Disclaimer: I do not own Covert Affairs...I could only BE so fortunate as to create such fabulous characters!

Author's Note: Thank you for the wonderful reviews! I am in awe of your words and hope I live up to your expectations. For those of you who read the 1st chapter last night (9/1/11), I've updated and edited it. I've added about 1,300 words. It doesn't change the dynamic much but I do hope it makes it better. Thank you again! Feedback is welcome! This is the second installment. I hope it draws you in as much as the last.

Chapter 2: Blow

12 Hours Later...or 24 Hours Ago...

Ignoring the feeling of unease in her stomach as she reviewed the intelligence allegedly provided by Ben Mercer was not the biggest mistake that Joan Campbell had ever made in her long career with the Agency, but it had the potential to become the costliest. The message was carefully crafted and followed similar protocol established by Mercer during his tenure with the Agency. There were references to current intelligence gathering operations in the Middle East and a veiled reference to something shared between he and Annie in Sri Lanka. It looked legitimate. It had been vetted by the Middle Eastern Desk. If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, swims like a duck...it's probably a sophisticated device sent to explode right in your face courtesy of 'insert bad guys name here.' Joan Campbell was not a woman to be trifled with and as she swallowed the bitter taste in her mouth she vowed that when they found Ben Mercer she would personally see to his interrogation. So caught up in her own internal dialogue she failed to see her door slowly open and a familiar head of brown hair venture in.

"Remind me to never cross you," came the deep chuckle as the DCS walked in slowly, hands palm up in a simulated mea culpa.

"Arthur," she acknowledged with a slight nod, her attention focused on watching the bustle of the bullpen from her window.

"It's been twelve hours," Arthur cleared his throat as he reached out to his wife, circling his arms around her waist and pulling her into his embrace despite the immediate stiffening of her body.

The events of the preceding twelve hours roared into her minds eye stirring a multitude of emotions that she'd fought to suppress. The bitter taste in her mouth returned and her nostrils flared as she reminded herself of the role she played in this entire fiasco. She closed her eyes slowly, taking in several deep, calming breaths in an attempt to stave off the inevitable panic attack that accompanies trauma experienced in their line of work. Compartmentalize. That was what they taught you at The Farm. Now wasn't the time. People counted on her to be strong and level headed. In the span of twelve hours their entire world shifted and those that currently raced through the bullpen following her command needed to know that she would not break. She could not break.

Feeling the tension leave her body, Arthur Campbell took a step back to admire his wife. She was strong, feisty, and had a hell of a strategic mind. The day Annie Walker entered the DPD he knew that his wife would find a kindred spirit in the younger woman. What he didn't count on was the bond that formed between the new recruit and Auggie Anderson. It caused complications in their quest to bring Mercer in from the cold, but in the end the partnership had made successes out of botched missions that would have sent even the most hardened operative for cover. He followed his wife's gaze and took in a deep, steadying breath of his own. The Tech Ops Department was without a door, destroyed in the aftermath of Annie's last transmission, and the cleaning crew had finally managed to remove the last piece of shattered glass. In hindsight, creating a Tech Ops Department surrounded by glass was probably not the most sensible architectural decision ever made.

"You're concerned," Arthur remarked as he placed a gentle hand on her upper arm, pulling her toward him in an attempt to get her to talk this through.

She raised an eyebrow, her deep blue eyes sparkling in disbelief, and pushed firmly at his chest in order to give herself space, "Arthur, your ability to state the obvious continues to astound me."

Arthur grinned as he straightened his tie, "We're going to come out the other side on this, Joan."

"Cut the glass half full crap, Arthur," her eyes flashed dangerously as a firm knock on the door interrupted her dressing down of her husband, "Come in."

Eric Barber, a member of the Tech Ops team, slowly entered the office with a look of dread upon his face, "Joan? Oh! Director Campbell! I'm sorry! I can come back."

Arthur was amused by the young man's antics and waved his hand dismissively, "You may as well tell us both. What's the latest?"

