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Chapter 93 Table Read

"Looks like we have a new member of SAMCRO," Kozik said, "sitting in Jax's place."

"Same Jax," Jax assured him.

"What happened to your hair and beard? New wife not like it?" Kozik continued.

Jax shook his head chuckling. "Got drunk, chewed a lot of gum because I wanted to brush my teeth and I was too drunk to stand up. I woke up with gum in my hair and beard."

All the guys laughed at Jax and pounded with the table with their fists except Clay. His lips tightened with displeasure.

"Definitely too pretty to be a biker," Bobby said.

The guys were always busting his ass over his looks. He didn't mind. It was all part of the brotherhood. And it was better than getting ragged on over sexual perversions like Tig.

"You look like a fucking model," Chibs said to Jax.

"Yeah, I'm gonna model underwear as soon as my ribs heal," Jax said. "Or maybe do an aftershave commercial because I do like to smell good unlike Bobby here who hasn't had a shower in when?"

The guys laughed. Despite Jax's words and Bobby's undempt appearance, he did bathe regularly. He just didn't wash his clothes too often.

Clay scowled. He wasn't in a very good mood. The sooner the meeting was over the better, but the little prince wanted to bring up some business.

"OK, let's save the comedy for the party. Jax had some business he wanted to bring up," Clay nodded at Jax.

"How have gun sales been?" Jax asked. Juice swept the chapel for bugs to make sure the Feds weren't listening, so Jax was able to speak freely. All phones were left in a locked box under the bar counter as well. Dark Tower had cleared the clubhouse to make sure no killers were lurking and then stood guard outside the clubhouse door, so the guys were alone.

The muscles in Clay's jaw clenched and unclenched the only outward sign that he was angry.

"It's been difficult since your arrest, but the Irish have new stock and we expect the orders to start rolling in," Clay replied stiffly.

"The Irish have been promising new stock for the last three months. McKeavey told me they are having problems with Putlova trying to take over their gun sources. He was drunk on some Irish whiskey at the time," Chibs said, "that's the only reason he told me the truth."

"I think it's time we face a hard truth about our gun selling business—it's too damned dangerous," Jax said.

"Prison has made you soft," Clay said with a sneer. He should have seen this coming. He thought it would take a few months before Jax began challenging him like this. Son of a bitch! He thought he had a little more time.

"No, Clay," Jax said, his voice hard," it's made me smarter. The Feds are going to be watching us waiting to bust us. TB my old lady's father has all kinds of lawsuits against the government on my behalf. They are going to be looking at any reason to bring me and the MC down. This club was originally supposed to be about brotherhood and bikes. Now it's about arms dealing and prison. We keep dealing guns and we are all going to end up spending the best part of our lives in prison just to make a few dollars."

Clay slammed his fist down on the table.

"SAMCRO deals guns. Maybe you're too much of a pussy for that now."

If Jax hadn't been smashed by a car, he would have jumped up and had it out man to man with Clay. Instead, his jaw clenched much like Clay's and his eyes blazed bright blue with fury.

"No, I learned a hell of a lot in prison. We need to get out of guns and move into better ways to earn. Find ways that don't make us targets for law enforcement."

"You have suggestions?" Opie asked.

"Yeah. I'm going to have a hell of a lot of money when all my lawsuits get settled. I want to use that money to buy a weed farm. All legit. We come up with our own branded product line."

"I could see it out of my dispensary," Juice said enthusiastically. "Like an outlaw biker brand. I like that. The MC could buy out my partners and we could run the dispensary as a club business."

"SAMCRO sells guns," Clay shouted.

"What the hell is it with you?" Jax shouted back. "Is it about dick size? You feel like more of a man selling guns?"

"You little . . ."

"Hey," Bobby interrupted, "let's discuss this calmly."

"This charter sells guns," Clay said lowering his voice slightly.

"Not if we vote it out," Jax said. "We need to face facts that our gun business is dead or if it continues we'll end up in prison. That's the future if we don't change. I know that it's going to be hard. I want to help the MC out by paying you guys money each month until I get my settlement and can buy the weed farm. I'm part of the reason we can't sell guns anymore. It's only fair that I try to make everyone whole. I want the weed farm to be a club business. I'll buy it and you can slowly pay me back from your share of the profits. We can work out all the details later, but that's where I think the future of the MC is."

Every man in that room could feel Clay's anger. Clay's lips were twisted in a frown.

"So that's it, is it?" Clay said sarcastically. "You want to buy off the club to get out of guns because you're not man enough to be an outlaw."

"I'm man enough to go to prison for this club," Jax shouted at Clay angrily. "They tried to everything to get me to rat the club and I didn't do it. I have nothing to prove. I'm not trying to buy anyone off. I'm trying to help out the club. You should have been looking at other ways to earn after I got arrested. You're just mad at yourself." Jax said contemptuously.

