OK, I'll be evil…lol. You'll get it soon (don't say I didn't warn you!)…oh…you're gonna hate me

I have one thing to say (I just need to get this out) : my sister is such a freaking witch with a b!!

= flashbacks



2/?

"Hola Señor Vaughn," his secretary, Rosa Juarez greeted, placing a cup of coffee on his desk.

"Gracias Rosa," he responded. Spain wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. It was a good opportunity to brush up on his Spanish…and to forget about a certain someone.

"Tienes una cita en diez minutos con Señorita Lopez," Rosa said before she left the room.

Señorita Maria Lopez…Vaughn smiled slightly. She was the complete opposite of Sy…someone he was trying to forget. While Sydney was basically introverted, because of her job, Maria was outgoing and fun, not that Sydney wasn't. What the hell, Vaughn thought, I'm never going to forget Sydney, so why try? I seriously don't know, Vaughn answered his own question. Is this how pathetic I've become?

It's been a month Vaughn, c'mon. Live with it., he told himself. He fiddled with his coin, the one he brought all the way from LA. It had traveled with him in his jacket pocket, and was rightfully placed on his desk the minute he got settled.

"¡Hola!" Maria's Spanish-clad voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Hola," Vaughn responded, smiling back at her.

"¿Qué pasa?" she grinned, sitting down on the chair in front of his desk, pushing her blonde hair out of her face.

"You know, the usual," Vaughn responded honestly, admiring the fact that she was always so cheerful. Maria was the secretary of another agent in the Embassy, so she knew the basics.

"Yeah, writing reports and stuff?" she asked, revealing her perfect white teeth.

Vaughn nodded.

"Want to go out for lunch? My treat," she suggested.

Vaughn hesitated, then smiled. "Sure. Let me clean this mess up first though."

--

"Where are we going?" Vaughn asked, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, waiting patiently for the light to turn green.

"Make a left at the intersection of Bolivar and Cadena," Maria instructed, ignoring his question.

"El Pueblo de Pepito," Vaughn noted, reading off the only sign on the street.

"How'd you guess? Oh…right. I knew that," Maria corrected herself quickly.

"We're eating here?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with it?"

"Nothing. Just asking. Didn't want to park unless it was," Vaughn explained, pulling up to the curb.

Once inside the small restaurant, a woman in a waitress' uniform greeted them.

"Hola, dos personas?"

Vaughn nodded, and they followed the woman to a vacant booth.

"What are you going to have?" Maria asked, opening the menu, after taking a seat across from Vaughn's.

"I don't know. I've never been here yet," Vaughn confessed, reading the list on the menu.

"How about the arroz con pollo? I know it sounds plain, but they make it really good over here," Maria suggested. "Plus, it's cheap."

Vaughn snickered. "Then bring on the steak and seafood!"

"Oh, shut up Mike," Maria rolled her eyes playfully.

"Yeah, we'd like two arroz con pollos," Vaughn said, seeing the waitress walk up.

"Dos arroz con pollos. Anything else?"

"Agua por favor," Maria cut in.

"Sí, gracias," the waitress said as Vaughn passed her their menus.

"So, you decided to stick with my suggestion?" Maria said, raising her left eyebrow.

"I trust you," Vaughn responded, instantly regretting it.

Maria didn't notice. "Trust is a tricky thing," she warned, shaking her manicured finger at him.

I think I know that, he thought. What the hell is your problem Vaughn? You're here in a nice little restaurant in Madrid, but you're still in LA. You have a beautiful woman in front of you, but you're thinking of the other beautiful woman. It's not fair to either of them…

"So…uh, how's work?"

Maria raised her eyebrow again. "Boring."

Vaughn nodded.

Uncomfortable silence clouded their ears.

Maria shifted, the leather booth squeaking under her. She looked up as Vaughn let out a tiny snort.

"Not funny Mike," Maria started, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Never said it was," he responded innocently.

"Uh huh," she replied, staring right at him. Esta muy caliente, she thought, taking her eyes off him after a few seconds.

--

"Hey Michael," Vaughn's partner, Brian Simmons greeted, making himself comfortable in Vaughn's chair.

"What are you doing?" Vaughn asked, walking into his office.

"Sitting in your seat. What does it look like?"

"Brian…you have your own office. Right across the hall. Make yourself at home over there," Vaughn joked.

"I know, but the ladies always seem to come in here," Brian responded, grinning.

"You have a girlfriend. Her name's Karen, remember?" Vaughn said. That sounds familiar… You're girlfriend's name is Alice…

"Of course I do. How old do you think I am? Sixty?"

"Maybe you are," Vaughn replied, motioning for Brian to get out of his chair.

"Mike, man, you're thirty years off," Brian responded before he walked out of the room.

Vaughn shook his head and returned to his desk. The leather seat felt warm. Ick.

--

Vaughn threw his suit jacket onto the bed, and looked around. Although he had been there a while already, he was still not used to it. It felt awkward. He kept expecting someone to pop out of the closet or something, and claim his apartment back. Vaughn didn't even know what the rent was, because the CIA took care of everything. They got all the bills…which couldn't have been much, because the whole apartment building was crumbling. Not literally, of course. The paint on the walls were fading, and it gave the apartment an eerie appearance. On the outside, bits of brick were chipped away. It looked as if someone had chucked rocks at the building as a habit.

Then he started his daily ritual. I wonder what Sydney's doing…Getting briefed by Sloane? On another mission? Hanging out with Francie and…Will? Getting her counter mission? Studying?

Stop thinking about her damnit! Vaughn cursed. You wanted to be transferred. It was your choice. Your decision. There's no backing out of it now.

Suddenly, the phone rang,

Vaughn cursed, but reached for it.

"Hello?"

"Hey…Mike?"

"Oh, hi," he replied, softening his tone.

"Are you all right? You sound a little…different."

"I'm fine Maria. What's up?"

"I just wanted to know if you were doing anything tomorrow night…"

--

that's it for now! Sorry it took so long…

Yes, I know, I'm evil. Lol. But hey, I don't get to be evil often!