Author's notes: Hi! Thank you so much to Ditte3 for your reviews, they were really sweet and because of you I'm updating (you'll have to wait and see what happens to Sands...). This chapter contains a bit more SadiexSands flirting, which is so much fun to write. I hope you like it...

Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time..., its plot or its characters.

Chapter 4 – Sands and Sadie, sitting in a tree…

One hour later, Sadie was standing at the alley, like she had been told. She tapped her foot impatiently - what was it with Sands and making her wait?

Soon, Sands appeared, talking on his mobile. So much for the disguise. He was wearing a casual brown suit and an orange shirt with trainers and sunglasses (key essential to any CIA agent). The only 'disguise' part was a very fake moustache. It was like he was hoping for someone to walk up to him and ask if it was fake. Then he'd probably shoot them.

"I'm just walking my beat, friend," he was saying. "Mexico's my beat, and I'm walking it. I set people up, and watch them fall. Have him meet me at the bullfight at five p.m." He put down his phone and walked towards Sadie, but was stopped by a young boy in a yellow t-shirt on a bike pulling up in front of him. He babbled something in Spanish.

"What?" asked Sands. The boy handed him some bubble gum. "Why would I want that? Why would I want bubble gum?"

The boy said something else in Spanish. Sands sighed and passed him some money.

"All right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, this should be enough," he said, waving the note in front of the boy. "So, I don't ever want to see you again."

"Gracias senor!" cried the boy, cycling away.

"Go away," he told the boy.

"Hi," said Sadie, walking towards him.

"I hate that kid."

"How can you hate him, you've just met him? And besides, he's just a kid."

"I hate kids."

"All kids?"

"All kids."

"Don't you have any of your own? I mean, you're married…"

"I'm not married," he interrupted. "What would make you think that? Do you see a ring on my finger?"

"No, but my dad never wore his ring."

"Whatever. I'm single, okay? Now I have to check something, then I have someone to meet with. Coming?"

"Of course."

After briefly stopping at an internet café, they proceeded to another café. There were a lot in Culiacan. Sands and Sadie sat at a table, a few away from where Barillo was sitting. Somehow, Sands was expecting him to be here. They removed their sunglasses and ordered drinks and food. No surprise, Sands ordered puerco pibil.

A few minutes later, a man walked towards them and sat down. He was Mexican, must've been in his early fifties.

"Hi," said Sands with a cheery smile.

"Hello," the man replied. Then he looked confused at Sadie.

"Sadie Carter, I'm an…associate of Sands'."

"The CIA sharing a meal with the FBI. Now if that isn't interagency cooperation, I don't know what is."

"I'm retired FBI," the man corrected him.

"A real agent never retires," Sadie told him.

"Yeah. He just…takes it a little easier," joined in Sands.

"Why are we talking?"

"You tracked down Armando Barillo," began Sands. "For two years when he was running operations out of San Antonio. "

The man shook his head.

"It never led to an arrest."

"Well, he-" Sands was interrupted by a waitress bringing their food. He smiled at her before continuing. "He is, in fact, sitting directly behind you."

"I know. He settled back in, he's been living here for six years."

"Did you know that most agents never even see a top-ten criminal for their entire careers? You brought down two, didn't you?" The man nodded. "And now your third is sitting very, very close. Now retired or not, that has really got to bother you."

He shook his head.

"I'm a civilian now."

"Didn't he kill that agent friend of yours? What was his name…Archuleta?"

"Yes," he answered, emotions unclear. Sands nodded. "Barillo is a Mexican citizen. He cannot be arrested for crimes he committed in the U.S."

"Did you happen to know of a Dr. Guevara? Worked for the cartel. This doctor filled your friend with drugs, day after day, so that they could torture him for two weeks before he died. Now you must have known that."

How Sands knew that himself, Sadie had no idea.

"Dr. Guevara himself having dinner with your target. I wonder what it is they're doing right now. Two weeks of torture, Jorge. Think about that."

Sadie raised her eyebrows. Sands had never told her that the man was called Jorge. She also didn't agree with his methods of getting this man to do what he wanted.

"For your dead friend, for the job you didn't finish in San Antonio. Now, are you really going to let it slip away, again?"

He passed a mobile phone across the table. Then he passed him the plate.

"I'd like you to have a bite of my pork because it's…the world," he said, gesturing with his hands. Then he nodded to Sadie, and they stood up to leave.

"How long have I got to get to the bull fight?"

"Ten minutes."

Sands nodded.

"Enough time to get changed."

"Again?"

"Hey, I can't look the same for every guy I speak to!"

