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ALL BEHOLD SAMTAZ! We meet a new chapter of the Sons this week – Sons of Anarchy, Tucson, AZ, or SAMTAZ, a nickname that sounds like it should belong to a really showy wizard in Dungeons and Dragons , but instead belongs to some really lame crank-slinging bikers. Jax gets all het up over SAMTAZ selling crank, but SAMTAZ member Armando points out, “You mule coke, we sell crank. Same shit.”
Anyway, the conflict of the week centers around the increasingly fatuous argument SAMCRO makes about how their club doesn't deal drugs. (Tangential to that is the suggestion that the other charters are disgruntled over the cartel deal, as SAMCRO's grabbing all the profit, yet distributing the risk.) Because SAMTAZ voted in the crank operation four months ago after the death of one member and the departure of another, Jax immediately suspects someone somewhere pulled some strings to rig the vote. His suspicions are confirmed: SAMTAZ VP Huff pulled a Clay Morrow-worthy move by setting up the crank house first, then “handling” the two brother bikers who discovered his illicit operation. So Clay out-Clays them by bringing in the tweaker who began cooking meth for Huff and forcing ex-member Richie to testify to his former brothers. However, disrupting SAMTAZ's social dynamics fails to get Clay what he wants: SAMTAZ votes a second time, and they're all about dealing crank. This does not make the SAMCRO boys rest any easier when they finally meet up with the cartel and get an eyeful of all the cocaine they're ferrying north.
HOW GREEN WAS MY SUBPLOT: Gemma makes the acquaintance of Rita (aka Mrs. Roosevelt) at the local garden store, and despite the obvious reasons why they shouldn't get along, the two women discover they have a lot in common – a lot of horticulture, a contempt of the mayor, a healthy appreciation for the black art of keeping one's spouse on his toes, and a desire to save a local park. Gemma leaves the shop with some food for thought – then runs into "Nick Stackhouse" (AKA Linc Potter), who gives her more by talking about the possible reversion of eminent domain. The wheels begin turning: If Gemma can save the park, then she can help stall out the eminent domain. Knowing that her name will probably not attract donors, Gemma leans on Tara to join the committee to save the park. Then she signs up Tara without her information and/or consent.
NEEDLING THE OLD-TIMERS: One of the released-only-to-social-media scenes had a pregnant Tara asking Piney what he knew about John Teller's death, only to be smacked down and told to let history live in the past. Only now, Piney wants access to the letters from JT, arguing that he needs them as leverage in steering the club away from the cartel. Tara's all, “Who's dredging up history now, old man?” but after Piney falls into a swoon in her office, she softens her stance and ends up having a heart-to-heart with Piney about his best friend JT.
PLAN B-PLUS: Continuing the strategy of sowing dissent among SAMCRO members, Potter goes to visit Big Otto in prison and tells him two things: First, that Bobby Elvis's semen was found in the underwear Luann had on at the time of her death; second, in nearly 90% of cases, the person doing the banging of the victim is also the person doing the killing of the victim. Thus having suggested to Otto that at least one of his brothers cuckolded then bereaved him, Potter wafts off, presumably to resume listening to the voices in his head.
EXCHANGE OF THE EPISODE:
On noting the armed guards surrounding the Mexican imports truck that will ferry SAMCRO's guns across the border:
Clay: That's some well-guarded salsa.
Romeo: Wait ‘til you taste it.
It's no “Luther! Vandross!” but one takes what one can.
SHOT OF THE EPISODE: It's a toss-up between Gemma jamming a trowel in a potted plant with a cigarette tucked between her fingers, or Piney glaring in disbelief as Chuckie cheerfully waves at SAMCRO as they ride away. Both are great silent jokes.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Another episode, another opening that begins in the morning. This time, Jax is scribbling intently in his journal when Tara comes over and greets him. Naturally, the children are still asleep, as they are TV children and therefore never wake up at the crack of dawn unless it's required for plot-related purposes. Although Jax is hesitant to talk about what he's writing, Tara is tickled: "My badass biker is journaling?" Jax is all, "Gotta go!" Tara asks if Jax is really heading out for a bike show, and he confirms her worst suspicions by asking, "You really want to know?" Tara decides it's too early to stress over whatever idiot scheme the father of her children is about to undertake.
