Gareth's POV

"You didn't have to come with me, you know." Theresa chuckled as I walked along with her back to the armory. "...not that I don't appreciate the company, I mean."

"Wooah. Conceited, much?" I joked. "Who said I came out here for you?"

"Very funny." She chuckled at that. "...So then, why did you come?"

"Well, Jessie mentioned she works in the pantry most days." I explained. "I figured a long as we're there, I might try to catch her. See if she happens to know if anyone has a spare dog collar they're not using or something we could use for a leash for the dog, even if they don't have any there."

"Suppose it can't hurt." She agreed.

I nodded, glancing over as she secured the gun into place that had previously still been in her hands from earlier.

"That was quick thinking earlier…." I added, changing the subject. "...back in Alex's room."

"...well, I didn't exactly materialize the gun out of nowhere, you know." She teased.

"..More accurately, I was out there when that Jackass pulled up to the gate with some kid and a bunch of his goons. I thought we might need it, so I checked it out of the armory, took it outside long enough not to seem suspicious and just came straight back to the house when I came back in."

"Could've given me a heads up then, you know." I chuckled.

"Right, well you'll have to forgive me." She smirked. "...the adorable mutt in the living room was a bit of a distraction."

"Oh, so it's my fault then?"

She shook her head, clearly trying not to laugh. "You're such an ass sometimes, you know that? How does Sadie even put up with you?"

"Trust me, if I ever find the answer to that, myself, I'll let you know." I chuckled.

As we approached closer to the armory, we both stopped dead in our tracks as we looked up to see a decently sized crowd gathered around in the near distance.

"...Or maybe better we figure out what's going on up there." She suggested.

I nodded, staring for another minute a I tried to get somewhat on an idea of what we'd be walking into. "Isn't that Deanna's son up there…..playing pool with the bastard?"

Theresa just shrugged. "Well, Sadie did mention he wanted to talk to him about something.

"..Yeah, but what? though, is what I'd like to know now."

"You think we should go check it out?" She asked.

"Don't you?"

She just shrugged again. "Might as well, I guess."

Sure enough, once we got up there, Deana's son….Spencer, I think Sadie said his name was, was shooting off pool balls with the bastard, rambling on about some problem he had about the way his mom was doing things around here.

Something about the way Sadie handled the so-called Saviors, on top of that, and something about her wanting to put Sadie in charge of things…...as far as I was hearing it, anyway.

Theresa and I both looked at each other.

"...Sadie say anything to you about any of this?" She asked, trying to make sense of it as I was trying to.

"I don't think Sadie even knew about any of this." I shrugged. "...but that would explain why Deanna wanted to talk to her so badly, the last couple of days."

"...So, I should put you in charge. That's what you're saying?" Negan asked, grinning particularly smugly back at the guy.

"We'd be much better off." Spencer affirmed.

Negan just chuckled as he took a sip from the glass he'd apparently been drinking from.

"You know, I'm thinking, Spencer." He finally replied. "...I'm thinking how Sadie threatened to kill me…..on several occasions, now, and how she clearly hates my guts." He chuckled again, seemingly just as amused by the thought. "...but she still was agreeable to making out somewhat of a deal with me to make sure I don't hurt any of the fine people who live here. She may not be taking any of my shit, but she is still getting shit done." He aimed at one of the balls on the table, taking his turn, as he went on. "...that takes guts…..and then there's you. The guy who waited for Sadie to be gone, so he could sneak over and talk to me to get me to do his dirty work so he could take Sadie's place, so I gotta ask…...if you wanna take over, why not just kill Sadie yourself and just take over?"

"What? No, no. I didn't- " Spencer anxiously started to stutter. 'I-I don't- "

"Ya know what I'm thinking? Cause I have a guess!" Negan boasted, leaning in closer toward him as he lowered his voice to a whisper. "..It's because...ya got no guts!"

The surrounding crowd all watched on in horror as he took a knife out and stabbed Spencer with it right in front of us, opening a gash deep enough to spill out his intestines right into his hands and causing him to fall to the ground beneath him.

"Ohh, how embarrassing." Negan continued to boast, looking proudly down at him.

"...There they are. They were inside you the whole time, you did have guts! I've never been so wrong in my whole life!"

He picked the pool cue up off the table, wielding it as he strode around oh so proudly in front of us all.

"Someone oughta get up here and clean this mess up!" He announced, grinning even more widely as he proceeded to wave the damn thing in front of each of us.

"Oh! Anyone wanna finish the game? …..C'mon! Anybody?"

Pure silence, throughout the entire crowd.

"C'mon! I was winning!"

The next interruption came as a kid, who looked vaguely familiar, shot his own gun off at the bastard…...unfortunately, just barely missing him and triggering, instead, a woman to leap out from behind him and knock the gun out of his hand as she pinned him to the ground."

"WHAT THE SHIT?!" He demanded, lunging at the boy, himself. "YOU TRIED TO KILL ME?!"

The commotion also triggered Sadie to come rushing out of Deanna's house nearby, Alex in one arm, as Deanna followed closely behind them.

"Goddamnit, kid!" I heard her shout, visibly agitated as she put together what had just unfolded.

She immediately reached for the knife on her belt with her free hand, gripping it tightly as she caught sight of me and rushed over.

"Take Alex back to the house, now!" She instructed, quickly handing him off to me. "I'll be right behind you."

"Sadie- "

"Go!" She insisted, replacing her knife as she turned to Theresa. "T, you still have that gun?"

Theresa quickly took it off her own belt to hand over to her. "Take it."

"Now get! BOTH of you!" She ordered, taking off in the other direction.

I sighed, trying to comfort a now….understandably...frightened Alex in my arms as I rushed off the scene with him and Theresa.