AN: Hi everyone! Here's a little something for you!
I hope you enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you think!
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By the time the four of them arrived, in the dark, to one of the walls surrounding Woodbury, Daryl was already wondering how this thing was going to go down. He knew what they had planned to happen, but there was sometimes a strong difference between plans and what actually happened.
Michonne was going to take Daryl inside the walls since she seemed to be the best at slipping in and out of the shadows. Rick and Alice were going to wait outside, lingering close to the wall, to keep an ear out should anything go down inside that required some kind of backup.
Once they were inside and Michonne had directed Daryl to where he was likely to find his brother, she was going to disappear, suspecting that Merle might not be pleased to see her after he'd failed at killing her in the woods just after she and Alice had split for the town. Daryl would get Merle, get out of Woodbury, and meet up with the others where they waited, just beyond the wall.
That was if the plan went down without a hitch.
As they walked up, though, they realized that the wall they'd chosen wasn't as loosely guarded as Michonne thought it would be. Being one of the least trafficked areas had led her to believe they might find it almost abandoned, as they had the night they'd gotten Glenn and Maggie out, but tonight there were at least three people wandering around the top of the wall.
Daryl hunkered back in the wooded area with the other three so that they were out of sight and probably out of earshot of the guards.
"Now what?" Alice whispered.
"Goin' in," Daryl said. "I ain't leavin' without Merle."
"We can still get in," Michonne offered. "They're not paying attention to us. They're more focused on that area over there…it faces the road. They're worried about Walkers and probably group threats. I doubt they're thinking anyone is going to kidnap Merle."
"We go through with the plan as it is," Daryl said, stopping a moment to watch the three people. He could hear them talking and when they walked around the wall more where they would have been in the line of vision of his small group, he instinctively eased back a little, deeper into the cover of the wooded area.
Alice darted out of the covered area suddenly, though, and Daryl and Rick both went for her. Daryl got to her first, not understanding what the hell she was doing, and dropped her to the ground, lying on top of her.
"The fuck are ya thinkin'?" Daryl growled into her ear as she lie pinned beneath him.
The group on the wall moved back to glance in their direction and Daryl moved his hand to cover Alice's mouth for fear she might speak and alert the people to them if them couldn't see them where they were lying now.
When the group on the wall moved away again, Daryl slid his hand down.
"Ya gonna get us fuckin' killed," he growled quietly, his mouth at Alice's ear. "What the hell's gotten into ya?"
"Mel…" Alice whispered back, not fighting him despite the fact he was still lying on top of her.
"What?" He growled.
"Mel…" Alice whispered again. "That's fucking Mel! On the wall! My partner! Get your redneck ass off of me, I've got to get her…"
Alice's voice squeaked out a little and Daryl put his hand back over her mouth, almost holding his own breath in case they were listening out for them. After a second, Alice began to squirm under him, but he stayed put, confident there wasn't any other way to keep her in check if he didn't.
"Which one?" He asked, sliding his mouth back to her ear. There were two women and a man on the wall and if he was going to figure out how to kidnap one of them he was hoping he got the right fucking one or this was going to be a bigger mess than he wanted to deal with.
"The blonde…" Alice breathed when moved his hand. "The white woman…the wasp…whatever you want to call her."
Daryl slipped his hand back over her mouth and sighed.
"Fine…I'ma getcha fuckin' girlfriend for ya but'cha gotta do this shit my way. Ya stay ya ass put with Rick 'less we need ya for somethin' or else I ain't riskin' my damn neck for ya. Gotta deal?" Daryl growled.
Alice nodded, scrubbing her face against the ground.
"Christ," Daryl growled.
Daryl crawled backwards, trying to stay low to the ground and got off of Alice. She took his lead and crawled back with him to where Rick and Michonne had remained covered and in waiting for whatever was taking place between the two of them.
"What's wrong?" Rick asked when they'd ducked back into the brush.
"Nothin'," Daryl said. "Just gotta pick someone else up is all."
