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Fic: What Goes Down #13: Spy vs Spy (Veronica Mars, Lamb/Veronica)
Title: Spy vs Spy
Fandom: Veronica Mars
Pairing(s): Lamb/Veronica
Word Count: 1976
Rating: PG-13
Summary: In Neptune, everything is connected. Veronica learns that the hard way when she goes after the Fitzpatricks.
Notes: Thirteenth in the What Goes Down series. AU from episode 3:2 - My Big Fat Greek Rush Week; almost entirely AU after episode 3:9 - Spit & Eggs.
Previously: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12
"Bacon and eggs? I must have done good."
Keith looked up as Veronica wandered into the kitchen, giving her a tight smile. Sleepily, she returned it, and took the plate he handed her.
"I thought we needed some daddy-daughter time," he said as she ate. "I know I haven't been around much lately."
"Yeah, I noticed." Veronica looked up as she finished the last of her bacon, and smiled at him. "Don't worry, I trust you."
Keith's smile faded a little. "Where were you last night?" he asked. "I didn't see you when I got home."
Veronica got up and went to her room. She found the file on her desk, and handed it to her father as she walked back into the kitchen.
"I finished your case for you," she said. "Your mystery guy should be very happy. Or not."
Keith took the files, but didn't look for them. "Your car was in the parking lot when I got back."
Veronica just looked at him.
"So I guess my question is, who drove you home?"
Veronica suppressed a momentary rush of panic. If her father knew who she'd been out with the night before - if he knew what they'd been doing - he wouldn't be standing in the kitchen, eating his breakfast and calmly asking her questions. He'd probably out getting himself killed, or at least arrested.
"You know me," she said, forcing a smile. "I was just being careful."
Keith was still looking at her.
"I took backup," was all she would say.
After her father kissed her goodbye and left - but not without a wary backwards glance - Veronica went back to her room to keep studying her other, slightly more taxing, case. She knew that Robert Dedman was behind Executive Corporation, or at least tied to it, but for all the controversy and rumoured mob connections, she had no idea what that meant, and she hadn't been able to find anything else on him. The company's financial records, on the other hand ...
After everything she'd been through, it really seemed to Veronica that nothing should surprise her any more. And nothing about the Fitzpatricks should surprise her, period. But she still hadn't expected to find that Executive Corporation owned a part - albeit a very small part - of the River Stix.
She should have known that in Neptune, everything was connected.
-
The thought that she was doing this for a case didn't give Veronica much comfort as she sat outside the River Stix. Odd, because that thought was usually the only comfort she had. Still, there was something about the River Stix - and Liam Fitzpatrick - that made her decidedly uncomfortable.
But this was the biggest lead she had. So she stuck it out.
Luckily, the first person she saw walking out the door wasn't Liam Fitzpatrick, or even Danny Boyd. It was, in fact, exactly the person she'd been waiting for.
"Molly!" Veronica called, rolling down her window. Outside the River Stix, Molly Fitzpatrick turned to look at her.
"What do you want?" Molly asked, approaching the car.
Veronica smiled. "I just want to talk. Do you have a minute?"
Molly looked around. "Not really."
"Well, I want to talk anyway."
Rolling her eyes, Molly got in the car. "What is it?"
Veronica turned to look at her. Molly was a reluctant ally, but she was the only one Veronica had, and this was the best lead she'd been able to find. "I need you to do me a favour," she said.
Molly was silent for a moment. "What's the favour?" she asked hesitantly.
"I need you to find something out for me. I tracked some of your family's financial records, and a lot of them seem to be going into one place. The trouble is, I don't know what that place is, or why."
Veronica handed a copy of her notes to Molly, who looked at them suspiciously.
"Why should I help you?" she asked slowly.
Veronica looked at her. "Did you love Felix?"
"Of course I loved Felix." Molly was looking away now, and Veronica tried not to push her too hard.
"Then you know that Liam was responsible for his murder. Do you really want him to get away with it?"
When Molly looked up, there were tears in her eyes, but there was something else there, too.
"Okay," she said.
