"The deed, the contract I signed, none of it matters. It was all fake. My dad owns Pops, and the Speakeasy, and I'm a fool for ever trusting him. And, on top of everything he's done to me, he's now planning on buying the entire town." I laughed coldly. "Yeah, Ronnie. You're dad sucks."
Sweet Pea gave me a look causing me a sigh until an idea popped into my head. "Wait a minute. What about all the shady stuff that goes down at the Speakeasy?" Veronica seemed to catch onto where I was going almost immediately. "If it's my dad's name on the deed, can't he be prosecuted for it?"
"Shady stuff as in..." I stepped forward eagerly. "Drinking without carding, and/or illegal gambling, let's say?" Veronica nodded, "Hiram did these things?"
"Well, technically no, not exactly. But if the property were under his name, doesn't that make him liable?" Ms.Andrews turned back to the table. "I think I might know someone who might be able to help."
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"Ardelia, and I went to Sara Florence together." I sat around the table with my hand in Sweet Pea's. "Now, she's my friend in the FBI." I internally laughed. Bet that's useful.
"The FBI has had there eye on Hiram Lodge for a long time. He served less than a year for embezzlement. So, whatever we can charge him with in the future, it's gotta be gang busters." I turned to Veronica who simply smiled. "How about serving alcohol to minors, and operating an illegal casino? And doctoring books?"
"Aren't those crimes you two committed?" Ardelia questioned looking between Veronica, and I. "My clients can neither confirm, nor deny that statement." Ms. Andrews replied saving our butts.
"Don't worry, we want your father, not you." Archie leant forward "If none of this will be enough to get Hiram arrested, then what will?"
"Catch him red-handed. We need to arrest Hiram commuting a crime in real time." Veronica nodded. "Understood, Agent Ardelia. Let me see what I can do."
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After getting a shift done at Pops, Sweet Pea, and I sat in my bed reading. Jughead's Fall Out Boy ringtone exploded from my phone making me sigh as I shifted around pulling it from my pocket.
AJ- Hello
JUG- I need your help
AJ- But, Jug, I'm tiirrreeed
Sweet Pea leant over to me dropping the chapter book he was pretending to read. "I can help." I could almost hear Jughead smile through the phone. "Actually, that's great. Sweet Pea, I could use you. Big, strong Sweet Pea." Sweet Pea laughed until Jughead mumbled, "Good for questioning."
"Uhhhhh. What?" A laugh fell from my lips. "Sweet Pea, can you meet me at Pops?"
"Uh, yeah, sure."
"Great, thanks." The call went silent signaling Jughead had hung up. "Are you sure you wanna do this?" Sweet Pea shrugged. "I'm not exactly fond of having to leave you, but at least it gets me away from this lame book." I gasped slapping him on the arm. "The Testing is not a lame book, you uncultured swine."
Sweet Pea laughed pecking me on the lips. "I love you." I smiled. "I love you too."
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Sweet Pea's p.o.v.
Look tough. That,s what I was told to do, look tough. I stood in the doorway of the student lounge with my hand clasped around the switchblade stashed in my pocket. "Ah." Jughead stepped up to a nerd-ish looking boy. That isnt too surprising considering he plays G&G, but I really shoudnt be one to criticize. "Its Louie right?" The nerd looked annoyed, "Yeah, and?"
"Well, this is kind of a funny story. But a Jester gave my girlfriend an envelope at prom, so I asked around. Jester's name is Jerry, Jerry told me that he got the envelope from a druid named Luna, Luna said that she got the envelope from a centaur named Louie," Jughead pointed at the boy."True, or false?" The nerd glanced up to find me glaring back at him. He gulped at a ridiculously overdramatic pitch, "Yeah, I gave it to Luna."
"So, here's the million dollar question me, and my friend would like answered," Jughead nodded back to me causing the boy to once again look at me. "Who'd you get the envelope from?" The boy set down his book, giving me one last anxious gaze before replying, "Some kid gave it to me. He looked homeless."
"A kid?" I could feel my eyebrows pull together. What kind of psychotic kid would play G&G? "Was he around thirteen? Brown hair, brown eyes?" Ricky. In that case, its not that surprising anymore. Louie nodded, and Jughead sighed standing up. "Thank you, Louie." Jug grabbed an apple off of the desk before walking past me. "Works every time."
