Paul's Plan
It has been a month since Paul went missing; he then reappears as Negan's negotiator. Whose side is Paul really on?
Fandom: The Walking Dead
Rating: T
Square Filled: Betrayal [1], bedside vigil [2]
Tags: badthingshappenbingo, Betrayal, AU, Glenn and Abraham live, who is Paul really betraying, Daryl has feelings for Paul, badass Paul, Negan is his own warning,
Created for badthingshappenbingo
Chapter 1 - Betrayal
Daryl flicked the cigarette butt off of the wall as he squinted at the tree line, seeing nothing and disappointment settled in his gut had been doing for a solid month.
"Rick said you were up here," Maggie commented as she carefully made her way up onto the walls of Alexandria, her hand settling on the small swell of her growing stomach and accepted a bottle of water from the man as she sat in the chair next to Daryl.
"How ya feeling?" Daryl asked seeing sadness hidden in her eyes.
"Not great... It's been a whole month Daryl and I know I should accept it that he's gone but I just..." Maggie trailed off to gulp down some water, rubbing her stomach tenderly.
"It's Paul," Daryl fought the urge to light up again, but even that reminded him of the Scout. The Scout who had tossed Daryl this pack of cigarettes with a cocky smile on his lips.
"He always comes back," Maggie sighed as she stretched out her legs.
"Yeah," Daryl knew what the woman was saying; he felt his unexplained absent like a damn missing limb. They all knew what it was like out there with the Walkers and with the Saviors but Paul always came back alive.
"Ah, shit!" Daryl swore when three trucks burst from the tree line and he snatched up the binoculars to confirm.
"It's the Saviors, shit. Tell Rick and the others!" Daryl swore as he grabbed his crossbow as he leapt to his feet.
"On it!" Maggie sounded pissed as she hurried back down the steps to gather the others.
Daryl was on her heels, anger coursing through his veins as he and Rick stepped out of the gate of Alexandria where the three trucks were waiting.
"Well, ain't this a cute little place you got here," a man called out as he stepped out one of the trucks wearing jeans, a leather jacket and a barbed baseball bat resting on his shoulder.
Daryl knew this was Negan himself and his fingers tightened on his crossbow as he kept it aimed at Negan while the others spread out around him and Rick to keep the other armed Saviors in their sights.
"Now, now I know this is a surprise and all but I'm here to negotiate peaceful like." Negan raised his hands mockingly.
"I don't buy it," Rick said simply as he rested his hand on the handle of his gun as he stared Negan down.
"It's the truth, usually I would waltz up in here and demand half of everything you have and maybe kill one or two people to really drive my point in. However recently I've been... Persuaded to try ahem a less bloody way. I even brought a negotiator!" Negan smiled a bit deranged when he told them that he had been persuaded. Daryl got a sick feeling in his stomach as Negan whistled and the door of the truck behind him opened up.
Combat boots his hit the ground before Paul came into sight. Daryl let his crossbow lower in pure shock while Maggie lurched toward with a cry of Paul's name but Glenn held her back. Paul's hair was loose around his shoulders; he was wearing tight black jeans with a plunging black sheer V-neck shirt. His throat was covered in fresh and healing hickeys but what was obvious was the handprint that spanned his throat. What terrified Daryl was the blank and empty look that filled Paul's usually so expressive eyes as he looked at them.
"You seem to know my husband," Negan commented as he sauntered over to Paul and Daryl felt his blood run cold at the term. They all had been told about Negan's harem of wives and how got them. Daryl felt sick as the marks on Paul's skin made sense now, but Daryl had to wonder how the hell Negan had gotten his hands on the ninja-like scout and what the man threatened him with to keep him in line.
"You didn't tell me you know these people and you know I don't like being lied to boy." Negan snarled as he curled his fingers around Paul's throat, matching up with the bruises that were already there.
Glenn had to hold onto Maggie tighter when she lunged forward again and Daryl's crossbow flew back up towards Negan, itching to out a bolt through his head. Daryl noticed that Rick had his gun out of his holster and eyes blazing as he took in Negan and Paul.
"You didn't ask," Paul said simply as if he didn't have a madman choking him.
"I didn't ask huh? Heh, still such a sassy thing you are. Looks like I'll have to try harder to break you." Negan laughed as he squeezed Paul's throat once before stepping away and turning back to the Alexandrians who all had varying looks of horror and disgust on their faces as Negan's words sank in. Daryl's finger twitched on the trigger of his crossbow before he let out a curse when Negan wrapped his arm possessively around Paul's waist and pulled the scout in front of him to act as a human shield.
Negan was pressed far to close to Paul's back for Daryl's comfort and his hand came back up around Paul's throat once again. From the hiss that Maggie let out and the cocking of Rick's gun the others felt the same as Daryl did, but there was no way to get a clean shot off with where Paul was standing.
"Negan wants half of everything you have in exchange for the Saviour's protection." Paul recited off; keeping those blank eyes locked on Rick whose jaw was clenched as he tried to figure out what the hell was going on.
"If we say no?" Rick asked slowly and Paul inhaled sharply when Negan's hand tightened around his throat, forcing his head back as Negan lifted his bat to point at Rick.
"We start offing you one by one until you come to your senses, but also remember if you try anything pretty boy here may be my husband but that doesn't mean I won't mess him up a bit or let my men have their fun." Negan gave a sick smile and Daryl snarled under his breath at what the man was implying and he heard Maggie shout out curse after curse as she struggled against her husband's arms.
"You have one day to decide," Paul said simply like Negan wasn't openly telling them all what would happen to him if Rick didn't give into Negan's demands.
