16

Chapter 123 All Roads Lead to Jax

"

Enjoy the long chapter!

"

Jax noticed that Gemma was slipping away from the house a lot when TB was out of town. She insisted she needed to stay in Charming because she was mayor and she also had her job duties at his law firm. While TB accepted her explanation, Jax was suspicious.

He doubted Gemma married TB for love and she'd already proven unfaithful to his father. He was certain that she was meeting a lover. He got Opie to use his security connections to find a private investigator to follow Gemma beginning on Monday when TB had to be in Chicago for a trial.

Jax wanted this investigation carried out secretly. He didn't want Ava to know. He was paying for it with some of the money he'd made from TM now that it was more profitable. He wasn't spending any of the money in their joint bank account, so he didn't feel bad about not telling her.

He had no idea what he was going to do with the information once he got it. He hoped he was wrong, but knowing his mother as he did, his gut told him that he was right.

Ava was beginning to prepare her first attempt at homemade chili. She put the cans and the vegetables that she needed to chop on the counter. Jax quietly opened all her cans for her and chopped the onions.

"Thank you," Ava said.

"See no cuts," he said holding up his fingers.

"No fingers for me to kiss," she said feigning disappointment.

"Lips," Jax instructed.

Ava kissed Jax on the lips. His arms went around her and he was thinking about edging them back to the bedroom since she hadn't begun cooking yet.

Before he could began to make his move, David Hale called from the gates asking to be buzzed through. Jax hadn't seen him since Unser's death. He told him how to get to their house and opened the door for him.

Ava began to brown the ground beef. She was hoping the chili would be good because she was making a double batch to put half in their new freezer.

"Ava, this is David Hale. He's the new Charming chief of police," Jax said introducing her. "Ava is my wife."

Ava scowled at Hale.

"He wasn't part of getting me locked up," Jax said looking at her with undisguised amusement. "He's an honest cop."

"It's nice to meet you," Ava said cordially now that Jax had vouched for him. She wasn't about to be nice to anyone that was part of setting Jax up.

"This is an unofficial visit," David said. He was wearing jeans and a long sleeved blue T-shirt.

"In that case, would you like a beer?" Jax asked.

"Sure."

Jax grabbed two bottles of beer from the fridge and led him outside to the deck.

"Nice house," David commented.

"Wedding present from my father-in-law. That castle is a nightmare."

"Yeah," David said chuckling, "I don't know what the hell my brother was thinking. "That damned house was too big and too gothic for Charming."

"And that's why he wasn't the architect on this house. It works for TB because he runs his law office on the third floor thanks to the zoning laws out here."

"I didn't realize you weren't working at TM full time,"

"I'm there on Fridays. After getting locked up, I developed an interest in law so I'm doing the Kim Kardashian law school thing studying law at TB's firm with Ava."

David nodded.

"I can see that. You could make one hell of an attorney."

Jax raised an eyebrow at Hale's encouragement.

"Thought you'd laugh and think it was a joke."

"You're a smart guy. Gemma never wanted anything more for you than being president of SAMCRO. Glad to see you want more for yourself."

It was the nicest thing Hale had ever said to him. Jax was immediately suspicious.

"And what can I do for you?" Jax asked as he perched on the railing of the deck.

Hale took a long swig of beer before sitting next to Jax.

"Nothing. I just want to discuss something with you unofficially. Have you heard Ethan Zobelle is opening a cigar shop in town?"

"No. How is that important?"

"He's the front man for a white hate group that's a front for a drug ring that supplies heroin and meth. He moves into town and starts selling drugs. His preferred customer is people of color."

"Arrest him."

"He's got connections and he's very careful. This guy is smart. I have got to approach this guy cautiously. I don't care how powerful this guy's connections. If he deals in Charming, he's got to be stopped."

"So you want the MC to do it for you?"

"No. I'm warning you. He may provoke you. Try to bait you into doing something stupid. Don't do it. He's been successful by getting his enemies locked up. If you and the MC go after this guy, you'll all end up in jail. I don't want to arrest you or lock you up. Please don't give me a reason to do that. He isn't the normal run of the mill thug. He won't stay quiet if you and the guys beat the shit out of him. We need to work together. Figure out something to do that's smart and get him and his thugs the hell out of town."

"Thanks for the heads up, Chief."

"Jax, I'm serious. You can't take a head long run at this guy. Let's work together on something smart and do this the right way."

Jax drained his beer and smiled.

"I'm all about doing things the right way."

David finished his beer and left. He hoped Jax would heed his warning. He would get no pleasure locking up Jax especially after everything he'd been through.

During next Church, Jax waited until the meeting was about to wrap up when he mentioned that Hale had paid him a visit at home.

"We need to be smart about going after Zobelle," Jax said when he finished recounting his conversation with Hale.

