JAX'S P.O.V.
"Jax, I need to go back to work. This is the busiest time of year at Un-Southern. We need to get into some sort of routine. Plus, I need to hire a new manager for the salon. I can't rely on Sophie to run everything. It's not fair to her. Gemma said Neeta will watch all three kids this week. I'll be at work from 9:00am – 5:00pm Monday thru Friday this week so I can be home to feed them. And, Jackson, you need to talk to Opie. He hasn't seen his kids in forty-eight hours. Sober him up and tell him I expect him at the dinner table tonight. We'll be eating at 6:30pm. Remind him he's a Father." Lexi finished angrily as she got ready for work.
It was only 7:00am. Too early to argue about Opie or anything else, but I didn't want her going back to work. It's only been a week since she was shot. Clay and I were still at a loss as to what should be done with Stahl and that fucking rat Wendy. It was a given, already approved at the table, that Kohn would be meeting Mr. Mayhem as soon as we find him.
"I'll make a deal with you, Lexi. You work from 9:00am – 12:00pm and then from 1:30pm – 5:00pm. Come home to eat lunch and see Abel. Ease your way back into things." I told her. "Speak of the devil." I said as we heard Abel on the baby monitor. "I'll get him." Lexi replied, walking out of the room.
I picked up my prepay and made the call I had been dreading. "It's Jax Teller. We need to talk. Meet me at 9:30am. Over at the Bluebird Warehouse that blew up a few months ago." I said ending the call before dialing another number. "Clay. The meeting is set. 9:30am at the Bluebird Warehouse. I'll see you at TM afterwards." I said, ending the call as Lexi came back in with Abel. "I'll wake the twins and start breakfast. This little man needs some one-on-one time with his Dad...and his bottle." she said handing me Abel and his bottle.
Two hours later I drove down the road towards the deserted warehouse. We once used it to assemble and store our guns for the Irish. It was called Bluebird because it's where Blue Bird Feed was sold out of. It was now just a shell of what had once been.
"Thanks for meeting me, Hale." I said as I got off my bike and lit a cigarette. "Why am I here Jax? What do you want?" he asked in return.
"I need to talk to you about the file you gave me on Saturday. When exactly did Wendy become an informant for the Feds? Also, knowing Kohn's history and knowing about the restraining orders why did Stahl lead him directly to Lexi? What does she have against Lexi? Or is Lexi just a way for her to get to the club? I need more information before Clay and I bring this to the others. I need to know what else you know." I replied.
"I gave you everything I could get my hands on. I will tell you that she has two large files on Lexi. Like Kohn, she seems to be obsessed with Lexi but I'm not sure why. She's dangerous Jax. She's dangerous to Lexi...a threat to Lexi. You need to find a way into her office and see what's in those files. That's all I can tell you. If I find out more then I'll be in touch. I gotta go." Hale said, getting back in his jeep and leaving a trail of dust in his wake as he pulled out of the dirt lot.
After Hale left I texted Clay to let him know I was on my way but had a stop to make first. I pulled onto Main Street and drove to Un-Southern. Donut was posted out front. "Where's Bowie and Lorca?" I asked as I got off my bike. "Bowie's covering the back and Lorca is on the inside. We thought it would be better this way." Donut replied.
"Thanks, man. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the three of you hanging out in Charming for a bit." I told him. "No problem VP. We're happy to help. Plus, the women who come in and out of this place are fucking hot." he replied as two women walked out of the building. "Have a good day ladies. Hope to see you here again real soon." he called out to them. I laughed and headed inside.
I looked in the café and didn't see Sophie or Lexi. I looked in the boutique only noticing Melissa and Ashley who were both helping customers. Still no sign of Lexi. I turned and went up to the second floor. It was empty...I had forgotten it was closed on Mondays. She must be up in the office. I walked up to the third floor and that's when I heard the arguing.
"Lexi, you need to tell Jax and Clay! I don't think you should wait. It's getting too dangerous. She basically fucking threatened you." Sophie said. By the tone of her voice I could tell it was a heated discussion.
"Not yet, Soph. I need to hear what the P.I. finds out. I don't know if it is her or not. There was just something familiar about her. I didn't realize it when I was in the hospital or when I first met her on the lot. I haven't seen Robert's sister in years. She didn't go to his funeral but she reminds me of her. And she can threaten me all she wants. Legally, she can't touch me but if she tries she's not going to find anything. I've never done anything wrong. You know that." Lexi replied in a tone that matched Sophie's.
