Versatile Toppings
22-23 weeks
Corny gets out of his car, head bopping to his iPod.
He fixes his Cho's Pizzas cap and grabs the pizza out of the back seat.
A taser is shoved up to the back of his neck.
He grunts and falls, unconscious.
Logan chases off a student lingering by the drinks machine before returning to the corner where Hannah is hidden.
They kiss.
Hannah comments on Logan's secrecy but he evades the point.
They arrange for him will come to Hannah's on Saturday, when she is staying at her father's.
Students are giggling and gossiping over flyers containing a poem.
She watches as Madison mock Marlena by reading the poem aloud whereby the latter expresses feelings for Madison.
She walks by disgusted with Madison as Marlena denies writing it before running off.
"Veronica, I need your help." Ryan says stopping in front of her.
Ryan leads her into the room, "Corny was the fifth pizza boy to get mugged. I was the fourth. This poem that is going around it's my fault."
"How?" she asks confused.
"There was a list of poster to a website that I set up, the Pirate's S.H.I.P. Student Homosexual Internet Posting and it was stolen. Marlena's poem was exposed because she refused to pay the five thousand dollars that was demanded to keep her in the closet. we want to hire you to find out who is blackmailing us."
"Why can't evil just get jobs like everybody else. Okay, I'll help."
She talks to Corny and Ryan while they are working. They were both mugged in the same part of town. The addresses they were called to were real but the residents hadn't ordered pizza.
She asks Ryan to get her the addresses that were used.
She's sitting on his bed, doing her homework, with Ophelia when he comes into the room.
"What's this?"
"Uncle Eli. You like?" Ophelia giggles, showing him the necklace she's making with wooden beads.
"I love it."
He gives her a kiss on the top of her head and sits down on the bed.
Ophelia grabs the necklace and rest of her beads and leaves the room with a giggle.
"Should I worry that my niece is clearing the room?" he asks.
"I doubt it. I took a job this afternoon. You remember Ryan?"
"Umm I think so."
"Seems that wonderful mugger found out about some people that would like to stay in the closet Ryan has asked me to figure it out because not all of them can afford the five grand that the blackmailer is asking for."
"Okay, have me or one of the boys with you when you confront the guy." he says pulling her to lay down next to him.
"Of course." she says before dropping her mouth on his for a kiss.
"Go tell them that supper is ready." Letty motions to Felix who is sitting on the couch playing a video game.
"They're sleeping." Ophelia says.
"How do you know that, mijo?" Letty asks.
"I forgot some beads in there and when I went to get them, the light was off and they were under the covers. Auntie was having a bad dream though."
"Why?" Felix stupidly asked.
"Cause she was whimpering."
Felix eyes go wide and he covers his mouth to hid his smirk.
"Elias! dejar de tener sexo mientras su sobrina se encuentra en la casa(stop having sex while your niece is in the house)!" Letty yells down the hall.
She is shocked when a cheerleader follows her into the bathroom and after checking that no one is around asks for help.
Kylie, the cheerleader is being blackmailed and Ryan told her that she could help.
"You're a..."
"Yeah. Can you help me?"
"Do you still have the email?" she asks and Kylie gives her the email.
"Write them back and ask for twenty four more hours. I'll handle the cash and drop off."
"You agreed to help Terrence Cook?" she asks once she and Eli get to the office.
"Yes, I admit to being a fa but I have a gut feeling."
"Just...I don't know." she mumbles.
"Thought you would be happy about this honey?"
"Que?"
"That I'm helping your friend's dad."
"Oh, Jackie and I aren't really friends..we tolerate each other. For Wallace. Like Eli and the boys tolerates Logan for me." she says with a smirk.
Her dad just laughs and goes into his office.
Ryan slips into class while the students are watching a school TV broadcast and hands her the list of addresses.
She knows one of them.
Before she can tell Ryan, Kylie appears on the TV, reporting on the mugging of Kelly Kuzzio, a random victim and not a pizza boy.
