A/N: I had a blast with my family. I am back home safe and sound. I am glad you are enjoying this. I ran out of banked chapters so I have to write them as I go along now. so it will be slower going from now on. anyway, Enjoy! s.k

All in How You Frame It

At the Apple Store the next morning, Emma pulled Mal aside to get some of what she needed to know about the event.

"So, dress attire for this evening- uh, sneakers, or are we classifying this as more of a shoe event?" Emma asked

"I got you a couture dress, it should arrive today," Blake said stopping to face the younger blonde.

"Oh, that's very nice... how did you know my size?" Emma asked.

"Nsa- ". Blaize said then smirked at Emma. "they have records of your dress information from prom night." At Emma's horrified expression Mal Rolex her eyes and stated. "I checked the dresses in your closet."

Emma sighed. "Okay, this is my first foray into major undercover spy work, so if you could ease up on the sarcasm. That would be great." Emma waited for Mal to acknowledge what she had just stated. Then a thought occurred to her. "And how am I supposed to recognize La Ciudad? Is there a picture or something?"

"If there was a photograph, why would we need you?" The older blonde asked.

" What did we just talk about?" Emma shouted.

"I'm sorry." Blaize apologized, "We're hoping something in the event triggers a flash."

"See, that's all you had to say," Emma stated with a smile. Then she furrowed her brow with a new worry. " Now, uh, hand-to-hand combat- in all seriousness, if it comes down to me and la Ciudad in some fisticuffs or something, is there, like, a 20-minute tutorial you can take me through?"

"Don't worry. You're going to be fine. Nothing's going to happen to you. Assuming you know how to tango."

"Seriously?"

"Oh, I don't joke about your life. ". Mal deadpanned, and walked away.

"Right…

Emma had hard drives to fix. She hoped her team would get done with the task in time for her undercover mission. But her ever-supportive team agreed to let Emma go on her date with her girlfriend. They would take care of all of it.

So Emma walked off to the Cheesecake factory to meet up with the gorgeous Regina.

"The idea with a cover is to keep it as simple as possible without revealing true personal detail," Regina stated. "Any thoughts on a name?"

"Emily Carmichael?" Emma stated, "Simple, dignified."

"Easy to remember and not far off from-"

"graduated with honors from Stanford." Emma interrupted. "Runs a hugely successful software company. Semi-retired and is considering Entering the Grand Slam Tournaments."

Regina paused and smirked at Emma. "Have you done this before?"

Emma shrugged, "Let's just say, uh, Mr. Carmichael and I share a small kinship."

"How's that?" Regina asked furrowing her brows.

Emma sighed. "When I first entered Stanford, it's kind of where I envisioned myself being by now," She paused, "except for the tennis part. I don't really know where that came from. But he's where most of my class already is."

Regina leaned forward interested in this story, "So, what happened?"

"My life took a little detour Senior year when our old friend Daniel Colt discovered stolen tests under my bed and was kind enough to alert administration."

"Did you steal the tests?"

"I thought it was kind of implied that I'm a decent person."

Regina shrugged and leaned back in her seat. "Well, we all make mistakes."

Emma nodded, " and I made plenty. That just wasn't one of them. But, hey, then Daniel sent me a whole database of government secrets that are now locked in my brain, keeping me in a constant state of fear, danger, and anxiety, so I'd say we're even."

Regina placed a reassuring hand on Emma's. "Don't worry about tonight, No reason to be nervous. I am not going to leave your side. "

Emma laughed nervously. "Me? nervous? Come on. Never."

"Your hand is a little moist."

The younger woman pulled her hand away and wiped it on her pant leg as she nodded. "It does that when I'm freaking out."

Later that afternoon, Emma walked into her apartment spotting her sister on the couch. "Hey, sis. Hey, sis, um... do you know how to tango?"

"No, why?" Kathryn stated looking up from her work.

Emma shook her head. "Oh, no reason. I just have a date tonight. I thought it might come up."

"You're tangoing on a date?" Kathryn said impressed. " Look at you widening your horizons."

"Well, considering my horizons extend to the end of that couch, They were meant to expand."

"Did someone say tango?" Fred said coming in from the kitchen.

"No, thank you, captain awesome, I'll look it up online."

"Come on! I did a semester abroad in Buenos aires. Spent many a night tangoing my way into señoritas' pantalones." he said wiggling his eyebrows.

"Excuse me I'm right here!" Kathryn said.

"I highly doubt you have much trouble getting into anyone's pantalones," Emma said folding her arms.

