A/N: I have changed this chapter probably 3 or more times. I'm sorry it took so long to post compared to other chapters. It has been very tricky to ensure that everything that will happen next coincides with what is happening now.

To all of those reviewers-THANK YOU. You are not forgotten. I re-read your reviews a lot and they mean a lot to me. So please, if you have the time, throw me a line. I really want to get back to every single one and it pains me to know that this last week has been deafening-radio-silence on my end, so I apologize. This chapter and the subsequent ones are killers on my brain. I have been agonizing, AGONIZING-insert comment, Bondopoulos-and now I will hit "POST" Oh, THANKS to my beta, Bondopoulos-seriously, wow, like...yeah, wow-Thanks! And of course, I appreciate the followers and favorites. It's amazing and humbling to know of the following to this story.

-Chapter 32-

Veronica stood spellbound watching Agent Krause-D'Amato work. Deidre giggled and laughed at all of Aidan's advances, the undercurrent of her mission only to be noticed by an informed spectator. The man seemed unaware of how Deidre wheedled information from him, his only concern being about when his fingers would hit gold as they inched further up her skirt.

So far 'Archie' had admitted he was a banker from San Diego and that he owned a lot of properties around the area—things they'd already known. He'd also name-dropped a few bigwigs from the Castle's list—names that directly tied to their case against him. It seemed Aidan thought name dropping and bragging about money would help his chances at consummating their tryst. It probably had upped his chances in the past—that plus a little magic warlock dust sprinkled into women's drinks.

It was with that last thought in mind that Veronica looked down at the two glasses she held. Something about her being on the other side of this glass was just wrong. Show-time. "How about a little sip of something, Veronica? We poured some drinks." Veronica asked as she held out the two glasses. She handed one to Deidre as she sat down between their feet on the carpet and leaned against the couch. She motioned the other glass towards Aidan, "You left this on the counter, Archie."

Aidan's eyes swept down to where Veronica sat and came to rest on the glass of amber liquid clasped within her fingers. His eyes passed the glass to ogle the expanse of cleavage Veronica displayed and he grinned lewdly. Veronica tilted her head and batted her eyes suggestively, licking her lips before adding, "Don't tell me you aren't thirsty. I know you are." When he finally took it from her, Veronica again smiled seductively before placing the pad of her thumb to her lips, placing her tongue on it and sucking. She closed her eyes for added affect before murmuring, "Mmm…it splashed a bit."

Aidan's eyes turned hazy and he chugged his drink down with no thought. Grimacing, he swallowed. "Wow that burns. Now, ladies…what say you to a little party? Just the three of us?'

Deidre's sultry laugh vibrated off Veronica's back, as Aidan's hands climbed even higher up the woman's thigh. "What kind of party are we talkin', baby?" Deidre asked, her elbow against the couch as her body pushed into his shoulder.

"The dark kind."

"Do you even know where you're going?" Dick asked under his breath. They were walking side by side, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. "It sounded like they're in a suite."

Once inside the Neptune Grand, Mac didn't know where to turn. Determining the male voice she'd heard earlier to be Aidan Muldoon's had been easy. The next logical assumption was that the second female voice belonged to Agent Krause D'Amato. It was more than obvious that the two women were attempting to set the guy up somehow—but Mac was nervous. The conversation in the suite didn't give the impression that the women were…in control of the situation.

There was a guest checking in at the front counter that caused Mac to freeze in panic. Dick, not anticipating her abrupt halt, stumbled a bit before he turned back to look at her. He tracked her gaze to the counter and he swore under his breath. "Now fucking what?"

The threesome slowly made their way into the bedroom. Veronica made a long show of drinking all of her drink, all the while acting more and more tipsy-like. Her giggles became louder and her movements looser; she made a point to rub her upper body into Aidan and run her hands up Deidre's arms. She saw the anticipation in the man's eyes the entire time he watched her. Sleazoid.

