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Fallon: End of an Era

They were dealing with the aftermath. There were cops and fire department everywhere. Jax sat on top of one of the Sheriff's car with Dru by his side. He had refused to allow her to leave his sight. The only thing he wanted to do was hold her hand, caress her face; reassure himself that she was still there.

He knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself. Hell, he had seen that. But a bomb had just gone off in Scoops. If they hadn't been quick on the draw, something could've happened to her. That was the only thing he kept repeating in his head.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he kept asking.

Dru sighed. "Jackson, if you ask me that question one more time, I'm gonna rip your tongue out," she snapped. "I'm fine. I'm more than fine."

Jax exhaled a deep breath. He couldn't blame her for the annoyance that was in her voice. He was acting like a crazy person, after all.

"This wasn't a message, brother. That dude saw us in the shop. It was straight up retaliation," Happy told him.

"Somebody sold us out to Lin," Dru added.

An epiphany came over Jax. "Jesus Christ," he muttered. "Check on the guns," he told Happy.

Jax, Dru, and Bobby watched him pull out his phone. He made the phone call, but no one answered. A feeling of dread came over Dru.

"The reception out there isn't so great," Montez said.

Dru snapped her head around when she heard squealing tires. She found Nero swiftly exiting his car.

"Holy shit! Everybody whole?" Nero asked.

"Yeah," Jax nodded.

"Chinese," Bobby explained.

"No, man. That don't make no sense…" Nero cut himself off when his phone began ringing. "Yeah?"

Dru watched the series of expressions that came over Nero's face. Whoever was on the other line was not giving Nero good news. He quickly snapped his phone shut and said one word, "Diosa."

They walked in to a bloodbath. Every girl that worked there had been murdered. It wasn't a malicious manslaughter, but it was a slaying all the same. A massacre.

No one touched a thing. Everyone acknowledged that they would have to eventually call this thing in to the police. It didn't matter how bad they wanted to keep it from the authorities, or how badly they needed to. This wasn't exactly easy to hide. There were sixteen bodies in all.

Jax was devastated. Dru could see it better than anyone. She knew how he felt. He was responsible for all of these people, and he had let them down. He hadn't kept them safe. For all of Jax's faults, being empathetic was not one of them. But Dru did not feel any mercy for him. She had told him from the beginning that this wasn't a good idea—going after the Chinese, betraying August… None of this led to a good place. However, Dru blamed Gemma more than anything. Gemma had put Jax on this path by lying. She shouldn't have said a goddamn word.

Dru sighed. "Happy is getting everyone to Red Woody. Locking it down is the best course of action."

Jax nodded. "And West?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Bobby sent West and Montez to check on him and the guns."

"Nero split?"

"He's in the kitchen."

Dru overheard every word. Jax would have to eventually tell Nero the truth. This wasn't something he could keep from Nero without causing him undue pain. As much as she needed to hear more, Bobby interrupted their conversation. She walked in behind him.

"It'll be light soon. We gotta call this in," Bobby told him.

"Alright," Jax sighed. "The rest of you should split. I've got this." He looked at Dru. "You too, Dru. Go with them."

"You call when you're getting ready to leave. You do not ride alone," Bobby demanded. He patted Dru's shoulder. "We'll be at Red Woody."

Jax walked over and chastely kissed Dru on the lips. He whispered he loved her and that he would see her soon. Dru could only nod and return the sentiment.

Dru stayed far away from everyone at Red Woody. She couldn't stand the grief and desolation that was literally suffocating the place outside that door. It only brought back her own misery. She didn't need to feel anyone else's. She had been surrounded by death her entire life, whether she had dealt the killing blow or not. You would figure she would know how to deal with it by now.

Death was a natural part of life. The only difference in this situation was that this had been an extermination. The Chinese had done this to cause suffering. Dru couldn't blame them for their reprisal techniques. She had tried to warn Jax from the beginning. But as all Tellers are, he was stubborn and vengeful. However, Chinese weren't the ones at fault. Gemma was. But for now, she would go along with this outlandish plan. Soon enough she would lay all her cards out on the table.

Jax walked into a room full of sorrow. He heard the last words that Lyla spoke, and it was like something stabbed him right in the heart. He had been responsible for everyone at Diosa. It had been his job to keep them safe. He had disastrously botched that. He had been too cocky, too belligerent in the way he had planned to destroy Lin and his crew. Dru had been right.

Chibs and Bobby walked up to him once they spotted him. He needed to know everything in case he missed anything what time he had been interrogated by the Sheriffs.

"Is everyone here?" Jax asked.

"No. Quinn and Montez aren't back. West is dead. Guns are gone," Bobby told him.

"What about the other charters?"

"They all know, Jackie," Chibs answered.

"Where's Dru?" He was more concerned about her.

"She holed herself up in the office. I don't think she quite knows how to deal with this," Bobby said.

"I think all of this brought back some memories that she didn't really need to remember," Jax added. He turned to find her, but Wendy called out his name.

