A/N: Thanks to everyone who read chapter 1. I'd love to hear what everyone's thoughts are after reading the second chapter. Of course there will still be a lot of open questions and more of those will be answered in later chapters.
I also have this as T rating here on FF, but do have some chapters with a fair amount of swear words. If someone thinks it needs to be bumped to M, please let me know and I can change it.
Disclaimer: Characters owned by Rob Thomas. I'll also put here, that even though I'm writing him as a race car driver, I know absolutely nothing about racing, so I apologize in advance for any horrible errors I make in that space. I also haven't been to Brazil either, so hopefully I won't write anything too completely contradictory with reality.
Chapter 2
He was frozen in place and didn't dare turn around to look. Was his mind just playing tricks on him from the guilt he felt from seeing Gabriela? Her disappointment in him, bringing back memories of when he'd started being a disappointment to everyone else in his life. He had a hard time swallowing the lump he suddenly felt in his throat.
His mind immediately flashed back to that night, the last time he'd heard her voice, smelled her perfume. That night at the Grand when she'd come by after the fight in the cafeteria. As he'd opened the door he'd braced himself for yet another argument, but then he saw the look in her eyes. It was the same look she'd had at Lilly's funeral and when she thought her dad had died. She'd tried so hard to stay calm and compassionate as she basically told him he was an idiot for beating up a mob boss's son. Then she had pleaded with him to lay low the rest of the term and then leave for his South American trip that she didn't know had been canceled. Then came the harsh truth, no matter how gentle she'd tried to be, that she couldn't stand by and watch him either get himself killed or end up in jail for something he did to protect her or get justice for her. She had looked at him with so much sadness in her eyes, then hugged him and whispered that she wouldn't be able to live with herself if something happened to him because of her. The only solution she could see was for them to be apart from each other. She told him she was going to look into transferring to another college, but he told her not to bother. He told her he wouldn't return to Hearst in the fall. In fact, though he didn't tell her at the time since he decided a half a bottle of tequila after she'd left, he wouldn't return to Hearst at all. He'd left the next morning and tried his damnedest not to look back since that seemed to be what she wanted him to do.
The sound of her clearing her throat brought him out of his recollection. He could tell that she was moving closer and then he heard her sit on the stool next to his. He finally worked up enough courage to turn and look at her. Even though logically he knew she must really be here, she still seemed like a figment of his imagination after all these years. It was shocking to see those striking blue eyes staring back at him that he hadn't seen in years. He couldn't quite make out the emotion behind her expression though. Obviously not surprise, since she had known it was him before he even looked at her. Definitely not an overjoyed bliss at finally seeing him again. Cautious, guarded, slightly apprehensive, maybe even a bit of annoyance... although maybe those were just some of his emotions reflecting back at himself.
"Can we talk to you some where private?" Her tone was neutral, almost authoritative, but not overly demanding.
We? He looked over his shoulder and saw there was a man with her also watching him. The man's expression was friendlier than hers at least, and he looked familiar. Logan cocked his head curiously trying to place how he knew the guy.
"Admiral Moneybags," the man responded with a smirk.
Logan raised his eyebrows as he realized who was with her. What the hell is he doing here with her? His eyes traveled back to her.
"We have a suite upstairs and would like to talk with you in private there" she continued, still with the same cautious demeanor.
Logan slowly shook his head, more at the incredibility of the situation than at her request. All of a sudden the fiery side of her shone through and an angry frown formed on her face. He remembered the way her eyes would narrow and her skin would become slightly flushed whenever she was really angry. He'd be the recipient of the look enough times to have it memorized even after all this time.
"I told you this was a bad idea," she spat at the other man as she rose from her stool and started to leave.
"Come on Mars," the other man replied as she took a few steps, "You didn't even give him a chance."
She continued to storm out of the bar, not hesitating for a second.
Logan looked incredulously at the other man. He shrugged and shook his head. "Let me buy you a drink," he said as he moved to the stool that the angry petite blond had just vacated.
Logan raised his eyebrows and gestured to the Glenlivet. The other man chuckled for a moment, "okay, why don't you buy me a drink."
Logan waved at Adriano, who had been cautiously watching from the other end of the bar, likely keeping an eye on things in case he needed to call hotel security. Logan asked him for another glass, to which he nodded silently then returned back to the other end of the bar after putting it on the counter for him.
"Sorry about my partner," the other man started as Logan poured some scotch into the empty glass and refilled his own. "She can still be a pain in the ass sometimes."
