A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.
Chapter 12: Russian Roulette
The day that Jaz had dreaded since the night she'd found out Julian was back in town had finally come. They were having a sit down meeting with him today to discuss supplying him with arms. Clay would hear of doing it no place, but the clubhouse and that meant that he was going to catch sight of JT.
"I still think that this is a bad idea. The last thing we need right now is to get involved with the king of the swamp drug trade. We still have an ATF Agent who will nail us on any charge she can think up." Jaz paced back and forth the chapel nervously.
"And you've already taken measures to make us look more legit. You have us involved in the porn industry with Luanne. We are covered, Speaker, you did your job. Now let's make some real money. Julian Dubois has a lot of money to spend and we need it if we are gonna combat Zobelle." Clay dismissed her concern.
"We need to be careful when it comes to Zobelle and that flunky of his. He isn't one of the usual thugs that we deal with. He reminds me of a chess master and right now he's treating all of us like pawns in his game. We need to get out in front of this. We need to proactive instead of reactive. Being reactive with a guy like him is just going to get us into trouble." Jaz stressed. She knew a thing or two about strategy she was a graduate of the Naval Academy after all.
"Jaz, one situation at a time. He's trying to cut off pipeline with the IRA and trying to turn our customers against us. He's got the Niners and the Mayans out for blood because we have been selling to both of them. If we can land one big order with Julian and his swamp rats then we will be set. It might take the last of our stores and we may have to get creative after that, but right now in his moment we need this." Clay put his foot down.
"We will figure this out as we go. Jaz, right now you and I would be of better use to everyone if we tried to figure out how to cut off Darby's drug pipeline that he suddenly thinks is ok to run through Charming." Jax jumped in to keep fireworks from gong off between Clay and Jaz. He had the same disdain for his stepfather that his sister did the only difference was he was better at covering it up.
"Grandpa, there's a guy here that says he has a meeting with you." JT stuck his head in the door.
"Send him in, Prospect." Clay ordered.
"You've got it, Pres." JT acknowledged his order.
A moment later Julian walked into the room followed by Roy.
"Come on in, gentlemen, I believe that we have business to discuss." Clay waved them into the room.
Jaz squeezed her eyes shut tightly and took a deep breath. Maybe this wasn't what it looked like. Maybe Roy wasn't really working with Julian. He could just be tagging along with him for backup.
Nate took note of Jaz's reaction and filed it away in his memory bank for later.
Happy sat on the edge of his seat like he was poised to strike at any moment if that's what was needed.
"Clay, it's good to see you again. We've done good business with each other in the past and I don't expect this time to turn out any differently." Julian greeted him cordially.
"I'm hoping that we can come to an agreement that is suitable for both of us." Clay replied.
"I believe you know my nephew Roy. He's here to help me keep track of what's said." Julian took the seat that Clay offered him with a pointed finger.
"I know Roy very well he used to hang out here all the time." Clay confirmed. "I understand that completely I wouldn't want things to get confused." He agreed.
"I can never be too careful when it comes to business dealings. And I don't want to take the chance that somethin' gets lost in translation." Julian offered a smile.
"What kind of guns are you in the market for?" Clay asked him.
"Automatics and semi autos. We will take whatever you've got on hand. And we will place an order for more." Julian replied.
"That can be arranged. If you don't mind we can clear the room and talk prices just the two of us." Clay suggested.
"That sounds like a fine idea." Julian agreed.
"Go make yourselves busy with something." Clay told his MC.
"Roy, I'll be alright without you." Julian dismissed his nephew.
Roy and the MC trooped out of the room.
"Jaz, a word please." Roy requested a private audience with Jaz.
"Sure, we can go out front." Jaz kept the expression on her face neutral. "Hap," She gestured with her eyes to JT. She didn't need to do or say anything more than that. He knew what she meant.
"You know it." Happy promised to protect JT.
"What do you want, Roy?" Jaz asked once they were outside.
"I know that me showin' up with Julian looks bad, but I promise you that it's not what it looks like." Roy explained himself.
"Roy, I don't really give a fuck what you do. You just should have told me that the business you were in town on was your uncle's drug trade. You always swore that you would never work for him and look where you ended up." She retorted.
