TITLE: His Friend Too
AUTHOR: arbailey
WORD COUNT: 3,174
RATING: PG-13 for language
SUMMARY: When Veronica catches her best friend and an aging action hero together, everything falls apart.
SPOILERS: Pre-series that quickly goes AU but does spoil the 1st season Lilly/Aaron storyline
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any rights to Veronica Mars, and this story is written as a tribute only.
A/N 1: Back again after a week off! I think that this will probably be updated fortnightly through the end of the semester. In the next three weeks I have two sets of final papers to grade, a final exam to write, an office to move, and a conference to attend, so an update every other week is probably the best I can promise. I greatly appreciate your patience!
A/N 2: In the canon, I believe Leo was hired after Keith's tenure, given his unawareness of Veronica's general character. But I love him. I love him so. Far and away my favorite non-Logan beau. So for my purposes, he was hired in September of 2003, when he is approximately 18 and a half. Totally legally possible, if unlikely.
Chapter Seven: Another One Bites the Dust
Leo D'Amato is new to Neptune, and maybe that is the problem. And he is green, too. He'd only completed his training and joined the sheriff's department a month earlier. Tonight is only his second solo patrol, and he's still learning the ins and outs of Neptune society. But he isn't stupid, and as he chases after the yellow Xterra, screaming through the 09er neighborhood, he begins to feel with an unerring certainty that he has made a Big Mistake.
All Leo had wanted was a job with a halfway decent salary - maybe a pension twenty years down the road - that didn't require a four year degree. School was a no go. He was smart, but not the kind that got a full ride anywhere. He couldn't burden his parents with more debt, not with Tina's medical bills the way they were. A sheriff's badge in a cushy little beach community had seemed pretty ideal.
Growing up in National City, the crime ridden jewel of San Diego County, he'd been familiar with deprivation and the myriad ways that lack manifested itself as anti-social behavior. But Neptune was like bizarro land. The Have-Nots were still tearing it up on their end of town with vandalism, domestic abuse, and regular B and Es, but in the good neighborhoods the Haves were just as busy defrauding each other and flouting every available county statute just to prove that they could. And the only people in the middle were the civil servant like himself, trying to keep the two groups separated to the best of their ability.
When he first clocks the SUV doing 55 in a 35, he observes the car carefully. The Xterra is a late model, tricked out, and obviously familiar with the 09er district, based on the speedy, confident progress it is making, but it's just a Nissan, not a high-end luxury brand. Best guess, this is some snotty kid with a parent in upper middle management. The driver is reckless, no question, and that can be corroborated by no less than three speed cameras. And Leo is eager to impress Keith, who had shown a distinct lack of awe for the wealthier citizens of town, but he's not prepared to make an enemy of somebody who could stall his career. This is looking like a solid prospect, and yet…
As the car careens onto Kane property, Leo feels that trickle of dread become a small stream. When the gate obligingly opens and Leo pulls in behind the overwhelmingly yellow SUV, his stomach rolls. And then the movie star's kid pops out, racing towards the Kane mansion. Leo hesitates, shocked by the sudden appearance of the Echolls boy, and in that moment he sees Veronica rocket from the car, her bag clutched tightly in her fist.
He knew Logan Echolls by reputation and his similarity to a famous profile, but he knows Veronica personally. If she's here, this is a bad situation. Not because she draws trouble or has to be in the middle of every argument, but because if she's here, then Leo can look forward to a world of rage from Keith. At Veronica for being caught up in some mess. At Leo for reporting the incident. At the world at large for invading on the perfect world he wants for his baby.
And Leo likes Veronica. She's funny and smart, and she makes hanging out in the station a hell of a lot easier for the couple of hours she stays. And she's cute, too. Really cute. So cute that he is always on his best behavior, unfailingly polite, and dramatically chivalrous when given the opportunity. Obviously, her dad is his boss, and he likes his genitalia just fine where they are, so he'd never make a move. Maybe not NEVER, never. Maybe by never, he means a few years down the road. Maybe then. A two and a half year age difference isn't that much really…
So in this moment, Leo's misery is at its height. This is not going to be an easy collar, and Keith will not be happy about any dust-up that involves his precious baby girl, regardless of Leo's strict adherence to procedure. Still, this is his job. He can hear raised voices from the backyard, no doubt near a huge and immaculately kept swimming pool. He's never been here before, but they ALL have huge, immaculately kept swimming pools. With his first paycheck, he bought himself a microwave.
