DISCLAIMER: I don't own any rights to Veronica Mars. This story is written as a tribute only. No celebrity endorsement is implied by product placements. All real persons' names are used in the sense of "wouldn't it be cool if this person had this gig?" The institution discussed in this fic is not a real institution. No harm or insult is intended to any real-life organizations or to any participants in the meetings of these organizations. Again, this fic is not intended for those under the age of 17.
A/N: Beta-ed by Kazy and Poniesforall. Any remaining errors are my responsibility. My Mexican dialogue expert was unavailable this time around, so all the Spanish might be nonsensical, but it's damn colorful. For this update, I relied heavily on some helpful information I got from wily_one24 back in August of Ought Eight, when this fic was only a little out of control.
Last time on The Year of Living Dangerously Part II-Just the important stuff from chapters 117-121:
( for the whole overblown "previously on", see my journal.
vanessagalore•livejournal•com/101670•html )
THIS SUMMARY REFERS TO THE CHAPTER POSTED 2/8/09; GO BACK AND READ CHAPTER 35 IF YOU MISSED IT.
Wallace pursues the lead of the unidentified cohort of the Fitzpatricks; he goes to Pan High, but is discovered and arrested for trespassing. Weevil bails him out; they show the picture around at Rest Stop 15 and are told that no one knows him. Weevil finds out that Oswaldo Cortez, Hector's cousin who spied on him and Logan senior year and caused him to be ousted from the PCHers, is involved somehow and decides to seek revenge as well as information. Along with Arturo and the PCHers, he kidnaps Oswaldo and is about to question him.
Now that Duncan's custody hearing is over, Keith, Veronica, and Logan are heading to Los Angeles to speak to Mike Fields and Logan's therapist, Dr. Friedman, and then to Rio Linda to investigate Hannah's murder. Briar Hill has released Veronica's guilt letter to the newspapers to try to damage her credibility. When Logan reads the letter, he realizes that Veronica not only used her real feelings about Lilly while undercover, but also somehow knew that, at one point, he had blamed her for Lilly's death. Veronica admits that she had bugged Ms. James's office and overheard Logan. She expresses her worries that she always uses the people around her, the way the counselors had told her she did while undercover. She says that she regrets investigating Lilly's murder because of all the trouble it caused, including getting Logan's father arrested, but Logan rebukes her, saying his father deserved what he got. Veronica says she wasn't a good friend to Logan that year, but he reminds her that he was the one who tormented her for supporting her father. Logan tells Veronica he's not upset about anything she did or said during the undercover operation, and he's not going to spend any more time regretting his decision to go undercover with her. He says he misses his old Veronica, who took risks and fought back.
Sheriff D'Amato continues to investigate Kendall's murder. Dr. Griffith and Liam Fitzpatrick still elude capture. The vehicle of Dr. Griffith's office manager is found abandoned in Arizona. The deluxe stereo from the Crawford's SUV that was used in Kendall's murder is found in a pawnshop in San Diego. Daniel Mulvaney, nephew of the Crawford's housekeeped and known Fitzpatrick associate, is placed in custody but isn't talking. Griffith's anesthesiologist also refuses to talk.
Veronica, Logan, and Keith meet with Mike Fields, who tells them that he and Mac told Mac's handler about Veronica's theories in the Slasher case. He tells them he has been checking the alibis of everyone who had access to the Slasher files, but since he was suspended has been unable to complete work on the project. Mike has also found out that Vincenzo Frazzino, Maria's father, was briefed on the Slasher case. They share the information they've acquired regarding the Fitzpatricks; Mike unsuccessfully tries to convince them to leave the case alone. They leave a voicemail message for Mac's handler, Alan Sheffield.
Veronica has an intense therapy session with Dr. Friedman, who reluctantly agrees to speak with Veronica despite the conflict of interest. Veronica tells about her experience undercover and tries to minimize how hard it was, but the doctor sees through her deflections. Veronica admits the operation was much harder than she had anticipated, and that she hates realizing what a weak person she is. She tells the therapist that the school was able to see what a bad person and a user she is. Veronica relates how guilty she feels that she made Logan go undercover, and how worried she is about their relationship. Dr. Friedman reminds Veronica how skilled a manipulator Peter Klein is and how effective the techniques used by the programs are at brainwashing their victims.
Veronica tells the doctor what she remembers about the last day; she believes she remembered something about her rape when Klein was confronting her, and she wants the doctor to help her view the surveillance tapes in hopes that she'll remember again. Dr. Friedman urges Veronica to ask Logan what he remembers from that night, and Veronica realizes she's never asked him what he saw, possibly because she's afraid to learn what he did or didn't do that night. Veronica is certain that Briar Hill will use whatever Veronica said during the last group therapy session to discredit her testimony at the upcoming trial; she admits that she's terrified to face Klein at trial because he has already beaten her. The therapist reminds Veronica that in one sense, Veronica has beaten him, by gathering evidence that caused him to be arrested, but Veronica insists that she's ashamed to have been beaten by the ridiculous assignment of jumping jacks. The therapist urges Veronica to try to reduce the stress in her life (hah!! fat chance with VanessaGalore in charge), and she reminds Veronica how much her friends and family love her.
After the therapy session, both Logan and Veronica get their hair cut and styled in their normal fashion as a way to distract Veronica from everything that's going on. The therapist urges Keith to help Veronica avoid stress and relax; she doesn't reveal what Veronica told her, but explains to Keith that a random word triggers memories of the mental reprogramming the school was trying to instill in Veronica. The three of them have a fun evening at Logan's beach house.
Veronica has a vicious nightmare. Klein is on trial, and she is testifying against him. Klein's attorney is Ethan Lavoie, Aaron Echolls' defense lawyer, and he calls as witnesses Carrie Bishop, Madison Sinclair, and Dick Casablancas and has them testify that Veronica is a slut. Keith testifies that he didn't know about his daughter's rape; the defense attorney hammers home the conclusion that it wasn't really rape and recalls Veronica to the stand. By this time, it's clear that it is Veronica who is on trial, not Klein. She wakes up and begs Logan to tell her what he remembers of the night of Shelleys party.
Mac has been kidnapped; she overhears her captors express frustration about losing the trail of somebody 'after the hearing'. Alan Sheffield has been beaten badly, and her abductors tell her that she is going to help them locate Veronica Mars. (dun-dun-da.)
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VERONICA MARS
10:00PM SHO ch: 340 60min 2009 TV-MA
Remembrance of Things Past
Logan tells Veronica about Shelly Pomroy's
party.
Veronica: Kristen Bell. Logan: Jason Dohring.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO: "REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST"
Fri. 3/20/09 very late: Logan's House, Venice Beach, CA
"Veronica, what do you want me to do?" Logan asks helplessly.
She exhales loudly. "Logan."
"What?" he replies, stroking the hair from her forehead and kissing the tip of her nose.
"I need you to tell me everything you remember from the night of Shelly Pomroy's party. Everything, Logan. I don't care how bad it was. I need to know. I can't not know anymore."
Land mine, he thinks. Hesitantly, he replies, "Veronica. Please...don't make me." He rolls away and looks at the ceiling. "The last time you questioned me...you know, 'seeing each other, warts and all'...don't you remember? You couldn't take it, you couldn't forgive me."
"I did forgive you."
"Eighteen months later. And...." he swallows. "It wasn't even...I know I shouldn't have but...we weren't even...."
"I know, we weren't even together, and I held you to an impossible standard," Veronica mumbles.
"You say that now, but I remember what you were like. I can't lose you again," he says desperately. "I won't survive."
They lie in silence, and then he hears her crying again.
She sobs, "I don't know what else to do, Logan. In my nightmare, it was Klein's trial, and they had everyone from Shelly's party testifying that I was a slut and I wasn't really raped. And I knew I couldn't defend myself because I can't remember what happened."
He turns back to her and folds her into his arms again. She trembles against him as he murmurs, "You weren't a slut, Veronica. We treated you like one, but you didn't do anything wrong."
"Then tell me what happened. I promise...I promise I'll forgive you, whatever it was," she offers. "I know Klein is going to use my rape against me to try to discredit me in the lawsuit. ...Logan, I'm so afraid."
Logan is shaken to the core. God...Veronica's afraid. I've never heard her say that...Veronica's AFRAID.
She says tremulously, "I thought I was...over my rape. I thought I was okay. But I'm not okay. I don't know what to do, Logan. Please. Tell me what you remember, maybe I'll...maybe I'll remember what I remembered at Briar Hill. I promise...we'll deal with it together. I won't run away, I'll talk with you about it, like I should have done after you told me about Madison. Please, Logan."