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Back to AJ's p.o.v.
Honestly, I dont think I was very surprised when Veronica came knocking on my door late at night. I had a feeling she would be the one to come up with a plan before I could. "Veronica." I greeted with a warm smile. "Kira, I got a plan." And there you have it folks, proof that I am truly always right (despite what my brother tries to say.) "What is it, V?"
"Its like I told Archie, its gonna require that all of play our parts flawlessly. Archie's on phase one, but I want you to be there with me for phase two. If only, to experience the great victory of beating my father." I let out a laugh. "I wouldn't want it to happen any other way."
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The Next Day
"Really daddy? A boxing match?!" Hiram looked annoyed, "Archie challenged me to this fight in the presence of business associates. I couldn't look week, girls." Veronica huffed, "Well, you're not gonna win this." "Says who?" Hiram questioned angrily. "Says AJ, and I,.. and all the odds makers."
"What? People are betting on this?" I shrugged plastering the best innocent expression onto my face. "We've already gotten calls. The underworld's abuzz asking if V's taking bets at La Bonne Nuit." Veronica nodded, "Obviously, I don't want any part of it-" "Whoa, you said no? Girls, you can make some money off of this." Veronica pulled a face, "Maybe," she turned to me. "I mean, I do still owe that debt to him. What do you think, partner?" I gave Hiram a questioning look before turning back to Veronica. "You do have to pay off the debt, V."
"So, its settled, we'll run all the betting through La Bonne Nuit. I'll reach out to some friends. Everyone's gonna want a piece of the action. Its a win-win. And, Veronica, make no mistake, I will win." Veronica turned to me with a smirk until my unnecessary opinion fell from my lips. "Honestly, I don't think I would be too surprised if he really did win." Veronica's eyebrows knit together at the statement. "What? He's fit for a man his age."
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Sweet Pea's p.o.v.
While AJ was helping Veronica (with something that I apparently wasn't needed for), I got a call from Jughead asking to meet me in Fox Forest. If it wasn't already creepy enough, we were going to save Ricky from sacrificing himself to the Gargoyle King. I feel like I should've told AJ, but I didn't want her to worry, even though I am technically the worrier in our relationship (for good reason too with all the psychotic stuff she takes part in.) When we got to Ricky, he was sat on the ground with a coin in his hand. I suppose he was ready to flip for his fate, but I wasn't going to let that happen. "Ricky!" The boy turned around, "You.. you shouldn't be here." Jughead pulled him off of the ground while I kicked the cups to the ground, and knocked down the Gargoyle King replica. "No!" Ricky spun back around to Jughead with a dark look, "What did you do?"
"Listen kid, we're taking you back to civilization, alright?"
"I don't want to!" Ricky protested. "We've played this game!I know it makes you do some crazy things, but I need you alive 'cause we're gonna end this together." I stepped over to Jughead's side just as Ricky made an expression that could only be defined as creepy. "We answer to no one, but our king."
"'We'?" I questioned.
I heard a branch snap behind me to find at least twenty kids standing there with strange twigs carved into spears. I definitely didn't want to get shanked by one of those. "Kill them! Protect the Princess!" "Princess?" I turned back to Jug, "Who cares? Let's go!" Just as I said that, the strangely scary group of boys roared before charging after us. I grabbed onto Jughead's hand pulling him along. "Where are we supposed to go?!" Jughead looked around until his face lit up, and he pulled me to a porthole in the ground. Dilton's secret bunker, I almost forgot. Jughead pulled it open, and I hopped in, Jughead soon after closing the entrance. "Hellcaster," I spun around, and internally groaned. "Princess Etheline." Ethel was crying, "Help me, Jughead Jones. You're my only hope."
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"What are you doing down here?" Ethel sat on a bunk staring at the ground. "Hiding from the Gargoyle King. I'm terrified he's gonna kill me for failing my mission." "Mission? What mission?" Just as Jughead said those words, the pieces fell in place. "You were the one that told Ricky to send that letter during prom." Jughead stepped forward, "You led Betty right to the Gargoyle King, and the Black Hood? I thought you quit G&G. After Betty" Ethel shook her head, "She saved me from the Sister's false king, yes, but then, I rejoined the true king in the woods after... when I came back to him, he put me in charge of his lost boys."
