Veronica Versus The Tango

Veronica was not surprised when she got an urgent text from "Will Roland" a few days later. After all, that was pretty much the only thing he ever texted her about.

So Veronica got a "bathroom pass" at school and went to Castle, knowing that the Generals would fix all of her school absences later.

"Hey Evan! I haven't seen you around school lately. Is everything ok?" Veronica asked as she approached Evan.

"Y-yeah, Beckham decided that it wasn't necessary for me to be a student anymore. So now, you'll only see me at the 7/11," he said with a hint of sarcastic cheer. "But speaking of which, I haven't seen you and your boyfriend recently there either. Is everything ok between you two?"

"Oh, yeah, we're just taking things slow right now," Veronica said with a hint of disappointment. "It's honestly kind of hard to be around certain people at the moment. 'Cause I just wanna yell 'I'm a spy!' but I obviously can't do that."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, the whole 'spy secret' does get easier to keep over time," Evan said. "Plus, haven't you guys only been dating a few weeks? So it's probably good to go slow."

"Maybe you're right," Veronica said right before they entered Castle.

"Do any of these images look familiar to you?" Jeremy asked Veronica, while showing her pictures of several unconscious men.

"No?" Veronica answered. "Why are you showing me pics of sleeping men?"

Everybody looked at her.

"What? Did I do something wrong?" Veronica asked. "I only see slee-OH, GROSS!" She said as she realized that those men were dead.

Then, her eyes settled on something else within the base.

A newspaper headline that said: "SHERWOOD'S FANCY ART AUCTION!"

And yet, that somehow caused her to flash.

"Veronica?" Lydia asked. "What did you see?"

"A water lily painting, weapons," Veronica responded. "Does the name La Ciudad mean anything?"

Everybody looked at each other in shock.

"Why do you ask?" Alex said.

"Because I think he's going to be there. Now, who is he?"

There was a moment of silence before Lydia spoke up. "La Ciudad is one of most elusive arms dealers in the world. No one knows what he looks like because he always kills his victims."

"Oh," Veronica replied, not sure of what else to say. "Well, I'll be on my way then," she said on her way out. "Good luck with the spy stuff."

"If Veronica's flash is correct, then this is a high priority," General Beckham via webcam said at the mission debriefing about La Ciudad.

"What's the latest update on him?" Jeremy asked.

"London's MI6's had a drop on him, but he vanished," General Graham said.

"If he turns up, we'll take him down at the auction," Alex said.

"And how do you plan on doing that if you don't know what he looks like?" Lydia asked, daring him to answer.

"You'll bring the Intersect with you," General Beckham announced.

"What?!" Evan, Jeremy, Alex, and Lydia said at the same time.

"Every government secret was fed into that file. Plus, we won't know what she's truly capable of until she's out in the field" General Beckham said.

"With all d-due r=respect sir, t-this mission seems too d-dangerous for V-Veronica," Evan stuttered nervously.

"Yeah, she has no training or field experience," Lydia added.

"It's an art auction. She'll be fine," General Beckham said before he and General Graham logged off.

"So, why am I here again?" Veronica asked as she and her team entered the hotel.

"We're hoping that something triggers a flash in that brain of yours," Lydia answered. "And don't sweat so much. You'll make your mascara run."

"Sorry, I'm still new to the whole spy thing," Veronica said with a hint of sarcasm. "But in all seriousness, what should I do if it comes down to me and La Ciudad?"

"Don't worry, nothing's gonna happen to you," Alex said, before looking across the building. "Assuming that you know how to tango," he said, referring to the couples dancing in another room.

"Huh," Veronica said. "Well, I guess those dance classes my mom made me take as a kid will finally pay off."

"Plus," Jeremy said while giving her a watch. "This watch contains a GPS. We'll never lose track of you."

"And remember, La Ciudad has killed everybody who's seen him," Lydia said before walking away, "Good luck!"

Alex posed as a waiter, while the others mingled about at the party. Veronica saw a man and flashed on him. She immediately went to Alex for assistance.

"Alex," Veronica whispered to get his attention. He walked away from his customers and to her.

"What?" Alex whispered.

"I think I found La Ciudad."

"What? Where?"

"That guy over there," Veronica replied, discreetly pointing in the direction of the man.

"Ok, I need you to find a private spot, and call Lydia. I'm on the clock right now," Alex said before walking away.

Once Veronica gave Lydia all of the details, she was told to stay in the ballroom for safety.

Oh, if only that "safety" applied to all of her high school problems as well.

