A/N 9/23/2018: Just realized I got the date on the last chapter's author's not wrong. Definitely a sign I need sleep. I'll hopefully post the first chapter of my Mummy cross later tonight after work. Which is technically tomorrow morning for y'all. Enjoy. ~Angel

"Nothing's coming up under Meineke other than discount mufflers," Juice tells Jax from his computer.

"What's going on?" Piney asks them.

"I thought I told you to go underground?" Jax says frustrated.

"Nate, uh, reached out. They're in some survivalist bunker outside of Woodbridge Forest," Piney explains.

"Great. You gotta set up a meet," Jax tells him.

"Well, and then what happens?"

"They killed three people in cold blood and they're a straight line back to this club. What the hell do you think happens, Piney?"

"I don't know," he grumbles, as they both turn to see Chibs and Bobby enter the clubhouse.

"Just talked to Trammel. The feds got a warrant to rip this place up," Bobby tells them.

"Aw, shit. Cabin, now!" Jax orders Piney.

Piney rips his oxygen away from his nose in anger. "Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" he demanded.

The boys got in between them. Opie calming his father, and steering him out of the clubhouse and Jax trying to calm Juice. They all went outside to see Opie and Piney leaving.

"We will never be able to get these guns out of here," Juice says sullenly.

"Yeah, well the feds open them oil barrels, we all got a new charter- Stockton State Prison," Bobby said sarcastically.

"Yeah. Go meet with Laroy. Pick up our money. Tell him he'll have his guns before the end of the day," Jax tells him.

"You gonna Houdini this stuff out of here, brother?" Chibs asked him.

"I'll figure it out," Jax assures him, slapping his chest as he passes with Bobby.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Gemma walked out of the pharmacy with her prescription. Thanks to the dipshit at the counter, she had to endure being stared at by younger, more attractive girls who were not going through menopause. Her mood didn't improve any when she saw the bitch Clay bedded in Indian Hills walking towards her. Quite the contrary, it just made everything worse.

"Skinny-ass bitch," she said to herself, as she walked over to one of the kids skating nearby, and grabbed his board. Just as the girl was about to pass her, Gemma swung the board hard and caught her in the nose. The girl went down moaning and crying in pain.

She asked Gemma why she hit her, but Gemma didn't feel like explaining herself. Not that she ever really did. Instead she walked over to the curb, ignoring everyone who was exclaiming over what she did, and sat down, waiting for the police to show. With the amount of people who saw her do it, they will. Somebody with a tendency to stick their nose where it wasn't wanted or needed would call.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

"Hey!" Jax heard from behind him on the roof. He turned to see Izzy's friend walking towards him.

"You look like you need either a good fuck or a stiff drink," she said. Jax chuckled.

"Care to help me with either one of those?" he flirted.

The girl laughed. "Sure. The drink," she teased. "I'm not having sex with anyone who is too preoccupied to perform."

"Low blow, darlin'," Jax says, sitting down on the seat, just behind the ledge. Angela sat with him.

"So what's got your head in a twist then?" she asked. Jax sighed.

"I need to pull a Houdini," Jax said, taking a page out of Chibs's book.

"You need to make something disappear, huh? Well, you chose a good spot to think. You can see everything up here. And you can't smell that god aweful septic truck," she smirks, gesturing to the truck. Jax chuckled at her lightly.

"So what are you doing here?" Jax asked her. "I thought you and Izzy were going to spend the day together."

"Oh, we are. She says she wants me to meet her nephew, but she wanted to stop here and pick up something for him. I didn't think she had any siblings."

Jax shakes his head. "Not really. You're going to see my son, Abel. He's in the NICU. Mom was an addict. Shot up while pregnant and needed an emergency C-section to save his life."

Angela stared at him for a moment. "Bummer," was all she could say. What do you say to something like that. Saying I'm sorry, just seemed so… not enough. Jax chuckled at her response. It was better than another I'm sorry.

"So what were you reading?" she asked, looking at the binder he put down.

"Something my old man wrote. Found it a couple of weeks ago in storage," he admitted.

"He must have been a crap writer if you put it down so quickly," she observed. Jax laughed outright then.

"No, he's a great writer. It's just he writes some really heavy shit. Makes you think, so you have to read it in parts to absorb everything.