"Wait, you're speaking to another guy? Isn't four enough? One for information, one to fetch who you need, one for Marquez, one for Barillo…"

"Okay, I get you!" cried Sands. "But I don't have time for this right now. Meet me at the bullfight, if you want."

Sadie sighed. She really hated him sometimes.

A bar, on the outskirts of town

A man sung into a microphone, strumming the guitar as he sung. To most women he was considered handsome, with his typical Spanish looks. Cheers came from the crowd, and his friend joined in with his bass guitar. Lorenzo stepped down into the crowd, and bent down to sing to a young woman. She passed him a five peso note when he was done. An announcer called out to the crowds:

"Have the Mariachi sing to you for just five pesos!"

Lorenzo sighed and walked towards the back room, only to have his five pesos snatched from his hand. He looked up furiously, only to see his old friend, El. He greeted him with a fierce hug.

"Where have you been?" he asked.

"Far away. Still messing around with this dumb job?"

Lorenzo snatched the money from him.

"Let me get Fideo."

He turned away to leave, but El pulled him back.

"I'm here for my guitar."

Lorenzo led him up to his room above the bar. He pointed to where it lay; pride of place.

"It's his last night," he said, referring to Fideo, who sat in the corner. "They're firing him."

"Hey…" said El, leaning down in front of him. "Fideo, it's me." Fideo looked at him sleepily. "Still drinking."

"Like a fish."

Lorenzo agreed to this by taking a swig from his bottle.

"I guess we haven't changed so much," muttered El.

Lorenzo went over to the guitar, pulling off the red cover.

"I didn't think you'd ever come back for this thing."

"Neither did I."

"Are we on?"

"I'll let you know." El took the guitar and walked towards the door. "Bring him sober, we're gonna need him, so…coffee. Lots of coffee."

Sands stood in the spectator area of the bullfight arena, wearing a grey CIA t-shirt and shorts, with yet another pair of sunglasses. On one side of him stood Sadie, who, for some reason wasn't talking to him. On his other side was his next 'guy'.

"Sometimes a revolution is exactly what's needed to clean up a system," he said, as they watched the bull run around the arena. "One giant…thing, which just so happens to be my area of expertise." He ignored the snort coming from Sadie. "Bullfights. Do you like this? The bull is stabbed, prodded, beaten. The bull is wounded. The bull is tired before the matador even steps into the ring. Now, is that victory? Of course it is. Wanna know the secret to winning? Creative sportsmanship. In other words…" he prodded the tall man who fetched him El, who stood in front of him. This man had some sort of gadget, which, with a press of a button, gave the matador an electric shock, causing the bull to run straight into him. "One has to rig the game. Go collect," he said to the tall man. He clapped along with the crowd, ignoring Sadie's glare.

Meanwhile, Tall Man was collecting money from people, until he had a pile worth a couple of hundred pesos.

"El Presidente is giving a speech on the Day of the Dead," said Sands' next 'guy' (who happened to be the president's advisor) once they were out of the arena. "In the town of Culiacan. He's going to be isolated in the main government building in the centre of the plaza. Very easy to access him if…somebody can get you in."

"Right. You're the man who can do that," nodded Sands, pointing at the advisor.

"I am not the prince. I am the man behind the prince."

Sands' smile faded.

"I see."

"He's not the first prince I've served…nor the first one I've betrayed."

"You're a good rat, I like you."

"I try."

They were interrupted by Tall Man bringing the money to them. Sands opened a lunch box he had been carrying, allowing Tall Man to drop the notes in. Sadie saw that this time, the lunch box was Marilyn Manson

"You'll get the rest upon completion," Sands said, handing him the box.

"Mucho gusto."

"Right, right."

Then Sands walked away followed by Tall Man and Sadie.

"Can you excuse us for a moment?" Sadie asked Tall Man.

He nodded.

Sadie grabbed Sands and dragged him into an alleyway.

"Just so I know, what's Tall Guy's name?"

"Tall Guy is called Cucuy," replied Sands.

Sadie nodded.

"Good, now you know."

Sands walked off back to Cucuy, but Sadie pulled him back.

"I'm not done yet! I can't believe you're paying the president's advisor to betray him!"

Sands shrugged.

"I can."

"Can what?"

"Believe that I'm doing it. I thought you knew me better than that, Sadie."

Sadie groaned.

While they were in the alley, the advisor realised he had something to ask Sands. When he reached where they just were, however, he found only Cucuy.

"Where's Sands?" he asked.

Cucuy shrugged.

"In the alley, probably kissing his girlfriend."

Author's notes: Please review if you want me to continue updating! P.S. Please tell me if I've made mistakes in the story, the plot of the movie still confuses me...