Chapter 16: Puppet Show

"So this thing with the Mayans, how long you gonna keep us sitting on our hands?" Jax asked, taking a pull of his cigarette. They were currently at Gemma's annual school fundraiser, supposedly helping her raise money, but they were doing far more than that. Dana shrugged, glancing over at Opie and the kids. Tyler reached over and took her cigarette out of her hand, taking a pull. She returned her attention to Jax and Tyler, shaking her head from side to side.

"I'm working on something with Laroy. He still hasn't gone after the Mayans. I figured, that if we plan this out really well and use the 9'ers as a distraction, we can get rid of the Mayans all together," she said, taking her cigarette back from Tyler. "We tried that already and it went to complete shit," Tyler said. She scoffed and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Have faith, brother," she said.

Tyler scoffed and nodded to Jax before walking off. Jax and Dana stared at each other, not really knowing what to say or do. "I made a deal with the devil," Dana said, taking a pull of her cigarette. "What are you talking about?" She hesitated, knowing that it would take a lot of work to get her and Jax to work together. "Clay promised to step down from the throne as long as I became V. P.," she said.

Jax cocked an eyebrow and pushed some hair behind his ear. "How did you get him to do that?" She shrugged, glancing at Opie playing with the kids. "I know a little something of this, a little of something that. So I made a deal with the devil to keep his secret and get rid of him," she said. Jax followed her line of sight and sighed when he saw Opie on the ground wrestling with his son. "I approached him about it. He denied it," Jax said, shaking his head softly.

"That's the difference between me and you, Jax. You approached him, I confronted him," she said. "So where does that leave me and you?" Dana thought about the question and her mind ran a mile a minute, trying to come up with an answer that would solve all their problems. "It leaves us trying to work our bullshit out without involving the club. It leaves me between a rock and a hard place, Jax. I gotta lie to Opie's face, stab Tyler in the back, while trying my hardest not to kill you and Tara," she said.

"Survival of the fittest," he said, placing an hand on her arm, trying to ease her worries. "This is just one God damn puppet show, Jax. And I'm pulling all the God damn strings," she spat out, before walking away.

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Dana slid onto the picnic table's bench and ruffled the kid's hair. They ran off and joined the other children, giggling at the top of their lungs. Opie nodded her way and continued to watch the kids. "What was all that about?" He asked. She inhaled slowly, letting it out just as slow. Things between the two had been tense the last couple of days, ever since their big blow out about her involvement in the club.

"Nothing much. Just club business," she replied, a fake smile plastered on her face. He leaned forward on his elbows and stared at her. "You wanna talk about it?" He asked her. She shook her head, glancing around the place and smiling at all the town's people. Opie sighed, shaking his head softly. "When are you gonna take that stick out of your ass?"

She flipped her head towards him and scowled. "What the fuck are you talking about?" Opie smirked and pulled a cigarette out of his cut pocket. He lit it up and motioned to her. She neglected, feeling like at any moment she would have to make a break for it. "You've had this stick permanently lodged up your ass for the last week. If you don't want to be in this with me, let me know. I won't be missing out on nothing special," he spat out.

Dana felt like his words were delivered like a punch to her gut. She pursed her lips together and glared at him. She had a lot of shit on her mind, a lot of doubts. The last thing she needed was Opie on her back. She shook her head sadly and kept her eyes trained on him. If any other person had dared talk to her like that, she would've put her foot up their ass. But they were in the middle of a group of people. They were in a relationship. They were…

She wouldn't say in love, but she had grown to have feelings for him. She had grown to lean on him for emotional support. She had grown to realize that he would substitute for the two fucked up men in her life that had scarred her. She had grown up and now she had to pull some more strings. "You're right. You won't be missing out on anything special," she whispered, her voice catching at the end.

He realized his words and cringed, taking in the fact that she was moments away from crying. Dana swallowed and stood up from the table. He stood up after her and grabbed on to her arm. She flipped around and stared at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Don't do this here. Not now. Not ever. Just let it go," she replied, yanking her arm away from him and walking off into the crowd.

She stopped at Gemma's booth and chatted her up for a bit. "What's going on there? Should I fear for Opie's life?" Gemma said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Seems like everything is falling apart, bit by bit," Dana replied, glancing out at all the families that were enjoying the carnival. "Just remember, Sam Crow is the glue."

Dana scoffed at the older woman and realized that many her years as a crow eater hadn't made her as smart as everyone thought she was. "Take the kids home with you?" Dana asked, reaching into her pocket and retrieving her car keys. "Gonna blow off some steam?" Gemma said, a vicious smirk on her face. Dana reached over and placed a strand of hair behind her ear, a sweet smile on her face. "Sometimes, you know too much for your own good," she whispered, placing a kiss on the older woman's forehead.

Gemma continued to smirk as she watched Dana walk off towards the parking lot. She turned around and found Opie behind her. "Where she going?" He asked. She laughed and faced him, an eyebrow raised. "You gotta understand something, Opie. She ain't Donna. She ain't just gonna roll over and take it like everyone else. You pissed her off, she's gonna find some other young thang to keep her preoccupied. She learned it the hard way with Tyler, Tyler learned it the hard way with her. This is her show. She runs every little thing. Every God damn detail," she said.

Opie shook his head and returned his attention back to his kids. He had no clue what Gemma was talking about. To tell the truth, he didn't really care. All he wanted to do was fix his life, make it what it was before. All he wanted to do was be whole again.