The ice between Sydney and Tig may be melting, but a thawing foundation only deepens the cracks as SAMCRO finds themselves on the end of a potentially glacier-crumbling mistake.

General trigger warnings for this story: Language, smut, mentions of rape, abuse, drug use/overdose, violence/death, racism/gang activity.

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CHAPTER 30: DEFROSTING

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Happy felt his eyes shoot open at the crack of dawn, as they had every morning of his entire life - a habit that his mother swore came from the military in a past life. But something that most definitely hadn't been part of every morning of his entire life, was the nag that he felt in the back of his mind to stay in bed.

He scowled, the out of character thought alone shooing itself away as the confusion brought him directly out of the haze where he looked around Maya's bedroom where his scowl only deepened. There was hardly any light that made it through the black curtains that she had covering the only window, the walls were bare, and the sheets weren't anything special like the silks and satins that he was used to in Sydney's bed - so why did he feel so compelled to stay?

He chuckled as a particularly loud snore rippled up Maya's throat from where she was passed out across his chest, sliding out from underneath her as he searched the light-coloured hardwood floor for his clothing - just as he had done the morning before.

Maya felt the familiar pounding in her head that she felt any time she was awoken, yanking a pillow over her head with a groan as she realized that it was morning.

"Mornin'." Happy smirked as he watched her naked form curl tighter under the covers.

But suddenly, mornings weren't so bad... "You leaving?" She lifted her head, peering over her shoulder at where he was now dressed and standing in the doorway. She had no idea why or how he got up so early - especially after the nights that they shared together, but it was another question that she didn't feel the need to ask yet.

"Yeah." He nodded curtly. "You going back to bed?" He smirked again.

"Yep." Maya giggled, hiding her burning cheeks in the pillow that she was clutching in her arms. "I'll see you soon?"

"I'll call you." Happy nodded before turning down the hall and making his way out the door that she never seemed too fussed about locking, a habit that he would have to work on with her.

But that was another thought that he shook away as he mounted his bike, deciding as he fired up the engine that he should return to sleeping in his clubhouse dorm. Making a habit out of sleeping in the little blonde's bed seemed to have given her the wrong idea when in reality, he'd just enjoyed the in-house pussy, and break from Sydney and Tig's constant fucking from the room next door.

He made the short drive to TM, his fingers curling around his handlebars with a restlessness that he couldn't quite place - shaking his head as he parked his bike along the rail and sauntered into the clubhouse where he found Tig passed out on the couch.

"Oh, hey, brother." Tig sat up quickly once he realized that the sound of footsteps was what had coaxed him out of his alcohol-induced slumber, acting as if he had been awake the whole time.

Happy scoffed, saying nothing to the hungover man across the room before he walked down the hallway to his dorm, happy to see that his bedding had been washed while he was away.

"Hey, Hap?" Tig stood in the doorway squinting, rubbing his eyes which struggled to adjust to the light. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Okay." Happy nodded curtly.

"You seen Syd lately?"

"Last night." He nodded again.

"You see those bruises she's got?" Tig chose to ignore the fact that she'd apparently had time for Happy, but not him.

"What about 'em?" The bald man grew impatient with the Sergeant's never-ending gloating. He didn't want to think about their sex life more than he already had to.

"Did she tell you where they came from?"

Happy's brow knit when the taunt came out as more of a question. Sydney had made it sound like they'd come from her and Tig playing rough, but with the way that the dark-haired man was standing before him, looking just as concerned as he had been when he'd first seen them himself, almost made him think that he was trying to determine their origin.

"No." He lied. If she was lying about where they came from, it was for a reason - and it was a reason that he was going to get to the bottom of.

"Okay, thanks, man." Tig retreated with a sad smile, seeing that, unsurprisingly, the Nomad wasn't in the mood to chat.

"You should get your shit together if you wanna keep her." Happy called after him.

"What?" Tig squinted, taking a step backwards so that the slender man was back in view.

"Makin' her feel like your shit is her fault."

"I can handle my old lady." The blue-eyed man growled.

"Doesn't seem like it."