"Hey," Wendy greeted him with Thomas on her hip.

"Hey, thanks for helping out."

"Yeah, of course. You should come talk to Abel for a minute. He's a smart kid. He knows something bad happened. He's scared," she explained.

Jax sighed. He would get to Dru later. His first priority was his children.

He found Dru in the office. She was sitting at the head of the table. They had moved it here after the explosion at Scoops. She looked…uneasy. She was always so confident in herself, in her environment. But in this, she looked lost. Jax came to the conclusion that he didn't like it.

The others followed him in as Dru moved her ass further down the table. Not once did she look at him. Jax didn't like that either.

"We've got six Tacoma guys here now. Rogue River is sending down four more," Tig told him.

"We're gonna handle the funeral expenses for the girls without family. Colette too," Happy added.

"That's good," Jax commented. He was lost in his thoughts. To be honest, he hadn't really heard what Tig and Happy had said.

"Jackie," Chibs whispered to get his attention.

He quickly snapped out of his reverie. He needed to stay focused. These guys were looking to him for the answers. "Sheriffs have no proof," Jax sighed. "Jarry knows we're warring with brown and yellow, but Lin made sure not to leave clues."

"Or witnesses," Dru remarked.

"August has called twice," Chibs told him.

"I don't give a shit about August," Jax snapped. "Our assault on Lin was airtight. I mean, he may have had suspicions, but no proof. Someone gave up the location of those guns. He found West and he got his proof."

"That was a new spot. SAMCRO and Indian Hills were the only ones who knew," Bobby declared.

"And Barosky," Tig added.

"What about Lin?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah, how do we handle payback?" Happy cut in.

"He'll be off the grid," Dru said.

"That's why we're gonna smoke him out," Jax told them.

"You got any ideas?" Chibs questioned him.

"Maybe," Jax muttered. "Let's go visit our crooked cop. Quinn, you and Montez hold shit down here." He looked at Bobby and told him to call Nero. "Have him meet us at Barosky's."

When they exited the office, Jax and Dru was stopped by Gemma. Dru struggled not to roll her eyes. She'd always had mad respect for her Aunt Gemma. But at this point, she struggled not to put a bullet right in between her eyes.

"Look, I just got a call from my dad's nursing home. He's taken a turn for the worse. I gotta go up there," Gemma told him.

"Mom, that's not a good idea. I don't want you on the road and I can't spare any of the guys."

"What about Dru? She can come with me."

Dru furrowed her brow. She was lying straight to Jax's face and wanted her involved. But before she could refuse, Jax did it for her.

"Mom, I need Dru with me right now."

Gemma pursed her lips. "I'll call Unser. He can come. You know, once we're out of Sanwa they're won't be any threat. I'm sorry, babe, but I gotta go. Daddy may not see another day."

Code for Juice. She was taking care of Juice. Dru did not understand why Gemma was protecting the traitor. There had to be a reason, and whenever Dru had the chance to investigate, she would find out what that reason was.

"Guys, I got the boys," Wendy said. "We're good here."

Jax nodded. "Are you carrying?" he asked his mom.

"Of course," Gemma whispered.

"Alright. Check in every few hours."

"Okay, baby. I will."

Jax kissed his mother's cheek and walked away just in time for Tig to tell him there was a badge outside.

Dru stayed behind. "What the hell are you up to, Aunt Gemma?"

Gemma smirked. "Don't worry about me, sweetheart. Just keep our boy safe."

The Princess of SAMCRO scoffed. "I've been trying to keep him safe, Gemma, but you fucked that up when you sent him after Lin."

The Queen shrugged. "I had to give him something or else he would've looked elsewhere."

"Looked elsewhere? You mean at you?" she questioned.

Gemma swallowed. She put on a brave face. "I guess we'll never know."

Dru shook her head. "One day, Aunt Gemma. One day."

She left it at that and made her way out of the porn warehouse to where the guys were loading up.

They pulled into the parking lot behind Baroksy's shop. Nero came out of the door not looking too happy.

'Uh-oh,' Dru thought, 'he knows.'

It wasn't no time till Nero came with a haymaker right at Jax's face. Dru didn't even try to break up this fight. If anything, Jax deserved this one.

Barosky wasn't too far behind. "Break this shit up!" he demanded. "Now!"

"You've been lying to me, man, the whole time to my face. You looked me in the eye and you said you had nothing to do with the shit that was happening to Lin. Meanwhile, you're stealing his guns, you're hitting his shops, and that's why all of our girls are getting stuffed into goddamn bags right now! All of them!" Nero shouted. "And now he's looking to kill me cause I vouched for you. I believed in you. He threatened my boy." He pulled out something from the pocket of his sweater vest. It was a picture. "This is what he gives me. My blood! That's gonna fall on you too."

Dru watched as Nero calmed down and took a seat at one of the tables. She liked Nero. She had liked what he did for Gemma. But right now, Nero deserved so much better than Gemma. Nero deserved more than this life.

