Jax walked out into the parking lot and lit a cigarette. He needed to figure out a way to navigate around this situation with Clay. The son of a bitch should have been dead months ago. However, the CIA had stilled his vengeful hand.

Now there was a possibility that this cancerous bastard brutally attacked and nearly killed his mother. Jax had spent days waiting on Gemma to regain consciousness and her suffering still wasn't over. She would be recovering from her injuries for months. Worse still, she would probably lose the baby she was carrying.

Gemma wholeheartedly believed that Clay was behind her attack. She laid out a compelling argument for why he was the culprit, but there was no proof. Unfortunately, even if there was proof Jax was in no position to kill Clay. He still needed him at the table to keep their Irish hardware flowing.

Jax grunted as a thought struck him and he took a long drag from his cigarette. The club was only useful because of the hardware they could acquire. SAMCRO wasn't a necessary piece in the cartel's machine, they were just a tiny cog that could be swapped out with any other cog.

Opie walked up seeing Jax standing outside. "How are you holding up, brother?"

"Clay showed up here starting shit with Gemma. He bought her two onesies from the gift shop at the hospital. When I showed up, she was crying and screaming at him. I don't think I've ever seen her like that," said Jax.

The larger man's jaw clenched in anger and he said, "Great guy…"

"Gemma thinks that Clay is trying to set up Pope and the Niners by pointing this thing at them. She swears on her life that she thinks Clay is behind what happened to her," said Jax.

Opie lit his own cigarette and quietly thought out the situation. Clay was a son of a bitch and he left dead bodies in his wake wherever he went but he loved Gemma. He didn't object to killing the man but he didn't want to do so and discount a viable enemy like Damon Pope.

"What kind of man could beat, rape, and try to murder their wife of 17 years? I mean every move he's made that hurt my family…was strategy. He thought I was a rat and sent Tig after me. Donna was killed by mistake. My old man was trying to blackmail him so he killed him. Even his move on Tara was just to protect himself. What does killing Gemma get him?" asked Opie.

"He's got plenty of motivation. First, and foremost it is payback for leaving him, dating Elliot, and giving me JT's letters to Maureen Ashby. He knows Gemma wanted him dead."

Opie cocked his head to the side in thought but then nodded, "For some men that'd be reason enough to kill her. No offense."

Jax replied, "None taken. Second, with Gemma dead…his secrets die with her. I'm not stupid enough to believe that I know everything. My mother never puts all of her cards on the table. She is always holding a trump card in case she needs it. Third, throwing suspicion onto Pope and the Niners drags me into a war I don't have time for and shouldn't be in."

Opie was slowly coming around to Jax's way of thinking. Clay didn't have a lot of valid reasons for wanting Gemma dead.

"Besides, if you're busy playing diplomat or if we have to go to war with Oaktown then your attention will be there. That watchful eye that you've been keeping on Clay will have to shift to more pressing matters and deadlier adversaries. Who knows what he'll be up to while you're distracted?"

"Well, we might not know what, but we do know why. Whatever he would be doing behind my back would be in service to getting the president patch back on his cut. Depending on how I handle the war with Damon Pope it could give him ground to call for a no confidence vote. He doesn't have the votes now but he might if things go tits up. Quinn told me that Frankie Diamonds, Gogo, and Greg the Peg want a vote to transfer out of the Nomads and into SAMCRO. That has to be Clay's doing. Quinn is delaying the vote for now because he's a friend but he can't hold it forever. Good thing the guys are here and ready for the vote. We need a full table for tonight."

Opie said, "Alright, you think Clay is behind this and I already want him dead. What do we do?"

"The only thing we can do…we make it so that we don't need him anymore. And once Clay is finished serving his purpose for the club…we'll get our satisfaction," said Jax.

"Slowly, I hope. Very slowly," said Opie, his voice was eerily sotto.

Jax chuckled and said, "Ope, I promise you can take as much time as you need with Clay. You deserve several pounds of flesh."

Opie clapped Jax on the back and looked at him with a serious face. "Whatever you need from me…you have."

Clay walked into the chapel and had a seat at the end of the redwood table. Every time he sat in his new place, the biker couldn't help but feel he was in the wrong place. More than anything, he wanted to regain his rightful seat at the table.

However, as of late his plans were not going well. Tig told him clearly, that Happy was firmly in Jax's camp. He reached out to three Nomads but Quinn was delaying the vote to release them since Happy had his ear.

There were other options and men more loyal to him but it would take time to coax them into the situation, but Clay didn't know how much time he really had. It would have to be brave or foolish souls willing to insert themselves into a MC civil war.