Across town, Gemma is gardening in her greenhouse, glaring with disapproval at a lily that has dared to wilt in a sunny southern window. I'm no master gardener, but I'm thinking that even plants don't do well with secondhand smoke. In fact, given what cigarettes are made of, it might actually be detrimental to them: "She's burning leaves! I could be ! WHAT KIND OF A MONSTER IS SHE?" Not even Clay can jostle her out of her bad mood.
Meanwhile, the boys are busy in Satan's workshop, packing the guns in their conspicuously-labeled "HEAVY AUTO PARTS" crates and loading them into a truck.
While all this is going on, a Spanish-language version of "The Times They Are a-Changin''" is playing, which is a stroke of genius.
Gemma injects Clay with cortisone in their greenhouse/solarium/sunroom. We see the truck leaving the property. Gemma kisses Clay's knuckles right as he gets on his bike, and he exposits as to why we'll see neither Opie nor Kozik this episode (shockingly, the reason is not "Because we have something like thirteen very talented regular actors on this show and it's hard to get them all screen time"), but Gemma's all, "Whatever. I'm not happy about this whole guns-and-coke thing but you've made it clear how welcome my opinion is." Only she has it all with sullen one-word answers to Clay's chit-chat.
The boys pull out and launch into their partnership as gun-and-coke-runners. We zip to the garage, where Chuckie is happily waving goodbye. Piney is standing to him, and turns to give Chuckie a look of incredulous disdain.
Drive, drive, drive, ride, ride, ride. We get a shot of Jax injecting Clay's knuckles with cortisone, then we keep on driving, driving, driving, riding, riding, riding. The boys hit a truck stop in Arizona after dark. Clay's hands shake as he unwinds his fingers from the handlebars, and then there is a lot of handshaking and hugging as the local chapter of Sons of Anarchy greets the travelers. The chapter president, Armando, is all hugs; the VP, Huff, has a macho handshake-off with Clay.
After the greetings, Bobby Elvis sets this week's plot in motion by offering the chapter's condolences for the departed Little Paul. (One presumes they couldn't make the funeral because it took place while they were in Stockton.)
Clay changes the topic and tells Armando that they're meeting Romeo at the bike expo at 10 a.m. the day, Armando says, "SAMTAZ, ready to protect and serve," and while I appreciate the naming conventions for the club, "SAMTAZ" honestly sounds like something out of a Dungeon & Dragons game. Oh, Samtaz, you puckish half-dwarf archer! Is there no fight with a Balrog you can't turn into a hilarious monologue? I mean, you have SAMBEL for the Sons of Anarchy, Belfast charter. Why not SAMTUC for Tucson? (And don't tell me it's because bikers think names with "Z"s in them are automatically cool. Please.)
Jax asks if the truck stop is good for all this, and right as Huff is busy assuring him that neither cop nor scumbag besmirch the rest area with their presence, we hear a few members of SAMTAXZ beating the crap out of a few scumbags. Whoops. Somehow, Tig gets into it -- a southwestern version of Nancy Spungen jumps on his back after he tackles the guy trying to get away from SAMTAZ -- and once the melee subsides, it hits SAMCRO that their southern counterparts are dealing crank.
Jax is not too pleased about this, because crank brings out the law enforcement, and given that SAMCRO's just driven a big truck full of automatic weapons right into crank central, the odds of them getting caught have just increased. Armando quietly calls him out with, "Coke, crank, you mule, we sell. It's the same shit." Clay fails to appreciate the comparison and growls at Armando to shut it down. Armando replies, "Sorry, esse. Not your club, not your call." Clay is all, "Who in the what now?" and the remaining members of SAMCRO are dismayed -- but not surprised -- at how this shook out.