He picks up speed when he hears the screaming. It seems like the lawman thing to do, but it doesn't make him any less apprehensive. There are a million ways for this to go badly, and only a very small handful of happy outcomes he can envision. But as he darts onto the pool deck, at least he has this one comfort… He can definitely trust his instincts.
Because Veronica is crouched over the slumped form of one Aaron Echolls, movie star, and she appears to be holding a taser. Tonight is going to suck.
As she throws open the door of the Xterra, grabs her messenger bag, and dashes toward the backyard, it strikes her that she doesn't have a plan. She's been running on adrenaline and a dread fatalism, and up to this point it has been enough. But now doubt is creeping in, slowing her movements. Logan plows on ahead of her, the speed whipping back the edges of his trademark button-up. As always, his focus has been whittled to a sharp point by his anger, and for once Veronica envies the ease with which he transitions into a violent mode.
Behind her, she can hear the cruiser squeal to a stop. She'd spotted D'Amato racing up behind them several seconds before Logan, but Veronica was temporarily suspending her devotion to the rule of law. The merry chase they had led Officer D'Amato on through 09erdom had been for purely practical reasons – time was a definite issue – but now that he's here, Veronica can't help but be relieved. If she's wrong and this is nothing, D'Amato will be far easier to placate then Sachs, Lamb, or – horrors – her dad. But if she's right – and she has never wanted to be right less – then maybe having a fully deputized officer of the law available will be a good thing.
Not having a plan is another in this week's long line of unpleasant firsts. At the bottom of her bag, nestled in old gum wrappers and movie ticket stubs, sits her taser. She can feel its solid weight bouncing against her leg as she runs, and she is out of other ideas. Watching the little crackle of blue electricity arcing from point to point has always made her shiver nervously. She had wondered if she could ever push the button, knowing that she would be hurting someone. She has her answer now as she paws one-handed through her bag to retrieve her weapon.
Rounding the corner, she sees Logan standing motionless, staring at the scene in abject horror and calling out a warning. And where Logan is now paralyzed, Veronica springs into action. She runs past him, too terrified and exhilarated to carefully aim lest she over think the action, and fires the two pin-like electrical probes at People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive 1987.
She has practiced with the taser, sort of. It was just supposed to be for emergencies after all, and cartridges cost! Still, that lemon tree in the backyard will never look at her the same way. All things considered, she honestly feels she has done really, really well on her first live tasering. She nails him in the shoulder, which is lucky. Striking him in the head or too near his heart carries a higher risk of serious injury or even fatality, and she just isn't prepared to add manslaughter to her list of crimes tonight. Simple assault will suit her just fine.
Aaron goes down hard, muscles twitching spasmodically, and he lets go of the heavy ashtray as his fingers lose motility, his arms thrown in front of him involuntarily. It's fascinating the way a little misapplied electricity can shut the body down. And she's not sorry, at all. In fact, she really enjoys it. Too much, even. But she'll examine that dark place some other time, when she isn't so busy preventing murder. She jogs the last few feet to Aaron's body and kneels over him.
There is a little bit of blood where the probes lodged in the muscle of Aaron's shoulder, but all in all he seems to be doing well. However, he is unconscious, and it is difficult to tell his overall condition with him lying face down. She extracts the probes and puts her shoulder into it to roll him over with a forceful shove, and, whoops, he seems to have pissed himself. Still, it could have been worse. His pulse is steady, and he is breathing without difficulty.
"Jesus Christ, Veronica!" moans a distracted Officer D'Amato as he squats down beside her and repeats her earlier motions, checking the aging action star for signs of life. Confirming the steady thrum of blood in the movie star's veins, he visibly relaxes and rocks back on his heels, rubbing at his temples. "What the hell happened here?"
Veronica shrugs non-commitally, giving him a surreptitious sidewise glance. She's not sure how the whole thing is going to play out, but she's willing to bet that her version of underage sexual intrigue is not going to be the party line. She's working on crafting an adequately vague response when she spots her former best friends arguing a ways off.
