Mac's Long Weekend (1/?)
It was around thirty minutes later when the pulled up to the hotel. As Mac put her car in park she couldn't help her feeling of trepidation, she had a mental checklist of all the things she was going to hate about this weekend. Doing mysterious favors for Veronica, check. Spending time with people who'd either ignored her existence or mocked her in high school, check. Instructed to bring fancy cloths, check. Dick Casablancas, check. This was going to blow an epic amount.
"Is it just me or is this the hotel they filmed 'The Shining' in?" Mac could have sworn she heard dread in Weevil's voice. She stared up at the hotel and searched her memory, trying to remember what the movie she'd last seen nearly five years ago.
"I think it's smaller," she said doubtfully. It really did look like the one in the movie. Hotel from a classic horror movie, check.
"V is so going to owe me for this." Mac glanced at Weevil surprised to hear him saying exactly what she was thinking. She really didn't want to get out of the car. Unfortunately the valet standing next to her door looked like he was starting to get impatient.
The valet took the keys and the bell-guy left with her bag (Weevil had refused to turn over his bag and she wouldn't relinquish her laptop case). No avenue of escape left she reluctantly headed inside the building, Weevil limping along behind her.
As she pushed through the main doors of horror movie hotel she suddenly flashed back to a nightmare she had in high school. The room gigantic, covered in marble, gilt, and fancy breakable looking furniture. What was worse it was filled with wealthy looking people, all of whom had the shiny, happy look people got with designer clothes and plastic surgery. It felt like all of them were staring at her as she stood frozen in the doorway. Mac quickly looked down, nope it wasn't that nightmare - she wasn't naked.
Weevil's voice coming over her shoulder broke her paralysis, "Is this what the Hellmouth looks like?" She wasn't sure if it was the question itself or the incongruity of him referencing Buffy, but she fought back a laugh and walked to the front desk.
As she waited for the woman behind to counter to get off the phone and check them in she smiled Weevil pleased they had something in common, "I didn't know you were a Buffy fan."
"What's not to like? Chica could kick some ass." He returned her smile.
They were interrupted when the woman behind the counter finally got off the phone, "Can I help you?" The words were courteous but the tone was anything but. The woman bore a striking resemblance to Morticia Adams, only with her hair in a bun and wearing a business suit.
"We have reservations," Mac paused for a second. She was unsure whose name they were under, "they are probably under Mackenzie."
After tapping at her computer for roughly thirty seconds, the woman glanced up and gave Weevil a chilly look, "I'm sorry we don't have anything under that name, perhaps you are at the wrong hotel. There is a Super8 just down the road." Mac felt Weevil stiffen beside her and without thinking she reached over and grabbed his arm.
"Check under Navarro then." Weevil demanded coldly.
The woman tapped at the keyboard, "No sorry it appears you don't have a reservation here, unfortunately we don't have any vacancies this weekend. I can have the bellhop bring your things out to the car." As she spoke she gestured for the bellhop.
Feeling the tension in Weevil's arm, Mac was about to start yelling, when Dick popped out of nowhere and gave her a completely unexpected hug. "Hey Ghost World, you made it."
Shocked into immobility it took Mac a second to fend him off. "What room are you in? I asked that our gang be put on the same floor." Mac blinked unsure how to react to his friendliness and wondering when the heck she had become one of "his gang." She had been avoiding him for days now after their last awkward conversation.
"Mr. Casablancas, Sir, I wasn't aware these were two of your guests." Mac heard Weevil snort at the fawning tone the bitchy counter lady used talking to Dick. "I'll have the keys for their room in just a second." Wait a second - room singular? "Here you go. You are in room 211. I hope you have a pleasant stay. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to make your stay more enjoyable." The smile that accompanied those words looked just a tiny bit strained.