"Ah. Gotcha," they sat there for a moment, in companionable silence. Jax looked over to the septic truck and that's when inspiration hit him. He gave a wry chuckle at the thought.

"Have an 'AH-HA!' moment then?" she asked.

"Angel, you are a genius!" Jax exclaimed.

"Well, I don't know why you would say that, since I haven't said anything. And my name is Angela, not Angel."

"Not to me, baby," he said laughingly. He gave her a quick kiss, and went down off the roof, leaving Angela sitting there stunned.

"Hey, Ange! You ready?" she heard Bella call from below. She smiled and went down to her friend. She could definitely get used to these Sons.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

When Angela and Bella got to the hospital, they both stopped dead as they saw someone in the room with Abel already.

"Bella, who is that? Is he family?" Bella looked at the stranger, standing over Abel with a dark look in her eye.

"No," she said, stepping forward, and entering the room. "Leave," she ordered the man.

He looked up at them, startled that it was them that entered the room and not the doctor he was expecting.

"I don't care if you are the second coming of Jesus himself. Unless you are his doctor, or family, which I know for sure you are not, you are not allowed to be in here."

"I was just curious. I'd never seen a child so small before," the man said softly.

"Leave. Before I have you arrested for child endangerment. I can at least make a harassment charge stick. Or I could call your boss. You're from Chicago right? No matter what anyone thinks, a child born not even two weeks ago in an incubation chamber has no thread to an A.T.F. investigation. I'm sure they would love to hear how you were in here alone with the child without parental consent," Bella threatened.

Now Kohn became nervous. This girl was smart. She was unafraid to attack right where it hurt. Where Tara would try the channels and red tape the average person knew, this girl didn't deal with middle men. She only talked to the boss. That was dangerous considering his boss thought he was two states north. He had to get one more shot in though.

"It won't matter in an hour. All of your lives will be gone by then," he said as softly as his first sentence. He left and Bella got a chilly feeling down her spine.

"Who was that?" Angela asked her, looking at Abel in concern. Checking to see everything was still hooked up and he was ok.

"Trouble," Bella answered, pulling out her cell. It rang twice.

"Jax. We have a problem. The original A.T.F. asshole was just here in Abel's room… No he's fine. I'm going to have a doctor check him over though. Make sure he's ok… I'll tell the front desk no one but the NICU doctor in here. Not even Tara. Please make sure he gets here quickly… Always, Jax. You are family. By the way. You have a half hour window to do what needs doing. I'm giving you guys room though. He said an hour. I just want y'all to be safe...Yep. Bye."

Bella snapped her phone closed. "They're gonna start a rotating shift until this A.T.F. prick is taken care of. Chibs has first watch with us. He'll be relieved by Tig."

"He's so small," Angela marveled.

"Yeah, but he's a fighter. You should have seen him a week ago," Bella said.

"Why would anyone try to take something so precious away from his family?"

"Because he's an arrogant dick. Don't worry. All bad guys talk too much. They won't have anything to charge any of the boys with," Bella assured her.

"Hi, Abel. I'm Angela," Ange said to the little life in the incubator.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Bobby and Chibs entered the garage.

"Well, the Niners do not want the AKs," Bobby says.

"What?" Jax asked.

"Nobody's gonna touch 'em. Not after what went down this morning," Chibs tells him.

"Oh, man. Well, we'll worry about a buyer later. Right now, it's all about the shit," Jax says, opening the car door to the garage and letting them see the back of the septic truck. "Not you, though, Chibs. I need you to go to St. Thomas's."

"Is everything all right, Jackie boy," Chibs asked worriedly. Jax shook his head.

"It is now. But Bella and Angela found that A.T.F. asshole in Abel's room. She managed to get him to leave, but I no longer trust it with him in town. While me and the boys do this, I need you looking after my boy," Jax says.

"Aye. That's no hardship. Take care, brother," Chibs tells him, slapping his back and running to his bike.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

"What the hell is she doing here?" Clay asks Hale as he sees his old lady being brought in in handcuffs. "She's got nothing to do with this."

"Assaulted some girl. Hit her in the face with a skateboard," Hale tells him.

"What?" Clay got up and opened the interrogation room door. "What the hell did you do?" he yelled at her.

"Same thing you did. Nailed some little tart from Nevada," she replied.

