Michael Vargas

**Michael Vargas** is a character portrayed by Jacob Scipio in Netflix's *Pieces of Her*.

## History

Andy looks at a phone and leaves her room, making her way to the car and taking the gun. She walks into a bar across the street and gets herself a drink and some food. She sees herself on the news as a woman approaches her and asks her how her mom had done such a thing, but she says that was not her mother. The woman approaches a man next to Andy, who says that he does not care and sees that the girl in the photo is a lot younger than Andy. Andy thanks him, saying that she thought she knew her mother, but found out she was wrong. She offers him a drink and toasts to being wrong about people, sitting next to him and introducing herself. He says his name is Jack and she says that she was going North, but might be coming back because the scenery is not so bad. Michael says that she has had shitty days too and tells her about when he busted his knee. She asks him to teach her how to use a gun because she has one. After some convincing, they go out back and start using it as Michael shows her how to shoot it.

Andy and Michael walk back to his truck, where he says that he should head home unless she wants a lift. She thanks him for everything and asks her to remember not to lock her elbows or knees. Andy has a flashback and falls for one second before saying good night. Reaching her hotel room, she locks the door and loads her gun.

Andy looks out her window and gathers her things, walking out and asking if there was a shortcut to town, which she takes by walking on a path a woman sends her to. Meanwhile, Jack looks at her from another window at the motel. Laura makes it to a car, where a salesman reaches her and offers her the new car for $5800. However, Andy asks for a bathroom, where she starts counting the money she has. At the motel, Jack walks to Andy's car and removes a tracker from it.

Andy walks towards McDowell & Ross law offices, with Jack following her. He takes out a screwdriver from a bag as Andy approaches reception, wanting to talk to Geraldine Ross about Paula Kunde. However, she is told that Ms. Ross does not give statements about ongoing legal matters. Andy tells her that she is not a reporter, but was making a documentary on sentencing reform nd wants to talk to Paula, but is told that things were not that simple and there was a $400 fee for an initial consult, which Andy agrees to pay.

At the parking lot, Jack gets out of his car while Andy is told that the next available appointment was in three weeks, so she walks past reception. Jack uses the screwdriver to open Andy's trunk as she heads towards the bathroom and washes her hands. She takes the lid off a coffee and makes small talk with a woman she saw at reception. She spills the coffee and apologizes, but the woman leaves. In the trunk, Jack finds Andy's money and sees her heading out, so he closes it. She gets in and drives away.

Andy looks up the last name Queller and finds that Jasper Queller would be in Texas soon. Looking up the name Jane, she sees that she was Jasper's brother. She goes to look at Jasper's autobiography and finds pictures of her mother there. Looking in front of her, she sees Michael parked in front of her, so she gets in her car and starts driving away. However, Michael has a GPS tracker on her and follows it through a narrow alley where she was parked. He gets out of his van and approaches Andy's car. She is not there, but he is surprised when she shows up behind him with a gun pointed towards his back.

Andy asks Michael why he is following her, but he says that he would not answer until she put the gun down. He tells her to take his gun, and once she does, he reveals that he is a cop named Michael Vargas and is also a US Marshal. When she asks why he had been following her, he tells her that both she and Laura were in witness protection. She tells him to go with her into a restaurant behind them, and they sit down. He asks her to believe him, saying that he was being who she wanted him to be. She asks how long she had been in protection for and he says that she has been in protection for her entire life because there were dangerous people after them. He admits to not knowing all the details and was only there to assist, so she tells him that Jasper was holding a private fundraiser in El Paso the next day and wanted to get in. He tells her that he would try to get her in, but is not able to promise it would happen.

In a car, Michael drives Andy, who reads that Michael's friend had gotten them in. When he asks why she wanted to talk to Jasper, she simply asks another question back, wanting to know why he had not simply told her that he is a Marshal. He tells her that he was not supposed to make contact and just observe because her mother is a valued witness. Andy thinks he knows a lot more than he says he knows since she saw his car parked on their street. He tells her that the Marshals had sent him there since Charlie Bass had not been able to make it. Andy asks what being "lead" on a case meant, to which he responds that Charlie had been working with her mother since she entered the program. Andy cannot believe it and wants to know if Michael wants her trust.

