Finding Happiness Ch. 31
Slowly coming back to her senses, Luna could hear someone talking to her, a male voice. Shaking herself out of the fog, she looked up to concerned face of Hale. She could see his lips were moving, but she couldn't understand his words. Rubbing her hands over her face, looking into his blue eyes, "I'm sorry, what?"
Hale could see that she was in shock, but from everyone else Luna was the only one that was really close with him, he felt for her, he could see that she wasn't handling his death well. Clearing his throat. "I was asking, do you know anyone that would want to hurt your friend?" Trying to be as gentle he could.
She could feel the tears running down her face, her brain was trying to think. "Uh, no. He didn't mention anyone to me." Looking around she could see that it was just Hale, and some hospital officials standing around the waiting room, "Did someone call his mom?" she asked.
Letting out a sigh, "Yes. Unser is handling it now." Taking a moment, he needed ask, "Could this be related to SAMCRO?"
Her eyes shot up, her normal calm nature gone, standing up she got close to him, "ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW? NO, SAMCRO HAD NO CONTACT WITH CHARLIE, HE WAS AN OPENLY GAY BLACK MAN. SO YOU TELL ME YOU IDIOT." She couldn't believe that is what Hale would go to. She could feel her hand twitching, all she wanted to do is punch that shocked look off his face. Not wanting to go to jail, she stepped back.
In the few interactions he's had with her, she was always so calm, her reaction was startling, putting his hands up, "I'm sorry, I needed to ask."
Staring him in the eyes, "No you didn't, you wanted to. Your obsession with them is clouding your judgement. Charlie was my friend, not theirs. You knew that you just want to make it about them." Taking a needed breath, "Anything else, Deputy?"
Hale felt like an ass, "I'm sorry, Luna."
Not wanting to hear it, she needed to clean herself up, "Oh just incase you think I killed my friend; I was at the clubhouse, Lyla was getting her crow tattoo." She could feel her blood rising, if she didn't get away from him, she'd strangle him. "Anything else?" she spat at him.
Hale could see that she wasn't lying or holding anything back, her emotions were too raw. "No, I'm sorry." With that he turned on his heels, he was going to head to the victim's house to see if there was anything there, because the crime scene didn't provide anything. As he turned the corner, he watched Luna sink back down into the chair, covering her face with her hands to hide her crying. As the elevator opened, he knew that there were no witnesses, no cameras, the likely chance that someone would pay for this crime was almost 0.
Luna stared at the ceiling for God knows how long, she needed information, but she knew that Hale wouldn't share anything, Unser wouldn't either, being outside of the club had its disadvantages. But she was smart, and resourceful. Standing up she headed to the bathroom, she needed to wash her face and figure out her next step to get information. Looking in the mirror her eyes were red from crying, splashing cold water on herself, she looked again grabbing some paper towels to dry off her face, as she was tossing them away, she heard someone open the door and walk in. Turning her eyes towards the door, she saw that Kelly walked in. Watching her, she could see that she too was crying. Right now, Luna didn't have the ability to comfort someone else she was barely holding on to her grief.
Kelly watched as Luna went to the bathroom, waiting a few minutes, she soon followed. Opening the door, she could see that Luna was staring at her. Looking around the bathroom, she opened all the doors, checking to make sure it was just the two of them.
Luna watched her, "What are you doing?" she asked.
Seeing that they were alone, "Can you get justice for him?" she asked forcefully.
Her eyes widened, "tell me. Right now." Stepping in her space.
Kelly was not stupid, she was a biker's girlfriend or something, everyone knew that SAMCRO did what the cops didn't. Charlie saved her life, he helped get her clean, she owed him so much, "Can you get justice for him?" she said again.
Nodding her head, "Yes. I will." Waiting was hard, all she wanted to do is shake the older woman. "What do you know?"
Taking a deep breath, "Nothing, but he asked for you when he was brought in the AMBO, I was the first one to him, he said, "Tell Luna, Darby." That's all he said before he started to code."
Darby? Darby? Why did that sound familiar? After another tense minute, lightening hit her brain. NORDS. Turning her eyes towards her co-worker, "Why aren't you telling that to the cops?" It didn't make sense.
Kelly understood the question, "Charlie helped me get clean over a year ago, he didn't rat me out to where I lost my job, and you know that Charming PD can't do shit other than write tickets, and arrest drunks."
Nodding her understanding, "I'll handle it." With that she headed out of the bathroom, and out towards the parking lot, she was going to leave Luann's car there, she didn't want anything to blow back on the club. She was going to kill Darby.
