Author's Note 1: Let me remind you that this is a LoVe story. Even though Veronica sometimes with other men, this is still a LoVe fic. The men in her life are part of her history, and also important to the plot. I hope this settle it. Thank you everyone for the reviews and feedbacks! This chapter is beta'ed by steenbeans and layoung13. You both are awesome!

Author's Note 2: I was inspired of making this fic when I made a fanvid called Veronica Mars: Neptune City Trailer (Sin City Trailer Style). It's a homage noir film. Basically I wanted to make a story about Neptune City ala the movie Sin City, with its corrupt and complex characters – go ahead, you can check it out on Youtube. After I made that video I proceeded to make this fanfic. I think I'm going to make another fanvid specifically for this fan fiction. I just realized how VIOLENT the show was when I made the video…

Author's Note 3: I am a bit pissed that someone else took a few clips of my fanvid and incorporated them into their own vid. I worked hard for that fanvid, and they just took them. Sigh… I just found out about it, and pretty much bummed about the whole thing. But I've moved on and hopefully nothing like this would ever happen again.

Flashback,

Neptune Courthouse, 2007

A video of Veronica being raped by Mercer was spread around campus.

Some person or some people without hearts had gotten hold of the video, and they'd put it on the campus internet connection. When students opened their email, they saw a video attachment- and it contained graphic sex of Veronica and Mercer. Although her face was obscured by dark shadows, people seemed convinced that it was Veronica. Many people questioned the truth about the rape. It seemed in the video that Veronica was drunk, and quite enjoying the sexual activity. They didn't know that Mercer had drugged Veronica with roofies and GHB. People could even hear Mercer saying that he loved her.

The video was only on campus for one day. Mac and her boyfriend at the time, Max, worked together to quickly erase the video from the campus internet. Mac hacked all the campus email addresses that belonged to students, and erased all Veronica Mars related sex tapes.

But the damage had been done.

Veronica saw people staring at her; some with pity, some with disgust, some with glee. She felt like she was in high school again, but this time it was ten times worse.

The people who were behind her, supporting her on campus, were her friends and the other rape victims. The people who made fun of her were mostly the 09ers and the Hayes supporters. Veronica felt a sense of déjà vu; it was the Aaron Echolls trial all over again – people wouldn't believe that he'd killed Lilly Kane. It was the same with Mercer Hayes; they wouldn't believe that he'd raped those girls and Veronica. Not even when they'd caught and arrested him for kidnapping and rape. Veronica was convinced that people really didn't care much about justice.

She wanted to investigate who'd posted the sex tapes, but her father had been adamant that she drop the subject. Veronica couldn't look her father in the eyes – she was afraid that he would stop loving her. To this day, she'd never told him how Beaver had raped her back when she was in high school. She'd also never told her father that the only people who knew about the rape were Lamb, Dick, Logan, Wallace, and possibly Mac. There was no way she'd tell her father that his only daughter was raped twice in her life.

What would that say about her? That she wasn't careful enough, she was too stubborn, she was too proud, she was… maybe asking for it?

Veronica thought hard about this; should she let it go? She wasn't built that way.

Get even.

Get revenge.

Extract pain.

That was her life.

But then again… look at what curiosity and searching for justice had gotten her now.

She attended classes with her head held high. She didn't care how much people stared at her and whispered behind her back. It really was just like high school again, especially now that she'd cut her hair short like a boy. She felt solidarity with Parker, who had to wear a wig everywhere.

The difference was that she had her friends by her side.

Dick, Wallace, Troy, Mac, Max, Bronson, Weevil, Parker, and even Piz were always with her. Not physically, all the time, but she knew they would always be there for her when she needed them. She'd never thought that she would end up with loyal friends like them… For that she was grateful.

Dick never let her out of his sight except when she was in class. He'd wanted to hire a bodyguard, but Veronica had drawn a line there – which made them argue. Dick even asked Keith's permission to hire a bodyguard for her, which made Veronica angrier. She felt smothered by her own dad and friends, and sometimes she avoided them.

But the biggest surprise of all was Lamb.

