'This is my school. If you go here, your parents are either millionaires or your parents work for millionaires. Neptune, California, a town without a middle class. If you're in the second group, you get a job; fast food, movie theatres, mini-marts. Or you could be me. My after-school job means tailing philandering spouses or investigating false injury claims.'

Veronica thinks walking through the crowd of rowdy students cluttering the front of the school. She makes her way through to see the center of attention, the new guy stood taped against the flagpole, 'snitch' painted on his chest with sliver paint.

"Who'd that guy rat out?" one guy asked, "The bikers." Someone else replied. "Why doesn't somebody cut him down?" a girl asked her eyes wide in shock. "Yeah like I want to be the one up there tomorrow." Another guy scoffed with an eye roll.

"God, you people are pathetic!" Erica yelled with a disgusted look as she passed through the people and stepped up next to Veronica who had already began cutting the boy down.

"Go Pirates!" Veronica yelled sarcastically looking at the dispersing crowd.

"Thank you so much" the boy said getting down from the pole, luckily the bikers left his boxers on.

"No prob." Veronica stated pocketing the knife and walking away.

"Is she always that sociable?" he asked with a laugh.

"No sometimes she's in a cranky mood" Erica shrugs her shoulders with a tease before getting a little more serious, "she's had a rough year" she simply states throwing her arm around his shoulders. "Lets get you home and changed, I got some of my ex's sweats in the car"

Random locker searches. It's the latest tactic the administration has adopted in their losing war on drugs except the searches aren't really random. Standing in front of Veronica's locker are a tall, stern looking man in a suit and Deputy Sacks, who holds the leash of a German shepherd.

'I know when they're going to happen before Vice Principal Clemmons does.' She smiles slightly as she turns the corner towards her locker. Deputy Sacs addresses her with a small grin, "Veronica Mars, this should be good."

Mr. Clemmons motions his hand toward the wall, "Veronica, will you please open your locker." He says sternly.

As Veronica is doing so, the dog starts to bark loudly at Veronica. She looks down and shouts Buster with an authoritative tone. The dog gives a little whine and obeys her. Deputy Sacks looks down at the dog, disappointed by its acquiescence, looking at him like a traitor. Veronica opens her locker, showing that it is completely empty save for a picture on the back of the door. The farther the door opens the easier it is to see that the picture is of Vice Principal Clemmons framed in a heart.

"Wow. This is a little embarrassing." She says with a small smile as she sees the uncomfortable look on Clemmons' face. As the deputy and Clemmons do a couple more checks, as not to seem suspicious, Veronica walks back down the hall to her next class. Passing by the bathroom she sees Erica leaning up against the wall a knowing smirk playing on her lips.

"I love it when you 'put it to the man'" she teases with air quotations.

"I have no idea what you're talking about" Veronica says opening her mouth in a fake expression of ignorance.

"Oh please, like the great Veronica Mars, just so happens to have a picture of Clemmons pasted in her locker" she challenges raising an eyebrow. "Or is there some deep dark fantasy you would like to share with the class"

"You're right, I admit it, I have a fetish for old men with no life, money, or future…I blame it on when my father forced me to see fiddler on the roof in the third grade… damn singing fiddlers!" she exclaims a small fist shaking in the air for dramatic effect.

"You are one sneaky girl Veronica Mars…remind me never to piss you off" she jokes taking a hold of the blondes arm and walking her toward class.

"Trust me you're the only one I can't afford to lose…you know unless you do something REALLY bad." She smiles bumping her side against the other girl's as they make their way down the narrow hall.

During lunch Veronica takes her usual seat at the big orange table on the side of the quad. She is playing with her food, some disgusting hunk of dark brown waste and light brown slime they cleverly code 'Salisbury steak'. Her mind is wondering as she continues to stare at the 09er table in front of her. Her thoughts pushed together in a small monologue as if she is dictating the documentary, 'a day in the life of a high school reject'.

I used to sit there. At that table. It's not like my family met the minimum net worth requirement. My dad didn't own his own airline like John Enbom's, or serve as ambassador to Belgium like Shelly Pomroy's, but my dad used to be the sheriff and that had a certain cachet. Let's be honest, though. The only reason I was allowed past the velvet ropes was Duncan Kane. Son of software billionaire, Jake Kane, he used to be my boyfriend.

