Thank you to my very lovely beta, EmeraldJewelSparkle.
***Possible spoiler!***
So apparently something happened to Filthy Phil (not gonna say what) on SOA a few weeks back. I actually haven't seen it, SOA is currently waiting not so patiently on my parents DVR for me to have some free time to watch, but anyway...I declared in an A/N back in chapter 18 that I would be very violently killing Filthy Phil because of a slight disagreement Chris Reed (the actor that portrays him) and I had on twitter. I decided for both my stories sake, and since apparently something bloody did in fact happen to him, that I would be nice, so his demise, while still taking place, will not actually be written. Just imagine lots and lots and lots of rats eating him. (My idea, not what happened in the show, I have no idea what happened to him in the show).
Read on!
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.
Age 30
2022
Juice snapped his phone closed and re-entered the clubhouse. He'd gone outside to talk as to not wake the sleeping horde of people. His exit and re-entry had attracted attention. Frankie and Tig were waiting for him inside the door.
"Info?" Frankie asked immediately.
"No." Juice shook his head and turned to Tig. "Jax called us back."
"Did you tell him what happened last night?" Tig asked in disbelief.
"Doesn't matter. We got church in three hours. We're voting Phil's patch. Juice said even more quietly.
"Jesus." Tig whispered. Someone had been skimming money from one of the clubs' newer clean ventures for a few months now. Juice had offered to look at the books but Jax had brought in an independent auditor instead. If they were voting Phil's patch Tig imagined that could be the only reason why.
"We can proxy." Tig thought out loud. He didn't give a crap about Phil's patch; he'd never liked the man.
"No proxy. Jax wants Mayhem." Juice whispered.
Tig gaped at him. "Mayhem for some stolen cash?" He asked.
"For what Phil was using the cash for." Juice clarified. "Jax said he'd fill us in before church. We gotta roll out. I'll tell the guys, you say your goodbyes."
Juice nodded at Frankie and headed through the mass of sleeping people to find Vin and fill him in.
Tig stood dumbfounded. He couldn't leave. They needed him here; he was sure of it.
"She's in the laundry room." Frankie interjected into Tig's thoughts. "Just don't rattle her."
Tig nodded and patted Frankie on the shoulder as he walked past him. He added Frankie to the list of men that thought Gabby needed protection from him.
Tig knocked on the open laundry room door and waited for Gabby to look up.
"Hey." She greeted him with a fake smile.
"Hey." He shot back and walked in. Gabby waited for him to say more as she finished putting a load of towels in the dryer.
"What's up?" She finally asked when the silence grew uncomfortable.
"Juice and I got called back to Charming. Club shit, not because of Lenard." Tig started.
"Oh…okay." He couldn't tell if she was upset or shocked by the news, her reaction seemed…off.
He sighed, "Look, I don't want to cause drama, or upset you or anything." Tig started. She stared at him, waiting for him to continue, bracing herself for him to continue perhaps was more accurate. Tig bit his lip before starting to speak again.
"I've noticed all the guys hovering over you. I don't know if I'm the cause, but I just wanted to let you know I'm here if you need me."
Gabby nodded her head and tried not to sigh as she turned back to the dryer. "Thanks Tig, but I got plenty of guys around here ready and waiting to help as soon as I say the word."
Tig chuckled. "And I bet all you want is to go off alone somewhere and scream, maybe break shit."
Gabby smiled for real this time. "Breaking shit sounds really good right now."
Tig smiled back and leaned against the washer. "You and Casper don't seem like you're doing all that well." Gabby turned fully to face him and he took a deep breath. "I just mean, last night, before the cops, that didn't seem like the start of something. It seemed kinda like the climax."
"We worked it out." Gabby said in a measured tone. She hoped they had worked things out for good, although it seemed like they had only pushed it all further into the future.
Tig nodded. "I know your life is here. Happy, the rest of the club. But, if you ever need somewhere to go, I mean, even just for a night, or a weekend, to clear your head or whatever, my door is always open to you. You and the kids. Even if you just want to skip town to prove a point." Tig laughed awkwardly. "Casper's my brother, but you're my…" He paused.
"I'm your kid, Tig." Gabby filled in for him.
"Yeah. You are." He paused again and looked at her. She looked exhausted, emotionally and physically spent. "I could just take the kids. Give you and Casper some time alone."
"Tig…I appreciate what you did last night. And how hard you're trying. And I know, especially after last night, that you would do anything for my kids. But…I don't know if I'm ready for that, I'm sorry."