She'd made it clear that she didn't want him near her. She'd even screamed and told him to get lost when he'd visited her at the hospital. But that didn't stop him from cruising around campus and keeping a watchful eye over her. Veronica ignored him every day.

It had been almost a year since he'd rescued her from that cabin.

She was now standing a few paces from the courthouse, away from the crowd, but still close to the building. She hadn't waited for the verdict to be announced. She knew what would happen next: Mercer would be sentenced. But she needed to see him. She needed to see Mercer. She wanted him to look her in the eye, and then…

The Hayes' family had hired a group of lawyers to defend Mercer. Parker's parents had tried to force her to come home to Colorado, but she'd stubbornly wanted to stay and be with Veronica. She'd joined a support group for rape victims, and they'd held demonstrations in front of the courthouse every day during Mercer's trial. And now Veronica was at the courthouse, but she didn't want to hear the verdict.

She knew that Mercer would get a light sentence. Juries were bought. That was how Neptune worked.

Justice needed to be done another way.

A throng of reporters were waiting along with a mob of protesters, Parker included. Piz was by Parker's side, and Mac, Max, Bronson, Dick, Troy, and Weevil were amongst the crowd.

The minute the door was opened, Mercer and his family and lawyers walked out with a smile, and the crowd began to make noise. Some people cheered, while others jeered. The deputies from the Sheriff's department were working hard to keep the crowd in their place. Mercer actually had the gall to wave to the crowd. A bunch of girls were screaming happily as the reporters asked him questions, and they announced that Mercer had been sentenced to five years for kidnapping and rape, and he would start his sentence tomorrow.

The crowd was coming closer to him – one of the parents of the rape victims was trying to reach him. The father spit on him, but he was held back. Some of the rape victims were crying, including Parker.

Veronica watched the chaotic scene from afar. She was hiding behind a tree near the parking lot. She watched how Mercer and his family were struggling to avoid the crowd.

This was her time.

She pulled out a gun and aimed it at Mercer. She wouldn't miss; she'd had practice.

Open your eyes so you have better aim.

She held her stance, about to pull the trigger….

Her heart was beating so fast, and all she could see was Mercer raping her over and over again. She could see Mercer hitting her, tying her up, and raping her. She could see Mercer forcing drinks down her throat and then raping her. She could feel Mercer hurting her over and over again. She could feel the pain and she wished she were dead.

Aaron…

Beaver…

Mercer…

Tears were blurring her vision and her hands were shaking as she held the gun.

I'm sorry, Daddy…

Before she could shoot the gun, someone grabbed it from her hands.

She gasped as she saw the gun thrown into a dumpster near the alley where she stood. Before she could react, she noticed that Mercer was about to climb into his car with his family. She was about to run after him, when strong hands grabbed her and dragged her away from the area.

"No, he's getting away! What are you doing? Let me go! He's getting away! PLEASE!" Her hands and arms were flailing as she was forcefully dragged away. She cried and watched helplessly as Mercer waved at the crowd, climbed into his car and drove away. "NO! What are you doing! Why are you protecting him?" She hit the person's chest and cried angrily. She turned around, trying to get to her car so she could chase Mercer.

Lamb grabbed her from behind and hugged her tightly. "I'm protecting you, Mars." She cried and sobbed uncontrollably. This was her last chance to get to Mercer, but he'd ruined it. He picked her up and carried her to his cruiser, which was parked near her car. He had been following her for the whole day. He knew that she would be at the courthouse. Keith had begged him to take care of her, because she wouldn't let her father and her friends near her. Keith knew that Veronica would probably do something.

Lamb carried her to the back seat of his cruiser and closed the door. She was crying in his neck as he held her. She hit his chest weakly and asked, "Why… why… why?"

Lamb held her and soothed her hair. He kissed her head and murmured, "Don't ever do that again…" Veronica's crying subsided and she felt so tired; so tired with her life and how all the bad men got away with the things they'd done. Lamb whispered in her ear, "You're the bravest, Mars." He stroked her cheek. "I just want to protect you…" He kissed her forehead.