Logan nodded in agreement. "I remember," he said with a small smirk.
"So what brings you both to Sao Paulo? Agent... ?" Logan looked at him questioningly. He'd tried to forget many things about Neptune and the name of one of the bell boys at the Grand was not one of the things he'd tried to retain.
The other man nodded knowingly, "Ratner... Jeff. It's been a while." He reached out his hand to shake.
Logan reached over and shook his hand then continued. "So just taking in the sites? Overthrowing a dictatorship? Honeymooning?"
The other man laughed heartily at the last suggestion and shook his head vigorously. "We actually came to ask for your help with something."
Logan knew Veronica had joined the FBI when she graduated from Hearst but that was about all he knew of her life now. To say he was slightly surprised to see her would have been the understatement of the century, let alone if she'd really come to him for help.
Jeff took a drink of the scotch, clearly appreciating the taste of the expensive liquor. "So, would you be willing to come up to the room and listen to our proposition?"
Logan let out a deep laugh, "I typically don't accept propositions from men..." Jeff laughed along with him. "…but for you, I'll make an exception."
The ride up in the elevator was a bit awkward, neither man knowing quite what to say, or just not wanting to say anything at all. Logan finally broke the silence when they were half way to the top floor. "Have you two been partners long?"
Jeff nodded. "We worked on several teams together ever since we started with the bureau and on some recent cases we've been paired up."
Logan nodded and started fidgeting with the label on the Glenlivet. Since he was also staying on the top floor in one of the other suites he asked if he could drop the scotch off in his room. He decided walking into their suite carrying a bottle of scotch wasn't the best impression to make, even if it was the most expensive scotch the hotel carried. Jeff patiently waited in the hall for him to go in and drop off the bottle. After setting the bottle down, Logan stood frozen for a moment just starting at the door. Come on man, you once told if she ever needed anything you'd be there for her. Of course he never imagined it would be so many years later and on a different continent when she'd ask for it. Suddenly he remembered his lame attempt to win her back at the alterna-prom. Epic... hardly. Well there certainly had been lives ruined and blood shed, mostly his own. His hand involuntarily ran over where the scar was on his thigh. He let out a deep breath and forced himself to go back out the door.
Jeff was leaning on the wall opposite from his suite and stood up when the door opened to lead the way down to their suite at the other end of the hall. As Logan watched him take out the card key and swipe it in the lock, he felt a horrible feeling of uncertainty course through him. Jeff stood to the side and gestured for him to enter first, which Logan some what reluctantly did.
Veronica was sitting on the couch, apparently waiting for them. She didn't seem at all surprised that he was there so he assumed Ratner had let her know they were coming while he was in his suite. He hadn't really studied her at the bar given he was shocked she was even there and then she'd bolted so quickly. Her hair seemed to be shorter than when he saw her last but it was hard to tell how long it actually was given it was pulled back with some sort of clip. He could tell that it was wavy though and maybe a shade lighter than he remembered, but he'd mostly been surrounded by dark haired Brazilians so blond always seemed lighter to him now. She still had the same expression on her face from downstairs in the bar. She didn't seem to be the least bit happy to see him after all this time.
"Please have a seat, Logan," she said curtly as she gestured to the chair across from hers.
"It's Billy now," he replied coldly as he took a seat. If she's going to be a bitch, I'm certainly not going to just take it.
"Fine, Billy," she answered a bit tersely, drawing out the name as she said it. He noticed her eyes narrowed for a moment as if she remembered something and then it was gone.
She had to have known what alias I was using to find me and she just now realized the Easy Rider reference. He smiled slightly thinking about how that must have escaped her until now. Fuck, I hope she doesn't figure out the reason for Deimos. He'd chided himself several times for picking that name, but once he had and was racing, he couldn't easily change it. He took a seat in the chair and watched Ratner sit on the same couch she was on, but a good foot away from her. Smart man.
"Did Agent Ratner fill you in on any of the details?" She asked, carefully studying Logan as she spoke.
"No," Logan replied as he glanced back and forth between the two of them. They were both dressed more casually than he would have initially expected for FBI agents, although they were probably trying to not stand out. They both had on dress slacks, with button up shirts, but surprisingly Veronica's was very feminine looking.
"Well we can't tell you all the specifics due to the confidential nature of the case but we are looking for an experienced driver who has a successful racing record who we can trust." Veronica explained. She'd mostly been looking at Logan until the trust part, which she noticeably looked away for.
