Crossover Fic: Dead Ahead [ Highlander/Veronica Mars | Chapter Five | PG13 ]
Title: Dead Ahead.
Rating: PG…to be safe.
Author jinxed_wood
Fandoms: Veronica Mars/Highlander
Characters; Veronica Mars, Logan Echolls, Methos, Joe, ensemble from both shows.
Spoilers: Post ‘Donut Run’ for Veronica Mars, the entire series for Highlander.
Previous Parts: CHAPTER ONE | CHAPTER TWO | CHAPTER THREE | CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE: AHEAD OF THE GAME
Lamb was having way too much fun with the situation, and experience told Veronica he was just getting started. He had kept her standing on the deck for well over an hour while he interrogated her, and she was finding it hard to concentrate - probably because she could feel the weight of Joe Dawson’s gun bump against her elbow as she shifted her weight in his coat. If Lamb got it into his head to search her, she was screwed.
Joe Dawson didn’t seem concerned about the possibility, which just went to show how ridiculously naïve he was about the local police force. She eyed the cops tramping on the sand below. Luckily, the evidence backed up their story. They had found footprints on the beach, and the prints had no heel, which meant the attacker had been running away from the scene at full tilt.
Harry Proctor was mighty spry for someone who had just taken a bullet to the head.
Veronica risked a sly glance at Dawson. He was leaning heavily on his cane, a look of exasperation on his face.
“Are we finished here yet?” he asked, impatiently.
“Oh, we haven’t even started,” Lamb drawled.
“Yeah, I kind of noticed that,” Joe said shortly. “Shouldn’t you be chasing down the attacker, rather than grilling the victim?”
“Ah, but we haven’t yet established Miss Mars is the actual victim,” Lamb said, with a smirk. “For all we know, she was the perpetrator of the crime. After all, she is the subject of an FBI investigation.”
Joe stared at him. “Are you for real?” he asked. “The girl has a ring of bruises around her neck - which haven’t been checked out by a medic yet, by the way.”
“Tell it to the-
“Wizard,” Joe finished, cutting him off. “You know what? I getting pretty tired of you mouthing off, so charge us, or let us go.” Lamb scowled, and Veronica smothered a sigh.
“I think I smell a misdemeanour in the air,” Lamb said.
“And I smell a lawsuit,” a voice called out from behind the Sheriff. Veronica smirked as she spotted Cliff striding towards them.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t our local ambulance chaser. What’s the matter - ran out of hookers to bail out of jail?”
“Nice to see you’re still your charming self, Sheriff,” Cliff said.
“What are you doing here, Cliff?”
“Well, a funny thing happened to me on my way home to a well deserved night of rest,” Cliff sighed. “I got a call from Keith Mars. He seems to be under the strange impression that his daughter might be in need of legal aid while he was absent. He thought that you might forget his daughter was brutally attacked tonight, and try to interrogate her while she should be seeking medical attention. Of course, now I can see that his fears were totally unfounded.”
“You lot must think I’m a complete fool,” Lamb said flatly. “We found blood on the scene - human blood, not canine blood. I know you’re not telling me everything.”
Veronica rolled her eyes. “Sorry I can’t help you, deputy - my Daddy taught me not to embellish the truth.” She gave him a saccharine sweet smile.
“Oh yes, you’re just sugar and spice, aren’t you?” Lamb said flatly.
“Sheriff?” a deputy called out.
“Yeah, what is it?” Lamb barked.
“We've got a match for the prints.”
“You have a name?” Lamb asked, smirking as he shot Dawson a look.
The deputy moved on his feet nervously. We don’t have a name,” he admitted, “The prints are connected to another crime scene.”
Lamb straightened. “What crime scene?”
“A murder in New York last month,” the deputy said uncomfortably.
“Uh-oh, I guess that rules me out of your investigation,” Veronica said chirpily.
Lamb threw her a disgusted look. “If you think that this lets you off the hook-”
“Uh…sheriff?” the deputy interjected quietly.
“What!”
“The victim at the other murder scene was decapitated.” For a moment there was a blanket of silence, before the deputy added. “Agent Morris is on the radio, asking for you.”
Lamb’s lip curled. “Tell Agent Morris I’ll get back to her,” he said. “And then get down to that damned beach.”
The deputy frowned “Sir?”
“I want you to follow those footprints as far as they go, and find out where he left the sand.”
“And the good Sheriff finally decides to follow the evidence,” Cliff said. There was a bite to his words.
