A/N - Well I had some more spare time so I thought I'd give you another little dose as Nero starts to realise he's got a few little problems to deal with, and Jax is propositioned...

"You got any penicillin?"

Chibs was staring blankly across the bar as he chain-smoked his way through a pack with a bottle of Jameson's to keep him company. Jax bumped his shoulder to wake him from his daze, Chibs waved the cloud of hazy smoke around his head away.

"What's up?"

Jax wrinkled his nose as he leaned closer. "Got some sort of sore shit closing the deal with the Cara Cara girls." Chibs smirked a little, it was just like Jax to catch something nasty from one of those women.

"I'll check," Chibs nodded. Part of him wanted to leave Jax to ride it out, that'd teach him a lesson or two. Chibs rifled through their limited medical supplies and pulled out a sheet of placebos. Maybe that would be a better use of resources, they were pretty low on the prescription stuff. He flicked the metal sheet at Jax and shrugged.

"Those should do the trick, if they don't, you might have to ask your wife."

Jax nodded gratefully and popped a pill instantly, chucking it in his mouth and swallowing it down. Chibs smirked as he settled back on his seat with his drink. Jax leaned on the bar.

"You doing okay, brother? I'm sorry about your girl, the way she took off."

"Not as sorry as me," Chibs shrugged. He looked into his glass, swilling the drink around inside. "Makes you grateful for what you've got, hey? Long term?"

Jax nodded. "You and Fiona?"

Chibs sighed, he would have to make it work, he guessed, it was better than relying on crow eaters. "Aye, we'll work something out. You and Tara, you're lucky there."

They talked aimlessly for a while before Tig and Clay joined them. Tig snatched up one of Chibs' cigarettes and lit it before he could object.

"We on this run tomorrow?" he asked, looking at Jax. Jax nodded.

"Yeah, most of us. Need one person to go and scout a couple of meeting locations for the end of the week, one's a strip joint halfway to Vegas." He looked to Chibs hopefully, trying to offer him some sort of truce. "Fancy some pussy on expenses?"

Chibs shrugged, he wasn't all that interested. Tig, on the other hand, raised his hand instantly.

"I'll be a professional, I swear," he beamed. "Scout's honour and shit."

Clay laughed roughly and slapped his back. "You'll never get enough, brother. Those Vegas girls, they come in twos and threes, and the tricks they do? I saw one of them make another orgasm with just her tongue. You won't know what to do with yourself."

"He'll work it out," Bobby laughed as he walked past. Tig grinned, batting his eyelashes.

"Please, Prez? You know I deserve it." He motioned to all of his bruises. "This shit needs kissing better, and it's not like I can ride anyway," he added, waving his strapped fingers. "Let me have a little pleasure."

Jax laughed, persuaded. "Fine, you can go. You rest up tonight and drive out tomorrow." He looked over at Bobby. "All Nero's money is clear?"

Tig was already heading out the door to get home when he heard Jax's question. He paused for a moment, wondering idly how much money Nina had fleeced her father for before running out of town. With that and buying out the club, Nero must be pretty broke. Curious, he took the truck out towards Diosa to drop in.

Diosa Norte was unusually busy. The new girls Nero had taken on were having something of a show night, Tig grinned with delight as he saw them slinking around the bar in their next-to-nothing outfits, every little curve on show. They had plenty of interest, there was no way Nero wasn't going to make a tidy profit off them. They might be worth tempting to the new club, maybe he should invest some of that love Jax had mentioned in them.

"You aren't welcome here," Nero barked as he spotted Tig. He excused himself from Lyla and strode towards him purposefully. "Get out."

"I just wanted to talk," Tig said quickly. "Ask about Nina."

"You don't get to talk about my daughter, ever," Nero spat furiously. "Get out of here."

"Was she in a lot of trouble?" Tig asked. "The money, did she need a lot? I offered to help her, I still kinda want to. To make up for, you know, what happened. Let me go halves with you, it'll ease up some of the, you know." He wanted to say 'guilt' but he was sure that might just increase Nero's hatred of him.

Nero frowned at him, his eyes narrowing. "What money?"

