Walk Away from the Son
Parker Sister Saga continues - Season 2 of SoA
Chapter 10 RUNAWAY TRAIN

RUNAWAY TRAIN: Part 2 – Retributions

Blind boys and gamblers, they invented The Blues.
We'll pay up in blood, when this marker comes due.
But what are the choices for those who remain…
The sign of The Cross… on a Runaway Train.

XXX

"See you later, baby." Rachel cood into the phone. She glanced over at Vix, who was doing a good job of ignoring her by cramming her mouth with an energy bar.

"That probably doesn't have much in the way of fiber." Rachel stated, hanging up the phone. She and Jaci had been worrying a lot about Vix lately, her diet one of many things. "Have you eaten lunch? What did you eat for breakfast?"

Vix eyed her friend. "You sound like Mama Rox, or my sister, knock it off. Besides, I thought we had an agreement, you don't question my eating habits and I let the kissy-kissy-mawah-mawah shit with Areola slide."

Rachel laughed and rolled her eyes. "Her name is Aurora and I DO NOT make kissy-mawah-mawah ."

"Yes you do! And for your information, this thing does so have fiber… it's in the caramelized peanuts." Vix cocked her head. "Aurora, hmmm? She sounds like a Disney Princess."

Rachel snorted. "Lucky for me she doesn't act like one."

The salon phone rang and Vix reached over and grabbed up the receiver. "Twisted Scissors."

"Is Ms. Parker available?" Inquired a professional sounding female voice.

"You got her? How can I help you?"

"This is Mrs. Tinsman at the Elementary school. You're on a list of contacts for the Winston children. No one has picked them this afternoon, school was dismissed two and a half hours ago. We tried to contact their father but he did not answer."

Well he wouldn't… since his ass is sitting in a holding cell down at the police station. Vix thought to herself. "It's alright, I'll be right there." Vix breathed into the phone before hanging up. "I need to borrow your car, you mind?"

"Nah, what's up?"

"Fuckin' Mary… flaked on picking up Ellie and Kenny." Vix grabbed the keys Rachel extended in her direction. "Thanks, chica."

On her way out the door she pulled out her cell phone, speed dialed a contact. She got voice mail, didn't that just figure. "Mary! It's Vix! I know Highballs and Video Poker at the VFW are relaxing but… did you forget something or some ONES rather? The kids are with me at Twisted… CALL ME the MINUTE you get this message."

XXX

After dropping Gemma off at TM to stand by for jail pickup, Jaci had some time to kill before she had to head back to town to fetch Vix after work. At Parker Place, she wandered outside and sat down on the wicker sofa. Running her hand over the cushion, she thought back to all the memories that had been made on the back deck, good and bad. She was a little surprised to find that memories didn't sting like they used to. Jaci sighed and propped her feet up on the fire pit. Pulling out her cell phone, she hit the number 3 speed dial.

Down in 'Bama Aunt Roxy answered on the second ring. "Hey, hey, baby girl."

"Hey, Mama Rox." Jaci replied with a smile in her voice. "How ya doin?"

"Doing great now. And to what do I owe this random pleasure?"

"Ehh...spent the day with a few other people's mamas...thought I would call mine and see how things were back home."

They spent a few minutes rehashing the goings on of Charming and Bama. Jaci recounted her day with Kipp and Marti, gave her a detailed run down of everything cute thing Abel had done recently and dodged inquiries about her love life or lack thereof.

"Well if you won't expound about YOUR love life, how about dishing on your sister's? How is Vix doing with the whole Juice...thing?" Roxy inquired.

Jaci blew out a sigh. "She's...um...being weird, very un-Vix. Hell, I'd go as far to say that she's acting like ME."

"Say what?"

"Well you know how she usually is...one thing ends and she's got a replacement lined up with the speed and accuracy of a guided missile."

Roxy laughed slightly. "That girl ain't never been one for down time."

"Exactly." Jaci agreed. Not one for downtime, leave it to a Southern Mama to find a nice way to say her daughter is a bit of a slut. "I think this thing with Juice was the real deal and now that she's gotten the rug pulled out from under her, she's sorta reeling. She's taking it slow; works at Twisted – which is doing remarkably well in the short time it's been open by the way. She has her school stuff, which again is going great." She added to herself… if you overlook the fact that her Ex beat the living piss outta her professor in a fit of unfounded jealousy. "And then she comes home. She's constantly doing for the SAMCRO kiddos and she's taken to pouring WAY too much attention and love on this new damn puppy but that's IT. She's seemin' to be toeing some self-mandated line, don't want to do anything bad to get back to Juice, which is in and of itself hard to wrap my head around. I mean it's not a secret he seems to have moved on." Clarifying in her mind Porn Actresses and Crow Eaters such as they are. Jaci sighed again, "I don't know, Mama, she doesn't want to go out, WON'T go out, REFUSES unless Rach or me drag her some place or other and even then she balks. Honestly, she's acting like me with the whole Dean breakup."

"Damn."

"I know."

Roxy thought over the ramifications of Vix being introspective and responsible and frowned. "J, I hate to say this...but I think I'd feel better if she was out whoring around a little bit. Fall off the horse and get back on kinda thing." Roxy snorted a humorless laugh. "Can't believe I'd see the day when I'm straddling the fence on Vix being good. I'm stuck between being relieved and being worried. Good lord, what kind of parent am I?