Crossing the threshold, Veronica surprised the others by suggesting that Aidan lay back on the bed to enjoy the show. Quickly recovering, Deidre went along with her suggestion with a loud and raucous laugh. She let her breasts push into Veronica's while Veronica ogled her suggestively. Aidan, looking like Christmas had come early, all but jumped onto the bed and leaned back against the headboard, fully intending to take Veronica up on her offer. But even his eagerness couldn't hide the slightly lethargic movements of his body. Veronica could see the effects of his chugged drink. His actions were heavy and exaggerated; more so than even her fake movements were when Aidan was scrutinizing her.

Aidan watched them and waited for whatever it was that women did to begin a threesome. Veronica eyed Deidre dubiously. She gave the other woman a slight nod, and then started backwards to the bed. Feeling suddenly unsure, Veronica crooked her finger when the backs of her knees hit the edge of the bed. She flipped herself around and began to crawl from the end of the bed to the head of it where Aidan lay waiting. Veronica looked up to give the man a husky laugh, but instead of husky, it came out relieved.

Aidan was out.

The two women stared at him for a moment, before Deidre joined with her own laughter. "You seriously are too good at this game, girl."

"If you think I would let that guy watch my first girl-on-girl, you're dreaming." Veronica retorted as she sat back up and adjusted her dress, "That's a right reserved for a man in uniform that's all mine. But he'll be dreaming about it for years to come. What can I say? I'm a little old school."

"A man in uniform, huh?" Deidre quizzed while she stepped over to where Aidan lay back on his pillow. "What would your officer say to this little show here tonight?"

"Oh," Veronica dragged out, "I'm sure he'd lock me up and throw away the key. Logan is a bit…protective. But I don't think he's going to find out about this little adventure. I'm certainly not planning on telling him about it. What are you looking for?"

"Aidan's phone. If Clinton's called it, we've got 'em both."

Mac fought the instinct to rub her eyes before checking the counter again. It was Agent Bill Clinton standing there checking in with bags at his feet. He was leaned in on his elbows, speaking quietly to the clerk. He wasn't paying any attention to anyone else around him.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Dick's voice hissed in Mac's ear. "Did you know he was in town?"

"No one told me anything," Mac answered trying to decide what to do. After a moment, she demanded, "Give me your phone."

Aidan's phone was deep in the front pocket of his slacks. Veronica let Deidre handle that part of the job. Feeling up criminals wasn't exactly what Veronica considered a perk. Leaving Deidre to work on the phone retrieval, Veronica headed back into the main room and surveyed everything there. She walked back to the desk to continue her perusal of the files.

Just as Veronica pulled out the file that was under the one she had already skimmed, her phone began vibrating within herclutch that sat atop the desk. It shook the little bag enough that the whole thing almost fell to the ground before Veronica caught it in one hand.

She pulled the phone out and set the clutch in her lap. A text had come in from Dick—Answer the phone now, Betty! Uh-oh. Mac and Dick knew. The phone began vibrating to alert an incoming call. She hit answer, put the phone to her ear and said lightly, "Hey, D—I was just about to call you."

"Like hell you were," Came Mac's voice accusingly. "What the hell are you doing up there? Wait, don't answer me. You don't have time for explanations. Get yourself out of that room now-we just saw Clinton and I don't know why he's here, but I don't think it's for tea. You and Veronica better get a move on now before he catches you there. I can guess that he and Archie are planning to meet up soon."

Alarm shot through Veronica as Mac's words sunk in. Clinton was in the hotel. She looked at the clock on the laptop. Clinton wasn't even supposed to have landed in town yet let alone be at the Grand.

Mac was still jabbering on the phone. "What room are you in? We're going to follow him—"

"Please, don't do that!" Veronica stressed out. "We have help—"

"And you think we can trust this so-called help? The only one I'm even willing to trust is in the room with you. The others, I wouldn't trust them with a balloon, let alone your life. I doubt they know how to chew gum. Look at the guy at our door last night. Dumb with a capitol D." Again, Veronica tried to interrupt, but Mac wasn't having it. "Just tell me where you are because he's heading up in T minus ten seconds. Please, just get out of that room and meet us in the stairwell or something. Just get the hell out of there."

The panicked tone of Mac's voice worried Veronica. Her friend sounded on the verge of a meltdown. The past week's events must really be getting to her. "Mac, we're about out. You really shouldn't be here."

