Chapter 62: Laying Pipe
A/N: Season 5 Episode 3. This Chapter was so hard to write. I went back and forth so many times on how to do this chapter. I hope I did it justice. Enjoy.
Jax POV
"Here we go." Tig said as a couple of black guys approached us.
We were ready to fight if needed, but a Mexican guy stepped in front of us, facing the black guy. "This ain't happening here, ese." The Mexican said.
"This is our beef." The black guy said.
"You ain't got no business with these boys. That word comes out of the shoe." The Mexican said. The black guy walked away. Then he turned toward us. "You got a spot with us, boys."
"Appreciate that." I said. We followed him over to their corner.
We were getting situated when Chibs spoke. "Pope finds out Brown has our back, he's gonna find other ways to hurt us." He said.
"Aryans." I said.
"Yeah, and the guards. All these greedy bastards are on the take." Chibs said.
Just then a guard appeared. "Teller. Let's go - with me." He said.
"For what?" I asked.
"You shut your mouth and get your ass out here." The guard said.
Bobby POV
"You talk to Romeo?" Clay asked.
"Luis. The guys are safe." I said.
"Thank god." Juice said.
"Thank vatos with Shivs." Hap said.
"He wants to meet. Lindelof Pines. Seemed urgent." I said.
"About getting the guys out?" Clay asked.
"I don't know. Are you up to it?" I asked him.
"No choice." Clay said.
Just then Bella and Gemma walked into the clubhouse. "What's going on?" Gemma asked.
"Guys are okay." I said.
"Are you sure?" She asked.
I nodded. "Yeah, positive. I promise." I said.
Bella nodded but didn't say anything. "Does Tara know?" Gemma asked.
"I just called her." I said.
"Okay, I'm heading over there. Bells will be in the office if you need her." Gemma said.
"We got a thing." I said.
"Yeah okay." She said.
Jax POV
I was led to the warden's office. When I walked in, Damon Pope was sitting on the couch. "Come in. Sit down." The warden said.
"You want me to cuff him?" The guard asked.
"Nope." Pope said. "We're good. Relax. Just here to talk." The warden and the guard left the room.
"Yeah? Is that what you told Tig's daughter before you set her on fire?" I asked.
"Let's not discuss the tragedy of dead girls. That's an argument you'd lose." Pope said.
"Look, I tried to reach out to you, somehow make this right. What the hell do you want, man?" I asked.
"You were able to get protection inside. Profitable relationships with the Galindo cartel, Real IRA, guns, coke. You guys are too smart. Too, uh, ambitious." Pope said.
"For a bunch of white trash bikers?" I said.
"To kill." Pope said. "Now, I know you're not dealing the coke, you're muling it. What's your end? You don't think I'll find out?" Pope said.
"A hundred per shipment." I said.
"Now 50 of that is mine." Pope said.
"That's not gonna happen without a…" I said but he interrupted me.
"This is not a discussion. This is about you learning how to survive. Now, Trager, he stays inside for the rest of his life. I'll make sure he's treated accordingly. This way, everytime I think about my daughter, I know where he is and what's being done to him. I need a dead Son for the Niner and cop you killed. It maintains my relationships. I don't care who. The Warden knows about it. He'll set it up. When that happens, witnesses are no longer witnesses and you get out to earn." Pope said.
"Come on man. I'm not just gonna kill one of my guys." I said.
"yes, you are. Before the next guard shift. The cost of doing battle." Pope said.
"I'm not going to war." I said.
"You're already in it. Son." Pope said.
Pope left me sitting there thinking about everything. It wasn't long until the Warden came back in. "I didn't know your office was for rent." I said.
"Thing you got to handle goes down in solitary. Don't want riots in my yard. Shift sergeant can walk you through the process. It's his game. We're done." The warden said.
Bella POV
I was in the office working on some paperwork when Hap walked in. "You okay?" He asked me.
"I don't know Hap. I have this feeling that something bad is going to happen." I told him.
"It's going to be okay." He said.
I sighed. "I hope so." I said.
Opie POV
"I don't know, it just ain't fun anymore." I said. "Chasing cash we don't need and spending every dime trying to stay alive."
"American dream." Jax said when he came back.
"Where they take you?" Chibs asked.
"Warden's office. Face time with Damon Pope." Jax said.
"Shit. Man. That guy's got everybody tapped." Chibs said.
"He gave me his demands." I Jax said.