"I know what ya mean. I've waited for her to grown up FOREVER and now I just want to poke her with a stick and tell her to go be Crazy Ass Vix again." Jaci mused.

XXX

At the Charming PD station, Unser had Hale cornered.

"Made Gemma a promise… to keep the dirty secret, same promise you just made." Catching the Deputy Chief's uncertain look, Unser explained, "I need you to know who Zoebelle IS… so YOU can make your OWN decision about what's BEST for Charming."

Hale stood up, thinking of the members of SAMCRO currently spending time in his holding cell along with the three members of LOAN that had also been involved in the street brawl. "I'm gonna cut them loose with a warning."

"Good." Unser nodded.. "We can't afford to feed 'em dinner anyway." Unser nodded at Hale. "Hey, you familiar with anyone on the San Joaquin Zoning Commission? The County is looking into Elliott Oswald's land…. threatening eminent domain." He handed over the copy of the letter he'd gotten from Clay Morrow.

Hale took a look at the letter and then walked out of the office and down the maze of hallways to the holding cells. He proceeded to let the Sons and the others go, advising them that any more altercations would have them doing 30 days for disturbing the peace. He asked Clay and Jax for a word in private and gives the them the DVD showing members of their club torching Darby's Meth Lab. He also told them about a real estate scheme his older brother, Jacob, and a buddy were involved in a few years back. Apparently now, Jake's buddy had a new job – SanJaw Zoning Commissioner.

Clay smirked with a shake of his head, "There's no highway?"

"Doubt it."

"Why are you giving us this?" Jax questioned.

"Because I'm not on anybody's payroll." Hale advised matter-of-factly.

XXX

"I'll see you six weeks, Sonya. Bye now!" Vix says with a smile as her latest patron exited the salon.

"What do you call a cheese that don't belong to you?" Kenny asked at random.

The petite blonde seated in the pedicure chair shrugged. "I dunno, what?"

"Nacho cheese." He replied with a huge grin. "Get it? Not-Yo…Nacho."

The girl laughed, "I get it… cute."

"I have another one… wanna hear it?"

"I think you've entertained Aurora enough for one day, Kenny." Vix interjected. "Have you finished your homework?" The look on the kid's face said it all. "Your sister is upstairs working on her project. You go sit at the front desk and do your math."

"One more joke! Please, Vix!" Kenny pleaded.

She rolled her eyes and looked apologetically at Aurora who laughed. "Fine one more.. that is it! Hit us with it, Mac Daddy."

He held up the book 1001 Jokes and Riddles, "Mmmm, why'd the cookie go to the doctor?" He eyed the girls, waiting. They both shrugged. "Because he was feeling crummy!"

"Oh good lord." Vix laughed and then pointed at the desk. "Home work, now!" She glanced over at Rachel's dish-du-jour. "Thanks for taking that in your stride."

The chick shrugged. "No problem... cute kid."

Vix laughed, "Yeah he is… but aren't all kids? I am sure someone said that about Charles Manson or Lee Harvey Oswald at one point or another."

"You may be onto something there with Kenny."

Vix turned around and looked at Ellie who was standing on the bottom step, "No! Baby Girl, I am not… I wasn't insinuating anything bad about your brother, sweetie. I was just meanin' ….you can't judge things by how they look. It's the stuff underneath that matters more."

Ellie shrugged, "Well, he likes to melt the faces off his GI Joes with the sun and a magnifying glass. I'm not sure that paints a picture of good mental health."

"It's a boy thing, sweetie. I've got two little brothers and they did the same thing." Aurora stated.

Vix eyed the woman. "That is not exclusively a boy thing. I played with Tonka trucks and in mud puddles and dissected every Barbie doll I was ever given. Me and my sister preferred karate to dance class and num-chuck over bangle bracelets."

"And yet here you are without a trace of Lesbianic tendency." Rachel said with a laugh as she finishing straightening up her station after a busy day. Vix rolled her eyes.

"Um, do you think this is really a chat to have in front of the little ones?" Aurora mentioned.

"This ain't nothin.'" Ellie stated as she plopped down in the other pedicure chair and flipped on the massage function. "This girl in my class, Meredith, her parents got divorced and her dad told her mom that she turned him off women. Thanks to her he was now gay… and not just a little gay, a whole lot gay. Full on George Michaels gay, whoever that is."

While Aurora sat staring at the girl in shock, Vix and Rachel exchanged glances and cracked up.

"Ok, I am outty. My shift at Big Daddy's starts in an hour and a half." Rachel declared. "You ready, A?"

"Yeah… let me just hit the ladies room and then I'll be all set."

Vix waited until the chick disappeared into the rest room and she eyed her best friend. "Have fun with her, Rach… but I am not sure Ms. Dooney & Burke is gonna pan out."

"Doubt it." She replied with a grin, "I'll take what I can get… don't wait up."

"GRAMMA!" Kenny announced as Mary walks in the front door of the salon.

XXX

Roxy Parker strolled into the offices at Parker & Sons Construction. Her arms were laden with several bags. She deposited them on the desk inside the door and headed in the direction of the small corner office. "Knock… Knock." She said with a smile, leaning up against the door frame.

BB Parker looked up from a stack of papers. His normally neat and tidy office looked like a twister had ripped through it. "Hey, baby." He smiled at seeing his wife. "Whatcha doin' down here? I thought tonight was that dice game with your girlfriends?"

