A/N: Thank you for all your support and comments, and follows/favs. I apologize it taking a good week to get this posted. I hope you enjoy! Thanks. Rated T+ for F-bombs and such.

Chapter 25

The hardest thing Dick had ever done was to let Veronica keep driving past the driveway they knew led to the Hansen's Summer Cottage. He craned his neck hoping for confirmation that no cars were parked on the drive, but he just couldn't tell in the dusky light. The private drive bent in just the right angle that it was impossible to know if a vehicle was parked there. Veronica slowed the car down at the next drive, pulled past it and then backed into it, the front nose of the SUV facing the road. She grasped her gun. They looked at each other, nodded, and together got out of the car. Dick led her straight up the drive to cut across through the woods to their destination. Quickly they jogged up the drive and then cut over through the woods.

Something must have distracted him. Mac didn't know what, but as quickly as Patrick Muldoon was there, he was gone, going back down the hallway and into the living room area. Heart in her throat, Mac pushed the cabinet door open a tiny bit to look out and even hear better.

It sounded like he was on his cell. His voice was raised and he sounded angry. She could just make out words, "looking," and "regret it."

She debated whether or not to leave her spot of safety. Mac was concerned about Madison in her tight little hiding spot and lack of oxygen. Surely there must be a way for her to get air in that chest.

Her ears were straining to hear any noise that might tip her off that Patrick had left. Her heart stopped when she heard, "I heard a car drive by…"

Well shit.

Veronica and Dick were pushing through the brush. His hand suddenly shot out, stilling her steps. "Sh…sh! I see the Wooden Palace. The jeep from this morning is out front."

Veronica sidled up next to him, crouched down low. They observed for a few moments and he suddenly pointed, "Look, I can see him through the window."

Veronica squinted to see. They were close enough that lack of light wasn't hindering their view. She could tell it was Patrick Muldoon, pacing back and forth, gesturing wildly with one hand as he held a cellphone to his ear with the other.

"What do you think's going on?" Dick whispered, eyes searching for a sign of Mac anywhere within view. "I don't see any sign of her!"

"He looks pissed, Dick. I don't think he found them. They either got out or their hidden really well." She pointed at the cabin, "He looks like he's watching for something out here."

"You think he heard us?" Dick asked, eyes fixed on the pacing form through the window. "If he's done something to Mac—"

"Dick, we have to stay calm and not assum—" Her words of caution were to the air as Dick abruptly stood up and began walking deliberately towards the front door. "Dick!" she whispered in a low-pitched bellow. "What are you doing?"

She'd waited long enough. There had been no evidence of Patrick Muldoon's leaving, but Mac had a premonition that things were about to go from bad to worse. Guardedly, Mac pushed the cabinet door out and open, feeling idiotic as she stuck the can of Lysol out first, finger on the trigger. She was ashamed to see how shaky the hand that held the can was. All her hard years of defense and still it boiled down to fear for her.

There was no one else in the bathroom. She pushed herself even further out of the cabinet, silently allowing herself to fall into a heap on the ground, immediately swinging her body up with the Lysol out in front of her, to combat the danger that may have been lurking unnoticed somewhere in the room. When nothing afflicted her, she rested the can to her chest, advancing with her feet further out onto the linoleum floor.

Her muscles were stiff and aching. Her knees creaked and popped as she stood herself up. She didn't allow her head to dip down, she kept her eyes up and attentive to anything that might be perceived as a threat. Lightly throwing her body up against the back of the door, she eyed the bedroom, ensuring that their intruder had moved on from there. When she saw no evidence of him, she next surveyed the room for some kind of weapon. Her eyes hit on the chest where she knew Madison was hidden; to anyone else it wouldn't have been noticeable how it was a raised just a tiny bit to allow a flow of air. She didn't take any more time on that, continuing on her search of a weapon.

Patrick had left the door to closet open, and inside she could see her salvation. Propped just inside the doorway was a bat. Purposely she set the Lysol down, grabbed up the bat and quietly slipped out into the hall.

"Dick!" Veronica watched in horror as he firmly and surely began his way up the driveway, not even attempting at a covert approach. Her eyes jumped back to the window and she realized that Patrick Muldoon had spotted him. The man was intently watching Dick and Veronica knew the exact moment Patrick Muldoon recognized him as Dick Casablancas.

