monsters | riverdale

Unbelievable

"I have to assume this was my father's doing," Veronica murmurs.

Mickey scoffs, "Who else, Ronnie?" She frowns deeply. "Of course his final farewell has to be all about Archie."

Betty shifts uncomfortably at the idea of her Archie still being targeted because of Hiram's never-ending obsession. "Yeah, if it wasn't Hiram who put the bomb under Archie's bed, then he probably paid someone to do it. But, on the plus side, the FBI's finally making Hiram's immediate capture a priority."

"That's amazing, Bee." Veronica says, "And we want to help. I'm reaching out to Hermosa to get information about my father's below-board operations, the locations of his safe houses, his known and suspected contacts, anything and everything that will help bring him in."

"Thank you, guys," Betty smiles at her friends. "I appreciate it."

✿

That very same evening, Mickey and Veronica are having dinner together at a mutually-favored restaurant.

"Do you really think Hermosa is gonna give up daddy's location?" Mickey wonders. "I mean, she's always been his loyal servant. More than she's been a sister."

"Maybe she will," Veronica states positively. "But I have some of my own privileged information about daddy's criminal empire. Everything someone would need to hunt him down and make him pay."

"For Betty's investigation?"

"No. It's not for the FBI." When her sister gives her a confused look, Veronica explains: "Daddy's had many chances. A more...permanent solution needs to happen. Which is why I am reaching out to the underworld...and putting a bounty on his head. A cool two million."

Mickey's utensils clatter on to her plate when they drop out of her hands. "Ronnie," she breathes. "No matter what Hiram has done, he's still our father."

"You're giving me the loving daughter act?" She rolls her eyes. "This is an act of self-preservation. Our father will never stop gunning for us."

"And we'll prevail. We always do. This isn't how we handle things."

"Maybe that's the problem," Veronica states. "I never want him to hurt us or our friends ever again."

Mickey leans back in her seat, her appetite lost. "You can word it however you like, but let's call it what it is, Veronica. You're so scared of fully being in that world, but you're in it and killing Hiram would solidify it. It's not right."

"You sound like Reggie."

"And you sound like the very man you're trying to hunt. I can't be a part of that."

✿

Ignoring the dreary weather that the next day has provided, Mickey stands outside of the diner. She needed privacy to make the phone calls she needed to and didn't need anyone inside listening in.

She has had to use every contact that she still has in the underworld to find the hitman that Veronica has reached out to. For years, she's separated herself from the darkness of that world—or at least she's tried.

Contacting the hitman has become important not only to save her father's life, but to save Archie and the town of Riverdale. According to Toni and Fangs, Hiram made a deal with the Ghoulies; he would continue to fund them while he's banished from town as long as they get two things done—1) killing Archie and 2) destroying Riverdale. He's the only person able to call them off.