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Chapter 106 Shining Moment

A/N A nice long chapter with an ironic title and the promised twist.

Gemma dreamed of the moment when she would see her son sitting at the head of the table, the president's patch on his cut. She'd raised him to be SAMCRO's president since birth. Jax and Opie used to play MC. She would give Jax the gavel and he would sit in the president's chair, bang it and have meetings, Opie sitting next to him at the table. Opie never played president. That was always Jax's role.

Now, she was seeing the realization of her dream for her son and the fulfillment of his destiny. The early morning sun touched his blonde hair making him look like a Viking god. He'd been the center of female attention from birth. He was smart, tough, brave and a natural leader. She was so damned proud that she had raised such a fine son.

Then it hit her; Jax was sitting in the president's seat with the president's patch on his cut. Opie was sitting in Tig's place with Bobby in Jax's place. When she announced that Clay was dead, no one was surprised.

"We're almost finished with the meeting here," Jax said. "Wait for me in the bar. I need to talk to you about Clay. Sack wait with her and Sack remember . . ."

"Remember what?" Sack asked blankly. They hadn't told him anything to remember. If they did, he couldn't remember. Once more, he was screwed. Sometimes this place was like Iraq—you never knew when an IED would get you only the guys were the IEDs.

"Close the fucking door behind you," the guys chorused. The prospect was a little slow sometimes. He'd only been told to close the door behind him three times.

"I don't need a babysitter," Gemma snapped.

Jax looked at Sack who was already on his feet. He left the chapel taking Gemma with him. Gemma allowed Sack to lead her away because she knew that Jax needed to look like a strong leader in front of the guys, but she wasn't very damned happy about it.

As soon as the doors were closed, Jax continued with the meeting without missing a beat.

"OK, now that it's official about Clay, we need to start implementing our plans," Jax said.

"That was cold," Chibs said. "Sticking the prospect with Gemma."

"You volunteering?" Jax asked.

"Hell no," Chibs said chuckling.

"Juice send out the stuff we put together. I want them to hear it from us first before it hits the news. Run any responses you want to make by me first so we stay in lock step as a club on this. Tig, you're in charge of getting paint colors. I want all the buildings painted maybe a tan or that kind of light adobe color like Felipe's. We could go a little darker or lighter so we aren't copying. Juice, you want to try your hand at coming up with the new logo?"

"One of the crow-eaters does graphic design," Juice said. "I'll get her to help me."

"Good plan. Now that I don't have a business partner, the T and the M don't have to be the same size. I'd like the T to be larger."

"That will really emphasize that it's a different place," Juice said. "We could make the Teller SAMCRO blue and do the M a shade or two lighter." He was pleased that Jax entrusted this job to him. He liked being able to create and design stuff. It would be exciting to see his logo all over the garage.

"Kind of a two-toned effect," Jax said enthusiastically. He was eager to turn the garage into his and erase Clay. "Maybe we'll have a grand opening special—discounted oil changes for cars and bikes."

The guys all nodded. Energized by Jax's enthusiasm.

"Anyone have anything?" Jax asked. The guys shook their heads. "OK. That's all I have for now."

"I got the room for 1 pm," Opie said returning his cell phone to his cut.

"Good. When I go meet Laroy, we'll do a replay of yesterday with you and Chibs accompanying me in the van."

"Maybe carry a box," Chibs suggested. "Hide that ugly face of yours."

Jax laughed. The guys were always ragging on him about his looks. He didn't mind because it was based in affection.

Jax brought the gavel down ending the meeting.

"Could you ask Gemma to come in?" Jax asked Opie.

"Good luck, brother," Opie said.

Jax punched Opie lightly in the arm.

"Thanks, bro."

Gemma walked into the chapel and pointedly shut the door behind her. She was wearing skin tight black jeans, a long sleeved black T-shirt with a silver colored metal belt resting on her hips and a pair of large silver hoop earrings.

"How long have you known Clay's dead?" Gemma demanded taking Opie's seat at the table.

Gemma didn't bother playing the role of the teary-eyed grieving widow. She'd spent a gut wrenching night worrying about Clay and money. She saw what happened to Jax financially. The MC paid for much of Jax's defense, but he'd been forced to sell his house to kick in more money.