He reports that his watch, wallet and rims worth $6000 were stolen.
Kylie signs off her news report by saying that she is gay, that she is Marlena's girlfriend and that the Pizza Boy Mugger can forget about collecting from her.
"Hey dude, check it out." a random 09er says to Dick as Kylie and Marlena walk down the hallway, holding hands.
"That. Totally. Rocks. Yeah. Dude, why are lesbians like so pissed-off all the time? Let your freak flag fly, ladies!" Dick calls out.
"How progressive of you, Dick." she snarks.
"Ronnie, am I in trouble? I haven't...?"
"In the clear for now." she says seeing Carmen, she walks away from Dick.
"Hey, Carmen. Heard from our favorite videographer lately?"
"He actually called on Christmas Eve to apologize for it and see if I wanted to see him. I took great pleasure in hanging up one him."
"Hey any idea why you or any of these people would have their address used?" she asks showing her the list that Ryan gave her.
"We're all coconuts."
"What the hell is a coconut?" she asks.
"Its what some people call Latinos that date white people or do things of that nature, like Honor Society. Technically Weevil is one but no one would dare say it to his face."
"Could you make a list of everyone that you know is labelled a coconut." she says with the taste of bile in her mouth.
She has Thumper and Felix question Kelly.
He is uncooperative when they mention that it would have taken awhile to get the rims off his car without anyone calling the cops.
Logan rings the bell at Hannah's place. She answers but doesn't let him in, angry about having to hid the relationship.
"I'm trying to protect you. I don't have the best record with girlfriends." he says trying to placate her.
"I've heard all about Lilly and Caitlin." she answers.
"Well I also have this pesky friend. I'm sure you've seen her. Tiny, blond, pregnant and usually spends time with bikers."
"Why would you be worried about her?"
"Not me. You. She is extremly protective at the moment, hormones going in overdrive or something and I don't want to subject you to her and have her scare you away.
"I don't scare easily." she says letting him in.
As they sit on the sofa, cuddling, she tells him about her parents splitting up.
Dr. Griffith arrives and Hannah introduces them.
He catches Logan coming out of the bathroom. He demands to know what Logan is doing with Hannah.
Logan tells him that if he wants Logan out of the house and away from his daughter, Griffith had better rethink what he claims to have seen, or rather what the Fitzpatricks told him to say he saw.
Griffith says he won't be threatened.
Corny takes a pizza order by phone.
She checks the address. It matches one on the list she has from Carmen.
Corny is excited to be bait.
Corny pulls up and gets out of the car, carrying pizza boxes.
A dark figure races up behind him.
Felix pulls on a wire across the ground and the figure falls over.
At her command, Backup starts growling in the kid's face as Felix and Thumper stand him up.
The mugger turns out to be Arturo, who was hoping to impress Eli, Felix and Thumper to get higher up on the ladder in the PCHers. He admits that Kelly's mugging was not done by him and he is not doing the blackmail.
Felix and Thumper agree with her and after a call to Eli, Arturo agrees to turn himself in.
"Hey Q, need a favor." she says sitting down next to her.
"What's up?"
"I need you to get me to a site." she says and tells her the site for Ryan's chatroom and board.
It takes a little while but slowly understand comes over her.
"You set up the site."
"Ryan asked me to beef up their security." Mac says.
"I work for Ryan too now, so if you could just.."
"So then why wouldn't he have let you on it himself?" Mac asks.
"Damn you and your valid questions. Look, it's still private if I only see the usernames, right?"
"A savvy detective such as yourself might deduce who the Pirate SHIPpers are."
"Mac, the only way I can stop the Marlenas and Kylies of this school from being tormented is if I get on that message board."
Mac finally agrees to let her on the site, and prints off some of the posts from the board if she promises to burn everything once she is done with it.
She and Jackie decide to go to the game together to support Wallace.