She drones, as she watches the tall lean boy with broad shoulders and boyish features take a seat. Her mind races with images of them walking down the hall. Younger versions of themselves at Duncan's soccer games. Them holding hands in a group with Lilly, Logan, Erica and Casey all around.

Logan catches her gaze and smiles with an evil smirk like he is planning something, before taking a seat on Duncan's lap, wiggling around as he rubs his chest, just for her viewing pleasure.

And let's not forget Logan Echolls. His dad makes twenty million a picture. You probably own his action figure. Every school has an obligatory psychotic jackass. He's ours. She muses her stomach warning her of a repeat showing of breakfast.

"Oooo baby boy Logan, I always knew you and Duncan were close, but damn! Way to come out of the closet" Erica yells applauding dramatically, and grinning widely as most of the quad does too. Duncan's once carefree smile turns to disgust as he shoves Logan off of him causing the smaller boy to tumble forward.

Logan looks up with a menacing scowl and flips Erica off for everyone to see. She takes the challenge grabbing at the air and putting her hand in her pocket as if he had blown her a kiss she was keeping.

"Love you too sweetheart" she gushes with s bright smile sitting on the table top her legs dangling over the side next to veronica. Veronica smile slightly at the scene but her gaze is never broken as she continues to stare forward her mind still wandering. Erica does not let this deter her as she continues to talk "So I was thinking…" she starts, but is interrupted when the new boy takes a seat on the opposite side of the table.

"You okay?" he asks Veronica as he sets down his lunch.

"What?" she asks snapping out of her gaze, finally paying attention to the real world.

"You look, I don't know, hypnotized" he says looking a bit concerned.

"Did I say you could sit here?" she snaps at him, and he looks rejected as he picks up his bag and begins to leave.

"She's just cranky, like I said before" Erica teased as Veronica glared at Erica before giving up and calling back the boy.

"Wait a minute. Of course you can sit here. Sit wherever you want" she relents gesturing back to his seat he had just vacated.

"That-that was cool, what you did, cutting me off of that pole." He says nonchalantly while gratitude shines through his eyes.

"Well…"

"My bitch. Weren't you supposed to wait for me at the flagpole? I'm not sure I could have made that any clearer" Weevil snarls walking up and taking a seat beside the boy, getting really close to him.

"Okay, I get it, a'right. Very funny." He says with an uncomfortable laugh.

"Yeah" Weevil leers getting even closer.

"I guess we're even now. Right?" he stutters nervously.

"You get what boy? You get that you're a dead man walking, is that what you get?" he snarls aggressively.

"Leave him alone" veronica demands in a flat tone.

"Sister, the only time I care what a woman has to say is, is when she's riding my big old hog but even then it's not so much words just a bunch of oohs and aahs, you know?" he replies getting up from his seat and walking towards the girls on the other side.

"What a crock of shit" Erica laughs shaking her head.

Weevil moves to get in her face before Veronica speaks up.

"So it's big, huh?" she asks her chin propped up against her hand.

"Legendary" he states giving Erica a meaningful stare, while she just rolls her eyes and continues to play with her fingernails.

"Well let's see it. I mean if it's as big as you say, she'll be your girlfriend." She teases while Erica scoffs again still not looking at either of them, having fun just listening to the banter. "You guys could go to prom together." She gushes breathlessly and at this Erica finally looks up a smile gracing her features and she makes a good show of looking down at Weevils package, waiting for the pants to come off.

"What? What seems to be the problem? Were on a schedule here, vato." She states with a funny little head wobble.

"Dude, Weevil. Don't let Blondie talk to you like that!" Felix pipes up looking at his friend with a look of disbelief.

"Sounds like your buddy here wants to see it too." Veronica says looking at his friend with a questioning stare. Erica laughs at this her eyes now in a staring competition with Weevil who still is grinning himself.

