A/N: Wow, wow, wow! Your responses to that last chapter were fantastic. I wish I had the time to respond to each and every one of you, but sadly, I do not. Hi to those who have just found this *waves* and thanks to those who have stuck with me through the drama! High fives to all of the reviewers who hit the button before their review was done because they were flustered from the excitement! Lol that's what I like to see.
Cakebythepound: You gave me my 400th review! And thanks for saying such nice things about my writing and storytelling ability. It means a lot to me! Especially from another Richonne fic writer.
KK: Oh my; how flattering! I'm glad you enjoyed the standoff with the scummy bastard and everything that came afterwards. I was very tense writing it, but the relief at the end was soooo good.
Guest: You gave me review number 401 and I'm glad you just started reading this! To answer your query, Michonne is around three and a half months preggers at this time.
Okay, I have nothing left to say except enjoy!
"John's got to know that something's up by now," Michonne said to Rick as they were parked not far away from the Settlement trying to work out their plan of attack.
They were at a secluded suburban area several blocks away from the school grounds, where they agreed would be their rendezvous point should something unforeseeable happen to them; Tyreese and the others had brought Judith and Peter's wife Valarie there to wait for Rick and the rest of the group to arrive. No one from the Settlement had seen them leave and they were certain they would be afforded some safety there while a few of them returned to deal with John and his sycophants.
Rick was still angry with the whole situation; he had gotten into the head space that he needed to in order to mount a rescue back at the farmhouse, but now, as he thought of what his family had been through, he was overcome with a deep sense of rage. Michonne could tell he had not heard her statement as they waited for the others to take stock of what ammunition they had left.
"Rick?" She called to him; placing her arm on his shoulder.
"Yeah?" He answered, finally being drawn out of his hate-filled daze.
"John, he has to know by now that we figured out that he's a lying piece of shit. How are we gonna approach this?" She asked, searching Rick's eyes and seeing the anger and slight insanity in them.
"We ain't doin' anything," he offered, taking hold of her hand. "I'm gonna head back in, I need you to stay here with Carl."
Michonne nodded; she had been through enough and, while she wanted to be there by Rick's side, she knew it was best that she take a moment to rest. She also knew that Carl was not going to stay behind unless she was there to ensure he actually did as his father asked; as if on cue, the teenager appeared at their side.
"Dad, I'm coming with you." Carl said while standing at the opened door of the car.
"Son, we don't know what they have in store for us…"
"You know I can handle myself. You see what I did back there…"
"Yeah, I see you, Carl; I do. But right now, I need you to stay here and help Michonne to watch after Judy and the rest of our people. You've been through a lot today, so it's best that you stay and rest; I can handle this." Rick said quietly, pushing his rage aside a moment.
Carl shook his head and averted his gaze; he knew his father was right so he resigned himself to not pushing the issue. Realistically, they did not have the time or energy to waste arguing the point. Carl stepped backwards sightly and then looked up at his father and Michonne.
"Okay. I'll stay." He offered and Rick nodded.
"Good. Now go and check if Peter's back with those other weapons and ammo." Rick instructed as he moved to exit the vehicle.
"Oh, he just arrived. That's what I came over to tell you." Carl replied.
Rick turned to make his way over to Peter with Carl and Michonne not too far behind.
"How'd ya go?" Rick asked his friend as Michonne and Carl walked past them to get Judith from a relieved looking Beth.
"We did well." Peter offered confidently. "Shankar and McGillion were there; I filled 'em in on what that asshole arranged and what he's been doin' with our own people to secure the safety of the Settlement. They were as shocked as we were."
"Can we trust 'em?" Rick asked, unsure of who out of the Law Keepers and Council members were involved with John's shady dealings with Badger.
"Yeah. They're good men; I trust 'em with my life." Peter offered assuredly.
"Where's Roundtree?" Queried Rick while he shifted his weight from one leg to the other.
"He was off somewhere with Gary, hopefully he ain't mixed up in this too." He replied.
"We'll deal with 'em when we catch up with 'em later." Rick said contemplatively.
"Shankar and McGillion also told me John's put a bounty on our heads." Peter said.
"What?" Rick asked incredulously.
"After they figured out we were gone. They're sayin' you're a psycho who wants to run the Settlement and I'm a traitor who's helping you out. They're waitin' for us, Rick."