“Shut up, Cliff."
“So, does that mean I’m a free woman?” Veronica asked lightly.
“Not so fast, Mars; you still haven’t explained Mr Dawson’s presence.”
“I thought it would be rather obvious,” Dawson piped up. “I wanted to talk to Miss Mars about finding my friend's remains, and I interrupted her attacker when I got here.”
Lamb gave him a sharp look. “Some might see that as interfering with a police investigation.”
“First there would need to be an investigation to interrupt,” Dawson shot back.
“Ha, ha,” Lamb said. “Don’t leave-”
“Town,” Dawson said. “Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time.” He darted a look at Veronica. “Need a lift to the hospital?”
“Why thank you, Mr Dawson,” Veronica said. “That’s so kind of you.”
Dawson’s lips twitched. “Just trying to do my duty as a good Samaritan,” he drawled, laying it on with a trowel.
Lamb rolled his eyes. "Get the hell out of my sight."
~~*~*~~
Veronica slumped into the passenger seat of Joe’s car, feeling the last of her adrenaline rush seep away. She watched as Dawson gave Lamb a cheery wave before he got into the car. “You know, you’ll get nowhere antagonising that guy,” Veronica said wearily. “He just gets mean.”
”Doesn’t seem to stop you,” Dawson said, amusement showing in his voice.
“Yeah, well, I’m just ornery that way,” Veronica, “So where to now, Jeeves?”
“That’s up to you,” Dawson said “We can go to my hotel suite, and I’ll fill you in on the gory details, or I can drop you off at the local emergency room, and we can pretend this night never happened.”
“Sorry, Toto, but Dorothy ain’t going back to Kansas anytime soon,” Veronica drawled.
“My hotel room it is, then,” he said, starting the engine.
Veronica smirked. “I’ll bet that sounded a lot less pervy in your head.”
“Just a bit,” Dawson agreed, as he pulled out. A cell phone chirped in the pocket of Dawson's coat and Veronica raised an eyebrow at him as she took it out and answered it.
“Joe, where have you been? There’s been a new development.” The accent was Scottish
“Sorry, Joe can’t come to the phone at the moment” Veronica said lightly. “Can I take a message?”
“Who the hell is this?”
“Give me that,” Dawson said, grabbing the cell phone from her fingers. “Mac? It’s me.”
Veronica watched impatiently as Dawson listened to the guy on the phone, a frown developing on his face. “Yeah, I know. I was there when it happened,” he said into the phone, before he listened again. “Nobody has reported in yet,” he said, eventually. “I’ll let you know when I hear something.” He ended the call, and tossed the phone onto the dashboard.
Veronica quirked an eyebrow. “Care to fill me in?” she asked.
“When we get to the Neptune Grand,” he said, weariness showing in his voice. “I don’t think I should be driving when we-” His cell phone rang again, and he snatched at it. Joe Dawson was a real popular guy.
“That’s illegal, I’ll have you know,” she said, as he snapped it open.
“Yeah, well, tell it to the wizard, Dorothy,” he said, with a smirk. “Dawson,” he said, into the phone, and then his face brightened. “About time,” he said. “When did they let you out?”
She watched as a gamut of emotions ran across his face and she didn’t have to be a genius to figure out who Joe was talking to; his friend, Adam Pierson. Agent Morris must have lost interest in him once she realised she might have a nice juicy serial killer on her hook.
Veronica bit her lip as they pulled into the Neptune Grand’s garage, her mind flashing back to what had happened earlier. She remembered the look of shock and surprise on Harry Proctors face as the bullet went through his brain, and Dawson’s insistence that he was still alive. Reality was beginning to settle on her, and she shivered as the car came to the halt. What if Joe Dawson had lied to her? It wouldn't be the first time someone had fooled her. Maybe somebody had carried the body away and covered up the evidence-
Bang!
The first shot was deafening, and Dawson threw himself on her, pushing her head down below the windows. Another shot blasted the air, smashing the passenger window to bits.
“My Gun,” Joe rasped out.
It took Veronica a few moments for his words to sink in, and she pulled out his gun from his coat and pushed it into his hands. He reached across her, and opened the passenger door. “When I give the word, I want you to run for the emergency stairs and get to my room as fast as you can," he said. "Tell Adam I’m pinned down; seventh floor, room 610. I’ll cover you.”