Tig clenched his fists by his sides, grinding his teeth as he tried to fight the urge that had always solved his problems in the past, but would do nothing to solve them now, and he didn't have the strength to fight back verbally in his current state. He hadn't come to Happy to be told that he was fucking things up - he already knew that, so instead he stomped next door to his room where he slammed the door and stripped down before getting into the shower. He didn't even bother adjusting the temperature as he threw himself under the scalding water where he voraciously scrubbed at his scalp, as if the action of physically shaking his head would have the same effect, mentally.

He shut the taps off just as abruptly as he'd turned them on before he made his way over to the sink, dripping water where he brushed his teeth before finally towelling off so that he could pull on fresh clothes - making himself look presentable before he stalked down the hallway and rounded the corner into the bar.

Sydney froze when she was met with the icy blue eyes that she'd been hoping to avoid after hours of exhausting torture that she'd put her own mind through during a tumultuous spiral of how to move past what she knew was beyond repair, her cork wedges putting her much closer to his face than she would've liked. She knew that she was going to have to face him sooner or later, but when Happy had called and told her that Clay needed her at the clubhouse, she'd hoped that it would mean the latter.

"Where's Clay?" She blinked up at him, noting that he'd already showered off his night with Cheryl.

"He ain't here." Happy announced as he emerged from the hallway, strolling past them with a smirk.

Sydney exhaled sharply when she recognized the smug look on his face, realizing that this had been his plan all along - and she'd totally fallen for it.

"We need to talk..." Tig told her weakly once they were alone.

"You put him up to this?" She placed her hands on her hips.

"No." He shook his head harshly, copying her movements.

"Why don't you talk to Cheryl? Since you can't talk to me." She hated how the words sounded coming out of her mouth - petty and bitter - but the bubbling anger in her chest made her unable to stop them.

"You think I talked to Cheryl?" He cocked his head back with a scowl.

"I think you did a little more than talk..." She scoffed.

Tig bit his lip, shaking his head as he exhaled in frustration. He couldn't believe that he had so stupidly allowed the ruthless croweater to give Sydney even more reason not to trust him. "Alright." He rubbed his forehead with a wince. "Well did you hear what I said to her? Since you're such a spy." He shot back.

"Her hands all over you said enough." Her tone was cold, and her expression was hard as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm a taken man." He looked into her eyes with a blinding sincerity. "No matter how much you may not want me to be."

"What the hell does that mean?" She scowled, shaking her head incredulously.

He looked to the ground with a crease in his forehead as his lips flattened in a harsh line. He knew that she didn't want to be with him, but he couldn't make himself say it out loud, that would make it real...

"Tig..." Her voice threatened to break through the proverbial wall that she'd spent the sleepless night building around her emotions - keeping her promise to herself that she wouldn't cry over what she had caused - when she saw that he wasn't willing to elaborate, but his expression said enough. "Transparency is the only way that this works..." She sighed.

"You sound like Gemma." He scoffed.

"Yeah, well..." She sighed. "I'm starting to think that she might've been onto something." She chuckled humourlessly.

His head stayed down, unable to meet her eyes. He knew that this was going to go one of two ways: either he would be forced to relive the memory that had been killing him for days, or she would tell him the truth - that he was too damaged for her. And both ended in the same way - with his heart back in the pieces that she'd found it in.

"Look, I know that you don't wanna talk about Santa Cruz-"

"It's not that I don't want to." He cut her off, shaking his head as his throat locked. "I can't." His voice cracked now as his eyes stung with tears. "I want you to know, I just-"

"I don't need to know." She cut him off this time, hoping to ease some of his inner turmoil. "I'm sorry if I made it seem like that. I want you to tell me when you're ready, if that day comes." Her tone was soft and understanding. "But what I do need to know is that the fear it's causing you, isn't going to shit all over what I want here..."

"I can't lose you..." He choked out the damning truth, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm not going anywhere… But if I can't live the life that I've chosen, I might have to." His head snapped up to see the pain in her beautiful big eyes - pain that he'd caused. "I didn't spend my whole life training just to be an old lady, Tig. It's not in my blood. I only know how to navigate this life one way, and I know how to do it well. You need to trust that I know what I'm doing. Because if you keep interfering, someone will end up hurt. And I don't want that someone to be you, because you won't be what keeps me here." Her lips trembled as she gave him the honesty that neither of them wanted to accept - that their love may have been damned from the very start.

"That's why I fell in love with you." He chuckled humourlessly. "Because you could handle yourself..." Irony was a bitch.