"Like I don't have enough shit oozing out of my ears. You gotta go and do this."

"You should've thought of that before your dick went on a cheerleader hunt."

"Hey! I didn't tell her to come here."

"But she's here," Gemma drove home.

"Well, it's not my fault!"

"And it's not my pussy!" she shot back before she was lead away. It caused quite a stir in the department.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

The A.T.F.'s arrival to the Teller-Morrow compound saw the Sons of Anarchy all gathered outside, in plain view, all enjoying a bottle of beer. The agents forced every member and associate of the club onto the ground, as they began their search for any kind of illicit weapon.

Kohn found himself in Jax's dorm. It was clean. Too clean. He also didn't like the fact that 20-1, Jax Teller had had his Tara in this room before. In less than honorable positions. It pissed the man off. He looked around, pocketing a photo of Teller and Tara together from her teenage years. Then he went to town. Destroying everything in the room in his anger. The effort became easier when he found a steel bat, and he could actually smash things to pieces. It was therapeutic in a way.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Jax and Bobby entered the cabin after the raid to find Piney and Opie waiting for them

"Yo, Nate called. He wants to make a deal on the rest of those AKs," Piney says.

"Russell knows nobody'll touch 'em. Ten grand for all 36," Opie clarifies.

"Shit. Those guns are worth 10 times that," Bobby tells Jax, though the young man already knew that. He also knew this was the only and easiest way to get to the dicks that royally screwed them.

"A'ight, set it up. Me and Ope will make the run."

"No, you can't go without me," Piney says, standing. "They won't trust you."

"You okay tying up this loose end?" Jax asks Piney, knowing his close connection to the men involved.

"You know, you don't have to ask me that."

"A'ight," Jax says, still unsure.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Chibs arrived at the hospital to find Angela and Bella talking softly about...well, whatever it was they were talking about. He could see Bella's whole demeanor relax once she caught sight of him.

"Chibs," she said, getting up and greeting him with a kiss.

"Are the two of you all right, lass? Jax had me concerned when he said the two of you saw the fed here."

Bella nodded. "I don't think he was expecting us. Angela and I were talking. You said Tara went to school in Chicago, right?" Chibs nodded. "And then this asshat turns up almost exactly at the same time she pops back into town? Do you know where he is from? Could he be following her?" Bella asks. Chibs looks at her in surprise.

"Aye. Our guy in the police department said he was from Chicago. You make a good point there, mo leannan. Too good a point. I don't think anyone has made the connection, and it's damn near obvious," Chibs says.

Bella sighs. "I'm only working with what information I gathered from observation. But it's my thought that Tara wanted to get close to Jax as a form of protection. If this guy is a fed, it would make getting any kind of restraining order a bitch. She would go to the next obvious source of protection she knows, and that would be the Sons."

"Any one ever tell you that you were scary smart, lass?" he asked rhetorically.

"Once or twice," she admitted.

Tig relieved Chibs right on time, with a large bag of kids books and a music player.

"I didn't know you were such a domesticated guy, Tig," Bella laughed as they packed up their things so she could walk Chibs out.

"I do have two daughters. Baby's are easy. It's when they get older and grow a brain with no filter and a direct line to their mouth, that things become difficult," Tig says with a shrug. Bella gives him a quick hug, and followed Angela and Chibs out.

"Mind if I crash at your place for a couple of nights until the dorms are fix?" Chibs asked as they walked to the parking lot. "The feds tore everything to shite in their rampage. Even the mattresses." Bella groaned.

"I loved your bed there. Assholes," she grumped. "But no problem. I can cook for you more. Any idea when you'll be by tonight?"

"Late. Jax wants me to do an errand, and afterwards, I'm going to the clubhouse to shower. I don't reckon I'll smell too pretty after, and I don't want to bring that home to you," Chibs said.

"All right. I'll leave supper in the stove for you. It should still be warm then."

Chibs gave her a passionate kiss before he climbed on his bike and rode off.

"Damn," Angela said. "That looked hot. If they all kiss like that, sign me up!" They giggled as they made their way to Angela's car.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Chibs, Half-Sac, and Juice were in the truck yard, looking for the shit hauler that housed their guns. A loud whistle pierced the night as Chibs got their attention.

