I am so, so, so sorry for the delay. I've been working on other things and lost track of the time.

Thanks for the reviews last chapter.

I do not own these characters

The River Styx hadn't changed. It was still a small, dilapidated place that smelled like cheap beer, stale sweat, and dried piss. Logan had gotten used to the smell, from the many times he and Van Lowe had collaborated, so he barely noticed it. He did, however, notice Veronica's nose wrinkled up when they first stepped inside.

Logan scanned the dimly lit bar, noticing a few patrons playing pool while a few more sat at the counter. The one he was looking for was sitting in a corner booth, his face hidden in the shadows, a bottle of some Jack Daniels knock off sitting in front of him along with a shot glass.

"C'mon," Logan said and started towards the corner. He grabbed a chair from an empty table, plopped down right at the edge of Vinnie's table, and straddled it. He waited until Veronica was sitting across from Van Lowe before he said, "Are you okay to talk or should we come back?"

"I'm not sloshed if that…" Van Lowe's eyes settled on Veronica and his face broke out into a huge grin. "Well, well, well look what the cat dragged back to town."

"It's always a pleasure, Vinnie," Veronica retorted sardonically.

"You still an FBI agent?" he asked eyeing her cautiously.

"Are you still sleazy?" she replied raising her eyebrows.

Vinnie cleared his throat, turning to face Logan. "You never said anything about using cops. I don't care who her father is," he glanced at Veronica again, "I'm not…"

"Relax Vinnie. She's off duty." To prove his point, he gestured to the sling on her arm, trying to ignore the niggling feeling in his stomach. "Do you have any information on the murders or not?"

"Same fee?" Van Lowe asked after shrugging off Veronica's presence. "Unless you need my help." He wriggled his eyebrows, meeting Veronica's eyes.

"Pass," she stated narrowing her eyes.

"Thought I'd try." He looked back at Logan. "Same fee or what?"

"Deal," Logan said and gestured for him to continue.

"I heard it's either an elaborate mob hit," Vinnie started and the skepticism told Logan the older man didn't believe those words any further than he could throw them. "Or an escaped convict. As much as the second one makes sense, I don't believe that one either."

"So, what do you believe?" Veronica asked curiously.

"You first," he replied probably spotting something in Veronica's eyes. Logan knew Vinnie was a lot of things, but stupid wasn't one of them. "You two already have an idea who it is, don't you?"

"Maybe," Logan responded before Veronica could say anything. "We think it's a copycat from a case Veronica just wrapped up. The same case she got that." He nodded at her arm. "Have you heard about anyone new coming to town?"

"You mean besides a family from Miami and a couple of European tourists?" Vinnie retorted drily.

"Yes."

"I haven't, but you can try Kip."

"Is he even back in town?" Logan asked curiously.

"You can make as many citizen's arrests as you want, Echolls. Kip is not going to just abandon his pawn shop," Vinnie replied pouring himself a drink. "Besides, he's more connected than I am. Though," he pointed his glass at Veronica, "I wouldn't take her. He can spot a fed a mile away." He drained the glass, giving Logan a pointed look.

Veronica opened her mouth to, no doubt, tell Logan she wasn't sitting on the sidelines, but her phone rang, cutting her off. "I need to take this," she said after checking the screen. She slowly got to her feet and walked away from the two guys.

"What is she doin' back here?" Van Lowe asked the moment Veronica was out of ear shot. Logan merely grunted and glanced over at the short blonde. "Last I checked she bought a one way ticket out of here with no intention of comin' back." The younger guy was hardly paying attention to Vinnie, more preoccupied with watching Veronica. She looked troubled and seemed to be arguing with whoever was on the other end of her phone. "You think she's single?"

"What?" Logan turned to look Van Lowe's way just as Veronica returned to the table. She sat down heavily, sighed, and said, "My partner is on his way."

"Here?" Logan asked curiously.

"Great, that's all we need, more feds," Van Lowe muttered darkly pouring himself some more booze.

"No," Veronica answered Logan, glaring at Vinnie. She turned to Logan, meeting his dark eyes. "He's on his way to town. He thinks we need another set of eyes."

"Then you'd better go see Kip before the new guy comes to town," Vinnie said draining his glass. He stood, grabbing his bottle and glass. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I see the future Mrs. Van Lowe over there." He nodded at a clearly plastered, bleach blonde and started towards her with a sleazy grin on his face.

"Let's go," Veronica said getting to her feet, her face twisted in disgust.

"Yeah," Logan agreed following suit. As they headed towards the door, they heard Vinnie say, "Did you hurt yourself?"

"Ugh, that's just…" Veronica trailed off when she ran into someone. Logan looked up, his eyes narrowing when they landed on Liam Fitzpatrick.

"Well, look who's back in town," he said with a sneering smile on his face.

Mac headed towards her car, fumbling in her bag for her keys. She could still hear Weevil yelling, "Don't forget the extra sugar this time." She snorted, knowing he didn't need the extra sugar, but still going to get it anyway. If she didn't, she wouldn't hear the end of it.

Her hands just wrapped around her keys when she felt someone grab her from behind. Her shout of surprise was muffled as a hand wrapped around her mouth and began dragging her into an alleyway. She was thrown into a wall, a heavy pressure pressing down on her back. A knife dug into the side of her face and a voice whispered, "Don't scream otherwise I'll kill you."

Mac nodded, reaching for her bag. He hand wrapped around her taser just as she was spun around. She had enough time to meet a pair of green eyes before she slammed the end of her taser into her captor's neck. He shouted in surprise, letting her go, and she sprinted away from him, heading back towards M, N & E.

She burst into the door, slamming it shut and locking it. Behind her, as she raced back up the steps, she could hear the guy banging on the door. Ignoring him, she kept running until she was back in the office. Breathing heavily, she locked the door behind her, resting her forehead on the glass.

"You're back…" Weevil trailed off, and Mac could almost see his smile vanish from his face. "What happened?"

"H-he…" Mac tried to take in a deep breath, but she was finding it impossible. She didn't want to think about what had happened, didn't want to talk about it, but she knew she had to; the investigator in her needed her to say something. "I-I…"

"Is he still out there?" Weevil asked catching on quickly. Mac nodded, backing away from the door as Weevil unlocked it and tore out of the office. He returned a few moments later, frustration all over his face. "He's gone now."

"C-call…"

"Already did," he replied holding up his cell phone. "Keith's on his way." He wrapped his arms around her, and it took all her self-control not to flinch away. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she lied nodding. No, she was not fine. She was far from fricking fine. He could have… if she hadn't…

A shiver ran down her spine, and she tried really hard to suppress it. She wasn't supposed to be the victim anymore; she was supposed to help the victims. She wanted, no needed, this guy found; preferably tonight.