"Hey, me and Logan are in the suite right across the hall. This weekend is going to rock!" Dick smiled at her cheerfully; his good mood was starting to freak her out. "Hey, so when did you dump that geek you were dating? It sorta surprised me when Ronnie told me you took up with Weevil. I mean, I get the whole wild collage thing. I'm all about the booty call. But, you didn't really seem like the type. Oh, but hey, if you just want to, you know, get freaky with it you should totally give me a call sometime. We could have some fun.
Mac stared at Dick, wondering briefly what Veronica had told him. She responded dryly, "Sorry Dick no can do. Me and Weevil, soul-mates. Epic love and all that."
Dick blinked, "Well go ahead and give me a call if you change your mind or if you just want to hang out or something, 'cause that's what buds are for. Hey I'll see you later, there's a red-head over by the fireplace who totally wants me."
Mac and Weevil started heading for the elevator, closely followed by the bellhop. "Soul-mates, huh. Why Mac, I didn't know you cared." Mac snorted at Weevil's tone.
"Hey for the rest of this weekend, if Dick hits on me, you're my destiny, baby." Mac gave Weevil a crooked smile.
Weevil gave her a slow smile back, "Just so you know my destiny definitely puts out."
"Ah, too bad, I guess it just wasn't really meant to be. But I'm sure there are plenty of desperate lonely girls here who'd be happy to..."
Mac was interrupted by a sibilant cry of disgust, "What are you doing here?" Turning Mac winced, wasn't this just craptastic. Keeping her voice utterly devoid of emotion, "Madison Sinclair, how nice to see you again."
"What? Did you mortgage your house just to spend a weekend here? I knew you were a desperate wannabe but I didn't think you'd stoop to following me around." Madison dripped venom.
Just then the elevator dinged and Mac gave Madison a fake smile, "Didn't you hear? Dick invited us." Then she, Weevil, and a bellboy assiduously pretending to be deaf, boarded the elevator. When the doors closed Madison was glaring at her angrily.
As the elevator rose, Mac found herself wondering how else this weekend could be screwed up. She glanced over at Weevil and found him giving her a wide smile. "What?" She asked suspiciously, a little unnerved by his apparent cheerfulness.
"Chica, here I thought I'd be the one drawing all the attention. Didn't know you had such a big 09er fan club."
"What can I say, they like me, they really like me." After delivering her line she stared at the ceiling wondering briefly if this was God's punishment for that whole hacker thing.
After the elevator reached the second floor it only took a minute to reach their room. Mac was still searching her through her bag and frantically trying to remember how much you tipped bellboys when Weevil passed the guy a folded bill. The bellboy glanced at the bill, grinned, and told them to find him if they needed anything at all. Who'd a thought it, Weevil must be a good tipper.
As she looked over the room Mac felt a sinking feeling. It was clean, luxurious, nicely decorated, and the centerpiece of the room was one really big bed. She sighed and looked over at Weevil, expecting some thinly veiled innuendo. So she was a little surprised when instead he just shrugged and offered to sleep on the floor.
It only took a second to put her stuff in an out of the way corner, she watched as Weevil wandered the room poking through closets and drawers. She noticed him favoring his leg more now then he had downstairs when he had an audience. "What happened to your leg?" she asked.
"Busted it lugging a washing machine at work," he glared at the wall, "Damn human resources suit is still holding up my workers' comp. The pendejo in charge is saying I probably hurt it goofing off. Bastard."
"What did the doctor say?"
"Not much, I'm supposed to stay off it and take it easy...he didn't mention how I was supposed to do that and still pay my rent." After that he gave a weary sigh and sat down on the uncomfortable looking loveseat.
"And thus your little foray into 09er hell?" she asked lightly.
He nodded, "So any ideas on what V has planned for us?"
She shrugged, reached for her cell phone, and called Veronica. She picked up after only one ring. "Veronica, why was Dick so happy to see me? And, oh yeah, why does Dick think I'm having a torrid affair with Weevil?" He snorted as he listened in from across the room.
There was a long pause on the other end of the line, "um, about that, I might have told Dick that you, um..."