Daryl glanced at Michonne.
"Ya got any damn body in there we gotta get while we here?" Daryl asked.
Michonne shook her head.
"I'm done with every damn person in that place," she responded.
Daryl nodded his head slightly and looked back at Rick.
"Y'all wait here. Don't come in unless ya sure there's trouble," he responded. "We'll be back."
Rick nodded and clapped him on the shoulder as a sign for good luck and then Daryl followed Michonne quietly, farther down the wall, in search of the place where they would enter the town.
When they were inside they moved from place to place, ducking for cover from anyone that might see them. Michonne suspected that they'd find Merle either stuck somewhere up under the Governor, whom Daryl hadn't actually seen yet, or working the wall somewhere. Daryl followed her through the shadows and tried to keep some bearings about him so that when she disappeared and left him to his own devices he'd actually be able to find his way out instead of ending up lost there with his brother.
They didn't have to look too hard to find Merle, though. Daryl heard his brother's voice, followed by his laughter, and the voice of another man. He reached forward and put his hand on the back of the woman who was just in front of him, crouched down as though they were trying to pull of some mastermind crime.
"'At's his voice," Daryl said, his voice barely coming out in the whisper.
Michonne nodded ahead of him and moved on in search of the sounds. When they finally found Merle, standing beside a building, a bottle in his hand, talking to some man that Daryl sure as shit didn't know, Michonne backed up, almost stepping on him and pulled him behind another building.
"The man with him," she said softly, "is another of the Governor's men. I don't know him, but I've seen him. This is where I leave you."
"An' ya headin' back ta the others?" Daryl asked.
"Have some things to do," Michonne said softly. "Don't worry about me. Get your brother…or your people…or whatever and get the hell out of here. If I don't come back, don't worry."
Daryl wanted to protest that he was going to do just that…it wasn't in the plan that the ninja wasn't going to come back. It wasn't in the plan that she might be doing something stupid…and doing it alone. She was supposed to head back and now she was telling him she had things to do? And what? That they should just leave her there, assuming she might even be killed?
Daryl didn't have time to protest, though. She scrambled away, into the cover of darkness around them, so quickly that he believed for a moment that she actually was a ninja as Alice had said. She was there, and then she was gone, and now Daryl couldn't do anything more than try to do what he'd come to do and hope they got the hell out of there and her ninja ass was waiting with Rick and Alice when they did.
Daryl eased around the building again and caught sight of his brother. Merle was drinking and it pissed Daryl off a little. It wasn't that he had anything against drinking…but that wasn't going to make this entire damn thing any easier. Of course, in Merle's defense, he didn't know what was supposed to be going down tonight.
The man that Merle was talking to seemed pretty well sauced. They were going to have to get rid of his ass, though, if this was going to go off without a hitch. Daryl considered his options.
He had his crossbow strapped to his back, but he didn't think he ought to simply kill the man for no reason other than the fact that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Still, if he made himself visible to the man, and Merle wasn't as happy to see him as he was hoping, there could be trouble.
Daryl sighed to himself and brought his crossbow around, checking to make sure the thing was loaded. He wasn't going to shoot the man in cold blood, but he'd already decided that if necessity dictated that he shoot him, he would.
Daryl slipped then out of the cover that he was holding.
"Merle…" he called, keeping his voice low enough that it wouldn't draw unnecessary attention but loud enough so that his brother could hear him. "Merle…"
Merle turned his head and Daryl realized he must still be somewhat covered by the shadows. He stepped forward a little more.
"Daryl?" Merle said, clearly not sure of what he was hearing or seeing.
"Merle…it's me," Daryl assured him, noticing now that he had the attention of the other man who was very drunk. Daryl stepped forward another step and Merle looked at him like he still didn't trust what he was seeing. Finally Merle smiled, chuckling a little.
"Daryl?" He asked again.
The man that was with Merle stepped forward now.
"Who…" the man started, his speech heavily slurred. "Who…the hell…is this?"