"Just meet us in the stairwell. What room are you in?"

"2028."

"Muldoon's phone just received a text." Deidre interrupted, entering the main room holding out Aidan's phone. "It's from a private number—all it says is 'fifteen minutes.'

Veronica swung around, her own cell phone still held to her ear. Her eyes met Deidre's. "It's Clinton—he's here, in the lobby. Mac just saw him."

"Mac? What is she doing here?"

"Veronica? Veronica?" Veronica heard Mac's panicked voice through the line. "What's going on?"

"Mac, I have to go. Just please, everything will be fine if you just go home."

"Veron-"

Veronica hit the end button and threw the phone back in her purse. "Clinton's on his way up. Mac and Dick are here in the lobby; they just saw him."

"Those two need to get out of here," Deidre said while she crossed the room to stand next to Veronica at the desk. Deidre's attention fell back to Aidan's phone in her hand when it binged with another message. She frowned as she read it. "I need to text Sanders."

The line went dead. Mac jerked the phone from her ear in frustration but kept her eyes locked on Agent Clinton. The man picked his bag up off of the floor and made his way over to the elevators. "She is impossible. Wait here."

Dick was left to watch Mac make her way to the check-in counter. Whatever the girl was doing, he didn't really think it would work. Feeling conspicuous, Dick stuck his hands into his pockets and leaned against a marble pillar while he waited.

"Dick Casablancas?" Came an unexpected curious-sounding voice from behind him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Dick saw a form materialize seemingly from out of nowhere. He turned to face none other than Jake Kane. He gulped his surprise and gave the older man a large smile. "Mr. Kane! How's it hanging, Sir?"

Annoyed confusion flashed across Jake's face but in an instant it was replaced with a soft smile that didn't quite reach the older man's eyes. "Drink's with an old acquaintance. Catching up on old times. You know how it is." Not so subtly, Jake changed the subject. "How's business going for you? I heard you expanded not too long ago."

Idle talk, huh? Dick thought, surveying Jake's body language distrustfully. Dick plastered his typical smile on his face and answered as cheerfully as he could muster, "It's going great, yeah, we made the store front bigger, and added some more merchandise. Dog Beach is a great location."

"That's great, that's great," Jake answered distractedly, his eyes roaming over to the Grand's bar entrance. Dick followed his gaze to the door of the bar, opening and closing, where wafts of loud music and laughter escaped. "Listen, Dick, I need to get moving here, I'm running…late. We'll have to catch up some other time. "

"Oh, of course, Mr. K—Hey, you ever hear from Duncan? Logan and I sure wouldn't mind a drink with him someday."

Already having stepped away, Jake Kane turned back with a cold stare fixed on Dick that gave the him chills. "No, Dick, I sure haven't. It would be great if all of us could catch up with Duncan someday, but I really doubt we'll ever hear from him. Now, I really must be going."

The graceful gait of Mr. Kane had not diminished in the twelve years since the beginning of the end of the Kane Empire. Yes, the man was still a gazillionaire, and yes, he still had his software company, but the man's personal life had taken a nose-dive from which Jake had never really fully recovered. Dick had to admit that from a distance, Jake seemed like a poised man-about-town prepared for what the world had to offer. But there was a slightly disturbing, almost crazy twitch in Jake's eye that only someone in close proximity could pick up on. The dude seemed a little cray-cray if you asked Dick. But from afar, Jake looked put-together and seemed to walk with a purpose.

"Damn privacy policies! What's the use of good technology if someone won't give it to you?" Mac grumbled as she came back to stand next to Dick.

"I'll give it to you right now, who needs privacy?" Dick rejoined without thinking, his eyes still tracking Jake Kane's slow progression toward the bar's doorway. Changing the subject, he enquired, "Didn't you say that the Castle rolls out the red carpet for Jake Kane?"

"Clinton's in the building?" Deidre repeated, digging her own phone out from her own small little purse. "It's way earlier than we expected. Sanders won't be even looking for him yet."

"Apparently he's checking in."