"Spit it out Veronica." Mac was beginning to get a sinking feeling in her stomach.
There was a sigh, "Okay before you get mad, I had a really good reason. I have to get close to someone here at the party and what with the stuff with Logan, Dick was my only in."
Mac glared at the phone, "There is something so wrong with that statement."
"All right, I was talking to Dick...and I may have told him that you were really depressed over breaking up with your boyfriend and could really use a friend. I was surprised, he really went for it. He actually told me that he was bummed that you didn't like him. Um, I may have told him that you actually did like him, in a totally non-sexual way, but didn't know how to say so. I believe I also mentioned your burning desire to leave campus and total lack of funds and he immediately invited us both for this weekend - on him. He said he had tons of ideas on how to entertain you and keep your mind off your troubles. And he only mentioned being willing to jump your bones to cheer you up once."
"Veronica, how could you? Do you have any idea what Dick might consider a good way to entertain me? I don't, but the possibilities are enough to make me change my name and move to Canada. I'm starting to have prom flashbacks, only this is a hundred times worse. And I'm still a little cloudy on how exactly Weevil fits into this little plan?"
She sighed, "Well I discovered last night that one of the people I have to talk to has a history of violence. You know I promised my Dad I'd start being more careful. Between Weevil and my trusty stun gun I ought to be alright."
"Uh huh and yet you still haven't explained me and Weevil's love connection."
"Okay, it was last minute and I had to improvise. Look on the bright side it'll keep guys from hitting on you."
Mac paused for a second, "There is still the matter of the boy, who I was still happily dating this morning by the way, waiting for me back at Hearst."
"I'll talk to him and explain everything, I swear. Piz and I'll be at the hotel in another few minutes, we can go over the plan and if everything goes right you might even be able to leave tomorrow. Look I've got to go. I'll see you in a little while." Veronica hung up and left Mac staring at her cell phone.
As Mac put away the cell Weevil gave her an expectant look, "Tell the truth, this is just V's own twisted idea of blind date. Really she just thinks we'd make beautiful babies together." Mac laughed and gave him a quick recap of the phone conversation. "So she didn't actually give you any details did she? Our girl's really all about operational security."
Mac and Weevil settled in and were cheerfully arguing about what to watch on TV when someone knocked on the door. Mac was expecting Veronica so when she opened the door and saw Logan it threw her for a loop. He brushed past her, "Is she here? Why did she con Dick into inviting her?" Logan paused for a second at the sight of Weevil before turning and giving Mac a burning look. "What the hell is going on?"
"I have no idea what's going on. Veronica has a case and she wanted me and Weevil for backup. I don't think it involves you at all." As she spoke she wondered how long Veronica and Logan would be broken up this time. They had one of those volatile, dramatic, relationships that constantly veered between perfection and destruction. Somehow she just didn't think that Piz could compete. Of course, he was a lot more restful.
Logan threw himself down on the bed, "The hell it doesn't concern me. Me and Dick have been planning a pre-summer blowout weekend all month, just us, our friends, and some willing ladies. I do not need Veronica snooping around trying to get my friends arrested. And why in the world would Dick think you and Weevil are dating? Last I heard you were in nerd heaven with your geeky boy toy."
Mac sighed and shrugged, "Veronica set this up. I guess she didn't think Dick would invite him out of the goodness of his heart."
"So she could have just brought Weevil as her date, its not like anyone would be shocked." Logan smirked, turning to Weevil, "And admit it Weevs you've wanted to get Veronica alone in a hotel room for years."
Weevil gave Logan a bored look, "Well since she's bringing Piz, I wouldn't want to be a third wheel."
If he was looking for a reaction he didn't get one. Logan just snorted. "Oh yeah, I nearly forgot about him."
This time the knock on the door was Veronica, who was not overly pleased to see Logan. However her reaction was positively overjoyed compared to Piz's. The bruises on his face were turning a spectacular shade of green, and the look he shot Logan when he walked through the door screamed dislike.