"It's not your fault the gun business is dead," Piney said. "You don't owe the MC money because we can't sell guns."

"Thanks Piney, but I want do what I can to help tide us over until we can start earning again. I move that SAMCRO get out of the arms business immediately," Jax said.

"I second it," Opie said promptly.

"Let's vote it," Bobby said.

"We need to open this up to discussion," Clay said quickly. "This is a fundamental change in the MC and we need to look at it carefully. We sell guns. That's our club's identity. What do we tell the Irish?"

"Fuck the Irish," Chibs said. "They've screwed us over on pricing and they've lied to us about supply."

Kozik gave Jax a faint nod. "Tacoma or another charter can pick up the gun sales. I gotta agree with Jax that we have a huge target on us and we're looking at jail if we try to keep selling guns. The damned Feds aren't going to forget in a week or two. They are going to be after us for years."

"Since when do we make decisions based on fear of getting locked up?" Clay demanded. "We are smart. We can figure out safe ways to keep selling guns. You've lost your nerve, Jax. You are a weak man."

Jax smiled thinly, his eyes narrowed. "No, I'm just not willing to rot in prison for your fucking greed and because Gemma wants to drive a new car every damned year."

A couple of the guys snickered. There was some truth to that statement. Just about every year, Gemma was driving a new car.

Clay had long ago grown past the whole love, brotherhood and bikes concept of the MC. For him, it was about making as much money as he could to afford a nice lifestyle for Gemma. That dig about Gemma driving a new car pissed him off just like the damned little prince wanted it to. He wanted Jax dead. If that fucking Dark Tower wasn't protecting him, he'd damned well do it tonight.

"Jax is right about why the MC was started. It is about love and brotherhood, but it's lost its way," Piney said. "We need to go back to brotherhood and bikes and handle business separately."

"If I'm going to jail, I want it to be for something I believe in," Chibs said.

"I believe in following the prez," Happy said.

That was the thing about Happy; he would follow whoever was president with complete loyalty. He was loyal to the position and not to the person.

"I believe in doing what's right for SAMCRO," Chibs countered.

"Selling guns gives us status in the MC world," Tig said. "We don't deal weapons and we're a pussy club. We would just be a bunch of fucking blue collar workers who ride bikes."

"What the hell kind of status are we going to have if we're locked up?" Opie demanded. "Jax and Kozik are right. The Feds are going to be breathing down our necks and if we can earn in a safer way we would be idiots not to do it."

"What I suggest is Juice, Bobby, Chibs and anyone else who wants to join form a committee to start planning the weed farm," Jax said.

"And what the hell happens if the weed farm doesn't work out and we've voted out guns?" Clay demanded hotly. "We burn our bridges and we're screwed."

"Then we'll find other ways to earn," Jax said calmly. "We could buy or build an apartment building. Charming could use more housing. I'll have the money to do it. We'll own the building together. You can pay me back for your share slowly over time from the profits interest free. We could buy run down houses and flip them. There are ways to earn that won't lead to a twenty to life sentence in Kensington Palace. I'll have the money to set us up."

"We won't need the warehouse," Bobby said. "We sell the land, we buy a house and flip it while we wait for Jax to get the seed money. I agree with Piney that you don't owe us gun money."

"I do owe the MC all the money you put out in legal fees. I'll pay that back plus the money you put in my commissary account while I was locked up. With that and the warehouse money, we could start flipping houses. I'm going to take care of this club and find good ways to earn and I'll have the money to help us."

"We need more time to think about this." Clay said. He counted votes and knew there was a good chance Jax was going to be successful. He needed time to sway some of the guys to his side.

"Let's vote," Jax said. "I've made the motion and it's been seconded. By the by-laws, we have to take a vote at the meeting when the motion was made."

"Any more discussion?" Clay said. He was angry that outlaw bikers had by-laws they had to follow. Fucking by laws. Dictatorships were a much better form of government. Gangs were run that way; that's the way outlaw biker clubs should be run too.

The table was silent. In the end, the vote wasn't dramatic or close. Tig and Happy supported Clay just as Jax expected. Juice, tempted by the tie in to his dispensary business and convinced Jax was right about prison and the Feds, voted against Clay. The rest of the table followed and that was the end of the Sons selling guns. The final vote was 7 to 3. The motion passed.

Clay's face was almost purple with rage as he banged the gavel and declared the Sons were officially out of selling guns effective immediately.

"You can always sell guns on your own," Jax said with an edge of sarcasm to his voice. He knew that JT would be proud that he'd realized his dying dream to get the club out of guns. If he hadn't gotten set up by the those two corrupt ATF agents and the ADA for selling an automatic weapon, he would never have been able to get the club to see they needed to get out of guns. And without TB's help, he wouldn't soon have the money to set the club in a better way to earn whether that was through a weed farm or real estate.