"No apologies needed. I get it. I do. I really do. The fact that I can even see them, talk to you like this now, it means a lot. I don't think I deserve it sometimes. I definitely don't take it for granted."
Gabby nodded her head. "You gonna come back down after your…Charming business?"
"Gonna try, for you and for Fresno."
Gabby smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Ride safe. The kids are asleep. I'd rather you not wake them. But I'll tell them you came in and gave them kisses."
"Thanks." Tig smiled and kissed her cheek as well before turning to leave.
He paused in the doorway, tapping his fingers on the wall. There was something else he wanted to say to her, something from their talk before all this business with the lockdown, but he was nervous about bringing the subject up. He decided to just throw it out there and not wait for a reply.
"I thought about it and I can't forgive myself. But I'm gonna put it in the past, try to move on." With that he left.
Gabby stared at the empty doorway. "Sometimes forgiving is easier than forgetting, or moving on." She said to the empty room before starting the dryer.
Sieben looked nervous standing in the chapel with the Fresno charter. He had never been in this room, not in 15 years of being the club's lawyer. Of course, he'd never seen so many people packed in the clubhouse either.
"He's okay. He seems a bit confused as to what the hell is going on. Not up to the clubs normal level of confusion or emphatic denial of any and all charges." Sieben described Lenard's state during their meeting first thing this morning.
"He is confused. We all are. This isn't one of those 'cover it up, make it go away' type things Sieben. Lenard's innocent on this one. You need to prove it." Vin spoke firmly.
"Did you find out what the hell they have on him?" Frankie asked.
"Prosecution is keeping this one close to the gut. Lenard is being charged with first degree murder. Prosecution seems to think they have a pretty solid case. No alibi and a direct promotion gives Lenard opportunity and motive. I was told there was a witness. Before you ask," Sieben put his hand up, "I don't know who they are, or where they are. I don't even know what they saw."
"When will you know?" Frankie immediately asked.
"Closer to the court date. But that hasn't been set yet. Look, I need more to go on here if I'm going to mount a defense. You say he's innocent, I believe you. That means the guilty party is still out there. Best chance at getting Lenard free is providing a better sounding story to the jury."
"Won't that incriminate us?" Shark asked.
"Depends on the story I weave. Depends on what is really going on, what I can prove versus what the prosecution can prove. Just keep in mind, if you tell me you committed a crime, I have to report it."
The men all sighed and or leaned back in their chairs. Sieben was standing behind the empty president's chair waiting for an answer. He hadn't been invited to sit at the table, and there was no way he was taking that liberty on his own.
"A new gang rolled into town. Drug dealers from L.A. They moved in on our territory, killed Chris, and we believe set up Lenard." Vin carefully summed up the situation.
"How much of that can you prove without incriminating yourselves?" Sieben asked.
The men eyed each other. "We'll have to get back to you on that one." Vin said honestly.
Sieben nodded his head. "For now I'm going to look into the technical side of things. If they screwed up anywhere along the way I'll find it and get the case dismissed. You need to find character witnesses for Lenard. Chris's wife would be a good one. Be ready to open up your club to the jury. Lenard had a duty to take over for Chris, it wasn't motive. You will have to talk about your club as a family, make it clear to the jury brother's don't kill brothers. Make Lenard look like a victim. One more thing; I know it goes against everything you believe in, but if you find the killer, call me or call the cops. You kill this guy, I have no one else to pin the murder on."
The men nodded as Vin stood, opening the door for the lawyer to leave. "Stick around for a bit, we'll be quick." Vin whispered before securing the door once again and taking his seat. "Where are we on Gates?" He asked Harry specifically.
"He says he has info. Meeting at 10." Harry answered.
"Frankie, I want you on that with me. Tom Tom, you too." Tom Tom nodded his head.
"Sieben going with me?" Casper asked.
"Yeah, take Happy. Are you taking all three women?" Vin asked.
Casper sighed. He was going to the police station to make an official complaint for the way his kids were threatened during the arrest. Having it on record that Lenard was arrested at gun point while holding a baby in his own clubhouse surrounded by women and children was sure to gain the sympathy of a jury. Plus the men were all genuinely upset that the police had pointed guns at the kids. That was NOT okay, and against everything the Sons of Anarchy stood for.
"I'm taking Becky and Jennifer. Gabby's gonna look after the kids. They're still pretty upset, kept waking up all night. Scared of cops, scared of being in the clubhouse."
"Heard Mathew crying on and off all night." Shark said quietly.
"Kristen too, nightmares." Casper whispered back.