He stares at her wordlessly.
"Say something, Logan."
"I'm just wondering if this is the last time you'll let me hold you," he replies in a desolate voice. Logan touches her cheek, so gently that his fingertips just barely brush her skin, and she feels his longing and his fear deep inside her core.
She closes her eyes and tries to focus on that whispery touch. "Logan, I'm sorry...I'm sorry that I need this," she weeps. "I wish we could just forget it too."
He takes a breath and begins.
"I got to the party about nine o'clock. The first person I saw was Duncan. He was with Lilly's friend, Amanda. She was all over him, but Duncan wasn't into her. You remember, he was still acting like a ghost, hardly talking. When Amanda went to the bathroom, I told him he should loosen up and get laid. He told me to shut the fuck up and walked away."
Logan plays with his hair nervously. "I started drinking. I think we were doing jello shots; then I probably had four tequila shooters in about twenty minutes, and the world was nice and fuzzy, just the way I liked it that year."
He pauses, trying to remember. "I think Dick was trying to get Madison to go off to one of the bedrooms with him. He brought her a drink, and she made a face and blew him off."
"She was on Atkins," Veronica muses. "She told Dick it would be like drinking lard."
Logan nods. "Right, I remember Lilly was doing that diet too for a while. But Lilly never turned down a drink. Then Luke and Sean showed up. They were hanging out with Dick and Casey."
"So I still hadn't arrived yet?"
"No. I saw Luke hand something to Dick. I'm guessing it was the GHB."
"Luke told me Dick was going to take one dose and give the other to Madison."
"That sounds right. I wasn't paying that much attention."
"And then I got there. I remember walking in, pushing my way through the crowd."
Logan says quietly, "We were making fun of you. Your dad had just lost the recall election. Everyone was saying that the Mars family should just leave town." He hesitates, then amends, "I was saying that the Mars family should just leave town. I thought your dad had leaked the crime scene video to make Jake Kane and Duncan look guilty."
"Dad didn't do that."
"I know," he agrees softly.
"I think it was Lamb who leaked the tape. Then one of his buddies in the Town Supervisor's office pushed for the recall election, and Lamb got appointed sheriff." She exhales. "So you were making fun of me. That means you were watching me."
He nods.
"So what happened after that?" she presses.
"You got a drink, and then you were just standing at the bar drinking it. No one was talking to you; a couple people moved away. You drank the drink fast—you know, you were nervous, you just kept sipping it."
"I remember that. I tried to talk to Carrie Bishop, and she just walked away. I was wishing I hadn't come to the party, but I wasn't going to just leave even though you were all being such assholes."
Logan says, "Then Dick came over and started talking to me, and I didn't see where you went."
"I think that's when I went out to the pool. I remember just feeling really sick all of a sudden and wanting to get some air. I was having such a hard time walking."
They stare at each other in silence. Veronica finally says, "Then you found me by the pool."
"It must have been about half an hour later. Tad had come inside and asked me if I would sell him some of the GHB. I guess Sean told him I had some. So we went outside, he gave me the money, and I gave him one dose. He said he was going to split it with Carmen."
"You know that he took a video of her pretending to give a blowjob to a popsicle that night."
"I know. Veronica, I'm so sorry, we were such a bunch of jackasses that night."
"Yeah, you were," she replies. "You found me by the pool," she prompts again. "Just...tell me."
FLASHBACK: Out by the pool, Logan puts the money from Tad into his pocket and is about to head back into the party. On the far side of the pool, well away from the groups of kids chatting and drinking, he sees a familiar girl in a white dress on a lounge chair.
He walks over, incredulous. In a snide tone, he remarks loudly, "Oh, this is fucking great. Veronica Mars, drunk off her ass. You must have started before you got here. Come on, Ronnie, let's have another one." He withdraws a flask from his pocket and uncaps it; he holds it to her mouth. "It's the primo stuff, Ronnie, Don Felipe, 100% agave, from my dad's stash. Not that rotgut your mom drinks."
Veronica weakly pushes the flask away, almost spilling it.
"Whoa, Ronnie, this is expensive stuff, watch what you're doing." Logan takes a long pull off the flask. "Okay, stick to the rotgut, I don't give a shit." He pulls out his phone. "Let's take a picture to send to your daddy."
Veronica mumbles, "No...no. Logan...."
"Oh, she begs...she pleads. Maybe you should have thought of that before you took your dad's side, bitch." Logan takes a picture and examines the result. "Fuck, you can't see it, it's too dark."
Dick and Sean amble over and stare at Veronica curiously. Dick says, "What the fuck, Logan?"
"Ronnie's in the mood to party tonight," Logan replies. "I think she's trying to change her image. She's up for anything." He reaches down and strokes her leg, and Veronica pulls away from his hand as Logan laughs hysterically.
"She's not completely repulsive," Sean notes. "I'd hit that."
"You'd hit Mrs. Murphy, you're so desperate," Logan comments. "Try to have some standards, Sean."
Sean snorts. "Fuck standards. And from what I've heard, Ronnie'll do anything."
Dick says with superiority, "Aren't only virgins allowed to wear white dresses? Who does she think she's kidding?"
"I know, right?" Logan chortles.
Veronica moans a little, and Sean bends down to her. "What's that you say, Ronnie? You'll take us all on?"
The boys whoop in response. Logan says, "Like mother, like daughter. Ronnie likes 'em big and hard."
"At least that's what it says in the boys' room," Dick adds.
"Because that's what you wrote," Logan points out.
"I have a duty to inform the public of Ms. Mars' moral decay. Dootie," Dick smirks as Logan and Sean bust up laughing. "What's your favorite position, Ronnie? Grabbing your ankles?"
"Hey, Mars, is it true that Duncan likes it freaky?" Sean chimes in.
Veronica struggles to sit up, and Logan pushes her back to the lounge. "Easy, Ronnie. We're going to have a little party." He turns to the others and says, "You remember that hooker last week in Tijuana?"
"Body shots," Dick says, nodding. He pumps his fist, "Yes!"
"Yeah. See if you can get some more tequila, I don't think this is going to be enough." Logan shakes the flask theatrically.
"I'll get the salt and the limes," Sean suggests. He and Dick disappear to find supplies.
Logan leans down and says in Veronica's ear, "You don't mind if we have a little fun, do you, Ronnie? Sweet little Veronica Mars, who knew? You were probably stepping out on Duncan the whole time, you bitch." Logan notices that a few people have gathered around, murmuring. He waggles his fingers and announces, "Show starts in five minutes, people. Veronica Mars is practicing for her new career at the Seventh Veil."
"You were so out of it. You were conscious, but you couldn't really talk." He closes his eyes, remembering. "I put my hand on your leg, and you sort of tried to pull away. But you couldn't, and I laughed at you. I was so mad at you, mad at everyone...my dad was on the rampage at home, and Lilly was gone and Duncan was a zombie.... You were an easy target for all the hate I had. Dick came over and asked what I was doing—I guess Madison had completely blown him off by that point. I told him that you had said you were up for anything. We started making fun of you; we said that only virgins were allowed to wear white dresses. Someone asked you what your favorite position was, and was it true that Duncan liked it freaky."
Veronica frowns. "I...I don't remember that...I think I remember pushing your hand away—well, trying to, at least. Then there were a lot of people around. I thought...I remember thinking I was glad because people had stopped shunning me."
"People were wondering what was going on, and they gathered around." He swallows. "I might have called people over...I don't remember. I was really fucked up that night, Veronica. Then Dick started tickling you, and you were giggling. You couldn't get away, and we thought it was hysterical. God, Veronica...I wish I could take everything back."
Veronica asks, "So the salt lick was your idea?"
He nods. "I said we ought to do a salt lick like we saw in Tijuana the week before. It was a hooker in one of those bars on Avenida Révolución: you paid five dollars and got a shot and a lick."
Veronica shudders. "Ugh. You were licking a prostitute in Tijuana?"
"We just watched; it was a really disgusting bar." Suddenly, he bursts out, "Veronica, I can't do this. I can't tell you these things...I've tried to blot the whole night out, I've wanted to erase it from my memory for so long. I'm so sorry about everything."
"You haven't told me anything I didn't already know. You just added a few colorful details," she replies, her eyes unfocused and her face blank.
"Are you...are you remembering something new?" he asks nervously.
"No...not really. I sort of remember the salt lick. I remember you guys all around me laughing; I remember feeling sticky and the smell of tequila. I've never been able to smell tequila since then without feeling nauseous. I remember laughing because you were tickling me...it felt good to laugh, I don't think I'd laughed since Lilly died. I remember thinking that maybe you guys didn't hate me anymore. You were talking to me, hanging out with me...I guess I thought maybe you were going to be my friend again. I missed you so much, Logan. I lost you and Duncan too when Lilly died. My mom was being my mom...Dad was...he was barely talking, he was so upset about everything. I was so alone."