"Then let me." She whispered, reaching for his hand and stroking her thumb over his bruised knuckles - reminding her that her own bruises played a huge part in why they were having this conversation to begin with, she just hoped that her words had been effective enough to keep him from bringing it up again...

Tig squeezed his eyes shut as he held her hand tightly. He did feel some relief that Clay hadn't had her assassinated for holding him at gunpoint, and now that he didn't have the looming dread of having to tell her about his nightmare, maybe things would be okay...

"I love you." He sighed. "I'm always gonna worry about something happening to you..."

"I'm not saying you can't worry." She shook her head. "I just can't have that worry interfering at the table. We can't judge Jax if we do the same thing..."

Tig nodded, his expression hardening as his mind took a left turn. "I need to know what's going on there." He couldn't let it eat away at him any longer. Their personal issues were one thing, but her issues with Jax affected the club - he had a right to know.

God dammit. Sydney ground her teeth after she had almost escaped the conversation. "If I tell you, you need to promise me that you will keep it to yourself…" She closed her eyes and exhaled, chewing her bottom lip as she weighed her options. "That means that you say nothing to anyone. Nothing to Jax, nothing to Happy, nothing to Clay. Can you do that?"

Tig nodded hesitantly. He wasn't sure if he would actually be able to do that, but he wouldn't know unless he tried to do what she was asking, and trust that she had things under control.

"Jax was still angry about the Nevada blackmail when he saw me come back with Hale on Thursday. He thought I was pulling some kind of double agent shit so he..." She paused. "Informed me of how he felt about that. I tried to set him straight, but he was already under the impression that seeing me with Hale gave him some kind of leverage, so he-"

"So he started using it as an excuse to mouth off because he thought you'd want him to keep your secret." Tig connected the dots. "So you're sayin' that he..." He looked to the faded mark on her chest where it peeked through the long blonde hair that wasn't included in the half-bun sitting on the top of her head.

She nodded regrettably, her eyes falling shut as she prayed that she hadn't made the wrong choice in trusting him...

"I'm gonna kill him." He snarled, pushing past her and heading toward the door.

"Tig!" The anger of betrayal rose in her chest as he stomped away so coldly, ignored her pleas so valiantly. "You promised!" She cried.

Tig stopped, her innocent words yanking on his heartstrings and pulling him right back with a heavy sigh and a mournful shake of his head.

Sydney approached him cautiously where he stood firmly planted in front of the door as his chest heaved and his arms stayed glued at his sides, placing her delicate hands on his face while he huffed.

"You promised me..." She whispered, her soft touch instantly calming him as she walked him backwards and sat him on the couch near the door, straddling his lap to keep him in place. "Me and Jax are okay. It's rocky, but it's okay." She tried to assure him - soothe him, reason with him. "That ATF agent from the booth yesterday - Kohn... He's Tara's ex."

"What?" Tig scowled.

"It's not a coincidence..." She put his confusion to rest with a sigh. "He came here for Tara, not the club. That's where I was going the other day after church - to talk to Tara." She looked down guiltily as the memory of rushing out after she'd worried him so greatly, flashed through her mind. "Kohn found out about her past with Jax and he's using his power over the club against her. That's the other thing I found out at the station." She looked back up into his eyes. "I need Jax to trust me right now. If he doesn't believe that Kohn is corrupt and dangerous, it could stir something up that lands the entire club into trouble."

"You've been doing this for the club the whole time..." Tig realized, nodding slowly as everything that he'd wondered about over the last few days finally came together in a way that made sense.

She nodded, stroking his shoulders. "You can retaliate for this." She brushed her straightened hair over her shoulder where the discoloured patch of skin above her tattoo sat. "But it can't be right now, not when Jax thinks that everything I do is to take him down."

"Okay." Tig nodded reluctantly, looking up at her as he pushed the anger further and further down in his chest.

She watched his eyes soften, a smile of relief coming to her face when she saw it; the way that he looked at her - that loving gaze that she thought she'd stripped him of.

Tig's lips pulled up subconsciously to mimic her smile, glad that he was still able to do that to her. He leaned up to kiss her, meeting her lips softly before he was interrupted by a loud hollering.