"Mohammad couldn't come to the mountain … so I brought the mountain to him. Well, technically just meat loaf, mashed sweet potatoes, lima beans and pecan pie." She smiled. "And my Bunco game.. that's tomorrow night."

BB sat back in his chair and ran his hands over his face wearily. "Christ.. I don't know what fuckin' day of the week it is anymore."

"For the record it's Wednesday. You need to hire another office assistant, baby. You want me to run an ad? Interview some folks?"

"No! No I don't!" BB answered almost adamantly. "You recall what happened the last time?"

"I do. What was wrong with Lorlyn?"

"What was wrong? Baby… she laughed out loud at the plumbing contractor when he used the phrase, Laying Pipe. And burst into giggles every time he'd come around. Now, I get the double meaning but we are supposed to be professionals." BB explained. "And well Trace caught her tokin' in the porta-john at lunch time.. twice."

Roxy scoffed, "Well you could have given her another shot. I mean the boys seemed pleased with her while she was here."

"Of course they were… her rack coulda been used as a floatation device in the event of a emergency airplane landing over water."

"Well at least she was willing to give you boys a chance. I mean the one before her, what was her name… Brenda?"

"Beverly."

"Yes. Beverly. Ya'll had her quitting in under an hour."

BB smiled. "Forty two minutes and thirty five seconds, new company record. Came in my office lookin' a shade usually reserved for snowmen, said she couldn't work here. Motor was frightening her right out of her Easy Spirit shoes." After a quick pause to chuckle over the memory, he held up his finger and added, "But in our defense, that was the day Motor got his tooth pulled so he was a bit grouchy. "

Roxy sighed and sat down heavily in the chair on the opposite side of the desk. "Tell me how I can help."

"Make me a clone of Jaci." BB quipped.

Roxy inhaled sharply, "Awww, Billy. Baby you miss 'em... you miss our girls."

"Of course I do.."

"You want 'em to come home!" She exclaimed. " know you think my Mama-Genes are in overdrive, but I just can't help worryin'. They are all that way away from us, from people that care 'bout 'em." She caught BB's look, "Oh don't you go preachin' to the choir 'bout club love, I get that. But our girls need their family...their blood."

BB nodded, "What's got you worried this time?"

She sighed, "I had a long chat with J today. We're worried 'bout Vix. I think Juice has gone and damaged my baby."

"Why, what the retard do now?"

"Nothing… that's the problem. This whole mess is all his doin' and he ain't doin' a damn thing to fix it. Acordin' to J, Vix ain't even lookin' to move on. Billy… Jaci danced around usin' the word PINING.. but it sounds a lot like that." Roxy frowned at her husband, who looked amused. "Why aren't you worried? This is very un-natural. Apparently Vix is kinda patterning herself after Jaci and.. .?"

"Well, praise damn Jesus!" BB exclaimed.

"Don't blasphemy, Billy Bob Parker."

BB chuckled, "Come on, girl- there are a hellva lot worse people for Vix to mimic than J."

"That may be true, IF she wasn't mirror-imagin' J at rock bottom. I am not jokin', babe. I am worried.. Why aren't you worried?"

"Because I ain't. What you are callin' damage, others may look on as a good thing. YOU need to remember, baby- you are not seein' all sides."

Roxy cocked an eyebrow. "Whatdya know? You heard somethin' that I ain't?"

BB shook his head. "I was talkin' in general, baby. No one knows everydamnthing 'bout anydamnthing. And this situation with Vix, there are only two ways it can go. Either they eventually work their shit out or they don't. But I'd hold off settin' Vix up on the spinster shelf just yet cause I am thinkin' that this whole lack of action on her part is due to HER getting the tables turned." He tapped his head. "Memory serves… she was always the one held the reigns down here. Relationship shit started and ended by Vix's shot callin.'"

He watched his wife mull over all of that for a bit then added. "You're baby girl will survive, honey. Now... I think that meatloaf and pie are callin' my name."

XXX

"And with that my dear...we call it a day!" Vix announced dramatically as she tossed the dustpan of hair into the trash. She put the final touches on tidying up her workstation and made sure the rest of the salon was spic and span and ready to go for tomorrow's workday.

"Bout time." Jaci teased. She shut the salon's laptop and shoved it into the carrying bag. "I can look over all this stuff at home on the couch."

"Sounds like a plan. Hey, we got anything in the fridge at home? I'm freakin' starvin'." Vix asked and then snapped her fingers and called out, "Come on, Spawn, let's hit the road, buddy."

Jaci pursed her lips and did a mental review of the fridge at Parker Place, not empty but didn't have anything she wanted to eat. She was pretty damn hungry too, after Rosen had bailed on lunch, she hadn't really felt like eating but she surely did now. She checked her watch. "Let's just swing by Bergen's and grab something, my treat. We've got almost an hour till they close."

"Don't have to ask me twice." Vix replied with a grin and headed toward the front door. Jaci followed behind, laughing at Spawn who was scrambling to catch up to Vix.

"Damn, pup's ready to go." Jaci said with a laugh.

"He wants onion rings...he told me." Vix replied as she held the front door open for her pup and her sister. "What? Don't give me that look, he DID!"

XXX

Weston watched the Parker sisters kill the interior lights and then exit the salon through the front door. They were laughing and smiling and seemed to be teasing each other as the little bastard dog ran around their feet playfully. Laugh now, bitches. Those smiles will be wiped off your faces soon enough.

