Caution Lights
Chapter 4- Living' in a Powder-keg(and givin' off sparks)
By BG and Reaper
DISCLAIMER: 2nd verse same as the 1st - although we are basing this fiction on the timeline of Season 1 sometimes events may appear out of order, it is after all a work of FICTION based on a work of FICTON... hey, wait...since 2 WRONGS don't make a RIGHT - but 2 LEFTS do... does that mean two works of FICTION make a work of NON-FICTION???
**
Jaci tossed and turned for most of the night, trying to think of ways to help Bobby and the club. She had no idea of the circumstances surrounding the murder but judging by Juice's reactions, she was pretty sure Bobby was guilty. That thought did not unsettle her, she was sure he had his reasons for doing what he had done. Bobby was in Rosen's hands now and that was the best place for him. She rolled over onto her stomach and her thoughts shifted to the other members of the club and what they were probably thinking at the time. A member getting pinched was always a stressful time for everyone involved. That was when an idea clicked in her head. When members stressed, their families stressed and there was one family in particular that was nearing volcano status as it was…the Winstons. Jaci couldn't do much for Bobby, but maybe she could relieve some stress for them. She stared at the alarm clock, 2:30am. She finally dozed off after the plan was set in her head but she was awake again at 4:30am. She made herself stay in bed until 5am and then finally said fuck it and headed to the office.
**
Vix shifted in her sleep, snuggling closer to the warmth of Juice's body when she felt him toss and turn for seemingly the nineteenth hundredth time that night. He finally gave up on sleep and sat up on the side of the bed. Vix opened her eyes and looked at his back, she knew the troubles of the club were weighing on him and wished she could help, wished he'd let her help. The night before they had had a small discussion and nothing more and both went to bed frustrated and emotionally drained. The fact that he had even stayed the night with her surprised her.
All night long Juice had been haunted by thoughts of the Fed raid on the clubhouse, of Bobby being brought in, of worries that if that bitch Stahl could make this Hefner thing stick the Feds would have all the ammo they needed to show the club as an ongoing criminal enterprise. Images of the crew at trial and in prison played in his mind over and over. Whenever his brain would focus on Vix, all he could think about was the mess he'd be putting her through and he couldn't bring himself to share the weight of his troubles with her. He didn't thinking for one fraction of a second that she'd ever rat on them, knowing full well she'd perjurer herself right into jail time to protect the club, to protect him. He heaved a deep sigh, at a loss as to how to protect all that he loved.
She yawned and said, "Good morning, baby."
The gruff reply of "Mornin' " was not his typical response. Early morning was among their favorite hook up times. When her head was still fuzzy with sleep and she was not worried about the random dislocation of her hair or the fact that without her hazel-tinted contacts her eyes were in fact two different colors. But now given the doctor's orders as well as the heavy tension hanging in the bedroom air, the hair and the eyes were both moot points.
"You want me to fix you some breakfast?"
"Nah, I am sure there Clay has a ton of shit for me to do today." He said standing up and pulling on his jeans.
"Mm hmm." Vix replied, sitting up and leaning against the head board as she watched him tug his tee shirt over his head and then turn his head side to side trying to relieve the tension build up. "You know Clay is not expecting you this early... and I am sure I could help relieve some of that stress..."
"Vix!" He snapped, "Just listen to the doctors, ok?"
Before she could reply, he strode out of the bedroom. Minutes later she heard the motorized garage door open and his bike roar off. Fuck you Juice, she thought to herself as she jerked open the drawer of her nightstand and reached inside, retrieving her little friend. She laid back on her pillows with a sigh and flipped the switch on the little plastic egg shaped toy. NOTHING. With a desperate groan she shook it... still NOTHING.
"SHIT!" she exclaimed as she threw the useless thing across the room. Suddenly a small furry head topped by two triangular ears popped up from the bottom of the bed and leapt at the flying toy. Friggin Juice… let the neighbor's damn cat in. With an exaggerated huff Vix stomped off to the shower thinking, well at least one pussy is being entertained this morning.
**
The crew members filed into the Chapel and slumped into their seats. Five pairs of eyes stared at Clay. With a sigh he said, "They got Bobby in Federal Plaza, Stockton. Rosen says ATF got an eye witness saw Bobby kill Hefner."
"What?" Tig questioned. "Jax, is that even possible?"
Jax shook his head. "From my end it was all clear. The shit is a goddamn bluff."
"You can't charge someone on a bluff. Whatever they got is real."
"Who's the bastard witness?" Chibs voiced the question that was in the forefront of everyone's mind.
Clay glanced around the table, "We're one man short. Where is Op?" He glanced at Juice.
"I called every number – no answer… even tried Donna's phone." Juice explained.
"Maybe Donna changed the goddamn home phone." Piney barked in defense of his son.
Jax snubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and stood up. "I'll go find him, a'ight?"
Tig shook his head, "You'd better."
"Oh and what's that supposed to mean?" Piney replied hot-headedly.
"Only two other guys were witness to that hit. One's in jail and the other…."
Jax leaned into Tig's personal space. "Don't even say it, asshole."
Tig jumped up, squaring off with Jax. "You better curb your disrespect."
Chibs and Clay broke up the mounting tussle quickly and Clay shook his head. "Look, everyone's nerves are fried, but we can not unravel here. Now Jax is gonna go get Op, bring him in, see what he knows."
Everyone's attention was drawn to Piney as he banged his oxygen tank angrily on the table. "The only reason my son isn't here is cause he don't know what happened."
Jax ran his fingers through his hair and sneered at Tig, "Exactly."