"Aye!" Their heads whirled towards the offending noise to see Chibs bounding through the door. "Jesus Christ!" The jolly Scotsman yelled when he looked over to see the pair entangled. "D'you two ever do anythin' except dry hump all over the damn place?"

"Ah, come on, Chibby... It's not always dry." Tig responded with a sly grin, turning back to Sydney to finish what he'd started, but she quickly got up out of his lap.

"I need to talk to Clay before everyone else gets here." She explained away the moment of hesitation that she herself didn't quite understand.

"Should be here any minute." Chibs responded as he scanned the room, looking around the familiar sight of home that didn't involve Tig's hands down Sydney's pants.

Tig nodded, feeling his doubt come flooding back in when she scurried away from him, but he decided to focus on the many positives of the morning instead of the one negative - especially considering that just twenty minutes ago, she'd thought that he'd cheated on her.

;

Jax stood in the middle of the woods with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his dark blue SAMCRO hoodie as he felt the urge to flinch with every gunshot that rang through his ears at the offending hour, beginning to fade.

"You sure this is a good idea?" He raised a brow as he looked over to Piney as they stood off to the side while Nate and his son went to town on the massively discounted hardware.

"Oh, yeah." Piney brushed off the skepticism of his VP. "Nate - he just hangs out with these survivalist cats... Bunch of crazy old guys playing, I don't know, capture the flag or something." He chuckled heartily.

"Maybe you should join him." Jax nudged his own crazy old man with a smirk.

Piney snickered, letting the smile linger on his face before he turned towards Jax and lowered his voice. "I want to thank you for, uh... For helpin' get this set up for me."

"No problem, Piney." Jax smiled as he clapped the founding member on the shoulder before leading him towards the men who had finally lowered the weapons. He wasn't exactly sure what Piney thought he had to do with the deal that he hadn't thought of, facilitated, or even cared for to begin with - but he wasn't about to chase away the one person who felt like he was doing something right.

Nate unloaded what remained in his clip as the bikers approached, chuckling as they flinched. "Those Russians make one hell of a gun." His glassy eyes nearly disappeared as the prominent crinkles surrounding them, deepened as he squinted in the early morning sun. "I'll give them that."

"Yeah." He son pushed out of the group, practically throwing the envelope of cash that they didn't have to spare, into Jax's hands.

Jax scowled as he thumbed through what should've been a much thicker stack. "Hey!" He called after the asshole who was already packing up what he thought were his guns. "Looks like you're about $5,000.00 light." He raised a brow.

"I thought we were getting the family discount?" The short-haired man questioned in a tone that was all but diplomatic.

"You are." Jax scoffed. "$10k is a discount."

"I know damn well that these guns go for a grand on the street."

Jax nearly choked on a laugh. "When was the last time you were on the street, Junior?" He smirked.

"Russ." Piney glared at the little boy that hadn't done much to grow into a man since he'd seen him decades ago. "We had a deal. Give the man is godddamn money."

Russ' jaw hooked and unhooked a few times, anger beginning to build in his chest as he made himself look like a fool in their presence. "Pay him." He sneered to his father. This blood would be on his hands.

Nate blinked as his nostrils flared under the failed effort of his son that he had been stupid enough to trust in the first place. "Here you go." He nodded to Jax apologetically as he handed him the envelope that contained the balance. He hadn't meant to disrespect his old friend, or his old friend's son, he had only been doing what desperate times called for.

"Thanks, Piney." He shook the larger man's hand as the younger one stared him down - a dead ringer for his father, no doubt. "I'll be seeing you." He nodded through the lie that stung in his chest.

"Yeah." Piney smiled back, feeling his grip falter as he pulled away quickly. "Hey!" He called after him. "You take it easy, brother." He narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah..." Nate nodded quickly. "Yeah, you too."

;

"And you say I'm sneaky." Happy smirked around his cigarette when he heard Sydney's voice, turning from where he stood, leaning against the bike rail as the sun began to peek over the roof of the garage.

"You are." He nodded.

"Apparently I ain't the only one... Secret plan, secret girlfriend..." She mused as she swiped his cigarette, taking a drag before tossing it back with a laugh as he fumbled to catch it, and black ash rained down over his grey sweatshirt.

"Work shit out?" He raised a brow.

"Yup." She rolled her eyes.

"Good. Now you wanna tell me why you're marked up?"