"I'll dig into him," Juice said. "There's got to be something we can use to destroy this guy."

"Good thinking," Jax said. He was learning from dealing with Ava that praise went a long way in getting results.

"I think we ought to just kill this guy and his buddies," Happy said.

"I don't want anyone in this MC getting locked up for the rest of his life because he did something stupid. We can get rid of Zobelle and his cronies by being smart and patient. That's how we win. Don't let them provoke you. Let's see what Juice can turn up and talk some more about this next week."

The rest of the meeting focused on the annual party SAMCRO threw to celebrate the day the MC arrived in Charming a week from Sunday. This time, Jax wanted to have something a little nicer than just beer and soft drinks and cake. They were going to get a food truck to do hot dogs in addition to the cookies and snacks from the bakery. He would ask Ava to coordinate with the bakery. Gemma normally handled all that. This year, as the president's old lady, it would be Ava's responsibility.

TB returned from Chicago Thursday night and would fly back to Chicago Sunday as long as the trial was in session. He took a couple of attorneys with him from Charming but he also had a team of attorneys from his Chicago branch that were handling a lot of the litigation.

On Thursday, Opie asked Jax if they could get lunch. They went to Ernie's Taco House one of their favorite places to eat. Cheap delicious tacos and cold beers. It didn't get much better than that. They each got the one chicken taco, one beef taco, a pork tamele, rice and beans.

"Ava's learning to cook. Last night she made tamale pie. She won't be trying that recipe again," Jax said chuckling.

"Why make tamale pie when you can get great tamales from that little Mexican market near TM?"

"I suggested that after her experiment. She is doing a good job learning to cook though. Loves it."

"Enjoy adult meals while you can. We eat kid friendly foods. I'm sick of chicken nuggets, fish sticks and mac and cheese. Kids don't like to eat much else besides that and hamburgers."

"Look at us. We're adults."

The two men laughed.

"I'm glad you took over from Clay. He was having us take too many chances without you there to pull him and the club back. If I get locked up, it's not only my loss of freedom but it's going to cripple me and Donna financially. The MC may be earning less, but it's steady, reliable and we'll grow the income stream. Clay never saw the big picture. He only saw what was in front of his face."

"That's why he bribed Lowen to get me locked up. He knew I'd challenge him. You think the guys miss the outlaw stuff?"

"We're still outlaw, but it's about rebelling from order. It's not about breaking the law to make a buck. I was talking to my old man and he said the MC is more like it was in the beginning when it was about brotherhood and freedom. It got corrupted when money became its only purpose."

"Glad I got Piney's support."

"You know it. He agrees about you making Bobby VP. Showed everyone that you make decisions based on what's best for the MC. I'm not ready to be VP. I will be someday but not now."

"How's the security job?"

"Good. I like it. I miss the guys but I like the work and the training was great. I can use it for the MC. The pay increase is going to make a big difference too. Appreciate you looking out for me."

"Always. We've watched over for each other since birth."

Opie was off work until the afternoon, so he was dressed in jeans, white SAMCRO T-shirt and his cut. He waited for the waitress to clear the plates and bring them another round of beer before reaching into his cut and pulling out a large envelope.

"The investigator got results. Wants to know if you still want him to follow Gemma."

"What's inside the envelope?"

"Pictures of your mother with her Latin lover. A pimp named Nero Padillo. He runs an escort service called Diosa. Before she started working for TB, she helped out at the desk there."

"Son of a bitch," Jax said. He could have handled his mother cheating. It was the man she was cheating with that was the problem.

Jax looked through a couple of pictures and shook his head. It showed Gemma with Nero making out.

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. Keep them. Figure out when I'm going to use them. I'm not telling Ava. Tell the investigator he did a good job and to bill me an extra five hundred for the quick work."

"He'll be happy about that."

"Wish there had been better news."

Jax shrugged.

"It is what it is. The fact that she's cheating doesn't surprise me, but a pimp of all people and she worked in his office. I thought she'd at least be faithful for a month."

"Officially I don't know anything about this."

"I got your back on that, bro."

They finished their beer and left.

Gemma was taking her duties as mayor seriously. Each day, she took an hour or two off work and visited the businesses in Charming beginning with those on Main Street. She got to Zobelle's cigar shop on Friday. It was open but it was empty of customers. Charming wasn't exactly a cigar shop type of town. It was small and not many people smoked cigars.

That wasn't the point of the business. It was nothing more than a façade to give Zobelle the look of respectability. His cigar shop wasn't expected to pay the bills. His drug business would soon be up and running funneling drugs to the prisons and the community.

Gemma walked into the cigar shop.

"I'm Mayor Gemma Becker," Gemma said. "I am looking for the owner Ethan Zobelle."