"This is the one," he says, standing next to the truck, to the side of the door. Getting up the gumption to open the shit filled and shit smelling tank. "Step back, boys." He then opened the hatch and they all began retching as everything in the tank poured out onto the ground.

"Get the guns! Get the guns!" Chibs managed beyond his own retching as he tried to keep his stomach within his body. He was definitely making a stop at the clubhouse to shower first. No way was Izzy letting him near her smelling of shit.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Hale opened the door to his office only to see Stahl perched on top of an oil drum.

"Found six of these in his garage," she said without preamble. "I'm guessing this is how they're getting their guns into the country."

"Dungloe, Ireland," Hale read from the side.

"Mm-hmm. True I.R.A. territory. Outlaw Irish. This could be huge, Deputy. If the Sons of Anarchy are running guns through a known terrorist organization, well, then that puts your little motorcycle club on at least half a dozen federal watch lists," she said, hopping off the barrel and circling behind him.

"My nipples are unbelievably hard right now," she whispers in his ear. Then she continues. "I'm gonna pull in Homeland Security, Treasury. We might just shut this Harley mafia down for good. I'll be in touch." Stahl gathers her jacket and bag, and starts to walk out.

"Did you brief Agent Kohn on this?" Hale asked.

"Oh. You know, I called Chicago, and, uh, Kohn's supervisor seems to think he's on vacation in Oregon. Let me know if he stirs anything up with SAMCRO. And keep this inside your khakis," she tells him, then leaves without another word.

"Oh. Clay Morrow's free to go," she threw over her shoulder as she passed the room he was still in.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Chibs laughed loudly when he saw Clay enter the clubhouse. He himself had just about called it a night.

"Welcome home," he says to Clay as he enters.

"Welcome back, bro," Jax says, hugging his stepfather.

"Welcome home."

"Look who's here," Bobby said, accepting his own hug.

"Well, feds trashed the clubhouse, but the search turned up nothin'. We got the guns out," Jax tells Clay.

"Oh. Wait a minute," Chibs interrupts. "Jackie Boy got all the guns out." Chibs threw a wink to Jax as Clay studied him.

"Good," he says simply. He sighs heavily. "A.T.F.'s got shit. It's all smoke."

"Yeah, they were on to the oil barrel," Bobby says, taking an AK.

"Yeah. Well, we'll just have to find a smarter way to get the guns in is all. By the time the warehouse is rebuilt, we'll be a distant memory for the A.T. and F," Clay says, accepting a beer offered by Jax.

"Mom home?" Jax asked.

Clay hesitated for a moment. "She wouldn't let me post bail." All of the boys laughed.

"Shit," Jax chuckled. "She is pissed!"

"Yeah. That she is."

"Well, we're handling Meineke and his crew. Piney set up a meet for tomorrow. We're gonna clean this up," Jax informs his president.

"You know what? I'm tired. And my head hurts," Clay says, standing. "And you'll handle it. I'm just gonna crash here tonight."

"Talk in the daylight," Jax says.

"In the daylight."

There was a moment of silence before Chibs stepped forward. "Jackie Boy, Izzy brought up something interesting earlier."

"What's that?" Jax asked.

"She's drawn a very interesting conclusion that our original A.T.F. troubles are because of Tara. We all know she went to school in Chicago. And this A.T.F. guy is from Chicago. He seems to have arrived at about the same time we became aware of her return. He seems unerringly focused on the club and you in particular, if him being in wee Abel's room is anything to go on. I don't want to upset you, brother, but she seems to be the original source of our troubles lately," Chibs tells him.

"How did she find all of this out? Have you been spilling club secrets as pillow talk?" Jax asked sharply.

"Don't go there, Jax. I haven't said a word. She came up with this just by listening to shit around the clubhouse." Jax studied Chibs for a while then nodded.

"I'll look into it," he promised. Chibs nodded and left. He needed to see his woman.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

The next morning Jax, Opie, and Piney were at the meet with Meineke and his overeager son, who was currently scouting for tails.

"We're not idiots," Jax snaps. "We weren't followed."

Dipshit Junior went over to the rice bags that house the AKs and sniffed.

"It smells like shit," he complained.

"Long story," Opie said softly.

"They're all here. Three dozen," Piney says, stabbing a sack with his knife. "Cut open a bag. You can check for yourself, if you like."