The MC hadn't had time to earn much, so there would be little for them to contribute for Clay's defense. Clay would try to borrow against his partnership in TM. He would probably expect her to mortgage her home. That was risky and not in her best financial interest. If he got convicted, there would be long expensive appeals. The news about Clay's arrest was devastating. Finding out he was dead was a relief; she wasn't going to pretend otherwise.

"We heard a rumor," Jax said.

"What the hell is really going on? You were president before you knew he was dead. His cut was gone. I thought he must have worn it when he was arrested. Now seeing you with the president's patch, I know that isn't true."

Jax didn't have to be tactful with Gemma. She knew that Clay had been arrested for Lowen's murder and that Clay was dead, nothing he had to say could be any worse than that.

"Clay was screwing Lowen. It wasn't love. Just sex. She sent some emails with video attachments to me. I think she sent them to automatically go out if something happened to her. I suspect she sent them to Hale as well." Jax pulled his phone out of his cut and pulled up the video of Clay and Lowen plotting to tank his defense, Clay arranging the hit on him while he was in prison, Lowen trying to convince Clay to try to kill him again and finally Clay killing Lowen.

"What's this?" Gemma asked.

"Juice clipped the videos eliminating all the hours of stuff that weren't important. You need to watch theses clips. The information in them is going to get out all over probably today."

Gemma took Jax's phone and watched the clips of her husband plotting to get her son locked up for a crime he didn't commit. He was always calling Jax son when he talked to her about Jax saying he wanted to bring Jax closer to him. That lying son of a bitch.

"That's why your defense was so bad?"

Jax paused the video clips.

"Yeah, it was more than simple incompetence. Clay and I were beefing over the direction of the MC. He wanted to get us into muling blow for the Galindo cartel. I was opposed. With me locked up, Clay thought he could get it through the MC. Damned good thing he didn't because the DEA rolled up the Galindo cartel and we all would have gone down with them. Narc busts are heavy time."

"He never mentioned anything about drugs to me," Gemma said.

Jax shook his head.

"There's a lot you don't know." Jax continued the videos showing her Lowen and Clay conspiring to kill him to make sure he didn't get out of prison alive to protect Lowen's legal career and keep Jax from returning to his place at the MC table.

"All the attempts were Clay?"

"The prison attempt. I suspect he gave Lowen all the info she needed to make the attempt on me at the hospital. I don't know about the attempt when I was on my bike. Lowen was pressuring Clay to kill me so she could avoid the consequences of her legal malpractice. This next video is brutal." Jax played the final video of Clay killing Lowen.

Gemma watched as Clay killed Lowen, only Gemma wasn't repulsed. She seemed to enjoy it. Lowen was getting what she deserved for fucking her husband, screwing up her son's defense and trying to kill him. She wasn't about to waste tears on that woman. The bitch needed to die for what she did to her son.

"As soon as I watched the videos, I called Opie and Chibs told them to get Clay for an emergency meeting. Hale was about ten minutes ahead of us. They got there in time to see the street lined with cop cars and Clay being led out in hand cuffs. I told them to get Clay's cut from the house. We stripped his patch and Happy and Tig burned his cut last night.

Gemma wasn't surprised. Once she saw what Clay had done to Jax, the MC had no choice but to kick Clay out and strip his patch.

"The county said he was killed by inmates. Beaten to death. They don't have any leads." Gemma said watching Jax intently.

"Prisons are dangerous places," Jax said innocently. "Look what happened to me." That was the closest Jax was ever going to admit to his mother that the MC had put a hit on Clay. She knew the MC life. She knew what they had to do. He didn't have to spell it out for her.

"Good news for me," Gemma said drily. "With Clay gone, I don't have to worry about money for his defense."

"And with his death, you get his life insurance policies. It should help offset the loss of his income for awhile anyway," Jax said.

JT had been a good business man. He recognized the risk attached to being an outlaw biker and provided for Gemma and Jax in the event of his death. Life insurance policies paid off the house and provided money for Gemma to use for herself and his son. He left a separate life insurance policy for Jax. Elliot Oswald helped Gemma invest the money so when Jax was an adult, there was money for a house.

After JT's death, Gemma was grateful for JT's careful planning. She insisted that Clay do the same for her. In the shock of everything, she'd not thought of the insurance policies. Clay's death was a very good thing for her.

