He watched the apartment for the next few days, waiting for her to return. He'd gone in the next day, after… everything, to pick up some clothes when he spotted her perfume and some of her other items stashed around. Sooner or later she would have to come by and retrieve them. If she would not call him, he would talk to her when she was alone in the apartment.

He was sitting at the small cafe that he had come to like down the street when he saw her red car drive by. He swallowed another mouthful of his coffee before throwing the nearly empty paper cup in the trash. From the window of the cafe, he watched as Annie entered the apartment building. A minute later, he did the same.

He paused a moment, just outside the apartment door. He could hear her moving about, no doubt packing the last of her things in her suitcase. He steeled himself and knocked quickly. "Annie, its me."

Silence followed and he began to wonder if she would actually open the door for him. Finally the deadbolt turned and the door opened. Annie stood on the threshold with a frown on her lips and a gun in her hand pointed at the floor.

"What are doing here, Eyal?" she asked.

"It's my apartment," he answered eying the gun in her hand. "Were you going to shoot me?"

"The thought crossed my mind," she said as she retreated into the apartment.

He followed her into the apartment and closed the door. She slipped her gun back into her coat pocket and returned to the bedroom to continue packing her things. He watched her, from the bedroom doorway, leaning his shoulder on the frame and crossing his arms over his chest. The tension was so thick in the room he could hardly breath.

"I'll be gone in just a minute," she mumbled, wrapping her fingers around her bottle of perfume and avoiding his gaze. She flitted back and forth in front of him one, two, three times before he could stand it no longer.

"Annie, wait a minute," he said as she crossed in front of him again. He reached for her left arm and caught it, circling his fingers around her bicep just above her elbow. She spun quickly and her tightly balled right fist connected with his left cheekbone. The move surprised him. He swore under his breath and staggered slightly, not loosening his grip on her arm. "I guess I deserved that. Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah, actually, a little. Eyal, please, let go of my arm." He loosened his fingers and let his hand fall to his side. "Why are you here. Right now. A minute after I get here?" She made no move to walk away.

"I need to talk to you. There are things you need to know," he sighed.

"Yeah? Like what?" Her eyes glared directly into his. Her brown eyes were startling with their hints of numerous other colors depending on how the light stuck her.

"Annie, I never intended to use your trust in me against you." Her eyes narrowed, her lips became one long thin line, and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Look, I know you don't want to believe me, but there is more going on than either you or I know about. I'm worried for you."

She snorted and took a slight step back, her eyes never leaving his face.

"I mean it, Annie. You've saved my life multiple times now, well before you trusted me in any way at all. I'm indebted to you and trust or not, I always repay my debts. I think you know that of me by now." She nodded slightly, almost not at all, but he could still see it. "If you need anything, you can still call me."

This time she nodded for real but her face remained stony and impassive. "Thank you, Eyal." Without another word she turned her back to him and began arranging things in her bag.

He watched for a minute before deciding it would be better to let her be. In the kitchen he took a glass from the cupboard and filled it with ice. To the right of the fridge sat a bottle of eight year old scotch. It wasn't his favorite, but would do in a pinch. He was about to reach for it to pour himself a drink before he thought better of it. Instead he lifted the glass to his cheek to alleviate some of the sting left behind from her fist.

That conversation had not gone as he'd hoped. He couldn't seem to bring himself to tell her the words he'd really come to say; that he cared for her and left Mossad because he couldn't bare what he'd done to her. He suddenly wished she would go... That she would no longer look at him with her eyes filled with anger and sadness. As with Johanna, maybe it would have been better if she'd never met him.

He heard the clicking of her heals as he leaned back against the refrigerator. He closed his eyes. He couldn't stand to look at her and see both of their pain reflected back at him.

"Eyal, there's something I don't understand." She'd stopped just out of reach. "Why are you still here, in DC? I thought you were being decommissioned from the field. Shouldn't you be back in Israel by now?"

"I was."

"What do you mean? I don't understand." her voice was carried a tone of curiosity that he'd come to expect from her.

He faltered and opened his eyes to look directly into hers. "What I am saying is that I'm done. I'm no longer Mossad. They were going to put me behind a desk. I chose to walk away."

Her eyes searched his face. "That's ridiculous. You can't just walk away."

He chuckled darkly. "Oh, I'm sure there will be consequences and repercussions." He set the glass down on the counter next to him. "But I did walk away, and that is how it is. You don't believe me, I know, but you can check with your agency. I'm sure they will be able to gather the proper intel."

"But why, Eyal? That doesn't make sense to me. You always told me you loved your country and would do anything for it. What could make you..."

He merely shrugged and gave her a half smile before leaning his head back against the cool refrigerator door and closing his eyes again.

She didn't move right away and he could only imagine what kind of thoughts were going through her head right then. He heard the click of her heals again as she made her way to the door. There was the snap of the lock as she turned the handle and the slight creak of the door as it opened. If she waited any longer he would lose control and beg her not to go.

"Goodbye, Eyal," she said finally. He snapped his eyes open and turned to the door, but it was already closing, blocking Annie from view.

He walked to the door, the finality of her words lingering in his mind. He stood, palms flat against the surface, and his forehead touching the wood letting his personal anguish break his cold facade. "Goodbye, Neshama," he whispered.

He took a deep breath and swallowed the tightness in his throat. He made his way to the living room, snatching the glass with the melting ice and bottle from the kitchen counter on the way. Maybe it wasn't such a bad time to have a drink, after all.

Stay tuned... this story isn't over yet...