Sorry for the delay, this is a long chapter please review and let me know what you think :)
Chapter 11- Enter the Niner's
Walking into the clubhouse she couldn't help but feel nervous, after greeting everyone and managing to avoid Ryan yet again, she made her way over to Clay,
'hey uncle Clay, can I have a word?' he just nodded his head in response but made no move to separate from the group, 'in private, if you don't mind?' she asked again hoping he would get the hint, as she could see the other members looking at her curiously, Clay turned his dull blue eyes to her and nodded, walking off in the direction of the room they used for church.
Once she shut the door behind her, she turned to face the Samcro president as he sat in his seat at the head of the table, 'Jesus Em I don't bite, you can take a seat' he chuckled to her as he lit a cigar.
'sorry it's just I've never been in here before' she took the seat on Clays right and without really thinking she reached forwards to run her hand along the engraved sons of anarchy reaper in the centre of the table 'it's beautiful' she muttered to herself.
Looking at the young girl Clay couldn't help but notice at how well she fit, she really did fit at this table and she'd unknowingly chosen her father's chair. He couldn't help but hope that she and Jax would become something more than just friends, she'd be the perfect old lady, she was tough and feisty, she had club values and knew what it was about, but she was also fair and kind, something that wasn't normally associated with the club. Though deep down he couldn't help but feel slightly threatened by it, she could either be great for the club or she could change it entirely, she had Tig's temper, and his fight in her but she had so much of her mother in her, her kindness and warmth, something which he prayed this club wouldn't smother, she was the clubs light, especially to Jax and Opie. Jax would soon be vice president when he patched in and to be completely honest Clay couldn't deny him it and he knew the other's wouldn't either, Jax was pretty much acting like a VP already rather than a prospect, he did what was necessary for the family and he always came up with brilliant ways to get them out of shit. But looking at Tig's flesh and blood before him, he knew she had what it took, she could fight, she was brave, braver than she thought, she acted on instinct and when she did, christ she was a sight to behold, she had the fire in her that Gemma did, but she wasn't as threatening to the eye, she would have made a brilliant member, she would have easily patched in, if she wasn't a girl.
'so I had a talk with Rita' she looked up to judge his reaction, though he'd looked far away until she'd spoken now he looked interested
'and why would you be talking with Alverez's kid? Thought all you two did was beat the shit out of each other?' he asked a little sarcastic
'well yeah we do, but erm after the phone call I got the other day from the prison I gathered my Pa wasn't getting protection inside anymore and I sort of asked Rita to set up a meeting with her dad and yourself, and that me and her be there for the meeting, to make a deal with the Mayan's to give Pa some protection' she'd got nervous as his eyes bored into hers, causing her to fidget with the sleeves of her jumper in her lap,
'you did what?!' he bellowed as his fist slammed down on the table, oh shit, oh fuck he was angry, she hadn't prepared herself for this, I mean sure it was a possibility but she at least thought he'd hear her out properly before he went off on one, oh hell she was in deep deep do do. 'what gave you the fucking right to put yourself into club business?' He demanded
'Since it's my dad that's in there unprotected' she snapped back feeling her anger boil, so this would be it, he wasn't even gonna hear her out 'if you'd just hear me ou-' she began in a calmer voice before being cut off
'That does NOT give you the right to get involved and start making arrangements for a god damn meeting, I don't give a shit who's inside, I am president of this club and you shouldn't be saying or doing shit, you're not even an old lady, your just a fucking kid!' he continued ripping her a complete new one, she had noticed that the noise outside of the room had stopped, and that no doubt everyone out there could hear the bollocking she was receiving from the president. 'you wanna beat on Rita I don't give a shit, the Mayan's started the violence between the clubs, but for you to start making arrangements that's bullshit Emery' he continued
'so what am I supposed to do Clay? Just sit at home and wait for the news that my dad was stabbed to death? and then what do I do just get on with my life? You say Samcro take care of their own but my dad seems to be completely on his own right now, and he's only in there because he was protecting this family, does that not mean shit to you?' she shouted back, taking in the shocked look that came to Clays face, she was surprised he hadn't beat her, no one talked to Clay like this even she knew that, she was walking on very, very thin ice, 'I just want to keep him safe Clay' she spoke her voice slightly softer
'and I'll handle it, I'll get him protection I just need some time' he replied his voice still in its shouty stage,
'my dad doesn't have time Clay, just meet with Alverez, I told Rita that we'd pick the place but it has to be neutral ground and only her, her father, you and I go no one else, please' she was pretty much begging now,
'and say what when we get there? I have nothing to give the Mayan's that will make them protect your pa' he said seemingly quite calm, this was better they were actually discussing things rather than shouting at each other getting nowhere fast.
