This place had to be cursed, Denise thought as she looked at the vacant lot where Charles had decided they should meet to hand Gemma off to her. The building that had once stood on this lot was the same one that Charles had tried to trap her and Juice in - it felt like it had to have been in a past life. Denise didn't even know if she remembered the person she was back then. But the fact still remained that much of the rubble and cement still remained here, and it had also become a dumping ground of sorts for junkers and stolen cars that people didn't want any longer. There was plenty around to obstruct the view of the handoff, and Denise leaned back against the chain link fence that she'd once needed to shimmy under, wearing a dress and no shoes, to escape the demolition.
It was only as she was driving out here to Stockton that she realized something - she didn't have plans for how exactly to clean up this mess at all. She only had one idea, and it held just as much likelihood of blowing up in her face as anything else. All Denise knew was that while having Gemma around was dangerous, so was letting her out of their sights. The last thing anyone needed was for Gemma to eventually grow loyal to Marks, even if only to save herself.
Denise felt her pulse quicken as she saw the black sedan pull up, but no one came out just yet. Anxiety began to envelop Denise as she wondered if perhaps she had just walked into something she couldn't get herself out of after all.
"Hold onto this," Charles said, holding out a Manila envelope towards Gemma, nodding for her to put it inside of her bag. "Don't open it. It's going to prove very valuable, but it's not a card you can play right away."
"You know that August is expecting me to deliver intel back to you on them," Gemma said skeptically, glancing out the tinted window and seeing Denise staring into the car - even if she knew that Denise couldn't see her, she was staring right inside the car, and Gemma felt herself shiver at the feeling that their eyes met now, for the first time since Gemma had tried to kill her. "What are we gonna do about that, Charlie?"
"You bluff for as long as you can," Charlie said, staring straight ahead and straightening his tie. "Give August something if you need to, but as little as possible. He thinks my sister is naive - that she just wants to take you back to Charming because she forgives you, and she misses you," Charles scoffed. "But you and I both know that she's not that person anymore."
"Yeah, sweetheart," Gemma said, pursing her lips slightly. "I know."
She inhaled deeply and fumbled around in her bag to pull out a cigarette, but Charles shot her a sharp glance. She raised her hands in surrender and gave a sigh. "So," she said with feigned nonchalance. "Showtime, then?"
"Yes," he said sternly. "Let's go."
The pair of them each stepped out of the car, and Denise flinched slightly but quickly resumed her stony expression, crossing her arms over herself as the pair walked closer to her, all of them wordless and grave until the stood a mere few feet from each other. Gemma caught a glance of a gun at Denise's waist and swallowed slightly, which didn't evade the younger woman's notice. She followed Gemma's gaze to the holstered Beretta, then finally met the woman's eyes again, her lips quirking briefly into a flicker of a smirk on one side.
"That's not what I came here to do," Denise said matter-of-factly. "But you can't trust anyone these days, can you?"
"Deedee -"
"I'll take it from here," Denise said stonily, interrupting Gemma and instead locking eyes with her brother, who still looked genuinely afraid of her. "What do you want?"
"Nothing."
"Don't fuck around with me, Charles," Denise snarled suddenly. "You never do anything that doesn't benefit you."
Charles's jaw clenched, knowing that his sister thought so poorly of him and had every right to. He shook his head, clearing his throat. "All I ask," he began hesitantly. "Is that if you find the opportunity to free me from Marks, that you take it."
Gemma felt foreign and out of place, standing here with the two siblings who seemed to have an endless capacity for staring one another down. The silence lingered until finally Denise spoke up, her voice an eerie calm as she stated, "If she stabs us in the back, I'm coming after you, Charles."
"Deedee -"
"Get in the car," Denise snapped impatiently, not caring to hear Gemma tell her that she wouldn't stab any of them in the back. Gemma knew her words meant nothing anyway, and she obliged, getting into the passenger side of Denise's car and watching Charles drive away first. She stared out the window, and when she turned back to look at Denise, she saw the younger woman holding the Beretta lazily in her hand. Gemma flinched and let out a string of curses, leaning towards the window and away from Denise.
"I could do it," Denise said calmly, giving it a slight wave before tucking it away again. "But I won't."
Gemma's heart only felt normal again when Denise tucked it away again - she noticed that the younger woman's lips twitched slightly at the corners, and Gemma knew that there was a glimmer of the old spark in her, a sense of amusement. Maybe she could talk to her. Maybe there was still a way for her to win her way back into her family, if she could start with Denise.
"I was doing what I did for my family," Gemma said, straightening up proudly while Denise started up the engine and pulled out of the lot. "I was protecting them, like I'm supposed to. Deedee, I love you -"
"Yeah. You love me to death, right?" Denise scoffed, her eyes planted directly on the road. "This isn't an olive branch, Gemma. I don't trust you as far as I can throw you."
