A/N: This chapter ends with clearing house at Grady, which might be a lot graphic. If you prefer to skip scenes with violence, the Grady section is summarized in the end notes. Just skip Shane's second section.
August 6, 2010
~*~ SW ~*~
"I'm half wishing we brought a third team," Shane says as he finishes his final inspection of the big military truck he's driving back to the Homestead. His is full of every usable military supply they could scrounge from the abandoned military camp. The MREs alone add at least a month of insurance that they can feed their people in an emergency.
Rick laughs. "I think between you and Morgan, it would take an act of God to get into that old warehouse we stashed the overflow in. I'm counting our blessings that we found so much we had to prioritize."
"You still fretting over our abundance?" Scout asks, but her tone is less amused and more understanding. She went through lean times in the road like the quarry camp did. It's not really something Rick can comprehend.
"I know that only a King County native would think to look there, but I think Patricia's inventory notebooks crawled in my brain and spawned."
"Just think of how overjoyed she'll be when we pull in with all this."
"I'm just glad they reported in that they have plenty of trailers for storage." After Honey simply drove off with that first semi, it occurred to the planners that the semi-trailers were a quick solution to keeping supplies out of the rain and weather.
"There's going to be some really confused groups one day when they find all those piles of reject goods lying around parking lots."
Rick's distracted during his exchange with Scout, so he nudges his best friend when the woman walks away to help Zach with a tie down strap.
It gets him a sheepish smile. "Was just thinking we're unusually blessed with being able to return home and clear out our things. Maybe we could suggest similar trips to check out other hometowns."
"It's a good thought. Give some closure to those who want it and have native knowledge of the area both. Some places would be too far, just yet." And some, like Allen and Donna's hometown of Valdosta, might never be on the list.
Although with good maps of which routes are clear, they made amazing time here, managing it in a single day, even with moving and replacing strategic 'traffic jams', which they agreed to after the Vatos attack. That group is still out there, because Scout can't spare enough fighters to take on a town the size their captive described. Not yet. He knows the existence of a place that preys on others eats at her, and the fellow that runs it just doesn't know his days are numbered yet.
It was the gathering of goods and fuel that kept them here three days. One of those was just clearing the hospital, especially the cafeteria. If that herd had ever gotten loose, it might have ended ugly for someone.
They have two of the military transports loaded just with hospital supplies, taking everything that isn't too bulky to transport so far when there are closer hospital facilities for taking equipment for their future infirmary.
Best part was that the generator was still struggling along, so they were able to get the computer system on to retrieve Rick's hospital records, thanks to a nurse who taped her password under the keyboard. Cricket and Hershel didn't like mysteries in their patient's treatment.
"You ready to go?" Scout steps in close in the habit she's developed, accepting a kiss after he smiles sheepishly for being lost in thought.
"Yeah. Just be glad to sleep in our own bed tonight." He got spoiled at the Homestead, sleeping in the nude next to her, even if half the time they were too damn tired to take advantage of that nakedness. On the road like this, they've managed shared watch shifts again so they're always able to curl up together, but it isn't the same.
"Hopefully our travel luck will hold. I've got plans that involve you and our shower." She grinned and walked away to hustle the others into vehicles.
"Sometimes I'm a little jealous," Rick says, startling Shane as he watches Scout walk away.
Shane feels the heat of a flush but ignores it. "You aren't regretting ending things with Lori, are you?"
"No. We're both happier now. But I do miss knowing there's someone to come home to at night." Rick looks hesitant, the ghost of the affair between them and Lori's spiteful behavior in camp.
But their friendship can't heal past that if they avoid the easy crude jokes, so Shane makes it. "We gotta get you laid, man."
"Like who? Not exactly a one-night stand world anymore."
"There's at least three women who wouldn't mind scratching an itch with you. Not sure I'd risk it with Andrea, too much of a black widow vibe, but Sasha or that pretty redhead farmer? You should think about it "
"Lenore? She's got kids though."