"The Chinese killed Tara."

Dru was shocked. She didn't think he'd tell Nero the truth.

"You don't know that," Nero said shaking his head.

"Gemma saw two of his guys leaving my house that night. She ID'd one of them at the party. Lin ordered the hit on the mother of my children."

"Jesus Christ," Nero mumbled.

"You're right, I've been lying to you. And I'm sorry the blowback of this hit you and your family. But I am going to destroy Lin, and nothing's gonna stop me from doing that. I don't wanna lose you as a partner or as a friend. But you're gonna have to decide what side of this fight you want to land on," Jax explained.

Nero sighed. "What side of the fight...oh, God. I'm tired of the fight. Okay? I'm tired."

There was quite an awkward pause until Bobby decided to change that by speaking to Barosky. "So, uh…somebody gave up the location of our guns to Lin. You and your guys were the only ones who knew outside the club."

"Port patrol watches it during the day. I got one guy on it at night," Barosky told him.

"You trust that guy?" Jax asked.

"About as much as you trust me," Barosky retorted.

"Then we better talk to him."

"Desmond Hurligan. Got a pawnshop down on Mercer. Day job. Sells the shit that cops steal at night."

Tig laughs. "Stockton's finest, huh?"

"I'll let Chibs know," Happy said.

"Hey, Des, how you doing?" Barosky greeted the man behind the counter at the pawn shop.

"Hey, Charlie, good to see you," the man returned.

"How's business?"

"Up and down, you know that."

"This is a business associate of mine, Jax Teller," Barosky said. "We've been keeping an eye on some of his merchandise down at the warehouse."

"Okay," Desmond nodded. "Is there a problem?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid so," Jax replied. "The warehouse that you were supposed to be watching got jacked last night. I lost all my shit. One of my crew got killed."

"Oh, shit," he muttered. "Hey, it didn't happen on my watch."

"The point is that it did happen," Barosky told him.

"I'm on the beat, Charlie. I can't stay there all night and you know that."

"Well, did you see anything? Anything out of place? A car, a van, a bike—what?" Barosky interrogated him.

"Quinn said the back door was kicked in. Did you see that?" Bobby probed.

"Uh, I don't think so, no," Desmond replied.

"When did you make your last drive by the warehouse?" Barosky asked.

"I'm not sure, at 5-5:30, maybe."

Jax picked up an item from the box that Desmond had carried in. He hit the man over the shoulder. "Jesus Christ! What'd you do that for?"

"Oh, I don't know…I'm not sure…maybe. I'm just trying to jog your memory a little bit," Jax answered.

"Charlie, what the hell is this?!" Desmond shouted.

"I'm with the kid on this one. I pay you a lot of goddamn money. My reputation's on the line here!"

Dru noticed that Tig had grabbed a flute from the box. "Now what the hell—"

"Pull his pants down," Tig calmly cut her question off.

"What?" Happy asked dumbfounded.

"Pull his pants down," Tig repeated.

"What are you going to do?" Happy furrowed his brow at him.

"I'm gonna shove this flute right up his ass."

Jax chuckled. "I was just thinking beat down, but that works too," he shrugged.

"You are so gay," Happy commented.

"Just gay enough," Tig remarked.

Chibs grabbed Desmond by the head while Happy and Tig took him from behind. Dru could tell that Tig meant some serious business. Maybe Happy was right. Maybe Tig was gay. After all, he's been hooking up with Venus who was technically a…man.

Desmond fought the three men tooth and nail. "Charlie, I'm a goddamn cop! You can't let him do this!"

"Do you honestly think that's working in your favor right now?" Dru questioned him.

"At least grease it up a little bit," Barosky told them.

"No, I don't want him to enjoy it," Tig said.

"Alright, goddamn it!" Desmond shouted. They let him go as he exhaled a rough breath. Apparently he was out of shape. "Shit. I got a call from somebody; said they'd pay me 2K to avoid your warehouse last night. I didn't know they were gonna off one of your guys," he explained.

"Where did they call you?" Jax asked.

"On my personal cell. Said they would leave the cash at the front gate kiosk."

"How'd they get that number?" Dru prodded.

"I don't know," Desmond sighed.

"So, somebody you don't know just called you out of the blue?" Barosky interrogated.

"Yeah, that's right," Desmond nodded.

"And they just got your personal cell out of the blue, how?"

"I don't know how they got it!" he shouted.

"You're a goddamn liar!"

"I'm not lying!"

"You're lying!"

"I'm not lying!"

Barosky pulled his pistol and shot Desmond right between the eyes. Dru had seen it coming from a mile away. She had only known Barosky for a short period, but even she knew that he didn't take any shit.

"Damn!" Happy shouted.

"Greedy shithead," Barosky muttered.

"I guess we're done talking to him," Jax commented.

"Yeah. Sorry, boys, it's just really hard to find people you trust these days."