Dialing, Deidre put the phone to her ear, telling Veronica, "We have to set the stage then. Aidan has to look like he had one too many and that his date took advantage." The agent crossed to the bar at the side table. "Go wipe down those glasses we brought in with us to his room. I don't know how suspicious Clinton is going to be, but there's no reason to make it easy for him. Make sure you didn't leave anything that can link us here. Hurry!"

Urgently, Veronica scrambled to the other room where Aidan still lay passed out on his bed. She took in how Deidre had arranged him: jacket off, slung onto an armchair haphazardly, belt unbuckled, shirt unbuttoned and untucked from the undone slacks. To someone just walking in on this, it would appear as if Aidan had a little bit too much fun. Deidre had also left behind a feminine touch—lipstick smears on the collar of his shirt and even a little more smeared from his lips down to his neck. It seemed the Mrs. D'Amato was just as good at this game herself.

Veronica quickly spied the three glasses they'd used on the nightstand. She took them into the adjoining bathroom to rinse all three out before returning them to the stand. She waltzed back out to the main room and grabbed a bottle of brandy. Returning to the bedroom, Veronica poured a bit into each glass and then poured a little onto Aidan's chin, dribbling it down slowly so that it soaked into the pillow his head lay on.

Beginning to screw the cap back on, Veronica changed her mind and left it uncapped and on the edge of the nightstand. She wiped the bottle down one last time. Deidre had a point about prints—Clinton might have ways to find out who had been here. If everything went as planned, Clinton would be in custody by the morning. But Veronica wasn't taking any chances by screwing up her part of this operation. If he somehow escaped it might be wise to leave this room free of any trace of their prints.

A groan emitted from the bed and Aidan stirred. Veronica stilled in her work and slowly stepped away from where Aidan lay—and she stumbled. She looked down to where her feet had stepped into a large open duffle bag. Curious, Veronica bent down and unzipped the top-most zipper and opened it widely.

The sounds from the bar leaked through once again when Jake Kane disappeared through its doorway. Both Mac and Dick's stares were glued to the software king's form. The proof of his presence could not be denied.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Mac asked, finally breaking the shocked silence.

"He said he's meeting 'an old acquaintance'…he didn't say much more. Maybe meeting up with Ol' Muldoon for some chicka-chicka bwow-wow." Dick waggled his eyebrows.

Mac rolled her eyes. "Old acquaintance? Pssh…I'm betting damage control. Gotta keep the society on the down-low, right?" She took Dick's phone out from her jacket's pocket. "Veronica needs to know this. We're staying right here and not freaking leaving." She dialed Veronica and put the phone to her ear. "You better answer, Bond."

"Deidre!" Veronica called. She kept her eyes fixed on the contents of the duffle bag and could hear the alarm in her own voice. "You might want to get in here." Her phone buzzed, but she ignored it.

The main portion of the bag was filled with various sex toys. It contained everything from dildos to vibrators and handcuffs to whips. It was as if Aidan had taken the bag to HornyRUs and stocked up on every toy available. Veronica quickly bypassed that portion of the bag and unzipped one of the side pockets. Inside she hit pay dirt—plenty of incriminating evidence of Aidan's skeazy ways. There were photos, ones that had been printed from a home computer, of women—in various state of undress, all pictures that looked have been taken right here in this very suite. And most of the women looked unconscious.

Though her hands felt filthy just from touching the bag, Veronica continued her search. Inside the other side pocket were vials that Veronica suspected were filled with a form of a date-rape drug. The vials looked exactly like those she had found in the Tennison cabin the day before.

She heard the Deidre come up behind her. "This guy is one nasty skeazoid," Veronica commented, moving aside for the agent to see exactly what was contained in the bag. "If you don't get Clinton, at least you should be able to get Muldoon on this, right? This is just wrong." She motioned to the pictures in the side pocket. "How are these women not realizing what he's doing to them? What the hell, I've been drugged and I've known it every time."

Deidre bent down next to her to examine the contents up close. She pinched her fingers to her lips and shook her head. "If the dosage is right—and I don't even know what's in this shit—the victim might only feel hung over. And there is probably an art to the way he doses. He's smooth. The woman probably never remembers a damn thing. Wasn't that how it was for Mr. Casablancas? He doesn't remember much between ingesting the dosed water and waking up the next day in the hospital." She sighed. "And these women—ten to one, they're prostitutes or looking for a good time. And anyone else—the sad fact is most likely they're too scared to say anything. This guy has money. He has connections. We know that. As for anyone going after him? I doubt once they realize who he is any of them even try."

