Alias Mars

By Michael Weyer

Part six: We Should Hope for Silence from the Lamb

Police stations were nothing new to Sydney although she had to admit Neptune's was one of the cleaner ones she'd been in. She and Veronica were sitting in an interview room, still in their suits although Veronica had let her hair down and ditched her glasses. Sydney tapped her fingers on the table as she impatiently waited for this Lamb character to show up. This was a setback to be sure but it could be solved. All she had to do was have the sheriff make a phone call to a certain government office and she and Veronica would be on their way in no time with the local authorities ordered to forget they had ever been there.

It was a good plan but unfortunately, Sydney had failed to take into account the work ethic and standards of Donald Lamb.

The door opened and Lamb entered, throwing the two a wicked smirk. "Well, Veronica Mars, you have gotten yourself into a nice pickle here, haven't you?" He moved to sit down at the table and glanced at Sydney. "Only now it seems you've gotten yourself a partner in crime."

Veronica shrugged. "Well, you know me, Donny. I'm always looking to expand my base."

Lamb just sniffed as he leaned back in his chair. "So, I don't suppose you're willing to explain just what you were up to at that office?"

"Oh but I so enjoy our little Dance Dance Revolution," Veronica quipped.

Lamb just sighed. "You know, I'd really hate to have to arrest my opponent's daughter just before the election." The tone in his voice made it clear he wouldn't hate it one little bit. "But you did break and enter…"

"Only entered, we never broke in," Veronica pointed out.

"Okay, fine, impersonation of government agents," Lamb continued.

"Actually, it's not impersonation," Sydney piped up. "If you'll call my superior, he'll explain all of this to you rather quickly."

Lamb just smiled. "Really? Just one call and things are fine? And who would be on the other end of the line? One of Veronica's buddies or maybe even her old man? I'm wise to your tricks, kiddo."

"Lamb, you couldn't be wise to my tricks if you had the entire catalog of them," Veronica retorted.

"The point is, you're not leaving until we get to the bottom of this," the sheriff continued. "So the sooner one of you talks, the easier it will go for us."

"Yes and easy has been the watchword for your administration," Veronica noted.

Sydney couldn't help smiling. She was really starting to like this kid. Lamb saw it and it seemed to darken his mood as he sat up and leaned forward. "We're not playing around here, Veronica Mars. I want to know the truth or I will seriously put you in a cell. I'm sure Daddy would just love to have to come and bail you out."

Sydney looked to Veronica. "Is he always such an asshole?"

"This is a good day."

Lamb was about to open his mouth when there was a knock on the door. He rose and moved to it, opening it to see one of his deputies. Lamb exited, shutting the door behind him. Sydney raised a hand to her earpiece and whispered. "Marshall, are you still reading?"

"Yeah, we are," his voice came on. "We've got your Dad, he should be on his way and Vaughn is working on some lawyer credentials to get over there."

"Good. It looks like we're going to have to go the hard way with this one."

"Wow, there's a line I could take several directions," Veronica said.

"So they should….there soon and….can resolve…." Marshall's voice began to cut in and out as static filled the earpiece. Sydney frowned and tapped it with her finger. "Marshall? Marshall, can you hear me?" Static filled the transmitter.

When the super-secret agent's face goes big with worry, it's officially sweating time, Veronica thought to herself.

The door opened and Lamb entered with a neat smirk on his face. "Well, ladies," he said. "Looks like it's good news/bad news. The good news is, you're going to be leaving and are no longer my problem."

Veronica's eyebrows rose high. "Wow. Remind me to play the lottery on the way home."

"The bad news," Lamb went on. "Is that you're now the problem of the feds."

The two women exchanged baffled looks. "The feds?" Veronica asked. "What are you talking about?"

The door opened again and in walked a handsome man with sandy blond hair, dressed in a stylish suit. Sydney and Veronica both stiffened in shock as they recognized Julian Sark. "Oh my God," Veronica whispered.

Sark pulled an ID from his pocket and held it up. "Johnson, FBI," he said in a flawless Texan accent. "Thanks for the help, Sheriff, but we'll take it from here."

Lamb threw a wicked smirk at Veronica. "Well, looks like I'll be keeping my job after all. Poor Keith is going to be too busy keeping you out of Club Fed to worry about the election."

Veronica tore her eyes from Sark to glare at Lamb. "Lamb," she snarled. "I know being an idiot is a 24/7 thing for you but could you take a five minute break and listen to me?"

Lamb just turned and walked out with a big smile on his face. As soon as the door shut, Sark turned his attention to Sydney. "Sydney," he said, his voice slipping in its smooth British accent. "It's been far too long."

"You're not getting away with this, Sark," Sydney snapped. "We've got agents watching this place."

Sark nodded. "I'm fully aware of that. I'm also aware that my own men are watching as well. And that you don't accompany me outside, they will kill every person inside this station, right down to the janitor."

"You can't do that!" Veronica cried out. She took in the utterly calm look on Sark's face and turned to Sydney. "Can he do that?" she softly asked.

