Gemma's first stop on her search for Nero was Diosa. It was irrational – the brothel had just been shot up and searched by the police – but the aging gangster was here after all. The bodies were all gone but the bullet holes obviously remained, making for a gruesome sight. She found Nero in what remained of his office, apparently cleaning out his things into several cardboard boxes. "Hey."

He turned to look at her. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," Gemma said. She nodded towards the boxes. "You cleaning or packing?"

"Packing. It is over, mama. Jax and I are done. I am going to sell him my share of Diosa and move north. Finally get started on this farm."

Jax had not mentioned any trouble with Nero but she guessed she should not be surprised about that. "I didn't know things were so bad. Anything I can do?"

"No, just leave it," Nero said. "It was a bad idea from the start. I am glad I met you but I never should have started doing business with the Sons. Jax just ruins everything he touches – no offense."

"None taken. Things are not exactly great between me and him either. He really keeps to himself these days. He makes all the decisions and just expects the others to follow."

"Yeah, exactly! This is why it did not work out. He just kept doing things and...sorry, I should bring this on you."

"It's okay," she said. "When are you leaving?"

"I don't know yet. I need the money from Jax but I doubt he will have time for me the next days. Maybe I will drive up regardless just to get my head clear." He hesitated for a moment. "I know you probably will say no but I just have to ask: Do you want to come with me?"

She pretended to be surprised. "To NorCo?"

"Yeah, I know it is a lot to ask but..."

"Yeah, I want to come."

This took Nero visibly off guard. "Really?"

Gemma shrugged. "I think I could use a change of scenery as well. The way things are with Jax some distance might do us both good. And it is not like I am going far away. "

"Okay, great," Nero said, apparently unable to believe his luck. "When should we go?"

"Oh, as soon as possible. I just need a break from all the things here. You finish organizing your stuff and call me. Trust me, I can pack very quickly."

Nero grinned. "The first time I have heard a woman say that. Next you will tell me that you only need one suitcase."

"That might be pushing it," Gemma said, leaning in for kiss.

Nero responded and for a moment she thought everything might be alight after all. A quiet life in NorCo with a man she trusted at her side didn't sound too bad.

An hour after his meeting with Patterson, Jax and Happy met with Hawk a bit outside of Charming. Off all the things Jax had to get done this day, this was the most secret, even more clandestine than him sitting down with Patterson. That the SAMDION VP had come all this way alone made it even more obvious that something was off. Jax felt reminded of his own time as VP. How often had he been the renegade VP, setting up things behind Clay's back? He found that he missed the time a bit. Back then, the club had been whole and he still had had both Opie and Tara at his side. He shook off the feeling and approached Hawk. "Hawk, thanks for coming."

"Thanks for seeing me," Hawk said. "How's it going, Happy?"

Happy just gave him a stare and Hawk turned back to Jax. "Should I be worried?"

"No, Hap just isn't one for ideal chatter. How are things going in the south?"

"Same old. I floated the gun deal again and it looks promising," Hawk said. "We have a bit of a cash flow problem so the boys are eager for some bigger game, especially the younger members. But we are still short of a majority. Some brothers are categorically opposed, others might be brought to our side."

Jax nodded. "So what is the time frame?"

Hawk frowned. "I really can't say, Jax. The doubts won't just disappear if I keep asking. And the more trouble you guys have up here, the more difficult it will be. The biggest problem is Packer, really. He still has a lot of sway and he will never take the gun biz from you. He thinks it is far too dangerous and I also suspect he does not think too highly of you anymore. He fears you are running SAMCRO into the ground and doesn't want to go down with you."

Cold anger flooded into Jax's veins. What did Packer know? SAMDINO was a quiet charter and couldn't even imagine the problems SAMCRO had to deal with. "I hope you are not thinking the same."

"Of course not but I can't do more with my president against me. I am sure you know the feeling."

"I do. And the solution always was to go behind Clay's back. Maybe you should try to find something on Packer, something that would damage his authority."

A shark-like smile spread on Packer's face. "Playing dirty Jax? I like that. The problem is that Packer is squeaky clean. I look hard but he doesn't do any side deals, he is tight with most of the club, doesn't even cheat on his old lady. A saint really, with a lot of convictions. Admirable, if old-fashioned."

Jax took the time to light a cigarette and take a drag. "Then I guess he just has to go away."

For once he had taken Hawk by surprise. "You mean kill him?"

"If it comes to that," Jax said, giving him a hard look. "It is not like something like this has never happened before."

Hawk looked at him then it all fell into place. "Clay? Jesus Christ."

"Had to be done."

Hawk shook his head. "I could never do that...I mean everybody would know it was me. And Packer, he has his faults but this is not how he should go."

Jax gave him a hard look. "This deal is for the good of the club. It will save both our charters, mine from too much heat and yours from going broke. We can't let a fool like Packer sabotage it. This has to be done, Hawk. If he cannot be convinced, he has to step aside. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made."

"I get that but still…" Hawk took a deep breath. "I will try to talk to him again. Maybe he will see reason."

"I hope so," Jax said, "but Happy will come with you in any case. He can handle things if push comes to shove. You just have to let him work. That okay with you?"

Hawk looked very green in the face but gave another short nod. "Yeah okay. You guys can discuss the details. I will wait by my bike."

Jax slapped his back and tried to give him a reassuring smile. Hawk moved away and SAMCRO president turned back to Happy whose face was as expressionless as always. "Make sure this gets done. If Packer doesn't see reason, we have to take him out. If this happens, make it quick and as painless as possible. Would be best for us if it looked like an accident or natural causes. And Hawk has to have an alibi for the time. Once it is done, get back here as soon as possible."

"Understood," Happy replied.

"I keep waiting for you to object."

Happy gave a shrug, "Not my place to question you, boss. Besides, Hawk seems like a good guy."

"Yeah, he does," Jax said with a small smile. He saw a lot of himself in Hawk, he just hoped the SAMDINO VP wouldn't have quite as much trouble leading his club as he had. "Take care, I will see you soon."

"Where is Happy?" Chibs asked him when he arrived back at the clubhouse.

"Off in the south for a time. He is helping Hawk from SAMDINO. A favor to make sure they will take the gun business form us. He should be back in a couple of days."

"Is this a good idea? We could use all the help we can get against Lin."

"Can't be helped," Jax said. "And I already have a plan to handle Lin. But first I want to tell you something."

He gave Chibs the gist of his deal with Patterson. The Scot did not seemed pleased at all. "That wasn't a good idea, Jackie. Patterson will be livid if we can't deliver Marks to her and then she will be even more on our asses."

"I had to give her something. We have to talk to Roosevelt if we want to figure out what has happened that night and it will give us a way to get rid of Marks."

"I don't think being in prison will stop Marks much with all the sway he has on the street. It certainly wouldn't have stopped Pope."

"Marks isn't Pope," Jax said. "He is just a jumped-up imposter. The moment he shows weakness everyone will abandon him. I wouldn't even be surprised if somebody offed him in prison."