He started, saying something into the cell phone and ending the call, his hand reaching behind him and Veronica knew with utter certainty that he was going for a gun at his back. She lifted her own gun and aimed, praying for a true shot. Her finger was about to pull the trigger when she saw something that made her lower her gun. It was Mac, hovering behind Patrick Muldoon, bat above her head in mid-swing.

"Oh my God." Veronica aimed the gun and waited.

Taking advantage of his distraction with whatever he was looking at out the window, Mac stepped lightly towards him, praying that the floorboards wouldn't squeak beneath her feet. Adjusting the bat in her fingers for a steadier grip, her eyes tracked to what held Mr. Muldoon's utmost attention.

She nearly dropped the bat. Her personal Scooby squad had come to save her and Dick himself was almost to the front step. Patrick Muldoon's hand was suddenly grasping for the gun tucked in the back band of his jeans. If she didn't hit him now there was potential for him to get a clean shot at Dick. Her brain flashed to her earlier nightmare, of a shot ringing out with nothing she could do to stop it. She would stop it this time, she determined. No way would she let this ass get off a shot. With more force than she knew she possessed, she rammed the bat down and over her enemy's head.

He fell with a sickening thud. Dropping the bat, she bent down and grabbed the gun out of Patrick's hand, pulling it carefully out of his fingers, sliding it far away from his body. His eyes had rolled up into his head and there was a pool of blood already forming beneath him from where she had cracked his head wide open. Fingers trembling, she checked for a pulse at his throat. It was thready but there. She blew out a sigh, relieved to find him alive. She hadn't just murdered him at least. Although there was a high probability he could die of his wounds.

There was a rustling at the door and then a steady pounding. Before Mac could react, three shots rang out, a cracking sound and smell of burning wood filled the air. Dick busted through, gun in hand, eyes wild searching the room. His eyes dropped to where Patrick lay in a heap, and then connected with Mac's. He took two long strides and pulled her into him, his mouth slamming against hers in a soul-sucking, soul-searching kiss. The stress of the day melted away in that moment and Mac found a hand grasping into his hair, pulling him ever closer, the other hand reaching for his neck, fingers kneading his sun-worn skin. She arched into him as he pulled his mouth away, his eyes searching her face, hands running down her body, searching for injury.

Their eyes met and he smiled, softly, for only her to see. "Hey."

Smiling back, she repeated his greeting, "Hey."

He tucked a non-existent strand of hair behind her ear. "You scared the shit out of me, Mackster."

"You and me both."

Bending his head, he captured her mouth once again. His hands wouldn't stop roaming her body still looking for wounds. He grasped at her hands, his fingers stilling as they brushed over her wrists and the rope burn that she had inflicted on herself during her escape. He broke the kiss to look at them, turning her hands upwards into better light. "Fuck, Mac," came out of his mouth in a hiss, his fingers running delicately over the open cuts. "I'll kill the fucker."

His eyes met hers and she grinned weakly. "My own American Hero." They gazed at each other.

The spell was broken when Veronica came sprinting up the steps, eyes wide with worry, face drained of color. "Oh my God, Dick, you could have been killed! Mac, Mac, are you all right?" She pushed herself through the door and stopped cold at the sight of Patrick Muldoon knocked out on the ground. "I guess you're…fine." She strode to where the Mac had slid the gun and picked it up. She took out the clip and showed it to them. "I wasn't positive they wouldn't notice and replace the missing bullets, I didn't want to say anything unless I was sure." The clip was empty. "This morning I took every bullet I found." She stood back up, her gaze sweeping the room. "Was anyone else with him?"

Mac pulled from Dick's embrace to watch as Veronica turned her attention to the still form on the floor. She shook her head, suddenly feeling cold, wrapping her arms about herself. A slow breath stole from her lungs. "It was just him. He was calling out, saying that his wife and friend might be lost from a long hike…I'm betting he's broken into all of the other cabins or he was planning to, and giving that story to any of the people that are staying up here." Dick pulled her into him, her back against his stomach, his hands rubbing up and down her arms. She shuddered. "He was on the phone with, I'm pretty sure, Mark Tennison."

