The Arrest

Logan, during his time in Mexico surfing with Dick, gets a call from Agent Howard that he has been temporarily transferred to the San Francisco office to help with a case. It's a good thing that he doesn't use alcohol or even sex anymore to cope because the destruction of his career would have been a good excuse for him to party hard. Instead he surfed and surprisingly, spent time talking to Dick who seemed to understand Logan's need for peace and quiet. They rented a house on the beach and just relaxed. Dick loves to barbecue so they fell into the routine of Logan cooking brunch and Dick supper. They surfed everyday but they also relaxed by the pool, played video games, watched movies and played games in the games room. The tall blonde seemed introspective and they talked about their pasts. Curious, Dick asked about Logan's FBI career and in turn, talked about his real estate business. Logan is proud that his best friend doesn't want to be anything like his father; he wants to make the Cassablancas' name stand for something good again.

Upset about Veronica's impending arrest, Logan confides what he can about Veronica's financial situation. Dick looks closely at his best friend and plainly tells him, "Dude, we all thought you gave Veronica the money."

Surprised, Logan meets Dick's questioning gaze and shakes his head, "I didn't."

Frowning, Dick ponders aloud, "If Veronica is not making payments for the condo or the club, then she had to have spent at least two million dollars for the land and the building renovation. Downtown land is expensive." Waving his hand at Logan, he adds carefully, "Whoever is funding her had to have given her around four to five million dollars so far."

Logan knows that is true because when they researched it, Veronica spent one point eight million dollars before she opened the club. Plus she bought into Mars Investigations.

Dick gets Logan's attention. He has a knowing look on his face as he asks, "Who does Veronica know, besides you, that would give her that kind of money?"

Taking a long pull on his beer, Logan finally questions, "You think it was Duncan, don't you?"

Nodding, Dick points out that he is still in touch with most of the 09er guys that Veronica would know. He doesn't think any of them are helping Veronica and wonders aloud that if they were, why wouldn't they admit it?

The dark haired young man admits, "The FBI thinks that Veronica took the start up money from Zack Roscoe."

Dick looks carefully at Logan and asks, "Do you think that?"

Shaking his head, Logan shares, "Roscoe is pretty smart. He wouldn't just give an ex FBI agent a couple of million dollars to open a night club. Plus only Veronica's name is on the ownership papers of the condo and night club."

Furthering the discussion, Dick adds, "If Veronica is making money with the club, then she would be paying a private loan back or giving dividends to a part owner." He looks at Logan in question.

Shaking his head, Logan tells him, "She's not making payments either officially or unofficially as far as we can tell." He takes a deep breath and adds meeting his best friend's gaze, "She is making a lot of money on her personal investments without a broker."

Frowning as he thinks about the new information, Dick finally points out, "Well she and Cassidy were the top two earners in FBLA."

"She is making a percentage more like your father did before he had to run," Logan tells him meaningfully.

Dick looks out at the beach and they both sit quietly watching the sunset; both deep in their thoughts. Logan is wondering if Veronica went to see Duncan after she quit the FBI. There are no records of her flying anywhere in the last three years except three times to Vegas with her father. Of course, she didn't have to go by commercial plane; she could have left the country for a short period by private jet. It would be tricky but it definitely could be done. He has always thought that Veronica helped Duncan to leave the country and evade the authorities. It makes sense that she would be in contact with him. There is no way that Duncan is living abroad without the financial support of one of his parents so he has the finances to help Veronica. Thinking further about it, Logan decides that it actually makes sense if Veronica went to see DK and told him about why she left the FBI. He might give her the money to start over. Five million would be a drop in the bucket to him. Finally Logan looks over at his best friend and asks, "If it is DK helping her, why wouldn't she just leave and disappear with him?"

Snorting Dick tells his friend definitively, "You know why she didn't go with him and why she stays here."

Frowning at his friend, Logan says, "She isn't here for me."

"Dude," he points out taking a sip of his beer, "You two will never let each other go."

Shocked, Logan changed the subject but he thought about what Dick said. He can't really deny that he has never married or been in a serious relationship because of his feelings for Veronica. He dates. He even dates women for a few months at a time. Once they want to be serious, he is done. The question is, is it possible that she has never been able to let go of him?

Part of him really wants to drive to LA, find Veronica and disappear together before she is arrested. With their combined wealth, it would be possible to be go to a country without an extradition treaty with the US. They could be together and that is almost worth anything. The other part of him knows that he can't just run away with her. She knows she is going to be arrested. She seems to know everything about the FBI's case and yet, she doesn't seem to have any intention of running. He wonders what her plan is and why she is having dealings with Roscoe and if she got her money from him or was it really from Duncan?