Chibs still looked worried. "I hope you are right about that"

"We will cross the bridge when we get there. First, I will talk to Lin and see if we can move this one forward."

Lin was eager to meet them and looked almost happy to see Jax and Chibs. "I found the guns you promised."

Jax was unable to keep the grin of his face. "See, I told you they were there."

"And I didn't believe it until I saw them. It is a good first step but we still have a war to win. How is it going with Marks?"

"He still thinks I am on his side but I have no idea how long it can go on. But I think I found the perfect way to strike for us. Marks is overseeing a gun deal with the Irish – personally this time."

Lin frowned. "I thought he never did this kind of stuff in person."

"He has to this time. The Irish are pissed at him for getting involved in a gang war and are threatening to cut the gun supply. He can't risk to lose it when he is fighting both of us. And they really like to do their deals face-to-face with a person they can trust. This was the problem I had with Galen. He didn't like me so the whole cooperation went to shit. Marks will have the same problem if he doesn't keep the Irish happy."

"And he wants you there?"

"Surprisingly yes," Jax said, giving him a grin. "He wants me to keep the Irish happy and maybe give them the assurance that SAMCRO will go back to guns if they want to."

Chibs shook his head. "The nerve of him, forcing us to take back the business we just gave up because he screwed up."

"He really does not know his place" Jax agreed. "But this is exactly what we need to end this war."

"I am listening," Lin said.

"The Irish are twichy and don't really trust him yet which means Marks can't meet him with a whole army in tow. He wants us to secure the meet instead, giving a familiar face to the transaction. This gives us time and place of a critical meet where Marks will be without his usual protection. This is what we are waiting for. If you raid the meet and we switch sides, we can end this war in one quick strike."

"Sounds very risky."

"Everything is risky at this point," Jax said. "And we won't get another chance like that. Marks will make up the Irish and will no longer have anyone to impress. And the longer we wait, the higher the risk for me becomes. I can't keep up playing the double agent forever and without me you will lose your only source of information. We have the advantage now and it is time to press it, Henry.

"If it is so easy why don't you kill Marks on your own?" Lin asked.

"I don't have the men. Marks won't show up alone and Irish won't let me open fire like that. It might be possible but it would be unnecessary risky. But if you bring your men, it should be easy as pie. Come on, Henry, you know this will be the best chance we could ever get."

Lin looked thoughtful. "Maybe. I will need more information."

"The clock is ticking here, the meet is tomorrow and you will need some time to prepare."

He looked at Ryu who nodded. "Alright, Teller, we will give it a shot."

"Good. But watch where you guys are shooting at, I want to walk out of there alive."

"I will try," Lin said. Jax did not like his smile at the words.

Jax came home this evening feeling both drained and very apprehensive. Tomorrow would be a decisive day which could bring the war close to an end. Jax he could not wait for this to happen. The weight of the gavel was heavier than he ever before and it was hard for him to find any joy in his presidency. He really hoped this would pass once the gang war was over. Being the leader of SAMCRO was the only thing left for him now that Tara was gone and it was hard to even imagine living without it. He heard the clatter of plates from the kitchen, probably Gemma who was doing the dishes after tucking in the boys. He should head to bed soon as well, he had a hard day before him tomorrow - though he doubted he would get much sleep this night. But he should check on her first. He walked to the kitchen and was surprised to find Wendy rather than Gemma. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, hey," Wendy said, ignoring the rather cold greeting. "I am filling in for Gemma. She asked if I could take over."

"Did she?" Jax asked, his anger at his mother coming back at the words. "Why? What's going on?"

Wendy shrugged. "She didn't really say. Only said that she had some things to take care off. I thought she had told you. I really don't want to cause any trouble, Jax."

"It's okay," Jax said who felt calmer now that the first surprise had passed. "Maybe some time off it is good for her, she has not been herself the last days."

"Yeah, I thought something was off, she seemed distracted by something. So you don't mind me helping here?"

"No, I think it is good you help Gemma and maybe you should take over most of the time. I think she could use a vacation."

"Of course, that would be great."

She seemed really happy about it and Jax felt a bit touched by this despite himself. It was good to see somebody was there for the boys, he definitely wasn't spending as much time as he should with them. Wendy would never be even tenth of the mother Tara had been but it beat having no mother. Maybe he might tell Abel about her after all. But this was a discussion for another time. "Thank you, Wendy. I will take a shower and go to bed. Let yourself out once you are down."

He kissed her cheek and left, not missing the small blush on her face.

Lin was honestly supplied that Teller had not lied after all, there was Marks moving into the hut next to teller, all nestled up for a comfortable meet with the Irish. Just as promised, there were few black faces visible form the distance. He could not see the Irish from this position and guessed they might not have arrived yet. All in all, things were looking very well. "Any sign they are onto us?" he asked passing the binoculars to Ryu.

"No, we were careful," Ryu said, "we should be in perfect position for a quick strike."

"Good, let's do it. Let's keep it simple. We get in, start firing and only stop when nobody moves anymore."

"What about Teller? You said you would spare him."

Lin scoffed. "I am not going to take any risks for him. He will just have to be lucky. Let's go."

They got into the cars and readied their guns. The meet was at a deserted cabin in the middle of nowhere much closer to Charming than to Oakland. Lin guessed Marks had not expected the Chinese to come this far north. Well, he would have been right about that if Teller was not such backstabbing liar. Good thing it would work for Lin this time.

They quickly closed the distance, jumped out of the car and started firing at any window they could find. Glass splintered, bullets ricocheted and men shouted. Lin stayed back a bit but watched with glee. They had no chance! He was sure almost everyone in the shack was dead already and they hadn't even had a chance to fire back. It could not have gone any better.

"Inside," Ryu said, leading them forwards toward the cabin entrance. Lin could not quite process what happened next. There was a booming sound, a wave of heat and suddenly he was lying on his back and looking up into the blue sky. Dust seemed to be all around him. His head was ringing and he could not form a clear thought. What had happened? Was this bullets he was hearing? Then a man stepped into view. He was tall, blond and looking at him menacingly: Teller. The MC president bent down and gave him a soft slap in the face. "Can you hear me, Henry?"

Lin started to speak and found it difficult. "What happened?"

Teller smiled at him and Lin had never hated this smile more. "Get him up."

Two others grabbed him by the arms and roughly dragged him to his feet. He saw the smoking holes in front of the cabin, the bodies of his men and what looked like half the Sons of Anarchy MC standing around him. Then he spotted Marks casually looking at him from a bit farther away. Teller smiled at him murderously and Lin realized what had happened.

Triumph like had never felt before flooded Jax's veins. This was it, now he would get the justice he had wanted for so long! Lin was helpless in front of him, held up by Chibs and Quinn and unable to do anything to stop him. And to make things even better Lin seemed to have come to enough to understand what was happening. "Teller you backstabbing piece of shit!"

"Says the guy who has my wife killed and then lies in my face about it!" Jax snarled.

"How often do I have to tell you? I had nothing to do with that!"