"Seriously Emma, I got you." he insisted.

With a sigh the intersect agreed and they practiced the rest of the afternoon.

When the night came, Emma felt more prepared.

She, Regina, and Mal rode together in a van. Regina reached for a box and turned to Emma. "Here. This is for you." As Emma opened the box she explained. "Inside the watch is a tracking system. That way you can't run away from me. And if you flash on anyone, tell me immediately and then stay out of the way. "

"Suped up Apple watch got it…" Emma said putting on the watch. "Absolutely, Yeah… always run from a fight."

"This isn't a joke, Emma." Blaize scolded her. "No one who's ever seen you has lived to tell about it."

"Is she being serious?" Emma asked then looked at Regina. "Seriously? What are my chances of getting into trouble?"

"Toughen up, you'll be fine…" Mal said. "assuming you know how to tango."

Emma nodded. "I did some preparation, though I wouldn't call myself an exper-"

Regina's eyes narrowed. "Why would she need to know how to tango? Is that code?"

Emma shook her head. "No, not- no, he told me that I needed to know how to tango…" she trailed off as she realized the joke and laughed. It was good to lighten up. "Spy humor, I like that."

Regina smirked. "Come on, you ready?" Emma nodded and stepped out of the car.

Emma walked just slightly behind Regina. She took her time and admired the older woman's form in the red dress she was wearing. It was tied at the shoulders and form-fitting all the way down hitting all the right curves. Emma stared so hard wondering where Regina was hiding her weapons.

She looked around at the fancy museum hall there were people milling about. Waiters were bringing around canapes. Emma links arms with Regina and as a waiter walks by she grabs a canape. But it falls out of her hand landing into her cleavage, marring the white of her own dress with sauce. "Oh, nice," Regina said.

Emma sighed. "I've been a spy all of five seconds and I already have soy sauce down my dress.

"Well, go and wash it off," Regina said and looked around the room leaning closer to Emma and murmuring. "And Emm, stop saying that you're a spy."

"Right, of course," Emma said to Regina, then headed to the bathroom to clean herself off. "Idiot," she murmured as she caught a glimpse of herself in a hallway mirror. But then she caught a glimpse of a man coming up behind her and she flashed.

Her vision flashed, there were dead bodies and the name La Ciudad came across her mind several times. Including the painting, they were there to see.

She was staring, so the man noticed her and said. "Do we know each other?"

"No. No, not that I know of." She said blinking out of her shock. "Sorry." then she hurried away from the bathroom forgetting to clean off her dress.

She ran straight to Regina and whispered. "It's him."

Alert The agent scanned the room. "Who?"

The intersect looked toward the man that had triggered the vision and whispered "La Ciudad."

Regina looked at him and then pulled Emma to a safe distance. She didn't say anything to Emma Just pulled her along "I've already identified the perp, as it were, what are we still doing here? I mean, you know, mission accomplished. Time to go."

"Emma, go wait at the bar." Regina simply said and left the blonde standing alone in the middle of the room.

"Go wait... wait at the bar?" Emma said watching her go. She sighed and looked around herself. "Okay, you go do what you do. I'm going to be at the bar, waiting there. Covering that whole area."

The intersect felt so awkward and she headed toward the bar as instructed. When she got there, Mal was waiting for her there. She felt a bit better and ordered a drink from the other agent. Just about she was going to take a drink, she heard. "Emma Swan?"

She looked toward the woman that said her name. "No; it's Emily... Carmichael"

" Alina Waterman, Stanford? " the woman insisted, She had been one of the girls that had always competed with Emma, Grades Girls, everything.

And she'd won. Here Emma was nothing but a Genius supervisor.

"Hey, hey, how are you?" Emma said putting on a fake smile

"Hey. I'm great. I don't know if you heard, but I sold out of my software company. Kind of unemployed. Problem is, I'm too young to retire. I'm too rich to work" the humble brag is just tacky.

Emma forced a laugh that sounded more like a whimper. "that's quite a pickle you find yourself in, Alina."

Alina laughed her own fake laugh. And leaned forward to gauge Emma's reaction. " What are you doing now? Last I heard, you were, um, you were fixing computers or something?"

This is why she hated things where friends from school will get together. She hated the what do you do question. Now that she had something exciting to share, she couldn't. "Yeah. You know, just kind of, uh, just weighing my options right now." She answered. "Uh, you know, I may be getting a managerial position at an electronics conglomerate, so, you know... I'm doing all right."

"Well, I always knew you'd make something of yourself." Ms. Waterman looked around,. Who are you here with?"