In San Francisco, Logan finds he is actually excited about the new case. His time there is supposed to be temporary but Logan knows that this transfer is probably permanent. At his new office, the new team he has been assigned to is working on art thefts. He has a strong knowledge of art so is finding the case interesting. At present he is doing a lot of interviews of gallery owners and art dealers from around the area. His name is not a hindrance as his mother was a serious art collector. Gallery owners and dealers are happy to talk to him and answer his questions.

He is busy during the day but by himself in the evening and long nights, he thinks about his time with Veronica. The forty eight hours he spent with her, the ones that never happened, were the best two days of his life. In his entire relationship with Veronica Mars, time together where neither is focused on anything but each other was a rarity. During the two precious days, they didn't talk about issues from their past, the present or any notion of the future but they communicated. It was paradoxically the most wonderful and the most painful time he has ever spent with her. They spent every moment together; making meals, watching movies, taking walks on the beach, watching the sun rise and set, playing games in the games room, reading, swimming in the pool and relaxing in the hot tub. More than the things they did, Logan remembers the touches. Veronica leaned into him watching movies the first night and they never stopped touching. For once in their long and complicated relationship, they both just let go of everything between them and they just enjoyed the feelings. There wasn't time for games or worries, there was only time for them to be. Their physical relationship had always been a bond between them and completely open with each other, it was the most deep and honest thing he had ever experienced in his life. He feels unsettled and like a part of him is missing now she is gone. He doesn't know what the future holds. He doesn't know what she has done or what is going to happen to her when she is arrested. He doesn't know if his career with the FBI is over. What he does know is that he is more in love than ever with Veronica Mars.

Now he has what Lilly used to call the 'if only' blues. She didn't want to live her life and then wonder what would happen if only she had done this or that. She wanted to try everything and not have regrets. Well her 'if only' philosophy didn't work out for her but he really wishes that he did not have the regrets. If only he and Veronica had been more open when they dated. If only life hadn't kept getting between them. If only they had reconnected before she left the FBI. If only they could be together now.

Over two months later, the news breaks that the FBI in conjunction with the DEA has arrested Zack Roscoe and surprisingly, Jonathan Mendez. The news is unrelenting on how they are allegedly the two biggest crime lords in the drug trade in LA. It is a huge coo for the DEA and the FBI. It turns out that Agent Mars pretended to resign from the FBI and in truth, she was temporarily transferred to DEA for an undercover assignment. Agent Howard was her contact in the FBI. Apparently he handpicked the young agent for the assignment because he was so impressed with her work on his team.

Logan, hearing the news thinks about how he should have seen it. Veronica would never be involved in the drug trade. Although he didn't believe she was involved with a married man, he knew his fellow agents thought she was. Although he is annoyed he was a pawn in her case, he is very proud of her. He can't believe that she was undercover for over two years. He can't imagine the strain of running the club and dealing with the dangerous men she was trying to catch.

Logan doesn't hear from Veronica but he does get a private visit from Agent Howard. Logan is surprised when he is sent to interview a businessman about a painting he bought and when he enters the office, Agent Howard is sitting there waiting to talk to him. He immediately tells Logan that he wanted to meet with him in private so he arranged the meeting.

Logan sits when he is waved to the chair across the massive, obviously expensive desk. Agent Howard starts the conversation by telling him that Veronica got assigned to his team after graduation from Quantico. He meets Logan's gaze and says, "She was raw, hard headed but the talent there was hard to ignore." Logan smiles a little. He can imagine how advanced she was in investigating and interviewing. Agent Howard says, "I could see her potential and recruited her to be involved in a long term operation." Settling back into his chair he tells the interested young agent about how once Veronica agreed to the long term operation, it was decided that she would have to have a serious falling out with him as her superior officer and the FBI. It turns out she was minorly injured in an operation and while she was in the hospital overnight, it was decided that she would leave the FBI suddenly and there would be rumors about her falling out with Agent Howard over the injury. The long term FBI agent looks Logan in the eyes and says, "To anyone not in the know, I was negative about Veronica and made it seem like I forced her out of the FBI."

He talks about how Veronica disappeared for six months and he meets Logan's gaze and says, "If she wants to talk about that time with you, she will." Logan merely nods. He knows that he is lucky to be in this meeting and to have a lead agent like Agent Howard talking to him and including him in the review of the operation. Agent Howard seeing Logan is going to listen and not interrupt or question him, continues, "Veronica worked with the DEA setting up her club with a location close to Roscoe's and Mendez's districts. Her assistant at the club, some of the waiters, bar staff and security were DEA agents."

That had already occurred to Logan and he has learned that Juan Aceves was the leader of the operation and posed as her second in command. Agent Howard explains how Veronica set up a private area for Roscoe or Mendez to come to when they were at the club. Roscoe came first and used the private area. Of course it was wired and the information on who bought drugs from Roscoe or his employees was never acted upon. With time Roscoe grew to trust Veronica when no information leaked out. He paid Veronica for the protection and the room. For her part Veronica appeared to be angry and bitter with law enforcement and was just out to make as much money as she could.