Jax punched him. It was as if the blow triggered something in him and before he knew it he was punching Lin again. And again. And again. Quinn and Chibs had difficulties holding Lin up through the flurry of blows. Jax kept pounding away until he noticed someone calling him. Chibs. "I think he had enough, Jackie. Let's get it done."

A short look at Lin showed Jax that the Scot had a point. He drew his knife – a gun would be far too quick – and moved even closer to the Chinese mobster. "This is for Tara," he whispered and started stabbing Lin. He gave it eight stabs before he stood back and motioned for Quinn and Chibs to release the body. Lin sank to the ground, obviously dead. Jax released his breath and felt like a weight had shifted from him. It still hurt that Tara was gone but he had avenged her, he had done all he could to make that right. Now he could steer the club back into calmer waters and take care of the boys. They deserved their dad to be around more. Chibs approached him and hugged him. "It is over brother, we have done it."

"Yeah," Jax said when they parted, feeling unusually raw and emotional. He looked around. The devastation look alarming but all in all the plan had worked exactly as planned. Marks had been in it from the start. Jax had brought him on board by promising a quick end to the war with Lin. The mobster had been reluctant at first but some sweet-talking had done the trick. It had actually been him who had come up with the final ambush plan – some well-planted explosives next to the cabin entrance that could be detonated remotely once Lin's guys were in place. The detonation had been a little stronger than expected but they had still been able to safely wait it out in the cabin and then sweep up the survivors. Now, Lin was dead and Jax could hardly believe it. Wherever Tara was, he hoped she could see that. Marks approached him. "I have to admit I had my doubts but this was a good plan."

"Couldn't have done it without you," Jax said. "You think this is enough to handle the Chinese?"

Marks nodded. "They will not be able to recover form that. I guess the Mayans and the Niners will start carving up the Chinese territory as soon as the news goes out. Lin's men will probably flee when this happens unless they are stupid enough to resist. In either case I do not expect any more trouble for both of us. Tyler has a bit of work cut out for him but I am sure he can handle it."

"Me too," Jax agreed. "So are we good, August?"

"I think we are, Jackson. It is good that we were able to leave this unfortunate war behind us and to give you some closer. This give us the freedom to go back to business. And I might need your help for that."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's walk for a bit," Marks said, leading him away from the others.

Jax followed and listened carefully to what his business partner had to say.

The mood in the Chapel couldn't be more different than the last time they had been here. Everyone was smiling and Juke could barely control the grin on his face. They had done it! The war was won. After all the doubts and the fear it had been almost too easy. Jax's plan might have been risky as fuck but damn it was effective. They had used Marks perfectly and now the Chinese would be wiped away by the Mayans and the Niners with no more danger for them. Juice had not felt this happy for a long time and even Chibs was smiling. Jax had just finished his report on the meet and cheers erupted in the room. Jax took the credit with grace, dutifully playing the wise patriarch who had known better after all. Juice wondered if Quinn and the others felt stupid right now or if they still thought their pathetic little rebellion had been justified. He was glad that he had stayed in Jax's corner.

"I can't believe we managed to pull that off," Montez said.

"Me neither," Quinn said. "So many things could have gone wrong. Marks could have killed you. Lin could have killed you. The bombs could have blown you up instead of the Chinese. Or Lin simply couldn't have shown up."

"Aye," Chibs said. "But nothing like this has happened. And this was the only way this could be done."

"There is one setback, though," Jax said. "Marks wants us to take back the gun business."

Silence fell at the words. "What do you mean?" Bobby asked.

"The Irish are pissed at him, thinking he pull them into some gang war they never wanted. They are seriously considering to pull out and finding someone else to sell their guns – probably us. If this happens, they will come down hard on us. Marks thinks the best thing would be to get in front of this: We take the business back and rebuild our relationship with the Irish."

"He can't be serious," Juice said. "What about the heat from Patterson?"

"He said he would use his contacts to keep us safe," Jax said. "For a cut of the profits, or course. 10 percent."

"That sounds more like extortion than any help. Are we going along with it?"

"Of course not," Jax scoffed. "Marks still seems to think that we work for him instead of with him. It is time to remind him he is not calling the shots. And we still have Tig to avenge."

The relaxed mood drained from the room in seconds. "You want to kill Marks?" Bobby asked.

"He deserves it," Jax said immediately. "Look at what he did to Tig! How he thinks he can just push us around. How he tries to get us back into the business we all wanted to give up. We can't go on like that, we have to get rid of him if we ever want to be free again."

"We barely won the last war!" Quinn said. "We can't take on Marks as well."

"So you want to push guns again?" Jax asked.

Quinn shrugged. "It beats getting killed."

"Patterson will not accept us getting back into the gun business," Juice said. "She will hound us every second of the way."

"You think I am afraid from some fat black bitch? Please, she never got even close to doing any real damage to us."

"She almost threw Tara in jail!" Jax shouted. "We tried to throw her off but in the end I had to make a deal to keep us safe. And what about all the narrow saves before that? We could have gone down dozens of times! And you are going to let Marks force you to do that again?"

"We have been forced before," Quinn pointed out. "We played along with the Irish and I didn't hear you say anything about that."

"Did you miss the part where I killed Galen?" Jax said, his voice dangerously low now.

"No, but I also did not miss the part where you got West killed with your ridiculously complicated revenge scheme. And now you want to start the next war? Do you think Marks does not expect something like this? He is probably just waiting for us to make a wrong move. And from what I heard about you and Pope, Marks is not an enemy to taken lightly. If we screw up here, the club will be finished. I think it is safer to just play along. With Marks's help, it should be easy to handle the cops."

Juice did not like to admit it but the big fool made a lot of sense here. He remembered those dark days when Pope had almost casually gotten all their leading members arrested, had arranged Ope's death and nearly had sentenced Tig to a long torturous life in prison. He had rarely felt as powerless as he had back then. Jax had managed to loosen this grip but they had never broken free of Pope completely. And even their mild progress had taken a lot of carefully planning, time and a bit of luck. And now they should do the same with Marks expecting it? It really seemed reckless, Quinn was right about that. But what was the alternative? Could they really go back to guns? It seemed insane when they had a DA with a hard-on on their backs but then again, Marks had no problem with the cops at all. Maybe his contacts and deep pockets would make a difference. Maybe this would be the best of both worlds, a welcome step back to the old days when they could pretty much do whatever they liked. But maybe this was just wishful thinking.

"And you just want to forget the fact that he killed Tig?" Jax asked, startling Juice out of his thoughts.

"Strange, I thought you killed him," Quinn said matter-of-factly.

A very ugly look spread on Jax's face. "Marks forced my hand."

"I don't doubt that," Quinn said. "I just doubt your sudden interest in revenge. Last time, you didn't seem too broken up about Tig's death."

"Don't tell me how I feel," Jax said and there was an edge to his voice that made Juice shiver. Quinn was getting dangerously close to a bullet in the face if he continued like that.

"Boys, enough," Bobby said. "We should discuss this civilly."