"Suzie woke up three times." Tom Tom murmured.
"Did she now?" Bull antagonized him.
"I swear to god I will shoot you in that chair." Tom Tom growled out.
Vin cleared his throat. "Shark, go with them. Need you guys to snoop around a little."
"What are we looking for boss?" Shark perked up immediately at having a job.
"Attitude of the officers. Last night was a big deal. Not every day Fresno pulls out its SWAT team. Guys should be talking up a storm."
The men all nodded their heads.
Vin slid the gavel in front of him and banged it down. "Everyone be ready to roll out in 15."
The men rose and started to filter out of the chapel. Bull came up to Vin at the door.
"What do you want me to do?"
Vin looked at Bull. He was the only man without an assignment.
"Stay here with the prospects. Hang arounds are itching to leave, try to keep them here till we get back. I want to make sure X is stuck in wit pro before we let people go home."
"Seriously? You want me to fucking babysit? That's Harry's job. Let me go with you." Bull wined.
"Harry set up the meeting with Gates. He's going. I need a patch here. Last I looked, you still had yours." Vin said pointedly and began to walk away.
"What the fuck does that mean?" Bull yelled after him.
"Just a saying shitbag."
Casper glared at the young officer behind the desk as the lawyer talked to him. He'd strode into the department ready to ream out the first cop he came across, but apparently lodging a complaint only meant filling out forms.
He snatched said forms out of Sieben's hand and strode to the waiting area to fill them out. He caught a glare from Shark who was calming walking Becky and Jennifer over to fill out the same forms. At least the addition of Suzie and Evan meant three complaints against the department, according to Seiben either Gabby or Casper could file a complaint for their kids, one complaint per family.
Anger rose in him as he stared at the forms. This was insane. Complaining about this shit wasn't gonna take his kids nightmares away. Nothing was going to help his kids. The whole process was insane. Cops pointing guns at children was fucking insane.
"What the fuck am I supposed to write?" Casper snapped at the lawyer.
"Just write what happened. Be honest. There will be a lot of cops making statements about what they did and what they saw. You exaggerate they're gonna catch it and throw the whole thing out." Sieben spoke calmly.
Casper tried to focus on writing his statement. He jiggled his knee and tapped his pen on the papers whenever he was at a loss for words. He wrote how the kids were treated, how his wife was thrown up against a wall. The fact that the SWAT team didn't think twice about pointing their guns at Lenard while he held a screaming baby, that it took orders from a superior to halt the arrest long enough to send the kids running away in a panic to be watched over by a teenager, not even an adult. He added the hours of crying and the nightmares his daughter had and her now utter fear of the police.
He signed the papers and handed them to the lawyer. He stood and paced while Becky and Jennifer finished writing.
"You need to calm down." Happy stated quietly. Casper stopped pacing and turned to his father in law.
"How can you be so calm about all this?"
"Getting upset won't solve the problem. You need a clear head to get through shit this deep."
The girls finished and handed their papers to the lawyer.
"I'll file these and get to work. Talk to you when I have more." Sieben nodded his head, effectively dismissing himself from club duty.
Shark stood up and started guiding the girls to the door. He stopped dead as Happy did the same in front of him.
"Hammond." Happy growled. The so called club sympathizer was standing in the doorway.
"Gentlemen, ladies." He greeted the group and tried to sneak by.
"Go." Shark whispered to the girls. They didn't need to be told twice and immediately headed out the door.
"Hammond." Casper stepped up to him.
"Casper." Hammond sighed. "You're angry." He stated instead of automatically apologizing.
"I'm a little more than angry." Casper seethed. Happy grabbed his arm and gave it a tight squeeze, reminding him to stay calm.
"I understand." Hammond nodded.
"Don't. Don't you dare pull your police academy psychological bullshit on me. How dare you, how fucking dare you bust into my clubhouse and point guns at my fucking children."
"I didn't point a gun at your children. I put a stop to it." Hammond reminded the angry father. "We didn't know the kids were there. Please, if nothing else, believe that Casper."
"You didn't need a SWAT team." Happy stepped up, taking the focus off Casper before he did something stupid.
"Our sources told us the club was barricaded in the clubhouse with armed guards on the roof. We took precautions."
All the men automatically committed that fact to memory. They hadn't had armed guards on the room since the last of the family members arrived and church started. Lenard had decided it would garner unwanted attention.
"Your sources were mistaken." Happy stated calmly.
"Indeed they were." Hammond nodded.
"The club was gathered peacefully on private property. You showed excess force. We've filed official complaints against the department." Shark spoke up, no anger present in his voice.