"Anything else," Clay bit out the words.

"Yeah, I'm making some other changes to benefit me and the MC," Jax said. "I'm only going to be at TM on Fridays. I studied a lot of criminal law when I was locked up and I'm going to be a lawyer. Turns out you can be an attorney with on the job training."

"I don't believe that," Tig said.

"No, it's true," Juice insisted. "Kim Kardashian is studying law too. A few states let you be an attorney. You have to pass the bar, but you can practice law." Juice was a big fan of Kim K and especially her porn video.

"Learning law starting with criminal law will help me learn to use the law against the government. I want to help others that were screwed over by the government or their attorneys. I can help MCs with their legal problems too. Maybe that will give us some status, Tig," Jax said sarcastically. He and Tig had an almost sibling rivalry going. He was always trying to belittle him to make himself more important in Clay's eyes.

"Your fancy wife not like being married to a mechanic?" Clay asked, still furious over losing to Jax over guns. He may have lost the battle, but he was going to find some way to get SAMCRO back into selling guns. If that was over the little prince's dead body, all the better. It was only a matter of time before the little bastard challenged him for the gavel.

There was a hush as the table as the guys waited to see how Jax was going to react to this attack on Ava.

"She's fine with what I do for a living," Jax said his voice tightly controlled, his jaw clenching and unclenching betrayed his anger. "I told her about wanting to study law. She encouraged me to talk to TB and he's putting together a program for me to learn law."

"Nothing like taking advantage of your wife's connections," Tig said.

Jax looked across the table and locked eyes with Tig.

"No one was ever given me a damned thing. Now, someone is holding his hand out to give me some help. I'm not going to be an idiot and an asshole and turn it away. I want to study law and he's helping me. TB has had a lot of inmates write to him about looking at their cases. That's what I'm going to be doing for him. I'm just an OK mechanic and I am replaceable. My learning law will benefit the MC and me."

"Didn't think about discussing this with me first?" Clay asked with thick sarcasm.

"There is nothing to discuss. I'm a partner in TM, not an employee. I'm not going to take any pay from TM including when I come in on Fridays. After the most recent attempt on my life, TB has decided on 24/7 security. Once whoever is behind the attempts on my life is dealt with," Jax smiled thinly at that, "he's going to get his own security team. He asked me about asking a couple of MC guys to be part of security. I've asked Opie and Chibs to be part of that security team."

There wasn't the stunned silence that Clay expected. That little bastard had discussed this with most of the guys just as he had getting out of guns. Jax had everything in place before the meeting. Son of a bitch!

"And when were you going to let me know?" Clay snapped.

"Today," Jax said. "I talked to them about it yesterday. You can work out the details on when they leave TM. The business isn't making that much money at least it wasn't back when I worked here. Too many employees and not enough work."

"We'll only be down the road less than five minutes away," Opie said.

"The hours will be flexible so it won't impact the MC and there may be more security positions in the future," Jax said. "TB's even going to pay for proper security training. The MC will benefit from that knowledge."

"Looks like your getting all kinds of benefits from your wife," Tig sneered.

"What are you trying to say?" Jax asked in a low threatening voice. Tig was lucky he couldn't fight him.

"You seem to be doing a lot of living off your wife," Tig said.

"I see TB as another crew to work with. He's benefiting me and I'm working for him. There's nothing wrong with that. If you think that makes me less of a man, Tiggy, give me a couple of weeks and I'll beat your ass," Jax said.

He locked eyes with Tig and there was no doubt that after Jax was able to fight, he and Tig were going to have it out if Tig's attitude didn't change. It was only a matter of there the fight took place—the clubhouse or the boxing ring.

"I think you're making some good moves for yourself and for the club," Piney broke in quickly. "Your father would be proud of the man you are."

"Thanks, Piney. Does anyone besides Clay and Tig have a problem with the moves I'm making? Be honest with me," Jax encouraged the men to speak their mind. He wanted to deal with any problems now and not let them fester.

The men at the table assured Jax he had their support. Clay just looked at Jax like he was something unpleasant stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

"Is that it for the meeting?" Clay asked.

"That's all I have," Jax said.

Clay adjourned the meeting.

"Now, go tell your mother what you've done," Clay said to Jax as he got up to leave the table. "Shut the doors behind you. I need to talk to Tig."

Jax knew that Clay and Tig would be plotting against him, but he didn't care; he had to face his Gemma with his news.

Author's Note: For a funny take on a table meeting, check out Strange Times for SAMCRO. The first chapter has the craziest meeting because Clay accidentally ate some magic mushrooms and he's hallucinating during the whole meeting. It's under MVeneer.

Also the image for this story appears and disappears. This is some kind of software glitch. When I notice the picture has disappeared, I put it back until it disappears again. This has been a longstanding problem on this site.