AN: I took liberties with Sasha's solo attack on Negan's place. Simon arrives with Sophia about an hour before Sasha infiltrates the Saviors' compound.
"And here's the place." Simon gestured to the compound that was rapidly growing in view of the windshield. It did seem to have a fortress quality to it, at least as far as the defenses on the outside went. Chain link fences, crowds of walkers, men everywhere with guns. It was something out of a crime novel, she had read a book about crime bosses a little while ago, and this didn't seem too far off, especially in the dead of night.
"A-are you sure it's safe?" As she looked at the fences they passed, a sinking feeling took over. It would be very difficult to try to escape, she had a feeling that there probably was someone sitting in a high place with a sniper rifle, unafraid to use it.
"Completely." Simon drawled, his patience seemed to be waning as he looked over Sophia, she had somehow managed to lose his curiosity.
The truck pulled to a stop and Sophia wasn't yanked out of the truck, which was surprising considering the lack of any manners from Simon. Instead, he just pushed her out, her sneakers meeting the loose dirt which definitely was stained reddish brown in some places. Stumbling slightly, she squared her shoulders looking around. A few grunts were looking over her curiously, probably surprised at a kid being hauled out of the truck.
"Come on Carmen. Got some people who will want to meet you." Simon grabbed her by the slack in her jacket, pulling her along. "Where's Negan?" Simon asked this to one of the men guarding the front entrance.
"Uh... talking with that guy from Alexandria. The one with the mullet." He responded, fear in his eyes as he answered, Simon seemed to be high up on the food chain then. Just her luck.
"Got it. Come on Paul, hold the girl, we're gonna go find Negan." Simon ordered, suddenly letting go of Sophia's collar, only for it to be grabbed harshly once more by 'Paul', the one who had been driving the stupid truck in the first place.
The moment they walked through the doors; Sophia could feel multiple gazes on her. Everyone was either looking, or trying to, curious eyes, anger lying in some, others saddened. Whatever this place was, she didn't like it. It looked more like a factory than some place to live, a crowd of people mulling around below them, they looked half dead already, no fight in their eyes.
"Pretty cool, huh? Negan has a lot of friends." Paul asked, his voice gruff as he pushed Sophia along through a door, cutting off her view of the group on the ground floor. "All those people work for Negan, they are his followers, and so are you."
The mere thought had Sophia's stomach churning; this was a bigger operation than she had anticipated. Negan led by fear and some form of respect, both were powerful motivators, and apparently, they had this entire area under his thumb. And he wasn't afraid to spill blood, her thoughts traveled back to Benjiman, one of Negan's pawns did that, what were the chances Negan cared? Or even knew?
If he had lieutenants that killed so easily, they had to have quite the pool to terrorize. She hadn't fully explored the areas around here, that would be asking for trouble, but was this area densely populated? She didn't like the idea of that.
"Yeah..." Sophia agreed weakly, more interested in watching the hallways they walked through, trying to make a map so she could get the hell out without getting turned around. Paul and Simon continued walking, not really caring to about Sophia, other than to bring her like a trophy to their boss.
After two lefts, down a flight, a right, then another left, they came into yet another boring hallway. It didn't seem special, but Simon stopped in front of one of the doors, knocking a couple times.
The muffled noises she could hear from the other side went quiet, and the door flung open. Inside, the room was lit with not only lights, but a TV, which she frowned at. Why were they using electricity to power a dumb TV? Inside, there were two men; the one who opened the door had a cocky swagger about him, so much so that Sophia was partially reminded of her father.
In the past couple years, she had really grown to hate him, understanding the world a little better, after realizing that no one should treat their family like that. No, she had a wonderful family with Ren and Gabe. She wouldn't let a dumb adult ruin it again for her. Not like her father, not like Weasel.
He had a leather jacket, dark pants, and a baseball bat wrapped in what looked like barbed wire. There was no way he wasn't the leader with this much smugness radiating off of him. But he felt dangerous, more so than most people she had ever met, his eyes sent her stomach churning. This had to be Negan.
Behind him, there was a man with long hair, and almost the complete opposite of most survivors these days. He seemed awfully quiet and non-violent. She wondered passively if he had ever even killed, walker or person. But the fear that was ever present in his expression became despair as he caught a glance of Sophia.
"Simon! I didn't know you had a daughter!" The man with the bat exclaimed, a strange smile on his face, swinging the bat to point at Sophia. Biting her lip, she stepped back, still trying to take up the façade of an afraid kid who didn't know what the hell they had gotten themselves into. Granted, she probably didn't know what she had gotten herself into, but she wasn't hopeless. Paul grunted and pushed her back into place, must to her dismay. Although the man caught the movement, his eyes lingering on Paul.
"Ah, no, Negan, sir. Me and the boys were just going to do a quick drive to check out the Hilltop to scare 'em, you know. But, imagine our surprise when we came across Carmen here! She stole, wait no, borrowed a car from her friends at The Kingdom." Simon laughed, but at least he confirmed that this was Negan. She would memorize his face, make sure that this group wouldn't get the drop on her again.
"Carmen! We like rebellious kids!" Negan grinned wolfishly, walking closer to the trio in the hallway, eyes analyzing Sophia. He was intelligent, she could tell, much smarter than Simon, and surely smarter than most people here. "Who knew there were so many interesting kids around here?"
Which meant Sophia wasn't the first, which really irked her, swallowing her question down, she stepped back again, she didn't want to show all her cards just yet if she didn't have to.
"Thought you might like talking to her." Simon explained, showing Sophia off like she was some sort of pet. Negan nodded slowly, walking ever closer until he stood less than an arm's length away from Sophia, intense gaze on hers. Looking away from him, she looked at the scared guy, who only seemed more and more scared as time went on. Whether that fear was for her or him still remained to be seen.
"You said your name was Carmen?" Negan asked, his voice hinting at being friendly, but she doubted it would stay that way if he didn't get his way.
"Y-Yes, Carmen Bishop." Sophia nodded, biting her lower lip, gazing at the ground. She kept telling herself she had to fake submissiveness. She wouldn't be able to get out of the maze if she suddenly tried fighting. There were too many hallways, floors, and people between here and the front door. Not to mention the security system they had in place.
Negan suddenly began laughing, a full body laugh that dissolved into chuckles, no one else was laughing. The man turned to look at Simon, his smile etched into his cheeks, a deadly fury in his eyes.
"I thought you were better than this Simon?" Negan asked, amusement coloring his voice, but it didn't reach his eyes. His bat left his shoulder, suddenly more so a weapon than a tacky accessory.
"W-what do you mean sir?" Simon stuttered, afraid since the attention was suddenly on him again.
"Her name isn't Carmen. Hell, I doubt she's from the Kingdom!" Negan shouted, anger in his eyes as he pushed Simon with his hand, pushing him into the wall. Then turned to look at Sophia, curiosity in his eyes. She was made.
Before Negan could grab her, Sophia grabbed one of her knives from her sleeve, and spun Paul around, kicking him in the back of his knees, downing him so she could put him in a sleeper hold, knife at his neck.
"Don't touch me." Sophia growled out, breathing harshly at the sudden rush of adrenaline, Negan only smiling at her.