman just by being himself, but Annie was unphased by his handsome physique.

"Well, I suppose I can try. My laptop should have enough battery to last a few hours while I type up the translation as I hear it. But I will I get it to you? The best I can do is print it out at my sister's, but you would still have to come back for it."

"That would not be a problem. Joan would pay you extra for the rush job of course." Despite the fact he had not been told he could offer her more, he pitied the woman and wanted her well compensated for her time. He was certain it would take her hours to listen to, translate, and type up the fifteen minute conversation he needed translated. But it was important for the team to have the information discussed in this meeting. Warren Fisher was a serious arms dealer in Germany who was speaking with the Israelis nationals about buying weapons. It was rumored that they planned to launch an attack on US soil with said weapons. He was certain that conversation contained vital information about a meet. The problem was they didn't have translators in country at the moment that knew German and Hebrew. Joan had told him Annie knew both.

"It will be done by 12", Annie stated straightforwardly. And reached out her hand waiting for the device the recording was on to be handed to her. Auggie placed a flash drive in her outstretched palm and watched as her thin fingers covered it in a fist.

"Are you sure? That's only about four hours." Auggie stated shocked that she thought she could complete the job that quickly "It needs to be done right; you don't have to rush to impress-"

"Excuse me!?" Annie said cutting him off. Taking a couple steps toward where he was standing, looking directly at him with a gaze that lead just over his shoulder, astounding him with her accuracy. "It will be done when I say it will be done, not because I will rush the work or because I'm trying to impress anyone, least of all you, but because I am just that good at my job."

Suddenly, floored at her defensiveness, he simply stated "Okay, see you—er, I will be back around 12."

"Yes, see you then." Annie stated indifferently as she opened the door to let him out, still holding the flash drive her gave her.

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