Tig shrugged, Nero clearly didn't want to play ball with him but he still wanted to clear his own conscience. "The money she owed her ex. I know she was in a bit of trouble over it, that she came to town for you to keep an eye on her and help her out. I swear, I offered just in case I could do anything."

Nero paced into a corner of the bar, a dark frown setting on his face. Nina had never mentioned an ex or a debt, she'd never even said why she had come to Charming in the first place. Tig followed him.

"That's why she left, right? Because she got what she needed?" He pouted, looking down. "I think Chibs is really down about that, old asshole liked her a lot."

"I didn't give her any money." Nero looked at Tig in confusion. "She didn't ask me for any."

Tig pulled a face. "Jax said she went with her boyfriend, I figured it was to settle..." His expression changed quickly, maybe this wasn't as obvious as it seemed. "She said she'd lost some money and needed to settle a debt."

Nero grew pale quickly, the thought that someone might have come to claim Nina to settle said debt made him feel nauseous. "Did she say who?"

Tig shook his head. "We were buzzed, she just mentioned the money. No specifics." He pulled at his lower lip. "Look, tell me what I can do here, Nero. I never meant for any of this shit."

"Nothing." Nero was polite but curt, he shook his head dismissively. "You keep yourself and your club away from me and my business, that's all I need from you."

Tig frowned but nodded, he could see Nero wasn't in a particularly good mood. "You'll tell me. If you need help."

"I don't need your help to find her ex, she'll be better off not owing you anything, I don't like the way you settle favours." Nero scratched at his chin and motioned for Tig to leave. "Now go, before I have you thrown out. You won't scare my girls, they all know what kind of man you are, Trager."

Tig sighed and nodded, there was little else he could say. He slipped out and Nero waited for a second before he grabbed his phone. He called Fiasco instantly, if there was one thing Biz Lats were good at, it was finding information.

"Hey, mano, I need you to look around Nina for me," he said. "Yeah, any boyfriends, exes, who she's been hanging around for the last couple of years." He grimaced as Fiasco spoke. "Yeah, anything she's been taking. I think she's in some trouble, I just, I need to get my girl home. Please."

Calls from Damian Pope always left much to be desired. Jax slipped out when the rest of the club were drinking for another private conversation, he always hated the secrecy surrounding their meetings but he, frankly, had very little choice. Slipping into Pope's car, he glanced over at his business partner.

"What happened to Trager?" Pope asked coolly, controlling his temper. Jax grimaced.

"He upset another father," he muttered. "I kept him in one piece, he's all yours the second I am done with him, you know that. He'll heal."

"He better," Pope replied shortly. "You know what he has coming to him. We made an arrangement."

Jax swallowed, he was all too aware of what was to come. "The deal's still on. Did you come here just to ask after him?"

Pope smiled and pressed his fingertips together as he spoke. "I heard you're hauling coke for Galindo." Jax opened his mouth to object but Pope shook his head. "You don't have to answer. I already know the answer, I need something different answered instead."

He lifted a block of cash from beside him and waved it in Jax's face. Jax frowned as he looked at it, there was plenty of money in that brick and they both knew it.

"The haul you're running, I have customers who would buy everything you're taking and more," Pope murmured. "You can run twice the amount for the same risk and triple your profits. I'd make my money on street value, not initial. This could be rather profitable."

"That's a lot of money to launder," Jax said with a raised eyebrow. Pope smiled.

"Your new venture on the edge of Stockton should be able to deal with that, surely?" Jax frowned. "Nothing stays secret in this town, you must know that."

"I'd need to take it to my club," Jax said abruptly. Pope nodded.

"I'm sure they are persuadable. We all want the same thing, Mr Teller. We all want to get rich." He smiled, his white teeth gleaming against his dark skin. "Get me an answer before your run tomorrow and let them know you want double the supply. We can be kings of our own community," he added with a smirk. "Whether it's women or guns or powder, you're a smart man, you know that you need to rise to the top. Let's help each other out."

Jax grimaced. "I'll ask," he assured him. He climbed out of the car with a weight on his shoulders. Sadly, he knew all too well that only one man could be on the top - and Damian Pope was too many steps ahead of him.