Disclaimer...not mine...belongs to CBS...WB...whoever else. Not intended for anything but entertainment...no infringement intended...Just my idea of fun...

Chapter 5

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cormac Fitzpatrick looks down at his watch. He wonders if his brother Liam is going to manage to make an appearance. He was suppose to be here at the site of their little enterprise along with their two uncles and a couple of their cousins. They all needed to be in one place to discuss the changes in production and distribution of meth. They have a nice little operation out here in the desert. Due to a quirk of the city limits they are outside the city of Neptune's jurisdiction and far enough off the grid to stay off the state police's radar, but close enough they don't have far to go for distribution. Cormac bought the property five years ago in the name of their aged mother just for this operation. It is becoming so profitable they needed to step up production.

Everyone is present and accounted for, except of course, Liam who has been sampling too much product and it's made him unreliable and pretty damn crazy. Cormac is going to have to talk to Sean about doing something about Liam, family or not.

Back in Neptune, in Logan's suite at the Grand the party is in full swing. It is a good-bye to the neighborhood party. Logan bought Richard Casablanca's old place for a good price. He misses living in a house and he wants to get out of the Grand. It will cost a bundle to buy and live in a house but he is tired of the Grand and the house is a good investment. He sold the property that Aaron and his mother owned and it was a prime location so he got a good price for it. The feds are closing in on Big Dick and he needed ready cash. So, he sold to Logan the house for much less than the place was worth. The only catch is Logan has to let Dick Jr. keep living there for six months. Logan figures in a house this big he should be able to keep Dick from annoying Veronica, too much. He had all the locks changed on the new house and promised Veronica he would shoot Kendal on site if she has the guts to show her face at the door. There will be some remodeling to do but the contractor can work around him. Now if he could just get Veronica to agree to move in….

Most of the usual suspects are at the party. Finally Logan's friends and Veronica's friends like Mac and Wallace are meshing pretty well. Veronica even insisted that she wanted Weevil to be invited and he'd showed. Some of Logan's friends are getting friendlier with Weevil because they played poker at Logan's with Weevil now and then. Everyone is getting a long pretty well. Dick is being well… himself. It was the first time he's been back since his younger brother Cassidy took his header off the roof so Veronica was willing to cut Dick some slack if he needs it. She doesn't have much use for Dick but he is Logan's friend so she tries. Although Logan isn't happy when Dick slaps Veronica across the backside, even Logan lets it go this time. When the cops show up to clear the place, because of the noise complaints they start taking names, which is just fine with Weevil.

Cormac looks at his watch again and it is the last time he sees anything. In a flash of very bright light, the "accidental" explosion of the tank that fed fuel to the trailer where the chemicals are stored, went up taking three nearby buildings, and several cars a long with it. The explosion could be heard for miles. All of the Fitzpatrick boys were gone in the blink of an eye except for the brother that was a priest and crazy Liam, who is late.

Liam is several miles down the road when he sees the smoke. He turns the car around and gets out of there without a backward glance. He doesn't stop to see if anyone survived. He isn't that far gone. He knows it is probably not an accident and he isn't going to be next. Hopefully it will take awhile for the cops to sort out who was inside and he will be thought dead for a while. He is going to have to find a place to lay low.

While the cop is taking Weevil's name there is a far off rumble. All the cops radios light up a call comes at once. Weevil smiles as they take off. He looks out over the balcony and in the distance he can see an orange glow lighting up the night sky. He can just imagine some tragedy must have happened to call them all away at once. Weevil waves Veronica over and says his good-byes and goes down to his bike. He takes out a disposable cell and punches up a number. "It's done. I don't have confirmation of personnel and I'm sure I won't for a few days but hopefully everyone will be accounted for." Weevil shuts the phone off and finds a dumpster to get rid of it in. He gets on his bike and leaves. He has his alibi and that is what is most important. He learned a long time ago about demolition and has kept up with the technology. Never hurts to have extra skills. He'd been pretty careful to make it look like a meth lab accident and lets face it the cops would be happy enough to be rid of the Fitzpatrick's to probably not look much farther. Just the same a good alibi never hurt anyone. Now he just has one stop to make.