Another shot took out the back window, and Veronica winced, “You can come with me!” she insisted, not wanting to leave him alone with an unseen gunman.
“The days when I could run for cover are long gone, kid,” Dawson said dryly. “Don’t worry, it’s not the first time I’ve been in this situation - now, run.”
He raised his gun and fired, and Veronica rolled out of the car, and ran for the stairs, slamming into the emergency doors at full tilt. She had barely made it up a flight, when she heard the doors open again, below her. Her heart sank as she heard footsteps running up behind her - definitely not Dawson.
A bullet skinned the wall, mere inches from her face, and Veronica began to panic. She’d never make it to seventh floor using the stairs, she had to improvise.
He was gaining on her, and Veronica desperately threw herself through the next set of doors, and stumbled into a carpeted hallway. She turned the corner and found herself in the lobby. Slowing to a walk, she looked around. There was security at the door, and a dozen well heeled potential witnesses lounging on the deep leather couches. Hopefully, he wasn’t crazy enough to shoot her in public. As casually as she could, she made her way to the elevator and stabbed at the button.
A moment later, Proctor ran into the lobby and Veronica felt something in her chest squeeze. It was true, it was all true.
He eyed her across the lobby, his hand jammed inside his coat, and Veronica’s eyes veered to the entrance. The security guards were armed. If she walked in their direction, maybe he’d decide to give up the chase.
Veronica wasn’t sure what happened next. It was as if Proctor walked into a solid wall. She watched him throw his eyes around the lobby, as if he was frantically searching for someone, and the elevator doors slid open.
Adam Pierson stepped out, a grim expression on his face. “Where’s Joe,” he asked, not taking his eyes off Proctor.
“The garage,” Veronica said.
He nodded. “Why don’t you go and find him,” he said flatly. “Mr Proctor and I are going to have a little chat.”
“He’s got a gun,” Veronica told him.
Pierson smiled humourlessly. “He isn’t going to shoot me,” he said confidently.
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Veronica said. “The guy gets his jollies from chopping people’s heads off. In my book, that definitely makes him axe murderer material.”
For the first time since he stepped out of the elevator, Adam looked down at her. “I’ll keep that in mind," he said, with a slight twitch of his lips, before he strode across the lobby.
Veronica frowned, Joe Dawson owed her a lot of answers.
~~~CHAPTER SIX~~
Rating: PG…to be safe.
Author jinxed_wood
Fandoms: Veronica Mars/Highlander
Characters; Veronica Mars, Logan Echolls, Methos, Joe, ensemble from both shows.
Spoilers: Post ‘Donut Run’ for Veronica Mars, the entire series for Highlander.
Previous Parts: CHAPTER ONE | CHAPTER TWO | CHAPTER THREE | CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE: AHEAD OF THE GAME
Lamb was having way too much fun with the situation, and experience told Veronica he was just getting started. He had kept her standing on the deck for well over an hour while he interrogated her, and she was finding it hard to concentrate - probably because she could feel the weight of Joe Dawson’s gun bump against her elbow as she shifted her weight in his coat. If Lamb got it into his head to search her, she was screwed.
Joe Dawson didn’t seem concerned about the possibility, which just went to show how ridiculously naïve he was about the local police force. She eyed the cops tramping on the sand below. Luckily, the evidence backed up their story. They had found footprints on the beach, and the prints had no heel, which meant the attacker had been running away from the scene at full tilt.
Harry Proctor was mighty spry for someone who had just taken a bullet to the head.
Veronica risked a sly glance at Dawson. He was leaning heavily on his cane, a look of exasperation on his face.
“Are we finished here yet?” he asked, impatiently.
“Oh, we haven’t even started,” Lamb drawled.
“Yeah, I kind of noticed that,” Joe said shortly. “Shouldn’t you be chasing down the attacker, rather than grilling the victim?”
“Ah, but we haven’t yet established Miss Mars is the actual victim,” Lamb said, with a smirk. “For all we know, she was the perpetrator of the crime. After all, she is the subject of an FBI investigation.”
Joe stared at him. “Are you for real?” he asked. “The girl has a ring of bruises around her neck - which haven’t been checked out by a medic yet, by the way.”
“Tell it to the-
“Wizard,” Joe finished, cutting him off. “You know what? I getting pretty tired of you mouthing off, so charge us, or let us go.” Lamb scowled, and Veronica smothered a sigh.
“I think I smell a misdemeanour in the air,” Lamb said.