"How the fuck did'ja get her, baby brothah?" Merle asked, stepping forward, an arm outstretched.
Daryl realized then that his brother, instead of the hand that he'd left on a roof in Atlanta, had something akin to a bayonet fastened to his right arm. Daryl looked quickly away from the garish prosthetic and stepped toward his brother, clapping him on the back in the action most akin to a hug that they engaged in.
"We gotta get outta here," Daryl urged, keeping his voice low. "Got people waitin' on us on the other side a' the fence."
The drunk man had stepped beside them now and Daryl wasn't sure that the man even knew if he was dreaming or caught in reality at the moment.
"Where the hell ya wantin' ta go?" Merle questioned.
Daryl eyed the drunk man.
"Ain't got time ta explain," Daryl said. "Ya comin' or not? 'Cause I'm goin' an' if ya don't come I ain't comin' back for ya."
Daryl knew that Merle woudn't take kindly to being bossed around, but he didn't have time to play with his brother right now and he'd heard enough about this town from Alice and Michonne that he had little desire to stay here and even less desire to hobnob with the locals.
Merle looked at him, his eyebrows creasing in the semi darkness. He chuckled slightly.
"Hell…let's go…" Merle said.
"Go where?" The drunk man asked.
Daryl eyed him again and looked back at Merle. He wasn't taking this asshole with them. He didn't know him and all hell would break loose if he brought some stranger from this little hell town back with them.
Daryl didn't know if Merle read his mind or if his brother had his own plans, but before he could say anything, his brother raised the bayoneted arm and drove the blade across the throat of the other man before he could so much as respond. Daryl stood there, a little stunned, as the drunk man's body slumped to the ground.
Merle looked at it a moment, chuckled softly, and then turned to Daryl.
"He was a sorry drunk," Merle said. "Had it comin' a long damn time."
Daryl decided not to say anything else at the moment about the dearly departed unknown drunk. He hoped, though, that the man did have it coming and that his brother hadn't simply come undone in the time since they'd last seen one another.
"Come on," Daryl said softy, starting back through the shadows toward the place where he'd come in with Michonne.
As they neared the wall, he caught sight of the three people on top of the wall that were walking around like soldiers, though they were poor looking soldiers in any case.
"Hey," Daryl said, turning toward Merle. "Ya got any authority 'round here?"
Merle looked at Daryl for a moment.
"Yeah…sorta…what'cha need?" Merle asked.
Daryl gestured in the direction of the wall.
"Need that blonde woman up there," Daryl said. "Can ya get her ta come down here without stirrin' up the other two? Tell her ya gotta talk ta her 'bout somethin' official or some shit like that?"
Merle glanced in the direction of the wall for a moment and then looked back at Daryl. He sucked his teeth and chuckled.
"That how ya get'cha women these days, lil' brothah?" Merle asked.
Daryl sighed.
"Can ya do it?" He asked, deciding not to humor his brother at all.
Merle nodded.
"Yeah…I can do it…wait here," Merle said.
Daryl stayed put and watched as his brother walked out of the shadows and attempted to walk down the street in the most sober form possible, right out in the light of the torches burning there. Daryl couldn't hear clearly what he said, but he walked to the wall and got the attention of the people there, chuckling about something and speaking to them a moment.
The blonde's body movements showed she was a little unsure or uncomfortable of what was being asked of her, but she came down off the wall a few minutes later and followed behind Merle down the street. When they neared where Daryl was standing, Merle slipped into the shadow and tugged the blonde woman with him, covering her mouth with his hand quickly so that she couldn't yelp or call out.
Daryl put his hands up at the terrified looking woman.
"It's OK," he said softly. "We gon' take ya with us. Got Alice waitin' for ya outside the fence. She sent me ta get'cha."
The woman looked terrified still, but at the mention of Alice's name, something changed in her eyes.
"Ya can't make no noise, though, or they gon' kill all a' us," Daryl whispered. "Can ya keep quiet for us?"