Barber frowned for a moment and then scratched his beard before answering, "It's a dead calm out there, sir. Chatter went cold about an hour ago. Mercer's last known position was in Kuala Lampur, but that confirmation is at least three days old. Finding a needle in a haystack would be easier."

Joan raised an eyebrow, her face the only weapon she needed to convey her sentiment, but assumed the techie would not necessarily comprehend, "Find me that needle, Barber. I want Ben Mercer here and I want him now."

He nodded quickly, shuffling from side to side clearly nervous about having to deal with the Division Head and DCS when Auggie generally handled these matters, "O-of course."

Joan turned on her heel and walked back to her desk, her hand pulling her monitor around as she slid into her chair for the first time in nearly ten hours, "If that's all?"

Barber, recognizing that he was being dismissed, turned towards the door but stopped short before pulling it open again, "Joan, about Auggie-"

"What about Auggie?" she asked as she leaned forward, her hands clasped in front of her as she regarded Barber with mock interest, her eyes looking to Arthur quickly.

"Chatter in the bullpen is that he's missing," Barber confessed, his eyes filled with worry and his voice wavering to coincide with the butterflies he felt were swarming in his stomach.

"Barber," she began slowly as though speaking to a child, "you know better than to listen to the rumor mill."

Barber nodded hesitantly, but pressed on nonetheless with a look of pure terror as the DCS regarded him with something akin to pity, "Yes ma'am. It's just that we received a hit on a passport."

"We get hits on passports all the time, Barber. I'm not certain why you feel the need to tell me," Joan responded coldly.

Barber chuckled nervously and ran a hand through his hair, "It was Auggie's."

"Auggie's?" Arthur asked quickly as Joan slowly rose to her feet, a look of concern flashing across her features.

"Not 'Auggie's' per se," Barber clarified quickly as he shifted his weight again, "It was listed as deactivated in 2007 but a clerical error had it listed as active."

"Clerical error," Joan let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, "Send the information to Jai. Say nothing of this to anyone."

Barber thumbed towards the door and nodded, "I found the hit. We're good. I'll get it to Jai now."

Joan's eyes narrowed dangerously and her jaw visibly clenched as the familiar stirring of protectiveness tugged at her heart. He was going to be the death of her. She knew it then and she knew it now. Arthur moved in front of her again, his eyes piercing into hers as he shook his head slightly.

"We'll find him," Arthur told her emphatically.

"We have to, Arthur," she took in a ragged breath and shook her head, "NCS may have declared him unfit for field work but we both know that he is highly skilled and highly motivated."

"I'll hold off the DNI for as long as I can," Arthur told her quietly, "but this is bound to get out. He won't be inconspicuous for long and he's bound to make a mistake."

"You underestimate August Anderson if you think he can't fly below the radar until the last possible moment. He was a force to be reckoned with before he lost his sight and I think he's only enhanced his capabilities since then. NCS wants him out of the field not because he's blind but because he's deadly. We should have kept someone on him," Joan slumped in her chair in a very un-Joan-like manner, the enormity of the situation overcoming her.

"He was practically catatonic, Joan!" Arthur threw his hands up, "Stop beating yourself up over this!"

"I love you Auggie."

The sound of a single shot echoed through the room and then there was utter silence. Joan Campbell felt her chest rise and fall, her hand coming to her mouth to stifle the gasp that no amount of training could prevent. No one moved. Stu appeared frozen mid-step, his coffee mug inches from his face as his eyes went wide. Jai Wilcox slowly slid to the floor, his expensive suit forgotten as he'd heard the final, heartbreaking exchange between his two colleagues. It seemed criminal to witness those moments and for the first time in his life, Jai no longer envied Auggie Anderson.

Auggie closed his eyes, his body rigid, and fought to control the emotion that threatened to overtake him. He'd barely registered Joan's voice as she tried desperately to get him to sit down, but his mind was reeling from the events that had just unfolded. The chair hit him in the back of his knees and he found that he no longer had the strength to remain standing. His body collapsed in a heap, his eyes more vacant than Joan had ever seen them and for a brief moment she feared for the man's sanity. She knelt down beside him, her hand placed gently on his thigh as she searched his face for any sign of life. There would be time to help him put the pieces back together, but now was not it. She rose slowly from her crouched position, her knees popping as she took in a deep, steadying breath.