He was still unsure about the truthfulness of Gemma's claims. He could believe that she would lie to Jax and the police to exact her own brand of revenge against him. The last time he assaulted her, Gemma tried to get Jax to kill him instead of calling the police. She now knew that her golden boy didn't have the stones to do the job. Gemma wasn't above doing her own dirty work when necessary. He didn't just beat her or rape. He caused the death of her child. Gemma would see him dead for it. He just didn't know how.

He leaned over to Juice and asked, "What is this about?"

"We're voting on three new members," Juice replied.

Clay's jaw went slack briefly but he quickly recovered and sat up more in his chair. He wracked his brain trying to figure out who Jax could have possibly found to fill their empty seats.

He glanced around the room and saw that they had a full table with the exception of Jax, Opie, and Tig.

At last, Jax and Opie entered the chapel and took their places at the table.

Jax banged the gavel on the table to call the meeting to order.

"I know that it is late and I'm sorry about that but this couldn't wait until morning. I know that we have a lot of empty spaces at this table. Bobby is still in lock up and we don't know when he might get out. Rosen is into it but Otto has a serious hard-on for Bobby. There is no telling what he might have given the fucking feds. Kozik was killed for this club and Miles was fucking traitor. We need to bring in more bodies or we are going to fall behind on business and we'll be a target for our enemies."

Opie said, "There are three brothers that are here tonight and they would like to join our chapter. We want everyone to seriously consider what they have to offer."

Jax nodded to Chibs and the older man got up opening the door.

Jason Brennan, Rusty Brennan, and Mickey Vellenueva walked into the room and Chibs closed the door behind them. Each man took a seat along the sidewall and waited for Jax to present their case.

Jax said, "As most of you know Jason and Rusty are Jury's sons and they're both former members of SAMREN. They have both given 17 and 7 years respectively to their club. Their chapter already voted to release them. That's Mickey, Chico's son, he has given 18 years to SAMJO. His chapter has also released him. These are brothers with strong ties to this club and to the First 9. Jury and my old man served together in Vietnam. Chico sat at this table for 20 years and he served with Piney, Jury, and my old man. I can't think of better men to sit around this table. Opie and I go way back with these three. We want them here but it is a club vote and it has to be unanimous. I am going to open up the voting. My vote is yea. Tig couldn't be here tonight but I have his proxy. He also votes yea."

Chibs said, "Yea."

Happy said, "Yea."

Everyone's attention was firmly on Clay. He could say no and hold up the vote but that meant his replacements would meet the same fate. Once again, Jax had outmaneuvered him. Bringing in old blood was a brilliant play. There was no way anyone was going to vote against them. He took in a breath and nodded.

"Yea."

Jax smiled seeing the look of defeat on Clay's face and his slumped shoulders. Whatever plans Clay had for a takeover were useless now. He would have to go back to the drawing board but his options were slim.

Juice said, "Yea."

Opie said, "Yea."

Jax said, "It's unanimous. Mickey, Jason, and Rusty are part of the family. Welcome home, brothers!"

He hit the gavel on the table and all of the guys got up to greet and hug the newest members of their chapter.

Jax stayed seated and looked at Clay from across the table with a grin on his face. It was a major victory and Jax felt good, but he decided then and there that Clay had to go sooner rather than later. He couldn't have the bastard sitting at his table and that meant finding a way to push him out but still maintain their Irish contacts or find a way to get someone else to supply the cartel with guns.

He stood up as Jason approached him. The two men embraced.

Jax whispered, "I can't thank you enough, brother."

"We're family, Jax. I've got your back…always."

"I'm just glad Lucky was willing to come. I know he was the deciding factor," Jax commented.

"He was excited about being a prospect for the MC."

"I'm ready to have a prospect. He's 17 so he needs to wait but he can start hanging out at the club and we could use another set of hands in the garage."

He smiled, "Lucky is hanging outside with some sweetbutts. I'll let him know."

Opie said, "I think it is time for a celebration! Someone crank up the music and let the liquor flow. We're about to have one hell of a night."

Cheers went up from the other guys as they exited the room and spilled out into the bar.

Clay stood up and walked over to Jax. He said, "Congratulations, son."

Jax said, "I'm not your son and you are living on borrowed time, old man."

He nodded and walked out of the club. Clay wasn't interested in watching them celebrate the new brothers and Jax's dominance. Instead, he decided to go to Tig's house. He wanted to know why his brother bailed on the vote. Something about it felt fishy to him.

He climbed onto his bike and sped away from the club. Clay never figured that Jax was working the very same angle behind his back. There was no way he would ever get a no-confidence vote on Jax now. He had two choices: kill Jax or walk away from the club.