"Who the fuck threatened you?" I demanded to know as I stepped into the open doorway of my Old Lady's office.
LEXI'S P.O.V.
Oh shit, I thought to myself when I saw Jax in the doorway. "I gotta go back downstairs and check on the café." Sophie said, quickly leaving the office. Traitor, I thought to myself as she left me alone to deal with what looked like an unhappy Jax Teller.
"Hey, baby. I didn't expect to see you this morning. What are you doing here?" I asked sweetly as I got up from my desk and went to give him a kiss.
He unfolded the hands that I wrapped around his neck and took a half-step back. "I asked you a question Lexi. Who threatened you?" he asked again.
I stepped around him and continued to the hallway outside of my office. "It's not important Jax. Agent Stahl stopped by, for some unknown reason, trying to throw her weight around. Something about finding Donna's killer. She's so full of shit. I honestly don't think she cares at all about finding Kohn and Wendy." I told him, making my way to the staircase, knowing he would have to follow me if he wanted to continue this conversation. A conversation that he would never have in front of my customers and clients. I was a chicken, just like Sophie, running for cover until I could find out what Stahl really wanted.
"Lexi..." Jax started to say as we reached the bottom of the staircase on the main level, just in time to see Agent Stahl and multiple ATF Agents come through the front door.
"What the fuck?" I asked, unable to actually believe what I was seeing. "Alexis Morrow, we have a warrant to search the grounds of this building and of your home." Agent June Stahl told me as she handed me a piece of paper with a smirk on her face. A smirk I was dying to smack off her face.
"On what fucking grounds?" Jax asked angrily. "Jax, don't...you'll just make it worse." I told him quietly. "On the grounds that Ms. Morrow has ties to suspected arms distributors." she replied as she headed up the staircase. "We'll start in the office. Box everything." she told her team as the followed her upstairs.
"Fuck this." I said, angrily. I walked into the café and told Sophie to close for the day. I then walked in to the boutique and told Melissa and Ashley to close for the day as well.
"What are you doing?" Jax said, following me up the staircase. "Making sure they don't tear my life apart. Jax, I had nothing to do with the shooting. I can't believe I'm actually having to say that out loud." I told him, tears filling my eyes at the thought I would be under suspicion for killing Donna and then shooting myself. "I know babe. You're going to need some help getting out of whatever the ATF thinks they have against you. Let me call Rosen." he said referring to the club's lawyer.
"I have it covered." I replied walking into my office. My blood started boiling the moment I saw Stahl sitting at my desk. "You're not going to find anything. I didn't have anything to do with Donna's death and I don't know anything about being tied to arms distributors. I would like to know how you managed to convince a judge to sign off on this bogus warrant." I said angrily.
"Oh, Lexi. It's not bogus. It's all very legal. I would think a girl as smart as you would know that." she said walking over to me, with an odd look on her face. "How's your right-side feeling? Still sensitive?" she said reaching out and tapping me where my stitches were...where the bullets had been removed. "You bitch! Don't touch me!" I cried out in pain, slapping her hand away.
"Did you see that, Agent Tyler? I was just assaulted. Cuff her, mirandize her and bring her down to the station. Ms. Morrow and I are going to get to know each other better." I listened in disbelief. She was stretching things quite a bit. A female agent came over, pulled my arms behind my back and tightly fastened metal handcuffs on my wrists.
"I'll call Rosen." Jax said, angrily knowing this was a bogus bust. "Don't. I have it covered. I'll be home in time for dinner. Tell Opie he needs to be there." I reminded him as I was lead downstairs and out the front door of my building.
SOPHIE'S P.O.V.
Goddamn it, I thought as I once again stood in the café's kitchen, quickly scrolling through the contacts on my iPhone looking for a number. The number of someone I truly had hoped to never have to call but once Lexi was arrested I knew what I had to do. When Lexi came up with this plan, she gave me a list of phone numbers to call in case anything went wrong. Tommy's number was one of them.
"Tommy. It's Sophie Buchanan. Lexi is in trouble. How quickly can you get to the police station in Charming? The ATF just took Lexi in custody. You'll never believe who the Agent-in-Charge is. I'm sure you'll recognize her when you see her." I told the person on the other end of the phone. After being told he could make it to Charming from San Francisco in just over two hours I ended the call.
"Who was that? Want to tell me what's going on?" Jax said, scaring the crap out of me. I hadn't heard him come into the kitchen.