The older sister clicked her car remote and opened the driver side door her black Mustang which was parked a few spaces down from the salon. She pulled the laptop bag strap from off her shoulder and placed the bag on the driver's seat then slammed the door shut and with a beep, locked the car. She jogged a few steps to catch up with her younger sister and the dog and the trio headed down the sidewalk. Where the fuck are they going? Go HOME already, fuckers. Weston gave them a few moments head start and then stepped further out onto the sidewalk across the street. He craned his neck and watched the happy little crew walking toward the end of the street.

"Where are they going?" Hoover asked from beside Weston.

"Fuck if I know." Weston spat back but a few moments later, the girls made their destination clear. "They're fuckin' eating dinner."

"Shit." Hoover breathed. "What do we do? Go for it or wait?"

Weston glared at the vacant street. "Fuck it...let's go. This won't take long. Get your shit together, grab your buddy and meet me at the back."

XXX

Across town in the SAMCRO Chapel, the Sons were all present and accounted for and seated around the table for the all important vote. From his President's chair, Clay spoke. "It's been a shit year. I know we were laying low, trying to shake the ATF stink off. I would NEVER put a member of this club at risk but we underestimated Zoebelle, the League's reach..."

XXX

Hoover took off back through the cigar shop while Weston strolled down the sidewalk for a long ways and then cut across the street. He finally reached the back courtyard of the salon and stood like a sentry at its entrance. He watched as Hoover backed his truck up an alley that was adjacent to the courtyard, killed the headlights and quietly stepped out of the truck.

XXX

Clay looked at each member's face, trying to gauge if his message was hitting home before he continued presenting his case for swift action. "And now he hurts a brother. If we don't act now, it could be taken as a sign of weakness… they will do it again. We've got an obligation to this club, this town to crush this threat. Retaliation must be harsh and immediate. It's what we do… it's what we've always done."

XXX

Bergen's Cafe was not a hot bed of activity at 8:15pm. There were a few diners seated inside, mostly getting an after dinner desert. Jaci and Vix grabbed a table at the outside dining area. They said hi to a few familiar faces and smiled as some of the other patrons goofed around with Spawn.

Vix tied Spawn's leash to the wrought iron chair as they settled in and started to peruse the menus. She closed hers three seconds later. "Don't even have to look at this thing. I know what I'm getting."

The waitress arrived and Vix put in her order for a cheeseburger, onion rings and a Coke. Jaci winced at her sister's order...but it was a wince of envy. She would love to just say ditto and order the same fat and calorie extravaganza but since the high blood pressure diagnosis, she was trying to cut down on the fatty meals she ate. Jaci blew out a sigh. "I'll have the Greek Salad and a water...with lemon."

"Ooh, lemon! Really? You rebel you!" Vix teased. "First no alcohol and now salad and water? What's with the hippie eating habits?"

Jaci smirked at her younger sister. If you knew how close I was to a STROKE you wouldn't be talking so much shit to me. But there was no way she was dumping that knowledge on Vix anytime soon, girl had too much to worry about already. She shrugged and chided, "No one needs a burger and rings this late at night."

"I do." Vix fired back with a grin. Spawn let out a happy bark from his perch at her feet. Vix laughed and rubbed the top of his head. "And little man here does too!"

Jaci rolled her eyes. "You and that dog are getting WAY too friendly."

"Jealous?"

"Oh very much so." Jaci replied with deep sarcasm. The girls chatted and enjoyed the mild night. They started a top ten list for replacement names for Half Sack as they waited for their food. It felt good to hang out and just laugh. Their orders arrived and the girls tore into their meals. Vix ate half an onion ring and tossed the remaining half down to Spawn.

"Vix, do NOT get that dog started on people food. He'll be a beggar."

"Oh lighten up!" Vix chided as her phone rang. She cocked an eyebrow at the called id and answered. "Hello?"

Mary Winston's voice sprang to life on the other end of the phone. She sounded a bit...stressed. "Vix? Do you know if Ellie left her back pack at your place? She can't find it anywhere and she has that project due tomorrow. She's in melt down mode and we've looked everywhere in this house!"

Vix sighed and restrained herself from telling Mary to take a pill. "Um, yeah, it's probably at my place then. She flipped the phone away from her lips and asked her sister, "You see a backpack at the salon?" Jaci shrugged. Vix went back to talking to Mary. "I'll take a look. You want Jaci and me to drop it off on our way home?"

"You live in the opposite direction of here." Mary reminded. "Ellie isn't gonna relax til she finds it. Are you still there? I can run back over..."

Vix nodded. "I'll meet you there in a few minutes, we're just up the street at Bergen's."

XXX

The floor was now open for Jax to plead his case against immediate action. He looked at Clay. "I agree with everything you're saying." He looked around the table at his brothers-in-arms. "We underestimated Zoebelle, gotta protect our club... our town. Retaliation is indisputable. But if we do it now, we're doing it HALF BLIND." Jax warned. "These guys are not gangsters. They're monied, smart and connected, on both sides of the law. They wanted us to blow up Darby's meth lab." He laid the DVD on the table. "That us doin' it… caught on security camera. Op's face plain as day. Otto getting jumped was bait Zoebelle knew we'd take. But out here, he's not using muscle… he's using the law. He expects us to retaliate. He wants it .. and he's ready for it."

