Hi, my first story posted, yay, I'm so excited. I hope I do everything right.

Author comments: OK, I wrote this a very long time ago, about 6 months after the DVD was released and I had read everything there was here about OUaTiM. It bothered me because at that time there wasn't anything written soley from Ramirez's point of view, nor was Billy Chambers ever mentioned by anyone so I wrote this. I like it, though I think my newer stuff is better (Maybe I am improving!) so, now for the true test. Please review and tell me what I did wrong.

Jorge Ramirez sat at his favorite table on the patio of his favorite cafe and waited for the waitress to bring his lunch.

He thought about the Day of the Dead and the failed coup d'etat, now one week old news.

He thought about the people he had met that chaotic day and the days leading up to it. He also thought about what it meant to be alone.

The famed El Mariachi had been in town on the Dias de los Muertos, he had, in fact, saved El Presidente's life. On a lesser note he had saved Ramirez' life as well. Ramirez had heard rumors thatEl had been dragged into the business unwillingly, that the CIA Agent Sands had had him kidnapped from his village and brought to the city. It was fairly well known that El Mariachi had been living a happy life until his wife and daughter were murdered. Ramirez sighed; apparently once you got into the killing business it was impossible to get out again. It seemed to be true for Ramirez himself anyway, and it was certainly true for the Mariachi.

Thinking about El Mariachi inevitably brought his thoughts around to Agent Sands. The funny thing about Sands was however much Ramirez resented being manipulated and called out of retirement, by a CIA agent no less, he had to thank Sands. After all it had been Sands who had convinced him to go after Barillo and Guevera, Sands who had goaded him into having the courage to take down his enemies and revenge his partner. Sands had been alone. Jorge had heard that he had been completely alone, no contacts, no partner, apparently he had been disconnected by his boss even. Ramirez guessed that the CIA had sent Sands to Mexico to get him away from the States. They had probably seen the Mexico situation as unredeemable and sent him because he couldn't mess it up any more than it already was. They had made a mistake though, if that was their reasoning. Sands was a genius, sociopathic and psychotic, but a genius nonetheless. He had controlled the explosion as it were, and almost gotten away rich. He had run the city from his cell phone and but for one small mistake he would have gotten away with everything and had a rich retirement somewhere far away from the CIA. The one mistake had been overconfidence and it had cost Agent Sands a lot. The last time Ramirez had seen him the agent had been leaning heavily against a wall dressed completely in black. He had been covered in blood, especially his face, which had had copious amounts of gore dripping from behind his sunglasses. Ramirez didn't know what the cartel had done to him and he was pretty sure that he didn't want to. The man had fallen down an information black hole after Dias de los Muertos. Ramirez was glad of that, if no one had any real information then maybe the man had gone back to the States where he couldn't cause anymore trouble for Mexico while 'balancing' it.

The Chihuahua in Ramirez' lap shifted as the waitress came and refilled the coffee cup. Jorge scratched it behind its ears to calm it and thought about its former owner. Billy Chambers had surprised Jorge a little by being relieved that he was being picked up, he had seemed like a fairly likeable man. Jorge was actually glad that he had been fatally shot; if he had survived he would just have been shipped back to the States and thrown in jail. He had been buried the day before, along with several other casualties of the failed coup d'etat. Jorge had promised God and Billy Chambers' spirit that he would take care of the animal until it died. Billy Chambers had been alone too. A fugitive in his own country he had fled to Mexico and got caught up in the Barillo cartel. Unable to go home and completely without friends in the place he was living, Chambers had been hung in an undesirable limbo until Ramirez had come along.

With that Ramirez' thoughts turned inward. You could say that he was alone, he had no family or friends in Mexico; he had a few acquaintances of course, people he knew from church and the cafe. He had old FBI friends in America and his ex-wife, a daughter, and a grandchild in Canada but he had willingly chosen to move to Mexico. His being alone was voluntary, he was enjoying his quiet retirement in the country he had spent most of his childhood in.

Ramirez started as the waitress set his plate down in front of him and refilled his coffee cup, all the while apologizing for how long it had taken to bring his food. Jorge smiled reassuringly at her and said it was just fine.

Then retired FBI Agent Jorge Ramirez banished all thoughts of the events surrounding Dias de los Muertos and had lunch.

Fin