Son of a ...

[claymorrow]

Name of Thread: Son of a ....
Characters Involved in Thread: Clay Morrow - Jax Teller
IC Month Thread Occured: June
Brief Description of Thread: Clay and Jax discusss Jury's problem with the Mayan's and what they can do about it.

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It was one of those rare moments where he hadn’t wanted anyone else around, he didn’t need jokes being made, comments being thrown, or some large barking dog just waiting for him to give an order so he could trot off and take it. What Clay needed was to get down to business and figure out the best way to handle the current situation, the Mayan’s were out of control and loosing ground and whatever sanity it seemed that they might have had left. Furrowing his brow as he drummed his fingers on the nearest wall, the cigar hanging from his lips Clay reached up long enough to flick the ashes to the ground before replacing it.

“I’ve sent Raylan down to see how bad things are,” Clay began without bothering to turn around, he really had no need to as he knew it was his step-son. “Once we know from there what’s going on we know what to send and what needs to be done.” He sent Raylan because he had a good head on his shoulders, he wasn’t going to be distracted by one of Jury’s whores, and if it came down to it Clay was certain he would give the Mayan’s a run for their money. It was simply a matter of this being a situation that had to be handled with care and with caution or their would end up being more dead than what Clay liked, well unless they were Mayan and the idea of that didn’t really bother him in the least bit.

Turning so that his back was against the wall and he could look out, Clay reached up and ran his fingers through his hair before he dropped his hand back down. He worried about the outcome for Jury but it also made him worry that if the Mayan’s pushed their way in there what would stop them from trying to push their way into Charming, if they stopped it now than that wasn’t even an option which seemed to be a good idea.

“I’ve already got Mirko heading down that way, Jury’s set him up to meet with one of his girls,” he added giving farther explanation before he looked over at Jax and lifted an eyebrow. Did he love his step-son, yeah. Did he think the boy could do better, well that was a given or maybe it was just that Clay wasn’t ready to throw in the towel yet and admitting how far Jax had come would be like an admission of his age. He wasn’t dead yet and until that day came damn it they all had to put up with him whether they liked it or not and some didn’t.

[evolutionx]

When Clay was short with you in his demand thinly veiled as a request to meet, you knew it was something serious that demanded immediate attention. Jax was always one to blow off Clay if he felt he wasn't needed but this was one of those times that he wasn't trying to recall his youth and be a rebellious teenager again. As he sat at the large redwood table with the Sons logo inscribed on it, Jax took a drag on his cigarette and listened to his step-father sound off uninterrupted. As he spoke about sending Raylan and what had to be done, Jax took a a moment to add to the otherwise one-sided conversation. "Rain's a good man, he wouldn't get distracted by Jury's girls. I trust him. And besides, with SAMCRO as thin as it right now, we can't afford to just send an army and hope for best. We can't afford another Bloody 92'. You did the right thing." Shaking his head at the thought of the lives lost back in 1992, Jackson took another drag on his cigarette before letting it rest on the ashtray in front of him.

When Clay explained that he also sent Mirko the former nomad to Indian Hills as well, Jax didn't really have a reason to object to that either. Though he found it odd that he sent him to meet up with one of his uncles women. "With one of Jury's women? Are you tryin' to get that big gargoyle laid before the shit hits the fan?" Jax quipped before reaching for his cigarette and taking a hit. He caught his step-fathers eye as he raised his brow and in turn Jax returned the look. Jax rose from his spot at the table and sat on the edge of it facing Clay. As he took a moment to gather his thoughts, Jax knew in the immediate future things were going to go one of two ways: either Indian Hills would be overran by the Mayans or the Sons would have to have bigger presence there and as a result slow down and/or stop the Mayans from advancing. However, the real solution would be to patch over the Devils Tribe and bring them into the fold. But Teller knew his Uncle and knew it would be a hard sell.

"We both know where this is heading Clay. Either we let the Tribe go down in flames or we patch 'em over. My dad saved my uncle's ass back in Vietnam, so he'll be receptive to the proposition of a patch over, but I think we're both going to have to go down there and handle it." Jax didn't sound too thrilled with the idea of having to ask this of Jury because he knew that the Devils Tribe wasn't like the Sons and many of its members might not like the thought of being patched over or even be able to handle what SAMCRO was in to. "Either way, we're going to have to deal with the Mayan's, its just a matter of how bloody it has to get." He was right of course, if they let the Mayan's take over, then the blood of the Tribe would be on SAMCRO's hands and if they patched them over, then they would have to deal with the attacks of the Mayan's and blood would be spilled anyway. Again, it was just a matter of how much.

