Standing beside Rick, Anna watched as Daryl set her rifle and 9mm in the back of the hauling truck, along with the other guns Alexandria had amassed. Still, there were more guns and ammo for the Saviors to carry out. Daryl walked back inside the armory.
"You know what today is, Rick? Today is a banner day," Negan declared from where he stood with Isaac across from them. "Yes, it is. I think this little arrangement we have is gonna work out just fine. Hold up," he said as Daryl returned with an arm full of rifles and a handgun.
Negan took the handgun and checked the clip.
"Let's see if you've been taking care of my guns," he said, cocking it and aiming it at Daryl.
Anna tensed but willed herself not to move as Daryl turned from the truck and walked back inside the armory, unfazed. Negan lifted the gun and fired into a window; he laughed as the casing clattered to the brick walkway.
"Feels good," he grinned. "Sounds good! Oh, I do believe Lucille's gettin' a little jealous."
Anna glanced at the bat wrapped in barbed wire that Rick held at his side.
"Well, holy smokes!" Negan called as a Savior exited the armory carrying a rocket launcher.
The man handed the weapon to Negan and took the handgun, carrying it on to the truck before returning to the armory.
"Look at this," he said, excitedly. "It was you guys that took out Little Timmy and The Dick Brigade? Wow, Rick. Gettin' in your last licks. Oh, man, I'm gonna have fun with this."
"Please, I don't know where—"
Anna turned to see Olivia being shoved up the stairs and toward them by a woman with bleached, curly hair.
"Arat, we don't do that," Negan scolded, "unless they do something to deserve it."
"Yeah, we went through the inventory," Arat explained. "Guns in the armory, guns they had around the walls—they're short." She handed Negan Olivia's blue notebook. "Glock 9 and a .22 Bobcat."
"Is that true?" Negan asked, looking to Rick.
"We had some people leave town. Those guns probably went with them," Rick reasoned.
"So, Olivia sucks at her job. Is that what you're saying?" Negan asked.
"No. No, I'm not sayin' that," Rick said.
"There should be a full accounting here, right? Top to bottom," Negan said as he turned to Olivia. "Am I right?"
"No," Olivia said, "I mean, yes. The inventory is correct," she amended quickly.
"Good. But not so good, too," Negan said, pursing his lips. "You see, what's in here isn't in there. You're two handguns short. Do you know where they are?"
"No. I—" Olivia stopped herself as Negan sighed and looked to Rick.
"That's disappointing, Rick. I thought that we had an understanding. But this—well, this shows that someone's not on board, and I can't have that." He looked to Olivia. "I don't enjoy killing women. Men—I can waste them all the live long. But at the end of the day, Olivia, my dear, this was your responsibility."
"Look, we can work this out," Rick tried.
"Oh, yes, we can," Negan agreed. "And I'm going to—right now."
Olivia whimpered, her bottom lip trembling as she held back tears.
"That was your job," Negan said, looking back to Olivia. "You screwed up. Keeping track of guns? That shit is life and death."
Everyone was gathered in the church and Anna sat beside Jessie in the pew. Rick stood at the front, looking at Negan's bat resting on a table before he eventually turned to them.
"I thought about hiding some of the guns," he started. "I did it before. I figured I could bury some out there. Maybe we don't touch them for years."
"Years?" Scott asked.
"Yeah, that's right. But what if the Saviors find those guns?" He asked. "What if we run into them when we have those guns on us? One of us dies. Maybe more than that. Maybe a lot more. Doesn't matter how many bullets we have. It isn't enough. They win. It's that black-and-white," he explained. "Hiding a couple of guns isn't the answer, not anymore."
"What happened to your face?" Jessie asked quietly, not looking away from Rick.
"Don't worry about it," Anna whispered.
"Was it that guy? Did he hit you? Who is he?"
"That's not what's important right now," Anna hissed.
"We don't have to like it, but we need to give them over. A Glock 9 and a .22. That's what they're looking for," Rick went on. "Who has them? Someone knows where they are, or they know who does. If we don't find them, they're gonna kill Olivia. They'll do it."
"Why do they care?" Scott asked, standing. "Two guns aren't a threat to them. But those guns could help protect us from whatever else is out there."
"Do you have 'em?" Rick asked.
"Wish I did," Scott said, shaking his head and sitting down.
"Most of you weren't there," Rick began. "You didn't have to watch."
Anna grimaced at the memory.
"But you can look away now when someone else dies, or you can help solve this. We give them what they want, and we live in peace," Rick insisted.
"Say we find the guns," Eric said, getting to his feet. "How are we gonna get out of this, Rick?"