"Doesn't mean she's gotta be celibate or look for a stepdad for them. She's the type for casual, not like Lilly. That one I'd warn you off of. She's interested, but she's a forever kind of gal." At Rick's incredulous look, he grins. "I'm taken and happy, brother, not ignorant to all I learned about single women before. Never got to be your wingman."
"Alright. I'll think on it "
They part ways for Shane to head to the rear of the caravan and his truck, while Scout drives solo at the front. Everyone else is paired except Zach, but they decided in the end that taking the two extra truckloads was worth the risk of three drivers without anyone riding shotgun.
Time to go home.
~*~ MD ~*~
Merle nods at the message the watch messenger brought that Scout's very successful caravan just hit the road down in King County. He knows his daughter is capable and her deputy would die to protect her, but having her so far away for four days now is driving him loopy. He wishes she had taken Jamie on the run too, but his construction skills are better suited here.
"It's all good, right, Dad? They'll be back soon." Sophia is looking at him with that expression of absolute faith she's been wearing ever since he reassured her about her place in his life. But the Dad name is new.
"It's all good, yeah. We'll have to keep working hard to keep ahead of them if they keep up runs like that."
She grins, but it fades. "It is okay to call you Dad, right?"
"If that's what feels right to you, princess, then it's good for me too." He throws an arm across her skinny shoulders and directs her toward the foundation they're building for Patricia and Glynnis' new cafeteria. Even those in temporary housing agreed that a decent place to feed everyone took priority now that the elderly are settled in.
She's putting in cinder blocks with all the serious concentration of a master mason when he sees Lori driving the Polaris with the water coolers on the back. They graduated to two and set water breaks after a close call two days ago with Leo's son Mateo and heat exhaustion.
He leaves Sophia to her masonry and goes to lift the coolers onto the table. He knows Lori is capable of lifting them, but it feels rude to watch. She settles the stacks of cups in a bin so they won't blow away, and tucks the usual bin for the dirties under the table.
"You heard they're on the way back, right?"
"Yeah. Watch sent one of the small fry down as a runner."
"Good. I'm wanting to talk to Rick about letting Carl join Honey's shooting lessons, before he drives me crazy about it. I know Rick's going to say yes, but...'
"You're trying not to leave him out of major changes. I get it."
"Especially since I spent so many years protesting Carl learning." She gives him a rueful smile. "I'd best get back to the house before today's helper crew turns everyone's underwear pink."
He laughs and helps himself to a cup of water as he watches the Polaris return to the main house.
When he returns to Sophia, she's frowning.
"Something wrong, princess?" The nickname is thus far a key to getting her to talk through any insecurity.
"Are you dating Lori?"
Dating sounds like something too frivolous for the world they're in now, and even so, he isn't interested in Lori. He knows a lesser man might take advantage of her loneliness and vulnerability right now, but he's never been the type. She's made no indication of interest, either, so he isn't sure what's making Sophia think about them like that.
"No, she's just a friend. Neither of us is interested in romancing the other."
"Some of the women think you're sleeping with her. They wonder how long til she's moved in with you."
"Which women?" He doesn't care if they gossip about him. He's ignored that shit for years, especially the speculation about his sex life as a single, eligible man. But he's always put his foot down anytime it affects one of the kids' happiness.
"Andrea started it, and she's the only one really rude sounding about it. But they're all crazy curious and think it's just a matter of time. Andrea calls Lori a gold-digger. Mama told her to hush and not be so mean."
He feels disappointed to hear that Carol's involved in the gossip, although not surprised. The woman is getting bolder and more likely to stand up for herself, but she has years of habits to break of deferring to others. Andrea being the instigator doesn't surprise him. Out of the women at the quarry, she's the only one who still avoids him.
"I'll have a chat with the ladies about my private life staying private, but if they say anything to bother you in the future, you just let me know."
Sophia smiles and nods, returning to her work just long enough he thinks the subject is dropped.
"Would you ever think about my Mama like that?"
"Sophia." When she doesn't look up, he tugs off a work glove and gently grips her chin to turn her to look at him.