XXX

Weston took a quick glance in all directions to make sure they were alone and then let out a low whistle. Hoover stepped to the side of the truck and lifted out a heavy wooden crate and came walking toward the courtyard.

"Gimpy...you going to be able to keep up?" Weston teased as the third member of the wrecking crew slowly crossed the street alongside Hoover.

"I'll be fine." Jenkins hissed as he limped past Weston and gave the man a cold glare.

A slight figure appeared beside him.. Weston looked over as a scrap of paper was held in his direction. "The alarm code?"

Polly Zoebelle nodded with a smile. "It was almost criminal how easy it was breaking into an security company database."

XXX

Jax looked from one member to the next in a last ditch campaign effort. " I love Otto. I wanna give him his eye back… but not at the expense of my club. We gotta wait… due diligence… learn."

XXX

Vix ended the call and took another bite of her burger. She stood up as she chewed and took a big gulp of soda. "Gotta run back to the shop. Ellie needs her book bag. Can you keep an eye on Spawn?" Jaci nodded and Vix headed for the exit gate. She was on the sidewalk when she hollered back to Jaci. "Hey! Keep your hands off my rings! I know you want em!"

Jaci waved her off but stared at the stack of onion rings. She smiled and snagged one when her sister was out of sight. She sighed, enjoying the greasy goodness. Spawn stood up and whined slightly. "Sit down, boy. You ain't getting shit from me...I'm not ya mama."

XXX

Clay nodded as Jax finished talking. "Let's vote. Immediate retaliation?" He raised his hand and said, "Yea!"

XXX

The intruders entered the salon through the back door without notice. Once inside, Hoover sat the heavy wooden crate down on a counter top and they gathered around it...well the men did. Polly had immediately taken to trashing the salon. She grabbed anything that wasn't nailed down and proceeded to throw it against a wall or to the floor.

Weston watched her with a mix of annoyance and amusement. "What the hell are you doing?"

"What's it look like?" Polly asked sarcastically.

"Get over here." Weston demanded. "We have something BRIGHTER planned."

Polly tossed one last bottle of shampoo across the room and walked over to where Hoover had removed the lid of the crate. Weston stared at the contents and nodded his approval. "Molotovs... nice. What'd you use?"

Hoover shrugged. "Little fuel, little soupy goo to make it stick where it splatters. All household, easy to get stuff... nothing traceable."

"Not even the bottles." Jenkins added. "And we used towels, like you said she uses here in the salon, as the wicks."

"Perfect." Weston said with a sharp nod. He pointed to Polly and then to the front window. "You're on look out duty...yell if someone comes by."

Down the block, Vix strolled toward the salon, trying to remember the last time she had seen that damn book bag. She hummed for a few seconds and then realized Ellie had been upstairs in the office researching Volcanoes on the lap top.

XXX

The vote went counter-clockwise around the table. Tig nodded. "Absolutely...yea."

Chibs frowned and shook his head, "Don't feel right… so, no."

XXX

Weston pulled a bottle from the crate and shoved it into the hands of Jenkins and then grabbed another and gave it to Hoover. "Spread the love, boys. Start upstairs, work your way down and back."

The two men nodded and headed for the stairs. Hoover bounded up the first few but Jenkins pulled up short and stood staring at the rail with a frown. Weston glared at him from across the dimmed light salon. "What the fuck's your problem? Get going?"

Jenkins swallowed hard and shook his head. He thought back a few month earlier when Tig Trager had thrown him down a flight a stairs. His leg never healed right and unless he suddenly won the lottery and could afford about three surgeries, he would always walk with a limp. "I don't like stairs...not anymore." He confessed quietly.

"Don't be such a pussy." Hoover called out but ran back down and snatched the fire bomb from his friend's hand. He ran back upstairs and walked around for a moment trying to pick the best location before he spotted the office. Holding one of the bottles under his arm, he lit the rag wick of the other. He gave the flame a moment or two to really begin burning the wick and then flung the bottle against the front of the desk. The bottle's contents exploded all over the desk and fire engulfed it with a WHOOSH.

Hoover grinned mischievously and ran out of the room. He bounded down the stairs just has Polly spotted movement coming toward the salon. She squinted and whispered, "Shit!" She turned around and hissed at the guys, "That Parker bitch is coming...hurry it up!"

"Move your ass!" Weston ordered. Hoover complied by lighting the bottle in his hand and then quickly slamming it down on the stairs.

XXX

Opie eyed Clay and nodded, "Yea."

Piney glared at his son and stubbed his cigarette out forcefully. "NAY!"

XXX

As Vix reached the front door of the salon, the slightly muffled sound of glass breaking stole her attention. She frowned and looked inside salon through the glass front door. Confusion made her freeze as her brain tried to make sense of the vision before her. What the hell? Is that FIRE? The flames from the burning stairwell grabbed her attention. "OH SHIT! NO!"

XXX

The vote moved to Juice. All eyes are on him and he looked uncomfortable with the attention. He glanced at Tig, who he found shooting him a hard stare. His eyes moved to Jax and his expression was almost apologetic as he held up his hand and cast his vote, "Yea!" The moment the words leave his lips he closed his eyes and hung his head.

XXX

Vix immediately tried to push open the front door, her mind only thinking of getting inside to put out the flames. She bumped up against the locked door twice before realizing what she needed to do. "Damnit...keys!"