"Go find him." Clay said flatly to Jax.
**
Jaci stared at the computer screen in disbelief. She had run the credit reports three times with the same result. Shit. This is bad…really really bad. Shit, what have you done bro? She picked up her phone and dialed as the reports printed. No answer, she was instructed to leave a message. She ended the call without doing so and began pacing around her office. She made herself wait 10 minutes before calling again; again no answer. Oh, for the love of God!! She crammed the reports into a manila envelope and grabbed her car keys. Fuck it; this was a conversation better had in person anyway.
No one answered the door as Jaci knocked and knocked. Squinting through the windows she could see boxes stacked around the house. Not a good sign. Her suspicions were running high. She pulled out her cell again and dialed a number she was hoping to avoid. No answer came on that line either. Well, motherfucker. Does ANYONE answer their damn phones?! She stomped to her car and sat nervously tapping her steering wheel. She dialed the number a few more times over the next few minutes. The last time it went straight to voicemail. That move pissed her off; it meant the phone had been turned off in the few minutes she had been waiting to call again. Well, this was too important of news to wait until he felt like turning his phone on again. For the second time that day, she said fuck it and drove to a place she didn't really want to have to visit.
**
Tig walked out of the chapel room, his emotions still at a slow boil thinking of Jax getting up in his face. He wished that punk would just throw a punch one day so they could rumble. Maybe he could knock some arrogance out of the little bastard. He would catch hell from Clay for doing it, but the scolding would be worth taking Jax down a notch or two. He loved the kid, but he was getting to be a cocky little shit.
He rifled through the open cigar box and grabbed his phone, seeing he had missed five calls. He frowned and punched a few buttons, revealing that Jaci had been the one calling but she had not left any messages. Something must have been going on for her to call like that. A little worried, he was just about to hit send to call her back when Clay hollered and motioned him over from the bar. Tig sighed and just held down the power button on the phone instead; first things first…the call back would just have to wait a few more minutes.
**
Jaci's mustang had just turned off the street when Jax turned onto it. They had missed each other by seconds but both were looking for the same thing… Opie.
Jax stopped in front of the Winston house and looked around. Opie's truck was parked in the driveway. A glance into the garage window revealed Donna's car and Opie's bike still inside. He strode up to the front door and knocked and rang the bell. Getting no answer, he bent and retrieved the key from under the doormat. Calling out their names as he opened the door, Jax entered the house to find it empty with packing boxes littering the floor and a business card lying on the counter.
"Shit!" Jax said as he read the card. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms JUNE STAHL. A quick chat with a neighbor revealed that Opie and his family had left their house around 2:30am with what looked to be federal agents. Op hadn't been cuffed and had been in fact carrying one of his kids. Jax just shook his head in disbelief.
**
Jaci's Mustang rolled into the TM parking lot with a growl. She could see Tig and Clay standing outside the office smoking. Too busy fucking smoking to answer a damn phone call?! As she killed the engine, Tig walked quickly to her car. She opened her car door and nearly knocked him over. She barely managed to stand up before he blocked her path. He looked pissed and tore into her immediately.
"If I don't answer your goddamn phone call…it's because I'm fucking busy! I don't need you hauling ass into this place to fucking check up on me!" Tig hissed. He pushed roughly at her hip. "Get back in the car and go."
She was stunned by his attitude and slapped his hand away from her. "What the hell's wrong with you?"
"A lot of shit is going down with Bobby getting arrested. I'm fucking stressed, that's all you need to know." He pointed at her and took a step backward. "Leave…now."
She had expected Tig to be stressed but his level of blatant hostility surprised her. Hell, she hadn't arrested Bobby! She was very worried about her friend and wanted to ask about him but knew she would get no info from Tig right now. He was obviously in full on Club Business Mode. She hated when he was like this, it was as if the rational part of his brain turned off and he was incapable of calm conversation. She shot back at him in the manner she knew would get his attention. "I'm not some clingy bitch that can't go a minute without seeing you. I didn't call you five times for the fun of it. This is a NOT goddamn social call, Tig. I've got something you need to see."
He scowled at her. "Well, let's fucking see it already then."
She shook her head. "Get in the car."
"Goddamnit, Jaci. Stop being so fucking dramatic…"
She sat down in the driver seat and hissed at him. "Tig, get in the fucking car. This is serious shit. I don't want everybody hearing it."
His anger flared at her talking to him like that but he managed to contain it long enough until she was clear of the car door before shoving it violently shut with both hands. The car rocked on its wheels as he walked around to the passenger side. Clay arched an eyebrow in his direction; Tig shook his head harshly in return. He threw open the door and sat down, slamming the door shut behind him.
"Talk…and this better be fucking good. I'm not fucking playing around, Jaci. I am up to my eyeballs in shit right now."
"I can see that. Thanks for nearly breaking my damn windows with that door slam. Goddamn misplaced aggression…" She tossed the legal sized manila envelope in his lap. "Read it."
He stared at the envelope for a second. What could she possibly want to talk about that was so damn private and important? She was upset…calling him, showing up unexpectedly, acting all crazy. His heart started to pound in his chest. His voice dropped and he gave her a hard stare, clinching his jaw. "Are you knocked up?" He shook the envelope. "Is that what this is?"
"What?!" Jaci's eyes widen. "Fuck no!!" She shook her head, forehead creased at the crazy accusation. "Jesus, Tig! NO!! I wouldn't drive to your work to tell you something like that. And I damn sure wouldn't drop it on you in the middle of all this mess anyway. Shit." She snatched the envelope away from him. She couldn't help but run over his harsh words in her head knocked up…what a supportive way to put it…asshole. She opened the envelope, pulled out the papers, and then shoved them back at him.
