This chapter starts immediately after the previous one, as Wade attempts to take Dr. Yang on the run to Bethesda under protest from Carol and the others.
A Fire in my Heart
There's a fire starting in my heart
reaching a fever pitch, it's bringing me out the dark.
Finally I can see you crystal clear.
Go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your shit bare.
See how I leave with every piece of you.
Don't underestimate the things that I will do.
- Adele: Rolling in the Deep
"Wade! No!" Carol cried, her eyes going to Daryl. She would not lose Erin like this.
Daryl stepped in front of Wade, the two guards and Erin, blocking the exit.
"Out of my way, Archer, this ain't none of your concern." Wade said tightly, keeping his grip on Erin's arm.
"She is." Daryl said, jerking his chin towards Carol, "You want her upset? Send her pressure through the roof? You think the boss is gonna like hearing your stupid ass made her lose the kid? What do you think he'll do to you'all if that happens?" he let his narrow eyed gaze sweep over all three men.
They all shared an uneasy look.
Carol hated the thought of leaving Carson behind as well, but as long as he kept his cool and their confidences, he would be much safer here with the Saviors when Negan got back and discovered the escape.
"Please Wade." Carol asked, infusing her voice with just the right amount of teary anguish.
Wade pursed his lips as he stared back at her, his dislike clear. He obviously didn't like the power Carol held over his boss, but he also knew that if anything he did caused her or the baby harm Negan would—literally—have his head.
"I don't give a shit which one we take." he finally said, releasing Erin and giving her an exasperated shove that almost knocked her down. "Go find Carson and get his ass on the Humvee in fifteen minutes or I'll drill you a new asshole." he sniped at the guards, who hot-footed it out of there in search of the other physician.
"Thank you." Carol said, wiping at her eyes and looking gratefully at Wade and then settling on Daryl briefly before sliding her eyes away and holding out her hand to Erin with a trembling smile.
Working as Negan's right hand for the last two years had taught Wade the most important lessons he'd ever learned, be hyper-observant and trust no one. Watching the interplay between the bowman and the gray haired woman he was suddenly struck by how carefully Carol avoided looking at the man for longer than a few seconds at a time, forcing her gaze away from him, yet it always seemed to return there.
"Got some last instructions for Archer." Wade said gruffly, pointing Daryl out the door. "Your ears only."
"Can't leave her." Daryl protested.
"She's locked up tight in here; only one way in; just be out in the hall. Move it." Wade ordered, forcing Daryl to comply. As soon as the door was closed the big man shoved Daryl against the wall, holding him there with a tight fisted grip on his vest over his chest and leaning close.
"You want her?" Wade whispered roughly right into Daryl's ear, "You're gonna have to kill him or he will never stop comin' after you."
"Or you could take the shot." Daryl replied, poker faced, not denying his interest in Carol.
"Be Brutus?" Wade asked sarcastically, but then loosened his grip on Daryl and stepped back, tilting his head to the side as though sizing up the other man. "Not like I haven't thought about it."
"What stopped you?" Daryl asked. A coup would surely solve all their problems. "He's a monster; insane..."
"Probably... but he keeps this place going. Food, water, shelter, safety—they're hard things to come by these days." Wade said, giving a little shrug.
"Seems like it's up and running now." Daryl said, his gaze looking left and right and then nodding, "One figurehead's as good as another."
Wade considered that. Though Negan made the "big" decisions about who they attacked and took tribute from, the day to day running of the place fell to his seconds, rotated out on patrol periodically to keep any of them from gaining too big a loyal following. How many people would back him if he offed the boss?
"Is there a problem, boys?" Negan asked from behind them, his look assessing.
Recovering quickly, Wade blanked his face and turned to face the leader of Sanctuary.
"Just makin' sure Archer understood the shit storm that will rain down on him if anything happens to your family, sir." Wade said easily and then turned back to Daryl, giving him a rough shove, making him stumble back. "Best get back to it now."
Daryl bristled but recovered his feet and nodded, visibly fighting the retort that wanted to escape his lips.
"Is she awake?" Negan asked Daryl, who nodded again. Negan gave him a tight smile and turned away, heading into the Infirmary to see Carol.
When his eyes met Wade's, Daryl's held a questioning look. Wade gave him a non-committal movement of his head that said he would consider what they had discussed. Then something behind Daryl caught his attention.
"What she doing out?" Wade said, looking over Daryl's shoulder.
Coming towards them were Dwight, the two guards he had sent to find Carson, and the doctor himself, who was with them along with Enid, pale and holding her side. When she stumbled the doctor tightened his arm around her, holding her up.
