Round Table
The club was in big trouble this time. Not that being in trouble was a new thing; but it just seemed like the latest crisis in a long line of stuff. Stuff that was pushing Clay's tolerance to the limit. He sat at the table and silently took a good look around at his crew and brothers. He pondered how he was going to deliver the bad news.
Bobby 'Elvis' and Opie were the last to walk in, so his people were still settling down before the meeting started.
At his right sat his Sergeant-at-arms, faithful as always and with a laid back attitude as he sat in his chair. It was only the frown across his brow that gave any indication that Tig knew they were up the creek without a paddle. He was the only one at 'chapel' who knew about the bad news Clay was about to impart. Chibs had spoken to the both of them earlier; but was still on the phone to Ireland so wasn't at the meeting yet.
Unlike the rest of the club, Tig's recent time in jail hadn't appeared to have changed him. He had just taken it in his stride and done the time. He'd saved Clay's arse more than once in prison, for which he was grateful.
Although Clay thought that Tig had been acting a bit weird when they had first been released from prison. At the 'get out' party Tig hadn't got into his normal 'let's screw all of the pussy in range' routine. In fact, he'd pretty much kept to himself. Clay remembered that he had asked his friend if everything was okay, and had virtually got his head bitten off. Clay had put it down to too much drink and maybe some bad drugs. Tig had disappeared for almost two days after that bash, and had just told everyone he'd 'been making up for lost time' when asked where he had been.
Tig was back to his normal self now, though. He had soon returned to being his right-hand man when it came to club business, and Clay knew he could rely on him.
He wasn't quite as confident about his support from his left-hand side. Jax was still his V.P. but his time in Stockton had seemed to have curbed some of his attitude and outspokenness. Clay understood it himself; he knew time in jail gave you too much time to think and ponder about your past mistakes. He guessed that Jax hadn't got whatever-bullshit-he-was-going-through out of his system yet, and just needed more time. He had no idea that Jax was currently thinking of leaving Charming, SAMCRO and everything it represented.
It had been 'Piney', Kozik and Opie who had kept the garage business going during that time, and protected the interests of the club. Kozik had decided to stay around until things settled down, although there was still some tension between him and Tig.
It had seemed to Clay that when he had finally got out of prison, that so much had changed or was changing. Including the men around this table who made up the members of SAMCRO. Except for Chuckie. Stupid prick was as cheerful and inane as ever. He seemed content working around the garage and ecstatic that everyone was back.
As Clay took a final look around the table and his crew settled down, he knew what SAMCRO really needed was time to rest and recuperate. To take some down time and get back to some sort of normal life. It had only been a few weeks since they had all got out of prison, but even Gemma had reminded him that the club needed to badly get their act together, or there would be some serious rifts ahead.
Clay briefly puts his hand across his forehead as he suddenly realises just how tired and worn out he was feeling. It goes quiet around the table, and he pulls his hand away as he realises the crew were ready for him to start. It takes an effort for him to keep his hands still on the table. They still felt weird after his time in Stockton, as the right meds hadn't been available for his arthritis. All he wanted to do now was to flex his fingers every few seconds, just to make sure he could still feel something. A habit Tig had pointed out made him appear nervous and he needed to curb.
Time to get back to business and no use feeling sorry for himself. If SAMCRO had any chance of getting through the next months, they needed him to be tougher than ever. To do whatever it took...
"We all know the situation. Laroy's crew are desperate for guns. They need a delivery by the end of next week at the latest, or we're going to lose their custom as well. Right now they're the only buyer's we've got..."
It is Juice who raises the first question. "What about supplying to Alvarez?"
Clay wasn't expecting that question, but it is Tig who responds. "No way, man. The wet-backs made it clear at the meet yesterday – the drug escort continues but they're looking at alternative suppliers".
Opie interrupts before Clay can add anything more. "At twice the cost and half the choice..."
"Their own damn fault for losing some of their territory to the Niner's" added Kozik.
Clay realises it is time to bring the meeting back to order. "Not our current problem."
"So why not drop out of the drug protection deal? We don't need that crap right now...". Clay looks at his step-son in surprise. Well, well. Maybe Jax was starting to get back to his normal, argumentative and critical self, after all...
"Alvarez didn't rule out a deal for guns in the future. Plus we can't afford a war with them right now" he responds.
Bobby adds "Clay's right. They could have done us some serious harm whilst we were all in the Can..."
"I think it was more likely they had their own problems with the Niners the last twelve months..." informs Kozik.
It goes quiet around the table. Clay turns to Jax. "You want us to re-vote on continuing the drug-protection runs?"
Jax looks surprised, as if he wasn't expecting any compromise from his step-father. He shakes his head and leans forward at the table, as if ready to say his piece. He did want the club out of the drug business, but now was not the time to raise the issue. "No, Bobby's right. If it's working out and keeping the Mayans happy, then we don't rock the boat. The money's too useful..."
The other's nod in agreement. Clay realises that it is time to raise the bad news. "The club's relationship with the Niner's and Mayans isn't our main problem right now..."
Before he can continue, the door to the room opens and Chib walks in. There is an unsettled look on his face, and Clay feels his stomach go cold as he looks up at him. He didn't need Chib to say anything, it was the confirmation he was looking for. He looks around at the crew as he continues, whilst Chib silently takes the spare seat. "The Irish are having to stop supplying us for a while..."
"What!" Jax raised voice interrupts. There is the sound of others voicing their concern, and Clay finds himself using his gavel as he raps on the table. It goes quiet around the table.
"We were promised a regular supply run and in increase in stock" states Opie. Clay looks at him with a raised eyebrow, as it he didn't appreciate him stating what everybody already knew.
Chib jumps in before anybody can say anything else, his accent heavier than normal at having to confirm the bad situation they are all in. "I've just been speaking to my contact's in Eire. The army's still going through some cleaning up following Jimmy's bull-shit. They haven't pulled out of the deal, but won't be able to supply on a regular basis, for the next six weeks..."
"Shit!"
Clay couldn't tell who had sworn out loud. "We need another supplier short-term, and I'm out of ideas. We need the money to cover the costs of the lawyers when we got out of the Can" he admits. He was uncomfortable admitting he didn't know where to go from here, but attempted to put confidence in his voice.
The silence that greets him speaks for itself. He notices from the corner of his eye that Jax is peering down at the table deep in thought. Clay found himself actually hoping for once that his step-son would come up with one his crazy but brilliant plans, even if he usually disagreed with them.
"We could ask around the other charters. See if they have any possible sources..." This one came from Piney, which again surprised Clay.
Clay continues to look around his brothers. "Any other suggestions?"
Happy doesn't lean forward in his chair as he responds, like most of the other guys usually did. The man was always like that, as though he didn't need to gain their attention or prove anything to anyone. "I'll make some calls. There were a few people I knew when I was Nomad..."
"Appreciated, Happy. I guess that's it then, for now..." Clay picks up the gavel in front of him, and is ready to finish the meeting. "Any other business?"
He is surprised when Chibs speaks up. He knew from his earlier conversation that the Irishman was embarrassed that his fellow countrymen had let the club down, but his response is not what he was expecting. "Chuckie asked me just now, if he could address the club before we finish..."
"What for?" asks Clay.
"He didn't say. Just that it was important" responds Chibbs
Clay notices there is an annoyed across Tig's face as he adds "If he makes one more 'I'm so glad to see you all back speech' I'm definitely going to throw up. And then I'm gonna beat the..."
Piney looks annoyed as he interrupts. "Give the guy a chance, Tig. Or have you forgotten what he did to help us before you all went in the Can?"
Clays sighs as he realises that the two of them were ready to argue. It seemed to be happening a lot between members of the club lately. He was sick to the back teeth of being the peacemaker. "Let's just get this over with. Get him in here, Chibs"
Tig shrugs and doesn't say anything as Chib gets up and moves to the door. He opens it and sees that Chuckie is pacing in front of the bar. The guy never seemed to stay still. "In here, Chuckie. Make this quick".
Chuckie heads towards the door, a look of enthusiasm on his face. However, he comes to an abrupt halt when he first steps into the room. All of the club are looking up at him in anticipation, and he finds himself bouncing from one foot to the other in nervousness. It suddenly dawned on Chuckie that this was one bunch of guys he really did not want to piss off.
Chib closes the door behind him and sits back down, a look of amusement on his own face.
Clay finds himself raising his right eyebrow as Chib is quiet, as if he didn't know where to start. It is Jax who finally speaks up, a look of sympathy on his own face. He'd always had a soft spot for Chuckie. "Speak your mind, Chuckie. What you say here stays here..."
Chuckie seems to make a decision, but his words come out in a rush. "I can help. I mean, I think I've got info that would help. I know the club's in trouble..."
"Spouting stuff like that in public could get you a whole lot deeper in the shit..." Tig's voice is dangerous, and Chuckie suddenly goes still, a stricken look on his face.
"Take it easy, laddie." Chib re-assures Chuckie. He gives Tig a hard look as if to make his point. "We know you can keep your mouth shut. Say what you need to..."
Chuckie looks around the room as if looking for further support, trying not to meet the eyes of Clay and Tig. His gaze falls upon Jax, who nods as if encouraging him to continue. Chuckie takes a deep breath to try and calm himself.
"I had a friend. When I was In Folsom, before I got transferred to Stockton and Otto looked out for me. He was a truck driver; got involved with some real bad people..."
Clay interrupts "This going somewhere?"
Jax butts in then, a sympathetic smile on his face. "Why don't we just see where this leads, Clay? Can't do any harm?" He looks back to Chuckie, who looks startled that someone was sticking up for him.
"Ollie – my friend – he had a plan when he got out. He was going to make himself a fortune from his last driving job. He managed to get the stuff hidden away, and we talked about opening a bar together with the money..." continues Chuckie.
"A nice story, but get to the point Chuckie" interrupts Bobby.
Chuckie gulps as he realises that he needed to finish this up. "The stuff he had hidden – they were stolen guns. A whole truck load of them..."
Clay leans forward as he peers more closely at the man who wasn't a member of the club, not even one of the prospects. He ignores the noise coming from others at the table, but raises his voice so that the others go quiet. He misses the look of astonishment on Tig's face. It took a great deal to surprise his Sergeant-at-Arms.
"Are you saying that you know where there's a stash of guns? I hope you're not just talking about a few handguns..."
Chuckie looks at Clay, and realises he had taken a chance by bringing this to the President of the club. He knew he had better tell them all of it. "I don't know that much about guns. I think Ollie said they were mostly AK's, Mach Ten's, RMG's, and even some grenades and C4. About 100-k worth, and they'd be worth more once he got out. That was five years ago, when they were stolen. No-one knew he had stashed them away, the guys he was working for thought another crew had hijacked them..."
"Shit! At today's prices, that's near quarter-of-a-mill on the current market..." adds Juice. Clay knew that he'd be the one to know stuff like that.
It suddenly goes quiet around the table as everyone took the information in. Most of them found it hard to cover the surprise on their faces at this unexpected news.
"How much does your friend want for the information, Chuckie?" asks Jax, a gentle tone to his voice. He had noticed that Chuckie looked like he was about to bolt. But he is surprised to see that Chuckie closes his eyes as if in pain. His voice is strangled and low as he responds. "He died in prison last month. OD'd..."
"But you know where the stash was hidden? Why didn't you say something before?" asks Clay, before Jax can say anything further.
Chuckie seems to take a breath before responding. "I don't know the exact location; only that it was near or in Charming. That's part of the reason why I became friends with Otto, when he said where he came from. I thought he could help us once Ollie got out..."
Tig turns his chair towards Chuckie, the hard look back on his face. "You wasting our time with this bullshit? What use is it if you don't know the exact location?"
Chuckie still looks frightened, but quietly reaches for his top pocket in response and pulls out an envelope. "I only got this yesterday from his lawyer. Ollie promised he'd take care of me if anything happened to him..."
He pauses again, and reaches forward to place the envelope on the table. Jax is the one to reach forward, as he pulls out two pieces of paper from the envelope. One is an official looking letter, the other a piece of paper with only a few words on it. He looks at the letter first and reads out the summary to the rest of the club. "In the event of Mr Oliver Sanderson's death, it was his bequest you receive the attached." Jax puts down the letter as he reads the other paper.
"What's it say?" Clay finally asks.
"Outbuilding at Red Ferne House". Jax turns the piece of paper over, a puzzled look on his face. He was hoping there would be more information on the paper, but the back of the slip is blank. "That's all."
