Hello there! As usual, hey, Kurt Sutter owns almost everything. Esther, Everett, Jack, Silk and Jack belong to me. Without further a due, chapter 11!
She's already out of bed when he wakes up, last night was great. Desert, yeah, right. It was just a specific meat rod she was missing. Because Happy kept women happy and satisfied. On the bedside stand, a coffee, it was cold, now, but Happy still downed all of it in a sip or two, the clothes they had shed last night had all been picked up, his folded neatly at the end of her bed. When he went to the kitchen to wash off his cup, she had printed a note for him, it was sitting on a key ring with three keys on it.
"Morning, Hap. Keys to the bar, and keys to my front door. I don't know when you're heading back to Charming, but I'm always here if you need me to be. Jax said you had no phone, I have burners in my dresser, pick the one you want best. XX, Silk."
In her dresser. He opens a few drawers, find the small zip-lock of burners in her underwear drawer. The bag makes him stifle a giggle, she ended up with all the unwanted burners. Club bought burners by the rack, but most guys liked burners that didn't stand out better. Silk had what was left. Pink, orange, bejeweled, Barbie camo, he picked a bright blue one, slid it in his pocket, before playing a practical joke on her. He switched that drawer and the drawer underneath, that contained leggings and relaxed pants. That was the type of stuff she found funny, because it was harmless. Move a table and chairs, she could very well try to strangle you, but move her conditioner where she keeps her shampoo, mode drawers or put salt in her sugar shaker, and she would find that funny.
Leaving a note back was the bitch part, tough. He never bothered learning braille, even tough he brushed up on his French more than he already knew. And he didn't know how to use her computer either. Oh well, screw Zack, he owed the guy nothing.
-Thanks for last night. We have to do that again, soon.
He left the note in her mailbox, she would find it easier there than anywhere else. And Carla could help her read it.
It's eleven in the morning, and seeing Silk has worked wonders on his morale. A quick call to Chibs, who sends Phil to give him a ride to the bar in the van. It's been a long while he's seen Phil, and Phil is a good guy.
-Hear you're fucking Carla?
-No. Well, yeah, maybe a little.
-Careful with that one. They ain't all good apples like Silk.
-Carla isn't like she was before, brother. Having a kid really changed her. I've never seen her drink one drop of alcohol in the two odd years I've been seeing her. She doesn't even hang around the club anymore. When there's lockdown, she takes Korey, and they get out of town, she won't even come around the clubhouse.
-What about my bar?
-Nope. She used to bar-tend, when Korey was little, but she paid her way through dental school. She works for the Korean that's on the other side of town. So Korey and Silk get free dental.
Well, at least one good thing came out of Carla, free dentist for Silk whenever she needs it. And another grand-baby, for Silk to spoil rotten. This one had made it past 13 months old without being murdered.
-No free dental for you?
-I get a discount.
-She good to you?
-She really is, brother. She got a lot into her head, from having Silk around.
Phil stops the van, in front of the Canelle, he can't even recognize it. It used to be brown sidings, the front was now reclaimed wood and brick, it looked really nice, and they had a new sign, the bar did that well. It looked nothing like a biker bar anymore, it was an upscale place with no ties to the MC but a paper owner, a place where normal people probably wanted to go for a drink after work.
-Whose idea was it? The wood and the brick?
-Cleo. She's gone, now, but she was Silk's manager for six years. She saw a decline in numbers, so Silk put the money.
-Hm.
He gets out of the van, fishes the keys out of his pocket, Phil looks like he's going to wait there. The door unlocks for him with one of the keys, there's no alarm. Why? There was a security system in place, the last time he was here.
On the panel, a note from Silk, again.
"Turned this off for you, no one has code but me, Carla and the manager. Arika should be there by the time you're done. XX -C"
At least.
The inside of the bar is practically unchanged. Fresh coat of paint, maybe last year. The stools have been reupholstered in the same cinnamon color. The tables have been changed, they don't have a lot of wear and tear at all. The pool table's top was changed, it used to be red, it was now a shade very close to her theme. And she now had a jukebox in the corner. The bar top had been changed too, from wood, it was now marble, or something close to that, it looked really nice.
In the office, nothing had changed. It was still outdated, the desktop was still in clutter, he remembered the nights he would take Silk right on top of it, trying to have her produce a baby.
The safe is encased into the wall that gives on the bar, behind a painting. It used to be a Renoir reproduction, it was now something a little kid would have painted. What happened to the Renoir? He hadn't seen it in her house, and it was one of her treasures. Their anniversary, the fourteen of September, the safe pops open, at the top, there's the important stuff, some money, Silk's jewelry, not that she owns a lot. On the bottom shelf, his box, 357 is the code for it. He opens it once putting it on the desk, there's about ten thousand dollars in cash, and cheques for 90 thousand dollars. A few IOU, she had taken equal money out of the safe to update the bar over the years. He rips these IOU, the bar was still open and it was thanks to her. He took 40% of the profits, because he was away a whole lot. Like just now, gone for nine years straight. He expected there to be a lot less money than this. But now, he really doesn't have to worry about the nursing home, and he can give Esther money, and maybe get a lawyer to gain rights for his daughter.