Denise's grip on the steering wheel was so tight that her knuckles grew pale and her hands shook slightly. Her jaw clenched, and Gemma continued to look ahead as well, unsure of what Denise had planned. She was at the younger woman's mercy. "I would've understood if it was just me," Denise said in a low voice that was barely audible over the crackling sound of the radio. "I would've understood that you were doing what you needed to for your boys. But it wasn't just me. It was Sofia - it was my little girl."
"Well, what do you want from me?"
"Nothing," Denise sneered. "I don't give a shit what happens to you anymore, Gemma," Denise said, though the sick feeling in her gut made her question just how much she meant it. "But there are still some people who do, and they're people who have been good to me."
Gemma inclined her head slowly in understanding, and Denise caught the motion from the corner of her eye as she finally hit the freeway. But Gemma struggled with silence. It didn't sit well with her. "I heard about - about Juice and Wendy -"
Gemma let out a small shriek when, at the mention of it, Denise jolted so substantially that even the steering wheel gave a jerk. "That's not any of your business," Denise said darkly. "You lost whatever right you had to wonder anything about my family."
She drew in a shuddering breath and straightened back up before continuing. "Where I'm bringing you, there are conditions - you don't set foot outside. You don't look for anything. You don't show yourself to anyone. You never show yourself to Abel again -"
"You can't tell me that I can't see my grandson -"
"I can tell you whatever the fuck I want, I'm the one with the gun, Gemma," Denise hissed. "You stay away from that boy. He's been good without you. He's gotten better - he's been seeing a therapist because of the shit you put him through, and he's finally okay again. Thanks to Wendy," Denise finished. Gemma raised her eyebrows in surprise. The fact that Denise was saying something good about Wendy was a foreign concept. It wasn't the way things worked. It threw off the balance, the requisite of seeking out a pound of flesh for a wrongdoing.
"If my husband sees you," Denise continued. "He'll probably kill you. And if your son sees you..."
Gemma's lips pursed at the insinuation that Jax would do something to her. He was capable of hating her, but she had raised him to have loyalties, the strongest of which was to her. She looked away from Denise, back out the window, and watched the scenery pass, growing more and more familiar as they drew closer and closer to Charming, to home. It might have been a blessing, if it was still her home, if she was still Queen - but now, everyone knew what the fallen queen of SAMCRO had done, and she hardly had any choice but to comply with Denise's conditions. Gemma knew that for the first time, the strings weren't hers to pull, and upon realizing this, she felt tears spring to her eyes. She had lost everything.
The greatest difference of all was that even her tears went unacknowledged by Denise, who at one point would have been the first to cry at the sight of Gemma crying. She felt herself growing blank and hopeless, unaware of the glances that Denise snuck in her direction. A part of Denise felt an ache at the sight of Gemma, looking more pale and more gaunt than she'd ever seen her. She'd told Wendy that family hated one another at times, but they were still family. Couldn't that still be true? It took her nearly the whole silent drive to consider her options now that Gemma was here, and by the time they pulled into the borders of Charming, the decision had been made.
It was over an hour before the car pulled to a stop behind a familiar building, and for a short while, Denise sat still, her breaths slightly heavy as though she was fearful of something - whatever it was that she planned on doing next. "You remember the conditions?" she said stiffly, undoing her seatbelt. Gemma nodded, glancing wordlessly at her surroundings. This couldn't be their destination - this was an unwarranted kindness. "Stay here until I come back for you," Denise said as she pushed open the car door and walked quickly to the back door of the building.
"Nero, open up!" she said, knocking on the door with the side of her small, bony fist with a series of dull thuds. "Nero!"
The older man's steps could be heard shuffling and drawing nearer until he opened the door for her, his face betraying a small amount of confusion.
"What you comin' around back for?" he asked, his brow furrowing. Denise glanced back over her shoulder and nodded at the car. Nero followed her gaze and slowly brought his hand over his mouth as he realized who he had just laid eyes on as Gemma's gaze met his. He shook his head in disbelief and exhaled heavily before looking at Denise.
"I need to know that you'll keep this a secret, that you'll fix this. No one can know she's here," Denise said, crossing her arms over himself, and while she did what she could to appear calm, Nero saw the glimmer of fear in her eyes that indicated that she knew the risk she was taking, the recklessness of this act. "They'll all hate me -"
"Why are you doin' this, Chinita?" Nero interrupted. "I don't -"
"Everything you said while I was staying here... that's the reason Juice and I are okay," Denise said, feeling the pressure of tears building up behind her eyes. "You gave me back my family. You gave me a chance to make things right with someone I love more than anything. Now, maybe we're even," she shrugged. Nero looked at her with a sad, scrutinizing expression for a moment before finally smiling and kissing the side of her head.
"I got you. You're a good person, Chinita," he said before starting to walk over towards the car, towards Gemma. As he walked out of earshot, however, Denise sighed and shoved her hands into her pockets.
"I'm not so sure," she muttered to herself. Now that she had made this Nero's issue to handle, his burden to bear, maybe she could move on. This had to be the last secret, she reminded herself. It had to be the last.
Harvey Mulligan thought it was only appropriate that he look his best when August Marks called and requested a meeting with him - August Marks, one of the most successful businessmen in the Bay Area, wanted a meeting with him.