"He wants me dead." Tig said.
"He didn't say that. He wants half our muling earn. 50 K per shipment." Jax said.
"What else?" I asked.
"I'm not sure. He's gonna have a guard fill me in." Jax said.
"And what? What does that mean?" Chibs asked.
"We'll find out." Jax said.
Gemma POV
"I'll be outside in a minute." Wendy said.
"They told me I could wait for you." I said.
"Everything all right?" Wendy asked.
I nodded. "Abel's fine. You mind?" I said, pointing to a couple of chairs. She nodded. "Jax got picked up. Manslaughter."
"Oh shit."
"Highway shooting last month. Charges are bullshit." I said.
"They always are." She said. "How's Tara?"
"Not good. Between what's going on with Jax, and her hand getting messed up…She's in bad shape. That's why I'm here. I think she's self-medicating." I said.
"Oh. Pain meds?" Wendy asked.
"Oxy. Now I'm worried about the kids." I said.
"Does Jax know?" She asked.
"He's blind to it." I said.
"Well, you should tell someone at the hospital." Wendy said.
"No. I'm not letting in outsiders." I said.
"Why are you telling me this, Gemma?" She asked.
"You want Abel in your life?" I asked her.
"You want me to threaten her with Oxy abuse? What the hell did she do to you?" Wendy asked.
"Doesn't matter. I'm giving you the leverage you need." I said.
"Unbelievable." Wendy said.
"Yeah, it's a shitty way in. But it beats some messy custody suit, which we both know is the only other way you're gonna ever get to see your kid. It's a small, unstable window. Just think about it." I said.
"'He will never call you mommy.' Your promise to me. Remember?" Wendy said.
"Yeah. I remember everything." I said.
Jax POV
"Yard is closing. E Block, line up for return to quarters." A guard said over the PA system.
"Hey." I said, getting the attention of a guard. "Yo, yard duty up already?" I asked.
"Cutting back on guards. Bring half of us in before shift change." The guard said.
"Shit. Hey. Guard I got to speak is in solitary. We got to do this now, before shift change." I said. "You with me?"
"Yeah." Chibs said.
"We got to take this one alone, ese. You know what I mean?" I told our new Mexican friends. I walked over towards a group of Black guys and tapped one on the shoulder. When he turned around I punched the guy in the face.
"What the hell? Come on, get these cracker bitches." One of them said.
Before I knew it, the guards swarmed us. "Get down! Everybody down! On the ground, move, move!"
"All inmates should be facedown on the ground, hands behind your back." A guard said over the PA.
They cuffed us and led us down to solitary. "Face in. Two to a room. No yard time. One meal."
Tara POV
"It's open." I said.
"Hey. Sorry to barge in." Wendy said.
"This is not a good time." I said.
"I guess not. I heard about Jax." She said.
"Yeah. You and everyone else." I said.
"Oh, my god, he's so beautiful." Wendy said, admiring Thomas.
"Thank you. I have to go." I said.
"We need to begin the conversation about Abel." She said.
"There is no conversation." I said.
"Look, your life is very messy, Tara. I know…it used to be my life. And with Jax running the club, it's only going to get more complicated." Wendy said.
"And what does that have to do with my son?" I asked.
"His father is a convicted felon, and his guardian is psychologically fragile." She said.
"That's bullshit." I said. "And I'm not just his guardian, I'm his mother. Legally. We got married." I said.
"When?" She asked.
"Yesterday."
"Oh. Congratulations. You still have to tell Abel that I'm his mother. Or the court will." She said.
"Why do this today?" I asked, then it hit me. "Gemma. Of course." I said.
"It had to happen." She said.
"Do you really think she wants Abel to know you're his mom? She tried to kill you. Or have you forgotten that?" I said. Now I was starting to get pissed.
"No."
"She's pissed because I'm not letting her run my family. What did she tell you? That I'm unstable? What? Strung out on painkillers? Look at me. You know what opiates look like. My eyes pinned? I haven't taken a pill in over a month. She played you. Like she does me, like she does everybody." I said.
"Probably. But it doesn't change the truth." She said.
"What truth? That I'm a surgeon, and you're some ex-junkie biker whore. You want to come after me and my family? Bring it on, darling. I'm not afraid of you. Or your bullshit custody threat." I said.
"Okay Gemma." She said sarcastically.
Jax POV
"What aren't you telling us?" Ope asked me. "Lying by omission is still lying, and you suck at it."