-
Veronica hadn't quite been honest with herself, she knew. She had one other lead on the Fitzpatricks. She wasn't the only one looking into them. It had taken a little more digging, but it was clear that somebody else was on the Fitzpatricks' tail. The question was why.
And who.
The only thing Veronica could come up with was that whoever it was, was connected somehow with the records she'd given Molly. If the Fitzpatricks were playing with the mob - and that seemed like a big deal, even for them, but Veronica wouldn't have put it past them - it didn't seem unlikely that someone had been assigned to tail them, to see that their connections weren't going to waste. The person had been careful, but they hadn't been difficult to trace once Veronica had stumbled onto them, and she knew that if she could find out who they were, it would have to lead her somewhere.
Of course, the thought of going after somebody who may or may not be working for the mob wasn't exactly a savoury one, but the way Veronica saw it, she didn't have enough options left to be picky.
She had considered going to Lamb for help - and had silenced the small voice that had asked her when exactly he became the first person she asked for help - but had discarded the thought almost immediately. He might have been the one to ask her for help on the case, but Veronica was pretty sure that if he knew where her investigations had led her, he'd want her off it, and she wasn't yet ready to give it up.
She pulled out her phone and dialed the number, waiting what seemed like an eternity for the person on the other end to pick up.
"Hello?"
"Wallace." Veronica smiled into the phone. "Got time to help me with something?"
-
Lamb sat in his chair, his thoughts bouncing back and forth over on another until he was sure that he could use a stiff drink. And it was barely ten o'clock.
Veronica Mars. Gambling. Veronica Mars. Gambling with Veronica Mars. Playing strip poker with Veronica Mars.
Lamb shook his head. This wasn't helping.
He had got nowhere on his case. He had no idea if he'd got anywhere with Veronica. He wasn't sure which thought was more frustrating.
Veronica Mars saying "money shot." Veronica Mars calling him her -
"Sheriff?"
Sacks wasn't smirking this time as he entered the office, which Lamb thought must have been a first. He sat up expectantly, trying to push thoughts of Veronica - so, pretty much all his thoughts - out of his head.
"What is it?"
"The Mayor is on line one."
Lamb frowned as Sacks left, and picked up the phone. "Mayor," he said. "What can I do for you?"
Gambling. Lamb tried to focus on gambling. It was safer.
-
She had never doubted he'd come through, but still, as Wallace sat across from her on his bed, Veronica couldn't help but smile.
"So what's this thing you wouldn't tell me about over the phone?" he asked. "It sounded pretty important."
"I need you to help me with an investigation," Veronica told him.
Wallace rolled his eyes. "Of course you do." But he was smiling, and Veronica knew that, whatever he might say, he had missed this.
She had, too.
"So who are we going after this time?" he asked.
Veronica looked at him. "The Fitzpatricks."
"The Fitzpatricks? Veronica, are you crazy?"
Veronica shook her head. Wallace was still staring at her incredulously.
"I need to find out what they're up to," she said. "Somebody's been tailing them, and I want to know who it is."
Wallace was silent for a moment. "I'm not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I?"
Veronica smiled. "Not a chance."
Eventually, she saw Wallace's expression change as he gave in, and she smiled a little more. "Are you free this afternoon?" she asked.
"Yeah."
She nodded. "I'll meet you back here."
Six hours later, Veronica was back in Wallace's room. He looked still unconvinced, but resigned.
"So, where to first?" he asked her.
Veronica grimaced. "The River Stix."
In stark contrast to the day before, Veronica found herself hoping to see Liam Fitzpatrick as she and Wallace sat outside the bar. Of course, this time she wasn't alone, and it was broad daylight; not that any of that really made her feel any better. It had been daylight the first time she had been to the River Stix, too.
She didn't know if luck was on her side or not when Liam walked out, not sparing a glance at the silver Saturn parked across the road. Veronica started the engine as he got into his car, willing her hands to stop shaking as she eased into the traffic three cars behind him.