She pulled her shop keys out of her pocket and then proceeded to drop them on the front stoop in her panic. She knelt down and grabbed them, began flipping to the right one. "Come on...come on!" She kept sneaking peaks inside the salon and groaned as she watched the flames spreading. "Shit!" She looked deeper into the salon and could have sworn she saw movement in the back of the salon. A moment later, her suspicions were confirmed when more breaking glass was heard and a fire sprang to life in the back store room.

"What are you doing?" Weston yelled and Polly grabbed the two bottles and stole the lighter from Hoover's hands. She went running toward the front of the salon, to where Vix was now desperately trying to get inside.

Polly turned and smiled coldly over her shoulder. "You said I could throw one...so I am!"
She lit the first bottle and launched it toward the huge glass front window of the salon. The bottle hit it's bulls eye and the entire window exploded. Flames jumped to life around the wooden window frame.

Vix let out an involuntarily surprised scream. She finally slid her key into the lock. Just as she was pushing open the door, Polly launched her second burning bottle. The throw was rushed due to Polly trying to run backwards at the same time but the bottle slammed against the front door, shattering the glass. Seeing the motion, Vix turned away from the door and threw her arm up to block the impact as glass shards flew at her, digging into her skin. Fire sprung to life and danced around the door frame. She managed to turn back in time to watch the figures running out of the back of the salon.

XXX

Jaci took another bite of salad and began to chew...it wasn't even close to being as good as Vix's rings, but oh well. She looked around her plate for a cherry tomato and had just stabbed it when the slight sound of glass breaking shattered the quiet of the cafe's patio. Jaci frowned and looked down the street, not sure of what she had heard. She glanced over to another couple that was dining on the patio. They had the same confused look on their faces.

"Was that a wreck? Sounded like glass maybe." One patron commented.

Jaci shrugged. "I didn't hear any brakes."

"That's usually the cause of wrecks...no brakes." A third patron teased as he got up from his seat and walked out onto the sidewalk staring down the street. He started to walk a few steps in the direction of the noise. "Well, something's going on down there. Hell I think that's fire!"

The mention of fire grabbed Jaci's attention and she was up and moving before she realized it. She walked to where the patron was standing on the sidewalk. He pointed down the street. "See? That's fire, right?"

She blinked in disbelief for a fraction of a second and started walking further down the sidewalk. Her heart began to pound as her brain started calculating the approximate location of the flames. She felt like she was walking in quicksand. Oh shit. Please don't let that be...

XXX

"Motherfuckers!" Vix screamed. "NONONONONO!" The blaze was now burning full throttle.. a mix of smoke and flames, destroying her beloved salon. Her mind flashed on the fire extinguisher located in the break room and she went to lunge through the burning entryway, just as a hand clamped down on her shoulder and yanked her backward. She hit the sidewalk fast and hard, landing on her coccyx. The impact knocked the wind out of her. She inhaled deeply trying to regain her lost breath only to choke on the smoke filled air around her.

XXX

Jax sighed with a resigned look on his face.

Clay nodded, " 4-2!" He looked at Bobby, "Where you at, brother?"

Bobby seemed to mull something over in his head. Even as he made his choice known, he appears to be conflicted. "Smart vote...nay."

XXX

"Hey, miss! Your dog!" One of the diners called out but Jaci didn't hear the reminder. Her brain was done was with calculations and the sum wasn't good. That's the salon...oh shit...Vix...the backpack...INSIDE... VIX! She shoved past a gawker at the end of the cafe's lot and started to sprint down the sidewalk.

XXX

Jax nodded. "Nay! 4-4, no majority." He states the obvious outcome of the vote. "We wait on retaliation."

Clay barely tapped the gavel to signal the end of the meeting.

XXX

As she tore down the sidewalk at a dead sprint, Jaci couldn't remember the last time she had ran so hard. Sure she had ran at the gym but she hadn't ran with such explosive speed probably since her softball days in college. Her feet slammed onto the pavement in perfect churning rhythm as her arms pumped to try and propel her faster. As she ran she kept hearing a noise, a loud shrieking noise but she couldn't figure out what it was. It finally dawned on her that the noise was coming from her. She was screaming her sister's name over and over as she ran.

"VIX! VIX!" She screamed followed by a volley of prayers, pleads and demands. "Let her be ok, please let her be ok, don't do this to us, don't do this!" She gulped in air and bore down on the salon.

The street lights illuminated her path but they really weren't necessary. The flames blazing out of the front window of the salon and were a brilliant orange and red against the blackness of the night. As she ran the last fifteen yards, she saw two figures struggling in front of the salon and at that exact moment she heard her sister scream. The figure on the ground was Vix...and she seemed to be trying to fight off a man kneeling above her.

XXX

Most of the Sons file out of the chapel but Clay and Bobby remained behind. Tig watched Juice make a beeline for the club house bar, grab a beer and take a dispirited pull. The look on the young biker's face was a storm of emotion that the SAA apparently felt the need to put a stop to. He walked up next to the kid and nodded at him, "You voted the right way."

Juice shrugged. "Who's right and who's wrong is a matter of opinion. And you don't need to tell me the rule about those… I know it!" He sighed and continued. "Didn't have a choice on how to vote… you knew that when you hit me with the low blow."

"Vix?" Tig asked with a smirk. "Come on... do you really expect different from me?"

"Not really, no."

