Disclaimer: It's not mine. None of it.
A/N: A year after Lilly's death, the 09ers enlist Veronica's help after a number of popular girls go missing. Lo/Ve.
"Take off your robe."
Exactly where do you draw the line between the undercover infiltration of a prostitution ring and actual sex slavery? Do you stop being undercover once you're actually under the covers?
Veronica has to clamp down on her tongue to keep from telling Jorge to shove it where the sun don't shine. The silky material of her robe collects in a shimmery pool at her feet as it falls. She's got four minutes, if she's lucky.
You've only got four minutes to save the world, Veronica. So what are you waiting for?
A well-dressed man approaches from a dark corner and whispers into Jorge's ear. He nods but doesn't show his hand. Veronica clamps her tongue tighter still. Her eyes shift impatiently toward the doors at the other end of the room. So little time, now, until her target arrives. Tick tock, boys. Tick tock.
"Come with me," the man says. He leads her through the double doors and into a darkly furnished office. "Mr. Smith will be with you shortly."
Her father was not exactly what you would call "aware" of Veronica's most recent investigatory adventure. But after four of Neptune's most notorious 09er girls had disappeared within the span of a week, what choice did she have but to strip down to her underthings and infiltrate the prostitution ring within the mob? No time to answer that. She's racing against the clock.
She moves quickly, using the gadget Mac gave her to crack the security, copying the relevant files onto the micro chip she'd stashed in the lining of her…well, all in the name of justice. One more minute.
She hears the shuffle of feet beyond the oak doors, safely ejects, stashes, and smiles. And phase one is complete. Or so she hopes.
The thing about infiltrating a prostitution ring by getting yourself kidnapped is that at the end of the day, you've still been kidnapped. The only think separating Veronica from her 09er inmates is her backup, but now that she's gathered the evidence she was looking for, she's beginning to lose faith in her designated driver.
But maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.
TWO WEEKS EARLER
Veronica sits in the usual place, drinking the usual beverage and eating the usual sandwich. She stares down Dick Casablancas, who is gyrating into space while eating a folded slice of pepperoni pizza.
"That dude is tactless." Wallace thumps his tray on the table, drawing Veronica out of her engrossment. "Didn't his girlfriend just go missing?"
"I doubt he seriously thought of Madison Sinclair as his 'girlfriend.'" She uses airquotes to drive the point home.
"Still." Wallace snaps the top of his soda pop.
"That's why we're the good guys, and them's the bad guys, see?" Veronica says. She waves a french fry in his face.
"Veronica?"
She whips her head around. It's Meg Manning. Veronica smiles up at her sometime friend and offers her a seat. Meg eyes Wallace questioningly but says nothing as she sits.
"Wallace knows," Veronica says.
"Yeah, I'm sorry to hear about your sister," Wallace adds. "But Veronica's gonna get her back."
She smiles tightly. "I can't thank you enough for your help," Meg says. "Since Lizzie went missing, things have been…tense at home." Meg fiddles with the hem of her cardigan sleeve before casting another nervous smile at Veronica. "Have you found anything?"
Veronica steels herself. These Big Reveals are never easy. "Does the name Rodney Mullins mean anything to you?"
Meg raises her eyebrows. "I…yeah. He was my first kiss, back in middle school. We used to go to Bible camp together."
Veronica exchanges a look with Wallace, pulls a manilla folder from her bag, and slides it toward Meg. "What are these?" Meg asks as she peruses the contents.
"Emails between Lizzie and Rodney. They've been talking about running away together for a few months now."
Meg blinks in rapid succession and furrows her brows. "She couldn't…I mean, they hardly knew each other."
"I'll keep investigating a few other leads, check on Rodney and his friends, but at this point it's pretty likely she just ran away."
Meg nods. "Okay." She hands the folder back to Veronica, and her expression transforms from confusion to resolve. "I probably shouldn't keep these. Lizzie would kill me if she found them." She laughs in spite of herself and stands to leave. "Thank you, Veronica. Really. She's probably better off wherever she is." Meg smiles at Wallace before she departs.
"What do you think she meant by that?" Wallace asks.
"Who knows."
Across the way, Dick slobbers on a slice of pizza and attempts to feed it to Carrie Bishop.
"Oh, that is just sick," Wallace says, grimacing.
After school, Veronica collects the usual books from her locker and exchanges the usual banter with Wallace. She stares down Dick Casablancas as she makes her way to her car. He is sitting on the hood of Logan Echolls' XTerra and laughing as Logan gestures wildly and inappropriately with his hands. She is digging in her bag for the keys to her LeBaron when Dick notices her. He hops off the hood and says something to Logan, fist pounds to explosion, and makes his way toward Veronica.
She throws her bag into the passenger seat of her car and is startled when the intolerable Dick appears at her side.
"Yo, Veronica. What's up?"
Veronica looks suspiciously over both shoulders, places her hands on her hips, and puts on an exaggerated smile. "Am I being punk'd?" She stands on tip-toes to search the area behind Dick. "Ashton, are you there?"
Dick rolls his eyes. "I'm pretty sure they only punk important people."
"There's the Dick I know and loathe," Veronica says, punching Dick playfully in the shoulder. He rubs it with the palm of his hand.
"Hey, I don't want to be here any more than you want me here."
Veronica notes the uncharacteristic seriousness of his tone and crosses her arms. "So talk. I've got places to be."
"People to do, am I right?" Dick smiles mischievously but softens to his previous state at her unamused expression. "Look, Madison is like the only chick who will screw me right now, and she disappeared. So can you do your little Veronica magic and get her back?"
Veronica chews the inside of her cheek. "You want me. To help you. Find Madison Sinclair?"
"I'll pay you."
"I don't know, Dick..."
"500 dollars."
"One thousand, and you fix my car."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Veronica smiles and motions to the word "SLUT" keyed into the door of her car. "A present from Madison." Dick glares. "So, do we have a deal?"
"Fine," he says, extending a hand for her to shake.
"Oh, I'm not touching that," she says, and she gets into the car. As she drives away, she locks eyes with a thoroughly confused Logan.
This should be fun.
A/N: Reviews are appreciated, and they tend to motivate me to keep writing. Thanks for reading!
