Chapter Notes:
Getting close to the grand finale! Are you excited? Because I am! Thanks again to everyone who have sent me comments and kudos - you are what helps drive this little writing obsession of mine.
Veronica bounced her leg nervously. Going from no coffee to lots of coffee had given her a permanent case of the jitters. That, and the constant hovering threat of Duncan hanging over her head. Her dad's meeting with Weidman was a week prior and all he would say about the matter was that it went "Fine"...a statement that vexed her to no end.
Mac had begun monitoring Duncan's texts, which brought nothing new. She realized after a few days that he must be using an alternative phone and Mac had set about trying to find the number, but came up empty. Logan mimicked her every move, and the only reason he didn't follow her to the bathroom was that she insisted on keeping some things in their relationship a 'mystery'.
An alert went off on her computer, reminding her of an appointment she had made with a client off-site. Mrs. Jamison was a wealthy older woman who contacted her about handling the papers for her new Will. Apparently, Veronica had found out about her neighbour's cheating husband and handled the divorce and she had recommended Veronica for her elderly neighbour's legal needs.
She stretched and stood from her chair and smothed her conservative navy-blue pantsuit. Logan popped his head around the corner. "Your chauffeur is here!" He said happily.
Veronica rolled her eyes and gathered her papers off her desk, shoving them in her briefcase. "Chauffeur. Guard. Errand boy." She muttered.
"Sex toy. Eye candy. Orgasm generator. I have many talents." He countered with a grin.
Veronica laughed in spite of herself. He knew his constant presence was getting to her. "When we get to Mrs. Jamison's penthouse, I need you to wait in the hall. What we are talking about is confidential."
Logan nodded. "Okay. I can play watchdog. Where does she live again?"
"Top floor of The Palliser. I think there are two penthouses at the top." She replied, walking over to him and giving him a small kiss on the cheek.
Logan nodded. "Actually, there are four. My mom had a friend that lived there. The elevator brings you up to a central lobby and they can be accessed from there. I can set up and monitor things from while you are inside." He snaked his arm around her and kissed her forehead.
"Great! Then we have a plan" She said and the two made their way through the office and out to their car.
The doorman to The Palliser was an older gentleman in full uniform. He called up to Mrs. Jamison, informing her that she had guests, and then directed Logan and Veronica to the elevator, which was operated by another man in uniform. The old elevator creaked up the 15 floors to the top, here it opened to a pink-and-gold sitting area. "Hasn't changed in 20 years." Logan whispered as they got off and walked into the lobby.
Mrs. Jamison was already at her door, waiting for her guests. "Oh, Ms. Mars! I wasn't expecting you would bring someone else with you." She said, eyeing Logan with suspicion.
The couple approached the woman. "This is my husband and partner in Mars Investigations, Logan Echolls." Logan extended his hand and she shook it, giving her his best child-of-film-stars smile.
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Jamison." He said. "I provide security for Veronica when she is out of the office. I won't be in your meeting but I will stay in the lobby until she is ready to leave." He explained.
The old woman scowled at him. Her grey hair was long and slightly wild, and her deep wrinkles and white pant suit gave her the look of a sorceress. "That will be fine, I guess. Come with me." She said, looking at Veronica.
Veronica gave Logan a fleeting look before she disappeared into the penthouse, the door slamming shut behind her.
Logan's instincts went into overdrive. Something wasn't right. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew it wasn't as it should be. Turning his brain to high alert, he leaned himself against the wall beside Mrs. Jamison's door and waited.
"Have a seat here, my dear." Cooed the woman to Veronica, her tone suddenly changing from what it was outside. Her living room was a sprawling white and gold museum to early 1980's nouveau-riche style. She stood behind a white leather chair with gold legs. "Come and have a seat. I poured the tea when Marvin called up to say you were here. It should be cool by now."
Veronica came and sat obediently in the chair. In front of her on the glass and brass coffee table was an elegant flowered tea cup and saucer. She watched as Mrs. Jamison took a seat on the couch near her. "You aren't having any?" She asked the older woman.
Mrs. Jamison's eyes got wide. She looked towards the kitchen briefly and then back a Veronica. "Yes. Of course. How silly of me. I should go and get a teacup. Excuse me." The woman rose again and quickly scampered for the swinging door across the room.
Veronica looked down into her cup. "Never accept drinks from strangers." She said out loud and stood up from her seat. As she did, a pair of large arms grabbed her from behind, wrapping around her chest. One hand went up an covered her mouth as she was about to scream. A muffled screech came from her throat, but they were faint at best. The arms dragged her over the chair, lifting her so her legs dangled. She flailed for a moment until the front door opened again.
Logan was shoved through the open doorway by a burley man in a three piece suit. He landed at the back of the couch and looked up to see who was holding Veronica.