"Now I'm doubly glad that bastard is dead. I'm glad he died for what he did to you," she said leaning over and kissing Jax, "and I'm glad for me financially."

"It's the best thing for everyone even for Clay. He wouldn't have lasted long in prison without protection. We're sending out info to the other charters the truth about Clay from getting killing Lowen to getting kicked out of the club. We're sending the clips you just saw."

"I never knew he had such a deep hatred for you," Gemma said. "He always pretended to me that he thought of you as a son."

"Yeah, the kind of son you kill. Not all parents love their kids and he was only a stepfather."

"He might have ratted the club to watch it burn," Gemma said shrewdly.

"Under the terms of the partnership agreement for TM, I now get his half of the business. I'm changing the name, logo and everything. It's going to be called Teller Motorworks Auto and Bike Repair. We're going to be painting the buildings make this place look completely different."

"Can't say I blame you wanting to eliminate Morrow from the name," Gemma said. "I don't want to be stuck with the name either. You suppose TB could help me change my name back to Gemma Teller?"

"Yeah, I don't see why not. He's got a ton of legal assistants." Jax glanced at his watch. "I've got to leave. MC business. Take some time off. A couple of days. Whatever you need. Chuckie can fill in."

"I think I will go see Luann," Gemma said thoughtfully. "Give her a call and maybe have lunch with her today."

"You also need to call the prison and get Clay's body sent to Anderson's."

"I'm so pissed about that bastard Clay; the prison can keep his body. He can rot there. There will be no funeral."

"I can't have you do that. The MC wants the body back. We'll have Skeeter burn it. No embalming or anything and definitely no funeral."

"It will be a day or two because they have to do an autopsy, but I will call them and have them send the body to Anderson's. I'll be in tomorrow. I'd rather be busy."

Jax stood up, bent and kissed Gemma on the cheek.

"I'll be around more supervising the change to the new name and making sure everything is running smoothly. If you change your mind and want to take tomorrow off, give Chuckie a call to fill in for you."

"Thanks," Gemma stood up and hugged her son fiercely. "I am so proud of my son, the president. Your father would be so proud of you too. This is your destiny."

Jax was at a momentarily loss for words. Gemma was rarely overcome with emotion.

"Thanks, mom," Jax said kissing his mother on the cheek again.

Jax waited until Gemma was gone to take the money to pay Laroy out of the safe and slip it in his cut. He and Sack switched shirts, Jax put on Sack's cut and placed his own president's cut in the box Chibs gave him to carry to cover his face. He lifted the empty box to his shoulder and walked out to the van.

Once inside, he filled Opie and Chibs in on his conversation with Gemma. Chibs was surprised that Gemma wasn't more emotional. He didn't really know Gemma well if he expected her to mourn the death of the man who tried to kill her son.

Jax put on his president's cut, took the money out of the pocket and tossed the money back into the box along with a slip of paper containing the GPS coordinates. Getting this deal done with Laroy felt good. He wouldn't forget the way Laroy came through for SAMCRO. His only regret was not being able to kill Clay himself.

Jax met with Laroy behind a convenience store that had no cameras on that part of the building. He dropped the box on the ground and left it. Laroy nodded at Jax, gave a quick look inside and left with the box tucked under his arm. He'd count the money later, but he was confident that the money was right. The Sons had never shorted him in a deal. He was equally confident that the GPS coordinates would lead them to the Sons' gun warehouse. It had taken a hell of a lot of coordination to get the hit done so quickly, but that's why they got a big payday.

"You were smart to pay Laroy a little more to get rid of Clay faster," Chibs said once Jax had climbed into the back of the van. "Clay was always trying to save pennies and ending up spending dollars."

"A lot of Clay's shortcomings started to really stick out without you there to help him," Opie admitted. "I used to think you were too critical, but you were mostly right about Clay."

"Mostly?"

"Don't want your head to get too big."

"Wouldn't be enough room in the van," Chibs said from the driver's seat.

They returned to the clubhouse. Chibs blocked Jax from view as they walked into the clubhouse. He switched back into his shirt, handed Sack his cut and then put on his own.

The guys with the exception of Juice who was working on the new logo were in the garage taking back to business. Jax checked his text messages and email. He had already received quite a few messages congratulating him on becoming president and expressing disgust over Clay's treachery. Even Clay's closest friends spoke against him because there was no arguing with the video and no justification for Clay's actions.