"Ok people," her voice full of gravel from disuse, her hand remaining firmly on Auggie's shoulder as she looked around the room, "Listen up! Stu, I want you and the Tech Ops team to dissect the alleged intel from Ben Mercer. Find me what the Middle Eastern Desk missed and find it now. Jai, I want you to go to the 7th floor and brief Arthur-"

"Joan?" Jai croaked from his position on the floor, his eyes rimmed red as he looked at her with confusion.

"I'm needed here," she replied simply, her head nodding towards a motionless Auggie, "I need resources. I want Ben Mercer found. Pull out all the stops. Let's go people! The trail will go cold in less than an hour. Bea, I want you to retrace Annie's steps. Contact Bagram and see if you can't locate Ranger Team 4."

"What about-" Stu begins as he looks pitifully at Auggie, but stops with a wave of Joan's hand signaling his dismissal.

"Move it!" she snapped, her eyes flashing with controlled fury and immediately the entire room sprang into action.

Joan looked down at Auggie once again and gently squeezed his shoulder in hopes of illiciting a reaction. He sits there unmoving, eyes forward, and his hands on the arms of the chair. He'd not spoken a single word since the shot was fired and Joan tried desperately to devise a way to break him from his trance-like state. She knew she should find Darren Watkins, the resident CIA shrink, but she didn't dare leave Auggie's side.

"Outpost this is Ranger 4, do you copy?" a voice boomed through the Tech Ops Center causing Joan to flinch away from the despondent man.

She quickly looked around the room, her platinum blonde hair flying in a distinctly non-Joan manner, and attempted to locate a mic to answer the summons from the team on the ground in Afghanistan. Her eyes scanned the now empty room for a single person to help but found that her orders scattered the room like cockroaches under a hall light. She growled, her hand slapping Auggie on the back of the head in frustration.

"Snap out of it Auggie!" she grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him for good measure, "Ranger 4 is calling in. This place looks like a war zone! Find me a mic or so help me God I will kick your ass!"

Auggie blinked slowly, momentarily roused from his stupor, and reached a hand out towards his keyboard. His fingertips gently glided over the braille slide and then he tapped the keyboard when he appeared to find what he needed. His movements were heavy, as though moving through rough water, and Joan noticed for the first time how his generally youthful appearance revealed his mental fatigue.

"Well?" she asked impatiently as she unnecessarily threw her hands up as she watched him retreat back into his chair.

Auggie sighed and motioned for her to speak, his head leaning back against the curve of his chair as he closed his eyes succumbing to crash of the earlier adrenaline rush. Joan frowned at his reaction, but trusted that he had done something to aid her current predicament.

"Ranger 4, we read you. What's your status?" Joan called out, feeling slightly foolish for responding in this matter, as she walked toward the shattered monitor with the satellite intel.

"Roger Outpost. Sandstorm is secure," came the clipped reply that only a Special Ops soldier could deliver, "Arriving at Bagram now."

Joan quickly glanced back at Auggie who gave no indication that he'd heard or understood the words that echoed through the room. Her heart began to race, a shiver running down her spine as she began to process the implications of those few words spoken by a solider thousands of miles away. It was almost too good to be true for such a botched mission. There was no mistaking the gunshot that was fired no more than twenty minutes prior silencing Annie Walker. Half of the DPD heard the final exchange between Annie and Auggie to know that some things just did not lie. Yet here she was surrounded by glass, broken tech, and an even more broken Head of Tech Ops talking to Ranger at Bragram.

"Ranger 4, come again?" she asked slowly, praying to God that she'd interpreted his words correctly.

There was a pause. Static. Joan turned around again to face Auggie only to find his chair had been vacated. Her eyes went wide as a feeling of dread came over her. She had to finish this now and would have to deal with Auggie later.

"Sandstorm secure, ma'am. We had to stabilize in the field before transporting to Bagram."

