10

Chapter 595 Clay Unmasked

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Clay had been in a sour mood before talking to Jax and now he was simmering with anger. That little son of a bitch had to point out that he had controlling interest in TM despite the fact that he, Clay, was the one that worked his ass off to build the business after he killed JT.

He sat on his throne as he liked to think of his seat at the head of the table and held the gavel in his hand. Killing JT had been easy enough. Steal a truck from Unser Trucking, get Gemma to call JT and lure him to that stretch of road and then run him down. Simple and easy. He convinced Unser that JT was weak and bad for Charming. The truck damage was quietly fixed and Unser never reported the truck stolen.

Witnesses came forward offering the license plate number of the truck. Easy fix. Unser just wrote down the wrong plate number and destroyed the scraps of paper a couple of the witnesses had given him. It simply looked like a trucker probably fell asleep, ran over JT and didn't stop. Neat and flawless. It was the perfect crime.

It didn't even need to be the perfect crime with the police chief in his pocket and able to cover up any mistakes. He watched as Jax took his place at the table and thought about how much he'd like to kill the little SOB. It would be tricky. Gemma wouldn't be very happy about it, but hey, if Jax had an accident, that's just the way life goes. It wasn't his fault and even if Gemma suspected, what could she do? Nothing because he controlled her.

Jax might prove harder to kill than his old man though. JT was difficult enough. He sent him into a Mayan ambush and those idiots couldn't manage to kill him. That's why he'd needed Gemma's help. By that time, she knew about JT's affair with Maureen's and was eager for him to die.

The problem was Jax was actually smart. Most of the others in the MC were dumb as shit. That suited him fine, but having someone else in the club who could think was useful, but that very intelligence made him hard to control. If he recruited a prospect with intelligence, he might not be able to control that person either. For now, he was stuck with Jax. He'd accept that until Jax became a problem and then he'd take care of him like he had his old man.

The guys assembled with Tig on his right and Jax on his left. The others took their places and he brought the gavel down. He didn't mind the meetings, but he wasn't big on the whole voting thing. Things run better in a dictatorship. There are more dumb people than there are smart people and the dumb are easier to manipulate. And that is why democracies inevitably fail.

The problem with the MC was he could manipulate the guys into doing what he wanted them to do, but so could Jax. Jax was increasingly challenging him. He hoped like hell this house flipping plan with Scarlett's old man failed. That would destroy Jax's credibility. Losing a little money would be worth it if it put Jax in his place.

Bobby gave the treasury report. Everything was set for the run next weekend. They hadn't been on a run in a long time. Clay hoped his hands would hold up. Jax was just waiting for the day when his hands would give out and he could seize the gavel. Little bastard.

He wasn't sure about Bobby. Sometimes he could count on him and other times, he would oppose him. He didn't like that. Made him undependable. He also baked. What the hell kind of man baked?

The only time a man should be in the kitchen is to get a beer from the fridge and that's only if his old lady isn't around to do it for him. It's no wonder the world was a screwed up mess. Men weren't acting like men anymore.

Next Tig gave a report on the gun warehouse. Since they had moved into the house, things were going smoothly. The assembly crew liked the new set-up and happy workers made productive workers. It pissed off Clay because this had been the little prince's idea and it was working flawlessly. He thought the idea would fail, but no, mommy's precious son was right. The house was a great cover and it was far enough out in the country that there weren't any prying neighbor eyes. They paid six months of rent in advance and the out of state owner was a happy man.

The gun deliveries were going smoothly. That Alvarez deal was making them more money than they'd seen in years. He loved gun control laws. Each time, it led to a huge demand in illegal weapons. Make it harder for law abiding citizens to buy guns and they simply turn to other ways to buy guns and pay more for the privilege. More gun control simply meant more money so bring it on!

"You finish vetting Mickey Smith?" Jax asked, his eyes fixed on Tig.

"Uh, yeah," Tig said avoiding looking at Jax.

"So?"

"It's like he said. He was a member. Chapter went bust. He said he doesn't have his cut because his ex-wife cut it up after the chapter collapsed."

"I don't want him wearing a SAMCRO cut," Jax said.

