Disclaimer: Veronica Mars and all recognizable characters are the intellectual property of Rob Thomas.
Eight:
With a roll of her eyes she steps into the bar, a look of disgust on her face as she looks at the men crowding around the pool table over in the corner, taking bets on the next shot. She sneers as Danny Boyd gives her a wave and a nice little shout out, and once she spots Liam Fitzpatrick she makes a beeline toward him, wondering what could be so important that he would call her and demand that she show up at this dump. She shakes her head and wonders how she ends up in seedy places like this. Really with a name like River Styx you would think it would have just a little more class.
He's got a shark like grin on his face and Kendall knows something is up. He indicates an empty chair across from him and she demurely slips into the chair and raises a dark brow at him questioningly. "All right, got me down here hotshot. So what the hell is going on that is so important that I have to come all the way down here?"
"What, baby, don't like slummin' it anymore now that you live in those rich digs in the 09er kingdom. You forget where you come from, sweet heart?" he says with a sneer.
"Let's get something straight. I am better than you. I'm the one living in the house on the hills with nice, pretty shiny things, and lots of money. You are the one in this sinkhole. Do the math genius."
"Pretty sharp talk from the likes of you. Man, you just became a high priced whore with my brother in the slammer."
"I'm still rich, i.e. better than you. Now point or I leave and stop at the clinic on the way home to pick up a nice penicillin cocktail, because I'm bound to catch something hanging around here."
"Like you haven't already caught something," he says, and when she makes to stand, he finally caves and with his hand gestures for her to take her seat again. "Fine, always playing hard ass. Fuck, can't take a little street humor. So I got word from some sources in L.A. that you got a kid, a kid with a nice debt. Now up until recently that debt was written off of the books because he was dead. Now my guy says he's heard this kid of yours isn't as dead as they say and you got him holed up in some nice little apartment right here in Neptune, and he's in high school. Going for that mother of the year prize now? Cause this is deep shit, we're talking the Sharks, and they're wanting blood for what he owes them."
"The Sharks? A little West Side Story much, and what does my kid have to do with anything. How bad is the debt? I mean they can be paid off or something right?"
He whistles. "So you do have a kid, I'm guessing Cormac doesn't know."
"It's not like he's Cormac's kid anyway. Now back to the point, what does this have to do with me and what kind of debt are we talking here."
"There was something about a drug deal that went south. A narc got killed and your kid, Casey or something was involved; he brought the narc in among the Sharks. Now they thought they'd killed him. They beat him up pretty bad and threw him off a bridge in a park. Imagine their surprise when they get word from one of their hopped up cousins that there is some new kid Cassidy Banks going to Pan High. You got trouble, and this kid is the source. The Sharks won't play nice gettin' to him. They'll go for a kill, but they're sneaky. They might go for you first, and you're one of us, and we protect our own, but your kid don't count Kendall. We don't know him. We don't owe him. Got it?"
"My kid is as much a priority as me. Especially when he's the one calling the shots for our little investment, okay? How bad is it looking with these Sharks? They're in L.A., what kind of damage can they do from there?"
"They want the kid bad. They'll probably pay a little visit to Neptune at some point. Right now he's probably just being watched at school while they plan their move."
"He's not even the kid they're looking for. Cassidy has never had business in L.A.," Kendall says with a groan, wondering why once again the little shit hadn't heeded her advice and left California all together. She is so going to pay him a visit before she goes home.
"Wait the kid you're putting up as your own isn't the kid from L.A.? Well, if he's not that kid then who is he? Do you really have a kid or are you covering for someone?" Liam asks, his curiosity piqued.
"Look, it's kind of complicated and I can't break it down in terms that you can understand."
"Try me," he challenges.
"Fine, my son Casey died in L.A., like the night before the bus crash was uncovered. My stepson Cassidy was the one that took the leap off the Hotel Grand only he didn't leap. I pulled him into the suite below and tossed a body dressed up like him out of the window, and crushed a car in the process not to mention broke a nail. Cassidy took my son's identity and like a complete dumb ass decided to stay in Neptune. Hey what can I say, if he wants to be stupid it's on him. I'd appreciate it if you kept this to yourself, because my ass is seriously on the line because of this kid with a whole bunch of conspiracy charges, okay?"
"Yeah, but what the hell would make YOU want to help some snot nosed little rich kid?"
"He made me CEO of a company worth over eight figures, call it gratitude, and hey I failed Casey, maybe I'm getting soft, and if you tell anyone you'll be singing with the tenors once I'm finished with your balls, got it?"
"Yeah, you're pretty protective of this kid. You might actually have some mothering skills in you, scary thought."
She snorts. "Yeah. Now you keep up your end. You got my back and you have the kid's back. Think of it as looking after a good investment, because the kid is gold when it comes to business, he knows his stuff. Do what you have to as far as the Sharks, and I don't care how you take care of it, but just do it."