"Not really." She scoffed, looking to the pavement beneath her sandals.

"I wasn't askin, little girl." His voice thickened as his eyes narrowed.

"Sure sounded like a question to me." She looked up with a smirk, providing herself with a small bit of verbal recompense after he'd stuck his nose in her business - no matter how much she appreciated it. "Promise you won't get mad?" She relented, innocently jutting out her lip.

"No." He shook his head.

"I got myself locked up the other day… During the raid..."

"Sydney..." Happy stepped closer to her as she rolled her eyes again when her name came out of his mouth - a sound that she only heard when she was about to catch a lecture. "You do not give the cops any reason to-"

"It was to gather intel." She cut off his growing disappointed with her ignorance to one of the most important rules that he'd always instilled in her. "Unser got it dropped, but I made sure that it was something minor - just to get me in the door."

"They know who you are now." He shook his head.

"It was gonna happen sooner or later." She shrugged. "May as well be on my own terms, when I can use it to my advantage."

Just in the nick of time, the rumbling of Clay's bike interrupted their conversation as he pulled onto the compound, parking just feet from where they were arguing.

"Aight." Happy nodded reluctantly. "But be careful." He narrowed his eyes.

"I will." She nodded.

"You better." He tipped his strong chin in a formal nod to the Northern Cali President before turning his attention back to her. "I'm headin' out again."

"Didn't you just get back?" She whined for no purpose other than to piss him off.

"That's what Nomad means." He allowed a smug smirk to tug at his lips. "I'll be back soon." He nodded before climbing onto his bike.

"Alright, but don't think that you're off the hook for that girlfriend!" She called over the loud exhaust.

"Don't know what you're talking about." He smirked over his shoulder before letting his all black machine carry him out of the lot.

Clay smiled at his younger brother as he cruised past them, letting his expression linger for a few seconds in hopes of cutting some of the tension. "You ain't packin', are ya?" He joked, turning her around by her elbow to check the waistband of her light washed jeans.

"I could have a gun hiding anywhere..." She joked back, a wave of relief rushing over her when he broached the subject lightheartedly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean any disrespect by it, I just-"

"Needed to send Jax a message." He smirked.

"Yeah..." She bit her lip. "I know that holding a President at gunpoint doesn't exactly earn one any brownie points, but…" She grimaced. "I was hoping we could just call it even?"

"Even for?" He cocked a brow.

"Gemma."

"You mean your fastpass ticket inside?" His brow raised even higher.

"Potatoe, potato." She shrugged.

"Yeah, okay." Clay chuckled, he couldn't help but admire her boldness - a boldness that he was lucky to have on his side.

Sydney smiled before turning to leave, satisfied with the outcome of all of the fences that she'd managed to mend over the past twenty-four hours.

"Hey!" Her trip back up to cloud nine was delayed when she heard his low voice calling her back to him. "I'm trusting you here." He narrowed his blue eyes.

"I won't make you regret it." She assured with a nod, grateful for not only his trust - but also his lack of questioning.

;

Vic Trammel sighed as he sat in the passenger seat of an unmarked patrol car, rolling his eyes as his hands anxiously drummed against the dashboard in early morning traffic.

"It's all good, man." Saunders nodded from the driver's seat as they rolled up behind the prison transport vehicle. "You'll get your fry bread soon enough." He teased.

Trammel was about to fire something back to his longtime partner, but his attention was stolen by an older man hobbling out of the passenger seat of the vehicle that had stopped behind them. He scowled, rolling down the window with a raised brow, hardening his expression in hopes that the nagging worry in the pit of his stomach would follow suit.

"Hey, I'm lookin' for Good Shepherd Junior High School." The nicely dressed man smiled jovially through his southern accent. "I'm late droppin' off my grandson at school, I thought it was supposed to be along County 18 somewhere..."

"You missed it." Trammel nodded over his shoulder. "It's about six miles back."

"Over there?" The man scowled, pointing down a side road.

"No." Trammel turned around, hanging his head out the window as he pointed the confused gentleman in the right direction before he found himself on the other end of a Smith & Wesson 19.

"Don't you move!" Nate yelled, watching as the two men froze before he nodded to the car that had stopped in front of their transport, and had successfully been holding up traffic.