Nate put a hand on his, stopping him from ripping the bag further. He trusted his fellow Army Vet. He nodded to his son, who whistled out at large. Men emerged from the trees to take the guns, and Dipshit Junior thrust an envelope of ten grand into Jax's midsection.

"Thanks," he said haughtily.

"Yeah."

"Sorry about how this went down. I wanted to tell you, but Russ thought it best not to," Nate explained to Piney.

"Well, that Russ- He always was a big thinker."

"He's a good kid. Just a little excitable. Believes in the cause."

"And this is your retirement plan?" Piney asked. "Hiding out in some bunker? You got anybody up there with you? Family, women, kids?"

"No. Frank and Russ's boys- They're gonna lie low till the heat dies down. Got some people waiting for us in Mexico."

"Mexico? You're gonna be running this revolution from Acapulco, huh?" Piney chuckles.

"Yeah."

"Hey. Come on," he says, pulling Nate into one last hug. They pull back. "You, uh, take care of yourself, friend."

Nate leaves with the last of the AKs over his shoulder. Jax closes the tailgate of Opies truck.

"Well, there, uh, ain't no innocents with them." Jax nods and heads to his bike, while Opie and Piney climb into the truck. Jax waits for Opie to set off the detonator. He can see the tension in the truck between father and son. Opie hits the button and they all hear three explosions farther into the woods. It tore at Piney, but he managed to get his feelings across to Jax.

"All this shit landed on your back. Handled it pretty damn good, kid."

"Thanks, old man," Jax said.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Jax exited the elevator to his son's floor. He was met by Tara.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah. Why?"

"I was going past the clubhouse yesterday. I saw all these cops," Tara explained.

"Aw. That was a bunch of bullshit. Got this A.T.F. agent harassing us. Following me. Showed up here. The guy's nuts. Looking for dirt that doesn't exist." Jax wanted to laugh. It existed, he was just good enough to sweep it under the rug when the feds come knocking.

"I'm, uh, I'm just finishing up my rounds. Do you mind giving me a ride home?" Tara asks. Jax didn't want to, actually. He wanted to get to know Angela better. But Tara actually seemed scared.

"Sure. What's going on?" Tara shook her head.

"Shitty day. My nerves are kind of shot." Jax smiles at her comfortingly, but keeps his hands to himself.

"Well, I'll be with the kid," he tells her for when she is ready.

"Thanks," she says as she goes about her shift.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Gemma walked out of the station to see Clay waiting for her.

"Been waiting long?" she asks.

"All my life, baby," Clay says smoothly. Gemma put her arms around her Old Man and kisses him sweetly, letting him know she was ok with things now. She still wasn't happy with him, but she was more centered.

They part only to see the girl Gemma struck walking up.

"Oh, Jesus," Clay exclaims. "Stupid bitch. I'm sorry," he says, about to go tell her off.

"No, no. I got it," Gemma says.

"Uh-" Clay intones uncertainly.

"No skateboards. Promise," Gemma smirks.

"I just want to say I'm sorry if I caused any problems," the girl said, when she and Gemma drew close to one another. Gemma felt satisfaction at seeing the ridiculous bandage on the bimbo's nose.

"Why the hell are you here?"

"You and him- I want that."

"The prospect?" Gemma asks.

"Yeah," the girl says with a soft look on her face. "He's the right one."

"What if that doesn't hook up? The others want a taste?"

"Then I'm gone. I'm not here for anyone else." Gemma looks hard at the girl.

"You so much as flash a pretty grin at him, I will jam my fist so far up your bony ass, your cup size will double," Gemma promised.

"Is that how your rack got to be that size?" the girl asked smartly.

Gemma scoffs. "Not a good time to be clever."

"Yes, ma'am. I promise. I'm clear of your man. Not even a smile." Gemma looks once more at the girl's nose.

"You'll heal okay."

"Yeah," the young girl asks. "And you?"

"I'll be fine," Gemma says, walking away.

"Work everything out?" Clay asked with a smarmy smile on his face.

"Relax. A threesome ain't gonna happen," Gemma tells him.

"Did I say anything about a threesome?"

"You are so transparent," Gemma shot back. "Take me home."

"Yes, ma'am," he smirks.