A/N: Glad both the Mac cameo and the LoVe that is growing are fan favourites ;-) Thanx for the feedback everyone. Now on with the show...

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 8

Both Veronica and Logan had been pretty quiet as they set about fleeing from the hotel they had stayed at the night before. Out of town and onto the highway, she knew they couldn't stop for a good long while if they wanted to give the agents following the slip. Logan had no idea about that of course, all he knew was he was out-running some rabid fan and at the same time hoping to get out of reach of his father's control still.

It was a ridiculous situation the pair had found themselves in. He trying to get away from the parents that spoilt him with gifts but cared nothing for spending any time with him. She was hoping to bring some freedom to a guy she was secretly connected to, though he had no clue who she really was. Thinking about all this, coupled with the shock as she realised quite what she and Logan were doing right now, Veronica suddenly lost control and burst out in a fit of crazy laughter that made her friend react with surprise.

"What?" he asked, smiling slightly because he just couldn't help it, but on the inside wondering if she was about to tell himself something awful, like she had been playing him from the start maybe...

"I'm sorry" said Veronica waving a hand in front of her face as she tried to get her breath back and calm down, "Oh God" she gasped as she wiped tears from her eyes, trying to keep this mornings hastily applied make up from running down her cheeks, "I just... I can't believe we're doing this" she said, swallowing hard as she finally came back to reality after her outburst that must have seemed so strange to Logan.

"It's not exactly how I planned my Summer vacation either" he admitted, letting out a breath he barely knew he'd been holding when she still seemed positive about their crazy adventure together, "but y'know, I'm not sorry I'm doing this with you" he told her, never taking his eyes off the road.

Veronica smiled, she couldn't help herself, she was so happy to be here too. She had wondered about her own sanity when she made the decision to skip out of the hotel, asking Mac to stall the back up so they wouldn't be able to follow. Now she knew she had made the right choice. Logan wanted to break free, his Dad seemed determined to stop him, in spite of saying he was cool with it. Veronica was equally as stubborn as Aaron Echolls, and she was going to see to it that her newest friend got his big adventure that he so craved.

At least a part of the reason why was selfish too. She liked this guy, he was sweet and good fun, and honestly she didn't want to give up this friendship just yet. It couldn't last, when all this was over, the truth would out and most likely Logan would be hurt that she'd kept her real identity a secret from him, but at least she could make sure it was all worth it. If they had the best time they could this Summer, maybe he would understand why she had to lie, at least that was what Veronica was telling herself right now.

"So, where are we headed?" asked Logan when the blonde beside him was suddenly too quiet, "I honestly don't know where this road even goes to..." he said, looking for the next road sign to check.

Veronica took a look around herself and tried to get her bearings. She smiled as she realised she wasn't half so lost as Logan was, and that she knew how and where they could run to right now.

"Pull into the next gas station" she said gesturing up ahead to the place she meant, "I have a plan" she smiled in such a way as to make Logan wonder what she was thinking, as she pulled out her cell and started to dial, "Do you trust me?" she asked Logan, looking across at him quite seriously, waiting for her call to connect.

Logan wasn't sure why, and maybe it made him the dumbest guy on the planet, but he found the answer to that question came as easy as anything ever had.

"I do" he nodded simply, "Yeah, I trust you"

"We're gonna have to tell them" Sachs sighed as they pulled over the car and looked left and right at the junction.

Leo wasn't happy about it, but he knew his partner was right. Logan and Veronica had pulled one hell of a disappearing act from the hotel, and somehow Leo was pretty sure it was all planned. Sure, they'd gotten held up and Veronica had to make a hasty getaway with the boy wonder, but they were too far away, too well hidden in every possible way. It was a typical Mars move, and Leo was certain that if Veronica didn't want to be found the likelihood was he stood no chance in tracking her down.

Of course, that meant telling Keith, his boss, plus the Echolls, that the pair had got away from them. That made him and Sachs look incompetent for the second time inside a week, plus Aaron Echolls would be mad as hell, and he really was not the kind of guy you wanted to put in that particular mood.

"Okay" Leo nodded at length, reaching for his cell, "I guess we have to do this" he sighed, dialling through to the Echolls house on the Head of Security's private line.

"Keith Mars" he said as he picked up the phone.

"Hey, Keith" Leo smiled into his words in spite of the serious conversation they were about to have, "It's Leo, we, er... we're kinda having a problem here" he explained, wincing by now as he knew what was coming.

"What kinda problem, Leo?" asked his boss, with just a hint of anger and panic both in his tone, after all this could be all their jobs on the line if it got screwed up.

"Well, there were some issues at the hotel" he went on, glancing at Sachs who had a death-grip on the steering wheel of the car despite the fact they weren't moving anymore, he was as worried as his partner right now, "The computers went down, we couldn't pay for the room so they wouldn't let us leave"

"Okay, we can figure that out..." said Keith, letting out a breath he barely knew he'd been holding.

"No, we did that" Leo interrupted, "The hotel is fine it's just... well, Veronica and Logan already left and we couldn't. By the time we got to the car..." his sentence trailed off to nothing as he realised there was simply no way to tell this tale without sounding stupid.