"Ok then… what the fuck am I looking at?" Tig replied in a huff, embarrassed to have made such a wrong assumption. He took the papers and flipped through them. "This is just numbers and legal jargon bullshit to me."
"It's Opie's credit report." Tig's eyes locked onto hers and she knew without a doubt that whatever had happened today had something to do with Op. She felt her stomach clench as she continued to explain. "He came to me a few weeks ago. He was drowning in debt, stressed to the max, saying Donna was going to leave him if he didn't find a way to get clear of some things. He was at the end of his rope; I told him I would help him. But then the whole drama with the ATF and Vix happened and I got sidelined from working on his case. With everything happening with Bobby, it made me think of Opie. So today I sat down to start it up again…only now… there is hardly anything to fix."
Tig frowned at her. "What do you mean?"
Jaci rifled through the reports lying in Tig's lap. She pointed to the dollar amounts in a few columns on one report. "I ran this the day he came to see me. This is the before version, lots of debt." She grabbed another report and pointed to a long line of zeroes. "This is the report today…the after version. Tig, nearly all of his debt is gone…most of it's been paid off in full."
Tig sat silent for a moment, blinking. "Did you talk to him today?"
"No. I tried calling and couldn't get him. I just went to his house but no one's there." She stopped and took a deep breath, hating the conversation. "There are boxes all over the place…like he's moving. That's why I came here…to you."
"To me? You didn't tell Jax?" He eyed her with suspicion. "Op's his best friend…your brother-in-law…the VP?"
"Should have I talked to Jax?" She asked, thinking for a moment she had made a mistake but then shook her head. "I was going to give Op the chance to explain things. But when that didn't happen…I'm with you, Tig. So I came to you. I know you don't like hearing shit second hand."
Tig nodded slightly, appreciating the gesture of respect from her.
She leveled her eyes on him. "Tig, something's not right. Bobby's in jail and Op and his family are MIA and suddenly debt free. What the hell is going on?"
He ignored her question. "What time did you pull this new report?"
"Today…maybe an hour ago." She replied.
Tig leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. Goddamnit…Op's a fucking rat. He goes missing, his debt disappears and now Bobby gets pinched; coincidence, my ass. He gripped the papers tightly in his hands.
"Tig?"
"Shut up." He held his hand up without opening his eyes. "Just give me a minute here, would ya?" He blew out a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. He laid out the facts he was running through his mind, careful not to tell her anything that she couldn't find out on her own. "Bobby got pinched for murder, probably due to some witness I.D. and now Op's gone from drowning in debt to not a care in the world and his house is empty and we don't know where he is. Jax is out trying to find him right now. What do you think about that?"
"Shit." Jaci's face fell as she made the same jump in her mind as Tig was making. She stared at her steering wheel, grasping for a reasonable explanation. "Ok, wait though…I can't see where the money came from, you know…how the debt was paid off. Juice could probably get that for you though. Op had a mortgage and car loans with San Joaquin Savings and Loan. Maybe Juice could get to his records there. Maybe this is all a big misunderstanding. I haven't talked to Op in a couple of weeks… maybe something changed?" Jaci didn't believe her own words though and stopped talking. Just by looking at Tig, she could tell he didn't believe her either.
They sat in silence, both trying to comprehend the situation. The Feds had been looking for a way to get to SAMCRO, they had tried and failed with the women, but had they finally found a weakness with Op's debt? Had they grabbed a hold and twisted until Op had cracked? Jaci shook her head, thinking aloud. "What I didn't get, when he came to see me, was how it had gotten this bad, the debt. I mean, I know he was away for like five years, but what happened to helping out the family? Didn't the club step up and help? Why didn't something get done to see that Donna didn't fall that behind while he was away?"
Tig sat up straighter and started shoving the reports back in the envelope. "The fuck do you care?"
"I care because that could be my sister if Juice ever has the unfortunate need to go to jail. They're getting serious. Who's going to help her? What if they have kids one day?"
"The Club tried to help. Donna didn't want any handouts and cut us off. That debt's her own damn fault." Tig snapped back in reply. He leaned back in the seat, lifted up his shirt, and shoved the envelope under the waistband of his jeans. He pulled his shirt back over it and looked at Jaci.
"Keep this shit to yourself, understand? I'm going to tell Clay and we'll have Juice dig around like you said but that will be it and he won't know why we knew to look. The only person that will know you brought this to me is Clay. Anyone asks why you were here today you tell them we were arguing about some personal shit."
Jaci nodded her head in understanding and appreciated the insulating layers Tig was throwing up for her. "I hope we're wrong about all of this."
"Me too." He locked eyes with her again but his voice was suddenly softer. "Get out of here. Don't you have some shit of your own to deal with today?"
Jaci groaned. "God yes. Wendy's out of rehab, milling around town before heading for a sober living facility. Abel's probably coming home tomorrow. Tons of drama. I mean it's all good news but I'm sure it's going to be dramatic. Me, Vix, Wendy, Gemma and probably Tara all moving in the same circles…that's a lot of bitchiness to contain."
"No shit." Tig agreed.
"Back to the troubles at hand for a second, what about Bobby? Jason's on it, right?" She asked.
"Yeah." He still hated her calling Rosen by his first name but didn't correct her. He knew she would be worried about Bobby, the pair was pretty close. "Stahl headed up the arrest. She's probably just pissed cause she got her face smashed. Maybe it's all bullshit…maybe there isn't a witness."
"Face smashed?"