"Let 'em wait." Rick said as he smirked to himself. "We'll be there soon enough."
The dark sky was just slightly turning pale as the early morning sun awoke to greet the day. Rick had a restless night; they had a plan in place and remained undetected and safe, but sleep still evaded him. He watched in silence as his family slept; Judith resting comfortably in between Carl and Michonne.
Rick felt a tear run down his cheek as he let a thought of them being hurt creep into his mind. He had not had the time to process exactly how close Carl and Michonne had come to death. He had not even had the stomach or the chance to ask them if they had been assaulted by their captors. Rick shook his head as if to shake the horrible vision from his mind.
He inhaled and exhaled deeply; he recalled the look on Michonne's face when Badger pressed the gun to her head. When he tried to make Rick choose between her and Carl. For that split second, he could tell what the look meant; it meant that she would make the decision for him. She would choose; she would lay down her life for Carl's. Knowing this, Rick felt a deeper love for Michonne than he thought was possible; yet the thought of her dying still hurt like someone took a blunt knife and rammed it into his chest.
Another tear escaped from his eye. He had almost lost them both. He now felt the rage rise up from inside of him; blindingly searing. He knew he had to be better, more brutal, to protect them. He was not going to allow anyone to hurt those he loved; today would be the day of reckoning. If Rick had to burn that entire Settlement to the ground and slaughter every last one of its residents, so be it.
He suddenly shifted from where he was leaning against the wall watching Michonne and the children sleep on a few cushions on the floor of an abandoned house. The others in their group, as well as Peter, his family and those whom were freed from the Slavers were all there too.
Michonne was roused by Rick's movements; she turned to face him and he offered her a small smile, hoping silently that she could not tell he had been crying.
"Good morning," she whispered.
"Mornin'." He replied, moving to help her into a seated position.
"Almost good to go?" She asked as she noticed the others were getting ready to leave.
"Almost. I was just waitin' on you to wake up so I could say goodbye." He smiled.
Michonne reached for his hand to help her stand and when she did, she wrapped her arms tightly around Rick's waist and held him. They both breathed softly as Rick rested his chin on the top of her head.
"Be careful today." Michonne advised. "Your baby wants to meet his daddy."
Rick smiled and felt his heart swell at her tender, whispered words.
"How d'ya know it's a boy?" He asked, forgetting for a moment the troubles that they faced.
Michonne thought back to when she was pregnant with André and how she had known all along that he would be a boy.
"I don't know." She offered a little sadly. "Just a feeling I have, I suppose."
She pulled back slightly so that she could look Rick in the eye. He kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms firmly about her waist. He noticed an indescribable sadness to her gaze; a deep melancholy that he thought he recognized in her sometimes when she looked at Judith.
"You okay?" Rick asked as he grew concerned for her emotional state in that moment.
"Yeah, I'm good; all things considered." She offered weakly.
"I'm comin' back to you, you know that, right?" He queried.
"I know you'll do everything in your power to get back to me and the kids, Rick. That's one of the many reasons why I love you."
Rick smiled genuinely and pressed a small and gentle kiss to Michonne's lips.
"I love you too." He whispered.
Although Rick and the others had left at dawn, it was midmorning when Bud who was manning the main access gate noticed a vehicle approaching the Settlement. He recognized that it was the car that Shankar and McGillion had taken to man the watch post. His eyes grew wide when he realized that they were not alone. Bound in the back seat was Peter Turner and Rick Grimes; the same pair that had previously stolen a vehicle, tied him up and threatened his life.
"Where'd you find these two asswipes?" Bud asked, impressed that they had apprehended their targets so soon.
"Saw 'em trying to get past the watch post. Stupid assholes; was their idea to set up the post in the first place, then they try to sneak their asses past it. Hell no; we ain't havin' none o' that." Said McGillion, hoping that Bud would fall for their subterfuge.
Bud scoffed; "Serves 'em right, the big talkin' pricks. Well, good job at catchin' em. John and Gary'll be happy. You best get on over to the centre of the Settlement. I'll radio John and let him know you got 'em and you're on your way."
Shankar and McGillion stopped the vehicle and saw John and some other Council members standing several yards away; they went to the back of the car and undid Rick's and Peter's bindings.