"Ah, hell, I'll show you mine." Felix yells pulling at his belt for good measure. Just when Clemmons decides to grace the table with his presence asking Veronica something about trouble and following, Erica isn't quite sure as she is still staring at Weevil their eyes stuck in a ferocious duel until he is pulled away by Clemmons and pushed back to the main building.

"I think I'm in love" Erica jokes as she watches Weevil's behind her head tilted to the side for a better look.

"You always like the bad ones" Veronica teases with a disbelieving head shake.

"Oh yeah" Erica states her mind no longer in the moment.

"So what did you do?" Veronica asks ignoring her friends blatant ogling of the school gang leader.

"What?" he asks still dazed from the previous display.

"Why are you a dead man walking?"" she asks taking a sip of the coke Erica had brought with her.

Wallace explains the situation with the alarm and Lambs choice of disrespectful words causing both girls to flinch with painful memories.

"Congratulations, sport. In your short time here, you've already managed to piss off the motorcycle gang and the local sheriff." She says with a smile and a salute.

"And you just made friends with the previous record holders" Erica states looking around the quad one last time before grabbing her bag and getting up. "See you two crazy kids later, I've got things to see, and people to do" she says walking towards the school.

"Isn't it the other way around?" Wallace corrects.

"You would think that, wouldn't you" she yells over her shoulder before disappearing into the school.

After a fulfilled afternoon of painful memories of her abandoning mother, pleasant little tasks like taking a large friendly pit-bull for a long walk on the beach. And a pleasant surprise of Celeste Kane, Duncan's mom, hiring her dad to follow her suspected cheating husband, Veronica was happy to be relaxing in her black LeBaron, trying to catch up on her physics homework, while staked out in front of the Camelot hotel, a seedy venue in downtown Neptune.

Veronica watched as Jake Kane walked into the hotel room, the woman, staying inside out of the camera's shot. So she was waiting until they finished, waiting for the 'money shot' that got them the cash. Jake's presence began stirring up old memories, and Veronica began to think about that last day she had seen Lilly Kane, at the carwash. Erica had run to get more soap from the other group while Veronica and Lilly began to gossip about Lilly's 'Good Secret'. Then the images get worse and worse as she sees the ambulance lights, Duncan's rocking form, and lastly Lilly's lifeless body…

"Coffee my dear" Erica states as she opens the side door and plops down in the seat.

"What are you doing here?" Veronica asks incredulously. Yes, they had gone on a few stake-outs together but she still wasn't used to all the company.

"I saw your car and thought 'what the hell'" she offered for an answer as she looked out Veronica's window. "So who's the cheating scumbag this time?"

"They say the divorce rate is twice as high for parents who lose a child… Lose a child. Now there's a euphemism for you." She laughs humorlessly.

"That bad huh?" Erica asks but does not push the issue.

Veronica continues to observe Room 6 of the Camelot hotel outside the window as she takes a sip of the coffee Erica had brought for her. The sound of motorcycles fills the air and they are soon surrounded by the bikers.

"Well, this can't be good." Veronica mumbles as she watches Weevil stop his bike and pull off his helmet.

"Not good at all" Erica agree, eying the gang leader as he motions for Veronica to roll down her window.

"Car trouble, miss?" he asks Veronica is a teasing tone.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact. I think it might be a loose belt but if you wouldn't mind checking under the hood." She gesture towards the front of the car. One of the bikers approaches the car, getting closer to Veronica's window. Veronica's pit bull jumps out of the window of the back seat of the car jaws fastening onto the biker's arm and bringing him down.

"Get him off me! Get him off me, get him off me!" he shrieks, lying on the ground as the dog mauls on his arm.

Felix walks up to Erica's side, "Girl, you best call off your dog." He screams reaching through the window only for Erica to grab Veronica's Taser and zap him in the chest.

Veronica laughs before looking out her window and calling out "Backup! Chill!" The dog follows the command jumping back through the window and nuzzling up to Erica's side as she petted him whispering "good boy" and other grateful praises.

"I'll tell you what. We'll call it a draw." Veronica states looking at Weevil, who had yet to dismount his bike.

"Baby, come on, it's too late for that." He says a slight bite in his voice.

"Did he just call you baby?" Erica inquires with a raised eyebrow.