The morning, the boys are in SAMTAZ's church, and Clay invokes argumentum ad antiquam with, "I ain't telling you how to run your club, but the charter has precedence." Huff points out that SAMCRO's just gotten into bed with a big, fat cocaine cartel, so ...? Clay shouts, "We don't deal! That's always been the message." Armando tells Clay that his distinction seems rather arbitrary. Bobby Elvis cuts his eyes sideways, as if looking for someone to receive the "I TOLD YOU SO" stare. Jax is thinking more strategically: He points out that SAMCRO just voted in their partnership with the cartel, and if that trucker (and his lot lizard) had back debt, then it seems as if this has been going on a while. The sergeant-at-arms looks very uncomfortable and looks to Huff, who looks to Armando; the SAMTAZ president says his club voted it in four months ago. He adds, "This town is drying up, Clay. I'm just trying to keep this charter alive, man." Jax says with some asperity, "We would have never brought you into this if we knew you were cooking [crank]." Huff is all, "Good luck finding another charter this close to the border, chumps!" and when Clay reminds him that SAMTAZ is getting a hefty protection fee, Huff points out that the protection fee hardly reflects the presumed riches SAMCRO will be rolling in. Tig is all, "Fascinating as this discussion on the merits of trickle-down economics may be, it is getting in the way of our meeting with Romeo, who is the faucet for the flow of money. Keeping him waiting is a bad idea." SAMCRO gets up and files out, but as he walks by the hall of fame, Jax notices something to Little Paul's black-ribboned photo: another biker, Reggie, turned in his patch, and his photo is now upside-down. We find out Reggie turned in his patch after 18 years because Little Paul had been his sponsor. All of these events unfolded right before the crank vote. "Close vote?" Jax asks. Benny (the sergeant at arms) says, "It was, but everyone's behind it now." Jax asks, "How about you?" "Four kids, 'mano. I ain't gotta a choice," Benny says, having apparently forgotten that birth control is not yet illegal in the U.S. Chibs comes in and is all, "Come on already!" and Jax takes off. He looks troubled.
Back in Charming, Gemma parks her car downtown and heads toward a store. Across the street, Potter notices her and drops his brown paper bag of whatever on his bike and begins trailing her discreetly. We zip to a garden store. Chuckie opens the door for Gemma and she saunters in. Then -- because Charming is small and worlds must collide -- Sheriff Roosevelt's wife Rita comes out to help Gemma. While Rita doesn't have Gemma's desired Mariposa Lily bulbs in stock, she does have help for Gemma, if Gemma's willing to bring in the underperforming plants. Gemma is pleased by the offer and puts out her hand to shake. (As she does, we see Potter discreetly entering the store in the background.) Chuckie then comes over and offers his hand for shaking. After taking a moment (presumably so she doesn't break out in screams or gales of laughter), Rita takes it and shakes. Gemma snaps, "Go to the car," and Chuckie sails away on "Adieu, ladies!" I enjoy how he treats reality as an alternate state of being. After Chuckie goes, Rita's all, "Story, please?" and Gemma shrugs, "Long story. I picked those hands up on eBay. Difficult rehabilitation. [pause for topic change] How's it going with the gardens?" We see a poster for the Charming Gardens, which are presumably in need of cash. Rita exposits that her garden committee needs to raise another $80,000 in three weeks or the garden's gone. Gemma says, "Let me guess: More retail feed for Charming Heights." Rita nods. Gemma nods to the poster and says combatively, "I wouldn't let the mayor see that sign. He might fire your husband." Rita says levelly, "Just imagine what he'd do if he knew I was the one who started that committee." She hands over a flyer and says, "We're having a big fundraiser week." Gemma gives her A Look, then says, "I take it you know who I am." Rita does, and she figures Gemma knows who she is. Gemma's all, "Okay then." The two then move on to discussing the "gold circle club," which is the special label given to people who drop $5000 or more on this garden project and is meant for people who enjoy padding out their CV or looking good in their white-collar circles. Rita explains this with slightly more tact, and Gemma asks, "So being a biker's old lady would attract the wrong kind of donors?" Rita gives Gemma a look she must have borrowed from her husband and says, "I honestly don't care what kind of donor you are. If you want to help, the door is open. But if you're just here to rattle my cage, I don't have the time, love." Cut to Potter exiting the shop, perhaps in advance of what he fears to be bloody gladiatorial combat. Gemma, however, has no good counteroffensive, so she just promises to be back with her dead bulbs.
