As always a big thank you to my beta EmeraldJewelSparkle and the Freak Circle.
Thanks for being patient with me, i promise not to skip any more updates unless some huge crisis arises!
I got quite a few comments about Happy kind of stepping away from Gabby, some of them anonymous which means I couldn't answer them. And since there was no update last week I thought I would add a little recap of events along with a timeline for the last few chapters. Happy hasn't really disappeared; in fact, he only went one full day without seeing Gabby.
Tuesday - Gabby held the club dinner at her house. She told of the story of how she lost her first tooth to Happy Shark and Casper. Shark called Tig which led to Gabby and Tig finally having their talk. Gabby was upset and wouldn't let anyone comfort her, including her father. She argues with Casper who won't let her drop the subject and then argues with Shark for butting in, before finally sleeping in the den.
Wednesday - After work Gabby sees the pictures of her mother and has a panic attack. When Casper comes home they fight and Gabby leaves because she isn't ready to talk to Casper. Vin finds her, they talk, and Vin brings her home. Casper and Gabby fight more because Casper is hurt she won't talk to him, and angry she chose to talk to Vin instead. Gabby threatens to leave Casper if he doesn't drop the subject in a desperate attempt to protect herself from facing her biggest demons.
Thursday - Casper and Gabby make up in the morning and talk about going on vacation. The club takes down the kitchen, the lockdown is called, and Casper and Gabby once again fight in the office, this time over Gabby leaving. Casper feels disrespected that she won't just come with him, but she is not willing to cancel on the little boy that gave them the information in the first place.
And that brings us to this chapter, still Thursday in SOA land. I know it's a little confusing, but just like in real life, things tend to happen all at once, within a few days, and then things calm down for a bit, and then drama starts up again.
Disclaimer: I do not have the rights to SOA and make no profit off my writing. Anything you don't recognize from the show I have created.
Content Warning: This fanfiction is rated M. Please respect that warning and do not read this if you do not want to read M rated material.
2022
Age 30
Tom Tom sat silently on his bike as Casper carried Mathew out of the building and over to Gabby's SUV. He fished keys out of his pocket and set about buckling his son into his car seat. Tom Tom continued to glance at the main doors waiting for Gabby. But she wasn't coming out.
Casper whistled to get Tom Tom's attention and nodded to the road before getting in the driver's seat. Tom Tom took one more quick glance at the clinic doors before revving his bike and following the SUV onto the road, completely confused.
The men drove straight to Casper and Gabby's house. Casper buzzed the garage open and pulled in. Tom Tom parked not far behind and stood waiting for an explanation as Casper got his son out of his car seat. Casper glanced at Tom Tom out of the corner of his eye and sighed as he settled Mathew on his hip.
"Gabby has a meeting with the kid that gave us the house, she's gonna see if she can get any more information out of him. Maybe why they picked that house."
Tom Tom nodded his head as he followed Casper inside. It sounded plausible, and if Tom Tom hadn't been privy to Gabby going AWOL last night he might have even believed it.
"Need you to watch him while I pack." Casper said once they got to the kitchen.
"You need me to what?" Tom Tom's head snapped from Casper to Mathew.
"Jesus Tom Tom, just make sure he doesn't break shit, okay? Kristen can do that for god's sake. Take him out on the swing set."
Tom Tom raised his eyebrows at Casper's mini outburst. Casper set Mathew down and jogged up the stairs to start packing. Mathew gave Tom Tom a curious look and then walked into the kitchen and started trying to drag a chair over to the pantry.
"Shit." Tom Tom mumbled. "What are you doing Mathew?" Tom Tom asked, grabbing the top of the chair.
"Snack!" Mathew said excitedly and pointed to the pantry.
"Ummm, are you allowed to have a snack?" Tom Tom asked the one and a half year old.
Mathew cocked his head at Tom Tom. "Snack!" He said again.
"Okay, snack." Tom Tom opened the pantry and looked inside. Gabby's kids were always eating healthy food; so he wasn't surprised to not find a bunch of junk food to choose from. In fact, it looked like there was no kid food at all.
"Umm…"
"Snack!" Mathew said again. Tom Tom looked at him and then back at the pantry.