She is left alone to her researches for only a moment as Ryan comes in.
"Don't be mad at mac but the mugger isn't the blackmailer which leaves those that have access to the site."
She suspects a poster called MIZZ P, who posted about the "outing of all outings in Neptune" before disappearing.
Ryan explains that it's not possible. MIZZ P was the screen name of someone who died on the bus.
He continues with what he came to tell her .. that there's been another blackmail letter.
He won't tell her who the victim is although he did advise the victim to speak to her. He doubts it will happen.
Hannah tells him that her father has told her everything.
"He's lying. He wasn't there."
"Really and you just happen to meet me at the carnival." Hannah snarls.
"Yes, I had no idea you were his daughter until he picked you up."
She scoffs.
"Your dad is working with the Fitzpatricks. If you don't believe me look around, keeping an open mind."
Looking at the posts with her, Mac mentions that one of the screen names sounds like Kelly's licence plate KUZZIKAN.
She confronts Kelly.
he admits that he is KIZZNKUZN and gay.
She works out that he staged the mugging to raise the cash for the blackmail with the rims, getting the insurance company to replace them.
She assures him that she isn't out to out him.
Kelly just wants to pay the money and for it to be over.
He shows her the blackmailing email. It requires him to send the money to an address.
She explains to Ryan that the address Kelly was given was false and the payoff has been stalled at the post office for seven hours.
She checks the tracker on her computer screen and announces that it has finally moved.
She brings up the address.
Ryan recognizes it.
She confronts Kylie at her locker.
"Been waiting for you." she says returning her bug. She admits to being the blackmailer, collecting the money from the dead letter office where her mother works.
She agrees to return Kelly's money.
"Can I ask why?" she asks as the start walking.
"I was trying to raise money for college and I'm selfish. i wanted to be out but Marlena didn't. i wanted to be able to walk down the hall like any other couple."
'I get it. don't like it but I get it."
"Can you let me tell Marlena?"
She just nods as Kylie walks off.
Logan waits for Hannah to exit art class.
She sees him and hesitates before telling Logan that he was right about her father.
She walks away but Logan catches up with her, takes her books and then her hand as they walk down the hallway together like a real couple.
He feels his body stiffen as they walk past Ronnie and Mac.
They have barley turned the corner when he feels himself pulled around.
"Ronnie..."
She just glares at him.
Hannah looks at each of them before reluctantly letting go of his hand and rushing off to class.
"Seriously.. what the fuck are you doing?" she demands as she pulls him into a empty classroom.
He notices Thumper and Felix standing guard on the door.
"I don't have to tell..."
"Try again..."
"I like her, who her dad is has nothing to do with it."
"I pray to that you are telling me the truth tight now. If I find out you are playing with that girl to fuck with her dad. Not even Eli will be able to save you." she says before talking out.
He collapses into a chair, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Guess you weren't kidding." Hannah says when he bumps into her later.
"Huh?"
"That was a mama bear defending her cub." Hannah mutters.
"I'm just thankful she didn't scare you off."
"I told you I don't scare easy but I am nervous about meeting her official now." she says with a small smile.
Jackie drives alongside and then into a hangar explaining to her that she doesn't want to drive the Bronco all the way to the game.
Inside the hangar are a number of expensive foreign cars.
"Okay, which one is Monday?" she jokes.
"You laugh, but he pretty much used to have one for every day of the month." Jackie says laughingly.
"Our lives are so similar. The Mars family hangar is a spitting image of this one."
"Woody Goodman lets my dad use the hanger to store his cars. My dad told me that your dad is helping out with his case. That means a lot. Especially since he's already been convicted by half the people in Neptune."
"Well, luckily, it's the half I don't like. So it works out." she says with a smile.
The girls pick one for their journey.
At home, she reluctantly wakes up her dad and tells him the shocking news: she found explosives and detonators in the hangar where Terrence keeps his cars.
"So much for my gut." he mutters.