𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 - 𝙎𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙮

Twenty-Six

Gemma arrives at Tara's house and finds the death threat on the seat of Tara's car.

"Could this be someone at work? A patient? Something happen to a kid?"

"You really think this has anything to do with my work? We should call Jax. I'm calling the police."

"No, no. If this is the club, you get that new sheriff involved, everyone gets hurt. Gonna give Unser a call too."

"This is a death threat, Gemma, delivered to my front door."

"I know. Let's, uh- Let's get you and the kids to the compound, make sure you're safe."

"Normal people call the authorities when their lives are threatened."

"You don't have a normal life, baby. You have this one."

Tara and Gemma get Abel and Thomas up before they knock on Ellie's door. The teen is grumpy, hungry, and angrily rolls out of bed. She gets dressed, cleans up a little, and grabs her homework and textbooks following her mom and grandma out the door. Gemma promises to make them all breakfast when they get to the clubhouse.

~ SOA ~ ~ SOA ~

The rest of the club arrives back at the Teller-Morrow garage. Filthy Phil is guarding the gate. Gemma and Tara wait for them with the death threat and Tara's medical bag in hand. Unser pulls in behind the others.

Ellie is sitting at a table, her geometry and biology textbooks spread out in front of her. Abel and Thomas are sleeping in one of the dorm rooms. She's focused on a difficult math problem when the clubhouse doors are thrown open. A man, groaning in agony, covered in blood is carried into the chapel. Her mom follows behind them with her medical supplies. She looks at her daughter, noticing her curious stares, and instructs one of the members to close the door as she gets to work. Tara has to extract the bullet from Alvarez's shoulder and stop the bleeding. 

Sometime later, Chucky comes in and tells Clay that Sherriff Roosevelt is outside, "Sheriff's here. He's looking for Tara."

Tara goes outside to speak with him away from her daughter, "Who told you someone made a threat?"

"It was an anonymous tip."

"Well, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You seem a little unnerved."

"Rough surgery this morning."

"Yeah, well, I hope they pulled through. We can help you. You know that, right?"

"I appreciate that."

"Want me to leave a few of my men here?"

"No, that won't be necessary."

"Give us a call if you need anything. Okay?"

"All right." Tara heads back inside.

~ SOA ~ ~ SOA ~

Jax meets up with Piney at the cabin. He and Jax have a heart to heart about the club and John Teller.

"For ten years, I gave up on this club. Rode my limit just to keep the patch. And then you came up. You reminded me so much of John. It just felt like maybe our idea still had a chance."

"Well, I'm not my old man."

"Oh, I'm very clear on that now."

"You need to rip him off the pedestal, Piney. JT bailed on all of us. You trying to tell me you didn't know about Maureen Ashby? About Trinity?"

"Maureen was a distraction. When your brother took a turn for the worse, your dad was right back here."

"Yeah, damage already done."

"We all do damage. Character's determined by how we repair it."

"Well, JT didn't repair much. He didn't have a chance. You do."

"I'm fixing what matters! You know, my old man was right about one thing. This club has lost its way. And I thought I was the guy that was gonna change that. And then I realized the arrogance that the belief that one man can change it is what drove my old man into the ground."

"Defeat is not what killed your father."

"I don't want to hear about history."

"I'm taking care of what's in front of me."

"You and Clay both."

"This isn't about Clay. It's about me. It's about me figuring out what I gotta do today that keeps me alive tomorrow. This ain't about the club, Piney. It's about my family."

"I won't tell you how much you just sound like your old man. Your father was the best man I ever knew. And before you let him die, you should find him, and know that for yourself."

~ SOA ~ ~ SOA ~

Clay gets out of his truck with a gun. In the dark, in the woods, Juice attempts to hide the chain he used to hang himself. Chibs finds him. He grabs him and screams at him, calling him a coward. He lets Juice cry for a minute then yanks him to his feet and hugs him. Piney picks up his shotgun to answer a knock at his cabin door. It's Clay. Piney immediately asks for the gun he knows Clay has hidden, and his back up in his boot. Clay turns them over.

Piney lets him in, but holds the gun in his general direction. Clay tells him things got complicated and he needs more time. Piney says all he's done is lead by greed and he can't be trusted. Clay asks how he can know Piney won't distribute the letters to kill the cartel deal. Piney says it's a risk he'll have to take.

Clay leaves. Piney's locking the door behind him when Clay busts it back down, knocking Piney to the ground. Clay gets all the guns and looks for the letters. Piney hauls himself up from the floor and says the letters aren't there. Piney tries to protect Tara, but Clay knows that's how he got them.

"Just leave her out of it," Piney says. "Too late," Clay replies. He places the muzzle of Piney's shotgun against his chest and pulls the trigger. He makes sure Piney is dead, then scrawls a cartel signature, "LS," with Piney's blood on a photo on the wall.