[claymorrow]

“I refuse to let Jury or his boys go down in flames because of the Mayan’s, I would rather kill the whole damn lot of them than let that happen,” Clay replied before he looked over and then laughed, he had been trying hard not to but now Jax was cracking jokes much like Tig in reference to Mirko’s size. “No I’m not trying to get him laid, however Jury’s numbers are down, his boys are busy, one is laid up and this is more of a he doesn’t have a choice.” He paused before he looked over. “Remember Isaac Nichols, Mayan’s killed him a year or so ago and made an example out of him. It’s his old lady, she’s been there the longest she knows what’s going on.” There was also the matter of Jury being worried what they might do if they figured out she was still lurking around Las Vegas for that matter, which was why Clay had thought ahead.

He remained silent as he listened for a few moments before he looked over again, the idea had crossed his mind however how to go about that without insulting anyone would be the more difficult part. No one wanted to step on anyone else’s toes, which was why for the moment Clay was more set on simply stopping the Mayan’s before they spread any farther. Then they would worry about a way to make sure that this shit didn’t happen again or if it did it didn’t get to this point, still he was impressed that Jax had brought it up.

“For the time being will stick to things the way they are, there’s no point in adding more stress to the situation before it get’s any worse. Once things have settled and the dust has cleared it’s something will put to Jury and see how he feels about the entire thing,” he explained before he dropped down in the nearest chair flicking his cigar ash into the ashtray. There was more to this but for at least that second Clay was trying to relax, the calm before the storm so to speak. In matters like this tension ran high, friends could become enemies, and he had seen Cain and Abel situations spring up in the past. Nothing was black and white and it left you in a grey area that was impossible to know which way things could turn, and it was why you didn’t leave things up to chance.

He leaned back eyeing his step-son for a few moments before he sighs letting out the breath that he had been holding in. “Jury has asked one other thing, he wants to make sure that Kate remains down here. He can’t afford to have Cyrus shadowing her at the moment with everything going on and it’s best after what’s happened in the past for her to remain out of the Mayan’s line of fire.” Clay could understand the need and the desire to protect one’s children in matter’s such as these and the request hadn’t seemed to be all that odd to him plus there was plenty that Kate could do, like taking care of that damn girl that had called the other night.

“How bad do you figure this is going to get?” He wanted to avoid another Bloody 92 if at all possible, hell he wanted to avoid a lot of things where this was all concerned.

[evolutionx]

When Clay reaffirmed what Jax already knew by telling him that he'd rather kill the Mayans then let them take out Jury and his crew, Jax nodded his head in approval. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that his step-father would protect Jury, but that was why he and Jax were at church - it was to discuss all avenues of how to handle the situation. As Clay explained who Mirko was actually meeting, Isaac Nichols old lady Jess, it made sense to find her and watch out for her. "I remember Isaac. What they put that guy through wasn't pretty. If they find out his old lady's still hanging around even after what they did to Isaac, it might provoke them even more and send the shit flyin' that much sooner." Jax crossed his arms across his chest and let Clay speak his opinion on the patch over idea.

"I don't know Clay. I don't like the idea any more than you do, but I think we need to go to Jury sooner rather than later. If we don't act fast enough, the the Tribe is lost and the Mayan's are one step closer to tryin' to get into Charming. IF we patch them over, it buys us some time to fortify that territory and keep the Mayan's at bay." Jax reached for his cigarette that was sitting in the ashtray near him taking a drag as he added, "It's possible that if we do this, we can avoid spilling blood altogether." Again, it wasn't something that Jax actually wanted to happen but the Mayan's were forcing their hand and while Clay seemed to be more inclined to simply protect the Devils Tribe and deal with the idea of a patch over afterwords. But that would have to mean there was even a Tribe to patch over once this was all said and done.

"And that's not even mentioning the fact that we can't afford to get on ATF's radar Clay. We've kept our noses clean for five years, and if we go to war with the Mayan's now - Charming will be ATF's new base of operation." Jax absolutely hated the thought of that and he already knew how his step-father felt about that particular subject.

As Clay explained that his uncle wanted the Sons to keep Kate with them and keep her safe, it almost went without saying. Kate grew up with SAMCRO, there was no way they'd let anything happen to her. Jax simply replied, "No question." and that was the end of it. They would definitely keep Kate safe no matter what. But it was when Clay asked how bad Jax thought it was going to get that the young man tried to find the words. He shook his head and in a defeated tone said, "Honestly? I don't know. We protect Jury and the Tribe? People are going to die and the likelihood of ATF investigating goes up. If we patch them over? Then maybe no one gets hurt and we keep the Mayan's out of Charming that much longer." The pressures that Clay and Jax faced as the figureheads of the Sons of Anarchy was immense. They had to tread carefully and keep the club safe all the while doing things that would likely jeopardize the club if they were ever caught. It was a fine line to walk.