"Duncan, you mother-fucker. If you hurt her I swear to god..." The burley man ended his sentence by putting a gun to the back of his head.
Knowing who was holding her made Veronica flail again, swinging her legs, trying to kick him. Duncan set her down firmly, planting her feet roughly and jostling her bones in the process. Pain ripped into her and she squealed under his hand. "Mrs. Jamison was so nice to make you a beverage. But you just couldn't drink the fucking tea. And you had to bring HIM!" Duncan admonished her. "Now we have to do this the hard way." Catching the eye of his watch dog, Duncan shouted his orders. "Put him in that chair and keep your gun on the back of his head. Don't shoot him until I say so."
Veronica's eyes got wide. Making eye contact with her husband as he was shoved into the chair across from her, she tried to calm herself and focus on what needed to be done.
"So you're keeping me alive? I'm touched our friendship meant to much to you." Said Logan and he crossed his arms and placed his foot across his knee, seemingly relaxing into his position.
Duncan laughed. "No. I'm keeping you alive so you can watch me make love to your wife. So you can experience what it is like to know the woman you love is with another man. So you can live with that being the last time you see her before I take her away to be with me, once and for all." He kissed the top of her head and Veronica flinched. "She just needs to drink her tea and then we can all go somewhere a little more...romantic...for this interlude."
Veronica watched as Logan's face turned from horror to disgust. He caught Veronica's eye. Instead of fear, he saw her eyes narrow. Anger had taken over. She looked at him and winked, and then began her attack.
Duncan screamed as she sunk her teeth into his palm. He released her slightly and she brought her high heel down on his foot, stomping it so hard that the tip was caught in his leather shoe. Duncan let out a loud curse and began to buckle.
Logan saw his chance and grabbed his gun that was holstered to his calf, just under his pant leg. He pushed his chair back, catching burley man off guard and knocking him on his back. Rolling over him, he grabbed the guard's gun and hit him with the blunt end, knocking him unconscious.
Veronica continued her assault on Duncan, spinning in his lose arms and bringing her palm up between them, the heel of her hand first. She caught his nose right at the cartilage and there was a delicious cracking sound as she finished her move. Duncan fell sideways, clutching his face and screaming, blood visible through his hands. Veronica jumped out of his way, leaving her heels behind on the ground. She grabbed her briefcase and launched herself over the couch to the open door, where Logan was waiting. He handed her his new-found extra gun and followed her out.
Running as fast as they could, they pushed open the doors to the emergency stairs and began racing down, with Veronica in the lead and Logan glancing back with his gun drawn. They counted down each floor... 10, 9, 8, 7, 6...suddenly, they heard a door open and Duncan's voice echoed down the concrete tunnel. "I WILL GET YOU BOTH! I WILL COME FOR YOU VERONICA! YOU CANNOT HIDE!"
Veronica's step faltered and Logan grabbed her to help her along. "Keep going, baby! We're almost out." He huffed and the two continued their descent.
At the lobby, the two burst through the stairwell exit and ran to the front doors, like the place was on fire. They continued until they got to the car, diving in and Logan scrambling to start it. Their tires screamed as they took off.
In the car, Veronica kicked into high gear. Reaching for the centre console, she chose the phone connection and dialled the office.
"Mars Investigations!" Sandy's chipper voice filled the room.
"It's Veronica!" She yelled above the sound of the car. "Duncan just tried to kidnap me! Lock down the office! Tell Mac to take all the laptops and any files that pertain to any of the Kane cases and both of you, get the fuck out of there! Logan and I will be in touch when we are safe."
"Oh my god! Okay! We are on it!" Sandy yelled back and hung up.
Veronica disconnected the call and dialled again. This time, Keith Mars answered, seeing his call display. "Veronica?"
Hearing her father's voice nearly made Veronica crack in two. "Daddy?" She said hoarsely. She caught her mouth in her hands, unable to say anything more.
"Veronica? Where are you? What's wrong?" He yelled.
Logan interjected, trying to talk and keep his eye on the road ahead. "Duncan set a trap. He tried to make a grab for Veronica, but we escaped." He took a deep breath. "We are leaving town." He said, looking over at his wife. She nodded at him. They were leaving town.
"Are you taking her where we planned?" He asked Logan.
"Yes Sir. Executing 'Get out of Dodge' Plan A. We will make contact when we are secure." Logan reacted, his voice suddenly gone military.
"Veronica. I love you. I will make sure you can come home soon. I promise." Came Keith's voice, full of emotion.
Veronica gasped past her tears. "I love you Dad. And Alicia. Tell her I love her too." She said.
"I will. Be safe." He said and hung up.