He decided to call Ava and tell her about Clay. She hardly knew him and after she watched him kill Lowen and learned he had tried to kill him, she wasn't going to need him to comfort her.

"Hey," he greeted her.

"Hey yourself."

"You still working on figuring out the house."

"Yeah. I just want something simple."

"I'm on board with simple," Jax said. "I wanted to let you know about something I found out not long ago. Clay was killed in prison."

There was a long pause on Ava's end of the conversation.

"Good. He killed that woman and tried to kill you. He got off easy not having to spend the rest of his life in prison. Is your mother OK?" Ava asking saying a quick mental prayer that Jax wouldn't ask her to console Gemma. She couldn't tell Gemma she was sorry that Clay was dead because he had tried to kill Jax. In some way, she owed Clay because if he and Lowen hadn't conspired to put Jax in prison, she would never have met and married him. Her life was better because Jax was in it.

"Once she found out about Clay trying to kill me that was it for her. I think she was relieved that she didn't have to go through a trial with him. I'm going to need to be here most of the day."

"OK. We should celebrate Clay being gone. I'm going to ask the chef to make ribs and beer battered onion rings. You think you could be here for dinner at 7."

"Ribs and onion rings, huh?"

"Don't you like them?"

"Damned right I like them. They are two of nature's most perfect foods."

"Cherry cheesecake for dessert?" she suggested.

"Ava, you are the best. I miss you," Jax said putting a husky growl in his voice so she would know exactly how he missed her.

"You have a one track mind."

"I have a two track mind and one of those tracks is always on you."

"You are a smooth talker, Jax Teller." She was smiling and his words caused a heated sensation to spread through her body.

After they said good-bye, Jax went outside. It was time to leave for Felipe's. The guys were getting on their bikes when Hale drove through TM's gates.

"Go on to Felipe's," Jax said. "I'll meet you there."

The guys roared away.

"Did you hear about Clay?" Hale asked.

"Yeah, Gemma told me. I'm taking the guys out to lunch to celebrate. Glad the bastard is dead."

"Killed in prison his first night there. What are the chances?"

"Prisons are dangerous places," Jax said smoothly. "I know firsthand. Clay had no protection and lots of enemies."

Hale was sure that Jax and the MC were behind Clay's murder, but he wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt until he looked him in the eye. Yeah. It was just like he thought. The MC was behind the hit. He also knew that they would never be able to tie the murder to Jax and the Sons. The best chance he'd ever had of bringing the Sons down was gone.

"I told the county how dangerous prison is for a man like Clay. Suggested they put him in PC (protective custody)."

"Guess they should have listened to you."

"Yeah. Fucking morons," Hale said spitting out the words in disgust. He warned them that Clay was a dead man walking, but they were sure a day or two in gen pop would soften Clay up so he would roll on the Sons.

He didn't blame Jax for killing Clay. There were rules even outlaws played by. Clay was a potential danger to the club and he had to go. Jax moved faster than the county. He blamed the stupidity of the county for Clay's death. It would be a reminder not to underestimate Jax.

"Well, I'll be leaving. Don't want to keep you from your celebration lunch."

"Thanks chief. After lunch, some of the guys and I are going to stop in and see Unser. He's done a lot of shit for the MC. We owe him a good-bye."

"Yeah, you do," Hale said quietly. "Glad you are going to see him. His family isn't coming. He doesn't have anyone but us."

Jax shook his head as he thought over Unser's life. It was sad that in his final hours, his family couldn't be bothered to see him.

"Why aren't they coming?"

"Don't want to see him in that condition," Hale said contemptuously. "I never liked his wife. Now, I hate her. His kids don't want to remember their father like that. Fucking pussies."

"Della cheated on him all the time. I'd be surprised if the kids are even his."

"Shit," Hale said. "Does he know?"

"He told Gemma he wasn't sure the kids were his."

"That bitch Della," Hale said. He continued to swear under his breath as he got in his patrol car and left.

Jax got in the van and drove to the restaurant followed by Dark Tower.

Jax looked at the adobe color of Felipe's and tried to picture a similar color on TM's building. It suddenly occurred to him that Juice could probably do some computer magic and give him a rough idea of what it might look like.