'there is one thing they'd probably trade protection for' he looked to her as his interest peaked 'the Hammond's deal' she said internally clenching up waiting for the tongue lashing to begin again instead he just stood, without thinking she stood up too,
'I need to call church, you stay there' he pointed a finger to her and she sat, holding her head down, hoping and praying she wasn't gonna be made an example of to the club members.
As the club members started filing in she noticed that Otto sat next to Clay on his left, then there was Bobby, then sat Lenny the pimp whom she rarely saw, Chibs took the seat next her and took hold of one of her hands which had gone back to playing with the sleeve of her jumper, she looked up to him giving him a tight smile as he squeezed her hand but didn't let go, next to him sat Happy, with Piney sitting at the opposite end of the table to Clay, behind Bobby and Otto, Jax and Opie stood against the wall, as she felt Juice and Ryan stand behind Chibs and Piney, she was guessing that since they were only prospect's they couldn't sit at the table, and presumably they couldn't vote, so why the hell was she still sat at the table?.
'church is in session, Emery has took it upon herself to get Rita to set up a meet with Alverez' looking around the members didn't look that shocked, since she'd gathered they'd probably been listening in she wasn't that surprised however the worried glances Jax kept throwing her way had pretty much set her on edge, now she was really worried. 'she thinks we should give them back the Hammond deal in exchange for protection for Tig whilst he's inside' everyone threw glances to each other, she notice Jax raise his eyebrow and nod at Opie who was whispering something to him, 'any ideas?' Clay asked out to the group, now being surrounded by all of the group she felt hesitant to speak up and decided she keep her trap shut until a good moment presented itself,
'I think it's a pretty good idea myself' Otto piped up, she felt a little proud as Otta held up his cigarette in a cheers sort of way, she'd won the VP over surely that meant something people!
'only problem is, we'll be upping their drug trade, won't be long till they start pushing it into Charming again and we've got enough of that shit with the Nord's' Bobby weighed in, that's it she thought, piss on my bonfire you curly haired ass,
'but we could make it part of the agreement, I mean, we could say that they can't deal in Charming, and any deals going down will be dealt with by the club' she hadn't even realised she'd spoken until all heads turned to her,
'yeah, but then that's still more shit on our plate to deal with Em' Bobby piped up again
'Tig's your brother, is his life not important enough that for him to keep hold of it you'll have to beat up some punk kids making shitty drug deals?' She fired back watching as guilt filled Bobby's face, she loved Bobby but right now he was sitting between her and her dads protection and she wasn't about to let it slide, even if she had to play the brother card,
'Jax you'll be the new VP soon what do you think?' Otto asked sensing the tension that now filled the room Emery was right of course but he could tell some of the lads didn't like the fact that this good idea had come from a 16 year old girl, personally he thought fair play to the girl, she obviously had balls. He knew he was just filling in the role of VP until Jax patched in and claimed it, it was an agreement he and Clay had made, the club couldn't not be seen to have a VP so Otto said he'd fill in until Jax was ready and in all honesty he couldn't wait to hand over the responsibility.
'I think it's a good idea, I mean the only real problems were getting off the Mayans is retaliation for us putting an end to the deal, and of course the fights between the girls, I think it's reasonable we give it them back, but with conditions like Red said, that way we squash the beef with the Mayans's and possibly gain an ally since the Niner's are getting braver' he nodded in her direction,
'The fights between me and Rita will stop that's something we both agreed on' she spoke up defending her idea,
'okay we'll take a vote' Clay began 'all those in favour of meeting with Alverez and making a deal on the Hammond deal, but, with conditions?' beside her Chibs was the first to speak
'aye' he said then winked at Emery,
'yeah' Happy's deep husky voice rang out, he looked at Emery with a look she wasn't use to and she couldn't quite guess what it was, pride, expectation or smug as though he'd been right about something, around them, there were collective yeah's as everyone agreed to the idea, there had been another little argument when Emery insisted it was just her and Clay that met with Rita and her father, since Jax more so than anyone kept saying it wasn't safe for her and that maybe someone should go in her place no doubt he was thinking it should be him, but she firmly told them that it was her idea and that Rita would only deal with her which was a teeny tiny lie. After that church was called to an end and all that was left to do was to wait for the call.
