How the Man Designed Me

Chapter 36

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Motörhead: Ace Of Spades

watch?v=1iwC2QljLn4

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"This is Jimmy, Bob's man from Woodbury." Daryl said by way of introduction to the others in the car, not taking his eye off him in the dim interior of the garage.

"I'm pleased to meet you Jimmy, I'm Hershel. If Daryl vouches for you then that's good enough for me," he said leaning forward and raising his hand in greeting.

"Well, I'd keep an eye on Beth if I was you." Daryl interjected "But he seems ok, and it's Bob an' Blake that are vouching for him not me." Daryl replied levelly. The sight of the man made him seethe remembering that Jimmy had seen Janessa topless. It may have been by accident, but it was something he would never forgive or forget.

Carl narrowed his eyes, tucking the information away and moved a little closer to Beth possessively.

"'Sides, any harm comes to them an' he knows he'd best pray for death." Daryl growled dangerously in a low voice. "So how's the leg? Shouldn't you be mindin' the house?" He patronized in a lighter tone, unable to resist provoking him.

An older man stepped forward, parting the group smoothly, like a hot knife in butter and breaking the tension of the moment. He was clearly in charge by the way the others deferred to him, as though they'd worked together all their lives which wasn't far off.

"Hey y'all. I'm Mike, call sign 'Sumner' and I've known Blake goin' on more than a half century, I trust him implicitly. He says y'all needed a hand an' so we're pleased to be here," he drawled slowly, reaching forward to clasp Daryl's hand in a strong handshake.

"I'm Daryl. 'spect you know that," he said returning his assessing gaze. "This is Hersel like he said an' his daughter Beth, an' Rick's kids' Carl an' Judith. Don't let size fool ya though, Carl's a badass."

"Precious cargo indeed. Glad to hear it, can always use more men in a fight." Mike replied looking at Carl appraisingly, seeing him as a young man and not just as a boy. "Janessa's brother David, is about the same age and I had a hand in training him myself, so I know it's the young ones who seem to adapt better, just as well I suppose."

"Grateful for the help Mike. Frankly, I'm glad to know we aren't alone; it's already been a tough year and it's about to get a whole lot tougher." Hershel replied grimly.

"Don't you worry none, we'll head out as soon as we can confirm that you were followed." Mike continued. "I've left some men to hold the fort. Kent was goin' to do it but I put him to work in the Woodbury perimeter thinnin' the walker population, just in case your people need to get through in a hurry. So Jimmy's goin' to run these good folks to Blake's instead and me an' my boys are coming back with you. Let me make the rest of the introductions. This is Sam Cooper, call sign "Wool", he's our sapper. Best combat engineer I've ever met, he's going to help with fortifications to get ready for the Woodbury visit." Mike said pointing to the tall, ruggedly handsome man, in his mid twenties on his right.

Sam tipped his hat respectfully and then smiled broadly when he saw Beth and the baby. "Ma'am. Beg your pardon for sayin', but you two sure are a sight for sore eyes. It would be my pleasure to help do my part to keep y'all safe," he replied warmly.

Beth blushed prettily, but didn't say anything in response and Carl found he was not liking the implication of what all these strong men were in respect to his chances with Beth, finding he was glad they were heading in different directions for the time being.

"This is Montgomery Beaufort. Beau for short, he's our munitions expert an' he's also a mean linebacker if we get a chance for a scrimmage later." Mike continued.

Daryl didn't doubt it thinking he was built like a brick shit house.

"Ma'am." Beau replied gruffly. He wasn't a big talker but he took everything in.

"Last one is over by the window. That's Travis Johnson, but we just call 'Magic' on account of his knack for keeping' us out of trouble, he's got a gift. OK, and he's a tall, black man and we aren't that creative." Mike admitted with a chuckle.

"Got that right." Magic called back to them quietly from his crouched position in the shadows of the darkened corner. He had a good line of sight down the road that they'd just traveled and everyone's eyes were drawn to him, knowing that everything hinged on him spotting the person they all hoped had been following them.

"Once this is done and we've sorted out Woodbury we'll pick up your prison crew and be joinin' you." Mike replied with a smile.

"Sooner the better." Hershel said grimly nodding in agreement as he reached for his crutches and stepped out of the SUV, using the roof of the car to support himself. "In the meantime, I've come to learn not to pass up on a chance to use the facilities. Never thought I'd see a garage septic toilet as a luxury," he said with a chuckle as he swung his crutches forward and walked towards the washroom.