"Think it's her appendix." Dwight said. "Heard her squealin' and the others yellin' when I walked by their room." They'd had to think of an excuse quickly when they'd been intercepted just before he could get her back there after her little secret expedition to find Carl.
Daryl came forward swiftly and picked up the girl, cradling her to his chest and carrying her into the Infirmary. Negan was seated on Carol's bed, holding her hand and leaning in for a goodbye kiss while Erin looked on with disgust.
"Put her there," Carson said, pointing to one of the exam tables.
"What's wrong?" Negan said, releasing Carol's hand and rising.
"Enid?" Carol asked, her voice filled with concern.
"What does it look like? She's sick." Dwight said, while Daryl lay the teenager down.
"Hurts... help me..." Enid whimpered and curled in on herself.
"I asked you what was wrong with her!" Negan thundered, demanding Carson answer him.
"Could be her appendix, could be an ovarian cyst, could be an ectopic pregnancy, could be food poisoning, could be lots of things. I won't know until I can examine her more closely, so everyone who doesn't have to be here for a medical reason, get the hell out!" Carson ordered.
"Did you say pregnancy?" Negan said, coming right up next to the table and pushing Carson away from Enid, he took her by the arms. "Are you pregnant, girl?"
"If I am then it's the second coming..." Enid bit out sarcastically and then doubled over and threw up, barely missing his shoes.
"Fuck!" Negan released her and danced back, looking disgusted.
"I said that was one of many possibilities for what is wrong with her!" Carson barked forcefully, stepping on the brake release and rolling the table away from the mess so he could start examining Enid. He placed a thermometer on her forehead and lifted her shirt to palpate her abdomen, making the girl suppress a scream and start to cry. He did her blood pressure next and after enough time had passed he checked her temp and swore.
"Dr. Yang?" Carson said, "You know anything about anesthesia?"
"Enough." Erin replied. "I did part of my residency in anesthesiology."
"If we need to prep her for surgery—I'll need you to keep her under—then-" Carson began.
"Stop!" Negan demanded, forcing everyone's eyes to him.
"I don't have time for this." Carson said, gesturing at Enid, "She doesn't have time for this."
"We have a mission. I need a doctor on it." Negan said, narrowing his eyes.
"I need Erin here." Carson said, not backing down.
"Please... please let them help her." Carol said, pleading with Negan, who looked over at her, angry at the potential delay in his plans.
"How long will it take?" Negan asked, looking back and forth between Carol and Enid.
"As long as it takes!" Carson said, exasperated, "I don't know what I'll find when I get in there."
Still Negan hesitated, weighing his options.
"Look, I've told you what you need to get, made you lists of every drug, piece of equipment and instrument that could be useful. You don't need one of us with you, you just need to get there and get back as soon as possible before something else goes Fubar." Carson said impatiently. "I need Yang here with me to assist with the surgery and I need to start now."
After another minute or two of staring at Enid writhing on the table in pain and Carol, pale and tearful, Negan sniffed and blew out a world weary sigh.
"When I get back I expect to see some grateful naked wives throwing themselves at my feet in thanks." he said petulantly to the room at large and then signaled to his guards, Dwight and Wade that they were leaving. Taking Lucille from the man who had been holding 'her' Negan stopped in front of Daryl, pointing the bat at him meaningfully.
Daryl met Negan's eyes and gave a small dip of his chin to acknowledge the warning. Carol and the child were his responsibility. Fuck it up and he died.
"Let's roll." Negan said and he and his men stalked out of the room. Last out was Wade, who exchanged an intense look with Daryl before closing the door behind them.
"Can I get up now?" the voice of a bored teenager sounded from the exam table.
"Enid?" Carol said, shocked, looking over at the girl, as did Erin, Daryl and Kayla.
"Archer? Any guards outside?"Carson asked in a stage whisper, and then added more loudly when the bowman didn't seem to be paying attention to him, "Archer!"
Dragging his eyes away from Enid, Daryl opened the peephole cover over the steel reinforced door to check.
"No one in the hall." he grunted and then turned his eyes back to the girl and the doctor standing in front of her at the table.
Enid sat up looking quite cocky, pushing her sweaty hair back off her face.
"You were fakin'."Daryl rumbled disapprovingly.
"Carol's not the only one who knows how to play Negan." Enid said, looking over at the older woman with a smug smile, clearly proud of her actions.
"It's not a game, Enid." Carol said, her voice icy stern. "You risked us all sneaking out to see Carl."
"And if I hadn't, Carson or Erin would be leaving right now!" Enid said defiantly, pointing at the doctors.
"It was her idea." Carson admitted, "When the guards told us I had to go with them to Bethesda she reacted instantly, doubled over like she was in pain—I just took it from there."
"Almost got the asshole with the puke too." Enid grinned, unrepentant.