He puts the box back, tosses about 40k in IOU, and closes the safe, before putting the painting back to hide the safe. At the bottom of the painting, there's a signature. "Korey, 4 and nannie." Yeah, Silk was good with kids.
As he gets to the main room, there's an Asian woman that's walking in, she's holding a gun loosely, she drops her purse and aims at him when she sees him with a couple of bricks of money in his hand. Never saw her before.
-Put it down, or I'm shooting you.
-Relax. I'm Happy Lowman. I'm the one that owns the checkbook Silk signs your paychecks with.
-Oh. I'm sorry. She didn't say anyone was coming by.
-She's gonna be pissed off, I trashed the IOU's.
-Why?
-Cause I did. You Arika?
-Yeah.
The gun is put away, she flips her hair, picking her purse back up.
-How long you been here?
-Four years, since Cleo left.
-Where did Cleo go?
-Vegas. She got a big contract dancing for Celine Dion.
He has a nod, too bad, because Cleo gave really good head. He pulls a hundred dollar bill form the money he's holding, lays it on the counter, before taking a bottle of top shelf bourbon and leaving. Phil has a smile, driving him back to the clubhouse, a crow eater's gonna get it.
As expected, there's a huge party, to celebrate their release, now that all immediate business has been taken care of. Old ladies have been fully sexually satisfied, everyone managed to come across a little bit of cash, and now, it was time to celebrate, before waging war on Charming.
Silk comes over during the party with Zack, she occupies a couch and the dance floor for a good part of the night. Tig is notably absent, but he's sitting on Clay right now, watching the bastard's every movement. Phil isn't there either, he was there when the party started, but left around nine, Silk said he was going home to Carla and Korey. For the rest of them, it's a party for the ages.
And this party for the ages, there is this crow eater named Petra. Petra who likes top-shelf bourbon, and dick. He's barely just started to give it to her, he had found them a barely secluded corner outside, at the back of the clubhouse, when out of nowhere barges a pretty pissed off Esther, he's not about to stop pumping into Petra to talk to her.
-You god damn son of a b... God dammit, Happy!
-Hi, babe. What's happening? Hur.
-I don't want your dirty money, Happy! I don't know what exactly you heard of what I told you, but I certainly didn't ask for money.
-Oh, I heard every syllable of every word of what you said. Huh. Hm.
-Would you stop fucking that girl for a minute!
-Hm, no, it's fine, really. Huh. And the money's from the bar. Clean legit money. Hm. Hm. I tapped Silk, she gave me my... My... Shares, huh.
Petra's pretty far drunk, she won't even remember this in the morning, for now, she's slurring, is Esther going to join them? Petra has a thing for little brunettes. And Esther is very pissed, but turning her back on them, to not have to see this.
-I want nothing from you, Happy. If I wanted things from you, I would have stayed.
-Oh, oh, oh-yeah-that's-it-oh-shit-that's-tight-God-DAMN!
-Happy for fuck's sake!
Esther chucks the cash at his head, she's got her wrist in a cast, and a big bruise on her shoulder, and she's limping away, his brains short-circuits for a second, from watching Esther walking away in her Daisy Dukes while dropping a load on Petra's leg. He loses his breath for a second, pulls his pants up with one hand as he's grabbing the brick of bills on the sandy ground, he hears Petra falling from the ledge she was on, around the corner, he grabs Esther's wrist, only to get smacked in the head by her cast.
-Stay away form us, Happy!
-Like shit that's gonna happen, Esther. It's gonna be a cold day in hell, before I let this shit go. Everett is my daughter, and you're my wife. You think I give a shit about anything else?
-The only thing you ever gave a shit about is your dick. You stay away from us, or I'm siccing the cops on your ass for breaking probation!
-Probation? You think I give a shit about probation?
-Crossing state lines is against your probation, you know that. Don't make me get a restraining order.
Esther turns around, and almost rams into Gemma, that's doing her best Gemma face, arms crossed, a cigarette at her fingers. At least, he's got Gemma on his side.
-It's a dangerous game you're playing there, keeping that baby from us, Esther.
-Get out of my way, Gemma. This isn't your fight.
-Hap is one of my boys. That baby is my grand-baby. You do know what happens to people who mess with my grand-babies, right?
-I'm not gonna say it again.
But Esther's resolve is clearly fainting, in front of Gemma that's not one to let anything go, ever. Gemma takes a drag of her cigarette, her eye trails on Esther that goes around her to rally her Civic and leave. Happy follows, she's just not fast enough, or actually tall enough to reach across to lock the passenger door, he sits in, slams the door behind himself. Just about everyone is looking at them from the front of the clubhouse.