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They'd switched cars so that Daryl and the Rangers would be the first to go once they got the go ahead and so all that remained was to wait, with all eyes back on Magic. Judith had woken and was starting to fuss and Beth was doing her best to keep her quiet.

"C'mon Mike, this is bullshit! We can't be sittin' here all fuckin' day. I'm gonna head out and see if I can find him parked down the road." Daryl snapped with impatience as he paced the interior of the garage.

"Hold on Daryl." Mike replied. "He's going to get impatient too, make mistakes. That's what we're bankin' on."

Daryl hesitated, fighting the urge to lash out at the rebuke when Magic made a low whistle.

"I've got a visual..this guy is good…but he's no match for us," Mike called out softly.

"Ok Daryl, time to do your thing. Be sure to give that poncho of yours a twirl when you open the garage door, we want to make sure he knows it's you." Mike instructed. "Magic, change of plans you're going with the second team, I'd feel better if you rode shotgun gun with them."

"You got it," he replied not taking his eyes off the road.

Daryl nodded in gratitude and walked purposefully to the garage door, giving it a gentle tug and then crouched down to cautiously watch the entrance, making sure there were no surprises as the door clattered metallically overhead. He knew Magic would have let him know if it wasn't clear, but it wasn't a habit he ever planned on breaking.

He made a point to twirl his poncho as instructed in the sunlight before stepping back into the garage, did a visual sweep of the family he was leaving behind and then drove out. Getting out one more time he reached up to close the door behind him and saw Carl step forward in the darkened interior. They both locked eyes as if to say, I got this as he rolled the door shut.

Daryl found a quiet rage was building again and then a wolfish grin crossed his face. Janessa and Bob were safe for this part of the journey and he was more than happy to make the som a bitch waste a few more hours so the others got away too.

He reached for the CD Janessa had left for him. Motörhead "Ace Of Spades". Was she wonderful or what? He thought with pride. He closed his eyes for a moment and saw her smiling up at him with the sun behind her, turning her hair into a golden cloud and his mood became almost buoyant.

Turning to the Rangers with a grin he cranked the music as he pressed on the gas with a heavy foot and let the gravel and sand kick up. "Let's have some fun!" He said as the song played on If you like to gamble, I tell you I'm your man…

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Carl stood by the inside of the closed garage door in the near dark waiting for Magic to give the signal, all the while eyeing Jimmy and wondering what it was that Daryl saw, but trusting Daryl's instincts. He tended to be right about most things. It wasn't that Jimmy was putting any moves on Beth, but he felt better knowing one of Blake's guys was going with them all the same.

He hadn't been aware he'd been holding his breath until he heard the truck that they'd all been waiting for finally drive past. Thankfully without stopping, good thing Daryl had taken off quickly as the truck sped up to catch up. Hershel, Beth, Judith and Jimmy were already in the second SUV and it was down to him and Magic to make their escape.

The next 10 minutes passed in what felt like an eternity before Magic gave the signal for Carl to open the garage door so that they could make their escape. Swinging it up with a clattering flourish he then slid into the back seat with Beth and Judith in the middle followed by Magic who'd secured the garage behind them. After all, you never knew when you might need to come back to a place.

Grinning from ear to ear in the back Carl couldn't help but call out to the driver. "Home, James." Sounding a like a pompous lord before he snort laughed breaking the tension.

"Ya, ya, kid. Never heard that one before. Always a smartass in the group. Ok, next stop Oak Alley. Sit back an' enjoy the ride folks, should only be an hour or so. We'll only make a few detours to make sure we aren't bein' followed. Not like the scenic tour the others are goin' to be takin'." Jimmy replied with a chuckle.

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It seemed a little strange to Janessa to be thinking of the messiest ways to kill a walker as she approached her last drop spot. She already had a good splash of blackish sludge on her pant legs and hands, but she felt she really needed that arterial spray on her shirt and hair to give it a more authentic look, something light that would dry quickly. Thinking that some yellows and greens would really pull the look together.

"Bob!" Janessa called out softly. "Can you give me a hand with this one? I want to get the angle of the spray right," she said as she held a particularly ripe walker against a tree.

"Getting to be quite the artiste," he said with a chuckle and then gagged when she stabbed it in the neck and blackish sludge sprayed out thickly, less like the arterial fountain she had hoped for and more like a burst abscess. Yellow pus and old clotted blood landed wetly on both of them.