Lilly is looking determinedly nonchalant, and Logan is looking angry, so it seems that all parties are holding tight to their expected parts. She sees Logan catch Lilly's arm as she turns away, she sees Lilly's face crease in a twinge of pain, and she sees Logan throw down Lilly's wrist in horror. The slump of his shoulders screams a sort of deep and pervasive guilt, and Veronica leaps up and sprints for her ex-friends before this little detente can descend into dangerous territory.
But she isn't fast enough to prevent the killing blow, and she hears Lilly say, "I guess you and your daddy are more alike than I thought!"
If it was bad before, the situation just became critical. Logan's head drops, his face shadowed. It should have been obvious how hard that would hit him, but the surprise on Lilly's face suggests it was a remark carelessly thrown out.
"Lilly!" shouts Veronica reproachfully, and then continues, dangerously quiet, "Go get them."
Veronica has a short but crucial list of needs at this moment: She needs a way to protect herself from being prosecuted by Aaron Echolls when he eventually regains consciousness. She needs Lilly to vacate the immediate premises so she can deal with Logan's emotional triage. And she needs a way to spin this whole debacle to her father so that he doesn't forcibly enroll her in a convent situated in a secluded and impassable jungle in Ecuador. Only the first two problems can be alleviated by Lilly retrieving those tapes she has undoubtedly secreted in the air vent in her room, but it is a start.
"Get what? " Lilly says, playing dumb, but she can see that Veronica isn't playing at all, and she beats a hasty retreat to the secure confines of her room.
Veronica immediately turns her attention to Logan, and it is worse than she feared. "Logan?" she says hesitantly. How do you convince someone that their greatest fear is unfounded? "She has no idea what she's talking about, you know. Logan?"
He's not listening. That much is clear from the blank look in his eyes. They are getting darker and darker, as though the very thing that lights them, the thing that is Logan, is retreating into the shadows. Panicking, she grabs at the edges of his shirt like she's going to shake some sense into him. He's slumped a little in defeat, but even so she has to get up on her tiptoes to meet his blank eyes. She feels ridiculous, like an animal puffing up to fool a predator.
Even as she does it, she's pretty sure it's a bad idea…
When Logan rounds the corner onto the spacious Kane patio, Lilly is standing with her back to Aaron, her hip cocked and her tone laced with bitter laughter. Neither of them notices the sudden appearance of the third in their complicated love triangle, and as Logan races forward, Aaron's shoulders tense and he grabs a heavy glass ashtray from a conveniently placed table. Logan manages to call out a loud, "No!" but he has never felt more useless, more helpless.
Lilly turns, startled by Logan's sudden shout, and she catches sight of Aaron raising the ashtray over his head. She blanches, and takes one unsteady step back, but Aaron makes no attempt to stop the potentially deadly fall of his hand. Logan is trapped in the moment, unable to move forward or avert his eyes.
Everything slows around him, and the sounds of the world are muffled by the heavy pounding of his own blood in his ears. He feels a cool breeze slip from behind him, and then Veronica is there, two steps ahead. She throws out an arm like she's casting a spell on Aaron, and then, miraculously, Aaron falls to the pool deck, convulsing. The ashtray completes the same journey, falling with a sickening crack just inches from Aaron's prone body.
When Logan can move again, Lilly is screaming and Veronica is hunched over Aaron's body, checking his vitals. Someone he doesn't recognize in the dun colored uniform of the Balboa Sherriff's department races up to Veronica and joins her in inspecting Aaron's motionless form.
Logan dashes over to Lilly, who stares at him wildly as he approaches. His hands come up to softly curl around her forearms, cradling her, verifying her reality and safety. For a split second, he is nothing but thankful, wondrously grateful. But the anger comes quickly, violently replacing the soft look in his eyes. He tightens his grip on her arms, pushing against her just slightly, and bites out "God Lilly, how could you be so stupid!"
Lilly had melted fractionally into Logan's embrace, but indignation quickly reinforces her wobbly spine. She pulls away from Logan, ostentatiously rubbing at imaginary bruises forming on her arms. "I had it under control Logan. It was just a lover's quarrel!" she smirks, just a ghost of uncertainty behind it, her eyes narrowed.