"Fine, but you should at least give the kid a little heads up. We'll work on our end, but if there's a war between us and the Sharks over this, you're explaining that to Cormac next time you visit him in the pen, sweet heart, because this is all you now."
"Fine," she replies sharply, gets to her feet in one liquid smooth movement, and then her hips are swaying as she leaves the seedy bar. She slips into her silver BMW convertible, turns the key in the ignition and there is only one destination on her mind.
The controller slips from his limp hand, and the sound of the front door creaking open actually manages to wake him. He sucks in a huge breath of air and snatches up the controller, ready to heave it at the intruder when the light is suddenly flipped on and he is left blinking at his stepmother in surprise.
"Kendall? What the hell?"
"Dick, I could ask the same thing. So where is Cassidy? I mean I'm paying the rent for this place for him, not you. He's got a lot of explaining to do, like right the hell now!"
"Just chill, like man, who lit the fuse on your tampon already, Cass is sleeping and you're totally going to wake him up and…"
"I want to wake him the hell up because he's in some pretty deep shit and he's dragging me into it right along with him!" she snaps.
"So this is about the bun? You know? Cause I mean I think its kinda cool," Dick says and scratches his head as he looks at Kendall and she's staring at him like he's grown a second head.
"Bun? What bun? Do you ever make any sense? Look I'm done talking to you, go get my kid so I can totally bitch him out for royally fucking me over!"
A moment later the bedroom door down the hall is thrown open and Cassidy dressed in his boxers and a t-shirt, is rushing down the hallway to see what in the hell is going on. He stops, frozen in place as he stares at Kendall standing in his living room, and she looks pissed with her dark eyes burning and her nostrils flared.
"What the hell is going on, and could you please keep it down?" he snaps in a hushing tone.
"Don't you tell me to keep it down, Mr. Wouldn't Know Inconspicuous If It Bit Him on the ASS! What in the hell have you been doing at school to get noticed by a gang in L.A.?! Liam is practically pitching a fit over this, and he never gets like this, usually he just does what he has to and it gets done! He actually called me down to the River Styx, do you have any idea how degrading it was to go down there? I'll need a full week's worth of spa treatments to get over the exposure and I'm sending you the bill!"
"Will you please keep it down before…?" Cassidy isn't able to finish as a soft feminine voice calls out, "Cass? Hey, where are you?"
"Thanks, mom, you've gone and woken up the whole household, and she's been restless all freaking night. I swear no more Chinese food for her," he says and glares at Kendall.
"Wait just a minute Junior, not that I want to know about your little sex life or whatever, but who the hell is that? It's not that little computer geek is it? Who the hell else have you told? Does Ace the dumb boy wonder over there know too?" Kendall asks and gestures toward Dick who looks slightly offended.
"Her name is Cindy, and yes, she knows, and Dick knows too, so you can drop the semi-caring mom looking after her kid deal. I'm just an investment to you, like my dad was, but I have more control over you than he ever did, and keep it down. I'll take care of Cindy and then we'll talk if you can possibly manage bitching me out at a normal decibel level."
"Hold it, what's with all the concern for your little girlfriend?" Kendall asks.
Dick rolls his eyes. "Hello, it's totally for the bun."
"Bun?" Kendall asks and then it dawns on her and she turns to Cassidy in surprise. "And when exactly did THAT happen?"
"Graduation night, he popped Ghost World's cherry and landed a kid in one stroke. Didn't know my little bro had it in him, but he's got the Casablancas mackin' skills. Still should have recommended the Lifestyle condoms, they have a better rating than the Trojans."
Cassidy is beet red as he reaches out and smacks Dick on the back of the head. Dick rubs his head and looks at Cassidy with a hurt expression on his face. "Dude, what was that for? I just call em like I see em, and I never did give you the full 101 on the birds and the bees."
"Sex ed from total novices, I shudder to think of this girl's first time," Kendall replies dryly.
"It's improved since then," Cindy replies, and they turn to look and she's leaning against the wall between the hall and the doorway to the kitchen. "So what's going on, and why is she here exactly?"
"I come bringing good cheer, and don't think this kid is calling ME grandma. I'm too young and perky for that," Kendall replies with a withering look in Mac's general direction before she turns a death glare on Cassidy.
"And way too hot," Dick chimes in.
Kendall actually smiles at him as she says, "Wow that is the first intelligent thing I've heard out of your mouth, yet. Give the boy a cookie."
"Okay, so does this visit have a point?" Mac asks.
"Yeah, actually, how about we all take a seat and I tell you what I just heard through the lovely back streets grapevine," Kendall says and takes a seat in the chair that is next to the couch.