As she exits the shop, Potter speaks up with "Shame about the gardens. I seriously hope the clock ticks out on Charming Heights." He's got a cigarette in his mouth, and Gemma lights it as she asks what clock that would be. Having sucked her in, Potter explains the eminent domain issue, and Gemma's all, "Really? Do I know you?" Potter introduces himself as Nick Stackhouse, humble zoning department employee, and then drifts off. I would love to discern Potter's motivations for what he's doing: Screwing over Mayor McCheese on general principle? Hoping to plant a bug in Gemma's ear so she prods Clay and the boys into doing more damage and therefore making Potter's case easier? Resorting to creating soap opera schemes because All My Children is off the air?
Meanwhile, in Arizona, a bike expo's in full swing. Juice is dispatched to check SAMCRO is, so it's all documented and everything, and then Bobby Elvis pulls out a pocket watch and checks the time. "Romeo does not seem like the kind of guy who runs late," he comments. While they're waiting on Romeo, Jax spins out what's troubling him: "I've been thinking out this crank move. Armando says they passed the vote four months ago. That's right after Little Paul was killed and Reggie quit... Little Paul would have never signed off on crank." Chibs adds, "Reg was a lifer. Him walking away doesn't make any sense." The guys quickly conclude that someone in SAMTAZ may have been clearing the decks for what they knew was a close vote. Hilariously, there is not even the hint of an awkward silence as Clay and Tig posit that. I suppose Piney would have provided that. Our boys decide they need to find Reggie -- Clay reasons doing so will help send the message that the Sons of Anarchy don't deal. Oh, wait, here comes Bobby Elvis with the awkward moment! "Every business needs shipping and selling. You can't separate the two." Clay wheels on him and snarls, "I got a wife that says shit without saying shit. Grow a sack, Elvis." So Bobby does: "Armando's right. Muling and dealing are the same goddamn thing." Tig smoothly interposes himself between the two men and mutters, "Not the time, boys." Hey, look! It's the cartel. Bet it's not often the presence of heavily armed Mexican thugs makes things less tense.
Scratch that -- it's only part of the cartel. Luis says Romeo's not around on account of the tail the bikers picked up (auto detailing van, 3 o'clock), so now SAMCRO must add "Lose law enforcement tail" to today's to-do list. Fortunately, with the help of some rollicking background music, nearly two dozen men on motorcycles and some truly impressive pyrotechnics, the losing of the tail is soon accomplished. Of note in this sequence: It is not lost on anyone in SAMTAZ that Clay's losing his grip (literally) on the motorcycle handlebars.
Cut to Potter staring at his wall of people who have died since this show started (Hello, Luann! Hello, Donna! Hello, Half-Sack!) and he whips around, tilts his head like a cockatiel, and exclaims, "They blew up a grease truck? That doesn't sound like our boys. A little too Mad Max, don't you think?" The ATF agent (named Grad, according to my closed captioning) really doesn't care if blowing up a grease truck is in character or not. Fact is, it happened and all the ATF has to show for its work is a few lousy photos of Luis. Grad heads out the door and Potter leaps on to the table, braces one mantis-like arm against the ceiling and begins swinging his leg back and forth as he contemplates the mysteries in Jax and Clay's mug shots.
