DISCLAIMER: Characters of Veronica Mars, the canon events of their storylines, and recognizable dialogue belong to Rob Thomas.
A/N:
This chapter contains bits of #2.12 "Wallace and Rashard Go to White Castle."
Chapter 16
On Friday, Eli called a meeting. Although the PCHers didn't know the purpose of the meeting, he planned to confront them about dealing for the Fitzpatricks – and see what else he could shake loose. I helped him choose the location – the parking lot of a warehouse just outside town – because it allowed several options of places for us to hide while doing surveillance, including a hill overlooking the parking lot.
Mac and Wallace were in one location, handling video and audio. I was in another location, taking still photos. From where I was, I could see everything while remaining well-hidden until such time as I needed to swoop down and rescue him. But I really hoped it wouldn't come to that.
It didn't take long at all for the meeting to go south. Thumper had apparently persuaded nearly all of the others to do business his way. There were a few who looked like they were waiting to see who came out on top before they expressed their loyalty to either Weevil or Thumper.
Sitting there, listening to the audio and watching through the lens of my camera as they beat Weevil was one of the most difficult things I have ever experienced. I felt like it would kill me. But he had given me explicit instructions. I was not to intervene until after Thumper confessed. No matter how ugly things got.
They had tied his hands together, and he was hanging from a hook while they took turns beating him. When they were through, they removed him from the hook and threw him to the ground. When the other guys had gone to dump Eli's motorcycle into the ocean, Thumper and Eli were left there alone.
Thumper went on an angry rant while he repeatedly kicked Eli. He admitted to many things, including killing Felix. He let out a maniacal laugh as he opened his phone and played a video from the night they took Logan. Thumper did a bit of narration since Eli didn't lift his head to watch. It must have been recorded before they began the questioning. Apparently, Logan was still out cold, and they hadn't bothered to put their masks on yet. From what Thumper said, the video clearly showed Eli's face, and he was the only one who could be seen holding a gun.
Then, Thumper threatened Eli, saying that he better not tell anyone what he knew or else the video would surface. Just to drive his point home, Thumper began to stomp on Eli's crumpled form again.
That's when I gave Mac the signal. With some assistance from a friend, we had the ability to control the alarm of the warehouse. With the touch of a button, Mac set it off. The noise was enough to get Thumper's attention. He immediately walked away from Eli, got on his bike, and rode away.
Once his taillight was no longer visible, Mac turned off the alarm. And I hurried down to Eli's side.
First, I would take care of my boyfriend. Then, we would take care of Thumper.
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One of the things Thumper had admitted to was killing Curly Moran. He had assumed that the information in the anonymous call had been good – that the Fitzpatricks had wanted Cervando dead. Thumper must have wanted to work with them so badly that he was willing to overlook the fact that they would kill one of his PCH brothers. His only thought was how to gain favor with them. So, he made sure that Curly was silenced, thinking he was helping them cover their tracks. The subtext of his statement seemed to say that he found out at some point that the Fitzpatricks did not hire Curly or anyone else to take out Cervando.
[
Although I would have preferred to take Eli to the nearest ER, he talked me into going to a nearby town where they were less likely to assume gang violence and involve the authorities. I called Letty from the waiting room and let her know that he was going to be staying at my apartment this weekend. She seemed surprised but also glad that we were "back together."
The hospital staff took turns attending to his injuries. Mostly, cleaning wounds and putting on bandages. A few cuts required stitches. Although they did not think anything was broken, they still sent him to radiology.
After the doctor looked at the X-rays, he was happy to report that there did not appear to be any broken bones or internal injuries. He gave us a list of things to look for, in case any problems came up later. Eli had been punched in the head and torso repeatedly and kicked in the back more than a few times, but he seemed to have walked away with only cuts and bruises.
The doctor warned Eli that he would be in pain for a while and recommended alternating doses of ibuprofen and acetaminophen. "If the pain gets worse or doesn't start to lessen in a week, either go to your family doctor or come back here and I'll write you a prescription for something stronger. But you seem to be handling it pretty well, so I don't want to start you off on the heavy-duty painkillers."
He was exactly the kind of doctor I liked – gets right to the point, answers all your questions, doesn't do unnecessary treatment or prescribe drugs that aren't needed. He took his oath to "do no harm" seriously. As professionals in any field should.
I texted Mac and Wallace to give them an update as Eli was getting dressed. As soon as he signed the discharge papers, we were back on the road, headed toward my home.
When we pulled into the parking lot, I saw a familiar car. The door opened, and a figure started to move toward my LeBaron.
"V, what's he doing here?"
"Doing me a favor." Getting out of the car, I walked toward Leo. "Thanks for coming. See anything I should know about?"
"No. Only people coming and going were a few neighbors who were out late enjoying the start of their weekend. But I'll walk you guys up, just in case. How is he?" Leo asked.
"Gonna be sore for a while, but considering the options …"
"He's out … I assume."