"Shit, I forgot to tell you. Luann's old man in the pen… slammed that bitch's face into a table a few times."
Jaci couldn't help but smile at the news. She would have loved to rearrange that agent's face herself. "Damn, I would have paid money for that privilege."
"I'll call you when I know something about him, ok? Go back to work. This conversation never happened."
She nodded and he got out of the car without another word. As Tig walked back up to the office, Clay raised an eyebrow in amusement. Tig clenched his jaw and with a slight shake of his head he said very quietly, "We got problems."
"I can see that." Clay replied with a smile.
"Not me and her…you and me. Come here." Tig replied as he walked right past Clay and into the office, knowing it was empty. "You need to see this."
Vix glanced over at her sister. "You need a GPS. The Lodi Mall is in that direction."
Wendy nodded. "I know; I just want to swing by St. Thomas and check in on Abel."
"Like hell you are! You better just turn this car around; I refuse to be a party to this crazy ass plan. All you are gonna end up doin' is pissin' off Gemma when she finds out."
"I already talked to her this morning; she stopped by the motel. Almost swallowed my tongue when I opened up the door and saw her standing there. She told me I should stay at Jax's if I want."
"I thought that Fed kicked her in the ribs, not in the head."
Wendy shrugged as she pulled into St Thomas' parking lot. "I really need to know something... do you think that Tara still has feelings for Jax, I mean after all these years? I was… I don't know, pickin' up funny vibes yesterday?"
"I wouldn't know anything about that. I was in a coma for like a week and been on the mend for a few and I'm not exactly hangin' at the clubhouse ya know."
"I know but you've been in Charming for a few months. What is your honest opinion of Tara?"
"She's a predator posing as a house pet." Vix looks over at Wendy staring at her. "What? You wanted honesty, you got it."
"I.. I wasn't expecting it."
"Yeah, well... Merry Christmas, Happy Easter, Trick or Treat. Now can we just get a move on? We got a shit ton of things to do today."
The sisters made their way up to the pediatric floor and walked in just in time to see Jax and Tara tightly embraced and lip locked.
Vix stared at Wendy as they took in the sight of the couple. Wendy's breath came out all choppy as she worked to steel herself over. She glanced at her sister, "Well that answers that, hmm?" Turning on her heel she walked back down the hall towards the elevator.
"Mothershitfuck!" Vix groaned her new favorite cuss word as she walked after her sister.
She met up with Wendy who had her finger jammed into the down arrow elevator call button. "Wendy, I'm sorry man. I had no idea those two were back together and that was certainly no way to find out."
Wendy just shrugged and pushed harder on the call button.
A minute later the elevator doors slid open to reveal Gemma standing there.
"Gemma!!" said both the girls, startled to see her. Vix prayed like hell that Wendy hadn't been blowing smoke up her ass about that early morning motel meeting, otherwise things were about to get ugly in the halls of St Thomas.
At the sound of footsteps coming down the hall, all three ladies looked up to see Jax approaching. "Holy shit, what kinda party am I crashing?"
Gemma smiled at him, "Hi, baby. How's Abel?"
Jax nodded, "Good, I got called in to sign some prelim discharge paperwork. He's a free little man come tomorrow." He had needed to rush back to the clubhouse with the news he had discovered about Opie and his family's whereabouts but when Tara had called about needing paperwork signed, he decided to at least do one happy thing with this god awful day.
"That's great news, baby." Gemma smiled.
Vix smiled too, "That IS great news, man!"
Wendy nodded politely. "It is… it really is."
Gemma looked at the two girls, "I guess you two had better get to haulin' ass to Lodi for those party supplies."
Vix nodded, "Yep we'd better." She went to give Wendy a sisterly-shove in to the elevator but Wendy side stepped.
"Um, do you think I could see him, just for a little bit?" Wendy asked Jax with a shy smile.
"The respiratory therapist is with him right now, shouldn't be more than an hour or so. Why don't you swing by here later – spend all the time you want?" Jax offered.
Trying hard to keep the disappointment out of her voice, Wendy nodded. "Ok sounds good, I'll do that." She joined Vix in the elevator.
Before the doors close Gemma reminded, "I'll meet you two at Jax's house around 3."
Vix nodded as Wendy just stood there and watched the doors close. The elevator made it down one floor before the bell chimed and the doors slid open. Vix glanced towards the door and her breath got caught in her throat as her temper flared. Ernest Darby stood in front of them. She had been given the Cliff's Notes version of the threat made against her and her family and the subsequent Nord stomping that occurred while she had been fighting her own death match against illness. She has also been instructed to stear clear of the skin heads and to keep her mouth shut and emotions in check should she run into them.
When he stepped into the elevator, Vix dug down deep to quell the urge to cold-cock the asshole. Knowing that she'd eventually lose her inner-struggle for calm and being in no real shape to defend herself or Wendy for that matter, she made the hasty decision to remove herself from the scene. She stepped off the elevator, leaving Wendy standing there blinking at her questioningly, as the doors slid shut.
"I'll take the stairs." Vix hollered at the closing doors.
Darby's laugh could be heard through the closed door. He thought to himself... guess no one told little Ms. Vix that stairwells can be a dangerous place around here, 'specially since her family's gone back home.
Wendy glared at Darby and reached out and hit the button for the next floor. When the doors opened, she stepped out and turned towards the end of the hall where the stairs were located. She heard Vix cussing a floor below and hurried after her.
"Hey, are you supposed to be doin' stairs?"
Vix stopped and glare at her eldest sister. "I ain't supposed to be doin' SHIT! I swear to Christ, my exploding appendix didn't kill me but my god damn recovery just might."