"You lost them" Keith guessed, the hand not holding the phone receiver going to his forehead as he felt a migraine coming on.

"I'm sorry, Keith, I don't know how they got away so fast..." his deputy started to ramble but there wasn't time for such excuses.

"Leo, you know that's not true" his boss reminded him, already tapping away on a laptop computer and gesturing for other security men to make various checks in a bid to track down his PI daughter and her moviestars' son charge down, "We both know how adept Veronica is at this kind of thing, but it's okay, we'll handle it" he assured the guy, mindful of the fact Aaron and Lynn could walk in at any moment and hear this conversation.

Within a few moments, Keith had instructed Sachs and Leo to continue driving in the most likely direction Veronica and Logan would have travelled and hung up the phone. He and the men back at the house would check the surrounding area via cameras, try to track the pair by GPS or similar. There were a hundred and one ways to catch a runaway, this Keith Mars knew for sure. Unfortunately, whilst his daughter was growing up she had learnt about all these many ways at dear old Dad's knee, and probably had her own plans to evade every single one.

They were now literally on the run, and as much as Veronica knew there was something very wrong with that, she had a smile on her face as she drove herself and Logan up into the hills. It was crazy how easily he trusted her, and she ought to think he was naive for doing so, but at the same time it was a nice feeling to know that he would put her faith in her like this.

It was dumb and she knew it, running away from the back up like they had, and explaining to Logan why they needed to switch cars at the last garage was not easy. In the end she had gone with the fact her old LeBaron wouldn't stand up to the task of their adventure and that her friend could bring her something more suitable.

Wallace had been as dubious as anyone about why his friend had called him requesting a hire car in someone else's name, but he knew of Veronica's profession and had learnt long ago not to ask questions when she needed a favour. It was a short drive from his home in Neptune to where she and Logan waited at the gas station, but as he arrived he got a surprise on seeing his best friend's travelling companion.

"That who I think it is?" he asked, nodding his head towards the guy who was pulling a bag from the leBaron that Wallace would be driving home.

"Could be" Veronica nodded, "but don't say anything, please" she urged him, sure he would comply to her wishes because he always did.

"Hey, you know me, V" he told her, "Soul of discretion"

That all happened more than an hour ago now, and Veronica had thanked Wallace profusely, not just for helping her with the car switch but also providing her with as much cash as he could spare. She told him he didn't have to, they could deal without it, but Wallace just shook his head and refused to take the envelope of bills back from her.

"Cars need gas" was all he said, as he backed away to the LeBaron and set about driving it home, whilst Veronica climbed into the drivers seat of her new ride, next to Logan who waited for her.

They had quite literally headed for the hills, since Veronica surmised it was the last place D'Amata and Sachs would think to look for them. Camping out in the woods up there wasn't as dangerous as it seemed, she'd done it a hundred times as a kid with her father. She and Logan would be safe enough until she came up with a better plan at least.

"Somebody seems desperate to get a hold of you" said Logan, as he heard the familiar buzz of the cell phone Veronica had thrown into the back seat, "You want me to...?"

"No" she cut him off fast before the question was even asked, "Thanks, but no" she said more evenly when she realised how sharp she'd been with him, "I'll check the messages in a minute" she told him, as they headed on up to a spot that was familiar to her and parked up the car.

Logan was a little surprised to note they had stopped and that Veronica was getting out of the car. He understood when he followed suit and took a look at the view. It seemed as if the world was laid out at their feet. A town in the distance surrounded by fields and farms, a whole mass of different types of people living their different lives, and Veronica and Logan stood above it all, looking out over the land like the Kings of the World.

Veronica retrieved her cell, noted twenty or more messages from her Dad and Leo both with a sigh, and shut the phone off. Right now she could quite happily throw it off the edge of the precipice Logan was stood on, looking out at the world below. She knew she shouldn't and couldn't do that, but she was going to leave the damn thing switched off for a while. It was what Logan had done after the first half dozen missed calls from his parents.

"That's the stuff" she smiled as she came to stand beside her newest friend, breathing in the sweet fresh air high above the world, gazing out at the incredible view.

"Pretty amazing" he nodded his agreement, though his eyes had strayed from the panorama before them to Veronica herself.

It was true, she was amazing. He could hardly believe she was helping him escape the world and discover his freedom like this. He'd asked her why she would bother a couple of times but she had waved away his questions and told him she was just out to have fun the same as him. She never once asked why exactly he was running, they didn't even know each others last names, and yet it didn't seem to matter at all, especially not now as Veronica fetched a blanket from the car and they sat down together to watch the sunset in the distance.

"You know, I'm glad we didn't give up back there" said Veronica, eyes fixed to the sky line and a smile curving her lips, "I thought when the cash got low and everything you might wanna head home"

"I thought about it" admitted Logan with a sigh, "but I guess I'm just having too much fun right now" he said as they both turned their heads at the same moment and shared a grin.

It was the most unlikely friendship, an even unlikelier romance perhaps, and yet it could so easily begin here in the hills, watching the sky fade from blue to orange and pink. They were cut off from the world, relying solely on each other, and as scary as that ought to be, Veronica and Logan had never felt more safe and at home.

To Be Continued..