"I couldn't find the place. I checked on the map in the office, there isn't anywhere called Red Ferne House in Charming..." adds Chuckie.
Before Clay can add anything, Jax speaks up again. "I know that name from somewhere..."
They all turn to Opie in surprise as he interrupts. "Shit! That's old man Carter's place, isn't it?" He looks at Jax as if he knew he what he was talking about.
Jax has a sudden look of understanding. "Where were we used to go apple-scrumping when we were kids?"
Opie smiles as he recalls the memory. "Crazy old man scared the fuck out of us when he came out from the house with that shotgun..."
But it is Clay who interrupts next. "Shit, I think I know where that place is. Old man Carter's place was just out by the old Jefferson road. We used to take our bikes up there when we first started out in Charming; it was a pretty good track. Very isolated, from what I remember..."
Jax responds with what he remembered about the place. "The main house was one of those 1960's mansions; the land must be ten acres at least. There were some old woods behind the main house. Lot of outbuildings, too. I think most people have forgotten the land's there, since the Interstate was built..."
"You think the owner would do some sort of deal? Let us search the place?" asks Bobby.
"I'd heard the old man finally died about eighteen months ago" interupts Opie.
"Definitely worth checking out, then" comments Clay.
Clay suddenly realises that the mood in the room had improved. His eye falls on Chuckie, who is fidgeting where he is standing. "The club appreciates you bringing this info to us, Chuckie. You won't lose out on this if this turns out well, I promise..."
Chuckie produces a grin when he realises that was as near a thank-you as he was ever going to get from the President of SAMCRO. However, when Clay remains quiet and raises his eyebrow, it suddenly dawns on him that it was time to leave. He hurriedly turns round, opens the door and silently leaves.
Clay turns back to the table, but before he can start giving out further orders it is Jax who speaks up. "I think we should be careful on this, Clay..."
Clay doesn't respond but waits for his step-son to elaborate.
"We don't know who owns the land, or if the old man did croak. Or if anybody lives there now. It'll take some time to search all those buildings, and right now the last thing we need is to get caught for trespassing" he states.
"I could check Probate" suggests Juice. "Do some research, see who the current owner is and see if anybody's living there now..."
"That's a plan, then" adds Clay. "I'd still like to keep our options open, though. If this doesn't pan out then we may still need another gun source. You've all got jobs to do, let's get on with it. Meeting adjourned." He bangs the gavel and the crew start to clear out of the room.
All except Tig; who normally stayed behind after the meeting to catch up with Clay. Clay sits back in his chair, lighting up his cigar. The meeting had gone better than expected, and cigars were one of the things he'd missed most in prison.
"Chuckie had better not be pulling a fast one on us" states Tig.
Clay finds a smile cross his face. "Nah, he's not wily enough for something like this. Besides, Chuckie's always so damn happy hanging around here..."
Tig doesn't respond as he begins to get out of his chair. But Clay has some business he needed to speak to Tig about first. "I was gonna bring up Kozik's patch-in at the next meeting. He helped out while we were all inside..."
He looks up at Tig, and realises that he shouldn't have bothered when he notices the huge and very evil grin across his Sergeant-at-Arms face. The type of grin that did not bode well for Kozik.
"You never said what was wrong between you two. Was it about a woman?" asks Clay, curiosity in his voice.
Alex "Tig" Trager saunters out as he has the last word. "No, definitely not a woman. It's a waste of time, Clay. I'll be dead and buried before that prick gets patched-in..."
Clay leans back and blows out smoke from his cigar. Definitely one of those days...
Result
The following day...
Jax sits at one of the benches outside the club, a beer in his hand. Opie sits silently next to him, as they wait for Clay who has just got in on his bike. Tig appears from the doorway to the garage and follows Clay as they approach the younger men.
"Any luck?" asks Clay, as he leans forward against the bench. Tig quietly stands behind his boss, in his usual protective stance.
"Bobby didn't come up with anything from the Charters... " confirms Jax.
"Shit! That only leaves Happy or Chuckie's leads..." adds Tig.
"Talking about Happy..." Opie advises, as he looks over Clay's shoulder. Clay and Tig both turn around to see Happy approaching with Juice walking beside him. Juice has a load of paperwork in his hand.
Happy is the first to speak. "I've still got a couple of calls in, but nothing so far. ATF have been hitting people hard round here the last few months; nobody wants to sell..."
"Must be the new ATF guy that replaced Stahl?" suggests Jax.
Clay ignores him as he glances at Juice, and waits for his report. Juice looks down at the paperwork as though checking something first, but then looks back up. "Opie heard right, old Mr Carter died about year and a half back. The lawyer's finally found someone to inherit six months ago..."
"Who?" asks Clay.
"The only living relative is the widow of a distant cousin, who was living in L.A. She successfully claimed probate and moved into the house soon after..."
"And you know this how?" enquires Jax.
Juice offers a sheepish grin. "Old girlfriend of mine works for the lawyer who dealt with the paperwork. Got a copy of everything here..."
"So what did you have to do to get the info from her?" asks Opie, a grin on his face.
Juice tries to put on a dead-pan look, but ends up smirking in response. "The things I do for this club..."
Tig interrupts "Cute, was she?"
"I never kiss and tell, Tig..." Juice responds.
Clay shakes his head in exasperation, but was actually glad to hear some camaraderie between his crew.
"What now?" asks Happy, as he moves to sit opposite Jax and Opie on the bench.
"We need to take a good look round that property..." Opie offers his opinion.
It goes quiet for a moment, until Jax speaks up. He directs his question to Juice. "You get a name for the new owner?"
Clay looks closely at Jax, and has a feeling that a plan was beginning to form. A brief smile crosses his face.
Juice looks back at the paperwork again. "No, only the husband's name. A Colonel Mark Hunter..."
Jax looks up with a thoughtful look on his face. "Some old biddy owns the place, then. If she was married to a Colonel..."
"Old biddy's can be more trouble sometimes than young ones" adds Happy. When the others look at him as if waiting for further enlightenment, he shrugs as if it was a long story.
"Ethel said it was odd, though..." Juice pauses as he hears Tig snigger as he mumbles "Ethel!" under his breath. He doesn't notice the cheesy grin on Happy's face either. Even Jax and Opie have a hard time keeping a straight face.
Juice ignores them as he continues. "... normally claiming Probate means you have to provide all sort of information. Date of birth, name, marriage certificate, social security number, virtually your life history. Eth ... my friend said it was all done through some classy and expensive lawyer and there wasn't even a name for the old girl on the paperwork. Even the keys to the property were picked up by courier..."
"So we have no idea who she is, apart from being a widow to a Colonel Hunter?" adds Clay. He is still watching the thoughtful look on Jax's face, as if waiting for something. Jax suddenly looks up his step-father with a grin on his face.
"It's enough that we can go visit." He notices the puzzled look on Clay's face. "You still got your new suit from your parole hearing?"
Clay seems taken aback, but nods. "You got a plan?"
"How do you feel about a temporary change in career?"
The 'Old Biddy'
It is a couple of hours later, as Jax and Clay drive down Jefferson Road towards the house in the club's best van. Jax was keeping the speed down as the road was not well-maintained, and the van's suspension was taking a hell of a beating from the pot-holes.
Clay finds himself once again fingering the tie around his neck, feeling uncomfortable in the get-up he was in. He was in his new suit and tie. Gemma had even made him have a close shave to make him more presentable, when she'd heard the plan. Jax was also in his best suit, recently shaved, and even had on a pair of glasses that gave him a debonair appearance. His normally loose and ragged hair was tightly tied back in a ponytail.
"Remind me again why we're doing this?" asks Clay.
Jax offers a smile as he briefly looks sideways at his step-father. "We're pretending to be land agents, remember? I think we're the only ones who could pull this off without looking intimidating..."
"Point taken. I can't see Tig or Happy looking anything but dangerous in this get up." Clays finds his hand once again pulling at the tie. It suddenly dawns on him that the rings on his fingers were a dead giveaway, and begins to pull them off and put them in his suit pocket.
"Plus there's always the old Morrow charm, Clay. I wouldn't admit this to mom, but you can really sweet-talk the women when you want to..." Jax smirks.
"Yeah, well, I'm sure between us we can convince the old biddy to let us take a look around... There's always that old Teller charm, too..." adds Clay.
Jax grins in response. "There's a clipboard down the side of your seat" he advises.
Clay reaches down, and finds the clipboard. There are several blank forms from the garage attached to it, but it is the business card clipped to the corner that makes him return Jax's smile. "Hale Property Services?"
"Knew that card would come in useful one day. What names we going under?" asks Jax.
"How about you being Mr Laroy and I'll be a Mr Alvarez?" suggests Clay.
"Like it!" grins Jax. He begins to slow up the car, and peers out as if trying to find a turning. "It's up here somewhere".
Clay points toward a rusty and broken sign just ahead of them that reads "Red Fe...". The turning is just behind the sign, but the area is overgrown with bushes and trees. Jax carefully turns into the left-hand turn, and they both stay silent as he makes his way down an even worse track than the main road. The trees on either side of the track are tall and old and don't offer much of a view ahead. Eventually they see the slated roof of a large red-brick house in the distance.
As they approach the main house, Jax brings the van to a crawl. The track leads to a dead end in front of a two-storey house with a front veranda. The house has obviously seen better days, the paint is peeling and the windows and doors are flaking. However, it still looks an elegant and solid house. In the distance Clay notices there are some sheds and outbuildings, but the area in front of the house and the path leading to the other buildings is overgrown with bushes and weeds. The gravel on the driveway is uneven and has pot holes in it. However, it does look as though someone has tried to cut the worst of the bushes back.
At one end of the drive there is a black circle and a pile of ashes, as if someone had lit a large bonfire recently. Towards one side is a large pile of moss-covered logs leaning up against an old garden wall. The pile reaches almost three metres up and five metres across, and there is enough wood to last a couple of years.
On the grass area in front of the house is a large but old silver trailer, standing at an eighty degree angle so the end is almost touching the house. Jax can just make out the front end of a pick-up truck parked up behind the caravan. The door at the front of the caravan is closed, and in front are two sets of old garden tables and chairs. One of the tables has a half-full water bottle sitting on it.
Jax pulls up and parks the van just at the end of what was once the driveway. He and Clay get out and head towards the open front door of the house, the gravel crunching underneath their feet. The doorway is dark and they can't seem very far into the house. They both stop before the veranda and Clay decides to call out "Hello, anybody there?"
There is nothing but silence.
He exchanges a look with Jax, who just shrugs his shoulders. Clay takes a pace towards the steps leading up to the veranda with Jax behind him. But they both jump and quickly turn around when they hear a female voice from behind him.
"Can I help you gentlemen with something?" The tone is polite but cautious.
Both Clay and Jax are taken aback at the woman who seems to have appeared silently out of nowhere. She is walking up to them from behind the furthest end of the caravan, as she pulls off garden gloves from her hands.
Jax is too busy admiring the woman in front of them to realise that she had made very little noise as she walked on the uneven gravel that was surrounding most of the house. The way she walked was like a cat, sinuous but graceful. She comes to a halt by one of the tables, as she quickly puts down the gloves. She slips her right hand behind her in a casual way, as if hooking her right hand into her jean's back pocket was a regular habit.
Even Clay had a hard time getting over his astonishment. The young woman was tall, maybe five feet nine. Thin but with curves in all the right places; shown off by the tight jeans and a sleeveless but long plain gray tee-shirt she wore over her jeans. The ugly combat boots on her feet spoilt the image slightly. A tat stood out on her right forearm, but neither of them could see what it was clearly. Some sort of dagger surrounded by a diamond shape.
Her dark blond, long hair was pulled back haphazardly from her face into a pony tail. Her face was heart-shaped, and could easily have made the front page of a modelling magazine. She had unblemished skin and a healthy look, and lips that looked like they could be very kissable. The eyes that stared at him and Clay were a very pretty and exotic green under the long lashes. There was a sharp glint in her eyes; that reminded Clay of how Tig looked out at the world with that piercing gaze of his.
She was definitely not the old woman they were looking for, maybe someone in her early thirties. It dawned on Jax that very few of the women that were always hanging around the club could match this very beautiful and stunning woman.
It is Clay that recovers first. "We're looking for a Mrs Hunter? Widow to Colonel Mark Hunter?"
"That's me" advises the woman. Her voice is neutral, not giving away any accent or emotion.