Clay's jaw tightened. That little son of a bitch was always throwing a wrench in his plans.

"How about he wears a copy of his cut from Maine and once he's been around awhile, we look at voting him in," Clay suggested. That would appease Bucky.

"No," Jax said. "He was never a member of SAMCRO and he's retired. He wears a cut from the chapter he was retired from."

"That's the rule," Bobby said.

Clay hated Bobby and his blind adherence to rules of order. They were outlaw bikers for fuck's sake. They shouldn't have to follow rules. Mickey was going to throw a shit fit if he couldn't wear a SAMCRO cut.

The other guys all nodded like dumb damned sheep. That was it then, Bucky Jeffers was just going to have to be happy with his Maine SOA cut. He'd done his best and was taking a huge risk bringing him into the clubhouse as a fake member. It could get him kicked out if he got caught.

There was something about the way Jax was looking at Tig that made him wonder if Jax was on to the truth about Mickey Smith. Maybe he would have to kill Jax sooner than he'd planned. On the other hand, Tig had been acting even more Tiggy than usual. Could be that's what caught Jax's attention and he was being paranoid.

They talked a little more about their gun business while Clay looked around the table. Juice's ridiculous haircut was annoying him more than usual tonight. He'd only recruited him because he was weak and he could bend him to his will. He could count on his vote and the computer hacking stuff was just a bonus. Clay wasn't under any illusions about Juice's strength as a member. He was weak and wouldn't be able to handle some of the more violent assignments, but it didn't matter as long as he did what he told him.

Now Happy was his favorite. The guy was amazing. Cold, ruthless and could always be counted on to vote his way. He was a straight up soldier. A human great white shark. The man had no conscience. Someone needs tortured. Happy's the guy. And the guy takes pleasure in his work. Someone needs killed in cold blood. Happy will do it. And he kills without remorse. No whining about it later. Tig will kill on command too, but sometimes he has feelings. Happy doesn't.

Happy wasn't without his faults. He had never made a suggestion in the entire time he'd been a nomad or a member of SAMCRO. No problem solving skills. That's where Jax excelled. He was great at coming up with ideas; problem was he didn't always like Prince Charming's solutions. Another thing about Happy; he wasn't a leader. He'd never have to worry about him challenging him for the gavel. When push comes to blood, Happy was the guy just not when it came to thinking.

He'd promote Happy to SA, but Tig could think and that was important. He was also good at background checks, maybe a little too good since he'd discovered the truth about Mickey Smith. Well, Tig was onboard with the lie, so as long as he kept his mouth shut, he'd stay SA.

Kozik was good and dependable, but he couldn't count on his vote. He thought for himself which meant sometimes he'd take Jax's side. Also, he and Tig had a falling out over some damned dog. Kozik might vote against something because Tig voted for something. It had been one hell of a struggle to get Tig to vote him back in SAMCRO when he decided to leave Tacoma.

Half-sack didn't matter. He was only a prospect and couldn't vote. He was a gutsy guy for a one-baller. Chibs was his sponsor and Chibs typically voted with the prince. If it weren't for that, he'd like him a lot better. He wished he'd learn to talk like a normal person. He'd lived in this country twenty years and still couldn't speak right. He was still undecided if Chibs was a genius for dumping his wife and kid off on Jimmy O'Phelan or if he was a pussy for letting him take his family. Chibs used to use the excuse that divorce was banned in Ireland. It's not anymore so he didn't understand why he didn't just cut Fiona loose. Well, it was a smart way to avoid getting married again. Didn't know why Fiona put up with it though.

Piney was an obstinate, difficult old man. He made up his own mind about stuff, but he often sided with Jax. There wasn't much he could do about Piney other than wait for him to die. He rode enough to keep his vote and that was about it. At least he had no ambitions to be president.

Opie was solidly in Jax's corner and would be unless he could come up with some way to break that little bromance up. He knew that Jax planned on being president and making Opie his VP. Good luck with that. Opie wasn't the leader type. The guy wasn't that smart. He was muscle and had limited intelligence. It wasn't his fault. He was just a big guy and they weren't known for being smart.