"It's not like I had much of a choice. Believe me if I could explain it to you I would, but I can't. You of all people should understand that. Don't think for a second that I'm with him because I want to be. It's just complicated." He stared into her eyes trying to make her understand without using words.
"You get to do what you want, Roy. I have no say in it and my opinion doesn't matter. Or at least it shouldn't. It's been fifteen years it shouldn't still feel like this between us. I shouldn't think that I have a say in what you do and you shouldn't care what I think about it." She ran her hand through her hair.
"I'd imagine that I'm workin' with Julian for the same reason that you're still involved in the MC and it's not just because they're family." He replied cryptically. He hoped that that was enough for her to get the hint.
"Roy, why do you care what I think?" She asked him.
"Because I still love you, Jaz. That should have been apparent from the way I've been hangin' 'round lately. It's not just because Jax is one of my oldest friends it's so I can be close to you." He admitted.
Jaz shook her head and let out a bitter laugh. "Fuck! Damn it, Roy. You don't get to come in here and disrupt my life like that. You don't get to say that to me. Not after everything that's been broken between us. You don't get to play with my emotions that way. Because, I still love you too, but we are different people now. We aren't those same innocent kids that we were before."
Roy reached out and grabbed her hand. "Don't you think I know that? Do you think that I want to still feel this way about you? Do you think I want my stomach to be in knots every time I look at you because I'm so in love with you? Do you think that I want to have the desire to put my fist through a wall every time I think about the fact that you're not mine anymore?"
She jerked her hand away from him. "Don't touch me, don't you fucking touch me. Because if you touch me I'm going to come undone at your touch just like I always have and just like I always will. I can't do that here. I'm the bad ass bitch. I'm the attack dog. I don't get to have emotions or be in love."
"Then run away with me. We talked 'bout it when we were kids. We should have just done it. I don't know why you didn't show." He took a deep breath.
"I was there, Roy, I showed up. I waited for two hours. You're the one who never showed up." She stared him down.
"Meet me at our spot later. There's a conversation that we need to have away from pryin' eyes and ears." He spoke softly as the door opened.
"Speaker, Clay would like to have a word with us." Jax stuck his head out the door.
"I'm coming." Jaz gave Roy one last hard look before she followed her brother inside.
"VP, Speaker, follow me." Clay led them back to the hallway by the dorms.
"What is it?" Jaz asked. She just knew that she wasn't going to like this whatever it was.
"Julian agreed to throw in ten million more on top of the forty million he's already paying for a night with you." Clay didn't bother to beat around the bush.
"No, my answer is not only no, but fuck no, Clay." Jaz refused.
"That's not happening, Clay. She's not some product to be bought and sold." Jax put his foot down. There was already a rift between the two because his actions had resulted in Donna's death. He refused to let the older man use his sister again.
"Relax, it's not like before. He just wants dinner. Anything else that happened would be entirely up to Jaz. I shouldn't have to stress how badly we need this. We need our attack dog to take another one for the team." Clay reasoned with them.
"And when is this supposed to go down?" Jaz asked. She knew that she was going to go along with this. If for no other reason than to have a way to bring Julian down.
"Tomorrow night. We have that charity ride to go out on and some guns to move. You could stay behind with the prospects and any member of your choosing to mind the store. It's one night and that's a lot of money. We just can't pass this chance up." Clay tried to talk her into it.
"Clay, you can't expect her to just do this. She's not some hooker or porn star. We have plenty of porn stars that would jump at this chance." Jax interjected.
"I'll do it, but this is the last time you use me a currency. Got it?" Jaz asked.
"Yeah I've got it. I'll tell him that it's a done deal." Clay grinned.
Jaz sighed as her phone went off in her pocket. She read the text and sighed louder. "I've gotta go. I can't deal with this right now. I have something I have to go take care of."
"I'll get everything set up and let you know the details, Speaker." Clay replied.
Jaz had already walked away and didn't hear a word that he said.
"You're playing with fire, Clay. One of these days you're gonna get us all burned." Jax gave him a word of warning.
"What's the problem, Bobby?" Jaz asked when she walked into the porn studio. She was the one handling this because it was legit and she could keep her hands clean this way.
"The problem is that the girls don't feel safe. Georgie has been threatening them and they want some protection. I brought it to you, because you would know how to handle it." Bobby replied.