He couldn't help it.

It was a year after he'd saved her from that cabin, and he'd found himself falling in love with her. Love didn't need a reason. Maybe it was because he wanted to protect her; to fix what was broken, some of the damage that had been caused by him. He needed this – he needed to make everything alright again.

Veronica stopped crying and stared at him in confusion when he kissed her forehead. "What are you doing?" she whispered. Lamb didn't answer, but he looked into her blue eyes. And at her nose, which he kissed lightly. And her lips, which he kissed softly. Veronica's eyes widened, and she got tense.

After Mercer, she hadn't thought that she could be with a man again. But she'd gone on a date with Piz, who'd had a crush on her. He'd kissed her awkwardly, but she'd appreciated the kiss. They hadn't lasted long, though. She'd decided that she just wanted to be friends with Piz.

Weevil had feelings for her. She knew about it, but she'd never said anything. She only considered him as a friend. There'd been one time when he'd taken her home from campus. He'd kissed her, but he hadn't deepened it. He'd known that she didn't have romantic feelings for him.

And then there was Troy, who'd wanted to get back together with her again. He'd changed; he'd become a good friend to everyone. He'd pursued her, even though she hadn't wanted to renew their relationship. But she'd gone on a few dates with Troy. He'd kissed her – he was a good kisser, Veronica had to admit.

But there was a tiny voice in her brain that kept saying one name: Logan.

She missed Logan terribly. She felt that no other man could replace him. And every time someone kissed her, she would imagine that Logan was the one kissing her.

That was why, when Lamb kissed her softly and she didn't think about Logan, the alarm in her head began to ring so loud.

She hadn't realized that she'd been kissing him back.

She'd noticed his presence at every turn. One time her dad had invited him to have dinner at their apartment. It had made her so angry at her dad that she purposely hadn't said anything throughout the whole dinner, even though her dad kept trying to have a decent conversation. She noticed that he was stealing glances at her during dinner. And it seemed her dad was trying to make amends with Lamb.

She hated him.

The man had made her life miserable for years. People didn't just change like that. So what if he saved her from Mercer? Sometimes she wanted to blurt out that Lamb had laughed at her when she'd reported her rape, back when she was in high school. But in order to do that, she'd have to tell her dad about the rape. And that was something she wanted to avoid.

She broke off the kiss and swallowed. Both of them were breathing hard. Veronica didn't realize that her arms were circling his neck. His forehead was touching hers and his eyes were closed, trying to savor the kiss. Veronica blinked, realizing that she'd just kissed Don fucking Lamb. She stared at his cheek, where there was a small scar. She remembered that she'd clawed at him when he'd rescued her.

She suddenly wanted to scream and cry at the same time. Lamb had just cost her the chance to kill Mercer.

Veronica raised her hand and slapped him very hard across the cheek.

Before Lamb could react, Veronica scrambled away from him and opened the car door, and then slammed it closed. Lamb was holding his cheek as he watched her run away, tears visible in her eyes. His cheek stung from the slap as he held it, and he closed his eyes again. He could still feel her warm body on his skin, her soft lips as he kissed her…

Lamb wiped a tear from his own eye abruptly. She hated him. And now she had more reasons to hate him. The thought made him numb.

He leaned his head back and cried silently.

Present,

Crescent Beach, 2016

The last time Logan went surfing was when he was in Hawaii for an assignment. He had to assassinate a spy who was actually taking a vacation there. Logan hated that he had to ruin the spy's vacation, but a job was a job. After he had done the deed, he went surfing for days.

Now he was sitting on his surfboard, bopping up and down on the waves, watching Dick swim towards him with his board.

"This is awesome, dude. The waves are excellent." Dick made a comment.

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks for talking me into it." Logan replied.

Dick grimaced. "Dude, it's my apology for punching you yesterday."

"I don't mind you buying me expensive breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner for an apology." Logan said while rubbing his own jaw. "Not to mention I have to keep my mouth shut about your crush on Mac. You'd better be grateful that I covered your ass after you punched me. Mac thought that you're an over-protective friend. So this is my payment – Japanese food for lunch and Italian for dinner."