Logan can feel the muscle in his jaw pop as his teeth grind together. "Under control! He nearly brained you with a ten pound glass block!"
Lilly's eyes flash, "He just panicked when you came in yelling like a banshee. He wouldn't hurt me. He wouldn't dare."
Logan's lip curls, "He wouldn't hurt you, huh? And what makes you so special?"
"Well," says Lilly, winding up, "First of all, he knows that if he so much as smudged my lip liner and I'd have him in front of the cops. I'm not just going to sit there quietly and take it..."
Logan flinches, his eye twitching involuntarily.
"And second," she continues, a tight smile on her face, "I have his balls in a vice. Did you know Daddy Dearest is an amateur filmmaker!"
At Logan's palpable lack of reaction, Lilly grins wider. "Logan Echolls, you dirty dog!"
Disgusted, Logan begins, "Hey, I had no idea about that sick fuck's extracurriculars okay! Veronica spotted the camera, and she found your note in the cabinet. And you're damn lucky she did to."
Lilly rolls her eyes in trademark fashion, gaining confidence every second, "I told you, I had this under control. All you and Veronica managed to do was crack my patio," she says impatiently gesturing at the broken concrete beneath the red glass ashtray. "God, I need a drink," Lilly says, turning on her heel to head into the house.
Logan grabs for her arm, and her shoulder twists a little as their movements propel them in opposite directions.
"Ow! Fuck, Logan," Lilly grimaces. Logan snatches back his hand as if burned, and Lilly rotates the joint back and forth with a small pout. "You don't get to decide what I do or when I get to leave! You can't control me! Ugh, I guess you and your daddy are more alike than I thought!"
He actually feels himself shut down. It's like he's standing outside himself, watching as he sinks back into the shadows. He's not even aware that Veronica is beside him until she yells.
"Lilly!" Veronica bites out, "Go get them."
Lilly's usually imperturbable cool is just slightly off kilter as she glances between Logan, collapsing into himself, and Veronica. "I…" She doesn't finish the statement and tries to shake off her unease, retreating to the safety of artful indifference. "Get what?" Lilly, says with wide-eyed innocence, pursing her lips.
Veronica doesn't answer, she just gives Lilly a hard look and gestures toward the house with a flick of her head.
Lilly huffs, "Fine," and stomps off, a certain nervous speed to her gait. Internally, she is vacillating wildly between indignation and intense gratitude for this excuse to leave the tense confines of the patio.
Veronica is gazing at him, concerned, and it's like the beach all over again. If he could move, he'd be sprinting for the Xterra. As it is, he just stands there. He won't meet her eyes, and her words are just vague prattle in the background. He wishes she would just leave him alone, but, as always, Veronica will not be denied. She grabs his shirt by the lapels and heaves herself up on her tiptoes, getting right in his face.
And then she kisses him. Her tongue hesitantly probes his closed lips, and he immediately opens to the kiss as though it were the most natural thing in the world. And it's dramatic and full on and a bit unskilled, but he's immediately back. He's present in the world again.
"You" she says in a merciless hiss as she pulls back from the kiss, her hands still wound tightly in the button bands of his shirt, "Are nothing like your father!"
Whereas before he wouldn't meet her gaze, now he can't look away. He stares deeply into her pale blue eyes, scanning them for pity or regret, but all he sees is a deep and fierce confidence. Her jaw is tightly clenched, and she looks so angry that his own tender reaction seems a little ridiculous.
A loud thump makes them both start, and they turn their heads simultaneously, searching for the cause of the sound. They stare mutely at a gym bag and a pair of muddy cleats, lying inertly where they clattered against the rough concrete of the patio.
A/N 3: Fun Fact! Harry Hamlin really WAS People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive 1987! However, I chose that date randomly as approximately when Aaron would have been at his height of popularity and only later checked Wikipedia! OOOoooooOOOoooh! Spooky! Thank God I didn't pick '86, everybody knows that year BELONGED to Mark Harmon...
A/N 4: Reviews and con-crit are lifeblood! Don't let me exsanguinate! Sorry, this got icky...