-Get out of my car.
-No way. Not happening.
-Happy get-out-of-my-mother-fucking-car-before-I-murder-you!
Her one breath-bellowed threat does not scare him a bit, as he puts the two thousand dollars on the dashboard, before pulling the rest of the cash he has on him from the safe.
-Do you remember, what I told you, that first time Jax bailed us out of the lock-up of Charming PD?
-No. And I don't care to remember, Happy. I'm not that chick anymore. Ok? I'm not about the fucking MC life anymore. I want you out of my life.
-Not gonna happen. Ever. That's about covering the damage to your living room.
-I don't want your money.
-Esther, don't make me send prospects in Gardena to fix it. Take the money. I swear it's clean money. Earned through the bar. This is... Some money. I want you to have it. From the bar, too. That's to make a couple payments on your mortgage, and buy a good car. You can't be having my daughter be seen in a piece of shit 1992 Civic. Get something nice, like a Caddy. You always wanted a Caddy.
-She's not your daughter. Happy. Stop saying that. She is my daughter, and Jack is her father.
-I swear if you say that again, I'm gonna slit your throat. He will never be her father.
Esther takes the longest breath, as she's slowly batting her eyelashes, she is so pissed right now, and trying so hard to put a cork in it.
-Now. I got to make some money happen for my mom, too, but I think twelve thousand bucks can take you a long way. Even with a deposit on a Caddy. It's gonna get your living room brand new, and you can buy as many boxes of six dollar treats as you want. I'm gonna have more money for you, soon.
-I don't want your money. I have money. My husband and I have money.
-You think I give a shit, Esther? About your husband? What planet did you move on while I was locked up? The fuckwad don't even exist in my world. Now don't fool yourself. I will murder you first chance I get. You are keeping my daughter from me. But it ain't gonna last, babe, and you know that. You're mine and so is she.
She lets go of sucking her top lip in, she's boiling, it's quite alluring. But then, she turns to him, grabs his arm to make sure he's looking at her straight in the eye as she speaks.
-I love my husband, Happy. I chose him, and he chose me, and we have two children, together. You've never been in the background, and you never will be. I've made a whole life without you, and the last thing I want is my daughter being caught in the middle of your chaos. It will never happen. We don't want your money, we don't want your input, we don't want your participation, we want nothing to do with you. At all. Jack has been trying to get me to stop paying for Marjo's nursing home for two years. And he's right, she isn't my burden. What is my burden is my husband's mother with Old Timers that's in private care in LA. To keep our children in a good school, and enrolled in sports.
-I'm gonna go to court, Esther, and get my paternity recognized. You know I much I hate lawyers and court, but I will do it.
-Do it, then, and you'll never see me or her again. I got zero fucks to give to your threats. Do it. Get a lawyer. If there's one thing you taught me, Happy, it's to always have an escape plan in handy. I got contingencies, plenty of them. Show up at our house again, and we'll be gone. Now take your dirty money, get out of my car, and never bother us again.
Happy has a smirk, grabs the handle on the side of the seat and pulls it, propelling himself backwards. He's got a lifetime ahead of him. Esther looks at him for a long moment, before pulling her phone, she leans against the driver's door and starts texting back and forth, until a SUV pulls beside her, she grabs her purse and her keys, and smiles at Happy.
-See? Contingencies. All in place, Happy. Stay away from us.
She's out of the car before he can grab hold of her. It's that gash Kary that's driving, she flips him the bird, fucking cunt. He returns the kind gesture, and by the way Kary pulls out and drives off like a bat out of hell, he knows something is up.
Then he hears it. The distinctive high-pitched whir of a car bomb being activated. That crazy bitch set him up! He fumbles to pull himself up and kick that door open, he doesn't even have the time to grab the money from the dash as he bolts from the passenger's seat. Guess her Honda did it's time, for real.
-Get down! Get down, you got to get...
He's about fifteen feet away from the Honda when it blows up, The detonation blows him forward and hardly to the ground, he feels his whole back side getting toasted as a cloud of flames rises up on an almost perfect ball, and smoldering pieces of her car are falling everywhere around him. He hurries to pick himself to his feet before getting impaled by one, rushes towards the clubhouse to take shelter with the others.
He could swear that Gemma sounds terrified but she's trying to cover it up with an exclamation.
-Is there anything that crazy gash won't do?
-You need to take care of her, brother. She's becoming a problem, already.
Happy has a slap on Jax's chest. No. She won't become a problem. He's not even going to get after her now. Let her go back to Gardena, and feel safe for a while. Right now his priority is cash Silk's checks, secure his mother's living, then get retribution on Clay. Then, find that gash, rape her, rip her open from chest to gash, and make her hurt. Then take his daughter and get out of there.
-I got it, brother. I got it. Someone get me marshmallows, so I can enjoy this bitch burning.
So, what do you guys think? R&R!