"Jesus, Jax. You scared the shit out of me. Look, if there's anything at Lexi's that could cause problems you may want to get it out of there before the Feds raid the house. She'll tell you everything you need to know when she's released and she will be released this afternoon. Trust me on that. However, she'll probably need a ride home from the station and you may want to be there for the reunion when it happens. I'm heading down there shortly. I'm thinking about bringing popcorn." I told him with a smile. The shit was gonna hit the fan this afternoon and I wanted a front row seat.
JAX'S P.O.V.
I was getting more and more angry by the moment. Sophie wouldn't tell me shit and Lexi told me not to call Rosen. The shark was worth every dime we paid him for his retainer. He was available for shit like this. For the first time in my life I was at a loss. I walked outside and started barking instructions. "Donut and Lorca...I want you two watching my house. Let me know if the Feds show up. Bowie, you head down to Charming PD. Watch the building. Let me know who comes in or out."
I sat on my bike and shot off a quick text to Hale...
Stahl arrested Lexi. Watch over her until I can get down to the station. You said Stahl was a threat to her...you better protect her. It's time for you to make a decision as to which side of the law you're really on when it comes to protecting Lexi.
I sped through the streets of Charming and pulled into TM. Clay was going to have a coronary. I walked into the Clubhouse and saw him shooting pool with Bobby. "Here he is. Got some good news for me?" he asked, walking over to me with a cigar in his mouth.
"Just the opposite. ATF raided Un-Southern. Stahl arrested Lexi on assault charges. She's down at Charming PD now. I sent Donut and Lorca to the house and have them watching over it. Told them to call me if the Feds show up." I told them. "What the fuck?" Clay roared. "Why the hell didn't you stop this, Jax? Who the fuck are they saying she assaulted? And why haven't you called Rosen yet?" Clay yelled, bringing the attention of my Brother's to our conversation.
"Stahl touched the side where Lexi had been shot. Lexi slapped her hand away. Stahl arrested her. Lexi told me not to call Rosen. She said she had it covered and Opie..." I said turning to my Brother... "she said your ass better be at the dinner table tonight at 6:30pm and you need to be sober." There were more than a few chuckles at that comment.
"I'm heading down to the station to find out what's going on. I texted Hale. He's going to watch over her while she's in there. I'll keep you guys updated." I finished, turning to walk out the door.
"I'm going with you. Not going to leave my Daughter alone in that place. Such bullshit." Clay said angrily as we were followed out to the lot by all of our Brothers, including the one who was broken.
LEXI'S P.O.V.
"Lawyer..." I said as I sat in an interrogation room at Charming PD. I had seen the surprised looks of both David Hale and Wayne Unser when I was paraded through the squad room in handcuffs.
"Come on now Lexi. I want to help you. I'm sure we can cut some sort of deal to make this assault charge go away." Stahl said to me.
"Bitch, if you want to be assaulted then let me know. You touched my injury and I moved your hand out of the way. No judge is going to believe you. Again, I have nothing to say other than...LAWYER!" I said screaming the last word.
"Did you just threaten to assault me again? I'll have to add that to the charges being brought against you. Along with what we found in your office, taped under your desk." she said holding up a plastic bag. "I'm thinking when we run ballistics the bullets from this gun are going to match the slugs we pulled out of Donna Winston. Talk to me Lexi." she said, pretending to be my friend.
Are you fucking kidding me? They planted a gun in my office? The best part is I have hidden cameras all over Un-Southern, including the office because that's where the safe is. Bitch is going down for this frame job, I thought as I once again screamed at the top of my lungs "I WANT A LAWYER, NOW!"
"I'll be back in ten minutes. Why don't you relax and think about what's going to happen if you don't cooperate. Think about never seeing that sweet baby boy, Abel, ever again. You'll be locked up in a federal prison. Jax will move on to a croweater or maybe even get himself a new Old Lady. I heard there's a pornstar who has wanted to move into that role for a very long time." she said as she walked out the door.
My Mother may have raised me to be a Southern Lady, but Robert Montgomery taught me how to handle myself in any situation. I've watched interrogations like this before. I'm not going to jail and I'm sure as hell not going to lose Abel and Jax, I thought to myself as I watched the clock. It had been over an hour since Stahl left me in here and almost two and a half hours since I was brought in.
The door open and David Hale walked in. "Happy to see me like this David? You're probably thinking the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I know what you think of my Dad and the rest of SAMCRO. I thought we were friends. You could have given me a heads up." I said, bitterly.