Logan rolls over and sits up on the edge of the bed. He drops his face into his hands and weeps. Veronica struggles to sit up and hitches herself over to him. She leans against his back. "Logan, I forgave you for the salt lick a long time ago. I don't even care about you giving Duncan the GHB."
He scoffs, "You should care. He was trying to save you from me. He was the hero, I was the villain."
FLASHBACK: Duncan, trying to escape the persistent Amanda who has licked his neck one too many times, wanders out to the pool and sees the crowd around the lounge chair. Curious, he walks over and is appalled to see what's going on. He grabs Logan's arm and yells, "What the hell are you doing? She can barely sit up, you freak!"
Logan laughs scornfully. "Wait dude, you can't be the cavalry and a martyr, man. Pick a side."
Angrily, Duncan retorts, "Leave her alone." He bends over and tries to get Veronica to sit up. She shakes her head, barely cognizant of her surroundings, as Duncan takes a napkin and tries to wipe the salt, sticky from saliva, from her chest and arms. He pulls her up onto her feet; Veronica is unsteady but stays standing.
Logan stares at Duncan for moment; he turns a little to conceal what he's doing as he opens a vial of GHB and pours it in a drink. Faux-apologetic, he taps Duncan on the shoulder and says, "Hey, I'm sorry, dude. You know, man, you're, I mean, you're totally right. It's no way to have fun, huh?" He hands Duncan the drink and smiles as Duncan accepts it. "Cheers."
Logan drinks, hoping to get Duncan to join him. Duncan stares back for a moment before drinking. Logan walks away, with a smug smile on his face. Behind them, Veronica, obviously still out of it, staggers away from them into the party.
"I left you there after I dosed Duncan. I...I didn't give a shit what happened to you, and I didn't let Duncan take you away."
"Is that what you think is so unforgivable? That you prevented Duncan from saving me that night?" Veronica asks.
He keeps staring into space. "I didn't just prevent him from saving you. I drugged him so that he raped you."
"It was consensual, Logan. It wasn't rape with Duncan."
He turns around and says intensely, "You say that, but you know it's not true. Neither of you were in a condition to consent to sex. So...it was rape with Duncan too."
"But he couldn't have intended to rape me. You just said yourself, he wasn't in a condition to—"
Angrily, he retorts, "Exactly. So it's the person who drugged him who's responsible. Me."
"Logan...lie back down with me," she begs. "Please."
Reluctantly, he turns around and lies down with her. She touches his face gently. "I believed you when you told me you just wanted to see Duncan having a good time. I was worried about him too. It killed me not to be able to talk to him, to not know what was going on with him after Lilly died. It scared me."
He nods.
She continues, "So you don't know what happened after you gave Duncan the drink with the drugs in it?"
"You disappeared when my back was turned, Veronica. I didn't know where you went. I should have been worried about you; I should have taken care of you, but all I wanted to do was get incredibly fucked up...and then get laid. I didn't want to think about anything that night."
"Did you see me again after that?"
He shakes his head. "The next day, I heard some people talking about you, how you were making out with everyone by the bar. Someone said you were even kissing Shelly."
"I don't remember that at all. Everything after the salt lick is a blur.... When I started asking everyone what happened, I kept expecting to suddenly remember everything about that night. But all I remember are the different stories everyone told me. And the only person whose story I trusted was Meg's...and all she saw was the salt lick."
"I should have taken care of you." He gazes at her with a haunted expression. "I hate that...that I was capable of that, to torture you like that. You didn't do anything to me."
She stares at him, trying to hear the unspoken words. "You're...." You're afraid you're like your father. Veronica whispers, "I don't think you're like your dad, Logan. You regret what you did."
"But...." He stares into space, remembering how easy it had been to hurt her when he was frustrated at Briar Hill, how seductive the rhetoric of the other guards had been. He knows that if they had been there longer, he might have.... No! he swears. I fought it, I'm not like him.
"I'm okay, Logan," she offers. "It was just words...and careless drinking and—" She stops short, suddenly certain that he hasn't told her everything about Shelly's party.
"You're not telling me everything," she guesses. "What are you holding back? What did you see that night that you're not willing to tell me?"
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VERONICA MARS
10:00PM SHO ch: 340 60min 2009 TV-MA
The Truth of the Matter
Weevil questions Oswaldo; Logan reveals
what else happened.
Veronica: Kristen Bell. Logan: Jason Dohring.
Eli: Francis Capra. Oswaldo: Frankie
Rodriguez. Arturo: Mario Ardila, Jr.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-THREE: "THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER"
Fri. 3/20/09 very late: Deserted warehouse, Neptune, CA
"You're really fucking pissing me off," Weevil says to the boy hanging suspended from a hook in front of him. He goes to his bag of tools off to the side and rummages around. He pulls out a pair of channel-lock pliers and says sarcastically, "They taught me a trade up in Chino, you know. I'm a productive member of society now." To the other PCHers, he directs, "Hold him." Weevil walks toward Oswaldo holding the pliers.
"You see these?" Weevil asks. "These are a motherfuckin' great invention. Adjustable pliers." He demonstrates for Oswaldo. "I could make them fit anything."
Weevil remembers one of his cell mates at Chino telling him about working as an enforcer for a loan shark. 'You have to make them think you're crazy. You keep your voice completely rational, and then you say something completely batshit loco. It's the threat of what you're going to do that gets them. I hardly ever had to hurt them. Of course, when I did...' His cell mate had shrugged, with a broad smile that made Weevil's nuts shrivel in response. The man had been absolutely insane; he had never shut up the entire time he was locked up with Weevil.
Weevil says quietly to Arturo, "Take off his shoes and socks."
"What the fuck are you doing?" Oswaldo asks nervously. He struggles ineffectively as Arturo and one of the other PCHers get his shoes and socks off.
"Do you know you don't actually need your pinky toes? If you shoot off your pinky toe, it doesn't even keep you out of the army. I'm just going to take it off for you, get it out of your way," Weevil says calmly. He scrutinizes the pliers ostentatiously and adjusts them to pinky size. "Hold him tight now."
Oswaldo yells, "You're fucking crazy! My cousin's gonna kill you!"
Weevil laughs. "Your cousin? Hector's serving a dime up in Chino. And he's doing exactly what the Mexican Mafia tells him to on the inside. I don't think he's going to be able to help you, Oswaldo. It's too bad you decided to work for Liam. You know Emilio runs la Eme there; he'll probably be surprised to hear you're in with the fucking micks. Might even take it out on Hector." Weevil motions toward Oswaldo's foot; Arturo holds it tightly as Oswaldo kicks against him. Weevil puts the jaws of the pliers around Oswaldo's pinky toe and begins to tighten, slowly.
"Stop...stop," Oswaldo calls out, terrified. Weevil does not remove the pliers, but he stops increasing the pressure. When Oswaldo doesn't volunteer anything, Weevil shrugs and begins to tighten the pliers again. "Stop!...motherfucker, stop, what do you want to know?"
"I want to know why you told the sheriff about Logan Echolls and Kendall Casablancas. Then I want to know what else you do for the fucking Fitzpatricks. And ¿pendejo? Don't keep me hanging." The PCHers laugh at Weevil's joke and yank Oswaldo a little higher on the hook.
Weevil reflects, Fuck, it's the first time I've felt like a man since this motherfucker got me kicked out of the gang. Oswaldo is silent and appears to be considering his words carefully. "I'm waiting," Weevil says harshly.
"Liam told me to tell D'Amato about them."
"Why?" Weevil asks, leaning into Oswaldo's face. The man tries to pull away, and Weevil grabs his jaw. "Why did Liam have you do that?"
"I don't know! He's got a hard-on for Echolls, I think."
"And you always do what Liam says," Weevil comments.
"I know I don't give a shit about that white boy." Oswaldo looks like he has more to say, but he refrains and avoids Weevil's eyes.
"What else?" Weevil asks. "What else are you doing for Liam?"
Oswaldo mutters, "I tell him whenever I hear anything about the PCHers."
The PCHers are muttering angrily and glaring at Oswaldo. "Why the fuck would you do that?" Weevil says scornfully. "Go against your brothers? Be a fucking leva?"
Oswaldo stares back resentfully. Finally, he spits, "Because you turned the PCHers into a bunch of pussies. It's fucking embarrassing, but the Fitzpatricks have more cojones than you do, Navarro.