"Load up men! We're having a party tonight!" Negan shouted out and his men let out a cheer while Paul's face went a shade paler and his eyes flashed with something before he schooled his expression, but Daryl saw it nonetheless and it set a fire in his chest.
It may look like Paul had betrayed them and Hilltop to Negan but Daryl was a hunter and he knew Paul. There was more happening here than anyone knew and it made Daryl's skin itch.
Daryl kept his crossbow trained on Negan who was walking Paul back to the truck, his hand obviously gripping the other man's ass as they went and Daryl wanted nothing more than to chop that hand off and pull Paul into his arms.
The Alexandrian's didn't move or lower their guards until the three trucks were out of sight.
"Well shit," Rick swore as he shoved his gun back into his holster.
"Something ain't right, Jesus would never go to Negan let alone agree to be that bastard's husband." Maggie exploded, finally wiggling out of Glenn's grip, holding her baby bump protectively as she spoke with fury burning in her eyes.
"We don't know him that well, maybe this was his plan all along," Abraham suggested and Daryl had to fight the urge to punch the man. Paul was a lot of things, prick included but he was no traitor.
"We don't know much about what is going on and that makes our position difficult." Rick ran his fingers through his hair as the group made their back into the safe-zone. Maggie being held back by Glenn once again, her fury directed at Abraham for even suggesting that Paul had been playing them.
"Even if we could attack, that puts Paul and whoever he's protecting in danger." Rick rumbled to Daryl, giving the man a side look and Daryl refused to read too much into that knowing look his brother was giving him.
"You see those bruises? He's already in danger! We have no clue what else has been happening to him! They've had him for a MONTH!" Maggie fumed before she took a deep breath.
"I'm going to get food and maybe punch something," Maggie said with a false calm before she stormed off, Glenn opting to stay back and he shrugged his shoulders when given questioning looks. He knew his wife and wasn't about to get in the way of her anger.
"We have to make a plan, a good one that doesn't leave anything to chance," Michonne said simply and Daryl grunted his agreement, he had to make sure whatever their plan was that it involved Paul being safe from Negan and his men.
Daryl tried not to think too hard about the party that Negan mentioned that had Paul looking terrified for that brief moment. He knew if he thought too hard, horrible things would appear in his mind and he wasn't sure he could handle that right now.
~~/~~
"Hurry up boy, the party is getting started!" Negan barked as he walked into the room Paul was staying in while in Sanctuary. Paul was still wearing the same clothes he had during the encounter with Alexandria, but his eyes were glinting dangerously.
"I don't think so," Paul said simply and Negan's face twisted up in anger and he stalked towards Paul, swinging his bat at his side.
"You think you have a goddamn choice boy?" Negan snarled as he reached towards Paul before he stumbled. Paul's lips turned up into a smirk as Negan staggered backwards, Lucille dropping onto the floor as he curled his arms around his stomach.
"You little shit, what did you do?" Negan rasped as he felt to his knees and Paul stepped forward so he was towering over the man.
"It took a month, but you and your most insane followers finally have enough built up in your systems to take you down," Paul said as he wrapped his long hair up into a topknot as Negan swore.
"You poisoned me? ME?" Negan was cut off by a violent cough.
"I did originally plan on slitting your throat that first night, but I didn't want a blood bath to follow when half of those here are only here because you forced them. So instead I talked with everyone here, I chose those who would turn on you and fed you and the rest small amounts of a tree root that Daryl showed me once. Harmless in small doses but if you kept ingesting those amounts day after day for a month, well." Paul picked up Lucille as he spoke, swinging it through the air as Negan had been doing moments ago.
"You won't get out of here alive boy," Negan rasped out before he coughed up blood, doubling over in pain as his body began to shut down thanks to the poison in his system.
Negan fell onto the floor in a boneless heap when several explosions went off over Sanctuary and noise grew from outside and Paul just tapped Lucille against the floor by Negan's head.
"You really think I didn't have an escape plan in place? I have friends everywhere and those explosions came courtesy of King Ezekiel and the Kingdom. What's left of your saviors will be taken care of, but you won't be around to see it." Paul promises as he lifted Lucille and took a steadying breath before he swung it down with all his strength with a sharp crack as barbed wire and solid wood connected with Negan's head.
Paul winced as he pulled Lucille away from the now bloody mess that had been Negan's head. Paul swallowed down bile at the sight of flesh and muscle attached to the barbed wire and the burst eyeballs in Negan's caved in head. Negan was dead and no longer able to harm anyone and something akin to relief coursed through Paul's body.
Paul's head snapped up when the door was flung open, Shiva growling and fur on end as she leapt into the room, Ezekiel standing at the ready behind his tiger.
"Jesus my friend! The compound is ours!" Ezekiel announced in triumph and then his eyes fell on the bloodied bat and what was left of Negan.
"Come, my friend, let us leave this place of horrors." Ezekiel held his hand out as Shiva purred in contentment from the place next to him.
"That is the best offer I've had in months." Paul smiled as he stepped towards Ezekiel before his eyes widened and a strangled choke came from his mouth as blood dripped down his chin.
"PAUL!" Ezekiel roared as he lunged forward as Paul collapsed, his hands curling around the side of Paul's neck where a bullet had just torn through.
"FIND THAT SHOOTER!" Ezekiel roared at some of his men who had been guarding the hall as Paul's blood seeped between his fingers.
"Stay with me Jesus, come on you can't give up after all of this." Ezekiel encouraged Paul whose eyes were closed but his chest was still moving up and down as he breathed heavily even as he slipped unconscious.
"Fight Jesus, don't give up!" Ezekiel kept repeating as more blood spilled from the wound on Paul's neck.