"Oh shit..." Trammel groaned as he watched multiple masked men pour from the old Jeep Cherokee with AKs in hand as they demanded the release of the only prisoner aboard.

"Get Frank's son out of the van!" Trammel heard, blinking quickly as he did whatever he could to remember each and every detail about what he was witnessing.

"Stay still..." Nate narrowed his eyes as he watched the black man flinch, glancing back to check on the progress of their break-out before he was knocked clean off his feet by Trammel swinging the door into him.

"Hold it right there!" Saunders yelled as he launched himself out of the vehicle and took aim, but he wasn't quick enough as one of the men turned on him and began firing.

"Saunders!" Trammel screamed over the rapid gunshots that he could tell had killed his best friend instantly, and were now doing the same to the prison guards that tried to follow his brave lead, putting his hands up in surrender as the gunman finally turned on him.

;

"How'd this mornin' go?" Clay nodded to Jax from where he sat at the head of the table with a cigar in hand.

"Jarhead's were dicks, but it made Piney happy. I think it's cool." Jax nodded, speaking for himself and the old man who was busy doing whatever it was that he did, tossing the envelope containing the measly $10k, onto the table

"Any tails?" The President raised a pointed brow.

"Nah." Jax pursed his lips with a confident shake of his head. "Doubled back three times, no one followed us."

Sydney only half-breathed a sigh of relief as she sat in her seat, buzzing with anxiety as she prayed that he was right this time, and that both he and Tara had taken her advice seriously enough to have the conversation about Kohn before it was too late...

Clay nodded, turning his attention to Chibs for an answer about his real concern. "So, who'd McKeevy see up north?"

"A few gun brokers, some Irish ex-pats, some fat black hookers." The Scotsman spoke as he removed his gloves while snickers filled the room.

"Where is he now?"

"Port Authority contacts. We got a week, then he wants his $200k."

"We're workin' on it..." Clay grimaced, looking away.

"Clay, he made it very clear. We gotta have the money up front for the IRA to keep them flush, otherwise they'll find new suppliers."

"Laroy's gonna take his two orders today. If we convince Jury to buy even some of those guns, we bank over two hundred." Bobby nodded optimistically.

"So we convince him." Clay stamped out his cigar. "We ride up tomorrow - pitch the guns, have them delivered by the end of the week before McKeevy gets back."

"How're we working it?" Sydney asked as everybody nodded while Jax side-eyed her through his nod that was muchslower.

"We're gonna need a big presence in Nevada." Bobby sat back against his chair. "Need to show the Mayans that we ain't fuckin' around this time."

"Organize another charity ride." Clay nodded to Juice who shot up out of his seat and jogged out of the chapel, eager to do something helpful since he had been out of commission. "Me, Tig, Jax, Bobby, Ope, Chibs - Sack and Juice in the van. Vegas said that shit with the Mayans has been quiet, that should be enough."

Tig was relieved to hear that Sydney wasn't on the roster. He knew that he needed to get over his fear of something happening to her, but it was easier said than done, and being spared of the worry that he would surely harbour the entire ride through dangerous territory was something that he was grateful for.

Sydney smiled at Kip where he sat in the corner of the room by Jax, elated that the prospect was finally getting some recognition and a chance to shine, that she didn't even care about not being on the relay. That was, however, until she realized what not being on the relay meant...

"Day ride?" She asked hopefully.

"Nah. Vegas' gonna wanna visit." Clay shook his head. "We stay the night - a show of good faith."

She nodded as she slid her gold pendant along the chain, her eyes fixated on his smoldering cigar in the ashtray in front of her. Tig had told her this morning that he had no intention of cheating, but the lifestyle of an outlaw motorcycle club had a very different definition of cheating than she did, and it was a definition that she'd never realized that she possessed, before she met Tig.

"Clay! Friends are back." Juice called, motioning towards the security screen where two black SUVs pulled onto the compound, followed by Hale in his Bronco.

Tig and Sydney exchanged a worried glance, getting to their feet as the chapel cleared out and everybody followed their President outside to greet what they hoped was not another display of Kohn's jealousy.

"Are you the feds, or limo drivers?" Clay greeted with a facetious grin - as he always did in the face of his enemies.

A skinny woman with sandy blonde hair approached him with a smile, producing her badge. "ATF, I'm looking for the owner of Teller-Morrow Automotive." She spoke directly to the outlaw President who she already knew to be the owner of the garage, completely ignoring the VP standing next to him with his chest puffed out.