A day in the life of Liam Fitzpatrick, Veronica realised hours later, was not as exciting as one might imagine. After a few undoubtedly illicit stops to seemingly benign locations - during which Veronica remained resolutely in her car - it was pawn shop, liquor store, and back to the River Stix.
"Well, that was ... interesting," Wallace said, as they idled across the road. "In a really, really boring way, I mean. Did you get anything?"
Veronica shook her head. An entire afternoon spent following Liam Fitzpatrick, and it had led her exactly nowhere. She hoped Molly had got further with the deals Veronica had her follow; Veronica wasn't sure she wanted to go another round with follow-the-psychopath-gang-leader, and she suspected that Wallace wouldn't be up for it, either. Frowning, she pulled away from the curb.
And slowed as she passed another car parked outside.
Her dad's car.
-
As she sat outside the River Stix for the third day in a row, Veronica tried to make sense of what she had seen the night before. She had only been able to come to one conclusion that made any sense, and she didn't like it at all.
Her father was the one trailing the Fitzpatricks.
What she still didn't know was why. The Fitzpatricks were bad news, she knew, but that still didn't give Keith any reason to go after them on his own. It could have been connected to a case somehow, but Veronica didn't think that her father would have taken on a case that required him to get up close and personal with Liam Fitzpatrick.
Of course, she could be wrong. Was probably wrong.
When Veronica saw Molly approaching the car, she forced herself to smile.
"What do you have," she asked as Molly slid in beside her.
Molly shrugged. "Not much. I followed those things you asked me to, but I didn't really find anything. I don't know where the money's going, and I don't know why."
Veronica sighed. "Did you find out anything?"
Molly nodded. "I have a name."
Veronica waited.
"Sam Mercano."
"Do you know who Sam Mercano is?" Veronica asked.
"Nope." Molly shook her head.
"Any idea how he's connected to your family, or why they keep giving him money?"
"I have no idea." Molly looked at Veronica. "I'd better go."
"Sure," Veronica agreed, and slumped back in her seat as Molly shut the door behind her.
She had a name. A name that meant absolutely nothing to her, but it was a start. Still, it didn't explain why she felt as if she was right back at square one.
Next: Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18
Fandom: Veronica Mars
Pairing(s): Lamb/Veronica
Word Count: 1976
Rating: PG-13
Summary: In Neptune, everything is connected. Veronica learns that the hard way when she goes after the Fitzpatricks.
Notes: Thirteenth in the What Goes Down series. AU from episode 3:2 - My Big Fat Greek Rush Week; almost entirely AU after episode 3:9 - Spit & Eggs.
Previously: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12
"Bacon and eggs? I must have done good."
Keith looked up as Veronica wandered into the kitchen, giving her a tight smile. Sleepily, she returned it, and took the plate he handed her.
"I thought we needed some daddy-daughter time," he said as she ate. "I know I haven't been around much lately."
"Yeah, I noticed." Veronica looked up as she finished the last of her bacon, and smiled at him. "Don't worry, I trust you."
Keith's smile faded a little. "Where were you last night?" he asked. "I didn't see you when I got home."
Veronica got up and went to her room. She found the file on her desk, and handed it to her father as she walked back into the kitchen.
"I finished your case for you," she said. "Your mystery guy should be very happy. Or not."
Keith took the files, but didn't look for them. "Your car was in the parking lot when I got back."
Veronica just looked at him.
"So I guess my question is, who drove you home?"
Veronica suppressed a momentary rush of panic. If her father knew who she'd been out with the night before - if he knew what they'd been doing - he wouldn't be standing in the kitchen, eating his breakfast and calmly asking her questions. He'd probably out getting himself killed, or at least arrested.
"You know me," she said, forcing a smile. "I was just being careful."
Keith was still looking at her.
"I took backup," was all she would say.
After her father kissed her goodbye and left - but not without a wary backwards glance - Veronica went back to her room to keep studying her other, slightly more taxing, case. She knew that Robert Dedman was behind Executive Corporation, or at least tied to it, but for all the controversy and rumoured mob connections, she had no idea what that meant, and she hadn't been able to find anything else on him. The company's financial records, on the other hand ...