"Okay bud, how about you pick something." Tom Tom bent down and picked Mathew up, holding him awkwardly so he could face the shelves of food. Mathew reached out and grabbed a can of soup.
"No, no. No soup. Soup is not a snack." Tom Tom tried to pry the can out of the boys hand and Mathew let out a loud screeching cry.
"Jesus Mathew, you can't have soup." Tom Tom tried again for the can and Mathew tossed it with all his might back into the pantry clearing half a shelf of cans.
Mathew laughed and reached for another can to throw. "No." Tom Tom said and pulled him away from the pantry causing him to shriek again.
"Shit, come on, let's go outside, please?" Tom Tom begged while setting him back down and closed the pantry door.
"Snack!" Mathew repeated once again.
Tom Tom looked around the kitchen and grabbed an apple out of a bowl on the counter.
"Mathew, you want an apple?"
Mathew nodded his head enthusiastically and reached out for it instantly. Tom Tom breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to the fridge and started taking out the perishable food to be bagged. He could hear Mathew pounding the apple on the floor and decided the boy must not actually be hungry.
Tom Tom started digging through cupboards till he found bags just like Becky's and quickly filled them with the food he had pulled out. That is until an apple collided with his knee.
"What the fuck?" Tom Tom looked down as he swore and rubbed his knee, it was damp with sticky juice.
"Are you swearing at my kid?" Casper came in and dropped three duffle bags on the floor.
"No! He just… he threw an apple at me." Tom Tom pointed down to Mathew on the floor.
"Daddy, snack!" Mathew got up and ran to his father.
Casper picked him up and sat him on his hip. "Where'd he get an apple from?" Casper asked as he walked over to the pantry and grabbed a box of cheerios.
"He was hungry." Tom Tom shrugged.
Casper froze whilst taking a handful of cereal out for Mathew. "Seriously?" He asked and Tom Tom shrugged again, pouring the bowl of fruit into the last bag. "Dude, he has five teeth. How's he gonna bite into an apple?"
Tom Tom looked at Mathew trying to get the cheerios out of Casper's fist and shrugged again, feeling stupid. "He took it."
"Of course he…never mind. Grab the food, we gotta go."
Casper grabbed the duffle bags and walked out of the house shaking his head. Tom Tom followed with the food. Casper dropped the duffle bags on the garage floor and let Tom Tom load them in the back while he buckled his son into his car seat.
Tom Tom finished and pulled his bike out, waiting to get behind the SUV and follow Casper to pick up Kristen from school.
When they got back to the clubhouse Shark was still on the gate and let the men in before securing the gate and walking to the parked SUV. He opened the back and grabbed the duffle bags. Tom Tom walked around to the back and grabbed the food. Shark gave him a look, asking what happened but Tom Tom simply shook his head and walked away with the food.
"Uncle Shark!" Kristen squealed and ran to give him a hug as soon as her father freed her from the SUV.
"Hey munchkin." Shark gave her a big smile and a one armed hug.
"Uncle Shark I got out of school early today!"
"Kristen, hold your brothers hand and go inside." Casper came over and set his son on the pavement. Kristen took Mathews hand and headed inside. Casper reached up and closed the back of the SUV and held out his arm for the bags.
"I got 'em man." Shark shook his head, dismissing the help. "What's going on?"
Casper looked at him a moment before heading inside, Shark followed. "Gonna go back and get her at two."
Shark bit his lip to keep from asking more questions. He knew his friend was having a hard time. "Tig and Juice are here. Juice made himself at home with your computer shit. I talked to Tig."
"What did you say?" Casper stopped right outside the door.
"Just told him to lay off Gabby during the lockdown. Don't need any more drama, especially with all of us packed in here."
"What did he say?"
"That he was only here to help."
"Right."
The two men walked through the door and almost immediately Lenard grabbed Casper's attention and nodded him over. Casper took a breath and walked over.
"Yeah Pres?"
"Where's Gabby?" Lenard asked directly. Luckily no one else was in ear shot.
Casper paused a moment before answering. He was caught off guard. How could Lenard know she wasn't still outside? Lenard must have guessed what he was thinking because he nodded to the large TV behind the bar. Juice had apparently hooked the security cameras up to it and the whole lot, back and front, was displayed in little squares on the TV.
