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The two men were sitting at a table, but she couldn’t see their surroundings.
One of them had papers in his hand and showed them to the other man.
“According to this, she's got about eight thousand left in her joint savings account. Well, it's formerly joint. So, we could probably squeeze another five sessions out of her, tops, before she balks.”
“She's still got the house, right?” asked the other.
“Mmm-hmm,” said the first.
“She can sell that,” the second said coolly. “Never leave money on the table, Wilson.”
“Hmm,” said Wilson, looking impressed.
“All right, who's next?” said the other man.
Veronica folded her arms while she watched them, but before they could speak any further, the two men faded from her view and she started seeing quick flashes that she didn’t quite understand.
Logan sliding a card through an ankle scanner.
Buffy leaping after a black van.
Mac hunched over a keyboard.
Cordelia dressed like a hippy.
The four of them with her, seen from overhead, circling around as they discussed something.
“That’s new,” said Veronica to herself.
“Duh, you bore easily,” said Lilly’s voice.
---
Veronica sat at her desk, feet on top despite how many times Mac told her it was cliché, pondering her latest vision.
She wasn’t quite sure what it meant but she’d gotten good at guessing since she’d discovered she had this gift and used it to save the world.
Parts of it she thought made perfect sense. Clearly there was a scumbag out there taking advantage of people and she was going to stop it. Just who or what he did, she didn’t know, but she was awfully good at investigating those types of things. Besides, she was going to have help. Specifically, the help of four people she knew were excellent people to have with you fighting evil.
Her visions typically didn’t have time frames on them, but she doubted she was receiving this for something years into the future, so she picked up the phone and called Buffy.
“Veronica?” Buffy answered, sounding out of breath.
“I catch you at a bad time?” Veronica asked, figuring there were two reasons Buffy would be out of breath, both of which involved Spike, and only one of which Buffy would probably bother picking up the phone during.
“No, Spike and I were just finishing patrol,” Buffy said. “Some vamps jumped us. He’s taking care of it.”
“How well I remember,” said Veronica, fondly recalling patrolling with Spike through Sunnydale’s long-gone cemeteries. “You know you don’t have to patrol everywhere you go. You’re on sabbatical.”
“I’m fairly certain if you were traveling the world, if you saw something evil, you’d fight it,” Buffy said. “It’s kind of our thing.”
“Point,” said Veronica. “So…where are you guys?”
“Istanbul of all places,” said Buffy. “Spike’s idea, not sure why. What’s up with you?”
“I might have had a teeny little vision,” Veronica admitted.
“I’m going to dread all phone calls from you now, aren’t I?” said Buffy.
“Pretty sure most of my opening lines now fit within that standard, yes,” said Veronica.
“Do you need us to come to you or are you warning us about something over here?” Buffy asked and Veronica heard a hiss and a thud on the other end.
“I’m not sure exactly,” said Veronica, “but I don’t think this is going down in Istanbul and it doesn’t seem apocalypse natured. In fact, I’m pretty sure I only need you.”
“Oh, I’m passing the phone over and you get to tell him that,” said Buffy and she didn’t sound upset at all.
Veronica sighed, figuring it was only fair.
“Private Eye,” said Spike rather sternly. “What’s this about not needing me? I’m wounded to the bloody core.”
“No, you’re not, you big baby,” Veronica said fondly. “Look, I just get the visions, you take it up with the Powers. Can’t you lend Buffy to me for a bit?”
“Slayer can go where she wants,” Spike said rather huffily. “But we were busy reacquainting me with the world and you’re interrupting.”
“A quick job,” Veronica promised. “Don’t you have something else you can do for a few weeks?”
“Well, the Bit and I were talking about a trip together,” Spike conceded grumpily.
“Perfect,” said Veronica. “You spend time with Dawn and I’ll have Buffy back alive and well as soon as I can.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, pet,” he said, but she heard the smile in his voice. “Say hi to Scottie for me.”
“Will do,” she said. “And thank you.”
Buffy got back on the line.
“I don’t know how you get him to comply so easily,” Buffy said and Veronica heard British swearing faintly.
“When he loves, he gives,” said Veronica. “You know that.”
“Yeah,” said Buffy. “Okay, I’ll text you my details.”
“You’re texting, I’m so proud!” said Veronica and hung up.
Now for the rest. Mac and Logan were easy, they both lived here and would do anything for her. She was a little curious about why Logan was stealing things in her vision…but then he did have very light fingers and had learned lifts and lock picking quickly when she’d asked him to for her work. They made a great team, her as the distraction, him getting the information.
That just left Cordelia and, while Veronica knew the other woman was valuable in many ways, she didn’t think it would be easy to get her to help just because Veronica said she had a vision. Then again, they’d become…close wasn’t the right word, but maybe connected was, since Veronica’s onslaught of vision having. Cordelia was the only person she knew who could relate and she’d rather imperiously taken Veronica under her wing.
Veronica dialed the phone again.
“Yeah, I had it, too,” Cordelia said without bothering to say hello.
“So, you’re coming?” Veronica asked hopefully.
“Of course, I am,” said Cordelia. “Expect me tomorrow. I need to claim the best bedroom before Buffy gets there.”
“I’ll put a mint on the pillow,” said Veronica and hung up, chuckling to herself.
Well, that was the gathering of the clan…but she still wasn’t sure what she was gathering them for.
---
Veronica was about to close shop for the day and go home and let her husband know they were going to have some house guests for a while when her dad stuck his head in her office.
“What’s the haps, pop?” she asked, taking her feet off the desk almost instinctively.
“Honey, I have a client for you,” he said, foregoing any answering banter, she assumed because he had a client behind him, which he did.
A taller man with a tight expression followed Keith into the room.
“Good afternoon,” he said, clearly unsure of himself.
“Veronica, this is my new friend Ryan,” Keith said. “He’s hoping we can look up some information on a man he believes is swindling his sister.”
“Well, we do things like that all the time,” said Veronica, both confirming to the client and asking her father why he was bringing this to her specifically.
Keith winked at her behind the client’s back and Veronica refocused her attention on Ryan who sat down and began to tell her the story of his sister’s husband who had died in an accident and how she had started going to a fortune teller in order to communicate with her husband.
“It's been five months since the accident,” he ended. “I don't know how to describe it. It's like she's a zombie walking around in a trance.”
Veronica had seen zombies before and she highly doubted his sister was anything like them, but she kept listening. She didn’t approve of fortune tellers in general, but then again, she got actual visions, so she supposed she both couldn’t judge and could understand the appeal.
“Everyone grieves in their own way,” she said, fishing for more.
“She's not dealing with it,” Ryan answered. “He's not letting her. She thinks he's channeling Mike and I’ll admit it, it feels real. She dragged me along once and I could have sworn he was right there in the room with us, but this guy is…All the guy's doing is taking her for a ride. He ran a credit check on her. Who does that?”
He put the credit check on the desk in front of Veronica and she glanced at it.