"I'd prefer not to," Sark stated. "I've already brought more collateral damage than I had intended for this job but if you don't comply, I will be forced to take such extreme measures."

Sydney set her jaw. "If you're going to kill us, you should do it now."

Sark chuckled with what looked like honest amusement. "My dear, darling Sydney. If I'd wanted you dead, I'd have put a bullet in you from across the street. No, my employers want to talk to you first, to find out how much your superiors know about our operations."

"And you expect us to just talk about that?" Veronica snapped.

Sark shrugged. "To be honest, no, but they are writing my rather sizeable check so for the moment I must go along with their whims, foolish as they may be." He glanced at his watch. "Time is pressing, ladies so the choice is simple. Leave with me or this place turns into that one scene from The Terminator." At the two's surprised looks, Sark rolled his eyes. "Yes, bad guys watch DVDs as well."

The two women exchanged a long look. Neither wanted to do this but both knew they didn't have much choice. With sullen expressions, they rose as Sark opened the door. "Come along, ladies," he said, once more in the Texan accent. "Thanks for the help, sheriff," he nodded to Lamb, who threw a triumphant thumbs-up at him.

Veronica didn't even bother pleading for help as she knew it wouldn't do one damn bit of good. Instead, she and Sydney followed Sark down the stairs and to the rear of the police station. Sark led them out where a van was waiting. The doors slid open to reveal two dark-haired men in black clothing and hard expressions. Sark made a mocking motion with his hands. "Ladies first."

Giving him a look that could freeze lava, Sydney climbed into the van, Veronica right behind her. They never got a chance to sit down as Veronica was grabbed from behind and a rag pushed over her mouth and nose. She was unable to keep from taking a whiff of the bitter aroma. She struggled but it was no use as the grip on her was tight and she soon felt her limbs grow heavy and eyes become lead weights. She saw Sydney also held with a rag over her face, her eyes starting to shut. Before darkness took her, Veronica had time for one absent thought.

Dart, gas, now chloroform. Two days and I've managed the knock-out hat trick.

Sark watched as the two unconscious women were lowered to the van. "Where to?" the man behind the driver's wheel asked.

"One moment," Sark said as he moved in. He reached into his coat and removed a long knife. "I have one more thing to do," he said as he lowered the knife toward Sydney's body…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Vaughn raced around the corner of the police station, out of breath. He was dressed in a nice suit with glasses, the perfect image of a lawyer. However, he had already dropped the guise as soon as Marshall had told him they'd lost contact with Sydney and Veronica. He held up his communicator as he ran around the building. "You still have the signal?"

"Homers are coming in loud and clear," Marshall said over the line. "They should be at the rear of the building."

Vaughn nodded as he pulled out his gun. He paused at the wall of the station, taking a deep breath. He peeked around the corner quickly but saw no one. He made his way into the rear area, his gun up and moving around. He stopped as he saw something on the ground. Moving closer, he saw a pile of clothing he quickly recognized as Sydney and Veronica's. A chill went through him as he realized it was everything they had been wearing: Dresses, shoes, jewelry, even underwear.

"Marshall," he spoke into the communicator. "The clothes are here but they're gone."

"Oh, God," Mac's voice came on, the young woman obviously fearful. "What…what are we going to do?"

"Talk to whoever's in charge," Vaughn bit out. "And get some answers."

"Um, that won't be easy," Mac said. "Lamb is…well, he gives thick-headedness a whole new meaning."

Vaughn thought about that and nodded. "Marshall…Raptor is still in the area."

"Raptor?" Mac asked in confusion. "Who's Raptor?"

Marshall just chuckled. "Oh, dude…you are so over."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Keith Mars was not in a happy mood. True, it was often hard to tell with him but at the moment, his foul attitude could easily be seen. He didn't even acknowledge any of the officers trying to get his attention but marched right across the squad room and barged into Lamb's office. "We gotta talk," he began without preamble.

Lamb was sitting back at his desk, doing a crossword puzzle. "Keith," he said with a false smile. "What brings you by?"

"Where is she, Lamb?" Keith demanded. "I heard about what happened at the office and I'm here to talk to her."

Lamb just smirked. "Ah, sorry, Keith but I'm afraid your daughter's run into some big problems with the feds. Personally, I'd be a bit more worried about when the papers get a hold of this."

"You called them?" Keith hissed.

"No," Lamb replied as he filled out another part of the puzzle. "But you know how word gets around in a town this small." He smiled at Keith. "Boy, your image consultant is going to have to work overtime on this."

Keith resisted the urge to punch this idiot in the face. "Lamb…where is my daughter?"

"Sorry," the sheriff blissfully replied. "But you're going to have to take that up with someone more important than me."

"Which, from what I've seen, is most of the population of this planet."

The two men turned to see a tall white-haired man in a suit standing in the doorway, his eyes cool and hard as they looked to Lamb.

"Sheriff," Jack Bristow stated. "I believe you and I have things to discuss."