"You all ready for this?" Peter asked them, to which they nodded in the affirmative.
They approached with their guns drawn just behind Rick and Peter who were concealing their own weapons behind their backs. John, Melanie, a couple of other Council members and two guards stood in place and waited; there was a large group of residents also standing around. As the four men approached they took in the scene and tried to take note of who was armed and who was not; when they were close enough, they pulled their guns on them. Rick took aim at John.
"What the Hell is this shit?" Asked John as he looked at them disbelievingly. "You're all in this together? With this traitor and this crazy asshole?"
"The time for lies is over, John." Said Peter, his eyes and aim trained on one of the two guards who had drawn their weapons.
"What are you even talkin' about, Peter? What's gotten in to you?" John started.
"You know what I'm talkin' about!" He yelled in response, causing people in the crowd to back up.
"You've been hangin' around Rick Grimes too much; he's a manipulative piece of shit. Don't anyone listen to a word he says." John offered as he looked to the confused residents.
"Spare them your bullshit, John!" Said Rick. "There's only one piece of shit here, and that's you. So why don't you tell these good people the truth."
"Truth is I should've known that you and your group were trouble when you arrived here. You're all bat shit crazy; been out on the road too long. Now you got my good men turnin' against me. You're like those cult leaders havin' weak minded people follow you. Why don't you just do us all a favour and die, Grimes? You self-righteous prick."
John spat as Rick offered him a cracked smile.
"You tried to have me killed, you low life scum. Didn't you? Guess it just wasn't my time." Rick said loudly for everyone to hear.
"Oh, I think it is your time." John said as Rick heard the sound of a gun being cocked and the feel of a barrel pressed against his head.
"Drop the gun, Grimes!" Gary ordered as he crept up on him.
Rick did not relent, even when Peter and the others looked to him; he indicated that they should stand their ground.
"Tell these people the truth, John!" Said Rick, ignoring the loaded weapon pointed at his temple.
"He's crazy!" John said. "Look at him, no sane man behaves like this. Don't listen to him."
"Listen to me, then." Offered Peter. "You all know me and my family. John had my daughter and Rick's family kidnapped…"
"He's lying." Said John.
"Have y'all noticed that people around here just wind up missing; let me rephrase, women and kids around here wind up missin'. Anyone ever thought why?"
"You have no proof to back up these accusations, if that is what I think you're saying." Said Melanie tentatively.
Rick then began to speak.
"The whole time this place didn't need tighter security from other people; didn't any of you people question that? Especially you ones who've lived and survived on the outside, didn't you think that's strange."
"Shut the fuck up, Grimes!" Gary ordered as he pressed the gun into Rick's head.
"Rick's right! This whole time, no other groups have come and bothered us when we know that there are others out there. Why is that? Why have we been able to stay here and not be harassed or attacked like other communities, like Rick's was; like a few others have been?"
"What are you saying?" Asked Melanie.
"I'm sayin' that the reason we weren't being harassed is because our mighty leader John here has been makin' deals with others. Deals that involve trading our residents to rapists and scum bags so that no one would attack us."
"That's outrageous!" John interjected. "This is a fabrication. You can't possibly believe this shit!"
"It's, for the most part, always been a newcomer; some woman on her own, or some kid that couldn't fend for himself." Shankar offered.
"He's been trading people he didn't think anyone cared about." Added McGillion.
"Then my little girl was taken." Said Peter.
"Then he came for my family." Rick finally said.
"Think about all of those women who didn't make it back from runs; think about all those kids that were 'attacked' by walkers and you never saw their remains. They're the ones who were traded like pieces of meat, raped, tortured and murdered so that y'all could all live comfortably and in peace!" Rick spat.
One of the guards then let his weapon fall to his side as he considered what Rick and the others were saying.
"Shut the fuck up!" Gary told Rick once more.
"He's lying. He's got the others believin' his lies." John said as he noticed the dubious looks some of the residents were giving him.
"What do I get outta tellin' lies? Honestly? My family ain't here anymore. I don't want anything that y'all people own. I just want this asshole to pay for having my son and my pregnant wife abducted. That's all. Y'all can go about your business after I'm done."
The other guard put his gun in its holster and stepped away from John.
