Chapter 19
"Seeking Comfort and an End to the Nightmare"
Auggie wasn't sure what to do. He wanted her to know he was there for her, but he didn't want to cause her more anxiety by initiating contact. Her breathing was much more normal than it had been, but she still remained unmoving. Since he'd called Joan, Annie had even stopped petting Silke. Her left hand now lay limply at her side and she seemed locked in whatever had pulled her away from her translating. He wanted to comfort her, but he wasn't sure the best way to do that.
Joan was at least twenty minutes away-if she left the moment he called, which he thought seemed unlikely to happen. He couldn't just let her be tortured until she got there.
"Annie. What can I do?" Auggie asked in a calm voice, hoping to sooth her, not scare her.
She blinked a couple times, but otherwise did not move.
"Annie? I need you to say something." He asked again, a little more sternly this time.
"Auggie, hold me." She said much to his surprise.
For Annie, her worst nightmares were coming true. She felt like this whole experience from Africa to the present was a dream wrapped in a nightmare. She wanted-no needed-to be comforted right now.
It had been years since she had been in a man's embrace—since Ben in fact. She trembled at the mere thought of his name now. She briefly wondered if Auggie would mind holding her for a few minutes. Just to allow her body the comfort of his presence-of any one's presence. The only true way she could experience a person's company was through touch now and for far too long, she had cut herself off from this experience out of fear. Only Danielle had gotten close, but Annie even kept her at a distance.
She surprised herself when the words came out of her mouth-"Auggie, hold me." But just as they came out, she knew she needed it. She knew that was exactly who she wanted to be holding her at this moment. She'd come to know him and more importantly, to trust him. They'd only known each other just over a week, but he'd proved to be a very good friend in that time, despite awful first impressions for each of them.
Auggie wasn't sure at first if what she said was what she wanted or not, but he didn't hesitate for a second. He set the laptop that had been on his lap on to the table in front of him and went over to the left side of Annie. He didn't want to injure her right arm. He gently wrapped his arms around her. He was surprised that she leaned into him even further.
Annie leaned around Auggie's chest as he wrapped his arms around her. She didn't cry or make a sound. As he gently caressed her hair, she relaxed into him a bit. Taking a few deep breathes, inhaling his scent, seemed to calm her almost immediately. Her racing mind began to notice her surroundings more now.
She'd been unaware of Silke at her lap before. But now she felt the gentle pressure of her head lying on her lap. She knew Silke would have come to her the moment she was in distress. This was the first time she was so far out of it that she didn't realize she had indeed come to her aid. Just moments ago, Annie had felt like she was lost in the abbess of the memories that were attacking her-memories of Africa, memories of Ben, and then memories of their voices all colliding in a plot to kill a German physicist and his team. It all felt like a tidal wave coming at her, trapping her under a rip currant, pulling her further out of sea as she tired, literally blindly, to make her way back to shore. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't escape the bonds the metaphorical ocean had held on her.
But at this moment, it seemed there was a tiny relief from the currant's hold on her. Auggie's presence in her world seemed to help, much as a life preserver might help someone lost at sea-his earthy scent, the coolness of his touch, the steady sounds and vibration of his breathing. It all helped to ground her. All helped to calm her otherwise spiral with anxiety.
Auggie was surprised at how long Annie leaned into him. He'd expected her to remain stiff in his embrace, but she had relaxed into him almost as soon as his arms were around her. She winced in pain a couple times, but soon her breathing was completely back to normal. As they continued to just sit there, Auggie smoothed her hair and gently rubbed circles into her back. This seemed to help relax her even further.
A knock on the door brought them back to reality. Annie carefully brought herself into an upright position.
"Thank you." She said quietly.
"Anytime." Auggie said. "I'll get the door. It's probably Joan. Are you okay to talk to her now about what happened?" He asked cautiously, watching for any signs of distress.
"Yes, I'm much better now, thanks to you and Silke." Annie said in a much stronger voice than had spoken earlier.
As Auggie had assumed, it was Joan at the door.
"Come in. Annie is on the couch." Auggie told Joan as he opened the door.
"Annie, Joan is here. Do you need anything before you talk with her?" Auggie asked.
"I'm okay for now, thank you Auggie. Joan, have a seat." Annie said as she gestured to her left.
Joan watched Annie carefully, trying to determine where this conversation might be going. She'd known Annie for many months now and had come to trust her, so she was surprised when Auggie seemed to allude to something that Annie couldn't handle.
"Annie, what was on the recording? Auggie seemed to think you were upset by it." Joan asked after she sat down.
Annie took a deep breath, taking in Joan's sweet honey and nectarine perfume.
"Joan, I'll get directly to the point, I recognized the voices on the recording. No just Amos' voice, as we expected I would, but all of the voices." Annie began.
"Oh, really? What do you mean Annie? Who were they?" Joan asked surprised.
"Joan, they were Amos, my ex-boyfriend, and one of the men that captured me when I was in Africa." Annie told her, hearing Auggie gasp from behind her.
"Annie, are you sure?" Joan asked.
"Yes, absolutely sure." Annie said confidently.
"Who is your ex-boyfriend?" Joan asked.
"Ben Mercer, or at least that's what he told me his name was, I suppose he could have given me a false name." Annie told her, only then thinking he could have been lying to her about his name.
"No, Annie, that's the correct name." Joan said. She pinched the bridge of her nose and spoke again. "He's CIA. Or at least he was until he went rouge and started working for the Africans against any CIA missions in Africa. He's the reason I was in Africa when you were kidnapped. I've suspected for some time now that he was behind your capture, but I don't think he knew it was you. I doubt he had any hand in the actual capture, just the idea behind it. He went rouge shortly after being in Sri Lanka, where you met him. We've been hunting him down for years."
"You're telling me my ex-boyfriend works for the CIA and could be the reason I was captured and blinded. And that now I'm involved in a plot with the CIA to stop him, my former and recent captors from murdering a world renowned physicist?" Annie asked after a gasp and long, deep breath.
"It would seem so, Annie." Auggie said from behind her. He was standing just a step behind the couch, listening to their conversation, but also watching Annie for any signs of her anxiety increasing.
"Annie, nothing will happen to you. You are completely safe now. We've taken all necessary precautions to make sure you are safe. If we need to move you to a safe house, we will as well, but given your circumstances, that is a last resort. Right now we have surveillance on your house, full time monitors that are being watched around the clock, and of course Auggie here. Do you know if they have the weapons yet?" Joan asked.
"Yes. They have the weapons and a plan to smuggle them into the US using a cargo ship heading toward the United States this weekend. I don't know what port they are planning to bring it to though. I didn't get to listen to the whole conversation, just the first few minutes. I can try to listen again, but Joan, I'll be honest, I don't know if I can handle it. Those voices, the memories, it's all just a little too much for me." Annie told her honestly.
"Annie, if you can't do it, I'll understand. It'll take several of my linguistic team members working together to do what you can do alone, but they can do it. I don't think you quite understand how valuable your language skills are to us, to anyone really. You have an incredibly rare talent Annie. Very few people in the world are as fluent in as many languages as you are." Joan told her proudly.
"Thank you Joan. I'm happy to hear that. I'm glad I can still use my language skills, you know since-" She paused, knowing they knew she was referring to her blindness. "I'd like to give it another try, but if I can't handle it, I'm afraid you'll have to have someone else work on it." Annie told her with only a slight edge of reluctance. She really did want to help Joan out, especially if it meant these guys would be caught and it did help knowing Auggie was right there by her side.