"That's me." Clay nodded.

"Come on." Hale nodded, grabbing Clay's wrists and turning him around as he secured the handcuffs around them.

"You gonna bother mentionin' a charge?" Clay raised a brow, remaining much calmer than he had during the last unexpected visit.

"What the hell is going on?" Gemma yelled as she appeared on the scene where she saw her husband being carted off in cuffs; a sight that brought back far too many memories for her liking.

"No charges yet. I just need to discuss your relationship with a Nate Meineke." The Agent gave a chipper explanation.

Worry pulsed through the veins of each and every member standing on the compound, running over every possible scenario in their heads as to where ATF could've possibly gotten whatever intel it was that they had.

"Who?" Clay scowled.

"Nate Meineke." She smiled. " He's one of the men who held up a prison transport vehicle this morning - killed three people with AK-47s." The blonde woman nodded to her partner who began walking Clay to her vehicle. "We found Mr. Meineke's cell phone at the scene, the last call that he received was from your garage."

"Jesus Christ..." Jax muttered out of the side of his mouth.

"This is very bad..." Sydney muttered back, glancing up at Tig who shook his head angrily at the careless mistake that now threatened to take them all down.

"Get Piney here, look for any cover that we can use for Meineke." Jax ordered to Opie and Juice.

"This have anything to do with that raid the other day?" Gemma narrowed her eyes at her son.

"Go back to the office, business as usual." He shook his head as he ran his hands over his face. "I'll tell you more when I can."

Gemma nodded reluctantly when she heard the seriousness in his command, heading back to the office where she attempted to focus on her paperwork and keep her worry at bay - something that she had never been good at doing.

;

"I was in the garage, just waitin' for you... I called Nate to confirm the meet, I never thought anything like this would happen." Piney explained with a sigh from his seat at the table where he stared at the empty spot across from him; the spot where Clay usually sat.

"You had no idea what they were up to, Pop." Opie assured his father - and his club.

"I don't get off that easy, though." Piney shook his head. "I let friendship interfere with business, I know better..."

Sydney was glad to hear the old man admit his faults, but it didn't change how shocked she was that this had happened in the first place - such a minor, mitigable slip up that could take down the entire MC.

"You gotta reach out to them, Piney..." Jax shook his head. "We gotta find these guys before the feds do."

"Nate would not rat on me." Piney assured the angry VP.

"No, but his dipshit kid sure will." He scoffed.

"It's just a matter of time before the feds connect you to Nate, and come after you too." Opie reminded his father.

Sydney smirked to herself. It seemed that all that the lifelong pals needed to be able to see the bigger picture, was a little push from the law… But for the sake of keeping the peace with Jax - and respect for Opie who had gone out of his way to make her feel better the night before - she kept the snarky comment to herself.

"You know, Opie. I don't give a shit. How's that?" Piney's forthcomingness faded as soon as his son opened his mouth in a way that dared to criticize him.

"Yeah, well I do." Jax intervened, he had enough father-son issues of his own to deal with. "Take him to the cabin." He nodded to Opie.

"Oh, so you're calling the shots now?" Piney scoffed.

"That-"

"That's what the Vice President patch means, old man." Sydney cut Jax off as she defended him with the simple fact - unable to pass up the opportunity to earn herself some credit with him in a way that didn't involve kissing his ass. "But you know that, don't you?" She cocked her head as she narrowed her eyes at the former VP.

"Yeah..." Piney relented with a harsh stare of his own, getting up out of his seat and heading out the door to follow the order of the man that he'd passed his title down to.

"He's just pissed at himself..." Opie tried to defend his father's disrespect to his best friend. He knew it wasn't warranted, but he felt an odd sense of responsibility over his father in the moment; almost like if he couldn't apologize for his own actions, maybe he could apologize for his... "We'll find them." He nodded before following his old man out to ensure that he got up to the cabin safely.

;

Clay sighed as the bony woman that had arrested him, finally made her way into the interrogation room. "I see you haven't called your lawyer?" She raised a brow as she closed the door behind her.

"My lawyer is twelve-hundred an hour." Clay scoffed. "When I got a problem worth that pay scale, I'll give him a call." He turned up his lip.