“People who want your money,” she said. “I assume you've, uh, shown this to her.”
“I've tried,” said Ryan. “She won't listen to me anymore. It's like she's been brainwashed or something.”
Theoretically possible. Veronica was starting to see why her dad referred this case to her instead of handling it himself.
“Yeah, belief perseverance,” Keith said. “People cling even tighter to their beliefs after they've been shown evidence contradicting them.”
“What am I supposed to do?” Ryan asked helplessly. “That’s why I came to you guys, to see if there’s any kind of dirt you can dig up I can take to the police. This guy has taken every penny from Mike's life insurance policy and now Jodie's talking about putting her house up on the market next week. Her house. And the baby's due in two months. If this keeps up…”
Veronica felt a sharp surge of maternal anger. She might be only trying to get pregnant, but she would be just as angry if she wasn’t, at a cheat trying to take advantage of someone in this woman’s position. Even if the guy was legitimately connected to the supernatural, they were abusing their gift by milking someone for money like this, and Veronica wasn’t going to stand for it.
She looked at the name on the paper and typed it into her search box.
A picture flashed across her screen; a face very familiar to her from the recent vision. A slow smile spread across her face as she flipped the screen to show her new client.
“This him?” she asked. He nodded. “All right, don't worry. This guy, Rand, is going to pay. We're gonna make sure of that.”
“I just want my sister back,” Ryan said.
Veronica smiled sympathetically.
“Leave me your contact details and let me know if anything changes with Jodie or her interactions with Rand,” she said. “Leave the rest to me.”
“Thank you, Miss Mars,” he said, standing and shaking her hand.
Keith looked at her after he left.
“You going to work the other side of the business for a while, honey?”
“Oh, you bet,” she said. “I already called in the cavalry and everything.”
---
Logan was in the kitchen when Veronica got home. She kissed him absently and figured she might as well bite the bullet and let him know the Powers That Be had decided to hijack their lives one more time.
“You have that look on your face,” he said, studying her as she put away her research.
“What look?”” she asked, giving him the line, figuring he deserved a win.
“The ‘must tell Logan something he won’t like’ look,” he answered. “What does fate have in store for me this time, my darling?”
“Oh, a visit with some old friends,” she said brightly.
“What old friends?”
She told him, emphasizing the visions as much as possible. To her surprise he was quiet when she finished.
“You’re being rather mum on the subject, Echolls,” she said.
“You’re sure I was in the vision?” he asked.
“I know my husband’s adorable face,” she said, pinching his cheek.
He mock-glared at her and she felt better.
“I guess I just didn’t figure I’d be the person chosen to accomplish whatever it is we’re going to accomplish,” he said.
“Well, one of five,” she said. “I’m not sending you out to face Goliath, you know.”
“That would be nothing,” he said. “The whole point of that story is that David knew what was going to happen when everyone else didn’t.”
“Well, so do I,” she said, pointing to her head.
“I guess my faith in you is pretty strong,” he conceded. “You weren’t in any danger during this vision, were you?”
“The only person who appeared to be doing anything illegal was you and the only person appearing to do anything requiring exertion was Buffy,” she said. “I’m the eye in the sky, man behind the curtain, general behind the battle lines, the mastermind, okay?”
“Well, see that it stays that way, please,” he said, putting a rather possessive hand on her stomach.
She rolled her eyes. They’d been trying for several months now and he was convinced any day now she was going to keel over or something. He clearly had no idea how pregnancy worked. She supposed he’d spent all his biology classes ogling Caitlin Ford so…
“Father hen, desist,” she said. “Now go get things ready for our guests. I promised Cordelia mints.”
He snorted to show what he thought of that but left the room anyway.
---
Veronica looked around her living room with satisfaction. She’d spent the night digging up information and making a plan and now her friends were sitting in front of her, ready to help.
Cordelia was eyeing her knowingly, but Veronica could never be sure how much the other woman saw and how much she was just that good at bluffing. It almost seemed like Cordelia delighted in testing Veronica and being the kind of mentor that would throw you in a pit of snakes so you could use what you learned and get yourself out. On the other hand, acting skills were what Veronica needed from Cordelia so she wasn’t going to complain. She had the feeling that even though Cordelia’s acting career had never gotten off the ground, the woman was a natural grifter.
It hadn’t been that long since all of them had been gathered together anyway so there wasn’t that much catching up to do. Once the normal kind of debrief had been done, everyone seemed to look at her expectantly.
“You going to fill us in or what?” asked Mac. “Some of us have other things to do than help you solve mysteries.”
“Oh, stop it,” said Veronica. “As if my requests aren’t the joy of your life!”
“The entire joy,” Mac deadpanned. “Seriously.”
Veronica explained everything she had so far.
“So, you think this guy might actually be psychic?” Buffy asked.
Veronica shrugged.
“Psychic or not, he’s stealing people’s money and apparently we’re supposed to do something about it.”
“Just how are we supposed to do something about it?” Mac asked. “This isn’t ‘kill a demon or perform a spell’ territory.”
“No, we’re on my turf,” said Veronica. “We’re in ‘investigating and take down’ territory.”
Logan leaned back and smirked at her and she returned the look.
“How, my sweet?” he asked.
“We’re gonna do a lot of research before we do anything,” she said. “I’ve done a lot of checking up on this guy, but we need some electronic info and groundwork.”
“I’m beginning to see where I come in to play,” said Mac.
“Start here,” said Veronica, handing Mac Rand’s website.
Mac opened the laptop on her lap and started typing. A soft glow began emanating from it while she worked her literal magic.
“And the rest of us?” asked Cordelia.
“You we need to keep for the actual takedown,” said Veronica. “The rest of us, we can do some research.”
“Research never was my forte,” said Cordelia, sipping her iced tea. “I can handle that.”
“You can still help,” Buffy said, rolling her eyes.
“Can I?” asked Cordelia sarcastically.
“This guy has a network show where he contacts spirits for people,” Veronica said. “We need to scout it out, maybe figure out if he really is contacting the dead or just scamming people. It’s only local cable access in the warehouse district. Mac can verify but he’s probably self-financing, hoping to make it big on a network or something.”
“Yeah, you're right about that,” said Mac. “I've hacked Rand's website, stolen his passwords, and used them to access his e-mail. Would you believe he has his computer hooked up to the city's free Wi-Fi?”
“And?” Veronica asked.
“Looks like there's gonna be a network scout from WMN in the audience tomorrow. Sounds like he's trying to go prime time.”
“TV show means a control room,” said Veronica. “When we go tomorrow, Buffy and I will be audience members. Logan, we’ll have you get into the control room and plant a bug.”
“As you wish,” he said, gesticulating toward her with his fingers.
She did so love his dancing hands. Too bad he didn’t feel the need to gesture with them as much as he used to.
“Mac, you and Cordelia will be on call. You still have earbuds we can use?”
