R_S: Sorry I missed a day, guys! The end of the week got a l'il cray-cray.
Bittersweet
The evening was hot, even as the sun escaped under the horizon, and morose as the camp worked to rebuild itself, still shaken to the core. It had been over 60 hours since two of their own had been taken, abducted by a delusional mad man. They needed a plan, a way to infiltrate Woodbury, but so many people were injured or killed, there was no solid plan that would not get them killed. Rick and Daryl could not just take off right then; the other inhabitants of the prison were scared and needed guidance. Their leaders couldn't abandon them to be vulnerable at such a time, even if they wanted nothing more than to burst in with guns blazing, as the redneck insisted. But until at least Michonne's ankle healed, they did not stand a chance, and Rick felt they needed to approach this logically- if they had any chance of saving his daughter and Beth, he said, they would need to bide their time wisely. He and Daryl were arguing about the issue for far from the first time when they were interrupted.
"Rick, Daryl! There's a truck coming up to the gate, looks like one of the Governor's, but it's waving a white flag!" Glen called out, jogging from the guard tower. Merle snorted from where he was being made to help repair part of the second fence.
"That's his old trick, wavin' a white flag t'get ya to let your guard down, then while he charms ya his men let loose the heavy artillery. You best shoot that driver, boy."
Rick looked at him, "Is that true?"
"Been party to it myself once or twice, took out an entire military convoy that way." Maggie glared at him.
"You're sick."
"War ain't perty, princess, and this here's war."
"Yeah, that's great," Glenn continued, "but this isn't the Governor, it's Martinez, and now he's waiting at the gate attracting a whole lot of walker attention." Rick sighed heavily, and looked out at the truck in the distance.
"Let him in."
"What?" Daryl demanded, "You cannot be serious!"
"Either that or we got a truck overrun by walkers blockin' our exit. Let him in, but I want guns trained on him at all times- one wrong move, blow his goddamn head off."
"He's got Judith!" Tyreese's voice cut in from across the yard, where he was already opening the gate, "He brought Judith back!" It was the first glimmer of hope in what seemed like a lifetime and the first positive tone the man had taken since his sister's death. They sprinted to the parking truck, crossbows and guns at the ready as Martinez exited the vehicle. Merle hung back, sauntering towards the group with a knowing smirk on his features. Martinez cradled the baby expertly as he climbed out, arms supporting her like it was the most natural thing in the world for him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Daryl remembered that the man once had a family. He looked between all the weapons, head tilted up proudly as he adjusted the precious cargo in his arms.
"You can take her; I'm not tryin' to pull anything." Rick glanced to Daryl. His second in command gave a nod, allowing him to lower his gun and take his daughter. He took her gently before darting back, supporting her with one arm and using the other to raise his gun.
Martinez backed away, arms raised, "I'm not here for any trouble; your girl- name's Beth right? She sent me, I swear."
Daryl snorted, "Yeah? Likely story. Where is she?"
"It's true; I told you I'd do what I could, and I did, but there was no way I was gettin' out with both of them. I was gonna bring that girl Beth back, but she insisted I take the baby instead."
"So you left her?" Maggie demanded, tears filling her eyes. She stepped forward, pushing his chest with her one good hand, "Where is she? Where is she? Tell me!" Her fist pounded on him, but the man did not defend himself. Gun still trained on the newcomer, Glenn reached an arm out to pull her to his chest, allowing her to curl into him and sob there, mumbling "I just want my sister back…" Martinez looked away, gritting his jaw.
"There was nothing I could do. I wanted to get her outta there; she was in so much more danger than that baby, but-"
"What do you mean?"
"He checks on the tyke maybe once a day, sometimes tries to hold her, but that girl runs interference like a goddamn football player; keeps him away. He spends most of his time in his apartment with her… she's, uh, she's not allowed to leave there. It's why your baby was so easy to take." Maggie sobbed harder, and Daryl cursed graphically, turning to kick a rock away angrily. It skipped and rolled until it made contact with Merle's foot, causing Daryl's eyes to lift and make contact with his brother's, which had been fixed on him. He had been watching him like that a lot, trying to figure out his place in the group, Daryl figured.
"What's he gonna do when he finds out she's missing?" Rick asked, looking down at his baby girl as though trying to commit every detail of her face to memory.
Martinez shook his head, "I dunno, man… I don't really wanna think about it. He won't realize until at least morning; they put her down for bed, and she always insists to be the one to check on her at night, tries to keep him away from her. But that means when he figures it out, he's gonna know she had something to do with it. Things are gonna get a lot worse for that little girl." Daryl tried not to think about what 'worse' meant for how bad things were for her already. Rick stared Martinez down.