Clay and Jax exchange a surprised look. Jax steps forward with a smile on his face, his hand out ready to shake and a twinkle in his eye. Even a striking and gorgeous woman would not very often faze him. However, he comes to halt as the woman warily takes a step back from him and keeps the garden table between them.
"I'm Mr Laroy and this is Mr Alvarez" advises Jax "We're from Hale Property Services. We're looking into buying land in this area for future development and wondering if we could take a look around your property..."
The woman takes a long look at Jax and Clay. Jax can't shake the feeling that she is making some sort of assessment of the two of them.
"Got any I.D.?" she asks.
Jax turns to Clay, who has the clipboard in his hand. He pulls out the card and offers it to the woman across the table. She nods towards the garden table between them, as if reluctant to take anything from him. Clay puts the card down on the table, and is unable to hide the baffled look on his face.
"Our company card, ma'am..." advises Clay.
"Cards can be faked" she immediately responds. She puts her left hand into her left pocket, and pulls out a cell phone one-handed. "There somebody I can ring to confirm who you are?"
Jax and Clay trade an uneasy glance. This was not the way the plan was meant to go. When Jax looks back at the woman, he gets the intense feeling that the exchange had been noticed.
It is Clay that steps in. "I'm afraid our offices are closed on Tuesday afternoons, Mrs Hunter. Perhaps we could take a look around just today to get an idea of what price we could offer, and we could get our office to ring you tomorrow..."
She interrupts him. "No."
"Sorry?" queries Jax, before he could stop himself.
"You can't look around and I'm not interested in selling" she responds. The voice was still polite but brooked no arguments.
"I'm sure that we can make you a really good deal, Mrs Hunter..." Jax jumps in.
She cuts in again "How did you find out my husband's name?"
Jax notices the slightly harder tone to her voice. It began to dawn on him that this woman had somehow figured out that he and Clay weren't what they appeared to be. But it was not the first time he had been put in a difficult position. "A matter of public record, ma'am. Our company likes to know who they are dealing with..."
As he is talking, the woman looks Jax up and down before tilting her head to one side in thought. For some very odd reason, Jax knew that the there was no sexual context to the look. It was more like being sized up for something...
"I don't know who sent you gentlemen, and I don't want to know. But I think it best if you leave right now." The tone was still determined but courteous.
Clay and Jax are not sure to make of this comment. Jax again looks to Clay, seemingly at a loss.
Clay offers her a winning smile as he takes a step forward, and it dawns on Jax he was trying his best to put on the old Morrow-charm. "No need to be hostile, Mrs Hunter. We're only here to do business..." The woman takes no notice of him, and blatantly ignores his smile. She looks between the two of them, as if trying to make a decision.
Jax decides he needs to help Clay out, who was obviously beginning to falter. "Perhaps we could make an appointment to come back another time? I'm sure our company could make it worth your time to at least listen to our proposal..."
The young woman takes a step forward so she can look straight into Jax's eyes, but still keeping the table between them. Her eyes turn hard and it is the first time in his life that Jax feels almost threatened by a woman. Except maybe for his mother.
"This is private property. Leave. Now." The tone of her voice had completely changed. There was a dangerous edge that made Jax's stomach turn over.
Jax offers her an uneasy smile. He turns his head towards Clay, as if seeking support from his step-father. The look he exchanges with him confirms that Clay didn't know what to do next either. Clay's face suddenly changes to shock as he happens to look back at the woman first. "Shit!"
Jax quickly turns around, and finds he is looking down a pointed gun. A modern but small semi-automatic that was held in the young woman's right hand; and was pointed blatantly at his chest. The woman held the gun steadily and with confidence, as if she didn't need to hold it with both hands as most women usually did. Jax was expecting the woman's face to show she was crazy or just plain pissed. But the woman seemed perfectly calm and relaxed, and her left hand still held her cell phone.
"You have thirty seconds to get off my property. Tell whoever sent you; that I'm to be left alone. You come back then I start shooting" the young woman states.
Jax takes a wary step back, and raises his hands. "There really is no need for this, ma'am. We're just doing our jobs..." Clay is also slowly backing away towards their van as he raises his own hands, and drops the clipboard to the ground. Jax cursed himself for not thinking of carrying any weapons or even leaving something in the van. How the hell was he to know this was going to happen?
"Are you gentlemen retarded or something? What part of leave now do you not understand?" her voice starts to sound irritated.
Before Jax can respond, she moves fast. She fires a short burst before Clay's feet, as he jumps back in surprise and dirt and gravel flies in the air. The gun quickly returns to pointing at Jax before he can take any action.
Jax finds himself backing away as fast as he could. He can hear the sound of someone running on the gravel, and realises Clay had already turned round and headed back to the van. It suddenly dawns on him that he needed to high-tail it.
"Jax, get the fuck out of there!" shouts Clay from behind him.
Jax hesitates for a moment, feeling that he did not want to give this up so easily. He was also uncertain about turning his back to the woman and the gun still pointed at him. However, he is not sure how near behind him the van actually is. For a moment his eyes lock with the young woman's. She offers a cold smile that sends goose bumps up his arm. She raises her eyebrow, before nodding slightly as if to tell Jax that he could turn around and leave.
Jax twists around, to find the van only a few feet behind him. Clay was sitting in the driver's seat, having already opened the passenger door for him and just turning over the engine. With an itch on his back as he somehow knew the gun was still pointed at him, Jax hastily runs forward and jumps in. As he closes the door, Clay has already gunned the vehicle into reverse and the tyres screech as he pulls back and hits the brakes. He swerves the vehicle around, with the gravel flying everywhere. The van rotates 180-degrees, and then Clay hits the gas and the van leaps forward down the track leading to the house.
Behind, them the woman calmly flips open the cell phone as she presses a button and takes a couple of photo's at the hastily retreating van. The gun in her right hand still remains steadily aimed at the vehicle, until it has disappeared into the distance.
Jax hastily hangs onto the handle above the passenger door, as Clay bombs down the track at a dangerous speed. He hadn't had time to put on his seatbelt, but quickly looks out at the wing mirror to see if the woman was following them. All he could see was bushes and the view from the house was blocked.
"Crazy fucking bitch!" Clay exclaims.
"Clay, slow down, or we'll end up in a ditch!" Jax find's his heart drumming in his chest from what had just happened. He feels panic when he notices the junction that leads to the main road coming up fast.
However, the van begins to slow down as Jax realises Clay had heard him. The van finally comes to a sudden stop just before the junction, as Clay puts his foot on the brake. Jax looks over at Clay, who is hunched over the steering, his hands clenched tightly onto the wheel. For a moment there is silence, apart from the sound of the engine which is roaring in protest at its recent treatment.
"Well, that didn't go too well..." states Jax, trying to keep his voice calm.
Clay turns his head, an angry look on his face. "Jesus-h-Christ!" swears Clay. Jax is surprised; it took a hell of a lot to alarm his step-father. Clay slowly unclenches his hands from the wheel, and finds his hands shaking. He grips them as if trying to get hold of himself. Jax notices but doesn't say anything.
"That is seriously one really pissed-off woman..." states Jax, as he reaches automatically for his jacket pocket. He realises he hadn't moved his cigarettes from his jacket to his suit and sighs. He really wanted a cigarette, but another thought suddenly hits him "Where the fuck did she get that gun!"
Clay finally seems to calm down as he leans back into the driver's seat. "I saw her pull the gun out from the behind her. She must have it tucked in her belt and her right hand on it the whole bloody time we were talking..."
Jax's brow furrows as he tries to make sense of what had just happened. He takes off the glasses he still has on and throws them onto the dashboard. "If I didn't know any better, I'd swear she knew exactly what she was doing. Like she was expecting us..."
Clay finds himself offering a nervous laugh in response. It seems to break the tense atmosphere. "Yeah, I got that. Like she didn't believe one word we said right from the start..."
"You think she's hiding something? Or maybe hiding from someone?" queries Jax.
"Who gives a fuck!" responds Clay. Jax realises that Clay's near-fright had started to make him mean and angry.
"What if she found the stock of gun's..." muses Jax.
Clay seems to take a moment to think. "Maybe. But if she'd tried to move them on the market, we'd have heard about it. I think you're right, she's just one really mixed-up psycho-bitch!"
Clay reaches forward to put the van back in gear, and starts to drive again. He pulls out slowly but there is no oncoming traffic on the main road.
"Maybe we should..." starts Jax.
"Not now!" interrupts Clay sharply. "Right now I need to think. And I really need a drink and a cigar..." Both of them remain silent on the way back to the garage.
In the meantime, the woman has disappeared from outside of the house. The clipboard Clay had been carrying was carefully placed on one of the tables. The door to the caravan suddenly opens, and she walks out with a make-up brush in her hand and a compact full of black powder. She steps up to the clipboard, and spills the powder over the board before brushing it away with the brush. She pulls out her cell phone and takes a couple of close-up photographs. It was done quickly and efficiently, as if she had done this before.
Now she had a photograph of the van's number and a copy of her visitor's fingerprints...
Wrong decision
Gemma Teller-Morrow was working in the garage office, when she hears the screech of tyres from outside. She looks out of the office window, and is surprised to see the van that Clay and Jax had taken, returning so early. It is with further surprise that she notices Clay get out of the vehicle with an angry look on his face. He slams the door shut, and he and Jax exchange words. She is too far away to hear what is said, but Clay stalks off towards the club. Jax appears to sigh before hurriedly following after him.
Gemma walks out of the office, curiosity on her face as to what had happened. She notices Tig approach from the nearby garage, as if he was going to talk to Clay. But Clay virtually pushes past him as he heads for the bar in the club with Jax still following. Gemma begins to notice the thoughtful look across her son's face. She and Tig exchange a baffled glance before following them into the club.
Gemma and Tig walk in, to see that Jax and Clay are both standing at the bar. One of the prospects is hurriedly pouring them a couple of strong drinks of whisky, whilst Clay pulls off his tie and throws it onto a nearby chair. Juice and Happy happen to be in the bar, and look on in curiosity.
"I take it that it didn't go well with the old lady?" asks Gemma. Just at that moment, Clay had taken a long gulp of his drink but spews it straight out. He starts coughing, and Jax turns around as he hurriedly slaps Clay on the back. His gaze meets his mother's, and Gemma is not sure to make of the look her gives her. It was almost as if he was embarrassed. And it dawns on her that it was unusual for Jax to drink anything strong during the day, so something must have disturbed him. A perplexed look crosses her face.
Tig saunters past her up to where Jax and Clay are propped against the bar, an amused grin on his face. He'd already noticed the irate look on Clay's face and had assumed that the two of them had run into some-sort of trouble. He turns to Gemma, as if explaining something. "I can just imagine it now. The old biddy probably ran the two of them off with a shotgun, just like in the movies. And you two ran off with your tails between your legs..."
Clay just glared at him, as he recovers from his coughing fit. He turns back to bar and reaches for his glass of whisky, but before taking another gulp of his drink he mumbles to himself "Insane fucking whore!"
Tig turns to Jax in surprise, as if looking for an explanation. He is surprised to see a bemused grin cross Jax's face. "Try replacing that with a semi-automatic and the woman about thirty and looking like a super-model and you'd be nearer the mark..."
"You're kidding!" interrupts Juice, as he and Happy walk over to find out what is going on. Tig looks completely taken aback, whilst Gemma looks worriedly at Clay. It was very unlike him to swear so profoundly; and it suddenly dawns on her that he was more than just angry. He was furious, and she steps forward and starts to rub his back as if to calm him down. Jax turns back to the bar to finish his own drink
"You want me to go talk to her; woman to woman..." suggests Gemma.
Jax and Clay turn around together to face her. "No!" they both bark. Gemma is too surprised to say anything, and drops her hand away from Clay.
"She can't be that bad..." adds Tig. It suddenly dawns on him that this was no longer entertaining.
He steps back when Clay angrily turns towards him. They exchange a silent look, but it is Tig who finally looks away when he realises that Clay was really, really pissed. You could have heard a pin drop in the silence that falls over the bar for the next few seconds.
"I have a real bad feeling about all this, Clay. We still don't know if the guns are actually on the property. I think we should just give it up..." suggests Jax to Clay. The other's all look on in astonishment.
Clay takes a deep breath, as if trying to calm himself down. "No, we need those weapons. The bitch was definitely hiding something, and it wouldn't surprise me if the guns are still there. I'm not giving up on a quarter-mill that's there for the taking..."