"How many times I gotta tell you, Grimes; shut up!" Gary said once more.
"Is it true, John?" Melanie finally asked as she backed away herself. "Is that what's been going on?"
John started to feel his world crumbling around him; there was a tightness in his chest and his throat felt dry. He tried to speak but was choked up.
"Melanie, of course it ain't true!" Gary cut in. "John's been nothin' but kind to us. He took you and yours in; he took me and…he took me in. We know him; this Grimes prick is dangerous and would say anything to be in control."
"With respect, Gary, I wanna hear John say it." Melanie said evenly. "Have you been selling our women and children off as sex slaves?"
"Gary," John started, ignoring the question. "Just shoot him."
Gary looked to Rick then back at John.
"Just pull the trigger; he's a lyin' piece o' shit. Just do it!" He urged as Gary's shaky hand gripped the weapon tightly.
Rick froze up, but kept his weapon pointed at John. If he was about to die, he would try to get one shot off and hopefully hit his target.
Just then, Peter let out a loud whistle; Daryl, Glenn, Carol, Tyreese and Tara descended on the scene with their weapons drawn. Beside Carol was the woman whom they had rescued, Tanya. She looked around the group as she clung to Carol's arm; she was timid and unsure.
Some of the residents looked at her in surprise and a number of gasps were heard as she and Carol approached the area and stood in between the stand-off. Tanya lifted her head hesitantly and looked at Rick; she then let her eyes focus on the man who had his gun pointed to Rick's head.
"Gary?" She said so softly that it was almost a whisper.
Gary thought his ears were deceiving him until he let his eyes follow to where his name had been spoken.
"Tanya?" He said as he blinked quickly, trying to make sure he was actually seeing things correctly.
"Tanya? Is that you?" He asked as the woman let a small but pained smile play on her lips.
She nodded.
"It's me." Tanya said softly to her husband.
"Wha… what's goin' on here? You…you were meant to be dead…They said you were dead!"
"Everything they said is true. I was…I was traded by John to some bad men…I've, I've been there this whole time as a prisoner. This man's wife saved me and he helped us escape. Please, let him go." She said pointing to Rick.
Rick kept his eyes on John, who was now at the end of his tether and looking to the side for an escape; his gaze found Daryl's loaded crossbow aimed right at him. Gary slowly pulled the gun away from Rick's temple and motioned for Tanya to step forward; when she did he held her in a tight embrace and began to walk away with her in his arms. He dropped his gun to the ground as John called after him.
"Y'all heard it." Said Peter. "You know the truth now. If any of you think he deserves to live, speak up. If not, it's best y'all take your leave now!"
Some people left the scene and headed home; disgusted in what they had learned. Others, out of anger, stayed to watch the ordeal reach its climax.
John did not try to run as Rick walked right up to him and pressed the end of his gun between his eyes.
"Admit to these people that it's true." Rick said evenly.
"It is. I did what they said I did. But fuck you all anyways! You're all too weak to make the hard decisions; I did what I had to do, I…"
"Enough!" Yelled Rick as he forced the gun into John's face harder.
"Who else was involved? Tell me now; you know you're dead anyways." Rick said sternly.
John shook his head slightly; there was no one left to implicate since his son was already dead.
"No one else. Only my son. Hurry up, Grimes. Make it quick." He said as he closed his eyes.
Rick moved his revolver from John's face and aimed it at his heart; he pulled the trigger as the scorching bullet tore through John's chest; his lifeless body slumped to the ground with a thud. There were some loud gasps from the residents as the shot rang out and pierced the quietness of the day. Rick rolled John's corpse over with his foot, and emptied the remainder of his bullets into his chest; he did not shoot him in the head.
Rick looked around at those still standing there; he shouted loudly enough so that those who were walking away could hear him.
"We'll have a town hall meeting at noon. Those who want to leave can go; those who want to see what our next steps will be, come along and have your say. Any questions, see Peter."
He then looked back down at the body that was bleeding into the dirt.
Daryl and the others made their way over.
"What should we do with him?" Asked Tyreese.
"I don't care," replied Rick as he spat on the remains before he walked away. "As long as you let him turn."
A/N: More to come!
I wonder if anyone came to a small realisation after reading this. I'm keen to hear from you all. Thanks for reading!