"Alright," Jax said, leaning back in his chair. "Let's cut through the bullshit. I call a vote. Do we take revenge against Marks? Yay."

"Yay," Juice said. He was not sure if this was the right thing to do but he was with Jax for better or worse.

"Nay," said Quinn,

"No," Rat continued.

Montez thought for a moment than shook his head. "Sorry, no."

Chibs followed. "Aye. Marks can't get away with what he did to Tig."

Three to three. Which meant that Bobby had the last word. Juice had not expected the vote to be this close and he had the nagging feeling that the former VP was not on board with the plan. Bobby took his time to consider. "I don't like getting back into guns but I don't think we can take on Marks right now. Quinn is right, he will expect us to do something like this and is probably well prepared. We would run straight into whatever trap he has prepared for us. I'm sorry, Jax, but we have to sit this one out. Nay."

Stunned silence followed and Jax's face showed pure disbelief to a moment. Then he focused and slammed down the gavel. "Alright, I will tell August we are on board for now. I guess we are done."

Juice stayed behind for a moment, turning to face Jax. "I am sure they will see reason eventually."

The president only nodded, deep in thought. Juice left him to stew, a very nasty feeling in his stomach.

Chibs had not seen this one coming. He had gotten used to the thought of Jax getting whatever he wanted and the vote left him feeling a bit stunned. This was an unexpected callback to the old times where Jax and Clay had squabbled for power in the club and every vote had been a fight. He wondered what was going on. That Rat, Quinn or the others were too scared to stand up to Marks did not surprise him but Bobby was unexpected to say the least. Was he trying to start a power struggle with Jax? Chibs hoped not, the last thing the club needed was a leadership fight.

He found Bobby at the bar where he was just filling shots for both of them. "Thought you would come."

"Aye?"

"Yeah," Bobby said. "I guessed you weren't expecting me to vote nay."

"Aye I didn't. I don't blame the new members for getting cold feet but I thought you would know better."

Bobby smiled at that. "Strange, I thought the same thing about you. I expected Jax and Juice to rush straight into battle again but I thought you would be the clever one."

"What is going on here, Bobby? You making a play for the gavel?"

"Do you really think that, brother? Have I ever given you the impression that I want the damn thing?"

Chibs thought for a moment. "No, not really."

"I am just looking out for the club. We can't rush into another fight with Marks. We have to put our emotions aside."

"That wouldn't be as easy to say if you had seen Tig die. We can't let Marks get away with it."

"We won't," Bobby said. "Trust me, eventually we will break away from Marks and then we will kill him for what he did to Tig. But Quinn was right about everything he said. Marks will expect us to resist and is more than capable of wiping us out. Whether with his gangs or with the law. And we have not recovered from the war with Lin. It would be suicide to attack him now."

"Aye, maybe," Chibs said. He did not like it at all but Bobby was making a lot of sense. "I just don't think Jackie will see it the same way."

"Ah, he will come around. He might pout for a bit but I am sure he will see reason eventually."

The Scot admired Bobby's optimism. He was not convinced at all.

Patterson looked at the photo her Stockton contacts had send her in disbelief. It showed Henry Lin clearly dead by what looked like a dozen stab wounds into the chest. They had found what remained of the Chinese mobster in the smoking ruins of some sort of cabin somewhere in the wilderness close to Stockton. This obviously was the result of a gang war and it seemed like the Chinese had been at the losing side this time. Stockton PD was still busy collecting evidence but Patterson would be surprised if they managed to nail anyone. Well, it was not her jurisdiction anyhow. Crime usually enraged her but she could not be offended by this murder. It was sad that she had not been able to stop Teller from taking the law into his own hands but maybe the gang war would come to an end now and no more blood would be spilled. She wondered what this meant for their deal. If Teller still had his doubts about what happened that night they had not stopped him from killing Lin in what looked like pretty brutal fashion. Well, she would just have to wait and see. Roosevelt should be fit for questioning any day now and she was very interested in what he had to say.

"I must admit I am surprised, Jackson" Marks said. "I did not except you guys to accept my proposal that quickly."

"It was a tight vote," Jax said. "You making me kill Tig did not help by the way."

"You know I had to send a message there. And I chose him quite deliberately."

"What do you mean?" Jax asked.

"It was the perfect choice for both of us. I managed to tie up the old feud between him and Pope and you lost someone you were willing to sacrifice before. I thought making you kill him would get the point across without burning too many bridges."

"I can't say I liked Tig much," Jax said. "But something like this can never happen again."

"If everything works out as I plan, I can guarantee you that it won't," Marks said, looking entirely too pleased with himself. He had all the cards at the moment and knew it. Jax found it quite annoying.

"How are we going on with the Irish?" He asked. "Should I reach out to Conner and set a meet?"

Marks shook his head. "I will take care of it. You just wait for a call. Connor might contact you to confirm that you are really back on board. Once you confirm we can work out the details."

"We still have Patterson to worry about," Jax said. "Until she leaves office she will have us under a microscope. We will either need a lot of extra precautions or someone to keep her in check."

"Don't worry, I will handle her, you just have to keep the Irish happy."

Jax never had felt more powerless in his life. He was getting reduced to an errand boy. "As you wish."

The meet with the Irish was much closer to Oakland than other before which in Jax's mind didn't quite fit the message Marks wanted to send. But he would leave this problem for his self-styled new boss to figure out. The mobster had made it quite clear that he saw Jax as his servant, not his partner so Jax was not going to save him from screwing up the meet with the Irish. But he had to admit he did not like the odds too much should something go down. He was surrounded by Marks's personal guard and Niners while only having Chibs and Bobby as a backup. He had wanted to bring at least Juice along – Happy was still down south with SAMDINO – but Marks had insisted to hand-pick which members of the Sons should be there. Apparently he wanted Chibs and Jax to show respect and Bobby because of his "great diplomatic knowledge". Jax wondered where Marks had gotten that impression – as far as he knew Marks and Bobby had never met – but it had not been his place to question it. Bobby kept throwing him nervous glances and Jax was not surprised – their relationship was still strained to say the least.

The only good thing about this farce was that he had little to do during the meet. He was just here to look pretty, a familiar face for this new joint venture. And he guessed the location was pretty good: A nice respectable, looking warehouse in what would soon be a business district but was now still under construction – by Marks Enterprises, obviously. It even had a back exit they could use if things got dangerous – after what happened to Lin, Jax could appreciate these escape routes even more than before. Though there was one detail that was less than ideal: The warehouse was a bit too big for such a deal – usually these meets happened outside or in some other open space so both parties could see what was happening – and left a lot of space for Marks's muscle to hide in. Tyler was here as well though the other Niners were conspicuously absent. It seemed like he was just as much as puppet here as Jax, was playing whatever role Marks wanted him to. Jax guessed Tyler's task was to show the Irish that there was no bad blood and that the Niners would not object the Sons taking back the gun trade despite the painful financial losses.