"Dude… You're SUCH a girl." Both of them laughed. They hadn't laughed together like that for a long time. It was nice. And Logan didn't hold a grudge against Dick; he was familiar with the feeling of jealousy, so he forgave him for acting like an idiot. "So now the Reunion is officially canceled, are you planning to go back to Utah soon?"

Logan didn't answer first. He thought he could have some answers about Veronica Mars – he wanted to know what happened to her. Ever since he saw her in New York City killing that man, Logan wanted to get to the bottom of this. The school reunion was only a chance for him to meet her in a neutral ground. But he had stayed more than a week in Neptune, and he hardly saw Veronica, except that one time over the weekend after dinner at the Chinese restaurant. He wanted to see her again… He missed her…

Even though Mac and Logan already had a heart to heart conversation about Veronica, Cassidy, and what happened over the past 10 years, Logan still felt empty and had an urge to do something to fix whatever it was – he felt that he owed it to his friends. He shouldn't have abandoned his friends a decade ago.

"I'm thinking about staying for a while." He said, more to himself.

Dick smiled, tapped his back, and then pointed to the horizon. "Here comes another wave. Get ready!"

Just like that wave, Logan had to make sure that he was ready to face the reality of Veronica Mars.

Sorokin Mansion

Veronica opened her eyes lazily when the alarm clock was buzzing. She turned off the alarm clock and rolled to the side, expecting her husband to be next to her. When she didn't find him, she frowned. She looked up and saw Gorya coming out from the bathroom already fully clothed and having a hard time tying his tie.

"Morning, babe." Gorya kissed his wife good morning.

"You're up and early." She sat up and yawned. "Ugh, I hate Mondays."

"I have several meetings today, which will last probably until tonight." He looked at his wife, who still had this gloomy face since yesterday. "Are you planning to go to work today?"

Veronica didn't say anything at first, but she stood up and fixed her husband's tie. He looked down at her, trying to read her expression. "Yeah, I think I have several appointments." She replied shortly. Gorya rubbed his hands on her arms and touched his forehead with hers.

"Are you okay?" He muttered.

Veronica looked at Gorya's eyes and nodded. "Yeah."

Gorya didn't buy it. He knew that Veronica was devastated by last night argument with Wallace. He didn't exactly hear the argument, but he witnessed it from his limo. Of course, deep down inside, he was thankful that they had an argument. It means that Wallace was doing his part of keeping away from Veronica.

He rubbed her upper arms. "Listen, I saw you holding Theo yesterday…" She looked at him but didn't say anything. "You looked… I mean… I thought…" He cleared his throat. "I thought you were glowing." He looked at her.

Veronica knew where this conversation would go. Gorya always hinted that he wanted a child. He spoiled Roman and Zena's naughty children; he sometimes brought them expensive gifts. Gorya might hate his brothers, but he was a delightful uncle for the nephews and nieces.

Veronica lowered her head. Having children… she didn't know whether she wanted the same thing with him. Raising a child in this environment? In this family? Where violence was always the answer? No wonder Wallace and her dad didn't want anything to do with her…Not to mention her side job as a professional killer. What kind of life would a child have?

"Gory, we've been over this." She sighed. "After Mercer… the doctor said that it would be difficult –"

"I know, I know." He hurriedly said and pulled her closer. "I thought we could try again, you know." His voice was quiet. "I mean, who knows… right? Science nowadays…" He saw she was going to have a rebuttal, but he cut her off. "Look, I'm not pushing you or anything. We can just go with the flow if you want to." He said carefully, not trying to upset his wife more.

She nodded and then changed the subject, "Are you coming over for lunch?"

He sighed, kissed her nose, and brushed it against his. "I'm probably gonna be busy whole day. I don't think I can make it for our lunch break today." Gorya put his suit on, while Veronica brushed lint off his shoulders. "Rain check tomorrow?" Veronica nodded. He kissed her again and walked out from his room. "Be good, dear."

"I'm plotting for world destruction, actually." She joked. She heard Gorya laughed, and then she heard her cell phone buzzing. She checked her text message and saw something that made her heart ache.