“Such a silly question,” said Mac, reaching into the bag at her feet. “As if you’d beckon and I wouldn’t bring such things and more with me.”
“That’s my Mac,” said Veronica. “Let’s be cautious. Obviously, we need to know if he’s really psychic and I’ll let you know if I have any other relevant visions.”
“Anything else, coach?” Logan asked.
“Just don’t get caught,” said Veronica.
“Me?” he asked, hand on chest.
“I’m going to bed,” said Buffy, laughing. “Jet lag is not so fun, even for someone who barely sleeps.”
“Thank you for this,” said Veronica, addressing them all.
“Oh, you’re welcome,” said Cordelia before leaving.
“You coming to bed, Mars?” Logan asked as if he knew the answer.
“I want to brainstorm a little bit,” she said. “Soon.”
“Uh huh,” he said disbelievingly.
To be fair she didn’t slip into bed until nearly three am. He still instinctively curled an arm around her.
---
Veronica stood in line, scratching absently behind her left ear. This particular wig might look fabulous, but always itched like crazy. She was going incognito for the sole reason that too many people in Neptune knew Veronica Mars, girl detective, predominantly since she’d married the infamous Logan Echolls, one of the main reasons it was good if he operated in the shadows during this investigation as well.
He was in line ahead of her and Buffy, wearing a baseball cap and glasses, and was clearly enjoying the skull and dagger-y aspect of the event too much.
Once they were inside the auditorium, she and Buffy settled in their seats and Veronica quietly checked in with everyone.
“Everyone where they need to be?” she asked, trying to make it look like she was talking only to Buffy.
“Not if I have to spend more time in this car,” Cordelia said and there was a rustling sound.
“Hey, I spend a lot of time driving,” Mac said. “I never know what I might need.”
“An assistant, that’s what you need,” said Cordelia.
“I’m outside the control room,” said Logan. “His assistant guy just left and I caught the code, slipped in, planted my bug, and left.”
“Nice work,” said Veronica.
“I think being a thief is what I was meant for,” Logan said gleefully.
“Whoa, buddy,” said Buffy.
“There’s definitely a lot of camera feeds, mics, and information about these people in there,” said Logan.
“I see what they see, thanks, Logan,” said Mac.
Rand walked out onto the stage and people started to clap.
“Thank you all for coming,” he said. “I'd like to just jump right in here because I'm... I'm feeling an energy. It's coming from someone over here.” He moved to his left. “Uh, an M, mmm...”
A woman raised her hand hesitantly after the person next to her nudged her.
“I'm Monica.”
“I'm getting an L name that connects with you. Uh, Lucky. Lucy.”
“Lucille?” suggested Monica.
Veronica shook her head. These people weren’t helping.
“It's a maternal energy. Your grandmother, is that right?” Monica nodded. “You should know she's very proud of you.”
Monica smiled and thanked him and Rand moved on.
“I’m thinking complete charlatan so far,” murmured Veronica.
“Someone else is coming through right now,” said Rand, moving to look directly at her. “It's, uh... Is it... is it Fred? Or... Or Frank?”
“I got a gecko named Frank,” Veronica said, crossing her arms. “He's alive, though. Yeah. I mean at least he was this morning when I left. You trying to tell me something about...?”
“It's, uh, it's not a gecko,” said Rand smoothly. “You've shut yourself off to the energies that are around us. But, your friend here, she's a little more receptive.”
Buffy looked at him, clearly startled.
Rand’s face changed as Veronica looked at it. He didn’t pause as much and he looked smug, satisfied.
“In fact, I think I'm getting an energy right now. It's definitely family. Mother.”
Buffy looked down slightly and Rand began speaking quickly, almost as if he was afraid his information would fade if he didn’t.
“Yes, she died too young, aneurism, was it? You found her. You couldn’t save her. Joyce. Well, she loves you and she’s proud of you. She's sorry that she had to leave you and…Dawn.”
“That’s enough,” said Buffy sharply, looking Rand dead in the eye. “I don’t want to hear another word.”
She looked angry enough to start beating on him then and there and Veronica surreptitiously moved her foot to nudge Buffy who deflated slightly.
The exultant look on Rand’s face faded and he bowed his head to her.
“That's all right. Sometimes people aren't ready to hear what the spirits have to say.”
Veronica didn’t need to hear anymore. She and Buffy left after the intermission, joining Logan down the block outside any camera’s range.
They drove back to the house, meeting Cordelia and Mac there. Buffy was uncomfortably silent the whole way there.
“So, he’s the real deal then,” said Cordelia as she sat down.
“I don’t know about that,” said Veronica. “Whatever happened with Buffy was different than anybody else in there.”
“He's just a con man,” said Mac.
“He did cold reads on almost everyone,” said Veronica. “Asking questions and using the person’s response to guide him. He uses all sorts of things during the reading. How breathing changed, if shoulders were raised or slouched, how someone held their hands, if their lips were pursed.”
“What about the other people?” Logan asked. “He knew names and relationships.”
“Yeah, the hot read. What he does is he researches before the show, gets himself armed with as much information as possible to help him with the readings.”
“But he doesn't know who's gonna be in the audience ahead of time,” interjected Buffy.
“He doesn't know until they're there,” said Veronica. “He's got cameras all over the place hoping to pick up something, hear something that's gonna help him in the readings.”
“He has a plant,” said Cordelia. “He's got an assistant who stands in line and pretends to be part of the audience. We saw the same woman talking to lots of different people on the cameras.”
“That person feeds him the information about the readings in his ear using ear buds just like we did,” said Veronica.
“There's, like, a dozen hidden cameras, and the bug that Logan planted in the control room,” said Mac, pulling up the feed on her laptop. “I got audio feeds off of twenty hidden microphones that were taped to the chairs in the audience. I got names, people they wanted to contact, dates...”
“So the only question is what happened when he talked to me,” said Buffy. “I’m not from here, I’m barely legally recognized as alive, and none of us talked about my mom.”
“So, what do we do now?” asked Logan.
“Cut off his arms,” said Buffy tightly. “And his head.”
“Or we could give him exactly what he wants,” said Veronica slyly, the makings of a plan stirring. “And then make the world think that he's the greatest psychic that ever lived. And then, in front of the network and his audience we destroy him.
“How do we do that?” asked Buffy.
“We go and steal the future,” said Veronica.
“Less cryptic, more explain-y,” said Buffy.
Veronica grinned at her.
“Okay so we’re going to give him a psychic to manipulate, then we’ll use that to expose him while he’s on tv.”
“A psychic, huh?” Cordelia asked knowingly.
“Let’s put your acting…skills to use,” said Veronica.
Cordelia narrowed her eyes but said nothing.
“So, what’s the actual next step?” asked Mac.
“Mac, I’m going to need you to monitor everything that man does,” said Veronica. “I need a fake identity made up for Cordelia. And maybe a fake fortune cookie. Also, parking tickets and fake clients! Cordelia, we need to go shopping for some clothes. And…the rest of us just need to be in the right place at the right time.”