They had a boisterous lunch enjoying being together as a club now that they had put Clay's presidency behind them. None of the guys even Tig had any doubt that Jax was going to be a good leader for the club. He had emerged from prison tougher and determined that none of the guys serve time. It was going to be about bikes, brotherhood and bar fights. When they broke the law, they would do it and be damned smart about it.

Jax told the guys he wanted to have a short meeting at 5 to talk about the response the MC was getting from the other charters. He would be around in TM and the clubhouse for the rest of the day and would be in tomorrow.

He closed by suggesting they all try to see Unser for even a minute. Over the years he'd saved all their asses at least one time. After listening to Jax's words, even Happy decided to go by St. Thomas to say good-bye to Unser. It was a big deal for him because he hated cops the most of everyone in the MC.

All the rooms in St. Thomas' ICU were private in a locked hallway. When the volunteer saw SAMCRO, she buzzed them in too scared to even suggest they needed permission to enter. A stout gray-haired nurse walked up to Jax.

"We're here to see Chief Unser," Jax said. "We're family."

Chief Unser had no family to visit him. Gemma and David Hale had been his only visitors. The nurse knew Unser had a day two at most and if he wanted to see someone before he died, she didn't see it as her place to tell him no.

"Let me just make sure he's OK with seeing visitors."

Jax waited for the nurse to leave before gathering the guys around him.

"I'll go last and tell him about Clay."

The nurse returned looking grim.

"Chief Unser wants to see you. He's very weak and tired so he will only be able to manage a minute or two. It's best if you go into his room in groups of two or three."

The guys went in to see Unser in small groups as the nurse suggested. Each emerged a little shaken by the experience. Even Happy was changed; the muscles in his jaw tightened. For him, that was a lot of emotion.

"I'll meet you guys back at TM," Jax said before going into Unser's room.

Jax walked into Unser's room and saw how cancer had ravaged Unser's small body eating away at him until he was skin and bones. He saw him less than nine months ago. Now he looked like he'd aged twenty years. Fucking HMOs.

Machines monitored his heart and blood pressure. Clear tubing carried oxygen into his nose helping him breath a little easier. There was no way to keep check on the cancer that was eating Unser from the inside out. It was nearly done. There wasn't much left of him to eat.

Jax saw JT before he died. He'd never regained consciousness. Still, Jax had sat beside his father's bed hoping for a miracle. He wanted his father's eyes to open one more time and see him. Three days later, his body gave up, the damage from the accident too severe for his body and the doctors to repair although they tried. At least Unser's eyes were open and he was alert.

"Nice you guys came by. Gemma tell you I was here?"

It hit Jax suddenly that Gemma hadn't mentioned a word about Unser being in the hospital dying. When she wasn't at the house, he'd just assumed she'd gone to the hospital to see him.

"Hale. Did Gemma come by to see you?"

Something dimmed in Unser's eyes. A last hope that Gemma had told Jax and the guys he was sick, but she hadn't. She didn't even mention to Jax that she'd visited him. All the years spent loving that cold woman were a waste.

"Yeah," he said his voice faint. "Just a few minutes."

"We've had some excitement. Clay got arrested for killing Lowen. Turns out Clay paid Lowen to screw up my defense. He wanted me out of the way because he didn't like me opposing his plan to mule drugs for a cartel. He also tried to kill me a couple of time. We kicked him out of the MC. He had a rough night in county. He's dead now."

A faint smile flickered across Unser's face.

"Rough night? Funny how that happens," he said gruffly. He reached for his water on a tray in front of him. His hand shook. Jax took the plastic glass and held it for Unser so he could drink. "Thanks," Unser said leaning back on his pillows when he finished drinking.

"Yeah, rough nights in prison happen," Jax said with a grin.

"With your dad, it was guns not drugs. JT wanted the club . . . out of . . . guns," Unser said. He was fading fast right before Jax's eyes.

"We're out of guns. We're getting back to our roots bikes and brotherhood."

"So like JT. That was direction . . . he wanted. He was going to have a meeting and get the MC to vote guns out," Unser said.

"I never knew."

"Wanted to bring the MC back to roots too. That's why Gemma and Clay killed him."

"Tell me more," Jax said softly. He was going to get the story out of Unser now if he had to squeeze it out of him.

Could Gemma and Clay have really killed JT?