"Veronica Sawyer," an all-too familiar voice said.

"Heather, what brings you here?" Veronica asked with a fake smile.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Heather Chandler said. "After all, you said that you couldn't come tonight because of a date with Jesse James. And I don't recall seeing your name anywhere on the guest list," she said, suspicious of Veronica.

Veronica must've panicked over the spy part so much that she forgot that the auction was hosted by the Chandlers.

Veronica discreetly looked around before leaning over near Heather's shoulder.

"Ok," she whispered. "The truth is, I'm dating that guy," Veronica said pointing at Jeremy across the room.

But when Heather turned around, she saw Jeremy kissing another girl.

"We're in an open relationship," Veronica said sheepishly.

"Oh? Does Danny Zuko know about him?" Heather asked, referring to JD.

Veronica needed to think fast.

"Well, that's part of the fun, isn't it?" Veronica asked. "Being in an open relationship without some of your partners knowing?" She asked, fully aware of Heather's dating history.

Heather chuckled at that. "Well, color me surprised. I didn't think you had the guts," she said. "Anyway, my dad wants to make sure that all of his guests get this," she said while pulling a card out of her purse and giving it to Veronica.

Veronica grabbed the card and flashed on it.

"Insider trading and offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands," she muttered.

"What?"

"What?" Veronica responded. "I, um, was just admiring your dad's card."

"Ok, weirdo," Heather said before walking away.

Meanwhile, things were not looking up for Lydia.

Why?

Because she was being held at gunpoint by the man she had discreetly tried to follow to the rooftop.

Oh, and he had a partner too.

"Where's La Ciudad?!" The first man demanded.

"I don't know who you're talking about!" Lydia replied.

"Don't lie! I saw the way you were following me!"

"Freeze!" Evan said as the door to the rooftop opened, gun in hand. "Federal agents! Don't move!"

"We're MI6! British secret service!" The second man said.

"Drop your weapons!" Evan shouted.

The first man started to slowly lower his gun. "I'm just dropping my weapon and getting my identification." He got a card out of his pocket and showed it to Evan.

Yep, this guy was definitely MI6.

Evan and the other guy lowered their weapons. "Let me guess, you're here for La Ciudad?"

"Correct," the second man said.

"MI6 intercepted a painting with plutonium hidden in the frame. We removed it, but we didn't stop the auction in the hope of luring Ciudad," the first man said.

"Well, uh, thank you for your service," Evan said sheepishly.

After the two men left, he asked Lydia a question.

"If he's not La Ciudad, then where is he?"

Veronica was looking at the painting in question when a boy around her age approached her.

"It's a lovely painting, isn't it?" He said.

"Yeah, it looks something Bob Ross would do," Veronica replied, to which the boy chuckled.

"I'm Marcos by the way," he said, holding out his hand for her.

"Winona," Veronica said, remembering to use her spy name while shaking Marcos' hand.

Marcos looked at all of the couples dancing, before looking back at Veronica. "Wanna dance?" He asked, offering his hand.

Veronica looked down and saw a tattoo on his arm.

A tattoo that caused her to flash, with the words "La Ciudad" popping up multiple times.

"Yes," Veronica responded, wanting to get closer to her target.

Marcos lead her out onto the dance floor and they started to tango.

"You're a very good dancer," Marcos told Veronica a few moments later.

"Why thank you," Veronica replied. "So what's your plan after high school?"

"Go on summer vacation," he said with a smile.

Before Veronica could respond, Heather walked up to her and Marcos. "Wow, Veronica, you have three guys all over you? You continue to surprise me."

Marcos pulled away from Veronica. "Veronica? Three guys?"

"Uh, no! No! I can assure you that I am Winona," she said, with those last words being directed towards Heather.

"Oh yeah, that's right. You didn't want Slurpee Boy to know about this," Heather said, feigning surprise.

Just then, Jeremy came up to them.

"May I have this dance with you, Ms. Chandler?" He asked in his most elegant voice possible.

"Why of course," she said before walking away with him, staring at Veronica with a look that said, You're doomed.

"Why don't we head up to my room?" Marcos asked Veronica in a slightly sinister voice.

And before she knew it, two henchmen were standing right behind her.

"Now, let's go before we make a scene."

When most people go to art auctions, they don't usually end up tied to a chair.

Veronica was clearly the exception.

"Let's start easy," Marcos said. "What's your real name?"

"Ryder. Winona Ryder."

That answer didn't suit Marcos, as he went across the room and threw a knife.