“And I smell a lawsuit,” a voice called out from behind the Sheriff. Veronica smirked as she spotted Cliff striding towards them.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t our local ambulance chaser. What’s the matter - ran out of hookers to bail out of jail?”
“Nice to see you’re still your charming self, Sheriff,” Cliff said.
“What are you doing here, Cliff?”
“Well, a funny thing happened to me on my way home to a well deserved night of rest,” Cliff sighed. “I got a call from Keith Mars. He seems to be under the strange impression that his daughter might be in need of legal aid while he was absent. He thought that you might forget his daughter was brutally attacked tonight, and try to interrogate her while she should be seeking medical attention. Of course, now I can see that his fears were totally unfounded.”
“You lot must think I’m a complete fool,” Lamb said flatly. “We found blood on the scene - human blood, not canine blood. I know you’re not telling me everything.”
Veronica rolled her eyes. “Sorry I can’t help you, deputy - my Daddy taught me not to embellish the truth.” She gave him a saccharine sweet smile.
“Oh yes, you’re just sugar and spice, aren’t you?” Lamb said flatly.
“Sheriff?” a deputy called out.
“Yeah, what is it?” Lamb barked.
“We've got a match for the prints.”
“You have a name?” Lamb asked, smirking as he shot Dawson a look.
The deputy moved on his feet nervously. We don’t have a name,” he admitted, “The prints are connected to another crime scene.”
Lamb straightened. “What crime scene?”
“A murder in New York last month,” the deputy said uncomfortably.
“Uh-oh, I guess that rules me out of your investigation,” Veronica said chirpily.
Lamb threw her a disgusted look. “If you think that this lets you off the hook-”
“Uh…sheriff?” the deputy interjected quietly.
“What!”
“The victim at the other murder scene was decapitated.” For a moment there was a blanket of silence, before the deputy added. “Agent Morris is on the radio, asking for you.”
Lamb’s lip curled. “Tell Agent Morris I’ll get back to her,” he said. “And then get down to that damned beach.”
The deputy frowned “Sir?”
“I want you to follow those footprints as far as they go, and find out where he left the sand.”
“And the good Sheriff finally decides to follow the evidence,” Cliff said. There was a bite to his words.
“Shut up, Cliff."
“So, does that mean I’m a free woman?” Veronica asked lightly.
“Not so fast, Mars; you still haven’t explained Mr Dawson’s presence.”
“I thought it would be rather obvious,” Dawson piped up. “I wanted to talk to Miss Mars about finding my friend's remains, and I interrupted her attacker when I got here.”
Lamb gave him a sharp look. “Some might see that as interfering with a police investigation.”
“First there would need to be an investigation to interrupt,” Dawson shot back.
“Ha, ha,” Lamb said. “Don’t leave-”
“Town,” Dawson said. “Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time.” He darted a look at Veronica. “Need a lift to the hospital?”
“Why thank you, Mr Dawson,” Veronica said. “That’s so kind of you.”
Dawson’s lips twitched. “Just trying to do my duty as a good Samaritan,” he drawled, laying it on with a trowel.
Lamb rolled his eyes. "Get the hell out of my sight."
~~*~*~~
Veronica slumped into the passenger seat of Joe’s car, feeling the last of her adrenaline rush seep away. She watched as Dawson gave Lamb a cheery wave before he got into the car. “You know, you’ll get nowhere antagonising that guy,” Veronica said wearily. “He just gets mean.”
”Doesn’t seem to stop you,” Dawson said, amusement showing in his voice.
“Yeah, well, I’m just ornery that way,” Veronica, “So where to now, Jeeves?”
“That’s up to you,” Dawson said “We can go to my hotel suite, and I’ll fill you in on the gory details, or I can drop you off at the local emergency room, and we can pretend this night never happened.”
“Sorry, Toto, but Dorothy ain’t going back to Kansas anytime soon,” Veronica drawled.
“My hotel room it is, then,” he said, starting the engine.
Veronica smirked. “I’ll bet that sounded a lot less pervy in your head.”
“Just a bit,” Dawson agreed, as he pulled out. A cell phone chirped in the pocket of Dawson's coat and Veronica raised an eyebrow at him as she took it out and answered it.
“Joe, where have you been? There’s been a new development.” The accent was Scottish
“Sorry, Joe can’t come to the phone at the moment” Veronica said lightly. “Can I take a message?”
“Who the hell is this?”