"GO TO THE BUS STATION, AND WAIT FOR INSTRUCTION. TAKE YOUR TIME."

Veronica closed her eyes after reading the anonymous text message. She didn't feel like killing someone today.

City Hall

Keith Mars had an emergency meeting with the Mayor and other government officials in the Mayor's office. He exposed the Triton's plan to take over the city. Alphonse Gonzales scoffed with the idea that bunch of high schoolers were planning to use their pranks to hurt the officials.

"They're kids!"

"They're apparently secret society kids." Keith calmly said. "Maybe we should report this to the FBI and let them handle these junior anarchists."

"But they're just kids!" The Mayor still couldn't believe it.

"So was Cassidy Casablancas. He was only sixteen when he blew up that bus a decade ago." Keith reminded Alphonse. The Mayor and other officials were silent after Keith reminded them. "My older son told me that when he was in high school, The Tritons used to have some pranks in Neptune high – mostly harmless pranks. But this... Come on, Al. This is serious. The drive-by shooting was only the beginning. The bullets could be real next time." Keith told Alphonse and looked at the other officials, and they were nodding in agreement.

"Any ideas who are the members of this… Tritons?" Alphonse didn't go to Neptune High during his youth. He went to Pan High, so he thought the whole thing was ridiculous. "Who is the ring leader?"

"We're going to get the bottom of this. In the mean time, I think we need to wear bullet proof vests." Keith said. All the officials in the room cringed to hear him said that.

"I'll give you three days before I leak the video that your son took to the media. We need to smoke these kids out." Alphonse concluded. Keith nodded reluctantly. That would be a bad idea, he thought. The Mayor didn't know the concept of stealth, apparently.

Bus Station

Veronica arrived at the bus station wearing big glasses and a trucker hat. She was also wearing a sweatshirt and jeans with a pair of sneakers. She looked like a high schooler. She shoved her hands into her pockets and waited. She felt her phone vibrate and picked it up.

"GO TO LOCKER 505. PICK THE PACKAGE. READ THE INTRUCTIONS."

Veronica sighed, deleted the message, and then walked to the lockers. She found the locker and opened it using a key that she had from previous assignments. The key could open anything that she was being told, apparently. She found a package and a dossier in it, and she grabbed it. It was a brown package, and there was a note and a bus ticket pinned onto it.

Veronica read the instruction and looked at the bus ticket in her hand. Apparently, she had to go to Los Angeles. She sighed, slammed the locker, and then walked to the appointed bus.

Meanwhile, Gabriel and Dante were watching her every move. They also were carrying brown packages.

Siren Café

Logan and Dick were sitting in the corner, away from prying eyes, eating their breakfast. Mac was working, so she didn't go with them. Because Mac wasn't there, Dick enjoyed himself eating anything but vegetarian food: bacon, eggs, shredded chicken, smoked beef, fried potatoes, hash browns, beef patty, and Jell-O.

Logan looked at Dick in amazement. "You're trying so hard to clog your artery."

"Dude, sometimes it can be hell eating with Mac. All she eats is leaves."

Logan smirked and drank his coffee. "Don't forget that you're paying."

"You know what? I think I'm gonna let you pay for this one. You kissed Mac!" Dick shoved potatoes into his mouth.

Logan rolled his eyes. "I didn't. She kissed me and I didn't kiss her back. I told you about this. And I kissed her head. It was only a friendly kiss, damn it. Do we need to rehash this? My jaw is still sore, asshole."

"Do you have any idea how it feels to have a girl that you like and she likes someone else?" Dick gulped his guava juice.

Logan looked at him like he was crazy. "Were we in the same high school together?"

Dick slowly remembered the whole Duncan and Veronica thing. He grimaced and shrugged. "Oh."

"Yeah." He nodded solemnly. "Oh? That's the only thing you can say?"

"Dude, I dunno what am I gonna do with her! She's driving me crazy. Fuck, it's like she's under my skin. I can't just be friends with her. And she was Cass' girlfriend."