Overall, Jax was impressed with the effort Marks had put in. The Oakland kingpin really wanted this deal to happen and the Sons president guessed it might even work out. It was all about keeping the status quo. For all their considerable resourcefulness – maintaining an international illegal arms trade was no picnic – the Irish did not react well to change. They had their nice, save traditional MC club partner and they wanted to keep it that way. Ignoring this was what had gotten Jax into this mess in the first place. He had pushed too hard for a change the Irish could not accept, no matter how well his arguments were. It was clear now but Jax had been too blind to see it at the time. He really wished SAMDINO had taken the business from them. If that had happened, things would look very different today.

They had to wait a bit for the Irish and Jax was starting to get nervous when Connor arrived, his own men trailing behind them. The Irish had come in greater force than usual and it was clear to Jax that they were prepared for everything, despite the conscious effort to appear unthreatening. Not that it surprised him, Connor had to be twitchy after their dust-up with the Chinese and probably had the Kings breathing down his neck. Which meant that he was probably desperate for a deal to bring back home just like the one he would be offered here. All Connor had to do was to leave out Marks's involvement and the Kings would eat it up in a heartbeat. The plan was clever, Jax had to give Marks that.

Connor shook hands with both of them. "Gentlemen, good to see you. I am glad we could make this work."

Given the money he was about earn, this was not that surprising to Jax. He left the talking to Marks. It was his show, he should do at least some of the work.

"As am I," Marks said. "I am sure this new arrangement will make everyone happy. With your merchandise, the Son's expertise and my contacts it should be easy to gradually expand the customer base for as much supply as you can deliver."

"I understand we will be working with the Sons again," Connor asked, looking at Jax.

"That's right," Jax said, thinking it was time for him to play his part. "You will sell to us and we will redistribute just like in old times. No contact to August, he will just keep the cops of our backs. But he is our partner and his fee will come from our end. I think the kings will be happy to hear that."

"Probably, "Connor said, "but we should take it one step at a time and I better not show up there empty handed. I was promised a deal. We brought the guns you wanted. Now please show me the money."

Jax nodded to Chibs who took a heavy duffle bag and passed it to Conner. The money was Marks's but the Irish were not supposed to know that. It would be easier for them to think nothing had changed. "All here, Con," the Scot said, "feel free to count it."

Connor signaled his men who started to riffle through the money. Jax did not expect them to find anything. It would be beyond foolish of Marks to try any shit at this point and he really did not have to skimp on the money – though it would be a great way to screw Jax over.

"I will gladly come whenever I am needed," Marks said. "But I agree with Jax that you should directly deal with the Sons. It keeps me focused on handling the cops and makes sure that you can do business just like in the old days."

"Agreed," Connor said. "I usually wouldn't have pushed for you to be here but I wanted to see that there is no tension between the two of you. I can't have you as a silent partner if you are fighting with the Sons."

"Nobody is fighting, Connor," Jax said. "We are all friends here."

"That's good to know," Connor said, not even bothering to hide his skepticism. Jax could hardly blame him but he knew that it was a done deal. As long as the counting did not find anything, this new partnership was iron-clad. The Irish turned to watch his men counting and checking for fakes, ending for conversation for now.

Tyler used the pause to approach Marks. He spoke just loud enough for Jax to hear, leaving Connor unaware of what was happening. "I need to borrow Teller for a sec, boss. We have some problems in Stockton with Barosky."

"Anything serious?" Marks asked.

"Some bullshit about his cut. I wouldn't bother you with it but I want to diffuse it quickly before my boys there do something stupid. It really won't take long. All he just has to make a call to Barosky. We will be back before they are done counting."

"Alright," Marks said, not even bothering to ask Jax whether he wanted to play match-maker between him and the Niners.

Tyler nodded to Jax and the president move to follow him. "You with me," he whispered to Chibs who looked puzzled but nodded. Jax wanted to fetch Bobby as well who was quietly talking to Connor but Marks spoke first. "That should be enough men for a call. Hurry and get back here."

Jax jaw clenched at being bossed around like that but he nodded. Tyler led him deeper into the warehouse past the many guards and towards the back exit. When the men posted there looked surprised at that, the Niners boss just mumbled something about better call reception and moved them further outside. They stopped a view steps outside, blinking in the sunlight. Tyler looked really nervous now and seemed to be sweating. "I swear to God teller I have no idea what this is going to accomplish but here we are. But whatever you are planning better should work, I think we Marks knows something is up."

"Planning?" Chibs asked in surprise. "What's going on, Jackie? Are we sabotaging the meet?"

"We are not doing anything," Jax said, checking his watch. "I outsourced this one. And it should start any second. Time for us to move out. Follow me."

As they were leaving the warehouse area, Jax's phone vibrated in his pocket and he did not have to check the message to know what was going on. His heart pumped faster and it took only second before the noise started. Screeching tires, shouts and gunshots a few seconds later. Tyler and Chibs both drew their weapons but Jax remained calm and just started to continue walking.

"What is going on?" Tyler asked.

"Jackie?"

"The cops are here," Jax said calmly leading them down across the street and down the corner, out of sight of the warehouse. "They will bust the meet and arrest everyone."

"What?" Tyler asked. "How the hell do they know where we meet? Did you tell them?"

"Of course I did. It was the only way we would get rid of Marks. Even he can't wiggle out of that one."

"Are you out of your mind?" Chibs asked. "Bobby is still in there!"

"I tried to pull him out but Marks was getting suspicious," Jax said. "There was no way I could have taken him with it. We will have to hope they don't resist too much."

"And then what?" Chibs snarled. "He will get arrested and we are all on the hook for gun running! Jesus Christ, Jackie, what the hell were you thinking?"

"Don't worry, I made a deal with Patterson. She will make sure no Son is charged for the deal. Wasn't hard, she was exited enough to finally nail Marks."

"Holy shit!" Tyler said. "He will know it was us! We will be dead before the end of the week!"

"We won't be anything," Jax said firmly. "Marks is not Pope. His rule over Oakland is too shaky to recover from a setback like that. Once the news is out, all his partners will either try to save themselves or to secure a bit of his empire for him. Maybe some of his former friends will even take him out in prison to protect themselves. Trust me, Marks will have other things to worry about than us."

"You should have fucking told me!" Tyler said. "I never would have agreed to this!"

"Tyler, this is what you were waiting for. Marks is done and the Niners are independent again. Once the dust settles you will be in better shape than you have be for years. Do you really think, any of your men will be sad that Marks is gone?"

"No, not really but..."

"No buts, Tyler", Jax said firmly. "We can't afford any doubt now. You get out of here and get back to Oakland. Have your guys take some more of the Chinese's turfs and start organizing for the time after Marks. Trust me, it will all work out well."

"Shit I hope you are right, Teller," Tyler said. He nervously looked around. "I have to find my guys."

"Come on," Jax said to Chibs as Tyler walked away, "I had Juice stash some bikes here."

He led the Scot over to a parking area where three Harleys were parked. They were standard bikes without no colors or mods so they wouldn't stand out too much. It also made them very boring. Jax hope he would get his own bike back once Patterson was done with her investigation. He mounted his bike and noticed that Chibs was not doing the same "What are you waiting for? We have to get back to the club."