It is Happy that interrupts. "I'll get some of the boys together. We could go in heavy-handed..."
"You want to all to go back to prison for trespassing and assault? You're still on parole, remember?" Gemma responds. "We just need to be clever on this..."
Clay turns to Gemma, his eyebrow raised. It suddenly dawns on her that this was something the club needed to take care of without her interference, so she turns to leave. But not before adding one more comment "This ... woman ... can't stay on that property forever. You just need to choose your moment to go take a look around..."
Jax turns to Clay, and notices the look on his step-fathers face. As if he was already putting a plan in motion. "You're plan didn't work, Jax. So we're doing this my way." He suddenly turns to Ortiz "Juice, I want everything you can find on that bloody woman and her husband..."
"It'll be difficult if I don't know her full name, Clay..." responds Juice. He pauses as he sees the non-argumentative look on Clay's face.
"There has to be land records, she pays taxes just like everyone else" barks Clay. "Check to see if there's a vehicle registered at the address, tax records, anything!"
"Also check with all the local merchants..." adds Jax "... if she's ever ordered anything. There must be a name if she had a delivery. If she paid by card or check we can trace it..."
"Do you know how long that will take?" bemoans Juice.
Clay's voice is dangerous. "Then you'd better get started! Take the prospects and Chuckie if you need help!"
Juice nods towards the prospect still standing behind the bar, and they both hurriedly head out of the club. Clay was definitely not in the mood for any disagreement with his orders. Clay turns towards Happy and Tig. "I want the place watched! The minute she moves off that property, I want to know. Got it!"
Happy and Tig exchange glances, but before they can respond Jax interrupts. "I think there's a turn-off further up the road that leads to a ridge overlooking the house. You should be able to set up surveillance from their..."
"Just us, or can we get help from the boys?" asks Happy.
Clay realises it is a genuine question, and that his head is beginning to clear from his anger. "Use Kozik and Chibs and work in shifts..."
"Me and Opie will take a shift too" adds Jax.
Clay looks at Jax in surprise. His step-son offers him a discomfited smile. "Gotta admit I'm starting to get curious. I'd like to be around to search the place once she heads off the property; maybe find out more about her..."
"She might not leave, Clay, you do know that?" admits Tig. He was waiting for Clay to bite his head off at the question, but Clay understands that Tig is trying to smooth his ruffled feathers.
"We still have till the end of next week to trade those guns to the Niners. She has to go get groceries and supplies..." guesses Clay.
Happy cheerfully slaps Tig on the back as they both turn around to leave. "Think of it this way, Tig. Can't be that bad a gig watching a pretty woman..."
Tig briefly turns around and asks Jax "Was she hot?"
Jax smiles at the memory. "Crazy-hot, Tig. Just your type..."
Clay frowns as he adds "If you want your balls handed to you on a plate."
Tig grins as he and Happy walk away. Jax and Clay both lean back on the bar, as if taking a minute to catch their breath.
"Let's hope she does leave at some point, so we can take a good look around. But what if she stays put?" asks Jax.
"We'll give it a few days, first" suggests Clay. "I'd like to know more about this Mrs Hunter, before we start looking at alternatives."
It goes quiet between them for a moment. Clay has a thoughtful look on his face as his brain finally starts to move into gear following the day's events. "Did you make any sense out of what she said? Something about someone having sent us?"
"Yeah, I've been thinking about that. I got the impression she doesn't want to be found. Maybe she is hiding from someone. If we could find out who, we could use it as leverage..."
They both turn back around towards the bar in comradeship, and Clay reaches for the bottle of whisky to take a refill. Jax is totally surprised when Clay suddenly laughs. "She was pretty hot, though..."
"Don't let mom hear you say that..." responds Jax. Actually, he was thinking the same thing himself.
Surveillance
It had been three days since Clay had instructed Happy and Tig to start watching Red Ferne House. They'd found a spot on the ridge overlooking the house and caravan, and had made themselves comfortable. Just below the top of the ridge, there were a couple of deckchairs laid out in a small clearing surrounded by some trees. There was a fold-away picnic table and a large cooler full of beer, water bottles and sandwiches placed underneath. The picnic table held their guns which Clay had insisted they take with them. They had also been told to leave their "cuts" back at the clubhouse.
It was Happy's turn to use the binoculars set up on a tripod; that was hidden between two trees where they had a good view of the house and the caravan. He sat forward on one of the bar stools taken from the club, as he looked through the lenses of the binoculars. It was hot, so he had a bandana wrapped around his head. Tig was laid back in one of the deckchairs with his tee-shirt off and his sunglasses on; soaking up the sun.
There was the crack of a twig being snapped as if someone was approaching the clearing, but neither of them jumped up. It was time for the change of shift, and they were expecting company. Tig lazily opens his eyes as he looks out towards the path that led into the clearing. They'd found a place to park up a couple of vans the first day, that was out of sight of the main road. There was an old trail that led to the clearing that had been overgrown, but it hadn't taken much to cut the bushes back.
Tig is puzzled that Kozik is accompanied by Juice instead of Chibs. Both of them also had left their jackets behind, and Juice has a cooler in his hand full of further refreshments. Tig sits up in his deckchair as the two men walk into the clearing.
"Afternoon, guys" smiles Juice.
Happy just turns around to silently acknowledge them before turning back to the binoculars.
"I thought Chib's was covering this afternoon?" asks Tig.
Juice swaps a look with Kozik, who grins, "I volunteered..." He steps forward to put the cooler in his hand by the picnic table.
"He's hiding from Clay..." smirks Kozik.
Tig raises his eyebrow at Juice, who looks a little irked. "He's not happy with me right now. I couldn't come up with anything on the woman..."
"We've nicknamed her 'the hottie'" states Happy, without turning around.
"Did you not even get her first name?" asks Tig, annoyance in his voice.
Juice sits himself down in the other deckchair, and sighs. "Nope. I tried everything. The only time she's bought anything from the merchants in Charming is for cash. Mrs Hunter apparently buy's groceries once a week, usually on different days. All taxes and registrations are via a corporation based in the Caymans, and anything else is dealt with the same expensive lawyer in L.A. that handled the probate."
As he is talking, it is only Kozik who notices that Happy has turned around with an unusually thoughtful look on his face. Kozik moves to sit warily on the low picnic table, making sure it would not collapse under his weight.
"The only info I could get was for her husband. Older than her, I guess. He was aged fifty-one when he died, and was a Colonel in the Rangers. I'm still waiting back for a contact of mine to see if he could get hold of his military record..." Juice pauses as if in embarrassment. He'd spent eighteen hours a day working on this for the last two days, and had got exactly nowhere. It had become frustrating, and Clay had definitely not been impressed.
"A name" mumbles Tig. "I'd really like to know her name".
Juice shrugs, as if he couldn't offer any more information. "It's like she doesn't exist at all..."
It goes quiet between them, until Happy suddenly speaks up. "Wit-Pro." He gets up from sitting near the binoculars, stretches, and then walks over to his colleagues.
Kozik and Tig exchange a look, before looking back at Happy. "Witness protection? You sure, man..." comments Tig.
"Happy would be the one to know" adds Juice as he looks up at the three of them with astonishment on his face.
"Could be the reason why you can't find anything about Miss Hottie. She might be living under an alias..." explains Happy. Tig grins at Happy's personal version of the nick-name that they had applied to the woman they were observing.
"I'm not so sure..." butts in Kozik. Tig gives him an irritated look at his interruption. "... Clay and Jax obviously spooked her. If she was in wit-pro she would have made some calls; and this place would be crawling with feds by now."
"Or maybe she just thinks she can take care of herself..." adds Happy. Tig and Juice exchange a puzzled glance. They both knew him well enough to pick up on the note of almost-admiration in Happy's voice. He looks nonchalant as he heads towards the picnic table, to pick up his gun and put it away in the holster he has over his tee-shirt.
"You don't think she knew who Jax and Clay were, do you?" asks Juice. "I mean, that they're from the club?"
"Doubt it" adds Tig. "If she doesn't socialise or have friends in Charming then she wouldn't know about SAMCRO. But you might be right about wit-pro, Happy. Would you let Clay know?" Happy nods as if in acknowledgement.
Juice looks at him with a perplexed look. He was not sure why Tig would not want to impart this news to Clay himself, until Happy adds "Tig's decided to stay for the rest of the day."
Kozik doesn't look happy at this news. Juice lifts his eyebrow to Happy, who offers a grin. "He thinks she's cute..."
"Nah, he just gets his off's from being a pervert and watching her." adds Kozik. Tig glowers at him, but stays quiet.
Happy picks up the empty cooler, as he begins to leave the clearing. "See you later. Just watch yourselves, boys..." he admonishers. He disappears into the undergrowth.
Juice looks back at Tig, as if in question. "Happy's been twitchy all morning. He said he had the weirdest feeling that he was being watched..." advises Tig.
Juice is not sure what to say to that. Kozik decides it his turn to take the first watch, and moves up to take the place that Happy has just vacated. Tig leans back into the deckchair.
Juice, however, is finding he is fidgeting. He's never been on a stakeout and was curious. "You've been watching the last few days. Surely you know something else about this ... Miss Hottie? What she does down there..." he asks.
"Early riser..." states Kozik.
"... likes to go running in the woods in the mornings..." adds Tig.
"... after some exercises." Kozik turns around and Juice is surprised to see the two of them swap a leer.
"Exercises?" queries Juice.
"Tai-Chi or something..." informs Kozik with a grin on his face "... to rock music. She's got some very supple moves."
"Nope, Happy said it was more like some sort of martial arts" adds Tig.
"That I'd like to see!" comments Juice.
It goes quiet for a few minutes, before Juice adds. "Clay said to let him know the minute she's off the property. He wants her followed, and delayed as long as possible. Slash her tyres or something. Then he'll call in everyone to take a good look around those outbuildings..."
He pauses when he sees the guilty look exchanged between Kozik and Tig. "Okay, guys. What did you do?" he asks.
"We had the first shift yesterday when she went for her morning run" admits Kozik.
Realisation crosses Juice's face. "You went to take a look! Clay'll kill you if he finds out!"
"Not gonna tell him are you, Juice?" Tig's voice is threatening.
"Shit, no! He's pissed enough at me already. So, which one of you was it?" He looks from Kozik to Tig and back again. Tig looks away.
"What did you find?" asks Juice in curiosity.
"Not much. Caravan door was locked, but she's got a few boxes packed in there. Front door to the house was unlocked, but the place is piled high full of crap that must have been in there for years. Newspapers, boxes, you name it. Looks like old-man Carter was a hoarder..." advises Tig.
"She spends the afternoons and early evenings clearing all the stuff out from the house. Most of it she puts on a bonfire..." informs Kozik.
"Anything else?" Juice asks Tig.
"Nah, she's got an old pick-up parked round the side. I was gonna pop the lock to the caravan when Kozik noticed her coming back from her run earlier than normal. Had to high-tail it outta there..." adds Tig.
"I'd like in on this, guys. Maybe we could try and take a look again tomorrow, when she goes running. I could be lookout?" suggests Juice. "I'll volunteer again for the morning shift."
Kozik looks across at Tig, exasperation showing on his face. "Now you've got him at it, too..."
"What!" explains Juice.
Tig just looks blasé, as if it was not Juice's business.
"She's got him all hot and bothered" states Kozik, nodding towards Tig. "He likes a woman with mystery..."
"What pussy doesn't Tig like!" adds Juice, as he settles back into the deckchair.
Kozik turns back to the binoculars with a smirk on his face.
Neither of them notices the sudden change across Tig's face as he leans back into the deckchair. Like he was distressed at their comment. He rubs his hand across his face, as if in thought. He was sick-to-death of it. Tired that everyone thought he would screw anything that moved. Since getting out of Stockton, he'd gotten weary of the same-old routine. He'd found himself hating the women he fooled around with; nothing but bimbo's and whores.
He may have also had the companionship of the brothers in the club, but it wasn't enough anymore. Nor was being Clay's Sergeant-at-Arms the responsibility he wanted any longer. It had come as a revelation and a shock when he had finally understood there was more to life than SAMCRO. That there was something missing in his life, but he had not as yet figured out what it was...
Hunted
It was cooler as the late afternoon approached. Juice was on binocular duty, whilst Tig and Kozik were lying in the deckchairs. Tig was reading some dodgy magazine (he had put his tee-shirt back on when Kozik had made a rude comment about having to look at his flabby body). Kozik has his eyes closed as he listens to music on his I-Pod. Juice gets up and stretches and decides he needs to exercise his legs. He heads towards the picnic table, opens the cooler and takes out a beer.