"I hate entitlement." Veronica muttered, standing back up. "What are we going to do about all of this evidence?"

"We need to get the hell out of here before Clinton shows. It's already been ten minutes. If we're lucky we have five left."

Sitting across from the entrance of the bar, Mac attempted a second time to call Veronica, but it was as if her friend was purposely ignoring her calls. Dick, sitting next to her, had a hand on her knee, and was trying to blend. Neither of them was necessarily dressed nice enough tonight for clubbing or even the Neptune Grand. They were both still in their jeans and shirts from traveling. Blending was a bit tougher than it had been earlier in the week. But they were trying their best. As far as Mac could tell, no one had even given them a second glance.

Through the earpieces, Mac and Dick heard Veronica and Deidre moving about the suite, clearing all evidence of their presence before leaving. Knowing Jake Kane was in the hotel made the fact that Clinton, who was on his way to where the women that much more dangerous. Mac would stake her life that Jake was in the hotel to meet Clinton and Muldoon. It would be only a matter of minutes before Jake was on his way up as well. She needed Veronica to answer her phone or at least get out of that room as soon as possible.

Laughter seeped from the doorway of the bar when it opened once again. Mac looked over just in time to see Jake Kane unceremoniously exit through it and push past a crowd trying to enter. Intuitively Mac knew that Jake hadn't found who or what he was looking for inside the bar. Jake's eyes searched the expanse of the lobby, down the hallways that led to other wings of the hotel and just as he was about to swing his eyes their direction, Mac hauled Dick quickly into her and demanded, "Kiss me, Dick, quick!"

He responded immediately by pulling Mac's body into him with such force that she practically ended up in his lap while his mouth ferociously crushed hers. Dick's arms wrapped tightly around her back, hands squeezing her shoulder blades to pull her even closer. Mac broke the kiss, breathing heavily when his lips ghosted across her jawline and down her neck.

"Dick," she exclaimed weakly, "We aren't here for us..hmmm…" her head dropped to help further his advance to her collar bone, "This isn't helping."

His tongue drew circles back up the length of the pale skin of her neck to nip at an earlobe, his breath hot. "Your words, Mack-a-lackie. Kiss you. You just didn't say where or for how long, so I improvised. I take my job duties seriously."

"Sometimes theory is different than actuality," she murmured as his hands continued their exploration of her back. "And God…ahh… your distraction is the wrong kind of successful," her back arched, making her breasts push into him and Dick grinned in victory. Mac shook her head to clear it and opened her eyes to look around. "Jake didn't even see us. He's just got on the elevator." Somehow, she gathered her wits enough to push away from him to smooth her shirt down.

Dick had the audacity to look shocked. "You…diverted my advances. What kind of woman are you?"

Standing up, Mac looked down at his disheveled self on the couch, hair mussed, shirt wrinkled. She flashed him a devious smile. "My, my, Dickie, never doubt my control. I'm always in control. I'm like Wonder Woman."

"I have seen said control slip…" Dick warned as he hopped up to stand next to her, pulling at his sleeves. "But I must say I've always had a thing for lassos. You can whip me anytime."

Mac snickered and held out her hand for Dick to take. "That sounds like a dare."

Grasping her hand firmly, Dick pulled her toward the elevator. He pressed the 'up' button. "What would the boys in the yard say?"

She clucked her tongue. "But Dick, you are ever the gentleman and you would never kiss and tell."

He stopped and pulled Mac around to face him. Her devious look made his eyes dilate in lust and his eyebrows rise in surprise. "Damnit... " he stuttered, licking his lips, "Why are we here right now? Can we go buy a whip?"

"Who says I don't already have one?"

His eyes about rolled to the back of his head. She grinned at his response and she stood on tip-toe to kiss his chin and wrap her arms around him. "You're cute when you're speechless."

"You're hot when you talk dirty."