Daryl huffed out a reluctant laugh while Carol frowned and sighed.
"So what's our time table now?" Erin asked, back to business.
"By nightfall Negan will be far enough down the road to risk signaling Aaron." Daryl said. "Dwight gets us transport; we get Carl, Rosita and Tara and get our asses outa here." he looked to Carol for confirmation, but she still looked uneasy.
When they reached the hall way turn into the next corridor, Negan addressed Dwight.
"Make sure the back-up tanks are full on all of the vehicles; last thing I want is for us to get stuck on the way back because we ran out of fuel." he ordered.
Dwight looked like he might balk at the command, but nodded sullenly and jogged on ahead, heading for the motor pool, taking a stairway down.
"Dwight up to a mission?" Negan asked Wade as they continued to walk back towards his quarters.
"You're taking him with us to Bethesda?" Wade returned, unsure of the wisdom of that idea. Dwight was always a bit twitchy, but after Sherry, he was walking a thin edge.
"Just him, not you." Negan said. "You're not going—I have another job for you."
"Another?"
"You're going to take twenty men and head to Hilltop." Negan ordered.
"We're not due for a tribute run for another week." Wade said, puzzled.
"Not a tribute run." Negan shook his head.
"Then why?"
"They have something I need. Someone... and Gregory won't give you any trouble." Negan said dismissively.
"Someone?"
"I want the other Doctor Carson; for insurance." Negan told him. Having his brother here would sooth their Carson's ruffled feathers and make the woman doctor from Alexandria more expendable if need be.
"So why do I need twenty men?" Wade asked. That would leave them shorthanded here at Sanctuary, not seriously, but enough to cause him concern.
"Send five back here with the doctor and take the rest to Alexandria."Negan continued. "Scouts reported it's been abandoned—survivors headed for Hilltop. I want you to fix the gate, clear it of geeks and claim it."
"You settin' up a colony or moving us all there?" Wade asked, wondering if he intended to put someone else in charge of the walled town with the deluxe accommodations or take it as his new base.
"I want to show them the benefits of cooperating with me." Negan said, "They can have their little Pleasantville back if they accept my rule."
"And their women?" Wade asked; keeping them would be a bone of contention for the ASZ leader. He knew from what the men who had gone on the run had told him that at least two of the ones Negan had taken belonged to someone in Alexandria.
"My wives? Women will do what they must to protect those they love." Negan told him with a confident expression.
Wade realized that was how he'd assure everyone's cooperation. The women would tell anyone who asked that they 'freely' accepted him as their husband and in return he wouldn't kill everyone they cared about. So much for his claim he only wanted ass that was willing...he used a pretty slippery slope definition of the term.
"One of the other wives—the hot Hispanic piece—Carol told me she's a medic; a nurse." Negan said to Wade, who nodded. "Go get her. She's coming with me."
"Rosita?" Surprised, Wade blinked and stared a few seconds before he finally nodded.
"That's the one." Negan said, smiling in satisfaction. "Keep it quiet—hood her—no one else needs to know. A little alone time together on our mission of mercy to save her friend and she'll see the wisdom in kneeling." his double entendre made obvious by the lustful smile on his lips.
Wade raised an eyebrow as he side-eyed his boss at the reminder that he should never underestimate the depravity, ruthlessness and cunning of Negan's mind. He might pay lip service to respecting his wives and restarting civilization, but he'd always find a way to get what he wanted from them, just like he did with everyone else.
"Are we clear?" Negan said when he saw the look.
"Crystal clear, yes sir." Wade said in a clipped voice.
"The Bethesda group leaves within the hour. Take your force out as soon as possible, bleed it out in four groups of five and regroup out of sight of the compound. Bill it as a routine patrol relief." Negan ordered as they reached his door, where they would have to part ways. He turned to his second, laying Lucille on the man's shoulder. "I'm counting on you, Wade."
"Yes sir." his second repeated more forcefully and then held his breath until Negan lifted the bat away and continued on into his chambers.
As he headed to get the woman, Wade thought again about what Archer had asked him. To overthrow Negan would take someone with cunning equal to or even greater than what the Sanctuary leader possessed; someone with a burning hatred in his heart for the man; someone from whom he had taken what they loved most.
With every move he made, Negan was growing the list...
AN: They kept Carson and Erin, but don't know that they just lost Dwight and Rosita instead. Carol gave Negan information when she was trying to show the women's value beyond just being sexual vessels, but he turned it around on her and used it as way to get Rosita alone and vulnerable. He hasn't broken his promise to Carol because he didn't make her chose which wife he'd have-in his mind it'll be Rosita's choice.
Slippery evil son of a bitch isn't he?