For a moment there was one of those incredibly awkward silences that Mac never knew how to fill. The Logan bounced to his feet, "Well nice catching up Mac, Weevil. We'll have to spend some quality time together this weekend. I'll just get out of your hair" Throwing a smirk at Weevil, "or not as the case may be. You know how it is, booze to drink, ladies to woo." He didn't speak to Veronica or Piz as he brushed past them, just nodded and kept walking.
After the door slammed behind Logan, it was Weevil who broke the silence, "Alright V, what's the plan?
Veronica looked away from the closed door, drew a breath, and exhaled noisily, "Here's the thing, and I was hired by a faculty member who was blackmailed. Over the course of a year the victim gave up their life savings, but of course the blackmail hasn't stopped. The blackmailer is Larry Smidt, Hearst junior, all around scumbag, and one of Dick Jr's drinking buddies. My job is to find out what happened to the money. Best case scenario is to get it back, second best is to find something incriminating that I can use as leverage on Larry. The guy is pretty seedy so I have high hopes that we'll find something. Plan A is to plant a bug in his room, steal his laptop, search his files, copy anything related to finances or anything criminal and replace the laptop without him knowing - until I blow him out of the water."
Mac found herself nodding, plan A seemed pretty straightforward.
"So Mac does her computer voodoo, but where exactly do I fit in?" Weevil questioned.
Veronica smiled at him, "You're more in the way of the back-up plan. If everything goes the way I want all you have to do is hang out and look pretty. However Larry has a history of violence. He was kicked out of three different high schools for fighting and even put a guy in the hospital once. He's a creep and I need a visible threat to control him."
Weevil stood up and gave Veronica a hard look, "I hate to break it to you but I'm not exactly in top form, my knee is still pretty banged up. I don't know how well I'd do in a straight up fight right now."
"Ah, but that's the beauty of my plan. Larry is a bit of a bully, picking on people smaller and weaker then him. All we have to do is make Larry think you are a hardened criminal with the kind of connections that could get him killed." Veronica seemed pretty proud of her plan but Weevil still had an extremely doubtful look on his face.
"Yeah, and in my spare time I work as a maintenance guy, you know, as a hobby." Weevil crossed his arms over his chest and waited for Veronica's response.
"You are on parole. And you wanted a job where you could pickup impressionable young co-eds." At the co-eds part Veronica smiled perkily over at Mac. Weevil rubbed the back of his head with his hand and sighed. Veronica tilted her head to the side, smiled, and said, "Weevil, you know you miss being the big bad biker, just think of this weekend as a chance to play him again for a little while. How could you turn that down?" Weevil stared at the ground for a second before agreeing and Mac found herself wondering if he really wanted to go back to how he was in high school.
"Any more objections?" She paused for a second, meeting Weevil's eyes first then Mac's, "Good. Here's the plan, Logan and Dick rented out the patio for dinner at six, we all go down, mingle; I meet up with Larry who I regale with tales of Weevil's supreme badness. Mac you and Piz will need to sneak off, break into his room, steal his computer, and plant the bug. Text me when it's done. Then you do your computer magic. I'll keep an eye on Larry and make sure he doesn't go back to his room. I'll text if you if he starts moving. If he does then you'll need to get the laptop back without him knowing - even if you haven't found anything. If he knows we are on to him I'm not sure what he'll do." Veronica handed Mac a tiny bug in a little plastic case.
Mac felt a little relieved she wouldn't have to stay at the party - committing crimes was still better then making small talk. But she still had some reservations, "Um, are you sure you want me doing the actual breaking and entering? You know Q usually gets to stay back and play with the gadgets. Plus, I don't even know how to break into a room."
Veronica still had that confident smile on her face, "You'll be fine. I'll keep an eye on Larry. Plus, you won't be alone; I'm sending Piz with you." Mac suppressed a sigh; she didn't think Piz was all that experienced in B&E either. "As for how you get in, ta da," she exclaimed dramatically as she pulled a key card on a lanyard out of her pocket, "This master key will get you in any room in the place. They really should pay the maids at this hotel more. He's in room 438."