“Just what is it that you think I am?” Mac asked, looking a little overwhelmed.
“The world’s most extraordinary hacker. Hey, if you need to use magic, feel free,” said Veronica. “But we’ll need a few days to set everything up so take your time.”
Mac rolled her eyes.
They worked for the rest of the day figuring out the details. By the end of it, Veronica was convinced they could probably become professional criminals if they really wanted to.
---
“Here he comes,” Cordelia said.
“It’s show time, people,” said Veronica in a low voice and then grasped Cordelia’s hand. “Just incredible. Let me give you something for all you've given me.”
“Please, you know I can't accept that,” said Cordelia demurely and Veronica was impressed.
“I always thought you guys were, you know, fakes. And I saw this one guy the other night and...” Veronica said.
“That's not why I do this,” answered Cordelia.
“You sure?” Veronica asked, already walking away, listening as Cordelia was left on her own with Rand.
“How may the spirits serve you today?” Cordelia asked.
“Maybe you can explain why you keep poaching my clients?” Rand asked angrily.
There was a pause and then Cordelia answered.
“I must apologize, Mr. Rand. It's true I've had more visitors lately, but I had no idea it was at your expense. I'm Bethany, Bethany Noble.”
A scraping sound suggested Rand had sat down.
“The, uh, outfit is a little on the nose, but, uh, other than that, I gotta say I find your shtick amusing,” he said.
“I'm sorry?” asked Cordelia.
“Working out of a coffee shop? No neon lights. No tarot cards or Ouija boards. So, what's your story? You got me curious.”
“Two years ago, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The doctors removed it, but ever since, I guess you could say I was twice blessed. With renewed life, and with this gift.”
“You're serious,” Rand said disbelievingly.
“Feel the scar?” Cordelia asked.
“All right, then. Tell me something that only the spirits would know. Tell me about my father. How he died.”
Veronica reached Mac’s car in time to see her frantically typing.
“Does Cordelia actually have a scar there?” Logan whispered to Veronica.
“Apparently,” Veronica said as Mac relayed information to Cordelia.
“Yeah. Well, I could channel your father, Mr. Rand, but that might be difficult, seeing how he's still alive. Indiana, isn't it? Do you still have the prayer book he gave you?” There was a pause. “What’s wrong?”
“I just felt something,” Rand said.
Veronica didn’t bother to stifle a grin.
“Veronica had me rig the table with a mild electrical current,” Mac said when Buffy looked at her, questioning.
“You electrocuted him?” Buffy asked.
“Yes, I did. It helped sell the bit,” said Mac brightly.
“I approve,” Buffy said, folding her arms.
“Okay, you saw through a trick question,” Rand continued in their ears. “Doesn't mean anything. I'm a known commodity in this city. You could've looked me up.”
“The spirits are all around us. Watching us. Guiding us. I don't need to look people up. The spirits tell me all I need to know,” said Cordelia.
“You're clairvoyant,” said Rand almost enviously.
“They're clairvoyant. I just listen,” said Cordelia.
“What do they say about me?” Rand asked.
“You want to know your future?” Cordelia asked. “They're calling you by a different name. Do you know the way, Jose?”
“What?” he asked.
“They're saying Jose doesn't pay his tickets. And it'll burn him. Don't ask the officer for help, he has his own problems. But don't worry. You're the life of the party, so celebrate. And bring extra cash because you won't have enough. A day late, a dollar short, and if you don't look both ways, you'll never live to see tomorrow.”
Rand sounded almost disappointed when he stood up.
“Okay, listen. I think I've heard enough. Lady, I love your act, I really do. And I wish you all the best with it. This is my turf. Stay off it.”
“Logan, go,” hissed Veronica.
Rand entered the coffee house.
Logan was in there for a moment and then came out, hanging around the entrance.
Cordelia joined them at the car as Buffy left to do her part.
A short while later Rand exited the coffee house, bumping into Logan on the way out, and looked around, probably searching for Cordelia but got distracted by the sight of a tow truck pulling his car away.
“Hey, hey!” He ran out into the street. “I paid all my tickets! Hey!”
“Excellent work, people,” said Veronica, watching Rand swear and pull out his phone.
“Definitely worth staying up all night,” said Mac, still monitoring her computer.
“You sure the rest is all set up?” Cordelia asked.
“Oh yes,” said Veronica. “Leo was happy to play his part and if Rand doesn’t want people to sabotage his meals, he shouldn’t eat at the same Chinese restaurant every week.”
“Rand’s twelve o’clock appointment is officially for Leo now,” said Mac, tapping a few keys.
“Then Logan and I just need to be at the restaurant tonight to plant the cookie and side swipe him,” said Veronica in satisfaction.
Which they were. Cordelia went shopping again, for more items to better play her part, she said, but Veronica was fairly certain she just wanted to go shopping. Mac did more things on her laptop, but whether they had to do with the current case, Veronica wasn’t as certain.
Veronica and Logan had an early dinner, Chinese, and when he was finished planting a fortune cookie for Rand and she’d nearly run him over, she picked Logan back up and they went home.
Mac was in the living room when they got back.
“He take the bait?” Veronica asked.
“Bethany Noble’s credit was just pulled,” said Mac, a smug look on her face.
“Have I ever mentioned how fabulous you are?” Veronica said.
“Not nearly often enough,” said Mac. “Now…since I’ve done the lion’s worth of prep work in this little con, I am going to go home and actually sleep before tomorrow.”
“You earned it, my friend,” said Veronica.
“Before tomorrow you might want to listen to this gem,” said Mac, handing Veronica a flash drive.
Mac took her leave and Veronica joined Logan and Buffy in the kitchen.
“Cordelia’s on the phone with Angel,” said Buffy. “It’s almost cute.”
“Does that bother you?” Logan asked, leaning his face in his hand.
“No, no, no,” said Buffy emphatically. “Look, you never forget your first love, but that doesn’t mean you want to be with them forever.”
“You might not want Cordelia to be with them forever though,” he prodded.
Buffy glared at him.
“I want them both to be happy. I get to be, so why shouldn’t they?”
“I don’t know…” said Logan and Veronica and Buffy both leaned over to punch his shoulder. “Yow,” he said at the double onslaught though Veronica thought it much more likely Buffy’s was the one that really hurt.
“Cordelia told me once,” said Buffy, “that Angel and I were too much alike. She might have used some words I didn’t care for, but I’ve thought a lot about it and I think she’s right. We both have the tendency to be rather…fixated on the negative and a bit…self-righteous. Someone who doesn’t let us get away with that and who lightens the mood, well, that’s good for us.”
“So…you and Spike and Angel and Cordelia,” said Veronica.
“Exactly,” said Buffy. “And…you and Logan.”
“Which one am I?” asked Logan, smirking.
“Cordelia once told me you were a perfect mix of Spike and Angel,” said Veronica, poking him, “so I’d be careful about feeling smug.”
