Look out for the <>!

I looked at this sandy blonde hair man in front of me then tried to find something to attack him with. Panic rose in me, knowing that it was MIA, they were here to take me away.

However the man did not move, in fact, amusement played in his eyes for a second as he ran his hands through his cut short hair that hadn't been brushed in a while. His greenish blue eyes that had winkles around them seemed to hold more secrets then I would see in a life time.

He stood up from his chair calmly and pulled on his gray T that looked worn out. "Hello, Annalise."

I recognized that voice instantly. I hadn't heard it in years but I would never forget the sound of my father's voice. "Dad?" I whispered as tears started down my face.

For years I dreamt of this moment. I wished he came sooner but as he stood in front of me, I couldn't believe he was here, in my house, our old house. He looked aged but yet like he hadn't changed.

"Hello," he said uncomfortably. He looked awkward and out of place, as if not sure what he wanted to do next.

I didn't care about how much time had passed, I couldn't help but walk into his arms. I just wanted him to hold me as if no time had passed at all. "Dad, I missed you so much," I cried into his shoulder.

"I missed you too." His voice trembled as he hugged me tightly as if I would disappear if he let go.

I held onto him tightly too. I didn't want him to let go, fearing that this moment would end as fast as it came.

After what felt like hours gone by, he finally drew out of the hug. "You've grown up," he said looking at me from head to toe.

I nodded. Time would do that to a person. He was gone for years. I grew up, matured, I wasn't his little girl any longer.

With a heavy sigh, he walked back to the table and sat down. "Annalise, the CIA is too dangerous for you right now. They're getting out of control. If you walked back into Langley you will be detained and taken to the MIA base. I don't know how you got out today, but you were lucky. MIA has too strong of a hold on the CIA and it's growing stronger every day." He was scared.

I sat down at the table across from him as I mulled over his words for a moment. For months he wanted me go after them but now that I was so close, he wanted me to run. I shook my head. I wasn't going anywhere. I could take them. I held my own thus far, I could continue to do it. But it sounded like he wanted to give up. He wanted me to give up with him. But I couldn't, I was too close. "I'm not giving up, dad."

He cupped my face. "Please," he begged.

If MIA was really that deep into the CIA, no one else would fix this. This was on me. I had all the information, the MIA was afraid of me, not any one else. "You gave me this job and I'm going to finish it, with or without your help. I'm so close to finding the leaders of MIA."

His frown deepened. He didn't like me standing up to him. But he lost that fatherly title when he left me. "I can't lose you too." His voice was getting louder.

"What do you mean too?" I asked looking straight into his eyes trying to decode what he was talking about. He looked at the ground to hide his face but not before I saw tear fall to the ground. "Mom, she's actually dead." As sad as this fact was, to me, she had died a long time ago.

He nodded slowly. "You're the only thing I have in this world that I still care about. Please stop."

His words were sincere and as much as I wanted to listen to him, I had to finish this. I owed it to my grandmother, to him, and the CIA. Additionally, I was in too deep that even if I tried to walk away, MIA wouldn't let me. I would be on the run forever and I couldn't have that. "If I fix this, we can be together; we wouldn't have to worry about MIA. I could be with you. We could be a family again."

"But what if you fail? Then I wouldn't have you. Auggie would lose you and Mara would lose her best friend. I can't let that happen."

I smiled lightly at him to try to cheer him and myself up. "I'm not going to let it happen. Dad, I'm finishing this. You'll see, everything will be ok." Not only did I get my eyes from him but I got his obstinate attitude.

He smiled weakly and said, "You're like your mother. If she set her mind to something she would finish it."

I chuckled at him. He was mistaken. "No, I think I got that from you," I said as he smiled back at me.

After a couple minutes of silence he said, "If you think your team can do this, then Listen, there are three leaders. I only knew two of them, General Smith and Will Somburn. But the last one, I can't figure that out."

I nodded at him, knowing that this information would help. We were silent again as I thought about all the years that I was without him. "Dad, why did you fake your death? I was so young," I asked, begging for an answer.

He face said that he was prepared to answer this but it was still hard. "Let's talk about this over dinner; here I made it for us." He got a dish out of the oven and put it on the table.

I smirked, wondering how long he actually had been here. After I plated some meat and potatoes I asked again, "Why?"

"I knew right away that MIA was a bad idea but your grandma didn't listen. She said it would work and it would lessen our load. I went along with it but after about three years, MIA was growing too fast. At this point your grandma knew that she couldn't shut them down so me and a handful of people went to try and shut it down from the inside."

"Who was on your team?" I said and took a bite of the chicken. I forgot how much I missed my dad's cooking. It was flavorful and tender, a lot better then anything I would make.

"Carters dad, your mother, and General Smith. He was my best friend and I trusted him with my life. But as we were finishing up shutting the last computer down he pulled a gun on me. He said that if I shut that down, he would kill me. Well I did shut it down and he shot me. He left me to die. But someone saved me and by time I was ok to leave the hospital, I knew that I couldn't go back to you. It was too dangerous. As painful as it was, I knew you would be safer with my mom. So I left, with your mother, promising that we would return once MIA was gone."

"We lived in a small island for about a year and a half gathering information about MIA. But somehow they found out that we were still alive and they chased us down. we were on the run for years when they finally got a hold on your mother and killed her. I've been running alone, ever since."

I understood that it was dangerous but he didn't even bother to tell his mother. In my mind he was a coward. He ran when things got tough. I thought he was braver then that. All my life I was told that I would never amount to what my father was, but at least I didn't run when things got tough.

He took a bit of potatoes and for a second his eyes seemed so distant. "I travel constantly to avoid them."

