Look out for the <>!

"How long is this going to take?" I asked Auggie impatiently with a hint of worry as I watched him break into the ID pad at the back of the MIA 'bank'. I looked around us nervously. We had already been here for a few minutes and I was worried that we were taking too long.

"Just give me about a minute," he said. "Got it." He got up from the ground as the door swung open as if someone opened it from the inside. He brushed himself off and smiled, knowing he did well.

I looked into the empty hall of the build and felt my heart pound in my chest. It was 11 PM and the building was empty, there shouldn't be a reason why I was so nervous, but I was. We walked in and saw no one in the hall. "Auggie and I will go to the right," I said to the rest of my team.

"And Mara and I'll go to the left," Zach said then started walking with Mara that way.

I shut the door that we came though and nodded at them. "We're doing the top floors, we'll meet you in the middle," I said remembering the plan that we made just an hour before.

"See you in 45 minutes." Zach waved us off calmly. 

I nodded then took Auggie to go the other way down the hall. I quickly spotted an elevator and we rode it to the top floor.

The door open and we stood, ready to attack if needs be. But as we looked around we saw that the floor was empty. I relaxed a little as I stepped out of the elevator with Auggie on my heals. "I think everyone's gone for the night." I didn't understand where the guards were or the alarms. It was a little too easy.

I weaved in and out of cubicles, following Zach's directions and quickly found the computer where he said it would be. I knelt on the ground and started to work away. It took about 10 minutes to bug it and no guards came. As I got up from the ground I frowned around myself. Nothing about this mission was sitting right in my gut.

I brushed myself off from the floor then followed Auggie down to the next floor. We quickly found the main computer and this time it only took me 9 minutes to bug.

I stood up from the ground as I looked around the silent floor. "This isn't right."

He frowned at me, not understanding what I was talking about.

"There's no one here." I followed him to the stairs as worry consumed me. "There has to be at least some guards, this is a base after all."

"Why can't you be happy with being lucky?" Auggie asked with a chuckle.

Because I was never lucky.

We hit the next floor and I put the bug into the computer even faster. I stood up from the ground just in time to hear someone shout out, "Show yourself, we know you're up here!"

I ducked back down as I looked at Auggie in fear. This is what I was waiting for. We were going to play right into a trap. I peaked behind a wall to see three men with guns.

I looked at Auggie then looked around us. We had to stick with the plan. Fighting was the last option for us. Maybe if we didn't say anything, they would disappear.

<>

I heard them walking around, it was as if they knew we were here. As seconds ticked by I realized that they weren't going to leave without us. They were just waiting for us to make the first move.

As I looked at Auggie, it was clear that he was thinking the same thing. We had to make a move if we wanted to continue on our path. We had to take them down and move on. I had to get one of us out at least. "Auggie, keep going, I'll distract them."

He shook his head with fear. He didn't like that plan. "I'm not leaving you," he whispered back and held my hands.

I frowned at him. Auggie could bug almost as good as I could. If I sent him to the next floor, he could bug it. They wouldn't kill me, I knew that. But I just wanted him to be safe. "We have to stay with the plan. I'll be fine August. Don't worry. I love you," I said and kissed him. Before I had time to talk myself out of it, I got up from the floor and ran down a hall.

"We know you're up here," one guard said again.

I hid behind one of the desks and sat there for a minute as I tried to control my breathing. My heart felt like it was going to beat right out of my chest. I closed my eyes as I heard footsteps coming closer. I got up and ran down a different hall just in time to run straight into a solid body.

Terror crashed into me as I saw a man with black hair and deep blue eyes. I hadn't seen him in what felt like years. "Toby," I whispered. Fear held me in place. His eyes were cold and unwavering. Something in him changed. He was going to turn me in.

"I found her," he yelled as he grabbed my arm. I looked at his hand around my arm and saw his knuckles turn white.

My heart was breaking. He couldn't do this to me after all we had been through. "No, Toby, please, let me go," I pleaded with him as I tried to wiggle out of his tight grip.

