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Prompt #18: Hearn - She was there when the fallout threatened to crush him.

Words: 778

Days like this made Annie wonder if some deity caused chaos just to see what would happen in the aftermath.

She knocked on the door, hoped he'd answer, and prayed that he hadn't brought home company from Allen's. If he had...this would make her visit very, very awkward indeed.

While she waited, her mind wandered back to the last time she'd seen her handler...

When word spread through the DPD that Liza Hearn was in handcuffs, gossip started flying thick and fast. Annie kept her head down and her ears open, trying to sort through the stories for the facts. Soon enough, she was able to piece together some similar aspects into some semblance of truth.

Liza Hearn had an inside source in the CIA. Already knew that.

Henry Wilcox was Liza's source, feeding her information to undermine Arthur. That was a new tidbit.

Jai Wilcox had ratted out his father as the source of the leak. Sounded like him, selling out his father to gain favor among the CIA...

And now Auggie was being called in to be debriefed about his severely-unofficial op on Liza. Oh, dammit.

Arthur had tried to keep him out of the line of fire, but office politics being what they were, he had to call Auggie in or risk losing his own job. This got the rumor mill grinding, people whispering and wondering what the fallout would be for the head of Tech Ops.

Annie was chained to her desk, running her highlighter through relevent articles in the Russian newspapers she had piled up. She could only watch as Auggie, his expression unreadable as a stone mask, headed out of the DPD for the elevator and whatever fate the universe had in store for him. Not even Joan could save him from whatever the seventh-floor puppetmasters decided.

When he came back after a few hours, he didn't stop to speak to her. He returned to his office, shut down his computers, and left for home. Annie didn't dare flag him down for an explaination, not in front of everyone and their CIA-trained ears...

Which was why she was now in front of his apartment, hammering on the door and waiting impatiently for Auggie to answer her.

He opened the door wide, a wan smile on his pale face. "Hey Walker."

"Auggie," she replied, slipping inside. She turned around to look over his lean frame. "You look wrung out."

"They really put me through the wringer," he replied. "Kept me there for almost four hours."

"I know." Annie reached out and took his hand in hers. "Want some company with your boozing?"

A crooked grin made one side of his lips quirk up. "And what makes you think I'm boozing?"

"You're not?" Leaning to look past his lean frame, she saw the half-empty bottle of tequila on the coffee table. "Aha. Busted. You dare to start without me?"

"Wasn't expecting you, to be honest." Auggie headed back for the couch. His usually fluid gait seemed a little sluggish, even accounting for the alcohol in his system. "Well, make yourself at home. Grab a glass."

If he was expecting her to start rambling about how stupid the CIA shadowlords were, or to give him that tired old line, "Everything'll be okay, I promise," Annie was determined to disappoint him. There were several ways to comfort or show support to someone without wasting a whole lot of words. It was clear that Auggie didn't want to hear movie-stale words of reassurance. He just wanted to get trashed and not remember the slog of trouble that was scuzz-sucking bitch-queen Liza Hearn.

Annie's description, not his.

Grabbing a glass, she poured two more shots and took hers like a champ. "I asked Joan for a day off tomorrow," she remarked. "She gave it. You, too. We can sleep in tomorrow with massive hangovers."

Auggie turned his head to stare blankly at her, not bothering to hide his tiny smile of relief. "That so. Setting the bar high much, Walker?"

"Yeah. So we're gonna need a lot more liquor," she said. "Whatcha got?"

Tag for "Letter Never Sent" (I think that's the right one) after Jai sells his dad up the river.

Btw, small spoiler - someone important but disliked dies in "Hang on to Yourself." Trust me, I cheered when it happened.

Review please! We're almost to the 100-milestone!