**
Clay and Tig sat in the main room of the clubhouse when a very disturbed looking Juice walked in. The two looked at the Information Officer, both pretty damn sure they didn't want to hear the info he had for them.
"I just talked to our guy over at San Joaquin Savings and Loan." He took a deep breath. "Someone paid off a huge chunk of Opie's debt by federal wire transfer… mortgage, credit cards, car payments." He passed a print out verifying the info to Clay and Tig.
Clay looked at him, "This stays between the three of us."
"Of course." Juice replied, as if that was a given.
"Go." Tig said flatly, dismissing Juice from the room. Once Juice was gone he looked at Clay, "Opie sold us out."
Clay raised his eyebrows. "Or the Feds want us to think he did. That bitch is smart." He turned and hurdled his bottle of beer against the wall, shouting, "Devious gash!"
**
Gemma sat in the office of Teller Morrow sipping on the iced coffee she'd bought on her way in from St. Thomas. She unscrewed the top on a bottle of pain meds and downed one, her ribs were really killing her. Fuckin' ATF Bitch. Calm down, Gemma – some day an eye for a fuckin' eye. But she didn't want a damn EYE; she wanted that bitch's head on a platter.
She was pulled out of her thoughts by a woman's voice.
"Gemma."
She looked up startled to see Piney's ex-wife standing in her door way. "Mary? What are you doin' here?"
"Got a call from the Feds. They want me to pick my grandkids up from the Justice Facility in Stockton."
"Opie's kids are in a facility?"
"Apparently the whole family is. Can't get ahold of Piney, thought you might shed some light on why I'm schleppin' my fat ass 75 miles."
Gemma heard a motorcycle approaching and saw Jax pull into the lot. "Let's see if we can find out."
The two women walked outside. Gemma approached Jax as he was removing his helmet, "What's Opie's mom doin' here?"
"She's pickin' up her grandkids from the Justice Faciltiy." Jax was saddened but not entirely shocked by the news of where the family was. "Opie get picked up on that Hefner shit?"
Mary approached Jax, "What my son do this time?"
"Nice to see you too, Mary."
**
"It costs too much extra to get ABEL added to the banner. Welcome home is fine." Wendy said as she and Vix were picking out party supplies.
"Cost… schmost. Little dude is coming home, no expense shall be spared." Vix replied as she headed over to the display of foil balloons.
Wendy laughed, "That's cause it's not your money covering these expenses."
Vix stared over her shoulder at her sister. "It ain't your money either."
Wendy thought over that statement for about two seconds before replying to the clerk behind the counter, "Go ahead and add Abel to that banner. A. B. E. L. Got it?"
"Got it. Will there be anything else?"
"Will there be anything else?" Wendy looked at Vix.
Vix spun around "Hmmmm… two of those big rolls of baby blue and white streamers and balloons # 14, 26, 72, 19, 12, and 7. They come with those tie down thingies right?"
"Yes." The clerk replied with a smile.
"Great! Now where are your paper plates and stuff?"
"Aisle 5."
"Sweet." Vix started off in the direction of aisle 5. "Come along Wendy!"
Wendy shook her head with a smile but followed her sister.
**
Since her early morning discovery and subsequent chat with Tig concerning the state of Op's finances, Jaci had really tried to carry on as business as usual for the rest of the day…and had failed miserably. She sat in her office, pretty much just staring at her computer screen as a million questions and fears ran through her head. When her last client of the afternoon cancelled, she took that as a sign and took off for the rest of the day, thanking God for flexible work schedules.
As she drove home, she wondered how things were going between her two sisters. She'd scribbled a note to Vix and left it on the counter before she headed out this morning, asking for Vix to please play nice with Wendy. She had been thinking that they could have been nicer at dinner the prior night. Jaci pulled out her cell phone and called Vix.
"Hola!" Vix's voice snapped to life over the line.
"What's up sista?"
Vix laughed. "Nothin' just prayin' I make it home in one piece. I never realized how bad a driver Wendy is."
Jaci could hear Wendy in the background saying "That parked car pulled out in front of us!
"He had the right-of-way and he wasn't parked, but then again I guess everything seems parked when you're driving 100 miles an hour." Vix snapped back.
"Where are you guys?" Jaci laughed.
"Just rollin' into town now. You still at work?"
"Just left. You need some help?"
"Is that a trick question?" Vix laughed. "Yeah, we sorta got waylaid in the decorations store and Gemma is gonna have our asses over how little we got done."
"Worry not; the organization guru is en route. Later."
Vix hung up just as Wendy swerved the car into the lot next to the local mom n pop sandwich shop. Vix's phone flew out of her hand as she reached out to steady herself. "Where the hell did you ever learn to drive?" She realized where they were. "What? Got the munchies?"
"Nope." Wendy pursed her lips as she stared out the windshield.
Vix looked over and saw Tara getting up from one of the outside tables with a few co-workers, judging by their scrubs. "How'd you know she'd be here?"
"I didn't, I saw as we drove by."
"And what exactly are you plannin' on doin' to Ms. Tara? I wasn't kidding about how far behind we are on our to do list from Gemma. Ass kickin's and their resulting drama take time we don't have, Wendy."
"I'm just gonna talk to her, Vix." Wendy soothed as she exited the car.
"Fuck me!" Vix groaned as she got out of the car. She knew she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. If shit went down between Wendy and Tara, besides not being in any shape to be throwing or stopping punches, she'd be torn on loyalty. Wendy was her sister, her blood and for a few more months Jax's wife. BUT if what they both witnessed today between Jax and Tara was a true indicator of what is going on, Tara could be considered to BE with Jax and even though Tara was FAR from Vix's favorite person that still brought up all sort of conditions regarding hierarchy of respect.