Veronica ignores her, "Here's the deal. Leave that kid at school alone for a week and we'll make sure your boys walk." She states like a professional closing a business deal.

"Why you care so much for that skinny Negro anyway. Things I heard about you two, he must really lay the pipe right, huh." He suggests wiggling his brows in a derogative manner mostly in Erica's direction.

"Yeah, that's it." Erica laughs taking the dare, before flashing the taser in Felix's face as he tries to sneak up on her side.

"All right, all right, all right. Felix, we get it, you're a badass, okay. But for once don't be stupid." Weevil snaps, Felix looks about to protest until he gives up and walks back to his bike.

"Not bad advice." Veronica says.

"All right, one week. After that, we come for you, your boy and your little dog too." He snarls at backup who begins to growl back about ready to attack again.

"Backup, be cool." Veronica demands and the dog whimpers slightly.

"You I'll be sure to come for personally" he says looking Erica in the eyes. She looks away first faking an uninterested yawn. "You get lonely out here remember, Weevil love you long time." He looks at Erica as if initiating a challenge.

"We'll keep that in mind" Veronica answers giving him a thumb up.

A couple of minutes later Jake left his mystery woman still a mystery as she stayed in the room and out of the view of the door. "Damn" Veronica exclaims, before taking a couple of pictures of her car for good measure, no 'money shot' but it would do.

The next day at school Veronica is walking along the sidewalk from the parking lot, when Logan drives up in his Jackass yellow canary, his usual eat-shit grin shinning as bright as his car.

"Hey Ronnie. Hey, we've decided that we'd, uh, we'd rather surf than study today, you wanna come with? Duncan will promise to take his shirt off. Does that sweeten the pot?" he asks and Veronica is at a loss for words, she stands solid in place her face frozen in a stone cold expression. From a distance Erica sees trouble and begins to trek over to the car.

"Does it make you horny? Hey DK, flex for your ex." He teases enjoying himself when he sees her flinch.

"Shut up, Logan" Duncan yells grabbing a hold of Logan's arm.

"All right, all right." He laughs it off until he sees Veronica trying to walk away. "Hey. Hey. Hey!" he states getting her to stop again.

"What do you say to a little hootch, huh? What's the matter, aren't you your mother's daughter? Hmm? Now there was a woman who could drink. Hey, what's she up to nowadays, maybe she'll join us. Do you know where she is? Any clue?" he taunts flashing his famous silver flask.

"Well Logan, when discussing drunk mothers your and expert right" Erica chimes in walking closer to the scene.

"I mean we have all seen Lynn with that high roller glass permanently attached to her hand at all times of the day, hey how many times do you think she fills it during the day" she asks her voice matching the same heartlessness and malice that his had.

"Shut up Erica" Casey calls from the backseat.

"Oh Casey sweetie did I mess with your man crush" she teases watching closely as his face gets redder by the second. "If I wanted to hear you speak I would have waved a Snosage in front of your nose" she snaps listening carefully as all the guys laughed. She then turned her attention back to Logan, "don't you have somewhere to be, some young impressionable girl to corrupt, some little old lady to run over" she snipes watching Logan carefully, waiting for his next move. This was all a game between all of them, a silly little game.

"Aw, she used to be fun, man. Bye." He says eying veronica one last time before peeling out of the parking lot.

"Lets go" Erica stated grabbing a hold of Veronica's arm and leading her back to the school building.

Veronica thinks back to the last time she had heard from her mother, she had left early one morning, after a long night of fighting between her and Keith. All she left behind was a unicorn music box and a note, promising she would come back soon; she threw them both away, only to come back later and retrieve the box hiding it in her closet.

She isn't quite sure what happened between Erica and Casey but she does remember one night when she was sleeping over at her house there was a terrible commotion. Casey had come over half drunk and half pissed a deadly combination for relationship discussions. From what she could make from the mumbles she could hear from the back room, Casey gave Erica a choice, 09er life (including him) or her. Erica opened the door ushering Casey out of the house.

"Chicks before Dicks" she stated as if he didn't matter to her. But after he left she had broken down on the floor beside her front door, her hand still gripping the knob. The next day War broke out, Veronica and Erica vs. Neptune High.