Arturo breathes in with a hiss; he pushes Weevil aside and kicks Oswaldo viciously in the crotch. "How do those cojones feel now, malinchista?" He pulls his fist back, ready to strike Oswaldo in the face.
Weevil grabs Arturo's fist. "Hold up! I'm not done with him." He pulls Arturo aside and says quietly, "Don't worry, I have plans for Oswaldo. But I need some more information from him."
Arturo nods reluctantly. "All right."
Weevil turns back to Oswaldo and pulls out a photograph, putting it front of Oswaldo's face. "Who's this guy?"
"What?"
"Who is this guy? We know he works for the Fitzpatricks," Weevil asks again. He grabs Oswaldo's jaw painfully and forces him to look at the photo. "The name."
"I don't know him," Oswaldo protests.
"Look closer, baboso."
Oswaldo sighs. "I think they call him KC. He's an errand boy."
Weevil asks, "How do I find this KC?"
"How the fuck do I know?" Oswaldo retorts.
Weevil stares at Oswaldo impassively. Finally Oswaldo says nervously, "He's from Neptune...that's all I know."
"He didn't go to Neptune High, fuckhead."
Oswaldo frowns. "I'm pretty sure he's from Neptune. I swear, that's all I know." Slyly, he adds, "Maybe you should ask Liam."
"Oh, you fucker," Weevil replies bitterly. He walks away and thinks. He decides Oswaldo doesn't have anything more useful to add. He beckons to Arturo. "Phase two." He hands Arturo a tourniquet and a syringe; Arturo nods approvingly. Oswaldo sees the devices and begins to struggle and scream.
Weevil walks back to Oswaldo. He motions to one of the PCHers. "Duct tape." He tears off a strip and with difficulty manages to place the tape over Oswaldo's mouth. "I'm not going to kill you, chingador. This is going to be even better. A little poetic justice for Hannah Griffith." Arturo pushes up Oswaldo's sleeve and ties the tourniquet around his arm.
Weevil steps back. He bums another cigarette and watches impassively as the PCHers shoot heroin into Oswaldo's arm. He thinks about that waif-like girl Logan was seeing senior year and imagines one of Liam's flunkies doing this to her as she begged them to stop. Wallace had told Weevil enough about Veronica's theories that he had connected the dots, and they had spelled Fitzpatrick.
Weevil is well-aware that if this fails—if Veronica's theories aren't proven and the Fitzpatricks aren't rounded up and sent to prison—there will be all-out war between the PCHers and the Fitzpatricks. You better be right, chica.
He has a moment of trepidation before he decides, Fuck that. Veronica's right. And...what the fuck. We haven't had a good gang war in years. It'll be good to bust some heads again.
Fri. 3/20/09 very late: Logan's House, Venice Beach, CA
"You're not telling me everything," Veronica guesses. "What are you holding back? What did you see that night that you're not willing to tell me?"
Logan closes his eyes. "It's not what I saw, it's what I did...and it wasn't just that night."
"What?!" she says, beginning to get angry. "What happened, Logan?"
"We set Beaver up. We played a prank on him. A really terrible prank. I never told you...because we thought Duncan was the one who ra—...who had sex with you that night. Then...after we found out about Beaver...you and I were trying to be together. I was trying. I was trying to be a good enough guy for you, and failing almost all the time. I didn't want you to know about it. I was trying so hard, Veronica."
"Tell me, Logan," she says apprehensively. "Please."
"The week before Shelly's party, Dick caught Beaver checking out a shirtless picture of Johnny Damon, you know, the baseball player. We spent that whole week calling him a faggot. We were fucking vicious, Veronica. We tortured him day and night. Then I had the brilliant idea of playing a joke on him. We stopped calling him a fag and told him we were going to help him lose his virginity. We set him up with a freshman girl named Cindy for the night of the party. Except...at the last second, when he had his clothes off, we were going to send in Seth. You know...our most flamboyant classmate."
Veronica is appalled. "Beaver told me that Dick set him up with her...and he said you left with Cindy."
"Yeah, she played her part perfectly. She went in a bedroom with him and kissed him a little, then told him to take off his clothes while she went to the bathroom. Then Seth went in instead; we threw open the door and took a picture of Seth trying to kiss him. Beaver was completely humiliated."
"You confronted him with his worst fear," she says slowly.
"We laughed our asses off, and then I took off with Cindy."
Veronica tries to think. "When was this? After the salt lick?"
"Right after."
Veronica says, "So later that night I ended up in the guest room. Either Dick carried me in there, or I stumbled in there to get away from them. And then they pushed Beaver toward me and left me with him...knowing that Beaver was upset about the prank you just pulled...and had a lot of motivation to prove he was a man." Bitterly, she adds, "A whole new reason to hate Dick Casablancas."
"We thought Beaver was harmless, Veronica. You did too. I'm sure Dick was laughing about it, thinking that Beaver wouldn't even have the guts to make a move on you."
"Are you defending Dick?" she asks angrily. "Right before he left me there with his psycho little brother, he said, 'You better suit up, you don't know where she's been.'"
"Yeah, well, that's my line. He was just repeating what I'd been saying all day, every day, ever since you told me you were taking your dad's side. And Veronica, I swear to you, Dick never thought Beaver could do something like that."
"You're incredible. You're eaten up by guilt because you played on a prank on Beaver, but Dick left me there with him, and you're defending him."
"They would have done whatever I asked. If I'd told them that sunshine came out of your ass, they would have knelt down and prayed to you. But I told them you were a...slut and—" Logan is unable to continue.
"You don't get to take credit for that. Dick is going to have to answer for this."
Veronica falls silent. Logan searches her face, trying to read her expression. Finally, he can't bear it and says, "Say something. Veronica. Please...just yell at me or tell me I'm an asshole."
"I don't know what to say," she mumbles. "I've been imagining all sorts of scenarios. You saw him hitting on me, you told him that I wanted to have sex with him...I don't know what I thought. This is just...pathetic. You didn't know about Woody, and you played a juvenile, horrible prank on a damaged boy." Her voice begins to tremble. "But Logan...how could you...Logan, you were so cruel to him...and to me."
"I'm sorry, Veronica; I don't know how else to say it. I think I should go sleep on the couch," Logan says morosely.
He rolls away and quietly leaves the bedoom. As he shuts the door, his eyes meet hers; she is curled into a fetal position again, her body heaving with silent sobs. He wants nothing more than to go to her and comfort her. He hesitates. "Do you want...are you sure you don't want me to get your dad?"
She shakes her head and hugs herself tighter.
That's it, he thinks. That's the end. I didn't think I could hurt worse than I did after the fight about Madison, but I do. And I have no one to blame but myself.
He walks out to the living room; Kavner is stretched out, sleeping on the couch. Logan walks to the sliding door and goes out on the deck. He sits down and looks at the ocean. The events of Shelly's party pass in front of his eyes on an endless loop. He remembers how angry Beaver was—betrayed and shamed. Beaver had fought off Seth as if possessed while Dick tried to get a picture.
And Logan had laughed.
The next school day, when the rumors of Veronica's slutty behavior raced through the hallways of Neptune High, he remembers feeling almost relieved—she had proved him right. She really was.... But he had still been shocked when he saw her, with her chopped-off hair and new tough attitude. It wasn't the same girl who had walked through those hallways the Friday before the party.
Did I even feel guilty? Or did I just enjoy it?
That day, she didn't even try to sit with anyone at lunch. She had slammed her tray down on the table that would become hers and hers alone, and dared anyone to approach her. She had tossed her head back, enjoying the freedom of her new short hair, and had clearly told the world—and him—FUCK YOU.
I don't deserve her forgiveness. All those times in the years afterwards, when she didn't trust me, when she berated me for my sins...somehow she knew what we did, how we hurt her. Be honest, asshole, what YOU did. It wasn't Dick's idea to set Beaver up with Cindy.
He can't even remember being with Cindy. Faceless, no-strings-attached sex, with a girl who didn't care about her reputation: it meant less than nothing...a physical clenching and release that probably didn't assuage his pain and anger for more than a second.
He hears the sliding door opening, and he whirls around. Veronica struggles a little to close the door with one arm but manages before he can stand up from the deck chair to help her.
"Veron—" he starts.
"Don't talk," she whispers. She approaches his chair and says simply, "Hold me."
He helps her get settled in his lap; Logan tentatively strokes her back as she relaxes against him. Finally, after a long silence, she says quietly, "You were a kid. You were grieving for your girlfriend and acting out. God knows what your dad was doing to you. You played a cruel joke on your friend, but you didn't know what had been done to him and what he was capable of. You didn't make him rape me. It was five years ago, and you've been trying to make it up to me ever since. I'm not okay with it, but I think I will be." She sighs in frustration. "I don't want to be angry with you, Logan. Please."