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Next - Chapter 2
"Is it just me or is this the hotel they filmed 'The Shining' in?" Mac could have sworn she heard dread in Weevil's voice. She stared up at the hotel and searched her memory, trying to remember what the movie she'd last seen nearly five years ago.
"I think it's smaller," she said doubtfully. It really did look like the one in the movie. Hotel from a classic horror movie, check.
"V is so going to owe me for this." Mac glanced at Weevil surprised to hear him saying exactly what she was thinking. She really didn't want to get out of the car. Unfortunately the valet standing next to her door looked like he was starting to get impatient.
The valet took the keys and the bell-guy left with her bag (Weevil had refused to turn over his bag and she wouldn't relinquish her laptop case). No avenue of escape left she reluctantly headed inside the building, Weevil limping along behind her.
As she pushed through the main doors of horror movie hotel she suddenly flashed back to a nightmare she had in high school. The room gigantic, covered in marble, gilt, and fancy breakable looking furniture. What was worse it was filled with wealthy looking people, all of whom had the shiny, happy look people got with designer clothes and plastic surgery. It felt like all of them were staring at her as she stood frozen in the doorway. Mac quickly looked down, nope it wasn't that nightmare - she wasn't naked.
Weevil's voice coming over her shoulder broke her paralysis, "Is this what the Hellmouth looks like?" She wasn't sure if it was the question itself or the incongruity of him referencing Buffy, but she fought back a laugh and walked to the front desk.
As she waited for the woman behind to counter to get off the phone and check them in she smiled Weevil pleased they had something in common, "I didn't know you were a Buffy fan."
"What's not to like? Chica could kick some ass." He returned her smile.
They were interrupted when the woman behind the counter finally got off the phone, "Can I help you?" The words were courteous but the tone was anything but. The woman bore a striking resemblance to Morticia Adams, only with her hair in a bun and wearing a business suit.
"We have reservations," Mac paused for a second. She was unsure whose name they were under, "they are probably under Mackenzie."
After tapping at her computer for roughly thirty seconds, the woman glanced up and gave Weevil a chilly look, "I'm sorry we don't have anything under that name, perhaps you are at the wrong hotel. There is a Super8 just down the road." Mac felt Weevil stiffen beside her and without thinking she reached over and grabbed his arm.
"Check under Navarro then." Weevil demanded coldly.
The woman tapped at the keyboard, "No sorry it appears you don't have a reservation here, unfortunately we don't have any vacancies this weekend. I can have the bellhop bring your things out to the car." As she spoke she gestured for the bellhop.
Feeling the tension in Weevil's arm, Mac was about to start yelling, when Dick popped out of nowhere and gave her a completely unexpected hug. "Hey Ghost World, you made it."
Shocked into immobility it took Mac a second to fend him off. "What room are you in? I asked that our gang be put on the same floor." Mac blinked unsure how to react to his friendliness and wondering when the heck she had become one of "his gang." She had been avoiding him for days now after their last awkward conversation.
"Mr. Casablancas, Sir, I wasn't aware these were two of your guests." Mac heard Weevil snort at the fawning tone the bitchy counter lady used talking to Dick. "I'll have the keys for their room in just a second." Wait a second - room singular? "Here you go. You are in room 211. I hope you have a pleasant stay. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to make your stay more enjoyable." The smile that accompanied those words looked just a tiny bit strained.
"Hey, me and Logan are in the suite right across the hall. This weekend is going to rock!" Dick smiled at her cheerfully; his good mood was starting to freak her out. "Hey, so when did you dump that geek you were dating? It sorta surprised me when Ronnie told me you took up with Weevil. I mean, I get the whole wild collage thing. I'm all about the booty call. But, you didn't really seem like the type. Oh, but hey, if you just want to, you know, get freaky with it you should totally give me a call sometime. We could have some fun.
