A/N: This is a new little idea I had inspired by Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood's "Somethin' Bad." I hope y'all like it. There will be time jumps.
There is no "pairing" for this story but it will focus on Beth and Tara but there will not be any "Tareth."
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Walking Dead or it's characters. Nor do I own any of the songs, places or anything of that sort used in this story.
Enjoy!
Something Bad
FBI Atlanta Field Office
January 15, 2015
12:45 p.m.
Special Agent Michonne Owens had barely had time to settle into her temporary office before there was a knock on the door.
"Hey Mich," Special Agent Abraham Ford greeted her. "We have everything set up on the 'Thelma and Louise' case so whenever you're ready.."
"I'm ready now," Michonne said, grabbing a stack of files and following Abraham down the hallway. "Do y'all have anything new on these girls?"
Abraham shook his head. "No, just what I've sent you. This is the first time they've hit Georgia so that's why we've asked you to come down."
The pair stopped in front of a set of double doors before stepping inside.
"I should warn you," Abraham said, "we've been able to get several other agent's to come down and they are highly pissed."
Michonne sighed and chuckled, "I can handle them. It's my job."
Upon stepping inside the room, Michonne and Abraham were met with stares from their fellow agents as they all ceased talking.
"Everyone, this Agent Michonne Owens from the DC office. She's here to assist on the 'Thelma and Louise' case and hopefully shed some new light on it to help us catch these girls," Abraham said. Then turning to Michonne, he began introducing her to the other agents. "This is Agent Eugene Porter from the Houston office and Agent Jacqui Prescott from right here in Atlanta and Agent Alisha Collins from the Los Angeles office."
Michonne and the others quickly exchanged greetings before she sat her stack of files down at the head of the table and cleared her throat.
"Well," she began, "as you all know, these girls like to go after rich, powerful men. They certainly haven't shied away from teasing us either. And as much as I hate to admit it, they're good at what they do. There's been absolutely no trace of them, no fingerprints, no photos and the descriptions at each crime scene differ but we know these are the same girls."
"Can we even be sure of that?" Jacqui asked.
"Yes, we're sure of it. Now, for each girl, we have compiled a list of known aliases from not only the crimes scenes in your jurisdiction but from those in others as well. They never stay in one place for every long but they always hit multiple towns within each state. As of lately though, their favorite names of choice are Alanna Bailey and Emily Richmond. They used those names here in Atlanta and in North Dakota."
Seymour, Indiana
June 16, 2014
Merle Dixon laughed and slammed his hand down on the steering wheel.
"We done it again, baby brotha. I swear, you girls was tha best thing ta ever happen ta us," he said, glancing at Tara and Beth in the rearview mirror.
Tara smiled and leaned into the front seat, taking the cigarette out of Daryl's mouth and sticking it in her own as she leaned back.
Beth sighed with a smile on her face. "Where to next, Merle?"
"Anywhere ya want, Darlin'."
Beth looked at Tara and both girls eyes lit up.
"Somewhere near the ocean," Beth said dreamily.
Daryl reached for the map on the dash and opened it.
"We still gotta make that stop in Kentucky and then we have that job in South Carolina but how's Atlantic City sound fer now?" He asked.
Beth groaned. "No fun for me. I'm not twenty-one yet."
Tara laughed. "Seriously, Bethie? You have a fake ID. Several of them actually."
"Yeah, I know. I just thought we could take a little break and have some fun."
"It's too risky but don't ya worry, Darlin', we're gon' do yer twenty-first right. Jus' like we did Tara's," Merle said as he pulled into the parking lot of the Motel 6 they were staying in.
Beth sat down on one of the beds as Tara emptied a bag onto it. Both girls squealed in excitement as Merle and Daryl walked in carrying their other bags.
"Don't y'all get too excited," Daryl said, taking a seat next to Beth, "we gotta sell his stuff in Louisville 'fore we move on ta Atlantic City."
"So this buyer," Tara said as she joined Merle at the small table, "you trust him?"
Merle shrugged. "Not as much as tha guy back in Utah but this one is willin' ta pay more for this shit."
"Harry Winston!" Beth shrieked as she looked over the jewelry.
The others shook their heads and laughed.
"You girls did good," Daryl said as he separated the jewelry before making sure it was neatly packed up for different buyers.
"Well, y'all might as well get some rest 'cause y'all gon' have ta drive," Merle told 'em.