He hesitantly puts his arms around her, and she says firmly, "No, really hold me, Logan. I want to get through this. I need you."
I'll never get used to her saying that, he thinks. Logan grasps her tightly, trying somehow to make her believe that he's sorry, that he won't ever let her down again. Suddenly, she begins shaking, and he realizes that she's sobbing anew. "What is it? Veronica?"
"I still don't remember anything. Logan, I don't remember anything!" She trembles compulsively in his arms as he tries to comfort her, rocking and patting her, and feeling each of her sobs like a lash from his father's belt.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
VERONICA MARS
10:00PM SHO ch: 340 60min 2009 TV-MA
Out of the Past
Oswaldo's fate; Logan and Veronica
grapple with the new information.
Veronica: Kristen Bell. Logan: Jason Dohring.
Eli: Francis Capra. Latina babe: Mayrin Villanueva.
Sacks: Brandon Hillock. Clark: Zadran Wali.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FOUR: "OUT OF THE PAST"
Fri. 3/20/09 middle of the night: Cortez house, Neptune, CA
Deputy Sacks and Deputy Clark walk up the front steps onto the porch of a small and ramshackle house. "I don't hear anything," Sacks comments.
"Domestic disturbance, we got to check it out," Clark responds. He looks in the window and grabs Sacks' arm. "Look."
Through the window, Sacks notes several parcels wrapped in brown paper, plastic bags, and a scale on the kitchen table. "In plain sight," he remarks quietly. "I'll call it in."
He mutters into the radio reporting their observations as Clark draws his gun and looks around nervously. Sacks says in a low voice, "Okay, let's do it."
Clark bangs on the front door loudly. "Neptune Sheriff Department, open up." When there is no response, he knocks out the glass window and opens the door.
They find Oswaldo Cortez passed out in the bedroom, with more drugs and almost a thousand dollars in cash.
Fri. 3/20/09 very late: Logan's House, Venice Beach, CA
Logan rocks Veronica like a baby, but she is inconsolable. "Talk to me, Veronica." It's become cold on the deck, and he wishes he had a blanket for her. He doesn't quite know what to do with his hands; he tries to caress her shoulder, but every move that he makes feels wrong—presumptuous and insufficient all at once.
"I thought...I thought—" she hiccups. "I thought maybe I'd remember something if we talked. I thought maybe I remembered something you did when Klein was questioning me. I thought maybe I blocked it out because I didn't want to think about you doing something awful. I've been so scared to ask you about the party. You're telling me everything?"
"I swear it, Veronica," Logan replies. Isn't it enough? "Maybe you remembered the salt lick...what we said to you was terrible. I wouldn't blame you for trying to forget it."
She stares vacantly at the ocean. "You said that and worse to me every day at school. I must have scrubbed my locker a hundred times that year. After a while, I just started putting stickers over the words," she remembers desolately. Veronica turns to face him. "Why would you....If you were mad at me for taking my dad's side, why would you say I was a slut? Why would you...you knew I wasn't. You knew Duncan and I had hardly kissed."
"I don't know. I guess it was the easiest way to hurt you." He touches her face hesitantly, wondering if she'll bat his hand away. "I convinced myself it was true, that the whole Mars family was despicable."
"It just seemed so unfair. Half the girls in school were having sex on a regular basis, and I was the one being called a slut."
"It's not easy to take you down a peg, Veronica. You're so goddamn strong. Any other girl would have pretended to go along with us at school and then supported her dad at home. But you took a stand."
She remembers what Dr. Friedman had said: 'The average girl sent to the school would be going along to get along her first week and scared to death about what was happening. It sounds like you were pushing back from the minute you got there.' Bitterly, she says, "And it always gets me in trouble."
"What?"
Veronica shakes her head, not willing to explain.
"Veronica...I don't want you to feel bad about supporting your dad. He was right; Jake Kane did cover up some of the facts of the murder, and that caused a lot of problems...for all of us."
Veronica keeps shaking her head, doubting him and doubting herself. "Maybe it would have been better to—"
"Veronica, stop."
She moans, "I hate that I need you...and I'm furious with you for what you did...and I hate that Lilly was so stupid as to sleep with your dad and set all this in motion. And I hate that I was so weak that I let Klein beat me. Everyone's going to know— Big tough Veronica, beaten by jumping jacks," she says with self-loathing. "I know Klein's going to try to make me look like a whore."
"He's not going to—" Logan suddenly realizes, with a sickening certainty, that this is exactly what Klein will do.
"He will. And Logan, I'm not as strong as you think I am. I'm not as strong as I thought I was. I'm not strong at all, I'm...god, I hate this, I hate that I need you so much." The revulsion in her voice is overwhelming.
Still at a loss, he tries to think of something to say that would help. Finally, he offers, half-joking, "Say the word and I'll beat Klein up for you. You know I would."
She laughs despite herself and snuffles a little. "No beating up, please."
"You are strong, Veronica. God...the way you faced me down in high school. You were scary as hell. You barely flinched when I broke your headlights."
"The poor LeBaron."
"I miss your LeBaron. The Saturn is nice. But...you're not a soccer mom. You deserve...I don't know...a Corvette or a Mustang. You're too cool for the Saturn."
"It's a hybrid," she protests, sniffling.
"Fuck the environment," he replies. Logan takes a chance and strokes her thigh. She doesn't pull away, and he caresses her softly and kisses the top of her head. "Are you cold? Let's go inside."
"Not yet. Just hold me for a little while."
He wraps his arms around her tightly and breathes with her.
Fri. 3/20/09 middle of the night: Navarro residence, Neptune, CA
Weevil's cell phone vibrates on the nightstand. He grabs it quickly and hits 'send'. "Yo?...Good. I'll be in touch." He hangs up.
The woman next to him caresses his bare chest. "Everything okay, nene?"
He turns to her. He had needed a drink badly after leaving the PCHers and had stopped off at Cabo Cantina. The brunette lying next to him had smiled at him across the bar, and he had decided to go for it. Weevil strokes her hair and murmurs into her ear, "Nada importante. Hazme el amor, cariño." He kisses her and pulls her into an embrace.
Sat. 3/21/09 very early: Logan's House, Venice Beach, CA
Logan wakes up with a jolt. After holding each other tightly on the deck for a while, they had stumbled back to the bedroom and had fallen asleep in exhaustion. He squints against the sunlight streaming in the window; Veronica's back is pressed against his torso, and he is suddenly acutely aware of a raging morning erection. He eases back away from her, and she whispers, "No, stay."
"I'm sorry," he replies quietly. "Stupid...."
"No, not stupid, feels nice," she says with a sigh, wriggling her ass slightly, sending a surge of excitement and anticipation through his body.
He buries his face in her hair, so thankful for its renewed blond coloring, and breathes in deeply. "It's what you do to me, Veronica."
"Come on...help me," she asks, pushing on her pajama bottoms, trying to push them down her body. When he hesitates, she adds, "Please, Logan. I want to make love to you."
"Veronica...." he begins. He's stunned by her fortitude and her insistence on normality; he remembers fearfully how she was concealing her anguish after the operation ended. But she seems calm and certain, with a new determination. When he looks at her face, he thinks he sees the strong Veronica that he loves, and Logan knows, somehow, not to ask if she's sure she's okay. He's pretty sure that both of them woke up crying more than once during the night, but in the hours before dawn, she seemed to relax against his body, and he against hers, ultimately surrendering to their love for each other rather than to the pain of their shared history.
Veronica's breathing speeds as he eases her clothing down and pulls his own boxers off. "The sling too," she whispers, fumbling with the buckle. "I want to feel your body." Logan assists her, throwing it aside, and helps her to unbutton her pajama top and slip it from beneath her torso. He gathers her in his arms and slips his cock between her legs, thrusting gently, as she moans under her breath. He brushes her hair aside and presses his lips against the tender flesh of her neck.
"Love you, Veronica," he mutters. "I thought—"
"Shh," she responds, arching slightly. "Logan, touch me, please...I need you to touch me."
"Not yet," he murmurs as he kisses behind her ear. "Want to drive you crazy." He bites her neck gently, making sure that if he marks her, it will be concealed by her hair. Logan draws the back of his hand down between her shoulder blades to her waist and reaches around to caress a circle on her stomach; he keeps the pressure of his cock on her slick opening tantalizingly subtle. "I could make love to you all day long," he whispers. "When this is over, I'm going to take you someplace beautiful where we don't need clothes and the only mystery is how much to tip the cabana boy in the local currency."