Liam searches his drug-addled brain trying to figure out a place to hide until he can find out what had happened out in the desert. He decides that the best place is his cousin Sean's place. Sean was most likely in the explosion so he won't need it. Luckily for Liam the cops in this town are next to useless so it will probably be awhile before they get around to searching Sean's place, if at all. He knows Sean has a stash of drugs, money and guns he can use. It is perfect. It will take him an hour or so to get back to town.

Weevil is well aware that Sean was the enforcer for the Fitzpatricks and he doesn't want to see Sean's stash end up in the wrong hands. He heads straight for Sean's. He parks his bike down the alley and walks up to Sean's place staying in the shadows. No one is around. Hopefully Sean is scattered over the desert. It doesn't take long for Weevil to find the stash. He can smell the drugs. Weevil takes the drugs out and flushes them down the toilet. Then he goes back and inventories the guns and doesn't find as many as he thought he would. Could be that Sean had most of them with him just in case someone tried to take over the operation while they were all out there together. He does find 15,000 dollars stashed with the guns. He takes the cash and puts it away in his pocket. He searches the house one more time to find anymore contraband, and coming up with nothing else he takes the few guns he finds and heads out the door. He's down the alley when he sees a car pull up. He recognizes Liam getting out of the car. Weevil waits till Liam has gone inside and he takes off. "Damn something is going to have to be done about that." Weevil mutters to himself.

Liam pushes on the back door and it opens easily. He takes out the handgun he always has with him. Someone has either been here or is still here. Damn. He slowly goes through the house to Sean's stash and sees that everything is gone. Damn. Damn, Damn. What is he going to do now? He was counting on the drugs and money Sean had to keep him going until he could find a better place. At least he still has his own gun. He looks down and sees his hand shaking. He goes back out to his car and gets the last few drugs he has left of his own stash. He decides to take what's left and try and figure out what to do next.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Back in LA Josef flips the channel from the business network to the local news. It didn't take long and there is a helicopter flying over the wreckage out in the desert. There has been a large explosion. The police don't have any information yet but the fire chief thinks from the size of the explosion and the intensity that it must be a chemical fire, probably from a drug lab. In the dark it looks like one hell of a fire. Josef smiles. Hopefully every one of those nut jobs went up with the explosion. He wants Logan and Veronica safe and this is the best answer to at least one problem.

Josef picks up the phone and calls Mick. "Are you watching the news?"

"Yea, I'm thinking that's a nice coincidence, the Fitzpatrick's blowing themselves up."

"It was nice wasn't it?"

"Yes wasn't it though." Mick said rather dryly, as he knows well that Josef is behind this. Josef's answer to any kind of threat has always been permanent elimination of whatever the threat is. In this case Mick can't feel too bad about it though.

"Hey while I have you on the line, think you can drop by later? I need to go over a couple things with you." Josef asks

"Sure. Beth is going into work late tonight I'll swing by after I drop her off."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Keith Mars is watching the same newscast that Josef and Mick are watching. He remembers who owns that piece of property from when he was the sheriff and he isn't too unhappy about this development either. Keith thanks the fates for taking away one of his biggest worries where Veronica is concerned. He doesn't need her on the Fitzpatrick's radar.

Veronica doesn't know it but Keith has gotten wind of Logan barging in and facing down Liam Fitzpatrick with a gun when Liam had Veronica by the throat. That put both of them in Liam's line of sight. Keith is glad Logan was there but at the same time the thought of Liam being aware of Veronica and Logan make him very nervous. As far as he knows Logan doesn't make a habit of carrying a gun and he can't be with Veronica every minute of every day anyway. Even if Liam isn't actively seeking to get even he is crazy enough to do something really bad to them if he ever gets half a chance. Keith won't be broken up if he hears that Liam is in the explosion.

Keith had some serious doubts about Veronica seeing Logan again but after what Logan did to save his daughter's life he can't find any reason that doesn't seem petty to keep them apart. How do you object to someone willing to face Liam Fitzpatrick or a gun totting Cassidy to save your daughter? Logan has turned out ok but he has too much money and not enough drive. Keith doesn't want him stopping Veronica from going to college.

He'd hoped Veronica would get a normal job now that she is out of school but it just didn't look like it is in the cards. She has too much of a reputation for helping people in her own age group and they are the next generation of adults. So many of them have been helped by her at one time or another that they are in the habit of pulling her into cases.