She'd decided to stay at the clubhouse tonight, she was still waiting for Rita's call, since it was taking so long she could only assume that the tanned girl was having as hard a time getting her father to agree as she had Clay, getting up from the sofa where she'd been watching a film with Opie, she began to make her way to the toilet, only she didn't really get that far as she was dragged by her arm, into a dorm room, 'what the hell' she shouted but was shocked when she turn to see Ryan looking down at her,
'you were ignoring me, what else was I gonna do' he shrugged at her, she turned to walk out the door but he stretched his arm above her and shut it, although she put a lot of strength into trying to pry the door open, she couldn't budge him, so instead she turned to face him but was caught off guard when she realised how close he was to her, she didn't fail to catch the intake of breath he took when she turned.
'look Ryan, I shouldn't have kissed you okay, you made it quite clear, you didn't need to drag me in here to embarrass me again' she stood her ground though she couldn't keep the blush from creeping onto her face,
'I didn't mean to upset you, look if you'd just stuck around instead if running off' he could tell she was going to try to butt it so instead he raised his voice slightly and started talking over her, 'I would have said that I can't do that to you'
She was a little taken off guard, 'do what exactly?' now she was curious,
'I can't be with you Em, your dad wouldn't allow It and I doubt the others would be that happy about it' he looked down at her 'but I miss you, I miss us hanging out or whatever and I hate the fact your avoiding me, and I know you think you embarrassed yourself but you didn't' he was leaning towards her and she had an idea about what was going to happen, and in some way she found herself wanting it, wanting that connection between them, she raised her head slightly so that their lips were millimetres apart from each other and just when she thought she was finally close to feeling that jolt she'd felt the last time their lips had touched, her phone started going off, she could ignore it surely they'd ring back, but taking her phone out of her pocket the number that flashed across wasn't familiar which meant one thing
'it's Rita' she looked up eyes wide to Ryan and within seconds they were out in the clubhouse main room and Emery was shushing everyone before pressing answer.
Jax was talking with Chibs about what had happened in church, then he saw Emery and Ryan come running into the room exclaiming that it was Rita ringing and telling everyone to be quiet, he couldn't help but feel a little proud and although he wished she'd told him what she had been planning he couldn't help but noticed that in some ways she handle things like a son, she was ruthless in getting Rita alone, even going against her normal behaviour, he knew the others had picked up on it too, that she would do anything to protect this family, though going behind Clay's back wasn't the brightest idea she'd ever had, he knew that if she'd mentioned it to him first he wouldn't have heard her out since she wasn't nor would she be a member. But one thing he didn't know the answer too and didn't like was the fact that Ryan had come in with Emery, where had they been, and had they been together? Wait why did he care?
Opie couldn't help but watch Emery as she answered the phone, even though Rita couldn't see her through the phone, he noticed that she stood straighter and put on a hard face as though she was talking to Rita face to face, he sat back and watched as the phone conversation played out
'hello, yeah….tell me about it…..okay' Opie wondered if all things went well with the girls would they be friends? Surely Emery wouldn't see her as a friend, an ally maybe, but not a friend.
'no Rita that wasn't the deal..' he saw everyone's faces change Happy had his mean face on and Clay was leaning forward, probably wishing he could hear what was being said on the other side. He knew he wished he could
'the deal was, Samcro pick the place, I gave you my word it would be in a neutral place and fairly in the middle of territories…I don't give a damn about that…..okay, put your father on the phone'
Instantly Clay was asking for the phone as Emery just shook her head at him, Red was brave he'll give her that, but she was making Clay nervous and he prayed she didn't screw it up, but she wouldn't would she? After all her father depended on her success.