The elevator binged and Dick and Mac entered hastily to avoid any fellow passengers. Mac pushed the button that would take them to the second floor. Mind back on their task, Mac text Veronica, hoping that her friend would at least read a text if she wouldn't answer the phone.

The door clicked behind them just when Veronica's phone vibrated within her clutch. She knew it was Mac, sure that neither Mac nor Dick had left like she had demanded. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the elevator was just opening. Veronica grabbed Deidre's arm and turned quickly in the opposite direction, toward the stairwell, hoping the agent would clue in and follow her lead.

Deidre did. The two of them headed down the hallway, stumbling purposely into one another and giggling loudly as they approached the stairwell, acting drunk. Veronica risked a discreet glance confirming it was in fact Clinton—who was not even fifty feet from them. He had already made it to Aidan's door and had begun pounding on it. Deidre opened the stairwell door and they were quickly out of Clinton's line of sight and equally out of his line of thought. It appeared that Clinton hadn't seen their exit from the very room he was now attempting to gain access to.

As soon as the door to the stairwell closed, Veronica pulled her phone out and dialed Dick's number. He answered on the first ring, saying, "I really don't want to have to tie you up until Logan gets home, Ronnie. Bondage is great and all, but you're not my type."

"If you tied me up, Dick, you would regret it."

"I regret even mentioning it. Are you out of that fucker's room yet?"

"Just made it to the stairwell. Where are you?"

"Chillaxin' on the elevator, about to do a 'meet-and-greet' on two. Mack-a-lackie is listening in Muldoon-a-roonie's room and she doesn't look to happy with what's-a-happenin' in the suite. Seems Mr. President missed you by an inch."

"Are you drunk, Dick?"

"God, Ronnie. No! Why does everyone always assume that?"

"Uh…habit, I guess, sorry, " Veronica dodged, "You need to go back to the lobby."

"Fuck no, Ronnie. We're in this for the long haul, if you know what I mean."

"Mmm…no, no, you're not. Go home, Dick." Veronica argued, "And take Mac with you."

"Hold the phone, Ronnikins. Macster's trying to tell me something." There was a shuffling sound and Veronica held the phone away from her to combat the assault on her ear. Soon Dick came back to the line, saying, "Ronnie-bo-bonnie, Clinton's gonna be on the lookout for you and Marilyn soon. You two might want to skedaddle."

"And what about you, Dickster? Huh, Dickie? You might want to take your own advice."

"Ah, Ronnie, now what would Logan say? Your sweet nothings don't cut it for me. Besides, we're your look out." His voice dropped, "Funny thing…I sort of ran into Jake Kane downstairs. Seems he's meeting an old friend for drinks. He just joined Clinton in the suite."

The door to the elevator had barely closed when Mac heard the moment Clinton realized something was amiss in the hotel suite. The man had loudly yelled out "Fuck!" and then Mac heard the unmistakable rushing of feet and slamming of furniture. Then the agent had called someone on his phone, barking out orders in a panicked tone. Mac assumed it was Jake Kane on the line, telling him to come to Muldoon's suite instead of Clinton's. Then Clinton was off the phone and Mac could only hear rustling through the line, as the agent methodically went through the suite room looking for signs of what had happened there. She sent up a silent prayer that Veronica had hidden their bug in an inconspicuous spot.

Dick stood next to her on the phone with Veronica. He was bantering back and forth with her friend, and even as Mac concentrated on her earpiece, her smirk widened with every retort Dick volleyed into the receiver. Honestly, the way he and Veronica bickered, Mac could almost be jealous. But she wasn't. Veronica sparred with only worthy opponents, but her best barbs would always be reserved for Logan. These barbs with Dick were just a placeholder until Logan returned.

Mac's attention swung back to Clinton and his sweeping of the room when she heard a profane exclamation from his mouth. "Gotcha, ya mothers. You think you can plant a fuckin' bug in this room and have me not find it?"

This revelation of Clinton's confused Mac for a moment. The idiot thought he'd found the bug, but Mac could still clearly hear him. That made no sense, unless….unless Veronica had planted two bugs. One for MI and one for the Feds. And the Feds just lost out. Clinton was being cocky now. He would be less careful now that he thought he had found the only bug in the suite. Mac heard him make another call just as the elevator door opened to reveal Floor Two.