Everyone sat around the clubhouse waiting, no one knew where she went, Luna in her rush must have dropped her phone, so tracing her wasn't going to happen. Happy was pacing back and forth, Jax looked like he was ready to snap, Otto was between staring at Happy with a death glare and worried about Luna. Each member was going through emotions of their little friend.
Gemma couldn't handle the waiting, whatever sent her running must have been bad, in the time she's known Luna, she's never seen her so scared. Looking over at Juice who was trying to break into her phone, which was a lot more difficult that anticipated, but I guess all those lessons on hacking were backfiring on him now. If the situation wasn't so solemn, she could have found some amusement in it.
She needed to do something, but honestly, she didn't know what she could do. Standing up she looked around the clubhouse, only members and family were in it, everyone else was to stay outside. Hell, she was even half tempted to call Unser and tell him to put out an APB on her. Heading off towards her and Clay's dorm, she needed a private moment to freak out. Walking into her dorm's bathroom, she looked at herself in the mirror, she wasn't big on prayers, but she sent a small one up to the big man and asked him to keep her safe.
Finishing up she washed her hands and sat down on the bed, she hated feeling helpless. She usually is the one comforting people in stressful situations, it was weird needing it. Lighting a cig, she took a deep pull, as she was exhaling her phone rang, not even looking at the ID.
"Hello?"
"Is the Gemma Morrow?"
Not in the mood for any games.
"Who's asking?"
"My name is Kelly Brown, I work at St. Thomas, I think I made a big mistake."
"OK, Kelly Brown from St. Thomas, I don't have time for games, so tell me what it is you want."
"Luna left here about 30 minutes ago, Charlie was attacked, he didn't make it out of surgery. Before he was whisked to the OR, he said "tell Luna, Darby." I don't know what that meant, but she did. I went back to work after I spoke with her, but it hit me, she said "she'd handle it." I don't know where she is going, but I don't want her getting hurt."
Closing her eyes, Gemma knew exactly what that meant. "We'll handle it, don't say shit, you hear me?"
Kelly took a deep breath, she knew that messing with SAMCRO wasn't great for your health, "I won't."
"Good."
Gemma hung up the phone and ran back to the bar. She was scared, Luna wasn't going to mess around, outside the club, Charlie was her closet friend. As she made her way into the hallway, she could see that it was still just family. "JAX, she's going after Darby." She yelled. Seeing everyone turning towards Gemma.
Jax stood up, "WHAT? WHY?" he asked.
"Charlie her friend from work died in surgery, his last words for Luna were "Tell Luna, Darby." Jax, she's going to hunt him down and kill him. You need to stop her, please. Jax." Gemma wasn't one to beg, but she wanted to protect her friend.
The room was eerily silent. Jax rubbed his face, "Jesus Christ." Looking over at Juice, "Find Darby, NOW."
Juice grabbed his laptop and started typing as quickly as he could, he could feel everyone staring at him, he wanted to get this information right. Looking at his screen, Darby had two phones, one was at the edge of Lodi, the other was closer to Oakland. "There's two possibilities, one in Lodi, one in Oakland. I don't know which one she's going to, are we even sure that she knows where she's going?"
Clay looked at Happy, "You ever tell her where his houses were?"
Happy thought back on everything he's ever told her, "No, I didn't, but she's not stupid Clay, she's gonna find out where he is."
Otto knew that was true, Luna was very smart, and resourceful. "We got to split up, we need to hit all 3 of his places, Hair Dog, the one in Lodi, and Oakland." Looking at Jax, it was his decision to make. "What do you want to do Prez?"
Looking around the room, "Split up, Otto, Tig, Juice, you guys hit the dog, Happy, Bobby, Opie, you hit Lodi, everyone else round up, you're with me." Stopping to think, they'd never make it to Oakland before her, reaching into his pocket, he dialed.
"What's good Ese?"
No time for pleasantries.
"Need a favor, man."
"What you need?"
"Luna is going after Darby, he killed her friend, if she's heading to Oakland, she's got a head start we won't catch her. I need you to sit on his house and stop her before she does something she'll regret."
"Shit, OK, me and couple of the guys will head over, what she look like?"
"Thanks, she's about 5'3, blonde hair, she was wearing a red tank top when she left the clubhouse."
"Got it, call you if she shows up."
Hanging up, he could see the questions on all their faces, "I called Alvarez, if she's heading to Oakland, we won't get to her, he's closer."
Gemma held her breath, this was dangerous, if Luna in her rage attacked the Mayans the peace that was finally felt between the clubs would be compromised. She watched as the guys filed out, she was hot on their heels, "Bring her home Jax."
Kicking his bike into gear, "We will." With that they headed out. The roar of the club taking off shook the windows.