The recent months had been frustrating. It wasn't that Melissa wasn't great - she was a sweet girl, and Harvey knew that he was lucky to have snagged her. The fact of the matter was, however, that she was so successful in her internship at the news network that he couldn't help but be frustrated with it. People always recognized her, always gave her credit for her work, and now, she had even landed a few stints as the anchor for the morning news. Harvey knew that if he could simply get in with August Marks and strike a good deal, he would assert the fact that he was the man in this relationship.
He was wearing his best suit and tie, fiddling with the knot at his neck while he stood in the waiting room of Marks Incorporated - for all he knew, this was a job interview. It was the opportunity of a lifetime, and damned if he wasn't going to be convincing. August Marks would never know that he was a struggling college grad whose fiancee was outdoing him at every pace.
"Mister Marks will see you now," the secretary said after receiving the communication through her earpiece. She stood, broad-shouldered with her hair tied back into a tight bun, and hit the button to buzz Harvey through the door. Harvey's hands were sweating already, and he wiped them on the legs of his pants so he wouldn't have damp palms to present to August Marks when he went to shake his hand. He walked into August Marks's office and made his way to the desk where the businessman in all his poise was already waiting for him.
"Mister Mulligan," August said, rising to his feet and reaching out to shake Harvey's hand with surprising warmth. "I appreciate your time today. Please, sit down."
Harvey couldn't understand why Denise - and now, Melissa, by association - hated the man so much. He oozed class and poise. He was everything that Harvey was sure one day, he'd very much like to be. Who cared if he wanted to close down a few dingy old businesses in a shitsplat town like Charming?
"Is there something I can do to help you, Mister Marks? I just want to apologize for my wife's involvement in that - that event in Charming," Harvey said quickly, sitting down as directed and shaking his head fervently. "It was in poor taste and I'm sure she's seen the error of her -"
"Oh, Mr. Mulligan," August said, waving his hand dismissively and averting his gaze downward. "I've already moved on from that incident. I just wanted to deliver my condolences to you."
"Condolences?"
"About your brother, Fabian?" August asked, his brow furrowing as though perplexed by his reaction. "I - was sure that you would," he said, shaking his head with a concerned expression. "I - I received this recently. I'm very sorry..."
Harvey's face remained confused as August reached into his desk drawer and pulled out the black prepaid phone that had been delivered by Juice and Brucey to the club. August flipped it open and scrolled to the photo he intended for Harvey to see and held it out towards him, and Harvey paled at the sight of his younger brother in such a state, tied up with a hose duct taped into his mouth. The look of terror on the younger man's face, the shadows of faceless men standing around him, all of it was enough to make Harvey felt sick.
"Fabian and I haven't - we hadn't spoken in months. Almost a year," Harvey said in a choked, sick-sounding voice, shaking his head in disbelief as he snapped the phone shut and slid it across the desk back to August. "The last I knew, he was trying to join that - that motorcycle club -"
"And that was what killed him. SAMCRO killed your brother," August said, shaking his head woefully. "They sent me that photo of him -"
"But why you?"
"Because your brother was helping me," August sighed heavily, wiping his hand gently over his mouth. "SAMCRO, they stole from me, you see. Your brother was going to help me regain possession of something very important. And they did this to him -"
"Shit," Harvey said with a shuddering breath. "My - my brother - excuse me..."
His voice trailed off as she got to his feet, barely avoiding knocking his chair over. He barreled his way out of the office, out of the waiting area without so much as a polite goodbye to the stoic receptionist as he hurried back out to his car, shutting the door behind him and slamming his hands against the steering wheel and letting out an agonized groan.
Family was family. His brother was his brother. Harvey already hated SAMCRO, because they were the reason he didn't have the woman he deserved. He should have had Denise Kwan - but instead, she was now Denise Ortiz. She belonged to that thug, to that club, and instead, Harvey was engaged to a woman who would spend the entirety of their lives upstaging him, emasculating him. Now, Fabian was dead. All he had wanted was to be part of that god forsaken club, and now it had cost him his life. Someone was going to answer for this, Harvey swore. Someone was going to pay.
A/N's
So now, Harvey's a wild card in the game too. I have some stuff planned for him and Melissa too that will pull them deeper into the world of SAMCRO, because - well, the more the merrier!
And Gemma's back in Charming! The consequences of Denise's choice come a little further down the line, so strap in for the long haul!
Also, though this story is still a long way from being done, I've also been considering posting up another story I had written with a different Son and a different OC in an AU where John Teller lives. Of course, I probably wouldn't start it until this one is over, but I have a lot of it written and I think it might be worth posting one day. But for now, this story has my full attention, and I actually am reconsidering the ending I've written for this one. Everything is up in the air! Whee!
Anyway - I know that a lot of you wanted to see Gemma get the axe, but that didn't happen for you here. But her actions are still not without consequences. Just trust me, what I have planned is going to be plenty of fun too! Thank you for all of your feedback! Until next time, cheers!