Lunch time came and all Veronica wanted to do was sit down, eat her lunch, and loose herself in her homework. All of which would be put on hold as she spotted the boy (Wallace, they had found out) sitting at her table. She sat down across from him keeping her attention on her book bag.

"Girl, you should hear what people say about you." He states grabbing out an apple from the bag.

"So then what are you doing sitting here? She asks.

"You sat next to me." He observes.

"This is my table." She snipes.

"And what a fine table it is. What do you suppose this is made of? Oak?" he jokes giving it a knock for good measure.

"Look, if people are saying such awful things…"

"Well, I figure I've got a choice. I can either hang out with the punks who laughed at me, took pictures of me while I was taped to that flagpole or I can hang out with the chick who cut me down, and the one who gave me a ride home." He said looking around for the red head.

"She is meeting up with her new stud" Veronica says knowing full well who he was looking for.

"New stud?"

"She's been acting really weird lately, she hates flaunting her relationships around me so she keeps them hidden" she says plainly still looking at the textbook.

"And this doesn't bother you?"

"Why should it? If it is serious she will introduce us, but she is just having fun, and the least I know about her relationships the better…trust me" she says with an exaggerated sigh, before looking back at him with a huge smile. "So you want to get the PCH Biker Club off your ass?"

So after some great artwork on Veronica's part, and a masterful job at ceramics by Corny, the school stoner, part 1 of 'the triple dip mission' was complete.

That night the girls watched as Keith danced into the room, his smile was reminiscent of a kid in a candy store.

"And?" Veronica asks excitedly.

"Who's your daddy?" he says with a laugh stretching out his arms for her.

"Ack. I hate it when you say that." She cringes and he drops his arms in rejection.

"You know what, this is important. You remember this. I used to be cool!" he states walking around the table.

"When?" Veronica asks skeptically.

"'77. Trans Am, Blue Oyster Cult in the 8-track, a foxy stacked blond riding shotgun, racing for pink slips. Now wait a minute, I'm thinking of a Springsteen song. Scratch everything, I was never cool." He says walking into the kitchen.

"I don't know which bothers me more, "foxy" or "stacked" she looks at Erica.

"Stacked, most definitely" she giggles grabbing her things, and walking towards the door.

I nailed our bail jumper one hundred yards from Me-xi-co. Twenty five hundred bucks. No sack dinners tonight. Tonight," He says starting to shuffle. "We eat, like the lower middle class to which we aspire. Fire up the 'bachie, were having steaks, and Erica get your butt back here your eating with us." He says waving her back inside.

"No thanks Mr. Mars, I have plans with my folks" she says politely walking over and giving Veronica a hug goodbye. Keith knew she was lying but didn't tell her so; instead he pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head.

"Come to dinner one night this week then" he said and she nodded her head in agreement walking out of the apartment.

Erica didn't know her parents very well. They were always either out of town or living at the summer place up in Palm Springs. They started their businesses off of her grandparent's money, but when they died all of the inheritance was issued to Erica.

The same day the will was read her father tried to extract the money from Erica's account. She was so furious she demanded emancipation. It was settled out of court when her parent's relinquished custody of her to her nanny Luz Marie, under the condition that she attends at least 4 social and 3 family functions with them. No child should ever have to endure the pain and torture of their parents abandoning them, but Erica did.

Keith gave the news about the capture of a huge bail jumper, and to celebrate steaks were in order. Veronica was still confused about her father's choice to drop the Kane case, but whatever his reasoning was; she knew it had something to do about that license plate. She followed the night with a little surveillance footage outside of the seventh veil.

The next day Veronica yanked both Wallace and Erica down the hall hiding behind the corner to watch part two of 'the triple dips revenge mission' go into action.

"What are we doing?" Erica asked but was shushed by Veronica sternly. They watched Logan open his locker and surprised to find a bong in the shape of a cherub placed inside.

"Well, what's this Logan? This would appear to be a device they use to smoke marijuana." Clemmons states leading a stunned Logan down the hall. Along the way he looks over to see the three watching, silly grins in place.