"Anything new?" asks Tig, without looking away from his magazine.
"Nah, she's been in the house the last few hours..." responds Juice. He had found out that being on a stakeout was not as exciting as he thought, and was in fact pretty boring. He is just about to take a swig of his beer, but abruptly turns around as if he hears a noise from the bushes. Like a rustling sound.
"Did you hear that?" he asks the other two.
Tig briefly looks up from his magazine, whilst Kozik just opens his eyes but stays where he is.
"What?" asks Tig, not really that interested
Juice steps towards the edge of the clearing. All he can see is the bushes leading into a stand of trees and not much beyond. "It sounded like something moving out there..."
Tig smirks. "Just the wind..."
"Nope, it's been pretty airless all afternoon" adds Kozik. He suddenly has a grin on his face as he turns his head to look at Tig. He takes off his earphones. "Cougar..."
Juice turns around with a shocked look on his face. Tig comprehends that Kozik was pulling Juice's chain, but decided to go along with the joke. "I think wolves are more common in the woods round here. There's even been a report of a panther..."
"What!" exclaims Juice. He turns back around and looks at the surrounding bushes and woodland with trepidation.
"I heard people disappear out here, once in a while..." adds Kozik.
Juice takes a step back from the clearing, a nervous look on his face. Tig suddenly sniggers, as if he couldn't keep up the joke any longer. Juice turns around to them, sudden comprehension on his face. "Very funny, guys!"
Kozik looks up at Juice. "You're such an easy target, kid" he smirks.
Juice looks disgusted, and turns back towards the stool next to the binoculars. Kozik is just about to put his earphones back on, whilst Tig begins to get out of the deckchair to get a sandwich. They pause when all three of them hear the rustling sound this time. It sounded as if it was coming from the opposite direction of the trial, some way behind a line of trees.
"You can't say you didn't hear that!" exclaims Juice, turning back to the other two. Neither of them seems particularly bothered.
"Just a squirrel or rat" advises Kozik.
"If you're so concerned, why don't you go take a look?" asks Tig, as he sits back in the deckchair, starts to eat his sandwich and goes back to reading his magazine.
Juice notices that they both still have a smirk on their faces, and it wouldn't put it past either of them to have one of their brothers turn up and try and scare the crap out of him. "You guys setting me up?"
Kozik smiles but doesn't say anything. "Too much effort..." adds Tig.
Juice looks from one of them to another. A determined look crosses his face. He puts down his beer on the cooler. "Okay, I'll go check-see. Kozik, you mind taking the watch?"
Kozik just nods. Juice hesitantly picks up the gun he had left on the table, and heads towards the bushes.
"Just scream if you find anything you don't like!" shouts out Tig.
"Thanks, Tig. I really appreciate you watching my back. You're such a great pal..." Juice responds sarcastically, as he disappears into the undergrowth.
It is fifteen minutes later when Kozik, who has taken his place at the binoculars, starts to get a little worried. He looks at his watch as he turns to Tig.
"He's been gone a while..." advises Kozik.
Tig looks up, an annoyed look on his face. "Stupid kid's probably got turned around in those trees..."
"Should we go find him?" asks Kozik
Tig shrugs as if it didn't worry him. He puts his magazine down and gets up from the deckchair. "Just give him a call on his cell. I'm not traipsing through those bushes looking for him..."
"Nah, you're right. He's probably just taking a walk. I wouldn't put it past him to stay away so we'd get worried, and get his own back on us..." responds Kozik. He raises his eyebrow as he realises Tig is heading towards the trail, in the opposite direction where Juice had gone.
"Gonna take a dump. That okay with you?" responds Tig to Kozik's silent question.
Kozik ignores him as he goes back to looking through the binoculars. He puts his earphones back on and turns up the volume. He can see that nothing is happening down at the house, and it is apparently quiet. Pity, Miss Hottie was pleasant to look at.
He feels something prick the back of his neck, and automatically thinks he'd been bitten. He slaps the back of his neck with his hand. Blackness suddenly overtakes him, and he slumps forward. He never knew what hit him.
It is another ten minutes before Tig walks back into the clearing. He is in the process of doing up his zipper, but comes to an abrupt halt. He notices Kozik lying face-down on the ground next to the binocular stand. He automatically reaches for his gun, only to realise it is still lying on the picnic table. He looks around but doesn't see anything. "Shit!" he mumbles to himself. He cautiously starts heading towards the table.
Suddenly, he feels something hard against his back. He goes completely still as he realises it feels like a gun barrel. He'd never heard the person walk up behind him, and scowls as it dawns on him that he had been completely caught out.
"I would suggest you don't move..." whispers a low and female voice from behind him.
"Wouldn't think of it, darlin'..." responds Tig. He starts to raise his right hand, but the barrel of the gun is pushed more firmly into his back. He pauses.
"Stay completely still. And I'm not your darling..." The voice has an irritated tone to it.
He feels the knife at his side being pulled out of its sheaf and dropped to the ground somewhere behind him, but stays still. However, he does react when he feels a pin prick on the side of his neck. He abruptly steps forward and turns around quickly, holding his breath that the woman wouldn't shoot. He takes a defensive stance, ready to flee or attack her.
It is the eyes that meet his that makes him stop. They had to be the prettiest and most unsettling green eyes he had ever seen. They had a steel-glint in them that held his gaze without flinching, and seemed to look into his very soul. Not many women – and not many men, for that matter – could return his own piercing blue-eyed stare like that.
Tig had found himself fascinated about the young woman he had been watching for the last few days. From his distant observation he could see she was pretty hot, just like Jax had told him. He had been mesmerised as he had watched her Tai-Chi exercises (or whatever-they-were), and Kozik had teased him pretty badly about it. In some ways he had hoped that he would get caught when he went down to the house, just to see what she was like face-to-face.
But at this moment in time this he found that being this up-close and personal to her made his body go hot. He couldn't help it; his body seemed to automatically respond to how close she was to him. Or it could just be he was reacting to the stuff she had pumped into him.
She was stunning, but he had met and screwed beautiful women before. Maybe it was the hand gun she held in her one hand and what looked like a hypodermic needle gun in the other; or the relaxed but confident stance of her body. But something in him found himself intensely attracted to this woman. Really not the time to be turned on, he thought to himself...
His vision starts to waver. He finds himself reaching forward, but his movement is sluggish and his arms feel like dead weights. The young woman takes an automatic step back with an amused look across her face. She raises an eyebrow at him, as if she was waiting for something.
He falls to his knees as sudden tiredness overtakes him. He manages to offer the woman a lopsided grin and mumbles a few words before he passes out. "Really hot..." He hits the dirt with a smile across his face.
The woman calmly and silently watches him fall to the ground. However, she has her head tilted to one side as if she couldn't fathom something. Like what on earth one of the men who had been watching her for the last three days, meant by 'really hot?' And why would he think that being caught was somehow amusing?
Crazy guy...
Caught
Tig begins to regain conscience. It takes a moment before he remembers what had happened, and instead of opening his eyes it suddenly dawns on him that he needed to stay still and figure out where he was. He keeps his eyes closed, and pretends to be still out cold.
He was lying on his front on something hard and cold. Outside, because he could feel a breeze on his forehead. He carefully tries to move his arms and legs and realised he was tied up. His hands were tied behind his back and his feet were bound up together. He can feel something warm beside him, and realises that it felt like a body. It struggles, as if trying to move about. Tig guessed it was either Kozik or Juice. He opens his mouth to try and lick his lips, but finds that although he could breathe through his nose his mouth was covered. Probably taped up...
He opens his eyes to a slit, but can't see much. It was still light, which meant it could have only been a couple of hours at the most. There was something metallic underneath him, and he could smell motor oil. He was lying down in some sort of vehicle. He tries to move his head slowly, and realises his head was sticking out on the edge of what looked like a pick-up. He could see the ground beneath the edge of the vehicle at the corner of his vision.
He suddenly hears music not far from him. Sounded like the ring-tone for a cell. Cute, it was the intro to "Female of the Species..." He quickly closes his eyes and keeps himself still, hoping that he still looked unconscious.
The music stops and he hears the same female voice from earlier. "Hi, T.J. Did you get the prints?" The woman pauses as if listening to a response. "Yeah, the ones for the other day too..." It goes quiet again. "You did? Send the info to my e-mail, could you?"
The voice sounds as if it is moving away, and then comes back again. As if the woman was pacing up and down. "I owe you on this one, T.J." Tig can hear the voice get louder, as if the woman was moving closer to his position. She pauses again, as if listening to a response. "What about I buy you lunch next time I'm in town?" she says, almost cheerfully.
It goes quiet again. "No, T.J, I'm sorry. It's not going to happen..." Tig swears blind he picks up a note of sadness in her voice. "...I'm not coming back..." she pauses again. "Hang on a minute..." It goes quiet for a few seconds. Tig almost jumps when he hears the same voice directly over where he was laying "I know you're awake."
Tig opens his eyes to gape up at the woman leaning over him from the side of the pick-up. She has her cell phone held against her chest, whilst she was talking to him. Her head is tilted to one side as she returns his stare without any trepidation. She was wearing a black t-shirt and a plain blue cap over her hair.
If Tig hadn't got a gag over his mouth, he would have smiled. They both stare at each other for few more moments. Tig felt he could stare at her like that all day. For once she starts to look uncomfortable at his gaze, until they can both hear the sound of a voice coming from the cell in her hand. She pulls her stare away, abruptly turns around and walks away as she goes back to her conversation. "Sorry?" she again pauses at the response of her caller. "No, I can handle this..."
Tig doesn't see where she has gone, as his vision is pretty limited. He tries to shift around in the back of the pick-up. His foot kicks something, and a muffled protest comes from behind him.
"Don't fuss, T.J." she says, and then there is another pause. "I told you, I don't need any help from the guys. You know perfectly well I can take care of myself. Look, I'll call you when this is all finished up, okay?" It goes quiet. Then Tig can hear the sound of the woman walking on gravel away from his position.
Tig really needed to see what was going on. He makes an effort to turn himself over, and the muffled protest is louder from behind him as he leans against the other body as leverage. He ignores it, as he tries to sit himself up. He knocks the other person in the truck a couple of times before he manages to sit up in an uncomfortable position against the side of the pick-up.
Shit, Kozik was awake and was giving him a really pissed look. He was lying face up in the middle of the truck and was tied and taped up as well. Tig can see that he was trying to get upright, but was struggling. He notices that Juice was the other person in the truck, also tied up and lying face down but totally out of it. They must have been laid up side-by-side in the truck when they were unconscious.
Tig shakes his sweaty hair away from his eyes to take good look around. Firstly, he recognises the vehicle they are all tied up in. Great, not only had the woman scuppered them like fish on a hook; but they were tied up and placed in their own bloody pick-up truck. It was parked up a few feet in front of the caravan.
He looks over to see the woman was now sitting at one of the garden tables, working over a laptop. Next to the laptop was a lying a semi-automatic, ready to pick up and use in an instant. She was totally ignoring them, even though he knew he must have made some noise as he got himself upright. On the other table sat a cardboard box, with three cell phones opened and sitting in front of it. Tig couldn't see them close enough, but figured they were the cells belonging to him and his colleagues.
He can hear Kozik grunt as he finally manages to sit himself up at the end of the truck, against the cab. Kozik offers a bewildered glance to Tig, but all he can do is shake his own head in return. Too much to explain when they couldn't talk to each other...
Tig turns his head as he hears soft footsteps approaching them. He finds himself gazing at the woman again as she steps up to the truck with a handgun in her hand. It is pointed at the two of them, but she moves to one side cautiously. She puts out her hand, and Tig and Kozik are surprised when she harmlessly reaches for Juice's neck and is obviously checking his pulse.
She turns to Tig. "I don't suppose you know if this guy has taken any kind of drugs recently?" she asks. Tig offers her a bewildered look but doesn't shake or nod his head. She shifts her gaze to Kozik "You?" she asks.
Kozik mutters underneath his gag. Tig knew he was swearing, and the woman sighs in response.
"The thing is that the stuff I gave him doesn't react to well if he's taken anything in the last twelve hours. Especially any type of stimulant..." she explains.