All three of them stared down at the body on the floor. He wasn't moving. Patrick Muldoon was less foreboding when knocked out and possibly dying. At once, they were all moving. Veronica was looking for something to staunch the bleeding at his head, and barked out for one of them to stay there and watch over him. Pulling out of Dick's loose grasp, Mac was moving down the hall, leaving him with that task, running to the back room to find Madison.

In a rush, Mac stepped into the bedroom and immediately marched to the hope chest to open it, throwing back the blanket that covered Madison.

Immediately the girl shrieked in terror.

"Madison, it's just me! It's fine!"

Calming down, Madison looked up from her confinement. The girl was stuffed into the most impossible position, one that Mac herself doubted she could have conformed to. She was impressed Madison had lasted as long as she had in there, in the dark with a serious lack of fresh air. Mac held her hand out, bent down and helped her out of her prison cell, unfolding her body like a blanket coming out of the chest.

Mac ran her hands down Madison's arms. "Are you all right?"

Stretching her neck and pulling at her shirt, Madison nodded, breathing erratically. "I think so, yes." Her eyes widened, staring at the doorway.

Mac didn't have look to know it was Dick who stood there. She stepped back, away from Madison and against Dick. Her hands had dropped to her side and she felt Dick take one, entwining her fingers within his. She tightened her grip in his and he squeezed hers back reassuringly.

"Ronnie wants us to find some rope to tie him up," Dick said to her back. "I think we should just take his shoes and deflate his tires but hell, what do I know?"

Madison was looking at them oddly. It was a mix of confusion, anger, unbelief…and maybe a hint of...jealousy? All at once, Mac realized that the little spark of self-doubt she'd had earlier about Dick's motivations was purely fictional. He had yet to even greet his ex.

"Maybe we should give his shoes to Madison." Mac said gesturing toward the woman's feet. "They're ripped to shreds."

Diligence was her middle name. Well, no, it wasn't, but it might as well be tonight. Veronica stared out the window, ears alert and eyes on the prowl. She didn't totally trust that only Patrick Muldoon was out searching for them. She had Mac's phone in her hand and had connected to the Attack App as soon as they had entered the cabin, and had relaxed a bit when she had heard two voices on the other end. But they needed off the mountain now, before the goons started wondering where their slimy partner was. As of yet they were not missing him. She looked down to his prone form. She and Dick had been able to turn him for her to apply a towel to the gash in his head, and now Dick was in search of rope or some other way to bind him. That was as much as she wanted to do for the guy.

The emergence of the others was signaled by the footsteps echoing down the hallway. There were little to no words being spoken between any of them as they made their way back into the living room where Veronica still stood.

She hadn't even really greeted her best friend. She couldn't, not right now, in the midst of all this activity. She would only become a blubbering mess if she allowed herself to get emotional. Now, she merely smiled tightly and turned back to look out the window. "How are Madison's feet? Can she make it to the car?"

"How far do we have?" The question came from Mac. "If it's only to the next cabin down she should be all right."

There was a slight murmur of affirmation and Veronica turned back to look at them. "I'm worried about how we're going to get off of this mountain. They don't know you have help yet but I think they will soon. And they're bound to come looking for Slime-bo here." Glancing over at their knocked-out guest, she said, "If we can get to the gate, the FBI should almost be there by now."

"How much does the FBI know?" Mac asked, coming to stand next to her.

"The address and that we left with no time to spare. The pictures I left loaded on my computer at the hotel so that they could see what I had explained on the phone. I only took time to leave enough that they would know we had no choice but leave the Palisade." Veronica turned to look at her friend, searching her face, taking in the slight bruising about her eye and the fatigue she saw there. Voice low, she said, "Thank God you're all right." Then she turned back to look at the others, "Let's get the hell off this mountain."

Veronica gave in and allowed Dick to let the air out of each one of the tires on the Muldoon's Jeep. She'd even let him take the shoes off the guy, rationalizing that if he woke up and felt like it, he wouldn't be able to go anywhere on bare feet. Dick agreed to carry them out with them. They settled on bringing the first-aid kit with them and a pair of socks they found in a dresser drawer for Madison to wear instead of her useless shoes. Then they were all out of the front door, down the steps and into the forest, back the way that Dick and Veronica had come.