Suddenly a guard came in. "You the one calling it?" He asked me.
"I guess." I said.
"I need a minute alone." He said.
"He can stay." I said.
"Word from upstairs is one of you four leaves in a bag. Pick the guy." He said. "I'll handle the rest."
"And what's the rest?" I asked.
"We go to the box after shift change. He fights…until he loses. I'm guessing it's one of the other two. I need to know which one. We got a little action going…put odds on how long he'll last." The guard said. "I'll give you a few minutes to figure it out." He said before he walked out.
"Pope wants Tig to rot inside. And he wants a dead Son for the Niner and the cop we killed." I said. I sighed. "I'm treading water here, Ope. I got no idea how to keep everyone alive. I miss your old man." I said.
"Yeah me too." Ope said.
"Tara found some letters. Maureen Ashby stuffed them in my gear. They were love letters between her and my dad. They made it pretty clear that JT wanted to get us out of guns, and Clay didn't want it. JT predicted that Clay was gonna kill him. Specifically, that he would sabotage his bike. And he was right." I said.
"Yeah, that's…that's insane." Ope said.
"Tara told Piney, Ope. She was digging into him for truth. It's when we were inside. When the cartel shit went down, Piney must've threatened Clay with the letters." I told him.
"So, that's…that's why Clay killed my old man?" He asked me.
"Yeah." He started swinging at me. "Stop!"
"Why didn't you let me kill him? Why didn't you let me kill him?" Opie said.
"There's a RICO case pending against the club. Otto gave up Bobby." I said.
"How do you know?" He asked.
"Romeo is doing double time. He's cartel and CIA. He put a pin in RICO so we could keep the big guns and drugs flowing. That pin gets pulled, we all go down." I said.
"And Clay doesn't know." He said.
"Just me and Bobby. Clay is the only one that Gaalan will sell big guns to. Romeo needs him alive. That's it Ope. That's all the truth. I had to make a choice, brother. Kill Clay or save the club." I said.
"You made the wrong one." He said.
Tara POV
"My office said you called?" Margaret said when she walked into my office.
"Yeah, I need you to fill out this, um, paperwork." I said handing it to her.
"CDC approval?" She asked.
"I'm gonna be doing some gratis work at the prison." I said.
"Okay."
"Thanks."
"Some of the nurses were saying you got married?" She asked.
"Yesterday. It was a quick, private thing. We didn't tell anyone." I said. Which was sort of the truth.
"Oh, uh, security paged me on the way up. Gemma's waiting outside daycare for the kids. You want me to handle it?" She said.
"No. It's a family thing. I got it." I said.
I grabbed my stuff and made my way down to the daycare center. "You're late." Gemma said.
"Wendy paid me a visit today." I said.
"What did that bitch want?" Gemma asked.
I sighed. "I love you Gemma. I really do. You and me, we've been down a long road, and I know you love Jax and the boys, and they adore you." I said.
"Where is this sad song going?" She asked.
"You're pissed off. Afraid I'm trying to push you out. That's why you're twisting up Wendy, trying to use her to hurt me." Gemma looked shocked. "Oh, save the bullshit indignation. She copped to it." I said.
"I forgot. You're the smart one. My pretty little Frankenstein." She said.
"That's right. And here's something else that might sound familiar. Don't ever try to hurt me or my family again." I said.
"Or what, Doctor? You gonna kill me?"
"No. But my husband might."
Jax POV
"Looks like you two came to a decision." The guard said when he came back. "Which guy goes?"
"We're still working it out." Ope said.
"We just want to make sure we cover the spread." I said.
"Bad idea. This is my hell, bitch. I make the rules. If you don't pick which guy fights, I will." He said, then he slammed the door.
"You all right?" Ope asked me.
"Yeah."
"What're you gonna do?" He asked.
"Pick the guy." I said.
The guard ended up putting the four of us together so we could decide. "You boys okay?" Chibs asked.
"Yeah." I said.
"You, uh, you find out what's going on?" Tig asked.
"Pope wants one of us dead." I said.
"Jesus Christ." Chibs said.
"Me." Tig said.
"No. No, you, he wants alive and inside. Forever." I said.
"Oh, all right, so…how are we handling this, Jackie? Huh?" Chibs said.
"I don't give a shit who Pope is or how deep his reach is. He doesn't make that call. We decide our fate." I said.