Louisville, Kentucky
June 17, 2014
7:00 a.m.
"I thought we weren't meeting them until 10," Tara said as Merle gave Beth directions.
"We ain't meetin' 'em 'til then but I want ta make sure we get a good look at tha place first. 'Sides, ya know you girls ain't goin' in with us."
Tara scoffed. "So you'll let us do the dirty work, steal the shit but we can't make the deals? Misogynistic, redneck prick," she mumbled.
Merle chuckled, "Don't get yer panties in a twist, rug muncher."
They flipped each other off before Merle put his hand on Tara's shoulder and leaned forward in his seat. "Y'all know it's too dangerous. We know y'all can take care of yerselves but we don't want y'all goin' inta this deal."
Merle had Beth park several streets away from where they were meeting their buyer then he and Daryl walked the rest of the way to scope out the place.
The girls got out of the car once Merle and Daryl were out of sight and sat on the hood.
"You know Merle's just tryin' to protect us, right?" Beth asked, breaking the silence.
"I know." She nudged Beth's arm with hers, "So who are we going to be in Atlantic City?"
"Courtney, maybe, I don't know but we still have awhile before we have to decide."
"Ooh. Courtney. The one you used in San Diego. She'll be perfect there," Tara and Beth both laughed.
"What about you?"
"That's easy. Gina, the one I used in Portland."
Two hours later, the brothers returned. Both were smiling as they climed into the front seats while Beth and Tara began changing their clothes in the back seat.
"Remember," Daryl said, "after y'all drop us off, go straight ta that bar. Nowhere else."
"We remember," the girls said in unison.
At 9:55 a.m., they were pulling up just down the street from the building where the meeting would be. Daryl and Merle grabbed the bags out of the trunk and waited for the girls to drive off before they started walking.
The deal went smoothly as bags were exchanged and they got the hell out of there.
Tara and Beth were at the bar, both sipping on sodas when Daryl and Merle walked in. Both men winked at them, their signal to leave and wait for them, as they took a seat at the bar.
When they emerged from the bar a few minutes later, Daryl slid into the back seat with Tara so they could count the cash and divide it while Merle got in the drivers seat beside Beth.
"Ahh! I love our job!" Tara shouted and kissed the hundred dollar bills in her hands.
Daryl and Merle both laughed as they each lit up their own cigarettes. Beth smiled, took off her heels and propped her feet up on the dash and turned the radio up as the intro to a song began.
Tara leaned forward and put her arms over Beth's seat, "I love this song! Turn it up more."
Beth leaned forward and turned it up as they both began singing along with the music and dancing as best they could in the car.
"You only love me for my big sun glasses And my Tony Lomas And my Dodge Dart classic You said "I'll be Johhny and you be June I'll ride with you to the moon" But guess what?
You can't ride in my little red wagon The front seat's broken and the axel's dragin' You can't step to this backyard swagger You know it ain't my fault when I'm walkin' jaws droppin' like Ooh, ah, ooh, ah
Oh, heaven help me I've been sewing wildflower seeds And chasing tumble weeds But that's just who I be And you're just trying to slow this rolling stone But I'm on to you baby So guess what?
You can't ride in my little red wagon The front seat's broken and the axel's dragin' No you can't step to this backyard swagger You know it ain't my fault when I'm walkin' jaws droppin' like Ooh, ah, ooh, ah"
"That's tha perfect song fer y'all," Daryl muttered from the back seat, making both girls laugh.
Tara leaned over, grabbed his face and kissed his cheek, "Awe, Darylina, ya know ya love us."
Atlantic City, New Jersey
June 19, 2014
Beth and Tara screamed and ran for the beds when they opened the door to their hotel room.
They threw themselves on the bed and squealed like little girls, Merle and Daryl laughed as they brought in their bags.
"I got us a job lined up," Merle told them as Daryl lit a cigarette and Beth and Tara started jumping on the bed.
"What is it?" Daryl asked.
"Well, if those two will settle down, I'll tell y'all."
Beth giggled as they sat down and looked at Merle.
"So?" Tara asked.
"Y'all gon' need ta slut it up a lil' bit. Kinda like y'all did when we was in Arizona. Y'all jus' gotta sell tha part ta get inta their room an' get ta their safes."
"Where are they stayin'?" Beth asked curiously.
"Trump Taj Mahal," Merle stated.