Mac stared at Dick, wondering briefly what Veronica had told him. She responded dryly, "Sorry Dick no can do. Me and Weevil, soul-mates. Epic love and all that."
Dick blinked, "Well go ahead and give me a call if you change your mind or if you just want to hang out or something, 'cause that's what buds are for. Hey I'll see you later, there's a red-head over by the fireplace who totally wants me."
Mac and Weevil started heading for the elevator, closely followed by the bellhop. "Soul-mates, huh. Why Mac, I didn't know you cared." Mac snorted at Weevil's tone.
"Hey for the rest of this weekend, if Dick hits on me, you're my destiny, baby." Mac gave Weevil a crooked smile.
Weevil gave her a slow smile back, "Just so you know my destiny definitely puts out."
"Ah, too bad, I guess it just wasn't really meant to be. But I'm sure there are plenty of desperate lonely girls here who'd be happy to..."
Mac was interrupted by a sibilant cry of disgust, "What are you doing here?" Turning Mac winced, wasn't this just craptastic. Keeping her voice utterly devoid of emotion, "Madison Sinclair, how nice to see you again."
"What? Did you mortgage your house just to spend a weekend here? I knew you were a desperate wannabe but I didn't think you'd stoop to following me around." Madison dripped venom.
Just then the elevator dinged and Mac gave Madison a fake smile, "Didn't you hear? Dick invited us." Then she, Weevil, and a bellboy assiduously pretending to be deaf, boarded the elevator. When the doors closed Madison was glaring at her angrily.
As the elevator rose, Mac found herself wondering how else this weekend could be screwed up. She glanced over at Weevil and found him giving her a wide smile. "What?" She asked suspiciously, a little unnerved by his apparent cheerfulness.
"Chica, here I thought I'd be the one drawing all the attention. Didn't know you had such a big 09er fan club."
"What can I say, they like me, they really like me." After delivering her line she stared at the ceiling wondering briefly if this was God's punishment for that whole hacker thing.
After the elevator reached the second floor it only took a minute to reach their room. Mac was still searching her through her bag and frantically trying to remember how much you tipped bellboys when Weevil passed the guy a folded bill. The bellboy glanced at the bill, grinned, and told them to find him if they needed anything at all. Who'd a thought it, Weevil must be a good tipper.
As she looked over the room Mac felt a sinking feeling. It was clean, luxurious, nicely decorated, and the centerpiece of the room was one really big bed. She sighed and looked over at Weevil, expecting some thinly veiled innuendo. So she was a little surprised when instead he just shrugged and offered to sleep on the floor.
It only took a second to put her stuff in an out of the way corner, she watched as Weevil wandered the room poking through closets and drawers. She noticed him favoring his leg more now then he had downstairs when he had an audience. "What happened to your leg?" she asked.
"Busted it lugging a washing machine at work," he glared at the wall, "Damn human resources suit is still holding up my workers' comp. The pendejo in charge is saying I probably hurt it goofing off. Bastard."
"What did the doctor say?"
"Not much, I'm supposed to stay off it and take it easy...he didn't mention how I was supposed to do that and still pay my rent." After that he gave a weary sigh and sat down on the uncomfortable looking loveseat.
"And thus your little foray into 09er hell?" she asked lightly.
He nodded, "So any ideas on what V has planned for us?"
She shrugged, reached for her cell phone, and called Veronica. She picked up after only one ring. "Veronica, why was Dick so happy to see me? And, oh yeah, why does Dick think I'm having a torrid affair with Weevil?" He snorted as he listened in from across the room.
There was a long pause on the other end of the line, "um, about that, I might have told Dick that you, um..."
"Spit it out Veronica." Mac was beginning to get a sinking feeling in her stomach.
There was a sigh, "Okay before you get mad, I had a really good reason. I have to get close to someone here at the party and what with the stuff with Logan, Dick was my only in."