I nodded. Breaking us from this conversation was my phone buzzing  which made both of us jump. I looked to see that it was Auggie and said, "its Auggie. I'll be right back ok?"

"Take as long as you need."

Although we both knew he didn't have as long as I needed. Before long he would run again and I would be on my own. "Thanks." I got up and left the kitchen and went into the family room to talk in privet. "Hello?" I asked into the phone.

"I sent all the information to your grandmother. It was enough for her to take action. Annalise, we got him detained!" His voice dripped with excitement.

I smiled at the wall as if he could see it. This was why I wasn't back down. We had the upper hand. We were so close to ending all of this. "That's great!"

"Cool. I got to let you go, I'll see you later, bye," Auggie said and hung up the phone.

I shoved the phone in my back in my pocket and started to walk back into the kitchen. As I rounded the corner to walk into the room, I was holding my breath, hoping that he hadn't left again. But was happy to see that Dad was still waiting for me in the kitchen with a smile on his face. "We got Smith detained."

Suddenly he looked terrified as if I did something terribly wrong. "I didn't ask you to do that." He stood up from his seat and started to pace the room.

I shrunk back as I watched him. He was trembling as he ran his hand through his buzzed hair. It was clear that once again, I messed something up. But I didn't understand what I could have messed up. I thought this was that he wanted from me. I was taking MIA down.

He stopped and shook his head at me. "Annalise. What were you thinking? That's not the only member; now, the two are going to come after you. They'll kill you for this. It doesn't matter if your my daughter, they are going to take you out. And it's too late for you to leave the country." He looked at his touch screen watch and typed something on it. 

Leave the country? Coming after me? They haven't come after me in so long. I thought I was safe. They were keeping me alive to get to him. I should be safe still. Did the years in hiding make my dad overly paranoid? "I'll be fine dad, relax," I said calmly as I sat down at the table and watched him pace the room.

"You don't know them like I do."

"If you knew they were so dangerous, why did you send me after them? You should have known that I would risk my life for this," I snapped back at him. 

He ran his hands through his hair. He didn't want to share his thoughts. He sat back down in his chair. "Because I knew you could do it. You're resourceful and you could get your grandmother to listen. And they won't kill you, but now, you stepped over the line. Regardless of your connect with me, they'll want you gone. Think about this Annalise. You're going into a death sentence."

I would by lying if I didn't admit that I was terrified too. But I couldn't run. If I ran now I would spend the rest of my life running. I couldn't make a life like my father. I was going to do something that he never had the courage to do, stay. "Maybe you're right. But I can't live life like you."

If MIA was one step ahead of us then I needed to be 2 steps ahead of them. As soon as I stood up my phone started to ring again. I looked to see that it was gram. I looked at dad and said, "it's gram." I held the phone up to my ear and said, "hello?"

"Annalise? Are you there?" she asked in a worried tone.

"Yeah, I'm here." Where else would I be?

"Annalise, someone put out an order to detain you, I couldn't stop it but there is an Opt team on their way to bring you under custody."

<>

I felt like someone punched me in the chest, knocking the wind out of me. I thought I would have more time. MIA was moving too fast for me to react. Suddenly my confidence faded. Dad was right, what was I thinking? MIA was going to take me away and I was going to die. I had no time to make a plan or even run.

I turned to face my Dad again only to see that he was gone and my back door was cracked. Heart wrenching sadness washed over me. He was gone, leaving me again. This time I was completely alone to fight.  "This is all MIA. Gram, you have to get your power back and save me from them," I said as I tried to keep myself together. I was shaking now.

"Annalise, I don't know when that will be," Gram said.

I walked to the door and closed it and went to sit on the chair that he was sitting on. I looked up at the table to see that on the table there was a note; I picked it up at read it, 'Think before you do and be safe. I love you, so much. I'll be back sooner then you think.'

"Annalise.....Is that your big idea.....? Prison .....reason?....I did......"

She was breaking up and I knew that the team was coming. I would probably only had minutes left before they came to my door.

"Grandma, I love you. I always have," I said and hung up the phone. I quickly called Auggie. I had to let him know what was going to happen. I needed to talk to him, one more time, before I get taken in.

"Hello?" Auggie said calmly on the phone.

I smiled lightly. He had no idea what was going on. I felt my eyes well up with tears. This might be the last time I talk to him. "Auggie, I love you with all my heart. I can't wait to marry you someday."

Auggie chuckled. "What brought this to you?"

I wiped the tears from my eyes as I let a shaky breath. I just hoped he wouldn't be mad with what I would tell him next. "Listen there are three MIA leaders. General Smith, Will Somburn, but I don't know who the last person is." I said as fast as the words where coming to my head, by now I didn't care if MIA was listening into this phone call. If I was going down I need to tell someone what I found out no matter what the cost.

"Woe, Annalise, calm.... I thought..... going to tell..... later," he said with concern in his voice.

"I'm getting taken in. MIA they have the CIA and they are taking me."

"Run! Why......there?" He was breaking up too much now. I probably only had a minute left.

It was too late for that and deep down, I was never a runner. "Because I'm going to finish them off." Suddenly, I heard cars coming down my road.

"....going to save.........we're.... M.............." then the phone went to static. My time was up. I put the phone in my pocket as I heard a knock on my door. I walked to answer it, not wanting them to knock down the door. I opened it to see three guys with bullet proof vests on that said CIA.

I just hoped that my grandmother could help.

"Annalise Phillips?" one guy said.

"Yup, that's me," I said with no emotion.

"We are here too...."

"I know why you're here," I said cutting them off and held out my hands so they could cuff them.