They picked their way slowly to through the dense forest, all four in a low straight line. Dick insisted being in the lead, gun at the ready, Veronica in the back, likewise. Every abnormal noise made them stop abruptly, every pair of eyes searching for the source.

Finally, finally, they reached the SUV. Unlocking the door, all four piled in, Mac and Madison in the back seat. Veronica turned back to them. "You need to stay as low as possible. If we pass these goons on the road, they're going to be looking for you. They may not recognize Dick or me, but that's not a guarantee. I'm hoping the fact that this is Utah and not California that they might not be expecting my face here. They don't know your connection to me, Mac, unless you told them who you are, and I'm betting the conversation never got that far."

Mac shook her head. "No, Tree-trunk thinks that I'm Madison's…er…lover, I guess."

Dick crinkled up his nose and looked back at her. "That'd be the day."

Madison glared at him. "Shut up, Dick. Just admit it, you wouldn't mind some Madison on Mac action. I know you all too well."

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess at one time it would've been all right,." His eyes skimmed her up and down. "But, really, my tastes have aged like a fine wine, Madison, I'm a reformed man."

Her stare could have wilted better men. "I bet."

Dick turned back forward in the seat. "It's hard when you miss the Dickster, eh, Maddie? Maybe it's you into menage-a-trois, I think I'd choose a different third."

"Oh, really, Dick?" Madison's voice came out in a put-off grunt. "You're not capable of upping your standards."

"Mac?" Dick said, seemingly ignoring the last quip, "I might have been wrong when I said I never had a barnyard animal."

"I think I was the one that said that, Dick." Mac said, lips quirking up.

"Well, whatever, I guess I must have once had a thing for one once upon a time. Moo." He tapped on the dash. "Let's get the hell out of here, huh?"

Putting the car into drive, Veronica rolled her eyes at Dick's weird comments that she'd never understood.

Veronica could taste the fear in the air of the cab. Mark and Ben (aka, Tree-trunk) were no longer being picked up by Mac's Attack App. There was a very good possibility that one or both of them were out on the road looking for their missing victims. Mac had found right away that two people in the floor boards of the backseat were just not a feasible solution. Although the two women were both getting good at stuffing their bodies into unnatural positions it wasn't comfortable and there was a better way. Madison's eyes had gotten wide with anxiety and Mac had overridden her own fear by crawling over the seat and settling deeply into the back corner.

There was little to no noise from her passengers, but they were each making the atmosphere tense with alertness and nerves. Dick's eyes were constantly scanning below them, ever watchful of a vehicle or even a person walking through the woods or up the road. Veronica was glad for his diligence. The road was hard to navigate in the near dark and it was a relief to be able to trust Dick with the part that she wasn't able to do alone.

He was trustful, Veronica realized appreciatively. Maybe Logan did know something about Dick that other people never bothered finding out about the guy. Maybe Mac had a good reason to be finding herself falling a bit for the doofus: perhaps he wasn't such a doofus after all. He could be useful and protective at times, and, God, he had been ready to take a bullet to save Mac. Not everyone would do that.

There were only a few more bends in the road and they would be home free. Once they were on the flat ground of the pasture, Veronica would be able to punch it all the way to the gate. Looking in the review mirror she decided not to wait. She punched it right then.

Dick felt himself being pushed into the back of his seat as Veronica accelerated. "Watch the corner, Blondie!" he heard himself shout, "Precious cargo in the back!"

They approached the bend in the road full-on too fast, in his opinion, but the closer they got, his eyes caught headlights behind them in the mirror and he knew what had gotten Ronnie's pedal to the metal. Taking the little pink gun, he checked it again for what felt like the fiftieth time that night. He flipped his body in his seat to look out the back between their seats, keeping the gun low. Veronica was driving fast enough that the car was now above them, falling behind. He turned back to look out the window.

Getting around the bend, he could see they only had one more turn to go before the path straightened out across the cow's pasture and to the gate. He knew from earlier in the day that the gate would automatically sense vehicles on this side of it and rise as the oncoming car was a certain distance from it. The sensor would sense when to go up but there would be no way to keep the get up, because the timer was set to go down once the last vehicle passed through it. If the vehicle behind them was close enough, they would blow right past the rising gate as easily as Veronica would.

Twisting back, Dick looked up into the trees above him where he could still only see headlights. "Do you think that's them?"