'Marcus, the meet will happen at the warehouses just outside of Charming….no that's not negotiable….okay, sure 11's fine….it'll just be Clay and me….oh and Alverez, We don't like surprises, so don't try and pull anything' with that she pressed the end call button and turned to face Clay her once confident stance fell, she was nervous about what Clay was gonna say,
'you handled that well, I assume everything's set?' he raised an eyebrow at her,
'we'll meet them at the warehouse you suggested, just me and you, but I'd keep a couple people close by I don't doubt the Alverez will come with more men than just him and Rita, but they'll need to stay out of sight, if we get there for 10 we could set ourselves up then we'd be able to see just how many of his men he brings' she took a deep breath.
'You just remember whose president, when we get there I'll handle it, okay' he said firm but winked at her,
'sure thing, uncle Clay' she smiled and walked over to kiss his cheek whispering in his ear, 'thank you, for hearing me out' she smiled and walked off to her room to nap and pick out some suitable clothes for tonight. Whilst sitting on her bed April had called and Emery had filled her in on what was happening though she had sworn her to secrecy, after putting the phone down she lay down on her side on her bed closing her eyes hoping for a nap before the meet. She herd Jax's voice and opened her eyes she see him coming into her room shutting the door behind him, then he kicked off his shoes and pulled his hoodie off over his head, so he was just in a wife beater before laying down beside his friend.
'well I've gotta hand it to you Red you were pretty great' he winked at her as she rolled over to face him,
'would you think I was an idiot, if I told you I'm a little scared about the meet?' she asked him as he lifted his arm so that she could snuggle into his side and rest her head on his chest,
'nope, I'd think you were an idiot if you weren't worried bout it, but don't worry, me and Ope will be nearby we won't let nothing happen to you ight?, besides I'd be more worried about my ma getting jealous of you riding bitch on Clays bike' he nudged her playfully, as she slapped him in the stomach causing him to hunch forwards, 'not funny Teller' she laughed at him 'now shut up and let me nap'
Kissing her on the head he whispered in her ear 'I like it when you take charge' and even though she knew Jax was her friend she couldn't help but blush slightly. She woke to a knocking on her door, then Chibs walked in, 'come on lassie up and at it otherwise your gonna miss the meet' he raised his eyebrow at the sight of Jax snuggled into her side, she just shook her head at Chibs as he nodded smiling as he walked away, 'Jax get up were gonna be late' she nudged him, when glancing at the clock she jumped up making Jax jolt awake, 'shit, I've gotta get changed' without even thinking about the fact that Jax was in the room she lifted her jumper over head so that she was stood in her legging's and bra, she walked over to the chair she referred to as her dump chair and slipped on a black thin v-neck jumper, looking behind her to check Jax wasn't watching her she then changed out of her leggings into some black skinny high-waisted jeans and tucked the jumper into them, pulling on her black heeled boots, she finally turned to face Jax who had put his hoodie and his shoes back on, he walked over to her handing her, her throwing knife, 'you ready?' he asked
'as ready as I'm ever gonna be' she breathed as she took the knife and slipped it into her boot.
Stepping outside the clubhouse the club members were gathered around their bikes, Jax had stopped off at his room to pick up his gun which now sat tucked into the back of his jeans, reaching the group Clay held out a gun to her, 'just in case anything happens baby girl' she took the gun from him, checking the safety was on and slipped it into the back of her jeans as Jax had done, Chibs handed her, her leather jacket which she slipped on over the top, and Jax couldn't help but feel like she'd suit a cut instead, she ran her hand through her hair as she freed it from the leather jacket, her hair looking redder than it ever had against her all black outfit. He straddled his bike as Opie and the others got on theirs. Opie, Chibs and Jax were to stay close enough to be able to help if something happened but far enough away as to not be detected, the others would hold back unless they heard firing, he gave Emery a nod of his head and a small smile as she subconsciously fiddled with her mother's necklace, she then positioned herself on the back of Clays bike, then the Sons filed out of Teller-Morrow to meet with the Mayan's all the while Emery's heart beat fiercely in her chest.