With a slight giggle, she asks, "When did you start tipping? Ah!" She catches her breath as his hand dips a little lower, almost, but not quite, where she wants it.
"I'm all about the little people, you know that," he replies.
Veronica, frustrated, reaches down and tries to grab his cock; he eludes her by pulling back. "You are a bad boy," she pouts.
"Bad to the bone," he admits as he eases her onto her back. "I've hardly kissed you; what's your rush, sugarpuss?" Logan plants a kiss under her chin and begins to kiss his way down her chest. He lingers between her breasts and seems to hesitate.
"What's wrong?" she asks.
"Can't decide which one is my favorite," he says with a smirk. "I guess...I'll have to assess the situation thoroughly." Logan pushes his arms underneath to hug her tightly to him as he slowly licks a trail to her right nipple. She gasps from the tickling sensation; she looks down and sees him staring at her intensely as he swipes his tongue roughly across her nipple. He keeps his eyes on hers as he licks her with rhythmic and merciless strokes until she writhes under him.
"Lohhgahn," she moans.
"More?" he says superciliously, tonguing her furiously.
She throws her legs around his ass, trying to give him the hint. She begs, stuttering a little,"Please, t-touch me, Logan...god."
"Mmm. I still haven't picked a favorite." He lays his head on her chest and looks at her other breast; he softly flicks the nipple with his forefinger. With a mischievous look in his eye, he kisses up to her neck and whispers in her ear, "If I made you scream, how long do you think it would take your dad to get in here with his gun drawn?"
"I'm not going to scream," she says firmly.
He pinches her nipple lightly, and she inhales sharply. "Wanna bet?" he says smugly, and she smiles. Suddenly, he feels overwhelmed by her forgiveness and strength; when he had stumbled out to the deck the night before, he had been certain that it was over—she finally knew it all and would never be able to.... His voice breaking, he says honestly, "I love doing this to you, Veronica. I'm so...." He stops; he knows she doesn't want any more apologies or even his gratitude for her forgiveness. Unbelievably, she wants nothing more than to lose herself in his loving caresses. He settles for trapping her mouth with a kiss, tonguing her deeply, trying to show her how insanely thrilled he is to be with her still.
Logan gently rolls her nipple between his fingers; she breaks the kiss, gasping for air. "Need to breathe," she explains breathlessly before he begins to kiss her anew.
"Your left, I think," he whispers against her lips.
"What??"
"Your left breast is my favorite," he explains.
"What's wrong with my right breast?" she asks indignantly.
He laughs. "I could still change my mind. Let me see." Logan twists on the bed and kisses down to her right breast. He looks at her out of the corner of his eye and strokes his hand on her hip. He blows on her nipple and flicks it with his tongue as he watches her. "But my absolute favorite spot is right...here." He suddenly moves his hand and strokes her clit with his thumb as she arches off the bed with a little squeal. "Remember, you don't want to scream, Veronica. Your dad might run in here and catch me doing unspeakable things to you." He licks her nipple lasciviously, and she jerks compulsively at the sensation.
"Ahh!" Veronica goads him, "Unspeakable? You promise? Show me what you got, big boy."
"Is that a challenge?"
"You go too far, Marlowe," she snarks, making a face at him.
"Those are harsh words to throw at a man, especially when he's got his hand between your legs," Logan says slyly, pressing his thumb against her forcefully. Veronica grabs futilely at the sheet with her left hand and throws back her head with a moan. He watches her panting and struggling heroically to keep quiet. He whispers, "I think you like this, Veronica. You're so wet for me." He dips his finger to her slit and spreads her moistness around as she writhes for him.
Between pants, she gasps, "A lot depends on who's in the saddle."
He chuckles and twists on the bed to put his head between her legs and his tongue directly on her clit.
"Ohhh...ahh," she manages. "Logan, turn your..." She flails at his waist, and he gets the idea, turning his body so she can reach his cock with her hand. She circles him with her hand and gently strokes up and down as he sucks on her, alternating with rhythmic swipes of his tongue. "Logan, come up here," she hints again, and he finally gets her meaning. He arranges himself on the bed, his pelvis by her head, and she rolls on her side and takes him into her mouth.
"Fuckkk, Veronica," he can't help saying before resuming his ministrations on her. He remembers all the fun they had in this house before everything went to hell with Hannah's murder. Even with his leg in a cast, they had tried just about everything—both of them apparently eager to make up for all the lost time when they had been apart. When we were pigheaded idiots, he thinks as he luxuriates in her attentions. Fuck...there's so many things I want to do with her. I want to take her camping in the Grand Canyon and make love to her as the sun rises. I want to take her to the finest hotel in Paris and share oysters and caviar before I go down on her. He licks her, tonguing her hard and rough, as he imagines what he wants to do with her. I want to go sailing in the South Seas and get baked by the sun while she writhes on top of me. I want to buy her emeralds and diamonds and a cool convertible that suits her...and then let her lead me around by my cock for the rest of my life. I want to be good enough for her...I'm going to make her proud of me.
He loses his focus momentarily as she runs her tongue around the rim of his cock and then takes all of him inside her mouth again. "Slow down, Veronica," he begs. He looks up to see her swallowing him, and he has to close his eyes to try to maintain a semblance of control. Logan sits up and gently extricates himself. He rolls off the bed and stoops to look for a condom in their overnight bag. She is watching, her calm countenance unnerving after such a traumatic and emotional night. He kneels and puts on the condom under her watchful eye.
Logan lowers himself on top of her, and she whispers forcefully, "I'm not going to let them take this from us. Make love to me, Logan." She takes him and guides him into her, and he thrusts hard. He gives her a moment to adjust and then begins to fuck her slowly, never taking his eyes off hers. The demons are still there, but she has a look of determination that makes him think Klein should be the one who is running scared.
"I wish...I wish I could be on top," she says suddenly, and Logan is so surprised he stops mid-thrust.
He eases in and out, keeping up a slow rhythm, and replies, "But your shoulder..it's too—"
"I know," she says.
He looks her in the eye, and she blushes. Logan knows it's not just the novelty of the position; she's struggling for control and independence. He tries, "Your shoulder will be okay soon and—"
"I know."
"And you know you're in charge. Whatever you want...." Logan sees her expression of doubt and falls silent. He has an idea and surprises her by pulling out. "Let's try something." He rolls off the bed and grabs a straight chair, placing it in front of a full-length mirror.
"What are you doing?" she asks dubiously.
"You know me, I'm always thinking...at least, about sex. I'm an artist, and the bedroom is my canvas. Indulge me for a moment." He returns to the bed and picks her up in his arms, as she suppresses a startled giggle. Logan sits on the chair and turns her on his lap so that they are both facing the mirror. "Spread your legs a little...lean back...like that...ahhh." Veronica eases herself down on his cock, with her tiptoes on the floor and her back leaning against Logan. "I've got you," he mumbles, holding her torso and helping her to thrust up and down on him. As she begins to get the hang of it, he moves his hand to her clit and begins to stroke her. "I like the access," he murmurs, "And I love watching you get off."
Veronica is watching in the mirror as well. Logan is kissing her neck and staring at her intently, unable to tear his eyes away from her; she protectively keeps her arm pulled to her side, and he sees that she is a little tentative in her movements, fearful of aggravating her injury. She turns her head and kisses him as he thrusts up hard into her. She tears herself away from his mouth and tries to speed up but the awkwardness of the position hinders her; he grasps her torso firmly and takes over, lifting and lowering her until she gasps, "Dammit! I need...Let's go back to the bed...Logan...."
He helps her stand up and hurriedly takes them back to the bed. As soon as Veronica lays back down, she reaches for him. He kneels between her legs and seats his cock within her in a single aggressive stroke. She wraps her legs around him and matches the movements of her pelvis to his. Logan catches her mouth in a kiss and speeds up, fucking her intensely, until she has to break the kiss to pant for breath. "I'm coming," he says breathlessly. "Are you...." He fumbles, trying to connect his thumb with her clit as they thrust together; when he succeeds, she gasps and moans, arching into him as he climaxes. She throbs around his cock, her entire body humming with desire and adrenaline and her vision just a little red-black around the edges. He collapses beside her, his cock still inside her, and caresses her ass. He nuzzles her neck as she breathes heavily in his ear.
"That was...creative," she observes drily.
"Veronica Mars, ever the romantic," he chuckles. He palms her breast gently and adds, "You know, if we ever get to have sex when we're both healthy, my brain might explode from it. I think you enjoyed watching in the mirror, Veronica." He whispers seductively, "I really love watching you get off, Veronica. And I love knowing that I'm the one doing it to you." And that you're letting me do it...god, Veronica, you're letting me in your body again.