Joan blinked once. Then twice. Her legs suddenly felt like jelly and she reached haphazardly behind her for something to steady her. Finding the edge of the desk she half sat on the edge and used her arms to brace herself upright. Her eyes traveled to the bullpen and she felt a weight in the middle of her chest. Blinking back the sting of hot tears she watched as her husband tentatively entered the room, his eyes wide with concern as he quickly crossed the distance between them.

"Jai just informed me-"

She placed her index finger on her lips and shook her head slowly in disbelief, "Ranger 4 has Sandstorm."

He nodded solemnly as he reached up to take her hand in his, "It will be easier for her family-"

"No!" Joan cut him off as she shook the cobwebs from her mind, "She was stabilized in the field and taken to Bagram."

Arthur frowned as he assumed control momentarily, "Ranger 4 this is Halo. Repeat Sandstorm is secure and alive?"

"Yes sir!" came the clipped response, "Unfriendly nearly got her, but we got him first. She was bad, sir. Didn't think she'd pull through. Real proud of her school, though."

"Come again, soldier?" Arthur raised an eyebrow as he watched Joan rise from her chair and smooth her dress.

"Kept talking about an Aggie," the solder replied with a slight chuckle, "Didn't take her for a Texas girl."

Joan's eyes sparkled as she laughed, "That would be Auggie. Her handler."

"Only knew one Auggie in my life, ma'am. He was a good man. Always did what he could to get us all home," the man remarked.

"He still is Ranger 4," Arthur cleared his throat as he acknowledged the connection.

"I'll be damned," the man whistled, "Tell him he's a damned lucky man. Cap'n says the Docs are looking her over. Lost a lot of blood. We lost her twice en route. The next few hours are critical. Transport to Ramstein is on standby. Docs will call in the next hour to update you, Halo."

"Good work Ranger 4. Thank you. Outpost out," Joan responded evenly, a feeling of relief washing over her.

Joan slowly turned her attention to the vacated chair, reaching out to run her fingertips along it's curved back. She had to find him. Fast. Joan looked to Arthur for some direction and he simply shrugged.

Arthur pulled her into a gentle hug, his lips brushing her cheek, "We'll find the bastard, Joan. Jai is on it. You have full control. Annie is alive. That's all that matters now."

Joan leaned into his embrace, grateful for the strength he provided her, and wrapped her arms around his waist, "I'm worried about Auggie. He slipped out of here before Ranger 4 confirmed that Annie was alive."

Arthur slowly pulled away from his wife and looked into her eyes, "He can't have gotten far. We'll find him. When we do I'm sure he'll be right in the middle of everything."

"Call Darren Watkins. I'd feel better knowing someone was here for him," Joan told him firmly as the doors once again swung open to reveal Stu and the rest of the team, "Listen up! Ranger 4 called in. Sandstorm—Annie—is secure and at Bagram. I need someone to find Auggie."

Stu took a tentative step forward, his face cautious as he looked over his shoulder to see Jai follow him inside, "What do you mean, Joan?"

"Annie Walker is alive and Auggie doesn't know."

If someone had told Jai Wilcox that a blind man could out wit, out last, and out play three of the CIA elite he would have called them insane. After ten hours of tracking August Anderson from his apartment to the bus depot to the train station and now to Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport in Montreal, Jai had grown to begrudgingly respect the man.

"Jai, what's your 20?" came the voice of Stu over the com-link.

"Just arrived at the airport in Montreal. Passport hit says he hopping a flight to Kuala Lampur via Doha," Jai responded as he looked down at his own passport, Indian for this particular adventure, "Maybe the chatter about Mercer isn't cold after all?"

"Mercer better hope you find him before Auggie does. Have you made visual contact?"

Jai frowned as he began to visually scan the area for any sign of the man, "Negative. Heading to the gate area now. I'll keep you posted."

If someone had told Jai Wilcox that a blind man would be able to get the jump on him in a crowded airport he would have said something incredibly conceited, smug, and pejorative because surely that could never happen. His only thought as the hands circled around his throat, dark brown eyes vacant of any emotion appearing to stare into his own, was that he was probably never going to live this one down and Auggie would rejoice in the fact that he'd finally brought Jai Wilcox to his knees.