Veronica reached over and disconnected the call. Glancing over at Logan, she realized they should have done this the first time he wanted to leave. Then, they had something to fight for. But now, they had no fight left. Looking out the window, she noticed that they were no where near their neighbourhood. Logan swiftly took a turn and she saw where they were.
"Navarro's Garage" made Veronica smile with relief. Logan pulled up and began honking his horn. Weevil was out in seconds and Logan threw open his door quickly.
"He's on our tail, Weev. We gotta get out, NOW!" He said, running to Veronica's side of the car and ripping open the door. She undid her seatbelt and grabbed her briefcase. When she swung her legs out, she realized she was barefoot. Logan noticed her bare toes as well and quickly swooped her up in his arms. For a moment, they connected, locking eyes. "He's never coming near you again." He whispered and kissed the tip of her nose. Veronica sank into his arms, placing her head on his chest as he carried her across the lot.
Weevil was already holding the door of a blue Honda Civic open for him. Gently, Logan leaned down and Veronica scrambled into the passenger seat. "Give me your phone." He said and held out his hand. Veronica quickly opened her briefcase and handed it over.
Logan slammed the door and stopped a moment to talk to Weevil. She saw him hand their friend both of their phones and the extra gun they had picked up in the scuffle. The brief conversation ended with a hand shake and a bro-hug and then Logan was in the drivers seat again. Weevil waived to Veronica as Logan drove past him and back onto the street.
Veronica looked around the car. In the back there was a flat of bottled water and two grocery bags of chips, pretzels, and other non-perishable items. There were also a couple of pillows and blankets stacked on the back seats. Logan noticed her looking around and began to talk. "There are two suitcases with clothes, disguises, and toiletries in the trunk. When we get out of town, I'll stop and we can change." He looked down at her feet again. "I packed shoes."
Veronica nodded in silence. Her body started to go into shock. The adrenaline rush was over and she felt cold. She pulled her feet up and crossed her legs on her seat, shivering slightly. Logan noticed and turned off the air conditioning, cracking his window just a bit for air.
"Where are we going?" She asked softly, suddenly feeling very tired.
Logan smiled. "Seattle. Gareth and Hunter will be waiting for us. I'm going to take the long way through Nevada and Idaho so it will be a few days. But we'll change onto our disguises and stop for the night and regroup. There are two burner phones that will need recharging tonight but then we can communicate with Alicia. We figured she would be the least likely person they would think to tap."
Veronica shook her head. "When did you arrange all of this?" She asked.
Logan shook his head. "Your Dad arranged this plan. He was worried we may have to leave town quickly and set this up about a week ago. I also bumped up the credit limit on 'Charlie's' credit card so we can live off of that for a while." He reached out and put his hand on his wife's knee. "And your dad has assurances from C.W. that he will throw Duncan off track if he tries to have him follow us."
Duncan. The name set off a visceral reaction in her. She closed her eyes as she felt herself begin to shake. Logan saw her body shift and begin to vibrate uncontrollably. "Shit!" He said and pulled out of traffic and into a back lane. He put the car in 'park' and grabbed the blanket from the back seat, wrapping it around his wife and rubbing her arms rapidly.
She opened her eyes slightly and looked at him through heavy lids. "I can't believe I kicked his ass." She chattered.
Logan reached around her and hugged her tightly. "I'm jealous that you kicked his ass! I've been waiting weeks to do it!"
"I knew it was a good idea to wear my one nice pair of Laboutins to that meeting today. Coordinated my entire outfit around those shoes." She added in a deadpan voice.
Logan kissed her head. "When this is over, I will buy you a special shoe closet that you can fill with Laboutins, if you choose."
She smiled. "When this is over, I want to make love to you for a week straight." Veronica turned to gaze up into her husband's eyes.
"Or that." He teased and kissed her gently in the lips before pulling back into his seat. He buckled his belt and put the car back in 'drive'. Veronica was asleep within minutes of the car moving again.
"Alicia!" Yelled Keith from the office "You gotta hear this!"
Alicia ran into the room just as Keith pulled the headphones out of the computer.
Weidmen's voice was strong and loud. "So, let me get this straight. Ms. MARS fractured your nose and foot?"
"YES! GOD DAMN IT! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT?!" Came Duncan's nasally voice.
Keith smacked his knee and started laughing hysterically. He turned to Alicia and pointed at the computer. "THAT'S my girl!"
Weidmen's voice came on again. "Sir. I think it's best if I handle this from now on."
"Yes. Fine. Just find them, alright."
"I will do my best, Mr. Kane." There was the sound of footsteps and the door.
Alicia shook her head. "I'm just glad she is okay." She said and kissed her husband on the head. Keith was giggling happily to himself when his phone buzzed. He picked it up and looked at the message.
Will not pursue. Time for next phase.
Keith nodded to himself and responded.
Ready when you are.