Logan let out a frustrated sigh. Well then why the hell did she come to me if she still can't trust me? Jeff quickly noticed the sudden unease in the room and picked up where Veronica had stopped.
"We'd need you to come back to LA with us and race at Fontana. Do you have any obligations here that would prohibit you from doing that? It could take several months for us to wrap up the case." Jeff paused to let Logan consider the question.
He thought about quipping back to Ratner about that being a pretty lame pick up line, but decided against it. Logan shook his head. "No there's nothing specific here I'd need to stay for other than letting my crew know, and making some arrangements for my house."
He noticed Veronica seemed to be even more agitated than before. "What else do I need to know?" Logan asked Ratner, realizing he would more likely get an honest answer from him than her at this point.
"We'd be going under cover with you too. Well mostly Agent Mars. Her cover is a magazine photographer and mine is a journalist. She needs to be able to get very close access to the other drivers and crew, so she'd be posing as your girlfriend or fiancé, we hadn't decided on that specific detail yet."
Logan couldn't help but laugh softly. "Come on Ratner, it's modern times, we could just say you're my boyfriend."
Jeff laughed, while Veronica didn't seem amused at all. "Unfortunately Billy Deimos has a pretty well known reputation for being a ladies man, so I don't think that will fly." Jeff explained after he stopped laughing.
Logan noticed Veronica's jaw tighten and her expression became even more irritated at that. So now I know what her issue is, or at least one of her issues.
"Will it be dangerous?" Logan asked still looking at Jeff.
Veronica scoffed as he finished his question. Logan's attention quickly snapped to her.
"You race fast cars and sleep with fast women, isn't danger your middle name?" She blurted it out with more bitterness than he'd ever remembered hearing from her before.
Logan may have been older but his temper hadn't gotten much better. "Fuck this," he mumbled under his breath. He stood up from his chair and growled at her in response, "You know nothing about me now and you sure as hell don't get to judge me like that. Good bye Ver-on-i-ca." Right before he slammed the door behind him he could make out Ratner cursing at her for her lack of composure. Good luck with her buddy, he thought to himself as he stormed down the hall to his room.
He'd at least gotten wise enough not to punch any holes in the wall of his hotel room, though he was awfully tempted to. Fuck this, I'm going home. He pulled his suitcase out of the closet and started throwing his clothes in. He normally never drove all the way home after the race since his house was two hours from Sao Paulo, but there was no way in hell that he was staying here tonight and risk running into her again.
Who the hell does she think she is, coming all the way down here after all these years and then acting like that when she's the one who wanted help? He angrily grabbed his extra shoes and threw them in the suitcase, not really caring if everything was orderly or not. She's still just as judgmental as she ever was. He took a quick swig from the scotch before he went back to grabbing his dress shirts and quickly pulling them off their hangers and throwing them in on top of the shoes. That was just about as bad as her poor little rich boy with a death wish cliché speech. He went to the dresser and started grabbing his clothes from there. I wonder if she spent the entire flight down here figuring out how best to piss me off when she arrived. He angrily slammed the top drawer shut once he'd retrieved his belongings from it. And obviously from her reaction, she still doesn't trust me at all, even after everything we went through all those years ago.
He had headed into the bathroom to get his stuff from there when there was a knock on his door. He cursed under his breath and thought he'd just ignore it, but after a moment of silence the pounding started again, a bit louder. That had better not be her, or so help me, this is not going to be pretty. Logan marched to the door and threw it open.
Jeff stood there with an apologetic look on his face.
"Deja vu, but you're missing the room service cart," Logan barked at Jeff as he glared at him from inside his room.
"I'm sorry about that man. She wasn't thrilled with this idea but our captain pushed her into it."
"Obviously," Logan replied and returned to get the rest of his things from the bathroom, leaving Jeff standing in the door way. Logan heard him walk into the room and glanced back over to see him looking at the open suitcase, its contents clearly tossed in without a care of how they were going in. Jeff turned to look at him in the bathroom before he started talking again.
"Look, I still think you're our best bet for this case, and I can get another female agent to replace Mars. Don't say no yet. Let me give you my card and give me a week to get a different agent down here to meet you and then we can talk again, okay?"
Logan didn't reply and kept packing up his stuff. Jeff sighed and shook his head. He tossed his card into the open suitcase and left the room closing the door behind him.