She has a chance to go to the FBI but he doesn't think she will really be very happy there. Veronica doesn't play by the rules very well and she isn't much of a team player. All things required of an FBI agent. He is afraid she is always going to work in what has become the family business.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sheriff Lamb is thankful that the Fitzpatrick place is outside his jurisdiction. This is going to be a mess and he is just as happy the state police have ended up with it. Let their crime lab sift through the wreckage, if they even bother. Lamb has more immediate concerns. It is almost election time and he has to figure out how to make sure Keith Mars doesn't run against him again. It was close enough last time that he doesn't want to take any chances.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mick walks in just as Josef is punching in the codes to take a peak at what Logan's financials look like this week. Mick suspects this has become Josef's new hobby.

Mick looks over his shoulder. "Hey the kid bought a house. What do you know?"

"I didn't know you could read financial paperwork." Josef snarks.

"Just because I let you take care of my money doesn't mean I don't pay some attention to what you do with it." Mick says.

"He sold the property that had belonged to Echolls and bought this other piece at a good price. It should give him enough extra capital to keep the house going fine for a year or so. I'm not sure why he would want a house." Josef wonders. "They cost a lot to maintain especially in that neighborhood."

"Maybe he wants a home for him and his lady. You ever think maybe he wants to settle down with Veronica?"

Josef shakes his head. "Maybe…something tells me that isn't going to happen any time soon."

"Why do you say that?" Mick asks

"Weevil called yesterday and said he got an invite to a good-bye to the neighborhood party at Logan's place and that it sounded like it would be a huge blow out. As for her moving in with Logan…she still spends about half her nights at her dads. That doesn't sound to me like she's ready to spend them all with Logan."

Mick sits down in the chair across from Josef's desk. "So, what did you want to ask me about?"

Josef doesn't know if this is really a good idea but it is worth a try. "I was wondering how you would feel about revealing your secret identity to Logan and Veronica?"

Mick looks at Josef like he's crazy. "Josef I'm the last vampire you should be asking to do this. You want some one like you, who really likes being a vampire. I probably won't give them the perspective you would like."

Josef waves a dismissive hand. "I thought you were getting better about being a vamp. I haven't heard the 'I'm a monster' rant in quite awhile."

Mick snorts. "You can thank Beth for that. She said she'd stake me if she heard it one more time and I was pretty sure she meant it. Besides, I think your both probably right. It's not so much being a vampire that makes me a monster. It's what I do with it. There a lot of people, Beth included who would be dead now if I didn't have my abilities that came with being a vampire. That doesn't mean I wouldn't love to be human…. I'd like to have a family…. although that doesn't seem like it's completely impossible anymore."

Josef smiles and can see at least one more upside to having a son. He knows how much Mick would love to be a father. Logan gives Mick hope for that. "So really the only thing standing between you and actually liking the whole vampire thing is sunbathing and chewing your food?"

Mick smiles. "Don't push it Josef. I'm getting there. I just think someone with a bit more enthusiasm for the lifestyle would be a better choice."

Josef grins. "To bad you haven't turned Beth yet. I have a hunch she'd be perfect."

Mick flashes his fangs at Josef who laughs. "It's coming you and I both know it."

"Actually since your latest revelation, she'll probably wait as long as she can."

Josef thinks about it for a minute. "To see if she can get pregnant."

Mick nods. "That would be my guess. You didn't notice her pushing her wine away the other night when you said you didn't know how this happened or how often. Hey, let's get back to your family instead of mine. Isn't there anybody besides me that you can get to do this? How about Weevil? He's very familiar with them, Veronica must trust him."

"Yea, but if Weevil does it I may lose piece of the security puzzle. If Veronica starts shutting him out because she decides she can't trust him anymore, than things that have been set in place don't work as well. Plus he's not exactly the billboard for normalcy that you can project. Because you don't live feed you're almost like a bridge between them and us. You keep trying to keep a foot in each camp and that might reassure them. You also have that whole good guy morality thing going for you that I'm not so sure Weevil is really acquainted with." Josef knows Mick isn't going to be able to keep straddling the fence forever. It can't be done over the long haul, but Mick just hasn't realized that yet. He's just not old enough to know better.