"Your mama just spent a long time in a bad situation. She deserves to spread her wings, and me starting anything like that would be taking advantage of the situation. And you don't need to matchmake me and Carol. She could up and marry Hershel or T-Dog tomorrow and I'll still be your daddy as long as you want me to be "
"So, you're saying not yet, not a not ever?" There's a spark of mischief among the wistfulness in her expression and he tweaks her nose before getting his glove back on.
"I'm saying you quit your worrying about who partners who and get back to work, missy."
She giggles and returns to her task. They work in a contented silence, which leaves Merle to consider the situation.
He meant what he said about Carol being vulnerable. He came near to warning Daryl off, since the amount of time his brother spends with the grey-haired woman makes him think his baby brother might have finally found a woman worth taking a risk on after all the damage Carrie inflicted. But he let it be because it isn't really his place to interfere. Daryl's not going to push Carol past any comfort zone she sets. He raised him better than that.
He's never really considered her in light of his own interest. It's there, and if he'd met her when she wasn't less than a month out of an abusive relationship, he can admit he's attracted enough to her warm personally to consider breaking his near two-decade personal ban on serious interest in a woman.
But there's Daryl already there, and Carol is still learning not to hide in the shadows.
But the gossip, that he can put a stop to before it hurts more than Sophia.
~*~ SW ~*~
Shane halts as the caravan does, and the radio crackles to life.
"Two survivors penned by at least twenty dead. Hit the roofs and let's extract these guys."
His truck is too far to use as a firing platform and so is the one ahead of his. He hits the ground running, with Glenn and Maggie on his heels. They each comply with the order by climbing onto a different vehicle close in. Karen glances at him, but goes back to taking aim with the air rifle.
Everyone on this run is a skilled shot, so they fell the last walker within five minutes of Scout sounding the alarm. Shane estimates the fallen to be closer to thirty, since some lurched from out of visual range toward the noise of the air rifles. They were quieter than conventional firearms, but still loud enough if the dead were close by.
She gives the hand signal to clear the ground after five minutes pass without any new walkers. She thumps to the ground, and Glenn, Karen, and Sasha follow. He hates the separation of not being her partner on the ground. But keeping the best shots other than Scout herself on potential sniper duty is more important.
He keeps an eagle eye on the four moving on the ground. The people trapped on top of the abandoned city bus are following the command to stay put. The two look exhausted and he wonders how long they've been trapped on top of the bus.
It doesn't take long for them to ensure all the dead are permanently so, and Scout gets the two survivors to slide down after she slides a dumpster up to the bus. One stumbles and the other catches him. Scout points toward the vehicles.
As soon as they're in range to avoid shouting, she calls out to Zach to grab his medic kit. The young man slides down the hood of his truck and has the kit open in the floorboard before his patient is lifted into the passenger seat.
Shane signals for Rick and Maggie to hold position. "He bit?" he calls down to Scout.
"No, looks like an infected cut. His boy says he caught his arm on a jagged fire escape when they got cornered about a week ago. Zach's going to start him on an IV for the dehydration and we'll snag some of the IV antibiotics from the hospital. I'm going to go radio in to get the dosage from Hershel."
He nods, keeping half his attention on watch and half on her journey up to the lead truck.
Movement in the distance catches his attention and he lifts his binoculars. The car is approaching slowly and carefully. It looks to be Atlanta PD, but that's no guarantee any officers survived to be driving it. They certainly saw no sign in the months at the quarry.
He sounds the alert, a long, low whistle that has every head turning his way. "Cop car coming from the east."
"Maggie and Sasha, my truck. Zach with our foundlings. Morgan, you follow. Stop at the middle school we used to leave the first time. Maggie's in charge."
The vehicles pull out so quickly that the slowly approaching car isn't even halfway to them. Shane hopes the fact that it isn't speeding up with three vehicles leaving is a good sign. Rick is on the ground now, since Morgan's driving off with his perch, but Shane stretches out to make himself less of a target.
As Scout moves to stand point with Glenn, Karen, and Rick behind her, he's glad they all dress like military on these runs. If these are cops, they'll respond to the uniforms better than civilian attire.
He has to grin when she makes sure her stripes are unable to be missed when the two officers step out of the car.