"Yeah, it's me. When will you get here?" A pause. "Good. Yeah, I know. I know. He can't keep his pants on. You should see him. He's cuffed to the fuckin' bed." Another pause. "Great. Yeah, room 8028. I'll open the door."

Wait…8028? Not…2028? Veronica Mars! Nice try. Rolling her eyes, Mac aggressively pushed the 'eight' button on the elevator panel and stepped back, waiting for the door to close. Under her breath, she muttered, "Come on, come on!" She caught Dick's eye and shrugged, putting a finger to her lips while her eyes tracked the numbers lighting up above the elevator door.

Through the earpiece, Mac heard Clinton end his call and open the door. The boom of Mr. Kane's distraught voice overwhelmed her ear and Mac winced.

She elbowed Dick in the ribs. He yelped, saying into the phone, "Hold the phone, Ronnikins. Macster's trying to tell me something." He placed the phone to his chest and waited patiently.

"Tell Veronica Clinton found the bug, he's bound to be start looking for them soon. Tell her Jake's there."

"Ronnie-bo-bonnie, Clinton's gonna be on the lookout for you and Marilyn soon. You two might want to skedaddle." His eyes crinkled from something that Veronica had said and he retorted, "Ah, Ronnie, now what would Logan say? Your sweet nothings don't cut it for me. Besides, we're your look out."

Mac motioned with her hands to keep quiet and Dick said low into the phone, "Funny thing… I sort of ran into Jake Kane downstairs. Seems he's meeting an old friend for drinks. He just joined Clinton in the suite."

Mac quit listening to Dick's side of his conversation when the volume of Kane's voice filled her senses.

"What the hell is going on? What happened to Rick in Utah?"

"Nothing good, I can tell you that. An investigation firm is involved with a case that led back to the Muldoon and in effect, the Castle."

"Let me guess, Mars Investigations." Kane stated sourly.

"Yes, I see their reputation precedes them." Clinton answered just as acidly. "I had the whole damn thing taken care of before Daddy-Dearest called in an agent who is an acquaintance. With her involvement, I had to make it so she wouldn't ask too many questions. Now we have almost no choice but to let the Utah thing die its own slow death and just keep the Castle's name out of it."

"What were you doing to control it?"

"I bribed the agent watching the door to let the key witness run-off. We were going to lay the blame at the Mars' feet. No one would listen to their theories over the FBI's. Without the witness, they have hardly any case, especially when I was going to conveniently 'lose' the evidence we had and pin the rest on the non-Castle members involved. You should see Rick, by the way. His head was all but bashed in by a golf club."

"Baseball bat, you freaking moron," Mac muttered, "and what a mighty fine piece of craftsmanship that was. I will never regret it."

"We can get them on assault, so it was open and shut. They went in without our knowledge, and it seriously harmed the official investigation." There was a harsh laugh. "That was the intent, anyway. Then Miss Runner-up California came into the picture and all of that went out the window and I had to play nice. The guard at the door looked weak and he'll probably lose his job over it, but we'll compensate him greatly for his trouble to keep him quiet."

"You're sure he'll keep quiet? He's trustful?" Kane asked, skeptical. "What makes you so sure he won't talk?"

"Believe me; he got more than I promised in compensation. I only told him to let Madison Sinclair leave when she tried, but he took it a step further…to make her think she took advantage. She was none the wiser and he a got a midnight delight. The important thing is that we keep the Castle out of this and that is why we called you here tonight. There's a list that Veronica Mars and company had possession of. We confiscated it this morning. According to her little helper it's the only copy they have, but I would suspect otherwise. I looked through the file as soon as they boarded their plane and determined it to be the real thing. Everyone who ever had anything to do with the Castle is on that list up until 2007. I don't know how this hasn't surfaced in nine years, but we've got to get any copy they might have out of their possession."

"One thing that is for sure, Veronica Mars and 'company' are dogged. They won't stop until they know the truth—this is more serious than I think you even know. They wouldn't have rolled over about your guard letting Madison Sinclair—Madison Sinclair! go down on him so easily. I guarantee that the only way to take care of this 'problem' is to eradicate the world of Miss Veronica Mars." Kane declared with a chill to his voice.