Mac glared at the phone, "There is something so wrong with that statement."
"All right, I was talking to Dick...and I may have told him that you were really depressed over breaking up with your boyfriend and could really use a friend. I was surprised, he really went for it. He actually told me that he was bummed that you didn't like him. Um, I may have told him that you actually did like him, in a totally non-sexual way, but didn't know how to say so. I believe I also mentioned your burning desire to leave campus and total lack of funds and he immediately invited us both for this weekend - on him. He said he had tons of ideas on how to entertain you and keep your mind off your troubles. And he only mentioned being willing to jump your bones to cheer you up once."
"Veronica, how could you? Do you have any idea what Dick might consider a good way to entertain me? I don't, but the possibilities are enough to make me change my name and move to Canada. I'm starting to have prom flashbacks, only this is a hundred times worse. And I'm still a little cloudy on how exactly Weevil fits into this little plan?"
She sighed, "Well I discovered last night that one of the people I have to talk to has a history of violence. You know I promised my Dad I'd start being more careful. Between Weevil and my trusty stun gun I ought to be alright."
"Uh huh and yet you still haven't explained me and Weevil's love connection."
"Okay, it was last minute and I had to improvise. Look on the bright side it'll keep guys from hitting on you."
Mac paused for a second, "There is still the matter of the boy, who I was still happily dating this morning by the way, waiting for me back at Hearst."
"I'll talk to him and explain everything, I swear. Piz and I'll be at the hotel in another few minutes, we can go over the plan and if everything goes right you might even be able to leave tomorrow. Look I've got to go. I'll see you in a little while." Veronica hung up and left Mac staring at her cell phone.
As Mac put away the cell Weevil gave her an expectant look, "Tell the truth, this is just V's own twisted idea of blind date. Really she just thinks we'd make beautiful babies together." Mac laughed and gave him a quick recap of the phone conversation. "So she didn't actually give you any details did she? Our girl's really all about operational security."
Mac and Weevil settled in and were cheerfully arguing about what to watch on TV when someone knocked on the door. Mac was expecting Veronica so when she opened the door and saw Logan it threw her for a loop. He brushed past her, "Is she here? Why did she con Dick into inviting her?" Logan paused for a second at the sight of Weevil before turning and giving Mac a burning look. "What the hell is going on?"
"I have no idea what's going on. Veronica has a case and she wanted me and Weevil for backup. I don't think it involves you at all." As she spoke she wondered how long Veronica and Logan would be broken up this time. They had one of those volatile, dramatic, relationships that constantly veered between perfection and destruction. Somehow she just didn't think that Piz could compete. Of course, he was a lot more restful.
Logan threw himself down on the bed, "The hell it doesn't concern me. Me and Dick have been planning a pre-summer blowout weekend all month, just us, our friends, and some willing ladies. I do not need Veronica snooping around trying to get my friends arrested. And why in the world would Dick think you and Weevil are dating? Last I heard you were in nerd heaven with your geeky boy toy."
Mac sighed and shrugged, "Veronica set this up. I guess she didn't think Dick would invite him out of the goodness of his heart."
"So she could have just brought Weevil as her date, its not like anyone would be shocked." Logan smirked, turning to Weevil, "And admit it Weevs you've wanted to get Veronica alone in a hotel room for years."
Weevil gave Logan a bored look, "Well since she's bringing Piz, I wouldn't want to be a third wheel."
If he was looking for a reaction he didn't get one. Logan just snorted. "Oh yeah, I nearly forgot about him."
This time the knock on the door was Veronica, who was not overly pleased to see Logan. However her reaction was positively overjoyed compared to Piz's. The bruises on his face were turning a spectacular shade of green, and the look he shot Logan when he walked through the door screamed dislike.