"Officers Shepherd and Licari," the female says. She's alert, but her posture is carefully 'good cop'. Her partner isn't as much at ease, but Shane doesn't think he's a threat at the moment.
"Staff Sergeant Dixon. Can I help you?"
"We were patrolling and saw movement. Thought we might be needed."
"We cleared out the little herd and rescued the survivors. One is in need of medical attention, but we'll provide it."
"I wasn't aware there was a military presence in Atlanta anymore."
"We were here a few weeks ago, and no sign of a police presence. None of the survivors we rescued mention any assistance at all before we arrived."
The two officers exchange a look and Licari shrugs. Shepherd sighs. "The officer in charge of what's left of us doesn't exactly like taking people in. Not unless she can obligate them by offering medical care." She shifts her weight and exchanges another look with Licari.
He speaks next. "We don't have the support to change things, but what she's doing is wrong. She's even letting some of the men make rescued women work off their debt in ways that would be illegal if there was still any higher authority."
"And you two are just sitting back and letting it happen?" Her voice has a dangerous note Shane recognizes. So do both officers.
"We've been sheltering them as best we can, but we aren't there all the time. Everyone is too afraid of the bully boys after previous dissenters met with 'accidents' out on runs. Even if we arrange accidents ourselves, we aren't enough to keep the people under our care safe. There's no guarantee the neutrals will back our play." Shepherd seems to be telling the truth.
"So why trust me with this?"
"You're the first organized group we've come across. And when you thought we might be a threat, you protected the rescued at the cost of having a smaller squad face us. That's not the sign of a corrupt leader."
Scout looks over her shoulder, catching his eye. He gives a nod. They'll help the officers, although the extent of that is yet to be seen. He sits up and shoulders the air rifle so he can join her.
"How many civilians are we talking about?" he asks as soon as he's at her side.
"About thirty."
"And officers?"
"Twelve. Three unredeemable, plus the lieutenant. Officers do all the runs and patrols."
"You'll need to train your civilians if you want a chance at long term survival."
"They aren't capable of facing this!" Licari's tone is disbelieving.
Scout laughs. "Glenn, what did you do before?"
"Pizza delivery."
"Karen?"
"Taught third grade."
Scout turns back to the officers. "Not every civilian is capable, but if you're got eight good cops, you're already double the capable adults I started out with. Place in the city is only viable for as long as the canned goods and medical supplies hold out. You're already set up to fail."
"But you'll still help?" Shepherd is near pleading.
Shane nods again when Scout looks his way. "Go radio to tell the others to proceed home. Need to get the man to better medical care than we can give him on the road."
He nods. "Want anyone sent out to join us?"
She thinks it over. "Where are y'all based?"
"Grady Memorial." Shepherd looks like she's seeing a light at the end of the tunnel for the first time in months. He remembers the feeling of his first encounter with Scout well.
"Old hospital, gonna make Emory Midtown look like a kiddie maze," Glenn adds.
"Have Jamie bring out two teams, three if possible."
He heads for a radio as Scout turns to the officers and tells them to start sketching a map for Glenn.
~*~ DD ~*~
Daryl follows Hershel as he leaves the spare RV where they've set up the father and son. The vet's expression is grave as he walks out of hearing range of his patients. Patricia and Glynnis are waiting on the front porch.
"I'm guessing it isn't good news," Patricia says.
"The boy just needs rest, hydration, and good nutrition. His father has tetanus, and if that refrigerated medication from the King County hospital has the immune globulin, we can feasibly treat it with the other meds we already have. But his condition is already close to critical on breathing and we don't have a mechanical ventilator."
"Hospital in Canton looked accessible. Would they have a ventilator on the first floor?" Daryl asks.
"In the ER, sure."
"We'll put together a team then. You'll need a bigger space though." Daryl looks toward the garage, currently still doubling as a medical supply warehouse. "Need to clear out one of the garage bays. Can stick it down in the big barn temporarily. Make the garage the infirmary."
The others nod and the two women hustle off to collect a moving crew. With Scout, Merle, and Shane out, there's no one to plan a run, not really, so he supposes it falls to him.