He shook his head with discuss. He hated me, I could see it in his eyes. "No. Are you the only one here?"

I looked at him with a frown. He would kill my team if he knew. Toby used to see right through me but this time I wouldn't let it happen. "Yes, I'm the only one here."

He nodded as he grip tightened. He was hurting me as I squirmed under his touch. What happened to him? The man in front of me wasn't Toby, he was someone very different. "Good." 

Suddenly someone grabbed me from behind. I felt the strong arms prevent me from wiggling any more. I've been caught and Toby turned me in. I was done for; I had no more tricks up my sleeves. It was all over. At least Auggie, Mara, and Zach are safe. I just hoped they could leave without any attention towards them.

I didn't put up a fight as they dragged me to a lower floor and put me in a cell with glass doors. I made eye contact with Toby as they closed the door of the cell. I wanted him to felt guilty. I wanted him to feel pain. We had too much history for him to do this. I thought he loved me. "Toby! You can't do this!"

"You know her?" one of the guards asked Toby. 

"I did." With that he walked away from the cell.

His words stung like a knife ripping into me. At one point I did love him. We dated for months. I thought he loved me and this was how he treated me? It was clear whatever we had was faked. He never loved me.

I ran my hands through my hair as I walked the parameter of the small room. After a couple minutes, I got my thoughts in order.

I had to get out. I looked around to see if there was anything I could use. The only one door was made of glass and there was one chair bolted to the floor. The walls were made of cold cement which meant they were impossible to break through with only my body.

I was stuck. I sat down on the metal chair and shivered, as the chair was cold to the touch. I rested my head in my hands. They were going to use me to get to my father.

I shook my head. No, I couldn't think like that. I need to snap out of this. I had to get out. I got up from the chair and pulled the gun out and shot the glass door. The glass cracked lightly. I put my gun back. It was bullet proof. Might as well not even waste my bullets.

I sat back on the chair and looked at the ground. I could ram the door, but with what? I got up and unscrewed the chair from the floor. Once I got all the bolts out from the chair I picked it up with slight difficulty then walked all the way to the back of the small room and stopped.

Here went nothing. I got a better grip of the chair then ran full speed at the door. I felt the impact of the chair against the door then watched as the door cracked a little more. I smiled lightly. I could do this. I back up and ran again. As I hit the door I watched as glass started to fall from the door. I just needed to do it one more time. I back up and ran again, this time breaking through all the way. I looked at the hall I was in as the alarm started ringing.

Excitement ran through me. I did it, I was free. But I had to get out of here. I put down the chair started running down the hall.

I didn't know where I was going but I had to go somewhere. I ran down halls until I rounded a corner and found a stair case. I took it down until I made it to ground level. I looked around myself as I got out of the stairwell. I was in a foreign place and I had no idea where my team was.

They probably left me, they were just sticking to the plan but I wish they didn't. Suddenly I heard footsteps behind me. I frowned as I braced myself, too tried to run again. I felt someone grab my arm lightly. I let out a small scream then the person covered my mouth. I couldn't control the tears that started fall down my face, I've been caught again. I was shaking. This time I wasn't getting out.

"Sssh, Annalise, it's ok, I got you," a soft comforting voice said.

I turned around to face Auggie and hugged him. I needed his embrace like the air I breathed. "I thought you were a guard," I said into his shoulder, tears still falling down my face. This time it wasn't because of fear, but happiness. He didn't leave me.

"It's ok, sssh, Annalise. You're ok," he said and kissed my forehead. "we're done and we're leaving." He took my hand and led me back door where Mara and Zach where and together we went to the car.

Mara turned on the car and looked back at me. "What happened?" 

I brushed a tear from my cheek as I tried to compose myself. "I was caught by Toby but I got free," my words sounded like a jumbled mess.

Mara was silent. She never liked Toby, but she didn't want to rub that in my face. She didn't know what to say so instead she turned back to look at the road in front of her then drove off.