Vix walked up to Wendy and Tara in time to hear Wendy asking the doctor why she hadn't found time to tell her she was sleeping with her husband.
Tara smartly countered with "EX-husband."
"That ain't official yet, Tara… 'nother few months." Wendy corrected.
"I've got to get back to work." Tara said and turned to walk away.
"She hates you." Wendy reminded as she turned back and looked at Tara. "Gemma… she'll never let you be with him. You'd be smart to quit while you're ahead… or alive for that matter." Wendy smirked. "Come on Vix, we've done our public service for the day. There is a lot of shit we need to get ready so Jax and I can bring our son home."
Tara stood there contemplating Wendy's words. The look Vix shot at her over her shoulder was not one Tara could easily read, but she certainly didn't find it friendly or apologetic.
**
Gemma arrived at Jax's place to find the Parker sisters fast at work decorating. Slipping her sunglasses off, she leaned against the archway surveying the work, "Looks good."
Vix walked in from the kitchen. "Hey, Gemma."
"Hi, darlin. So what is left to do?"
"That would be a question for our technical director, Jaci. I'm currently in charge of grub. Whatcha like on your pizza?"
Gemma shook her head, "Not a big fan." She looked over, a bit startled to see Jaci, "Playin' hooky?"
"I went in early today, thought I'd dip out early, too. Help keep these two organized." Jaci answered with a smirk.
"Thoughtful." Gemma nodded, "Well, you girls did really good here. I think I could spring for some lunch, a little late but better than never."
**
"How's the pie?" Gemma asked as she took a puff off her after-dinner cigarette.
"Really good." Wendy said as she spooned the last bite into her mouth.
Vix slipped back into her seat after returning from the ladies room, "Did y'all see that woman that just walked in?" Three heads bobbed up and down in reply. "Have you ever seen anyone in worse need of a hair makeover, Jesus Christ."
Gemma looked across the table at Jaci, "I might have."
Jaci realized that Gemma may be talking about her and frowned, "What?"
"When was the last time your ass was in a stylist chair?"
Vix glances at Gemma and then at Jaci, scrutinizing the condition of her sister's hair. With a sigh, "It's been like forever. I was tryin' to get her to take time off and come into SNIPS, but she's always busy then I got sick and well, let's just say my health issues have had damaging effects on heads of hair all across this town."
Jaci picked up the napkin dispenser and looked at herself in its reflective surface. She frowned, "What do you mean? Its all BROWN...there are no roots...what's the problem?'"
Gemma raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh trust me baby, there are problems."
Vix laughed, "You'll have to excuse Jaci, she's a total tomboy when it comes to hair. Well compared to the hair-colorin' lover that is me. Christ, I've been colorin' my hair for so long I'm not sure I even remember what my natural color is anymore."
Wendy smiled in amusement at the current exchange. "Well wouldn't the color of the hair on another part of your..." She looked at Vix who was shaking her head no.
"Waxed, baby." Vix smiled.
"Ok, TMI!" Jaci announced. "And on that note…we should be getting back, we've got things to do."
"Relax." Gemma replied coolly."Besides your ass ain't goin' anywhere but to SNIPS."
"What? Seriously, Gemma… my hair is fine. Besides tomorrow is another day, maybe I will…."
"Tomorrow is busy day. I think we could all use a bit of glam, look our bests for Abel."
Gemma stood up and walked over to settle their bill. Jaci looked at Vix and Wendy, "What the hell? I am seriously not comfortable playin' Fashion Make Over with Gemma."
Vix shrugged, "She's bein' nice J, besides it'll be fun. Just go with it."
"Famous last words." Jaci muttered as they all headed for the door.
**
Jaci sat in the stylist chair. She stuck her tongue out at her image in the mirror thinking Sometimes I wish I were a vampire, no reflection. Vix walked over and leaned down beside Jaci, their heads next to each other and their reflections side by side in the mirror. "Relax chica, your hair is in my very capable hands."
Jaci stared hard at Vix in the mirror and warned, "SUBTLE." Vix smiled and walked towards the backroom. Jaci twisted in the chair. "You hear me? Keep it SUBTLE!" She thought of Tig's reaction if she somehow wound up with un-natural looking hair. "PLEASE!!!"
Vix shook her head and kepts walking. "You'll be fine. When have I ever steered you wrong?"
Jaci scoffed causing Vix to giggle. "Ok, you'd better not answer that."
**
Tara drove by SNIPS on her way home from work and happened upon Gemma, Wendy, Jaci and Vix all sharing a laugh and a smoke in the parking lot. Wendy's warning from early in the afternoon echoed in her mind as she past. With a sour look on her face, she pulled the pin on an imaginary grenade and lobbed it out the passenger side window at them.
The door to the salon opened up and Eve stuck her head out. "Hey Vix. Darlin', can I have a word with you before you leave?"
Vix nodded and glanced at Jaci. "Be right back, k?" She crushed her cigarette butt out under the toe of her boot and headed back inside.
Jaci saw Gemma checkin' her watch and suggested, "Why don't you two go ahead back to Jax's? Vix and I will meet up with ya there in a little bit."
**
Vix walked back inside the salon and smiled. "Eve-y baby… it felt good to be back home and working today!"
Eve smiled and sighed, "It was great to see you baby girl. Now have a seat there's something I need to talk to you about."
"Oh god! This is bad, right?" Vix looked at Eve,. "I've been fired before ya know. This is what that sounds like. Eve, are you firing me?"