Chibs looked angrier than he had ever seen him. "We had a vote, Jackie. A vote that we wouldn't touch Marks."

"Yeah with one vote majority. And the only reason it turned out this way was that Happy wasn't there. You know he would have voted for retaliation."

"Then maybe you should have gotten his proxy."

"There was no time, Happy is busy down south..." Jax began before stopping himself. Chibs did not know what Happy was doing and he doubted he would appreciate the truth.

"Yeah?" the Scot asked. Tell me Jackie, what exactly is Happy doing with SAMDINO? Because I can't think of anything that is more important than what is happening here."

"You really want to discuss this here where the cops could find us any second?" Jax asked. "Let's get to the clubhouse before we rip each other's head off."

He started his bike. Chibs glared at him for a moment before straddling his own and following him.

The ride to the clubhouse was uneventful but unpleasant. Jax could almost feel Chibs stewing behind him and it worried him more than he liked. For the second time in a couple of days he was seriously at odds with what was probably his closest remaining friend. He had always been able to count on Chibs's loyalty in the past, not matter how bloody or unpleasant it got. Losing this support, seemed ominous to Jax. He was still convinced that he had done the right but this did little to reassure him at the moment. Hopefully, Chibs would see reason in time, they could not afford any division in the rank right now.

Juice was waiting outside when they arrived at the clubhouse and immediately jumped to attention. "What is going on? Where is Bobby?"

"Ask him!" Chibs snarled. He dismounted and walked inside, leaving a very confused looking Juice in his wake.

"What is his problem?" he asked. "I didn't even do anything."

"Not your fault, Juice, he is just pissed at me."

The Puerto Rican seemed to consider asking about that but seemed to decide against it. "So how did the meet go?"

"We lost track of Bobby but otherwise it couldn't have gone better," Jax said, feeling a smile tuck on his face despite everything. "Marks should be finished by now."

A massive grin spread on Juice's face. "That's great Jax. I knew you could do it."

"Thanks."

"But what is Chibs so pissed about then?"

"Me acting without a vote."

"Oh, come on," Juice groaned. "We all know the vote was bullshit. It would have been a tie if Happy had been there! And Marks deserved it!"

"I know but I guess Chibs does not see it this way. Anyway, I have to call Patterson and see what's what. I will see you inside."

Juice nodded and gave him some privacy. Jax took out his cell and dialed Patterson's number. He could wait for her to call, of course, but he needed to know if they had gotten Marks. If the Oakland kingpin had gotten away, they would need time to prepare for his retaliation. To his surprise, the DA answered almost immediately. "Patterson."

"How was your day, Madam DA? I heard you made quite a bust."

"Quite a bust indeed. Not everything played out as planned but I can say I am impressed, Teller. I did not think you could deliver."

Jax barely could keep the smile of his face. "Did you get Marks?"

"Oh yes. He was arrested on next to a stash of illegal firearms with a lot of money lying around. Add the possible terrorist connection to the real IRA I don't think he will ever see the outside of a prison cell again. If we are lucky we have just brought down what remains of Pope's empire and dealt a decisive blow to the IRA effort here in California."

"You are welcome," Jax said. It might not be very classy but he couldn't help feel proud of this one. It had been a masterstroke. Risky as fuck but so damn worth it. The thought of Marks being gone from his life forever was exhilarating. "You got the Irish as well?"

"Some of them. Part of Marks's goons tried resisting arrest first and wounded some of the officers before being killed. During the time some of the Irish seemed to have slipped away through a backdoor which I don't remember you telling me about."

"I didn't know it existed until today. I fully expected to be arrested with everyone inside."

This was a lie. Tyler had given him some details about the meet beforehand and he thought it might be wise to slip away before the cavalry showed up. Not because he didn't trust Patterson to keep her word – he trusted her in this – but simply because he had feared getting into a gun fight – apparently with good reason. Obviously he couldn't have told her about it, it would have ruined the whole point.

He wondered what the Irish thought about the situation. Had they figured out that Jax was behind the bust? Or would they blame Marks for the trouble? Obviously, he would have preferred busting Marks without the Irish involved but this just hadn't been possible. At the worst, they could have tied him to the money but a huge pile of money did not prove that much, Drugs were possible, of course, but the Sons were not involved in Marks's drug deals so Jax couldn't get a location for that, even with Tyler's help. So there had been only one play here that made sure Marks was going to jail. If this pissed of the Ira, so be it, they would handle them just like they handled everything. Maybe the bust had crippled the IRA so much they would give up northern cali as a base of operation. If yes, then goodbye and good riddance. He would just see how this one went. "Now, I think I have fulfilled my part of the bargain. How about yours?"

"Yes, I must admit you have been very helpful," Patterson said. "I am willing to do my part. I will talk with Eli Roosevelt tomorrow. I can arrange that you speak to him before me, as we agreed on"

"Good, thank you."

"There will be very tight security measures," the DA warned. "I won't give you any chance to hurt or intimidate him in any way."

"I really just want to talk to him," Jax said. "You do whatever you have to do. If necessary I go in there naked."

"I don't think that will be necessary, Mr. Teller." There was a slight hesitation. "I wonder, do you know what happened to Bobby Munson?"

"We got separated during the escape. I just wanted to ask if you have found him."

The resulting silence told Jax all he needed to know. "Jesus Christ..." he whispered.

"I am very sorry, we found him with a bullet in his head. My guess is that Marks shot him the moment we moved in. He must have suspected your involvement."

Jax felt his heart clench in his chest. He had known that this was a real possibility but this did not make it any less devastating. Any triumph he had felt disappeared and he suddenly felt very lost.

"I will make sure his body is returned to you as quickly as possible. Of course, we still have some tests to run," Patterson went on.

"Of course," Jax said, finding that he sounded a little choked. "Sorry, I have to go now. I will see you tomorrow."

He ended the call, his eyes suddenly feeling very wet. "Jax?" a voice asked. He turned and saw Juice standing there, looking as haunted as he felt. "What happened?"

Jax blinked the tears away and told him.

Jax could barely remember seeing the clubhouse in such a grim mood, at least not since Ope's death. He had just broken the news and waited for the accusations to begin. Some part of him hoped beyond hope that maybe they would give him some peace to mourn Bobby but he knew this wasn't likely. They probably didn't think he cared and Jax wished for once that that was true. Bobby had helped raise him and try as he might, Jax could not imagine SAMCRO without him. What mde it worse that he still could not say he regretted what he had done. He kept going it over in his head but he was sure the move had been the right one. That should give him some comfort but it didn't. It actually made things worse. If he had made a mistake he could learn from it and avoid it in the future. This was it was just random, an act of the God Jax did not believe in, punishing him for his arrogance and transgressions by killing the kindest member the club had. There probably was irony in there but Jax did not find it very funny. To his surprise, Chibs had not started shouting at him yet. Maybe the older member would give him some peace after all.

The president was about to excuse himself when Ratboy broke the silence. "So, what happens now?"

