Greatly Exaggerated

A/N: Slightly more mature due to flagrant overuse of the "F" word, but Logan is in an F-word kind of situation, right?

Chapter 13

Oh God No! Morgan! What are you doing? Why are you still here?

His daughter was silently creeping up behind Mr. Casablanca's chair, and she was clutching something small and orange in her tiny little fist.

Morgan GO! GO! GO! GET OUT!

What was she up to? What did she have in her hand? It looked almost like a pill bottle.

Logan had a flash of memory from the first day he had arrived at Veronica's house, after she'd fallen and bumped her head. He could hear Veronica's voice: "No honey, these pills help me fall asleep. Can you bring the pills that say A-D-V-I-L?"

Morgan was tugging and twisting at the white pill bottle lid as she ducked down behind the easy chair where Dick Casablancas Sr. was sitting. Logan sat very quietly, waiting for something to happen.

Nothing happened.

He felt helpless that he couldn't even say anything to her, couldn't demand that she leave, without alerting Dick Sr. to her presence.

More minutes ticked by. What was happening? What was she doing? Oh…..

A hysterical giggle bubbled out of him.

God-Damn-mother-fucking-son-of-a-bitching-child-proof-lids! [Giggle] If I ever get out of here, I'm going to have those things outlawed!

Big Dick smiled, pleased that Logan was starting to crack.

Logan risked another flick of the eyes. Little blue pills littered the area rug behind the end table, and Morgan was on her hands and knees collecting them.

She got the lid off! How did she get the lid off? I can't even get those lids off.

Morgan rose up on her knees behind the end table next to Dick's chair. Logan heart began to pound right out of his chest

Mr. C isn't going to get his chance to kill me. I'm going to have a fucking heart attack!

He watched his daughter drop a tiny blue pill into the bottle of wine Big Dick had been drinking out of.

She's going to get caught! She's right in his peripheral vision! I have to distract him!

"If anybody is to blame for Cassidy, it's you!" Logan said. Morgan dropped another pill into the bottle.

"What did you say?" Dick Sr. asked leaning forward menacingly.

"I'm saying you turned your son into a psychopath. You ignored him, you emasculated him, and you let a pedophile molest him, repeatedly."

Big Dick was out of his chair, and in Logan's face. He'd forgotten how tall Mr. C was.

"Don't you say that." Dick Sr. screamed into Logan's face, the smell of wine heavy on his breath. "Don't you dare say that! I loved my son!"

Out of the corner of his eye Logan saw his daughter drop several more pills into the wine bottle.

"All he ever wanted was your approval, and all you ever did was to pretend that he didn't exist.

"That's not true!"

"Did you wrap him up in a bow before handing him over to Woody Goodman?"

Dick Sr. pulled back a fist and punched Logan in his face. Then hit him again and again. Logan could see Morgan bite her fist to keep from crying out. She dropped her last pill into the wine bottle and silently backed out of the room into the dining room.

Morgan, you evil genius! If this works, you're getting a whole stable-full of ponies!

"You have anything else to say you arrogant little fuck?"

"No sir." Logan mumbled.

He had plenty to say, but as long as Big Dick was hitting him, he wasn't drinking wine.

"What were his last words?" Big Dick asked, returning to his chair and sitting heavily.

Logan sighed deeply. "I told him not to jump, and he asked me why not. I guess I didn't answer fast enough."

"Why not? Why didn't you stop him?"

"I don't know. I froze. We thought Keith Mars was on the plane with Woody. I'd just found out that he'd caused the bus crash, and that he'd raped Veronica. I couldn't think of a single thing to say."

"You could have stopped him. You could have dragged him off the roof. You could have restrained him. You could have called Dick and asked him to come get his brother. You could have done something!" Dick Sr. took a swig of wine.

Logan noticed that Mr. Casablancas didn't seem to notice anything "off" about the taste of the wine.

"I wish I would have done something. I was angry with Cassidy, but I didn't want him to die. He was a victim, too."

"Well you should have fucking done something!" Dick took another swig of wine. Still no reaction to the taste.

Time to take a gamble, Logan.

"Who the hell are you? Where were you when Cassidy was coming unglued? He was in your office when you took off in your helicopter. Why didn't you take him with you?"

"Fuck you Logan." Dick shouted.

"YOU failed him." Logan shouted. "But you think it's OK to sit in my living room drinking my wine and judge me."

Take the bait. Take the bait. Take the bait.

"You have a problem with me drinking your wine?" Big Dick asked, standing, posturing. "You don't like it?"

He lifted the bottle to his lips and chugged half of it, defiantly.

Thank you very much Mr. Casablancas.

"Did Kendall turn you on to this wine?" Dick Sr. asked.

"Yes." Logan admitted. "It was the only good thing that came out of fucking her."

Dick raised the bottle in tribute, and gulped down most of the remaining wine.

"You know, if you had discreetly fucked my wife, I may have gone easy on you. I would have put you in the hospital, but I probably wouldn't have killed you. She was a faithless whore, after all. But you were sloppy, and it was because of you that Beaver became suspicious.

"His name was Cassidy." Logan said.

Dick rose again to his feet, looming over Logan.

"I was the victim!" He shouted. "I was the one being cuckolded! But in the end, I was the one who lost everything. I was turned in to the SEC. I had to flee the country. I had to leave behind my company and my mansion, my wife, and my sons. I went to jail for six months!"

"Mr. C…"

"All because you couldn't keep your dick out of my wife."

"I'm sorry."