For a moment there was one of those incredibly awkward silences that Mac never knew how to fill. The Logan bounced to his feet, "Well nice catching up Mac, Weevil. We'll have to spend some quality time together this weekend. I'll just get out of your hair" Throwing a smirk at Weevil, "or not as the case may be. You know how it is, booze to drink, ladies to woo." He didn't speak to Veronica or Piz as he brushed past them, just nodded and kept walking.
After the door slammed behind Logan, it was Weevil who broke the silence, "Alright V, what's the plan?
Veronica looked away from the closed door, drew a breath, and exhaled noisily, "Here's the thing, and I was hired by a faculty member who was blackmailed. Over the course of a year the victim gave up their life savings, but of course the blackmail hasn't stopped. The blackmailer is Larry Smidt, Hearst junior, all around scumbag, and one of Dick Jr's drinking buddies. My job is to find out what happened to the money. Best case scenario is to get it back, second best is to find something incriminating that I can use as leverage on Larry. The guy is pretty seedy so I have high hopes that we'll find something. Plan A is to plant a bug in his room, steal his laptop, search his files, copy anything related to finances or anything criminal and replace the laptop without him knowing - until I blow him out of the water."
Mac found herself nodding, plan A seemed pretty straightforward.
"So Mac does her computer voodoo, but where exactly do I fit in?" Weevil questioned.
Veronica smiled at him, "You're more in the way of the back-up plan. If everything goes the way I want all you have to do is hang out and look pretty. However Larry has a history of violence. He was kicked out of three different high schools for fighting and even put a guy in the hospital once. He's a creep and I need a visible threat to control him."
Weevil stood up and gave Veronica a hard look, "I hate to break it to you but I'm not exactly in top form, my knee is still pretty banged up. I don't know how well I'd do in a straight up fight right now."
"Ah, but that's the beauty of my plan. Larry is a bit of a bully, picking on people smaller and weaker then him. All we have to do is make Larry think you are a hardened criminal with the kind of connections that could get him killed." Veronica seemed pretty proud of her plan but Weevil still had an extremely doubtful look on his face.
"Yeah, and in my spare time I work as a maintenance guy, you know, as a hobby." Weevil crossed his arms over his chest and waited for Veronica's response.
"You are on parole. And you wanted a job where you could pickup impressionable young co-eds." At the co-eds part Veronica smiled perkily over at Mac. Weevil rubbed the back of his head with his hand and sighed. Veronica tilted her head to the side, smiled, and said, "Weevil, you know you miss being the big bad biker, just think of this weekend as a chance to play him again for a little while. How could you turn that down?" Weevil stared at the ground for a second before agreeing and Mac found herself wondering if he really wanted to go back to how he was in high school.
"Any more objections?" She paused for a second, meeting Weevil's eyes first then Mac's, "Good. Here's the plan, Logan and Dick rented out the patio for dinner at six, we all go down, mingle; I meet up with Larry who I regale with tales of Weevil's supreme badness. Mac you and Piz will need to sneak off, break into his room, steal his computer, and plant the bug. Text me when it's done. Then you do your computer magic. I'll keep an eye on Larry and make sure he doesn't go back to his room. I'll text if you if he starts moving. If he does then you'll need to get the laptop back without him knowing - even if you haven't found anything. If he knows we are on to him I'm not sure what he'll do." Veronica handed Mac a tiny bug in a little plastic case.
Mac felt a little relieved she wouldn't have to stay at the party - committing crimes was still better then making small talk. But she still had some reservations, "Um, are you sure you want me doing the actual breaking and entering? You know Q usually gets to stay back and play with the gadgets. Plus, I don't even know how to break into a room."
Veronica still had that confident smile on her face, "You'll be fine. I'll keep an eye on Larry. Plus, you won't be alone; I'm sending Piz with you." Mac suppressed a sigh; she didn't think Piz was all that experienced in B&E either. "As for how you get in, ta da," she exclaimed dramatically as she pulled a key card on a lanyard out of her pocket, "This master key will get you in any room in the place. They really should pay the maids at this hotel more. He's in room 438."
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Next - Chapter 2