"Yeah." Chibs said.
The door opened again and the guard stood there. "Am I choosing…or you?" He asked.
"My call." I said.
I was about to step forward when Ope pushed me out of the way. "No." He said and punched the guard.
The next thing I know the door slammed shut and we were locked in. "No, no!" I yelled.
"Hey, hey!" Tig yelled beside me.
"You stupid bitch! Throw him in." The guard said in the hallway.
Bells would kill all of us if something happened to him. "No! No! No!" I yelled.
"Get back!" The guard said.
Ope turned and looked at us. "Tell Bells I love her. I got this." He said before he turned around and started fighting a large guard. They fought for several minutes, Ope holding his own until suddenly he was knocked to his knees. That's when it happened. The guard came up behind him and bashed his head in with a lead pipe.
The only thing I could do was scream. My best friend was dead. Bella's husband was dead. She was now a single mother. How would I tell her?
The guard came back and opened the door. "A man who wants to see you. You guys are heading back to gen pop." He said.
I glared at him. "I'm getting released…and there's nothing you can do to stop that. I'll find out who you are and where you live. And then I'm gonna kill you." I said.
It was about half an hour later that I was escorted to the Warden's office. "Sounds like things went according to plan." Pope said.
"There's a new plan. I just watched my best friend get beaten to death…for you. Now I'm gonna get the club to sign off on your cash, but I need Trager on the outside. Him knowing I saved his live gives me an internal advantage I'm gonna need. And when I'm done…you can send him out the same way you did his kid." I said. I scoffed. "'Cause I really don't give a shit."
"There you go. Finding the hidden advantage in an unfortunate circumstance. Using pain to take you to the next level. Those are the things that turn players into kings." Pope said.
"Yeah, I guess you would know." I said.
"Yes, I would. Keep a short leash on Trager." He said.
"I'd like to call my wife. Let her know I'm safe." I said.
"There you go." He said, pointing to the phone.
I called Tara and let her know that I was okay. Then I talked to Bobby. I told him about Ope. He said that he'd check in on Bella and give her the news.
Bella POV
Hap had been staying with me since the guys got locked up. I couldn't help but have this bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I was cleaning up the kitchen from dinner when there was a knock at the front door. Hap went to answer it. A minute later, Hap and Bobby were standing in my kitchen. "Hey darlin'." Bobby said.
I turned and looked at him. His face was red. He'd been crying. Not something any of these guys did often. Something was wrong. "No." I said.
"We need to talk." He said.
The only thing I could do was shake my head. Hap walked over and pulled me into his arms. I was shaking. They led me to the living room. I sat on the couch with each of the guys on either side of me. "I'm so sorry Darlin'." Bobby said.
"Just tell me." I whispered.
"Jax called. It's Ope. He sacrificed himself so that the others could make it out alive." Bobby said.
I could feel the tears running down my face. Hap grabbed my hand and gently squeezed it. I didn't understand. Things were finally getting back on track with me and Ope. "I don't understand." I said.
"Pope wanted one of the guys dead in exchange for two of his guys that Tig killed." Bobby said.
I nodded. So it was Dad's fault that they were locked up. It was his fault that I was now a widow and a single mother. "Thanks for telling me." I sighed. "I should tell the kids." I said standing up.
"We're here for you, whatever you need."
I turned and looked at Bobby. "You can't give me what I need. I need my husband." I said, before I turned and headed down the hallway.
Jax POV
"News travels fast." Chibs said.
"Talk to Pope?" Tig asked.
"Give us a minute." I said.
"Yeah sure." Tig said before he walked away.
"The deal is set with Pope. We'll be out of here tomorrow morning. Figure out who we owe favors to in here. And get me some intel on that guard from solitary." I said.
"Aye. What about him?" Chibs asked.
"He goes with us." I said.
"How?"
"Send him over." I said. Chibs went and grabbed Tig. He walked over to me.
"I'm sorry, Jax. I know it should have been me in the box." He said.
"But it wasn't. I talked to Pope. The witnesses that put you killing his girl go away. You're coming out with us." I said.
"You got me clear?" He asked me.
"Yes, I did." I said.
"Thank you man." He said.
"It's not about thanks. From now on, you back my every play. You support all my deals. And you never…vote against me again." I said.
"You got my word, brother." He said.
"One more thing… how do you think Bella's gonna feel when she realizes that you're the reason her husband is dead?" I asked.