A Raven Among Crows

Chapter 80: Submission

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

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"Clay!" Jax yelled amongst the gunfire from where he was crouched behind an old car in the junkyard where they'd arranged to drop off the guns, peering over the rusted hood at the group of Niners that had called open season on both them and the Mayans. "Lay some down." He made the tough decision to contribute in the war that they had been actively trying to prevent - but he knew that it was the only way to prove to Alvarez that this hadn't been a set up, and he would rather be at war with one gang instead of two.

He bolted across the clearing once Clay started firing, dodging a few stray bullets as he ducked behind the van where he rounded the side and made it into the driver's seat, slamming his foot to the floor and bringing the van swinging back where Clay could jump in safely before taking off - crashing through a pile of tires before busting out of the side fence and speeding back home.

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Unser paced back and forth through the station house in search of his Deputy. He knew that Hale had to be here somewhere because his wagon was in the parking lot - but the younger man was nowhere to be found. He finally made his way to the cells in the back, sure that he would come up empty handed but it was the last place that he had to look before calling for a search party.

Hale sat on the hard bed of one of the holding cells, bouncing his knee while he sipped the awful cup of black coffee that he'd grabbed from the kitchen on his way to solitude - wishing that he'd had the energy to stop at the diner after dropping Sydney off.

"I've been looking all over for you." He looked up to see Unser standing over him with a scowl. "What the hell are you doing in here?"

"It's the only place that I can think without ATF buzzing around." He didn't bother straightening up or maintaining eye contact with the older man - remaining hunched over as he forced down another sip of the stale drink.

"I can relate." Unser scoffed. "Somethin on your mind, son?"

"I got some information..." Hale began wearily. "And if I give it away, then I'm betraying my badge. But if I don't? Someone could get hurt..." He explained his internal conflict to the one man who he knew would understand.

Unser sighed as he took a seat next to the man who mirrored himself when he'd first started out on the force - a good cop who was quickly realizing that no good existed in this town. "That badge?" He nodded to his chest. "It aint even real silver." He chuckled.

Hale tried to force a chuckle but he couldn't - not with an innocent man's life on the line.

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Tig laid on the cement floor of the warehouse with his heart pounding against his chest as he listened to the gun go off, waiting for his life to end after the Niner had snuck up on him. But a different sound followed the gunshot - the Niner dropping to the ground before him. He looked up with a scowl to see Opie standing above him with his gun pointed at the double-crossing gang member that he had just killed to save him.

"Shit. Thanks man." He gasped, racing to his feet as Opie peered around the corner, scoping out a safe pathway for them to escape the ambush.

His hands shook as he raised his gun when the exact opportunity that Clay had wanted presented itself: to kill the rat at their table with a bullet in the back of his head and blame it on the rival gang - the rival gang that had inadvertently put themselves in an even more perfect position to take the blame - but as his life flashed before his eyes, he couldn't make himself pull the trigger. Not when the rat at their table had just saved him from the same fate.