When It All Comes Crashing Down
Author Note: Hey everyone, sorry it took awhile, long work week for me. But here is your next chapter, time for Annie to get Michael Westen on :) Obviously at this point with the episodes that have aired, this has all become AU. But you all still seem to be enjoying it so I figured let's see where it goes.
Annie wasn't a stupid girl. She knew there was no way that Liza trusted her enough to just tell her who the source was only after a day of bonding over broken hearts. But hopefully it was enough to get her inside Liza's car, that was all she needed. And a little bit of luck. OK, a lot of luck.
On her way home from the spa, Annie had stopped by to pick up a few supplies. Namely, a cell phone. Amazing what safety conscious parents will buy these days. Like cell phones with tracking devices in them which you can monitor online. Add a battery pack for a little extra power for the receiver and some duct tape to hold it all together, and you had your own little bug and GPS in one.
The trick was getting it someplace where it would pick up something worthwhile in its short battery life, without being noticed right away.
So when Annie saw the bar she was suppose to meet Liza at, she made sure to park a little further out of the way then needed, making sure no one inside the place could see her.
The place was certainly no Allen's Tavern that was for sure. It was one of those classy martini bars you thought went the way of tommy guns, flappers, and pin stripe gangsters. The place was dark, with those classic ugly maroon felt booths and the majority of the light was coming from illumination off the liquor bottles on display at the bar.
Liza was sitting at a table in the far corner, though she was far from alone. Two dark haired men of Italian looking heritage sat with her. All three were laughing at something the one man had just said. Obviously this op just got a little harder and more annoying was all Annie could think as she approached the table.
"Annie, you made it!" Liza shouted across the room, like she had just found her long lost best friend. From the sounds of it, Liza had started her evening drinks much before Annie. Annie approached the table and slid into the seat across from Liza.
"Annie, this is Claude and Marcelle. They saw me sitting over here waiting for you and they came over to keep me company."
When Liza had said the names, Annie had to do everything in her power not to break out in laughter. Oh if only Auggie could be here right now.
Auggie. The cold shower hadn't helped much in that situation. After getting ready for her night, Annie had laid out a pillow and some blankets for him and made sure to point out anything else he made need. The conversation had been limited at best. Not that angry, I'm not speaking to you silence but rather that, I'm going to be quiet because I don't want to mess up something great here.
And their friendship was great. Auggie was the best friend Annie could remember having in a long time. Military kids didn't get the chance to make too many lasting relationships. Annie couldn't imagine her life with out his laughter, his jokes, his kind words. When she was with him, there was this unexplainable feeling of contentment, of safety that she couldn't really place. And she didn't want to lose that ever. Be that by him going to jail or by her capitalizing on some unclear and hormonal impulse she was having every time he was near.
"Annie?" Liza's voice broke the silence.
"Huh... oh sorry Liza. Just thinking." Annie said.
"Look Annie, we talked about this today, don't waste another thought on him. He's a waste. Trust me. Now what do you want to drink?" Liza asked.
Oh this was going to be a long night
Meanwhile back at the guesthouse, Auggie was having his own internal debate.
Why, oh, why had he said that to her? Conjugal visits? Well technically she said that part but then his remark back. Not that he hadn't meant it, but to say it out loud like that. She had barely said anything to him the rest of the night before heading out the door. He had quite possibly just ruined his friendship with the one person who was putting her neck out on the line for him. And all because he couldn't keep his fantasies to himself.
He had meant what he said on so many levels. First off, he wasn't interested in having anyone at the agency come visit him if prison was where he ended up. No matter what type of visits they were. No one but Annie. He couldn't imagine his life with out her amazing laugh, that perky sense of humor, and her complete sweet girl personality. Prison wouldn't take that away from him. Second, and the part that he hadn't wanted her to know, was exactly what he said. The only person Auggie Anderson fantasized about anymore was his accomplice in crime.