"She has a meeting with the boy that gave us the address. She's hoping to get more information out of him. Her building is secure, she's safe there." The fact that he'd had no say in the matter didn't need to be mentioned to his President.
Lenard nodded his head. "You know she's not to blame for what went wrong today. I ain't ever gonna admit to it, but Bull was right. We should have sat on that house a day and gotten a look at the goings on."
"I know, but she's still blaming herself."
Lenard nodded and patted Casper on the back. "Just don't tell her you got shot." He chuckled and walked away. Casper ran a hand down his face; too late for that.
Casper pulled his wife's SUV up next to his forgotten bike and parked. Tom Tom pulled up on the other side of Casper's bike. Casper got out of the driver's seat and started toward the doors of the clinic.
Gabby opened them just as he arrived and stepped out of the building. "Hey." She smiled and attempted to sound normal. She felt bad for the way she had been acting, especially after Casper had such a close call this morning. But the memories going through her head right now were making her dizzy; and nauseous.
"Hi." Casper said back and walked beside her, his hand on the small of her back. He helped her into the SUV and shut her door without another word, or smile.
She waited for him to pull out and pulled out behind him, Tom Tom bringing up the rear, all the way back to the clubhouse. Tony opened the gate for them and locked it again. By the looks of the parking lot she was the last to arrive. But she must not have been because Tony was still posted at the gate.
She climbed out of the SUV and looked around. The parking lot was full, but not packed. All the patches bikes in one line. The hang arounds bikes in another line. Becky's car, Vivica's SUV, and the cars of the sweet butts, six cars for the eight sweet butts.
A full parking lot wasn't the most unusual thing. Big Friday night parties drew a bigger crowd than this. It was the two sentries pacing the roof with automatic rifles that really put things into prospective for Gabby. She hadn't seen that since her last lockdown in Charming. She remembered being nearly kidnapped by Gemma to get supplies for it. Then hiding in Happy's dorm for the majority of that one.
Gabby took a deep breath and headed towards the clubhouse. Casper fell in step next to her. She could feel tension radiating off him. She wasn't sure how much of it was the lockdown and D-27, and how much was her. Refusing to go with him earlier today was probably a huge blow to his ego, but it had truly not been about him. She had promised that boy she'd be there for him.
Casper leaned forward and opened the door for Gabby. She went in without hesitation; it would do no good at this point. Another wave of nausea washed over her and she swallowed it back down and did a quick scan of the room. Casper walked off to the tech corner to join Juice, Tom Tom followed him. Lenard was standing in a corner overseeing the crowd, Frankie sat by him, but the two men weren't speaking, more like, reflecting. Bull was sitting on a couch with a sweet butt. Shark was at a table with Becky and the kids. Tig, Harry, Happy, and Vin seemed to be missing from the clubhouse.
Gabby walked up to the table and kissed both her kids on the head. Shark got up and slid his chair out for Gabby to sit. She was glad she had missed the chaos of getting ready for this lockdown but the guilt of not helping still hit her.
Mathew carefully made his way from the chair to his mother's lap as Kristen continued to color. "Where's Vivica?" Gabby asked Shark and Becky.
"In the office, has been since she got here." Shark filled in.
"She said you were in charge." Becky added.
Gabby sighed and grabbed the ipad Mathew had been watching a cartoon on; she held it up for him to continue watching. "I can't imagine what she's going through right now. Everything here reminds her of Chris, I'm sure."
Carol came by and poured Gabby a cup of coffee and freshened Becky's. "You need anything?" She offered.
"I'm good, thanks. Any problems here?"
"Everything's good here. Girls are a little miffed; no one's told them anything. They don't understand what's going on."
"What do you know?" Gabby asked. She didn't want to step on the club's toes and reveal more than they were planning to.
"All's I know is the guys came back in a hurry, some of them hurt, and locked the gate." Carol shrugged her shoulders. Gabby looked perplexed.
"Lenard should make an announcement. He might be waiting for more people to get here." Gabby suggested.
"Happy and Vin are on their way back." Shark informed her.