"How do you think Veronica felt seeing pictures of you in flagrante?" Dick Sr. asked, starting to pace. "You think she might have wanted to take it out on somebody? Somebody convenient?"

"Veronica was with Duncan at the time. She left me."

Mr. C came back to crouch down in front of Logan.

"But she wanted you. Remember when I presented to your future business leaders class? You think I couldn't see the tension? Anybody with eyes could see that the little blond glued to Duncan Kane's side couldn't take her eyes off of you. She looked like she couldn't decide whether she wanted to strangle you or fuck you. And you seemed to be baiting her. Honestly, I thought you were fucking your best friend's girlfriend. I thought it was funny. I never liked Duncan much."

"It wasn't like that."

"Yes it was. She saw those pictures and wanted to make somebody suffer. But she couldn't take it out on you, because if she did, that would be like admitting that she wanted you and that she was jealous. The girl I saw in that classroom that day wasn't going to be making any admissions."

"Now you're blaming Veronica?" Logan asked.

"No, I'm blaming you! Veronica can at least lie to herself about her high moral code. You had no such excuse."

Dick rose from his crouch, and swayed slightly.

"Wow. I don't remember that wine having that much of a kick." He laughed.

He turned to go back to his chair and stumbled, catching himself with a hand on the chair. Something on the floor caught his eye, and he reached down and picked up a little blue pill. He turned back to Logan.

"What is this?" He asked, the pill a small speck of blue on the tip of one his large fingers.

"I don't know. Veronica takes those. She must have dropped one." Logan said.

Dick Sr. swayed unsteadily again on his feet.

"Somebody drugged me." He said, comprehension coming into his eyes. "Somebody's here."

He took two steps to Logan and grabbed him by the hair.

"WHO THE FUCK IS HERE, LOGAN?" He yelled.

Logan sucked in a breath and then screamed out at the top of his lungs: "RUN! GET OUT OF HERE NOW!"

Dick Sr. reached into his jacket and pulled out his gun. He'd turned and taken three steps when Lo stepped out from behind the easy chair and jammed Veronica's Taser between Dick's legs pressing the trigger. Mr. Casablancas screamed, and his body twitched and shook as he fell to the ground dropping his gun. Lo moved the Taser to Mr. C's side, and pressed the trigger again. Mr. Casablancas howled in pain and twitched. Lo dropped the Taser and ran towards the rear of the house.

Mr. Casablancas rolled over onto his knees, gasping for breath. He scanned the floor nearby looking for his gun and finding it a moment later. As Big Dick reached for his gun, Logan pushed himself off the couch and hopped towards the gun. Dick reached it first, and Logan launched himself on top of him to stop him from going after Lo.

He heard a bang, and felt a burning sensation in his chest, before Dick Sr. shoved him off and rose to his feet, walking to the back of the house.

Ignoring his excruciating pain, Logan pushed himself up and hopped as fast as he could in the direction in which Dick Sr. had taken off.

Dick Sr. had followed Lo out the back door, but had pulled it closed behind him. Logan struggled to open it with his hands bound behind his back. He made it outside in time to witness Lo climbing up into the Crow's nest on the pirate ship.

"Lo! Get down from there! You'll be cornered!" He shouted.

Mr. Casablancas was struggling to climb up the cargo net in his drugged state. He must have put the gun in his pocket to climb, because his hands were empty.

Logan grabbed something from the floor of the crow's nest.

What is that? Campbell's Soup?

Logan watched the can of soup sail through the air, landing on Mr. Casablanca's head. Two more cans followed, both landing on their target. Lo reached for a fourth can, but Dick Casablancas Sr. slumped face-first onto the cargo net and stopped moving. Morgan ran in underneath and started doing something to him, but Logan couldn't see what.

He tripped and fell onto his knees, closing his eyes at the unbearable pain. Suddenly Lo was there, throwing his arms around Logan's neck.

"DAD!" He screamed.

"Hi." Logan said weakly. "I think I was shot. I need you to take off your over shirt and press it against the bullet wound, OK?"

Tears were streaming down his son's face as he complied, putting as much pressure on a wound as a five year old could. Logan maneuvered himself so that he could lay down.

"Morgan." Logan called. "I need you to call 911. Can you go to a neighbor's house?"

"I already tried Mrs. Wheeler, and Mrs. Catalano, but nobody is home." She said. "The rest of the neighbors are strangers."

Logan gave her a weak smile. "I think we can make an exception on the stranger rule this time. Can you keep knocking on doors until you find somebody with a phone? And hurry before Mr. Casablancas wakes up."

"He's not going anywhere." Morgan said confidently, and ran off.

That girl is one who can stay calm in an emergency.

"Please don't die, dad." Lo was crying. "I'm sorry I was so mean to you. I promise I'll be nice from now on. I don't want you to go away. It's been really fun since you came here, and I shouldn't have been mean, because you're nice and you're a good surfer and you make really good pancakes."

"I'm trying, Lo." Logan said, weakly. "Just keep as much pressure as you can on that wound to stop the blood flow."

"Don't die dad. I'll be good from now on if you stay alive, and you can kiss my mom anytime you want to, and I won't get mad."

Logan wanted to hug his son in reassurance, but his hands were still bound behind his back.

"I love you Logan." He said. "And I love your sister, and I love your mother. If anything happens to me, make sure that they know that, OK?"

"DON'T DIE, DADDY!" Logan wailed.

"Just keep the pressure on the wound, Lo….." Logan said as blackness overtook him.