Speaking of places you don't often expect to find SAMCRO: try a pet shop. But that is apparently where Reggie works -- we can tell it's him by the blacked-out ink all over his back and arms -- and when he sees Clay and company coming in, he bids a woman named Bunny to get in the back. By the way, the store appears to be named "Bunny's," and there are a lot of rabbits in cages. Reggie is not exactly thrilled to see everyone, especially when they start asking why he walked away. But with a little light violence -- Jax throws a paperweight through a fish tank and Tig threatens to cut the throat of the adorable bunny he's cuddling -- Reggie is persuaded to talk. He explains, "Huff found out I was bangin' Little Paul's old lady --" "Ellen? Jesus, man," Tig exclaims in outrage. Let us recap: the man who was fine with slicing Benjamin Bunny from ears to tail is worked up about sneaky sex between two consenting adults. Anyway, Reggie continues, "Huff kept it quiet, said he didn't want to ruin Paul's marriage... Little Paul and I got word there was a cookhouse out on Copperhead, shook down the skinheads who were running it, found out Huff and Benny had set it up. Used the club's weight to get it done, and nobody at the table had any idea it was happening. Then we get a call from Huff and Benny saying Little Paul had been gunned down by Mexican bangers. No other witnesses." And when Reggie threatened to out Huff's operation, Huff threatened to play his leverage regarding Ellen: "I'd be drummed out and Ellen would be shunned. No compensation, nobody to look out after her. I didn't want it to ruin her life too. I walked away." Bobby Elvis dourly informs Reggie that his club has since voted in the crank business. Reggie would rather this not get back to the club, and while Clay's not willing to make that promise, he is willing to promise that Ellen will be taken care of. The scene ends with the boys heading off to go get a bead on the skinheads in question.
Meanwhile, back in Charming, Tara is learning that she really needs to start locking her office door. This time, Piney's the one in her office. Once he wakes up, he makes it clear what he wants: Whatever Tara read of John's, Piney wants it. The reason this request is particularly rich goes back to the inter-season scenes that were released via Sons of Anarchy's social media streams: When Tara was pregnant with Thomas, she went to Piney and asked him for background and history on JT, and Piney told her to leave the past in the past. So for him to decide now, when it's convenient, that it's time to exhume the moldering corpse of the 1980s... Tara's all, "Really? Why do you want to know now?" Piney says, "The club is heading into troubled waters. And maybe there's something in those letters that can keep the boat from rocking too much." Tara scoffs, "Those are some vague metaphors for a guy as direct as you." Piney's all, "Oh, you want me to be direct? Here goes: I deserve to read whatever it is John wrote because I knew him and you did not; I was his friend and you are not; this is my club, and I need leverage; I think -- Oh! Hey, Gemma! I was in no way working around to my suspicion that you teamed up with the club president to kill my best friend."
Tara is finally fed up with people barging into her office and snaps, "Most civil people would knock." "I'm not most people," Gemma says serenely. "And she's definitely not civil," Chuckie says, materializing at her elbow. Gemma whirls on him and asks, "What are we, George and Gracie now?" She turns away and Chuckie grins, all relieved that nobody made a Howdy Doody joke about puppet hands. As Piney tries to go, Tara's like, "No, you hang on. I'll get to you," then takes Gemma to the hall to see what her eventual mother-in-law wants. Gemma says, "I want to sign you up for a committee -- Charming Central Gardens. We need to raise money to save it." Tara demurs, pointing out that she's already on three hospital committees and refraining from adding that she's also raising two children under the age of three. Gemma says, "I just need your name. It means a lot to get a doctor involved. It attracts donors. It's a chance to help this town." I am still stuck on the conceit that Tara's name would somehow attract donors, because if Charming is all that small, then surely everyone knows Tara's associated with SAMCRO, and that's not exactly a money-dragger. Tara gives Gemma a skeptical look and cuts to the chase: "What's your angle on this? Why do you give a shit about an overgrown park?" Gemma pulls the daddy card, but before she can really work herself into a button-pressing monologue about family and its importance, Chuckie interrupts them. Something's up with Piney.
Know what this episode needed? More Trejo! And now we have it: Clay and Jax are talking with Romeo and Luis, establishing that after this run, they'll only be sending four bikers to accompany the truck, in order to keep a lower profile. Also, before the Irish Kings do a big order with Romeo, they're going to want a face-to-face meeting. Romeo says smoothly, "I'm always available." Everyone agrees to meet up at a farm equipment repair yard at 10 p.m.; the guns will move from SAMCRO to the cartel there. Bobby Elvis is carried back to his big on the power of his glower. Luis notices and asks Romeo, "You trust these guys?" "As much as we need to," Romeo replies opaquely.