Auggie can remember the exact first night it had happened. It was after her brush pass gone bad in Zurich. When he lost communications with her he was frightened. Not just for her or for her safety, but for him too. It wasn't until that exact moment when he realized exactly how quickly and how far she had weaseled past his defenses. He always did his best to keep the operatives in his care at arms lengths. After all, he was suppose to envy them, getting to do field work when he was stuck at a desk. But with Annie, he just couldn't. Something about her just drew him in.
And that night when she had arrived safely from Zurich, was the first night of Auggie's dream. Him, her, his bed. The feel of her skin on his, the taste of her lips, the scent of grapefruit mixed with sex. It all seemed so real to him. When he'd woken up the next day, he actually reached over to the other side of the bed to check that she wasn't laying next to him. And he was somewhat surprised at the overwhelming disappointment that flooded him when he realized she wasn't there. He'd had the same dream many times since then, and yet the disappointment when he woke up and reached over to check never lessened. The night after the whole incident on the train, it wasn't Tash he dreamed of, but Annie.
Even when he had been sharing a bed with Liza Hearn, he would wake up and his senses would be assaulted by the smell of CK One and the feel of a warm body next to him, the disappointment was still there, though on those occasions it was also mixed with a feeling of guilt and disgust.
So now, here he sat. In his best friend's guest house, laying on her couch trying to not feel completely helpless over the fact that she was out there, putting her job in jeopardy, for him. And on top of that he had made her uncomfortable with his badly placed comment.
"Ahhhhh!" he yelled in frustration. He got up and walked a path back and forth in front of the couch. His job from this point of the mission was pretty simple. He just waited. Once Annie had turned on the cell phone and gotten it placed, it was his job to listen to the receiver for any interesting conversation. Hopefully a conversation that would lead to the leak, and clear Auggie's name.
Before she had left, Annie and Auggie had found the frequency for the cell phone she had bought. He had the cab take him to his apartment after Annie had left to grab the equipment he would need. Every good hacker kept a few pieces of equipment off the book. The agency had replaced some of the monitoring equipment last year and Auggie had made sure to save a few pieces for himself, though if anyone found out he'd be in trouble. Not that he wasn't already.
When he had returned to the guest house, he'd set everything up. Now all he was waiting for was a call from Annie to tell him it was a success.
Which he didn't have to wait much longer for. His phone went off and he answered quickly
"Annie?" Despite his best effort, he could not keep the worry out of his voice.
"Hey Aug, time to tune in. I think I gave her enough to get her going. Chances are she'll be dying to verify the info I just gave her." Annie was all business.
"Ok Annie. I'll listen on this end. What are you going to do?"
"I'm good for now. I'm watching the tracker on the web right now to see if she heads anywhere interesting. I'll follow it when she moves." Annie said.
Auggie clicked the scanner on, inputting the frequency he needed with the cell phone tracking code.
"Alright Annie, I am all ears. I'll call you if we get anything interesting." Auggie replied.
"Good. This will work Auggie. We're going to get her, I know it. Trust me."
"Always do," was Auggie's simple reply as Annie hung up the phone.
If there was one person Auggie trusted right now, it was Annie Walker, of that he was sure.
Annie sat in the car, watching the GPS tracker online. The little red dot that signified Liza's car was moving north, towards the more touristy part of Washington. The dot stopped just outside a park. Annie could only hope that the cell phone bug was working. Because if not, she had no idea if Liza was stopping for coffee or to gather government intel.
As Annie sat in the car, she considered any of the areas she could have gone wrong tonight. Maybe Liza had found the bug, maybe she hadn't believed Annie and wasn't going to verify the info she had told her.
A night in the bar with Liza Hearn was interesting to say the least. Who would have thought the woman could down her liquor so fast. The women drank, continued their Auggie bashing (which Annie felt eternally grateful for, though she was going to ask him why he had said her name on a few occasions while he and Liza were in bed), and for the most part seemed like two jilted women bonding over a common enemy.
The hard part was monitoring alcohol consumption. She didn't want Liza so drunk that she couldn't coherently understand the implications of what Annie was saying, nor did she want to be too drunk to drive herself. So after the first round of vodka and sprite, she purposely told the bartender to make her drink a just sprite and to reduce the alcohol in Liza's when she went up to order the next set of drinks. A well places story to the man about Liza's alcohol 'issues' made sure the man followed the orders.
