Disclaimer: I don't own Covert Affairs, but Clara is my OC.

Prompt #13: Allen's - It quickly became a good place for them to hang.

Words: 990

Allen's Tavern is universally known to all CIA-folk as a safe zone. You go there to detox, to unwind, to imbibe and possibly get lucky after a long day or a long op. Agents mix with techs, and everyone knows everyone else except when civilians arrive. Then you're just another regular Joe on your own.

Unspoken but universally known, Allen's is technically a no man's land for shop talk. You don't talk about Langely business while you're there. Water cooler gossip, perhaps. Bitch-fits about certain people, most definitely. But business such as mission specs or job opportunities are a huge, unspoken no-no in Allen's. The reason why is plain - you never know who might overhear you.

Apparently Jai Wilcox didn't know this. But then again, if he had, perhaps Auggie Anderson wouldn't have gotten such a kick out of what happened...

Allen's, the night before...

Annie was moderately surprised to see Jai sitting at her and Auggie's customary table. She was even more surprised to see that he seemed to be alone and waiting for her. "What're you doing here, Jai?" she asked carefully as she approached, trying not to sound annoyed.

"Just here to enjoy a drink," he replied. "Care to join me?"

She scanned the tavern as casually as possible. There was no sign of her curly-haired handler anywhere, which made her heart drop significantly. Heaving a sigh, she dropped into the booth and fixed Jai with a weary glance. "What do you want?" she asked, cutting straight to the chase.

That megawatt smile flashed on at full power. "Can't a guy just grab a dr - "

"No," Annie cut him off curtly. "And you're not one to do so without getting something out of it. Tell me now, or I'll slap you in front of all these people."

Jai's smile faded slightly. "Very well," he said. "I need to ask you for a favor."

Annie couldn't help the incredulous lift of her eyebrow. "Forgive my skeptisim, but can you repeat that? I think I heard you ask for a favor."

"Don't make me repeat myself," he growled, dropping the smile entirely.

She shook her head. "I'm just surprised. Why ask me?"

"Because you're one of the few decent people in the CIA who's not interested in playing politics."

"...Thank you?" she said, not sure if it was a compliment.

Jai leaned forward. "Look, nobody's taking me seriously as the head of Special Operations - "

"Big shock," Annie said without thinking.

He shot her a dirty look but pressed on. " - And I'm wondering if you'll consider a proposition."

She had to give him credit. Jai seemingly didn't care that he was breaking an unspoken rule of Allen's: don't talk about work. Glancing around, she saw how some people were subtly moving away so as not to hear.

Or they might've been moving away from Jai's taint. Either/or.

Annie crossed her arms. "I'm not working for you."

"Not asking you to."

"Not pitching the idea to Auggie, either," she added for good measure.

Jai shook his head. "Not asking you to. I'm wondering if you'll just give me an opinion."

Eyebrow shot back up like an express elevator. "My...my opinion?" she repeated, making sure he was serious.

"Yes. I want to hire some fresh faces..."

Annie was feeling more and more uncomfortable with every word. She'd only wanted to catch a drink before heading home, but with Jai prattling on about hiring, she just wanted an out. Glancing around covertly, she tried to catch someone's eyes, but everyone was absorbed in thier own conversations.

Then salvation arrived in the form of the dark-haired tech newbie. Annie shot her a desperate Save me! look over Jai's shoulder and gave a silent thanks to God that Clara understood the plea.

"Hey Annie!" said Clara, walking up and smoothly interrupting Jai. "Been lookin' for you. Can you settle an issue I've got with Stu and Barber? They're calling my Portuguese into question, so I need a second to back me up."

Annie nodded. "Sure thing. Excuse me, Jai." Grabbing her coat and beer, she kept stride with Clara and said, "Thank you so much."

Clara nodded. "No big deal, Annie. You looked real stuck there."

"Nobody ever learns about what just happened."

"Of course." The tech smiled. "No worries."

Auggie was smirking like a prep school prank master when Annie arrived the next day. "What's cooking, good-looking?" he practically chirped when the blonde woman entered his office.

Giving him a pointlessly annoyed glare, she announced herself by saying, "And what's got you so happy, Auggie?"

"Heard a little birdie say that you and Mr. Wilcox had some words of a questionable nature last night at Allen's."

Clara, that little tattletale. "Ugh. Imagine Jai thinking my opinion would help him be better at his job."

Auggie laughed suddenly, a deep sound that made a few techs jump in their seats. "Him asking you? He must be desperate."

"It's your fault, you know," she said. "If you'd been there when you said you'd be, Jai wouldn't have taken our table and tried to make a move on me."

"Not my fault. That encrypted file was being a difficult bastard. I sent Clara to check up on you," he added.

"Because nothing says "You're my friend" than "I'm sending the newbie to save your ass"," Annie grumbled.

Eh, not sure about this one.

Review please!