“Still, he is the Spike and you’re the Buffy,” said Buffy, shrugging. “Don’t worry, it’s not that bad being me.”
“I account it an honor,” said Veronica.
“No wonder we get on so well,” Logan said, slinging an arm around Buffy’s shoulders.
“I account it an honor,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“I would think so,” he said.
“Come on,” said Veronica, getting up and stretching a bit. “Time for bed for all little thieves.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, getting up. “You know where everything is,” he told Buffy.
“Yup, night, guys,” Buffy answered.
Veronica followed Logan up the stairs and slipped the flash drive from Mac into her laptop. Logan stopped brushing his teeth to listen as Rand’s voice filled the room.
“Wilson, you need to get me more on these people. I had to cold read almost everyone.”
“I’m doing my best, boss. You did great on that one girl though.”
“That’s because for one brief moment, everything was clear,” Rand said wearily. “Like it used to be. I could see her mother perfectly. That girl is no ordinary girl, Wilson. I don’t know who she is, but she’s got a destiny even my dead gift could see. I haven’t felt anything like that since the pregnant girl and that was weak and flickering.”
Logan and Veronica looked at each other.
“So, what do you want to do about this other psychic?” Wilson asked.
“She’s got the gift, what’s more she believes it is a gift,” said Rand. “And now I just need to figure out her hook. Let’s pull credit.”
The recording clicked off.
“Interesting,” said Logan, resuming his teeth brushing.
“He is the real deal or was…” mused Veronica. “But this is actually good. It means he knows it’s possible and he’ll want Bethany Noble to do what he can no longer do.”
---
Veronica sat in her living room, watching Mac’s computer as she typed using only special characters. Logan stood in the corner of the room, holding something she couldn’t see. Buffy sat across from her, a deep purple bruise on her jaw. Cordelia wasn’t there but Veronica could hear her in her ear, trying to placate someone.
A gun appeared on the coffee table and started spinning. Veronica watched it end up pointing toward a twenty-dollar bill. As she went to pick up the money, she saw another twenty lying just beyond it, and another one beyond that, and so on all the way out of the room.
“A bit literal,” Veronica said, arching an eyebrow.
“You are a detective,” said Lilly.
---
“Bright and early, showtime, people,” said Veronica when she walked into her kitchen the next morning.
“You can have a performance when I’ve finished drinking my coffee,” said Cordelia.
“Rand’s at the coffee shop,” said Mac, referencing her laptop.
“I guess he can sweat a little bit,” said Veronica.
Over breakfast she told them about her latest vision.
“So, the Powers told you to follow a money trail?” asked Mac scornfully.
“Don’t knock the number one motivation for crime in America,” said Veronica seriously. “Just be careful, not sure how the guns and bruises come in to play, okay?”
“All of us are more than proficient at defending ourselves, my dear,” said Logan soothingly.
“You get to worry, I get to worry,” she told him.
Cordelia and Buffy left for the coffee shop and the other three settled in the living room, listening and watching the cameras Mac had planted at the coffee shop.
Rand was sleeping, his head on the table Cordelia had been seated at the previous day.
“You been here all night?” Cordelia asked, sounding concerned, as she put her things down next to her chair.
“Bethany, it happened. All of it happened just like you said it would,” Rand said in awe. “How do you do it?”
“I'm just a conduit. I don't do anything. I simply speak what's on their minds,” Cordelia said humbly.
“You gotta come to work for me,” Rand said desperately.
“My gift is just that - a gift. It's meant to be shared, not bought and sold. And you're a charlatan, Mr. Rand. I can't be part of that.”
“Oh, no, no. See, I did my homework,” he said pulling out a piece of paper. “You need me just as much as I need you. You're in debt up to your ears. You got no steady stream of income. You will never pay off those hospital bills.”
“How did you get my credit report?” Cordelia asked, doing a rather creditable job of appearing shocked.
“It doesn't matter. What matters is, you and I, we can help people,” Rand said.
“You want to use my gift to make you famous. How is that helping people?”
“Come on. It's just for a little while. Just ‘til you get back on your feet,” he wheedled.
Cordelia paused as if considering.
“It would only be temporary,” she said slowly.
“Absolutely,” he promised. “Only, you gotta tell me something. How do you do it? Honestly.”
A smile curved on Cordelia’s lips.
“The truth is, I have a lot of help.”
Rand took Cordelia in his car to the station near the warehouses while Buffy followed in her car to be on hand. Veronica sent Logan to be ready to do his part at the show. When they arrived, Rand took Cordelia directly into the control room and they could see them again on the cameras.
“Oh, Mr. Rand. I thought you said no one else was allowed in here,” said Wilson.
“Change of plans, Wilson. You're out. Ms. Noble will be taking over from here.”
“I, uh, I, I don't understand,” stammered Wilson.
“I need you outside. Go work the line,” said Rand.
“This doesn't feel right,” said Cordelia as Wilson left. “I should go.”
“Because of Wilson?” Rand asked. “Bethany, the Wilsons of the world, they serve their purpose, but you and I, we are special. We're gonna do something great. Here.”
He put her coat on the back of the chair and showed her the monitors.
“So, what do you want me to do?” Cordelia asked.
“Okay. This microphone connects to my earpiece. Now, you look in the audience, tell me who to talk to. Use your gift.”
“When I connect with their loved ones, you want me to tell you what they say?” Cordelia clarified.
“Mmm-hmm,” he confirmed. “You tell me, I communicate to them. See, that's, uh, that's my gift. Relax. It's just a trial run. If you do well, in a little while we'll perform live for the network.”
Rand left Cordelia in the control room and Veronica turned to Mac.
“Okay, you ready?”
“You do realize what you're asking me to do is impossible, right?” Mac asked.
“Of course,” said Veronica smiling sweetly.
“Just so you know,” Mac said, glaring at her.
“Logan, how’s it hanging?” Veronica asked.
She could hear him over the earbuds telling someone they couldn’t have food or drink inside.
“I can only get one wallet at a time because I have to return them,” Logan grumbled, the sounds of a card reader echoing in Veronica’s ear.
“You don’t need any more money, Logan, trust me,” said Veronica. “You’re at the level that they call too much and more than enough.”
“How else would I keep you married to me?” he teased.
“Okay, guys, show's about to begin,” Veronica announced, ignoring him. “Cordelia, it's on you.”
“Got it,” said Cordelia.
Rand began his show.
“The people that we've lost, they are not gone to us. They're on the other side and they're trying to make contact with us, to guide us, to console us. And all of us here have, at one point or another, wanted to talk to them one more time. Tonight, we're gonna do just that. I feel a presence.”
“Third row aisle. Yellow dress,” said Logan.
Cordelia repeated his words to Rand.
“I see her,” said Mac, typing furiously. “Sandra Kimmel. Hairdresser. Uh, credit score's really low, 580. Last posted statement, paint store, truck rental.”
Veronica heard the sounds of a car door opening.