After everything she'd been through, it really seemed to Veronica that nothing should surprise her any more. And nothing about the Fitzpatricks should surprise her, period. But she still hadn't expected to find that Executive Corporation owned a part - albeit a very small part - of the River Stix.
She should have known that in Neptune, everything was connected.
-
The thought that she was doing this for a case didn't give Veronica much comfort as she sat outside the River Stix. Odd, because that thought was usually the only comfort she had. Still, there was something about the River Stix - and Liam Fitzpatrick - that made her decidedly uncomfortable.
But this was the biggest lead she had. So she stuck it out.
Luckily, the first person she saw walking out the door wasn't Liam Fitzpatrick, or even Danny Boyd. It was, in fact, exactly the person she'd been waiting for.
"Molly!" Veronica called, rolling down her window. Outside the River Stix, Molly Fitzpatrick turned to look at her.
"What do you want?" Molly asked, approaching the car.
Veronica smiled. "I just want to talk. Do you have a minute?"
Molly looked around. "Not really."
"Well, I want to talk anyway."
Rolling her eyes, Molly got in the car. "What is it?"
Veronica turned to look at her. Molly was a reluctant ally, but she was the only one Veronica had, and this was the best lead she'd been able to find. "I need you to do me a favour," she said.
Molly was silent for a moment. "What's the favour?" she asked hesitantly.
"I need you to find something out for me. I tracked some of your family's financial records, and a lot of them seem to be going into one place. The trouble is, I don't know what that place is, or why."
Veronica handed a copy of her notes to Molly, who looked at them suspiciously.
"Why should I help you?" she asked slowly.
Veronica looked at her. "Did you love Felix?"
"Of course I loved Felix." Molly was looking away now, and Veronica tried not to push her too hard.
"Then you know that Liam was responsible for his murder. Do you really want him to get away with it?"
When Molly looked up, there were tears in her eyes, but there was something else there, too.
"Okay," she said.
-
Veronica hadn't quite been honest with herself, she knew. She had one other lead on the Fitzpatricks. She wasn't the only one looking into them. It had taken a little more digging, but it was clear that somebody else was on the Fitzpatricks' tail. The question was why.
And who.
The only thing Veronica could come up with was that whoever it was, was connected somehow with the records she'd given Molly. If the Fitzpatricks were playing with the mob - and that seemed like a big deal, even for them, but Veronica wouldn't have put it past them - it didn't seem unlikely that someone had been assigned to tail them, to see that their connections weren't going to waste. The person had been careful, but they hadn't been difficult to trace once Veronica had stumbled onto them, and she knew that if she could find out who they were, it would have to lead her somewhere.
Of course, the thought of going after somebody who may or may not be working for the mob wasn't exactly a savoury one, but the way Veronica saw it, she didn't have enough options left to be picky.
She had considered going to Lamb for help - and had silenced the small voice that had asked her when exactly he became the first person she asked for help - but had discarded the thought almost immediately. He might have been the one to ask her for help on the case, but Veronica was pretty sure that if he knew where her investigations had led her, he'd want her off it, and she wasn't yet ready to give it up.
She pulled out her phone and dialed the number, waiting what seemed like an eternity for the person on the other end to pick up.
"Hello?"
"Wallace." Veronica smiled into the phone. "Got time to help me with something?"
-
Lamb sat in his chair, his thoughts bouncing back and forth over on another until he was sure that he could use a stiff drink. And it was barely ten o'clock.
Veronica Mars. Gambling. Veronica Mars. Gambling with Veronica Mars. Playing strip poker with Veronica Mars.
Lamb shook his head. This wasn't helping.
He had got nowhere on his case. He had no idea if he'd got anywhere with Veronica. He wasn't sure which thought was more frustrating.
Veronica Mars saying "money shot." Veronica Mars calling him her -
"Sheriff?"
Sacks wasn't smirking this time as he entered the office, which Lamb thought must have been a first. He sat up expectantly, trying to push thoughts of Veronica - so, pretty much all his thoughts - out of his head.
