Not Who You Think
Set after S1 'The Bluff'. What goes down in the apartment after Nick made the phone call?
Disclaimer: I own my Muse and psychotic imagination. Everything else I have humbly borrowed from FOX.
A/N:- My over-active information needs to be tamed. It's intended as a one-shot although it deliberately leaves a lot of questions unanswered.
Deep down she had known all along. She hadn't wanted to admit it to herself or acknowledge the fear but there had always been unanswered questions. Why would anyone go through all of that for a stranger? Why, after getting shot for someone else's cause, would you pick yourself up to put your life at risk again? Why would he, when you were trying to hide, suggest you stay at his apartment?
So when she heard him say those five fatal words down the phone, she wasn't filled with surprise but more like disappointment. He had been fighting with himself all day and she had hoped that maybe he was not above feeling guilt but apparently she was wrong. She felt into her inside pocket where she carried a memory stick with a backup of all the latest files, a lot of which she had never even showed to him.
"How's it going?" Nick asked, walking back into the room with a tired yawn.
She had to give him credit – he was an A-class actor and it had been awhile after she had learnt to trust him that she began to mistrust him again. "Tired."
"I can take over if you want?" He offered, leaning against the desk.
Veronica shook her head. "You must be even more tired." She paused. "After all, isn't it incredibly tiring living a lie?"
His frown contained just a bit too much of hidden shock. "What do you mean?"
"I'm not stupid Nick. You really think if I was that stupid I could have uncovered so many lies in such a short space of time." Veronica said, getting up and leaving the computer.
"And we're back to the you not trusting me thing again aren't we?" Nick exclaimed exasperatedly.
Veronica chuckled hollowly. "With good reason too. Let me just ask you one thing: Why did you wait so long to give me up?"
He was looking at her deeply, trying to see if she was bluffing or not. "What are you talking about Veronica? After all we've been through I would've thought ….."
She slapped him so hard her hand stung. She had only done that once before and that was to Lincoln after he told her he had got Lisa pregnant. God that was a long time ago. "I'm out of here. That way you'll no longer have divided loyalties." She spat.
She was bent down, grabbing her bag when she heard him undo the safety.
"You know I can't let you go." Nick said quietly.
She looked up to find a gun pointed at her. She really wished she could feel fear at this but in all honesty, after everything she had done which was all now for nothing, death seemed like a welcome relief. "If you're going to do it then do it. You know that I can't stay here and wait for whoever you've called to come silence me himself and I know now that you're not the kind of guy who's afraid of hurting me." She grabbed some files off the table and shoved it into her bag just as if the gun pointed at her didn't bother her in the slightest.
"I'm not who you think I am." Nick said, steadying the gun.
"Oh, I think we've established that." Veronica said dimly.
"No, you have to believe me. I'm not the guy who's holding this gun in your face. This is just something I have to do."
Veronica reached inside her bag, her hand tightening round the cold metal. "Who do you work for? The Vice President or the Secret Service? Not that it really matters anymore – they're both the same thing."
"Neither." Nick said forcefully. Veronica looked at him carefully, he was sweating profusely and his arm holding the gun was starting to shake. "I'm not doing this because it's my job to do it, I'm doing it because it was the price of my father's freedom."
Now that caught her off guard. She wished she could tell whether he was lying or not. "Why don't you drop the gun Nick? We both know it's not even loaded."
He looked at her in surprise. "You really need to stop underestimating me." She said giving him a small smirk. "Drop the gun." She ordered, her voice turning serious again.
Nick put the gun down on the table. "Oh my God I don't know what to do anymore."
"Why don't you start by telling me what the hell is going on?" Veronica demanded, hoping she wouldn't need to take out her own weapon.
"I'd spent years maintaining my father's innocence and campaigning his release from prison but nothing came of it until all of a sudden –boom- the release forms were sitting in front of me all signed and documented. Only catch was these people said that somewhere down the line I had to do a favour for them – nothing illegal, just using my law expertise." Nick said hurriedly, pacing the room. "I don't know who these guys were except they were rich and powerful. A few months ago, one of them shows up here saying they needed that favour. I thought they wanted some law-suits fought or something like that but instead they told me I had to help you with your case, gain your trust, keep an eye on you and report back to them."
"What do they want with me?" Veronica frowned.
"I don't know but one of them is on his way here now and ……"
"How do I know you're telling me the truth?"
Nick threw his hands up in the air. "Trust me, I swear to you." He ran a hand through his hair. "Trust me, everyday I wrestled with myself about this but they said that if I went back on their deal, they would throw my father right back in prison for a crime he didn't commit like the first time."
"When was the last time you saw this man?"
"Today at the phone shop. He asked me where you were and said that he was coming."
Veronica ran everything through her brain. "Oh my God …. The petition for Lincoln to see LJ was accepted which I thought was odd but what was even more odd was that it was passed right away, I didn't even have to appeal."
Nick's eyes shot towards hers. "They had something to do with it – they must have. Either that or it was Reynolds in which case they must be planning something."
"Oh my God Lincoln." Veronica exclaimed, reaching for her cell to call the prison. Just then there was a knock on the door. They both froze. Veronica drew out the gun.
"Put it away." Nick hissed. She looked at him. "If they think you were expecting this then it's bad news for both of us." Veronica looked at him unsurely. "Trust me." She didn't put it away. There was another knock. "Okay maybe 'trust me' is being a bit overused nowadays especially given my track record…. But for God's sake think about what you're doing."
Veronica reluctantly tucked the small pistol into her belt and sat back down at the computer, looking as if she were working.
Nick wiped his head on the back of his hand and opened the door.
"Savrinn." a gruff voice said before pushing past him into the apartment.
Veronica looked at the grey-haired man, eyes narrowed. "Who are you?" She asked suspiciously.
"Let's just say your lawyer friend here has been doing some work here for me."
"Nick?" Veronica said, looking at him, her eyes faking surprise.
The man nodded. "Savrinn, leave Ms Donavan and I alone."
Nick's eyes narrowed. "No."
The man turned to him in obvious surprise. "What?"
"I may have done your dirty work for you but I'm not just going to let you hurt an innocent woman." Nick said, standing his ground.
The man gave a dry chuckle. "Who said anything about hurt? I just want to talk."
"Then you can do it with Nick here." Veronica said, standing up and moving away from the computer.
"You're relying on the man who you trusted and who betrayed you to save you now?"
"Well call me stupid but it's either him or you so I've got to take what I've got haven't I?" Veronica said, itching to reach for her gun. "Now who are you?"
"Let's just say I'm someone who wants to bring Vice President Reynolds down just as much as you." The man said, helping himself to a chair.
Suddenly his cell phone rang and he answered it, muttering a couple of 'yeahs' before the call ended. "Looks like you're off the hook Savrinn. Here I am sitting down to talk with the formidable Veronica Donavan and I've just been informed that Lincoln Burrows' transportation van has just crashed. Everything's going to plan."
Veronica felt the ground give way beneath her feet.