"There is no way out of this," Rick sighed. "Let me put this to all of you as clearly as I can. I'm not in charge anymore. Negan is. Now, who has the guns?"
A few people muttered among themselves but no one came forward.
"Not everyone's here," Eugene finally pointed out.
"Tell me who hit you," Jessie demanded as they walked down the street.
Anna worked her jaw as she gently pressed on the bruise forming on her cheek.
"It doesn't matter," she insisted.
"It does matter," Jessie snapped. "Was it him? What's his name? Isaac?"
Anna stopped short and turned to him.
"It doesn't matter who hit me or why, because you're not going to do anything. Understood?"
"But—"
"No," she hissed. "You do something—anything—you'll get yourself killed, or someone else. Do you want that?"
Jessie glared down at her before shaking his head and looking away.
"It was that guy, wasn't it?" He asked. "He said you were old friends. You knew him?"
"Jess—"
"Balloons?"
Anna turned about and saw a burly Savior standing in front of Enid, a little too close for comfort, and also surrounded by four other men.
"You goin' to a party, little girl?" He asked, his hand full of green balloons.
"Can I keep them please?" Enid ground out. "It's just… please, let me keep them."
Without thought, Anna started towards them.
"Anna, wait," Jessie called quietly, but Anna didn't stop.
"Say please again, little girl," the Savior said, stepping closer, his voice low.
"Please," Enid said.
"Yeah, one more time," he said, running a finger down Enid's cheek.
Anna pulled Enid behind her, standing between them. She said nothing as she glared up at the man. The man straightened, frowning at Anna.
"This isn't any of your business," he said.
"I doubt harassing a teenager is any of yours," Anna sneered.
The man smirked at her. "What? You want all the attention for yourself?" He asked, stepping into her space. "I can do that—"
"David."
Anna tensed at Isaac's voice, but kept her eyes on David as Isaac approached.
"You've all got better things to do," Isaac admonished. "I suggest getting it done. Now."
"Yes, sir," David ground out before he and the others began to stalk away.
"David," Isaac called, making the man stop. "The girl's stuff."
David dropped Enid's backpack and balloons to the ground before he finally left, grumbling under his breath.
Isaac stepped over to Enid's belongings and picked them off the ground, dusting them off before holding them out to Anna and Enid.
"Sorry about that," Isaac said, smiling.
Anna didn't move to take the items, too focused on trying not to shake under his gaze. Enid stepped around her and took her things back.
"Thank you," she said.
"I promise, we're not all like that," Isaac grinned apologetically. "Now, if you'll excuse me," he said as he left them to join Negan and Rick.
Anna immediately turned to Enid.
"Are you okay?" She asked, checking the teen over.
"I'm okay," Enid assured. "I should go," she said, walking around Anna.
"Enid, wait," Anna called, and she turned back. "You need to be careful. You shouldn't be going anywhere alone."
"I'm fine," Enid said. "I'll be okay."
And with that, Enid turned on her heel and walked off.
Anna let out a huff as she watched Enid turn the corner and disappear.
"Anna."
She turned to Rick as he approached. Over his shoulder, she could see Isaac speaking with Negan as the truck carrying their guns started down the road to the front gate.
"They're gettin' ready to leave," Rick said. "Hey, you okay?"
Anna looked back to Rick and nodded.
"What happened?" He asked, gesturing to his cheek.
"I'll tell you about it later," Anna said, bowing her head when her eyes landed on the bat.
Lucille.
Rick turned the bat in his hand, sighing, and Anna looked up.
"It'll be over soon," he said.
They gathered at the front gates as two of the trucks headed off; one carrying their guns, the other carrying most of the mattresses. A tan van driven by Spencer pulled into the gate, followed by Rosita in the car. They both parked just inside and got out of their respective vehicles.
"Hell of a place you got here, Rick," Negan praised, stopping at the gates and turning to Rick.
"Give me a second," Rick requested.
"No," Negan said simply, smirking.
"Please, can you just—" Rick took a breath. "Give me a second?"
Negan stuck his tongue in his cheek and smiled before he finally nodded and Rick headed off to the burnt house just outside the gate. Anna wondered what he was doing.
She kept her arms crossed over her chest, feeling exposed in the dress Isaac had picked out for her. David leered at her from beside Negan, and Spencer unloaded Daryl's bike from the van. They stood quietly, waiting for Rick to return as Negan leaned against what looked like a UPS truck and hummed to himself.
Finally, after a few minutes ticked by, Rick exited the burnt house with Michonne, who carried a small deer across her shoulders.
"Look at this!" Negan said when he noticed their approach.
"I thought she was scavenging. She was hunting," Rick explained, holding a very large rifle out to Negan. "This one never came inside. We kept it near the line."