Auggie wrapped his arm around me and I snuggled into his chest. "It's ok. I got you." Auggie said softly as he tucked some my hair behind my ear.

I put my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes, I wanted this night to end. I thought Toby sealed my fate. But I was here, I was safe and I needed to pull myself together.

When I opened my eyes, I found that we were in front of my house.  I sat up right again and felt my neck ache. I fished my keys out of my pocket and got out of the car. I stumbled to the front door and slowly unlocked it.

The four of us moved into the kitchen and took a seat at the kitchen table. As Mara got glasses of water out of all of us in silence and for a moment we just looked at the table and drank. The mission finally hit us like a brick wall. We could have all died in there.

Zach took another drink of water and looked at me. "Do you have anything stronger than water?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

"Annalise is under aged," Mara explained.

I shot her a look. I didn't want her to divulge that.

Zach's eyebrows raised in surprise. He didn't know that. "How old are you?"

"19."

"And you are working for the CIA? How?"

I frowned. I didn't want to defend myself in front of him. He would think I wasn't capable of this mission, but I was. As soon as he knew about my grandmother, he was as good as gone. He would think I didn't belong here. But that wasn't the case. "It's a long story."

Zach nodded, taking that. He then turned to Auggie and started to talk about the details of what happened.

I leaned back in my chair as I listened as my team babble about the mission as I went deeper into my thoughts. Toby caught me. He hates me. He works for MIA. He never loved me. I put my head on the table and closed my eyes.

"Annalise?" I heard someone say.

I opened them and saw that I was still at the table and Auggie was looking at me from the other end. "I'm sorry." I mumbled as I pushed myself off the table.  I looked around the room and saw that only Auggie was here now. "Where is every one?"

"They left. It's late..."

I frowned, I knew where this conversation was going. He was going to go home too. But I didn't want to be alone though. Toby knew where I lived. He would come after me there. I needed him around to keep me safe. "Can you stay the night?"

He nodded. "Sure," he said as he got up from his seat.

I got up with him and pushed myself up the stairs. I crawled into bed and he followed suit. He wrapped his arms protectively over me and I cuddled into his body. "Auggie, I'm afraid. What if, my dad, well what if he's not my dad. What if he's really dead? And the person I've been talking to is some weirdo playing on my emotions? I think that would break me."

Auggie turned me around to face him. "If that was the case, I would help you through it, one step at a time. And we could face it together," he said and kissed my forehead.

I looked up him and was speechless. How did I deserve someone like him? After a minute I said, "Auggie, I owe you. I owe you more than anything then you could imagine. I would be so lost without you."

Seconds ticked by with silence. Suddenly, I was worried that I said to much. Finally Auggie said, "No, I owe you. You keep on saving me, with everything you do and say. You make me feel like I'm needed."

"You are needed though. I need you. The CIA needs you. So many people do."

"The CIA doesn't really need me. We're all replaceable to them."

As hard as his words were to hear, he was right. We were all pawns. I didn't like where this was going so I change the topic. "So when am I going to get that ring?" I asked with a small smile. We had not talked about the night in the London elevator, but we needed to.

He smiled at me. "You still want to marry me?" He asked as if not sure if I actually said yes to him.

I nodded. I had thought about that night on the elevator over and over again and I knew for a fact that I wanted to marry him. "Of course. I wouldn't want to spend my life with anyone else."

"We need to start making plans."

"One step at a time. How about the ring first."

He nodded back at me. "Deal. When this is all over, I'm going to take you ring shopping."

We were silent for a minute then I spoke up, "please tell me about your family." I didn't know much because he was always so silent about them. 

"Well, my sister, Viola. She's turning 15 this month. And you know the sad part about that is I haven't seen her 2 years."

"Why haven't you gone back to see them?" I asked, not knowing he hadn't been back.

He frowned. "I broke their heart when I joined the CIA. After that, they stopped calling as often."

"Just give it time. Things will change."

He nodded, knowing that he couldn't convince me to back down. "I love you. You're my family now." and I agreed, I was his family and he was mine.