"What is it?"
"The Mayor is on line one."
Lamb frowned as Sacks left, and picked up the phone. "Mayor," he said. "What can I do for you?"
Gambling. Lamb tried to focus on gambling. It was safer.
-
She had never doubted he'd come through, but still, as Wallace sat across from her on his bed, Veronica couldn't help but smile.
"So what's this thing you wouldn't tell me about over the phone?" he asked. "It sounded pretty important."
"I need you to help me with an investigation," Veronica told him.
Wallace rolled his eyes. "Of course you do." But he was smiling, and Veronica knew that, whatever he might say, he had missed this.
She had, too.
"So who are we going after this time?" he asked.
Veronica looked at him. "The Fitzpatricks."
"The Fitzpatricks? Veronica, are you crazy?"
Veronica shook her head. Wallace was still staring at her incredulously.
"I need to find out what they're up to," she said. "Somebody's been tailing them, and I want to know who it is."
Wallace was silent for a moment. "I'm not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I?"
Veronica smiled. "Not a chance."
Eventually, she saw Wallace's expression change as he gave in, and she smiled a little more. "Are you free this afternoon?" she asked.
"Yeah."
She nodded. "I'll meet you back here."
Six hours later, Veronica was back in Wallace's room. He looked still unconvinced, but resigned.
"So, where to first?" he asked her.
Veronica grimaced. "The River Stix."
In stark contrast to the day before, Veronica found herself hoping to see Liam Fitzpatrick as she and Wallace sat outside the bar. Of course, this time she wasn't alone, and it was broad daylight; not that any of that really made her feel any better. It had been daylight the first time she had been to the River Stix, too.
She didn't know if luck was on her side or not when Liam walked out, not sparing a glance at the silver Saturn parked across the road. Veronica started the engine as he got into his car, willing her hands to stop shaking as she eased into the traffic three cars behind him.
A day in the life of Liam Fitzpatrick, Veronica realised hours later, was not as exciting as one might imagine. After a few undoubtedly illicit stops to seemingly benign locations - during which Veronica remained resolutely in her car - it was pawn shop, liquor store, and back to the River Stix.
"Well, that was ... interesting," Wallace said, as they idled across the road. "In a really, really boring way, I mean. Did you get anything?"
Veronica shook her head. An entire afternoon spent following Liam Fitzpatrick, and it had led her exactly nowhere. She hoped Molly had got further with the deals Veronica had her follow; Veronica wasn't sure she wanted to go another round with follow-the-psychopath-gang-leader, and she suspected that Wallace wouldn't be up for it, either. Frowning, she pulled away from the curb.
And slowed as she passed another car parked outside.
Her dad's car.
-
As she sat outside the River Stix for the third day in a row, Veronica tried to make sense of what she had seen the night before. She had only been able to come to one conclusion that made any sense, and she didn't like it at all.
Her father was the one trailing the Fitzpatricks.
What she still didn't know was why. The Fitzpatricks were bad news, she knew, but that still didn't give Keith any reason to go after them on his own. It could have been connected to a case somehow, but Veronica didn't think that her father would have taken on a case that required him to get up close and personal with Liam Fitzpatrick.
Of course, she could be wrong. Was probably wrong.
When Veronica saw Molly approaching the car, she forced herself to smile.
"What do you have," she asked as Molly slid in beside her.
Molly shrugged. "Not much. I followed those things you asked me to, but I didn't really find anything. I don't know where the money's going, and I don't know why."
Veronica sighed. "Did you find out anything?"
Molly nodded. "I have a name."
Veronica waited.
"Sam Mercano."
"Do you know who Sam Mercano is?" Veronica asked.
"Nope." Molly shook her head.
"Any idea how he's connected to your family, or why they keep giving him money?"
"I have no idea." Molly looked at Veronica. "I'd better go."
"Sure," Veronica agreed, and slumped back in her seat as Molly shut the door behind her.
She had a name. A name that meant absolutely nothing to her, but it was a start. Still, it didn't explain why she felt as if she was right back at square one.
Next: Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18