Kozik carries on mumbling (probably still swearing) at her. Tig could see he was really hacked off. He was starting to feel that way himself, but understood there wasn't much he could do to change the situation. He turns towards the young woman and goes back to staring at her. As the silence continues between them, he finds himself wiggling his eyebrows. He peers down to the gag around his mouth. She seems to understand that he wanted to talk to her.
She cautiously steps forward so she is closer to the end of the pick-up. "You going to give me any trouble, Mr Trager?" she asks. Tig knew surprise showed on his face that she knew his name. He shakes his head vehemently.
She steps up to the vehicle, but does not lean forward across the pick-up. It was almost as if she knew the two men might take advantage of the situation, if she got too close. Instead, she suddenly moves up so that she is standing beside the vehicle and right behind him where he leant up against the side. He feels a cold sweat across his forehead as he finds the weapon in her hand placed against the back of his head. He goes still as her other hand reaches over his shoulder and she quickly pulls off the tape across his mouth. He winces as it pulls off some skin as well as some of his beard.
The feeling of the gun then disappears, and she moves back to stand at the end of the pick-up. She looks the two men over for a moment, and silently tucks gun away into the belt of her jeans as if she realised neither of them could attack her.
"Like to know where you got my name from, sweetie..." croaks Tig. He finds his voice is hoarse from the drug she'd used earlier.
It is with astonishment that he sees the amused look briefly cross her face, as she tilts her head to one side. It was almost as if she found all of this entertaining. "You guys really should be more careful. You might have tried to pick the lock of my trailer with gloves on, but you left your fold-up table behind when you packed up the first night. Pulled off some nice prints..."
Tig hears Kozik say something behind his gag, and he turns his head to see the look of surprise across his colleague's face.
"Fingerprints?" Tig asks as he looks back to the woman. "Now how would a pretty thing like you be able to check my fingerprints?"
The woman stays silent as she just looks at him, the amused look still on her face. Tig sighs when he realises that this was the only explanation he was going to get out of her.
"So you know all about us?" he asks.
"Let's just say I know more that I want to" she responds.
She is interrupted as a moan comes from Juice. However, the young member of SAMCRO doesn't wake up; he is just stirring in his sleep. Tig looks over at Juice, and then back to the woman.
"Uppers" exclaims Tig. "Can't be certain, but he's been doing late hours last couple of days. Probably taken something to keep him awake..."
"Then he'll be out for a while longer, and all he'll have is a hell of a headache when he wakes." she responds. Tig had the feeling that she was actually concerned for her unconscious prisoner.
Kozik makes another noise behind his gag. Tig peers at him, and can see the frustrated look on his face. It suddenly dawns on him what Kozik was asking. The woman is watching them silently, with the almost-amused look still on her face.
"He'd like his gag off" explains Tig, as he looks back to the young woman.
"Oh, I'm sure he would..." she responds with a note of laughter in her voice "... but I don't like that kind of language. I think it best we keep him quiet."
Kozik makes a noise that sounds like "What!" He bangs his head back against the cab in frustration.
Tig finds himself once again grinning up at the woman. It seems to take her by surprise. A frown crosses her brow, and the look in her eyes showed she founds his behaviour puzzling. But before she can say anything there is a noise from the laptop. A 'ping' that confirmed she had just received e-mail.
She silently turns around and walks back to the table where she sits down in front of the laptop. Tig turns to Kozik and whispers "Keep it down, Kozik. You heard the lady, no swearing."
Kozik glares at him.
Tig shifts around to try and make himself comfortable. He wasn't sure why he was finding all of this entertaining himself, but he realised one thing. He really fancied the woman who had taken him hostage. He felt like they were on the same wavelength. Dangerous she might be (and yes, that was totally turning him on); but he got the distinct impression that she didn't mean them any real harm. At least, he hoped she didn't...
The Call
The woman has spent the last fifteen minutes going through the e-mails sent to her by her friend. She had a copy of her prisoner's police and prison records, as well as whatever information T.J. managed to scrounge for her in such a short time. She was currently going through what he had found out about the motorcycle club that called themselves SAMCRO; most of them had a police record. The information from ATF wasn't encouraging either; these men were not the fools she had originally taken them for. Pretty dangerous men, from what the ATF reported. Not that she was scared, just curious why these men had been surveilling her.
She finally reads up on the last of the information, and looks across at the three men in the pick-up truck. The guy called Trager was still watching her, but she had tried her best to ignore him. The other one called Kozik had finally gone quiet when he had realised she wasn't going to take his gag off, and Ortiz was still out for the count.
Well, time to get this over and done with...
Tig continues to watch her as she walks over to the three cell phones; that she had opened out ready in case one of them rang. She picks up the first one, but hears a voice from behind her.
"Mine's the one in the middle..." states Tig.
She puts the cell-phone in her hand down, and turns around to look at Tig who was grinning at her again over the side of the pick-up. She wasn't sure why this man was being so co-operative. Or kept offering her that inane smile of his.
"I'm thinking you need to contact the club." advises Tig in answer to her silent question. "Clay's the top number on the speed-dial. He's our President; you need to talk to him."
She turns around to reach for the middle phone and then turns back to face him. She silently goes through the cell's directory, but pauses when he talks again.
"I'd really like to know your first name, sweetheart" asks Tig. She just gives him a cold look. "Come on, what's the harm in a name?" he asks. Kozik is watching the exchange in silence, not sure what Tig was up to.
"I tell you one thing it's not" she responds, a sharp note to her voice. "It's not sweetheart, pretty thing, sweetie or darling..."
Tig's face is a picture. Until he hears Kozik chortle behind his gag, and he turns around and scowls at as his colleague. He sharply turns back around when he hears her talking into the cell phone.
"I'm afraid Mr Trager's a bit busy right now, Mr Morrow. I am talking to Clay Morrow?" She pauses as even Tig can hear Clay shouting down the cell, but the woman doesn't seem fazed and continues to speak calmly. "I think you already know who this is". There is more shouting. "...If you're going to shout, perhaps I can talk to your colleague. A..." she pauses as if recalling the name "Mr Jackson Teller? I believe he's your Vice-President?"
The Deal
Clay was in the office going through some paperwork, when Jax walks in. "I'm just off home to get changed and pick up Tara and the kids..." he advises. "Mum said not to forget we're eating at yours tonight..."
"I hadn't forgotten" grumbles Clay.
Jax is on the point of sighing, but stops himself. Clay had been irritable ever since the incident with ... that woman. It was like she had really gotten to his step-father, and nothing anybody said to him the last few days seemed to calm him down. Clay had been especially angry with Juice when he had come up with virtually no information. Juice had disappeared earlier that day, and Jax got the impression he was glad to be out of Clay's way.
"I still have a bad feeling about all of this. I really don't think this is a good idea..." states Jax, before he can stop himself.
"What!" responds Clay, as he looks up from his paperwork at Jax.
"If Happy was right, and she is under wit-pro, then we could have the feds crawling all over our arse. We should..." responds Jax.
"If you're gonna say just give it up" interrupts Clay "... then give it a rest, Jax. I know what I'm doing..."
"I think we should put it the vote" Jax responds. Clay picks up on the challenging tone to his step-son's voice.
Before he can respond, Clay's cell phone rings. He pulls it out of his pocket and checks the number before putting the cell to his ear. "Tig, this had better be good news! Has she left yet?"
The female voice that responds makes him pause. "I'm afraid Mr Trager's a bit busy right now, Mr Morrow. I am talking to Clay Morrow?"
"What the..." starts Clay "Who the hell is this?"
"I think you already know who this is..."
The voice is familiar for some odd reason. Then a dawning comprehension crosses Clay's face. "Fucking bitch!" he shouts. "What the hell do you want? Where's Tig?"
He sees the look of shock on Jax's face, who steps forward as if to listen to the conversation.
"If you're going to shout, perhaps I can talk to your colleague? A..." she pauses as if recalling the name "... Mr Jackson Teller? I believe he's your Vice-President?"
Clay is gob-smacked, but notices the inquisitive look on Jax's face. He finds himself handing his cell over to Jax. He wasn't sure he would be able to talk to the woman without losing it any more than he had already. "It's her..." advises Clay in answer to Jax's questioning look. "... she wants to talk to you."
He notices the comprehending look cross Jax's face, as he takes the cell from Clay. He switches the phone over to speaker so they can both hear, and puts his finger to his lips as if to ask Clay to keep quiet. "This is Jax, Mrs Hunter..." he confirms. He remembers that she had been quite polite and courteous when they had spoken before, despite running them off her property. It dawns on him that if he acted the same, it wouldn't do any harm.
"I think we have a bit of a problem and I have a proposal to make, Mr Teller. I don't think Mr Morrow is in any kind of mood to speak to me..." she explains. Clay gives Jax an irritable look.
"Can I ask where Tig is?" asks Jax.
"Mr Trager? I'm afraid he's a bit ... tied up right now. Along with a Mr Kozik and Mr Ortiz." she responds.
Jax and Clay exchange stunned glances. "I'm taking it they're your hostages?" asks Jax.
"Let's just say they aren't going anywhere soon. They're perfectly okay, I can assure you..." Her voice is cool and confident.
"Then let me talk to Tig first. Before we discuss your ... proposal" responds Jax.
There is silent for a few seconds. Then they are both startled when they hear Tig. "Hey, Jax. We're all okay, man. Kinda in a spot here..." advises Tig.
"And how the hell did she get one over you, Tig!" Clay jumps in, not being able to help himself.
Tig never gets a chance to respond, as the woman pulls away the cell phone from where she held it to his mouth. There is the sound of gravel crunching as she walks away from him.
"I'm hoping we can come to an agreement, Mr Teller. I don't think either of us wants any more trouble" she responds.
"Call me Jax" he responds. Clay notices the thoughtful look on his face, as if thinking something through as he pauses for a moment. "How much do you want, Mrs Hunter?" he asks.
There is a pause on the other end of the cell, as if the question had taken the woman by surprise. "I don't want your money, Mr Teller! Just that you listen to my proposal?"
Jax and Clay exchange another glance. Both of them thought this was getting weirder by the minute...
"Go ahead, we're listening" responds Jax.
The woman pauses first, as if weighing up her thoughts. "I'm not sure why you're doing all this, but I can take a guess. I think there's something on my property you want. I'm pretty sure it's not in the house, so I suspect it's somewhere nearby. So my proposal is that you come get your men, and you can look around the rest of the property. If you find whatever you're looking for, you can take it..."
"In exchange for what..." interrupts Jax, feeling that it couldn't be this easy.
He can hear the woman sigh for a moment. "I like my privacy. When you leave, you don't come back and you leave me alone. That's the deal."
Jax looks across to Clay, and notices the surprised look on his step-father's face. Clay nods as if in agreement. "What if we agree?" he asks, still wary that there was something else going on.
"Then you come unarmed with one other person to search the place. Bring torches, it'll get dark soon. You can take as long as you want to look around and then you leave. Your colleague can drive the other truck away with your ... men in." She responds.
"Forgive me for asking, Mrs Hunter. But seeing as how you've already got Tig and the others, that feels awfully like walking into a trap..." responds Jax.
"And there's nothing from stopping you reneging on your end of the deal either, Mr Teller. It seems we are going to have to trust each other. Do we have a deal or not?"
Jax is surprised enough to pause before responding. "And what if we refuse?"
"Then I'll have to let your men go, anyway. But my guess is that you'll still want to search my property the next time I leave it. I just want this over and done with." she responds. It sounded logical to Jax, but he still wasn't sure if she had some type of agenda he couldn't figure out.
"We could call in the cops..." advises Jax. Clay looks surprised, but realises that Jax was trying to discover how far he could push this woman. It might even give a clue if she was in wit-pro, or was hiding from someone.
"I'm not the one with a criminal record, Mr Teller. However, it wouldn't look good if your men were up for trespassing. I could probably get a possible intent to kidnap or burglary, if you want..."
Jax sighs. "Point taken, Mrs Hunter". He looks across to Clay, who gives him an unhappy nod. "You have yourself a deal. I'll be there in twenty minutes..."
"Only one other person accompanies you, Mr Teller. Oh – and don't think of getting one of your men up on the ridge. I've got sensors and cameras up there."
The phone clicks as she finishes the call.
"Shit!" exclaims Clay.
Insurance
The woman turns around after she finishes her phone call. She puts the cell with the others in the cardboard box on the table, and starts to head towards the trailer, where the door was open. However, she pauses as she hears a voice from behind her.