Speaking of Luis, our man has an impressive resume, and Grad is reciting it to Potter -- he was Special Forces, airmobile group, worked in intelligence and has a masters' degree in logistics. The contrast between Parada's organization -- sharp, businesslike, deep background -- and SAMCRO's is painfully evident. Potter is very excited about the photos with Luis and SAMCRO because this brings RICO back into play, big time. He asks Grad to go begging for money, than announces he's off "to the place where bikers go to die."
Back at SAMTAZ's church, Armando is not really thrilled that Clay's back to harping on this whole dealing-crank thing. Clay pulls the biker equivalent of the Scooby-Doo reveal: "Meet Achey, skinhead meth cooker. About five months ago, Reggie and Little Paul found out Achey here was cooking for Huff and Benny. They told his crew it was a SAMTAZ drug operation. Isn't that right, Achey?" Cut to Achey looking like he's been using more than he's been cooking. Huff protests that this is all so much bullshit because SAMTAZ took a vote. "Yeah. After you killed Little Paul and blackmailed Reggie out of the club," Jax points out. A lot of biker heads swivel over to Huff to see how he'll get out of this one. Armando asks Clay, president to president, "You know what you're doing here?" "I'm accusing the VP and the sergeant at arms of using the MC to their own ends, and then when they got caught, they killed a member and blackmailed another," Clay replies gravely. Benny tries the classic discredit-the-tweaker defense, but Chibs comes in with Reggie and says brightly, "This guy's not." (Poor, poor Reggie. I hope Jax is taking notes on what he can expect if he ever gets out.) Clay says to Armando, "It's your charter. Listen to the facts, make your decision. But if you find out that your club got into crank on a lie, you need to vote it again." Our boys head out; as they do, Benny is wearing the look of a man who regrets most of his decisions.
All you Piney fans will be pleased to know that he's just fine. Piney is not too pleased by this development, but he does take the opportunity to apologize to Tara with "I'm sorry I was so hard on you before." Tara accepts, then sits down and asks, "Tell me about John Teller. What was he like?" Piney drops his gruff delivery and speaks in a softer, more matter-of-fact way: "He was a complicated guy. Angry, impulsive, just righteous as hell. Hated being wrong. Not much of an education. Book smart, though. He used to devour three, four at a time. He was loyal. Too loyal." "Sounds familiar," Tara says. "Yeah, they're cut from the same cloth," Piney avers. He continues: "What I want to know? Why my best friend was afraid when he died." After a long moment, Tara says, "I found some of JT's old letters. He was trying to get the club out of the gun business. He knew it was a risk, Clay and the others were invested --" "Trying to get them out how?" Piney asks. "From what I read, he had set up a meeting in Belfast with some IRA members and a priest, Kellan Ashby. John wanted to end the relationship with the Irish, stop the club from selling guns. He was killed before that meeting happened." Piney takes on a hunted, haunted look. It's pretty obvious that to him, the gun deal is the template for the way the cartel deal will go: It never ends and nobody gets out alive. Before either Piney or Tara can continue the conversation, Gemma pops in (sans Chuckie, alas) to see how Piney's doing. After Tara goes, the two club elders have a frank exchange of opinion. Gemma asks, "What you doing, old man? What do you want with Tara?" Piney says, "She's just, ah, helping me grow old gracefully." Gemma says, "I know you're bumping up against Clay. That bullshit you fed me the other day --" Piney says, "That wasn't bullshit. That was the truth. You all just refuse to look at it." Gemma counters, "Whatever truth you think Tara can tell you, it's only going to make things worse... back off it, Piney. Leave it alone before it kills you." Piney replies, "That's half the reason I'm doing it." Forum posters, start the Piney Suicide pool now.