"Jake Kane?" Veronica felt the words drop from her mouth. "Are you shittin' me?" She had half a mind to open the stairwell door to confirm what Dick had just told her. What was Jake Kane doing here?

"Dude, girl, I could not be shittin' you less than I am at this moment. It's seriously Jake Kane."

"Get the hell back down to the lobby, Tricky-Dick. If you get my friend killed I will ki—"

"Mackster will be fine. She's with me."

"How come that doesn't relieve me?"

Beside Veronica, Deidre was texting her partner who, downstairs in the lobby, was listening to the conversation inside the suite through the planted bugs. At the moment, the agent's fingers were aggressively punching in letters on her phone's screen. Obviously frustrated, Deidre let out a huff and placed the phone to her ear. She waited several beats before saying into it, "What do you mean you can't hear anything?" She covered the receiver to ask Veronica, "Did you not plant the bug in the living room? The only bug that's working is the one in the bedroom—everything's muffled."

Covering her own phone, Veronica whispered, "Clinton found the bug I planted, but I planted a second one—he's not aware of that one but only Mac's phone has the receptor."

"I want that phone. Where is she?"

The demand made Veronica well aware of the fact that Deidre was an FBI agent first and foremost. Just because they were working together didn't mean that the woman wouldn't turn on her in a moment if the agent felt that Veronica was holding back information.

Into the phone, Veronica said, "Meet me in the stairwell, Dick. Both of you."

The elevator door opened and Dick poked his head out cautiously to scan all possible directions of the floor. Neither Jake Kane nor Bill Clinton was visible so he decided both must still be in the depths of Muldoon's suite. Dick replied into his phone, "V, there ain't no way I'm letting Mack-a-lackie cross Voodoo Hill, here. Kanester might just come out of the door and snatch her away. If you want, we can try it and I can let out a can of Whoop-Ass all over Mr. Burns."

"Leave Burnsy to the feds, Dick. Go down to the next floor and go to the stairwell from there if you're too scared to come down the hall. Are you still in the elevator? What's taking so long? We need Mac's phone to listen to the feed coming from that room. Or meet us downstairs in the lobby."

"Scared, you say?" Dick jeered, purposely evading her questioning their slowness. "Scared has no meaning in my world. We'll be there in three." He ended the call and looked at Mac in the back corner of the elevator. "Mackie, you ready to make the sprint to the stairwell? Veronica's giving out prizes to the first one there."

The only response he got from her was a finger in the air. Mac's other hand was against her ear, pressing the earpiece closer in an effort to hear through it better. Eyes to the floor, Mac gave no other signal that she had heard him. The finger in the air came to her mouth and she bit into the nail. When she finally looked up to Dick, she told him, "They're trying to do damage control. Kane doesn't seem like he knows very much—he's either a good actor or else he doesn't know anything about this past week. Hell, no matter what, their world is about to crumble."

"We need to get to Ronnie, Mac—let the feds take over."

There was no noise from the other side of the door. Veronica wasn't particularly surprised, because she knew something that neither Dick nor Mac knew. The room number she had given Mac earlier wouldn't put her or Dick anywhere near danger. The couple wouldn't even be on the same floor as Muldoon's, let alone anywhere near his actual suite. Veronica hoped the two of them would just ride the space elevator back down to the ground level and meet her there. Knowing Mac, however, Veronica figured they would be in the stairwell looking for Veronica and Deidre in less than five minutes, and the can of whoop ass Dick had referred to earlier would be directed towards Veronica. They were going to be pissed that she had led them to the wrong room. The firestorm afterward would be worth it though if it kept the two of them safe. Once in the stairwell, she and Deidre would just meet them halfway.

"Where are your friends, Veronica?" Deidre's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"They're on their way—but they think we're on the second floor."

"I want a visual before Sanders goes in."

"Goes in?"

"We can't wait to listen in on your bug. With Clinton and Kane conspiring, we 're moving onto Plan B. Sanders is already on his way up."