“Give me that,” Dawson said, grabbing the cell phone from her fingers. “Mac? It’s me.”
Veronica watched impatiently as Dawson listened to the guy on the phone, a frown developing on his face. “Yeah, I know. I was there when it happened,” he said into the phone, before he listened again. “Nobody has reported in yet,” he said, eventually. “I’ll let you know when I hear something.” He ended the call, and tossed the phone onto the dashboard.
Veronica quirked an eyebrow. “Care to fill me in?” she asked.
“When we get to the Neptune Grand,” he said, weariness showing in his voice. “I don’t think I should be driving when we-” His cell phone rang again, and he snatched at it. Joe Dawson was a real popular guy.
“That’s illegal, I’ll have you know,” she said, as he snapped it open.
“Yeah, well, tell it to the wizard, Dorothy,” he said, with a smirk. “Dawson,” he said, into the phone, and then his face brightened. “About time,” he said. “When did they let you out?”
She watched as a gamut of emotions ran across his face and she didn’t have to be a genius to figure out who Joe was talking to; his friend, Adam Pierson. Agent Morris must have lost interest in him once she realised she might have a nice juicy serial killer on her hook.
Veronica bit her lip as they pulled into the Neptune Grand’s garage, her mind flashing back to what had happened earlier. She remembered the look of shock and surprise on Harry Proctors face as the bullet went through his brain, and Dawson’s insistence that he was still alive. Reality was beginning to settle on her, and she shivered as the car came to the halt. What if Joe Dawson had lied to her? It wouldn't be the first time someone had fooled her. Maybe somebody had carried the body away and covered up the evidence-
Bang!
The first shot was deafening, and Dawson threw himself on her, pushing her head down below the windows. Another shot blasted the air, smashing the passenger window to bits.
“My Gun,” Joe rasped out.
It took Veronica a few moments for his words to sink in, and she pulled out his gun from his coat and pushed it into his hands. He reached across her, and opened the passenger door. “When I give the word, I want you to run for the emergency stairs and get to my room as fast as you can," he said. "Tell Adam I’m pinned down; seventh floor, room 610. I’ll cover you.”
Another shot took out the back window, and Veronica winced, “You can come with me!” she insisted, not wanting to leave him alone with an unseen gunman.
“The days when I could run for cover are long gone, kid,” Dawson said dryly. “Don’t worry, it’s not the first time I’ve been in this situation - now, run.”
He raised his gun and fired, and Veronica rolled out of the car, and ran for the stairs, slamming into the emergency doors at full tilt. She had barely made it up a flight, when she heard the doors open again, below her. Her heart sank as she heard footsteps running up behind her - definitely not Dawson.
A bullet skinned the wall, mere inches from her face, and Veronica began to panic. She’d never make it to seventh floor using the stairs, she had to improvise.
He was gaining on her, and Veronica desperately threw herself through the next set of doors, and stumbled into a carpeted hallway. She turned the corner and found herself in the lobby. Slowing to a walk, she looked around. There was security at the door, and a dozen well heeled potential witnesses lounging on the deep leather couches. Hopefully, he wasn’t crazy enough to shoot her in public. As casually as she could, she made her way to the elevator and stabbed at the button.
A moment later, Proctor ran into the lobby and Veronica felt something in her chest squeeze. It was true, it was all true.
He eyed her across the lobby, his hand jammed inside his coat, and Veronica’s eyes veered to the entrance. The security guards were armed. If she walked in their direction, maybe he’d decide to give up the chase.
Veronica wasn’t sure what happened next. It was as if Proctor walked into a solid wall. She watched him throw his eyes around the lobby, as if he was frantically searching for someone, and the elevator doors slid open.
Adam Pierson stepped out, a grim expression on his face. “Where’s Joe,” he asked, not taking his eyes off Proctor.
“The garage,” Veronica said.
He nodded. “Why don’t you go and find him,” he said flatly. “Mr Proctor and I are going to have a little chat.”
“He’s got a gun,” Veronica told him.
Pierson smiled humourlessly. “He isn’t going to shoot me,” he said confidently.
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Veronica said. “The guy gets his jollies from chopping people’s heads off. In my book, that definitely makes him axe murderer material.”
For the first time since he stepped out of the elevator, Adam looked down at her. “I’ll keep that in mind," he said, with a slight twitch of his lips, before he strode across the lobby.
Veronica frowned, Joe Dawson owed her a lot of answers.
~~~CHAPTER SIX~~