Luna stared down at the man in front of her, holding her bat at his face, putting it under his chin, "I swear to God, I'll bash your fucking head in. Tell me where Darby is."
He was scared, he was supposed to watch the Dog alone tonight, they had all their crank stored here tonight. No one knew that it was being stored here. "Just take the drugs."
Tilting her head, "I don't give a fuck about your drugs, I want to know where Darby is, right now." She knew that he wasn't getting up, she was sure she broke his leg, "He killed someone I cared about tonight, so if you're willing to die for him, I'll work my way through your shitty gang, or you can just give him up and live to fight another day. I don't really care at this point." Raising the bat above her head, she was about to bring it down on his head.
Screaming realizing that she wasn't kidding, "HE'S IN OAKLAND. Please don't."
"WHERE IN OAKLAND?" she screamed. He all but drew her a map. She couldn't risk him getting to a phone, grabbing the chain off the door, she tied him up, and hit him hard enough to make him pass out. Running out the truck, she headed out towards Oakland.
Otto pulled up first to the dog, followed by Juice and Tig. He looked around; he didn't see any sign of Luna. Heading inside, they looked around at the mess, they found a very bloody NORD tied up in a chain. "Holy Shit. She didn't waste any time."
Tig was impressed, one girl did all this damage. Looking down, he felt for a pulse, "He's not dead." Turning around he found a bottle of liquor and poured it on the man. "Wake up shit face."
Grunting awake, the man looked around and saw 3 SONs standing over him, "Jesus Christ."
Otto looked down at him, "Who did this to you?" he demanded.
"A fucking psycho bitch." He yelled. "Aren't you going to untie me?"
Tig laughed, "First you tell what you told her, then we'll untie you."
"She came in here demanding to get to Darby, I told her he's in Oakland." Taking a breath, "Now untie me."
Otto stepped forward, "Is that the truth, is he in Oakland?"
"Yes man, I wasn't going to get my head caved in by that bitch for him." Hell, he didn't even want to be a NORD, but he needed a gang in prison.
"How long ago was she here?" Tig asked.
Looking around at the clock on the wall, "About 20 minutes ago or so."
Juice immediately called Jax, he picked up on the first ring, "She's heading to Oakland." Hanging up. Looking at his brothers, and back at the dude, they couldn't leave him there, but couldn't let him go, "I'll store him some place until it's over, GO."
Tig and Otto double timed it out the door, heading down towards Oakland.
Jax got the call from Juice and pushed his bike harder.
Luna pulled up half a block away from the address that asshole gave her. She needed to calm down and focus, she couldn't go in guns blazing, she needed a plan. Taking a second to collect her thoughts, she decided that walking the property to get an idea of what was going on inside was a good start. Getting out of the car, she looked around the area, no one was around, and the other house that was there was dilapidated. Grabbing her bat and making sure she had her KA-bar knife that her father gave her, she headed down the road, keeping her eyes out for any sign of danger.
Getting closer to the house, she could see that there were a couple lights on. Not wanting to just walk up, she knew that dealers tend to have some security around their stash houses, looking around, she could see that he only had some flood lights, checking the area again, she assessed their blind spots, before she moved, she could see that his Suburban was in the driveway, that would be a good cover until she could get to the side of the house. Creeping up, she made her way around his truck, pulling out her knife, she popped the two tires on the side she was using as cover, there was no way he was going anywhere fast. Not wanting to touch the SUV, she carefully maneuvered around it. Holding her breath, she made her move to the side of the house, moving as quickly and quietly as she could, not wanting to alert anyone in the house.
Peering into the window, she could see Darby and another man, she needed more visual confirmation on the first floor, using the house she kept to the siding, not wanting to trigger the flood lights, once she was at the back of the house, she could see that it was still only Darby and the other guy. Turning her attention towards the rain spout, she carefully scaled it, using her upper body strength she pulled herself onto the windowsill and carefully opened the window. Pleasantly surprised it didn't make a sound. As she dropped inside the house, she held her breath, she didn't want anyone to know that she was upstairs. Looking around she could see that it was empty making her way out to the hallway, she kept herself along the walls stepping lightly, opening each door checking the inside each room, once small upper level was cleared, she found some paint thinner and started pouring it on the floor, making her way towards the stairs she paused, listening for the men, smiling when she heard them both talking about some fight. She knew that they were in the front of the house, moving down the stairs she kept pouring the paint thinner as she descended the stairs.
Luna made her way towards the front of the house, holding her position, she could hear the other man saying that he was going to grab a beer, putting down the can, she headed towards the fridge, knowing that getting them to separate was key to her survival. Hiding behind the stairs she watched as he walked to the kitchen, his back was to her. Sneaking up behind him, she jumped on his back and put him in a headlock, it only took a couple seconds for him to pass out. She found some zip ties, grabbing his legs and arms she drugs him outside and placed him far enough from the house, while she wouldn't care if he burned, her target was Darby, if anyone tried to protect him. Taking his gun from his pants, she headed back into the house. It was time for him to watch his world burn.