"You did this" he laughs pointing his finger towards Veronica, who points her finger in a 'who me?' gesture before shaking her head.

"Listen, I know it was you. This isn't over, okay." Dip #1 yells and is rewarded with an unimpressed yawn from both Veronica and Erica.

"You're so cute. Listen, I'll get you for this." He yells before Clemmons pushes him the rest of the way out.

"So that was fun" Erica laughs looking at Veronica. "So what's next Obi one?"

The rest of the plan went without a hitch, the smoke alarm Wallace set off, the crooked fireman who switched the tapes, and the satisfaction of watching Lamb loose his easy going smirk as the tape of his men at the strip club was magically switched for the security tape. Closing both Cliff's and the gang member's cases at once, and making Dip #2 (Lamb) look like an asshole. Wallace finally cracking the code that Veronica is indeed a marshmallow, and finally finding out the truth about Lianne's secret meeting back in Neptune with the one and only…Jake Kane.

That afternoon Veronica and Wallace met at the Beach and were having fun playing with Wallace's new model airplane. That is up until they spotted Logan looking a bit too comfortable atop Veronica's hood a crowbar in hand.

After the usual snark and banter Logan deterred from the usual script instead throwing in a couple impromptu swings at her headlights. When they heard the familiar roar of motorcycles they were all too aware of the bad that were about to surface.

"Be cool Sodapop" Veronica mumbles to Wallace in reference to the outsider's crack he had spoken.

A couple punches and even more bruised egos and the 09ers left in a rush of silver Mercedes and O-town.

"My uncle has a body shop on the highway. If you come in, you know, I can make sure your body gets the full service treatment." Weevil suggests.

"Okay, now you apologize."

"I'm sorry, w-was that too dirty, 'cause I was meaning to use it on Erica, but she seems to be M.I.A for this blessed event"

"She had things to do…and not me you dork, apologize to him" she says indicating to Wallace.

"Right. No." he answers.

"Fine. He has the only copy of the Sac'n'Pac video. Wallace, let's go decide what to do with it." She says walking back to her car.

"Okay. Wait, wait, wait, look, look. I'm sorry man, umm, for, you know, taping you to the-the flagpole, I'm sorry." He says waiting expectantly.

"All right." He gives a 'so what' gesture.

"Can I have the tape back now?"

"Nope." Wallace says with a large smile as he jumps in the passenger seat as they pull out. Dip #3 taken care of, mission complete.

Veronica goes back to the office after dropping Wallace off at home; she breaks into her fathers face looking for anything she can find on her mother. But instead comes up with the Lilly Kane Murder File.

"What has dad been up to" she mumbles as she leafs through it.

She pulls out a bag of mini-cassettes. She flicks through a legal document on Abel Koontz's forfeiture of $91,913 to the State. A miscellaneous crime report includes "…car wash several… in her car, VW Bug, plate; days later by PB5 underwater… sea weed, etc… with Miss Kane. Missing is her back-pack… has been found and no definite suspects for the… of Jake Kane". There are photos including one of dead Lilly (with no head wound), one of Lilly's neck captioned "Left upper cervical. Strangulation marks, left side of neck". Another photo is of her hand with the caption "Right hand, all fingers. Silver ring on right hand". (Note: the original intention was for Lilly to have disappeared and for her body to have been found some days/weeks later in the water.) She picks up the crumpled copy of her photo of Jake at the Camelot.

"My surveillance photo from the Camelot, why is it in the Lilly Kane file? What was Mom doing there and what business did she have with Jake Kane. And the million dollar question, why did Dad lie to me? "She thinks before taking all of what she needs and placing the rest back into the safe.

She drives back to the Camelot one last time hoping the car is still there. Okay, it's a long shot but she can't help herself. Veronica used to think she knew what tore her family apart. Now she's sure she doesn't. But she promises this. She will find out what really happened and she will bring her family back together again. It's kinda mushy, but you know what they say. Veronica Mars, she's a marshmallow.

Okay so a lot of the dialogue and scene directions were found here at http/ but that is only because I am lazy and rather copy and paste then do any actual work.

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