Veronica let out a little yelp as the weapon almost hit her head.

"Veronica Sawyer," she said fearfully.

"Who do you work for?"

"Nobody."

Marcos looked at his two henchmen, seemingly having a silent conversation with them.

Suddenly, the two henchmen picked up Veronica's chair and started to walk towards the balcony.

"No, no, stop! I'm just a regular high school girl! I snuck into the party under a fake name to impress a boy! Please, put the chair down!"

"Goodbye, Veronica," Marcos said, not buying a single word of hers.

"No, no, it's a setup!"

"Wait," Marcos said to his henchmen, before turning his attention back to Veronica. "What is?"

"The painting. I think it might be fake or something."

"Why?"

"I saw a picture of it in the newspaper this morning, but it had a different frame. So I'm assuming that somebody swapped it out."

Marcos paced around the room, mulling over his options for a few seconds. "You may be right, Veronica. But that doesn't change the fact that you've seen my face," he said as his started to get closer to the gun he had –

"Freeze!" Came a voice from behind.

Alex walked into the room, along with the rest of the gang. They all had guns out, with Marcos and his henchmen following suit.

"Stand down!" Lydia yelled.

"Or what? You'll-"

Marcos didn't get to finish his sentence because his heart was bleeding out.

Veronica closed her eyes after that part.

She heard more gunfire until it had stopped for more than a few seconds.

When she woke up, there were three dead men surrounding her.

"Congratulations, Sawyer," Alex said. "You just caught La Ciudad."

When Veronica got home that night, she was not expecting to see JD on her front porch. Thankfully, her parents were still out of town.

"JD? What are you doing here?"

"Wondering about where I went wrong with you."

"What?"

JD showed her his phone. It turns out that Heather Chandler posted a photo of Veronica dancing with Marcos on Instagram.

"JD, it's not what it looks like."

"Really?" JD asked angrily. "Because when you told me that you were going to this art auction, you didn't mention anything about dancing!"

"I didn't know that there would be dancing!"

"Then why did you do it?" JD asked, showing her the photo again. "Because I see that some people were just standing around!"

The truth is dancing I was dancing with La Ciudad, the world's most elusive arms dealer, in order to gain intel.

Of course, that's not what Veronica really said.

"Look, Heather basically forced me to dance with that guy, ok? I would've been kicked out of the Heathers otherwise."

"Are you sure that's what happened?" JD asked. "Because lately, you've been acting all strange, disappearing all the time, being more jumpy than usual. You're scaring me, Veronica."

That was something she never wanted to happen.

"I-I know, that things have been different lately, but I, uh-"

How was she supposed to communicate her feelings without telling him the truth?

"I knew it," JD said as he started to walk to his car. Before he got in, he turned around to see his girlfriend. "Goodbye, Veronica."

And with that, he drove away from his ex's house.

Veronica just went into her homr and slowly slid down against the door, sobbing.

The next morning, Evan was standing at the 7/11 cash register when he heard the front door open. He turned around and saw Veronica with bloodshot eyes.

"What happened?" Evan asked, concerned.

"JD," was all that Veronica said.

"Stay right here," Evan said as he to the other side of the store. He then came back with two Slurpees. "This one's on the house," he said as he handed one to her. "No matter what JD did, he was right about one thing. The Slurpees really do help your brain," he said before taking a swig of his own.

"I can't argue there," Veronica said. "Does it really get easier?" She asked. "You know, this whole spy thing?"

"Yeah," Evan answered. "I know it doesn't seem like it now, but it will." He then noticed how disappointed Veronica was. "Look, I haven't been a spy for that many years, but if there's one thing I've learned, it's that having a loved one hate you is better than them being dead. Just look at the positive, ok?"

"I guess," Veronica quietly replied.

"Hey, you completed your first real mission yesterday, and you did really good."

"Stop it," Veronica said, slightly blushing. "I'm not really a spy. Your computer ended up in the head of a girl who barely knows how to operate one."

"You survived a near-death experience under the threat of torture. You also apprehended one of the most elusive killers in the world. Spies usually consider that a good day," Evan said smiling.

"Okay, sure. Yesterday, I helped take down an international arms dealer. But today? I'm just a regular high school student. What's the point of being a hero if nobody knows about it?"

"That's not true. You know it. I know it. The whole team-"

"Ok, I get it," Veronica said, before raising her Slurpee up. "To being nobodies."

Evan couldn't say no to that.

A/N: Thoughts? Any constructive criticism is welcome!