"Then you're gonna just have to help us get her back, so it don't come to that."
"Oh hell no; I took my life in my hands to help you guys out, no way I'm going back there! Look, I'm willing to pull my weight and do whatever around her to earn a place with you guys- you seem a lot less crazy than the Governor. But I won't go back there
"Never pegged ya for a chicken-shit spick, Martinez." Merle drawled. The man glared back.
"I'm not chicken shit, I just have a goddamn sense of self-preservation. I feel sorry for her, I really do, but I can't put my neck on the line again for some chick I don't even know."
"Yeah?" Daryl demanded, "N' what if it was yer wife n' kid held back there?"
Martinez recoiled, looking at Rick with new eyes, "She's his wife?" Daryl got a bit hotter under the collar.
"No, she ain't nobody's wife, least of all that dipshit Governor's, but she's someone's daughter n' someone's sister n' a part of my family, so you best be thinkin' bout how you gonna help us!"
"Look, I'll help you plan whatever you need, but I won't go back there. Kick me out if that's not good enough, but that decision is final."
Rick sighed, running a hand over his hair, "Shit… alright, Tyreese, why don't you take our new friend here to Block F and lock him down. Maggie, you get your dad. We'll meet up in C n' discuss what we're gonna do."
"I'm already here, Rick," Hershel hobbled toward them, "I came as soon as I heard, just takes me a bit longer to get there. I would suggest Mr. Martinez remain, however; his insight might be useful." He turned to the newcomer, "Thank you for helping fix my family." It only served to make his expression guiltier.
"I'm sorry I couldn't do more. I lost my family in all this too, and I… I wanna help get your little girl back."
"Good," Rick nodded, "cuz we need to figure out exactly what we're gonna do bout Beth."
"I say we bust in there," Daryl said immediately, "n' rip him a new asshole. Without the li'l ass kicker there, we ain't gotta worry bout hitting one of our own; Beth's smart as a whip, she'll get down n' outta the way."
"No, it's still too risky."
"Before I left, I tried to tell her to take him out," Martinez offered, "get him when his guard's down, but I dunno how much she absorbed. And he's gotten paranoid since the Andrea thing, no weapons in his quarters in anyone's reach but his."
Maggie shook her head, "Even if she could get her hands on one, Beth ain't capable of that- she's not a killer."
"Shit, the girl's damn helpless." Merle muttered. His brother fixed him with a glare.
"She's not weak, she just can't kill a man; there ain't no shame in that."
"Even if she was more of a fighter, we're out-manned." Glenn pointed out, "The Governor has way more men than us, and we've lost 19 people in these last 2 attacks."
Hershel shook his head sadly, "20. This morning, Danny succumbed to his bullet wound... and Carol's still bed ridden."
"Goddamnit!" Daryl picked up a rock and threw it. Rick groaned.
"This is bad… we're vulnerable right now, we've lost a third of our people."
"Well I ain't losin' her too. I'm gettin' Beth back, or Imma die tryin'."
Maggie placed her uninjured hand on Daryl's arm, gazing up at him with watery eyes, "Thank you."
"Carol will be waiting for you when you get back," Hershel assured him, meeting his gaze in a steadfast stare, "I promise."
"I'm coming too." Glenn asserted, "And I'm sure Michonne wants some part of this."
"We're still outmanned," Rick stated, "Tyreese isn't any use to us while he's mourning his sister, he's way too distracted, and we need someone here to hold the fort anyway. A four man team just ain't gonna cut it."
"I think you mean five man team, officer friendly." Merle cut in, standing from his lazy leaning position.
Even Daryl looked taken aback, "Merle, you're comin'?"
"Y'all wouldn't last a second without me, little brother; ain't got the balls to go rescuin' damsels in distress like some goddamn prince charming. 'Sides, I'm goin' damn stir-crazy in this shit-hole."
Maggie scoffed, "You can't possibly trust him to-"
"No, no this actually could work." Rick cut her off, shaking a finger thoughtfully, "By tomorrow, Michonne should be healed up enough to come, and she knows her way around Woodbury. Merle does too, and with the new information Martinez can give us, we might be able to get in and out without losing anybody, provided we got a good enough distraction."
"Well ain't it yer lucky day that diversion are my specialty."
"Then you're comin'. But you put one goddamn toe outta line, n' Imma put a bullet in your skull, Daryl's brother or not." A long silence stretch out.
"Alright, beaner," Merle grinned, turning to Martinez, "I think it's time you drew us a neat little map."
R_S: Oh Merle, ever a racist. Next time: the dramatic rescue! Ok, not that dramatic-again, I'm not talented at action sequences...
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