Rick rushes through a quick bite to eat after returning with Andrea to the cafeteria. Lori's eyes have been on him since he moved back into the room and he wonders what it is that she's seeing as she stares; what words are forming in her head to be spoken to him. He knows that she has something to say just from the intensity of her gaze and the almost palpable tension in her slender form as she hovers over Carl.
The others have all gotten their fill and remain gathered together in separate groups with everyone treating the strangers in their midst with a weary suspicion unlikely to just magically disappear after their short acquaintance. Michonne, Daryl and the prisoner, Eugene, all keep to themselves; observing all and interacting with none. Rick makes a mental note to have words with the loner in Dexter's group and get a feel for the man to see if he can be of use to their group.
He finishes his food and takes the dishes to Carol as she collects what they've used and prepares to clean up after them. Axel crosses over the invisible lines drawn between the groups and moves to show her where the inmates have stored their cleaning supplies and explain how Eugene has things set up so that they can wash dishes. Somehow, that leads to the revelation that they've got a similar system for washing themselves and everyone perks up at the prospect of a chance to really clean up for the first time in the few days since losing the farm.
"Before we get to that," he speaks up to cut through the growing chatter, "we've got to shut this place down before we lose the sunlight. We need to get up the tiers and take out anything rattling these cages then make sure we bolt every door we can to make sure nothing gets in on us during the night."
Daryl and Michonne move closer to the group, clearly eager for activity and ready for an assignment to make themselves useful. Rick looks around to Dexter and sees the inmate eying him closely.
"I'd appreciate it if you could throw in on this," Rick approaches the other man. "You know this prison, you can show us where the keys are. Helping us helps you," he cocks his head to the side in challenge. "Unless you've liked being sealed up in this cafeteria with nothing but yourselves to look forward to."
"Keys won't be a problem if you can get to the guard's room and the front of the row," Axel volunteers; "you'll have access to all the controls in the wing from there. Most of the shit's gone automatic, which sucks for us given the lack of electricity, but maybe now that we're out our Genie boy can take care of that."
Eugene raises his head to look around nervously as all eyes look toward him and he runs a hand over his mullet cut hairstyle then sits up straight in the center of their attention.
"I can do it," he says confidently. "This place has backup generators for the backup generators, we just need to get to them to restore power. We can have lights again. Hot water to actually shower with."
"Those generators are in the basements," Dexter warns. "Gotta get through C and D blocks to get there."
"We'll make that our first priority for morning, then," Rick decrees then moves to stand nearer to Axel since the man seems more agreeable to helping. "For now, we're losing the light and I want those keys."
The group huddles up with Axel and Andrew moving to join them in wait of an assignment.
"We'll keep it simple. Two groups. Andrea, Daryl, Michonne, T-Dog, you're with me to clear out the tiers and get to the guard's nest. Glenn, Hershel, Maggie; I want you to get the doors. Start with the first one we came through and make sure they're sealed as tightly as possible. That loading dock door isn't coming down without power, so find whatever entryway there is from there to here and make sure it's blocked."
He deliberately left the inmates off the duty roster so as not to appear overly presumptuous.
"Axe, Andy; you make sure they get all those doors shut," Dexter steps up to instruct his group. "I'm with you," he turns to grin at Rick.
Wouldn't have it any other way, he thinks.
"I appreciate that," is what he says to the prisoner. "Rest of you," he looks to the others, focusing more on Carol than Lori, "see what you can do about bedding. We'll be hunkering down in here for the night and while this is already a damned sight better than the cold ground; I'd still like something actually resembling a blanket to sleep under."
"We've been making do with laundry – towels and whatnot," Eugene moves to volunteer. "With access to things outside this room, though, we can easily get the mattresses out of the cells. It might even be a good idea to move into the cells to sleep."
There's no offer of or more to assistance from Thomas and Dexter doesn't seem inclined to volunteer the other inmate for any tasks, so Rick considers the assignments set and gives a nod to put his team into motion. He goes through the motions of checking the chamber of his Colt even though he hasn't a bullet to put in the gun at the moment. He sees no reason for the inmates to know that their weapons are virtually useless after all the ammunition they've gone through after facing that herd.