Taking the last turn, Veronica focused on the road. "I can't know for sure. What I do know is if we get past that gate we have a lot more options at staying safe. We can speed up on that road and maybe lose them. This gravel road doesn't give any flexibility. The only way out is the way we came and they know that as well as we do."

Mac couldn't hear much beyond the whirring of the tires. It was distressing, being back in a cargo area of an SUV again, but she knew at the moment it was possibly the safest place for her. She'd swallowed her complaints but now she wanted to peek her head up to see what was happening up front. She'd heard Dick say something sharp to Veronica when suddenly she'd stepped on it, Mac rolling hard into the wall of the back seat, but that was the last thing she heard before a bunch of jostling had made her worry that perhaps they weren't as safe as they had hoped.

The gravel road straightened out and they were within minutes of the gate. The SUV behind them seemed in no hurry behind them. Veronica could see a vehicle sitting at the gate, attempting to get in. She hoped to hell it was the FBI, and not the Big Bad Wolf ready to blow the gate down.

All at once the vehicle behind them seemed to speed up, gaining on them. Their own speed was creeping close to sixty miles per hour, which was way too fast for the road, and too fast for the gate to rise up in time. She didn't care, however. If the person following them was really after them, Veronica was seriously considering plowing straight into the gate.

"Dick, can you get a good look at the driver?" Her voice came out wobbly with stress. "Please tell me it's one of those college kids from this morning."

"Are you joking? It's fucking dark out, Ronnie, and you're driving way too fast, you better fucking hope that one of those Bessie's doesn't decide to fucking jump out in front of us!" Dick's little speech was quickly becoming louder the faster Veronica drove. "Are you fucking kidding me here? We escape the clutches of Dr. Evil back there with his minions only to be speared like shish-kabobs on the fucking gate? What the hell, Ronnie?"

"Ah, there's the Dick I've been waiting for all night. Ready to come out play, are ya?" Veronica threw out at him, barely letting off the gas as they got into range of the automatic sensor. The gate began to rise. "Holy shit, Dickster, we're gonna scrape through this by the hair of your chinnie-chin-chin! Duck and cover!"

The car that Veronica had previously thought was sitting in front of the gate had actually pulled off to the side, parked. She could see a man in a dark suit standing beside it on a cell phone. It was a Fed she was sure of it. He was watching intently from his place the scene unfolding before him: two vehicles at top speed racing for the opening gate. Vaguely, she watched as he pulled out a gun from the inside of his suit jacket. She couldn't pay attention to a weapon-wielding Fed. He wouldn't shoot anything but tires, she hoped. The issue of the gate was more pressing at the moment. She needed to be on the other side of the thing before she would even consider stopping. If the gate had enough time to rise there would be just enough room to get through it without the gate touching their rental and without them crashing into the Fed's parked car. Veronica took her foot off the petal and closed her eyes, hands clenched to the wheel. She felt a slight scream emerging from her mouth.

Dick yelped like a girl. "Veronica Mars, open your fucking eyes! You're gonna fucking kill us, are you fucking crazy! Open your eyes and drive!"

The yelling did it. She opened her eyes; put her foot back on the petal and yelled, "Holy FUUUCK!" as their car passed underneath the gate with maybe an inch to spare.

The dust swirled around the car. Veronica had stopped on the road when her brain had registered the fact that there were about four black vehicles swarmed at the turn off from highway. They'd made it to safety. The FBI was here waiting for them, trying to get through the gate. The vehicle behind them had no choice but to stop behind them, screeching on their brakes, a burst of dirt and debris engulfing both vehicles.

Dick's hands were pressed against the dashboard, fingers white from the pressure of holding himself in place. He turned to her, his eyes glassy, his grin wide. "That was unreal, Ronnie. You're a freaking tiger!"

She looked at him, throwing the SUV in park. "I'm known to some as a bobcat, actually. Inner circle stuff, Dick. Welcome to club."

Agents were swarming the car, knocking on the window, serious expressions emerging through the dust and pressed against the glass.

"FBI, hands up as you exit the vehicle!"

Dick's hands in the air, he commented drily, "Never in my life have I been more grateful for government interference."

A/N: Thanks again for reading! I'd love to hear what you think ;) Hint...