Once Jughead had reached the van, he opened the door for Archie, who carefully set Veronica down, before climbing in after her. Then, following him, Jughead climbed in next, going to where Betty was. He looked at her meaningfully, and she nodded, before making her way towards Veronica on her knees.

"Hello," she murmured, and the raven-haired girl turned her wet eyes onto her, looking impossibly scared. "Shh, love, it's alright."

"What do you want with me?" Veronica whispered, and Betty smiled softly at her.

"Can you tell me your name first, love?" Betty asked gently, and Veronica looked over at Jughead, who smiled encouragingly at her.

"Veronica," she exhaled shakily, and Betty nodded.

"I'm Betty, and you're with the Serpents," she said, and watched as Veronica's brow furrowed.

"The Serpents?" Veronica asked. "As in the gang from the Southside?"

Betty nodded. "That's correct."

"I'm sorry, but what do I have to do with you guys?" Veronica asked lowly, and Jughead wasn't sure if he could still hear a tremor in her voice. He looked at Archie, who spoke up next.

"It's not you that has anything to do with us, but your father," Archie explained gently, and Veronica's eyes narrowed.

"So you're kidnapping me to get him to come beg you for mercy? You have little to no chance of that happening," she laughed bitterly, and Jughead shared a look with Archie.

"Surely, your father will want you back?" Archie asked softly, but Veronica just laughed again; the sound was disdainful and disappointed.

"You clearly overestimate my father," she muttered. Jughead looked at her for a moment, then sighed.

"We don't want to hurt you, Veronica. Our war is not with you," he explained, but she just sat there in simple silence. He knew she was defying him but he wasn't in the mood to make her cower in fear. He had always sworn to himself he would never intentionally frighten a woman. He pulled his pocketknife out of his back pocket and looked at her. "I'm going to cut you free now. Can I trust you to not fight us?"

Veronica studied him, before nodding slowly. "Yes."

He nodded in turn and gently cut the zip tie, loosening her wrists from their prison. He watched as Veronica rubbed at her wrists soothingly, frowning at the red skin there.

"Sorry about the circulation loss," he said quietly, but Veronica shrugged, not deeming that worthy of a reply. He looked at Betty, who sighed.

"Can you tell us anything about your father that will be helpful in bringing him down?" Betty asked, and Veronica rolled her eyes.

"I said the guy wouldn't be begging to get me back, not that I'd help you," she muttered.

"Look, we aren't going to hurt you, we promise. I promise," Archie said earnestly, and Veronica looked at him. Perhaps there was something in the redhead's expression that she saw because she was sighing a moment later.

"I don't know much about my father's business dealings," she warned them.

"Anything you do know will help," Jughead assured her. He glanced up towards the front of the van where Pea and Fangs were, conversing lowly with one another. Next to Cheryl and Toni, they were the only other public couple in the Serpents. They had been together since they were fifteen, making it six years together so far. They knew each other like they knew the backs of their hands. And, would kill for one another.

Veronica nodded slowly. "He does dealings in the Southside. His targets are high school students and people kicked out of their homes."

Jughead remembered the night Alice Cooper kicked Betty out, sending her to the Sisters. Betty hadn't been a Serpent then, just Jughead's best friend that he wanted to keep faraway from his lifestyle. When she got there, Hiram had set his eyes on her and, through the nuns, ended up drugging her with Fizzle Rock. Jughead still remembered the hollowed look in her eyes when the gang, a bunch of seventeen-year-olds at the time, had busted into the home for troubled youth, and freed everyone. It took Betty weeks to come back to who she once was but Jughead was with her every step of the way. She stayed in his trailer with him and his dad, and he helped her heal from her mother's abuse. Then, when she had gained her sense of self again, she told Jughead she wanted into the gang. He initially denied her, not wanting her to have to go through the initiation.

However, with Betty being Betty, she was determined to get what she wanted and with one thing or another, he found himself facing her initiation night. He never would forget her body being beaten by his fellow gang members. But, once she was in, she was in. She worked her way to the top and was the best, next to Jughead. Focusing his attention back on Veronica, he nodded, mouth in a grim line.

"We know who he targets. We need to find a way to stop him," he replied.

"I won't be of much help there," Veronica admitted. "Daddy doesn't listen to anybody, not even me. Which is why it was stupid as hell to kidnap me. He's not going to bow down to the threats of some gang he deems mediocre at best."

The van pulled up the apartments the Serpents had bought out and refurnished. Each one of them had their own in the complex. Jughead looked at Archie, who sighed but nodded his head.

"Veronica, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to blindfold you now until we get you inside," he muttered apologetically. She stiffened considerably but didn't do anymore than that as Archie slipped the blindfold around her eyes. Then, he climbed out of the van and helped ease her to her feet, leading her into the heart of the complex. Jughead waited until all of the other Serpents were out before hopping out himself. He turned to Pea.

"Meet us in the main room when you finish parking," he said, then turned on his heel and followed his gang inside.

XXX

Once inside, Jughead motioned for Archie to take off the blindfold and let Veronica see where she was. Once he did, she wrapped her arms around herself, surveying everything.

"I suppose I have to sleep in a cell of some sort?" Veronica asked quietly, but it was Betty who shook her head.

"Gosh, no. We have a room here for you. We told you: we're not looking to hurt you," Betty replied softly, squeezing the girl's forearm. Veronica stared at them all curiously, and Jughead wondered what she was thinking.

"What?" Archie asked, and Veronica sighed.

"Trust my kidnappers to treat me better in the half hour they've had me than my own father has in my whole life," she muttered.

Jughead nodded. "That's because we're not monsters."

Veronica nodded in turn, falling silent. Betty looked at her for a moment, then Jughead.

"I'll take her to her room," she said, and Jughead nodded.

"Thanks," he murmured in appreciation and soon, the two women left the group and headed up the stairs.

Jughead turned to the rest of his group.

"I don't care how we do it or what it takes, but one way or another, Hiram Lodge is going to pay for all of his sins," he vowed seriously, and they nodded, knowing better than to question his authority. After that, they all slipped off to do their own things, and Jughead made his way towards Archie, who was staring at the stairs that Betty had led Veronica up.

"You think she'll be alright?" Archie asked quietly.

"Veronica?" Jughead replied, and the redhead nodded. "I think she's tough considering she was just kidnapped and knows her father won't bow down to our request to get off the streets."

"Did Betty mean it when she said we wouldn't hurt her?" Archie asked, barely concealed desperation laced in his tone.

Unsure of where his fear came from, Jughead nodded, offering the only solace he could.

"Yes."

Archie sighed, before nodding his head.

"Thank God."

Nothing more was said and Jughead was left to wonder what the hell he was bringing all of them into.

Author's note: Two chapters in one day because why not? Enjoy. Xxx