"You were watching us the whole time we were watching you?" asks Tig, finding it hard to hide the astonishment in his voice. There was also a little bit of admiration for the woman who seemed so self-assured and confident.
"No, just after the first day..." she responds, without turning around.
"How the hell did you know..." he asks, but she takes no notice of him as she enters the trailer.
She comes out a few minutes later with a medium black box in her hand, which she places on the table. Tig is surprised to see she has also put on a plain dark green flak-jacket. She quickly picks up the cardboard box from the other table, and moves to the front of the pick-up. She opens the front door and puts the box on the passenger seat, and then heads back towards the table. Tig suddenly realises that it probably contained their weapons, and anything else she had taken off them whilst they were unconscious.
"What gave us away?" he asks again, but she ignores him as picks up the black box and hurriedly walks towards the track that leads up to the house. It was like she was up to something, and Tig is curious. He twists around to watch what she was doing, and notices she seems to be putting down something alongside the side of the track, about ten feet apart and two either side of the road.
Tig notices she quickly looks at her watch as if counting the time. She then runs back with the black box still in her hand. She cautiously steps up to the side of the pick up where Juice was still happily out of it, and bends down. Tig knew she was fixing something to the underside of the pick-up. He and Kozik exchange a look, not sure what was going on.
"Okay, now I'm curious. What was that about?" he asks. He was expecting her to ignore him again, as she walks back towards the table area.
She turns around looks at him with a serious look on her face. "I like to be careful, Mr Trager" she informs him.
Tig offers her another smile. "Tig. Everybody calls me Tig."
She looks at him as if she couldn't work him out. Or that he was just plain crazy. "Do you always talk so much?" she asks as she turns around to pick up a small device that looks like a cell phone from the black box.
Tig can hear a snort of laughter from Kozik, but ignores it. "Nope, I just like making friends with crazy-but-hot women who kidnap me and tie me up..." he responds.
He knew his words had gotten to her, by the surprised look on her face. It takes her a moment to get over her astonishment. "You're the one that's crazy" she states.
Tig just grins in response.
She presses something in her hands, and both Tig and Kozik are startled as a there is a small explosion just down the road. Even Juice turns over in his sleep. They both turn their heads to see smoke and fire show for a brief instance, before the wind dissipates the resulting funnel of smoke.
"Shit! What the hell was that?" asks Tig, as he turns with shock showing on his face.
"Insurance" she states.
Confrontation
Jax silently drives with Opie in the passenger seat, in one of the club's vans. They were heading down the track that led to Red Ferne House. There was still an hour's worth of daylight left, and Jax was anxious as to how this was going to go. Opie reaches forward and takes out a gun from the glove compartment, and checks it before placing it under his jacket.
"Probably not a good idea, Op..." advises Jax.
"From what you said, she's dangerous" replies Opie. "Better to be safe than sorry."
Jax doesn't argue, as they finally pull into the driveway. He notices the club's pick-up parked just outside the caravan. He swaps a look with Opie as they both notice the three men tied up in the back, and Jax pulls up as close as he can to the pick-up. He looks around but for the moment can't see any trace of the woman. He notices that Tig is sitting up and is watching the vehicle as it comes to a stop.
Both of them start to get out of their vehicle, and Jax glances at Tig as if expecting him to say something. Tig remains silent, even though he is obviously the only one without a gag on. Jax starts to step towards Tig with puzzlement on his face, but stops as Tig shakes his head and nods his head towards the house.
"I'd appreciate it if you'd take off your jackets, gentlemen." Advises the female voice from one of the windows. The barrel of a gun can be seen through the open window, although the woman herself has stood to one side so she is out of sight.
Jax and Opie swap a look. Jax is the first to undo his jacket and lifts up the hem. He slowly turns around so the woman can clearly see he doesn't have a gun on him. He looks at Opie, and is surprised to see that Opie seems amused. "Told you it wasn't a good idea, Opie..." he exclaims.
Opie shouts towards the house "I'm gonna pull out my gun, okay lady?" There is silence, so Opie assumes that it was okay to proceed. He slowly pulls out the gun out from under his jacket with two fingers. He drops it into the front of their van through the window, then copies Jax and pulls up the bottom of his jacket and slowly turns around.
The woman appears at the doorway, and both men are surprised to see her wearing what looks like a flak-jacket. She has a semi-automatic in her hand, but has lowered it so it is no longer pointing at them.
"Sorry, Jax" advises Tig "She told us to stay quiet or she would shoot us first if you made any sudden moves, until she checked you were unarmed..." Kozik mumbles something as if in agreement.
Jax just gives Tig an exasperated look as he turns back to the woman. He pauses as Tig adds "... she stuck something under the pick-up. Could be some sort of explosive, so please go careful guys..."
Jax peers closely at the woman, and notices that in her left hand she holds something that looks like a mobile phone. "A bit of overkill, don't you think Mrs Hunter?" asks Jax.
"Insurance, Mr Teller" she states "Nobody will get hurt as long as you keep to your word."
"Paranoid" states Opie. Jax wasn't sure if he was speaking to him or the woman. However, he is startled to see a distraught look across the woman's face for a brief second. It goes quiet for a moment, as if no-one knew what to do next.
"So, can we take a look around?" asks Jax.
"Sure, go ahead" agrees the woman. She nods towards the path that lead away from the house and towards some outbuildings, which Jax had noticed previously. Opie heads back towards the van, and the woman watches him carefully but keeps the gun lowered. He opens the back and pulls out two heavy-duty torches, whilst Jax moves a step towards Tig.
"You wanna explain this, Tig?" Despite the situation, he just couldn't resist the urge to make Tig feel uncomfortable.
"Not my fault..." responds Tig. Jax is surprised the see the laid-back look on his face "...sometimes we just get caught up in stuff we can't do anything about. It has been a very strange day..."
Jax looks towards Kozik, who just rolls his eyes upwards in agreement. In the meantime, Opie walks up to stand behind Jax with the two torches in his hands. Jax turns towards the woman, who has been silently watching them but has remained standing where she is.
"C'mon Jax, let's get this over with..." advises Opie, as he starts to lead the way down the path. Jax heads out after him, but pauses when he hears the woman speak again.
"You might want to try the building with the red ornamental door. Looks like something was moved out from there a couple of years ago." she advises.
Jax and Opie exchange another glance, but turn around and keep walking. They disappear into the oncoming twilight as the path veers around the side of the house.
It goes silent for a while. Tig then turns to watch the woman, as she moves to sit herself down at one of the tables.
"You know, sweetheart..." begins Tig.
She looks up with a stiff look on her face. "You want the gag back on, Mr Trager?"
He goes quiet. He got the distinct impression she was starting to get annoyed with him; and smiles to himself that he had finally started to get under her skin.
The Search
It is an hour or so later when Jax and Opie return along the path. They both have their torches on as it is now getting dark. The woman has put on an outside light at the front of the trailer; that illuminates the whole area. She stands up from where she was waiting patiently at one of the tables. Tig and Kozik are starting to feel the chill of the evening, but Juice is still out cold. In fact, he had started to snore until Kozik had kicked him with his bound-up feet.
"Any luck?" asks Tig.
Jax just shakes his head, but Tig notices his eyes dart towards the woman. It dawns on Tig that it was best not to mention what they had been looking for. Opie heads straight for the van, whilst Jax starts to head towards the pick-up.
"The keys are in the ignition, and I've placed their stuff in the front" the woman advises to Jax, warily keeping the semi-automatic in her hand ready for any trouble. However, Jax had already discussed with Opie that it was best to just get-the-hell out of there after their unsuccessful search.
Opie has already got in the van, and quickly turns it around as he heads back down the track. Jax silently gets into the pick-up, still keeping a wary eye on the woman. He turns the engine over, puts on the lights and starts to follow Opie. Tig turns his head to take one last admiring view of the woman as she steps out onto the driveway and watches them leave.
However, Tig finds himself being bounced around as the pick-up starts to speed up. "Hey Jax" he shouts. "Stop the truck! Get us untied..."
Although Jax has the window down and can hear every word Tig says, he ignores him.
"Pull up, man!" exclaims Tig "we're being bounced around like a couple of tennis balls, here!"
Jax puts his head out of the window, so Tig can hear him clearly. "You guys think you deserve to be cut loose after getting yourself caught? Serves you right when we turn up at the club with you and Kozik looking like a couple of bruised hogs tied up ready for a barbeque..."
Kozik and Tig exchange a glance. Tig can hear Kozik sigh as they both realise that Jax had every intention of leaving them tied up until they got to the garage and club. This was going to be so embarrassing...
"Jax, c'mon, be fair!" exclaims Tig.
Jax turns on the radio in the van and turns up the volume, so he can't hear Tig's further comments. He should actually be really angry, but finds himself smiling. All that effort for nothing. The woman – whose full name he still didn't know – had really pulled a fast-one on all of them.
Last Word
Tig moans to himself as the pick-up truck follows Opie's van into the front area of the garage. Most of the brothers have turned out to wait for them, after hearing from Clay what had happened. As the pick-up comes to a stop, he sees Happy grinning evilly, as he approached the back of the truck. The rest of the men start to crowd around the back of the pick-up.
Happy starts clapping. Others follow, and before long there are whistles and taunts coming from the rest of the club members. Kozik just leans his head back against the cab of the pick-up and looks completely fed-up. Juice is still totally out cold, whilst Tig glares around at his brothers. However, he ducks his head when he sees Clay making his way through the crowd of men.
In the meantime, Jax and Opie have got out of the vehicles to join the crowd. Clay gives Tig a hard look before turning to Jax. "Any luck?" he asks.
"Sorry, Clay. The guns weren't there..." advises Jax.
"We found a crate lid in one of the buildings" adds Opie. "Could have been from a crate of guns, but we couldn't be sure of the markings – wood was rotten. Mrs Hunter was right, looks like whatever was in there was moved out a couple of years ago..."
Clay looks disappointed, but turns towards the rest of the crew as they quieten down. "I propose that we vote on the drinks tonight being on the three dumb-asses that got hooked like fish. All in favour?" he asks. Everyone puts up their hands, including Opie and Jax. Kozik and Tig exchange exasperated glances. "Majority vote, let's get those drinks" adds Clay.
As the men start heading towards the club-house, it is Happy who is the only one to stay behind and starts to pull out a knife. He gets into the pick-up to start untying Kozik, Tig and Juice. He cuts Tig's bonds first, who gratefully stretches his legs and gingerly climbs out of the truck. He finds pins and needles assail him as he gets onto his feet, and that he is unsteady. He holds onto the side of the pick-up until he starts to feel his feet again.
Happy then cuts through Kozik's bonds, who takes his own gag off. "What happened to Juice?" Happy asks, as he starts to cut away the young Puerto-Rican's ties.
"He'll be okay, let him sleep it off" advises Kozik. His voice is hoarse from being gagged for so long.
Happy jumps off the end of the vehicle, and Kozik shortly follows. Tig starts to unsteadily walk towards the garage, his legs tight together as if he wanted desperately to take a leak.
"What the fuck were you doing chatting the bloody woman up, Tig?" calls Kozik. It was the first time he had been able to speak in a while, and he was still feeling pretty pissed about the whole situation.
"Gotta take a pee..." replies Tig, ignoring Kozik's question. He speeds up as he heads towards the nearest toilets.
Kozik and Happy exchange a look. "I really need a drink..." advises Kozik as he heads towards the club-house.
"You wanna tell me what happened?" asks Happy.
"You're feeling of being watched turned out to be right. Bloody woman was watching us the whole time" responds Kozik. He misses the smile on Happy's face, who watches Kozik enter the club-house. Happy is just about to follow, when his cell phone rings. He stays outside as he answers it.
Meantime, in the club-house, Clay, Jax and Opie are standing together at the bar whilst drinking a beer. Chuckie walks up to them with an anxious look on his face.
"I'm really sorry, Clay" apologises Chuckie. "Ollie said he was the only one who knew the location. I really can't understand it..."
"It's fine, Chuckie" advises Jax. "I guess your friend might have told someone else whilst he was in prison. Looks like the guns were moved a couple of years ago. Not your fault..."
Chuckie sighs and turns away, looking very unhappy. He had really wanted to help the club out, like the last time.
Kozik walks in. He stops for a moment to look around the club members, and then decides it was best to get the embarrassment over with as soon as possible. He warily walks up to the bar where Jax, Clay and Opie are standing and helps himself to a beer.
"Real sorry, Clay. We just weren't expecting to be clobbered like that..." apologises Kozik.