Andy and Michael make it to a hotel room, where he tells her that they are five hours away from El Paso. He tells her he would sleep on the couch, but she mentions that she is uncomfortable sleeping in the same room as him. He says that he does not feel comfortable leaving her on her own and asks for his gun back. Andy gives it to him and he asks her if she is hungry or wants to take a shower, but she refuses. He looks around the room, which makes her say he does not even seem like a person; he remembers that she is an artist and tells her that he knows a bit about her hobbies, work and the fact that she hooked up with her mother's nurse. He asks what she was doing for her mother, wondering how she knew about the storage unit. She asks him what she would even be doing for her, so he tells her to ask her mom. Andy tells him that she does not even know who she really is, so she would not be talking it out with her.

In the night, Michael wakes up and leaves the room, calling and telling someone that he was with her. He asks what he should do with her and walks back into the room. When he walks inside, he sees a man choking her and muffling her cries for help, so he defends her. As the two men fight, Andy leaves the room and runs, followed by a car. She makes it to a fence, but is reached by Michael, who tells her that he had her. She hugs him and he tells her to breathe. After that, Andy kisses him passionately.

Jasper Queller describes his father as challenging, but says that he misses him. At his democratic campaign, he mentions what he has done in his father's name so that their family would be looked at differently. Off stage, he thanks everybody and is approached by Andy, who asks him for an autograph out to Jane Queller. Looking at her, he says that she looks like her, so she asks if they could talk. Jasper asks his assistant to escort her and she is taken to a room where Michael is not allowed entry. He lets it slide and takes a seat outside.

Outside, Michael gets impatient, but sees a man running, recognizing him as the man who had attacked Andy at the hotel room. He follows him down some stairs, but loses him. As he runs back to the room where Andy was at, he sees that she was no longer there, finding her phone on the couch.

Michael tells his boss that Andy knows more than she is saying and would open up about her mother's past. He is told that Laura had signed out of the program, which meant that Andy was out as well and he needs to go back to Atlanta now. He works on his report and picks up Andy's phone. Laura asks for Andy, but he reveals who he is, telling her that she left her phone with him. Laura asks if Andy is okay, but he says that Andy was now with Jasper. Laura asks if Andy had simply left her things, which makes Michael asks what those were. After the call with Laura, Michael deletes his report and grabs the suitcase Andy had with her, leaving the department.

Michael counts Jane's money, seeing it was over half a million dollars. Andy calls him and asks what he knows about Nick Harp since he was with her mother. He says that they should not discuss that over the phone.

Andy knocks on Mrs. Barfield's door, but hears a recording of her phone call with Michael in another room. After that, Andy rushes to her room, gathers her bag and runs out of the house. However, security says that she could be let go since they knew where she was headed.

Andy and Michael meet and the former says that she needed to get out of the house. She says that she thinks Nick is her father because she saw a video of him with her mother. She tells him that their call was recorded and Michael says that he believes her uncle has a contact in WITSEC, somebody feeding him information. He wonders if Jasper wanted the suitcase because it could be evidence, and Michael says that it was now in his hotel room. A woman bumps into him and Michael says that they should leave, telling Andy to leave, but he falls down, telling Andy to leave once again. An ambulance reaches Michael and paramedics start helping him out.

### After Nick Harp's arrest

Andy rides her bike and goes to the Belle Isle restaurant where everything started for her. After that, she goes and sees Michael waiting at a lake for her. He apologizes and says that he is not there for work, thanking her for saving his life because she had started CPR after he was injected by the woman. He says that he would be going to DC because internal affairs would be talking to him about what he had done. She says her arm is doing fine, but still has trouble sleeping. She says that she is picky about her stalkers and he says that they could go get dinner once he got back, but she asks for some time.

Andy wakes up in the middle of the night and texts Michael, who calls her. Andy asks about her mother's WITSEC report. Andy says she has been thinking about Grace Juno, wanting to know if she had left a suicide note. Michael says that it was clear that she blamed QuellCorp, so Andy keeps asking, wondering if anyone beside her mother had seen Nick hand her the gun, but Michael says that the whole case had been built on what her mother had seen. Andy realizes that her mother had switched the bags. Unbeknownst to her, her call was being monitored from the Queller home.

## Appearances

* Episode 1.02
* Episode 1.03
* Episode 1.04
* Episode 1.05
* Episode 1.08