It's like blondes with big tits—never gonna find a smart one. That includes Scarlett. She may have dyed her hair dark, but that didn't make her smart. Jax wasn't with her for her brains, that was for sure.

He nodded and tried to appear interest in the talk, but was only half listening until they got to Prince Charming. He gave a brief report on the house flipping claiming it was all going according to plan.

"A few days ago, Tara heard rumors that Unser's medical condition is a lot more serious than he lets on. What's he tell you about his cancer?" Jax asked Clay.

"He said it was handled," Clay replied.

"We need to start planning for the day when Unser is out of power. It may happen a hell of a lot sooner than we think. Like it or not, we're going to be stuck with Hale." Jax paused and let his words sink in. "Hale may come across as this boy scout, morally upright person, but back in high school, he wasn't quite so moral."

"He was the biggest pot dealer in school," Opie added.

"No one may care about that now," Jax said, "but it gives us places to dig. We need Unser's help for that. There was something odd about his mother's fatatl car crash. Hale was with her."

"You think Hale might have been driving?" Opie asked.

"I'd bet on it. It got hushed up pretty fast and Judge Hale had the juice to do it. Unser was only a uni at the time, so he may not even know details. We need to get those records and take a look. If Hale was driving, we've got him in our pocket or maybe we alter the records so he was driving. Juice, can you do your computer magic and see what you can find?"

"Yeah, I can do that. If the records are online, I'll find them."

"Clay, can you get Unser to give the hard copies to us?"

Everyone had turned to look at him. It was a damned good plan to start planning for the day Hale took over and it was the kind of thing that he should have been the one to bring up. That damned Jax now looks like he's smart and proactive. He should have given him a heads up and let him be the one to bring it up. Typical Jax. Always grabbing the glory for himself.

He couldn't refuse. He'd have to grit his teeth and agree to do it. He hated Jax always doing shit like this to show him up. Little bastard. Gemma should have had an abortion. World would be a better place without Prince Charming.

"I'll meet with Unser and get him to do a deep dive into Hale," Clay announced. If he could get the dirt on Hale, he could still be the hero and snatch the glory out from under the little prince.

"We need to start on this right away. It's better to be prepared because if Hale takes over, we'll never get those files," Jax said.

"Yeah, I figured that out," Clay said sarcastically. "I'll talk to him Monday."

"I'll start the online dive tomorrow," Juice chimed in.

"Great," Jax said with a shit eating smile.

Clay ended the meeting resisting the temptation to bounce the gavel off Jax's blonde head. What the hell was Jax really up to?

"

Author's Note: The whole method of how JT was killed has kind of become my canon. It fits with the story and it cleans up some of the messy plot holes. The whole JT's bike was sabotaged and that's what killed him doesn't make sense. How would bike trouble cause him to drive at speed into a semi? If JT experienced trouble, he would have experienced it before encountering the truck. He would have stopped and tried to fix the problem. Then the show got really messy by trying to suggest JT killed himself, but the whole of S4 dealt with Clay and Gemma being involved in JT's death. This is my version of how JT died.

I go into more detail in Taming Ava/Fixing Jax on how Gemma and Unser were involved and how Jax found out the truth and what happened after it. Taming Ava starts out as a romantic comedy that moves into SOA about 2/3s into the story. And it's complete. It also has a strange premise—Ava doesn't find Jax attractive and doesn't want to sleep with him. The damage to his ego! She's just not into men who leak testosterone and she finds it gross that he's slept with hundred of girls.

I also have my own canon on the fallout between Kozik and Tig over the dog. That I used in my MVeneer story Jax is Really Alive. And it isn't the horrible solution I've seen floated that Kozik took a dog he loved and got her killed in a dog fighting ring. It doesn't make sense. You don't take the dog you love to a dog fight. Also if Kozik were so heavily addicted to drugs that he would do something like that, he would have been kicked out of the MC. Drug addiction makes a member unreliable, undependable and open to law enforcement blackmail. Maybe there will be a place in this story for me to reveal what happened. Or you can read Jax Is Really Alive. I don't write Tara like the TV show Tara.