Their jaws dropped.
"What?" Tara shrieked.
Daryl started coughing. "What tha fuck's wrong with ya, Merle? They ain't goin' in there. That place has more security than fuckin' Fort Knox!"
"Merle, we've only done small jobs. Small casinos, small banks, shit like that. We've never gone into a place that big," Beth tried to reason. "You've always said 'small and simple' and this is neither of those."
"Look, I ain't pimpin' y'all out. Ya ain't gotta fuck nobody, jus' take their shit. Y'all have done it before, this is no different."
"Yes it is," Daryl said, "we need to lay low for awhile after Indiana. We never do jobs this close together an' we're not about ta start now."
"Bunch of pussies," Merle muttered, shaking his head as he walked out tthe door.
"Why can't we just go back to stealin' cars?" Tara asked Daryl. "We were good at that and it was so much easier. Can't you talk to Merle?"
Daryl groaned at the thought of talking to Merle when he was high and knowing Merle probably wouldn't back out of this job but he nodded his head anyway and left the room.
"Have you ever thought about leaving?" Beth asked as Tara laid back on the bed. "I mean, just goin' back to what we were doin' before, when Merle was locked up."
"Yeah but Merle's family, Beth, and Daryl isn't going to cut him loose unless he opens his mouth. Besides, we chose this, remember? We asked Merle if we could start workin' with him."
Beth laid back on the bed beside Tara but shot back up when the door to their room swung open and Merle and Daryl walked in.
"Alright," Merle said, "y'all ain't gotta do this job but how 'bout that one I was talkin' 'bout in South Carolina? Y'all still want ta do that one?"
Beth nodded, "Yeah."
"I'm in," Tara said.
"Me too," Daryl agreed.
"Good," Merle said happily. "Now what do y'all say we go have some fun?"
They drove around for a little while before they found a bar, one where they wouldn't have to spend much money and draw attention to themselves.
After a few rounds of drinks, Beth sat down at the bar while Daryl and Merle played pool and Tara danced with some woman.
She was sipping on a beer when a guy sat down next to her.
"Two beers," he told the bartender and turned to Beth.
"Zach," he said, holding out his hand.
Beth cocked her head to the side and smirked, recognizing him instantly, "Courtney."
"So, Courtney," he began, handing her one of the beers the bartender sat down in front of him, "what are you doin' in a place like this?"
She shrugged.
"You don't like to talk. I get that," he said while putting his hand on Beth's thigh.
Beth looked behind her to where Daryl and Merle were and saw their bodies stiffen as they prepared for a fight. Tara had stopped dancing and was now making her way to the bar when Beth grabbed Zach's hand and leaned closer to him, whispering in his ear.
She saw Tara smile and winked at her as she stood from the bar stool and led Zach out the door.
"Who tha hell was that?" Merle asked Tara when she made her way over to the pool tables.
"Y'all don't recognize him?"
Both men shook their heads no.
"That's Zach Alistair. His father is a millionaire and he just took our Bethie home or to the closest motel."
Beth looked at her phone to see it was 5 a.m. and she had dozens of missed calls and texts from Tara, Merle and Daryl.
She cursed to herself and eased out of bed, silently picked up her clothes from around the motel room and stared at the bedside table where she had seen Zach put his winnings a few hours earlier. She smiled to herself as she opened the door and made her way out of the motel after retrieving the money.
"Look who's doin' the walk of shame," Tara shouted a little too loudly when Beth opened the door to their room.
Beth groaned and kicked off her shoes as she sat down on the bed. Merle walked over to her and brushed her hair away from her neck with a laugh.
"Hope ya got somethin' that made that punk worth it," he said.
Even with the pounding in her head, Beth smiled and opened up her jacket to pull out several stacks of hundred dollar bills. "What the hell do you think?"
"Holy shit! How much is that?" Tara all but screamed.
"Just a few thousand," Beth stated simply with a shrug and reached into her pocket, pulling out a set of keys and tossing them to Merle. "Maybe you can get us somethin' for that."
Merle chuckled. "Well, I don't know anyone 'round 'ere but I'm sure I can find someone who wants it. 'Sides, we gon' stay 'ere a lil' while 'fore headin' out."
A/N: Well, that was the first chapter and there will be more of a plot and details in the next one.
If you didn't like it, don't be rude about it.
The song used in this chapter is "Little Red Wagon" by Miranda Lamber