By now, Eli was getting out of the car, apparently more than a little curious why Leo was here.
"Yeah, I'm out." He walked over and wrapped an arm around me as he placed a kiss at my temple. All the while, he kept an eye on Leo.
Leo gave a subtle nod, indicating that he had gotten Eli's message. Loud and clear.
Eli leaned on me as we climbed the stairs. Leo carried our stuff up to the apartment.
When we entered, he had us stay near the front door while he checked all the rooms. He returned to the living room, giving us the "all clear."
I thanked him again for all his help during this. Eli knew about using his rehearsal space – and obviously about Leo being here now – but there were a few other key things that Leo had helped coordinate. His assistance had been invaluable, especially now that he was no longer with the Sheriff's Department and was working for a private security company. I had decided that it would be easier if Eli didn't know at the time. As I locked the door behind Leo, it was clear from Eli's expression that he wanted an explanation. And I would give him one. After he had gotten some sleep.
Eli got settled on my bed while I got him a glass of water and a bottle of acetaminophen from the medicine cabinet.
When he put his head down on my pillow, he closed his eyes and inhaled. "Mmm. Damn, I've missed you."
"Get some rest," I said as I pulled the covers up over him. "I've got a few things to take care of and then, I'll join you."
"When does your Dad get back?"
"Sunday night. Maybe not 'til Monday."
"He's not gonna care that I'm here? In your bed?"
"Shh. Go to sleep."
I was a little less concerned with how he'd react to Eli being in my bedroom than how he would react to the reason why he was in our apartment at all. Dad was gonna be pissed that we carried out this operation without him. It was my sincere hope that he couldn't argue with the result. We got the information and leverage we needed. And Eli was out. More importantly, he was alive.
For about an hour, Mac and I chatted by phone about the night's events while we stored backup copies of everything in multiple places, including both of our .mac accounts. Wallace was already safely home in bed before Eli, and I left the ER, but Mac had stayed up to edit and clean up audio and video files. She had everything labeled and organized by the time I had called her.
"So … he's sleeping in your bed? Right now? While you're on the phone with me? Whyyyyy are you on the phone with me?"
"Because he's in no condition to do anything except sleep."
She giggled. I assumed she was thinking about Cassidy, so I directed the conversation there. She ended up asking for relationship advice. I'm not sure how much help I was, but I tried to assure her that she didn't need to worry so much.
As we discussed the options of what happened next, Mac commented that "Veronica & Company were not to be trifled with." I had to agree. I had kickass friends. My circle was small but mighty.
After we ended our call, I changed into a tank top and pajama pants, brushed my teeth, and climbed into bed. Eli must not have been sleeping very soundly, because my mere presence in the bed caused him to wrap his arm around me and pull my back to his chest.
"Mia, how the hell have I survived without you all this time?"
"It hasn't been that long."
"I meant my life before we got together. And I have no idea what I'd do if I lost you."
Turning to face him, I said, "Let's not find out."
After that, slow kisses turned into needy groping but didn't progress much past PG-rated making out. He was trying to hide it, but I felt him tense up or flinch when he was in pain.
Eventually, we went to sleep. We hadn't bothered to set an alarm.
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It was past noon when I woke up. At first, I thought I was dreaming. It took a few minutes for me to realize that the lips on my skin were real.
We spent the day alternating between the bed and the couch, sometimes watching tv and occasionally eating.
At some point during the evening, he asked me to make him a copy of recordings from the night before, as well as the surveillance video from the confessional.
When I asked why, he replied, "Better you don't know. But it won't come back on you. I promise."
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On Sunday evening, we took a walk on Dog Beach with Backup. We watched the sun set over the Pacific. He sat behind me with his arms encircling me, his legs on either side of mine. I was completely surrounded by him. I had never felt so safe. I wasn't sure why, but tears began to form in my eyes. Before I could process why, they were already streaming down my face.
As he whispered words of comfort into my ear, sensations and images started to flash through my mind. I didn't try to make sense of them. I just let them swirl around until they settled into a coherent memory. A memory of us sitting on Dog Beach after we left Club Mojo that night last spring.
So much had happened since then. But we were together. Still together. And stronger for what we'd been through, what we'd come through.
We had survived the worst that Neptune could throw at us. At least, I hoped that was the worst we'd have to deal with.
A/N:
I will try to get one more chapter to you before the end of summer, then this fic will be on hiatus for a couple months while I work on other things.
I'm going to be relocating soon which means I'll be busy, but I'm going to try to make some progress on my Buffy fic. If I find extra time (haha) to write, I'll work on "We Used To Trade Favors." And recently, I had some thoughts of how to continue the one-shot "Just One Night." So, stay tuned.
The last chapters of this fic (Part 2 of series) are outlined and will hopefully be posted between late fall and early winter.
Thanks for reading! Until next time …
~Jen
31 July 2018