There is a lull in the story while Agent Howard assesses how much he should tell his young agent. Finally he points out, "I don't need to tell you how much she sacrificed for this operation. Her close friends eventually made excuses not to see her anymore and her relationship with her father was strained." Sighing he adds, "She worked seven days a week, twenty four hours a day for the whole operation at the expense of her personal life." Logan can see that this last statement is almost regretful. He reads that Agent Howard has protective feelings for Veronica. It makes sense to Logan who has seen many men fall under the 'need to protect and care for Veronica' spell.

"Part way through the operation it was decided that I would send an agent in undercover to help build a case against her. Roscoe would find out and it would cement in his mind that she is an enemy of law enforcement," Agent Howard says as he looks out the window. There is a pause and then he turns his chair slightly and leans forward on the desk so he is closer to Logan. "I thought about who to send in and decided to pull you into the case." He goes on to talk about how he read in Logan's file they dated in high school and college and that they hadn't really been in touch since they broke up in college. His blue eyes lock with Logan's brown and he adds meaningfully, "You had already connected with Veronica for a few days when I finally was able to get the message to her that you were the FBI agent in the plan."

Logan thinks about the timeline. When he and Veronica first reconnected, he saw that her happiness to see him was genuine. They had talked and the underlying feelings between them had been there. It had been a bittersweet time for him. Seeing her, talking to her, reconnecting had touched him but being the agent who was investigating her was probably the most difficult thing he had ever done. Part of him worried that she would see through his act and the other, bigger part, felt very much like he was betraying her. After a week of reconnecting, she had seemed different with him. Now that he knows she found out he was FBI, her behavior makes sense. He comes back to Agent Howard's voice as he continues with what he wants to say, "Veronica had real concerns that you would figure out the undercover operation. I was not aware of the depth of your relationship or I would never have sent you in. She told me that you knew her better than anyone." He carefully watches the young man and sees that he is skillful at hiding his reactions.

Seeing that he is not going to be privy to Logan's private thoughts, he continues with what he wants to say. He talks about how they arranged for Veronica to plant the idea in his head that Agent Howard was dirty knowing he would try and figure it out. Then Agent Howard could send Logan off the case pretending to find out Logan was investigating him.

It all made sense to Logan. He couldn't figure out how Agent Howard knew he was looking into Veronica's injury. He had been very careful. It also made sense to Logan that Veronica would exit him from the undercover case not wanting him near the front line. It looks very authentic that Agent Howard would use Logan Echolls to get close to Veronica Mars. It made Veronica's story of leaving the FBI more believable for the people at the club and the guys who ran the drug trade.

When Agent Howard finishes the story he looks at the younger man waiting to see if he has any questions. Logan leans back as he thinks and processes everything he has been told. He finally asks, "How did you manage to fool Keith Mars for over two years?"

A small smile crosses Agent Howard's face and he shakes his head, "It really is a credit to Veronica's training and abilities. He is not an easy man to fool."

Sighing he shares that Keith Mars' clear disapproval of Veronica's relationship with Roscoe added to the story. He finishes, "Her close friends' refusals to see her and her estrangement from you after you tried to get close to her was the icing on the cake. She proved her worth and was able to earn Zack Roscoe's trust." Logan fills in the rest of the blanks from what he learned reading the file. From all the videos of drug deals, the DEA selected a drug dealer and turned him against Roscoe and Veronica Mars. It was their plan to end the operation. Veronica would close the club once they arrested Zack Roscoe. Surprising the DEA and FBI, Jonathon Mendez chose to muscle in on the operation just as they were about to close it. Veronica agreed to stay undercover longer so the DEA could work a case against Mendez.

In admiration and wonder at the depth of the plan, Logan thinks about how she had to isolate herself from almost everyone who cared about her during this operation. Well the operation was done. Now Veronica will be tied up in court for the next couple of years and her days as an undercover agent are done. Logan can't really work undercover because of his past and now his connection with the FBI is in the open.

Agent Howard told Logan that his record with the FBI was clean and that he was recommending him and the rest of the team for commendations for their work on this landmark case. Logan was going to stay with the office in San Francisco for the next couple of months and then he would be reassigned back to LA. The press has been very excited about the case and the fact that Logan Echolls, son of Aaron and Lynn Echolls has gone into law enforcement. Although his record is now clean, he wonders if he will ever be able to do any investigative work again besides art theft cases. His notoriety again seems to have torpedo'd something important in his life. If only his parents hadn't been so set on being in the limelight their whole lives.

Veronica Mars disappeared. The Club and her condo were sold. The new owners changed the name. Familiar with how the courts work, Veronica would only appear for depositions and then she would disappear until it was time for the trial. Her safety will be at risk but most of her conversations were on audio and probably audio visual. Many of her employees at the club were DEA so there is ample proof of the accused guilt. Logan doubted he would ever see her again.