The blonde nodded, her eyes still filled with uncertainty, and Merle moved his hand. She didn't make any noise, as she'd promised, and Daryl quickly guided them to the place he'd come in with Michonne at. They both followed him out of the small town and under the cover of darkness they stumbled their way back to where Alice and Rick were crouched and waiting in such good camouflage that Daryl nearly fell over them.
"Mel?" Alice whispered, her voice squeaking a little as they approached.
"Alice?" Melodye hissed back.
Daryl wasn't expecting the blonde to leap forward and throw herself on Alice, but she did and they both tumbled backward into the brush. Daryl averted his eyes from their greeting and checked the status of the two remaining people on the wall, knowing that they'd have to go soon or the people up there might begin to question what had happened to their third.
"What we got here?" Merle asked in a low voice. Daryl glanced at him and saw him watching the two women who were alternating between kissing each other and apparently testing to see if the other was actually physically real. Daryl kicked Alice in the thigh.
"Knock that shit off, we gotta get outta here," he hissed.
"Where's Michonne?" Alice asked.
Daryl shook his head.
"Said not ta wait on her. Said she had some shit ta take care of," Daryl said. "We gotta go."
Alice got to her feet then and Daryl saw that Merle was slowly starting to realize that it was Rick and Alice that were there and he recognized them both, though probably for different reasons.
"Officer friendly…" Merle growled. "An' you…" he turned his attention to Alice. "You an' ya damn Nubian queen s'posed ta be dead!"
Daryl put a hand on his brother's shoulder.
"Simmer down," he hissed. "We ain't got time for none a' this shit. We gotta get the fuck outta here an' back ta the vehicles. All of ya keep it in ya damn pants 'til we do."
Daryl started pushing the crowd forward, deeper into the wooded area and toward the vehicles.
"We can't leave Michonne!" Alice hissed as they walked, her arm around the blonde they'd just stolen from the town. "They'll kill her!"
"S' what she wanted," Daryl said, not stopping his pushing forward of everyone. "Ain't had no chance ta argue with her. She disappeared."
"Well we have to go back!" Alice protested.
"Ain't goin' back…not no more," Daryl said. "She wanted us ta leave her an' that's what we doin'…"
"He's right, you know?" A voice called from the woods just beyond them. Michonne stepped out, panting a little.
Daryl was shocked to see her there, and she must have suspected it. She smiled at him.
"Got done early…" she said. "Been waiting on you slowpokes to show up."
"How the hell'd ya do that?" Daryl asked.
"Well…" Merle growled. "If it ain't Mee-chonne…ya just won't stay dead, will ya girl?"
Michonne took a defensive stance much different than the one she'd been in seconds before.
"Won't now either," she said. "But you will when I take your head off."
"Everyone calm the fuck down!" Daryl spat suddenly. "Ain't no fuckin' body killin' no damn body else. We goin' back ta the fuckin' prison an' ya all gonna talk like people. We ain't fuckin' animals!"
Merle turned then, chuckling at Daryl.
"Who the fuck are ya, boy? Mary Poppins?" Merle drawled.
"Shut up, Merle!" Daryl responded. "Ya gotta behave ya damn ass or go the hell back ta Woodbury. We ain't actin' like this."
Merle chuckled.
"I can act civilized…" Merle said. "Can you, Midnight?"
Merle made kissing noises at Michonne who already looked like she was more than ready to take the man's head off. Daryl growled. "Asshole," he spat. "That's how the fuck ya lost ya hand…ya wanta lose the other?"
"I'd be happy to be of service," Michonne offered.
Merle chuckled and Daryl shoved him forward toward the vehicles. Merle held up his hands…or rather his hand and bayoneted stump…and walked forward.
"Take it easy," Merle said.
Daryl growled again. He knew that it wasn't going to be easy bringing Merle into the fold. He only hoped that somewhere down deep inside himself his brother could find the ability to play well with others and that they could work everything out amongst themselves without any of it coming to bloodshed or exile.
Daryl knew, though, that it wasn't going to be easy.