"Patterson will return the body once they are done with the investigation," Jax said, wondering if his voice sounded as shaky as it felt. "Could be days or weeks, time will tell. We will give Bobby a proper burial then, should be more than enough time to set it up."

"Err, yeah, good, but I meant with Marks and the Irish," Ratboy said, looking like he expected to be hit for just asking the question.

Jax wondered about the callousness of their youngest member but guessed that Rat had not known Bobby that well. It was good he thinking ahead under these circumstances but Jax was in no mood for the subject. "Marks is finished and the Irish need to re-group. We will give them a day or two and then reach out to see what's what. If everything goes like planned we will either never hear from them again or they will blame Marks for the bust. Both would be okay in my book."

"And if they knew we were responsible?"

"We will cross that bridge when we get there," Jax said, hoping Rat would get the message and leave him alone. To his surprise, the guy was wise enough to heed this warning.

Unfortunately for him, Quinn was not. "So that's it? We just sit and hope? Don't you think that maybe we should prepare for the case your brilliant plan pissed off one the most dangerous terrorist organizations of the planet? Who are, by the way, the same guys who blew up the old clubhouse and the club almost with it?"

"Not a good time, Quinn," Jax said and there was really no way the warning could be any clearer. Though Jax had the feeling Quinn was too stupid to heed it.

"Fuck your good time!" the former Nomad replied, proving Jax right. "I will not wait until it is convenient for you to talk about how you defied the club! We had a vote right here in the clubhouse saying that we wouldn't attack Marks. And you just go off and do just that. And while you are at it, you make a deal with a fucking DA which brands us all as traitors. Do you even care about what happens when this gets out? The Irish will try to kill us all!"

"For all they knew, it was Marks who screwed them," Jax said. "We could have betrayed them to the cops for years and never did. Marks, however, was new and they never liked him anyhow. They will blame him and we will be off the hook."

"That's just wishful thinking!" Quinn said. "We are in great danger here and you just ignore it."

Jax felt his patience rapidly crumbling away. "You are such a pussy, Quinn. Always getting scared when things get a little bit dangerous. Maybe you should go back to do whatever you were doing when Bobby found you."

"Oh, you mean the guy who is dead because of you? Not counting Tig, of course. Or West."

"You know what? Fuck it!" Jax said, getting up. "I am done with justifying myself to a coward and a fool like you! After Bobby's funeral I want you to find a new charter! Maybe we have one that doesn't mind cowards or fools. If anyone needs me, I will be in the Chapel."

He walked away. Any second longer and he would have beaten Quinn to a pulp. Now he had to suppress a smile at the dumbfounded look on the former Nomad's face.

Juice wondered if he should go after Jax but decided against it. If he disturbed him now, he would probably be the next target for his rage and the Puerto Rican knew from experience how bad this could be. No, it was better to let him cool off and mourn Bobby for a bit. Unlike with Tig, Juice was certain that Jax honestly was sad about Bobby's passing. It was not easy for Juice as well. Bobby and he had never been that close – as far as father figures went Juice had always preferred Clay or Chibs – but the older member had been part of SAMCRO forever and Juice literally did not know the club without him. And he had always had the biggest heart and the coolest head of the club. He would be missed both as the consciousness of the club and as a person. Juice went over to the bar and decided to drink to him. He guess it was what he was supposed to do and frankly he could a drink right now. He rummaged through the booze, selected a whiskey he knew Bobby had liked and poured himself a shot. There was movement at his edge of vision and he looked up to see Chibs approaching.

"Get me one as well, will ya?" the Scot asked.

The Puerto Rican nodded and did. He wasn't much in the mood for talking but he could hardly tell the VP to go away. Chibs took the glass and rose it. "To Bobby. He will be missed."

"To Bobby," Juice said. They clinked their classed and drank. They whiskey was Scotch and not to Juice's taste – he preferred Bourbon or Tequila – but he filled the next round dutifully and they both drank again.

"So what do you think about it?" Chibs asked as Juice was pouring the third round. It was open whether he meant Bobby's death or the smack-down between Quinn and Jax. Juice chose to think about the first. "I don't know. It is hard to accept he is dead. I keep waiting for someone to tell me it was all a misunderstanding. I wish I had been there. It might have made things easier."

"Wouldn't have helped," Chibs said darkly. "We were gone before it happen." He paused. "I told Jackie we shouldn't leave Bobby alone. But he just brushed me off."

"Jax probably thought Bobby would be fine and didn't want to endanger the plan," Juice said. He did not want to have this conversation. He didn't even want to think about it, truth be told. He had the feeling that he might not like the conclusions he would arrive at.

"Fuck the plan!" Chibs snarled. "The plan sucked! What the hell was Jackie thinking? Did he really think this would work out? So many things could have gone wrong! The IRA always resists arrest! They don't care how many cops they kill! We could have died in the crossfire before even seeing Patterson. And this is even without Marks figuring out that we were to blame! He could have killed us too! And did he really think nobody would get suspicious if the Sons are the only one walking out there? The street would have known before the end of the day."

Juice had no good answer to that. "Well, but those things didn't happen, did they? I mean, yeah, we lost Bobby but other than that things went perfectly, right?" He paused. "Shit it feels really bad to say something like that."

"Don't worry I know what you mean. And yeah, I guess it could have gone worse even if we do not know how the Irish are going to react. But still I never would have expected Jax to do something this insane. And doing it behind the club's back is unacceptable! There is no way we can let him get away with it!"

"Chibs, please stop talking," Juice said. "You are bringing me into an impossible situation. I don't want to have to choose between you and Jax."

The Scot looked at him very shrewdly. "Does he still own you, Juicy? Or is he fucking you now and the hormones mess with your head?"

Juice flushed. "What...I...it is not like that! I just think I owe him, you know, for letting me back into the club."

Chibs snorted. "You don't own him anything and he didn't let you back in. He used you under threat of death."

"Yeah he did but he was also the one who let me back to the table once the debt was paid. He didn't have to do that. He could have kept me on the leash forever or just have me killed. So yeah, I am grateful for that and this is why I back him."

"You might have to stop that," the Scot said thoughtfully. "For the good of the club."

"What does that mean?" Juice asked, thinking this sounded rather ominous.

"I don't know yet," the older member continued, still in this very thoughtful voice. "I have to think."

This was dangerous, Juice wanted nothing to do with that. "I will let you think then."

He took a bottle of bourbon – he needed something nice to drink now – and retired to one of the booths with the intention of getting good and well drunk. Chibs should leave him out of this, he had no desire to be in any kind of power struggle. But as took the first sip he had the nagging feeling that this would not be an option.

Jax was unusually nervous when he moved through the hospital corridors. It was just a conversation with a man who couldn't do him any harm but still his stomach was doing backflips. The niggling doubt that Gemma had not told him the truth was back with a vengeance and Jax feared that it might be proven right today. He really hoped that it had just been a mistake and that Roosevelt would confirm that it was Lin. Then he would know that he hadn't started a gang war without cause even though he still would have to worry about his mother's state of mind. Which was more than enough given that Gemma was pretty much the only family he had left. She had left with Nero this morning to have a look at this farm of his. Jax had been against it at first but finally had had to admit that a vacation might do her some good.