The Sons pulled up on a small bank overlooking the warehouse, Emery looked around with squinted eyes as she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dim surrounding wood area, she could make out the outline of the rectangular warehouse, which had crates and metal containers spread out around it, she'd never been here before and she didn't really know the area that well either, Clay was talking over what would happen with the others as they all stood pretty much in a circle practically huddled together, it was cold tonight, unusually so, normally the cold wouldn't bother her but tonight she could see her breath as it left her mouth reminding her of younger years when Jax and Opie would pretend that they were smoking just like their parents as she would stand rolling her eyes at the pair, perhaps it was because she was scared of what was to come and that was why she felt the chill. It sounded like a pretty good plan but she wasn't gonna kid herself, she'd had to nurse and help Chibs stitch at least one of the Sons up every time they went on a run.
She continued to look around the area, now her eyes were adjusting she could see things better, looking at the path behind her she could see that it winded down the small hill to where the warehouse stood, she and Clay would ride down sometime soon, Jax, Chibs and Opie would go down the hill on foot, and hide amongst the trees not too far away, the others would stay crouched on the hill out of site and would only come down if they were needed. Since the Mayans were coming from Oakland they'd approach from the other side so at least they didn't have to worry about the lads on the hill getting spotted, also the trees were more sparse on their side so the Sons on the hill will have a good view on how many Mayans actually turned up, seeing the area she immediately understood why Clay had demanded the meet go down here, the Sons had the majority of advantages, hopefully though everything would all go to plan and no one would have to get involved right? Nah who was she kidding.
She turn to glance at the other's when she heard laughing, smiling a little herself, how did they do it they didn't seem all that much on edge I mean yeah she could tell they were a little tense but she was struggling to comprehend what was going to go down and the fact that the Sons were well armed didn't really fill her with much confidence. She could feel the pressure of the gun in her waistband as it dug into her back, She'd carried before but only in the house and tonight there was a very high possibility she was going to have to use it and she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about it, the thought of taking a life literally made her cringe inside and made her feel as though she was in darkness. Though she didn't think any less of the men in her family that had taken lives, she wasn't entirely comfortable with it either and that was a constant internal struggle which had reared its head the night Jax had confided in her his first kill, he hadn't mentioned it since that night and although she was curious she couldn't bring herself to ask him what his tally now stood at.
She turned back to study the road and woods again, hoping to commit some of it to memory in case something did go wrong, she was pulled from her trance like state by footsteps crunching on the ground behind her, she turn to see Jax walking up to her and pulling her into a hug, probably trying to warm her up a bit, 'how you feelin?' he asked
'okay I guess, just thinking' she shrugged back looking up at him,
'what about? If you're worried about this you can stay up here and I'll go with Clay' she had already begun shaking her head,
'no, I can't pull out now, Alverez won't like that things have changed, you know that. I'll be fine honest…besides you and Ope won't be too far away' she gave him a small smile as Clay approached holding something out to her, behind him she noticed Happy was replacing his shirt,
'here you go baby girl put this on' Clay held out a kevlar vest to her
'That Hap's?' she asked, Clay nodded his head in response, 'No I can't he'll need it more Clay' she started to decline it until Clay took hold of one of her hands and put the vest into it,
'Hap wants you to have it, besides if shit goes off, your gonna be in the thick of it' he turned away and began walking back she look to Happy who nodded at her telling her he wasn't gonna back down, so rather than fight it she just nodded back the rest of the club seeing her nod turned around to face away from her so that she could change into it, Jax included though he still stood near
'how the hell' she didn't realise she'd spoken out loud until Jax spoke,
'just put it over your head and fasten it at the sides Red' she looked up to see he was still turned away from her and had now lit a cigarette,
'thanks' she mumbled to him 'you know me wearing this kinda makes me more nervous'
'you decent?'
'yeah'
When he turned to face her, she was pretty sure she saw him rake his eyes over her, probably just checking she had it on properly, she reached her hand out for her jumper, Jax had put her jacket on the floor. Before she could grab her jumper off him, he slung it over his shoulder and reached for the vest undoing one side before doing it back up tighter 'don't panic okay, its just in case. I doubt the Mayan's will try owt they want the deal back too much to risk it so just chill ight?' he looked down at her. She just simply nodded at him before slipping on her jumper and tucking it back into her jeans re-arranging the gun so it was more comfortable, Jax held her jacket open for her as she turned into it, him pulling her hair out of the back of it.