A tall well built man with dark curly hair and brown eyes looked at Gemma.

"I'm Ethan Zobelle."

"I'd like to say it's a pleasure to meet you, but that's really not the case is it?" she asked.

"I have no idea why you wouldn't find it a pleasure to meet me," he said with an undercurrent of sarcasm in his voice.

"I've been briefed by law enforcement about all your activities. Charming is a nice town. Not everyone can live happily here though."

"I'm sure Charming will find a way to adapt to me."

"You can save yourself a lot of time and grief by just leaving. I'll speak to the landlord. I'm sure he'll be happy to let you out of your lease."

"I'm not going anywhere. I like this town just fine. It's perfect for my business, but isn't it your job as mayor to encourage new businesses?"

"The right kinds of businesses are welcome. You aren't welcome in this town. Save yourself some trouble and get out."

"Or what?" Zobelle

"I'm the mayor. I'll use the police to drive you out and if I need more help, I'll get my son. He's president of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club. He'll deal with you."

Zobelle chuckled derisively.

"You can use the police and the thug bikers, but let me tell you what's going to happen. We'll move into this town and take over just like we have in the previous two towns. You're little biker son will get his and his MC's dumbasses locked up. The cops will be told to keep their hands off us and we'll own this place. Now unless you're going to buy cigars, get the hell out of my store." He smiled at Gemma rocking back on the heels of his boots

Gemma lifter her head and gave him a hard stare.

"We'll just see about that."

Gemma immediately drove to TM grateful that it was Friday and Jax would be there. She may have been banned from TM, but she was paying him a visit as the town's mayor. Before she got out of the car, she marked off Zobelle and TM from the list of businesses she'd gotten from the business license clerk at Charming City Hall.

As soon as Jax saw her, he walked up to her.

"You aren't welcome here."

"I've been getting that a lot," she said tartly. "Relax. I'm not here as your mother. I'm here as the mayor."

"We can talk in the chapel," he said stiffly.

"The renovations you did look nice enough. Not sure I would have picked this color. Nothing wrong with a nice ivory. Did you get permits for all this work?"

"What do you think?" Jax asked sarcastically.

"Don't worry. I can fix that if you need help."

"I've got a few contacts of my own. Now why the hell are you here?"

"Did you hear about Zobelle coming to town?"

"Hale mentioned it."

"You know he's bad for Charming. What are you going to do about him?"

"You're the mayor," Jax said with a sneer. "What are you going to do?"

"I just paid him a visit. He practically laughed me out of his cigar shop. He's going to try to take over the town. He's not afraid of the police or of you. He will destroy Charming."

"And what do you want me to do?"

"If JT was president, I wouldn't have to tell him what to do. Since you got out of prison, you've lost your edge. You're practically a pussy. SAMCRO needs to take this guy down."

Jax took a breath and relaxed into his anger. He wasn't going to play into Gemma's agenda. He would lead the MC in the right direction and take down Zobelle when the time was right.

"Does it bother you?" Jax asked softly. "You have no idea what SAMCRO is doing. We're having our anniversary party this Sunday. You aren't invited. Ava's handling the refreshments. She's doing a great job."

Gemma's face flushed with anger. She expected that Jax would be angry and plan to take immediate action.

"Good for her," Gemma said sarcastically. "You've changed and it just isn't prison. Part of this is this ridiculous idea that you're going to be an attorney. You barely made it through high school. You are wasting time that you should be devoting to the MC. That's your legacy."

"Get out," Jax said through clenched teeth. "Don't ever fucking tell me what to do again."

As satisfying as it would have been to throw Gemma's affair in her face at that moment, he would save it for a better time and not give in to impulse.

Gemma stared at him before turning on her heel and leaving. He realized in that moment that Gemma would try to destroy him if she couldn't control him. She was a dangerous woman. She'd killed his father.

That evening during church, Juice shared some of what he'd found about Zobelle including that he'd gotten two MCs locked up. They couldn't save Charming if they got locked up. Jax repeated that they needed to approach things with a smart plan. Juice said he was going to continue to dig into Zobelle and his white hate associates.

They spent the rest of the meeting nailing down the details of the anniversary party on Sunday. Jax had the hot dog truck arranged. Chuckie was in charge of beer and soft drinks and Ava had ordered the cookies and treats from the local bakery. They always used the bakery instead of buying from Costco. SAMCRO was all about supporting local businesses.

Ava was enthusiastic about her part in the celebration. Jax discovered that Ava liked to feel useful and when he told her that Gemma normally handled the desserts, she was determined to prove she could do a better job than Gemma. She even got decorations for the party. Nothing over the top. Just simple SAMCRO blue streamers and blue twinkle lights that would make the area around the patio look special. She'd even convinced Chuckie to spray paint the burn barrels SAMCRO blue.