Dick flops back on the couch and then Cassidy sits next to his brother and Mac sits down next to him and when his arm wraps around her shoulder she leans into his warm embrace, and smiles absently when his free hand plays with her hair, and his other hand takes hers, and gives it a reassuring squeeze, because he knows that Kendall isn't exactly Mac's favorite person. Actually he isn't really sure that Kendall is anyone's favorite person unless you count Hugh Heffner.
Once she's sure she has her audience's attention, she leans back in the chair, crosses her legs and clasps her hands over her knee, and she tosses her hair back as she notices Dick admiring her from the corner of her eye. Damn, she can still work it, grandma her ass!
"So I get this call from an acquaintance of mine, Liam Fitzpatrick. Let's just say that all of the Fitzpatricks owe me huge for this little favor I did for them a while back, all I can say is that I so didn't have my head on straight, and no man will ever have that kind of power over me again. When it comes down to it, a man or freedom, freedom will win out. Yeah, anyway, ol Liam tells me that my son had some big time problems in L.A. Seems he got in with the wrong guys and then introduced them to a narc buddy of his, and yeah, they want blood. They thought they had blood a few months ago, but low and behold, resurrection boy you've done it again. How does it feel to land waist deep in shit? Seriously, inquiring minds want to know."
"How was I supposed to know your son was some delinquent whose past would follow him? So what exactly does this mean?" Cassidy asks as he leans forward and then he pulls Mac closer against him as he feels her stiffen beside him, her worry evident.
"This means Junior, that we have problems. They thought they killed my son the night before graduation. Funny little story, they did, but his body went missing at the morgue, got that little tidbit from Keith Mars after I showed him Casey's death certificate. I think I fed him a story along the lines of my kid being in the witness protection program, that's how I rehearsed it with Clarence Wiedman. See, if you'd just left like I told you from the beginning, but oh no, you actually stick around for your knocked up girlfriend and here we are," Kendall replies bitterly.
"And what do you have against him staying?" Mac bites out.
"Oh please, like hormone driven bitchiness can rival me. Get real Miss Computer Savvy, I was born a queen bitch, you've been hormonal, what a few months? You aren't even a tick on an elephant's ass girly," Kendall replies as she narrows her eyes on the girl. "And think about it, would we be here now if he were oh say across the country? I don't think so!"
"Cat fight," Dick says with a wiggle of his eyebrows in a stage whisper to his brother, and Cassidy's arm tightens around Mac.
"Enough already," Cassidy snaps, having enough of the tension that is filling the room, and worried over stressing Mac out. "I stayed, so can we deal with the consequences rather than dredge up old arguments. What the fuck are our options?"
"Liam says he'll look into things. You are a good investment after all, but with the way he's acting this might be a little out of his league, so you got any friends that might be able to help? I'd suggest Wiedman, but all out of favors there and he's still on the Kane payroll. I'm thinking Mars maybe, but if he blows the lid on who you really are I'm just as much in the hot seat as you are, aiding and abetting and all."
"The only thug we know would be Weevil, and dude he's like in the slammer, you know working on the live set of Oz, but like maybe when he's out you could pull a favor. He's in tight with Ronnie, but he can probably keep his mouth shut," Dick says with a shrug, and he says, "What?" as three sets of eyes stare at him in amazement.
"And that is the second intelligent thing I've heard out of your mouth. Careful two in one night, don't strain yourself," Kendall replies with a smirk, and then the wheels in her head start turning, because Weevil will be out in a week, the evidence she handed over to Keith Mars a few months back having finally reached the district attorney is seeing to that.
"That look can't mean anything good," Mac whispers next to Cassidy.
He turns to look at her, a small reassuring smile on his face. "She had that same smile on her face when she helped me plan faking my death. Don't underestimate her. She might be a bitch, a bimbo, and a gold digging, doesn't care how she gets it oportunist, but she's smart. She's got brains. I was kind of surprised myself when I found out."
"But do you really think we can trust her with this, and knowing about the baby?" she asks softly.
Cassidy sighs. "We've made it this far haven't we, and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her, Cindy. I kind of owe her all of this, because she didn't have to pull me in through the window. She's done a lot for me. Sure I'm paying her, but I don't know, it just seems like there's more to her. I just hope she doesn't ask for near the favors I've asked of her."
"I don't trust her," Mac replies, and as she looks up into his dark eyes she adds, "But I trust in your judgment. So where do we go from here?"
He shrugs. "I'm not sure. We'll just have to wait and listen to what she's come up with when she's ready to share, but she's got something up her sleeve."
"And apparently up her skirt with the way Dick's eyeballing her," Mac adds with a smirk.
Cassidy glances at his brother and then shakes his head as a small smile creeps across his mouth and he places a soft kiss against Mac's temple as Kendall puts her diabolical brain to work on a plan to get them out of the shit they've found themselves in.
Please review!