Worry over the people out to take care of the predator problem in Atlanta sets low in his gut. He should lead the crew to the hospital, but he isn't sure he should leave Abby either, not yet.
"You look like you're thinking hard enough for ten people." He turns to see the female marshal smiling at him.
"Gotta organize a hospital equipment run. Was debating if I should go."
Rachel thinks about it. "I'm guessing Abby's the concern. I think she'll be just fine between her grandmother and your girlfriend."
"Carol's not my girlfriend."
"My apologies. I just assumed since you two seem to spend a lot of your downtime together. She's been keeping Abby occupied when you aren't available, too."
"She's family." He shrugs it off, deciding he'll figure out how he gave off the impression of pursuing Carol later. "You up for a run?"
"Might as well start pulling my weight. I'm sure your not-girlfriend will keep an eye on Nick for me."
"A'right. I'll grab Tyreese and Cricket. Meet me at the big Dodge hooked up to the gooseneck trailer in fifteen minutes?" That'll give him time to explain to Abby and Carol too.
At least the run will give him time to figure out how to ask Carol if she thinks they're a couple, too.
~*~ LG ~*~
Lori is closing the tailgate after the last truckload of supply relocation when she overhears Andrea remark to Amy about the fact that they have two cases of pregnancy tests. She freezes, doing the mental calculation and coming up with a really bad answer.
But before the panic can set in, Andrea keeps talking. "Wonder how long til Lori's needing these and who is she going to claim for the daddy."
"Andrea, if you get any bitchier about Lori, I'm going to think you want Merle for yourself."
"Please. Not even a pretty house would make that man appealing to get naked with. How Lori can go from someone smart as Rick to two different jocks, I'll never know."
"I think you're just being a complete bitch, and I feel sorry for Amy being your sister."
Lori wishes she could see Andrea's face now. The blonde dropped her antagonism in a fake show of support at the quarry over the affair mess, but she knew even then that it wasn't true friendship. She's probably even well aware Lori's in earshot of her unkind words.
But apparently, she didn't realize that they weren't alone at the barn, and now she's been overheard by one of the Dixon kids.
"You shouldn't be talking to an adult like that."
"I was taught to give respect where it is earned and to call a spade a spade."
"About what I'd expect from someone like you."
"Jazz could start kicking puppies and he's still a nicer person than you."
Oh, shit. As bad as it is that she didn't react right away when Jazz spoke up, that's Sophia, and God only knows how many other kids might be present due to puppies in the barn.
She steps into the opening. "Kids, I think it's best if y'all head back to the house."
Jazz normally reminds her more of Daryl in his mannerisms despite looking like Merle, but the belligerent expression he has now is all Merle. He's ready to dig in and fight what he sees as an injustice, even when she's fairly sure the boy dislikes her.
"Jazz, I thank you for speaking up, but this is a battle I want to fight myself. Why don't you take Daryl's truck up to the house with Sophia?"
The teenager finally gives in, but not without a look toward Andrea that promises he won't be forgetting the interaction anytime soon. If looks could kill, Sophia's would send Andrea into an early grave. Amy escapes with them, looking like she's fleeing a bomb threat.
"I may have made my share of mistakes for the next thirty or so years, but there's nothing that gives you the right to talk about me like that."
"You've slept with three different men inside a month!"
"No, I slept with two, and the only people who need to be concerned with that are me, Rick, and Shane. I didn't handle anything at the quarry well, but unlike you, I'm working on redeeming myself."
"You're trying to claim you aren't screwing Merle?"
"Exactly. As long as he's sober, he's a damn good source of what it's like being a single parent. I burned all my bridges being friends with the women we knew at the quarry, so it's nice to speak to someone who understands."
"And that's all it is? Hardly."
"Believe whatever you like, but if you keep dragging his name in the mud, you're going to regret it. Personally, the second he hears about what you said to Jazz, I hope he sticks you in a tent out in the sheep pen. Even Dale won't defend you if you're going after the kids."
"He called me a bitch!"