"We are friends Lexi. That's why I am passing a message from Sophie. She said someone named Tommy will be here shortly. I'll try to keep Stahl out of here as long as possible. Oh, and Jax is outside. He, Clay and all the rest are waiting outside in the parking lot. They can't come in. If they do one of them is bound to be arrested for something or the other. Gemma's in Unsers office right now giving him an earful. I'm going to try to get her in to see you if I can. I'll be back. Here's a Diet Coke and a BLT. I had one of the uniforms run over to Lumpy's and get you something to eat." he told me, placing my lunch on the table before walking out of the room.
I felt guilty. I was mean to him and was going to have to apologize. Shit. At least Sophie did what I needed her to and help was on the way. I was going to have to explain quite a bit to Jax and Clay.
"Enjoy your lunch? How about that, you have Deputy Chief Hale wrapped around your finger and the Prince of Charming, the bad boy on the wrong side of the law, playing house with you. What about you Lexi? Which side of the law are you going to fall on today?" Stahl said taking the seat across from me.
"LAWYER!" I yelled again and was surprised when moments later a knock was heard on the door. "What?" Stahl yelled. "I said I wasn't to be disturbed when I was interrogating this suspect."
"Well considering this is my station house I think I can do whatever I please, especially when your so-called suspect's lawyer has arrived and his demanding to meet with his client." Chief Unser told the ATF Agent. "You okay, sweetie?" he asked me. "I'm fine Wayne, thanks. If you wouldn't mind sending in my lawyer, I'm dying to introduce him to Agent Stahl here. I think the three of us have quite a bit to discuss." I said, grinning for the first time since I had been arrested.
"Assistant State's Attorney Thomas Montgomery. I'll be representing Ms. Morrow." Tommy said placing a business card in front of Stahl. She looked up in surprise as she heard the name. "Lexi, we'll be leaving now. From what I've read the warrant was bogus and the judge has already nullified it. If Agent Stahl here wants to bring charges on the gun that was found and the circumstantial case of assault then she'll be surprised to learn that both incidents were recorded by the security camera in your office. Let's go." my cousin, well step-cousin, said to me.
"Tommy, you're going to want to sit down. We need to have a little family meeting here. First let me make proper introductions. Thomas Montgomery, the son of my step-father's sister, please meet your cousin by blood, Agent June Stahl. Well actually it was June Montgomery before she was adopted. Turns out Robert and his first wife had a daughter with massive psychological problems. After five years of doctors and treatments, when she was eight years old, they made the difficult decision to put her up for adoption after she killed the family cat and attempted to burn down the house. June went into the foster care system. Now, cousin, I won't bore you with the other details of little June's derelict attitude during her formative years. Robert and his wife, Amelia, divorced shortly afterwards and five years later Robert married my Mother and I became his daughter. Apparently, based on the information I have received, from your Investigator, June became quite obsessed with me when she first met me on the TM lot. I told you about that night, Tommy, didn't I? She raided the lot with an Agent she knew to be a threat to me. An Agent, who along with Wendy Case-Teller, shot and killed Donna Winston and was responsible for my recent visit to St. Thomas." I told my cousin, a knowing look in my eyes causing him to grin.
"Ah yes, the bad apple. Well, I will plan on having quite the conversation with my superiors and yours, Agent Stahl, regarding your obsession with Alexis, her family and friends. I suggest Agent Stahl, you prepare to pack up your office. You're done in Charming. You may want to consider giving up Kohn's location. Maybe they won't prosecute you if you do. You'll just be fired. Now, while this has been interesting I'm ready to go. Lexi, why don't you introduce me to Clay, Jax and the rest of the men wearing kuttes out in the parking lot. They almost didn't let me through until Sophie yelled at them. It was quite comical." Tommy said, holding his hand and leading me out of the room.
"That was good. I figured your Investigator relayed the information he had found for me back to you. I just didn't know it was going to come to a head today. Thank you for coming to my rescue today, cousin. I couldn't have kept a level head if I didn't know you would be here to save me at some point." I said with a smile as we walked out into the California sunlight.
I saw the look on the faces of the members of SAMCRO, especially on Jax and Clay's faces, when I walked outside hand-in-hand with Tommy. I paused at the top of the staircase, looked at my cousin who had more than once managed to find himself on the wrong side of the law over the years, and knew by introducing him to these people, to this part of my family, he was going to be drawn into a lifestyle he never thought either one of us would be part of.