It didn't take long for him to arrive at Tig's house. He saw the man's motorcycle in the driveway and knew that he was home.

Clay knocked on Tig's side door impatiently. He was angry and more than a little nervous. His plan for taking back the club had failed. He needed to know his alibi was still intact. He knew that fooling Jax would be easy. However, Gemma was smarter and knew him better than anyone else. Even if she didn't really remember the attack she would continue to hurl accusations his way until someone took her seriously.

He needed to ensure that his alibi with Tig was solid. Any variation on the story would be enough to make Jax question the veracity of the alibi.

Clay growled and knocked on the door harder.

"Tig! Open the door! We need to talk!"

The younger man snatched the door open reeking of booze and marijuana. He scowled at Clay and asked, "What?"

He held in a sigh and shook his head.

"What's going on with you, brother? You look like shit."

Tig huffed out a laugh and walked away from Clay but left the door standing wide open. He collapsed on his rickety couch and took a long swig of whiskey.

Clay closed the door and followed him into the house. He leaned against the wall and just watched Tig for a minute.

"You didn't show up for the vote and you smell like a barrel of whiskey. You want to tell me what's going on or do you want me to just drink with you?" asked Clay.

The dark haired biker opened one eye and looked in Clay's direction. He closed his eye again and said, "You don't want to talk about what's going on in my head, brother. Trust me. I take it we have three new brothers sitting at the table…"

"Yeah, the vote was unanimous. I was wondering why you weren't there. Give me a try anyway…you aren't doing well, Tiggy."

"I'm not doing good because my best friend is using me as an alibi when we both know he is full of shit," Tig snapped, he figured there was no sense in perpetuating the lie between them.

Clay chuckled, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't bullshit a bullshitter, Clay. You and I both know you weren't as drunk as I was that night. I don't actually remember you drinking. I was drinking. You were watching me and shooting the shit but I backed you when Chibs and Jax questioned me. I just couldn't believe that you would do that to Gemma and I knew that Jax and Opie had a hard on for you. They both want you fucking dead and maybe you should be after the shit you've pulled. I went to see Gemma tonight. She told me about the shit you did at the hospital with the fucking baby clothes. What kind of sick fuck are you? That's your wife at least it was until you decided to use her as a punching bag."

The older biker grimaced as Tig put all the pieces together. He was right. Clay had only consumed a few drinks the night he tried to kill Gemma. It was just enough to make sure that he had alcohol on his breath to secure his alibi later on.

"What are you going to do with what you think you know?"

Tig laughed harder, "You aren't even going to fucking deny it. What the hell is wrong with you, Clay? Have you always been like this and I just missed it?"

Clay said, "Gemma took everything from me. She ain't the saint you think she is, Tig. I just couldn't handle her humiliating me in town by fucking Oswald. If I couldn't be happy why the fuck should she…"

"Do you know how demented you sound right now? That is exactly why I gave Jax my proxy. I wanted to make sure you never sit at the head of the table again."

Clay clutched his fists at his side and ground out, "What are you going to do with what you know?"

Tig said, "I don't know yet. Telling the truth just puts me further down on Jax's shit list. I love my club and I'm not interested in being forced out. You know I could have made Gemma happy. There was a time when we could have been more but…I didn't go there because you were my brother. You don't know shit about loyalty. It is all about you, Clay. You have used me for years! You have asked me to do shit outside of the lines and behind the club's back. You didn't care that it was eating at my soul. I did it because we were brothers and I thought you loved and respected me but I'm nothing more than a tool in your toolbox. That time is over. I want nothing to do with you anymore."

Clay reached for his gun but Tig was quicker even in his drunken state. He leveled his gun at Clay's head.

"You know I don't really care if I die, Clay. I get the feeling that you want to live. Put the gun down and get out or I'll put a bullet between your eyes."

The biker tucked his gun back into the waistband of his jeans and put his hands up in surrender. He walked to the door but paused a moment, "I do love you, brother. Shit has just been upside down."

Tig said, "You're incapable of love, Clay. You're dead inside just like me."

Clay shook his head and walked out of the house. He realized his situation was getting out of hand. Tig was unstable and was likely to say anything to anyone. Much like the situation with Jax, he only had two options: kill Tig or get the hell out of Charming.

As he climbed onto his bike, Clay could feel the walls closing in on him. He was fresh out of luck and friends. He didn't want to wait around until it was too late to make a clean getaway. At the same time, he was unwilling to give up on the gavel. SAMCRO was his club and he deserved to be president.