"Oh, my date." this was something she could show off. Emma looked around for Regina. " She's right over there."

Alina's Jaw dropped. "She's with you?" THen the man that Emma had identified as la Ciudad, leaned closer to Regina.

" We have a very open relationship." Emma amended.

Alina smirked not quite believing Emma and reached for a business card in her purse. "Well, hey, um, give me a call. You know, if you need help with the whole job thing. I know people."

"Bet you do, yeah."

"Yeah. There you go." Emma took the card and immediately had a flash of something.

"Insider trading and offshore accounts in the Caymans," Emma murmured.

"What did you just say?" Alina said in a sudden panic. "Do you work for the sec?" She took her card back from Emma and left. "I got to go."

Emma was left stunned she sighed and turned back to Mal who was playing bartender. "Hit me again." She said after taking that first drink to the head.

Mal was not paying attention. Unbeknownst to Emma Regina had been taken at gunpoint. "You stay." She said to Emma as she ran around the bar.

Emma scrunched her face up. "Stay?" She shook her head. "Stay- like a dog."

Now left to her own devices. Emma wondered the room. She got to the painting in question and stared. She flashed on it. There were scientists and things like plutonium hidden in the frame. Emma approached it slowly not taking her eyes off it.

"Beautiful painting." a feminine voice shook her out of her stupor.

"What's that?" Emma asked walking and coming face to face with a very beautiful woman. "Yeah, beautiful. Painting, yeah. It definitely has a quality about it. Very, I would say, Bob Rossian in its influence."

The woman smiles. "Who?"

"Bob Ross. Bob ross, you know, bob ross. The guy who used to paint on PBS. With the afro and the soothing-" she paused. " you have no idea what I'm talking about."

The woman shakes her head, "Sorry".

"It won't be the first time. " Emma shook her head.

"I'm Malena." the woman said extending her hand.

"Hi, Emm. Emily. Emily Carmichael." Emma said taking her hand.

"So you don't like the painting?"

"No, I-I, it seems very lovely," Emma said then turned back to the painting. "I am just more interested in the frame, but that- " Her phone rang. "you don't... So sorry." Emma looked at her phone and saw it was Ruby. she did not answer and shut the phone off. "So sorry about this. Work never leaves you alone. I'm in the software game, so…"

"So you were talking about the frame?" Malena inquired.

Emma sighed. "Nothing, it doesn't really actually matter, sorry."

"Champagne?" Malena asked as a waiter walked by.

"Sure, yeah. Thank you." Emma answered, her smile as charming as ever. Each woman took a glass.

"Cheers."

"Cheers."

The two of them turned back to the Painting. A tango began to play in the ballroom. Malina moaned as though she had tasted the most delicious thing, and Emma turned to her. "I love a tango," Malena said.

"Oh, yeah. Who doesn't?" Emma agreed.

"Do you?" Malena asked in surprise

"Do- oh, do I want to," Emma looked around nervously. "uh... you know what, what the hell. Yeah, let's give it a shot. "

"Would you mind leading?" Emma asked, "I'm not quite ready to lead."

"Not at all," Melina answered and she led the tango. It was hot and sensual, Emma's body tingled where Malena touched her. And then Malena dipped her. Emma spotted the scar on the other woman's neck and flashed. She saw arms deals and other weapons. She saw when Malena got that scar. And Realized that she was in fact La Ciudad.

She looked around for her Handlers and did not see them. She had to figure out a way to carry on the mission.

As the two women walked arm in arm off the dance floor, Emma asked. "What, uh... what line of work are you in, Malena?"

Malena paused and looked at Emma. "Why are you so interested, Ms. Carmichael?"

Emma tried to keep it cool. "No reason. Just making conversation."

The concierge approached them apologetically. "Excuse me, miss. Are you Emma Swan?"

Emma panicked. "Who, me?" She said and shook her head. "No! No, I'm Carmichael."

"Uh, that's her. That's my... that's my friend. I can hear her voice. Hey, Emms!"

"Are you sure you're not Ms. Swan?" the concierge reiterates. "Your friend insists."

"No, no, I insist. I've never heard that name in my life." Emma stated. "I got to go. Excuse me."

Emma began to walk away from La Ciudad, She needed to escape the situation. But Malena hooked her arm with Emma's and she led her away. " Why don't we head up to my room now, Ms. Carmichael, and find out who you really are."

"Isn't it a little too soon in our relationship?" Emma asked and two thugs appeared and yanked yer out of the ballroom.