"Look at this," Negan said again. "This is something to build a relationship on. Good for you, Rick. This is reading the room and gettin' the message. I've said it before, I'm gonna say it again. You, sir, are special."
"Now that you know we can follow your rules," Rick began.
"Yes?" Negan prompted.
"I'd like to ask you if Daryl can stay."
"Not happenin'," Negan laughed.
Anna's chest constricted and she bit her cheek as Rick narrowed his eyes at Negan.
"You know what? I don't know. Maybe Daryl can plead his case," Negan said, turning to Daryl.
Anna glanced at Isaac, who was standing behind Negan. Underneath his usual smug expression, Anna could see by the set of his jaw that he was irritated.
"Maybe Daryl can sway me. Daryl?"
Anna looked to Daryl, waiting for him to say something—anything.
Please.
All he did was stare at Negan. Anna turned her head away, her eyes landing back on Isaac. The irritation was replaced by a hint of satisfaction—he met her gaze then, and gave her a slight smirk.
"Well, you tried," Negan chuckled, looking back to Rick. "Now what you got to do is get over that tall wall of yours and try harder out there. Earn for me. Because we're coming back soon, and when we do, you better have something interesting for us, or Lucille, she's gonna have her way. I want you to hear that again," he said, stepping closer. "If you don't have something interesting for us, somebody's gonna die. And no more magic guns. Arat, grab that deer. It's getting late. Let's go home."
Michonne glared at Negan and threw the deer from her shoulders before stalking off.
"Man, I love a gal that buys me dinner and doesn't expect me to put out," Negan laughed.
"I'll take that," Dwight said, walking up to Spencer and patting the seat of Daryl's bike.
Spencer looked between Dwight and Anna before walking back to the van. Dwight turned his attention on Rosita.
"Rosita," he said mockingly. "Got a little thank-you." He tossed Rosita's hat to her. "That's all you're getting back. Took all your guns, most of your beds. I hope you find a place to lay your pretty little head. Did you find anything else out there?"
"Just your dead friends," Rosita said, positioning her hat on her head.
Dwight scoffed and climbed aboard the bike, starting it up. He drove around in a half-circle until he came up in front of Daryl and stopped.
"You can have it back. Just say the word," he said.
Daryl glared at him and he revved the engine, speeding away.
"Come on," Isaac said, walking over to Daryl. "Time to go." He grabbed a hold of Daryl's arm and pulled him toward the green army truck, only for Daryl to tear his arm away and stalk off, passing Anna before he climbed into the back of the truck—without a single glance at her. Isaac loaded in after him.
The engines roared to life, and Negan climbed into the passenger side of the army truck. It pulled out of the gates. Anna watched as they drove away. Daryl finally brought his eyes up and looked at her, his face unreadable as they disappeared around the corner.
Anna stood in her bedroom, the mattress and box spring gone from the bed frame, the sheets, blankets, and pillows strewn across the floor. Silently, she made her way to her closet, hoping to find what she was looking for.
But the shoe boxes had been thrown to the ground, along with her backpack and its contents. She dropped to the floor and pushed the pile of clothes aside, then picked up her pack and dug through it. The rations she'd stored were gone. And the ammunition.
She let out a frustrated cry and threw the pack against the wall, falling back against the door and running her hand down her face. The Saviors had taken everything—almost everything. Enough to get the message across. Alexandria, the people in it, and everything they had belonged to Negan. They were stuck, and there wasn't shit they could do about it.
Taking a deep breath, Anna pushed herself to her feet and walked back into the bedroom. She scanned the room, looking over the mess; her eyes landed on the stick leaning against the wall. She thought bitterly on how lucky Morgan and Carol were for having gotten away.
Anna made her way around the room, collecting her blankets and pillows and carrying them into the closet, creating a nest in the corner. She took a few steps back until she stood in the bathroom, in front of the vanity mirror.
Her eyes trailed from the bruise slowly forming on her right cheek to the dress she still wore. Anna's chest heaved and she quickly yanked the dress off, a seam ripping as she pulled it over her head and threw it onto the counter. It felt like her throat was closing up as she tried to suck air into her lungs. She braced herself against the counter, her hand hitting the hilt of the knife still resting there.
She grabbed it, dropping its sheath to the floor; she slashed the blade through the soft fabric. The sound of the fabric ripping filled the bathroom over and over again until she was clutching tatters. She let the pieces fall to the floor and tossed the knife back onto the counter with a clatter before stepping back into the closet.
Anna pulled on another one of Daryl's t-shirts and turned out the light. She wrapped herself in the blankets and settled against the pillows as she kicked the door closed, plunging her into darkness.