“I got a seventeen-year-old Cutlass,” Buffy said. “There's a breast cancer ribbon on the rearview mirror. A bunch of financial magazines in the back.”
“This presence, it's someone that you loved very much,” said Rand.
“Her mother,” Cordelia said confidently.
“Your mother,” Rand repeated.
It went on like that for a while, Veronica pacing as she watched Mac’s hands fly over the keyboard and heard Logan and Buffy hustling to get her information to work with while Cordelia used that information to feed to Rand.
Eventually it was right before the end of the show and Mac was starting to flag.
“Margaret Kusen. Both parents deceased over 20 years ago. She hired a private investigator last month.”
“She's not here to talk to anyone,” Cordelia said to Rand. “She wants answers. About her husband.”
“The spirits are telling me one thing. Your husband is hiding something. I'm sorry. That's all I'm getting,” Rand said.
“It's okay,” said Margaret. “That's what I wanted to know.”
The show ended and Rand left the stage while Veronica heaved a sigh of relief and flopped down beside Mac who looked about ready to keel over.
“I’ll buy you your own Radio Shack for this,” Veronica promised. “You know, if there are any left.”
“Don’t you mean Logan will?” asked Mac.
“Technicality,” Veronica said, waving her hand, half listening to Cordelia in her ear.
“I'm sorry I couldn't give you more.”
“More?” Rand asked. “Are you kidding me? Save it for the pay-per-view event. I'm telling you, I'm starting to rethink this network deal.”
“They'll still come to the show, right?” asked Cordelia.
“Yes, they will come. Are you kidding? After what you did in there…”
“Cordelia, you got company,” hissed Buffy, sounding like she was running.
Veronica sat up straight as Mac scrambled to find an outside camera that showed their location.
“...they are gonna back up the money truck for you. I can just see it,” said Rand.
Two men got out of a black van and grabbed Rand, throwing a hood over his face before pulling him toward the van.
Cordelia tried to grab Rand as Buffy ran up. One of the men pushed Cordelia back as they hustled Rand into the van. Cordelia kneed the man pushing her as the other closed the van door.
“Come on!” Cordelia yelled.
Buffy pushed one of the guys against the van and blocked the punches of the other man, hitting him several times in the chest and head. She drove the first one into the side of the van and then punched the second man in the chest. The first man tried to grab Cordelia again before she elbowed him in the ribs and pushed him back into Buffy’s grasp.
He got in one lucky punch to her jaw before she threw him away from her. He bounded over the van and landed on the other side. She turned to face the second man, but he was getting into the van and the first man was doing the same on the other side.
“You okay?” Buffy asked.
“Of course,” said Cordelia.
Buffy leapt toward the van as it sped away, landing hard on the concrete.
“I think I know what the gun meant now,” mumbled Veronica before speaking clearly. “Come on back, guys.”
---
“Any theories on why that happened?” Veronica asked when they were all back in the same room.
“Maybe somebody didn't like their psychic reading,” said Buffy, holding an ice pack to her jaw.
“Or maybe someone liked it too much,” said Veronica, thinking hard.
“What do you mean?” asked Logan.
“Rand told me it was the best show he ever did,” Cordelia said, clearly catching on.
What was the odd part of this puzzle, Veronica wondered.
“Everyone was there at the show to talk to the dead, except that woman at the end. Why was she there?” Veronica asked.
“Her husband. She thinks he's cheating on her,” said Cordelia.
“How'd you know that?” asked Mac. “All I said was she hired a private investigator.”
“Honey, a married woman in her forties?” said Cordelia.
“Bet she’s not looking for the Bogart Bird,” said Buffy, chuckling. Everyone looked at her. “You know,” she said, shrinking a little under their gaze. “In the movie with the lady hiring the guy and everyone wants the bird statue. Willow made me watch it once.”
“It’s called the Maltese Falcon,” Logan said before grinning. “And you call yourself Veronica’s friend.”
“What do we know about this husband?” Veronica asked Mac.
“Uh, there's the guy she came in with,” Mac said, pointing to her screen. “Let's see what the facial recognition says about...” she trailed off, typing. “Oh, hello. Nickolas Kusen, age forty-four. He did time a few years back for armed robbery.”
“So, what, Kusen has a secret and he's gonna kill Rand so he doesn't reveal it?” Logan asked.
“No, if you wanna kill someone you don't get out and throw them in a van,” mused Veronica. “You don't get out of your seat.”
“He needs Rand to be a psychic, he’s being secretive with his wife,” mused Cordelia.
“Let me get this straight, we did such a good job of convincing people Rand was really a psychic, that we got him kidnapped?” said Logan.
“Which means that we have to find him, rescue him and then, you know, take him down,” said Veronica. “Let's go to work.”
“I tracked the van using the city's CCTV traffic cams,” said Mac. “It looks like they're headed east.”
“Give me some good news on the financials,” Veronica said.
Everyone was piecing through piles of papers on the coffee table Mac was busy printing out.
“They're all over the place. Hard to get a clear picture. Must be a cash-heavy operation, probably import/export,” said Cordelia.
“You know that body shop Kusen pays property taxes on?” Logan asked, holding up a page.
“Let me guess, not a body shop?” asked Veronica.
“It's a parking lot,” said Buffy, looking closely.
“Hey, guys. I managed to track them to the wharf, somewhere in the North End,” said Mac.
“The wharf, you say?” asked Cordelia. “Hmm, I’ve got an address then.”
“Okay, okay,” said Veronica, thinking furiously. “We can get him out, but I think we can actually work this into our plan.”
“How?” asked Buffy.
“Well, we need to know what Kusen wants with Rand, which means…” Veronica turned to Cordelia.
“I need to put myself in harm’s way for the cause,” Cordelia said, sighing loudly. “Fine.”
“We’re going to have to pull this off on the fly,” Veronica said, “but if we play it right, then both of our baddies can get put away and our main goal of exposing Rand is still the end game.”
“I’m all ears,” said Logan.
---
Veronica paced, listening to Buffy and Cordelia approach the warehouse where Rand was being held.
“All right, I'm gonna be right outside. Be there in seconds if you need me,” Buffy said.
There was quiet and then Cordelia spoke in her Bethany voice.
“Excuse me? Are you gonna keep him long? Because we have a show later.”
“And who are you?” asked a voice.
“She's with me,” Rand said, sounding tired and scared. “M-Ms. Noble. She and I, we work together. How'd you find me?”
“The spirits told me. They said you needed my help.”
“Ah, so you're a psychic, too,” said the man’s voice, Kusen, Veronica guessed. “Join us. Join us. Get the lady a chair. As I was, uh, just explaining to Mr. Rand, I have a bit of a problem. Several years ago, I was involved in a short-term business venture with a very high rate of return. An associate and I had gone into this endeavor together, but before we could split the profits from our enterprise, an unfortunate misunderstanding forced me to spend a few years in upstate New York. Have you ever been there? It's beautiful this time of year.”