"How many of these things have you killed?" he asks Dexter as he clicks the chamber back in place and holsters the weapon.
"You kill one thing, you're good to pretty much kill anything."
A sharp inhalation off to his left draws Rick's attention long enough for him to see Lori's horrified expression as she grabs at Carl's shoulders to try drawing them further away from the prisoners at the man's thinly veiled admission to a murder conviction resulting in his imprisonment. He ignores her because he can't afford to acknowledge that the news actually shocks anyone.
"I'll take that as a 'none,'" Rick counters. "We're going to do this with blunt force; keep things quick and quiet. Go for the head; only destroying the brain will stop them."
"Good to know," the inmate looks around at the others as they begin swapping out their guns for edged and blunt weaponry. "Might help to get me some of that."
Daryl snorts at the subtle request for a weapon and moves to the dishes to grab a metal fork.
"Prison rules," he states as he shoves the fork into Dexter's hand; "I'm sure you can manage a shank from this."
The man's indignant expression as he gapes at the utensil is enough to have Rick exchanging amused glances with Daryl and Andrea in turn. Resisting the urge to laugh out loud, he draws his hunting knife and turns to lead the way out of the room.
"Rick," Lori moves to stop him with her fingers digging into his forearm as her expression demands his attention.
He stifles a sigh and turns to give a silent signal to Daryl for him to take the others on out without him. After they've moved out into the corridor to carry out their assignments, Rick allows himself to be led to a far corner of the cafeteria for the 'conversation' that his wife so clearly needs to have.
"You can't seriously be doing this," she hisses in a low whisper. "These people are criminals; that man all but told us that he's in here for murder. Murder, Rick. They could all be murders for all we know, or rapists or pedophiles. Your family is here; you're endangering your wife and our children again and for what?"
"For sanctuary," he bites out. "I know exactly what's at stake here and I am doing everything I can to protect my family. All I do is to keep you and Carl safe."
"How does locking us in with convicts accomplish that?"
"What do you want me to do, Lori? Kill them just because they're wearing prison jumpsuits?"
The idea has been there since he broke into the cafeteria to find survivors, but he just didn't see them as threats yet and couldn't justify killing them all without reason. They just didn't have the bullets to spare and the inmates might prove useful. Dexter will need a close eye on him, but the others seemed agreeable enough to mix into their group so long as they realized and accepted Rick to be in charge.
"If that's what you think is best," Lori surprises him from his thoughts.
He scrubs a hand over his unshaven face to conceal the sudden dropping of his jaw as he realizes the leeway that he's just been given.
"You're saying you want these guys dead?"
"I'm saying that I'm not comfortable with this. I'm saying," she edges in closer and tentatively places her hand on his chest, "that we're stuck in an ever-worsening nightmare and all I care about is keeping our children safe. I know that I've been a shitty wife and I'm not likely to win mother of the year, but you've gotten us this far and I want to believe you're making the right decisions. I have to believe that now."
Her hand and gaze drifts away from him and he knows without doubt that her mind has gone to Shane; perhaps even her heart. It doesn't hurt him anymore, not the way that it should to be faced with the knowledge of his wife's infidelity with his former best friend.
"The world isn't what it used to be. I don't know if it will ever get back to any measure of what it was," she continues after a moment. "I'm still working on accepting that. I don't know when or if I'll ever really adapt to …," she casts a look around the interior of the prison with her gaze lingering on Thomas as the inmate remains sitting alone as he watches the other, "adapt to this, but if killing these strangers is what it takes to be safe within these walls, then do it. Do it now."
"So far Dexter's the only one I worry about. Axel's a lifer, he's used to rolling over for new leadership to stay alive in prison; he could be an asset. Andrew's nothing more than a junkie, but he seems helpful and we could use help getting this place set up to live in. Eugene seems to be a smart one; rigging up the power and water in here – we need that, too. I can't get a read on that one," he nods towards Thomas and narrows his eyes at the way the man seems to be watching Beth. "I'm not killing anyone. Not yet."