"Josef, I'll think about it." Mick says. "While I'm here Beth had an interesting idea that could go along with that. It's certainly not one that you or I would have come up with that's for sure. She thinks that once they are presented with the reality of vampires and if they take that information well, that you should just go to them and go at it head on with the truth of who you are and what you are. No brother act, no trickery just the truth. Beth and I would be there with you, especially Beth since she is still human and can relate to the whole vampire/human relationship stuff."

"The truth?" Josef stares at Mick a little dumbfounded. "I'm going to have to think about that one."

Mick gets up to leave. "Call me when you get done thinking that one over. And I'll call you after I talk to Beth about the other thing."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Logan looks over at the sleeping form in the bed next to him. He smiles and snuggles up behind her. They have actually managed to go almost a year without a break up. They are getting better at learning to deal with each other's personality quirks.

He hoped after what happened on the roof with Cassidy that she would decide to stop her P.I. work. No such luck. He hates to admit it, but she is too good at it. He just wishes she had a better way of protecting herself. She is so tiny compared to most of the bad guys. He remembers the day that Fitzpatrick had thrown her around like a rag doll. If he hadn't been there he didn't want to think of what could have happened. She wouldn't let him protect her unless she was in so much trouble someone was trying to kill her. Damn that was frustrating. It probably isn't going to get much better. He looked over her choices for college and they were all law enforcement and criminology classes. So, she's either going to end up as a cop or keep at it as a P.I. At least if she is a P.I. she can pick and choose her cases.

He shakes his head to clear the thoughts away. He'll just deal with it as it comes. It's all he can do with her. Veronica is not good at taking advice or help from anyone. He nuzzles her neck and hears a soft moan escape her lips. He smiles and starts kissing his way down her neck.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mick pulls up in front of the BuzzWire offices. It's late but security knows to let Beth go in and out as she pleases. Mick stops at the desk and the security guy tells him Beth said for him to come on up when he got there. Mick watches her from the doorway. He can see she's studying the paperwork in front of her. He clears his throat. He doesn't want to startle her. She looks up and smiles at him.

"Ready to go? I can come back if you're not." He says.

She stands up and gathers her work up. "No, that's fine. I'm ready."

They walk down and Beth signs out at the desk and they get into the Benz before they start to talk.

Mick tells Beth that Josef asked him to show the kids that vampires exist.

Beth laughs.

"What's so funny?" Mick asks.

She shakes her head. "Josef wants you to tell not one but two humans about vampires."

"As you pointed out, you sure can't tell one without telling the other. What I may do is go back down there and talk to Weevil and see what he thinks their reactions would be, and if he thinks they can keep it to themselves. I'm risking a lot if they talk. My home is here. I don't want to have to leave." Mick looks at Beth. "Too many people here matter to me to have to leave."

"Don't worry. Some of those people would follow you anywhere. You're right though nobody wants you to have to leave. Do you want me to go with you?"

"I do, but you can't. I can quietly slide in and out of town by myself without anyone really being the wiser. It's harder to do with a beautiful blond at my side."

They get home and Beth sits down on the couch to relax while Mick calls Josef to get Weevil's cell number. Mick tells Josef he will at least talk to Weevil about the prospect of telling Logan and Veronica about Vampires. "You realize I'm risking a lot if I do this and it turns out these two can't keep their mouths shut. I lose my home."

Josef feels a little guilty for asking Mick to do this. He knows he's right and he also knows he has no idea what Logan and Veronica will do. "Look, I know it's a lot to ask. You don't have to do it. I don't want you and Beth leaving town either."

"Well, let me talk to Weevil and see what he says and then I'll decide." Mick says.

"Tell Beth I've been thinking over her idea and she may just be right. It may be the right way to go. Logan's had enough people lie to him. I'd like to show him he can have some family who won't. Let me know what you get from Weevil. Also ask him about the unfortunate fortunes of the Fitzpatrick's and see if anyone knows how many of them got caught in the explosion. When are you going down to talk to Weevil?"

"Probably not for a couple more days. I still have a couple cases that need looking after. Once I wind those up I'll go down." Mick hangs up and sees that Beth has fallen asleep on the couch. He goes over and gently picks her up. She snuggles into him and he takes her upstairs to bed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hope you like it...