“Yeah, it's, it is beautiful. Beautiful. Gorgeous,” Rand stammered.
“Anyway, when I returned to claim what was mine, Mr. Brancato wasn't particularly forthcoming with the information. He passed away without revealing its location. And now you see my dilemma.”
“You robbed a bank and you want us to help you find where your partner hid the money,” Cordelia said bluntly.
“My wife is such a big fan of yours, Mr. Rand. She seems to think you have a knack for this sort of thing. So, I hope that's true. Because, uh, this is only gonna go down two ways. Uh, you don't find the money, and I kill you. Or you find the money, and I might consider not killing you. So, what do you say?”
“At least he's not cheating on his wife,” Logan murmured beside Veronica.
“Okay, I found his ex-partner,” said Mac. “Cesar Brancato. His name was on the lease for the body shop that Kusen supposedly owned.”
Veronica stood, trying to peer into the future and figure out what the best next step was.
“This guy wants a bag of money. Let's get him a bag of money,” she said. “We’re going to fake we know where it is and get them both to confess their crimes right when we want them to. Mac, find me something we can link to Brancato. We all need to get down to the warehouse district right away.”
As they drove Mac found the perfect link and relayed the information to Cordelia.
“Where the hell's my money?” asked Kusen.
“I'm seeing something,” answered Cordelia. “It's a car. An old car. I'm walking around it now. The license plate's missing. It's a Chevrolet. A Chevrolet Malibu.”
“That's what he drove. A '78 Malibu,” said Kusen.
“If we follow the car, it'll lead us to the money,” said Cordelia.
Veronica listened as the bad guys hustled Rand and Cordelia down to the parking lot Mac had found the car in. She paid for the storage unit.
Mac and Logan rushed to get the next clue in place while Cordelia led them through the parking lot and Veronica and Buffy began work at the storage units.
“Buy me ten seconds,” Logan said softly.
Cordelia did what sounded like an appropriately convincing swoon and Rand asked if she was all right.
“I'm sorry. Sometimes the visions are a little overwhelming,” said Cordelia.
“Good to go,” Logan said.
“Now get back to us at the storage unit,” Veronica told him. “We still need to get the unit ready.”
Cordelia led them to the Malibu and one of Kusen’s men jimmied the door open and checked the glove box, finding registration addressed to Brancato, which he handed to Kusen.
“Search it,” Kusen ordered.
They found a key and Cordelia asked to hold it.
“Do you see anything? What does it open?”
“I see a storage unit. Someone's making a deposit on it. He has a beard and glasses.”
“That's him! That's Brancato.”
Veronica waited in place while Logan, Buffy, and Mac worked on the unit as Cordelia led everyone else to their location.
“Oh, I know this place. We're, uh-” began Rand.
“Shh, I need to concentrate,” Cordelia cut him off.
“Which unit does this open?” Kusen asked, handing Cordelia the key.
“Stall just a bit,” said Mac, “we’re not ready. I gotta finish looping the signal.”
“I'm sorry,” said Cordelia, “I've lost my connection to the spirit world. It-it's like a car battery. I just need to recharge.”
“I've waited long enough,” Kusen said, grabbing the key. “I don’t mind figuring it out while you recharge.”
Veronica could see them from her present spot in the guard post starting to cut the lock on a unit.
She ran out, in a completely different wig, and put her hands out.
“What's going on? What the heck you doing over here?” she asked.
Kusen pointed a gun at her.
“I need to see your records.”
“Keep them busy for just a few minutes,” said Mac.
“Are you guys cops?” Veronica asked.
“Yeah. The K-9 unit. The dog ate my badge. Which unit does this key open?”
“Uh, right, um,” Veronica took the key, “I'm gonna have to check my records.”
“Let's look at your records,” said Kusen, threatening her with the gun again.
“We're gonna check the records,” repeated Veronica.
Over her earbud she could hear Logan, Mac, and Buffy grumbling about the lack of boxes while she stalled in the guard post.
“We're all clear,” Logan said.
“I think there, yeah! There we go. It's, uh, that'd be unit number, uh, 398,” Veronica told Kusen.
She watched as Kusen dragged everyone into the storage unit they had positioned carefully.
“You better hope they find the money,” Kusen said viciously. The men searched and found nothing but the items put there by Veronica’s crew. Kusen pointed the gun at Rand. “What's your crystal ball say now?”
“Uh, I don't know,” Rand said.
“You better go into a trance or something, whatever it is you do, because I'm fresh out of patience!”
“I'm not psychic,” Rand burst out. “Not for a long time. I can't, I can't communicate with the dead. I-i-it's all fake.”
“I think you're holding out on me. You know where the money is. You just want it for yourself.”
“No. No. I-i-it's not... Listen to me. My studio is wired up with microphones and cameras. And I-I make it look like I'm a psychic, but I'm not. You know, I-I cold read people. Yeah, I ask them questions, I look at their reactions. It's-it's all I can do now. It's a scam. Okay? I've been running it for years.”
Cordelia stepped backwards out of the storage locker.
“I have to say, guys. I totally saw this one coming.”
She closed the door and locked it.
Veronica watched on the camera as Kusen shoved Rand up against the wall.
“How'd you know I was hiding something from my wife?”
“I didn't. She did.”
There was an explosion and Veronica watched in satisfaction as Rand and Kusen stumbled through the hole in the storage unit onto the stage of Rand’s show, audience already in place, cameras on, and a repeat of his confession playing on the screens.
The audience were all stunned, beginning to grumble and get angry. Veronica was happy to see that Jodie was in the audience, her hand on her stomach, looking upset. It wasn’t always fun to be disillusioned, but it was always better.
“There he is. That's him. You're under arrest.”
Veronica moved aside as Leo entered, winking at her as he passed.
He put cuffs around Rand while his fellow officer put cuffs on Kusen.
“Hey, you know what? He's the bad guy,” Rand said, gesturing to Kusen. “When we were in there he had a gun on me and he robbed a bank.”
“Yeah, right. Like I'm gonna believe anything you say. Get him out of here.”
Leo hauled Rand out the door while his taped confession played on a loop over and over, thanks to Mac’s hijacking of the signal earlier.
Veronica and her crew leaned against Mac’s car outside, watching Rand and Kusen get put into squad cars.
“They do make a cute pair, don't they?” Cordelia said.
“We got, uh, we got assault, kidnapping, and burglary for our friend Kusen, and garden variety fraud for our psychic friend Dalton Rand. Any way we can get them in the same prison?” Veronica asked.
“That could be arranged,” Mac said thoughtfully.
“I believe that was a job well done, Mars,” said Logan, slinging an arm around Veronica’s shoulder.
“Indeed. Let’s go home, people,” said Veronica.
---
Veronica opened the door and ushered Jodie and Ryan into her office where her dad was already waiting.
“I’m glad to see you both,” said Veronica. “You excited for the baby?”