"That heart of yours is gonna get in the way, man. People know they can use your girl to sway your actions."

"She doesn't sway my vote or actions." Juice scoffed. "Do I want to see her hurt? No! End of story."

XXX

Jaci's adrenaline red lined. "Get the fuck off her!' She screamed as she slammed into the man with a bone jarring precision tackle that would have made football coaches across the nation proud. The man was knocked clear of Vix and landed on his side on the pavement. Jaci landed half on top, half off of the man but quickly scrambled to grab hold of him. "What the fuck are you doing? What'd you do to her?" She screamed as she grabbed fistfuls of the guy's opened button up work shirt.

"Goddamnit! Get the fuck off me!" The man protested as he tried to push away the hysterical woman that had just knocked the hell out of him. "I didn't do shit! Get off!"

The sound of the man's voice sent instant fear running through Jaci's veins. She recognized him and anger shot through her. Darby? "What the fuck did you do?"

XXX

Tig laughed, almost snorted out loud at the kid. "I think you need to flip the page man… The Juice N Vix Epic Saga is far from over."

Juice rolled his eyes and went to walk away. "Whatever."

"Come here, retard. We need to have a little talk." Tig ordered. The bullshit had went on too long. Juice stopped and turned and followed behind the older man.

Over in the far corner of the club house Tig sighed, "I got two questions for you and I want honest answers, no bullshit." Tig warned as Juice watched him warily. "Do you love Vix?"

Juice didn't hesitate. "Yes."

"You want her back?"

"Yes." Juice nodded solemnly.

"Ok, then you need to fix some shit. And because I am feeling... generous, I'm gonna give ya some advise." Tig said bluntly. "And before we ever get started, this conversation we're about to have…I'll deny ever saying any of it." Tig rolled his neck and got serious.

XXX

Vix sucked in a deep breath and rolled to her side to see Jaci half straddling the man that had held her down and administered a series of sharp strikes to her upper body. Her sister had one fist cocked back next to her ear, ready to punch him. Vix turned and looked at her salon and the flames and the smallest bit of hope flared inside of her. Maybe there was still time to save it. Vix got to her feet and started toward the salon.

Darby spotted Vix making another try for the salon. Damn that girl won't quit! He tried to sit up but Jaci pushed him back. "Get the fuck off me!" He yelled as he twisted underneath her and managed to kick her backwards. Jaci stumbled back onto her ass and watched as Darby got to his feet and lunged to grab Vix by the back of her shirt. That move sprung Jaci into action. She jumped to her feet and scrambled to protect her sister. She landed a hard right hand upside Darby's temple that he never saw coming.

XXX

Tig nodded at Juice. "You've been stepping up lately for the club, pounding on Georgie's guys, getting violent and whatever. And it's good to see you out from behind that goddamn laptop and actually doing something for a change. Even beating that teacher's ass was good in theory…but all that's new for you. If you're gonna keep down this road…you gotta learn to control your shit."

Juice frowned at him, wondering what he had done wrong with club stuff and it then it dawned on him. "This is about me backhanding Vix? That was a COMPLETE accident."

"People been cracking jokes about me being your new role model and that's funny or whatever. But you need to understand some shit." Tig got quiet for a moment trying to decide how to explain things to Juice. "My dad, what little he was around, he used to beat the shit out of my mom and us kids. My childhood is a headshrinker's wet dream of text book bullshit. Any one of those fuckers would give me a free pass on bad behavior for the rest of my life. But that's all bullshit, Juice. I know Ruby raised you so I'm guessing your life wasn't all rainbows and sunshine or you wouldn't have been with her in the first place." Tig pressed his lips together and then continued. "What you do in life…that's on YOU. You don't pin your fuck-ups on the fact that your daddy didn't hug you enough or that your mom was a worthless junkie whore or whatever the fuck."

Juice was stunned by Tig's revelations. He had never heard the SAA talk so seriously, usually everything was a joke to him. Tig shrugged. "I'll freely admit that I get sex and violence and love and pain and pleasure a little mixed up. I blur lines that I shouldn't sometimes and I don't take the time to try and fix that. But with all the fucked up shit I do… I've never laid a hand on a woman that I gave a shit about."

"No shit?" Juice's eyebrows went up. Tig was notorious for being rough with women, he had even bragged about it so his confession to never hurting someone he cared about was a little surprising.

XXX

Darby took the blow and still held onto Vix. Using her t-shirt for leverage, he spun her around away from the fire and let her go as Jaci hit him again, this time in the ribs. Vix danced to keep her balance. He turned back to Jaci. "Stop fucking hitting me! I'm trying to help you!"

"Keep your hands off her!" Jaci yelled and stepped to stand in front of her sister. She put her hands on Vix's shoulders. "You ok?"

"J, let me go. I think we can save it." Vix pleaded and tried to sidestep.

Jaci frowned at her sister and glanced back at the burning salon. "No, honey... I don't think so."

"See what I mean?" Darby asked with annoyance. ""That place is toast...and you two are going to the same if you keep standing in front of the GODDAMN FIRE! I been trying to keep her out of it."

XXX

Tig continued with his speech. "If you're gonna model your life after mine, which is completely fucking stupid by the way. But if you're gonna be like me…learn to control yourself. You have to put up some walls. If you get Vix back…"

"I won't ever hit her, Tig. Not EVER again." Juice cut him off and declared.