"She was his girlfriend… but that was a long time ago." Logan said in a soft tone. "I think you really need to tell her how you feel."

"Did you tell her about how you felt back then?" Dick asked suddenly.

Logan looked at him, a bit mesmerized. He remembered 'The Alternate-Prom' back in high school. Although he was drunk and didn't remember that he poured his heart out to Veronica, called Kendall for a one night stand, then found Veronica at his front door declaring her love to him, only to be shattered by Kendall's appearance which made her bolt away from him…

It was years later that he remembered what happened. He remembered that he made an 'Epic' speech about their love lives. He remembered that he wanted to kiss her so bad that night. And when he was about to, she…

"I did."

"And how did she react?"

Logan chewed his bacon slowly. "She ran."

Dick grimaced and slapped Logan's back. "Thanks for the advice, man."

Logan sighed and reclined to his seat, as he watched Dick gorge food in front of him. "It doesn't mean that Mac would do the same. You've been friends for ten years now. I think if you both sat down and talked about this like adults, who knows?" He looked at Dick with food dangling all over his mouth. "Then again…"

Before Dick could reply, Logan's cell phone was buzzing. He looked at the name and grimaced. He excused himself from the table and walked out from the café. Dick stole some hash browns from Logan's plate and ate it even he was still chewing. Logan answered the phone while he was walking near the boardwalk.

"Morning, Patty."

"Logan, it's been a while."

"Patty-cake, you called me during the weekend."

"But it's been a while since I saw you. You've been gone for a week now. When are you coming back?" Logan watched a few seagulls fly by and sighed.

"I think I'm gonna stay for a while." When he didn't hear any reply, he added. "I'm still… not ready to leave this place, Patty."

"You were doing a great job avoiding that place for years, and now you claim that you can't leave?" She had this condescending tone that he hated.

"I met her, Patty…" Logan said quietly. "She's…" He remembered the night in the restaurant, her wearing that cocktail dress, looking at him with her beautiful blue eyes… He wanted her. He wanted her so bad. "It was like time stopped and there she was… It was like high school all over again. I want to fix this. I want to be here with my friends… do something…I don't know." Maybe I would help Dick and Mac together. "And just be with her. I'm thinking about seeing her again, I mean… Patty, she looked great. She's…"

"She's married."

Logan couldn't say anything for a while. That statement shut him up immediately. He swallowed and exhaled, not really accepting the truth. Patricia was listening to Logan's heavy breathing like he wanted to hurl. "Why did you call, Patty?" Finally he asked.

"You asked me to find some info about Veronica Mars, right?"

"Yes… Did you find anything?"

"I sent some files to your hotel. You'll be able to read everything about her." Patricia sighed. "I'm not trying to be an insensitive bitch or anything, but listen…" She paused. "What happened to her… things that happened to her… those were long time ago. I think she has moved on and already living her life now. She's married now, granted with a fucking mob. But that's her choice. You can't do anything about it, Logan."

"This is not about her being married to a mob, Patty. This is about how she killed that man in New York, how she moves like professional killer. I want to know who she works with. I want to know WHY she kills. Veronica I knew would never kill…"

"Veronica you knew." She cut him off. "You haven't seen her for a decade, Logan. People change…" Patricia then said softly. "You've changed."

Logan went silent and looked at the ocean. His eyes were glimmering. When he spoke again, his voice croaked. "This is not how our lives were supposed to be, Patty. I shouldn't have left her… left everyone… We were supposed to be in college together, having fun, studying together, graduating together… and maybe…"

Maybe I'd ask her to marry me… His chest tightened.

"You didn't know what the future would hold." Patricia wisely said. "And Logan… if you didn't leave Neptune, I wouldn't be here talking to you." Her voice was soft. "I would be somewhere in a ditch, killed by my husband… You saved me, Logan. Remember?"

Of course he remembered. There was no one else he could be close with except Patricia. She was his solid ground, his sister, his mother hen, his everything. He couldn't bear to lose Patricia.

"Have I ever told you that I love you?" Logan asked.