She stares at him with something like disbelief, but says nothing as she turns away to go to Carl. He watches their son shrug off her hands when she tries to draw the boy close and he feels a pang at the knowledge of how broken their family really is now. He wants to blame Shane; that'd be the easy out. Blaming Lori wouldn't exactly be wrong, but it sure as hell wasn't right either. They'd all tried so hard to hold it together that is just shattered under the pressure without them realizing the damage until too late. Now all Rick could do is try to shield Carl from the fallout and try limiting further destruction.
He grits his teeth, sheathes his knife then stalks out into the hallway to find in search of a fallen prison guard to take a baton from. The Billy club is familiar in his grip even if he never had cause to use the one that he'd been issued as a Deputy Sheriff. He swings the barrel of the baton to rest along the underside of his forearm and takes a moment to listen to the sounds of clanging metal, shuffling feet and dropping corpses. He looks to the walkway above and sees the others moving their way down the cells, occasionally darting forward to take care of the Walkers caged above.
He picks up the pace to get to the stairs at the end of the row and takes them two at a time in his hurry to catch up with the others. Michonne's in the lead, making quick work of putting the zombies down with a single plunge of her katana through the foreheads of the things as they practically lined up for her to execute them. Andrea, T-Dog, Dexter then Daryl follow behind, mostly just there in case back-up is needed.
Seeing how smoothly the process is going, Rick moves past the others to tap Theodore and Andrea and the shoulder to send them below to help the others in securing the entrances to the wing. As they move quietly from the second to third tier, Daryl moves to a position in front of Dexter when Rick falls to the back to keep his eye on the inmate.
The guard's nest is at the top of the block; a flight of rickety stairs above the fourth tier then across a narrow catwalk. Rick keeps his focus divided between that ultimate goal and the back of Dexter's shaven head.
He could easily make it look like an accident, a little trip and nudge from the fourth tier to tumble the criminal to the floor below. He could move them toward the front then 'stumble' into Dexter's back to knock the felon into the grasping hands of the Walkers to allow them to tear a chunk out of the man so that killing him would be justified. He could just flip the baton around and swing for the vulnerable sweet spot at the base of the man's skull to bring the big guy to his knees for Rick to beat out his frustrations until the body's a bloody pulp that poses threat to no one.
Daryl tenses to fire a bolt at a moving corpse among a tangle of bodies blocking their progress as Michonne decapitates the pair of Walkers pushing to get through the narrow opening of a cell kept from closing by a fallen inmate.
Dexter jostles forward at the increase in action, clearly seeking a piece of it. Rick watches him move to the front, eager to see what the fool can do with nothing more than the fork in his meaty fist. A Walker stumbles out of a neighboring cell to thud into the man's side and Dexter responds by shoving the thing away then stabbing it with the fork. To the chest.
Dumbass.
The zombie is unfazed by the silverware protruding from its heart and Rick sighs as Dexter follows up the stabbing with a series of punches to the Walker's stomach and ribs. Rick's at peace with the idea of the thing biting a chunk out of the idiot, but he's failed to clue Michonne in on that fact and she puts an end to the stupidity by thrusting her katana past Dexter's shoulder to plunge through the zombie's head to effectively cease its movements.
"The head," she tells the man with cool contempt as she pulls the blade back and gives it an expert flick to knock off some of the gore from the kill. "It has to be the head or you may as well expose your throat to them."
She shoulders past the man with no regard for his bulk or menacing expression and Rick is definitely keeping her around. Daryl pushes past the convict to retrieve his arrow and reload the bolt in his crossbow before continuing on his way.
"Word of advice," Rick offers as he moves to follow them onward to the fourth tier; "when we offer you a word of advice, take it as gospel and be damned grateful we wasted our breath to give it to you. because we'll only save your worthless ass once before you've gotta do it all on your own."
He finds himself no longer caring what the inmate might get up to as there are greater priorities for the fading day. If Dexter doesn't get his ass eaten by zombies, Rick will worry about killing him after he's got possession of the keys that will grant him full access to and control of the prison. Once Rick has that control, he'll have the whole group's confidence in him restored.