She teases, "There's something you need to know, Smarty Pants, and it's for your own good—" She stops abruptly with a confused expression on her face.
"What's the matter?" he prompts.
She closes her eyes and mumbles, "'There's something you should know; it's for your own good...it's for your own good.'" Her whole body has tensed up in his arms, the relaxation and satiety of the moment before completely forgotten.
He quickly pulls out, uncertain what has just happened. She rolls onto her back and stares at the ceiling. "Veronica, what's going on?" he says, caressing her hair, desperately afraid of whatever she's thinking. What is she remembering...what is she thinking...did I do something, say something?...god, Veronica, don't....
She lies perfectly still, lost in thought. Veronica opens her eyes and stares at him blankly. "It's something about Beaver. I need to talk to Dick. I need to ask him something," she replies finally.
She refuses to say anything more, and he's too scared to press her. A few minutes later, Keith knocks on the door to wake them up. Veronica goes through the motions of packing like a zombie. She catches him staring at her mournfully and says quietly, "You didn't do anything. We're okay, I promise. I'm just...I'm trying to make sense of something. If I'm right...it changes everything. I promise we'll talk as soon as I speak to Dick."
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
VERONICA MARS
10:00PM SHO ch: 340 60min 2009 TV-MA
Theory of Convergence
Mac's captors try something new; Weevil
and Wallace plan their next step; Veronica
talks to Dick.
Veronica: Kristen Bell. Logan: Jason Dohring.
Keith: Enrico Colantoni. Dick: Ryan Hansen.
Mac: Tina Majorino. Wallace: Percy Daggs III.
Eli: Francis Capra. Man #1: ??? Man #2: ???
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE: "THEORY OF CONVERGENCE"
Sat. 3/21/09 morning: Somewhere in the United States
The man says furiously, "You're holding back. Where else would Veronica Mars be?"
Mac protests, "I'm telling you, I don't know. They weren't at Logan's condo in Aspen?" Mac knows full well that Veronica will probably never cross the town limits into Aspen after the incident with Madison, but Logan jointly owned the condo with Trina, and his sister had refused to put the townhouse on the market. Mac had hoped it would be a plausible location that would buy her some time, but the man had made a phone call and received an answer within an hour. Mac adds, "I know they like to get away to Aspen."
"Enough of this bullshit," the other man says. Mac has become certain that he is in charge, despite the other man's seeming to take the lead. He explains, "They're not in Neptune, but their cell phones are still there. So I'm betting they're using disposable phones. You're going to leave a message on their machine asking them to call you. You're supposed to be returning to Neptune tomorrow night. You want to set up a get-together, maybe. And then, when they return your call, we'll be able to track them."
"I won't do it," Mac exclaims.
"You are going to do it. You have a little brother, don't you?"
Mac stares at him furiously.
"I'll write down what I want you to say, and then we'll practice. We might even let you live if you cooperate."
Mac looks at Alan, unconscious across the room, and thinks that she doubts that very much. She nods, trying to appear cooperative, as she tries to think of a way to warn Veronica.
Sat. 3/21/09 morning: Candice Pauling's apartment, Neptune, CA
Wallace's cell phone vibrates on the nightstand; he hustles from under the covers and grabs the phone before it can wake Candice. "Hello," he whispers as he exits the bedroom, quietly shutting the door behind him.
"Hey, sleeping beauty," Weevil replies. "Do you think you could get your ass out of bed? You said you would call first thing."
"It's only ten o'clock, vato. Candice and I went to a late movie. You talked to Oswaldo last night?" Wallace asks.
"In a manner of speaking. I don't think you want to know the details. Plausible deniability, I think they call it."
"No, I definitely don't want to know the details. What did he say?"
"He's working for the Fitzpatricks, which we already knew. He said Liam told him to tell the sheriff about Logan's affair with Kendall."
"So Liam wanted to throw suspicion on Logan, in other words," Wallace muses. "Did Oswaldo know the kid in the picture?"
"He said they call him KC, and he's from Neptune...said he was an errand boy for the Fitzpatricks. That's all he knew."
"But he's about our age...why isn't he in the yearbook for Neptune High?" Wallace walks to Candice's computer and boots it up.
"I was thinking about that...maybe he transferred to one of the alternative schools."
"You mean..."
"Like auto repair, or cosmetology," Weevil suggests.
"How would we find out about that?"
"I asked my cousin Lucia who got her associate's degree in cosmetology. She said the principal of the school has to sign off on any alternative program."
"Clemmons," Wallace comments, nodding his head. "Maybe he knows who this kid is."
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I'll meet you in half an hour at your dorm."
"Uh...I'm not at the dorm. I'm at Candice's. Hold on a sec...I'm googling KC and Fitzpatrick." Wallace stares at the results. "I don't know. Lots of Facebook results." He types a few keystrokes and sighs. "When I add felony or crime, I get hits for the Kansas City police department. Let me work on this before you come over. Give me a couple hours, okay? We haven't had breakfast yet."
"You can drive, right?" Weevil asks.
"Yeah, I got my mom's car. What happened to your car? I thought you said it would be fixed by the end of the day."
"I sold it. I needed some cash all of a sudden, to finance a personal matter," Weevil explains obliquely. Revenge isn't cheap, he thinks, even if you get the PCHer discount.
Sat. 3/21/09 late morning: Venice Beach to Rio Linda, CA
Keith has been driving for about four hours when he announces they're stopping for lunch. Veronica has been napping in the back seat. Logan has been uncharacteristically quiet all morning, dozing on and off in the passenger seat. When they pull off the highway into a diner, Veronica asks if she can have the phone. "If it's okay...I kind of need privacy for this call. It won't take long. I'll meet you inside in five minutes."
"No, not good enough. Someone needs to stay here with you," Keith says as he hands her the phone.
"No one's following us, Dad. Kavner said it was all clear the last time you checked in with him."
"How about if I stay out here outside the car?" Logan suggests. Keith nods, and he and Logan step out of the car. Veronica smiles, without it reaching her eyes, and turns her back to them.
Outside the car, Keith looks to Logan for an explanation of Veronica's behavior. Veronica had asked Logan not to discuss her nightmare or his revelations with her father just yet; and she had refused to tell Logan what she wanted to ask Dick. 'Please don't worry...I'm just trying to understand something. We'll talk about it after I talk to Dick,' she had said again.
Logan says carefully, "Veronica's trying to work on something, maybe something she talked about with Dr. Friedman yesterday."
"She's okay?" Keith asks with concern.
"I think so. We talked for quite a while last night."
"You're not concealing something from me, are you, Logan?" Keith presses.
"She asked me not to talk about it yet," he replies. "I'm sorry, sir."
"Logan..." Keith says sharply. "If there's something—"
"I know she's going to tell you when she's ready. Please."
Keith sighs heavily, not reassured in the least. He nods toward the diner. "Burgers, you think?"
"Yeah, I'm sure that would be fine. I'll help with the driving after lunch, too."
In the car, Veronica dials Dick's number with trembling fingers. "Hey, Dick, it's me, Veronica."
Dick asks, "Ronnie? What's going on? Have you heard from Mac?"
"No, Dick, that's not why I'm calling." She falls silent, uncertain how to broach her questions.
Finally Dick says, "You're scaring me, Ronnie."
"Dick, Logan told me about the prank you pulled on Beaver at Shelly Pomroy's party...setting him up with Cindy and then sending in Seth." She waits, but Dick does not speak. Veronica exhales heavily. "We're going to talk about that at some point, Dick. You knew he was upset and worried about being a man, and you pushed him at me when I was basically unconscious."
"Ronnie...Veronica, I'm—"
All her carefully planned words fly out of her head, and she says shakily, "How did Beaver react when he found out about me and Logan junior year? I remember, he was there, at the surprise party Logan's dad put together, when everyone found out we were seeing each other."
"What??" Of all the things Veronica could say, Dick is completely surprised by this particular question.
"How did Beaver react when he found out about me and Logan?" she repeats.
"He was surprised, shocked maybe. We all were."
"Was he worried?"
"Worried? I don't understand," Dick replies, confused.
"What about a few days later, when he came to tell me about Logan's alibi? Did you know that he was going to do that?"
"We read about Abel Koontz being cleared in the paper. Beaver started saying that Logan must have done it, and we had to tell somebody. I told him he was crazy; Logan wouldn't have killed Lilly. I don't care what she did to him—she could have slept with the whole Navy, and he would never have hurt her. The dude is completely pussy-whi—"
Veronica interrupts, "It was definitely Beaver's idea to tell me?"
