AN: I want to thank all of you for your support of this story. I hope you continue to enjoy the ride. I am having fun writing this tale. I do want to acknowledge that I have used many of the bits and pieces from other FF writers. I have also used some of Sutter's writing. I do not claim to own any of their work. The only thing that makes my story original is literally how I change the fork in the road.

Disclaimer: SOA and Sutter own it all.

Dedicated to elbeewoods...you are the wind that keeps me going. Your red gifts keep me focused.


Chapter 8

Organize

1 day before the attack

August 2

8:00 am

Hale is in his office organizing the people he talked to last night. They will meet at St. Thomas this morning at 10:00 am.

Yesterday, after meeting with Unser and the DA, David decided to meet with Margaret Murphy, the hospital administrator. He had remembered Margaret from when he and Tara were in an advanced health care course offered at St. Thomas. It had been their senior year of high school. Margaret is thrilled to help law enforcement in any way possible. Margraet said, "I have many fond memories of Tara. This hospital has many resources within the building that are not open to the public. I can assure you there will be no problem with secrecy and confidentiality."

Hale has a special meeting with Candy Eglee at 9:00 am in his office. He handpicked Candy because she was a childhood friend. Candy never was a close friend to Jax or Tara, but everyone liked Candy. Now, David needs to brief her on her role in this case. Candy will keep everything in check at St. Thomas. If Tara gets injured, Jax will be an explosive bomb. Hopefully, Candy will be able to keep him under control. Hale knows Jax respects and likes Candy (as they all do) and he would trust and follow her instructions.

Hale has requested additional personnel from Patterson. Three FBI agents will be at St. Thomas for Hale's briefing. These agents are from the special operations division in covert action. They will be his plainclothes backup. The Charming police department is too small to support the plan by themselves.

At 10:00 am everyone is seated in a special conference room at St. Thomas. Each participant is escorted individually by hospital personnel after they give the proper code phrase. The phrase is, "Love is in the air." There is a total of 12 people. Six are hospital personnel: two doctors, three nurses and Margret Murphy. The remainder of the participants are all law enforcement personnel. The conference room is hidden on the second floor of the hospital behind a storage closet. The room is large, with enough seating for 20 people around a conference table. The room is also outfitted with surveillance equipment. Any listening devices will be detected. Everyone is asked to sign a confidentiality agreement knowing the consequence is jail, if broken.

Concurrently, Unser is at Charming P.D. briefing the two deputies he has chosen to be his backup. They also sign the confidentiality agreement. At both meetings the participants receive a burner phone. The burners are to be used exclusively for this case.

The stage is set and the players are ready to do their job.

Meanwhile, Patterson has finished meeting with the judge assigned to this case. He agreed with probable cause to issue signed warrants for Gemma Morrow and Clay Morrow. The judge has complete confidence in Tyne Patterson. They have always enjoyed a mutual respect for each other's excellence in their professional careers. Patterson knows the warrants will be null and void if she is unable to get the proof she needs from the hired gunmen. Murder for hire is an ugly and messy business.

So many variables still hanging in the air. The unknown is Patterson's main concern.

It is now 2:00 pm and the meeting has started with Unser and Hale. Patterson has turned on her recorder so she can review the details after the meeting. Everything seems to be in place. David does ask, "Could we put a tracking device on Tara's car?" Patterson responds quickly, "No! It is too risky. What if Jax finds it before she leaves. Worse yet, the thugs probably have eyes on them now and they could see you plant the device." David feels like he should have thought about that too. Patterson assures them, "Sticking to the plan is the best strategy. I do have one question about Margaret Murphy. We are giving her a lot of trust. I would like to set up a meeting with her as soon as possible."

Margaret arrives at Patterson's office at 4:30 pm. "Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice," replies Patterson. Margaret responds, "No problem, I am happy to help." Patterson nods in agreement. Patterson states, "I do have some questions about your past." Margaret stands up quickly and turns to show her back as she lifts her shirt..."Is this your question?" asks Margaret. Staring at the massive gang tattoo Patterson simply says, "Yes." Margaret responds, "I was a member of a gang in my late teens. I was madly in love with the leader. We used drugs. One night we both over-dosed. He died and I didn't. I left the same day vowing to change my life. Helping you with this case is a privilege." Patterson says, "Sounds like this case could be personal for you." Margaret states, "Personal enough to see the bad guys lose? Absolutely." "Thank you, Margaret. I needed to verify we were on the same team," said Patterson.

That evening, Tyne Patterson reviews everything that is going to happen tomorrow. Her main concern is catching the bad guys alive. She also fears for Tara Knowles. She is not happy about having her in harm's way.

At least, we may be able to save her from being killed.