Walking back to the group Emery made her way to Chibs, 'give me your phone' although he seemed confused he didn't hesitate in giving it to her, she pulled out her own and called him pressing answer she plugged in her headphones and handed it back to Chibs, showing him how to mute his microphone and unmute it, 'I'll leave the call on hands free, you guys keep the headphone's in, that way you should be able to hear what's happening, keep your side muted unless I say to unmute it okay, it'll just keep you guys up here posted easier' she then turned to Jax 'you got your headphones?' he just nodded then got them out and plugged them into his phone accepting the call when it came through, now they would be in a three way phone call so the guys on the hill will know what's going on and so will Jax and the other two in the woods, turning to Clay she nodded, tucking her iPhone into her back pocket with the speaker facing up and poking out 'ready when you are' she began walking towards his bike, Clay just looked back to the rest of the group who seemed a bit astonished, he raised his eyebrows at them 'hmm...and why didn't no-one ever think of that before?' he muttered as the others laughed a little shaking their heads, it sure would have made life so much more simple.
Standing in the clearing by the warehouse doors, Emery couldn't help but strain her eyes to the distance in hopes of spotting Alverez and his daughter approaching in the distance, all the while she was biting her bottom lip, feeling her heart slam against her chest, she had to fight the urge to keep looking behind to see if she could get a glimpse of Opie or Jax, knowing that seeing their faces would bring her some comfort. She noticed Clay staring at her through the corner of his eyes, she knew he was assessing her, trying to figure her out, in some ways she thought that maybe he wanted her to fail or slip up that way he could prove his point that a girl couldn't stomach being a member, but that wasn't why she was here, she didn't really care for being a member of the club, sure she would support it in any way she could and she was proud of her family but deep down she knew she wasn't cut out for it.
Movement in the distance claimed her attention, she could just make out three silhouette's walking towards them as Clay came to stand beside her
'look's like the Mayan's brought a friend' he spoke to her
'I think its Rodrigo, no doubt the others arnt too far away' she looked to Clay as he nodded at her but she couldn't help tensing up, her father's life depended on this meeting's success. As the trio finally came into view Emery couldn't help but notice certain family dynamic's, although all three were walking together she noticed that Rodrigo stood to his father's left and slightly away from Rita and their Father. Although she didn't doubt he was well built his height made him look slightly lanky and she couldn't help but think he looked fairly nervous, whereas Rita walked with confidence and ease a glint in her dark eyes which made her appear cat like, as she walked hips swaying, she was wearing dark jeans and a crop top showing off her smooth brown skin, her pierced belly button visible, what did take Emery by surprise was the fact that she donned a Mayan cut, similar to her brothers, both had prospect written on them. Was that why Clay got pissed at her for taking charge and asking for the meeting, did that mean that Rita would think she was actually a member of Samcro? Alverez leaned in and spoke something to Rita which she nodded in response, Emery didn't miss the jealous look that was thrown in the President's direction from his son. She'd never seen both siblings together with their father but looking at them now, it was clear that Rita was no doubt the go to child for Alverez and not Rodrigo, though she'd always seen it as Rodrigo looking out for Rita it was obviously an act since people knowing that Rita had such a solid position in the Club and would no doubt be the next Mayan president meant that she would become a target and as Emery well knew, girls could be easily broken by rival clubs, she'd heard enough stories about rape and torture.
'what happen to just you, me and the girls Marcus?' Clays voice bellowed once Alverez and his children were near, Emery looked to Rita who simply nodded at her in greeting, she chose to ignore Rodrigo since she wanted to find out for sure if her theory was right about Rita being the heir to the Mayan mc
'you and I both know your boy's are nearby hermano' Marcus spoke back 'they may as well come out' he shouted, Emery internally cringed at the volume before looking to Clay, he gave her a look which she wasn't quite sure what he meant by it, not wanting Alverez to know how out of her comfort zone she was she just decided to guess at what Clay would want, Seeing Marcus wave his hand forward, she saw four more men make their way towards them,
'Jax, you guys may aswell come out' she called though she knew they'd hear her through the phone, Feeling Opie's presence loom behind her she felt somewhat calmer. Just as Clay and Alverez began to discuss the proposition, figure's appeared from the fringe of the forest the Mayans had previously appeared from. Gunshots began to ring out, ducking she felt Opie shelter her, dragging her behind a crate, keeping her head down she shouted to him over the noise 'what the hell was that?!'
'you're gonna need that gun Red, Niner's just joined the party'.