Jax finished his cigarette and put it out in his ashtray before sitting back down at the table across from Clay. Tilting his head to the side, Jax smirked ever so slightly as he looked to Clay and said, "It ain't easy being the King." referring to Clay's position within the club.

[claymorrow]

“Exactly, we he told me she was still lurking around down there it made me think they might try something,” Clay replied. Granted he knew the woman and she had a steel made out of spine and the attitude to match but still that didn’t change anything. He was trying to keep the flames from being fanned too much and you couldn’t just look at someone tell them this isn’t the place for you, so you had to be smart and think about it. Not to mention she was enough like Kate telling her that would have only made her give that look. “It will do him some to get out and get some fresh air, so long as he doesn’t grow anymore.” Clay joked before his face took on a more serious look.

He knew Jax was right and it was one of those things that needed to be talked about sooner rather than later, but Clay wanted to get a feel for exactly what was going on down there before he started making suggestions to Jury. The better he understood it all the easier it would be to word things to the man so that it seemed as if he were trying to help the situation not move the Son’s in and take over his territory, it was all about tact and how you handled the matter. Rushing into things with your guns blazing and just shooting put them on the Mayan’s level, but having a plan that meant catching them off guard was something that they wouldn’t be expecting and wouldn’t see coming at all.

“I know and your right on both accounts but I think it’s best to have a feel for the situation than it is to start rushing in and trying to do this. The more we know in the next day or so the easier that it’s going to be to talk to Jury and to his boys, were there to help them not to take over what’s already their’s.” He finished as he reached over and stubbed his cigarette out and then looked back at Jax. “Yeah well just don’t let Kate know were keeping her busy.” He was stilling thinking this over, letting it all sink in when he nodded and then looked back at Jax. “I saw we go down to the Indian Tribe this weekend and talk to Jury, alone, we don’t need anyone going with us. Tig can hold down the fort here and make sure there’s no trouble, and if we need him he can make it down by nightfall.”

The comment was enough enough to get a snort out of Clay before he retorted with a comment of his own. “Don’t get so smug, one day your going to be look in the mirror and saying that to yourself or worse one day your going to have a kid just like you that’s going to look at you and say the exact same thing.”

[evolutionx]

It was good that Clay was taking the good with the bad, he and Jax were for all intents and purposes on the same page with how to handle the situation and he was still capable of providing some comedic relief as it pertained to the man known as Mirko. Jax's mouth conformed into a smile and he nodded his head in agreement - that guy was a goliath and just the kind of muscle the Sons needed at that moment. Jax lit another cigarette and continued to listen to his step-fathers explanation as to why they weren't acting immediately on the idea of patching over the Tribe. While it made sense to wait and see how things turned out, at least for a few days, it felt like time wasted to Teller. If the Mayans were to react quickly, or continued the assault the started on the Tribe while Jax and Clay decided on a course of action, Jackson would feel like it was all his fault for any casualties that would be taken.

"Fine. We'll wait to see how things play out over the next couple of days. But we take this to Jury this weekend, because if we wait any longer Clay, the Mayan's could end them permanently and then there's no one but us to stop them. We got the Irish bringing in another shipment in the next few weeks and we really can't afford to have the Mexican's sniffing around that." Taking a slow drag on his cigarette, Jax shook his head in quiet disappointment - not at Clay, but at the the things that were transpiring. The Mayan's were forcing SAMCRO to intervene and it wasn't something neither Jax of Clay wanted to do. Clay was right when he said that they were there to help, not to take over what was already theirs. "And I know we're not there to take over, and Jury will know that too. At the end of the day, this is the right thing to do." His voice sounded reluctant, even said to admit it, but it was the truth.

Jax knew that the club would be in capable hands with Tig, even he if was a little unstable some times. Besides, with Raylan already with the Tribe and Mirko on his way, they had backup waiting for them when they did travel up to Indian Hills to speak with Jury. When Clay began to caution Jax that someday this would all be his and he'd have to deal with the same things as Clay, Jax laughed at the possibility that he'd someday have a child to answer for. "Bring a kid into this world with me as their father and you as their grandfather; no way Clay. I'm not cut out to be a Dad." Jax was half joking as it pertained to Clay being a grandfather, yet was serious about not being cut out to be a father. In his mind Jackson believed that he wasn't capable of raising a child while he lived this kind of life - and this outlaw lifestyle was a part of him no matter what.

[claymorrow]

"I at least want to wait until I know for sure exactly how bad things are," Clay replied as he looked back at his step-son. "I know what Jury said and while I trust him I want to have my own set of eye's look at things, it might be worse than what he originally thought." It was a matter of knowing what was taking place and knowing how to handle it and there was not way that Clay was rushing into anything with runs blazing until he knew exactly how many guns that he needed to bring in. HIs goal was to keep the loss of life to a minimum and to make sure that it stayed that way.