Jax stayed after church to have a quick beer and then he returned home. Until Ava, he'd never felt like he had a home. His house wasn't a home. It was a place to sleep, but he'd never had any interest in fixing it up.

It was the same with food. He never gave much thought to meals. He got fast food or ate sandwiches, but with Ava he had a home and was living like an adult for the first time in his life and he found he enjoyed it.

Saturday, they went into Oakland and grabbed an early dinner at a Thai restaurant. Ava was thinking about learning to cook Thai food and wanted to see what it tasted like to see if it was something they would like. They ordered a bunch of different Thai dishes and discovered they loved the food.

They made a stop at a bookstore so Ava could look for a Thai cookbook. Shopping for a cookbook online wasn't a very satisfying experience and Ava liked reading cookbooks. Jax didn't object. She enjoyed cooking and even if she didn't make Thai food, she would enjoy reading the cookbook.

When they got home, they settled into stream a movie. Ava disappeared for several minutes. Jax was about to ask her if she wanted him to pause the movie when he noticed out of the corner of his eye that she'd returned. He looked back at the TV screen, then he looked at Ava, turned the TV off and got to his feet.

"So what's this?"

"My Halloween costume," Ava said. She was dressed as a cheerleader in a short little red and white pleated skirt and a tight red and white T-shirt with the word "Cheerleader" printed across the front. She'd even pulled her long hair back into a ponytail.

"How about you do a cheer for me?"

"Give me a "J"," Ava said holding up one arm over her head and sticking out her other arm out making a "J". "Give me an "A", she said putting her arms over her head and touching her fingertips together forming an "A". "Give me an "X", she said crossing her arms over her head in an "X". "Go Jax," she said jumping up.

"How about we get you another Halloween costume and you wear this one just for me?" he said with a gleam in his eye.

"Why?"

"Because if you put this on, we'll never get out of the house," Jax said. He scooped her up, put her over his shoulder and carried her giggling to the bedroom. He dumped her on the bed and crawled on top of her.

"Maybe you should learn some self-control," she suggested.

"OK. I won't try to take your outfit off immediately."

He kissed her and reached his hand up her T-shirt. Ava didn't protest because his mouth was covering hers and she liked the way he made her feel so desirable. And Jax was really good at sex.

The next day, Jax and Ava went to TM to see how the preparations for SAMCRO's party were coming. The blue twinkle lights and streamers gave the space a festive look.

"I like the decorations," Jax said. "That was good thinking, Ava."

"Thanks," she said smiling at his praise. "Chuckie is going to pick up the cake and other baked goods from the bakery. We already have the blue plates, napkins and cups."

"The hot dog truck will be here at five," Jax added.

The clubhouse was open and Chuckie even cleaned the place a bit. The chapel doors were locked and Juice would sweep the entire place electronically after the party to make sure no one had bugged the place.

A couple of hundred people turned up over the three hour party. It was winding down. Jax was going to leave soon. Ava was talking to a couple of crow-eaters before getting into her car to leave ahead of Jax.

A large black Mercedes SUV drove up. Jax didn't recognize the car. Four men got out of the car. The tallest man walked over to Jax.

"Are you the famous Jax Teller?" he asked.

"Yeah," Jax said. There was something about the man that he didn't like. "Who the hell are you?"

"Ethan Zobelle."

Jax had to hand it to the man. It took balls to show up to SAMCRO's anniversary party.

"

Author's Note: Heard the news that Charlie Hunnam is saying he has an idea that would allow him to play Jax again? He said it was in the early stages. Keep in mind that as part of Kurt Sutter's deal with FX, he gave up control over SOA. FX owned the rights until Disney bought FX. Kurt may have created SOA, but he doesn't own the rights anymore. This means, he can't create anything SOA or Mayans without Disney's OK. Given they fired him him from Mayans over alleged misbehavior on the set with cast and crew and he is now suing them, it's unlikely that he will be doing SOA things with them anytime soon if ever, but if Charlie went to Disney with an idea, there could be hope if there's money in it for Disney. He wasn't clear if his idea was a dream sequence or a voice over or what. It sounded like he was actually going to actually play Jax again. I'm hoping for a new series.

Here's how I would do it—I'd have Jax do a voice over and talk about how his life could have turned out differently if he'd made different choices and here are those choices and then the show just picks up from whatever year he wants to start with. It doesn't do that horrible it's just a dream nonsense or come up with some convoluted explanation how Jax lived and didn't go to jail for the rest of his life for all the murders he committed including the last one in front of witnesses. It's just a straightforward telling of Jax's life with different choices. Using this approach could let the entire cast return and tell new stories. Charlie is a writer so he might make this fly. Hope so.

How would you do it?