"That's not exactly what I am ..."
Vix took Eve's hands, "Eve, I promise my appendix won't burst ever again. It… it can't cause they removed it... and I um, I am pretty sure that none of my other internal organs will suddenly explode, you know without some serious damage doing on my part..."
"I am gonna be a grandma." Eve announced, cutting off Vix's ramble.
"What? Huh?"
"My boy, Conrad and his no-good-senseless-wife are having a baby and he asked me to move closer to them. They've got an in-law suite, but I am sure I need to put a bit more space between me and that wife of his... but still if I want my grandbaby to have a snowballs shot in Hades of turnin' out normal I'd better make the move.... so I am gonna be closin' up shop."
"SNIPS is closing?!" Vix repeated with a gasp. "H-h-how...w-w-when? Oh my god, Eve! You know you're gonna upset a lotta people. Half-the town comes here to get their hair done and the other half would if they knew what was good for 'em… cheap bastards that they are runnin' off to the $6.95 hair hackers." Vix stared at her boss, "Have you really thought this through? I mean really? Are you gonna be ok in Des Moines?"
"Denver." Eve corrected her.
"Des Moines, Denver, where ever. I mean you have trouble stomaching a ten minute phone call with your daughter-in-law how you gonna stand living there? I think maybe you need a prescription cause in my opinion you've lost your damn mind."
"I've not lost my mind, Vix. I have thought about it." Eve stood up and started pacing around. "I've been cutting hair in this town for goin' on 25 years. I'm ready for a change and well, I really do need to go protect my grandbaby from its totally horrendous bitch of a mother."
"I know you do, family is family." Vix finally agreed with a sigh. "Look at me and Jaci, moving the whole way here to protect little Abel from, well ... we don't need to name names." Vix sighed again, thinking to herself. What the fuck am I gonna do?! God, I'd rather slit my writs with a plastic butter knife than go work in one of those chop-shops over in Lodi or something. "So when are you closin'?"
"I'm givin' a month's notice to the clientele, just picked up the notices from the printers. I went the whole way out to Oakland to avoid early leaking of nasty rumors; you know this town. I was gonna come by and see you at your place, tell you before you heard about it elsewhere and then low and behold you waltz in here tonight."
"I appreciate that. I'm gonna miss workin' for you. I loved it here." Vix stood up and hugged Eve.
"I'm gonna miss you too, baby girl."
Jaci was waiting in her car, drummin' her fingers to the beat of the music, when Vix opens the passenger side door and climbed in, "Don't ask." She said as she sat down. "Um, do you think you can drop me at home? Tell Gemma I'm not feelin' well all of a sudden."
Jaci nodded, one glance at her sister told her that whatever Eve had had to tell Vix it couldn't have been good. "You got it girl."
**
After verifying from two sources that Opie's finances had been paid off, Clay and Tig spent the rest of the afternoon mentally digging Op an early grave. An impromptu ice cream social with Rosen had added depth to their fears. Rosen warned them that if Opie had turned, the Feds would use him to try and get even more information on the club before they hauled him in for good and stuck him and his family in the witness protection program. Tig pushed aside his jealously issues with Rosen and really listened to the advice the lawyer was giving them which boiled down to being very wary of Op and to check him for wires.
Clay had told Jax to bring Op in as soon as he was released from Fed custody. They had agreed to let Op explain the situation. But even after hearing Op plead his case, Tig was not swayed. The listening devices he had found in Op's truck and in his phone had convinced him that SAMCRO had a rodent infestation that needed to be take care of immediately. The bugs put the final nails in Op's coffin and Tig knew he was going to have to kill his brother in order to save Bobby and the club. After a heated discussion, Clay had told him to make sure the assassination never came back on the club and he was going to do just that. Tig's thoughts eventually made their way to Jaci like they seemingly always did these days. Growing up around clubs, she would probably understand what needed to be done but she would not be able to handle the guilt that came with knowing she had added to the avalanche of doubt against Op. He would have to spin Op's death so that she didn't feel any heat.
**
The night's activities were in full swing at the Club House. Everyone was celebrating Op's release from the Federal holding facility and his resistance to their efforts to flip him. Juice was in his usual perch at the bar with his lap top, drinkin' a beer and frowning at the screen when he glanced over and watched as Chibs pulls one of the crow eaters to the side and whisper something in her ear. She nodded and walked away.
"Ah ha, fresh meat, fellas!" Chibs called out as a gaggle of twenty-somethings were led into the room by two other girls Juice had seen hanging around the place before. A beeping sound resonating from his phone stole his attention. As he keyed in a code, a text message appeared on the screen. He quickly read it and then snapped the phone shut like a venus fly trap and focused again on his lap top.
A few minutes later, Chibs walked over and slammed the screen shut the computer. He already had one of the girls hanging on his shoulder. He grinned at Juice. "Work time is over, brother. Time to party. Here drink some of this."
"What is it?" Juice asked, sniffing the glass of amber liquid Chibs poured for him. He took a sip. "That's pretty good."
"You bet your balls it is." Chibs refilled the glass. "Here have a bottle, I've got another… somewhere?" The chick on his shoulder whispered something in his ear and he smiled. "Ha, over there it is! Thank you, darlin'."
Juice laughed and downed another glass. Half Sack wandered over to him, "Is it me or is Chibs soundin' like Captain Jack Sparrow?"
Juice cracked up, "It's probably you, Prospect. But if he starts hollerin' about why's the rums' gone... then we'll start worryin'." Juice held up his glass. "Do you know what this shit is? It is fuckin' good man!" Half Sack only shrugged and walked away.