He laughed before he glanced over. "You say that now but just wait till it actually happens and then you might have a different tune about things, and as far as me as a grandfather I haven't kill you yet." He mused before he lit another cigar and took a deep breath. If nothing else it was a moment to catch his breath, clear his head, and relax before the calm before the storm disappeared and he found himself looking into a war zone. Muttering something he reached up and rubbed his temple before he closed his eyes for just a second, he was thinking.

"Your right and you know I don't say that all that often, we need to handle things sooner rather than later though." See he could on rare occassion admit when he was wrong or might have been swayed by anothers opinion and occassionally he could even tell them when that had happened though in most cases Clay didn't bother. It beat the hell out of letting them get the big head about shit.

[evolutionx]

They had exhausted their options at it pertained to how to handle the Tribe situation. Normally this would have been handled during Church with the others, but Jax knew that the more opinions involved, the longer it was going to take to figure this shit out. Jax relinquished any doubts he had about the plan as Clay confirmed Jax's assessment of the situation. Wanting your own men on the battle field was just good practice for a field general and Clay was no different in his desire to send Mirko and Rain down to get eyes on. Jackson had no reason to doubt Clay, only test his resolve to make sure that it was the best course of action for all involved. So while it may have appeared that Jax was trying to briefly undermine the old veteran, it was quite the opposite - and in those exchanges they shared, there in lied the truth of their relationship; they tested their idea's against one another to make sure that they covered all their bases in matters of the club.

Clay's laughter about Jax's interpretation of his fathering abilities, Jax couldn't help but smile and shake his head. "I suppose you're right ol' man." Jax exclaimed with a cigarette held loosely between his lips. As he took a drag and released the smoke within, he couldn't help but add sarcastically, "But if raising a baby Teller turns me into you, I think I'll pass on fatherhood." He couldn't help but laugh at his own joke, being that in reality, Clay did a fair job in helping to raise Jackson. It was only for the few years it took him to turn eighteen, but the reality of it was that he was there, unlike some step-father's that figure the teenage son will be out of the house in a few years and it doesn't matter if they are in their lives. On the contrary, Jax had lost his father at a point in his life that having a figure head to turn to was very important; and Clay was there. Jax wouldn't have been much of a teenager had he not giving the man a hard time, but in the end it worked itself out and Jax came to respect the man that was now married to his mother.

When Clay had resolved to admit that Jackson was right, he wasn't that surprised. It was true that Clay didn't admit it often, but as V.P. of the Sons, he got to see it more often the rest of the club, excluding his mother that is. As Jax nodded in agreement to Clay's statement, he had finished another cigarette and put the butt out in the ashtray nearest him. Standing up from the table, he pulled his arms behind him into a stretch and looked at his step-father. Placing his palms on the table, he kept his eyes on Clay, several strands of blonde hair falling onto his face. "So whadda ya say prez, meetin adjourned? I think Mom's makin' dinner tonight and you know how she gets if we're late?" he warned Clay, though he was the last one to be reminded of his wife's attitude.

[claymorrow]

"If it turns you into me than we have a problem, the world isn't ready for another me yet and I don't think your mother could handle it," Clay replied. He could just imagine Gemma's reaction to that one and then the tongue lashing he would get later. Still he had tried with Jackson, he really had it was one of those things that he had put a lot of effort into and hadn't really minded although at times he kind of wanted to strangle the cocky teenager with his bare hands. At the same time thought where parenting was concerned you took the good with the bad and you went with it no matter how much you wanted to throw you hands up in anger and anguish.

They had agreed on the best course of action, even if to the untrained eye it didn't seem that way. It was something that could be done unspoken between the two and that was what made it that much easier for Clay and took some of the stress from him, this was why he had requested that it be his step-son and only his step son. Flicking his ash into the ashtray once more he nodded his head, before giving a mock look of being completely and utterly mortified at the mention of his wife and their being late for dinner.

"The one thing I fear, your mother yelling at me because I didn't make it home for dinner in time and she spent all her time working on a hot meal and putting it on the table." He respected his wife, he loved his wife, but she frightened the hell out of him, which was he didn't stray as much as what he could have had he wanted too. Rising from his seat he stubbed the cigar out and before he looked over and nodded. "Besides I don't know about you but I'm starving at the moment and will probably eat anything that she tires to feed me. So yeah meeting is over." At some point he was going to have to sit Gemma down and explain to her what was going on, she didn't like to be out of the loop and in moments such as these he didn't think it was safe for her to be out of said loop either.

The woman needed to know what was going on in case the Mayan's got the upper hand, turning his attention back to Jax for a moment or two he paused. "You know will have to tell Gemma about what's going on," he offered as he pulled the door open looking out at the dimming light as daylgiht was being replaced by night. "Leave her to me though, I'll explain it too her tonight after dinner."