"Whistler, where's that beer?" Darby yelled. His eyes never leaving the T.V.
Cocking the gun, "I think that beer's gonna be a while." She watched as he turned instinctively reaching for the gun in his pants, she fired a shot whizzing passed his head, "Don't. Next one's going in your face. Slowly."
Darby didn't know who she was, but she was not messing around, carefully he dropped his gun.
"Kick it towards me."
Doing what she said, "What do you want?" he asked. She didn't look like a junkie.
Tilting her head, "Your phone, drop it and kick it over."
Kicking it over, he looked at her, "What do you want?" he was getting nervous, no one was coming, he told his crew to stay in Lodi.
"Let's go for a walk, turn around slowly, it's a nice night for a walk." She waited for him to comply, she kept a respectable distance so that he couldn't get the jump on her, as he hit the door, she grabbed the lighter on the table and tossed it on the stairs, it didn't take long before the fire was racing up the stairs and back towards the kitchen. "OUT." She followed behind him not taking her eyes off him, he was good 5 feet away. "Turn around you piece of shit."
He watched as his hide out burned, "YOU'RE FUCKING NUTS, what do you want you bitch?" he wanted answers, he needed them.
Taking out the bullet clip, she tossed it aside, she watched as he stared at her, popping the bullet out of the chamber, she quickly disabled the gun. Tossing the pieces around her. "You killed my friend tonight, Charlie, so I'm going to kill you. Slowly. But I'm going to give you a fighting chance."
Darby blinked, all this for some nigger? "You're doing this for some nigger fag?" He honestly didn't understand.
As those hateful words left his mouth, she charged him, hitting him with an upper cut, sending him to the ground. Not wanting to give him time to regroup, she stomped down on his ribs, the sound of the crunch just egged her on. As he was rolled away to stand, she swept his feet out from underneath him, he hit the ground hard, using a rolling technique her dad taught her she was able to bring her heel straight to his face, rolling backwards she stood quickly, walking towards him slowly, he was done, his ribs were broken, his teeth were effectively kicked in, and just for good measure she brought her foot down on his knee, the scream that his body produced sent shivers down her spine.
Her eyes were blazing with anger, "HE WAS MY BEST FRIEND. WHY? WHAT DID HE EVEN DO TO YOU?"
Darby was scared, "He got into my business, saying that if I didn't stop selling near his nephew's school, he was going to call the cops. He should have kept his nose out my business." Even in this position he didn't couldn't see his situation.
Pulling out her knife, "Well, I'm your business now." Making her way over to him, she was going to slit his throat.
A shot fired in the air stopped her, turning towards the sound, she saw 2 Spanish men pointing their guns at her.
Alvarez and his son Esai watched as this little chick beat the hell out of Darby, if it wasn't for his promise to Jax he would have watched her. It was impressive. Firing a shot into the air, "Luna, Jax sent me he's on his way, don't do nothing stupid."
Clenching her jaw, her eyes burned with anger, but she recognized their Kutte; Mayans, she knew that they were at peace, any movement or threat towards them now could bring war to Charming. Turning her eyes, towards Darby, "You're dead, just not yet." Kicking him in the face she watched as the lights went out. Taking several steps back she threw the knife in her case and sat down on the ground, she knew that Jax probably wasn't too far behind them.
Alvarez pulled out his phone keeping his eyes on the girl, while he didn't know what set this off, she was impressive, he pulled out his phone, "I got her Jax. No he's not dead, but he's beat all to hell."
Esai walked up to her, not wanting to get to close, he put his gun back in his pants, "You OK chica?" he asked.
Not wanting to start anymore shit, she looked up at him, "I'm fine. No damage." Remembering the other guy, "Um, there's a dude in the back yard, he's tied up, I don't know what you want to do about."
His eyes got wide. Looking at his father, "She has someone tied up in the back, you want me to get him?" he asked.
Nodding to his son, he watched as he went around the back. "What did that fucker do to you?"
She could hear the roar of the bikes, slowly standing, "He killed my best friend."
Watching her, he could see there was more to the story, but she wasn't sharing, turning his attention to the sound of SAMCRO, he could see that they all were relieved to see her unharmed, she must be someone's old lady. Who ever the lucky bastard is, should keep her, not too many women can handle their shit like this.
Looking into the group of bikers making their way towards her, it was Jax's face that kept her quiet, he looked like he was ready to explode.