Well, first things first. The family drama had to wait until he had talked to Roosevelt. He approached the station were Patterson and two cops were already waiting for him. They quickly started searching him. Jax endured it easily, knowing they wouldn't find anything – he had come completely unarmed. He had not liked to do so but he had really wanted to appear cooperative to Patterson.

He had expected the DA to be happy at nailing Marks but she seemed as serious as usual. Strange, but she probably only allowed herself a laugh a couple of times a year. As usual, she was all business with him. "We will let you go in alone but we will be right outside the door. Once you go, we will stop and check on Eli. If anything seems out of the usual, we arrest you and nail you for murder. I take a lot of risk for this, so no games, Teller."

"Don't worry," Jax said. "All I want is to talk to him."

"He's all clear," one of the cops said.

Finally, this search had taken much too long. Jax had half expected them to strip him after all, despite what Patterson had said. The DA nodded to him and he went inside, closing the door behind him. Roosevelt seemed to be waiting for him. Jax was shocked at how bad he looked. His bloodshot eyes had sunken deep into his sockets, he was way too thin and looked lost with the amount of machines around him. But despite everything he gave Jax what would pass for a smile. "Jax."

"Eli. I am really sorry this happened to you. How are you feeling?"

"About as good as I look," Roosevelt replied. "But things are looking up, I suppose."

"That's good," Jax said, feeling a bit nervous. Something about Roosevelt felt off. It was like he was angry at him for something but Jax did not know why. It was like coming home to an angry girlfriend without even knowing what you did. "I wanted to ask you what happened this night."

Roosevelt laughed. "I thought you off all people would know."

This didn't make sense to Jax but he thought it might be best not ask. "I thought I knew but there are some doubts I just can't shake. I need the truth now, Eli, and I know you are the one who can give it to me. So could you please tell me what happened that night?"

Roosevelt considered for a moment and Jax really feared that the cop might refuse to talk to him after all. He had no idea why the sheriff was so pissed at him. Maybe he blamed him for getting shot since Jax had arguably been the reason for him being at the house but this would be quite unfair in the president's mind. "I was at your house, waiting for you and Patterson to show up. Tara was inside, doing God knows what. I think she was still trying to wrap her head around what had happened. I remember having a bad feeling about all this. It just seemed so strange to me, you suddenly forgiving Tara and agreeing to go to jail for her. No offense, Jax.

"None taken," Jax said quietly. In hindsight, he could barely believe it himself.

"While I waited I heard something from the house. I called Tara but she didn't answer so I went inside to investigate. It thought the sound had come from the kitchen." Roosevelt paused here for a second and gave Jax a very serious look. "I entered the kitchen and saw Tara lying there, covered in blood and obviously dead. Gemma was with her."

Jax needed a moment for this to sink in. "Gemma? What was she doing there?"

"She was in a state, kept babbling about how she had to do it. But there was no doubt there, Jax, she killed Tara. I guess she didn't know of the deal and thought that Tara had betrayed you."

Jax's thought went spinning. It sounded outlandish, insane even, but it also made terrible sense. He knew that his mother wouldn't show mercy to any traitor, especially not Tara. Combined with a fit of rage and it started to sound frighteningly possible. And once the rage had passed and she had realized what she had done, she had probably realized that Jax could never forgive her. So she had come up with the lie to blame the Chinese. The lie that had set all this in motion and had probably killed dozens. All to protect the one dirty secret nobody – not even her son – could know. Which was also why she couldn't have seen Chris Dunn this night. She hadn't seen anyone. She wasn't senile or drinking she was lying her ass off. Jesus Christ, it all made sense now! But one thing he couldn't explain yet. "Who shot you? Don't tell me Gemma somehow took your gun and shot you in the back."

Roosevelt chuckled. "No, I am not that sloppy. I don't know who did it. Someone must have crept up behind me. To be honest, I thought it was you but now I am not so sure anymore."

So Gemma had an accomplice? Who was it? Unser? Would he try to kill a fellow cop for her? Probably, the love struck fool would do everything to impress a woman that wouldn't take him if he was the last man on Earth. But this wasn't important. He had to talk to his mother, he had to find out if she really had betrayed him like that. Everything looked like it but maybe, maybe he was wrong after all. Maybe there was some impossible explanation that made sense of what Roosevelt had seen. It was always possible that the cop was lying but Jax did not believe that. He blinked and was surprised to find tears in his eyes. "Sorry, I have to go."

He turned around and stormed out of the room. The guards were already waiting for him but Jax just moved past them. They would see Roosevelt was fine soon enough. He quickly walked to the exit, barely managing to keep the tears from flowing down his face.

Patterson decided not to send anyone after Teller but to check on Eli Roosevelt first. She entered the room and was quite relieve to find him alive and well. "How did it go?" she asked. "Seems like Teller was in quite a hurry to leave."

"After what I told him he is probably looking for his mother," Roosevelt replied, sounding thoughtful.

"So he believed you? No accusations or denial? He just took you at your word and believed that his mother killed the love of his life?"

"I had no reason to lie. And I think he at least suspected something was off, he mentioned that he had some doubts about this night."

"Well those doubts certainly did not stop him from murdering Henry Lin," the DA mentioned dryly. Knowing it had all been in vain made it even harder for her to excuse Teller's actions. "Do you still think he shot you?"

"No, he seemed too surprised by the news. Had to be someone else. Maybe another Son or even Unser. He is very close to Gemma."

"Well, it does not matter much now. The APB is already out on Gemma. Once we have here we might get the last pieces of the puzzle. Thank you for your help, Eli. I never could have cracked this case without it."

"You're welcome," Roosevelt said. He paused. "You realize you just lied to Teller, right? Promising him that he would be the first to talk to me and then doing it yourself?"

Patterson smiled. "I just bent the rules a bit. He did the same with our last deal so I thought I would return the favor." She hesitated for a moment. "What do you think Teller will do if he finds Gemma before us?"

"I have honestly no idea. If it were anyone else, I would be sure that he would kill the poor bastard but I doubt even Teller would kill his own mother."

"Let's hope it does not come to that."

Jax tore through the clubhouse like a tornado, dialing both Nero and Gemma's number over and over again. None of them answered. Shit, did she know he knew? Or where they just having some romantic picnic and didn't want to be disturbed? This was not the time for that! He needed to talk to her or he would go crazy! He was just dialing again when Chibs gently took the phone out of his hands. "Mind telling us what is going on?" he asked.

The president looked at Chibs and the others in the clubhouse and suddenly realized what he had done. He had led them into a war convinced he was doing the right thing but now it had all been a lie. A lie he should have seen coming but had been too blind to recognize because it had come from his own mother. How should he ever make up for that? He considered lying again but they deserved better. So he blinked to clear the tears away, sat down and started talking.