Veronica tapped the tip of her pen rapidly against the metal spine of her notebook. Glancing at the large clock in the bar at the Neptune Grande, she frowned. 2:15 pm – her interview was officially late. Not that she really wanted to be here anyway. Being a junior writer for "L.A. Now" meant that she had to take every assignment given to her by her editor. The drive down from Los Angeles gave her plenty of time to come up with questions for the new Mayor of Neptune, but there was only one that kept playing on repeat in her mind:

How the hell did this happen?

Shifting in her high-back chair, she adjusted her pencil skirt, pulling the hem lower towards her knees. Two days ago, she received the assignment. One day ago, she deemed every outfit in her closet unacceptable and spent the last of her food budget for the month on this ultra-professional –looking pencil skirt, white silk v-neck blouse, and blazer. She really hoped her dad sent her home with leftovers when she went to his place for lasagne later.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting." A husky voice projected from behind her and she jumped to her feet, trying to keep her heart from jumping out of her chest. "My meeting ran..."

Logan Echolls' mouth dropped open between the whiskers of his closely trimmed beard, his hand frozen in mid air pointed towards her in offer of a handshake, his eyes wide in shock.

"Hey." Veronica smiled, clutching the pen in her hand for dear life.

"Hey." He exhaled, his large brown eyes working their down her body before landing back on her face.

For a second she paused, taking him in as well. Gone was the boy she left behind all those years ago, and instead, he was replaced by this Tom Ford wearing, towering political figure of a man. She had done the research leading up to the interview – seen the photos and read the other stories – but it still didn't seem real until now.

"Not a ghost. Actually me." She chuckled with a shrug, trying to break the tension. "Since you look like you're seeing one."

The corner of his mouth twitched up into a smile. "I think I have. It's been a while, Veronica Mars. I almost forgot what you looked like."

Veronica's stomach turned, remembering the last time she saw him in the cafeteria all those years ago, beating the bloody hell out of Gory before laying the man at her feet in penance for all that had gone wrong.

"Have I changed that much?" She whispered, lost for a moment in thoughts of them.

Logan shrugged, walking around the coffee table and taking a seat in the matching chair just opposite from her, adjusting the sleeves on his suit jacket before placing his hands on the sturdy arms of the chair.

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out, won't we." He smirked, his eyes twinkling back at her. "You neglected to tell my Executive Assistant your name when you made this appointment for 'L.A. Now' so some things about you haven't changed."

Pursing her lips, Veronica lowered herself back into her chair, flipping open her notebook but saying nothing. So this was how it was going to be – first strike, Logan Echolls.

Tapping her pen against the paper, Veronica kept her gaze locked on her questions. "Since you're late, maybe we should just get to the questions. I know you're a very busy man now."

"I may be busy, but I will always have time for you, Veronica," he said, his voice quiet and sincere. "If I had known it was you that was interviewing me, I would have cancelled every other appointment I had for the day."

Glancing up quickly, she watched him open the button on his jacket, leaning forward towards her. "Ask me anything and I'll answer it for you."

Biting the side of her lip, Veronica looked across her notes again. She had a job to do. She had all the information about his quick rise to power – his degree in political science, how he found out his opponent was on the take and had him arrested by the Securities Commission, his landslide win without the help of Neptune's richest families.

"What I want is the story that I couldn't find online," she said, slowly, choosing her words carefully. "I know your political platform, your key messages on the issues, but I want the truth."

His eyes narrowed, darting around the space to see who else was around to hear their conversation. "What truth?"

"Your opponent was not just anyone – you took out Duncan Kane. You and I both know that Jake had been grooming him all his life – he returned to Neptune with Lilly just to run for office on Jake's insistence. You knocked out the prodigal son of Neptune and your old best friend and I'm the only other person on the planet that knows how hard that would be on a professional and personal level." Veronica stated, leaning towards him. "And I want to know what you aren't' telling anyone else - which is how and why you did it."

Pressing his lips together, Logan's face grew dark in a way she had only seen a few times. Rising quickly, he swept himself over to the chair right next to hers, his face coming in close as he leaned over the arm of the chair.

"You know as well as I do that Duncan wasn't fit to hold office. I don't care what kind of law degree he got in Australia, or what prime ministers he worked for." Logan hissed, his eyes darting around them to make sure no one was listening. "After what he did to you, that man had no right to hold office."

Veronica lurched back, her lip shaking as she processed what he was saying. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean – what he did to you at Shelley Pomroy's party. And what he did to Meg too for that matter – getting her pregnant then leaving her the minute he knew we had broken up. I couldn't see it then, but over the years, I realized what a snake my best friend was, and the minute I saw him again, I knew what I had to do."

"How?" She whispered, trying to find her words. "How did you do it?"

A wide grin spread across his face as a chuckle escaped from deep in his chest. "I guess your dad really does keep with his confidentiality clause."

Veronica's brain was clearly not working, because she swore she heard Logan Echolls tell her that Keith Mars helped him. "Dad? My dad?"

"Yes. Your dad. Funny thing is that whatever problems he may have had with me paled in comparison to the problems he had with the Kane family. He was more than happy to follow the few leads I had." Leaning back, he crossed his arms, the grin still plastered to his face. "And since the first best investigator I knew was gone, I had to settle for him."

Letting out a deep breath, Veronica moved back away from him, her mind turning at a furious pace. Once again, Logan had taken out one of the men in her life that had caused her pain – she just didn't know it at the time. Over the years, Duncan had only returned to her in nightmare form as her mind tried to fill in the blanks of the night he raped her. In college, Logan had been the only one she trusted with her nightmares – being the only one who witnessed them then. Right now, it seemed, he was back to being one of the few people she could still trust, even after all these years.

"If you want the story, I'll give you the story, Veronica," he said, interjecting into her thoughts. "But might I suggest we move up to the Penthouse, where no one can overhear our conversation."

Her head jerked back in shock. "You live here? Still?"

His deep laugh warmed her as he smiled back at her. "Why not? There's security, maid service, a gym and pool...and privacy."

A different warmth ran through her as she remembered their time together in the same space. "Oh. Right."

Standing, Logan offered her his hand, his smile never wavering. "Come on. You already know I don't bite – unless asked that is. Why don't we go upstairs and I can tell you the full story, guaranteed to win you a Pulitzer."

Her eyes narrowed as she smirked at him. "A Pulitzer, huh?"

Placing her hand in his, he pulled gently, guiding her up from her seat. When she stood, she was mere inches from him and she could feel his breath on her face just above her, sending a ripple of excitement through her. Pausing, she looked up into his eyes, still sparkling down at her with that youthful glee she remembered.

"Come on." His hand slipped down to her lower back to guide her around the table and her breath involuntarily hitched at his touch. "Do I have a story to tell you, Ms. Mars."

Turning away from him, Veronica stepped around the chair, pausing as he caught up to her. "And I can't wait to hear all about it, Mayor Echolls."