So it looks like neither Huff nor Benny are members of SAMTAZ any longer. They have been permitted to keep their lives What I am curious about is whether or not Reggie might be allowed back in? Or if he's just done thanks to the crank. Anyway, Jax is sorry to see this happen and so is Armando, as he's now down by 33% of the club. Then Clay is shocked -- shocked! -- to discover that SAMTAZ voted in favor of dealing crank. Armando says, "Guys got a taste of the money, Clay. It was unanimous." Why Clay is surprised is God's private mystery, as this whole "get into bed with an unsavory business to make a living" thing is merely history repeating itself. But Bobby Elvis glowers righteously. His face is going to stay that way and it is really going to cut into his Elvis impersonation gigs. Anyway, Armando knows SAMCRO has concerns, so he promises another depot at which to land future truck deliveries. Bobby Elvis gets ready to launch into his I-told-you-so's, but neither Clay nor Jax are in the mood for it.
In other news, Gemma has decided that Tara is going to be a member of the Gold Circle Club for the save-the-parks project whether she wants to or not. She swings by Rita's shop and hands over an envelope with $5000 in cash ("In twenties," Rita notes; Gemma does not reply, "I'd have delivered it in ones, but the strippers have a hard time counting above ten.") as well as Tara's contact information. Then she hands over a paper bag, saying, "My dead bulbs. Have a good night." Rita watches her go and wonders what in the blue hell she has just gotten herself into.
Speaking of "What in the blue hell have we gotten ourselves into?" SAMCRO's collectively wearing that expression as they regard the set-up that the cartel has for transferring the guns. We're talking towers with armed guards, barbed-wire fences, the whole shebang. Clay looks at the "Mexican Imports" decoy trucks and remarks, "That's some well-guarded salsa." "Wait 'til you taste it," Romeo deadpans. All the bikers look around, obviously wondering if tonight is the night when they meet their deaths by automatic weapons fire.
And now we discover what Potter meant by the place where bikers go to die: prison. More specifically, Big Otto's cell in solitary. Otto's supine, clad in a filthy white shirt, his hands covered in blood. Potter comes in and begins speaking: "Sorry to interrupt your solitude, Mr. Delaney. Deputy Sheriff Gabe Marcel, San Joaquin Sheriff's Department. Just need a few minutes of your time. It's regarding the murder of your wife, Luann Delaney. Sanwa sheriffs recently took of jurisdiction of Charming. All of Charming PD's unresolved cases became our responsibility. I'm following up. According to the autopsy report, traces of semen were found in your wife's undergarments. The county was finally able to run an analysis, got a match in the system. A, uh, Robert Munson, known as Bobby Elvis. A member of your motorcycle club. Can you tell me anything about their relationship? And I ask, because in most cases -- 87.9%, actually -- the person having sex with the victim was the perpetrator. (Lays out photos of Luanne's bloodied corpse on Otto's torso.) And it was ... it was a gruesome assault. (Notes that Otto flinches slightly.) I understand you've been going through some emotional issues. It doesn't seem right you're locked up in this box. I'm going to look into that. I'll come back a little later when you feel a bit more ... settled." Having enacted another part of Plan B -- where "B" clearly stands for "break up the bonds of brotherhood" -- Potter stalks out. After he goes, Otto moves his hands down to the photos of Luanne and runs his hands over the one of her bloody head. We see tears.
The non-incarcerated bikers are still excruciatingly nervous around Romeo's well-staffed operation. "Just a precaution," he says curtly. "Should we be taking that precaution?" Jax asks. Romeo assures him, "Lobo Sonora doesn't know about our deal. If they did, they would never risk reprisal up north." Luis -- he of the masters in logistics -- notes that Lobo Sonora would likely strike in Arizona, and the cartel is prepared for that. Then he hands over a valise with $700,000 in it. Romeo calls over a guy named Fredo and Fredo opens a crate filled with 30 kilos of uncut Colombian cocaine. "Give it a safe ride, gentlemen," Luis bids. Romeo adds that he'll be up in a few days to check on the operation, and leaves the club. The bikers all eye the cocaine as if it's radioactive, and it take Clay barking at them to start loading up the truck. Clay and Jax exchange pleased looks -- this is their retirement in that crate -- then catch Bobby Elvis handling a brick with an expression of distaste. After he walks off, Clay and Jax exchange looks again: Something will have to be done about Bobby Elvis.
Lisa Schmeiser is wondering if she should break out the ol' dice bag and begin rolling SAMATZ's dexterity and charisma.
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