“Nervous,” Jodie admitted.
“You know my husband and I have been trying for a baby and I admit I’ve felt that a bit myself,” said Veronica, though right now she mainly felt exultant joy.
“I guess it’s normal,” said Jodie, looking down.
“It's okay, Jodie.” Ryan put a hand on her shoulder.
“I'm sorry. I'm just so embarrassed,” she whispered.
“No, no, don't be. Dalton Rand is a con artist,” said Veronica. “He took advantage of hundreds of people. Maybe thousands.”
“But now that he's heading to jail, he can't do it to anyone else,” Keith put in.
“A part of me knew it wasn't real, but I didn't care. I missed Mike so much. I wanted to see him again so bad.”
Veronica paused and looked inside her own gift. What she saw made her smile and respond.
“You will see him again. Maybe it'll be a look.” She pointed to Jodie’s stomach. “Maybe it'll be a gesture. Maybe it'll be the way he spreads peanut butter on a slice of bread. But when you see it, you'll know and you'll say, ‘That's Mike.’ And you know what? That's a miracle no one could ever sell you.”
“Thank you,” Jodie said, looking better.
The two of them got up and headed for the door and Keith leaned over, kissing the top of Veronica’s head.
“Proud of you, honey.”
“I actually didn’t do this one on my own,” Veronica told him.
Out in the lobby Logan and Mac waited. Logan approached Jodie and Ryan, handing them an envelope.
“Before you go, this is for you,” he said.
“What is this?” Ryan asked.
“It's the money Rand took from your sister. All of it.”
“I don't know what to say,” said Jodie, hugging him.
Logan blushed slightly and hugged her back.
After they left, Veronica folded her arms and arched an eyebrow at her husband and best friend.
“I thought you said all of Rand's money went into paying for his show. I thought you said he was broke.”
“It did. He was,” Mac said.
“Where'd the money come from?” Veronica asked. “Did you guys find the stolen money? Hmm? Did you find Kusen's loot?”
“I can neither confirm nor deny…” Mac said, trailing off.
“Besides,” Logan said, sidling closer to her. “A portion of money might have been diverted from my trust fund to fund a worthy cause and the police might have received an anonymous tip about where to find stolen money. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
“You two,” she said. “I have you do one job and you decide to become vigilantes.”
“One?” Mac asked skeptically. “If I kept records, and who’s to say I haven’t, of everything you’ve asked me to do since the day we met, you’d be in big trouble, missy!”
“I give,” said Veronica, holding her hands up.
“And I know you like these quick hands,” Logan whispered in Veronica’s ear.
Judging from the look on her dad’s face, he was deducing Logan’s words with fair accuracy.
“Aren’t we all supposed to have dinner?” she asked hastily.
“Thanks for the invite,” Keith said with a look to Logan, “but I got a fascinating stakeout planned with my trusty camera. You kids have fun.”
“Yes, sir,” said Logan, straightening up, but mostly managing to make it look like it was all his idea.
---
After dinner, Veronica looked around her living room again, extremely proud of her friends and what they’d been able to do.
“Thanks, gang,” she told them sincerely. “You were all amazing.”
“I don’t feel like I did that much,” Buffy said, pouting. “Next time you have a vision with me as the hitter make sure it has plenty of big goons in it for me to beat up.”
“I’ll do my best,” Veronica said.
“I’ll admit, it was well done and well planned,” Cordelia said, saluting Veronica with her wine glass.
“Was it what you saw?” Veronica asked curiously.
“Close enough,” said Cordelia. “Besides, I keep telling you, we get the pieces, it’s up to us to put them together. Another team might have done this with the same result and different means of getting there, or slightly different, anyway.”
“You’re right,” said Veronica. “Still, I’m glad it was us!”
“Me too,” said Mac. “But because I’ve nearly been worked into an early grave and I’ve got a class out at the coven early in the morning, I need to get going.”
“I am very grateful for you and your techno-pagan ways,” Veronica said, hugging her.
“Yeah, yeah, I keep hearing that,” said Mac, hugging her back. She hugged Buffy and Cordelia goodbye. “See you two on our next illegal crime fighting spree. Or demon hunting, whichever.”
“I look forward to it,” said Cordelia. “Really.”
“She does, really,” said Buffy. “So do I.”
Mac grabbed all her gear and Logan helped her carry it out to the car.
“I’m heading back to LA in the morning,” said Cordelia, stretching. “So, beauty sleep time.”
“Do let the staff know if you need anything,” said Veronica.
“Of course, I will,” said Cordelia. As she passed by Veronica on her way upstairs, she whispered, “Really, it was well done.”
“Thank you,” said Veronica, feeling touched.
“Aww, vision friends,” said Buffy, teasing.
“Hey, I don’t laugh at you and your Slayer friends,” said Veronica. “So, you off to bed as well?”
“I rather feel like patrolling,” Buffy said. “I know there’s not usually much supernatural going on in Neptune, but a vamp or two might be in my future, maybe?”
“I can’t see any, but that doesn’t mean anything,” said Veronica. “Go, beat things up, and thank you. I imagine you’re off soon as well?”
“I talked to Spike,” Buffy said. “He and Dawn are in Istanbul, still. With Oz of all people.”
“Willow’s ex?” Veronica asked, having only heard stories about the werewolf.
“Yeah,” said Buffy. “Should be interesting and of the weird.”
“You got a flight?” asked Veronica.
“Yes, and your charming husband is going to drive me, I hope.”
“Am I?” asked Logan, coming back in.
“You are,” Veronica confirmed.
“I am,” he said, smiling at Buffy.
“Then wish me fighting,” she said, slipping out the door.
“All alone and no scheming to be done,” said Logan, offering a hand to Veronica. “May I tempt you to an early night?”
“You may,” she said, secretly glad everything was working out this way. “In fact, I insist on it.”
“Ooh,” he said as they headed upstairs and into their room. “Care to spread out on the bed and let me ogle you?”
“Actually,” she said, “I’d rather sit on the window seat.”
“Ah, a window seat night,” he said, guiding her there. “What important thing shall we discuss?”
“Have a seat and I’ll be right with you,” she said, slipping into the bathroom and grabbing the box from behind everything she’d shoved over it in the bathroom that morning.
He pouted slightly when she came out.
“No skimpy negligee wardrobe change?”
“I think I’ve worn enough negligees for you,” she said, presenting him with the stick. “It’s done enough damage.”
She watched his face closely, enjoying the dawning of understanding, followed closely by joy, a touch of concern and worry, and then pure happiness.
“Finally,” he said, reaching up to pull her down against him on the window seat.
“Finally,” she agreed, curling up against him.
“What do you see for our baby?” he asked, kissing her neck.
Veronica cast her mind into the future, pulling on something innate inside of her the Powers could utilize to send her visions, but which she could access whenever she wanted to figure out the best path. Colors and images, Lilly’s voice, and emotions poured into her and she smiled.
“Everything.”