"I'll get Opie, Jax, and Happy on it. The problem with that is you are all going to be out of town tomorrow for that charity ride, but I'll deal with it. Both the prospects will be here and I'm gonna have Clay leave the newbie behind. I know that Nate can handle himself against a thug like Georgie. I think I'll have him leave Opie or Juice behind too. I'm gonna be spread a little thin and I don't want to leave the clubhouse unprotected." She sighed.
"Seems like you have something on your mind." He observed.
"Bobby, there aren't enough hours in the day for me to get what's on my mind off my chest. Don't worry about me I'll be ok." She promised him.
"You guys had that sit down with Julian today. I'm pretty sure that I know what's on your mind right now. For the record we all tried to talk him out of it. You were a kid he had no business bartering with you." He gave her a meaningful look.
"Clay does what he wants to do what anyone else thinks be damned." She shrugged her shoulders.
"Pretty much," He agreed. There wasn't much more he could say than that.
"If that's all you needed me for I'll send the guys up here so they can escort those girls home safely." She needed some time to herself to think. She looked down at her phone and saw that she had a text and she shook her head. She might as well bite the bullet and have this talk she couldn't put it off forever.
Roy waited for Jaz in an old abandoned boxcar out on the edge of town. This was there spot. Not even Jax and Tara knew about it. It was something that was special just between the two of them. He smiled when he heard the rumbling of her Harley and then the crunch of gravel beneath her boots.
"You made it." He greeted her with a smile on his face.
"I debated back and forth over whether or not I should come at all, but you said that you would make it worth my while. Curiosity got the better of me and I thought that I better show up. If nothing else so I could just hear what you had to say." Jaz replied. Just being here memories of better times threatened to overtake her.
"I did come that night, Jaz. I want you to know that I was here. When I got here you weren't here. I waited and I waited. When you never showed up I thought you made your choice and that's when I left Charmin'." He explained.
"Your note said five, Roy. I was here at five I waited until seven." She replied.
He shook his head. "No, my note said nine. I wanted us to sneak out under the cover of night so no one had a chance to stop us."
"I'll tell you exactly what happened. Clay must have got up before I did that day and found your note. It wouldn't have been anything for him to forge a new note with a new time on it. He didn't that deal with the Irish to go through and he couldn't get that if I wasn't here to make it happen. That son of a bitch. That no good son of a bitch. I could have been with you this whole time and he took that from me." Fire flashed behind her eyes now more than ever she was determined to take Clay down and make him pay.
"This whole time you thought that I turned my back on you. Jaz, no I would have never done that. I thought that you decided to put the good of the club before me. I should have known better than that." He ran his hands over his face.
"If we just would have reached out to each other this whole mess could have been avoided. Because of me you ended up in a world you swore you would never have any part of. That's just another thing that I have to live with on my conscience." She started to pace back and forth.
Roy walked over to her and put his hand on her hip. "It wasn't a lie when I said I still love you. We can still build that life together. It's not too late. We aren't all that old. We could grab your boy and just go. Start over somewhere that no one knows us and there are no expectations of us."
Jaz looked up at him with tear filled eyes. "Roy, I can't. No matter how good that sounds or how perfect that would be I can't. I have obligations and responsibilities."
"I know. I do too, but I thought it sounded good. It sounded perfect. Why would you wanna leave a guy in the life for a guy like me anyway?" He gave a dry chuckle.
"I don't know what Nate led you to believe, but he and I aren't together. Like I told my mother not that long ago that fairytale happily ever after bullshit wasn't meant for women like me." Just a single touch from him and her body was on fire.
"Jaz, stop talkin', stop thinkin', and for the first time in forever just let yourself feel." He crashed his lips against hers and she kissed back with just as much intensity. That was all it took and their clothes started coming off. They rekindled the flame of passion that they thought had burned out years ago.
"Ok, you two know the deal no sampling the merchandise. You're just to escort these women home and leave it at that. I doubt even two prospects like you can have trouble understanding that order." Jaz laid down the law for JT and Half Sack.
"We've got it, Speaker, no fucking the porn stars." JT retorted.
"Ope, you gonna be ok holding down the fort alone tonight?" Jaz asked her friend.
