AN: This is kind of a bit of a back-story as to where the story leas up to and before Carmen goes on her mission.
Enjoy :) x
Carmen Cortez was sifting through her paperwork; she had just finished up for the day, it was time to head on home.
She moved out of home two years ago, although she tried to visit her parents when she could, which ended up being once a month at the best of times, lately it hadn't happened in quite a long time.
Things just weren't the same when Juni had left the agency and the country for that matter but she would never admit that to anyone.
She was wearing an OSS branded black jumpsuit as if she was going on a mission.
Not exactly stylish but it did the job.
Minus her shoes.
Her hair was natural curled and down with some light makeup to highlight her eyes.
She picked up a black folder manila folder with the OSS branding stamped on the front, inside was a chunky file that she would need to hand to Machete on her way out.
Current Gadget Inventory.
She would have to upgrade all her gadgets before she did another mission, she thought.
And considering the fact that the second a mission opened up, she jumped for it, so she always needed to be prepared.
Machete's inventions were getting better and better every month there was always something new.
Sighing quietly to herself; today had been a long day to say the least and it was these types of days that she hated the most.
Purely based on the little fact that it made her think of the past and it made her realise her mistakes and it also made her realise just how much she missed her family.
Grandma and grandpa had retired...
Again.
They were off the grid.
They had spoken about going to New Zealand.
Mum and dad had retired...
Again.
They were currently on vacation somewhere in Spain.
Juni had retired...
Again... From the OSS.
He was off the grid, claiming he was going on a secret mission with a different agency.
Carmen didn't believe that for a second.
But she hadn't heard from him since Christmas, two years ago.
So in short, she had no idea where he was.
It seemed like she was the only one that was going to be stuck at the agency, not that she minded, she was part of the elite.
She was level one.
She was an unstoppable agent.
Carmen had been part of the elite since the Spy Kids Division and now wasn't any different except that she was now a solo agent, making it big in the world.
But in the few spare moments she had to herself, she allowed herself the small pleasure of missing her friends and family.
The old crew from the Spy Kids division had all moved on, either pursuing a pathway as an agent if they had been old enough at the time or they were retired and for the moment off the grid.
She tried to hack in to access the files but she couldn't find them and it wasn't from lack of trying.
It was safe to say that things had changed.
And quite dramatically at that.
Picking up her things, her handbag and coat, she walked out of her office and shut the door behind her, arming it for good measure.
Her black stiletto heels clicked against the flooring in the hallway, she kept her head up and proud.
Never doubt a woman.
Ever.
The building's hallways were a frenzy in disguise; it appeared that everybody wanted to get home on time today which only added to Carmen's frustration.
Come on!
This was probably the only thing that she hated about her job, the office work to be brutally honest; sucked.
Carmen had held her breath for as long she could, you would have thought that people would have learnt by high school that smelling like sweaty socks was not appealing, nor did it boost your female magnet status.
Oh, the things she would do for a re-breather right at this moment.
Taking a much needed gasp of breath, she almost broke out into a sprint as she turned down a separate hallway, swiping her ID card on the scanner to open the steel doors and she walked through quickly, the doors shut behind her at once.
She was almost there and wanted to cry in relief as she neared her destination.
Sighing, when she reached the door.
She allowed herself the pleasure in breathing normally.
About to open the doors, she paused as she heard to voices having a conversation.
Only Machete was meant to be down here, no one else.
And if there was one thing that she had discovered whilst being a spy; it was to trust no one.
Other than family of course.
Positioning herself outside the doors and to the right, she pressed her ear against the wall.
Only being able to hear muffled sounds, she positioned her left hand on the wall, swivelling her engagement ring around halfway, a laser appeared and it created a small un-noticeable hole in the wall.
She pressed her ear against it, and re-adjusted her ring to face the proper direction.
There was a very solid reason as to why a diamond was a girl's best friend.
"Thank-you again, Machete." Said the first voice, of which she recognised
It was her fiancé.
"No worries, Agent. It'll be ready for pick-up tomorrow." Was the reply, a new voice but she still knew it without a doubt.
It was her Uncle Machete.
Satisfied, she swiped her ID card through the scanner and the doors opened.
Acting surprised as she walked through to see the two together.
The two men shook hands, sharing a private joke of sorts that she must have missed on her way in.
"Carmen." They said together, greeting her.
She offered a small smile.
"Gentleman."
She couldn't give too much away; after all, the romance that she had was a secret, a forbidden fruit if you will.
No one knew except the two of them.
Not even her family.
It reminded her vaguely of her parents' marriage.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Machete." Said Gary as he exited the room, giving Carmen a wink on his way
Carmen watched him walk away, as soon as the doors shut, she turned to her Uncle.
"So what was that about?" Carmen asked, raising an eyebrow
"The guy's not bad, Carmen. He's a lot more different than you give him credit for."
What the hell did Gary say to her Uncle?
Carmen couldn't help but think.
This was beyond crazy.
So she just handed the folder over and walked out of the room, hoping to catch Gary on his way out of the building.
Worst case scenario, she would see him at their apartment in a few hours.
Sighing, she heard her watch beep.
Looking down she saw the Director's Assistant.
"Cortez." She answered
"Director wants to see you in his office." She informed Carmen
"I'll be there in five." Carmen answered before her watch turned off.
Today really wasn't going her way and there was nothing she could do about it.
Only time would tell what her future had in store for her.
Little did Carmen know that this was a critical point in her future.
AN: Review? x