"No, he said you were acting like one, but the shoe fits. Andrea, if you don't stop being a complete bitch, you're going to end up lonely and ostracized. Even your sister couldn't stand being around just then. Take it from someone who towed that same line really close."
She leaves the blonde sputtering and begins the trek back to the house.
She curls a hand against her belly. She can't worry about what Andrea thinks of her right now.
~*~ SW ~*~
Shane holds his place with his team, knowing his job, just like Merle's and Rick's in their own teams, is to just look as intimidating as possible.
Jamie brought enough people for four four-man teams. It ended up being overkill, because in a stroke of luck, six of the officers were playing a poker game in a staff lounge. Shane simply locked the inattentive morons in by shoving a disassembled IV pole through the door handle.
Once the remaining four realized Shepherd and Licari were siding with the intruders, all but one dropped their weapons and surrendered. The one who refused is zip tied and cursing in the floor after he pissed himself when Tara tased him.
Faced with similar treatment with the taser, the only two armed in the staff lounge also surrendered. So now they have ten officers cuffed or zip tied in the big cafeteria while Scout questions the civilians about the story Shepherd gave her.
His throat radio activates. "Ask which one is Gorman."
He clears his throat. "Which one of these assholes is Gorman?"
Shepherd and Licari both point to the tased asshole. Shane rolls him off his belly with a booted foot to confirm his uniform bears the name.
"Confirmed as the leader of the little group of rapists by everyone I've spoken to," she continues.
"You the leader of the rapists here?" he asks.
"We kept those bitches safe. It's the least they could do for us."
He meets her gaze across the room and she nods. He takes a single shot with his Glock.
Their teams and the officers who led them here are expecting the execution, but the rest aren't. It's a testament to how bad life was in this place that he sees more relief and even joy versus horror when he scans the civilians' faces.
"You confirm the other names?"
"O'Donnell and Alvarado."
"Which one is Alvarado?"
Shepherd points out the kneeling man, who faces him stoically. He offers him the same chance to speak. "You rape those women?"
He sees the resolve in Shane's eyes that death is coming, but he nods and bows his head. A stray moment of conscience at the end, maybe.
Everyone's expecting the shot this time.
"O'Donnell?"
Shepherd's hand shakes this time, and the woman he knows to be the lieutenant actually struggles at her restraints. She doesn't speak. None of them have since surrendering.
"Same question. You rape those women?"
"Yes." Whatever humanity the man possessed before the world ended is long gone. Shane's seen more regret in the face of a death row inmate.
His body hits the floor with a thud and Shane holsters his Glock. This is as much a gruesome ceremony as justice.
The lieutenant is crying as she looks at the blood pooling on the floor. Her officers' expressions range from scared to stoic. The civilians look vindicated.
Scout crosses the room and crouches to the leader's level. "When did you abandon your duty to keep these people safe?"
"You don't know what it's like!"
"Oh, but I do. Except I didn't have the luxury of four walls to keep them safe for several months. And I promise you, there's not a man or woman in my group that would consider rape a right for protecting anyone else in it."
"So easy to say when you've got someone that loyal to do your dirty work for you."
Scout reaches in her vest, bypassing the big knife she carries openly for the karambit she conceals. "Do you know why he's so loyal?"
Lerner's gaze can't seem to leave the wickedly curved knife. "No."
"Because a man in our group tried to murder a woman and child. I don't ask anyone to carry out any order I'm not willing to do myself. I executed that justice myself with this little knife. So today, he offered to administer justice in my place."
"This isn't justice."
"I'm sure your victims will disagree. You're just as guilty as every rapist under your command. You have the command and you failed rather than put a bullet through their heads."
"You think these people are going to be assets to you, be loyal because of this?"
"I don't require them to be loyal to me. I just require them to be good people."
She stands and studies the civilians. "Does anyone object that she's responsible for their crimes?"
Shepherd and Licari look shaken, but don't disagree. None of the other officers speak up, and the civilians still have that eerie calm of a people seeing an end to their suffering in sight.
Scout draws her Glock and fires.
A/N:
If you skipped Shane's second part, Scout and Shane execute the officers guilty of rape at Grady, along with Dawn Lerner.