"I've got it under control, Jaz. There's nothing to worry about here. You just go seal the deal with Dubois. The two prospects will be back to give me a hand." Opie assured her.
"Speaking of that. I better get going." Jaz was dressed in what she thought of as her lawyer clothes. She wore a black pants suit with a white silk shirt underneath her jacket.
"You gonna be alright on your own with him?" Opie asked her. He knew about the history there.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. That's why Nate is going to be shadowing me the whole time just to make sure that nothing happens." Jaz replied.
"Ok, see you on the other side." Opie nodded his head.
"Yeah, I'll see you on the other side." Jaz replied.
She met Julian in a nice restaurant and they managed to make pleasant enough dinner conversation. Inevitably talk turned to her returning to his hotel room with him. She had planned for this so she didn't turn the offer down. She even rode with him in his car to the hotel. Nate was never more than two car lengths behind them in his truck.
"Why don't you pour us a drink while I go hit the head?" Julian suggested once they were alone in his room.
Jaz smiled at him. "Of course." She took two glasses and poured three inches of bourbon in both of them. She waited until he was out of sight and she added an odorless tasteless drug to his that would knock him out. "Here you go," She handed him the drink once he had returned.
"I've been thinkin' 'bout this for the last fifteen years. I don't know how it's possible but you're even more gorgeous now than you were back then. I guess that's because you're a woman now and you've only gotten better with age." He complimented her.
"Age has been very kind to you too. I also happen to be a bit more experienced than I was back then. I think you'll find everything to your satisfaction." She gave him another smile.
"To us," He offered a toast.
"To us," She parroted as she clicked glasses with him. She downed her drink in one gulp partially to steel her nerves.
He did the same thing with his drink and offered her his hand. "Now that we are both a little bit more relaxed let's take this to the bed."
She took his hand and fought the urge to cringe as she let him lead her to the bed. They both sat on the bed facing each other.
Julian started to blink his eyes rapidly like he was trying to stay awake. He quickly lost the fight and passed out cold.
Jaz waited for five minutes before she walked to the door and opened it.
"Took you long enough." Nate bitched.
"Just get in here and help me get him undressed." She spoke through gritted teeth.
Together they stripped Julian naked and messed up the bed sheets to give off the appearance that the two of them had had sex.
"Look good to you?" Nate asked once they had staged the scene.
"Looks good to me." Jaz placed a note on the bedside table just to make things look a little more believable.
"Come on let's get out of here before he wakes up." Nate jerked his head in the direction of the door.
"I gave him a big enough dose that it'll be twelve hours before he comes to, but let's not tempt fate." She agreed with him. They snuck out and closed the door quietly behind them.
"Jaz, I got somethin' that I need to tell you and I think now is the best time to bring it up since we're alone and there's no one to interrupt us." Nate said once they were back in his truck and on the road.
"I'm listening go on and talk." Jaz replied.
"So, you didn't give me a straight answer 'bout who JT's father is. I did some digging on my own when I found out Roy was your old boyfriend. Look, I know that you trust him, but there are some things in his file that just don't jive. It's almost like some of it was redacted." He started talking.
"You did what?" She asked in disbelief. He'd gone the one place that she didn't let anyone go.
"Anyway, because Lohman is convicted felon his DNA was in the system. I managed to get a sample of JT's DNA off of a bottle he drank out of. It didn't really shock me when it wasn't a match. However, he did have genetic markers in common with Julian Dubois whose DNA is also in the system because he's been arrested for violent felonies. There wasn't enough of a DNA sample from JT to rule out the fact that he's Julian's son. He also had genetic markers in common with Roy, but I guess that's to be expected since he is Julian's nephew. I snagged JT's toothbrush from the house. And I'm waiting for the new test results. That should tell you one way or another who is father is." He went on.
"Do not run that fucking test, Nate. I mean it. That's my call not yours. You had no fucking right to go behind my back and do that. You can't even begin to comprehend the kind of danger that that puts my son in. Not only from Julian, but from the fucking Real IRA as well. Everyone thinks that Happy is his father. That is what everyone needs to continue to think. I can't fucking believe that you did this. If there is a test out there confirming that Happy isn't his father anyone could get their hands on that. I've known his life that Happy wasn't his father, but that was my truth to hold on to. It wasn't your place to go digging around into something like that behind my back. Kill the test, Nate. I can't have anyone getting their hands on that. You have no fucking clue what's at stake here." She raged at him. She was like a mother grizzly trying to protect her cub.