"The Lord of the Flies gang that just chased Sweet Pea, and I through the woods with spears?" Jughead asked. "Ethel, you're playing G- alright. You're gonna tell me now, right now, who the Gargoyle King is." Ethel looked down, "I can't. I can't betray his trust."
"Even when you just said he's trying to kill you?" I questioned, a new sense of annoyance flooding over me. "He's... he's beautiful. Despite it all, I love him." Jughead gulped, and turned back to me. There is something seriously sick about this chick. Ethel began to sob, and I could see Jughead's face soften. "It's okay, but you,and the Lost Boys can't stay in these woods. You have to end this game. Will you?" Jughead held out his hand. After a moment of what I presume was deciding, Ethel took it which meant only one thing. She might be sick, but she wanted to get better, and I admire her for that. The only reason I ever quit G&G was for AJ. Heck, I think I'd quit breathing if she asked me to. That girl's got me going crazy.
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Jughead, Ethel, and I climbed out of the hatch to find the 'Lost Boys' with their spears all aimed at us. "Stand down, Lost boys. The Hellcaster, and Serpent are on our side. And, they've come bearing good news, our quest is complete." The boy's pulled down their weapons when I realized one of them wasn't there. "Where's Ricky?"
"He just took off." One of the boys replied nonchalantly like he wasn't just chasing us through the forest trying to kill us. "He's probably reporting back to the Gargoyle King, and the Black Hood." Ethel sighed turning back to the group. "Jack? Where's Jack?" "He went back to the bus to get his carving knife." The same boy answered. Ethel turned back to us with a maternally worried expression on our face. "We can't leave Jack behind, he's the youngest." Jughead huffed glancing back at the Lost Boys. "Okay, we'll find him." I nodded following after Jughead, but Ethel was quick to stop us. To be honest, this girl's beggining to get really annoying(, and needy.) "He's never gonna trust you on your own."
"Well, then, come on."
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"Jack?" Ethel called as we walked up to the bus, "Jack? Maybe, he's on the bus." I let out a heavy sigh following the two onto the school bus. I have a feeling I just got myself into some deep crap. "Jack, are you here?" A little boy in a scout uniform popped out from behind a chair. "I can't find my knife."
"Okay, I'll get you a new one, but right now, we have to go." As we got closer, the boy gave us a quizzical look. "Why'd you bring the Hellcaster?" Ethel barely spared Jughead, and I a glance. "It's okay, you can trust him. Both of them." The sound of loud metal scraping came from the other side of the junkyard. I leant forward into the window to get a better look. The Black Hood stepped out from behind the bush, and I grabbed Ethel, and the little boy pulling them down while Jughead followed our lead. " Get down, right now." Ethel went to say something, but Jughead's hand flew to cover her mouth as he shushed her. "Don't say another word," I warned. The scraping got closer. It was quiet for just a moment, but then a loud bang came from the hood of the bus.
"Go!" I whisper yelled, "Get the back door! Back door!" Ethel tried at the emergency exit, but it wouldn't work. "It won't budge!" I stepped in front of Jughead pulling out my switchblade as the Black Hood slowly stepped onto the bus. I gulped, this wasn't just intimidating some nerd from school, but I knew I had to be the one to protect these three. We weren't gonna die today, but hopefully... I won't have to fight the Black Hood to prove that. "Ethel, open the back door." Jughead said, "It won't budge!"
"Ethel, open the door!" The Black Hood made it to the stop step,and I was practically shivering in my steps. I'm going to die. I'm never going to have kids with AJ when we get married. I hope Jughead tells her I love her. Jughead groaned running back, "Move, Move!" After only two attempts, Jughead was able to kick the door open, and suddenly, I was no longer imagining what AJ would say at my funeral. "Sweet Pea! We gotta go! Go, GO!" I spun around darting out of the door after Ethel, and the little boy named Jack. Jughead jumped out, and I grabbed a piece of metal shoving it under the doorhandle to lock him in. The Black Hood tried to kick the door down a few times before giving up, and turning around. "He's going to the front!" I exclaimed running after him, and pushing the door shut before he could get to it. I had my back pressed against whilst the Black Hood attempted to get free. Jughead grabbed a metal pipe from off the ground, and shoved it in between the door handles right after I pulled away. "That's not gonna hold him. We have to go."
I heaved as I followed after the three.
I really did get myself into a load of crap.