Gabby nodded her head. "If he doesn't I'll talk to the girls. For now just tell them it's to keep them safe."
Carol nodded at Gabby's promise and went off to serve more coffee. Once Shark wondered off Becky leaned forward and talked quietly.
"Do you know what all is going on? Tom Tom told me a little, but… I think he left stuff out."
Gabby looked at Becky a moment, and then down at Kristen and Suzie who were both coloring. "Whatever Tom Tom told you is what he thinks you need to know. I'm not gonna step on anyone's toes. What I want to talk about is you and him as a whole."
Becky immediately turned pink and looked down; Gabby smiled. "That good, huh?" Gabby asked and Becky went from pink to red.
"No…that…we haven't." Becky looked first at Gabby and then the kids. "We haven't." Becky repeated herself more firmly; not able to go into further detail with the current audience. Gabby gave her a knowing look.
"They're here." Casper announced and Gabby looked in the direction everyone else was and saw the screen behind the bar and watched the black van pull into the lot. Tony locked the gate and followed it.
Lenard looked to Frankie. "Get everyone in. Church." Frankie nodded and got up. He headed up the stairs and Gabby realized Harry and Tig were indeed here, they were the sentries she'd spotted on the roof when she pulled in.
The mood in the room changed. The men grew tense; the women felt it and got quiet. The door opened and Happy and Vin walked in, followed by Tony. Seconds later Tig and Harry came down the stairs with Frankie.
Lenard looked to Hap and Vin. Hap gave him a nod and Lenard gave him one back. The tension broke.
"Church in five. Tony, you're in." Tony looked at Lenard in surprise, he'd been in church more often recently, but it was still unusual for him.
Happy and Vin walked further into the clubhouse. Vin looked pale, sick even. Happy looked murderous. His eyes were pure black.
"Grandpa!" Mathew called and hopped off Gabby's lap to run to Happy.
Happy looked down at him and nearly flinched.
"No Mathew." Gabby grabbed him and looked at her father. "Grandpa needs to change his clothes."
Happy locked eyes with her. If anyone understood Happy right now it was Gabby. Happy had just done unspeakable things. Gabby knew this. He needed the comfort of his family, and she wouldn't deny him that. But first he needed to come back down to earth. Wash the killer off his hands and face and find his human side again.
The men all sat around the large table in church; the doors firmly shut to the crowd in the bar. Extra chairs had been pulled up for Tig and Juice. Tony was relegated to standing in the back. All the men knew that the wounded man had been tortured, killed, and buried with his unlucky friend. Those details didn't need to be discussed. No one wanted to hear about Happy's techniques. What did need to be discussed was what had happened this morning, the ramifications of it, and what had been learned from their captive.
No one seemed keen to start the conversation. Lenard was running his eyes over the men around his table. Vin was still pale from his morning with Happy. Bull looked like his name sake, angry and ready to charge at the first man to meet his glare. Casper's jaw was tightly clenched; he was staring intently at the table.
"So I guess I choose the right day to take off." Harry broke the silence and Lenard couldn't help but crack a smile.
"You always did have good timing old man."
Harry nodded and stubbed out his cigar. "So what happened?"
Lenard looked around the table and sighed. "Yeah. What happened?" He looked pointedly at Bull.
Bull remained quiet, Tony took a step forward. "I got over there quick as I could after the gunshots. Ran right into the guy, I took him down…but, he still got away. Took some shots at his car. Blew out the back window. I don't think I hit him though."
"Did you see who it was? You know these guys. Better than the rest of us at least." Frankie put him on the spot.
"I didn't get a real good look. But it was either X or Cato."
"Cato moved back to LA. Got a legit job as a valet. Probably skimming cars…but he's on the books there." Casper informed the group.
"So then it was X, how sure are you on that?" Lenard again asked Tony.
"Sure of what I saw. They both got the same hair, same height and build; it had to be one of those two."
Lenard nodded his head. "So it was X. The guy we left in charge."
"Deus's brother." Vin mumbled.
"The guy we think killed Chris." Shark added.
"If he didn't kill him he certainly orchestrated it. What do we know about the guys left in town?" Lenard moved the subject along.