"He wanted me to tell you, and I told him he was off his rocker. Beaver fussed at me about it for a couple days, and finally I told him, if he was so certain Logan had killed Lilly, to go tell you himself."
"Right," Veronica says, lost in thought.
"Ronnie, what's this about?"
"Did Beaver ever talk about me investigating my rape?" she asks suddenly.
"He, uh, he joked about it."
She hears Dick take a breath, but he doesn't say anything. First time Dick ever held back, she thinks. She assumes he was going to say, 'we all joked about it,' but thought better of it. She has an overwhelming flash of anger at Dick's utter irresponsibility: how could he have not known that his little brother was a raging psychopath? Veronica tries to concentrate on her breathing; she'll have it out with Dick at some point, but right now, she wants to focus on information.
"What did he say happened between him and me? You didn't know, did you? Please tell me you didn't know the whole time, Dick." She wipes a tear from her eye and grips the phone tightly.
"I swear I didn't know, Veronica. I know...I was a total jackass to you in high school. I'm sorry. I didn't know—"
Veronica's voice quivers as she says hesitantly, "Dick, is it possible....Do you think Beaver told me about Logan's alibi to break us up...so Logan wouldn't tell me what happened the night I was raped? You know, the trick you played on him. Beaver knew Logan's alibi was false the whole time, but he never said a word...until I started asking questions about Shelly's party."
"Geez, Veronica. I guess it's possible. I never thought about it."
Veronica is stunned into silence by Dick's usual blasé attitude. Finally, in a hard and bitter voice, she answers, "Well, maybe you should. You know, Dick, I really want you to think long and hard about how you can make up for what you did to me that night."
"What I did? Veronica, I swear we were just screwing around, we never thought—"
"Dick!! You sent your psycho little brother in to molest me. Don't bullshit me! You knew I was drugged, or drunk beyond the capacity to say no. You were manhandling me at the party. You knew I wouldn't let you do that normally. And then, you said to Beaver, 'Don't forget to suit up, you don't know where she's been.' Classy, Dick," she says with a clenched jaw.
Dick protests, "Veronica, that was Sean who said that, I swear it. It was Sean's idea to egg Beaver on."
"But you didn't stop Sean, did you?"
Dick is silent.
"Like I said, Dick, I want you to figure out how you're going to make it up to me. No more excuses. You're Logan's friend, so we have to find a way to get past this. I don't want Logan to have to give up his friend; he's lost too many people in his life, and I know you're his best friend. But this is long overdue, Dick. You owe me, bigtime." Veronica terminates the call before he can respond and sits in silence in the car for several minutes trying to get herself under control.
Think about anything else. Don't think about it. Stop thinking about it. She keys in her own phone number and gets her voicemail messages. There's a long message from Duncan, telling her about his and Lilly's first evening together in their new house. Duncan relates Lilly's reaction to the large sandbox in the backyard and the over-the-top princess decor in her bedroom. There is also a message from Mac.
'Hey, Ronnie. Give me a call at 323-555-7839, that's my new cell. I can't wait to hang out in Neptune tomorrow night.'
Veronica frowns. 'Ronnie?' She dials the number and gets Mac's voicemail; she leaves a message that she'll try again later.
She disconnects and sits staring into space. She can't stop thinking about Beaver trying desperately to manipulate her. She had thought talking to Dick might help, but as usual he only added confusion and uncertainty. Veronica keeps reviewing what Sean, Beaver, and Dick said had happened at Shelly's party; no matter how she tries, she can't decide which version is the closest to the truth. First she hears Dick's voice, urging Beaver to wear a condom; then it's Sean, pushing Beaver toward her while Dick laughs nervously. Then it's Sean and Dick together forcing Beaver into the room and holding the door shut while Beaver tries to leave. She imagines Dick laughing about the rape with Beaver and giving him a high-five for bedding Veronica Mars. Then she pictures Beaver freaking out over her investigation and plotting how best to distract her; she wonders how far he would have gone if she hadn't stopped asking questions.
Logan taps gently on the window, and she jumps a mile high. Veronica turns toward him and pretends to smile. She opens the door and gets out of the car. She unobtrusively checks her reflection in the side view mirror. Yep, my armor's back in place now, she thinks.
Logan asks, "Everything okay?"
"It's fine," she replies. "Mac and Duncan called. Maybe things are going to get back to normal now."
"What did Dick say?" he asks, unable to restrain his curiosity.
She shakes her head and doesn't answer.
He puts his arm around her, and they walk toward the restaurant.
Keith has picked a booth in the back of the diner with no other customers nearby; Logan notes that Keith has positioned himself so that he can see everyone who enters. They slide into the opposite side, and Keith excuses himself to go to the restroom.
Logan turns to her. "Please tell me what's going on, Veronica. Why did you need to call Dick?"
She glances at him nervously before looking back down at the place mat in front of her. Hesitantly, she explains, "Back in junior year...Beaver told me about your alibi, you know...."
He nods that he understands.
"I think he told me about your alibi so I would stop investigating the night I was raped. He wanted us to break up."
Logan frowns. "But you had already found out that Duncan—"
"Beaver didn't know that. He didn't know that Duncan and I slept together that night. We didn't make an announcement, Logan. Only you and I and Duncan knew...well, maybe Carrie Bishop too. All Beaver knew was that I was asking questions about Shelly Pomroy's party, and then you and I were together at the surprise party. And you knew what had happened."
"What did you mean, when you said it changes everything?" he asks, puzzled.
"I've never trusted you, because of the way that I found out about your alibi. I thought you...he made me think you might have killed Lilly. He made me frightened of you, Logan. Even after I found out the truth...Logan, I might have been able to get past the salt lick, but Beaver made sure that I thought you were a liar and a murderer so that he would get away with raping me, and...I'm so sorry, Logan. I've been horrible to you because of him."
Logan says regretfully, "Veronica. He just took advantage of the truth to provide some misdirection. I should have told you I had lied about my alibi when I found out you were investigating."
She just shakes her head. "I hate him, Logan. I know he was molested, and he was fucked up...but I hate him."
"What did you ask Dick?" Logan asks curiously.
"I asked him if he thought Beaver was upset when he found out that you and I were dating." Responding to his quizzical look, she adds, "He's not sure. He did say that it was definitely Beaver's idea to tell me about your alibi after the news came out about Abel Koontz being exonerated."
"Dick said 'exonerated'?" Logan asks dubiously. "Even 'alibi' is a stretch." He takes her hand. "Veronica...I hate Beaver too, for hurting you, for killing those kids, for killing Meg. But...does this matter? We knew he was...."
"Of course it matters!" she replies, glaring at him. "He manipulated me. He made it impossible for me to trust you, no matter how hard you tried."
Nervously, he protests, "But you trust me now. You said you were going to be okay with everything that happened."
"I know. I know I'm not being rational. And Beaver's dead...he can't be punished for anything." She drops her eyes again. "I just feel—" Her dad sits back down, and she suddenly breaks off speaking.
After a moment, Keith says, "You know, some people might even consider me a cool dad, one who you could talk to about pretty much anything, Veronica."
"Dad...it's...I can't, not yet. Maybe I will in a little while," she responds in a quiet voice.
"You know I love you, Veronica, and I'm here for you," he adds.
"I know, Dad."
Sat. 3/21/09 afternoon: Somewhere in the United States
"Got it," the man announces, after scowling at his computer screen for the last half hour as they tried to ping the cellular number that had called 'Mac's' voicemail. "They're moving. It looks like they're on the I-5, heading north, around Los Banos."
"Let me see," the man in charge says. He looks at the display and grabs the mouse; he zooms out on the map and stares intently. "Fuck. I think they're heading to Rio Linda. How the hell did they figure that out?"
"We can pick them up in Rio Linda, no problem. Brian's there. They're probably about two hours away."
The man nods thoughtfully. "Call him. They're driving a Saturn VUE, license plate number 6BLA504." He turns to Mac, who has been listening fearfully. "I think you're going to going to be seeing your friend pretty soon."
Damn you to hell, Mac thinks.
la Eme=Mexican Mafia
pendejo=dumbass
leva=turncoat, traitor in Chicano gangspeak
cojones=testicles
malinchista=traitor who sells out Mexicans to white people, more harsh than coconut or Uncle Tom
baboso=idiot, drooling slug
chingador=fucker
nene=baby, lover (bedroom talk)
Nada importante=nothing important
Hazme el amor=make love to me
cariño=darling
Dialogue from "The Big Sleep" (noir film)
VIVIAN: You go too far, Marlowe.
MARLOWE: Those are harsh words to throw at a man, especially when he's walking out of your bedroom.
from a later scene:
VIVIAN: A lot depends on who's in the saddle.