"How did you get caught?" asks Opie, curiosity in his voice.
"She must have got Juice first, he went for a walk. Tig went for a... toilet break ... and I was on watch. She must have come up from behind me, and I felt something on the back of my neck. Next thing I know is I was tied up in the back-up of our pick-up..." He shrugs, as if he couldn't offer any further explanation. One of the prospects passes him a bottle of beer.
Tig appears from the club house's entrance to the garage. He saunters over to the bar, and silently helps himself to a whisky. He takes a long drink, and then just stays leaning up against the bar. He closes his eyes for a moment as if there was something bothering him.
"You wanna explain exactly what happened, Tig?" asks Clays.
Tig looks to him, and Clay is surprised the see a sad smile on his Sergeant-at-Arms face. "Not particularly, Clay" he states and goes back to his mulling over his drink.
Jax and Clay exchange a surprised look. But it suddenly dawns on Clay that Tig was totally humiliated about the whole situation, and embarrassing him any more wouldn't help.
At that point Happy strolls in, just as he is putting away his cell phone. "Clay, I've got some good news..."
Opie makes room at the bar so Happy can stand next to Clay and Jax. Clay raises his eyebrow in question.
"I've just heard from an old acquaintance. He's got some stock down in Mexico that he's willing to sell..." Happy advises. "We're going to have to pick the stuff up ourselves and get it across the border. But he's willing to offer us a reasonable deal..."
"'Bout time we got a change in luck" advises Jax. "Do you think he'd have enough for us to settle with the Niners?"
"I've set up a meet for tomorrow" confirms Happy. "I don't think we're going to make a great profit, but he's got enough to last us for the Niner-deal and maybe re-supply some of our personnel stock"
"At least someone round here's doing their job properly..." advises Clay.
Kozik realises it is not the time to say anything, but looks embarrassed. Tig is still leaning up against the bar and ignores Clay's barbed comment.
"Don't be too hard on them, Clay..." responds Happy. Clay, Jax, Opie and Kozik all looked surprised. "I had a feeling about her right from the start..."
Nobody notices that Tig has turned his head as Happy is talking, and a grin begins to cross his face.
"Not anything I can put my finger on, but she definitely wasn't just the hot-chick we originally made her out for." Happy continues, in response to Jax's questioning glance.
At the moment an irate voice comes from the entrance to the club. "How the hell did I get back here?" asks Juice. He was standing at the door with a completely bewildered look on his face. He suddenly puts his hand to his head. "Oh god, my head!" he exclaims. He unsteadily heads towards the nearest table and plonks himself down on one of the chairs. He lays his head on the table and puts his arms over his head, as if he found the lights in the club-house to bright.
"Juice is going to be so pissed when he realises he missed all the excitement" states Jax. Opie and Kozik laugh at this, and it seems to break the tense atmosphere.
Kozik notices that Chuckie is still hovering around and turns towards him. "Get the prospect's to help him upstairs, would you? He's gonna feel pretty sick for a while." Chuckie seems happy for something to do, and heads off to find one of the prospects.
Clay and Jax both give Kozik an inquiring look. "She said he'd have a bad head once he woke up, from the stuff she gave us..." he offers in explanation.
It goes quiet between the men for a while.
"Clay said she'd put up sensors and camera's on the ridge?" Happy asks Kozik.
"Yeah, so we heard" responds Kozik. "Apparently she got all our fingerprints too..."
"It would explain how she knew all our names..." adds Jax, his amusement turning to concern. "God knows what else she found out about us..."
"I have the distinct impression she knew exactly what she was doing" adds Kozik. He turns towards Tig, as if expecting him to add something else. Tig stays unusually quiet, the slim smile still on his face. Opie has a thoughtful look on his face, and puts down his beer. He starts to head out towards the entrance to the club.
"Op?" asks Jax.
"Be back in a minute. Just checking something..." replies Opie, without turning around. He disappears out to the garage courtyard.
In the meantime, a couple of the prospects help Juice on his feet and head upstairs.
"I guess we can just put this down to experience..." Clay suddenly advises.
Jax turns with astonishment on his face to his step-father. "I thought you were still pissed at her..." he asks.
Clay sighs. "The guns weren't there, and nobody was hurt. I'm not wasting any more time on the bitch..."
Jax leans back onto the bar. "I'm still interested as to who she is..." he exclaims. He pauses as Opie walks back in the bar. He is carrying something in his hand.
As he approaches them, they can all see what looks like a large spiked object about the size of his hand. It has a central point that looks like a golf ball, and six spikes sticking out that are about four centimetres long. Opie gingerly puts the object onto the bar.
"Op?" asks Clay.
"I pulled it from underneath the pick-up" explains Opie. Kozik takes a step back as he realises it was the object the young woman had put underneath the truck.
"Careful, Opie. I think it's some sort of explosive" adds Kozik.
"It's not live" responds Opie. "I think it's remote-controlled."
"You think?" asks Jax, warily looking at the object.
"I've heard about these..." muses Opie. "They're pretty new. Real hard to get hold of; restricted to the military. In fact, they're so new they don't even have a nickname for them yet..."
It goes quiet amongst Clay and the others at the implications of this revelation. Tig's grin gets wider as he turns back to his drink, but nobody has noticed yet.
"Professional" states Happy. It dawns on Clay, Jax and Opie that he wasn't talking about the explosive device in front of them but the woman who had placed it on the pick-up.
"Professional what?" asks Clay.
Happy offers an apologetic grin. "Military, maybe? Haven't quite worked that one out, yet..." he explains.
"Real mistrustful" adds Opie.
"Pretty, though..." adds Jax. Clay looks at him in surprise. "You've gotta admit it, Clay. She got to you too, that's why you got so pissed..."
Clay looks slightly embarrassed, and leans back towards the bar as if to ignore the others who were also grinning.
"I liked her eyes..." adds Kozik.
"Never got a chance to meet her up close" bemoans Happy.
"Real attractive green eyes" continues Kozik. "and a cute ass..."
"Nice rack" adds Opie. Jax was taken aback; usually Opie didn't take much notice of other women, especially since he had got married again.
"Okay, okay. Enough" admonishers Clay "She was cute but crazy. Let's leave it at that..."
Clay pauses as he happens to look over at Tig, and notices the huge grin across his right-hand man's face. "And what are you grinning at, Tig?" he asks.
Tig turns around and looks all of them over with his blue-eyed stare. "She really got to all of you..."
"And she didn't get to you?" responds Kozik sharply. He was the only one to have witnessed the way Tig had reacted to the woman, when they were tied up in the pick-up truck.
Tig turns his head back to stare at his drink, the grin no longer on his face. It goes silent between everyone. Clay has a look of pity on his face, as it suddenly dawns on him that maybe Tig had been punished enough for something that really had been outside of his control. He can see that something had really disturbed the man he had known for over thirty years.
"I guess none of it could be helped, Tig. We all got suckered, you shouldn't blame yourself..." Clay says softly.
"Isn't that..." responds Tig, sorrow in his voice.
Jax and Opie exchange a bewildered look. Clay realised that something was definitely bothering his friend. Happy looks on with a bemused expression. Kozik suddenly has a feeling what is wrong with the man who had once been his best friend, but decides to stay silent.
"Tig?" asks Clay, unusual concern in his voice. "What the fuck's wrong with you?"
Tig takes a long drink before he answers.
"I think I'm in love, man..."
Crazy
It is just past midday the next day, when the young woman who had been the talk of the club was washing up cups in the trailer. She suddenly pauses as she hears a faint sound, and hurriedly dries her hands. It sounded like a car engine or bike coming down the track, so she quickly grabs a handgun she had left on the trailer's small table, and heads towards the open door. She puts the gun into the back of her jeans as she steps down to stand just outside the trailer.
As she patiently waits for the vehicle to show itself, her face shows surprise as her second visitor today pulls up on the driveway. It was a motorcycle, and she knew enough about SAMCRO to know that it looked like the type of bike they normally rode. She puts her right hand on the grip of her gun, as her visitor kills the bike's engine and pulls off his helmet.
Tig notices that the woman has her right hand behind her, and realises that she probably had a gun tucked in the back of her jeans. He comprehends that he needed to be careful and not make any sudden moves. He decides to stay seated on his bike in case he needed to make a fast exit, and hopefully, she would not feel threatened if he stayed where he was.
He notices the hard look in her eyes as she stares at him, an almost-puzzled look on her face.
"Afternoon, sweetheart" he greets her cheerfully, a smile on his face as if to ease the tension. But she offers a frown in response.
"The agreement was that your club left me alone" she states, her frown turning to displeasure.
"Well..." starts Tig, and then stops. He'd been rehearsing what he was going to say to her on his ride over, but suddenly finds himself speechless.
He found himself gazing at her again. She was just as beautiful and hot as he remembered. Her green eyes were still as hard as steel, but he found that a challenge rather than intimidating. She returns his stare with one of her own, and some very odd reason Tig suddenly had the feeling that she was not particularly angry with him. Just that she couldn't understand his attitude towards her or why he was here.
Tig finally finds himself speaking. "You get the flowers?" he asks.
"I don't want anything from SAMCRO" she responds coldly.
"Actually, they were just from me..." he advises "Did you not get the note?"
"The delivery guy wouldn't take them back" she explains "So I got rid of them..." Her gaze briefly falls behind Tig, who looks around. At the end of the driveway is a bonfire that was just starting to burn itself out. There were a few flower stalks lying on the ground beside the bonfire. Tig looks back, and seems disappointed that she had destroyed his gift.
"Don't you like flowers?" he asks "Any woman likes flowers..."
She just stares at him and raises her eyebrow in response. It goes silent between them for a few seconds, until she adds "Why would you buy me anything?" she asks.
Tig offers her another grin. "Well, it wasn't very nice of us, you know. To set up surveillance on you like that..."
"Then you shouldn't have done it..." she responds.
"Yeah, I got that" he admits. "The flowers were in way of an apology. And seeing you're new to Charming, as a welcome-to-town gift as well..." Tig suddenly realises how idiotic he sounds, and pauses.
"I don't want anything from you. Or you club" she re-iterates.
Tig is not sure what to say. He suddenly realises that his normal chat-up lines weren't working with this woman, and found he was floundering. Maybe he should take a leaf out of her book, and be direct with her. "Look, Da..." he stops when he remembered that she didn't liked to be called 'darling' or anything similar "... ma'am. I'm real sorry that way we spied on you like that. That's my personal apology, not the clubs. I'm afraid Clay's still pretty pissed about the whole thing..."
He pauses as she interrupts "You expect me to apologise in return, for ... catching you and your colleagues?" she asks.
Tig laughs. "Nope, I guess we deserved what we got..."
She raises her eyebrow in response. "I don't think you're here to just apologise?" she asks.
Tig smiles and it goes silent between them again. "Okay, I'm going to be honest. I'd really like to know you're first name, Mrs Hunter..."
She looks taken aback for a moment. "Why would you want to know my name?" she asks.
"Personal reasons" he responds. She gives him the same look she had the previous day. As if she couldn't work him out.
"I don't care for your personal reasons, Mr Trager. I think you had better leave..." she responds, a hard tone now showing in her voice. She takes a step forward, and her hand takes a firmer grip on the gun tucked in her belt.
Tig knew it was time to depart, and silently puts on his helmet. He turns over the engine on his bike, but has one last thing to say. "Well, I'll have to know your first name at some point, Mrs Hunter" he raises his voice over the sound of the engine.
She raises her eyebrow again, as if she didn't understand what he meant. Tig's grin gets bigger. "When we get hitched, I'll need to know your name for the marriage vows..."
Astonishment crosses her face for a moment. However, she recovers quickly and her face becomes cold again. "You really are crazy, aren't you, Mr Trager?" she responds.
"Totally crazy about you..." Tig replies, having to have the very last word. He then puts his bike into gear. He quickly turns it around on the driveway, and heads back down the track. If it wasn't for the loud noise of the engine, she would have heard him whistling 'The Wedding March' as he heads out.
The woman watches him as he disappears into the distance. For a moment there is a puzzled but thoughtful look on her face. "Totally insane" she finds herself saying. Then she suddenly has a smile on her own face, and she laughs to herself. She couldn't help it, the guy calling himself 'Tig' was totally out-of-his-tree. It had been a very long time since she had found anything in life to laugh or smile about. She shakes her head as she heads back to the trailer.
Alexander "Tig" Trager would have loved her smile if he had seen it.
