24

                                    

                                          
La La watched as Jughead walked by her after school " Hey, where are you going?" she asked as she walked beside him. "I'm going to talk to Pop," Jughead said as she continued to follow him to their bikes. "Well, I'm going with you" La La stated as she looked over at Jughead. "Look I don't need protection" Jughead stated as he got on his bike. "Someone has to look out for you" La La stated as she got on hers. 
                          
The two walked in the direction of Pop's, the diner empty due to the time. "Why aren't you with Sweet Pea?" Jughead asked as they entered the diner. "because I gave Betty my word to keep an eye on you" La La said as she sat down on a stool. "Usual, Jughead?" Pop asked as he looked over to see Jughead."Not today, Pop. I actually have a question for you. Did Hiram Lodge buy this diner from you?" as Jughead asked Pop, La La saw how Pop sighed with despair. 
                          
"Jughead. The Tates have owned this diner for over 80 years. When my ma gave me the keys, she made me promise that no matter what, I'd always keep this shop in our family. Now, I did what I needed to with Mr. Lodge but my mother's still with us, God bless. It would kill her to hear I went against her wishes. Please, Jug, can you keep this to yourself while I still have my mom? And then you can tell whoever you want" Pop looked like he was too ashamed he had sold the diner to Hiram. La La knew they couldn't use this for the paper. 
                          
"Look we can't use this. It'll crush Pop" La La said as they walked back out of the diner. "I agree with you on that" Jughead said as they both looked over at Pop through the window. 
                          
It was late that night. La La and Sweet Pea watched a movie on the TV. Sweet Pea stroked La La's hair as she had her head rested on his lap. The vibration of La La's phone had gotten their attention. "What" La La said as she sat up, taking a sip of Sweet Pea's beer. "meet me at the bus station," Jughead said as he hung up quickly. La La furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at the phone. "What was that about?" Sweet Pea asked as he saw her getting her boots on. "Jug said to meet him at the bus station" La La stated as she pulled her jacket on.
                          
 "Layla, you can't get mixed in with Jughead's hunt for information on Hiram" Sweet Pea said as he walked towards the door to stop her. "Sweets, its fine. I'll be fine. I will be back as soon as I can" La La said as she hugged his waist, before kissing his lips softly. "Be careful?" Sweet Pea said before kissing her again. "I'll be home as soon as I can," La La said as she opened the door. 
                          
As La La pulled up to the bus station, Jughead as pulling in at the same time. "What the hell are we doing?" La La said as she stalked over to Jughead. "I got a call from someone to meet here," Jughead said as he walked in the direction of the bus station. "This is fucked up, we're going to get killed one day" La La huffed as she followed the Jones boy. 
                          
"Are you Deep Throat?" Jughead asked as he took a stead behind an old man. La La sat next to Jughead as the old man said "You've been calling everyone in town for information about Hiram Lodge but not me. That's why I called you". La La scrunched her eyebrows wondering who this man was. "No offense, but how does a bus driver have insider information on Hiram Lodge?" Jughead scoffed as he peeked over his shoulder to look at the bus driver. "I used to be someone else, someone who was privy to Hiram Lodge's personal affairs. Someone who suffered at his whims" The bus driver sighed as he said this. "What kind of personal affairs?" La La asked as of how he could have been in Hiram Lodges affairs. " I coordinated transportation for Mr. Lodge, sometimes out to Shankshaw Prison. He also received mail from the warden there" The bus driver said as he began to get up from his seat. "Shankshaw?" both Jughead and La La asked as they stood up as well. as La La saw the bus drivers face she has seen him before, he was the chauffeur before Andre. "That's not where Hiram Lodge served time. I'm afraid that's all I have for you" he said before walking toward the exit leaving the two confused. "That's it?" Jughead asked as he took a step forward. " And one more thing. A question. Miss Veronica, how's she faring through all this?" He asked before opening the door and walking back into the night. "We need to get into Shanksaw" La La stated as she began to walk back to her bike. "I'll talk to my dad and I'll let you know," Jughead said as he placed his helmet on. 
                          
The trailer was dark by the time La La returned home, she quietly took her shoes and jacket off. Heading to the bathroom before getting in bed, La La thought about the information Hiram Lodge would be getting from Shanksaw. sighing as she turned the bathroom light off and going to the bedroom, where Sweet Pea was asleep. La La slid into the side of the bed pressing her body against Sweet Pea's back, her arms wrapped around his waist as she placed a kiss on his shoulder. 
                          
Sweet Pea groaned as he turned around to face La La, "what did Jughead want", his voice was hoarse from sleep. "That Hiram Lodge didn't serve time in Shanksaw, but he visited and gets mail from the warden" La La said as she nuzzled her head into Sweet Pea's chest. 
                          
The three Serpents rode their bikes to Shanksaw, The prison coming into their view as they rounded the corner. "so who are we seeing?" Jughead asked as they went through the metal detectors. "War Baby, he has intel on everyone around this place," PF said as he gestured the two teens to follow him. Few of the prisoners gave the three dirty looks as they walked by, a few hissing at them. "I'm guessing not everybody are fans of the Serpents?" La La asked as she gave a man a dirty look as he spits on the ground in front of her. 
                          
"What's up, Jonesy? You want me to knock some heads in here for ya?" a large dark skinned man asked as the three entered the visiting room. "No, War Baby, we need intel. You heard about anything major going on behind the scenes? Maybe to do with a guy named Hiram?" FP asked War Baby making him laugh, "Hiram Lodge?".