Patricia laughed. "Last month, during drunken phone confession - you left a voice message. My girlfriend thought that I went back to the other team."

Logan chuckled. "Well, I'm glad we had this heart to heart girly conversation. It's time for me to get back and have a manly conversation with Dick."

"You do that." She said. "And Logan…"

"Yeah?"

"Be good." She then terminated the phone call. Logan sighed and went back to the café. He saw Dick was talking to a tall blonde who was scolding him. He overheard Dick apologize over and over again.

"I swear, Dick. This is not how you treat me!" She had her hands on her hips.

"Babe, I am so sorry that I forgot to call the other day." Dick gave a weak excuse. He saw Logan and he waved to him. "Buddy!"

The blonde whipped her head towards Logan. At first she frowned, and then realization dawned on her. "Oh, it's the King of Neptune. You're back. I'm sorry I don't bow down to you." Logan raised his eyebrows, not recognizing the blonde. "Typical. Of course you don't remember me." She stepped closer to Logan and whispered tersely. "I went down on you during a party once upon a time."

Logan blinked at the very mention of some sexual favor. He didn't remember this blonde. He remembered he used to date Caitlin Ford and Hannah Griffith back in high school, but he didn't remember her…

"Logan, you remember Lizzie? Meg's sister. We, uh, we are dating." Dick looked at Logan who widened his eyes.

"We're NOT dating. I fuck him on a regular basis, that's all." She said nonchalantly. "All I ask in return is nice treatment from you." She wagged her finger and then poked Dick on the shoulder. Dick winced but didn't say anything. "That means not finishing early or stopping suddenly!" She twirled around and walked to the counter to pick up her coffee, then walked out from the café. Logan sat down at his table and drank his coffee slowly. Dick was fidgeting. When Dick was about to say something, Logan raised his hand.

"So I got beat up from you because I kissed Mac in a friendly manner, and yet you're fucking the town whore?"

"She's not a whore, she's a stripper." Dick tried to explain, "That didn't come out right."

"What?"

Dick scratched his head uncomfortably. "Lizzie is a stripper, mind you; she's a high class stripper. I met her few weeks back in a strip club."

Logan shook his head, "Wait, I thought her parents; I mean Meg and her parents… Aren't they the religious freak type? Donut had to run from Meg's parents with their child!" He frowned and thought hard. "Meg and Lizzie's parents were also Lucky's benefactor. Remember Lucky the janitor? He almost killed everyone at school before he got shot."

"I remember Lucky." Dick said quietly.

"You're dating Lizzie?" Logan was aghast. "What about Mac?"

"Like she said, I'm not dating her apparently. She's just a fuck buddy." Dick shrugged. "I'm a guy, Logan. You know how it is – friends with benefits and shit like that…."

"What happened to her? Why is she a stripper? She's a 09ers."

Dick tsk-ed and explained. "The Mannings aren't 09ers anymore. Lizzie is now working as a stripper after uh… family misfortune."

"I'm sorry to hear that… Wow, that sucks. I thought the Kanes would do something about them, being practically some sort of in-laws or something." Logan bitterly said. Somehow he was hard imagining Celeste Kane as the type who wanted to help others.

Dick sighed. "Remember Gracie, Meg and Lizzie's little sister?"

"I heard of her, yeah. Donut and Veronica broke into the Manning's house and found Gracie in a poor condition."

Dick fidgeted again. "Did Mac tell you about Don Lamb?"

Logan blinked, not expecting the conversation suddenly shifted to Lamb. "Huh?"

"Did she tell you how he died?"

Logan shook his head slowly. "No… Mac only told me that Lamb died in the line of duty."

Dick sat straight and said quietly, "What else did Mac tell you?"

"For fuck's sake, Dick. Just fucking tells me. You and everyone else seems evasive about what happened here, it makes my head hurt." Logan stared at Dick who was quiet. "She told me about Veronica; her rape, her marriage to Lamb, and then his death. After his death, Veronica married into the mob. What's this got to do with Lamb?"

"Everything." Dick answered softly. "Meg, Lizzie and Gracie's parents killed Lamb."