"Ah yuck!" She grimaced. "Maybe that one was a little too ripe. Can you smell that?" She asked incredulously.

"That's disgusting! No seriously…that's quite enough," he said as he flicked chunks of custard like pus and matter out of his hair and off his hands.

He placed the last of the packs under the fresh pile of bodies that he then covered with fallen branches. Looking over he had to admit, the layers she'd applied looked very convincing for life on the road these days.

"That should do it. Whichever way you guys go, if you have to go on foot you two will have the supplies you need to get back to the prison," he said stepping back to assess their handy work.

"Sounds good, it's starting to make my skin crawl anyway. I'm glad we found those cars back at that church. It was a good idea to get them hot wire ready in case we came back that way and needed them in a hurry. I wouldn't like to think what a person's chances would be to run all the way back to the prison. Don't plan on being that desperate if I can avoid it," she said as she got back into the car.

"Well no one plans on being desperate, but needs must." Bob replied seriously.

"True enough. Prayers to those in a desperate need right now," she replied as they drove off, neither of them knowing that Andrea was just on the other side of the ridge resting against a tree, not that they were going her way today anyway.

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Rick thought the prison felt eerily quiet and hollow with half their people gone. Without Hershel and the children he felt his sense of family slipping and he found himself struggling with his decision to barter Michonne's life for them. He found it was easier to blame her for the feeling of loss of control and that maybe handing her over might restore the balance. The rational part of his brain knew that was bullshit though. One thing's for certain if he was going to do it he couldn't do it alone and although he'd promised Daryl he'd wait, he decided to talk Merle on his own.

Merle wasn't hard to find in the cell block on the upper level, the prison might be massive but they really had only claimed a small portion of it. Before he could open his mouth, Merle knew what he had to say and stopped him.

"The Governor ain't gonna kill Michonne, but you know that. Just .. do things to her. Take out her eye, both probably. If you let that happen, you're cold as ice, Officer Friendly." Merle said harshly, the disappointment weighing heavily in his words.

Rick broke his eye contact knowing Merle was right, but unable to back down.

"You don't understand...It's not like that." Rick replied.

"I get it man, no, really I do. Was all set to head out, just me and my baby bro against the world, same as it's always been, but it just ain't like that no more," Merle replied trying to reach him.

"There's more to it than that." Rick snapped in irritation.

"Do you know why you do what you do Rick? Have you thought this through? Seems a little loyalty is in order here, not shipping her off to be tortured," he replied harshly.

"I gotta do what I have to, to keep my family safe. I told you before anybody who comes between that is gonna loose." Rick said firmly.

"I don't know why I did what I did then. Could even say most times I'm a mystery to myself, but not when it comes to Daryl. Way I see it, havin' Michonne around increases his chances for survival, she increases all of our chances for survival. It's as plain as that." His raspy voice carried softly in the cell block.

"He said he'd leave us be..." Rick said trailing off. "Look I'm not saying it's a done deal, just how would you do it?"

"Electrical cord, something you can't bite through. If you're doin it, do it. Don't let her suffer. But think on this if you do. She and my brother are cut from the same cloth, they help others when they'd be better off on their own. This world needs people like that. You gonna throw that away for someone you know won't keep his word?" Merle asked quietly.

"Maybe I was just lookin' for someone to talk me out of it." Rick replied and then nodded as he walked away to mull it over.

Michonne ducked into a cell as Rick passed, and sat heavily on the bunk, resting her sword across her lap and stared off into space and processing what she'd just overheard. A few moments later Merle stood by the cell entrance and looked down at her wistfully.

"Hey," he called out softly and then entered the cell to sit next to her. "I'm glad you heard. He ain't thinkin' straight. You know that."

"You still want to take him on? You and me go even the odds. Give them a fighting chance and time for that one to get his head on straight." She asked jerking her head to where Rick had just gone.

"If you like to gamble, I tell you I'm your man, only card I need is the Ace Of Spades. Shit yes! Thought you'd never ask my nubian princess." He smiled radiantly.

"Don't get any ideas there Merle." Michonne replied with a flat tone but then a wry smile crossed her face and before she knew it she was grinning along with him.

"Wanna say any goodbyes?" he asked seriously.

"Nah, said everything that needs sayin' this mornin'. Let's go before I change my mind." She replied firmly.

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Special thanks to my wicked reviewers! hide her; HaloHunter89; FrankiKaos; missy7293; DarylDixon'sLover; and HermioneandMarcus. Love hearing from you new guys too!