"Yeah, you will." Tig said bluntly. "Vix is a feisty fuckin' bitch, man. She pushes and pushes your buttons and that ain't gonna change. If you two get back together, you get in a fight about something….you'll get all riled up. And if you don't learn to control your shit, you'll pop her before you think about it and that will be the end of it. She won't forgive you a second time. You'll be lucky if she doesn't kill you."

Juice started to protest but Tig held up a hand. "I'm just telling you not to let the lines get blurred, Juice. Stop all that shit now before it goes too far. Understand me? You got a shot here, man. You can have something good with Vix. You don't have to wake up next to random whores your whole life and regret all the shit you did the night before."

"Yeah." Juice choked out in response. Everything Tig was saying was hitting the bull's eye with him; the shitty childhood, losing control, wanting to blame everything on someone else. He hated himself lately and all the shit he was doing and the effect it was having on Vix.

Tig stood up. "Punch a wall, kick over a coffee table, throw a TV in the floor or just fucking leave and come back later. If you love her…you keep your hands off her. You don't get your shit together….in twenty years, you're gonna be ME. Trust me, brother…you don't want that."

XXX

Jaci wildly looked to Darby and then to Vix and tried to make some sense of the situation. Why would Darby, who had had his guys try to KILL HER months earlier be willing to help her sister? She suck in huge gulps of air but coughed when most of it was tinged with smoke. Her head was literally spinning and she blinked hard to focus on Vix. "You're ok?" Her sister nodded. "You sure you're ok?"

"He won't let me put it out!" Vix yelled in frustration.

That exclamation solidified Darby's stance on the events and Jaci stared at him while still holding onto her sister. Darby raised his hands, "See? I told you I helping her."

"What the hell happened? What are you doing here?" Jaci started to lob questions at Darby but her voice was drown out by the sounds of approaching sirens.

Darby's head snapped in the direction of the police cars and firetrucks. The flashing lights could be seen in the distance. "Just get away from the goddamn fire will ya?" He walked backwards toward Main Street and motioned for the girls to do the same. Jaci wrapped a protective arm around Vix and literally had to pull her away from the salon's sidewalk.

XXX

Juice nodded, completely understanding how he was going to have to learn to draw lines between being wild and reckless with the club and being controlled with Vix and whatever life he could maybe have with her. He frowned and stopped Tig. "Wait a sec…if you KNOW all this shit you do is bad and know exactly why you do it…then why don't YOU fix it? You know, like fix YOU?"

Tig smiled. "I suck at the fixing part….sorta late in the game for me anyway." He looked over at the sound of the chapel doors opening and saw Clay and Bobby exit. He nodded understanding at the look Clay shot him. He slapped Juice on the shoulder and walked off to join Clay but called over his shoulder. "Think about what I said."

XXX

The growing crowd of people began to descend on the scene of the fire. People left their cars running in the middle of the street to get out and gawk at the flames. Wild shit like this just didn't happen in Charming. Jaci and Vix walked into the crowd and turned to face their burning salon. Darby faded into the crowd and weaved through until he got to the back of it. The police arrived and began to try to wrangle the crowd. He took one last look at the fire and shook his head as he turned and walked with long purposeful strides away from Main Street.

XXX

Mary navigated the far end of Main Street with a tight grip on the steering wheel and a frown on her face. "What is with all this traffic? Who goes out at 9 o'clock at night?"

"We do, Grandma." Kenny announced happily from the backseat. He was happy to be dodging his normal bedtime. Ellie rolled her eyes in her seat beside her younger brother.

"Well, we've got a good reason for it." Mary snapped. "What's with all these other ya-oohs?"

As she drove further down the street, they discovered the way was actually blocked. She looked past the officer at the roadblock and could see smoke. She rolled down her window and the stench of smoke was thick in the air. The lights from the firetruck spun brightly in the night and Mary got a sinking feeling in her stomach. She took a quick glance in the rear view mirror at her grand-kids who were wild eyed and staring out the window.

"Gramma, what's going on?" Kenny asked.

A huge frown crossed Ellie's face. "This is just like Mama. All the lights."

Kenny glanced at his sister and then back up to Mary, worry spreading on his young face. "Is somebody hurt?"

Mary pulled the car over and slammed it into park. She unbuckled her seat belt and turned in her seat to face the little children in the backseat. "Listen here..you two stay RIGHT HERE. Do NOT move. I'm going to go see what's going on and I will be right back." She opened her door and got out but leaned back inside and pointed her finger at the kids one last time. "DO NOT MOVE!"

She walked up the street as fast as she could go and pulled cellphone out of her pocket. She pushed through the large crowd of people that were watching the fire and the crew trying to put it out. She finally got close enough to have her worst fears confirmed; it was Twisted Scissors that was on fire. She raised her cell phone, selected a number and hit SEND.

XXX

Juice sat and thought about all that Tig had said and finally his heart was willing to work in cahoots with his brain. He almost leaped out of the chair he'd been sitting in. Determined to fix the shit between him and Vix, he started for the exit of the club house.

Across the room, Piney's cell phone rang. He glanced at the called id and rolled his eyes. He took a pull from his beer before he answered. "Yeah, Mar."He listened for a moment and his brow narrowed in confusion. "What? Jesus Christ." He looked at the guys standing around the clubhouse. "Hey! You fellas need to head over to Main Street. Mary says Vix's salon is on fire."

To be continued….