"X, Sling, Tiago, Luce, Salus, and Viper were all the known members that we couldn't find. Sling was the cook. He was the man you took alive, he and Tiago are no more. Luce was Sling's brother. He was never in diablos. Salus and Viper weren't either. They were both Fresno dealers." Casper quickly summed up everything.
"So that leaves four men alive that could still be here, if they didn't recruit more."
"Unless some of those left." Casper shrugged his shoulders at Lenard's remark. "I doubt they've been recruiting. We've been searching the streets for these guys. No tags, no allies, no movement."
"And what did our friend have to say?" Lenard turned to Happy.
"It was X at the house. The cook's brother, Luce, and Viper were dealing the drugs. The others were hiding. Salus is somewhere in Fresno, laying low. Sling didn't know where he was. X wrote him off." Happy spoke frankly.
"Anything else?" Lenard asked.
Happy cracked his knuckles. "I tried for more he didn't seem to know much."
"Vin?" Lenard asked, turning to him.
"Happy made him quite….talkative. Only other thing we got of interest was the house. The mom of the boy owed Viper money. They were using her sister's house as payment on the debt."
"Will they go back there?" Casper asked and the table turned to him. "Is the family in danger?"
"Shit." Lenard swore under his breath. "That's just what we need right now. Innocents getting hurt 'cause of us."
"It's only three men." Frankie reminded him.
"It was only three men today!" Lenard shouted back and the room got quiet. Lenard wiped a hand down his face. He turned to Happy. "Any word on where Luce and Viper were dealing out of? Where they might be hiding? Is X gonna run to them?"
"Tiago took the product from the house to a convenience store, made the drop. Sling had no contact with them. X wouldn't allow it. Couldn't even talk to his brother on the phone."
"X got real paranoid. Wasn't talking, wasn't giving any of the guys a plan. That's why half the group went back to LA." Vin informed the men. Referring to the arrest of three of the D-27 members in LA and the other working legally there.
"Did our friend the cook give conformation that X killed Chris?"
"No confirmation of that. But he did confirm that X was Deus's brother. And that he swore revenge. But like I said, he wasn't sharing with the class." Vin answered Lenard.
"Anything else?" Vin and Hap looked at each other, and then back at Lenard.
"He doesn't like fire." Hap shrugged his shoulders.
"NOTHING ELSE." Vin said loudly cutting Happy off and once again went pale.
"Jesus Christ." Tom Tom muttered under his breath, many of the other men doing the same.
"So what now?" Bull asked, staring down Lenard.
Lenard stared back. "Now we find these three men. X is on the run. Probably gonna try to hit us. We don't know if Viper and Luce even know what happened. They weren't going to the house. The go between is dead. They may be waiting for the next drop."
"They had everything they needed, but they weren't cooking. So they had probably just made a drop." Shark assumed.
"They had a woman and two kids in the house. What are the chances they were polite enough to not cook till they all left for the day?" Frankie asked sarcastically.
"Don't know about that, but the set up was small. So they had to be cooking near round the clock to make any money off of it. Probably caught them right before they got started for the day. I'd say there should be a drop in the next day or so, if the dealers don't get warned, we might be able to use that to flush them out." Shark figured.
"Anything more on the drop than just some convenience store?" Frankie asked Vin.
"No." Vin shook his head.
"Yes." Tom Tom spoke up and all the men looked at him in surprise. "No one else noticed?" Tom Tom looked around the table. "There were a shit ton of 7-eleven cups in the kitchen, and there isn't a 7-eleven within two miles of that house."
"Seriously?"
"Really?"
"You have got to be shitting me."
"I'm not following that lead."
"Guys, come on. Okay, I see your issue with it, but here's what we do. Find out where the woman works, and where the kids go to school, take all the possible routes, see if they pass a 7-eleven. If they don't that's the store they were using for the drops, if they pass one we move on." Tom Tom looked around the table again. "Anyone got any better ideas?"
All the men stayed silent and Tom Tom smiled triumphantly.
"Fine. Tony get started on that. Take Juice, he'll find you the addresses." Lenard sighed. "Ride together!" He yelled at the two as the men rose.
Casper nodded up at Juice. "All the info is on the laptop, encrypted. File name DMS32H8." Juice nodded his head as he walked out.