"I don't understand why you just couldn't be honest with me about it. We are supposed to be building a life together. I shouldn't have had to find out second hand that you had a fling with Julian or that Roy was your old boyfriend. That's something that should have come out of your mouth. I wouldn't have to go digging around if you would tell me things." He reasoned with her.
"Again that's my story to tell when I get damn good and ready to tell it. I told you think arranged marriage and forced pregnancy because that's exactly what it was! You don't get to shame me about Julian, because that wasn't my choice either. Why do you think I've got it out for Morrow so badly? If you had any idea of the things that man has forced on me you wouldn't be combating me over it you'd be helping me. I wasn't fucking playing with you when I said you better kill that test and you better get rid of any proof that links JT to Julian." She stared him down.
"I was trying to help us. I was setting things up for us to be together when this is all over. Come on, Jaz, you can't really be satisfied havin' a string of lovers instead of a steady boyfriend. I'm tryin' to get us out from under this thing sooner rather than later." He explained himself as he pulled back into the parking lot where her truck was.
"No you were trying to satisfy your own damn curiosity. And I would have told you as soon as this was over with. I would have let you in far enough and trusted you to help keep JT safe. Now as far as I'm concerned there is no us. And since you seem to be so damn interested in who I sleep with. I thought you might like to know that Roy and I fucked yesterday expect we didn't really fuck we made love and that's something I've only ever felt with him. From here on out we're partners and that's it. You can forget everything else." She got out of his truck and slammed the door without giving him a chance to reply.
Jaz drove around aimlessly for a little while trying to calm down. She couldn't have a full on nuclear melt down and still do her job properly. Without intending to she wound up in front of the federal building. She went through her routine of checking all her mirrors to make sure she hadn't been followed. She got out of the truck and walked into the building. She swiped her badge and let herself into her office.
She sat down behind her desk and logged into her computer. She typed in the name Seamus Royal Flannery Jr. into the database and Roy's file popped up. Most of it was largely redacted and she didn't have the clearance needed to access the file, but she knew someone who did.
"Ma'am, is there something that I can help you with tonight?" Ensign Reeves approached her desk.
"Reeves, what are you doing here so late? And in answer to your question unless you can tell me why men are such fucking idiots there's no way for you to help me." Jaz gave her a smile.
"You and the Captain were running an operation tonight, ma'am, and someone had to be in the office in case you needed assistance." Reeves explained.
Jaz opened up her desk drawer and pulled out two glasses and a bottle of bourbon. "No one else is in the office right now, Reeves, you can dispense with that ma'am bullshit and call me Jaz. And you could tell me your first name."
"It's Nina," Reeves replied.
"Well, Nina, I hate to drink alone, so I hope you like whiskey." Jaz poured them both a glass.
"I'm from Kentucky I only drink whiskey when I'm thirsty." Reeves accepted the glass.
"You ready to see how you get a file unsealed when it's supposed to be buried and you don't have the clearance." Jaz grinned.
"You're only the best of course I want to learn from you, Jaz." Reeves agreed eagerly.
"Watch and learn." Jaz picked up her desk phone and dialed a number. "Hey, Griff, it's Teller and I need a favor. I have a file that's redacted and I can't access it. It's germane to my assignment and I need to see the full details of the file." She laughed at whatever he said. "Yeah, I know you wouldn't give me your access code if it wasn't the for the fact I'm so fucking good at what I do and I'm General Teller's niece." She typed in his access code into her computer and Roy's full file came up. "Thank you, Griff, I owe you one." She hung up the phone with a smile on her face.
"It's that easy?" Reeves asked.
"It's that easy when you've served in dangerous situations with a certain admiral and he owes you a favor or two. For record you never speak to an admiral the way I talk to him you'll get your ass brought up on charges." Jaz added. Her eyes scanned Roy's file quickly and she breathed a sigh of relief. Things with him weren't as they appeared to be. That's what he'd been trying to tell her yesterday.
A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm going to be glossing over much of season two and merging it with season three in the next chapter. That's where the heart of the story is. Until next time please review.