Full Circle P3
Annie was able to sleep on the flight to San Francisco due only to the complete lack of sleep she had gotten all weekend. She replayed her time with Auggie over and over in her head, how she might have turned the situation around.
It occurred to her that while he said he loved her, she hadn't said it back. She had said it to him on the phone, from Frankfurt, in a roundabout way, but not like he said it, not with his conviction. It occurred to her now, at 40,000 feet that he might have wanted to hear it.
"Miss Walker," a company man waited for her curbside and brought her to another hotel on the other side of the country.
Her plan was to check in and call Joan. Joan was going to call Danielle and explain the situation and if Danielle wanted to see Annie, Annie would be available for the next 36 hours before she left for Budapest.
"Hello," Joan answered, it was 9:00 pm in DC.
"I'm here," Annie announced as she flopped her suitcase on the bed.
"OK, the burner phone package was delivered a few minutes ago."
"She opened it and already has an idea of what is happening," Annie sighed.
"I'll call right now," Joan assured.
"Thank you," Annie said sincerely, but Joan was already gone.
***555***
Danielle looked at the cell phone and for a fleeting second worried it might be a bomb. More likely it was from Auggie, he had the oddest ways of getting in touch with her. She was staring at it when her house phone rang causing her to jump.
"Hello," she said shakily.
"Danielle Brooks?" a woman asked.
"Yes."
"You received a package just now?"
"Yes."
"Please hang up and press 1 on the speed dial of that phone," and a dial tone replaced the woman's voice.
Danielle hung up and with trembling hands dialed as instructed.
"Hello Danielle," the same woman answered that line too.
"What happened to Auggie?" Danielle said terrified.
"Auggie?"
"You are calling from the Agency right? No one else goes to this type of hassle for a phone call and Auggie is my contact at the Agency, what has happened to him?" Danielle was close to tears.
"He is fine," Joan assured.
"Really?"
"Really, I am sorry, I didn't realize you still talked to him," Joan cringed, this conversation was really not off to a good start.
"He was my sister's handler," Danielle explained unnecessarily.
"I know that. I am his boss and Annie's," Joan said gently.
"Oh."
"Danielle, I am sorry to do this over the phone, but I am unable to travel at this time. I need to clarify a few things about Annie…."
Danielle sat heavily on the bar stool and listened to the most unbelievable story she had ever heard.
***555***
Annie hadn't unpacked, it was becoming a habit, instead she perched on the edge of the bed in the sleek San Francisco hotel room and waited. If Danielle refused to see her there was no reason to stay.
Her phone buzzed in her hand and she answered it before the second vibration.
"Yes," she said nervously.
"She'll be at the hotel tomorrow morning at 10:00," Joan wanted that out of the way first.
Annie breathed out a long slow breath, realized her left foot had fallen asleep the way she had it twisted and tucked behind her right calf and that the room smelled softly of cinnamon. It was as if Annie had been in a bubble of anticipation waiting for Joan's call.
"OK," was all she could say.
"She is obviously confused and hurt Annie, but I figure you anticipated that. She was calm though and I think she understood everything I said. "
"OK," it seemed to be the only word she knew.
"Do you need anything?" Joan figured a direct question might prompt more of a response.
"No, thank you Joan," Annie closed her eyes and hoped that Danielle would understand and embrace her as easily as Joan had.
***555***
"How'd the kid do? I haven't heard of any disasters in Angola, so I imagine you talked him through?" Calder asked as he sidled into Auggie's office on Tuesday morning.
"He's all set, I told him he could call if he needed anything else."
"Good."
"We alone?" Auggie didn't hear anyone, but that didn't always ensure privacy.
"Yeah," Calder slid the door closed behind him.
"I got an email from Danielle Brooks last night."
Calder chewed his bottom lip and nodded.
"I'm not really sure how to respond," Auggie sighed.
"About what?"
"She thinks I just found out too. She must have asked Joan if she told me. Do I tell her I knew all along? Is that Annie's place to tell her?" Auggie held both hands out weighing his options.
"Mmmmhmmm," Calder pondered the issue.
"I'm sure she is wondering why Joan called her and not me…"
"This is sounding less like the CIA and more like Days of Our Lives. Annie is meeting her this morning, wait until later today give Annie a call, find out what she told her sister and what she wants you to share or not and reply accordingly. The woman lives 3,000 miles away you won't be running into her at Starbucks," Calder reasoned.
"Yeah," Auggie breathed.
"That's not really the issue is it?" Calder crossed his arms and steeled himself.
"I thought I would be there, for Annie, hell for both of them when this happened," Auggie pushed back from his desk and stood up.
"It is hard to detach from Annie, I understand it a little and I have only a minutiae of the history you two have. She is engaging, compelling and hard to shake," Calder assessed and caught the recognition in Auggie's face.
"You shot her," Auggie said although he obviously knew it to be true already.
"Every now and then I flash to the moment, seeing her body drop in that elevator, it is chilling, then I see her walk into a room here like it is any other day. Like I said, she's hard to shake," Calder said and then slid the door back open.
Auggie sat back down after stretching his legs, he apparently had 6 weeks to shake her.
***555***
Barber overheard them as he approached the staff break room in search of napkins. He had forgotten to grab some in the food court and now that Auggie was back in the office he was going to have to be neater.
"Of course he knew," the male voice began.
"No way," a woman, he thought her name was Josie, replied.
"He is wired, he knows more about this place than anyone, there is no way a mission this big, involving HER of all people gets past him," the guy continued.
"You weren't there, you didn't hear his voice on the phone, he was devastated," Josie pled her case.
If Barber had a doubt about who they were talking about that last comment cleared it all up. He shouldn't be surprised Annie and Auggie were the talk of the agency, but it bothered him nonetheless.
"Hey guys," he said as he interrupted.
"Eric will know," the guy, who turned out to be Phil from Fabrication, said.
"What's that?" Barber played dumb.
"Anderson knew Walker was alive the whole time right? He was playing us all, just like her," Phil rolled his eyes for effect.
"Phil, man, Annie Walker is a patriot and a hero, gossip is really beneath her. As for her relationship with my boss, I have no comment," Barber stood his ground.
"Chill out Barber, we're just having some fun," Phil held up his hands in mock surrender.
Josie, who had kept quiet while the guys snarled at one another finally spoke again.
"You didn't hear him Phil, he was devastated," she repeated and walked out.
Barber collected his napkins and headed back to his office curious himself about how much Auggie knew and when. And if Auggie did know she was alive and was still that upset, just how deeply was he in love with Annie Walker?
***555***
Danielle knocked at the hotel room door promptly at 10:00 am, she hadn't slept since she hung up with the woman from the CIA. She managed to feed the kids and converse with Michael enough to get by and then retired to bed only to lie there.
Annie opened the door and the sisters stood across a small threshold, like an ocean really, eyes locked on one another.
"Come in," Annie said quietly when she realized that whatever happened next should happen on the other side of a closed door.
She stepped back and allowed Danielle into the room. Danielle didn't say anything, she took off her rain coat and hung it over a chair and then turned back to Annie, reaching out to her, pulling her in and wrapping her tightly in her arms. Annie returned the embrace, squeezed shut her eyes and hung on.
"Are you OK?" her sister's words, her first question the same as Auggie's had been.
"Getting better," Annie answered honestly.
Danielle sniffled and loosened her grip a little but didn't let go yet.
"Are you OK?" Annie ventured.
"Yes," Danielle said simply and nodded against Annie's shoulder.
Annie tried counting the time in heartbeats or inhalations, but finally she surrendered to the moment and forgot everything.
TBC…