"Dually noted." Hammond nodded and attempted to walk past the men.
Casper shifted in front of him. "Who made the call to bring in the SWAT team? We have NEVER made trouble for the cops, NEVER resisted arrest."
Hammond bowed his head and sighed. "It wasn't me. But…I am sorry, we should have sat on the property, found out who was inside. I will tell my superiors as much, back up your complaint. It's all I can do after the fact."
"You can do more." Casper whispered.
Hammond's head shot back up. "Careful now boy, I may not think you're the enemy, but I'm not on your payroll either." He warned and deliberately bumped Casper's shoulder as he walked away from the group of men.
Vin pulled into an empty parking lot, Tom Tom Frankie and Harry behind him. He hated Gates. The man was a piece of shit. Truly, a piece of shit. He was even an awful cop. So bad in fact he'd been pulled off regular duty and given a desk job. Which meant he saw A LOT of paper work. It also meant he knew his job was on thin ice and he was looking for extra cash where ever he could get it.
Frankie stood by the bikes as Tom Tom and Harry flanked Vin as he headed inside the vacant building. Another reason Vin hated Gates; the man got off on being a double agent. Every meeting had to be full of super-secret spy shit. Fucking ridiculous.
Harry pointed out a closed door and Vin knocked eight times. He smiled at the memory of Chris once telling him to 'just fucking humor the man.'
The door cracked open and Gates peaked out before opening the door and shutting it again once the men had entered. He walked across the room and turned on a radio.
"Were you followed?" Gates asked barely audible over the sound of bad pop music.
"Nope, we made sure." Vin played along.
Gates nodded his head. "I didn't know that raid was gonna go down, I swear. Saw the paper work when I came in this morning."
"Of course you didn't." Vin nodded. He believed the man. They never would have asked a man like Gates along on the raid.
"Lenard is being charged with murder."
"We know that much. We need to know what evidence they have against him." Vin tried hard not to snap.
"No evidence, just a witness." Gates shrugged.
Harry sighed, "How good of a witness? What did they see? Are they reliable?"
"Ex-gang member. Got clean and moved here. He's pretty sure of what he saw."
Vin cracked his knuckles and stared down Gates. 'Clean ex-gang member.' Pretty sure the cops fed Xavier that line to salvage what he claimed he saw. "What did he see?"
"He was changing a flat. Saw Chris and Lenard ride past him, heard what sounded like a crash, and then Lenard rode back past him again."
"Are you kidding me?" Tom Tom exclaimed.
Vin held up a hand to silence him. "SWAT team raided our clubhouse, arrested Lenard, on that bullshit story?"
Gates shrugged again. Vin hated when Gates shrugged. The man didn't care about anything, he helped the club for money, he couldn't care less when happened to the men.
"He described Lenard exactly. Bike, face, ink, even the patches on his cut. No doubt. The time matched presumed time of death. He named the right stretch of highway."
"Why'd he take so long to come forward?" Harry asked.
"Said he didn't give it much thought at the time. But he heard on the street Chris died and that Lenard was President. Realized the importance of it."
"And an ex-gang member from an entirely different city just happened to know our officers? Could identify them that precisely from a couple of seconds while they rode past at 70 miles per hour?" Vin dug deeper.
"I only got a copy of his statement. I can't tell you why Greggs decided he was telling the truth and took it to his captain."
"Wait, Greggs?" Tom Tom interrupted again.
"Yeah guy walked in, said he had info on an open case, Greggs was free and took him in a room." Gates shrugged again.
Harry, Vin, and Tom Tom all eyed each other. Greggs hated the club with a passion. He probably spoon fed X half the details about Lenard for the statement.
"This witness got a name?" Vin asked.
"Name was kept out of the report, he was put in wit-pro till the trial."
"You happen to know where?" Tom Tom asked.
Gates swallowed. "Info like that doesn't cross my desk. I could try to find out, but it wouldn't be easy." He hinted.
Vin nodded to Harry. Harry took out an envelope of cash and handed it to Gates. "You know we'll make it worth your while."
Gates pocketed the envelope and nodded. "I'll let you know when I get something."
Vin nodded at Gates and directed his men to leave.
Tom Tom turned back at the door. "Make sure and stay here for a while. Wouldn't want anyone to see us leaving together." Gates solemnly nodded his head. Tom Tom managed to shut the door before chuckling.
Thanks for reading
For those of you interested, November is NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month.
I will be throwing my hat in the ring, it is free to sign up and all are welcome!