As the night wore on, Juice became aware of a blonde haired chick who kept watching him. Every time he saw her she seemed to have moved a bit closer to him. He was thinking that maybe it was the effects of the mystery drink but suddenly she was sitting right next to him. He turned and blinked at her. She looked like something out of a Nickelback video. Dressed up like a princess, betting that her skin smells better than the scent of every flower in the desert, come on! "Hello." He mumbled.
"Hello back." She replied with a bright smile. "I'm Blair."
"Juice."
She frowned playfully. "Seriously?"
He nodded. "Oh yeah. Wanna drink?"
"Absolutely."
Juice grinned and stood on the rungs of the bar stool. He reached behind the bar and grabbed a glass, sat back down and poured her a tall one. The two begin chit chatting at the bar; smiles and grins exchanged, chuckles and giggles, as well.
From where he was standing across the room, Half Sack watched the exchange and thought to himself aw, shit. Emily Duncan watched the exchange with interest from the other side of the room. When Blair leaned in and whispered something in Juice's ear followed a quick peck on the cheek, Emily immediately started looking around the room for Vix. Emily was feeling a bit generous that evening so she decided to save the new girl from an ass kicking.
Emily walked over to where Juice sat with the blonde. She smiled sweetly at Juice, "Can I borrow her for one little second please?" Juice frowned but nodded. Blair stood up and walked away all while eying the older woman nervously. Juice watched as she walked off, studying her rear profile. He smiled to himself and poured another shot of Chibs' mystery tonic. Half Sack saw Juice alone and took the opportunity to inquire as to his current mental status. "Hey man, what's goin' on?"
Juice chuckled. "Dude, that hot chick was just hittin' on me..."
"Dude, do you want to think about what you're doin'??" Half Sack asked gingerly.
Juice looked over at the Prospect and in a cockiness that was totally not like him, replied, "The fuck you care?" He took another drink and then a few chugs of a beer. "I thought about it…it's all good dude." He looked over to where Blair was in discussion with some of the other girls. He looked her up and down. "Definitely all good bro."
The girls stopped halfway across the room. Emily still wore the sweet smile. "I haven't seen you around before so I thought I would do you favor and explain something to you."
"My name's Blair."
"I don't care what your name is honey. Just listen. Unless Juice came onto you, you need to back off."
Blair frowned. "Why? He's hot."
"Because he's totally into Vix."
Blair looked at her dumbly, "Vic's? Like the cough drops and stuff? So he has like a cold medicine addiction? I didn't even know you could get addicted to that stuff."
Emily had planned on explaining that Juice had a girlfriend, a very hostile girlfriend so unless it was Juice's choice to strike up a conversation or anything more, he was usually considered off limits. But since Blair seemed to be such a smug little idiot Emily decided to leave the girl to her own devices. If Vix swooped in and kicked her ass so be it. Emily squeezed the girl's shoulder and smiled. "Yeah, that is TOTALLY it. You gotta watch out for this cough medicine though, it'll kill ya." Emily walked off, rolling her eyes as she went.
Blair shook her head and wandered back toward Juice. She gets to her seat next to him as someone cranks up a radio and suddenly some heavy rock/rap shit is playing. Blair smiled and started singing the lyrics to Juice… You're so sweet, I wanna lick the wrapper.
Juice raised his eyebrow and thought to himself Bring it on baby as he downed the last of his drink.
**
Tig had a hard time enjoying the little Op freedom celebration. In his head, he kept going over and over the pile of rat evidence against the young biker and watched with barely masked disdain as Jax and Op shared a few beers together. Tig clenched his jaw tightly as he saw the two young men laughing like they didn't have a care in the world. Bobby was sitting in a jail cell tonight, how the fuck could anyone be happy?
He walked outside for a moment to calm down. If he kept watching Opie, he knew he would end up saying something harsh and couldn't risk tipping his hand. He needed a distraction. He pulled out his phone without really thinking and started to dial Jaci's number. He shook his head and slammed his thumb down on the END button, sliding the phone back into his pocket. The last thing he needed to do tonight was THINK. His brain was about to overheat as it was from thinking all day. If he went to Jaci's, they would TALK about everything; he would end up sharing more than he should since she had a damn witch's ability to just pull shit right out of his head.
Tig inhaled sharply and rolled his shoulders while pacing. He felt like he was about to explode from the day's tension. He didn't need to think, he just needed to do, to get back to the fundamentals... of being a SAA, to being himself. Until the task was done with Opie, he needed to steer clear of Jaci. She had an extraordinary pull over him and he didn't need any chinks in his armor right now. He needed to be his old self for a while…fuck having a conscience, fuck thinking about things and feelings and whatever. Fuck it all. He wished he could just walk back into the clubhouse and empty his gun into Op's chest and be done with it all but the situation called for discretion and patience, not two of his strongest characteristics.
As he paced, he had been absently glancing at a croweater who watched him as she leaned against the clubhouse wall, smoking a cigarette. She was smiling at him with mild amusement. He looked like a caged animal trying to find the weak section of a fence. She crushed out her cigarette and began toying with a lock of her hair just as his stare shifted from distant to predatory. He stopped pacing and locked eyes with her. She felt her heart jump a little as she got a good look into his cold blue eyes. For a half second she wondered if she had been safer when he wasn't paying any attention to her. He came to stand about a foot away from her, not moving, just staring. Her eyes widen slightly. He cocked his head toward the parking lot. "Come on." He said simply and then headed for his bike. She watched him for a moment and then pushed off the wall to follow him.