It was around 1 am when Annie finally saw her window of opportunity and acted on it.
"Annie, come on, one more before last call." Liza said.
"I wish I could Liza, really I do, but I have work tomorrow. Flights to Iran leave early." Annie said, then had the thought to look shocked. "Ooops, pretend you didn't hear that."
Liza looked a little put out for a few minutes before meeting Annie's eye.
"Does it bother you?" she asked.
"Does what bother me?" Annie replied.
"What your doing?"
Damn, did she know?
"I mean," Liza continued, "the lying to people all the time, the ethics behind what you do. How can you work for those people and still sleep at night?"
Whew...
"They pay the bills, what can I say?" Annie replied. "I mean the money is good, and I get to travel places all over the world."
"Yeah to 3rd world counties who's main source of income is arms dealing and stolen electronics. Not exactly a vacation spot." Liza took a sip of her drink . "Like Iran, what in the world would posses you to want to do there. I've been there a few times for a stories and let me tell you sister, I enjoy my indoor plumbing."
"Well yeah, I admit it's not the most glamourous area to visit," Annie started.
"Seriously," Liza interrupted, "why are they sending you there?"
Annie pretended to think about it a minute. "I'm sorry Liza, I can't. We shouldn't even be talking about it in public like this." Annie made a point to look around the room, as if checking for someone watching her.
"Oh come on Annie. You and I both know you have something to tell me. Why else would you be talking to me like this. I mean the act in the spa was good, but you still love Auggie, I can tell. You'll go back to him when he apologizes. This isn't about him. This is about you. You wanted to tell me something." Liza looked her dead in the eye.
Annie continued to hesitate.
"Annie I promise, I never reveal my sources."
Annie leaned in closer to Liza. "Have you ever heard the name Ben Mercer?"
Shortly after their conversation about Mercer, the inside information he possessed about the agency and the rouge operations run by Henry Wilcox in the years before Arthur Campbell, some true, some a rumor, and some, complete fabrication, it was time to head out the door.
"Hey, I am going to head to the bathroom before we head out. Mind waiting?" Annie asked.
"No," Liza said, "actually I have to make a quick call, I'll be right outside."
Phone call at 130am, so she had taken the bait. Annie walked into the ladies room, making sure no one else was there. She reached in her purse and turned on the small cell phone, checking the battery power. She put the phone back in her purse, then lent down and took off one of her heels.
Auggie was so going to owe her a new pair of shoes after this. Maybe two pair for this.
She cringed as she broke the heel off one of her favorite shoes. Then she came hobbling out of the bathroom.
"Uugghhh!" Annie made a dramatic sigh as she approached Liza.
"What happened?" Liza asked.
"My shoes, I broke my heel. Damn, these were my favorite ones too. And my car is parked all the way down the block too. Perfect!"
"Well look, my car is right there, let me take you to your car."
"Thanks, I appreciate it."
Outside they slipped into Liza's black BMW. Annie kicked her heel off as she sat down.
"I think I twisted my ankle somehow," she said as she rubbed it. Leaning down, she knocked the cell phone out of her bag and under the front passenger seat.
"Do you need me to call you a cab to the hospital? I'd take you myself but I have to be up early tomorrow."
"No, no, I have flats in the car, just going to stay away from heels for a week and I'll be fine. That's my car right there, the red one." Annie pointed out.
Liza pulled the car off to the side next to Annie's car. Annie slipped her broken heel back on and gathered her bag.
"Liza look, about what I said in there, you're not gonna..."
"Annie of course not. Now go home and get some sleep. You have a long flight tomorrow."
"Thanks Liza, bye."
As Liza Hearn turned the corner, Annie sat in her car and called Auggie. The information Annie had given Liza was too good for her not to follow up on. The hope was, Liza would take the information to her source as soon as possible. Liza and whoever her source was were smart people. They wouldn't want to talk of sensitive information over the phone, knowing that enough people were probably already watching Liza's phone and email . This would have to be a face to face meeting. And Annie was going to be right there.