Tig looked at Lenard expecting to be sent out as well, but the man didn't seem bothered by his presence.
"So?" Lenard put to the group.
"So?" Harry shot back.
"Tony's got a month left. He's done well for us. What do we think of him?" Lenard put out there.
"He let the guy get away." Tom Tom shrugged.
"So did Bull." Shark muttered. "At least Tony took some shots at him."
"Fuck you man. I got shot." Bull pointed at his arm.
"So did Casper." Shark spat back. Tig eyed Casper, but the man didn't notice.
"We don't need to vote on Tony right away, but I will remind you we need man power right now." Lenard interrupted the fighting. "We're a man short. And if this turns into a war we're gonna need all the man power we can get. We already talked about Lance. I think we should prospect him now, not wait."
"Two prospects at once?" Shark sounded skeptical.
"We all came in together." Casper indicated himself Tom Tom and Bull.
"If we bring Lance in now, in the middle of this shit, he'll just run to the hills. He needs time to adjust before jumping into the thick of it." Frankie shook his head.
"We put off Lance till Tony was done because he's too green." Vin reminded the president.
"Look, the timing is shit. I'm not ignoring that. But the fact is, we need bodies. Lance is next up." Lenard spoke his mind.
"Trial by fire." Happy shrugged his shoulders. "Might as well see what he has in the worst of it. You take on a prospect during peaceful times, you have no idea what he'll do when shit goes south. You take one on with shit like this hanging over our heads, you'll see his true colors quick."
The whole table knew Happy was referring to Bull, but no one said anything, no one even glanced his way.
"He helps or he's out, and we find another more suited." Casper agreed with his father in law.
"Plus," Shark smiled. "Tony let X escape. Bringing in a new prospect might rattle his cage a little, make him try harder."
"Let's vote it." Lenard picked up his gavel. "All in favor of Lance prospecting?" The men all Aye'd in unisons and Lenard slammed the gavel down.
"Lance-a-lot." Shark immediately declared.
"Too obvious." Tom Tom shook his head. Vin groaned.
"King Arthur." Harry declared.
"Maybe if his name was Arthur, or he looked like a moose." Bull rolled his eyes.
"Looked like a moose?" Casper and Shark both asked simultaneously.
"That Arthur animal cartoon thing about reading." Bull said as if it were obvious.
"Arthur is an aardvark." Casper explained.
"No he's not." Shark shook his head. "He's a dog."
"He is NOT a dog. He's an aardvark."
"What the fuck is an aardvark?" Shark asked of his friend.
"Boys?" Vin cleared his throat but Lenard waved him off and let them continue to argue. Vin looked at Lenard and he shrugged.
"Serious shit today." Lenard said in a low voice for just the officers to hear. The men needed some humor.
"I'll get the cut for Lance." Frankie volunteered. Lenard sighed. "Harley store ain't our usual pattern, and if someone does follow us it'll look caual."
"Take someone with you."
"I'll go." Tig leaned forward and offered. Frankie nodded his head.
Lenard cleared his throat to get the still quarreling men's attention. "We'll meet again once Juice and Tony get back, figure out what we're doing. Induct Lance then." He tapped the gavel and got up, followed by his officers.
"Lockdown mean Lance don't get a party?" Tom Tom asked slightly pouting.
"What, you sick of Becky already? Looking for new pussy?" Bull teased him.
"Fuck You." Tom Tom yelled. Shark caught him just before he pounced on Bull.
"HEY HEY HEY!" Tig got between the two as well. "No fighting during a lockdown! There's women and children out there. Don't start shit 'round them." The men both pulled away and the doors opened.
Happy strolled directly over to his grandkids and picked up Mathew. Tig watched the man cling to him for what looked like dear life. He ran a hand over Kristen's head and leaned down and kissed Gabby on the head.
Tig took a deep breath as he stood in the doorway. He distinctly remembered the fight he and Kozik had over Gabby during a lockdown. It hadn't even registered until Clay pulled them in chapel that she was nearly crushed by them. He wasn't a hypocrite. He learned from his mistakes. ALL of his mistakes.
Thanks for reading! :D:D