"And you don't think that aiding and abetting a murderer in a triple homicide is a problem?" She crooned as she pulled out the chair across from him.

"I don't know nothin' about that crime, or the guys that did it." Clay sighed, fighting off an eye roll.

"Home grown terrorists... Uber right wing fanatics..." Stahl mused. "Not the brightest figs in the Newton, but dangerous enough to clock a watch." She shrugged.

"Just cause somebody from my garage called those assholes, doesn't make me an accessory to murder." His voice was gravelly in the back of his dry throat.

"No." She cocked her head. "But your association with an organized crime syndicate, and your rap sheet for gun running flags you as the source of their illegal AKs."

Clay sighed, tipping his head back as he got ready to rehearse the worn out excuse. "The Sons of Anarchy is a motorcycle club. And, uh... Just for your information? I haven't been charged with a crime, gun related or otherwise, in over seven years." He held his hands out. "I'm a mechanic, and a motorcycle enthusiast."

Stahl smiled sarcastically as she leaned over the table. "You are a criminal, and a gun runner." She nodded. "And in my book? You are responsible for the deaths of three innocent people."

Clay refused to give her the satisfaction of eye contact as she played the 'bad cop' routine, shrugging as he lifted a water bottle to his lips until she stopped her spiel that, for once, wasn't the truth.

"Now." She straightened up. "In a couple of hours, I will have a warrant to search your garage, and your little clubhouse. We'll see how enthusiastic you are then." She smirked.

;

Jax stood in the middle of the bar, shaking his head after what he felt must've been hours of pacing when Bobby finally appeared in the doorway after spending his morning trying to mitigate the damages. "Hey, you call Trammel?" He perked up, hopeful that their friend on the inside could provide them with some valuable information.

"Trammel called us…" Bobby sighed. "Looking for Clay. He was one of the officer's on that transport..."

"Ah, shit..." Jax swiped his hand down his face. "Tig, you go handle this. Make sure Trammel knows that if they find these guys, it is bad for all of us."

"Absolutely." Tig nodded, getting up to head out.

"We got another problem." Bobby's sorrowful tone stopped the Sergeant. "Laroy heard about what happened. Won't touch those AKs..."

"Fuck." Jax groaned, running his hands through his long hair now as the day continued to test that VP patch. "Okay, we figure out the Irish later - go talk to Trammel." He nodded to Tig.

"Clay's gonna need that ride to Nevada tomorrow to happen now, more than ever, you make sure that everything is set up." Tig nodded to Sydney as she followed him outside, hastily walking towards his bike while everyone dispersed to get a start on their given tasks to try and keep the situation under control despite the mounting pressure, and absence of their President's guidance.

"I'll make sure Bobby's on standby in case Clay uses his call." She nodded.

"Anything longer than a few more hours, and you call Rosen yourself." He instructed with wide eyes as he turned to face her when they reached his bike. He looked down at her for a second as they stood completely still with electrically charged air between them, contemplating his next move before pushing the thought away and quickly reaching for his helmet.

Sydney saw his thought process clear as day as he hesitated after she'd rejected his advance this morning. She watched him as if he was moving in slow motion, holding his helmet while digging into his pocket for his keys before bringing the engine of his Dyna to life. She grabbed his hand, pulling him towards her where her lips crashed into his in a passionate, emotional kiss - the unshed tears finally pricking behind her closed eyes.

Tig kissed her back, his body melting instantly as he felt the worry physically escape him as she clutched to his arm before she pulled away and threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her just as tightly before pulling away and kissing her again, feeling her hands on his face and her lips against his bruisingly in the short time that they had to express their emotions through touch - the way that they knew best.

"You be careful." He told her with his hands still around her waist once their lips parted, his thumbs stroking the cotton of the tight black top that she wore as he wished that he didn't have to let go so soon.

She nodded with watery eyes, kissing him one last time before he pulled his helmet on and sped out of the lot, finally feeling like he could breathe again.

;

We can all sleep in peace again... For now😅 What are y'alls opinions on Stahl? I kind of have to hate her, but I love a good villain :/ and she cracks me up :/ Also the BIGGEST thank you to Luka for lending me her OC, Maya (aka the only Happy x OC pairing that matters)

Song for this chapter

Someday - Nickelback